Away with the Fairies

*°•○Part Six○•°*

"Roo-sa-lind," Captain Garrett croaked as soon as they touched the ground again, making them all jump. "What are you doooing here?"

"Garrett! We must talk!" The fairy ran to her friend who emerged from behind the reeds growing at the water's edge. She embraced him, not caring that the large toad was dripping wet.

Garrett, taken aback by the fairy's behaviour, put one of his arms over her shoulders soothingly, while he pushed his large hat, which threatened to slip off his bald head, back in place with his other hand.

He really only has four fingers... Hans mused, observing them, his thought making Rosalind turn round to scowl at him.

"Shall we walk, Roo-sa-lind?" Garrett croaked after a few moments, glancing at Louise, Hans, and Orangebeak, who stood silently nearby, unsure of what they should do.

The Captain seemed quite shy for someone his size, Louise thought, even as Rosalind, respecting her friend's timidity, agreed. She put her arm around Garrett's waist while he kept his on her shoulders, and the two vanished among the thickly grown reeds.

"What shall we do now?" Louise asked, trying to suppress a yawn, as they watched the tall grasses sway for a short while in their friends' wake, then still again. They had not slept much the previous night, and the girl was tired.

"Why don't you rest for a while, Miss Louise, Master Hans?" Orangebeak proposed.

The bird spread one of his black wings to indicate a patch of thick, green moss growing in the shadow of a weeping willow. The tree grew so close to the lake that its long, supple branches caressed the water's surface with the tips of their elongated leaves.

"How about you, Orangebeak? Are you not coming?" The girl demanded as she and Hans reached the willow and sat down.

The blackbird shook his head, "I'm going to catch myself some breakfast, Miss Louise. Call me once Princess Rosalind is back, will you, Master Hans?"

Then he was off, chirping loudly, as he flew towards a small copse of trees growing close by.

Louise yawned again as she laid down, thinking that the moss was even softer than Rosalind's bed.

Hans lay down next to her but could not close his eyes. The place was incredibly interesting, there were so many things to see and explore.

While his friend fell asleep, he studied the texture of the moss, admiring its squishiness and its earthy smell. A soft breeze brought new, different scents, some coming from the meadow full of wildflowers, others from the lake, and mixed them all up, creating a unique, unforgettable fragrance.

After a while, overcome by somnolence, he closed his eyes, too. But as soon as he started to drift off, the long and thin branches of the willow whispered as their own slumber was disturbed by a sudden gust of wind, and a couple of its silver-green leaves landed on the boy's face.

Hans sat up, giving up on sleep. Leaving Louise to rest undisturbed in the shadow of the tree, he approached the shiny water spreading in front of him. Kneeling at its very edge, he ran his fingers through it. It was amazingly clear blue, so cool, and inviting...

Maybe he could have a swim before Rosalind returned, he mused, looking at his face reflected by the smoothly undulating surface of the lake.

But... Since when did his green eyes look so dark... and his brown hair so... auburn and... long...

Intrigued and curious, he leaned farther and farther above the water, watching his face morph into someone else's, until he found himself face to face with a girl, smiling at him mischievously from beneath the surface.