Away with the Fairies

*°•○Part Fifteen○•°*

Hans wrapped his arms around the girls' shoulders and pulled them in an embrace when he noticed their shiny eyes hinting at ready-to-be-spilled tears. As one, they finally turned away from the shore and looked towards the endless sea, heaving and rolling in front of them, as far as they could see.

"We will be back soon with Blue. Don't worry, you two," he said encouragingly, observing the ten swans flying close around them, hoping that his words would not become an empty promise.

Rosalind sighed deeply, dabbing at the corners of her eyes with her sleeve. "Thank you, Hans. And you, Louise. I don't know what I would do without y..."

"How far is the opposite shore?" Hans, deciding that it was better to change the subject before the fairy would start crying, asked the swan who was carrying them.

He had to raise his voice and repeat the question as the bird's neck was so long that it did not hear him over the loud, whistling wind the first time.

"It usually takes us two days to fly across these waters if the weather is favourable, young man. We will spend the night on a small island in the middle of the sea, then set off again as soon as it is bright enough to fly," the swan replied, turning its head towards them shortly so they could hear its words while it spoke, then away again before any of them could ask anything else.

Realising that it would be a very long day, the three adventurers settled more comfortably on the swan's wide back and passed it by eating, as their magical pouches were full of food thanks to Roza, talking about unimportant things and carefully avoiding any more serious subjects, eating some more and sleeping, cocooned in the bird's soft and warm feathers.

Island wasn't a name Hans would have given to the small, bare rock jutting out of the agitated waters of the sea, where the swans landed when it got dark. There was barely enough space for the eleven huge birds and their small passengers, and neither of the three managed to sleep that night. Every time they closed their eyes, as they lay down close to each other on a nest of blankets in the middle of the protective circle of swans sleeping around them, they were stirred back to wakefulness by the rough, angry waves crashing against the rock and splashing over them and the sleeping white birds, who did not seem to mind at all.

They were happy when the following night they reached the opposite shore, and the swans led them into their refuge-- a large cave hidden in the side of a snow-covered cliff. Once inside, Rosalind conjured up a lively fire, making it a much more comfortable place to rest than the island.

"Will you stay here and wait for us?" Rosalind asked the birds over dinner.

"We cannot, Princess. We are to leave the three of you here and fly back," the largest swan said.

"Even though we prefer flying on the nights of full moon, we are not allowed to wait this time," the one sitting next to it added.

"Somehow, you must find your way home on your own..." another one mused, shaking its head sadly, its serious, velvety voice barely audible over the crackling of the fire, "it won't be easy..."

"In the morning, we will see if we can find anyone to take back to the butterflies this time, then we will leave. Berenice promised to send someone to lead you to her castle as soon as the three of you are alone," the largest bird spoke again as it shook out the long feathers of its wing, reflecting the orange glow of the firelight, before it folded its long neck and hid its head underneath it.

As on cue, the other ten birds followed its example and a few moments after the only sounds that could be heard in the cave were the hiss and whisper of the burning fire and the faint echo of the waves rushing against the rocky shore.