The Missing Pendant

A CLUE

Ziara was terrified after hearing this, so she used her powers to transform into a human and slowly approached where he was standing.

When he saw her, he was confused about what a woman was doing in the forest, and at the same time, he was quite stunned by her beauty, her light blue eyes, and her smooth black hair flowing in the wind.

He also noticed she was tense.

He asked her, "Who are you, and what are you doing here, alone?" as soon as she approached him.

She said, "I am Ziara, and I was looking for my lost pendant. By the way, who are you?"

He said," I'm Adrien. Nice meeting you. Do you need any help, Miss?"

"Yes, please, and call me Ziara," Ziara replied.

Adrien smiled and said, "Okay, Ziara."
"What does your pendant look like?", he asked her.

She described it by saying, "It's a silver chain, and the pendant is in the shape of a crescent moon, which is made of sapphire stone."

Then they both started to look for it.
After a long search around that area, Adrien asked, "Is there any other place that you went today?"

"Yes, there is one spot, near the blueberry bushes," Ziara recalled. "I'll take you there."

Adrien said, "Okay, let's go."

She led him to the middle of the forest, where there were many blueberry bushes. Ziara noticed something and came to a halt.

Adrien asked her why she had stopped, and she said that there was a teak tree before, but then it was cut down by someone.

As a fairy who takes care of plants, this made her a little sad.

Adrien examined the ground and said that there were footprints in the mud and also a faded imprint of a crescent pendant in the mud.

"Ziara, I suppose this woodcutter took your pendant to sell in the market because there aren't many trees that they could cut down to earn a living," Adrien explained. "I suppose you could get a new one, couldn't you?"

"I don't want a new one," Ziara remarked sadly. “I..... I.... I need my pendant. It's my only possibility of returning home.”

Adrien exclaimed, "What!! A pendant can help you get home! Tell me where you live, and I'll assist you in safely returning there."

That's when realisation struck Ziara. She thought there was no use in hiding and asked him, "Can I trust you?"

"Yes, you can trust me," he assured her.

She transformed into a fairy upon hearing this. Seeing her transformation, he was totally surprised; he couldn't believe his eyes. He blinked his eyes a few times.

In front of him stood the most beautiful fairy with greenish-silver wings, which are so alive yet so delicate. She still has the same light blue eyes, but her hair colour changes from black to blue.

Ziara said, "As you can see, I'm not a human; I'm a fairy. Please don't treat me differently."

"Treat you differently! What are you saying? There's no way I'm going to do that. Every creature has feelings, and I respect that. And I promise, I won't tell this to anyone,", said Adrien.

Ziara was relieved to hear that, and she was certain he was telling the truth since she was closely watching his eyes while he spoke, and his eyes appeared bright and bold. His words were true; she could say that as her father taught her how to differentiate if someone was lying or not.

He asked, "Does the pendant open any portals to your world, Ziara?"

She replied, "Yeah, it's something similar to that; without it, I can't go home."

Adrien thinks for a while and asks, "Will your parents come to earth to find you?"

She replied sadly, "They will come only 2 months later, as the time in this dimension and our dimension differ a lot. A month on earth is only one hour in our fairyland."

Adrien said, "Then let's go now and find your pendant, so that you can return to your family."

Ziara looked at him with a little hope sparkling in her eyes, and she said, "Will you do that for me? Thank you so much."

Adrien said, "Of course I will, and cheer up now. Let's go."

Ziara transformed into a human and cheerfully said, "Okay, Adrien."

Then they both followed the foot trail and came out of the forest. Out of the forest, there were no footprints to follow; they saw a small town. They entered the town, and Adrien said that the town is called Courton.

Adrien proposed going to the market because he assumed that anyone looking to sell jewellery would go to an antique store or a pawn shop. When they reached there, they saw an antique store, and they entered the store.

"What mystery brings the famous detective to my store?" said an old man as he greeted them.

Adrien replied, "Hello, Mr. Fanbur, we need your help."

Fanbur said generously, "I am pleased to do it. Tell me."

Adrien described the pendant and asked him if someone had sold it to him.

Fanbur replied, "Yes, a few hours ago, I had it with me, but now I don't."
Adrien asked, "What do you mean, Mr.Fanbur?"

He replied, "A woodcutter sold it to me, but about 3 hours ago, a man came and bought it from me."

"Can you describe him, and do you know where he might be now?", asked Adrien.

He described him as "a tall, middle-aged man with a scar in his left eyebrow. His eyes are black, and he has black hair with a few white strands. He was dressed in a black suit. If I'm not mistaken, he told his colleague that they needed to get to Longbel Villa on Elm Street as soon as possible."

Adrien thanked him for the information before leaving the store with Ziara.

"How can a shopkeeper observe and remember that person so keenly?" she inquired. "It's incredible."

Adrien chuckled and explained, "It's because Mr. Fanbur is a retired detective and an expert in observing people, and if someone's activity is a little suspicious, he will remember them."

"Wow, so some humans have superpowers like us!" Ziara exclaimed.

He laughed. She was delighted to see him smiling, but she didn't know why.

She said, "You are also a detective, right?"

He smiled and said, "Yes, I am."

"Do you know where that Elm Street is?", she asked.

He replied, "Yes, it's in Apricocity. It's evening now; if we start our journey, we will reach the Noire Forest by tonight; we can rest there and continue our journey tomorrow morning. Thus, we will be there by tomorrow afternoon."

"Sounds good to me," she replied. "Come on, let's get started."