Away with the Fairies

*°•○Part Fourteen○•°*

"This is amazing," one of the swans said, stretching its large wings as it basked in the warmth created by their curtain of light buzzing softly all around them. "How do you do this? I have never seen anything of the sort."

"That's because we have never had a reason to use it. Until now," Rosalind said, smiling at the swan sadly. "It's one of our spells. But we can't keep it up for too long, it's very tiring," she added, making Celeste giggle as she conjured up a pillow with one swift movement of her wand for dozing Roslav, mere moments before his drooping head would hit the sand of the beach. She added a blanket on second thought-- there was no need to wake him up and make him go to bed, it was warm enough for any of them to sleep outside tonight.

"You are right, Princess Rosalind. The Snow Queen has never been this strong before."

"Why is she suddenly so strong? It can't be all due to the shards of one broken mirror," Rosalind mused.

"We think it is, Princess. It's the magic contained in those shards. It makes most of those who find them follow her blindly and their... adoration and love give her her strength."

"Is it true then? Do they really fall in love with her, forgetting everything and everyone else, the moment a piece of that cursed glass..." Rosalind's breath hitched at the words, she could not finish her sentence.

"We do believe it, Princess. They follow her to her realm, where most of them perish from the cold eventually."

"How can we stop her?" Celeste asked, her worried eyes resting on Rosalind.

"We have to keep doing what we have been doing until now. You must try to find and destroy as many pieces of that mirror as you can, and we will keep bringing back those who found them before you, hoping that sooner or later this battle will be over," the swan said.

"But it won't end the war. She will attack our kingdom with some evil charm again, and again..." Rosalind said, after she looked around cautiously to make sure that Blue's parents were not present and could not hear her. "We need to do something more. Something that would weaken the Snow Queen's powers, and stop her harming all these creatures if not forever, then at least for longer... And not only that. Please, take me with you the next time when you fly back to her realm. I need to find someone dear, someone I'm sure she took away from me, please!" Rosalind begged, her eyes swimming with tears as she glanced from one huge bird to another.

As on cue, all the swans shifted uncomfortably, their shiny white feathers reflecting the pinkish light cast by their magical refuge.

"That's brave of you, Princess, but also craz..."

"I have already heard that. I still want to try."

"She won't be alone," Hans said, looking at Louise, who nodded before he went on, "we are coming with her."

"We, too," Roza and Rolo said in unison.

"And we," Orangebeak spoke for the birds.

"Wait, wait, wait!" the largest of the swans, who kept quiet until now, protested. "All right. Seeing that you have made up your mind already, and I don't think we could dissuade you, Princess... This is for you," it said, taking a large, dry leaf folded in half from under its wing.

"What is it?" Rosalind asked as she approached the bird, looking perplexed.

"A letter from Berenice the sorceress," said another swan.

"Her messenger reached us on the other shore just before we took off..."

"Apparently, she knows about your plans..." the next one added.