Away with the Fairies

*°•○Part Fifteen○•°*

Rosalind sighed and shook her head as she looked at her friends. "I don't know," she replied to Hans and Louise's confused, panicked thoughts. "I guess we will find out how to return when the moment comes."

They both nodded and, trying not to think, settled down to sleep.

After breakfast, the swans carried them on top of the cliffs, at the edge of a wide bare plain completely covered with snow. There were trees growing in the distance on both sides, but in front of them, there was only a flat expanse of pure, white snow and ice, spanning as far as they could see.

Suddenly, one of the birds whistled loudly, its voice carrying far on the wind blowing from the sea, and immediately, a Snow Goblin appeared at the edge of the remote forest.

"We did not expect you to be back so soon," it said, looking surprised as it landed in front of them after a while. "There aren't many this time... Wait, please," he said, flying back towards the trees, his translucent, bat-like wings glittering like pieces of mirror in the weak sunshine.

"Do the Snow Goblins help you?" Rosalind asked the swans.

"A few of them, yes. They left the Snow Queen, and now they help us find the creatures injured by her magic."

Rosalind nodded thoughtfully as they watched a small group of Snow Goblins carrying towards them a brown, sleeping sparrow, and a smaller, orange butterfly, whose brightly coloured wings, rippling in the wind, looked like flames against the cold, still whiteness of the snow.

"Thank you again," the largest swan told the short, bluish creatures as soon as its two new passengers were safe on its back, and they were ready to fly away. "Do not linger, Princess Rosalind and her friends are to be left alone. Orders of Berenice the sorceress."

The Snow Goblins bowed deeply to Rosalind then took flight, vanishing quickly in the deep shadows under the trees.

"Princess, you must walk on. Berenice knows that you are here, she knows everything. She will seek you when she deems right. We hope to see you again soon," the swan added, bowing its head, then spreading its enormous wings and disappearing over the tall precipice, followed by the other ten birds.

Without looking back to the swans soaring high above the sea, growing smaller and smaller the farther they got, the three friends began to walk silently across the large plain.

They must have walked for hours, judging by how cold and hungry they felt when Louise, too tired to take another step, collapsed into the nearest heap of snow.

"Finally! What took you so long?" the pile of snow hooted, ruffling its feathers and opening its great yellow eyes, startling the girl.

Louise jumped back up and bumped into Hans, who stumbled over Rosalind standing close behind him, and they all slipped and fell on the frozen snow.

"Are you Berenice?" Rosalind asked as the three of them scrambled to their feet again.

"Nooo no no. But I will take you to her," the white owl, as big as Roslav's crow, informed them.

"Hurry!" It urged them as they brushed the snow off their clothes before it would melt, then sat on its back. "Hooold tight. And nooo questions," it hooted deeply, and the three friends, exchanging wary, puzzled looks were in the air once more.

They flew for a good while before the white bird started circling above a broken tree at the edge of a forest.

"Hooold tight!" it hooted again before it folded its wings slightly and let itself drop at high speed into the tree trunk, which was hollow inside, making the girls and even Hans squeal with fear.

The owl only spread its wings properly again once they fell through the wooden, empty well of the trunk into a dark, earthen corridor under its dead roots, mere moments before they would hit the ground.

Soon after they were in a spacious, warm cave illuminated by the ethereal glow emanating from its floor, lying in a heap at the scaly, clawed, yellow feet of the biggest owl they had ever seen.

Berenice the witch, Hans thought.

"Welcome, Princess Rosalind. Hooow are you, and you, little humans?" the enormous owl asked them politely as Hans helped the girls to their feet.

It wasn't easy at all, as the strangely smooth and cool floor where they landed seemed to be one huge, slippery mirror, glowing faintly in the semi-darkness. Once they were all steady on their feet again, he took his glasses off and wiped the lenses misted completely by the sudden warmth of the cavern, on the sleeve of his coat.

"Excuse Oliver, he has no manners... But he's so much fun." The large owl giggled, looking at the other, much smaller bird, who had brought them in-- it was now perched in one of numerous dark holes dug into the cave's wall behind Berenice, like many other silent, glowering, white, grey and even brown owls of all shapes and sizes.

"We noticed that, Lady Berenice," Rosalind replied, trying to suppress her anger at Oliver's behaviour. "Here we are, as you wanted," the fairy added, curtsying. "Please, help us find my..."

"Not so fast, child. Warm up, eat and rest first, then we will talk," Berenice ordered, waving one of her wings around the way Rosalind would wave her wand, and suddenly their damp clothes were dry and a small fire and some food appeared in the far corner of the cave, at the edge of the mirror floor.

"But Blue..." Rosalind muttered again. They made it this far. They were so close to the end of their long journey, and now the Rose Fairy did not want to waste anymore time.

"I said, rest!" the owl exclaimed, her voice reverberating off the walls of the cave as her round, motionless, yellow eyes flashed with anger.

Hans laced his arm through Rosalind's and made both her and Louise walk across the mirror towards the fire. The mighty sorceress was apparently used to obedience, and as they needed her help...

Making her angry would be a wrong move, Rosalind, he thought as they sat down on flat, moss covered rocks scattered around the mirror and started to eat, purposely avoiding to look at the fairy. He was afraid that the Snow Owl would be able to read their thoughts, but when nothing happened, apart from Rosalind nodding infinitesimally to him as he passed her a small leaf laid with food, he concluded that their minds were a safe place to talk. Let's do this her way, and hear her out first, I'm sure she'll help us then, Hans went on thinking.

The fairy sighed but did not speak anymore until Berenice, who had disappeared from the room while they were eating, returned and spoke to them first.