So here is another chapter. I won't be able to post more due vacation plans and I'm not allowed to use the Internet there. Hopefully I can post another chapter in about one and a half to two weeks. After that, I'm going to go to a summer camp for a week, so please be patient with me. Thank you for all your support and feel free to review or PM if you have a question or story suggestion.
Tinker Bell stood there, worried. "What do you mean?" she asked.
"Queen Clarion has slowly been growing weaker, "Lord Milori explained. " This started the night of the Purple Moon Party. I was getting worried, so we paid a visit to the Keeper. Unfortunately there was little he could tell us. To be honest, I'm not sure that this is fatal. But it can't be good."
"What did Dewey tell you? The smallest piece of information could help us," Fawn said.
The queen said to her, "He told us that something occurred in my past that was never meant to be and as a result, something terrible is going to happen."
"Well, that was about as clear as mud," Vidia said. "How are we supposed to do anything about it if we don't even know what we're up against?"
"That's part of your quest," Lord Milori explained.
"We're sending you on a quest through time to find out what is happening and to see if we can figure out a solution to the problem," said Queen Clarion.
There was an uproar of questions from Tink and her friends. They said things like "How are we supposed to go through time?", "This is crazy!" or "Can't you just send someone else?" It was so irritating that it was a struggle for the rulers to maintain their composure. At last, Queen Clarion calmly said, "One question at a time, please."
Rosetta said, "Well, I have no idea how we are supposed to 'travel through time.'"
Queen Clarion said, "I have a very secret device that will allow fairies to go back into the past, but you must swear that you will not tell a soul about this, not even your closest friends." She eyed Tink suspiciously, knowing that she never kept secrets from Terence and Periwinkle. The young fairies nodded, even though she herself wasn't entirely sure that they wouldn't break their promise. "See, time travel is dangerous," the queen continued. "I have never used it myself because I would only use it in extremely dire circumstances. This could very well be one. You must be careful of what you do in the past, because even the smallest mistake could lead to a very big change in the present and future. The things you do there must only be things you do to gather information." Tink nodded, clearly understanding the directions, though she would probably break the rules.
Lord Milori and Queen Clarion led the girls into a chamber where there were strange-looking gadgets and gismos in locked glass boxes. Tinker Bell looked around in awe- this was a dream come true for any tinker fairy.
The last box was not surrounded by glass at all. It was in a wooden chest made out of a very ancient and rare tree that only grows in Never Land. Several locks were on the box with keys hid in various places in the room. Only Queen Clarion knew where they were hidden. She went around the place, finding keys under places that were carefully concealed by very advanced fairy magic. Then the queen unlocked the box.
"Why do you need all these keys? "asked Silvermist.
"Only taking extra safety precautions," Queen Clarion replied shortly.
Inside the box was a complicated device that resembled a human clock, but with many knobs and buttons added to it. It was a very ancient-looking device labeled in a language more ancient than Leaf Lettering, which was the oldest known language of the Never Fairies. Queen Clarion explained that it was made by oldest race of fairies that ever lived in Never Land, who lived eons before the first Never Fairy.
"Woah," said Tink breathlessly, "if I could only figure out how this works…maybe if I took it apart and-"
"NO! "Lord Milori shouted. He realized his mistake and said, "Forgive me, Miss Bell. I shouldn't have shouted. But there is one thing I must make absolutely clear right now-no matter how much you are tempted, DO NOT TAMPER WITH THIS DEVICE, I repeat, DO NOT TAMPER WITH THIS DEVICE. Messing with it can cause a number of untold problems. You might never find your way back home. I know you don't usually like following the rules, but please, just this once, listen to us. Okay?"
Tinker Bell nodded timidly.
Queen Clarion explained how the time machine worked. As the group got ready to leave, she said, "Time is also of the essence. It may sound strange, knowing you hold a device that controls time in your possession, but time moves forward in the present when you are gone."
:"Got it," said Vidia.
The fairies held hands as Tinker Bell disappeared with her friends to the beginning days of the Hollow.
Lord Milori said, "Do you think we can trust them? I mean, much is at stake here and I'm worried about what Tinker Bell could do. She could get the other fairies and herself hurt."
"I know," said Queen Clarion, putting her hand on his shoulder, "but it's the best chance we got."