Inside the hospital, a healing talent sparrow man and two nurse talent fairies were tending to Tinker Bell's various wounds. By this time her blackened eye had closed up completely and the bite had stopped bleeding. She had to explain a bit about why her dress was torn and was wearing a dust talent's vest. Tink flinched every time a nurse talent fairy applied lemon juice as a sterilizing agent to each cut and scrape. One nurse talent left the room and returned shortly with a bag filled with ice. Tinker Bell was instructed to place it on her swollen eye and remove it at fifteen minute intervals.
"Why not a piece of mushroom?" the tinker asked.
The healing talent sparrow man smiled and replied, "That's just an old pixie's tale. Now tell me again how your dress was ripped?"
"I told you, I was attacked by a firefly. Uh…, during the assault it hit me square in the gut; I tried to swat the firefly away with my hand, but accidentally tore my dress. I probably caught my hand in it and ripped it by accident."
"I see," the healing talent said, "and the dust talent who is waiting outside came to your rescue?"
"No, the firefly suddenly stopped and left. Terence came along a moment later and gave me his vest so I could, well…."
The doctor smiled. He then continued, "So he wasn't present at this attack by the firefly?"
"No, Terence arrived later," Tink answered.
"And does this firefly have a name?"
Tinker Bell became very nervous. If I tell him Blaze's name they would track him down, capture him, maybe even banish him from Pixie Hollow or Never Land. I would never see him again. If I lie and get caught, Blaze will still be in trouble and no one will trust me ever again. The more she thought about it, though, the easier the decision became.
"No, I don't know who h-, it was," she said, her voice trembling with fear, "it was just a firefly."
The healing talent glanced over to one of the nurse fairies who promptly left the room. The doctor and the remaining nurse continued to work on Tinker Bell's injuries. After some time the tinker fairy was finally released from her room. She had small bandages all over covering the different wounds and a larger bandage wrapped around the bite on her arm.
The doctor instructed Tinker Bell to apply lemon juice regularly to her wounds to prevent them from becoming infected. Additionally, she was given a bottle of pellets made from a compressed powder. The powder was an extract from mold that killed infections inside the body. The instructions called for one every four hours with food until all taken, about a five day supply.
Stepping out into the corridor Tink was about to go to the waiting room where Terence was no doubt pacing nervously, but she heard a commotion from further inside the hospital. Curious, she debated leaving with Terence now or going further down the corridor. Curiosity won out, which seemed to be a constant in her life. After looking around for anyone who might stop her and finding no one, she moved towards the odd noise. As she got closer the noise became the odd word or a snatch of a sentence. Still watching for staff with her good eye Tink finally got close enough that she could see where the noise was coming from.
An emergency room was occupied; the firefly that sat above the door was using a blue color filter indicating a life threatening situation. Tink listened carefully to the chatter from behind the closed palm fronds that served as a door. There were several people inside and their conversations constantly overlapped so Tink had trouble understanding all that was said.
Stepping a little closer she heard this bit of dialogue:
"Okay, she's out of the webbing," one voice said.
"That took forever. Let's get her dress off. Look for any injuries, wounds or other markings of a struggle," another voice added.
"What happened?" a third voice asked
"Some kind of arachnid attack," the first voice replied.
A spider attack? Why? How? Was it like Blaze attacking me? Tinker Bell kept listening.
"…pulse is slow, the patient is unconscious and pupils are dilated and unresponsive," the second voice said.
"Who is she? Where did they find her?" the third voice asked.
"She's a garden fairy who paints leaves; she was found in the Autumn Woods. Her name is Dolly," the first voice replied.
Dolly? Did they say Dolly? I know her.
"Do they know which spider did this?" the third voice asked. That third voice was full of questions, he wasn't a healing or nurse talent.
"I found puncture marks," a different voice yelled, "upper right arm, near the shoulder."
"Show me," the first voice directed. "Confirmation on the spider bite, I need anti venom."
"Doctor, do they know which spider did this?" the third voice demanded.
"I think scouts were sent to capture it," the doctor replied.
"Thank you, doctor," the third voice said, "I will want a full report when you are finished."
"You'll get it," the doctor said, sounding highly irritated.
Tinker Bell turned to leave when she heard something from the room that stopped her dead in her tracks.
"She's stopped breathing!" a voice yelled.
"I've still got a heartbeat, but it's getting weaker," a different voice said.
"Get a hollow reed down her throat," the doctor yelled out. "Where in the Winter Woods is that anti venom?"
"Got it," someone said.
"What is your purpose here," a deep, authoritative sounding voice demanded.
Oh no! Busted.
Tinker Bell turned around to see two members of the royal guard hovering directly in front of her, each holding a spear made from precious metal.
"Uh, just got released and I'm heading home," she said. It was partly true.
"Then do so," the guard stated flatly. The two moved further down the corridor.
There was that darn curiosity again. Tinker Bell fluttered a few inches away and then hid behind the corner. Peering around she watched as the guards kept moving until they came to the emergency room where Dolly was being worked on. The two then took positions on either side of the door standing with feet shoulder width apart, the free arm behind the back and the spears angled as to block the doorway.
Very strange, she thought.
From the room a sparrow man emerged, the guards snapped to attention, retracting the spears in the process. Tink recognized the clothing; he was an official from Queen Clarion's court, a messenger talent who worked only for the crown. He must have been sent here to find out what happened.
Boy, news travels fast, she thought.
As the official moved along the two guards immediately went back to their previous position. Not wanting to be caught, Tinker Bell quickly stepped back and flitted to the waiting room.
Tink's thoughts were filled with worry and dread; her stomach felt like twisted knots just thinking about what she heard. She remembered Dolly's arrival day and how happy the garden fairies were to have another one who could paint the leaves, especially since Dolly's talent glow was very bright. Not as bright as Tink's or Vidia's, but it left quite the impression on those assembled. In her short time in Pixie Hollow, the garden talent developed a good reputation as a hard and dependable worker, a quick study who loved her talent and above all possessing a sweet and cheery disposition.
Of course, Dolly was also more likely to play things closer to the flower petals. She wasn't as daring, adventurous or as stubborn and pigheaded as Tinker Bell was, but the garden fairy did have a button nose, eyes that practically sparkled with joy and energy and a smile that could light up the darkness itself. Good thing Iridessa wasn't the envious type.
Now she was in that emergency room dying, or maybe even dead by now. She barely had any time in Pixie Hollow, never even had the chance to visit the mainland and see how great it was. Dolly could have visited Lizzy and her father; taken a late night swing around Big Ben or just see the city lights which looked so beautiful when seen from high above, almost like the stars in the sky.
Pull through, Dolly, I know you can make it.
When Tinker Bell entered the waiting room from the hospital ward she found Terence sitting in a chair and reading a magazine…, although he was holding it upside down. This awkward image of her friend almost helped to ease the worry she felt. Tinker Bell was about to flit over to him when Viola, a summoning talent entered the waiting area. Tink stood aside to let her through, but the summoner flew directly to her.
"Tinker Bell and Terence you have both been summoned to the court of her royal highness, Queen Clarion," Viola announced.
Oh no, now what did we do? Wait? Could she already know about what happened? Stay calm, Tink, don't blab like last time, the little tinker fairy told herself. Queen Clarion doesn't need to know about Blaze.
"Come with me," the summoner demanded. Tink and Terence followed immediately behind her.