Author's Note: The following portion of Out of the Shadows contains spoilers from Tinker Bell and the Legend of the Neverbeast. It also contains a small amount of graphic detail. Please read this exciting chapter advisedly.
The girls stood solemnly around Vidia's bed at the fairy hospital. At the nurse's insistence, Fawn had reluctantly released the hand she'd had in a death grip. However, she still stood as close to Vidia's left side as she could.
"Is she going to be ok?" Iridessa fretted. She wrung her hands and flitted close to the end of the bed.
"She had a very close call," the dark-haired nurse said. Her name was Amara. She spoke softly but candidly. "Another few seconds under the water and she might not have made it." A flash of pallor shot through each face. Amara hurried on, reassuringly, "But, she's going to be ok."
"Oh, thank heavens!" Rosetta patted Vidia's right hand.
"That's a relief!" Tinker Bell added from where she floated near Vidia's headboard. She was the only one who had the presence of mind to thank Amara, who momentarily gave the girls a few minutes alone with her patient.
Fawn closed her eyes in silent gratitude to the Fates and opened them to see Vidia smiling at her. Then, as her eyes scanned Vidia, she took in the weak state of her friend, and the rush of adrenaline began to fade away. Sorrow mixed with rage climbed into her heart.
"Why did this happen?" Fawn asked loudly and tearfully.
"I don't know, sug," Rosetta shook her head. "I don't know what's possessed Silvermist."
"S-surely, she didn't mean for this to happen," Iridessa stammered.
"You didn't see the look on her face when she shoved Vidia into the water," Fawn muttered darkly, causing Iridessa to wince slightly.
None of them had seen Fawn so harsh, but then again she, unlike the others, had never had to watch a friend die.
"This can't be Silvermist's fault," Tinker Bell said softly, the cogs in her brain turning furiously.
"She's obviously being forced somehow," Iridessa concurred.
"By what?" Vidia asked, flustered, lifting her hands in a shrug and letting them flap back down on the bed. "What in the realm of Neverland would make Silvermist hurt other fairies? What kind of enemy could we be up against?"
"Something darker than we've ever faced before," Tinker Bell said somberly.
The door swung open, startling the group of friends. The mahogany skinned nurse, Amara, had returned and was carrying new herbs and fresh blankets.
"Now, Miss Vidia," she began preparing steaming herbs for Vidia to sip. "You're going to be fine, as I said, but I'd like to monitor you overnight, just to be sure. And girls, visiting hours are almost up." In response to their saddened faces, she smiled and said, "I promise I'll take good care of her." They nodded slightly, and each in turn said goodbye and goodnight to Vidia. Fawn was last and reached for Vidia's hand one more time.
"I'm so glad you're safe," Fawn whispered, rubbing her thumb over Vidia's knuckles. She smiled and mouthed 'Good night' and flitted away into the darkness, leaving Vidia to wonder at the strange tickling sensation on her knuckles that Fawn's touch had left behind.
That night, while Vidia slept soundly, her body exhausted from the near-death experience, the warm evening wind blew through the open window, caressing her hair and kissing her cheeks. The crickets sang together in chorus, and the leaves whispered lullabies into the night.
Suddenly, the crickets ceased their music, the wind died down, and only silence remained. The chill that crept into the air woke Vidia from her slumber. Her eyes fluttered open just in time to see an eerie shadow slinking across the floor of her room. Too stunned to make any effort to see who the shadow belonged to, she was quickly overpowered by a black veil thrown over her face. Cold fingers slid down her throat, blocking the air from getting to her lungs, and she fell back into darkness.
Upon saying goodnight to Vidia, the four others meandered into the lobby of the Home Tree. For a while they talked casually about their jobs for tomorrow, attempting to avoid the stressful topics that piqued the back of their brains. Rosetta sat daintily on a settee with Iridessa. Tinker Bell was perched on a spool of thread, fiddling with a lost thing. Fawn was reclining against a wall with her arms crossed against her chest, staring out into the darkness. Each refused to go to sleep that night, admitting that the darkness seemed unfriendly. They debated at length as to what to do-Iridessa suggested a nice pot of tea and Rosetta considered soaking in a nice hot spring, both of which Fawn thought involved far too much water. Finally, Tinker Bell timidly spoke up.
"I really think...I-I mean, as much as I do not want to go over there...I really think we should check on Silvermist," Tinker Bell looked shamefully at the others. She felt as if she was trying to harbor an enemy.
"I-I don't know, Tink," Iridessa said, unsure of what to say next. She straightened her skirt in a nervous tic. She finally stuttered, "What if we upset her? What if she tries to hurt one of us?"
"No, Dess," Fawn's voice was soft, coming from the corner. "I think Tink's right. If something is wrong with Silvermist, we have to know what it is." Fawn tore her eyes away from the constellation she was memorizing, to look at them. "She's dangerous."
"I'm with Fawn," Rosetta admitted, though the grim line that her mouth was set in proved she wasn't happy about it.
"Ok, alright," Iridessa yelped as she stood up. "I'm just...a little nervous about going back there, s'all."
"We all are, sunflower," Rosetta nudged the light fairy's arm.
"Well," Tinker Bell sighed and hopped off her spool. "Let's get this over with."
Somberly, and apprehensively, they flew to the water fairy's house. This time, as they approached the blue door, they noticed it was closed tightly, and that the lights in the house were off. A strange silence clung to the place. Nothing moved. The trees and bushes were still. The pond was strangely free of ripples. Even the minnow was nowhere in sight. The bright moon created long shadows in the grasses.
Fear latched in Fawn's throat as she approached, sticking to her insides like she'd swallowed Tinker Bell's "Super Paste". The green-garbed tinker was first to the door. The others cowered behind her.
"Should I knock?" Tinker Bell asked. Her quiet whisper came out strident in the still night.
The others shook their heads.
"Just push it open," Fawn mouthed, to which Tinker Bell gave a quick nod.
Following Fawn's suggestion, she put her hand on the door's cool wood and added a slight amount of pressure. The door gave way easily to her prodding, and soon the moonlight was streaming into Silvermist's house. The girls peered inside, and nothing but blackness met their eyes. One by one, they entered the silent house. They blinked back the darkness that pressed against their eyeballs. Once their eyes had grown accustomed to the dark, they noticed that the furniture was in disarray. The curtains were torn. The pictures on the wall, of Silvermist's favorite places and people, had been smashed.
"What happened here?" Tinker Bell whispered. "Did Sil do this?"
The girls stared back at her in terror, and a sudden muffled thumping met their ears. They all jumped, stifling their screams before they could burst from their lips.
"Sorry!" Iridessa squeaked. "M-my knees...they keep knocking t-together."
"Well, tell them to quit it!" Rosetta whispered at the trembling light-talent.
They looked around the house for a moment in silence, bewildered by the obvious effort that had gone into trashing Silvermist's house. They didn't know what had become of her, but they knew that it was worse than they thought before. Tinker Bell examined the broken furniture, picturing how she might fix it, trying to keep her focus on something she could control. Rosetta pondered the amount of dust in the usually tidy fairy's house.
"G-guys," Fawn's voice was barely audible from where she knelt, trembling, in a far corner of the room. "I-I found her minnow." Fawn's voice broke as she said the last word. Her friends quickly flitted to her side and looked down at the horror that she held in her arms. Silvermist's beloved minnow had not only been dragged out of it's pond and left in the air to suffocate, but it's eyes had been plucked from it's head and it's fins had been torn off.
"Oh dear god," Rosetta put a hand to her cheek. Tinker Bell looked sick. Fawn's eyes were filled with tears for the innocent animal she held in her hands. She stroked it's scales tenderly.
A thudding met their ears.
"Oh, for god's sake, Iridessa!" Rosetta growled, turning swiftly towards the sound. Nothing was there.
"I'm over here, guys," Iridessa called from the corner near the door. She had not been brave enough to wander further in the house and now there was no way she was making that noise.
"It's coming from the other room guys," Tinker Bell pointed towards a half closed door that looked even darker than the rest of the house.
"Do you think it's Sil?" Fawn asked, gently laying the minnow's head down on the floor.
"There's one way to find out," Tinker Bell replied, and slowly started for the door.
