10.

The search parties had found nothing. There had been no sign of Maurice in two days. Denny went looking for him at his home, his friend's homes, even his favorite spots to sit back and relax. There was not a single clue as to what happened to him. Some of the other light talents began to wonder if the hawk had taken him. "No! He made it," Denny insisted. "We just have to keep looking."

Nyx was called in to oversee the search teams. Iridessa took one group, Denny took a second and Nyx was to lead the third. More than thirty fairies were involved. Hours were spent looking high and low for the missing sparrow man. Some of the fairies who volunteered, though, became frightened as they went deeper into the forests. The rumors of animals eating fairies alive were becoming rampant. It slowed down the search as at least one team refused to go any further into the dense brush. Nyx had to take her own party into the area in question, though they found nothing of consequence.

Several of the fairies and sparrow men expected Nyx to upbraid them for being so jittery and squeamish. They were surprised when she didn't. This only caused murmurs among the search members. Did she know something they didn't? Why wasn't she telling them? Who else knew? Did the queen know? Why hadn't Queen Clarion said anything? Why was she keeping it a secret? Maybe it was too frightening? Iridessa nearly fainted when the wild speculation got that far.

"Okay, that's enough," Nyx finally yelled. "You're scaring yourselves silly over nothing. Now stop talking and start looking."

When every reasonable place was searched and even a few unreasonable places had been as well the teams decided it was time to give up. Even Denny, who had been adamant that Maurice had survived the hawk began to cast doubts on his own confidence.

Nyx wasn't ready to give in. The day before she was given this assignment, Nyx's supervisor reiterated what Queen Clarion had said with an easy to remember axiom of his own. "The queen is right," he told her. "You see, but you do not observe. You take what is on the surface and immediately assume it is the truth. But from experience I can tell you that there is nothing as deceptive as an obvious fact. You have great talent, Nyx, immense potential. However, this one failing has always been your Achilles' heel. Grow beyond this limitation, my friend, and you will finally be ready as my successor."

Then Nyx muttered something else he told her, "When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth." At this moment she began to work on a theory. Nyx brought Iridessa with her into the underground bunker where Denny and others had taken shelter from the hawk.

"What are we looking for?" Dessa asked the scout.

"The improbable," Nyx replied.

"What?"

"Something that is out of place," the scout instructed. Iridessa followed Nyx's lead and both began to feel the walls of the shelter with the palms of their hands. The vertical earthworks were sheer, hard packed and solid. The two slowly felt their way around to the back where they immediately ran into a problem. Other scouts were propping up the roof of the shelter to let the sunlight in. However, one side of the shelter was still shrouded in dark shadows.

Dessa grabbed the sunlight and bathed the entire area with a bright glow. Nyx started pressing her hands against the walls again, feeling for anything incongruent. Near one corner she found what she was looking for.

"This soil is loose," she declared. Nyx began digging out the dirt, pulling it in handfuls that disintegrated almost instantly. She also began to encounter what Beck identified as Earthworm dung. It was what enriched the soil. "I need some help down here," the scout called out.

Quickly she received assistance from Denny and Beck who began to pull the dirt from the wall until suddenly it caved in. Deep inside the wall, nearly at floor level was Maurice. His face was covered up by an Earthworm all the way to his shoulders. Both were dead. Maurice from asphyxiation and the worm from attempting to eat what it was not meant to digest.

"Oh no, it's true," someone above yelled in a fearful voice. "The animals are eating us alive."

"Clear those fairies out of here," Nyx yelled. "Clear them all out. NOW!"

The scouts which were not at present holding up the shelter roof dispersed the crowd. Nyx was afraid this might blow the lid off of what Queen Clarion was trying desperately to hide. Now she needed to inform the queen of her findings. Maybe, just maybe, it was time to let everyone know.

~O~

"Nice day isn't it?" Terence asked Tinker Bell as he looked up at the clear sky and felt the warm sun on his face. He then turned to look at her, waiting for her answer.

Tinker Bell was recovering from her physical wounds nicely. The psychological ones, though, were taking longer. She still suffered through bouts of weeping and depression. Blaze wasn't going to be banished for what he did, but she still felt badly that she turned him in. More than that was the mystery of why he did what he did. Blaze and Tinker Bell were close friends. He played a crucial role when Tinker Bell left Pixie Hollow to try and fix the broken moon stone. He was an unwanted passenger at first, but the two bonded quickly and he proved his worth over and over again.

Upon returning with Tink and Terence and the completed Fall Scepter, Blaze was welcomed into the world of the Never fairies. He made friends with the other fireflies in Pixie Hollow and he lived with them. But Blaze always knew he had a place in Tink's home just for him. He was her friend, her protector and at times her confidant. On days when she was feeling particularly distressed or just needed an ear to tug on he was there for her. And when the weather turned nasty or Blaze got scared, Tink would always take him in.

That's why it was so strange and unbelievable when he beat her up the way he did. She knew something had to be wrong, but Tink had no idea what it was. Adding in what Blaze testified there were now more questions than answers. Thankfully, Terence was here for her. He did everything he could to take care of her. She loved him. And watching how he responded these last few days Tink was certain he loved her back.

"Yes, it is," she said, taking in the gorgeous blue sky. Tinker Bell had been cooped up in her tea kettle home since the day of the attack. Terence and her friends brought her food, water and kept her up on all the juicy gossip. Now she needed some time out of the house and Terence was kind enough to accompany her on a pleasant stroll through Pixie Hollow.

The black eye Tinker Bell had received during the strange altercation with Blaze was mostly gone now. Only a very slight discoloration remained. Otherwise her cherubic face looked as lovely as ever. Terence would regularly peer into her deep blue eyes and smile. There was a warm softness about them and they were absolutely beautiful in his estimation. Just as beautiful as she was. While they walked, they seemed to gravitate closer and closer to each other. As they neared the Pixie Dust Depot his hand began to brush up against hers. Then, her pinky finger casually looped around his.

The two were about to start holding hands when suddenly two sparrow men appeared in the air above them. They were Bolt and Stone, dust keepers who worked with Terence and often teased him about his affections for Tinker Bell.

"Hi, Terence," Bolt greeted with what appeared to be a sly grin.

"Hi, Bolt," Terence responded. Tink and Terence looked at each other and then down at each other's hands. Sadly, their fingers weren't touching anymore. The disappointment was palpable. His face seemed to convey an apology.

"It's okay," she whispered to him. He smiled back at her.

"What do you guys want?" Terence asked.

"Oh nothing really, we were curious about Tinker Bell," Stone replied. "How are you feeling?"

Based solely on the tone of Stone's voice, Terence could easily guess they were up to something.

Many of Terence's peers usually enjoyed some good-natured ribbing at his expense. It was usually in regard to affections for Tink. Fairy Gary would generally encourage the other dust keepers. Sometimes he would even join in. However, when left to their own devices Bolt and Stone could take things beyond harmless joshing. That was the feeling Terence got from them today so he readied himself for their unique brand of needling.

"I'm fine," Tink answered. "Doing much better, thank you."

Bolt and Stone looked at each other and nodded. It suddenly dawned on Terence that Tinker Bell might not take their brand of humor so well. She was, after all, famous for her temper as well as her tinkering. "Uh, guys. Maybe another ti-."

"Oh good," Bolt said, putting their playful jab into motion. "We were thinking you might have something special planned for today."

"Yeah," Stone continued. "Particularly after that eventful day you guys had a couple of weeks ago.

"Stone and I were wondering if you were looking for a secluded spot to pick up where you left off."

Both Terence and Tinker Bell were utterly confused. "Continue what?" Tinker Bell asked.

"Oh, you know." Stone winked at Terence. Then he grabbed his vest and threw it open, squealing with delight. Bolt dropped his mouth agape, his tongue hanging out and a silly grin was plastered all over his face.

Terence instantly knew what they meant. He felt terrible for Tinker Bell. Then he turned angry. "That! Didn't! Happen!" he said, punctuating it for emphasis. But it did not matter now, the damage was done.

"You told them?!" Tinker Bell screamed. When Terence looked at her, that warm softness in her eyes was gone. It was replaced by the cold, hard fury of a woman scorned. Her lovely cherubic face was beet red. Terence could almost see the figurative smoke steaming out of her ears.

"No. I said nothing," he tried to explain.

"You promised you wouldn't tell anyone," she yelled back, tears now flowing from her eyes.

"I didn't," said Terence, desperate to plead his case. "I didn't tell one single soul."

"No! You told two of them," Tink spat, throwing it back into his face. This betrayal stung her badly. That venom was keenly felt in every word she spit out. "You're a heel, Terence. A nasty, awful, no good liar! I thought you were my friend and you do this behind my back."

"Tink wait," he said. Terence tried to reach out and calm her. She didn't take it well.

"DON'T TOUCH ME!" she screeched. "You broke your promise and for what? A good laugh with your friends? Well I hope you enjoyed yourself because that is the last laugh you'll ever have at my expense. I NEVER WANT TO SEE YOU AGAIN!" she said, screaming into his face. Tinker Bell did a quick turn and tried to fly away. Terence took hold of her hand begging to explain. Tinker Bell whirled around and slapped him across the face as hard as she could. He let her go as he winced in pain. Tink then lit off, back in the direction of Tinker's Nook and home.

"Tink, please," he said, barely a whisper. She was so far away now. He felt awful for her. It was a mortifying enough moment for her that day. Now this. He wheeled around and shot daggers at Bolt and Stone who were laughing as hard as they could. "That! Never! Happened!" he said chewing them out.

"Oh no, of course it didn't," Stone replied with a knowing look on his face. "It's always the quiet ones. The person no one would ever suspect."

"Yeah," Bolt added. "I'm sure you ne-ever took a peek at Tinker Bell's… peaks," he said directly to Terence. Both then fell to the ground in fits of hysterics.

Terence, fueled by his rising anger, grabbed Bolt by the collar of his tunic and pulled him up to meet Terence's deathly glare. "What do you mean?" he said through gritted teeth.

"Oh come on, Terence. Drop the choir boy act," Bolt answered. "Hey, she had a torn dress and you took the opportunity to get an eyeful. Who wouldn't? Tink is pretty cute. And that dress."

"I would never do that. Never!" Terence spat.

Bolt and Stone looked at each other and in sing song voices replied, "Su-ure!"

"What's the big deal?" Stone asked.

"Because she is mad," Terence snarled. "She's mad at me. Because of you she thinks I broke her trust. She'll never speak to me again."

"Oh yes she will," Bolt replied. "Tink is like all women. They're never going to speak to you ever again for all of about two weeks."

"I don't care about that," Terence clarified. "As far as she is concerned I can never be trusted again. Our friendship is shattered thanks to you. Now go and tell her the truth."

"What truth? That you couldn't keep your eyes off of her? Sure!" Stone said with a silly grin.

Terence realized he wasn't getting anywhere with these two. They were absolutely certain that their version of events was precisely what happened. He changed his tactics. "How did you know? Were you spying on us? Or did someone tell you? ANSWER ME!"

The normally easy going and level headed Terence had had his fill of Bolt and Stone. It took quite a bit to make him mad. And even when he was angry Terence usually found some way to restrain himself to a degree. But not when it came to Tinker Bell. Not anymore. She was like his berserk button. Push him too far and he would become her heroic protector. Nothing would stop him from keeping her safe. He proved it chasing after her when she went off by herself to fix the moonstone. He risked his status within the dust keeping guild by stealing extra pixie dust to go and find her.

Now Bolt and Stone had gone too far. Much too far. They crossed a line that was beyond their normal shenanigans. What they were insinuating could ruin Tinker Bell's good name. Terence wasn't about to let that happen. It didn't matter if Tink never spoke to him again. His first priority was protecting Tinker Bell. To that end Terence began to flail Bolt around, shaking his coworker's head violently by the neck as he kept pressing for more information. "Tell me how you knew about it?"

"That's enough, Terence," Fairy Gary shouted. The three dust keepers stopped cold in their tracks. "I will not have my workers acting this way. Especially in public. My Office. Now!"

Author's Note: There are three Sherlock Holmes quotes included. "You see, but you do not observe." "There is nothing as deceptive as an obvious fact." And "When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth."

Thank you for reading. If you like this story so far, please leave a review. Your feedback is always appreciated.