13.
"Greetings, Your Majesty," Tinker Bell said with a sheepish grin on her face.
Silvermist then waved her hand and added, "So, how is your day?"
This provoked groans from the other girls. Tinker Bell face palmed while Vidia braced her head with her hands as if it were in excruciating agony from the sheer embarrassment.
Silvermist, confused, replied, "I was only trying to make small talk."
Fortunately, the queen seemed distracted to notice this absurd little scene. Instead, she looked wistfully at the room, gliding around and seeming to recall fond memories from so long ago. "I have not been here in such a long time. It seems as if it were a lifetime ago. Oh how I worked so diligently to try and forget this place."
Rosetta nudged the fairy next to her as if saying, see, I was right.
Tinker Bell, who was perpetually curious, stepped forward and in a meek voice asked. "Why?"
"Why? Why what?" Clarion replied.
"Why did you build this? And why abandon it?"
Clarions stopped in her tracks. The rush of crushing memories raced through her mind and she grabbed hold of Milori's chair with both hands as if to prop herself up. "Always full of questions, tinkers are," Clarion observed, this was clearly a weight on her shoulders. "Very well. Come with me."
~O~
On the opposite side of the cavern wall where they entered was another passageway. This was dug out from the rock and soon descended into the earth of the warm seasons. Tinker Bell and all of her friends had to stop and sprinkle a pinch of Zarina's special dust upon themselves to transform from winter fairies back into their birth talents. The three frost fairies who were among them, Periwinkle, Gliss and Spike, each chose a warm talent dust so they could proceed. Periwinkle, as usual, chose tinker like her sister. Gliss, simply as a lark, chose water while Spike became a storm fairy saying it matched her attitude.
The passageway had been blocked by the overgrowth of roots from the trees which grew above them. Clarion, with a simple and graceful wave of her hand, commanded these roots to stand aside and suddenly the way was clear.
The flight to their new destination seemed to take longer than before. The fears in their hearts made the trip seem far worse than it actually was. No one spoke as the queen led the way. Each fairy, with Tinker Bell up front, followed one by one. Each person's mind focused not on what lay ahead, but on what their fate might be.
Finally they came upon a door. It slid open to another writing closet. This was made of wood and just like the other one where began their quest, this one contained copious amounts of ink wells, writing plumes, loose sheets of parchment and bindings to fix books. It seemed fitting.
Clarion shut the secret panel and then opened the double doors to a large rotunda filled with books upon level after level of shelves. At the center of the room was a lovely desk where one book was open and an entry was clearly in the process of being written.
"Where are we?" Tinker Bell asked quietly.
"This is my private study," Queen Clarion informed them. "Here I am undisturbed to think my deepest thoughts, to wax philosophical on the events of the day and contemplate any new laws presented to me by my advisors. I read, I write and when the spirit moves me, I may even giggle for no good reason other than it feels good. This is my sanctuary, my personal space guarded against the rigors of the outside world."
Fawn leaned over to Rosetta and whispered. "Gee, I just use the bathroom."
"I suppose it's time you learned the truth," the regent sighed. Clarion motioned to a couch filled with the most luxurious pillows. Tink and her friends sat and watched as the queen tapped on the giant double doors and one of her Helper Talents brought a tray with a tea service and crumpets. The ruler poured each girl a cup of hot tea and served each one a pastry to nibble on as she began her story.
"I was not always queen," she told them. "Upon arrival, a different queen ruled the land. Her name was Mab. She was at the end of her reign and I was the heir apparent, Princess Clarion. For the next several years I was to learn from Queen Mab, her advisors and the appointed instructors so I would be appropriately prepared to wear the crown upon her passing. I studied law, leadership, tactics and strategy, diplomacy, conflict resolution, philosophy and many other subjects necessary to make a wise ruler out of me.
"While a student I happened to meet a handsome young man named Milori who was himself a recent arrival and was also the Lord of Winter. At first I thought him a pompous oaf, however, as I more keenly observed him it became quite clear he was a good man with a generous heart. I fell in love. Surprisingly, he reciprocated those feelings. We began a proper courtship.
"Mab, however, disapproved. She strongly believed that marrying for love was dangerous. It made a regent weak and unable to lead. In her view such 'a useless and crippling emotion,' as she described it, only divided loyalties and in a crisis would force a leader to choose between her lover and her people. I ignored her advice and chose to continue. Mab would not allow it. She forbade me from ever seeing Lord Milori in any capacity except when dictated by my duties as heir apparent.
"She insisted that if I were to seek a mate she would choose one for me. I was forced into a prearranged marriage. The sparrow man she selected truly was a pompous oaf. I disliked him immediately and our engagement proceeded according to a schedule prescribed by Queen Mab herself. I was heartbroken and felt as if I was destined to lead an empty and unfulfilled life.
"A ray of hope appeared in the form of a young and very talented tinker fairy named Mary. Yes, the very same person you know as Fairy Mary. Then she was not yet the overseer, just one of the many workers in her talent guild. We had become great friends during my training. I discovered that she wasn't just talented, but a fine leader and an excellent manager. People gravitated to her willingly and felt at ease in her company. When the Tinker Guild Overseer decided it was time retire, she submitted her name for consideration and I endorsed her selection most enthusiastically.
"She was my best friend, my support system, my confidant and a willing partner in crime. Like me, she believed that one should marry for love. Mary, sneaky thing that she is, was able to arrange secret liaisons between Milori and me. She never chose the same location twice and thoroughly vetted every person she enlisted in our little mischief. I must confess it was quite thrilling sneaking about under the queen's nose.
"Meeting out in the open, though, was a dangerous proposition. Mab was stern queen who did not tolerate disobedience well. She had my every movement watched and her willing spies reported immediately any deviation from my schedule. We were soon discovered and the people closest to me suffered harshly. Milori was banished to remain in the Winter Woods forever while Mary, who was the front runner to become the new Tinker Guild Overseer, was removed from consideration and permanently barred from seeking that office ever again.
"Oh dear," Rosetta gasped.
"What did you do?" Tinker Bell asked.
"That was why the tunnels were built," Clarion replied. "Mary used existing gopher tunnels which were no longer in use to form the passage from the Pixie Dust Tree. The winter fairies, who took it as an affront that their Lord of Winter was confined for all time to one season, willingly helped dig the tunnel from the library to our meeting place in the cavern.
"It was the perfect subterfuge. I would give the appearance of retiring to my study and Milori, who was also being carefully watched, would appear as if he were spending long periods of time in the library learning our histories from The Keeper of All Fairy Knowledge. Oh what wonderful moments we shared in that cavern. The sumptuous meals, the tender way he held me while we danced. And his voice was so luxurious when reading love poetry. He could make an operations manual sound romantic."
The fairies giggled in spite of themselves when they heard this. "Well it all sounds perfect," Rosetta commented. "What went wrong?"
"Wait a minute," Tinker Bell interrupted. "You said Lord Milori was banished to the Winter Woods. Wasn't he always confined to his season?"
"Oh dear, didn't you know?" Clarion responded, aghast.
"Know what?" the little green fairy asked.
"Oh, well, I thought you did. You see, dear, Pixie Hollow used to be four seasons united. This kingdom was once whole."
"Huh? I don't get it?" Zarina asked.
"I think she means winter and warm fairies didn't have to stay on their side of the border," Silvermist guessed.
"Yes, that's right. All fairies could travel to the four seasons without fear of injury. It was just as common to see winter talents in the summer gardens as it was to see warm fairies in the Frost Forest."
The girls gasped when they heard this news. "That's amazing," one said. "Incredible," said another.
"What changed all of that?" Periwinkle wanted to know, echoing the unspoken sentiment of her friends. "Why was our world divided?"
"We were betrayed."