Finding Never Land
Ch. 14
Tinker Bell and her friends spent some two weeks at sea. Silvermist enjoyed the ride the most, waxing nostalgic about the streams back in Pixie Hollow while marveling at the wondrous marine life of the Atlantic. Tinker Bell was more interested in the inner workings of the ship while Rosetta complained relentlessly about how the sea air was damaging her hair. Fawn, on the other hand, was seasick during the entire voyage.
Dr. Martin Griffiths and his daughter Lizzy enjoyed the accommodations and brought their fairy friends food and water every day. Dr. Griffiths was even able to secure a tour of the vessel's engine room so Tinker Bell could have a look at the ship's power plant. Terence was too involved with managing the pixie dust rations to notice the ocean during the first week. Once Tinker Bell learned all she could about the ship she managed to coax him topside to sit with her and enjoy the view.
Upon arriving the first thing everyone noticed about New York City was its sheer size. "Jingles!" Tink exclaimed. "We're never going to find Vidia here." During their trip, the mission had kept all of the fairies full of energy and focus. Now in the shadow of this new city it all evaporated. A map showing that part of what they were seeing was in fact New Jersey and not New York did not renew their enthusiasm.
"She could be anywhere," Iridessa said, anxiously studying the map. "In New York or New Jersey or Massachusetts or one of these islands. She could be in Texas for all we know. Oh no. We could be here forever and never find Vidia. Ever. What'll we do?"
"We can't give up now," Lizzy told her fairy friends. "Where would you go if you were lost in a strange city?"
"Of course!" Tink yelled. "I might look for…, for…, I don't know what I would look for."
"What about other fairies?" Fawn suggested. "Maybe she found some that live nearby."
"Oh, sugarplum, there aren't any fairies outside of Never Land," Rosetta replied. "We're all there is."
Then Silvermist had a thought. "What if she took another boat back to England? She might be home already."
"We would have come all this way for nothing," Terence commented. "So, now what?"
"Let's not assume she's gone just yet," Dr. Griffiths offered. "Is there anyway of signaling her? Something only she would understand when she sees it?"
Terence went wide eyed. "I huge explosion of pixie dust."
Everyone turned to look at him, surprised by his remark. Did he actually suggest that? The very same sparrow man who become obsessed with rationing pixie dust to the point of making everyone move around the ship in Martin's shirt pocket?
"Uh, Terence, are you feeling okay?" Tinker Bell asked.
"I'm fine. Listen, it actually makes sense. If we fly all over the city for weeks on end looking for her we'll use up all of our dust," he said. "A display of pixie dust which only she could interpret would actually be the most efficient use of our supply."
"But this city is so big, we might need more than one," Silvermist replied. "And if she misses it, then what?"
"Hmmm… she has a point," Tink said.
"Hey, I've got it," Iridessa said, her anxiety waning. "Terence you were on the right track. Instead of pixie dust, what about a display of our talents. Remember the Four Seasons Festival? We could do a larger version of our show. Silvermist can provide the water formation, Fawn can gather fireflies and I can provide the light from the moon."
"Just one problem, Dess, honey," Rosetta replied. "No moon. Anyone notice how cloudy and gloomy it is? It's like the grime and dust in this city has blotted out the sky."
"And that water looks awfully brown," Silvermist observed.
"What about the streetlamps?" Fawn suggested. "Gaslight provides some illumination. Maybe we can use that?"
Iridessa sighed. "It might be all we can work with."
"But where would we do this?" Lizzy asked.
"The tallest building?" Tink suggested.
"What about that out there?" Martin said, pointing to an island with the towering Statue of Liberty as it's only resident.
"Yeah. It could work," Tink effervesced with a huge grin on her face. "Okay, guys, let's start working out how big we need to make our show," Tink stated.
"A colleague of mine suggested a fine restaurant near the docks," Dr. Griffiths suggested. "We can get a good meal while we work."
"Sounds like a plan."
~O~
It had been so long since her fairies had left to find Vidia. Queen Clarion paced around her Pixie Dust Tree almost every day. She knew it would take time, weeks to sail there, then find her and weeks more to return. The anxiety of not knowing had become oppressive and each day that passed only increased her apprehension. It got so bad that some of her work slid aside when her mind could not focus on her duties. Even a lunch date with her best friend Fairy Mary was a disaster.
"Oh, I hope you don't act like this the next time you see Lord Milori," she said. "You two might break up forever."
"Yes, that's nice," Clarion absentmindedly replied.
"Oh, and my tinker fairies were thinking of digging up a giant hole in the courtyard."
"Sounds good."
"And filling it with chocolate."
"Yes, that's fi-, what? Chocolate?"
"Oh, I'm just teasing. Don't worry. Tinker Bell and her friends have been through worse."
"You are quite correct, Fairy Mary," the queen had to admit. After all, that the little group was responsible for saving Pixie Hollow on several occasions. If they could face down human pirates, recover the blue pixie dust and recover Zarina, then finding Vidia in America couldn't be that hard.
Could it?
~O~
The R.M.S. Oceanic arrived in Liverpool on a glorious sunny afternoon. "We're here!" Rodney exclaimed. "Another couple of days and you'll be home free."
For the first time since leaving Brooklyn Vidia felt a sense of growing anticipation. A feeling that things were finally looking up. The two weeks at sea were like torture for the fast flyer. It was even worse than the boat ride to America. Now she had a weight on her shoulders unlike any she had known before. Watching the shores of England approach reinvigorated the little fast flyer.
"Okay, Rodney, now what?" she asked him, her eyes narrowed. Rodney could tell right away that her snarky attitude was returning.
"I've got a place here where we can stay the night," he told her. "It's a shop called The Four Beetles Music and Instruments. Then tomorrow we will have a full day to fly to London and then on to Never Land."
Never Land. That name never sounded so good to Vidia before now. "We'll be having tea with the queen morning after next. Now, let's find that music shop and get some rest. We've got a long flight ahead of us tomorrow."
The unlikely pair lifted off from the luxury liner even before it finished docking. On the way to his safe house, Rodney took Vidia to a nice eatery. He snuck in and stole a few scraps of food for them and they had a picnic on the roof.
"What is this called again?" she asked him, pointing to the delicious food on her plate.
Rodney identified the rich foods as Fettuccini Alfredo, ratatouille and for dessert spotted dick. He even managed to secure a bit of wine to accompany their feast. He then smiled and said, "I guess this makes it our first official date."
Vidia stopped her eating and scowled at him.
"Okay, okay. I was just kidding," he said, laughing it off. Inside, though, Rodney felt the pain of rejection. He had gotten to know and like Vidia. Apparently, she didn't think quite the same of him. Neither said another word through dinner. Their flight to the music shop was equally quiet.
When they arrived Rodney was in for a shock. "It's gone!"
The storefront where his safe house was located had changed hands. It was no longer The Four Beetles Music and Instruments; Paul, George, John and Ringo proprietors. Now it was some sort of apothecary and the wall where his sleeping quarters were situated had been razed.
"Great! Now what?" Vidia sassed. "Do we go back and sleep on the ship? Hey, maybe if we ask real nice the ship's captain will stay in dock until we leave tomorrow morning."
Rodney didn't let her needling to get him. Instead he looked around for an answer and saw something in the distance that jogged his memory. It was a plume of smoke that moved through the city. "Come on," he told Vidia.
"Where are you going?"
"We're going to take a train. We'll be in London half a day early."
The music shop is a reference to The Beatles who were from Liverpool.