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Chapter 1: Coughs and Chills

Life in Pixie Hollow couldn't get any sweeter for Zarina, or so she thought. Not only was she restored to her position as a dust-keeper, but she was allowed to use her talent for experimenting with pixie dust to benefit Pixie Hollow and had become another member of Tinker Bell's circle of friends.

However, Zarina wasn't entirely happy. When she had become the Pirate Fairy, she thought she had fallen in with a crowd that understood her. But instead, they had been using her for their own petty ends, and the last nail in the proverbial coffin came when that pirate James had attempted to drown her, only for Tink and her friends to intervene and save her life. She couldn't deny that the betrayal still hurt, but she still repaid her debt to Tink and the others by restoring their proper talents. Unfortunately, being saved from drowning in cold water didn't come without a price.

It was a rather hot day in Pixie Hollow, which wasn't surprising since the winter fairies had gone to the Mainland to bring winter to the world. However, the temperature did not sit well with Zarina, who had been sniffling since early morning. She did her best to keep her mind on her work, but that all changed when as she was collecting some dust from the Pixie Dust Tree, Zarina sneezed and flew backwards straight into the well of golden dust and came out looking as though she had been touched by King Midas. Terence flitted over to her and helped her out of the well.

"Zarina, are you all right?" he asked.

"I don't think so," Zarina said with a sniffle. "I've had a stuffy nose since morning, and I just sneezed myself into the Pixie Dust Well. I think I'm a little sick."

The other dust keepers flew over to Zarina and one of the girls felt Zarina's forehead. She said, "Terence, she's not joking. Zarina's running a temperature here."

Thinking quickly, Terence and another dust keeper allowed Zarina to put an arm around their shoulders, and together they flew off to visit the healer fairies. Once Zarina was being looked over, Terence went to inform Tinker Bell and the others what had happened.

…

Tinker Bell was fixing a couple of carts at Tinker's Nook while Bobble and Clank were out on delivery. Each of them had broken axles or missing wheels and needed to be mended in preparation for the autumn fairies' departure in a few months. Fortunately, she had something sturdier than a twig to use as an axle. Tink had taken to using nails which had washed up on Never Land as lost things, but they were often rusty, so she had invented a brew of oil mixed with pixie dust to cleanse them before use and it worked like a charm.

For the moment, Tinker Bell had nothing on her mind except her work. That's when Terence arrived, and he looked like he'd just flown to the mainland and back. Fortunately, Tinker Bell saw him and thought she could put her work aside for a minute or two. She flew over to her friend and said, "Hi, Terence. I wasn't expecting to see you here."

"Tink, I have some bad news," Terence said with a worried looked. "It's about Zarina."

Tinker Bell was suddenly worried too, for although she had been friends with Zarina for a short while, everyone in Pixie Hollow was a friend to her whether in her inner circle or not, and she was so kindhearted that she never liked seeing her friends in distress.

"Is Zarina all right?" Tink asked her friend.

"She's sick with a fever," explained Terence. "She was just collecting pixie dust at the Tree when she sneezed herself into the well."

Tinker Bell's concern rose higher. She wanted Zarina to get better quickly, and she soon had an idea of how she could help. "I'll find the girls and we'll be right over. I shouldn't be long."

…

Tinker Bell found Rosetta planting her sproutlings with some help with Iridessa and Silvermist. As she glided down to meet them, Rosetta saw her first and said, "Well, good mornin', Tinker Bell. How are the carts comin' along?"

"They're going good right now, Ro, but we have a big emergency," replied Tinker Bell. "Zarina's sick with a fever. Terence told me about it back at Tinker's Nook. That's when I took off to find you."

Rosetta, Silvermist, and Iridessa shared saddened looks at hearing Zarina's predicament, and Iridessa said, "We've got to get to the healers' branch and fast. Zarina needs us."

"We should find Fawn and Vidia first," added Tinker Bell. "We're all friends to Zarina now."

After Iridessa tried to explain she was going to say "after we find Fawn and Vidia", the four fairies took off to find the last two members of their group. They found Fawn playing with a couple of her squirrel friends and told her about Zarina's condition, and Fawn surmised that the frigid water she had almost drowned in had allowed her to get sick despite being dried. When they found Vidia and told her about it, Vidia felt down because she had dried Zarina after her proper talent as a fast-flying fairy was restored, but it had not been enough.

The six friends flew to the Pixie Dust Tree and went inside to the healers' wing and there, they found Zarina bundled up in blankets with a cup of hot tea at her bedside. She was red in the face and her forehead was beaded with sweat. Tink and the others could also see that Zarina looked sad, and they were moved to give her some uplifting company.

"Hi, Zarina," Tinker Bell said to her as the group approached her bed. "How are you feeling?"

"Pretty bad," Zarina admitted with a dry cough.

"Anything we can do?" asked Silvermist.

"Well, I wouldn't mind having you girls stay for a while," Zarina replied. "And I do feel a little chilled, so I could use a little warmth."

Tinker Bell and her friends exchanged sorry glances and they assured Zarina that they would stick by her for as long as they could. Rosetta planted some flowers to place in an acorn vase on Zarina's bedside table. Iridessa dimmed the lights for her and Silvermist soaked a leaf in warm water to cool her head. Tinker Bell and Vidia did the best part yet and added a blanket filled with cotton to keep Zarina warm.

"Comfy, Zarina?" asked Tinker Bell.

"Hm-mm," Zarina answered. "Thank you, Tinker Bell. And thank you all for helping me get comfortable for my first day of being sick."

"No problem, Zee," replied Iridessa. "Friends never let friends struggle alone."

Zarina grinned and said, "Guess I can't argue with that."

Eventually, the head fairy nurse told Tink and her friends that Zarina needed to rest. With that, Tinker Bell and the others all promised her they would visit as often as possible, and before they left, Fawn called a few of her bird friends over. As Zarina snuggled into her pillows, the birds sang her to sleep with a lullaby. The nurse thought it was a good idea to let them stay as Zarina would need all the rest she could get.

Ah, Tinker Bell, the nurse thought. What would Pixie Hollow do without you and your friends?