PART SEVEN - THE WILD HORSE CHASE

Beads of sweat slid off his brow, pattering on the ground. It's been an hour since the sun rose up and he's been working through the dirt that now became warm enough for him to dig. It wasn't exactly easy to find a good spot where he wouldn't be hunted down. Every five minutes had him tossing a quick look over his shoulder. Being so early in the morning, the guards may not be as attentive to recognize him, even with his cloak on.

Getting the shovel was a tedious matter. Sure, his days of thieving were long over but he couldn't help resisting in taking one that was left outside of a small shed. He did plan to return it later, if he felt like it.

The sun blazed on his back. If anyone thought his activity was strange, no one bothered to stop him. They might think him as one of the mercenaries from how he carried himself, how assertive he looked. They might just mind their own business. Or it could be the broken body that laid just a few steps from him.

He stopped for a short break, taking out some water and pouring a little in his hand to splash it on his face. He sighed with relief. It still amazed him that he found Ophila. He thought the mercenaries would try to hide the evidence of their crime, but maybe with Thomasine in charge, they no longer need to work in secret.

The woman was just as he had left her. The heat did its part; her creamy skin turned purplish, the clothes tattered and mangled over her broken figure, blood dried and caked on her face and body. Then there was the arrow sticking out her back which he removed and set it to the side. It's been a while since he buried someone and the experience was just as nauseating as he remembered.

No one else would bury her. Who would bother with a whore? From what he gathered, everyone was working quick to break ties off with Henrick and his people, like snapping off a line of yarn once you're done making whatever it was you were doing. There was no use for it anymore. It would only lead to trouble. Old friends, old allies, there was no such thing.

Freshly dug up dirt flanked the newly made grave. It took a few more minutes of digging till he was satisfied with his work. Forcing down a cringe, he grabbed the red-blotched wrist and dragged the body over. An awful smell rolled over and he had to stop, gagging.

Thankfully, the wind picked up, giving him other less unpleasant smell like the littered garbage, the sweat of people working hard in wagons. He dropped in the body rather lazily, feeling frustrated at the mess. All this for a whore? If only the sprit knew just how many of them die each day. This Ophila had it a lot easier than most.

By the time he was finishing burying her, his arms were sore and his back was in agony. He stretched back, cringing. Maybe a quick bite would assuage things, then after that he'll check to see if anyone would recall seeing a wild red horse.

The streets were littered with more than just trash. He still couldn't believe that outlaws like bandits and thieves were walking around carefree, right beside normal villagers. The division was clear in how much distance goes in between people. They were neighbors and while they certainly didn't like it, the company was powerful enough to have them on amenable terms.

And now a commander was ruling it.

Unpleasant memories of Mathilda came flowing back. She gave up her humanity for the sake of power. No. That wasn't right. She did have some humanity and it had been eaten away as the dark magic in her grew demanding. Her and that goddamn snake that turns into a whip. They nearly brought calamity to the Zoras' Domain and it had been Link, Ruto and Katie who foiled everything.

Sure, everything came out all right but it was a close call. Oh very close call. That bitch had the most dangerous poison in the world inches away from the source of life of Hylia's Lake.

Louis was nearly successful in his advent. Some might say he accomplished it and died before he could enjoy it. True, Link defeated them both but it wasn't a crushing defeat, it was the struggle to keep his head up above water with a bag of bricks tied to his ankles. That dark power of theirs, that was some serious thing, one that even gave him shivers. Overwhelming, foreign and extremely dangerous.

I really need to stay out of trouble this time.

You could say a lot of his pride leaked out from where he'd been stabbed. Even now, he still rubbed his stomach, faintly recalling the immense pain. He'll keep his stupid mouth shut and his head down, just long enough for Katie to get better. In that time, he'll have to try and find that goddamn horse.

His eyes widened when he spotted someone familiar. One side of the road were a set of wagons, and familiar troupers chatted with one another while the younger ones entertained themselves by drawing on the dirt. Relin, the son of the leader, cut off from his conversation when he saw Link.

"Yo, Jen," Link called, ignoring the baffled son.

The older man was looking over the inventory and stopped. His bushy eyebrows rose when he saw Link's face buried in his hood. They spotted a pair of officers around and went behind the wagons for privacy.

"You're actually alive," Jen uttered. "By Din's blood, we heard you were dead!"

Link grinned. "You're not the first to say that."

Jen looked dismayed, patting his handkerchief against his glistening forehead. "Lad, you have any idea the price on your head?"

Link whistled. "Wow, already? That was quick."

"The whole company's looking for you!"

"Ah, right," Link said, scratching his head. "Guess I shouldn't be talking to you then."

Jen shook his head at once. "That's not what I meant. I could never turn you away, not after what you did for us. But…" Jen sighed exasperatedly. "Lad, just what fit of madness led you to attack the silver swords?"

Link could've said something snarky until he remembered who he had to bury. "Stupidity," he said.

"Aye, stupidity," Jen said darkly. "They have a new leader now and they're rounding up the loyalties. Won't be long till they go knocking on people's doors looking for you."

"They won't be doing that now?"

"No. From what I hear, they're still deciding who's an ally and who ain't. You have about three days at most in staying, but no longer." He paused, looking around as if realizing something for the first time. "Where's your fairy friend?"

Link hesitated. "It's complicated."

Jen took the hint but his son didn't. Relin invited himself into the conversation. "What do you mean? Is she okay?"

"I said it's complicated," Link said sharply.

Relin narrowed his eyes but his father shooed him away to go do inventory. "What are you still around here for?" Jen asked Link. "I wouldn't be hanging around these parts if I was you."

Link flapped the front of his shirt to get some air in. "How much do you know about fairies?"

"Not much I'm afraid. I know they're all different like us but they're a little shy around Hylians. They make great healers."

"Could they heal everything though?" Link thought of Katie, of how cold and heavy she was. "Like say, someone who's so traumatized that they're literally shell shocked?"

The bushy eyebrows rose again but Jen didn't waste time for details. "Could be. I'm not sure. From what I heard, they only heal physical wounds…the emotional ones are the hardest to get rid of."

Link could feel his frustration bubbling. If only he had more than this to assure him. Not for the first time, he wished he could read. Maybe he'd find an answer in one of those thick books. Or better yet, he should've known more about her instead of being this ignorant. They haven't had a lesson in so long, and he began to worry that he might forget all the things he worked hard to know.

Fairies could heal but not Katie. Strange. Then it came to him.

"Elixirs!" Link exclaimed and looked at Jen. "You think elixirs would work?"

Jen blinked at the outburst. "Err, I don't think elixirs are—"

"I haven't tried that. Why haven't I tried that?"

Link put down his pouch and threw it wide open. Jen showed interest in how Link could keep so many things. There was a small bag with potions of all colors, except for gold—the one he took when the mercenary gave him a sword to the gut. He remembered the hours spent in making them at the stable. A lot of them failed, and it was thanks to him being so impatient. He didn't understand that some ingredients needed to be left alone to cook all the way through before adding the other one. Why not just add the whole thing and be done with it?

He searched through and found a deep blue elixir, the last of his strongest elixirs. It was the same one he gave to Jen's son when the ass tried to fight dozens of monsters on his own. Link paused as he held up the liquid, light sparkling through the deep color. This was a very strong elixir. He knew what it would do for a Hylian—heal life-threatening wounds, enhance strength, speed, clear fatigue, headache, and so on. It was powerful but maybe it could be too much for a small fairy. He'll need something softer just in case.

He dived in deeper into his things but couldn't find what he was looking for. "A red potion would be good," he said with his tongue clicking. "You have that on you?"

Jen shook his head apologetically. "We're more old fashion with herbs." He brightened and pointed over at the opposite street. "You could ask the merchant over there. He came in not too long ago so he might not have heard about you. It'll be safe."

Link nodded but before he could leave the man grabbed his arm. His grip was surprisingly strong.

"If you need anything else, please don't hesitate," Jen told him seriously. "I am still in debt to you."

Link took back his arm harshly and sneered at the fool. "If people saw you talking to me—"

"We've been passing through this village for years," Jen said calmly. "Trust me, I know my way around. I don't care what you are to these people. You saved our lives, my son's life. If you need anything at all, please come to me first."

Link took a deep breath. "Fine. Can I go now?"

"Eyes peeled, lad. Take care."

Link went over to the merchant Jen pointed out. The street on this side was bustling with work, wagons being pulled, horses whining and led away, crates being unloaded. He had to wait and then quickly speed up between rolling wagons.

The merchant didn't wear anything spectacular. Just a simple dirty coat opened at the front, underneath it was a grey shirt with dark trousers. A dark cloud hung over his face. There doesn't seem to be anything on hand, no wagons, or display windows to show off his goods, only a measly bag.

When the man saw Link, his face soured. "What do you want?"

Link bristled but knew he better play nice. There were mercenaries walking about. "A potion would be nice," he said steadily. "You have any?"

"Sod off or you'll be needing a potion soon enough."

"I need a potion," Link said through gritted teeth. The man scoffed and looked away. "You have one or are you going to keep being a little bitch?"

The merchant gave a hard laugh. "Oh, a bitch, is it?"

"Aren't you a merchant?" Link said curtly. "What's with you, old man?"

"How would you feel if you woke up the next day to find you've been robbed?" The man's nostrils flared up. "All your shit—gone! You pay a bunch of fools to look for it and find them drugged out!"

Link blinked. This was not a place where you want to start digging your hands through people's pockets. "Who would ever steal something here?"

"You think I'd be standing here if I knew?" The man breathed out heavily. "I bet it was that kid. He was around your age. Brown hair, dirty little eyes. Looked straight up a bandit if you ask me."

Wait, this sounded a little familiar.

"Was he about this high?" Link demonstrated to show someone a little shorter than his height. "Bad sword on him? Curly hair? Stupid face that you just want to punch real bad?"

The merchant stared at him. "You know the bastard?"

Misko. That little shit…

Link chuckled coldly, rubbing his face. "You aren't the only one he got sneaky around. The only difference is that I got my shit back."

The merchant scowled. "Rubbing salt now, are you?"

"I almost had to pay for it, old man." Link felt his eye tick. "The bastard sold it off."

"Really?"

He folded his arms, still feeling raw over it. "If I ever see him again…"

"Wouldn't be too worried about it though. The kid has no idea the kind of trouble he's in." The merchant made a noise somewhere between a chuckle and scoff. "You don't rob us merchants these days. No you don't."

It was an interesting thing, that. Merchants were the usual targets for bandits and thieves but this village was an exception. A village like this could only survive if good merchants rolled by, and so it was likely they'd be placed under the protection of the Silver Company.

Merchants weren't only valued because of their products though. They bring news from the outside, words from letter or mouth all came from them since Ritos are nowhere to be found.

So Link was not surprised to learn that the merchant will have assistance from the company free of charge. Seems that the situation here has even the low merchants receiving the same perquisites as the higher ones.

He could only imagine the trouble Misko was in. It made him smile. "Heh. Wish I could stay around to see it."

"He'll be wishing that I got to him first," the merchant grunted and sighed longingly. "I really was looking forward to selling them."

"Selling what?"

"Milk. Fresh milk. Can you believe it?"

Link thought of having a cold beverage at this time of day. By now his cloak was stuck to his body with how much he was sweating in it. The perspiration coated his skin, making it unbearable. How long had it been since he drank milk?

The merchant nodded at the earning look. "Had a whole crate full of it, just begging to be sold. Straight from the farm I got it and—"

Link perked up. "Farm? What farm?"

The man gave him a strange look. "Lon Lon Ranch. Yonder the mountains there."

Now that Link thought about it, didn't Grey mention about a farm? He said there was one away from the village. How did Link forget something that important?

A small bead of hope began to grow too quickly and Link forced it to calm down. There was no way Epona could be there. What were the chances? She ran off when Williams's wagon got ambushed. She should be dead. But then again, what were the chances?

"Where is this farm?" Link found himself asking.

The merchant scratched his chin. "It's a five hour hike, kid," he said grimly. "Filled with monsters."

Link looked up at the sky. He had plenty of light still.

"Wait, you're not planning to go there, now are you?" When Link didn't reply, the merchant looked at him as if he grew an extra head. "The milk is good but it won't be worth your skin, lad."

"I'm not going for the milk," Link said bitingly. "Look, when you were last there, did you see a red horse with them?" He tried not to sound hopeful but found himself holding in his breath. "A wild red horse with a white mane on her?"

The man concentrated. His eyebrows furrowed in thought and they rose. "Now that you mention it…yeah. There's a pretty girl there with red hair herself, absolutely in love with the horse, says that—"

"Are you serious?" Link choked.

The man paused. "Why?"

"She's my horse," Link said, speaking as if someone had kicked him in the stomach. "I lost her a while back—I thought I lost her for good."

Whoa, slow down, buddy, he said to himself. You better be quick about this before the girl decides to join the circle of passing the horse around.

Really, it was starting to look more and more like a cruel game, like someone was leaving him these breadcrumbs, with a promising prize at the end. He felt like he was getting close, but how would he know if it wasn't just another breadcrumb?

"I need to get to that farm," Link said, determined, then felt his confidence collapsed. "But I'm shit with directions."

"I have a map with me," the merchant offered.

"I'm shit with maps," Link said gloomily. "Goddammit."

The merchant frowned. "It ain't that hard."

"It is hard. It's so easy to lose track."

"It ain't hard," the man chided, pulling out a map of his own and indicating the places with a dry quill. "See, we're here now and up here—" His quill went up the thin line—"is the way out from this place. You keep following up until you see this here river."

The quill slithered up to a large drawing of a mountain with a river flowing around the base. "Pretty sure it's dried up with the weather," the merchant continued. "But you shouldn't miss it. Turn right past this point and from there keep going straight, follow the main road. It'll be hell dangerous but its better than taking routes if you're that bad with maps. You got a compass?"

Link took his out and also his map to copy all this down. He was stumped to find that the two maps were different. "I'm going to kill that captain," he growled. "He just ripped me off!"

The merchant frowned and did a comparison. "No, they're both the same. Look, there's your river there and there's the town."

"It looks different though."

"You'll find maps like this. Some are vague with important plots, others like mine are more detailed. Now look here." He tapped the quill on his map while Link sulkily put his away. "You keep going on that main road. It'll take three hours at least. When you see this mark here—"

He tapped the map with round circles drawn. "Those are plateaus. The place is full of it so be careful. When you see those, you're on the right track. As soon as you see them, take a right turn right away or you'll be as lost as a blind man. Keep on eye on your compass too. It has to keep pointing east. In this direction." He tapped it with the quill.

"So that's just the first three hours?" Link said feeling dreadful by the task of it.

"There's more," the merchant stressed. "Dammit, boy, you really serious about this?"

"Dead serious," Link said with narrowed eyes.

The merchant looked as if he was about to offer advice but then shrugged. "Alright then. You keep going through the main road. There'll be a lot waiting for you and not just monsters. There's bandits. You keep going on this road and it even goes through a cave, not too long, and then you keep on walking all the way for an hour. The last of this little hike, you'll want to do some climbing. Not too much but the path goes steep to the side of the mountain."

Link frowned. "So you did all of that?"

"Heaven's no! I took a way longer turn around the mountain, and it was an extra three hours. Unless you can read a map like your name, you feel up to taking a long walk, or do you want to stick to climbing?"

"I can climb any day."

"Thought so. You'll find the farm in about a mile or so but keep an eye out for it. Its up in a nice, wide meadow. You got all that?"

Link felt his brain about to burst. "Can you mark it down for me?"

"Depends," the man said, rolling up the parchment. "Fifty rupees."

Link gaped. "Fifty?"

The merchant shrugged. "Business is a little dead as you can see now. A man needs to eat."

A headache was starting to come to Link. This cloak will be his grave if he didn't get out of it. "And how much for the red potion?"

"You're in luck. I have only one left. Two-fifty."

Link cringed at that and checked his wallet to find two hundred and seventy. "Can't you—"

"There's no haggling in this," the man cut him off curtly. "It's either a take or a leave."

Link looked at him churlishly but the man spread his hands in a helpless manner. Link considered it, looking over his own map which lacked the intricate lines on the other map.

If he bought one of the exorbitant items, he wouldn't have enough for the other one. Dammit, he should've been smart when he went out to drink. He didn't know how Silas's money could drain that quickly. Katie would have his head if she learned how much he spent behind her back.

When, Link corrected. When she wakes up.

He knew for sure Epona was at the farm but here's the question: is she still there or had her new owners joined the game when they got desperate enough to bargain her over? Would Link go all the way there to find nothing?

But what about the red potion? What if he was wrong and the potion didn't work?

Link felt his head about to split. This was exactly why he hated to make these dilemmas. Katie would be the one to think through this. The day was burning, and mercenaries are walking around with a skeptic eye. Hell, he even saw the ones he'd fought with.

Link messed with his hair which was wet from perspiration. "Dammit…fine, I'll take the map if you'll mark the way down."

The man marked it diligently before handing it over. "You'll be dead in an hour."

Link hoped he didn't look as nervous as he felt, staring at the map with its confusing lines and annotations. "Yeah, well, I have an interesting way of staying alive."

"Heh. With the way you are, I kinda believe you."

Link tucked the map away, muttering the man's directions over and over till it was branded on his mind. To anyone, he might look like a loony who was muttering furiously to himself.

He stopped by over to the troupers, telling Jen that if he should happen to see Katie to give her a message that Link was off to Lon Lon Ranch. Jen kept his surprise to himself and lamented how he'd gladly help Link. The old man then directed Link to a low inn, a place that wasn't so meticulously monitored by mercenaries.

Link got plenty of food, plenty of water, then stopped by over a shop. After arguing with the shopkeeper that might've resorted to some threats and a few close punches, he got a bundle of regular arrows and some bombs at a reasonable price. Before the shopkeeper could recognize him, Link scurried out and kept his head down. At this rush of the day, obsequious mercenaries roamed more and more.

With his pouch full, he was back on the road, gleaning over the map with a compass at hand. It would be foolish of him to walk with his nose dipping in a paper so he pulled it out only when he was sure that there was no danger. Even when he closed his eyes, he could still see the messy, network of lines buzzing around. With nothing else to do but to walk, he was left with his worries.

Maybe he should've gone with the red potion. Maybe he'd have saved himself the five hour hike. A hike where he'd get lost, robbed, killed, or all three. Maybe he should've stayed in case Katie did come back to normal.

A few more minutes of this had him irritated. Though he was still close to Dethal, he took off the dreadful cloak and stuffed it into his pouch. The air was hot against his damp tunic. He looked as if he'd stepped straight out of a pond, and it was only the beginning of the road.

Though his concerns brewed up a little of regrets, he felt confident about this. Epona was at the farm, waiting for him. If he brought her back in one piece, if he showed her to Katie, maybe it would be enough to bring her out from that hole of dejection.

Hopefully, that farm will mark the end of this Wild Horse Chase.

"She still isn't responding!" someone cried out.

This brought a wave of panic among the jittered fairies. "That guy says he's going to burn our woods down!"

"What do we do?"

"Should we run?"

"Hylians are outside!"

"Quiet. All of you!" an orange fairy snapped. If she could change colors, she'd be bright red. It was odd to see the color of joy and creativity when her emotions were anything but. "This one is hurting! We have to help her!"

"But we've tried everything!" a pink fairy named Tani complained. Her voice was too high pitched, so whenever she spoke, it sounded like she was squealing. "Nothing worked! If all our sparkles combined couldn't heal her then there's nothing we can do!"

"We can't just give up!" said Zan, who sounded more like a leader. His voice was a little deeper, and he was a dark shade of purple with a lighter outline around him. "She's one of us. Look at her, she looks like a snowball!"

"And she's my friend!" a familiar fairy snapped. Kini broke out from the crowd, glowing sharply.

"I never knew a fairy could be this sick," another said muttered. Katie felt a new warmth when someone green came close to her. "Hello? Are you in there?"

"Wam, stop that," Tani chided. "Goodness, have some respect!"

The maladroit fairy stumbled back. "She doesn't even look like a fairy! She looks weird."

"Don't make me push you into the pond! Be useful and think of something, you walnut!"

"Hey, hey, no fighting," Zan said warningly.

"She called me a walnut," Wam said, sounding seriously offended. "I am not a walnut!"

"You're a walnut and a peanut!"

Such fools. All of them. Look how carefree they were, cloistered up in their fountain while there was destruction and death and misery just outside their woods. It was hard to think with all these pesky, high-pitched voices shrieking around her. Colors splashed everywhere, ranging in different hues. All were glowing fulgently, surrounding her like she was some exhibition. She wanted to be left alone with her misery. It was like a tidal wave, insuperable, crushing.

"She looks like she's been frozen solid but I can feel her living," Zan pointed out. "Maybe we could all warm her if we huddle together?"

"But what if she's cursed?" someone asked with a shudder.

"Your head is the one that's cursed!" Kini snapped showing such valor that went against her usual farouche self. It started the other fairy. "What if this was you now, huh?"

"Calm down. All of you." Zan went down to Katie, his glow softened, his warmth a hindrance. "I know you can hear us. You have to tell us what's wrong."

What's wrong? Everything. Everything was so wrong. Everyone just keeps dying, things keep breaking and there was nothing anyone could do about it. Epona was gone and maybe she was dead too. Not even the Goddesses could save them. They were worshipped as merciful divinities but they made this world, and they didn't step in when Ophila died.

Oh Ophila. I'm so sorry.

The fairies looked more like little torches to her as she went another wave wash through her. She was back in the village, back to the street with the shouts and the noise, back to when Ophila was killed. They were so close to freedom. The images just came through her, the way the arrow poked out from her chest, that silent terror in her eyes, how she fell wordlessly, and went motionless in a matter of minutes.

It had been so easy. Why hasn't Katie seen it yet? Why has she been so bloody stupid not to see how easy dying was? It was survival that was the hardest. Survival…Ophila didn't survive.

And then there was Frank. She had thought of him to be a disease to society, just someone in the streets that talked nonsense. Then he died. He died just when she started to really see him for the first time. And then you have that man who had been crushed in the arena. No one stepped out to help him. People cheered for his demise, demanding more blood.

"Her color's growing weaker!" Zan sounded frustrated. There were several nervous murmurs around them. "She's running out of time!"

"That guy will hunt us all down!" someone cried.

Zan growled, "Listen—"

The fountain colored with resplendent light as the fairies started panicking, flying around hysterically. There was talk of how they should go north, travel through the night so the sun wouldn't be too much for them. Zan sighed tiredly. Him, Kini, Tani and a small group of reasonable fairies stayed with Katie.

"I don't get it," Tani said. "What are we missing?"

"Poor Katie," Kini lamented. "Why can't you tell us what's wrong?"

Leave me, Katie wanted to say. Just leave me. Just let me drown…

It hurt too much to think about anything else. She thought her studies would give her the fortitude to face off against anything. No books spoke of this. She forced herself to forget a lot of things and now they came rushing to her. There was Desmera, almost destroyed, there was Zelda and her father.

There was the kingdom.

You really thought she'd get a happy ending? Link sneered.

Yes. Yes, I did.

And now she knew a little too well and it was a little too late. There was no happy ending. She never paid attention. Her duty was to save Hyrule but how could she save anyone when they were all going to die? It seemed pointless now. Why bother? Why bother with this sempiternal pain?

"Zan, what if that guy does come back?" Tani said lowly so the others couldn't hear. They have calmed down, somewhat, but were still on edge. "What do we do?"

"We'll have to pray that he doesn't find this place again," Zan said before pausing. "How did he find this place? With this little one as she is, there's no way a fairy could've brought him here. Not like the last guy."

"They're both scary," Kini said with a shudder. "Well, not Cett but the other guy. Oh, he was so scary!"

Zan looked to be contemplating over something as he looked down at Katie. "Kini, is it really true what you said about her? That she could change colors?"

Kini brightened up. "Yeah, she's so pretty when she does! When she gets mad, she turns red. When she's happy, she turns orange! And the colors mix too when she's both! She looks like when you pour paint together and mix it just a little."

Zan thought for a moment. "There's only one fairy who could do that from what I've heard," she said softly. "And…the guy she came with, how did he look like? He was wearing a cloak earlier."

"Oh, he wears green but looks real grumpy and scary! Oh my, he was so scary!"

"Everything is scary to you," Tani said flatly.

"But he was!" Kini complained. "He chased after Cett in just a minute but well then they started drinking after that…"

Zan thought for a long moment. "We have to help her before he gets back."

"But you said he wouldn't be able to."

"I'd rather not risk it. He, uh, sounded pretty serious about ripping our wings off." He shuddered slightly, sparkles fluttering off him. "We'll keep working on this little one until she gets all better."

"But what do we do?" someone snapped, a brightly glowing red one. Finally, someone who's color matched their emotion. This was getting to be so confusing. "We gave her water from the fountain, we let her roast out in the sun, we gave her all of our sparkles! The last one was enough to heal a hundred Hylians! What else could we do?"

"She looks so scared," Kini said softly. "Why else would she be this cold?"

"Maybe that's it," Zan said.

"But when we get scared, we don't get cold."

"What if we get so scared that we can't even think?" Zan sighed. "Maybe something really bad happened to her or maybe she saw something scary. We've been looking at this the wrong way. The problem here isn't something physical. It's a mental thing."

Tani gasped. "In that case, why don't we sing for her?"

"Sing?" Kini said as if that was absurd. "But she's hurting."

"We have to ease her mind," Tani stressed. "That's what singing does, with the right song at least. If her mind is hurting then we have to go for the heart!"

"I guess it's worth a shot," Zan said. "What should we sing about?"

They discussed it over and Zan went to assemble a group of fairies. He gathered them all up and once again Katie was surrounded by a swarm of fairies. Though some kept their distance because of Wam's earlier comment.

"Everyone ready?" Zan asked and then counted down. Soon, the air was quiet and then, like a gentle whisper, they all began to sing. It sounded a bit ominous, sad, but there was something behind the words, something beautiful.

Oh, my child sleeps so sound.

Though not eternity. That's not for now.

But naught worry, little one.

You will be found.

They sang softly, slowly, all as one, hundreds of flickering bright colors standing together.

And once you've had your fill, arouse as you've always done.

And the day will come, and your soul will be gone

But don't fret little one. That day is not today.

'Tis sad for you to go, but you may not stay.

For all things must go but one thing will stay.

And that is the love of all things to come,

where the joy will always stay.

And the pain will be asleep, and then you shall be free

And you'll fly, oh you'll fly, out in the great blue sky

As light as you'll be. As free you must be.

Free from pain, free from flesh, free from the world and its regrets

Oh, don't you fret, little one. That day is not today.

You will stay and you will stay.

The joy will also stay.

For its around, oh its around.

For it will always stay.

And you will see it too. Awake or asleep.

One day you will go, but know your joy will join you too.

And it will stay with us too.

There is pain and there is pain, they bind us to the ground.

When we are free, the pain is gone.

So don't fret little one. Don't be afraid to go.

Because all things will go.

But joy will stay.

Katie didn't know why they stopped until she heard her small voice singing along. She never heard this song before, not in any of her books. It sounded like an old nursery song, the type she wouldn't bother herself with. But here she was now, singing with them from her heart.

She started weeping deeply.

"It's okay," Zan said gently, doing his best not to sound too excited. They've been trying to get a reaction from her since yesterday. "It's okay."

Katie wasn't crying for just sorrow. She cried because there was no such thing as joy staying in its place. It fled. It always fled. It didn't give Ophila or Frank a chance.

"Look, she's glowing blue!" someone gasped. "Just like me!"

"It's only very little. She's still quite white," Zan pointed out.

The other fairies from the back began to get closer, breaking out from their inhibition.

"We need to keep singing but let's try something else that isn't a teary eye," Zan said, and sighed at the fairies who were weeping from the song. "Alright, alright. Let's try a happier tune, fairies!"

So they all sang. Katie didn't want to join them at all. The lyrics sounded too unrealistic, too good to be true. Lies. All lies. But despite her best efforts, she found herself joining them on a few verses. They sang all kings of songs, songs of different language, songs from poems long thought to be forgotten, songs she never knew even existed. There were songs of happiness, of sorrow, but the most they sang were about life, about joy, and about love.

Hope you guys like the song. Took a while to write it. I'm no poet but I think I did pretty good :)