Thanks, y'all, for reviewing! I've had a couple of busy days, and it looks like a few more down the road. I'll try to keep updating as quickly as I can, but no promises. :-( But you've all made my day with your reviews, and I hope they keep coming. So on to the next chapter...

Chapter 6

I moved about and tried to fly, but alas, my abilities were limited to those of a normal human being. I groaned. How would I survive six whole months as a human? Then another thought struck me. Hadn't I, just days before, wished for a human body? So I had. But now I was not so sure I liked this turn of events. I'd learned my lesson about that horrible pirate, and I wanted nothing to do with him. It was his fault, after all, that I was banished and now HUMAN!

Along with my human size, however, came the ability to hold more than one sentiment at a time. I discovered that uniquely human feeling of...mixed emotions. As I sat beneath the tree, looking up through it's green crown to the blue sky beyond, I thought of Hook. A shiver ran up my spine as I thought of the way his silky voice flowed over me and made me incapable of logical thought.

Curiosity got the better of me. How would he react if he saw me like this? I headed in the direction of a pond that lay somewhere near the middle of the woods. Maybe I could get a glimpse of my face in the still, glass-like surface of the water.

I must have walked for hours. The sun, my only friend it seemed, stood proudly in the sky, shining down upon my head and shoulders every time I reached some clearing or other. I basked in its warmth, remembering with a shudder the cold night I'd spent alone beneath the tree. Were all my nights to be like that? Alone and cold? Loneliness during the light of day, especially a day like this one, did not feel quite so bad. But the nights...

I brushed off the sadness and determined to get to that pond. Another hour or so later, I found the liquid mirror I had desired. Hesitantly, fearing I might see in my reflection some horrible looking creature after all, I crept toward the little body of water.

I saw the face...the two green eyes, the light-colored hair, the ears not long and pointed, but small and rounded...and I liked what I saw. But my attention was quickly drawn to another object reflected in the pool. With a stealth I thought I no longer possessed, I turned around and grabbed for the small creature hovering above me.

"Ow! You're hurting me!"

"Tink?" As if I'd been burned, I opened my hand and threw my capture to the wind.

"You really should be more careful," Tink scolded as she brushed herself off and flexed her wings.

"What are you doing here?" Joy like none I'd ever felt before washed over me and there was no room for anger. Had she come to take me back? Had she realized I had no intention of doing Peter harm? Had she–

"I came to warn you." And with that, she lost her staunch stance. Her shoulders began to droop just a little.

"W-warn me? About what?"

Tink let out the tiniest sigh and fluttered down to sit on my shoulder. "I feel like this is all my fault."

No doubt. Well, maybe not ALL her fault, but she had a big part to play. "What did you come to warn me about?" Apprehension gnawed at my stomach. I had thought things could not get worse. But apparently I was wrong.

"You should be a big hairy troll, you know. That's what the king intended."

"He did? Then why–"

"The queen. She felt sorry for you, and somewhere in your story she saw a possibility of truth. She couldn't undo the curse, but she could soften it."

"She's the one who made me human."

Tink nodded. "But it is only temporary, see."

"Well yes, of course. In six months time I'll be able to prove I'm innocent, which, by the way, I am and you can help me to prove it, and then they'll turn me back into me again."

Tink shook her head. "If you can prove yourself, maybe. But if not, after the six months, you won't be a fairy or even human. The queen's magic will wear off by that time, and you WILL be turned into a troll."

Curiosity and a certain wariness mixed within me. I reached up and grabbed Tink, gently, of course, and held her in front of me. "Why are you telling me this? Since you obviously think I'm guilty of wanting to do harm to your precious Peter?"

Apparently not the least bit frightened, Tink rested her arms on my fingers and smiled. "I was wrong, Jinny. After I had time to calm down–"

"And Mother and Father talked to you..."

She shrugged, then went on. "I realized I had let my anger control me, and it was my anger that spoke."

"So you'll help me? To prove I am innocent?"

Sadness crept into her little eyes and she shook her head. "I cannot. No fairy is allowed to help you. Any one who does risks being banished as well. You're on your own."

"So you are risking it being here now?"

She nodded. "I suppose. But I'm not really helping you, am I? I'm only telling you what will happen in six months time. And now I better go before anyone sees me with you."

"Thanks little sis." I opened my hand completely, and Tink flew up in front of my face. A sly grin snaked across her face. "I've told Peter, of course, and he and the lost boys don't have any risk of being banished." With a little poke at my cheek which I suppose was meant to be a kiss, she fluttered off, her little laugh melding with the sounds of the woods.

I slumped to the ground. Good news, and bad news. The bad news overwhelmed me. Life as a human would have its limitations, but it might not be so terrible. But a troll?

I shuddered, and pushed myself to my feet. I had to form a plan. There was no time for me to mope around and feel sorry for myself. Six months, though it seemed a long time, would go by fast.