Well, that took longer than expected. Swim team is a little harder than I remember. I'm so sore that it hurts to sit down! Anyway, hope you guys enjoy the chapter!

Chapter 6

Humming along to the song Jacquimo had sung, Thumbelina and the jitterbabies continued through the grass, now only meters away from the wall marking the edge of her house.

"Look out!" Baby Bug suddenly cried in fright, and the jitterbabies zoomed into the grass to hide.

"Ha ha!" A tall black beetle landed in front of Thumbelina, causing her to scream in fright. Continuing to laugh for a moment the beetle turned to face Thumbelina with a smirk on his face.

"Hiya, toots! Beetle's my name, and razzmatazz is my game. How do you do, everything okay?" Sliding up to her, one of his antennae tickled her face.

"I'm not your toots!" Thumbelina replied, backing up to try and get this stranger out of her personal space. "Where did you come from?"

"Where? Up there!" Beetle pointed to the sky with a flambouyant gesture, before spinning to lean on a nearby toadstool. "I'm a connoisseur of sweet nectars, a designer of rare threads, and a judge of beautiful women!"

Grabbing Thumbelina by the waist, he spun her around.

"And you, are beautiful, Miss...?"

"Um, uh Thumbelina," she replied, batting his antennae out of her face again. "And I'm going home."

Walking away, she suddenly stopped as Beetle zoomed in front of her.

"What's your hurry toots? Relax. Take a load off."

"Ugh! I wish you wouldn't do that," Thumbelina pushes his antennae out of his face again, annoyed.

"Perhaps you'd prefer this?" He asked, before grabbing her wrist, and kissing up her arm.

"Ah!" Thumbelina gasped in shock. "Mr. Beetle! I don't even know you! Would you stop?!"

"Stop? How can I stop?!" He cried dramatically, gesturing about wildly. "I'm crazy about you, toots! You're gorgeous!"

Thumbelina begins to blush and giggle slightly at the praise, and doesn't notice as one of Beetle's kisses miss her hand and land on his own.

"Oh!" He perks up, beginning to kiss his own hand. "You're exciting! Delicious!"

"I am?" Thumbelina asks, oblivious to the fact Beetle was now talking about himself.

"And, I love the sound of your voice!"

"My voice?"

"Don't talk! Sing. Sing to me." They wait in silence for a moment, before Thumbelina's eyes light up, and she turns to the blue bug.

"I have an idea!

Can you fly me up there?"

She points up to an oak, towering high above them.

"Um, why should I, toots?"

"Well, from the treetops I could see my house. Then I'd know if I'm traveling in the right direction to get home."

"Gee... I don't know." Beetle smirked as he cast the bait. "That would be a big, big, oh, very big favor."

"I'll sing.

I'll sing for you."

And hook, line, and sinker.

"No, no. You'll sing at the Beetle Ball! And dance!" Without waiting for her reply, he threw the young girl over his shoulder and flew up to the entrance to the Beetle Caves.

"Ha, ha! We are gonna be the talk of the town, toots!"

"I'm not your toots! And I don't even look like a Beetle!"

And with that, they vanished into the caves. Far below them, the three young jitterbabies emerged from their hiding place.

"Come on," Li'l Bee said to the others. "Let's get help."

Far away from the Beetle Caves, Grandma Izzy was in a room, weaving a lovely dress from her own spider silk in only seconds.

"Here, dearie," she said, slipping the dress past a leaf covering a cave adjoining the one she used as a home.

"Thank you, Grandma Izzy," a soft voice replied from behind the leaf.

"No need to thank me, dearie. Please, if there's anything else I can do for you, please, let me know." Settling into a worn rocking chair across the room, Grandma Izzy began to weave another spider silk item.

"Um, how do I look?" A tentative voice asked, as the leaf moved aside. Grandma Izzy looked up, and beamed as Ivalyn stepped out. She wore the white spider silk dress that Grandma Izzy made for her, which had a double layered skirt, and long sleeves. She had ditched her delicate green slippers, and donned sturdy brown boots, with warm cattail lining. Her long hair had been tightly woven into a braid, which swayed behind her.

Shining on her left ring finger was a gold ring, with a blue stone in the center. The same ring Chrysanthos had given her before he left.

"Oh, why don't you just look as lovely as a blooming rose!" The seamstress cried happily. "And that dress should keep out the cold of winter. You'll be able to go out and look for your sister."

"Oh, thank you so much!" Ivalyn cried, rushing forward to hug the elderly spider. "Though, I was just wondering why you're helping me so much. Not that I don't appreciate all you kindness! You just seem really helpful for someone I've just met."

Grandma Izzy sighed and put down the item she was weaving. "It's because I've experienced what you're going through.

"Long ago, I also had a sister who I lived with. I had hundreds of other sisters, but Emilia is the only one who stayed with me. She protected me, and I provided for the two of us with my weaving. Believe it or not, she was a terrible seamstress. She couldn't even spin a web! But her skills as a warrior surpassed that of everyone we met. Everyone except King Trython of the Faeries."

"The Fairy King? Isn't that Chrysanthos' father?"

"No, not Fairy, Faerie. While the Fairies are kind and good hearted, the Faeries are cold, dark creatures who use shadow magic. Their king, Trython, is especially cruel, and hearing of my sister's skill, he challenged her to a duel. My sister was not one to back down from a challenge, and so accepted. The two of them fought, and my sister won. But Trython, refusing to let it be known that a girl had beaten him, struck her when her back was turned. I was there, and seeing this, I took my sister's sword and escaped the place while I could.

"So yes, I also known the feeling of missing your other half. Of missing your own sister."

"That's-" Ivalyn started, only for her voice to break. "That's just so terrible."

"Yes. Actually, there's something more I can do." Getting up, Grandma Izzy walked over to a large cabinet made of bark. Opening it she took something out, before turning around and handing Ivalyn a wrapped bundle. Slowing unwrapping the cloth, Ivalyn gasped as she saw a sword, sheathed in a scabbard attached to a belt.

"Is this...?"

"Yes. It's my sister's sword. You remind me of her, you know. It's like I'm talking to Emilia again."

"But I couldn't possibly take this!"

"No. Use it on your journey. It'll be of more use to you than it is to me. I assume you know how to wield a blade, seeing how you're going through the basic stances."

"Yeah, I have a little expierience with blades." Ivalyn replied as she swung around the glistening silver blade. "Excellent balance. This must have been made by a master."

"Yes, it was. But that's a story for another day."

"I'm going to head out and look for 'Lina." Stepping close to Grandma Izzy, Ivalyn hugged the sweet seamtress who had helped her get this far.

"Thank you for all of your help Grandma Izzy."

Strapping the sword on so that the hilt peeked over her right shoulder, Ivalyn waved back at the spider one last time before vanishing out the cave entrance.

"I swear, that girl could be Emilia reincarnated. They're so similar. Good luck, Ivalyn."