Author's Note: Woohoo! Over one hundred reviews! *Squeal* I cannot tell you how happy I am to receive this much support. I can't believe you guys' are still reading this even though I'm so slow at updating. I'm really trying my best but I have a lot on my plate already and I'm finding most things in school hard as usual in the first few weeks' back. You can probably count on an update at least once a week, which would be the weekends'. Sorry for the long wait…again!
I had a bit of writers' block in this chapter. I knew the main plot but I had trouble with the details and how to present it so please don't kill me if this is bad!
Here's chapter twenty-four! Hope ya'll like it!
The family had spent longer in Snowy Meadow then planned and by the time they had reached the border that separated the snowy plot from the crisp autumn leaves falling. It was odd how before the plot it was spring and after it was autumn but Clarion gave no notice. She had always loved autumn because of its cool breeze and the wonderful colours that surrounded her. She also loved it because it was sometimes cool enough for Milori to go in without his cooling aquamarine amulet.
As they crossed the border, Clarion raised and twisted her hand to turn the winter coats everyone was wearing-excluding Milori- back into Pixie Dust. Because of the breeze, she and her family shivered slightly. Milori along with the other males went over to get their loves their thin cardigans to put on. Milori helped Clarion into hers as he put on his jumper. Even though Milori was a winter fairy the wind was quite strong so he put on his jumper purely because he didn't want the chilling wind in contact with his freezing skin, as it would only make him even colder to Clarion's touch.
As he placed the jumper over his head and down his torso, Clarion was having trouble buttoning her cardigan up due to her shaking hands. Milori smiled at her and stepped forward to help her. He started from the bottom of the material to the top. When he buttoned the top button he gazed into her eyes lovingly. Just as the plastic button fit through the hole, Milori leaned down and claimed her mouth to his. He could feel Clarion smile into the kiss and step on her tiptoes to deepen the kiss further. Even though his lips were cold, they had a way of warming hers up instantly. She sighed softly as he began to kiss her neck, lost in her own world. The siblings were too busy talking to one another to notice them and Milori backed her up to a tree. He began to kiss her harder than before and groaned oh so quietly in her mouth at the feeling of her pressed against him as he tangled his fingers in her hair messily. The moment was interrupted with a cough. The pair quickly turned to see the siblings with smug faces.
"What?" Clarion asked innocently as she attempted to get a knot out of her hair thanks to Milori. He chuckled and helped her. Once it was out, he smoothed her hair down for Clarion to tie it up in a ponytail. Milori gazed at her and found it so adorable when she tied up her hair.
"Oh nothing…" Louise giggled. "Its just…its nice to see you guys, uh, enjoying yourselves on this trip." The siblings broke into hysterics. Milori saw Clarion blush a bright red and couldn't help but chuckle.
"I think you guys have to been enjoying yourselves too much if you ask me!" Robert laughed. Not the ones to be a wet blanket, Clarion and Milori joined in on the laughter.
"So now what?" James asked after the laughter had died down. Clarion looked at him sadly.
"We have to leave for the mainland…" She trailed off. Milori noticed her sudden change of mood and enveloped her in a loving embrace. He had come to realize through this trip that Clarion was far more sensitive then he had thought. It dawned him that she really needed support and he was more than happy to give it to her.
"Don't worry, my love." He cooed gently. "Everything will turn out fine." Clarion looked up to the sparrowman that had claimed her heart. She had her arms wrapped around his waist tightly and he had his around hers. She leaned up and removed one arm from his hips to cup his cheek as she softly kissed the other.
"You always know what to say." She sighed happily. "I guess I shouldn't be too upset since it's my first time going."
"You've never been?" Milori asked intrigued.
"No, as queen I'm expected to watch over the remaining fairies and the hollow." Clarion explained. She turned in Milori's arms to her siblings. "Have you guys ever been?"
"No." James answered. "We study humans from a special surveillance system so we are not in contact with them." Everyone else nodded indicating they hadn't been either.
"Well I guess I'll be your tour guide!" Milori joked. Clarion giggled and gave him a dazzling smile. They quickly hoped on their birds-with Milori and Clarion leading the way-and headed to the mainland.
As they flew, Clarion sighed and leaned into Milori's strong masculine chest. He smiled and wrapped an arm around her with the other holding the reins. Clarion shivered slightly from the wind and it didn't go unnoticed by the sparrowman sitting behind her. He quickly pulled his jumper over his head and gave it to her. Clarion smiled at his gestures and stripped off her thin cardigan and pulled his jumper over her head. The sleeves were too long for her and the end came up to her upper thigh instead of her hips but it was perfect to her. Milori noticed that her hair was still in the jumper since she pulled it over her head so he let go of the reins to pull it out for her. Clarion smiled and cuddled into his arms and the jumper that smelt like him-evergreen.
"This jumper smell like you." Clarion said quietly. She had her back leaning into his chest and her knees brought to her chest with her arms around them. Milori looked down and the woman in his arms and smiled tenderly.
"I hope that's a good thing!" He joked causing her to giggle quietly. She closed her eyes and took in his scent once more.
"It is." She replied simply. "It smells like evergreen."
"Ah." Milori said. "You can keep it if you want." He offered as he looked up at the sky. Clarion shifted her head so she could see his face clearly as they speak.
"Really? But I couldn't, it's yours and you might need it-"
"Darling, I'm a winter fairy. I wont need it, the only reason I put it on was so that my skin wouldn't get too cold for you." He said sweetly. Clarion smiled at him.
"Thank you." She whispered as she closed her eyes.
"Are you getting tired?" He asked quietly as he kissed her hair. Clarion, with her eyes still closed, nodded. Milori smiled again. "Why don't you get some sleep? We still have quite a way to go." Clarion nodded and huddled into his jumper then leaned into his chest further so he could rewrap his arm around her waist. As she closed her eyes and began to drift to sleep, Milori began singing the song she had written about them and their love. She smiled softly as his deep romantic voice filled her ears and sent her into a peaceful sleep.
Two hours later, Clarion felt someone shake her shoulders softly. "Clarion, Clarion, darling. Wake up sweetheart." Came Milori's soft voice. Clarion opened her eyes to see bright city lights and many tall buildings. She looked in amazement as she watched the people walk around busily and the cars driving past. She saw young school children walking to school and men getting taxis to get to work.
"Wow…" She whispered to herself. Milori smiled and nuzzled his head into her sweet scented neck. "Its amazing." She continued to study the scene before her as Milori flew the owl into a tree. The siblings followed.
"Now, where is this Mount Everest?" Milori asked with his hands on his hips. Clarion smiled and looped her arms through the gap between his forearms and his stomach and wrapped her arm around his waist. Milori smiled and moved his hands to entwine their fingers together. James rolled his eyes.
"Somewhere in…Asia." James read from his book. He turned the book over to reveal a map, which everyone guessed was of the human world. There were large plots of blue that showed the vast amount of water and colourful spots that indicated places. James then pointed out Asia.
"That looks quite big. How do we know where it is there?" Clarion asked her brother. He nodded and flipped some pages before he began reading again.
"Its located in Mahalangur in the section of the Himalayas." James explained. Everyone looked at him blankly. He sighed. "Look, I have a potion that will label all the countries for us and give us direct directions to the area. The only problem is, is that Asia is quite far…it might take us days until we get there."
"No it won't." Milori piped in. "I know a way to allow the pixie dust to travel at the speed of light, sometimes we need it when we are at the mainland." Everyone nodded as the two males used their potions. When James had finished applying his and Milori had finished fixing the potion in each bird's necklace, everyone hopped on the birds and within seconds they were face to face with the tallest mountain any of them had seen.
"Wow…" Clarion whispered to herself from Milori's owl. Milori would have smiled at her interest in seeing knew things but he was too occupied in the large and high landscape before him.
"You can say that again." Came Milori's voice from behind her. As they all flew higher in the air, in hopes of dissolving back into the sky, the temperature began to drop dramatically. Clarion and her family shivered violently and Milori indicated to fly down a couple of feet where the atmosphere was bearable for any warm fairy. "You'll need to make the winter coats again."
"I know." Clarion said as she eyed the mountain before reaching for the bag of pixie dust and beginning to make the coats. She sighed as she started with the first one as the others began to make small chat.
"What's wrong?" Milori whispered to her.
"Hm? Oh, nothing darling." She answered. "It's just these take forever to make, you know." Milori nodded and wrapped his arms around her from behind and laid his head on her shoulder as he watched her work, hoping to give her some kind of comfort and support as he kissed her cheek.
As Clarion finished the last of the thick coats, the siblings and she put them on before flying upwards. Milori had made Clarion wear his jumper under her coat to make sure she was warm enough, which Clarion had sighed in both love and frustration at his protectiveness. As they flew high in the sky, Clarion cuddled closely to her winter sparrowman. The cold nipped at any exposed flesh and it seemed more intense then the coldest part of the Winter Woods. To Clarion, the cold never really bothered her but this was unbearable. The higher they went the more the atmosphere intensified for her. Being the smallest made her also the most affected as she noticed that none of her siblings were chattering their teeth or shivering as violently as she was. Milori kept his arm around her and whispered sweet nothings in her ear in order to take her mind off the coldness around her.
Once they reached the top, they all took in the sight they probably would never see again. The contrast of the ice blue sky against the freshly fallen snow was breathtaking. With the sun high in the sky it looked as if the mountains afar were on fire and instead of wondering if it was, they all relished the view. Milori suggested they fly higher in order to dissolve back into Neverland. Dissolving into the sky from the human world to Neverland was unheard of and had never been done before, but for their kingdom and family they would do it. Suddenly, all four birds were sucked into the air and all they could see was darkness. Clarion whimpered in fear quietly and Milori blindly reached for her waist and hands to comfort her. It stayed pitch black for another thirty seconds before they fell out of the sky and onto plush green grass. Clarion had pushed herself up to her knees and breathed deeply. Milori rushed over to make sure she was alright and kissed her head before helping her to her feet, keeping a protective arm around her waist.
"Now I can see why this has never been done before!" James gasped, trying to lighten the mood for his sisters and his wife since they seemed the most shook up about it. Clarion giggled.
"Its so good to be back here…whatever here is…" Clarion said as she looked around to see if she could get her bearing right. They seemed to be in a forest but she wouldn't care if she were in dark cave since she was back in Neverland. Where they all belonged. For some reason, they all laughed before setting up for camp.
The men set up a fire as the girls cooked. Milori and the other kings watched as their loves' cooked for them, thanking Mother Dove they were blessed with such caring soul mates. Clarion handed out the pasta and the lukewarm bread to go with it before placing herself between Milori and her sister. The all began talking about the eventful day.
"Well we made it through the Snowy Meadow and the highest peak in the human world in one day." Robert said happily. "This is going better then I hoped."
"I know!" Clarion exclaimed. "But it seems too good to be true." She sighed as everyone muttered his or her agreements.
"Let's get rid of this glum atmosphere, eh?" Milori said. "Why don't you play us something? That is if you want to." Clarion nodded and reached for her guitar and surprisingly handed it over to Milori. Everyone looked shocked as the stood before them and pixie dust created a microphone.
"What are you guys doing?" Dania asked. Clarion giggled.
"Well I taught Milori the song and he surprisingly is very fast at picking up on chords and since there is only a few in the song, I decided for him to play as we both sing." Clarion explained to her siblings. They all nodded and smiled. Clarion looked at Milori and he gave her a reassuring smile. For some reason she was so nervous. This song was deeply about them and she had never sung it since their separation. Even when she practiced with Milori, she didn't let him see the lyrics just the sheet music. She took a deep breath and waited after Milori strummed the intro before singing.
'I can't imagine, any greater fear then waking up, without you here,
And though the sun, would still shine on,
My whole world, would all be gone,
But not for long,'
Clarion nervously sang the first verse and glanced at Milori who was smiling at her. She began to become more comfortable as she sang the chorus.
'If I had to run, if I had to crawl
If I had to swim a hundred rivers, just to climb a thousand walls,
Always know that I would find a way, to get to where you are,
There's no place that far'
Milori had stopped watching his finger work and stared at the woman he loved so dearly. This was by far the most amazing song she had written about them and it touched his soul deeply.
'It wouldn't matter why we're apart,
Lonely minds or two stubborn hearts nothing short of God above
Could turn me away from your love
I need you that much'
Clarion was still amazed she was actually singing this. She had always though these songs about her relationship with the mysterious winter sparrowman would forever remain untouched and never played.
'If I had to run, if I had to crawl
If I had to swim a hundred rivers, just to climb a thousand walls,
Always know that I would find a way, to get to where you are,
There's no place that far'
Milori knew she was about the repeat the hook of the song and he decided to join in. As they sang it was like their hearts and souls touched. He could feel the power within his chest and he embraced it. As Clarion sang, she took the microphone from its holding place on the stand and walked over to Milori. She held it in between them as they sang as her siblings watched in awe.
'If I had to run, if I had to crawl
If I had to swim a hundred rivers, just to climb a thousand walls,
Always know that I would find a way, to get to where you are,
There's no place that far
Baby there's no place that far'
The loving pair smiled at each other as Milori strummed the final chord. Clarion smiled even brighter and leaned in to kiss him gently. He kissed her back and held her waist in his grip. Everyone cheered in happiness.
"That was the most beautiful song you've ever written…" Milori sighed after their kiss. Clarion blushed at the compliment and leaned her head on his chest. "I didn't think anything would have beaten A Thousand Years."
"I love you." Clarion sighed. Milori smiled softly in the moonlight.
"And I love you, sweetheart." The leaned in and kissed again as the lyrics of their song rang through the heaven above.
Author's Note: Well there you go guys! Hope you all enjoyed it since it took me forever to write! Thank you all again for your amazing reviews and please don't stop because I love knowing how I'm doing so if I need to improve I can. I swear the support I get is incredible and I can't believe you all are still following this.
The song Clarion and Milori sang was 'No place that far' by Sara Evans. I had Milori play and them sing a duet together because after listening to the lyrics, I knew Clarion couldn't sing this on her own! And if you noticed I wrote the scene of dissolving into the sky and the mountain very descriptively so you all could follow along what was happening. Next chapter most probably will be up until next weekend…so sorry about that! I'll try and write midweek but I have a lot going on for me right now so most likely it won't happen.
Remember to review or PM me if you want to suggest a song or such. See you all in the next chapter!