A cool breeze rippled through the trees. Dark clouds covered the setting sun. Friendly and Slick sat huddled beside each other under the warmth of a blanket.
"Where is Peter?" Slick asked impatiently.
"I don't know," Friendly sighed.
She looked carefully around the dark room. Something did not feel right. She walked over to a crack in the wall near the Home Tree's trunk, and examined a hole in the tree closely. Inside, there was a little bed with a rose petal quilt, an exquisite matching washstand and dressing table, a tiny wardrobe, and, leaning over the washstand, a fairy, Tinker Bell.
Friendly stared at Tinker Bell as she slowly pulled herself up straight and half-toddled, half flew to her bed.
"Hey, you!" Friendly taunted.
Tinker Bell only slightly raised her head at the sound, and barely had the strength to pull herself under the covers. Friendly turned towards Slick with a furrowed brow.
Slick asked, "What is your problem?"
Friendly took a deep breath. "Look at Tinker Bell," she said. "It's awful. She's all pale. She wobbles when she walks. She didn't notice me, not even when I directly insulted her!"
Slick's eyes opened wide. His face drained of colour, and he began to hyperventilate. Peter was bound to kill them if he came back to find his beloved fairy companion in this state. Something had to be done to help her regain health.
"Do you know anything about fairy medicine, Friendly?", Slick asked desperately. He rubbed his fingers over the scars on his knuckles, cutting reminders of previous incidents with Peter.
"No, I don't. Do you know anything about fairy medicine, Slick?" Friendly replied.
"No. We still have to do something, though."
"I know, I know."
"Let me put a glass thing in her mouth," Slick said firmly. Slick pulled a make-believe glass thing out of his pocket. He reached into Tinker Bell's room and made-believe to put the thing in her mouth. Friendly rocked back and forth, her eyes darting from side to side, waiting to see the results.
Slick hummed to himself for several minutes before declaring, "Tinker Bell will get better soon. Right now, she needs her rest, so do not bother her."
Friendly nodded, but did not say anything. She was pondering her relationship with the ill fairy. As long as Friendly could remember, she and Tinker Bell and been enemies, though she could not remember what began their feud. They had tormented each other whenever the opportunity had come up. Only once had their fighting come to any good-when Friendly was unsuccessfully trying to fly, Tinker Bell tickled her, causing Friendly to fly at last.
"Perhaps," Friendly whispered to herself, "that's why I feel so worried. Maybe all of our fights were based on one petty thing. Something I have and no-one else here does."
Friendly heard a raspy snoring noise. She chuckled. Slick had fallen asleep against the wall, still pretending to hold the glass thing in his hand. She crawled into Peter's bed, hoping he wouldn't come back in the middle of the night and make her sleep on the floor.
Rain began to tumble down from the thick line of dark clouds. The wind picked up its pace. It tossed many fairies around, sending them all to run for cover in their homes. Small animals began to panic, seeing the fairies in such a state. Baby Neverbirds called to their mothers, wanting shelter from the raging storm. Somewhere in our world, a child stopped believing in fairies, and Tinker Bell's white light slowly faded out like the light leaving an incandescent bulb.
The fairy mortician, Quietus Toll, arrived the next morning the very moment the rain had cleared. He quietly flew into the little room where Tinker Bell lay. He pushed back her hair somberly. He ran his hand across her cheek, sobbing in his fairy language. With great difficulty, he called for two other fairies to bring in the black coffin. They came in slowly, struggling to resist their wishes to prank the sleeping humans. With great determination, they turned their attention towards removing the teary Quietus Toll from Tinker Bell's cold body. The three fairies carefully lowered Tinker Bell into her final resting place, and took her away.
A few minutes later, the dark clouds hanging drearily over Neverland began to part, allowing the sunrise to glow in full force. The bright, cheerful beams reached out to caress the frightened animals. It tossed a jolly rainbow into the air, decorating the sky. The whole of Neverland was preparing for a grand reunion. The songbirds practiced all their best songs. The wind only moved in light breezes as it apologized for the damage it has caused last night. The sun reached its glowing arms across the land. The flowers and tree leaves looked up to the sky, and prepared to open.
Friendly shuffled around in her sleep, trying to keep the sunlight out of her eyes. No matter where she turned, the sun was there too. She moaned for five more minutes of rest. The sun refused to grant her request, and only shone brighter. A fly came and buzzed in her ear.
Friendly's eyes popped open. She chased the bug around the room, reacting on impulse from her days with the fairy. The fly continued to dart around the room. She caught the fly in her hand and turned it to her face. Her smile fell and her pride fell with it. She let the fly go.
Slick made a mumbling noise. The blanket rolled off his body as he pulled himself into a standing position. "What's bugging you?" Slick asked sleepily.
Friendly did not reply. Though her problem seemed simple enough, she felt there was a greater weight behind it, something that could change her life forever. How could she explain that to her dense brother? He wouldn't even care.
Slick looked into Tinker Bell's room. "Fairy's dead," he said bluntly.
Friendly managed to force out the word, "Yeah." She walked out of Home Tree, holding tightly onto her arms. She stared out into the rising sun as the wind ruffled through her hair. Like the moon hidden from Friendly's eyes, she had lost something both dreaded and dear. Like the sun in the distance, someone new would arise.
Author's Note: I know, this is really sad. I knew when I started "The Lost Girl" that Tinker Bell would end up dying. I can't exactly explain why (mainly continuity and not planning to have her stay in the story any longer). Don't worry, next chapter will be a lot happier. I know you'll be looking forward to the arrival of the guests.
Also, I'm trying to rebuild my reader base. Please send this story to your friends