Rani descended toward an upturned face. A mermaid! This mermaid was called Soop by Peter Pan, since he couldn't pronounce her real name. Mermaids aren't curious about other creatures. Ordinarily, Soop would have swum away from Rani, but she had quarreled with her best friend, and she was looking for amusement. She held out her hand for Rani to land on.
Her hand was longer than a Clumsy's hand, long enough to be useful as a flipper, and her fingernails were wee thins. Soop was as big as a Clumsy, but not clumsy in the slightest. She was as graceful as the long pink scarf that swirled around her.
Soop wasn't sure if Rani was a wingless fairy or a new creature entirely. She brought Rani up close to her face. Rani was surprised to see that the mermaid's skin was made up of tiny glistening scales!
Soop gently turned Rani around. She saw Rani's wing stumps and realized what Rani had done. The realization broke through Soop's snobbiness. She could imagine only one explanation for the sacrifice. This fairy had cut off her wings so she could swim with mermaids!
Soop wept briefly, although Rani couldn't tell. She bowed her head, and Rani saw the comb nestled in the flowing yellow-green hair. The comb was made of whalebone. The teeth were fashioned into a toothy grin. The handle was in the shape of a shark's body, set with four enormous pearls.
Soop said, "Welcome, little fairy." The words reverberated strangely in the water.
Rani caught the word fairy and assumed the rest was a greeting. She couldn't speak, so she smiled. A curtsy would have been appreciated, but Prilla was the only fairy to know about curtsies.
Soop pointed out the castle and gardens. Rani was running out of air. She extended her arms in an imploring gesture. She pretended to comb her hair, and then stretched her arms out again.
Soop said politely, "Your hair is nice too."
Rani had to have air soon. She pretended to take a comb out of her hair and give it to Soop. She hoped Soop would get the hint. But Soop just thought the fairy had scratched her head.
Rani's face turned red. Soop understood that the fairy needed air. She cupped her hands around Rani and started for the Wind Room.
Rani tried to get free. Her lungs were bursting. She hesitated, then kicked Soop's hand.
"I'm trying to help, foolish fairy!"
Soop swam through the arched entry to the castle. Rani couldn't see through Soop's fingers, but I'll tell you what she missed.
A mermaid swept back and forth on a seaweed swing. Three laughing mermaids chased a Never scurry-fish. A merman and a mermaid sang a duet.
Soop concealed her hands under her scarf. The fairy was her secret.
Rani's ears were pounding, and she thought her lungs were going to explode. She kept kicking Soop's fingers, but her kicks were growing weaker. Soop rose to the castle's second story. Rani kicked once more before losing consciousness.
"What should we do?" Prilla had started holding her breath when Rani went under, and she'd run out of air at least two minutes ago.
"Dear child, don't ask me, I'm not the leader," Vidia said.
Several more minutes passed. Vidia said, "I'm leaving, dear child."
"Please don't go!" pleaded Prilla.
Vidia started to fly away. "Farewell, dear child."
For the first time in her life, Prilla felt rage. "Dear old hag! If Rani gets the comb, the quest will fail because of you!"
Vidia turned. "Dear child, Rani is dead."
"Maybe not. We don't know what's down there," Prilla said.
"And why will the quest fail because of me?" Vidia asked.
"Because I can't get a comb and Rani on the carrier by myself!" cried Prilla.
Vidia hadn't thought of that. She said it was pointless, but she agreed to wait for half an hour.
Prilla stared down into the water. She thought, please don't be dead, Rani.
In the Wind Room, Rani lay still in Soop's hand. Soop wondered if the fairy was dead. There'd be no amusement in a dead fairy. She poked Rani's stomach. "Wake up, fairy!"
Rani gagged. Water streamed out of her mouth and nose. She coughed and began to breathe. But the stink made her wish she was still unconscious. The Wind Room reeked of fish.
Mother Dove had closed her eyes. But Tink didn't think she was asleep. Mother Dove kept squeezing her eyes shut, and every few minutes, a muscle in her cheek jumped. It's pain, Tink thought. She wished she could do something. But there was nothing to do. She started Fairy Dust Melody again on her harp. She intended to keep playing it, even though she had blisters on all her fingers. If her fingers gave out, she'd play with her toes.
Now that she had air, Rani was able to explain her mission. Soop could imagine what losing their flight and their magic would mean to the fairies, and she was willing to give away her comb. She had lots of combs. But she wanted something in return. "If I give you a present, you must give me a present."
Rani wished she'd brought something with her. "I'll give you my belt." It wasn't much, but it was all she had. It was a fine belt, made by woven beetle hair.
"Not that. Although it's very pretty, I want..." What did she want? "Hmm. Yes. I want a magic wand."
Oh, no, Rani thought. "Never fairies don't have magic wands!"
Soop was puzzled. "Fairies don't have magic wands?"
Rani explained, "We don't. Great Wanded Fairies do, and some others."
"So you will get me a magic wand from them! I will wait." She took the comb out of her hair.
Rani accepted it. They'd worry about the wand later. She thanked Soop and left, pushing the comb ahead of her. Vidia and Prilla probably thought she'd drowned by now. She hoped they were still waiting.
They were arguing about whether or not half an hour had gone by. Prilla turned a cartwheel when she saw Rani. It did take both Prilla and Vidia to lift the comb onto the carrier and help Rani climb in. When they reached shore, they retrieved Rani's boots and wings. At the fairy circle, they loaded the egg and the cigar holder onto the carrier. Rani laid the golden feather in the bottom. She could have left her wings behind, but she wanted them nearby. She sat down in the carrier and cradled them in her arms.
Prilla added the loaves of bread that had placed in the shed for them. Vidia said, "Hurry up, dear child, mustn't keep a dragon waiting."
Prilla picked up the balloon carrier cord and began to fly, pulling Rani and the quest items behind her. She wondered if Kyto could be wicked enough to refuse the things they were bringing him, even if he wanted them. Would he want even more for the Clumsies and animals of Never Land to age and die? Would he want the fairies to run out of fairy dust? Could any creature be wicked enough to want Mother Dove to die?