Chapter 2

The days passed quickly as Zarina adjusted to life back in Pixie Hollow. As she added new ideas to her Pixie Dust Experiments journal—a dust for invisibility, transformation, and even a possible cure for fairy pox, among others—she was frequently interrupted by fairies and sparrow men who were eager to enhance their talents or try out new ones.

Fairy Gary made sure she was supplied with enough gold dust and blue dust specks for these experiments. He also encouraged her to teach some of the other dust-keepers her Alchemy but they remained only interested in sorting and packaging the dust, tasks that she used to find tedious. Whenever Zarina came up with an idea for a new kind of pixie dust, she instinctively knew the ingredients it would need, a skill the regular dust-keepers lacked. Some of them were content to stir the potions and gather the necessary ingredients.

Zarina's focus in her work was shattered by urgent whispers amongst Pixie Hollow's residents that Queen Clarion was suffering from a mysterious illness. So the queen hadn't been merely tired from the Festival. It was just as Zarina and her friends had feared. No formal announcement was made but whenever Clarion appeared in public, accompanied by the Seasonal Ministers or a tall, white-haired sparrow man Zarina recognized as Lord Milori of the Winter Woods, she was so pale that even the faintest light seemed to slip through her. Her wings had lost their golden luster, becoming merely transparent.

"Have you all heard that Queen Clarion and Lord Milori can't see each other anymore?" Rosetta said one morning at breakfast. A sad expression marred her pretty face.

"Why?" Iridessa's voice was tinged with urgency.

"The Healing talents told her that it's too risky to cross the Winter border, no matter how warmly she's dressed or how thickly her wings are frosted."

"Why can't Lord Milori still visit her?" asked Tink. "The snowmakers—"

"All that snow blowing around just makes her condition worse."

"It's just like before, when they had to be separated," said Silvermist in a choked voice. "Poor Queen Clarion!"

Zarina stared down at the half-eaten blueberry muffin on her plate. If only there was a dust solution that would allow the Winter fairies to cross over, without the need for snow.

She returned to her lab and experimented with the dust in an effort to come up with such a potion. Even with a speck of blue, she was missing one vital ingredient: a piece of a dragon's scale. She substituted different items but none of them worked. She knew her instinct wasn't wrong. A dragon scale was the only thing that would create a protective dust for the Winter fairies.

The prospect terrified Zarina. Not only were dragons rare in Never Land, they were elusive and dangerous, able to char several fairies in a single fiery blast. Thanks to the Fairy Tale Theater storytellers, she knew the location of one dragon, named Kyto, who was so evil that he had been imprisoned in a high cave at the top of Torth Mountain by the queen that had preceded Clarion. He had come close to destroying most of Never Land many years ago.

News that Queen Clarion's mysterious ailment continued to worsen now that she had to be permanently separated from Lord Milori spurred Zarina to seek out Kyto.

She took off early the next morning, armed with her sword and two sacks of alchemized pixie dust. One was to douse flames, the other poppy dust to put Kyto to sleep so she could pry loose one of his scales.

The air grew colder as she flew up the side of the steep mountain. All of Never Land spread out below: a colorful array of multiple rounded hills, carpeted with lush forests; the deep blue sea; rainbow arcs above Mermaid Lagoon; and even Pixie Hollow, divided into four seasons. Zarina could see dark curls of smoke drifting from the mountain cave even at a distance. Swallowing back her fear, and thinking of the good the new dust would do for not only Lord Milori but all the Winter fairies, she pushed on. Her lungs ached from the thin air and her wings burned as she drew closer. The ledge that stretched from the cave was sparsely flecked with flame-singed grass and blackened mushrooms. Scattered amongst these were the charred bones of birds and other creatures.

Gnarled roots that grew from the Bimbim tree on the mountain's peak formed thick bars over the cave's opening. According to the storytellers, these were fireproof so Kyto couldn't disintegrate them with his breath. A twinge of sympathy passed through Zarina until she remembered all the terrible things he had done.

She shuddered when she saw the dragon behind those root-bars. He was enormous, at least twice the size of grown human, and had a head that resembled a crocodile's. Black smoke curdled from his pit-like nostrils. Even though she hovered several feet away, the acrid stench stung her nose and throat and made her eyes water. His hide was made up of silvery-green scales. He slept upon a pile of jewels and gold coins, bounty her former pirate crew would have killed for. His sides, draped by great, leathery wings, rose and fell with each breath.

Zarina nearly collapsed with relief. She wouldn't have to put him to sleep. Perhaps this would be easier than she thought. She drew her sword and glided closer.

She focused on the tip of his pointed tail, which was curled next to his snout, and struggled to keep her sword hand from shaking. All she had to do was slip through a gap in the roots and pry one of the smaller scales loose without waking him. She'd then take off back to Pixie Hollow.

Zarina was suddenly staring into an enormous red eye with a slit pupil. She shot back, her free hand reaching into the bag of poppy dust.

"I won't hurt you, little fairy," Kyto said in a deep, raspy voice that was surprisingly kind. "That hasn't been the case with most fairies, but I rather like you. You and I are not much different."

Zarina pointed her sword at him, knowing such a gesture was futile. "What do you mean?"

Kyto raised his head. "I can enter your mind and see your thoughts." His sharp snout stretched into a grin that revealed rows of knife-like teeth. "I can't do that with most creatures, just a special few." He snorted, releasing a thick plume of smoke.

Zarina found herself caught up in his gaze, his eyes fixed on her like setting twin suns. A prickling sensation filled her head.

"I understand why I like you so much." The tingling grew stronger, becoming a blinding pain. Zarina fell to the ground, her dropped sword clattering beside her. She could still see Kyto through the surrounding blades of singed grass. "Yes, glorious," he crooned. "You nearly destroyed Pixie Hollow, just as I almost laid waste to all of Never Land. But you were welcomed back and I…. Well, as you can see, I wasn't shown the same mercy." He placed his claws against the root-bars that formed his prison.

Zarina stared at the ground and wished she could pry Kyto from her mind. Tousled locks of hair tumbled over her face.

"What you did wasn't an accident, was it?" Kyto's voice vibrated in her ears and echoed through her mind.

A familiar rage, which she was sure had long dissipated, emerged. Zarina clenched her fists and strained to force it back. "I thought the pirates were the only ones who appreciated my talent," she said before she could stop herself. Her voice sounded harsh, bitter. "I took the blue dust not only to help them but because I was angry. Angry at Fairy Gary, at Tinker Bell…everyone. They'd rejected my talent. I wanted Pixie Hollow to suffer for that."

The memory of looking down at all of Pixie Hollow's denizens during their celebration at the Four Seasons Festival, after she'd put them to sleep with the poppy pollen, and the intense triumph she'd felt, slithered into her mind. She'd been furious when Tinker Bell and the others had somehow escaped and come looking for the dust, her dust. The only way to stop them had been to switch their talents, but even that didn't—

"See. I told you. We are not so different." Kyto's booming voice echoed.

Zarina fought those memories. She grabbed her sword and scrambled to her feet. "But I've changed." The words came out in a rush. "I no longer feel that way. I'm now using the blue dust to make things better, which is why I'm here." She swallowed. Kyto would never help her now.

"Yes, I know, little one. I know why you came." His voice had become sickeningly sweet. With one of his sharp talons, he pried a scale from his back and dropped it onto the ground before Zarina. She stared up at him in shock. "Take it. My gift to you. All I ask in return is that you visit me once in a while. It gets lonely up here."

Zarina didn't move. He reminded her so much of James. A twinge of fresh pain twisted in her chest as she recalled his charming smile, his admiration of her abilities, how they'd been good friends for an entire year…until he had betrayed her.

Renewed fury filled Zarina. Aside from the occasional nightmare, she'd given James very little thought since she'd been back. She now had true friends. She didn't appreciate him barging into her mind now.

But she'd learned her lesson. No matter how charming Kyto might act, he was still evil. She had to remain wary.

"I'll come back to visit, in payment for the scale, but I'll never free you, Kyto," she said, sheathing her sword.

He grinned. "I don't expect to be set free, little fairy. All I ask for is your company."

Zarina wished she could believe him. She gathered up the scale, which was the size of her torso but surprisingly light, and, clutching it to her chest, flew off in the direction of Pixie Hollow.

Author's Note: I borrowed the dragon Kyto from the Disney Fairies book series and added my own interpretation. He was featured in Fairy Dust and the Quest for the Egg and Fairies and the Quest for Never Land by Gail Carson Levine.