One of Our Fairies is Missing
Chapter 5

Ambrosia walked under a few leaves, looking for berries. The plants that bore them grew here were beyond the safe borders of Pixie Hollow. Earlier, a couple of scouts in their pine-cone perch noticed her flitting by with a large basket across her arm. They warned her not to go any further; perils awaited any fairy foolish enough to go any deeper.

"What kind of perils?" she asked.

"Hawks," one replied.

Hawks, a natural predator of fairies, flew throughout this part of Never Land. The trees and underbrush here were rich in small animals that were the hawks' choice of prey. Bunnies, mice, snakes, squirrels, all of them flourished out this way and were easy pickings for an alert bird of prey. So would a fairy.

Along with hawks in the air, there were dangers from the ground. Snakes, rats, large spiders and bats could make a meal of a fairy very easily. Spider Wasps were also a nasty creature to avoid. Spider Wasps spent each spring and summer searching for tarantulas, one sting would paralyze the spider and the wasp would drag it off to its den to be used as food for its young. Spider Wasps were rather particular, but if the tarantulas they preyed upon were in short supply then a wayward fairy might do in a pinch.

"Thanks, I'll be careful," Ambrosia replied. "I'll bring you back some fruit."

"Another nut case with a death wish," one scout said to the other.

"Yeah, but at least this one is nice to us," the other replied. "That Vidia can be one mean little snot."

The little baking fairy rolled her eyes as she flitted out of earshot. Soon Ambrosia found what she was looking for: Wild Never Berries. The ones grown in the gardens were wonderful, but the ones that grew wild could be so different in taste, sweetness and texture. The amount of rain, sun and food the plants received wasn't monitored and measured. This made for a great variance in flavors of Wild Never Berries, even from one plant to the next. Ambrosia picked a few and returned to the Hollow's boundary where a cart was waiting for her. A mouse was hitched to it and was lazily taking a nap in the warm sun.

Going back beyond the safety of Pixie Hollow, Ambrosia found Wild Raspberries and then Blackberries. In fact, over the course of several hours she had located a trove of luscious tasting wild fruits to use. She sampled from each plant to find the very best available. She also found plants and flowers that could be excellent at imparting flavors through infusion or as aromatics. The baking talent made several trips bringing back as many of her finds as the cart could hold. The overflow was held in the basket at her side.

True to her word, she brought two of the wild berries to the scouts in their outpost. They were most grateful for her thoughtfulness.

"I'm glad you made it back in one piece," one said.

"Funny thing, I had the oddest feeling I was being watched," Ambrosia told them.

"Then you were really lucky," the other scout told her. "That was probably a snake or a rat sizing you up for a late afternoon snack."

"Remind me never to try that again," Ambrosia said with a 'lucky to be alive' look on her face. "At least, not without one of you strong and fearless gentlemen at my side." This made the two scouts turn deep crimson as they blushed and turned away with embarrassment. Neither would have dared to enter this part of Never Land, yet the prodding of this pretty young girl turned them into drooling fools who would gladly defy injury and death just to impress her.

"If you ever need an escort just ask," one said. The other nodded enthusiastically in agreement. "We'll keep you safe no matter what."

"Oh I'm sure you will," Ambrosia cooed as she slipped back down to her mouse cart, waving coyly to both. Sometimes I hate myself, she mused.

Once at home she started to experiment with her haul and prepared for the upcoming tasting, aiming to take first prize and prove once and for all that effort, more than just sheer talent, could guarantee success.

On the mainland, Dr. Martin Griffiths had no idea what to do with himself while Lizzy was away at school. He began to catalog and record minutia of every sort. His first attempt to occupy his time was to purchase a Sphygmomanometer, a device to measure systolic blood pressure. It was an expensive device, which consisted of a wall-mounted mercury measurement system attached to an inflatable cuff. (Manometers at this time only measured systolic pressure. Russian physician Nikolai Korotkov would add measurements for diastolic pressure in 1905).

He measured his blood pressure several times daily, keeping a log. He would take a reading when he woke up; before and after his first and every visit to the "necessary" each day; he would measure before and after each meal and even before and after tea. Then he would chart the changes and engage in statistical analysis. However, this only occupied a fraction of his day when he was at home. Otherwise, he only had his work and his colleagues for company. Visits by friends and family were infrequent, but they became a lifeline for him, as were the visits by Tinker Bell, Periwinkle and their friends each season.

Martin began to wonder about those two stars that were a guide to Never Land. He purchased a telescope to examine them more closely. Soon he began to examine all the stars in the heavens attempting to catalog each of them and recording all necessary information as any good scientist would. When Tinker Bell and Periwinkle came to visit for Christmas one winter they were both fascinated by the device. Periwinkle marveled at what she could see through it. She confided in Tinker Bell that she wanted one. Tinker Bell was more fascinated by how it worked and was determined to learn to make one even before Peri confided in her. When it was time for the fairies to go back to Never Land, Tinker Bell had learned everything she needed to build a telescope and promised Periwinkle to have one ready for her by the end of the winter season.

Near a Caribbean Island, an old-fashioned sailing ship anchored off the coast. A small boat was lowered into the water and five men crowded into it. Four of the men rowed the small landing craft to shore while the fourth kept an eye on the shoreline and gave navigation instructions. The sailing vessel was a curiosity to the people who saw it from the island. Such vessels were no longer in use as modern ships that used steam engines rather than sails had replaced them. The sailing ship flew a British flag and the men who came ashore were dressed in outdated attire of the British Navy. The man who disembarked first wore the attire and rank of the Admiralty. He was missing a hand which when asked about it said was lost in battle serving the Crown.

In truth, these men were pirates, namely Captain Hook and his boatswain Mr. Smee. Hook lamented having to dress this way to buy his wares. Ever since the age of piracy had ended, he had become a relic. It was the dawn of a new century and modern ships were faster and carried better armaments than his old wooden frigate. Even the muzzle-loader rifles and side arms he and his crew used were so outdated as to be laughable. He came here, under cover as a retired British Admiral, to purchase what he needed. When asked about his vessel, he referred to it as a floating museum, the last remnant of a bygone era. On this score, he was quite correct.

Piracy, as Hook knew it, ended in the middle of the 19th century when the world powers of the Atlantic including Great Britain, France, Spain and the United States as well as many countries of the South American continent directed their considerable navies to the eradication of pirates that operated throughout the Atlantic Ocean. All of Hook's contemporaries had either retired and gone into hiding or suffered capture and execution for their crimes. Captain Hook had spent so much time on Never Land chasing after Peter Pan that he let the outside world pass him by without keeping up with those changes. He was here to rectify that.

Although Hook would never give up his precious ship, the Jolly Roger, for a new vessel, he did want to look for weapons that are faster to load and easier to use. It was here on this island that the pirate knew of a smuggler who supplied Hook with several 1874 Sharps model rifles. To go with them Captain James Hook purchased a considerable supply of .50-90 Sharps cartridges. The 1874 could also accept .50-100 and .50-110 cartridges, but he chose the .50-90 specifically because it was the most powerful round available for the 1874 rifle. The .50-90 used a 600-grain bullet, which had been used in the United States for buffalo hunting. With this rifle, Hook might be able to conquer Never Land and claim it for himself. The Pirate King he told himself, toying with the idea.

Hook also purchased several revolvers for his men and a supply of bullets for them. For himself, however, he took possession of a Colt Single Action Army, more commonly known as the Colt .45. This piece of American history famously earned the moniker "The Gun That Won the West." He enjoyed holding such a famous weapon. The pirates also procured one last item for the vessel. If James Hook and his men were to return to piracy of any sort then they needed something more threatening and faster to use than their old cannons. The crew simply referred to it as their secret weapon. When the ship left port that evening the crew of the Jolly Roger reveled in their haul. Hook himself felt more ready than ever to face down his nemesis, Peter Pan. First, though he wanted to target a few passenger ships and relieve those poor, rich people of their gold and jewels.

At the next tasting, Queen Clarion slowly made her way down the line, carefully sampling each dish from the baking fairies who were participating in this seasons royal tasting. Each one was a sumptuous dessert and all of them deserved praise, but two were most superior. A fluffy dessert by Marjoram took the top spot, receiving the second highest compliment the queen could offer. The other belonged to Ambrosia, whose luscious pie in the meringue style was only a hair's breadth behind the winner. Ambrosia wasn't worried that she couldn't duplicate her previous efforts. No baking fairy in the history of Pixie Hollow had ever earned the queen's highest honor twice. Not even the most talented had accomplished such a feet.

But that wasn't what she was after. She wanted respect from her guild mates and the other fairies of Pixie Hollow and firmly believed she could achieve that goal with a good showing today. Winning the tasting was her primary goal. Unfortunately, she cam in second and was quite disappointed with her performance. However, the fairies that rushed the stage to congratulate the winner didn't ignore Ambrosia. Instead they eagerly congratulated her for creating such an excellent dish.

"You really made this choice hard for the queen," one sparrow man told her.

"I think you should have won today," a fairy from a different guild concluded.

"I've never seen the queen think so hard about who should be the winner," a third assured her.

These well wishes soothed her bruised ego. Ambrosia realized she had accomplished her goal after all. Simply having a good showing demonstrated to her guild and to many others just how good of a baking talent she could be. Then she received the ultimate compliment.

"That was wonderful," Dill told her. "I'm so proud of you. You know, I feel kind of stupid for telling you to just be happy following someone else's recipes."

"Thanks, Dill," Ambrosia replied. "But don't apologize, there's no reason."

Dill smiled. "I think you've really proven yourself today. You have real talent. I hope you will keep inventing new desserts for us to enjoy."

Ambrosia's face lit up with joy at the request. She was so giddy that she could barely nod much less verbalize an answer. If the one person who believed in her the least could have a change of heart, then maybe the others would, too.

Her good showing today did sway a few more to her side. However, several hardliners within her own guild and other talent guilds maintained that Ambrosia had somehow stumbled into her success, or cheated. Two of them, Anise and Rehmannia, pushed through the fawning crowds and said as much to her face.

"It isn't possible for someone with your weak talent to be this good," Anise said scolding her.

"We know you cheated," Rehmannia accused. "We are going to launch an investigation. You either stole this from someone or you paid someone to craft this for you. Either way you're going to be exposed so you might as well come clean."

"I made this," Ambrosia barked with a defiant tone. "I worked hard and experimented through hours and hours of trial and error. Why can't you accept that? Why is it so hard for you to believe that I did this on my own?"

"Because talent defines what we can do," Anise spat, "and you have no talent."

With that last volley, the two fairies turned their backs to her and fluttered away joining a third named Ceylon who give little Ambrosia a dirty look before exiting. Their harsh words elicited gasps from the crowd. Many looked upon Ambrosia with a disapproving eye or disappointed expression. If members of her own guild thought she was cheating then maybe it was true. The throngs that surrounded her quickly began to thin out as several fairies walked away uncertain if she deserved such high praise from the queen.

"Don't listen to them," a familiar voice told her. Ambrosia spun around and spied her inspiration: Tinker Bell.

"I believe in you," the tinker fairy said in a tone loud enough to be heard by most everyone in the hall. It had the intended effect. Several in the great hall turned and listened. Those who were filing out stopped in their tracks. Tinker Bell was very well respected in Pixie Hollow, and her words carried a great deal of weight. "Don't lose heart just because a few hard headed fairies are jealous."

Most talent guilds of Pixie Hollow had a few members that still towed the old line that talent defined a fairy's success more than effort. Tinker Bell was lucky enough to have Fairy Mary, a guild overseer who was very progressive in that respect. She rejected that nonsense and preached effort and inspiration regularly to her own guild.

"I wish she would do a little of that evangelizing in my guild," Ambrosia said. "Those fairies really know how to get a person right where it hurts."

"Look, it's going to take a while to win them over, but don't give up. Keep trying and you'll do it."

"Easy for you to say. You're the great Tinker Bell."

"And you're the great Ambrosia," Tink responded. "Look what you've already done. Queen Clarion gave you the highest compliment possible by asking for a second bite. On your very first try. No one, and I mean no one has ever done that before."

"Really?"

"Yes. Really. Heck, even my first inventions were complete disasters. I nearly killed a baby squirrel with a nut; got paint all over the Minister of Spring and then nearly kept the nature talents from bringing Spring to the mainland. The queen's look of disappointment was so gut wrenching I almost ran away. You, on the other hand, impressed her the very first time."

A smile stretched across Ambrosia's face. She had spent so much time being told what a failure she was, how she could never amount to anything but a line cook that it never occurred to her to think about herself in this fashion. The baking fairy started to laugh almost uncontrollably as the breadth of her accomplishments began to sink in. "Oh thank you, Tinker Bell," she said throwing herself at the tinker fairy and wrapping her arms around her. "You made me feel so good today."

"Hey, no problem. Just keep doing what you've been doing. You're breaking new ground here. You're thinking different. Keep it up."

"I will, Tink. I will."

Wow, I never thought I would pick up this story again. I had a really hard time trying to figure out what to do next, but I finally managed to pastiche together a fifth chapter. I had pretty much given up when The Pirate Fairy came out and it had essentially the same basic plot elements as this one. But I couldn't just leave it alone so I hope you find this new chapter to your liking. Your feedback is always welcome. Thank you.