(TINKER)BELLE RETURNS TO NEVERLAND
CHAPTER II
by chuckiboo
TinkerBell and all related characters ©Disney.
A nippy, crisp morning in the lush green countryside of England. As Belle and Mike flew due west over the Indian Ocean, the cool breeze of the water and the smell hit their senses warmly. Mike smiled like he never had, as Belle glanced over to her love, and smiled. She is definitely happy with this arrangement. Destiny has its ways of bringing two creatures together.
Flying above the clouds, the magical muscle girl looked down, and saw Skull Island in the distance. "We're not too far from the shore near Pixie Hollow," she called to him, as he acknowledged by nodding.
"Where can we land?" he asked back.
"Give it a couple of minutes," she said, "I flew this way in my cottonball balloon when I went on my quest to find the Mirror of Encanta long ago."
Just as she said that, the shoreline came into view. "We're here," as she and Mike glided down to the golden sand and landed softly, as it was already low tide.
"It's pretty warm here, now I see why you loved it here." Glancing around, he saw a plethora of palm trees and indigenous plant life growing a few feet from the shore. And it brought back more of Belle's memories, as she reverted to her regular form.
"I remember," she said softly, "not too long after I arrived, I came here, and saw lost things."
Walking over to a tall section of grass, she pointed down. "This is where I found that music box, and fixed it. After the 'catastrophe', I returned it to its rightful owner." She smiled. "It belonged to Wendy, your dad's best friend."
Mike smiled as well. "You certainly have a lot of fond memories, don't you?"
She nodded. "The time in Pixie Hollow has a way with sticking with a fairy. Let's go."
They started moving through the brush, ducking hanging branches and little animals on the ground, until they reached a vast clearing with rolling hills and a gigantic tree in the middle.
"Here we are," she chimed, "good ol' Pixie Hollow."
Mike couldn't believe his eyes! A beautiful field was in front of him, lush and wide as the forest in the States. And he saw something else.
"It's like...all four seasons inhabit this place at once!"
"That's the way it is," she replied, "I'll let 'em know we're here."
She closed here eyes, and suddenly, she levitated in midair a few feet off the ground. Coming down, a flurry of gold sparkles shot toward them, and slowed as it burst before their eyes. Then a tiny creature appeared, beautiful in grandeur, with a crown atop her head. Mike instantly knew who it was.
"Queen Clarion," Belle said, "your Majesty, it's so glad to see you," as she and Mike bowed their heads in respect to the queen of the fairies.
"Belle," she replied in cheer, "you've grown quite a bit," looking to the young man, "and Michael Philips, son of Peter Pan, you've grown to become a strikingly handsome young man."
She floated to his face, and ran her tiny hand over the left side of his face with the patch. She frowned.
"Life has been cruel to you, and you've suffered immensely."
"If it hadn't been for Belle, I would've been worse off. I thank the heavens every day that she's at my side."
The queen nodded. "Come," she said, "your friends are waiting for you near the pixie dust tree," as she flew ahead, with the teen boy and the magical muscle girl following behind. Walking through the field of grass and flowers, Mike couldn't help but be amazed at this hidden paradise on Earth.
"What are these places, your Majesty?" he asked in curiosity.
She smiled. "I see Peter hasn't told you yet," she said, "over there," pointing to the right, "are the Winter Woods, and over here," to the left, "are the Spring Blooms, and to the far right," pointing, "are the Summer Breezes, and lastly behind us, are the Fall Colors."
Hearing that reminded Belle of her adventure before becoming head of the tinker fairies, in the mysterious Winter Woods, but that's for another time. Reaching the pixie dust tree, they noticed a flurry of activity, as fairies of all talents scurried in a roundabout manner. Hanging decorations and lights, it was evident they were preparing for some kind of event.
"Didn't you just have the autumn revelry?" Belle asked.
"Yes," she said, "we're preparing for Christmas now, our favorite time of the year."
Mike smirked. "Even fairies celebrate holidays too."
Looking around, for Belle, nothing has really changed in the half year she's been gone, but Mike was amazed at what he saw as a mortal.
"Come," said the queen, "come to the pixie dust tree, there are many who want to see you."
The mortal male teen and the magical muscle girl, walked gingerly through the lush green pasture, as the insects flew around them, as to greet them.
"It's been so long," she told them, as some landed on her bulging deltiods. Reaching the tree, a stream of dust came from it, in the form of eight fairies. And not just ordinary fairies; these were her lifelong friends. Coming to a stop, they hovered in front of the duo, all in shock.
"Tink?" asked a dark skinned one, "is that...you?"
"Yes Iridessa, it's me," she said cheerfully, as she gazed at the rest of them.
"Whoa," exclaimed one with a southern drawl, "you've grown quite a bit since you left!"
"I"m surprised myself, Rosetta, a lot has happened," smiling.
"And this must be Mike, right?" asked one in a blue dress and jet black hair, flying to his face. He was shocked and hesitant at the same time.
"Y-y-yes," he stammered.
"Don't be so eager Sil, he's been through a lot lately," she said in a hushed tone. Silvermist quickly notice the patch on the left side of his face. Her expression saddened, as did the rest of the group.
"Oh," saying in a pitied tone, letting her tiny hand touch his eye patch, "I'm sorry-"
"Don't worry about it," he said, "if it wasn't for Belle, I'd be anywhere but here right now."
She seemed to beam at that statement, knowing her all too well. Then, three male fairies flew up to him.
"Hello there," one said with glasses on with bubbles that acted like lenses, "glad to see you, I'm Clank, and this is my cohort, Bobble-"
"Hello," the oversized fairy said, thinking Mike couldn't understand.
"Uh, hi," he said meekly, as a third flew up to him.
"I hope your taking good care of Tink," the third stated, with a slightly jealous tone.
"Hey," waving both hands, "we take care of each other!" trying not to start something.
"Terence," Silvermist said softly, "that's no way to talk to guests."
Terence folded his arms and smoldered in silence. Flying over to Belle, "he's been antsy lately, I have no idea," she whispered.
"I think I have an idea," she whispered, as Rosetta and Iridessa hovered around their now magical human friend. Suddenly, a stiff wind sped by them and Mike, startling him, creating a small funnel of dust. Belle knew who it was.
"Vidia," she called, that sounded like a bellow, "slow your sprinkles down!"
The fast flying fairy came to a stop, after hearing the voice. "Tink?" she said, as she turned around, to see a full sized, no, two full sized
humans standing there. Looking closely, Vidia finally recognized who it was, and it shocked her. "Tink!" as she flew to her, and hugged her cheek. Standing back, she saw how much her 'rival' had changed.
"Whoa," she said, "what happened?"
"I'll fill you in later, but," taking Mike's hand, "this is my boyfriend Mike."
Vidia nodded her head in greeting, but as the rest did, noticed the patch over his eye. Her expression softened then. Belle noticed.
"It was personal, I'll tell you all the story soon, there's another fairy I want him to meet," as she walked gingerly around the pixie dust tree, near where the pixie dust depot resided. She was looking for one particular fairy.
"Zarina," she said in her normal voice, "are you here?" Just then, a fairy flew out, with long, spiky hair, speckled with pixie dust.
"Hey, is that you Tink?" Reaching outside, she was rewarded with a wondrous sight. "Tink..." was all she could say, as she saw her fairy friend in a completely different light. "...is that...you?" The look on Zarina's face was priceless.
"Yes, it's me," Belle said, "though because of this, my name is now Belle," she corrected, "Mike, this is Zarina, Pixie Hollow's first-ever pixie dust alchemist."
"Pixie dust...alchemy...?" as he geared his eye towards his girlfriend.
"Short story," she said, "for a time, she became a 'pirate fairy', wanting to show various uses for pixie dust, and almost gave the one known as Captain Hook, before he became that, full access to the mortal world. Though that was long ago, she puts her skills to great use, in the help to change the seasons."
Zarina flew up to the human male. "I'm Zarina," she said, "glad to meet you."
"I'm Mike," he replied, "glad to meet you as well. You must show me what you can do, how this 'pixie dust alchemy' works," smiling.
"Sure will," she said, "a friend of Tink, I mean, Belle, is a friend of mine," smiling and blushing, "if you don't mind, I need to get back to work," as she nodded her head and flew back to her lab in the depot.
"Whoa," commented Mike, "there's a wide variety of fairies here, more than what my dad remembers."
"Time moves at a slower pace here, the reason why we live so long," Belle said, "but there's one very special fairy I want you to meet," as she took his hand, and led him to the northeast section of the realm.
After a few minutes of walking, the air started to chill, as they neared what was known as the forbidden part of Pixie Hollow. Long time ago, this section was off limits to all fairies, due to the cold weather, but since the incident that placed the entire realm in jeopardy, it brought both sides together like never before. And gave birth to the discovery that changed TinkerBell's life forever.
"Are these the Winter Woods?" Mike asked. Belle smiled.
"Yes they are." Suddenly, her wings appeared, and began to glow and shimmer. "She should be here any minute-" Just then, a female fairy, dressed in what looks like capri pants, and a little dress appeared, hovering, and soon after that, an adult male fairy arrived, on the back of a snow owl. The girl's wings glowed and shimmered like Belle's, as if they were the same kind of wings.
"Tink, is that you?' asked the fairy in shock.
"It's me, Periwinkle," she said with a small smile.
"So what Clarion said was true," said the male, "you were affected by the spell, but what happened?"
Belle sighed a bit. "I'll get to that in a minute, but first, this is Mike, son of Peter Pan," introducing her boyfriend, "Mike, this is Lord Milori, keeper of the Winter Woods," as they greeted each other by a nod, "and this," gesturing to the female, "is Periwinkle, my twin sister."
Mike's eye grew wide. "Twin...sister...?"
"Yep," she said cheerfully, "I'll show you," as she magically shrunk down to her original fairy size with ease, with all the muscle she had built up since unlocking her new powers. Backing up to each other, Belle and Periwinkle's wings went flat against each other, the intricate design matching each other perfectly; and as the tips aligned, caused a brightness to shower half of the realm in bright light. As they seperated, the light dissipated. Mike was speechless. Lord Milori smiled.
"Two fairies, born of the same laugh; seperated by need, reunited by destiny," he said, as Belle returned to human size.
"Peter Pan healed me of the disease, but the side effect caused me to become human," she stated, "and though I'm no longer a full fairy, I am now a magical human, though I don't need pixie dust now."
"You never cease being a full fairy," Lord Milori corrected, "yet Clarion knew you were special when you were brought here."
"Yeah," said Periwinkle, "Silvermist told me how that hammer glowed extra bright when you searched for your talent." She thought for a moment. "Come to think about it, frost came strangely easy to me when I came to the Winter Woods. More than most."
Mike looked closely at both Belle and Periwinkle, how they differed, yet how they were the same. "There's no major difference between you two, except your hair, complexion and way of dress, but," turning to Periwinkle, "you're just as cute as Belle when she was your size."
Periwinkle blushed a soft red and giggled, while Belle smiled. Sometimes, the feelings of one mirrored in the other. She flew to her full grown twin sister, still under the snowfall, and whispered.
"Are you sure you don't want to share? He's mighty cute, even with that eye patch," she said jokingly.
Her twin smiled. "He's going through a rough patch right now, he needs comfort, and I just want to make sure he gets over it." She sighed. "I truly do love him," her complexion flushed.
"I can tell," Periwinkle giggled, as her tiny hand rubbed her sister's cheek. Secretly, she meant what she said about sharing the human.
"Hey," she said, interrupting their sisterly moment, "we better go, Queen Clarion wants to meet with us about something."
"Okay," said Periwinkle, a bit saddened, "come back whenever you like, and especially you, Mike," blushing a bit.
"Okay," he replied, smiling nicely, "great to meet you, and you too, Lord Milori," nodding to the minister of winter.
"The pleasure's mine," he replied, "you're welcome here in the Winter Woods anytime."
"Thank you," as he and his magical muscle girlfriend left the border. While walking, a thought appeared in Mike's mind.
"Belle," he started, "I thought that fairiies couldn't be heard by us humans. Why is it that I can fully understand them, and hear them speak?"
Belle smiled. "Simple. Because of our...'physical'...interaction," blushing rosy red, "you are now a part of Pixie Hollow. All that fairies say, you can understand. And because of your belief in the existence of fairies, enables you to give me strength when I need it. You are a part of me, just as I'm a part of you." She took his hand. "I love you Mike, and that is what will keep us together. Through anything."
Mike bowed his head, blushing a bit. He lifted his head and gazed at her.
"And I love you too, Belle."
"Let's go see what the Queen wants."
"Yes," he said, "let's."
Guided by two members of the royal guard, the two full sized humans were guided to the eastern shoreline of Pixie Hollow, where they flew over a couple of hours before. There, the guard halted, and beckoned them to wait. A minute later, a shower of sparkles appeared, signaling the arrival of the queen of the fairies. The guard left, leaving the two humans with her.
"Belle, Michael," she started, "I don't mean to bother you two, knowing that you're here on winter vacation, but there is an important matter I need to speak to you about."
"What is it?" Belle asked.
Queen Clarion sighed with worry. "Sources have reported that," pausing, "pirates have been sighted a few miles past Skull Island."
"Are you sure?" asked Mike.
"Yes," she said, "and they are under new leadership."
"New leadership?" said Mike and Belle in unison.
"I thought that Captain Hook was taken by the Clock Croc years ago," said Mike, shivering at the thought of his ordeal with him while as a child.
"Yes that is true, but it appears that," pausing again, "his son has taken over."
"SON!?" both said in utter shock.
"Yes," the queen said, "but I need to tell you what has happened since then. The second pixie dust tree in Pirate's Cove, the one that Zarina grew, is now under protective magic, never to be tampered with. After you and your father's battle with Hook and his apparent demise at the hand of the croc, the crew struggled to carry on, without a captain. It has come to my knowledge that he had a son outside of Never Land, and that he has come to take over his father's mission, to rid the realm of Peter Pan."
"Does he know that Peter Pan has grown up and left here?" asked Belle.
"I don't know, but if he knows about the pixie dust tree in Pirate's Cove, he may try to get to that, and accomplish that which his father has failed. And Mr. Smee is still his right hand man, so that makes them just that more dangerous."
Just as the conversation was being conducted, a figure in hiding was listening attentively. Finally hearing enough, the figure silently snuck away, pushed a boat out into the water, and began to row. This information will be most beneficial to the captain.
"He may know about you, Belle," said Queen Clarion, "and may try to get to you first, since you were his father's arch nemesis. But I don't think he knows about you, Michael," speaking to the mortal. "If he does, you may be more in danger than anyone."
Mike screwed up his face and contemplated the consequences. His eye patch adjusted a bit. He then huffed out some air.
"Your majesty," he said, "my father did what he could to protect Never Land from the likes of Captain Hook. What I went through eight years ago doesn't compare to what you fairies deal with every day. You all help the seasons change. If it wasn't for you, no telling what would happen. I have to face my past and get over it, so I can live my life, as it should, with no fear or mind games." He then took Belle's hand. "And I know that Belle will do all in her power to protect me, just as I would do her."
Queen Clarion smiled. "You are truly the son of Peter Pan. You have his bravery, no doubt about that." She then flew to his face, and touched his eye patch, leaving an imprint of her hand with pixie dust. "Because you stayed true to yourself, you did not lost your eye in vain."
"Thank you, your majesty," he said, as he nodded his head in respect. She nodded in return.
"What is said between us, stays between us," the queen said, "I don't want to scare the fairy population of Pixie Hollow."
"Understood," replied Belle, as they parted ways. Unbeknowst to them, the chain of events has already started to move forward.