The wind whizzed across the horizon, ruffling his hair and Angel's feathers as the first light of dawn peeked over the star-filled night. The dove did not seem to mind the air, however, as she swept through a thin cloud, keeping perfectly in stride with the older, more experienced travelers, and Bobble found himself relaxing more the longer they flew. He wasn't clinging to her feathers like the world was about to shatter into a million pieces around him and he was actually able to lean back and enjoy the view. Craning his neck, he could see the faint glow of the other fairies zipping through the heavens in the next cloud layer above him. The sun glinted off of their wings and reflected into the ocean below. It was really beautiful, a sight that...perhaps could only be seen from this distance away.
They were about an hour's flight from the mainland, he guessed, taking note of the sun's location and the last of the fading night-time sky. Huh, that wasfunny. It seemed to take so much longer the last time they had come. Although perhaps that had been due to the amount of things he and Clank had tried to bring (look, he knew it had been too much, but Clank had fretted that they would forget something). That poor dove...
A glint of gold shot down out of the corner of his eyes and he twisted, blinking away from his dazed stupor, surprised to find someone pulling away from the rest of the group to fly with him. Who would possibly give up their chance to be the first to spot the human's world and, instead, come down to fly with him?
Certainly, it was none of his friends. They were all far too focused on their own tasks and missions once they caught sight of the city, it was all he had heard about for the past week and a half. Grow the flowers here, shoo out the rain there, reform the clouds in every which direction, it was a wonder he had been able to get a word in edgewise.
"Oh, I'm so excited for this trip!" Iridessa announced sporadically while they were sitting quietly around one of the larger tables in the cafeteria (the same one that Bobble had accidently set on fire months before, even though there was no evidence to show for it now) sipping their afternoon tea.
"Really?" Vidia remarked, glancing up from her scone and arching an eyebrow curiously, "and what suddenly caused this much excitement? This is just like last year, and the year before that, and the year before that."
"No, it's really not!" Dessa explained. "Because this year, we not only get to bring summer to the mainland, but we get to explore a whole new world, so much more than what most fairies get to see!"
"I can't believe you're this excited to go with Tink to see the humans," the fast-flyer said slowly. "I thought you were the one constantly reminding us to stay as far away as possible!"
"Well, I mean, yeah, but that was before we met Lizzie!"
"I almost got pinned like a butterfly!"
"But it's all good now!" Silvermist interjected before their voices could get any louder and disturb the other fairies trying to enjoy some peace and quiet between shifts. "We're all okay, aren't we?" she went on, glancing to each of her friends in turn, her gaze pausing on Clank for a moment longer than the others and they gently smiled at each other.
Bobble sighed, his head resting on his hand as he picked at his food disinterestedly and, having learned from past experiences, the others instantly took notice of this, Sil already bracing herself to react should the need arise. But there was no need to panic now. He had no powers. He couldn't hurt them. It wasn't like last time.
"Bobble?" Tink tried, laying a hand on his shoulder. "Is everything okay?"
He looked up at her and then around to the rest of them and he saw how they were tensed, ready, expecting him to snap, to break, to lose control. He didn't blame them. They were only being cautious. He'd already shown that he had little control over his emotions, so much more than he could blame on being a redhead, as Lizzie teased him the last time they spoke. Even if she still didn't understand his attempts to translate his name (how did one charade a name like Phineas anyway?), she still liked him and often went out of her way to help him feel included, but she had found it impossible not to poke the joke, despite everyone knowing that he was one of the most level-headed of the bunch.
She also knew that he had feelings for his guildmate, though even at her young age, she knew better than to spill that secret to the blond.
But that was all in the past now. He could control his temper now. He couldn't hurt them.
He couldn't.
And so he plastered on a smile and nodded. "Aye, thank ye, Miss Bell."
"Oh, he's got that look again," Rosetta remarked flatly, not even remotely fooled by the facade.
"Look?" he echoed, pretending he didn't know what she meant by that.
"You're worried about something," Fawn translated. "What is it? Is it about the mainland? You kinda got all sad looking when we started talking about it."
He absentmindedly reached for the sides of his jacket, looking down at his plate and deciding not to answer.
"You...are coming with us...aren't you?" Sil asked, her initial grin falling away.
"Of course, he is!" Tink exclaimed, pushing her own tray away and trying to gain his attention again. "He asked Queen Clarion weeks ago! Come on, Bobble! Cheer up! Tell us what's really bothering you."
He didn't want to. He really didn't. It would make him look like a burden and that was the last thing that he wanted. But now that they suspected something was worrying him, they weren't likely to leave him alone until he caved and told them everything. His friends were resilient if nothing else.
"It's...it's nothin'," he tried to deflect. "I just..." He clenched his hands against his knees and fixed his eyes on the table. "I don't know how much help I would be to ye on the mainland this year, what with me not bein' able to fly and all. I'd probably just slow ye down. Ye don't want someone like me over there gettin' in the way and underfoot all of the time."
The others stared.
"Of course, we want you to come with us!" Rosetta exclaimed, standing up and putting her hands on her hips to glare down at him. "Are ya out of your mind, Phin? Ya are goin' to the mainland, just like every other fairy here." She gestured around the room to the dozens upon dozens of fairies gathered, some from every talent. "And ya are goin' to be just as useful as you always are! Flyin' or no flyin', we still need your help! You can't leave Tink and Clank to do everythin' all summer, now can ya?"
"Besides," Iridessa butted back in. "What would you even do here? Everyone has done all of the work for Autumn. You'd be bored out of your mind for three months if you stayed. Even Fairy Mary is planning to take some time off. There'd be nothing for you to do!"
"Plus," Tink added, "I know you want to go and see Lizzie just as much as the rest of us."
"And we'll all go see her together," Fawn agreed. "We'll all walk to her house if that is what it takes. We're not going to leave you behind."
He hesitated. He wasn't getting through to them, but perhaps that was for the best. After all, they were usually right about these kinds of things. "Are...are ye sure? I don't want to be a bother to anyone..."
"Well, you're about a year too late for that," Vidia commented with a nonchalant shrug, earning a glare from the others. "What?" she protested. "I'm just saying, we've already come this far together, right? A little trip to the human's world should be nothing compared to that."
"We'll get you to the mainland," Tink assured him. "One way or another."
"So, do you prefer to be called Bobble or Phineas?"
The uneasy voice drew him back to the present; a tone so gravely and yet, so uncomfortable, that he did not immediately identify who it belonged to. One glance at the dark hair and the tattered green and gray outfit, however, decisively squashed any doubt that might have been lingering.
It was Shade.
At first, he could only stare. It was hard for him; to look at the former Protector, knowing what Shade had done, knowing how many fairies he had almost hurt to try and make his point. In the end, the tinker had shown his true colors, choosing to side with the fairies trying to save the Hollow, but it hadn't come without a price and, sometimes, that was all Bobble could see whenever they crossed paths.
It took him a minute or two to realize that he had been asked a question.
"Uh, Phineas," he replied uncertainly. "But...my friends just call me Bobble, I guess. It...started off as a...bit of a mean joke but...it's kind of stuck around. I guess I'm just used to it now."
"Hmmm," Shade hummed, not looking his way. He was so uncomfortable and Bobble, who was not the best with social cues in the first place, could sense it too. Maybe he really was trying to make up for what he had done...he seemed to be unable to face the younger Protector. Did he still feel guilty for his part in costing the tinker his flight? That was probably it. "And this is your second time going to the mainland?"
Bobble nodded cautiously.
"What's it like?" Shade asked. "The human's world, I mean. It's so different, isn't it? I've heard everything is huge!"
"Well, I mean-"
"And you've actually met a human!" the sparrowman barreled on as they broke through yet another layer of clouds and emerged over a winding river; the last leg of their journey before arriving in the countryside. The camp was only a little further now. "What was she like? How did she see you? Oh, does she like rabbits too?"
"I don't-"
"I mean, not that I'm actually expecting you to tell me anything. I'm sure you don't want someone like me tagging along with you. And that's okay! Really! You don't have to let me come with you, no matter what Scarab says. I know what I've done and I don't expect you to just forgive me after everything that has happened but I really want to make it up to you somehow. We both do and I just-"
"Land ho!" someone called from up ahead and cheers erupted from the unseen multitude above them. Shade's head shot around as he rapidly searched the heavens for what he thought would be the mainland and Bobble couldn't help but chuckle a little, leaning over Angel's wings to point.
"Down there," he explained. "That's the mainland. Accordin' to what Lizzie told us the last time, we're about an hour outside of the main gatherin' of buildin's. She called it a city. London, I think was its name."
"Huh. That's a weird name."
"Aye, don't ask me why they chose it. Humans can be odd sometimes." He shrugged.
Shade smiled at this. "Yeah, you're telling me. Well, I'd better get back to the others. Scarab will send an entire search party after me if I'm not with your friends when we arrive."
"Ye wouldn't want that."
"No," Shade chuckled. He started to fly back to the others...and then paused and glanced back slowly. "Hey, Bobble, before I go...?"
"Aye?"
"Thanks for...uh...you're a good listener, has anyone ever told you that?"
Bobble smiled, distracting himself by fiddling once more with the strap of his bag. "Thanks, Shade."
"No, thank you."
And with that, the sparrowman was gone, leaving nothing more than a trail of pixie dust in his wake.
The mainland was in sight.
It was time for summer to officially begin.
For Elizabeth Griffiths, summer began the moment her father dragged the large, overly-sized suitcases into the back of their vehicle and drove the two of them out to their cabin in the countryside-miles away from the nearest form of civilization or, really, anyone else at all.
But they were not really as alone as they had once believed and Lizzie was thrilled with the overwhelming sense of excitement that coursed through her being as she swung her door open wide, grabbed the fairy house from the back seat next to her, and hurried off into the field without so much as a goodbye to her father as he struggled with the baggage.
"Now, don't be gone for too long!" Mr. Griffiths called after her retreating figure. "Don't forget that we've got to get this place cleaned up a little before your friends get here!" By friends, he meant the fairies, for he was as sure as Lizzie that they would be arriving any day now. In the big city, it was hard to tell, but out here the changes to the seasons had already begun-the work of the first fairies to arrive with the humid breeze.
"We'll be back next year," Tinker Bell had promised Lizzie on their final evening before their departure. The group had met out in the field and the fairy had pointed Lizzie in the direction of their camp. "And you'll know when we've returned by looking at that tree. You see it? The one with the blossoms? Before we arrive, that tree will still be budding. It is the job of the nature -talents to bring in the new season and their favorite place to start is with those flowers. When it blooms, it means we're here, and we will be back to see you as soon as we can."
"All right, Tinker Bell," Lizzie agreed. "I'll watch for the flowers to start blooming. And I'll leave my fairy house in the first place we met. That way you will know that I am back too, and then we can spend the entire summer together!"
"Sounds like we've got a plan," Tink replied, giving her a thumbs up. "Until next year?"
"Until next year, Tinker Bell."
Brushing a strand of hair from her eyes, Lizzie hurried through the meadow until she found what she was looking for-a small patch of clearing amongst an otherwise full field.
Just beyond the meadow stood a thick dogwood, overshadowing the small creek that split the landscape in half. Even from where she stood, she could easily see the bright pink and white flowers dotting the landscape.
The tree was in full bloom.
The fairies had returned.