Straight On Till Morning (Disney Twisted Tales) - Liz Braswell Page 0,62

her wings buzzed.

All right, calm down, he’s not…exactly…human, the boy said soothingly—while giving Berryloon an eye roll. But his friends are. Tinker Bell, if he’s such a great not-human adventurer, he can take care of himself. And you can come with us to the Pinkpetal Harvest!

Oooh! Berryloon—well, squeaked would be the closest approximation to the way she jingled. She spun and grabbed the boy fairy’s hands. Me too! Let’s be partners! We could even trio, if little miss boring wings here will come.…

As nasty as it sounded, Wendy could tell that Berryloon was making a real effort to reach out to Tinker Bell. The offer was genuine despite her tone, whatever it all meant.

Tinker Bell shook her head. I have to find Peter. I know where his shadow is—it’s with the pirates. And they’re planning to destroy all of Never Land! Peter needs to hear about this before he reaches the First and makes some sort of terrible bargain. Or mistake. And then we’ll go after Captain Hook and stop him.

Planning to destroy all of Never Land, Berryloon sneered. Uh-huh.

The boy fairy sighed, shaking his head. It sounds like just another round of games between Peter and the pirates. But all right, Bell. A comrade of mine saw the demesne of the First appear on the northwestern corner of the island, at the base of the Chanting Peninsula, east of the Shimmering Sea.

Thank you, Tinker Bell said with relief, and gave him a little bow.

Good luck, weirdo, Berryloon said with a toss of her head. Guess we’ll see you next time you need something, or you finally tire of the company you keep. Shall we?

Hand in hand, she and the boy fairy rose perfectly in tandem, more gracefully than the most skilled ballerinas Wendy had ever seen, more smoothly than any ice-skaters.

And then—just before they disappeared into the depths of the jungle darkness as little bobbing glows, the boy fairy turned and winked.

Directly at Wendy.

She fell back, overcome by the direct, smiling gaze of the tiny man-at-arms.

Strange thoughts popped into her head: shrinking, or growing, clinging to a boy as he rode up into the air on the winds, his dragonfly wings beating strongly behind them.

Breathless, she staggered out of her hiding place, feeling a trifle disconnected from things.

Seeing Tinker Bell knocked sense back into her. The little fairy was hanging in the air like an old toy tied to a string to amuse a baby or a cat but then forgotten: she twisted a little right and then left as the breeze nudged her. Her gaze was fixed on the disappearing lights of her “friends.”

Poor Tinker Bell!

How entirely wrong Wendy had gotten her! What she had thought was fairy affectation—artfully ragged dress, tousled hair in a messy bun, snobby and antisocial behavior—was not de rigueur for fairies at all. The other two seemed to spend all of their time at parties and gatherings. They both had neatly tailored apparel complete with perfect, high-fashion little accessories. Tink cared less about her appearance than whatever quest she was currently on, whatever fun she was having, whatever the Lost Boys and Peter were up to, whatever her own mischief involved.

Oh yes, Tinker Bell did appreciate the finer things, like her delicate little bedroom. But on her own terms and, most importantly, on her own. She didn’t fit in with other fairies. And they obviously had issues with her chosen way of life.

No wonder she was so enamored of Peter Pan. She finally had a companion like herself. And of course she would be jealous and unwilling to share—without him, she might be alone.

“Tinker Bell?” Wendy said softly.

The fairy spun around in the air, obviously not having heard her approach. Her eyes were filled with brightness and wet. She shook her head to physically remove any traces of emotion and crossed her arms resolutely.

“Tinker Bell, I…”

Wendy bit her lip. The sort of person who abandoned her extremely cozy people to live a wild life with an unapproved-of boy, a girl who wore tatters and didn’t care…well, she wouldn’t be the sort of girl eager to discuss her feelings. She was obviously already embarrassed by what the human girl had witnessed.

“I feel like we should get started on our way to this Enchanted Peninsula, shouldn’t we?”

Tinker Bell let out an audible sigh, relieved at the direction Wendy’s statement had gone.

Chanting. Not “Enchanted.” You’ll understand when we get there.

“All right then. Let’s—”

And that’s when the creature leapt from the bush, grabbing Tinker Bell out of