The fairy princess considered this as she finished her glass of wine. “The guardian stones were in the shape of stars,” she said quietly, more to herself than Chiara. “And they were set into the shape of a star...” She was clearly turning something over in her mind.

"Miss Pavonis,” he began, “before my sister, ah, well,” he glanced over in the direction of his sister, making sure she was still asleep. “Before all that,” he continued, “she told me a little bit about what you two talked about, and well, it gave her an idea about...things..."

“Well, for example, my own magic can cause any plant to grow or wither, while most fairies with that power can only use it on one plant, maybe two if they're lucky. And my brother has the very rare ability to create the fairy rings that are required to travel between the human and fairy realms.”

Lady Mapeloris regarded her carefully, as if she were seriously considering the capability of this small fairy. “Yes, perhaps you are,” she said slowly, cautiously. “You certainly have spirit, to defy me three times as you have. Yes, I think I shall give you test.”

“She is very powerful,” the fairy prince told her, “and I'm worried about what she might do if we annoy her too much. I can't even imagine the kind of thing she might do!”
“Would she curse you to fly backwards?” the princess asked.
“See, I never would have thought of that!” the fairy prince said.

Well, she could consult the books in the royal library when they returned to the fairy realm. She already planned to spend a good deal of time there as she tried to figure out what her first move should be on this unlikely-to-succeed quest.

The area they had landed in had been mostly devoid of people, but the further in they got, the more servants were rushing about. And while there were a few close calls in avoiding getting stepped on, for the most part no one noticed the fairies so low to the ground.

Yet again, Miss Pavonis did not respond. But Primrose noticed the other fairy's wings slowly yet surely beginning to flap. She looked to the others, and both Caddock and the princess had gotten the hang of flapping as well. That was one step down, she supposed.

“Shall we get going then? The sooner we start this quest, the sooner we can get back.” She turned to the two original fairies. “How long do you think this will take? A day, maybe a week at most?” The look on the two fairies' faces told her all she needed to know, and she didn't like it one bit.

Once everyone was ready, they headed back outside and Cosmo began to search for the right place to make the fairy ring that would take them back to Lady Mapeloris' forest. In one swift motion, he created the fairy ring, more than large enough for even Caddock to step into.

“Wait, you no longer see the future? What did we come here for then?” the fairy princess asked, her wings flapping a bit in agitation. In one uniform movement, she and her brother rounded on Mr. Hawthorne, who held up one hand apologetically.

“Should we just come out now?” she whispered to Cosmo.
Before he could answer, they both heard the voice of Lady Mapeloris, loud and clear. “I think it's about time the little fairies you have with you showed themselves.”
“That answers that,” Cosmo said dryly.

Cosmo let out a small, “hm,” as he pictured this. “I assume you're getting at something with this?” he asked, clearly not getting it himself.

In truth, it was well past lunchtime, but she didn't feel like putting the effort into making a full meal, and so furnished the table with a spread of cheese and crackers and various fresh fruits, as well as a pot of freshly brewed tea.

Lark had billed his performance as a celebration of all things color, which was a fitting description of the entire festival itself. Bramble seemed especially eager to see it. Cosmo had only seen it in bits and pieces, so he was most interested in seeing how it all came together. #WIPSnips

[...] but after a while Miss Pavonis said, “You know, it never came up before, but just how did you and Aster meet? He doesn't live in a particularly easy place to get to. That is, it's not the type of place one just happens to wander into.” #WIPSnips

Primrose and Amaranthus sat and stared at each other for a few minutes, the silence filling the room with an awkwardness neither was willing to break. But at last, Primrose took it upon herself to make a token effort. “So, you are to be my helper for this 'festival of color,'” she said. #WIPSnips

“Of course, your majesty,” Primrose demurred, but inside her thoughts were spinning. Overseeing festival preparations had always been her job and hers alone. There was no way she was going to share it with anyone, let alone a young prince whose only claim to fame was fetching a stone! #WIPSnips

More than anything else, she wished she could go back to the time before she knew about the shadows. When her greatest concern was making sure the Festival of Colors went well and she would get all the credit for it. Well, she still wanted that, but it felt more hollow than it used to. #WIPSnips

She lay back and stared at the sky, as blue as a perfect bluebell, and dotted with fluffy white clouds. Even the clouds seemed larger here. Was that part of the forest's magic, too, or where clouds just bigger in the human realm? #WIPSnips

He gently lifted the fairy princess and looked for someplace more comfortable to set her, surreptitiously scanning her as he did. He remembered all too well the last time he'd requested to examine a fairy and how it did not go over well with anyone. But the curiosity was still there... #WIPSnips

“What are we looking for, exactly?” Primrose asked him, as they passed by what she thought were perfectly suitable spots to make a fairy ring.
“The conditions have to be just right,” Cosmo replied, still searching. “I'll know it when I get there.” #WIPSnips

[...} she caught sight of the guardian stones. There were five of them, each one in the shape of a five-pointed star, set into the side of the tree so that they formed the points of a pentagon. Each stone seemed to glow with its own light, illuminating the area they were standing in. #WIPSnips

A waiter brought over their menus, and so their conversation turned to what to order, with Miss Pavonis making recommendations which Caddock considered amiably. She did know the restaurant's offerings very well, and he was not the type to be stubborn about accepting the council of others. #WIPSnips

Miss Pavonis had written to him (once he had informed her of his plans) that someone would be at the station to meet him, but the only distinguishing characteristic she had given was that they would be wearing a red scarf. Not the most distinctive way to single someone out, he thought. #WIPSnips

He was not entirely surprised when her response was so incredibly roundabout that he couldn't tell whether she would say yes or no until he got to the end of her letter. It was a tentative, “if that kind of thing actually works, then why not?” kind of yes, but a yes all the same. #WIPSnips

"[...] he just moved on to another target. One who was a little more forthcoming. Strangely so, according to those who know him.” She flicked her eyes to Bramble, whose expression did not change from the slightly annoyed, slightly aloof look he had affected when she started her story. #WIPSnips

“All right, I'll stay away from him. That's gonna make him helping out a little difficult, don't you think?” Lark answered with a smirk.
Primrose wanted very much to take her clipboard and smack that smirk right off his smug face, and her nerves were so frayed, she very nearly did. #WIPSnips

“Here's where we are in Echolastein,” he said, pointing to one part of the map, and trailing his finger downwards. “Here's Staerheil, where Miss Pavonis lives for most of the year. But here,” he dragged his finger down the map, into the ocean and stopped on a small island, “is Snia Snix.” #WIPSnips

She had completely changed her outfit, though he was hard pressed to tell if it was more or less formal than the outfit had been wearing before. Her hairstyle was definitely less formal, a style that was only partially up, leaving the rest of her hair flowing loosely in golden ringlets. #WIPSnips