Thanks to Rosalind's Mouse Guard friend, the little group managed to reach a clearing at the edge of the garden unnoticed by anyone.

It had gone completely dark while they moved stealthily in the shadows of the rose bushes. Now, when Hans finally caught a glimpse of the sky, he saw that it was pierced by millions of pulsating stars and the flickering lights of dozens of fireflies. The Night Guards on their way to work, most likely, he thought with a smile.

"It is them, Hans," Rosalind said, even as they were joined by Rolo and Roza, materialising out of the darkness from the opposite direction. "They'll replace the mice as soon as the dance is over. We might get caught if we don't hurry."

"Did everything go weeell?" Garrett croaked, looking at the elves.

"Sir Francis wasn't happy about your refusal, as you saw yourself, Princess Rosalind. When you left, he was quite furious so... " Rolo started to say, pacing on the spot nervously.

"So we had to use a couple of spells to help him forget about this evening, Princess. He is at home in his bed, and the two Frog Soldiers you sent with us will guard his door until sunrise, Captain Garrett." Roza finished his sentence.

"I guess it's the best thing you could do... " Rosalind sighed heavily. "Let us go now before anyone notices."

"We're coming with you, at least to the lake. That's where you're planning to spend the night, right?" Rosland asked. "In the morning, when you set off on your journey, Rosabea and I will return here."

"Thank you, Rosland, but you'll only get into trouble..."

"We can't come with you all the way to the sea, Rosalind. Even though we would love to, it would only draw more attention to your disappearance. Please let us come with you at least to the lake," Rosabea pleaded, embracing her cousin. "We will be sick with worry when you leave, but we will do our best to distract and confuse all those your father will send after you. Hopefully, you'll have enough time to find your Blue..."

"All right then. If you are convinced, let's go," Rosalind said, wiping away a couple of tears caused by her cousin's words.

"Shall I call Orangebeak?" Hans asked, looking for the bird whistle in his pouch.

"No, Hans. They do not like to fly after dark. And neither do we," Rosabea said, smiling at him. "Watch."

She walked over to him and the rest of their group, while Rolo stepped next to Rosalind. The Rose Elf and the fairy now stood alone, at a little distance from the others. While the elf brought one of his apparently infinite bird whistles to his lips, Rosalind looked towards the night sky. She brought her hands to her mouth, and her lips moved as if she was calling someone, but her words were as mute as the sound of Rolo's whistle.

Three large bats and an enormous owl landed in the grass nearby suddenly, making Louise squeal with surprise and a little bit of fear. Garrett's hat flew off in the sudden gust of wind all those flapping wings had caused, and the girls' dresses threatened to join it.

"Thank you," Rosalind said, curtsying to her winged friends.

"Anytime, Princess," the owl said in a deep, smooth voice, while the bats agreed mutely, by moving their heads and pronouncing words only Rosalind could hear.

"I know. We must hurry," she told them aloud, for the sake of those who did not speak Bat Talk. "Would you take my friends to the lake, please?"

While the bats nodded, she walked to the owl. "And you, Errol, can you carry me and Garrett, or are we too heavy for you?"

"Of course I can, no worries, Princess. Hop on!" the owl encouraged them.

The toad scooped the fairy in his arms, making her giggle and jumped on Errol's back. Immediately, the bird took off, hooting softly.

"Miss Louise," Rosland said, stretching his hand towards the girl, then helping her to mount one of the black, furry bats, making her sit in front of him.

They were in the air before Hans could start protesting, followed by Roza and Rolo on the second of the weird, flying creatures.

"Come on!" Rosabea, already seated on the last black bat called to him.

As he was more scared of damaging the fairy's fragile wings than flying on a bat for the first time in his life, he sat in front of her and let the fairy wrap her arms around his waist as Louise usually did.

Then they were flying swiftly through the night, its air, redolent of roses, other flowers, and later of the water lilies and lake water, whistling in their ears. Hans would have squealed with joy and excitement like a little boy if he wasn't so aware of Rosabea's arms laced tightly around his waist, making him feel very adult and responsible.

They landed and settled for the night under the weeping willow growing on the shore, the long branches of the tree offering a perfect shelter.

While the girls spread out the blankets they had brought on the cool moss, and Rosabea with the elves conjured up a few more essential things, Rosland and Garrett vanished among the reeds, to summon several of the Captain's soldiers to keep guard during the night. Seeing that even Rosalind was busy talking to her bats at the moment, Hans sneaked to the lake's edge unnoticed.

As soon as the water's surface, glittering in the moonlight as if it was sprinkled with stars like the sky, reflected his face, he saw it morph and change as it did in the morning. Smiling, he offered his hand to Marigold the moment her head appeared above the water.

The mermaid let him help her to climb on the bank next to him, and then they just sat there, trying to guess each other's thoughts and signs until they were disturbed by Rosalind.

"You both need to rest before we set off in the morning," she told Hans while she signed the meaning of her words to the mermaid. "Thank you for your help, Marigold, Garrett told me that you'll accompany us to the river. But, please, be careful," she added, looking at the mer-girl seriously.

The mermaid nodded, signed something in response, smiled at Hans, and then slipped into the lake like a shadow, without the tiniest splash.

"What were you talking about?" Hans asked Rosalind while they walked towards the willow.

"Marigold and some of her sisters will take us to the river..."

"Not that. You asked her to be careful," Hans said, feeling that there was something... odd about that request. As if it somehow... involved him...

Rosalind sighed. "Hans... There is a reason why the mermaids and mermen usually keep their distance from us. It's something I can't really explain to you well because I don't understand it myself entirely."

"Tell me what you know," Hans insisted.

"Whenever one of them falls for one of us, and we fail to reciprocate their feelings, their... heart breaks."

"But..." Hans' voice trailed off as he realised that he had not even considered the possibility of Marigold falling for him.

"I know, Hans. No one really plans to fall in love. But it always happens, doesn't it?" Rosalind said, then smiled gently when his mind conjured up an image of Louise. "Love is... a sort of magic. Or a curse."

"What happens to them then? Do they... die?"

"They become so sad that they can't live in this lake any longer. They leave their families and friends, reach the sea, and once there, dissolve into foam and float forever on its surface, like so many before them."

"But I'm not one of you, I'm not a fairy or an elf!" Hans protested.

"For them, there's no difference. You're not a merman."

The boy nodded, capitulating. "I'll be careful then."

"Thank you, Hans. Sleep well," Rosalind said, leaving him to find a place to rest beside Rosland, while she laid down next to the two girls sleeping on the other blanket, hardly discernible in the darkness under the long branches of the tree.

Hans could not see Garrett anywhere, but the two Rose Elves were huddled together nearby, snoring softly. Silently, not wanting to wake anyone up, he slipped his notebook from his pouch. Hans' mind was teeming with all those things he had seen in this incredible place so far. He needed to start writing everything down before he would forget.

"Thanks, Rosalind," the boy whispered as he heard her mumble something in the dark, just before the pages of his notebook started to glow, making it so much easier for him to write and draw.

The following morning, they all woke up with the first light of dawn. While Hans, Louise, and the fairies packed their things and smoothed their clothes, the elves conjured up their breakfast.

As they ate, Hans observed Garrett giving orders to a small group of green frogs wearing black cloaks and high boots. After they saluted him and dived into the lake where they could be seen doing something with three large water lily pads, the Captain proceeded to talk to three mermaids sitting on the bank close by.

They all look quite similar to each other, Louise thought as she, following Hans' look, spotted the red-haired mer-girls. But... just what was wrong with Hans... Did Rosalind tell him? She promised she wouldn't, not yet...

"No, Louise, it's not that. Don't worry about him," Rosalind whispered in her ear as they were approached by Rosland, and Louise forgot about Hans' sadness momentarily. She was sad, too, because Rosabea and Rosland would have to go back soon...

Louise's thoughts were disturbed again when she noticed a large group of Flower Fairies and Tree Elves, followed by three birds, descending on the sandy shore.

"What are you all doing here?" Rosalind called, running over to them and embracing first Amarylisa, then the rest of them.

"We just had to come to say goodbye." Aspen smiled.

"Come back soon!" A Flower Fairy, looking a lot like a pink tulip, said.

"Tulippa, Lavanda, Bella! I'll miss you!"

"Nonsense. As soon as you find your butterfly, you'll forget all about us," Bella, the Bluebell Fairy said, trying to cheer her friend up.

"Just be careful, Rosalind, all of you!" Lavanda chimed in, looking towards Hans and Louise and the rest of their little group. "Roza, Rolo, you must look after them."

"We will, Miss," Rolo said, bowing to the Lavender Fairy.

"All right, don't let us hinder you any longer. We'll go back with them and do our best not to make anyone notice that you are gone, cousin," Rosabea said, kissing Rosalind on the cheek.

"Take care of yourself and the girls, Hans," Rosland said, coming to shake Hans' hand.

"You, too." Hans smiled at him. He liked the Rose Fairy boy, he realized, if only they had more time, they could have become friends.

"Louise, I'll be waiting for your return," Rosland said to the girl as he kissed her hand, making her blush, in a voice so low that only she could hear it.

She nodded, smiling at him in response.

Then, all the fairies soared towards the bright blue sky and disappeared beyond the tall flowers of the meadow.

The three birds, led by Orangebeak, approached.

"Skylar, Brownie, meet Miss Louise and Master Hans," he chirped.

Brownie was definitely a female blackbird, Hans mused as he bowed to the birds politely, but this Skylar... She looked a little like a sparrow...

"Skylar is a nightingale," Rosalind muttered, then spoke to the birds, "Thank you very much for coming with us. I thought that we could all traverse the lake on the water lily pads. This way, we won't get tired so soon. What do you think?"

"That's an excellent idea, Princess. Will they help us?" Skylar asked in a strangely warbled, sing-song voice as she waved with one of her brown wings to the mermaids and frogs waiting for them on the bank.

"They will take you all the waaay to the river, but they can't go farther than that. The currents theeere are too strooong..." Garrett, appearing at Rosalind's side, croaked. "I'm sorry, Roo-sa-lind that I can not cooome too!"

"Oh Garrett, please don't," the fairy said, wrapping her arms around her friend's waist. "You're the worst swimmer in the whole world, I'd never take you across the lake!"

She laughed when she noticed his unhappy scowl. "Really, Garrett, we both know that you'll be much more useful to us here. Keep an eye on Sir Francis, he'll be furious when his memory comes back, and try to dissuade my father from sending anyone after us. I'm not coming back without Blue!" the fairy said resolutely.

"I'll try Roo-sa-lind," Garrett said, caressing Rosalind's hair. "Go now them, befooore it's too late."

They all approached the frogs and mermaids, who slipped into the water in the meantime. Each of the mer-girls, flanked by two frogs, held a long string attached to one of the three water lily pads, making them look like a sort of a sledge rather than boats.

Roza, Rolo, and Skylar boarded the first huge leaf. Then it was the turn of Orangebeak and Brownie on the second one, and in the end, with one last embrace, Rosalind parted from the Captain and joined Louise and Hans on the last water lily pad.

Smoothly, like sledges sliding on freshly fallen snow, the leaves pulled by frogs and mermaids glided over the shimmering surface of the lake.