Ferry opened his eyes to discover all his friends leaning over him. Each one of his Guardians held a lantern and the blue flames flickered on his face.

"Ferry, are you all right?" Matilda asked with a trembled voice.

He laid on the grass, protected by an old tree. He tried to stand up, but the pain pierced his foot, making him scream.

"You're hurt!" Matilda shouted.

Baldie examined his wounds. "Worry not, Rosemary is going to foment your wounds. She's a healer. She knows all the herbs, potions, ointments, and remedies to heal all the wounds, whether body or soul. Even the weeds leech in her hands."

Ferry watched Rosemary crashing two stalks with her fingers and a viscous, yellow substance oozed on his wound, healing it under his very eyes. He couldn't believe it!

"Thank you, Rosemary," he said. "You truly are gifted."

"Oh, I'm afraid Thyme is being too generous with his words. I would've loved to be that sort of healer... But I'm not. I can't heal the wounds a body is born with... " she said and Ferry could read a shadow of regret in her voice that made him wonder.

He jumped up to his feet but felt the ground and sky twirl. Baldie was at his side at that moment. "You should rest..."

Ferry shook his head, "I don't want to rest, there isn't time for resting. They are looking for us. For me!" he said, his fists clenched. "I'm tired of this place! Tired of secrets, lies, and intrigues. Everybody talks in riddles; everybody has two faces... I don't know who to believe anymore. I don't know what to believe anymore," he said between sobs.

"What do you mean?" Matilda asked. "Did you find the Queen's Chamber? And the scissors?" she continued, turning just as agitated.

Ferry picked up his backpack and slowly took out the scissors. They looked like ordinary scissors. Oh, well, maybe not that ordinary because they were made of solid silver.

"So? What are you waiting for? Cut off this darn wire on my foot!" she urged him.

But Baldie stopped him in time.

"Stop! Once you'll use the scissors, everyone who's after us will be here in a blink of an eye. We must cut the wire only when we are close enough to the door between the worlds. Else, they will get at us before we could save the others."

Matilda skewed. Shadow stepped closer, "Baldie ─ I meant... Thyme is right, Mattie," he mumbled under Baldie's frowned look. "Wouldn't you want your mother with us?"

"I guess you're right," she said, sighing.

"Worry not, it shan't be long," Shadow tried to encourage her.

And he was right. The Moon had risen in the sky, bigger than any other night. Brighter and closer, and Ferry thought he could have reached it if he had only stretched out his hand.

Baldie took the scissors from Ferry's hands, "I think we need to hide the scissors until the moment of our departure," he said.

"But where?" Ferry wondered.

"The best hiding places are those in plain sight. Just like the greatest secrets. If you really opened your eyes, you could see that they were right in front of you all along."

Ferry felt like Baldie was talking to him only. That's exactly how he felt whenever he thought about the people of Tenalach, especially Oona. He watched how Baldie measured the distance between two trees and stuck the scissors somewhere in the middle.

"Say, did you see the Queen?" asked Izzy, pulling Ferry out of the abyss of his thoughts. "Is she as young and beautiful as they say?"

"I don't even know what I saw... There was a castle-tree with a will of its own. And it was full of the oddest things. And then, there was a large room with an energy orb in the middle. And a tunnel that gets smaller and smaller... And a chest that wasn't a chest. And a being of light..."

Baldie was listening to him, lost in thought. "Whatever it was in that palace, it was charmed. We couldn't get closer. It was like an invisible force that kept chasing us away," he said.

"Then how did you know where to find me?" asked Ferry.

"That little fairy told us. Caireann. She found us and brought us here. Oona sent her."

"Oona..." Ferry whispered. "But Caireann is not a fairy. She's Poppy. And I can prove it."

And for the second time, Ferry took out something out of his backpack. Now, they were all staring at Poppy's doll.

Baldie called them all to gather around him.

"Now that we have the scissors and the doll, I think we need a new plan. We must go to the Blind Alley. And this time, only me and Parsley will go," he said looking at the lizard-man. "Shadow and Rosemary will stay with you. It's too risky for you and Matilda to come."

"But Baldie ─" Ferry argued.

"It's too dangerous!" said Baldie so determined, that they all understood his decision was already taken.

Yet, Ferry was hesitating. He looked around. It was the place where he first met Oona. The lawn was stretching right in front of their eyes and the grass was shining in shades of green and blue under the moonlight. It was quiet. No one and nothing seemed to disturb the silence of the night. Only the giant mushrooms on the sides were glittering in colored hues, changing their patterns every now and then. They were the wishful chairs, the magical chairs that showed one's deepest wishes.

He headed towards them with small steps. Oona said that the chairs changed their patterns every time someone seated.

"What is it, Ferry?" Matilda asked.

"I've been thinking... There's something strange about Oona..."

"Tell me about it. Everything's strange about her."

"No, it's something else. Beyond the way she behaves or what she did to bring us here. Like there is something beyond what we could see with a naked eye. I think that if I had known what she was looking for, it would've been much easier for me to find the Fountain of Truth. I have to help her. I owe her this much..."

Matilda pointed at the mushroom she sat when they've arrived. To Ferry, it felt like ages ago. He looked at the pattern on the mushroom. It showed Matilda embracing a young woman. Her mother. He looked at his chair, but the image had changed, a sign somebody else has sat on it. Then he looked at Oona's chair. Luckily, nobody sat on her chair. Strangely enough, the scene on Oona's chair looked oddly similar to Matilda's. Oona was embracing a woman, only this time, the woman's face was blurry.

"What was your wish, Matt?" he asked Matilda who was still staring at the chair. "Can you tell me, please?"

"To find my mum..." she said in a low voice. "I have a picture of her I've been keeping in a hidden place, at home. I use to look at it once in a while. That's how I know that the woman we saw was my mum. I don't even have to recognise her face. I just felt it was her," she said and quickly wiped out a tear in the corner of her eye.

"We're going to take your mother with us home, Matt," he said. "I promise."

Matilda smiled. "I think it's time to go. Is your foot still hurting?"

Ferry looked at his foot. "It feels like I've never been wounded," he said, jumping on one leg, to his friends' joy. "We should ─ "

But then he stopped, staring at the place where the wound was.

"What is it, Ferry?" Baldie asked him, stepping closer.

"Matt, do you remember when Oona stung her finger to show us she can heal herself?"

Matt nodded.

"What color was her blood?"

"Red," she answered. "But what does it have to do with ─"

"But fairies have white blood. Isn't that so, Baldie?"

"You're right," Baldie said. "That means ─ "

" ─ that means Oona is not a fairy," Ferry replied.

His friends were stunned.

"What does it mean?" Shadow asked.

"A fairy with her powers couldn't have been human once," said Baldie. "Fairies who used to be humans can fly or become unseen at will. But they don't have the power of healing the others or themselves."

"Then what?" Ferry asked.

"Then it means one of her parents is human," he said. "The human blood is strong. Oona is half-fay."

⃰

They were heading towards the Secluded Forest. They were supposed to wait for Baldie and Izzy, protected by the shadowy trees of the least visited forest in Medley Paths. The two had no idea how they were to enter the Blind Alley, how they were to see in the pitch darkness, or how they were to save Danny and Matilda's mother, then come back safe without being caught. Baldie thought his invisibility and Izzy's gift of blacking out so that they won't be seen by the Kallikans, the guards of the Blind Alley, might help. Izzy looked confident, bragging about his capabilities of finding a solution in the most difficult situations; yet, Baldie was quiet.

To reach to the Secluded Forest, they needed to carefully avoid all the groups of fair folk that would've come on their way. But they didn't have to worry about that anymore because most of the fae people were already gathering in the village near the Palace. They all wanted to find the best places to catch a glimpse of the Queen and be blessed with her magic.

After a while, the trees began whispering again, although they were miles away from the Dryads' Forest. Branches snapped behind them and the wind brought echoes of music and laughter to their ears.

"I think we're being watched," said Baldie and all his Guardians formed a wall around Ferry and Matilda.

The footsteps were coming closer. From a misty clearing, a creature emerged. They all held their breath. It was a fairy.

"I found you! Finally!" she said to Ferry.

It was Oona. Ferry shouted with joy and ran to her, giving her a warm embrace.

"Thank you! Thank you, Oona," he said.

"What for?" she asked, gently pushing him aside.

"For helping me escape the Queen's Palace, of course. They would've caught me if it hadn't been for you."

"Oh, that! It was a piece of cake..."

"A piece of cake?" he wondered. "You put yourself at risk for me. If Alwyn had found out ─"

Oona smiled. "Indeed, if Alwyn had found out... But it doesn't matter. Where are you all to now?"

"We're going to the Secluded Forest. We're going to wait for ─"

But Baldie cut him short, "It was a delight meeting you, Oona, But now we have to go."

Ferry took Baldie aside, "Baldie, what's wrong?"

"I don't know... We shouldn't trust her."

"Not trust her? You're talking like Matt. If it hadn't been for her, I would have been Fae Queen's prisoner now. Besides, if she really had wanted me caught, she would've done it right then and there."

Baldie sighed, "I know... But the fewer they know about the place you're hiding, the better. This place isn't safe for you."

"But Oona is my friend. She wouldn't betray me. Besides, she needs me to find the Fountain of Truth."

"All right, so be it," Baldie eventually agreed. "I suppose she could be of help..."

They went back to the others who were already starting to fuss.

"We'd better hurry, Thyme," said Shadow. "It will take us a long time to reach the Secluded Forest since we cannot fly."

"I can show you a shortcut," Oona suggested, a glitter appearing in her eyes. Baldie and Shadow exchanged a meaningful look. "This way," she pointed to a sideways path.

The others followed her without feeling very convinced. But the time was running out so they had no choice. Oona and Ferry were the first, leading the way, laughing and frisking. They were followed by Shadow and Matilda who rolled her eyes every time she would hear Oona giggling. Izzy and Rosemary followed, wondering about the marvels of the place, ever more charming as the night was growing. Baldie was the last, watchful to everything around.

They walked for a while when heir surroundings began to slowly change. The night was not that bright. The stars were not shining and the moonlight became milky and scattered over the trees and grass like a mist. The night's birds didn't sing anymore, and the noise coming from the village faded away.

A gray fog became their companion and their pace slowed down. Everything around lost the glittering. Oona seemed to be the only one not affected by the strange changes. She kept on walking as if nothing happened. Ferry would watch her ruby red locks bouncing on her back. That's when he noticed something; something like a snake crawling on her spine, under her frail dress. He gasped. But he didn't have the time to think because something else caught his eye. Someone or something was following. A mere shadow, crawling behind the old trees. And he wasn't the only one to notice it. His Guardians were also alert, watching and listening. The mist got thicker with every step they took. Oona hopped in front of them while slowly mumbling a song and then, she pulled out some strange, bird-like cries. Through her delicate vestment, Ferry could see the odd snake again, crawling on her back. That wasn't the only strange thing in her appearance. The flower wreath on her head was moving as if a whole colony of ants would've tried to steal it. What was going on?

The presence behind was getting ever more oppressive. A strange odor, like ooze, was accompanying that creature. And the darkness embraced them all with its long arms. Even the flames of the lanterns got paler. Thick clouds covered the night sky and the moonlight was gone. The crawling presence didn't cease to follow, watching from everywhere. Soon, they realized it wasn't just one creature. Everywhere around them, disgusting creatures crawled behind every tree or bush.

"Are we there yet?" Matilda asked Oona. She didn't wear flowers in her hair anymore and she went back to her old overall while her hair was ruffled. She was again the tomboy Ferry knew.

But Oona didn't answer. She kept walking, faster and faster. Once in a while, that sinister bird cry emerged from her throat as if a bird of prey was about to attack from the shadows of the darkness.

"Are we there yet?" Matilda shouted behind her. "What if you're mistaken? What if we are lost?"

"You don't teach me about these places, boy!" Oona spat the words without turning.

Ferry stopped. Something was terribly wrong. Oona knew Matilda. She knew she wasn't a boy. And she hasn't called him fairy-boy not once.

He couldn't finish his thought because Oona suddenly turned around. She pulled out one of those cries, louder and louder while the crawling creatures were getting closers.

"It's a trap!" Baldie shouted and all the Guardians gathered around Ferry and Matilda. At the faint light of the lanterns, they could now see their pursuers. They were knee-high creatures who looked like little devils, with hoofs, horns, and long, thin tails. Some of them had greasy, filthy hair, others were bald. Their eyes were blind, like a leaking slime, bluish in color. They were coming from all over, then retreated, giving yelps like wounded beasts each time the Guardians were chasing them away.

"Kallikans!" Baldie shouted.

They couldn't go any further. Dozens of Kallikans came from behind, their small heads with round, black eyes twitching every time a sparkle of light reached them. Darkness stretched ahead. Pitch darkness, as black as the bottom of Hell, cries, and wailings emerging from within. There were hundreds of desperate cries, coming towards them like a disturbing tumult. They were trapped. In front of them, as wide as an abyss, there lied the Blind Alley.

I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Please vote and comment and let me know what you think. I'm interested in the pacing of this one. Too slow, too fast? What do you think? Can't wait to hear your thoughts!