"Hoity, what are you doing here?"

Hoity Toity, the leprechaun, stood in front of them as proud as the bravest knight.

"Oona sent me," he said. Then he got a sight on Baldie, "Hello, Crow," he spat the words.

"Hello, Dwarf," Baldie answered in the same manner. Ferry remembered they weren't the best of friends when he first met Hoity.

"I'm not a dwarf, I'm a leprechaun," he snorted. "Those are two different things. It's like comparing a nice, juicy slice of roast with a salad. Dwarfs are greasy and dirty, and rude. They have short, fat fingers and their wide palms are only good for holding beer mugs. And they burp so loud, they could wake up a whole village. They aren't glutton for work, for that matter. They like to sluggish all day long like a swine in the pigsty. But only with a good meal under their belt. As for us, the leprechauns, we have sharp eyes and fingers as slick as a whistle. We pay attention to the smallest detail and we could smith the finest shoes. We like to smoke the finest tobacco and treat ourselves with the finest meals..."

"All right, all right," Ferry interrupted, "but how did you escape the Kallikans?"

The little man frowned. "Well, you owe me that, Master. I had to throw them a whole sack with golden coins from my chest. Coins I've found with sweat," he said, lifting one knotty finger in the air. "So I gave them my gold. And now they have nothing better to do than hassle over it. It will take them a while before finding all the coins. You have no idea how gold is glittering into the darkness."

Indeed, no Kallikan could be seen around. Yet, somewhere close they could hear shouts and yelp.

"Now it's the time," said Baldie. "Let's go!"

They all run towards the gates of the Blind Alley. In the distance, they could see frail stripes of light, shivering like in the wind. So they kept running towards the light. They didn't stop when they've passed the gates which closed behind them with a long creak. Baldie and Hoity were leading the way while Izzy and Shadow were the last to follow. Rosemary took Danny under her care while Matilda hasn't been separated from her mother ever since they reunited. Ferry took a moment to look back towards the citadel in the darkness. He felt a strange uneasiness as if leaving behind a place he loved.

After a while, they all stop to catch their breath. They were now back to the light, in a meadow where they could only hear the sound of the grass and leaves in the wind. The Moon shone like on a plain day. Yet, the light was white and soft, incredibly warm and welcoming. And Ferry threw himself on the silky grass which caressed him with soft touches. If he could only close his eyes... But Baldie quickly pulled him out of the moonlight, protecting him with his black, feathered cape.

"We must be careful, Ferry. The moonlight might give you away."

"How much longer to the Door between the Worlds?" Danny interrupted. "I can't even move my feet. And I'm hungry," he lamented.

Ferry looked at Danny and felt sorry for him. The frail, pale boy, with dark circles around his eyes, was just a faint shadow of the chubby boy he once knew. Yet, his appetite was the same.

Rosemary picked up some wild berries from a bush nearby and Danny started to guzzle, wiping out his mouth with the sleeve of his large, shabby shirt.

"I'll take you to the Secluded Forest," said Hoity. "I know this place like my own pockets. We need to rest before we reach the Door between the Worlds. After the Moon sets, the door shall close."

But Ferry took his stand in front of Baldie, "We can't leave yet, Baldie. We haven't found the Fountain of Truth. I haven't found the answer to Oona's riddle..."

Baldie sighed, "I'm sorry, Ferry. We don't have time for that. We need to go."

"But Baldie ─"

"We can't put you at risk, Ferry," he continued with a firm tone. "We can't put everybody at risk for a fairy's trifle!"

"But this isn't a fairy's trifle! She just wants to know who her mother is... I have to help her. I owe her that. I promised ─"

"I'm sorry, Ferry. But we don't have any time for that. Soon enough, they'll find out we've escaped." Then he called the others, "Let's go!"

With a heavy heart, Ferry watched his friends grouping and set moving behind Hoity. He eventually followed, dragging his feet. Danny joined him. For a while, none of them said a word. Ferry was lost in thought, absent to the most luminous night ever. He then saw a snowdrop in the grass. Where has he seen that before?

"Say, Ferry, how long have you known these... people?" Danny interrupted his thoughts.

Ferry was troubled. He and Danny weren't the best of friends back home and he didn't know how the things were to be between them in the future. Danny could've told anyone and everyone about him.

"They're my friends," he said under his breath.

"But where did you meet them? Was it here? Or did you know them before?" he asked while licking the sweet berry juice off his fingers.

"Let's just say I've got to know them better here," Ferry muttered.

"So? What kind of powers do they have?" Danny asked, a sparkle in his eyes.

"You could say they have powers. They're shapeshifters."

"Boy, I'm going to have so much to talk about when I'll get home," he exclaimed.

That's what Ferry was afraid of. Luckily, Baldie interfered, "Ferry, you should stay in the middle. The moonlight might reach you." Ferry stepped away from Danny just when he was about to open his mouth to ask another question.

They were now walking less traveled paths, following Hoity who was whistling a jolly song.

"Stop whistling, Dwarf!" said Baldie. "There could be spies everywhere."

The little man glanced at him, "Don't you think we would look more suspicious if we hid behind every tree on our way? You're not my master to order," he cut the raven-man short.

Ferry got between them before the quarrel started, "Come on, Baldie, a little song never hurt anybody."

Hoity Toity winked at Ferry and carried on with his song. Ferry joined him.

"Say, Hoity, how did you meet Oona? I thought she wasn't supposed to leave the Palace."

"Well, I only came here for the Midsummer Feast. Even leprechauns need some good time every now and then. At that, the Moon rising brings vigor and health. My only grumble here is food."

"What's wrong with the food? It's the most delicious I've ever tasted."

"Well, maybe for you, it is. I would give a few of my coins for a big, fat slice of roasted lamb. Ever since I've been here, I feel like a sheep, really. I keep grazing..."

Ferry couldn't stop a giggle.

" ─ well, and then Oona interrupted me from my wanderings in Medley Paths. Charming, that place! I was looking for some new buttons for my jacket. And I know a handy button maker who lives here. I even heard that buttons made here have special powers if a Wandering Fays puts a charm on them. They shine brighter if there's gold around," Hoity whispered.

"All right, all right, but how did Oona get to you?" Ferry interrupted.

"Well, Oona does something that is a little bit forbidden around here," whispered Hoity.

"What's that?"

Hoity took a moment before answering, "She shrinks."

"She shrinks?"

"Indeed she does! She becomes so tiny, the size of a bug. But fairies beware that power. Because each time they shrink, their bodies turn a little bit smaller. And if they shrink too often, they can stay like that forever. Their powers grow weaker, too. That's why the fairies use this power only if they really have to."

Ferry could now understand why Oona looked smaller than her sisters. At first, he thought she was the youngest of them but apparently that wasn't the reason.

Hoity kept on talking and talking about fairies and magic, waving his hands and scraping his feet. The little man seemed to know a lot about the fairies of Tenalach whom he visited each time he needed new tools for making shoes. Without even knowing, they were now at the edge of the Secluded Forest where they were to rest before the Moon was full.

"Looks like it's time for me to go," said Hoity. "I want to be there when the Wandering Fays will do their dance." Then, he searched his large pockets and gave Ferry a box of matches, "Here! You might need it."

Ferry nodded, "How can I ever thank you?"

"I heard your mother makes the best lamb", the leprechaun said, licking his lips. "Perhaps you could leave a tray with a big slice of roast at the foothill during the Fires of the Hills Feast. And that makes us even," he winked, stretching out a hand full of horny skin for Ferry to shake.

"See you soon, my friend!"

"Farewell, everybody!" Hoity shouted, waving his hands. "May the wind watch over your paths! And you, Master, watch over that stone!" he said before he broke into a sprint inside a bush.

Ferry ran behind him and searched the bush. He wanted to ask him about the stone. But Hoity was nowhere to be found.

He went back to his friends who were preparing to camp around a big, inviting fairy fire burning in blue sparks. Rosemary picked up some more wild berries and she was now sharing with everybody from a bowl of leaves. Ferry retreated to one of the napping shelters inside a tree's hollow. He barely made a few steps, that a draft of cold air pulled out the hood off his head. Then the draft oozed between the trees and his friends, making the flame in the middle flicker. They all stopped, pricking up their ears and scanning the surroundings.

Soon, spring flowers gathered dancing in front of them, and Oona appeared in the middle. She slowly detached from the whirl of flowers and came closer. But her pace was insecure and Oona tottered and fell in the soft grass. Ferry ran to her.

"Careful, Ferry," Matilda shouted behind him. "It might be a trap. Maybe she's not the real Oona."

But Ferry didn't listen. He offered his hand to Oona. She looked different somehow. She seemed smaller. Paler and more fragile than usual. Her body shivered. She looked ill. Ferry helped her stand and he felt her hand as cold as ice. And then their eyes met. And in those eyes, the color of a forest in the spring, Ferry could read a pain he knew. He felt that pain, too--it was missing a loved one.

"She IS the real Oona," he said without being able to take his eyes away from hers.

"So you're leaving," she said, piercing him with her look.

"I'm sorry, Oona..." he said.

"I don't believe you, fairy-boy," she spat the words. Then she threw a bag at his feet. His backpack. "There! Get your precious bag with your precious, little things and leave!"

"Oona, wait!" Ferry asked her. "You don't understand..."

Oona turned. Her eyes were in tears.

"What's not to understand? You don't care!" she shouted. "I thought we were friends..." she then whispered.

Ferry came closer, "But we are friends, Oona. If it hadn't been for you, we would've stayed in the Blind Alley forever. I could never thank you enough..."

"If you were my friend, you would help me..."

"But I want to help you. It's just that I don't have the answer to your riddle. But I know why you want to find the Fountain of Truth. You want to know who your mother is, isn't it so?"

Oona's eyes grew wider. And Ferry knew that was what she was looking for.

"It doesn't matter," she said, trying to look careless. "I think I know who my mother is. It's Mamma Leena. It must be her. She's always been so kind to me. But it's all right," she continued in a trembling voice. "You don't owe me anything. You don't need to find the answer to my riddle anymore, fairy-boy. You can go at peace," she said, giving him a cold glare.

"Oona, I don't want to say goodbye like that," he tried to step closer again.

Yet, she took two more steps back, "What does it matter how we say goodbye, fairy-boy? You don't care, anyway."

"But I do care ─"

"No, you don't! All you care is your human friends. Now go! Leave me alone!"

"But Oona ─"

"GO!" she shouted. And before Ferry could tell anything, she vanished right in front of his eyes. A snowdrop was left behind. He picked it up with trembling fingers. He could feel Matilda stepping closer.

"It's better she left," she said. "She was nothing but trouble, anyway."

Danny also joined them, "What's just happened here? Ferry, do you know that fairy?"

Ferry nodded.

"Oh my," said Danny shaking his head. "Wait to see Billy's face when I'm going to tell about this place."

Baldie also joined them, "All right, let's try to get some rest. We're going to need all the strength when we'll get to the other side."

Everyone began to look for a place to sleep. Danny snuggled inside the hollow of a tree and fell asleep that very moment. Every now and then, he was frowning and sobbed in his sleep dreaming the horrible things he's been through in fairyland.

Matilda and her mother also cuddled inside a tree hollow, a little bit further from the fire. They slept one in each other's arms, smiling. They didn't seem to need anything else.

Izzy and Rosemary retreated near an old oak tree. They sat against its trunk, playing a game with pebbles, leaves, and small branches that Ferry couldn't get anyway. Baldie and Shadow were to watch near the blue flame that invited to sleep and rest.

As for Ferry, he was still staring at the place where he last saw Oona. He couldn't believe it was the last time he saw her. He picked up his backpack and opened it. All his things were inside. Oona managed to take them from Fae Queen's chest. He could see now why she looked smaller and weaker. She probably shrank to get inside the Queen's Chamber.

"Try to get some sleep, Ferry," he heard Baldie's soft voice behind him. "And keep yourself safe from the moonlight."

Ferry nodded. He retreated inside a napping shelter, far enough from his friends. He wanted to be alone. He covered himself with the ragged cloak and snuggled inside the warm hollow tree. But the sleep refused to come. So many memories, so many questions just wouldn't let him sleep.

Funny thing, he didn't even feel tired. His senses were more waken than never. He could hear Danny's snoring. He could hear Matilda's steady breath, in tandem with her mother's. Izzy's giggling and Rosemary's attempts to make him keep his voice down. He could even hear the fair folk laughing and singing in the distance. And the wind blowing somewhere above him in the rustling trees.

He could also hear Baldie and Shadow talking. Whispering; softly spoken words, away from everyone's ears. They were talking about him.

"Do you think he's asleep?" asked Shadow.

"I believe so..." said Baldie. "He must be tired of all the terrible things he's been through"

"What about the human boy? What are we going to do with him? He's going to tell everyone about Ferry once he'll be among his own kind. He's going to tell about this place. About all of us. No doubt he's going to tell..."

"You mean Danny? Oh, don't worry about him. I'll fly with him over the Valley of Oblivion before we get to the other side. He won't remember a thing. Only pieces of memories he will believe they're dreams anyway."

Silence fell again over the souls brought together by unseen threads in that ageless time, on Tenalach's longest night. Ferry could barely breathe.

"What about Garrett? What's going to happen to him once we'll go back to the human world? Will it be like before?"

Baldie sighed, "I don't know... I just know nothing's ever going to be as before."

"He doesn't seem to have gained his fairy powers," Shadow continued. "What if he's not the one, the Lost Child of Fairies? What if we were wrong, Thyme? And he's become a human, after all..." he asked the question Ferry feared the most.

Shadow seemed worried, "We still haven't found any piece of the Spear. The prophecy said: Five pieces of the same Spear ─ "

"─ each in a world apart it shall appear," Baldie continued. "Yes, I know."

" ─ and he hasn't found any of them."

"Just give him some time. Maybe he's not meant to find it in this world."

"But he hasn't found it in the world of humans eighter. What if he's not the Spear Carrier?" Shadow insisted.

"Well, until he won't gain his fairy skills, he can't find the Spear."

Silence fell again. Only the wind was whispering above them.

"I trust him," Baldie eventually said. "I've seen inside his soul. He's kind and fair. He'll be a great leader when the time shall come. He'll take us out of the Kingdom of Darkness that seems to spread all over our land. I believe the magic is inside him. He just has to bring it out."

Shadow didn't answer. Ferry could only hear the snapping of the burning flame.

"I saw you read the inscriptions on the fountain in the Blind Alley. What did they say?"

The raven-man hesitated for a moment before answering, "They said:

When the Moon is rising high

Look for the Fountain through the Blue Eye..."

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