Back at Coutarine Island, Alice and her family members were stuck on it for the night. Even though they had their boat back, like the ocean around the island Tracey was on, it was way too rough for sailing or boating, unless you were a mermaid, merman, or Merfairy. At least the family came prepared in case they were ever stranded. They gave the magical beings their space because they knew they needed to take care of Ash. After a few stable hours, he started slipping in and out of consciousness again. There definitely was something more than a concussion going on with him. Dr. Snugglekins found that out. Another arrow of guilt stabbed Makenna’s heart. Why did she let the moon turn her into a monster like this? How would she explain to Merlin that Tracey had sailed beyond the reef again? Why was it always her fault? She needed a change – a metamorphosis that would turn her into a better person, and a metamorphosis that would help her feel like she deserved the Merfairy transformation. Right now, she didn’t think she did.
The orange rays of sunset washed over Coutarine Island, and a warm breeze tickled the treetops. Makenna Delling felt mighty comfortable when she stepped back into Merlin’s camp without any humans following her. It luckily hadn’t been destroyed during the storm, but there were a few branches and leaves in the sand. Dr. Snugglekins, Merlin, and Selene helped Ash back over to the hammock in the shade where Harmony waited. She looked very upset that she had failed to keep him still. The three adults gently set Ash down in the hammock, and Dr. Snugglekins immediately got to work on him. Selene tossed a blanket over him and sat down in a chair on his right side.
She took his hand and patted it, “You’re doing great, Ash.” Makenna almost didn’t want to watch. The guilt was killing her. Just how badly hurt was Ash? That was up to Dr. Snugglekins.
He took the young man’s shoulder and gave it a small shake, “Ash, open your eyes for me.” Ash didn’t. He was too tired to open his eyes. Dr. Snugglekins continued to shake his shoulder, “Ash. Ash, can you squeeze your master’s fingers for me?” He grew worried when Ash didn’t respond. He didn’t squeeze Selene’s fingers. The doctor tried again, “Squeeze your master’s fingers for me, kid.” This time around Ash did respond. His squeeze was weak, but it was still a squeeze. Selene and Dr. Snugglekins sighed a breath of relief when he did this. “Good boy,” said Dr. Snugglekins, “Can you open your eyes for me now?” Ash still didn’t. He could not open his eyes no matter how hard he tried. Dr. Snugglekins finally was given no other choice. He used his fingers to pull up Ash’s eyelids and shone a penlight in his pupils, “Yep, he definitely has a concussion. His pupils are dilated.” Makenna lightly screamed and started to chew on her nails which changed from blue to black. Black was a sign of fear. Dr. Snugglekins let Ash’s eyelids go and next placed his palm to his forehead, “He has a bit of a temperature too. I don’t think the concussion is causing it though.”
“Then what is?” Selene nervously asked. She moved her hand up to Ash’s arm and comfortably rubbed it.
Dr. Snugglekins removed his hand and explained in a calm voice, “It looks to me he’s used a lot of magic today. He’s gone into magetical shock.”
“Magetical shock?!” Makenna gasped. This happened to Tracey too. Magetical shock happened when a fairy used up a lot of magic. Magic was a lot like blood. A fairy died if they lost too much of it. Loss of magic came from many different scenarios: wounds, spells, and even when they performed a spell themselves. Fairies had to be very careful about it – magetical shock could happen at any time. It was most common in underage fairies though because they couldn’t use as much magic as adult fairies. For the most part though, the disease could be treated without going to the hospital – fairies had the technology to cure it. However, the technology was required to be provided by a doctor. Now two of Makenna’s friends had gone into magetical shock. Was she next? Just the thought of that horrified her even more.
Dr. Snugglekins rubbed his nose and faced Selene and Merlin, explaining, “This is what I’m going to do. I’m going to put him on artificial magic for the night so his magic level can return to base level and clean the wound on his head. In the morning, I’ll come back and see how he did during the night. Does that sound good?”
Makenna gulped. She hated to ask this, “Dr. Snugglekins, are you – are you going to take him to the hospital?”
Dr. Snugglekins faced her and smiled, “No, my dear. You gave him that Crusha Fruit right on time. However,” He lost his smile, “he is right on the line of a hospital visit. If he shows no signs of improvement by morning, then I will have to call EFMS to come take him to one. I hope you understand. If that happens, the hospital’s staff would do a CAT scan of his head to see what exactly is going on in his brain.”
Makenna gulped again, “So you’re saying…he’s hurt pretty bad?”
“It looks that way, yes.” Dr. Snugglekins calmly answered, “This is nothing fatal though. We just have to stabilize his magic during the night.” That was enough for Makenna.
Tears appeared in her eyes, and she retreated back a few steps, “Thank you, Doc. Now, if you’ll excuse me.” She was such an awful fairy. Ash wouldn’t be in this condition if it wasn’t for her. Makenna refused to watch Dr. Snugglekins put him on artificial magic, so she just flapped her wings and took off in flight. “I knew it!” she choked out, “This is Tracey all over again!” Merlin heard her and glanced in her direction. Makenna plopped down in front of the island’s reef in which the water looked like orange Fanta due to the setting sun and picked up the mysterious necklace she found in the reef. “Oh, Tracey,” she whispered, “Where are you?” The young fairy closed her eyes and hugged the necklace to her chest.
The only way how Dr. Snugglekins could get Ash’s magic back was if he put a fairy oxygen mask on him. That would provide him with artificial magic and extra oxygen. Ash needed them both. He was scared to put the mask on though. Dr. Snugglekins pulled everything he needed out his bag and nodded. Selene nervously chewed her nails while Merlin headed in the direction of Makenna. Harmony and Silvey stayed behind and comforted her.
Dr. Snugglekins moved the mask towards Ash’s nose and mouth, “You’re okay, Ash. This is just going to help your magic level return to base level. It’s not going to hurt.” Ash moved his head away though when the mask got close to his face. “Please, Ash.” Dr. Snugglekins begged.
Selene tightly squeezed her apprentice’s hand, “Ash, remember what your sister would say. ‘You can pull through anything no matter how tough things get.’” She could tell he was scared. She kept speaking comforting words, and eventually Dr. Snugglekins got the mask over his nose and mouth,
“Good boy. Well done. You’re doing very well.” As he was adjusting the mask, he glanced at Selene, “You all right, Selene?” Selene cringed. It was heartbreaking to see her baby boy be put on an oxygen mask. She felt as any parent would to see their child in pain. Ash had gotten a few concussions before – one in the Highlands and one while training with her – but this one was the worst. He never was put on the line of a hospital visit before. No, it was not a really fun thing to watch. Selene refused to leave her apprentice’s side though. She reached behind her back and drew a pair of blue, rectangular glasses from out of nowhere. Selene nervously rubbed them on her dress. Dr. Snugglekins shifted over to Ash’s head after adjusting the mask and gently moved it from side to side.
He brought his finger to his chin and glanced at his legs. Ash bent his knees, and Dr. Snugglekins asked, “Do you think you can do me a favor and cross your left leg over your right?” He wanted to double check to make sure the brain injury hadn’t damaged Ash’s hearing and if he would respond. He was really contemplating whether or not to send him to a hospital right now. That’s how close he was on the line. The young Apprentice Fairy did not want to go to the hospital, so he went ahead and crossed his left leg over his right.
Dr. Snugglekins couldn’t help but to smile when he saw this, “Good job.” He next took care of Ash’s wound. He cleaned his bloodied, bruised temple and put a cotton bandage on it. After doing that, he next gently wrapped his head with another bandage. Ash flinched the whole time he worked on his head. The last thing Dr. Snugglekins did was he gave Selene some medicine, “He should be fine now. Just give him one of these pills two times a day. They’ll help his brain heal.”
“Thanks.” Selene spoke, and she took the medicine out of his hand.
Dr. Snugglekins continued, “Also make sure he doesn’t push himself too hard for about a week. I’ll come back tomorrow morning and see how he did during the night. Oh, would you look at that.” The screen of his wristwatch started to glow, “I’ve got another call. It looks like one of Hula Village’s sprites is in labor.” He started on his way.
Behind, Selene called, “Doc?”
“Hm?” asked Dr. Snugglekins, and he turned to face her, placing his hands on his hips.
Selene approached him and said, “Ash is supposed to do something very important tomorrow. He’s going to play Teacher. Do you think he’ll be all right to do that?”
“What exactly is he doing?” questioned Dr. Snugglekins. Selene peeped over her shoulder to make sure Makenna wasn’t listening in. She wasn’t. Once she made sure of that, she gestured for Dr. Snugglekins to approach her. Selene whispered into his ear.
After she answered his question, he patted her shoulder and said, “We’ll see.”
Makenna Delling didn’t say goodbye to the doctor. Instead, she sat by the water and frustratingly tossed broken sticks and handfuls of sand in it. Raeven and Gina rested on each of her shoulders.
“Uh oh.” Raeven soon said when he saw Merlin approaching from behind, “Insane wizard at 7:00.” Gina nudged him with her wing to say he was being rude. Merlin didn’t mind. Makenna noticed him out the corners of her eyes and sighed. She tossed another stick into the ocean and placed her hands in her lap. Merlin sat down next to her, and they together stared at the Fanta-colored water.
There was a moment of silence between the two – Makenna was too shy to speak to Merlin.
He finally broke the silence by saying, “It’s beautiful,” while watching the waves at the line crash.
Makenna corrected him, “It’s empty.”
Merlin knew she was talking about Tracey – he knew he had sailed beyond the reef again, “Don’t worry about my apprentice. I feel he is in a very safe place right now. You don’t need to worry about Ash either. He’s going to be fine.”
Makenna lowered her head. Merlin read her mind.
“Makenna, listen to me.” he continued, “It’s not your fault. Things happen unexpectedly. You couldn’t control your magic.”
“But I seriously hurt him.” Makenna choked out, “Ash isn’t the only one I hurt, Merlin. I hurt Tracey too. Thanks to me, he’ll probably never talk to me again.” She reached for her horse head-shaped necklace pendant, “I don’t deserve this transformation.”
Merlin shook his head and turned on his wise self, “No. You think you don’t deserve this transformation. But you do.” He pulled a strand of hair out of the teenager’s face and looked her straight in her big, blue eyes, “Look inside yourself, Makenna. Deep down lies the answer to why you do deserve to be a Merfairy. Trust your fairy instincts. They will always get you to where you’re going. You’re not special, Makenna because you’re a fairy; you’re special because your Makenna.” Makenna’s mouth gaped open. That literally was one of the nicest things someone’s ever told her. Merlin patted her cheek, and she watched as he stood up and headed towards the camp’s picnic table to start dinner.
Raeven burst out crying and wrapped his wings around Miss Delling’s neck, “That was so beautiful!”
Makenna patted his back, “Thanks, Raeven. I just wish I knew where Tracey was.”
Gina rubbed her cheek feathers on her own cheek and seemed to purr, “Everything’s going to be okay, Makenn. You’ll see Tracey again. I promise.”
Makenna nodded and turned her head to glance back at Ash, “Hang on, Ash. You’re going to be just fine.”
The day was winding down, but the ocean remained rough. Things on Emilee and Jesse’s island finally started to calm down. The lighthouse’s beacon glowed beautifully. The couple led Tracey up to his room for the next few nights. Sure enough, it belonged to their son. Jesse had to run back down to relight the lantern and check on the lighthouse, so he left Emilee with Tracey.
Their son’s room was very nice. Everything remained in it. The upper walls were painted green, and the lower walls were black. The king-sized bed’s bedspread was the same color as the walls with some white in it as well as the pillows. A few basketball tees hung from pins over the bed’s head. To the right of the bed was a black dresser with a nice lamp on it as well as a digital clock. Another dresser and lamp sat on the left side. Across the bed rested a desk as well as a closet. Finally, a large window with green, white, and black curtains concluded the room’s charm. Under it to the left was a plant.
Tracey sat down on the bed and said, “Wow,” while looking around the room, “this is quite a stylish room.”
“Thanks.” Emilee, who stood in the doorway, spoke, “Jesse and I kept it this way as a reminder of our son. He really liked the color green – a color you seem to share with him.”
Tracey glanced at her and nervously bit his lip, “How long has it been since he died?”
“Twenty years.” Emily softly answered, and she lowered her head, “He died after a sailing accident. That kid loved to sail. It was like a second mother to him. Jesse and I were able to visit him in the ICU one last time before he passed. He had such a devastating brain injury; he lost so much blood. He was just getting ready to head off to college too.”
“Oh.” Tracey spoke. That was all he could find himself to say, “I’m sorry.”
Emily feebly smiled, “It’s okay. Jesse and I are doing fine. There are times when I remember what it was like to be a parent. It was the best eighteen years of my life. Matt died when he was about your age. That’s why you remind me so much of him. Well, um, it seems I have rambled long enough. I normally don’t like to talk about Matt’s death around other people. You’re different though, Tracey. I like talking to you.” The old woman lifted her hand and rubbed tears from her eyes, “Do you have any night clothes?” Tracey peered down on his ninja style shirt and shook his head. “Would you like me to wash that for you?” Emilee continued, “I can give you a pair of Matt’s night clothes. The two of you look to be about the same size. Hiro, do you want to come in and keep him company until I come back?” Hiro had appeared next to her in the doorway with his toy doll back in his mouth. He nodded and trotted into the room, plopping down next to the bed. Emilee brought her hand to her mouth and chuckled, “That dog already loves you, young man. All right, I’ll be back soon. Please, make yourself comfortable.”
“Thank you so much.” Tracey calmly spoke. Emilee backed into the hallway and waved. Turning on her heel, she sauntered down it and left Merlin’s apprentice and Hiro behind.
Young Tracey decided to check out the room. He hopped off the bed, and Hiro watched as he started to investigate. Merlin’s apprentice reached for the basketball tank tops with his good hand. Jesse had wrapped a bandage around his bad one, and it was in a sling. Tracey’s arm was super, super close to being broken. One more hit, and it would be official. He ignored his injury though and continued his investigation. His eyes caught a picture sitting on one of the dressers, and curious, he approached it and leaned in close. The picture showed a smiling, black-haired, young man at his high school graduation. It was Matt. Jesse and Emilee stood on either side of him and smiled into the camera. They looked like such a wonderful family. It was devastating that the son died. Tracey’s eyes soon left the picture, and they caught a model of a sailboat on the same dresser. Wow, Matthew really did like to sail.
Around 11:00 that night, things on Emilee and Jesse’s island became a teeny bit creepy. In Matt’s room of their house, Tracey and Hiro slept silently – Tracey was dreaming about ninjustu, and Hiro was dreaming about bones. The time was 11:05 pm. Tracey slept on his back with his good arm bent over his head and his bad one resting on the bed’s cover. His head was tilted slightly to the right. Hiro slept with his head resting on his paws at the foot of the bed. Without them noticing, the door to Matt’s room suddenly opened a bit by itself! A strange, green orb slipped inside and headed towards the bathroom. Haunting. The orb disappeared inside the bathroom, and just like that, the door to it slammed shut. Tracey shuffled in his sleep but didn’t wake up. What on Earth was going on here? From inside the bathroom, the toilet randomly flushed, and the sink was turned on. Something was in the room with the fairy and dog – something mysterious. The sink continued to run. After maybe a minute or two, then the bathtub joined in on the fun. It turned on as well.
The bathtub was what woke up Tracey.
“What the heck?” he asked in a sleepy voice, and he sat up. He ran his fingertips through his hair, and his eyes landed on the closed bathroom door, “Oh, my gosh.” Last time he checked, that door was open! The young man almost was too scared to check it out, but something inside forced him to. He felt that something important was waiting for him in the bathroom. Tracey gently pulled the covers of the bed off so he wouldn’t wake Hiro and grabbed his ninja star off one of the dressers, “Who’s here? I have a weapon. If you’re a ghost, I guess I can’t really slice you, but if you’re a person, I’d watch out.” He tiptoed to the closed door and put his star in between his teeth, grabbing the knob. Tracey quickly threw it open and peered inside to the active bathroom. It was empty. There was no one inside. It was much colder in the bathroom than in Matt’s room itself. That was a little strange.
Merlin’s apprentice carefully shuffled over to the running sink and put his ninja star in between his teeth again so he could turn it off. Sure enough, nothing except a toothbrush and tube of toothpaste surrounded it. Tracey next went over to the bathtub and shut it off as well. He didn’t understand what was going on. However, things only got stranger from there. After he turned off the bathtub, the young fairy heard something at the sink and glanced at it. He leaped out of his skin when he saw a random bag, a gold-holding bag, sitting on it! Where the heck did that come from? Literally just a second ago, the only things surrounding that sink was a toothbrush and tube of toothpaste! Tracey jumped so huge that he tripped over the rim of the bathtub and fell into it. His head barely missed the wall. In a nervous voice, he asked, “I-Is that you, Matt? Listen, if you don’t want me in your room, I’ll leave.” He reached for his ninja star that fell when he toppled over, but then his skin prickled. A blast of cold air rushed by him, and his shuriken lifted into the air! “What the?” asked Merlin’s apprentice. How on Earth was his shuriken floating?! It floated out of the bathtub and headed towards the sink where the bag sat. Tracey couldn’t believe what he was seeing. Even though this was probably a bad idea, he followed his shuriken. The spirit dropped it into the sink and next picked up the bag. Tracey leaped back again. He was having a really hard time not jumping out the window right now. What was the spirit going to do with the bag? It took it up to the ceiling and opened it. Tracey really wished he had a sound box right now. Then he’d be able to figure out this spirit better. It slightly turned the bag over, and gold dust escaped it! The dust rained down and landed on Tracey. “Ho-Hold on a second,” he stuttered, “I-Is this fa-fairy dust?” It turned out the dust was fairy dust! Where the heck did it come from?
Tracey was outlined by gold magic, and he peered down on his hands. The dust kept raining down. It then proved to the spirit that he was a fairy. The dust changed courses and flew over to the young man’s back. Tracey peered over his shoulder to watch it. The dust twirled around in a circle, and with his very eyes, Tracey saw it work its magic. The dust created gold, dusty wings, and they flapped gently behind his back.
“Wings.” Tracey spoke in a choked voice. These weren’t real wings though. They were just there to prove to the spirit that he was a magical being. A rush of cold air passed through his hand, and he gasped when he felt something take it! Within seconds, his feet lifted off the ground, and he flew up towards the ceiling! The dusty wings vanished from his back in a blast of fairy dust.
“AHH!” shouted Merlin’s apprentice, “Help! The ghost is trying to kill me!” The ghost opened the window to the bathroom and pulled him outside to the dark night. It took him over to the beach and just like that, dropped him!
Tracey screamed as he flipped towards the ocean, “Okay! Okay! I’ll leave your island! Please! Spare me!” The ghost wasn’t trying to kill him. He actually was a very nice spirit. He knew Tracey had lost his wings, so he was trying to help him remember what flying was like. He grabbed Tracey again just before he could hit the water and pulled him across the ocean’s surface.
Merlin’s apprentice soon realized what the spirit was doing, and he started to calm down, “I don’t understand. Why are you helping me?” He received no answer. The spirit just wanted to play with him. That was all he did for the next hour. He took Merlin’s apprentice for a fun, ghostly flight across the ocean and island. When Tracey got tired, he escorted him back to Emilee and Jesse’s house. The spirit pulled him through the open window and dropped him next to the sink. Tracey landed gently and whispered, “Wow. Thank you. I was wondering, can you by any chance make yourself seeable? It’s just, it feels a little strange speaking to air. You can trust me. I’m very nice.” He looked around the room for the spirit but again nothing showed itself. “No?” asked Merlin’s apprentice, “All right. I understand. If you want me out of this house, I’ll sail away in the morning. I have to get to the Bermuda Triangle anyway.” Just like that, he turned and exited the bathroom back into Matt’s room. On the bed, Hiro’s ears twitched, and he lifted his head. Glancing into the bathroom, he suddenly growled and started to bark! “Hiro!” Tracey’s yelped, and he brought his finger to his lips, “Shh! What’s the matter with you?!” Hiro continued to bark.
Finally, Merlin’s apprentice glanced back in the direction of the bathroom, and his golden brown eyes widened at what he saw. Hovering in the doorway was the shadowy figure of a young man! It was a ghost! He looked to be around Tracey’s age. His hair was long, – some of it hovered over his right eye – and he was dressed in a hoodie with a high collar, a belt, long pants, and boots. Tracey froze. The ghost proved that spirits, demons, etc. were real. A wave of fear washed over the fairy’s entire body, and he shivered. After about a minute, the spirit floated over to him and landed a few feet away. He cautiously examined him up and down.
Tracey shivered like crazy, “Who-Who are you?! Wha-What are you?!” It didn’t look like the spirit could talk. He answered by pulling a few shadows off him and turning them into letters. When he saw him doing this, Hiro stopped barking and merely stared. Tracey remained frozen in his spot. The spirit spelled out two sentences with the shadows and showed them to the petrified fairy.
They read: Please do not fear me – I won’t hurt you. I am Matthew.
As soon as the spirit said that, Tracey felt a blast of cold air sprint through him, and he closed his eyes. Sinking to his knees, he fell unconscious on the floor on his back. Matt’s ghost floated close to him, and a friendly smiled washed across his face.
Eventually, morning time found its way into a brand new day on both Emilee and Jesse’s island and Coutarine Island – the start of a brand new adventure. Since there obviously was a lot more life on Coutarine Island vs. Emilee and Jesse’s island, it woke up first. The birds chirped, and the rays of the rising sun scanned the beach. The day was absolutely gorgeous. It was hard to believe a tropical storm had blown through. The birds may have woken up, but that didn’t mean the occupants of Merlin’s camp and family members of Alice’s family had. In fact, most of them were still asleep. It was too early to wake up.
Merlin’s camp had the most activity right now. Merlin slept like a baby in his sleeping bag snoring, and Selene had her back propped up against a rock where she slept silently. Makenna, Gina, and Raeven had fallen asleep next to the water. Makenna begged in her head to sleep in, but unfortunately she didn’t get to. A muzzle touched her chin and gave it a shake.
This caused the young fairy to shuffle in her sleep, and she mumbled, “Not now, Mom. I need to find the perfect fluffy, fuzzy bunny to take home.” The muzzle shook her chin some more, and then it snorted in her face. “Ugh!” Makenna yelped, and she instantly woke up. Sitting, her barely opened eyes caught the outline of Harmony standing in front of her. Harmony was the one who shook her chin. “Harmony?” Makenna asked as she sleepily rubbed her face down. The horse appeared to be worried. When she saw Makenna was kind of awake, she let out a worried nicker and started in the direction of the hammock Ash supposedly slept in.
Still half asleep, the Metamorphic Fairy stumbled after her, “Harmony, go lie down. It’s too early to play.” Harmony pushed her on forward though with her muzzle. She led her to the hammock and snorted loudly in her face to wake her up. This caused Makenna to yelp and leap almost ten feet in the air, “I’m awake! I’m fully awake! What the?!” Her eyes landed on the hammock, and she gasped at what she saw. The hammock was empty! There was no sign of Ash! The only things in the hammock was his blanket and the fairy oxygen mask. Now Makenna understood why Harmony woke her up and looked worried. “Where’s Ash?!” she frightfully questioned, “Horse, where is he?!” Harmony had no idea. She let out another concerned nicker. Ash wasn’t the only one was missing though. Silvey was too. “What about Silvey?!” Makenna yelped, “Horse, I don’t speak your language, but if by any chance you can communicate telepathically, that could make things so much easier.” Harmony couldn’t though. She had no idea how telepathy worked. She just continued to nicker and nudge Makenna with her muzzle. The young fairy finally took it and whispered, “Don’t worry. I’ll find him.” Harmony nodded understandingly. Makenna let her muzzle go and backed up a few feet. Behind her wings flapped, and she picked herself off the beach. She had almost forgotten that she was a Merfairy Metamorphic Fairy now. As she flew away, she peered over her shoulder to Harmony and waved. The horse responded by flipping her mane. Turning back around, Makenna took a deep breath and started her morning flight and search for Ash.
Her wings took her down the beach under the rays of the sun that still rose.
Makenna soon cupped her hands around her mouth and called, “Ash! Ash!” The fear in her system was real. Why had Ash taken off when he had a concussion? Dr. Snugglekins was supposed to run by that morning and check on him, but if Ash wasn’t there when he got to the camp, then Makenna had no idea what to do. First Tracey disappeared and then him! Please say the Octopus Man hasn’t gotten them, the Metamorphic Fairy begged in her head. Every day she felt like he was getting closer and closer. Just staying on Coutarine Island to find a so-called Wizard Fairy and to deliver a parcel to Merlin delayed everything. It was maybe time for Makenna to fly off on her own, but she had to let Ash know. “Ash!” she again called. She waited for a bit, and then, she heard him! He yelled in a way like he was training, and it came from the jungle. Just hearing her friend gave Makenna some confidence. Did this mean he was okay? She had to find out.
With a flap of her wings, Makenna soared in the direction of Ash’s voice and landed in the jungle. As soon as she did, she slipped behind a tree and peered out. Next to a river in front of her were Ash and Silvey. The two of them looked like they were training. Ash wore a blue, medieval-style hood over his head and a quiver of arrows and his bow on his back. Crusader was clutched tightly in his left hand. The change was incredible. That fairy oxygen mask and Crusha Fruit really worked. Makenna knew Ash was still recovering from his concussion though, but she hoped she hadn’t given him a permanent brain injury. She didn’t know, but the young man was doing some last minute training before he became her sensei for the day. Silvey hopped from side to side as he swung Crusader around a bit.
While he trained, Makenna even heard him say, “I can’t let Selene and Merlin down, Silvey. I just can’t.” What did he mean by that? Who was Ash? After a bit, he looked around and asked, “Silvey? Where are ya?” Silvey stood directly in front of him. That was weird. Why couldn’t Ash see her? Was it because of the hood? No it couldn’t have been – the hood didn’t cover his eyes.
“Oh no.” Makenna whimpered, “Please say I didn’t give him a permanent brain injury.”
Silvey barked to let Ash know where she was, and he finally saw her, “Oh, there you are. Sorry, girl. Do you think you can move out of the way while I practice my lunge?” Silvey gestured yes with her head and glided off to the side. She watched as Ash lifted the sword in his left hand and leaped forward for a lunge. Unfortunately though, he crashed right into a tree. CRASH! Makenna yelped and smacked her palms over her mouth while Silvey hid behind her feelers. Ash landed with a thud on the ground and groaned.
“Ash!” the Metamorphic Fairy yelled. She came out of hiding and soared towards him.
“Huh?” he asked, and he bent one knee. With Crusader still in his hand, he looked up from examining his other one and turned his head to see Makenna’s blur flying in his direction, “Makenna? Is that you?”
“It is.” Makenna frightfully answered as she gently landed in front of him, “What are you doing here?”
“Makenna?” Ash asked again, “Whe-Where are you?” Crusader dropped from his hand and landed next to his ankle. Ash stood up, and his head started to roam. Makenna was really scared now.
She took the Scottish fairy’s shoulders and turned him around so their eyes met, “I’m right here. Don’t you see me?”
Ash answered by lifting his hand and waving it in front of her, “It’s kind of hard when you’re nothing but a blue blur.” He reached forward and patted her arms, moving them up towards her face, “Okay, here are your arms.” Before he knew it, he made it to Makenna’s face and patted her cheeks next, “Aye. I found your face.”
Makenna grabbed hold of his wrists and pulled them off, “Ash, what is wrong with you?” Silvey crept up on Ash from behind and sat down next to his sword.
“I-I’m sorry.” Ash apologized, “I don’t have my glasses.”
A question mark appeared above Makenna’s head, “Your glasses? Wait, you wear glasses?” Her body finally started to relax. That was good. It didn’t look like she hadn’t given him a permanent brain injury.
“Aye,” answered Ash, “I never told ya, but I have really bad eyesight. I was born with it as well my father.”
“Bu-But,” Makenna stammered, “I’ve never seen you with glasses on.”
“That’s because I wear contacts a lot.”
“Oh.” That made sense, but Ash not being able to see gave Makenna something new to worry about.
He held his hands out to anxious Metamorphic Fairy and said, “Keep the heid. I’m all right.”
“I have no idea what that means.” Makenna admitted.
“‘Keep the heid’ is a Scottish way of saying, ‘Stay calm, don’t get upset,’” explained Ash, “Which reminds me, I want to ask you something.”
“What?” Makenna questioned, and Ash continued,
“Aren’t you searching for some kind of wise Wizard Fairy who will help you get started on your journey to the Bermuda Triangle?”
“How do you know?”
“Selene told me.” Ash answered, “Lucky for you, Makenn, I know the fairy she’s talking about. That’s because I’ve lived here for a while. If you want, I can take you to him.”
“Seriously?” Makenna asked, but another look of worry washed across her face, “Bu-But your head.”
Ash smiled, “It feels fine right now. Besides, I think it’d be best if I take you to the fairy now vs. later. He’s usually gone in the afternoons.”
“You can’t see though.” Makenna admitted, “Also, the doctor’s supposed to drop by soon and check on you.”
Suddenly, a voice was heard off to the side, “Go with him, Makenna,” and Makenna, Ash, and Silvey quickly whirled around. The voice belonged to Selene. She had appeared from out of nowhere next to them.
“Selene!” Makenna gasped, “Where-Where did you come from?”
Selene placed her hand on her hip and approached them and the fairy dog, “I heard you guys talking. It probably is best for you to meet the Wizard Fairy now vs. later, Miss Delling. The doc’s not going to be here for a while. You guys have plenty of time.”
Makenna pointed her thumb at Ash and admitted, “But I’m worried about Ash. He’s still recovering from his concussion, and he can’t even see!”
Selene reached behind her back and admitted, “Which is why I brought these.” From it, she drew the pair of blue glasses and offered them to Ash, “Here you go, Ash.”
“My glasses!” Ash excitedly called out, “Thank you, Selene! Thank you!” Makenna merely stared at him. It turned out her friend really did wear glasses. He took them out of Selene’s hands and slipped them on. Once he saw how clear it was and the debris from the storm, he said, “Whoa! Somebody trashed the island.”
Selene explained to him, “Well, a tropical storm blew in yesterday. You may not remember it though, my dear. You were kind of out of it yesterday, but you look a lot better today, and that’s the most important thing. I believe you can escort Makenna to her next destination.”
Makenna butted in, “Who is this Wizard Fairy though? What makes him so important? We have more pressing priorities right now: Tracey, the Octopus Man, the Bermuda Triangle, and Ash getting better!”
Selene snickered and glanced at her, “Only the Wizard Fairy can answer your questions, Miss Delling. Don’t worry, you won’t regret the visit. After you meet the fairy, I can guarantee you that you will have a better understanding of how you can save Tracey and our two worlds with your Merfairy powers.”
“I hope you’re right, Selene. I hope you’re right. Well, are we going, Ash?”
“Yeah. Just let me take this off.” Ash reached up and grabbed each side of his hood, pulling it down, “Selene, can I take Harmony?”
“Oh, why certainly! She definitely would like to see the Wizard Fairy too. Harmony!” Selene turned and stepped towards the beach. She rested her hand on the trunk of a palm tree and whistled down it.
Ash used his forefinger to adjust the bridge of his glasses and kneeled down to his sword, picking it up.
Makenna got down on his level and worriedly peered into his face, “Are you sure you’re going to be all right?”
“I’m sure,” he responded in a confident voice, “Trust me, I’ve experienced much worse than this before.” Makenna nodded to show she understood.
“Here she comes!” Selene’s voice suddenly echoed from down the beach. Harmony appeared next to her and nickered happily at the sight of Ash who waved. The two of them hurried to one another and embraced.
Makenna couldn’t help but to smile, but it instantly vanished when she heard something off to the left in the jungle. It sounded like a voice – a spellbinding yet familiar voice.
Makenna recognized it, “Tracey?” and stepped forward, “Tracey, is that you?” The voice did sound like him. From Makenna’s point of view, she thought that maybe he didn’t leave the island. Did he need her help though? There was some panic in his voice. “Tracey?” the Metamorphic Fairy asked again.
“Makenna, follow my voice,” he spoke, “Follow it to the heart of the jungle. That is where I’ll meet you.”
Makenna instantly became excited, “Tracey!” and she quickly flapped her wings. Lifting into the air, she started forward and left Ash, Silvey, and Selene behind.
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