"ARIA, WHAT DID YOU DO?" was the first question that left Nolan's lips. I myself thought I had gone into a panic attack. I shouldn't have been able to stop Slepa like that, make her leave.

"I-I don't know," I stammered.

The clearing had quickly grayed, the clouds slowly covering up the sun's bright rays. Slepa was warning us that something was coming.

"Well, we have to find Slepa," concluded Nolan, sitting up. "I don't know where else we'd go at this point."

"I have a feeling I know where she would go," I sighed, "but it means we'll have to face Flora's wrath."

Nolan groaned but nodded his head. We had come all this way only to have to turn around again. 

"Might as well start now," I prompted, ready to hop on the griffin and fly towards the treehouse.

"But I'm tired!" Nolan complained.

"We have to go now if we want to catch her."

We went back and forth for a bit, trying to figure out a compromise. In the end, I negotiated down to a half a hour of rest and then we would go.

After I collected some non threatening looking berries and gave some to Grif, I told Nolan that his time for resting was up and that we needed to leave.

The sky was gray with clouds, causing a foreboding blanket to cascade over the world. Something big and bad was about to happen, I could feel it in my gut.

Nolan and I didn't even try to talk during the flight, choosing instead to lose ourselves in our own thoughts. I was thinking about what had happened with saying "Leave," and Slepa flying out of the clearing almost instantly. It was most curious and confusing. And there may be a chance- if any- that I might be the witch of the cosmos and the test at Mr. Hawthorn's cottage was wrong.

It was highly unlikely that my new theory was true, but I needed something to dwell on during the windy flight. Anything to distract me from the wind lashing against my face.

Grif landed softly, like always, and I hopped off of his back. I picked the tiny rose out of my pocket and transformed it into my trusty sword. The sword and I were going to kick butt.

Nolan came around Ruby's back with a bow and a bag of arrows.

"Is that your prefered weapon?" 

"I haven't been able to use them lately, but yeah. Plus, it's a long range object and you're using a short range weapon. We should be using one of each as a team."

"Good point," I sighed, looking at the treehouse. There wasn't any sign of action from where we stood, but I couldn't ever be so sure.

"Do you think she's here yet?" Nolan looked at me, a worried expression crossing over his face.

"Why, are you worried I'm going to show you up again?" I teased instead of giving an answer to his question. I knew Slepa was somewhere around here, and she would only come out when it was convenient for her.

"Oh please, it won't happen again," Nolan rolled his eyes playfully at me.

"I'll bet it will," I said, poking the bear a little more. I wanted us both to be in a good mood, possibly even a little mad, when the battle started.

"Do you really want to bet on it?" Nolan grinned, thinking I would fall for his bait.

"Well," I pretended to contemplate his offer, "I think I'll sit out of this one. Because, you know, I'll win anyways."

Nolan laughed and eased up a little bit. I was happy he was getting less and less stressed. It would not only help in battle, but it was good to see a good friend brightening in spirits.

"Oh, thank heavens you're all right!" Flora's concerned voice broke through the conversation Nolan and I were having as she rushed towards us.

Heartea followed her at a distance, her lips moving silently in the background. 

"Is she cursing us?" I whispered into Flora's ear, afraid of angering the fairy of love.

Flora giggled, the familiar, warm sound lifting my mood immediately. "No, darling, don't you worry about it. She's putting up some... barriers to protect us from Slepa's inevitable return. She's nearly reached full power. I don't know if you heard, but Slepa has traveled across the kingdom, putting one town after another to sleep. And the only way to reverse a fairy's magic is to take her magic or... kill her."

I was stunned into silence. The way Flora said "kill her" with such conviction made me think that she had made up her mind about what she was going to do when Slepa came.

"And you two will be staying in the treehouse," Flora continued, "as punishment for your unauthorized activities outside of the treehouse's walls." 

"But Flora, we've fought griffins- three at a time! Please, if you give us a chance-" Nolan tried to argue but Flora interrupted him.

"There will be no more incursions outside of the treehouse for the next three weeks, you understand?" Flora turned on her heel and walked back to the treehouse, her hair rapidly growing once more.

BEING CONFINED TO THE TREEHOUSE wasn't as glamorous as it sounded. Sanshe babysat Nolan and I so that we wouldn't sneak out or get into any trouble again. Apparently, we had given the fairies quite the scare when we had disappeared, that's why there were all these new regulations on our freedom, especially with Slepa on her way. 

"No funny business," were the first words out of Sanshe's mouth when she forced us into the treehouse. Heartea had delivered us to the door and turned around to walk around again, not bothering to even say one word to us before she left. The dramatic, attention seeking fairy had closed in on herself.

Nolan and I weren't allowed in any rooms that had windows because of the means of our latest escape plan, so we were confined to the main room, Heartea's room, and Shanshe's glow box.

I was in Sanshe's glow box most of the time. She had a screen showing different landscapes in far off corners of the kingdom, including a picture of the yard outside. I assumed it was live because Flora, Heartea, and Wintersea were pacing around the clearing, never stopping to sit down on the tree stump for more than two seconds.

"Oh, that's why you're in here," Nolan breathed, coming up behind me suddenly.

The rest of the room was hardly impressive, with seating for only two and a darker color scheme. It seemed Sanshe was glad to stay in the dark if given the chance, besides the screen and her big ball of light. Everything else seemed darker; painted dark purple or navy blue.

"Wonderful, isn't it?" I said, not bothering to turn around to face Nolan for fear of missing something.

"It is," Nolan plopped down into the chair next to me. "Sanshe has only allowed me to come in here once before."

"What did you watch?" I found myself asking, curious.

"The old gang," he sighed as if he was embarrassed. "I just wanted to see if they were all okay. I kind of just disappeared. Didn't say anything to anybody."

"I didn't either. I think my parents still believe I'm at that facility Flora found me in."

"Wow, I'd think the owners would have told them."

"I don't know," I hedged, "they were pretty old fashioned."

"They should have at least had a quill and parchment!"

"I don't think so," I tapped my chin, "although, they did get tons of supplies almost everyday."

"Exactly!" Nolan laughed. His eyes lit up and his left dimple made an appearance. It was rare to see him so carefree and happy.

Nolan reached over and adjusted the scenery, choosing a barely spring touched field of flowers. Red roses, purple lilacs, and white daisies were barley blossoming, soft colors appearing in their places. A layer of dew covered the grass in between the flowers. The sun was still rising, resulting in the pinks and oranges that were coloring the sky.

"Sunrises are truly beautiful there," I breathed. Because of the torturous thoughts of my old finishing school, I had never gotten up early enough to experience the sunrise back where my family house is. I never considered it home.

"Sunrises are beautiful everywhere," Nolan said, looking at me challengingly.

"Well obviously not!" I exclaimed. "What if you can't see it! Then you would only see plain old clouds."

"I suppose so. But clouds can be beautiful."

"It depends."

"We'll have to agree to disagree," settled Nolan, a grin on his face.

We sat in silence for under a minute before I had to talk again. "Do you think they'll need us?"

"They're full grown fairies. They won't need us," Nolan allowed his smile to fade a little. "But they will surely miss us."

"Yeah," I sighed, "I do wish they would have given us permission to fight. I may not be the witch of the cosmos, but I would like to think I'm a fighting fairy. Maybe I'll have spikes on my forearms!"

"We should sneak out and help!" Nolan said, the familiar gleam of mischief back in his blue eyes.

"And how do you suppose we do that?"

"With your powers, of course," Nolan said as though it was blandly obvious that I should know.

"What powers? I don't have any yet."

"You're under eighteen. Just say de and we'll be out of here!"

I nodded my head, willing myself to focus. "De."

And we fell through the floor.

UNDER THE FLOOR WAS AN interesting place to be. The wooden floorboards ended abruptly and then there was grass. It's the weirdest feeling falling through solid matter. As though tiny grains of sand were slowly working their way into my skin.

"All clear?" I whispered, lowering to a crouch beside Nolan.

"Not quite," he whispered back, "Slepa's here."

My mouth formed into a silent o. That was why Sanshe didn't come running when we made a bunch of noise in her screen room. She was most likely outside to fight her sister.

"You really think we'll be able to help?" I needed one last confirmation.

"Yes," Nolan replied firmly, believing with his whole mind that we would make a difference.

"Then let's show them what we're made of," I whispered confidently. While Sanshe had made us turn our weapons back into the everyday objects they normally were, it took only a moment to have my now familiar gleaming sword in my hand, and for Nolan's bow and arrows to appear.

"... and now what have we come to, dear sisters? You could be standing with me! There wouldn't be anyone in the world that could stop us then!" Slepa's slippery voice filled the clearing as Nolan and I rounded a corner and dropped behind a bush.

"And what would come of that?" the way Flora asked her question let me know that she was on edge and stalling time. The fairies were about to try something.

Then, soft rain droplets began to fall. Not the hard, cold, scary type; but the warm, comforting, and cozy type. The droplets didn't fall exactly vertical, but not exactly horizontal either. It was showering in a mixture of both, as if the sky was crying because of a great sorrow.

"World... rule together!" the rain, picking up speed, drowned out most of Slepa's silky reply. It clearly enraged Flora, consequently, for her fists were barely shaking at her sides.

"What do you think they're saying?" Nolan breathed, trying to adjust his sightline.

"I say we just attack now and quit asking these silly questions," I replied, moving to stand up and move behind a tree.

Nolan nodded, and I launched into motion.

Slepa's eyes widened with sudden shock and understanding; Flora's eyes widened with both shock and rage. I ignored both. I didn't know what I would do once Slepa was weak enough. I didn't know how to take a fairy's powers away. I still didn't know the difference between a witch and a fairy, for sparkle's sakes! But what I did know was how to let go and let the deadly dance take over.

Once Slepa had recovered, I had barely made it to her side of the clearing. Right before I went to strike, she ducked and moved away, blasting a icy breeze my way.

Nolan drew an arrow and shot at Slepa, making sure to not make the shot deadly.

Flora, Heartea, and Wintersea closed ranks and began chanting, their eyes glowing. Slepa noticed this and growled, trying to get around Nolan and I. 

Slepa was weakening, her attacks becoming less and less frequent, her eyes tired. It must have taken a lot of energy to use that much magic. 

Long, silver ropes snaked up Slepa's arms and legs. Her torso was next and then her face was encased in the rope. With one final bellow, she shot out her hand and...

Wintersea fell down and stopped breathing.

"Wintersea!" Flora stopped chanting but Heartea didn't. Silent tears ran down her face as she seemingly squeezed the power out of Slepa's body.

A glowing, pale orb erupted from Slepa's chest from the silver ropes and hovered in the air. With one final word from Heartea, it bolted away.

Everyone stopped and stared at the former water fairy who was no more. 

It didn't seem possible that she could be gone.

~o0o~

Word Count: 2257

LET ME EXPLAIN MYSELF! Okay, so I knew I needed to kill one of the fairies, and for a while there it was going to be Heartea. And then I liked her a little too much an decided to kill the one that Aria had the least relationship with. Sorry. Also! This is the last chapter before the epilogue! YAY! There WILL be a sequel... and it will be dramatic. Love you all, thank you for reading!

xx

C