Chapter 4

Tink gasped as she and Terence fluttered into the room. Paintings of colorfully dressed, gossamer-winged fairies hung on the walls. She recognized herself and all of her friends. "Oh, Terence, there you are," she said, pointing to one of him sitting on Lizzy's hand as the girl lay on the picnic blanket next to her father.

A twinge of melancholy squeezed Tink's chest. That had been the summer when she had first met Lizzy years ago. Years that seemed like mere days.

"I've never forgotten you, Tink," Lizzy said, holding out her hand. Tink alighted upon it. "Not even when I went off to the university to study art. In fact, you and your friends were my inspiration." She pointed to her gallery of paintings. "It was these memories that helped see me through when Father passed." Tears suddenly pooled in her eyes.

"Oh, Lizzy." Tink's heart twisted. "I'm so sorry." She wondered if Lizzy could still understand her. She'd taught her fairy speak in the few years following their first summer until the girl had stopped coming to the cottage. It had just been her father, Dr. Griffins, for a while. Tink had been overjoyed when she'd heard from the Scout Nyx, right before leaving for Fairy Camp, that Lizzy was back. But Nyx had neglected to inform her just how much Lizzy had changed.

Lizzy wiped at her eyes and smiled. "I'm fine now. I loved coming to this cottage during the summer so much that I now live here permanently. We officially moved in a few months ago. I have a wonderful husband and a little boy, Nathan."

"I know," said Tink. "I saw them through the window."

Lizzy nodded in understanding. "I had a feeling you'd come by." She paced to her desk and gently set Tink down beside the fairy book. Its cover had been wiped clean. Terence fluttered to her side. "I've sold several of my paintings and they've attracted the attention of a children's book publisher who would like me to write and illustrate a series of stories about fairies. This was such an auspicious discovery!"

"This book tells of our adventures," said Tink, kneeling beside it and flipping through the pages. She was relieved to find it hadn't been damaged by the mud. Her gaze wandered to the much larger notebook Lizzy had been working on.

"I hope you don't mind if I use your book for inspiration," said Lizzy, flipping her notebook to the first page. On it was the title Pixie Hollow: The World of Fairies in fancy print, with Lizzy's full name underneath. "It's very beautiful."

"Not at all," said Tink, smiling. "In fact, we'll help you. Won't we, Terence?" She looked over at him.

"Right, Tink." His eyes sparkled.

As Lizzy slid into the chair at her desk and picked up a pencil, Tink and Terence settled on her shoulders. Memories flooded Tink's mind as Lizzy paged through the fairy book, so tiny in her hands, and started writing and illustrating the human-sized pages. There had been so many adventures, starting with Tink's Arrival in Pixie Hollow: her quest with Terence to fix the Moonstone, meeting Lizzy for the first time, discovering she had a twin sister, the Pixie Hollow Games, fighting pirates, protecting the Neverbeast, and countless others mixed in.

Warmth filled her chest as she glanced over at Terence, who was just as entranced as she. These were just the beginning. She was certain there would be more to come. Many more.

The End

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