Ash felt nothing but warmth in the Chamber of Reestablishment. It was so comfortable that he didn't want to leave the glowing water in which he rested. Deep within the shrine was a pool of special water, which helped his injured brain heal a little.
Ash's bright, blue eyes slowly opened, and he blinked, continuing to float. The first thing he saw was the shrine's blurry, blue ceiling. It was quiet in there. For the first time in thirteen years, Ash felt peace.
Soaked, he sat. His hair looked brown when wet, but it turned dirty blonde when it dried. He turned his head in each direction, still trying to figure out where he was. Normally, he would know, but his mind was currently blank. Ash couldn't even speak, but he noticed that he was breathing heavily.
Ash's eyes landed on the pool's edge, and he saw a ring of rocks surrounding it. He rolled over the side of it, hitting the soft ground, but stood. Ash tiredly but curiously examined the strange patterns and murals on the chambers' rocky walls. They glowed like the shrine's pool. He stopped under a mural depicting a wingless fairy speaking to a group of sprites. The fairy held a crusader sword in his left hand.
Passing the mural, Ash stumbled upon another one. It showed a young, female fairy. She had long, brown hair and wore a crown, as if she were a princess. The picture showed her fighting against a mysterious shadow with eight Kraken-like arms.
Ash peeped over his shoulder at the mural and cautiously studied it. Something about the fairy in the painting was familiar, but what? Ash hoped he would remember soon.
It wasn't long until he found himself back under the somewhat familiar mural, and he reached for the female fairy. Just before he touched her, something sounded off to the right, and he glanced in that direction. The sound came from a medieval-style rocky door that had a pattern of Ethelinda in its heart. Ash watched curiously as the pattern glowed and the door slowly opened. When the creaking stopped, Ash was officially free from his six-hour spa treatment.
***
Ash wasn't out of the dumps yet, for he saw that the Chamber of Reestablishment had another room of mysterious murals and blue lights when he exited the first one. Seriously, he just wanted to find the exit. Though it looked similar to the room with the pool, the room Ash now stood in was larger, with a door twice the size of the first one, and a chest was before him.
Ash jogged to it and opened it. He found the weapons he used to fight against the Devil's Heir: his broadsword, bow and arrow, and shield. Just seeing them, Ash couldn't help but feel like he knew them from somewhere. His jaw gaped, and, grabbing the weapons, he put them on.
Once the weapons were nice and snug, Ash stood, and his eyes caught the new door, which he hoped would lead him out of this place.
Green magic outlined Ash, and he put his feet together. He raised his index fingers and placed one on each temple. Keeping his right finger on one side of his temple, he turned his body and pointed his dominant hand toward the final door. Right at his command, the door opened and revealed a corridor on the other side. A bright light shone at the end of it.
Inhaling, Ash moved toward it. When he reached the light, all his worries faded away, and he realized how lucky he was to be alive.
Ash stood in a cluster of coconut, banana, and pineapple trees and ferns, which danced in a pleasant, tropical breeze. His eyes brightened when he saw the view. Celt Tip's cliff overlooked the turquoise lagoon, the ocean, and the stretch of land where Ash encountered Breena's ghost. His excitement bubbled inside him, and for the first time in a few days, he acted like his normal self.
Turning on his heel, Ash hurried toward the steep path that led to the shrine. It rested on a ridge, so on one side, he saw the forest and on the other, the lagoon and ocean.
Reaching up, Ash removed his shield and set it down before him. Hopping onto it, he stood like a surfer and gave the shield a little push. Right then, the weapon slid off the top of the hill and started down the steep path. Ash stood and acted out a few tricks. He soon saw a bow-and-arrow target hanging from one of the trees and couldn't help himself.
Ash took his bow off his back and drew an arrow from his quiver. He put it in his weapon and aimed it at the target. With a smile on his face, he let the arrow go, and it stabbed the target in the center. That was a definite bullseye. Ash discovered more targets the farther he rode down the path and kept shooting arrows. He got a bullseye every time.
When he reached the bottom of the hill, Ash leaped off his shield and landed on the fluffy, white sand of the Wizard Fairy's beach. Just being on it took his breath away, and he turned his head toward the Wizard Fairy's house. Perhaps someone in there could tell him where he was?
Ash headed over there the second he picked up his shield, but was surprised when the afternoon was interrupted by a horse whinnying.
Harmony happily jogged to Ash and reared. Once she got back down on fours, she tucked her nose under Ash's hand and lifted it. She stared desperately into his eyes, but no matter how hard she tried, Ash couldn't remember her.
He removed his hand from the horse's muzzle and passed her. The two of them exchanged glances.
Ash had only taken a few steps closer to the Wizard Fairy's house when he heard a voice from the deck: "Ash!"
Quickly shifting his body, Ash's eyes caught an old fairy soaring down the deck's steps. A man dressed in a blue cloak and another fairy dressed in a white coat followed her.
Selene landed before Ash, sobbing, and pulled him into an unexpected hug. "Oh, my baby boy! You're awake! I was so worried about you! Don't scare me like that!"
A question mark seemed to appear above Ash's head. Like everything else, he didn't remember her, Merlin, or Dr. Snugglekins. Waving his hands, he tried to break free from Selene, but she held him tightly.
Finally, Dr. Snugglekins pulled Ash out of Selene's arms and sternly told her, "Take it easy, Selene. He's confused. Keep in mind that he was just resurrected. It's going to take him a few hours to return to reality."
"Oh, right," Selene spoke. Closing her eyes, she brought her fists to her chest and said a little prayer. She then grabbed Ash's arms and desperately asked, "Are you okay? Does anything hurt? Your head?"
Ash opened his mouth and tried to speak, but couldn't.
"Oh no," Selene continued, spinning around to Dr. Snugglekins. "Why can't he speak?"
"Part of it is the brain injury. The Chamber of Reestablishment may have resurrected him, but he still has his concussion. He can't remember anything right now," Dr. Snugglekins elucidated.
Merlin spoke up. "Which makes sense because he died."
Died? Ash asked in his wounded head. Did I die? Gee, that was pretty dark. How on earth did he die?
Dr. Snugglekins, Selene, and Merlin saw the confusion in his eyes.
It wasn't long until Selene released him so Dr. Snugglekins could intervene.
He took Ash's upper, left arm and dragged him toward the Wizard Fairy's house. "Come now, son. We have much to talk about. Besides, you need to take it easy. The Devil did a chunk of damage to you. Aside from the head injury, you've also got a bruised arm from when it threw you."
"Why on earth did he go against the Devil's Heir in his condition?" Merlin sternly asked.
"He's Ash," Selene answered. "You see, Merlin, after the death of his parents and sister, he will fight nonstop, injured or not, to protect the island and its inhabitants. He refuses to lose anything else dear to him. But I also think he was trying to prove himself. To prove that he can teach Makenna Special Spells."
With a shake of his head, Merlin said, "Ugh, teenagers. They think they're so grown up." He and Selene stopped themselves from continuing their journey to the house and peered back at Ash and Dr. Snugglekins.
Dr. Snugglekins patted Ash's hand and inquired, "Your head is starting to hurt again, isn't it? Don't worry, we're almost there. Once we get inside, we can whip up a batch of Coutarinian Tea. Makenna will be back soon. I promise. And I also promise you will soon have your memory back."
***
The journey to Aluna's village section took longer than expected, but finally, Ethelinda dropped Makenna and Silvey before the entrance tunnel.
They thanked her, and Ethelinda nodded.
Silvey jogged forward, but Ethelinda called Makenna back.
"Yes, Ethelinda?" she asked. She curtsied and clutched the scroll to her chest. Makenna hadn't opened it yet, but she had an urge to. She just wanted to see what was so important.
As she and Ethelinda glanced into each other's eyes, a gust of cold wind blew Makenna's hair.
Ethelinda smiled and said, "I feel, Miss Delling, that Tracey just got the gift he has wanted for the past year."
"Really? What? So, you're saying that he's all right?"
"For now, at least. You're almost ready to fly to him. The last thing you need to do here on Coutarine Island after talking to Evelyn is get the Wizard Fairy to teach you Special Spells."
"Special Spells, right. Speaking of the Wizard Fairy, what about Ash? Is he all right? Will I ever see him again?"
"Oh, I know you will. After all, it was you who saved him. When you do find Ash, though, Miss Delling, I want you to deliver something to him."
Makenna nodded. "All right. Sure. What is it you want me to deliver?"
Silvey trotted back so she could experience what was going on, too.
Makenna tucked the scroll into the belt on her dress.
Ethelinda hovered over her and brought her seaweed hands together. She shuffled and then lowered them. Opening her palms, she held them out to Makenna, and she peered into them.
Her jaw dropped at what she saw in Ethelinda's hands: Crusader, Ash's sword. "Cru-Crusader," Makenna stammered. "But how?"
"The Chief Wave delivered her to me," Ethelinda elucidated. "He said that you should be the one to give her back to him. After all, you were the one who trapped him and Silvey in that secret room."
Oh, did she have to mention that? Makenna's guilt returned. "I-I get it," she gloomily spoke. "You want me to apologize to him."
"Correct." Ethelinda pushed her hands closer to Makenna. "Now take her, Miss Delling. Deliver Crusader after you visit Evelyn."
"But, that's an enchanted sword. It's like Excalibur. Do you trust it in my hands?"
"I do." There was certainty in Ethelinda's voice. "Keep in mind that you used Ash's broadsword to defeat the Devil's Heir. He needs Crusader to help you find the Wizard Fairy."
Nodding to show she understood, Makenna nervously reached for the sword. The confident smile on Ethelinda's face, as well as the touch of Silvey's feelers around her leg, cooled her nerves a bit. Makenna was a princess. She had to do this. It was her duty.
Inhaling, Makenna grabbed Crusader's hilt. As she was bringing back her hand, Ethelinda propped her head up again and watched. Since the sword was hefty, Makenna dropped it into the sand. It fixed that, though.
The blade glowed, and Crusader shrank down to the perfect size for Makenna. "Whoa!" she yelped. She found that it was easy to lift the sword now.
Blade still glowing, strings of magic escaped it and circled Makenna.
"What's going on?" she asked.
Silvey wanted to get a better look, so she released Makenna's leg and backed up.
Ethelinda let out a friendly chortle and answered, "Crusader has accepted you as her partner, Miss Delling. She likes you."
"Seriously? This is insane!" Since when did a sword have feelings? It was a sword!
Ethelinda focused on it and asked, "Hey, Crusader, why don't you show the princess what you're made of?"
"Princess?" Makenna still couldn't wrap her head around the fact that she was a real princess. Her eyes rolled down to the glowing Crusader. Before she knew it, the sword's appearance melted away and changed into the impressive bow and arrow Ash used to defeat the siren. From there, it turned into his staff and crossbow, and back into a sword.
Ethelinda soon said to Makenna, "Hold her out like you're about to lunge. Show Crusader a thrust."
"Um, okay," she replied, and did as she was told. The second she thrusted Crusader, a beam of magic escaped the blade and crashed into the beach. "Aww!" Makenna shouted. "Cool!"
"Now try a vertical slash," said Ethelinda.
Excited, Makenna lifted Crusader and slashed the weapon vertically before her. The tip of the sword hit the ground. As soon as it did, the ground gave way, revealing a hole in the sand.
"Now a horizontal slash!" Ethelinda called.
Makenna, desperate to see what would happen, slashed Crusader horizontally to the right.
Silvey moved out of the way as another beam of magic escaped the blade and smashed into the sand.
"And finally," Ethelinda laughed, "the spin attack! Let her royal reign begin, Crusader!"
With a smile on her face, Makenna positioned her feet and held the sword's glowing blade out to the right again. She yelled and spun in a 360-degree circle at a fast pace. More strings of magic encased her in a cocoon-like state.
"Now try them all together, starting with the thrust!" ordered Ethelinda.
Makenna did, laughing at the sight of the magic Crusader unleashed with the four moves.
Silvey was forced to jump all over the place to avoid getting hurt.
After Makenna did the spin attack for the second time, Ethelinda lifted her seaweed-covered hands and clapped. "Well done, Makenna! You learn fast!"
"This is so awesome!" Makenna cried out. "The magic in Crusader is incredible!"
Resting her arms on the sandy beach, Ethelinda said, "Young one, do you not even realize what I'm doing with you?"
Makenna glanced at her and shrugged. "You're showing me all these cool magic tricks Crusader has up her sleeve."
The Guardian again chuckled. "Not just that, but also"—she tapped Makenna's nose with her index finger—"I am showing you how to sword fight."
Makenna quickly lost her smile. "Sword fight? Oh no, Ethelinda, I can't sword fight. Tell me, have you ever seen a female fairy thrusting a sword?"
"Well, no, but last time I checked the Fairy Handbook, it said nothing about female fairies learning how to fight. Makenna, you have to understand that magic doesn't solve everything. Sure, Crusader's magical, but her magic doesn't come from the ones who hold her. Remember that fairies are limited to the amount of magic they use, especially ones of your age, Ash, and Tracey's. Fairies die if they use too much. That's why Ash's parents forced him to learn how to handle weapons at a very young age."
"How young?"
Ethelinda inhaled—"Woof"—and pushed herself back into the ocean. "Ash first handled a weapon when he was three years old."
"Three?"
"Mm-hmm, and he's practiced every day since. It has been fifteen years, and his skills have earned him the title of Coutarine's Greatest Warrior. The point being, when he first started using weapons, his parents told him that he wouldn't be using up his magic if he fought with them. Merlin forced Tracey to take up ninjustu for the same reason, and now it is your turn. Fairies in this world are required to fight with something other than magic. They actually are much more fragile than you think. Sorry, but that's just the way it is."
Makenna gave a small nod. "I understand."
"You do?"
"Yes, ma'am. So, Ash is Coutarine's Greatest Warrior? Doesn't he seem a little, um, young, though?"
"He is, and that's what makes him special. Ash became the youngest Warrior by the time he was only fourteen years old. Fourteen was also when he became a Wizard Fairy."
"Woof." Makenna lowered Crusader. "Ethelinda, I don't think I can be like him."
"You don't want to. Everybody is different. Just be yourself. Remember how you showed the ballet part of your personality during the fight with the Devil's Heir?"
"Well, yeah," Makenna started, but the Guardian interrupted.
"That's what you have to do. Just like how every fairy has a different style of flying, they all have different styles of fighting, too. Please, Makenna. Just give sword fighting a chance. I can teach you the basics until Evelyn comes and gets you, and then Ash can teach you the rest."
Makenna glanced down at Crusader. She turned her head and met Silvey's eyes.
The fairy dog smiled and nodded at her.
Finally, Makenna sighed and glanced back up at Ethelinda. "Well, okay. I guess it's worth a shot."
For an hour after that, Ethelinda put her through a ruthless training session. She used magic to create a few seaweed dummies. Similar to the dummy Ash fought while he was surfing, each one held a wooden sword and surrounded Makenna.
She tried to fight them, but it was difficult. Makenna kept missing and losing balance. The dummies pushed her to the ground when that happened.
"You're not throwing your personality into the fight!" Ethelinda called. "Don't try to be like Ash or Tracey! Be yourself! Show these dummies your personality!"
"My personality?" Makenna questioned from the ground. "Ma'am, my personality consists of nearly killing my friends every year." She tightly gripped Crusader's hilt and attempted to fight the dummies one last time, but they knocked her down again.
"Makenna!" Ethelinda added. "Your personality is not nearly killing your friends every year. It is much more than that. Think about the fight with the Heir. Think about your surfing."
Makenna finally just lost it and reached for her head. "I can't take it anymore! Stop! Stop the training! Stop!"
Ethelinda's eyes widened, and she quickly pulled the magic away from the dummies. They fell dead in the sand, and seaweed from their bodies covered the area around Makenna. "Makenna, what's wrong?" Ethelinda said. She then noticed a few tears glimmering in her eyes.
With Ash's sword in her grip, Makenna hurried to a driftwood log and sat. She dropped the sword into the sand and pulled out her phone. Makenna started dialing and rubbed tears from her eyes.
It wasn't long before Silvey approached her, and she asked telepathically, "Makenna, what do you think you're doing?"
"What does it look like? I'm calling my mom and telling her I'm coming home!"
"Why?"
"Because I don't like being the one destined to save the Human and Magic Worlds!"
"No, Makenna." Silvey pulled the phone out of Makenna's hand and held it behind her. "You're giving up because of one weapon?"
"It's not just that." Makenna looked around the island. "I don't fit in with any of this. I am not meant to be a fairy. I am a human! The Human World doesn't have all these limitations for our actions! We don't have to fight with a weapon, and we don't have to be the ones to defeat this Mincing thing! I want to go home!"
Silvey couldn't believe what she was hearing. With a shake of her head, she begged, "Please don't give up hope."
"Why?" Makenna rudely asked. "Is it so you can just impress Ash again? You couldn't even save him from the Devil's Heir."
Silvey froze, and sadness washed across her face. There was a moment of silence between the two, and then she sternly but chokingly told Makenna, "Let me tell you something, all right? Two years ago, I was born into this world thinking I would have the best life ever. I thought nothing bad would happen, but guess what? My owners started to throw me against cabinets, hit me, and pull out my fur, and I told myself, That's just the way life is. It sucks at times! You're not living in a fairytale, Makenna. You're living in reality. If it weren't for Ash, I wouldn't be here today! You have to understand that you are not alone! You have friends for a reason! We want to help you through this! We want to help you realize that you are a very special fairy!"
"What? A so-called princess?" Makenna didn't like getting chewed out by a dog.
Silvey lowered her voice. "Yes. A princess who cares about her kingdom and will do everything in her power to protect it. A true Metamorphic Fairy never leaves the Human and Magic Worlds in the dump."
Silvey's words of wisdom, though, didn't stop Makenna. She stood from the log and picked up Ash's sword. "I'm sorry, Silvey, but I just don't belong here." She took her phone out of the dog's feeler and headed toward Ethelinda.
No longer did she smile.
Soon standing before her, Makenna reached into her belt and pulled out the scroll. She offered it and Crusader to Ethelinda.
Seeing that, Ethelinda sighed and said, "Keep them, kid. Just in case you change your mind."
Makenna doubted that, but went ahead and held onto the sword and scroll.
Silvey approached Ethelinda, and the two watched as their only hope for survival against The Mincing walked down the beach and approached the ocean.
She peered down at it and noticed her fingernails turning dark blue. She then twisted her head and glanced back at Silvey and Ethelinda. As Makenna did that, she pushed herself into the ocean. Once she was waist height, she held her arms before her and dove.
Back on the beach, Silvey dropped her ears and hurried to the water's edge. She howled into the atmosphere, begging for Makenna to return, but she didn't. Finally, she collapsed onto the sand and put her head between her legs.
Behind her and Ethelinda, a blue sparkle escaped from Aluna's village section tunnel and flew toward them. It was one of the fairy sprites. She looked young, about sixteen years old, and had short, black hair, green eyes, and red lipstick. She was one of the few sprites who didn't wear shoes. Her wings were white and a little smaller than the average sprite's.
When she reached Ethelinda and Silvey, she was out of breath. "Whew!" The sprite reached for her knees. "Sorry, I'm late, guys, but I got chased by a bunch of bees trying to get honey for the tea. No worries, though. Evelyn is here now." She finally noticed Ethelinda and Silvey's gloominess. "What's wrong? Wait." Evelyn examined the area, but saw nothing except the Guardian and the fairy dog. "Where's Makenna?"