Chapter 2

'Ree!' Sunfrost burst into the room, knocking poor Cinda aside. 'It has been long, too long.' She held her arms wide as if ready for an embrace but then stopped and stared, her blazing blue eyes studying Clarion from top to bottom. 'Why, after all these years, you haven't changed at all.'

Book Queen Clarion is way cooler, she has a beautiful flower dress and no crown, she looks like a semi normal fairie, one with the people, a noble leader who is hand in hand with the other fairies of pixie hollow. Movie queen clarion is homophobic. Queen Clarion, also nicknamed Queen Ree in the books, is the queen of Pixie Hollow. She has also lived longer than any other fairy or monarch of Pixie Hollow. Despite her great wisdom and power, Queen Clarion doesn't seem to take her queenly royal station too seriously.

'And neither have you,' Clarion said stiffly. Sunfrost was still slim and statuesque, her long hair an incongruous combination of fiery red and brilliant white. Her gown was made of blue and gold feathers that sparkled with tiny ice crystals. Two small glass vials dangled around her slender neck. One appeared to be empty while the other was filled with what looked like blue-black dust.

'Ree, dear, you flatter me. I—' Sunfrost stopped when she spotted Fairy Mary. 'Oh, Mary. I remember you. That annoying little tinker who always followed my sister around. But you're not so little anymore, are you?' Her scarlet lips twisted into a smirk. Mary scowled and turned as red as a strawberry. 'I'd lay off the sweets if I were you.'

Queen Clarion Costume

'That's Fairy Mary to you,' Mary blurted, planting her hands on her hips. 'I ought to—'

'And Milori.' Sunfrost faced him, turning her back on Mary. 'How's the broken wing?' Her voice softened. 'Has it gotten any better?'

Rage burned through Clarion. 'How dare you treat my friends this way! I demand you leave unless you can conduct yourself in a civil manner.'

Sunfrost bowed her head and lowered her wings. 'Oh, Ree, I'm so sorry. You know how bad I've always been when it comes to social situations.' She turned her gaze to Milori and Mary. 'I didn't mean it. I'm sorry.' They just glared at her.

Something tugged inside Clarion. She longed to believe there was some good in Sunfrost. After all, wasn't every fairy the epitome of good, having been born from the innocent laughter of a human infant? True, there have been a few who had lied, stolen, and cheated but these were isolated incidents. They eventually proved to be decent fairies overall and contributed greatly to Pixie Hollow. Certainly none of them were evil. Sunfrost, her own twin, shouldn't be the exception, although doubt clawed at Clarion.

She took a deep breath. 'I'd like to say I'm happy to see you Sunfrost but I have a feeling you only came back because you want something. Why don't we get right to the point and you tell me what that is.'

Sunfrost heaved an enormous sigh and fluttered about the chamber. 'Is that why you think I'm here, Ree darling? Wouldn't you rather hear of all the exciting adventures I've had while I've been away? Especially since you've been stuck in Pixie Hollow all these decades?'

'Stuck!' Mary blurted. 'All the important work we fairies do is done right here.'

'She's right,' added Milori. 'We are constantly busy working with our talents to help not just Pixie Hollow but the human world as well. And Queen Clarion is in charge of all that.' He emphasized the word 'queen.' Sunfrost flinched.

'Overseeing the four seasons takes up a lot of time,' Clarion said proudly, 'as is making sure all the guilds are running smoothly and welcoming new Arrivals—'

'I'm not saying what you do is unimportant, Ree.' Sunfrost heaved a dramatic sigh and flapped her glass-clear wings. Clarion briefly thought back to the time when she herself had regular fairy wings, before the special transformation with pixie dust at her coronation that changed them into those resembling a sparkling golden butterfly's. The wings of a sovereign. 'In fact I find it admirable. So admirable that I'd like to have my own fairy colony to rule over.'

'You what?' Mary shrieked.

'But that's impossible,' said Milori.

'Is it?' Sunfrost fidgeted with the vials around her neck. 'Pixie Hollow isn't the only fairy colony, you know. The world is a very big place and I can guarantee I've seen far more of it than any of you ever will. I've visited a number of these other colonies. I had to, in order to keep my pixie dust supply replenished for all these years. You only bring the seasons to a small portion of the planet, the 'Mainland' as you call it, which is only another small island not much bigger than Never Land. How do you think the seasons change for the rest of the world beyond this precious Mainland? Other colonies. And did you know that in the south the seasons are opposite?'

'Just how do you expect to start your own colony?' Mary asked.

'How does any colony get started? All I need is blue dust, baby laughs, and a Pixie Dust Tree. That's all it takes to begin creating fairies. And I already have two out of the three.' She shook the vials, clinking them together. 'I made my own blue dust and, during my travels, collected a good share of first baby laughs.'

Clarion leaned close to her sister and thought she could hear faint laughter like dozens of infants giggling at once coming from the seemingly empty vial. But the dust in the other didn't look quite right. 'That's blue dust? It looks more black to me.'

'I did something a little different with the fall scepter I created from a Moonstone I borrowed from a colony near Madagascar.'

Pixie Hollow

'Stole, more likely,' Mary mumbled.

Sunfrost ignored her. 'I used the new moon instead of the blue moon to make this dust. It's much stronger than ordinary blue dust.'

Discomfort filled Clarion. Her instinct had been correct and Sunfrost was up to no good. But just what that was she couldn't quite place. Was there any harm to Sunfrost starting her own colony? It would mean she'd leave Pixie Hollow alone, which ought to be a good thing. But what about the innocent fairies that were to Arrive in this new colony? What sort of ruler would Sunfrost make? Clarion shivered at the thought.

That wasn't all that bothered her. There was that strange dust Sunfrost wished to use. Clarion made a mental note to ask Fairy Gary and Zarina about it as soon as she could since they were the main pixie dust experts.

'Now all I need is my own Pixie Dust Tree.' Sunfrost paced, hovering slightly above the floor. 'And I have a feeling there is an extra one somewhere in Pixie Hollow.'

Clarion's internal anxiety deepened. She instantly knew what Sunfrost was referring to but opted to feign ignorance. 'What do you mean?'

'I was on the Mainland not too long ago. On a rainy night I snuck into this pub to dry off and, keeping myself hidden, overheard a group of disgruntled pirates talking about how they'd had a Pixie Dust Tree on Skull Rock, which a fairy—I assume one of yours—had grown for them. It had created enough gold dust to make their ship fly. But this ship was hijacked by that fairy and her friends and the pirates never saw it again. The Tree also mysteriously disappeared from Skull Rock not long afterwards.'

Pixie Hollow Queen Clarion

Sunfrost stopped pacing and folded her arms. 'Now I know this story is true since I saw this ship when I arrived in Pixie Hollow, anchored in the grass near the stadium. It looks like it is being used for other things such as an animal hospital or some such nonsense. Don't any of you deny this.' Her eyes practically glowed against her pale skin.

New Pixie Hollow Website

Clarion's chest tightened. She turned toward Milori and Mary who slightly shook their heads. They all knew exactly where this second Pixie Dust Tree was.