When Sylvie awoke, she found herself once again contained within Snowpepper’s sleeping mind, without the power to so much as blink an eyelid. She immediately grasped what that must mean. Snowpepper! she shouted soundlessly, Snowpepper, wake up! We’re back!

Snowpepper stirred, then opened her eyes and gazed around her. She was sitting in the chair from which she had begun her journey. Sylvie felt the powerful upsurge of thrilled excitement that electrified Snowpepper’s body almost as though it were her own.

“Mother Maples!” the faerie shrieked, leaping out of her chair and flying dizzy loops in the middle of the room, “She’s back! My otherside self is back in my head!” She swooped over and hugged the Faerie Godwitch. “Oh, thank you, thank you so much!” She danced in place, hovering a foot off the floor.

Hey, Snowpepper, you’re making me dizzy! Sylvie complained, but there was no bite in the thought.

“Ah, so there you are, my young faerie,” Mother Maples smiled. “I’m sure you have a tale to tell, but I’ve no time at the moment. An emergency has risen, and I must deal with it at once. You’ve returned not a moment too soon, truth to tell. Any longer and I might have had to leave you there.”

“Oh, we would have been all right, Mother Maples,” a wide-eyed Snowpepper assured her. “We managed to find our way back okay. You could have gone and done whatever you needed to do. You didn’t need to worry about us!” The faerie beamed proudly.

“No, child, I am afraid you did not find your way back,” the witch smiled grimly. “I brought you home myself the very moment I sensed you sleeping together. Had I not, you would still be wandering the dreamlands. My presence was required here, and I am most pleased I didn’t have to abandon you. But now I really must get on with it. You may join our rabbit friend in the garden. I expect he will be well pleased to hear your adventures.”

She ushered the still-effusively grateful Snowpepper out the door and closed it firmly behind her. At last! A gnawing worry had preyed on her mind from the moment she had become aware of the development in her parallel timeline, a worry inexorably becoming dread. A swift muttered word, and the tiny black faerie was in the room with her, speaking in mid-sentence. Winkling didn’t notice the difference as the witch’s two selves, separated to function in parallel timelines, merged once again.

“…and she says that if you don’t contact her within two hours of receiving my message, she’ll know that you aren’t going to, and she’ll to take action, but ma’am, please, I don’t know what she meant by action,” Winkling tremulously repeated something she had said several times already. The little faerie looked distressed and haggard.

“Yes, yes,” Mother Maples said decisively, “And indeed I will contact her, but that contact must be private, I’m sure you understand…” She ushered Winkling to the door as well. “The others are out in the garden. I am sure they will entertain you with tales of their adventures. You have my gratitude for your assistance in conveying this message, especially if it is as crucial as it appears to be. Please, take the time you need to rest and refresh yourself before you embark on your return journey.”

“If you please, Mistress Godwitch,” Winkling said, “the Queen says if I complete my mission successfully, I may return via Portal this time.”

“And indeed you shall. But not until she and I are finished speaking. Please, time is short. I must ask for your indulgence.”

When the faerie had gone, Mother Maples bustled about the room, gathering together several objects which she sat on a small table in front of her chair. First she spread a purple velvet cloth over the table, and then laid upon it a silver basin, a crystal wand and a ewer of water.  The ewer had been filled from the fountain that flowed in the Queen’s Court; this she tipped into the silver bowl until it was filled to the rim, carefully adding the last few drops until only surface tension prevented the water from spilling over the edge. Setting the ewer aside, she took up the crystal wand and passed it several times over the brimming bowl, speaking as she did so several potent words. Then she laid aside the wand.

Almost immediately, the haughty face of her sister the Queen formed in the water. It appeared as if the Queen were looking up at her from underwater, rather than a flat picture superimposed on top of it. Her face was twisted in an expression of intense fear and anger. Seeing this, the witch felt a pang of sympathetic terror. She had never known her sister to show fear.

“What took you so long, Chyseis?” snapped the Queen. “I have been going out of my mind! I know exactly when you received my message; I could feel its transmission! Is this some ridiculous ploy of yours to drive me to a pitch of utter hysteria before responding? Or is it your idea of a joke? Highly, highly inappropriate at a time like this!”

She would have continued, but Chyseis, the Faerie Godwitch, cut her short. “I do apologize, sister, I was unavoidably detained. I had no wish to distress you, I assure you. However, I am confused. If your message is so time-sensitive, why did you see fit to send poor Winkling the hard way to see me when you could have ported her easily and quickly? Enlighten me, please.”

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