Tinker Bell: Secret of the Wings Junior Novel (4 page)

T
he Winter Woods seemed even more spectacular to Tinker Bell now that her sister was showing her around. Icicles covered everything, and the pure white snow sparkled on trees and in fields. To Tinker Bell, it appeared as if the whole world was glowing!

Together, the sisters visited Periwinkle's favorite spots. First they stopped at the Winter Field, with its endless mounds of snow that were perfect for sledding. Then they visited the Icicle Cave, with its hundreds of twinkling icicles in all shapes and sizes. Periwinkle flitted between frosted trees while Tink ran through snowdrifts. They even went to see the Pixie Dust Well. It was similar to the Pixie Dust Tree on the warm side of Pixie Hollow, except that the pixie dust here flowed from a hollow root. The root connected, underground, all the way back to the main Pixie Dust Tree on the warm side. This was where Periwinkle had arrived when she was born. Tinker Bell smiled. She would have loved to have been with her sister when they both arrived in Never Land.

But most of all, Tinker Bell and Periwinkle couldn't stop talking. There was so much to catch up on. They shared stories of their adventures. Periwinkle wanted to hear all about tinkering. And Tink listened with wide eyes as Periwinkle explained that she was a frost talent. It was her job to frost things throughout the Winter Woods.

Soon they reached Periwinkle's home. Tink had never seen anything like it. It was a cold but cozy cave nestled high up on the side of a snowy mountain. It even had an ice-crest ledge for a front porch. From the tip of the ledge, Tink could see all the way to the border of winter!

Periwinkle showed Tink her room, and opened a drawer full of lost objects that she had collected. Tinker Bell pulled a paper clip from the treasures.

“You collect Lost Things, too?” she asked eagerly.

Periwinkle grinned. “I call them
Found
Things,” she told Tink.

A short while later, the two sisters went ice-skating using skates they had made from the paper clips! Tink wasn't very steady on her feet, but Periwinkle was patient and helped her sister glide across the frozen pond. Later, they tried snowboarding…and wound up landing in a heap among the trees.

When the two fairies grew tired, they sat on a branch to rest. Down below, a snowflake fairy was busy twirling a handful of snow high in the air as if it were a pizza. Then she expertly poked out a pattern in the frosty crystals. Each flake she made floated gently past Tinker Bell and Periwinkle, and no two were alike.

Tinker Bell sighed. This was the best day ever!

In the afternoon, Periwinkle took Tinker Bell to see two of her close friends in the Frost Forest. “That's Gliss,” Periwinkle whispered, pointing to a fairy a short distance away. The two sisters didn't want to get caught, so they were hiding behind a snowy branch where the other fairies couldn't see them.

“And that's Spike,” Periwinkle added.

Just then, Tinker Bell slipped and fell onto a snowdrift below. Periwinkle flew to catch her, and they both wound up sliding right into Gliss's and Spike's arms!

“Hi,” Periwinkle said, smiling sheepishly at her friends.

When the two sisters had explained everything, Spike and Gliss looked at them in disbelief. “Sisters?” Spike asked, her eyebrows raised.

“Well, I think it's fantastic!” Gliss exclaimed. “You two look exactly alike! I mean, except for your clothes, and your hair, and Peri's a bit more pale.” She took a deep breath and stood back to examine the two fairies. “But your noses are
very
similar!” she said, nodding.

Spike shook her head. “Forget their noses. She's a warm fairy in winter!” She pointed at Tink.

“You're right!” Gliss agreed. “We gotta show her around.” She smiled at Tinker Bell. “Oh, oh, oh! Let's take her ice-sliding.”

Periwinkle turned to her sister with a knowing twinkle in her eye. “You are going to love this,” she said.

Soon, all four fairies were teetering at the top of a high frozen waterfall aboard a toboggan.

“Ready, set, slide!” Periwinkle called out.

Tink shrieked in delight as they went racing down the icy hill. She couldn't remember ever having this much fun in her life.

That night, as the stars twinkled overhead, Periwinkle and Tinker Bell sat by a small campfire on the ice crest in front of Peri's home. They chatted quietly in the frosty night air.

“Favorite star?” Tinker Bell asked.

“Second Star—” Periwinkle started to say.

“—to the Right,” Tink finished.

They laughed.

“Okay,” Periwinkle said. “Favorite drink?”

“Hot chamomile tea,” Tinker Bell said.

“Iced chamomile tea.” Periwinkle giggled. She and her sister had so much in common!

“Okay, my turn,” Tinker Bell said eagerly. She had the perfect question. “Favorite bug?”

“Bug?” Periwinkle paused for a moment. “It's too cold for bugs over here. But in one of Dewey's books I read about butterflies.”

“Oh, in Butterfly Cove there are hundreds of them,” Tinker Bell said. She looked out toward where she thought the center of Pixie Hollow would be. “It's in summer, right over…” She scanned the horizon, but all she could see was the frozen land of winter. “Hmm. I guess you can't see it from here.”

“No, you can't,” Periwinkle said sadly. She was quiet for a moment. Then she asked, “What's it like over there?”

“Warm,” Tinker Bell answered.

“And the colors? The sounds? All the animals?” Periwinkle's eyes searched her sister's face. “And the fish! They swim in melted ice, right?”

Tinker Bell smiled. “Water,” she said.

Periwinkle sighed. “I wish I could go there.”

The two fairies sat side by side, watching the night sky. Then Tinker Bell looked at the tiny campfire that was keeping her comfortably warm. It gave her an idea.

“Peri?” she said slowly. “I made it warmer over here. Maybe I could make it colder over there.”

Periwinkle gasped. “Are you saying
I
could cross?” The winter fairy's heart leapt. Crossing the border was something she had never thought was possible.

“Yeah!” Tinker Bell replied.

“Oh, Tink! You could show me your world. I could meet your friends. Wait…do you think I could see a butterfly?” Periwinkle asked excitedly.

Tinker Bell smiled at her sister. “There's a pretty good chance,” she said. Her mind was racing with ideas about how she could bring Periwinkle over to the warmer seasons. This would be her biggest tinkering challenge yet!

The two sisters were so busy chattering about their plans that they didn't notice that the campfire they had made was slowly melting the ice. It wasn't until they heard a loud
crack
that they realized something was very wrong.

T
he ice crest underneath them was collapsing!

Periwinkle quickly fluttered into the air. But Tinker Bell's wings were trapped beneath her coat. She panicked. “I can't fly!” she called out.

“Tink!” Periwinkle shouted. The frost fairy reached out to rescue Tinker Bell, but her sister's weight was too much for her.

“Hold on!” Periwinkle yelled, her voice strained. “Hold on!”

“I'm slipping!” Tinker Bell cried.

Periwinkle lost her grip on Tinker Bell, and they both screamed as they tumbled down through the ice and snow. Then, out of nowhere, Fiona the lynx appeared beneath them. The sisters landed on her back with a soft thump, and the lynx skillfully dodged the avalanche just in time. She carried the two fairies to safety.

“That's it, Fiona,” Dewey said as he came flying up. “That's it.” He turned to Tinker Bell and Periwinkle. “Are you girls all right?”

“Yeah,” the sisters answered, out of breath. They couldn't stop shaking.

“Nothing broken? Nothing bruised?” Dewey asked.

Periwinkle shook her head. “No, we're okay.”

Dewey dusted the snow from Tinker Bell's coat. His expression was serious. “Yeah,
this
time. Oh, Lord Milori was right,” he said quietly. “Crossing the border is just too dangerous.”

“Wh-what are you saying?” Tink asked anxiously.

“I'm sorry, girls. But I'm afraid this isn't going to work out like you hoped. We have to take Tinker Bell home.”

Tinker Bell and Periwinkle looked at Dewey, stunned.

“It's…it's for your own good,” Dewey said, his voice cracking.

The sisters tried to protest. But it was no use. They had to follow him to the border.

Fiona led the way, with Tink and Periwinkle riding on her back. The sisters held hands as the lynx brought them to the border. When they reached the edge, the two fairies remained quiet for a moment. They watched the soft snow curtain falling between autumn and winter.

Tink looked sadly at her sister. She gently pulled her hand away and began to walk back over the border.

“Oh, Tink,” Periwinkle cried with tears in her eyes. She rushed to embrace her sister before she could cross.

“I can't watch, Fiona!” Dewey sniffled and turned to face the other way. “Such a shame. They're so cute together. It's for the best, though. At least they had today. I'm sure they'll both find happiness. Somehow.”

Tinker Bell peeked over Periwinkle's shoulder to make sure Dewey wasn't paying attention. Then she whispered in her sister's ear. “Okay, meet me here tomorrow,” she said.

“Wh-what?” Periwinkle whispered back, surprised. “But we—”

Tinker Bell interrupted her. “I just met my long-lost sister for the first time, now you think I'm going to say good-bye forever?” She shook her head. “I don't think so!”

Periwinkle sighed in relief. “You really had me going there.”

Tink smiled. “So, tomorrow,” she said, “there's something I need you to bring.…”

Periwinkle nodded as Tink whispered her plan. Whatever her sister needed, she would get it. She wasn't going to let her down!

B
ack on the warm side of Pixie Hollow, Tinker Bell knocked on Clank and Bobble's door. There were sounds of scuffling inside, followed by the door slowly opening. Tinker Bell peered around the edge.

“Guys?” she asked.

Foomp!

A net suddenly shot out and wrapped around her.

“Aagh!”
Tinker Bell cried.

Clank stepped out with his spring-loaded troll-stopping gun in hand. A look of surprise crossed his face when he saw Tinker Bell trapped in the net.

“Tink! You're back!” Bobble gasped behind him.

“Yes,” Tinker Bell said, slightly annoyed by the unexpected greeting. She wriggled against the net.

“Sorry.” Clank helped her get untangled. “We thought you were a troll.”

“I knew we shouldn't have used the troll stopper.” Bobble shook his head.

“But what if it
was
a troll?” Clank asked.

“Guys,” Tinker Bell interrupted. “I need your help. But it's kind of a secret. I don't want everybody to know.”

Tinker Bell's friends exchanged a glance. Then they looked at her with interest. When Tinker Bell had a secret plan in mind, they knew something exciting was about to start.

Tink quickly explained to Clank and Bobble about everything that had happened. Then she told them about her plan to bring Periwinkle to the warm side of Pixie Hollow. Soon, all three tinker fairies were busy at work. Tinker Bell and Bobble hammered away at a mysterious-looking contraption, while Clank went to collect extra Lost Things for them to use.

“Now, where is that Clanky?” Bobble asked after some time had passed.

“I'm right here,” Clank replied, wheeling in a cart of extra supplies. Tinker Bell looked up to see what he had brought…and instead saw Fawn, Rosetta, Silvermist, Iridessa, and Vidia standing next to him.

“Oh,” she sighed, feeling as if she had been caught.

“I didn't tell
everybody
,” Clank assured her. “Just Fawn, Ro, Sil, Dess, and Vidia.”

Vidia flew right in Tinker Bell's face and looked her up and down. She crossed her arms. “So, there's another you?” she asked matter-of-factly.

“Vidia!” Rosetta scolded.

Tinker Bell nodded. “Yeah, I've got a sister.”

“I told you,” Clank said proudly.

Tinker Bell told her fairy friends all about the Winter Woods, and how she and Periwinkle had been born of the same laugh. She explained how Periwinkle's wings were identical to hers, and how both sisters' wings sparkled when they were near one another.

“I'm making this machine so she can come here and meet you all,” Tinker Bell said. “And after that, we'll go straight to Queen Clarion.”

Tink's friends exchanged worried glances.

“Um, have you thought this through?” Vidia asked.

“When Queen Clarion hears how we found each other, and that we're sisters, she'll change Lord Milori's rule,” Tinker Bell said determinedly.

“Of course she will,” Rosetta said.

“It's like you found the perfect Lost Thing,” Silvermist said with a smile.

“And I'm never going to lose her,” Tinker Bell replied.

“Well, then let's get to work!” Iridessa exclaimed.

Tinker Bell clapped her hands and grinned from ear to ear. She was so happy that her friends were going to help her with her plan. With everyone working together, she just knew everything would turn out perfectly. She had the best friends in Pixie Hollow!

And soon her friends would see that she had the best sister in Pixie Hollow, too.