Underwater, life in the coral reef scattered as the current continued to pull Tracey. Why did he think he could save Makenna? The Octopus Man's curse hurt him too much. He wanted to throw his shuriken, but was too scared to let go of the coral. However, just when he thought all was lost, somebody grabbed his wrist.
Tracey opened his eyes and saw Makenna.
Narrowing her eyes, she dragged Tracey off the coral and pulled him through the water, but the Octopus Man was too powerful. His hand began to slip from Makenna.
Hair waved in her face, and she said, "No! Tracey!" underwater. Bubbles escaped her lips.
Just before the Octopus Man took Tracey, Ethelinda swooped in.
Her seaweed looped around both fairies, and they gasped. It circled them in a whirlpool-like way and shoved them out of the ocean.
Where Ash was, he, Raeven, and Gina saw the whirlpool and said, "Ooh," at the same time.
"Make a wish, guys," Ash spoke. "Thank you, Ethelinda."
A watery minion crept up on him from behind and reached out her hands.
Without looking, Ash snapped back his sword and sliced her.
***
Ethelinda escorted Makenna and Tracey to Coutarine Island, as far away from the ocean as possible. She dumped them into the jungle and sent them sliding down a fern-covered hill.
Makenna and Tracey yelled and hugged each other. They couldn't see where they were going.
When they finally reached the bottom of the hill, they flew forward and shouted, "Whoa!"
Makenna and Tracey landed in a bed of ferns beside a river. They were officially on Coutarine Island! The river that the two fairies landed next to ran through the whole island and fed into the ocean.
Makenna soon sat in the ferns. She shook her head and reached for it.
Tracey sat, too. He sighed with relief when he saw that Makenna was okay. Feebly chuckling, he said, "Well, that's one way to see the island."
"Tracey!" Makenna yelled. "Thank goodness, you're okay!" Her eyes landed on the river. "Water!" Makenna just realized how thirsty she was.
She crawled toward the river, but Tracey said, "Makenna, wait!"
Makenna didn't listen. She approached the river and cupped her hands. She picked up a handful of water and tossed it into her mouth. Immediately, she spat it out. "Ugh! This stupid water is salt water!"
"I tried to warn you," said Tracey. He stood and rubbed himself down. Approaching Makenna, who wiped her mouth, he grasped her hands and gently pulled her to her feet.
They stared into each other's eyes, and Makenna noticed Tracey blushing.
"You know," he admitted, "you're even more beautiful than I remember. Everything about you this year is wonderful."
"Except for my braces." Makenna showed Tracey her cobalt braces.
He chuckled and shook his head. "No, I think they look good."
"Really?"
Tracey nodded.
"Thank you, Tracey," continued Makenna. She gave him a quick hug, and when they let go, asked, "Now where is—?"
Suddenly, "Land ho!" rang out from the sky.
Makenna and Tracey looked up.
Another whirlpool of Ethelinda's seaweed appeared and twirled down to the two fairies.
Tracey immediately lost his smile and stepped in front of Makenna.
Ash emerged from the whirlpool and waved. "Aluna! Welcome to Coutarine Island!"
Raeven and Gina were with him, and each flew to their friends.
"Raeven!" Makenna laughed. She hugged him and stepped past Tracey to reach Ash. "Thank you, Ash!"
"You should have seen me, guys!" announced Ash, starting to play with his sword again. "I was like whoosh, kaboom, whoomp to all those minions! That was the most fun I've had all day!"
"And you got us to Coutarine Island, too," Makenna admitted. "Ash, you're amazing! Now, all we have to do is deliver Merlin's package and seek out the wizard Selene wants us to find. Which should we do first?"
Behind her, Tracey lowered his head and sighed.
"Hm," Ash spoke. "Good question, Makenna." He put up his shield and lifted his right hand to his chin. "If the parcel Merlin wants is so important, then we probably should deliver that first."
Makenna gestured with her head. "I so totally agree." She chuckled. "You're so smart, Ash."
Tracey turned red from the heels up.
"To find out where Merlin is hiding, though," explained Ash, "we must first seek out Evelyn of the fairy sprites."
Makenna waved her hand. "Right! Exactly!" She peered into Ash's face. "What are those again?"
With every passing second, Tracey looked more upset and jealous.
Ash soon answered Makenna's question. "Fairy sprites, Makenn, are the inhabitants of this island. Evelyn is the wisest of them all. Fairy sprites are tiny fairies that live in tiny villages spread out all over Coutarine."
"Oh, so they're like pixies?" asked Makenna.
Ash nodded. "Precisely. I can call them to help. One of the sprites' villages, Aluna, isn't far from here. I should do all the talking, though. The sprites know me best."
"You? Why?" Makenna questioned.
Before Ash could speak, Tracey answered, and he totally lost it!
Throwing down his shuriken, he glared at him and yelled, "Maybe because, unlike you, the sprites are not idiots!"
"Tracey!" Makenna yelled.
Too late. Tracey's words were set in stone. Did he seriously say that? Tracey never said anything mean! He totally hurt Ash's feelings.
The young knight dropped his sword, and tears appeared in his eyes. He started stammering, "Wha? Wha? Wha?" and Makenna noticed that.
"Oh, my gosh," she said. "Oh, my gosh. I'm sorry, Ash. I'm sorry. Come here." She approached Ash and pulled him into a hug.
"I did nothing wrong!" Ash cried into Makenna's shoulder.
"I know, I know," she spoke, patting his back. "You didn't. I'm sorry about Tracey." She comforted Ash for a little longer.
When he calmed down, he stood straight again and picked up a clump of Makenna's hair. He used it to rub his eyes.
Makenna nodded and patted his wrist.
The side of Tracey's mouth twitched. Before Ash called the sprites of Aluna, he burst out sobbing.
Gina gasped and hopped off his shoulder.
Makenna and Ash heard Tracey and turned toward him. "Tracey?" Makenna said. Why was he crying? Makenna dropped her crystal wings behind her.
"I miss them!" Tracey sobbed. "I miss them! It doesn't look like I do, but I do!"
Makenna didn't understand. "Miss what?"
"My wings!" chokingly answered Tracey. "I just can't stand watching you and Ash fly! It makes me feel like my entire world has crumbled and fallen!"
"Why didn't you tell me?" Makenna wondered.
"Because I just want things back to normal!" yelled Tracey. "I thought I could do it myself! I don't want to be cursed! I want to fly again! And now that Ash is here, I'm afraid that, because he can fly and is a warrior, you're going to lean more toward him and forget about me!"
Makenna couldn't believe what he was saying! This was coming from Tracey, Merlin the Great's apprentice, the apprentice who bravely tried to protect her from Peter Nelson the year before.
"Oh, Tracey," Makenna said in a sweet voice. "I could never forget about you. You're my best friend. I love you."
"But," Tracey stammered, "Ash is a Wizard Fairy and a warrior."
"True," Ash explained, "but I'm not perfect, Tracey. In fact, I still have much to learn. I'm technically just like you. I don't have wings, either. I lost them a long time ago, but I never let it bring me down. I don't want you ever to say you're going to be forgotten. Makenna meant what she said. You're her best friend, and she loves you that way. Gina is also your best friend."
Gina agreed and landed on Tracey's shoulder again.
"Good friends always help one another out," Ash continued. "Makenna and Raeven came for a reason. They want to help you. I'm really just an extra. Nobody is alone in the world, Tracey. There will always be a friend there for you."
"So," Tracey whimpered, "you're not trying to hurt Makenna?"
"Of course not!" answered Ash. "Your safety is just as important as hers, Tracey. That's my mission. It's also the mission of a Wizard Fairy. We basically are the rangers of the Fairy World."
Tracey closed his eyes and wrapped his arms around his body. He continued to cry.
"Aw, come here, baby," Makenna said. "Come here." She wrapped her arms around Tracey and gave him a nice, long hug. "It's okay. You're going to be okay. Ash, Raeven, Gina, and I will ensure the Octopus Man doesn't take you. We're going to help you through this tough time. After all, that's what friends are for." She let Tracey have his cry and rubbed his head. "Shh. Shh. You're safe with us. You also miss Merlin, don't you?"
Tracey finally returned her hug and questioned, "How did you know?"
"I know you much better than you think I do," Makenna replied, "and I also know Merlin is like a father to you. Arthur saw him the same way all those years ago."
Gina rubbed against Tracey's head.
Finally, he inhaled and disconnected from Makenna, dabbing his eyes. "I think I'm okay now," he said, glancing at Ash. "I'm sorry, Ash. I'm sorry I said that to you."
Ash smiled. "Don't worry. Do you want to start over?"
Tracey nodded and held out his hand.
Ash took it, and the two boys shook in a friendly way. They definitely got along much better than Peter Nelson and Tracey, and Makenna hoped that would help them.
Now, what was an Aluna?