"You'll be okay," Elliot said, although he wasn't sure that was true.
"Let me go," Fudd said. "I'm slowing you down!"
"Just stop wiggling," Elliot said. "I can hold you."
Harold cawed that he was flying as fast as he could. And he was flying really fast. Elliot wasn't sure how he knew which way to go, because even up here Demon Territory was very, very dark.
Slowly, the Underworld light began to get brighter like an airplane moving down through clouds to reveal the city below. There are no clouds in the Underworld, Dear Reader, and certainly no airplanes, but you probably get the idea.
Soft pastel light filled the horizon in front of Elliot, a sunrise that could only happen in a mythological world. He described it to Fudd, who said, "It's the last painting of the Star Dancers each night. How I shall miss seeing it."
Every color of the rainbow found its way into the morning light, except pastel black, because there's no such thing. It was warm in a comforting sort of way, and Elliot felt his body relax just to cross into it.
He'd been in Demon Territory all night. In a place that never saw sun and never felt any sort of warmth that didn't burn.
Harold paused on the ground long enough for both Fudd and Elliot to climb onto his back, and then Elliot ordered Harold to take them directly to Glimmering Woods.
"Wouldn't you rather go to Burrowsville and rest first?" Fudd asked. "We've made you some new clothes. Better clothes."
The clothes Elliot wore were now muddy, burned, and soaked in sweat. He didn't mind that he had ruined them. It saved him the trouble of telling the Brownies there was no way he could wear them back to his home.
"Patches can bring the clothes to Glimmering Woods," Elliot said. "I want to see what can be done about your injury. And I want to get Tubs and Mr. Willimaker back."
"Don't worry about me," Fudd said. "But, Your Highness, I'm concerned about you giving the hair and sock to the Pixies and Fairies. We've had a treaty agreeing to stay out of their battle for the Glimmering Woods. Whatever you do may change that."
"That's okay," Elliot said. "I have a plan for that too." Then he asked, "When did Harold come back from the surface world?"
"When I ran from the Shadow Men, they were a little slow to follow, because it was really you they wanted. But they couldn't get you with the light, so they finally came for me. I ran and ran and bumped straight into Harold. He came back to tell you that he had tested the invisibility potion again and not to use it. So I bet Harold that he couldn't save both me and you without getting caught by the Shadow Men."
Elliot laughed and patted Harold on what he thought was an eagle's shoulder. "You took this bet. What did you win?"
Harold shrieked, then said, "I get full rights to your life whenever you're not using it anymore."
Elliot smiled. "Okay, but for the record, I can hardly wait to get back to my life. You'll have a while to wait."
Harold did whatever an eagle would do if it could shrug. Elliot lay on his back as they flew and just closed his eyes for a little rest.
It didn't take long after Elliot arrived in Glimmering Woods for the Fairies to gather. It would take the Pixies longer, Harold explained. They were doing their hair.
Elliot hadn't really met the Fairies before. They hadn't bothered to say hi while they were stealing Mr. Willimaker.
They looked young, but not childish the way Pixies did. They were very beautiful, with flawless skin and elegant pastel clothes. They were a little larger than the Pixies and could also fly, although they had no wings.
A female Fairy flew up to Elliot and introduced herself as Aphid Flutterby. It was too bad he couldn't tell his brother Reed about the Fairies, because he would instantly fall in love with her long, coal-black hair and eyes as bright as a summer sky. "So, like, we have no royalty," Aphid said. "But I can totally speak for the Fairies."
Elliot smiled. "You speak like Fidget."
Aphid's mouth dropped open. "Fidget Spitfly, the Pixie princess? Like, gag me! I so totally don't. I speak like the humans on the totally awesomest show ever, Surfer Teen. Do you know the show?"
"I so totally do," Elliot said.
This seemed to mak
e Aphid happy. "Do you have the sock?"
"Do you have Mr. Willimaker?"
Aphid nodded. "Totally. He's been chilling with us. If you ever want to enjoy captivity, Fairies are way nicer than those lame Pixies."