He dropped Chad off at school and was in Neverland by midafternoon, driving across the bridge and onto the winding, curvy roads of the hilly island. He thought he was following the map correctly, but it looked like he’d taken a wrong turn somewhere, and instead of arriving at the fairy homestead, he found himself parked next to a group of tepees.
Ben left the car to ask for directions. There weren’t that many other people around, and Tiger Peony, Tiger Lily’s daughter, was the first person he encountered.
“Hey, Ben,” she said, when she saw him. “Come to gloat?”
“Excuse me?” he asked, before realizing she meant the tourney game that Neverland’s team had lost the day before. “Yeah, sorry about that. Lost Boys played hard.”
“Everyone’s bummed,” she said. “Mom’s already sworn to train a bunch of new recruits. What are you doing here?”
“I’m headed to Fairy Vale,” Ben said, “and I got lost. Can you show me the right way?”
“Sure,” she said. “Are you here about the dragon?”
Ben stopped. “How do you know?”
“Everyone knows. It’s Maleficent, isn’t it?”
“Actually we don’t know for sure,” he said. “That’s why I’m here.”
Tiger Peony seemed to think that was a reasonable answer, and didn’t ask anything more. She pointed back down to the forest. “You just make a left at the waterfall instead of a right, and the road should take you straight to the Great Oak in the vale. They’ll be waiting for you.”
The fairies lived in a thousand-year-old oak tree that was as large and roomy inside as any royal palace in the kingdom. They flitted about, their wings buzzing, excited to greet Ben, their laughter like the sound of tiny little bells ringing
. Faylinn Chime, a tiny fairy who had golden hair and translucent wings, greeted Ben with a smile.
“What can we do for you, Ben?” she asked.
“The three good fairies sent me. They said you might be able to help me with a problem we’re having,” he said, taking a seat at a large oak table that was carved right from the tree.
“We heard about Camelot’s dragon,” she said, her voice grave. “Is the creature still at large?”
Ben nodded. “And if I’m right, it was just in Charmington this morning.” He removed his handkerchief and showed them the purple scale from the chicken coop. “Do you know what this could be from?” He handed it over as gently as possible.
Faylinn picked up the scale and showed it to the other fairies. “Looks like a serpent of some sort,” she said.
He held her gaze. “I need to know if it’s from Maleficent.”
She considered his request. “We can check the archives. We fairies have cataloged every kind of creature across every kingdom in Auradon, so if it’s from Maleficent, we’ll be able to tell you for sure,” she said, putting the scale back in the handkerchief and motioning to the fairy next to her. “Take this to Lexi Rose, and have her run a few tests to see if it matches anything we have in our database.”
“Thank you,” said Ben.
“I’m glad you’re here,” said Faylinn, “because we were just discussing whether to come to you with what we’ve found.”
“Oh, what’s up?”
“Ben, I don’t know if the three good fairies or Merlin have told you, but here in Neverland, we fairies are very sensitive to fluctuations in the atmosphere and the world around us. I’ve heard that in Auradon, you have been experiencing a series of earthquakes, is that right?”
“Yes, and aftershocks too.”
“We’ve been having terrible weather, storms from the coast out of season, as well as giant waves crashing on our shores.”
“Yes, all around Auradon, the weather’s been acting strangely. I just heard it snowed in Northern Wei, and hailed in Goodly Point,” he said. “Scientists hope it just means winter’s coming early.”
“We don’t know what’s really behind it yet, but I’ve sent letters to all the great minds of Auradon, telling them our concerns. And according to our fairy calculations, whatever this is, it started in the Isle of the Lost,” said Faylinn.
“I’ve already sent a team over to investigate there,” Ben said, thinking of Mal, Evie, Jay, and Carlos. “I have confidence they’ll get to the bottom of whatever is happening there.”
“Glad to hear that,” said Faylinn. “Why don’t you wait here; it shouldn’t take too long to discover the origins of that scale you found. We’ll get you something to eat and drink. You must be tired from driving around all day.”