Ferry had a bad feeling about the whole situation. Yet, he had to play Oona's game.

"So be it! What are the rules of this game?"

Matilda was being cautious. She took him aside, "Ferry, we shouldn't trust her. It's because of her that we are here..." she whispered in his ear.

Ferry was also hesitating, "I know... But we don't have much of a choice. If we don't play by her rules, she'll tell everyone why we are here for."

"The fairy-boy is right," said Oona, appearing next to them out of thin air.

The two children throbbed. Ferry didn't want to show it, but he was afraid of the creature, "Hey! You shouldn't do this. Isn't it forbidden by The Book of Fairies? You shouldn't become invisible to spy on people!"

"What's in-vi-si-ble? And what is spying?"

"It's watching people without their permission while they can't see you," Matilda made things clear.

"Oh, you mean watching people while you're unseen? Oh, yes, we do that a lot. We don't care too much about the Book of Fairies around here."

"But why?" Ferry wondered. He remembered Lavender Sky had told him differently. "I thought all the fairies are following the Book of Fairies."

"Well, we did that once..." said Oona and Ferry could see a tinge of sadness in her eyes.

"And why don't you do it anymore?"

Oona frowned. Then she skewed and stuck out her tongue, "Why do you care? You're nothing but some clueless children. So tell me, fairy-boy, are you in the game or not? " she said, casting a mischievous glance which made him feel uneasy.

"So be it," said Ferry offering his hand for Oona to shake.

"That is not how we do it," she shook her head.

"How do you do it?" he asked.

"When you bet a cookie, you have to hold hands and spin together really, really fast. Thirteen times in a row," she concluded.

Ferry nodded. And Oona caught his hands in hers. She had frail hands, like blooming lilies. Yet, they were strong, spinning Ferry so fast and so many times that when she let go, he fell in the grass, the sky and trees spinning around him. He was still down and dizzy when he felt Matilda trying to make him stand up. Meanwhile, the redhead fairy was laughing and laughing. A tiny little laughter, yet loud enough to annoy him.

"Why did you do that?" he snapped at her.

"Tee-hee-hee," she giggled. "As I can see, you spent a great deal of time among humans, fairy-boy. You had become terribly slow for a fairy."

"Will you tell me the rules of the game already?" he said while standing up and dusting off his clothes. "Who's going to hide first?"

Oona was gasping for breath from so much laughter. "Wait a tiny bit. Who said anything about hiding? No, no, no! It's a game about seeking, of course, but not seeking each other. You'll have to seek the Fountain of Truth."

"What's the Fountain of Truth?" both children wondered.

All of the sudden, Oona looked around with fear and beckoned them to come closer, "Shhh..." she whispered. "The trees have ears."

The children looked around. Straggled trees were slowly moving their foliage in the wind. There was no one else there. No one to be seen, that is.

"It's a riddle," the fairy continued, still whispering. "Find the answer to the riddle and you'll find the Fountain of Truth."

"So if I guess, that means I'll find the fountain?"

"Precisely!" the fairy nodded.

"All right then. Tell me the riddle."

Oona looked towards the trees again with the same worried look on her face. Then, as if she was an old lady telling ghost stories in front of the fire in the stove, she began to recite the riddle in a solemn tone,

When the Moon is rising high,

Look for the Fountain through the Blue Eye...

Ferry looked at the sky. "Well, it shouldn't be long before the moon rises. It's sunset already. "

The fairy giggled again, "Holly oat crackers! Don't you know anything? Time hangs heavily in our land. In fact, we don't measure time as you do. Only the sun, the moon, and the wind guide us. And the moon hasn't risen for quite a while. It's going to rise when it'll be the middle of summer on your realm. And it might take a little while 'till then."

Ferry could feel Matilda's shivering. She would rarely let go of his hand ever since they've stepped into fairyland. "Ferry, what are we going to do? We can't stay here for so long. My dad must be worried sick..."

"Don't worry, time in our land flows much slower. Maybe it might seem we're here for a long time, but at home, there must've been a few minutes passing. We'll go back home with Danny, Matt," he said, trying to look as confident as possible. "I promise!"

Matilda smiled without looking too convinced.

"So what shall we do until then?" Ferry asked Oona.

"I could show you our beautiful land," she said. "It's Midsummer Feast and everybody is celebrating, singing, dancing, and having a good time. Aren't you merry?"

The children tried to smile, but there was no sign of joy on their faces. Matilda looked worried, barely walking, while Ferry couldn't take his mind away from that riddle. All of a sudden, their dangerous adventure had become ever more difficult. One thing was certain--he needed to know more about the place they were visiting.

"So tell me, Oona, what's so special about this fountain?"

Oona stopped floating and joined them, walking the soft path.

"Well, if you find the Fountain of Truth and ask a question, any question, you'll find the answer to that question. For the Fountain always tells the truth."

"How come you didn't find it?" Matilda asked.

"It wasn't that I haven't tried," Oona said, looking a bit gloomy. "But not every fairy can find it. You must be a special fairy..." she said, lost in thought.

A thought came to Ferry's mind, "Wait a minute. If you couldn't find it, what makes you think I can? I don't even know this place."

Oona laughed. "Don't worry, fairy-boy. You're not just any fairy. I'm pretty sure you'll find it," she concluded, starting to hop, as light as a feather.

Yet, Ferry felt discouraged. His mission of finding Danny was now even harder. He forced a smile, hoping Matilda wouldn't notice his doubts.

"Let's say I'll find it," he continued. "What would you want to ask?"

This time, Oona stopped on her way as if struck by something; as if she saw someone in front of her. Someone she was afraid of. "I can't tell you," she hesitated. "It's a secret... My secret," she whispered. And she moved her eyes in all directions without moving the head, which gave children the chills.

But in a split of a second, Oona's good mood was back again, "Instead, you could ask me anything else," she said, smiling.

They've already crossed the meadow and now they were close to the village in the valley. Ferry couldn't help but wonder about the strange, new world revealing in front of his eyes, surprising and amazing with every step they took. They were now walking a lonely path bordered by high trees whose tops looked like holding the sky.

When a gentle wind started to waft, they found themselves wreathed in hundreds of colored, jolly bubbles that were climbing up until becoming invisible in the cyan sky.

"Who's making all these bubbles?" Ferry wondered.

Oona laughed again; and Ferry thought her jolly, sweet laughter was turning contagious, making him smile, too.

"They're not bubbles," she said. "They are puffer-flowers. It's their season."

Bolting to the side of the path, she picked up a flower and offered it to Ferry. It looked like a dandelion just about to let go of the flakes. And when Oona blew it, the big bubble broke into dozens of smaller bubbles that lifted to the sky, each one carrying a rainbow inside.

Ferry picked up another and blew it, too. He couldn't get enough of watching them floating in the air. But there was something else in the air. Laughter, singing, and an uproar of voices. And soon, they found themselves surrounded by the most peculiar creatures. They were all passing them by, greeting in the most jovial ways and heading to the village in the valley. Dwarfs with long beards wearing colored jackets decorated with golden buttons. Then there were tall, majestic men, spreading a warm, honey-like glim around, their clothes whiter than cream. And then there were hairy, tiny creatures with enormous, dark eyes, blinking with fear and bouncing on rabbit-like legs.

"May the wind watch over your path," the strange, beautiful creatures were wishing the visitors. And Oona would reciprocate by whooping and clapping her hands.

"Say, Oona, where are all those... beings going?" Ferry asked her.

"To the Midsummer Feast, of course," she said. "Fairies from all over the world are coming to celebrate. In your world, it's called the summer solstice. In our world, it happens once in seven human years. But it's a special night. The only one when the Moon rises. We're Sun fairies and that sort of moment is rare around here. And truly magical.

"On the eve of this happening, the doors between our worlds are opened and for a few moments, people could even take a glimpse at our world.

"Then, when the Moon rises in the sky, in this realm and beyond, we dance the Moon Dance to bring good fortune, good weather, and good harvest to the decent, nice people. Then, our Lady, Fae Queen, makes her appearance. She gives us her magical blessing. And our magical powers are renewed. Our Lady doesn't make appearances too often, not since the Great Banishment. But this is a special occasion. And when she does appear, it's the biggest joy to see her and hear her. She's beyond beautiful, although no one has seen her in a while. But she must be beautiful. She has such a sweet voice, she could tame the wildest, most ferocious beast.

"Yet, you must not upset her. For if you do, oh my! You wouldn't want to see her upset. She may start the biggest wrath you've ever seen. And her wrath goes beyond our world. It may even reach your world."

And Oona blew in her fists three times, then shivered as if in the middle of the winter.

"And what kind of fairy are you?" Ferry asked.

"I'm a Wandering Fay, a trooping fairy, as people used to call us a long time ago when we still showed ourselves to them. My sisters and I, we are dancing and bouncing in the air and we help plants and trees grow and fruit. We walk this land in groups of five, seven, and nine. We are named after the form we take, that of eddies of wind. People also called us ladies of the air and they used to pay us great respect. For our magical powers helped their crops and plants give fruit."

"But if you're a trooping fairy, how come you're alone?" Matilda wondered.

Hearing Matilda's question, Oona turned to her really fast, looking as if she was just about to start a quarrel. She looked so perturbed with the question that in the blink of an eye, she changed from the nice fairy into a ruffled creature, her eyes dark again, like a cloudy sky.

"That's none of your business, girlie! It's not the business of an Unfay to keep a tab on a fairy!" she snapped at her.

Matilda, once so brave and fearless, took a few steps back. Ferry rushed to come between them. "She didn't mean to say that..." he tried to defend Matilda.

"Then she shouldn't be so nosey!" Oona cut him short. Then, as if nothing happened, she turned to both of them. "Are you hungry? I know a place where they make the best lettuce salad in the whole worldy-world."

She dashed in front of them, leading the way. Just in time for Matilda to whisper to Ferry, "She looks a little bit... mad, even for a fairy."

But Ferry smiled and tapped her shoulder, "' Till further notice, she's the only one who could show us things around here. We must follow her."

And he rushed to catch on Oona, laughing and giggling with her.

Another chapter, another mystery. What do you think Oona's game is about? Can't wait to hear your thoughts and crazy, smart theories :)

As always, thank you so much for being part of this wonderful adventure! Ferry is going stronger because of you :)