“No, no…no…” That was the only word that would come out of Anne’s throat.
“The very happiest. So that’s really something. Isn’t that great? That’s why you shouldn’t cry.”
I hate this. I absolutely hate this!
Anne didn’t want to let this life in her arms go out. It didn’t matter what it took.
“No. Absolutely not.”
“Even if you don’t like it, there’s nothing to be done.”
“That’s not true!” Anne shouted. She couldn’t stand it any longer. “I’ll come up with something we can do! So don’t tell me it can’t be helped! I’ll come up with something!”
Mithril gave her a troubled smile. “What do you think you can do…?”
“Sugar candy can—”
“I told you earlier, didn’t I, Anne? You scarecrow brain.”
“Fine then, I’ll find some other way!”
It wasn’t like she had any particular ideas. She just shouted back, without thinking. But her own words startled her.
Some other way? Something other than sugar candy that can extend the lives of fairies…?
A thought flashed through her mind.
“Lafalle!”
Anne raised her voice and looked at Challe. His figure was blurry and difficult to see.
“Listen, Challe! Lafalle fell from the wall of the fort, with no hope of survival, right? And you said, didn’t you, that after falling from such a high place, a weak fairy would have been smashed to pieces on the spot? But since he’s a gemstone fairy, he’s a little stronger than most, right? So I think we can assume that’s why he was just barely able to keep himself together.”
“That’s probably right,” Challe agreed. “But even if he somehow managed to keep himself together at the time, his body should have still vanished in less than a day from the shock of the impact. That’s what happens, even to gemstone fairies.”
“But Lafalle lived. He was unconscious, but his body stayed together. Not only that, but he also eventually woke up and ran away.”
A determined light came into Challe’s eyes as he listened to Anne’s words.
“A fairy whose body was nearly smashed to pieces came back to life. Doesn’t it seem plausible that if we only knew how that happened, we could add more years to Mithril Lid Pod’s life as well?!”
In the scant few hours before his body should have vanished into thin air, in that barren wasteland, Lafalle had somehow survived. His condition ought to have been so severe that even the finest piece of sugar candy couldn’t save him. Which meant that he had survived thanks to something even greater than sugar candy.
Whatever it was had to be very powerful. Powerful enough to revive a fairy on the brink of vanishing.
“There is a way,” Anne said firmly.
“I wonder if it’s really possible,” Mithril mumbled.
“It’s a fact that Lafalle is alive! So don’t give up, Mithril Lid Pod!”
Anne was the one who couldn’t give up. Just thinking about Mithril vanishing made it hard for her to breathe.
“It wouldn’t be like you to simply give up and die,” Challe said, gently stroking the listless Mithril’s head with a fingertip. Mithril seemed surprised as he lifted his face and looked up at Challe.
“We’ll go to Gillum Province. I’ve heard they were seen there,” Challe announced decisively.
Still holding Mithril with one hand, Anne clung to Challe’s sleeve. “Me too—I want to go, too! If Kat and Keith will allow it, I want to go with Mithril Lid Pod. Whenever he needs sugar candy, I can make some right away. But that’s only if Kat and Keith say yes.”
“Off with you, then,” Kat said easily. “The work here is going fine. Over these past two months, we’ve all gotten to know the program, so it’s no problem. We’ll find some way to cover for you.”
“Personally, I don’t want to let you go…” Keith smiled sadly. “But if it’s what you want, then you should do it. After all, I’d also like to help Mithril Lid Pod, if I could. It must be even worse for you.”
The end of Mithril’s life span was drawing near.
But fortune is still on our side.
Anne had to believe that. She tried to reassure herself, despite the doubt lurking in her heart.
This was happening just as the work of gathering and training fairies was really picking up. If it had been even a few days earlier, there would have been no way for Anne to go with Mithril, and she would have been beside herself with worry.
The hole that Anne would leave would certainly be large, but Kat and Keith had said it would be okay. She was blessed to have good companions.
With Anne by his side, Mithril would be able to live a little longer, even if it was only temporary. And she chose to believe that in the meantime, they would figure something out.
I don’t want to give up.
Challe would be with them, too. Somehow, they would determine Lafalle’s whereabouts and discover how he had recovered.
Mithril snuggled up against Anne’s chest and whispered, “Thank you, Anne. And…Challe Fenn Challe, too.”
Anne grew even more impatient at the sound of Mithril’s feeble voice. “Mithril Lid Pod, I’m going to make you some sugar candy right away,” she said.
Anne was relieved to see Mithril nod at her words. That meant he wasn’t giving up yet. He would eat her sugar candy.
She would prolong his life, and they would go find Lafalle.
I won’t give up.
Anne exchanged a look with Challe. When she did, she remembered his words from earlier.
“I love you,” he’d said. And “Answer me.”
Though Anne felt her cheeks grow hot, her heart was a mess of confusion.
They had to act, for Mithril’s sake.
But she also needed to respond to Challe’s words. She wondered if she should answer from the heart, or if she ought to answer him with a cool head after really thinking over her decision. She wasn’t sure.
Summer was passing them by. The moon was already in its third quarter, and its crisp light shone through the open window. The wind blew, and all the trees in the forest surrounding Hollyleaf Castle rustled.
Autumn was coming. And with it, the time to harvest sugar apples.