Wynn stopped on the step. “Wait,” she said out loud to let her thoughts gather. She did have magic too.
Wynn began to sing.
“My love, my love, my changeling child,
You braved the wind and snow
To find me here within the gate
And make my magic grow.
Please stay with me, my changeling child,
And for all time I’ll keep you.”
They were the last words the Fairy Queen had sung to her. Wynn watched in amazement as the ice on the steps at her feet thawed as she sang the words.
Hope flared in her heart. Singing was magic!
Wynn sang the song as she climbed the stairs. The ice melted before her. She found herself changing the words with every turn around the great trunk. By the time she reached her old room, she sang.
“My love, my love, my mother dear,
I brave the wind and snow
To find you here within the tree
To make your magic grow.
Please stay with me, my mother dear,
And for all time don’t leave me.”
She didn’t know where the words came from. She wasn’t very good at making up new words, but they were in her heart and she sang them. They were the best she could do for her fairy mother.
Wind howled down the high hallway leading to her room and Elric’s. It seemed like a very long time since she’d been there. Wynn fell silent as she reached the bridge that she had crossed to warn Elric about the Grendel. The arching branch was covered in ice. It dripped over the branch, hanging in long icicles beneath the bridge that were as least as long as Wynn was tall. The ice reflected the stormy gray sky, and looked wet and dangerously slippery.
Wynn’s heart leaped into her throat. A gust of wind blew past her and she clung to the doorway to keep from falling all the way down to the snow-covered courtyards below.
Reaching her toe out onto the branch, she tested her footing. There was nothing to hold on to. She held her arms out to balance and took another step. She wanted to sing, but her throat tightened. She couldn’t say a word. She couldn’t even breathe. One step. Another. Another.
The snowy ground was so far below, all she could see was mist beneath her. But she had to cross the bridge. On the other side was her room, and the treasure room she had found. That’s where the Fairy Queen would be. The wind blew again, and she teetered, waving her arms through the air. One foot slid, and she balanced on the other. Slowly she reached the top of the arch of the branch. Now she had to walk downhill.
The wind blew a powerful gust that felt like a forceful shove at her back. It made her bend over to catch her balance as her stomach flipped. She sat down to save herself. She inched forward, but began to slip. She screamed as she slid on the branch, trying hard to stay on top of it. She skidded in through the other archway and landed with a crash against the wall.
She’d made it! Shaking all over, she picked herself off and dusted the snow from her backside. She ran past Elric’s room, and then hers, and on to the room where she had seen the queen’s treasures. She entered through the carved doors. On the far side of the room was another doorway. Wynn ran to it and climbed a short flight of stairs nearly buried in snow. She shivered as she reached a round chamber. In the center was a bed.
Curtains of frozen dew hung around it. Wynn crept forward and looked at the woman resting there. “Mother?” she called.
Instead of the warm, dark skin that glowed with health, the woman who lay on the bed looked like she was made of ice. Her skin was clear and blue, with white veins running through the cold crystal. Her hair looked as if it were made of snow as it rested in a soft drift around her head. Wynn ran to her side. “Mother?” she cried. Wynn crawled onto the bed and lifted the Fairy Queen’s hand. It still felt like a real hand, not hard like ice, but it was very cold.
“Mother, I’m here,” she called. “I’m safe. Don’t die.”
Wynn’s heart would break forever if she lost her new mother now. She snuggled against the queen’s chilled body, and lay her head on the frozen queen’s heart. She could still hear it beat, but it was very weak and quiet.
With her arms wrapped around the queen, Wynn softly sang.
“My love, my love, my mother dear,
I brave the wind and snow
To find you here within the tree
To make your magic grow.
Please stay with me, my mother dear,
And for all time don’t leave me.”
She cried and her tears felt warm on her cheek. Wynn cried harder. “I’m sorry,” she said. “I’m sorry I was lost. I came back. I came back to you. Don’t leave me. I love you so much.”
Wynn felt warm all over. A golden light glowed in her chest. It grew bright, and filled the room, taking the chill from the air.
She felt a hand touch the back of her head. Wynn looked up.
The fairy queen looked down at her. Her skin wasn’t blue. It was still not quite the color it usually was, but it didn’t look like ice anymore. “Wynn?” the queen said. “You’re alive?”
“Mother!” Wynn cried, and wrapped her arms tightly around the queen’s neck. Wynn laughed and cried at the same time and then began to hiccup. The queen held her and found the strength to sit up. “You are better!” Wynn cried. “I’m so glad. I love you.”
“I love you too, my brave girl. How is this possible? Where is Elric?” she asked. “What has become of him?”
“They saved me! Elric and Osmund saved me,” Wynn said. “They brought me back to you. The elves helped, and Flame.”
“Who is Flame?” The queen’s eyes grew brighter as she was
