OH MY FROSTY RAINBOW PIXIE DUST! Did you guys see that scene in The Pirate Fairy? Clarion falling asleep on Milori's arm, and then him taking her in his arms while they watch the girls at the end; excuse me while I go squeal like a 6-year-old... ;)

Sorry about that… You can probably guess that I'm a Milarion fan. I adore the 'Romeo and Juliet' feel of their forbidden love, especially since they get back together in the end...

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What Once was Mine

Cold winds swept through the hollow, the icy winter creeping ever-closer. All around the Pixie Dust Tree, fairies and sparrow-men watched as the three winter fairies sprung into the air, letting their frost dance off their fingertips.

Caught up in the disaster at hand, no one noticed her holding her breath. Never had she thought something like this could happen. She created the border rule in hopes of preventing anyone else from getting hurt, but not once had she suspected that it could lead to the seasons themselves being thrown out of balance.

Her gaze fell, and she was one of the several fairies that gasped in horror. The freeze was still surging forward, dragging down the temperature with every step it took.

"It's getting colder," Fawn wailed, panic evident in her voice.

"Let's hand out the blankets; they'll keep us warm," Tinkerbell suggested, her tone urgent yet calm. 'She seems to be handling this better than I am...'

"Hurry Peri, hurry!"

Fairies scattered as they began handing each other blankets, while she stood watching as Periwinkle and her friends circled the tree, their frost slowly travelling down branches, spreading across leaves and rippling over bark. They were working as fast as their elegant wings could carry them, but it still wasn't much compared to the speed of the approaching freeze.

"Make sure you cover your wings!" Tinkerbell's voice called back to another fairy as she appeared beside her. The tinker's friends began to crowd around her, all clutching blankets close to their bodies. The winter fairies swooped down to meet them, looks of despair written on their faces.

"The tree- it's too big!" the black-haired fairy cried helplessly. "We're never going to make it..."

Tinkerbell and Periwinkle cast a worried glance over their shoulders at the ever-slowing stream of pixie dust, and she watch the hope drain from their faces. This was their only chance... 'And now it's gone...'

Turning back to each other, the sisters shared a disheartened look.

"I'm sorry..." Periwinkle whispered dismally, her twin heaving a heavy sigh.

They were so frightened. Everyone was so frightened. She wanted to say something - anything - to let them know that she was still there for them; that they weren't alone.

Her body tensed slightly as she went to speak, but before she could even open her mouth, a familiar screech echoed through the air. Looking up, they watched a row of dark shapes emerged from the mist, revealing themselves to be a flock of snowy owls.

A newfound hope spread among the crowd, but for her, it wasn't just hope swelling in her chest. As the birds drew nearer, she could clearly see the only sparrow-man she'd ever loved, riding in on his trusty snowy owl to her rescue.

"You came back for me..." her eyes whispered, her hands subconsciously resting over her pounding heart as a small smile tugged at her lips.

His soft brown orbs never leaving her sapphire blue ones, they replied, "How could I not?"

Beside her, the two sisters shared a beam, before the frost fairy leapt into the air. She lingered in the air beside him for a moment, most likely talking about the tree. A minute later, winter fairies and sparrow-men alike were surging through the hollow at top speed, coating every inch in crisp white frost.

Before long, all that remained was white for as far as the eye could see, slowly being consumed by the freeze's icy blue. Having done all they could, the winter fairies flew back to the tree.

The Lord of Winter climbed off his majestic owl, and she felt a sickness in her stomach she hadn't felt in years. Yes, she'd seen him earlier, but only now was she able to stop and take him in. He hadn't changed much; he still had his platinum white hair, the top layer was still pulled back into a stumpy ponytail, he still had that adorable little wisp that refused to sit anywhere but on his forehead, his eyes were still the same perfect shade of chestnut brown... He was still the same muscular, pale-skinned sparrow-man that stole her heart the moment they met, but all that time apart had made her much more aware of his looks. 'Was he always this handsome?'

"The freeze is upon us. You must take cover," he told the warm fairies, who instantly scurried off. She shivered at the familiar richness of his thick British accent, not really hearing what he was saying.

As soon as the last of the warm fairies – Tinkerbell, of course - were safely in the tree, his eyes fell on her, and she felt her cheeks heat up as he walked towards her. However, the warmth quickly vanished as another cold breeze swept through, bringing back her worry with it.

"Will everything be alright?" she asked, her arms crossed tightly over her chest.

"I don't know," he admitted, shaking his head slightly. "I have never seen anything like this..."

The growing chill gripped her like an icy claw, and she shivered under its power. In the presence of her fairies, she might be the loyal queen who would willing sacrifice her own happiness for their safety, but she wasn't as strong as they thought she was. In fact, only the lord of Winter knew just how afraid she really was...

Wordlessly removing his owl-feather cape, he carefully laid it over her quivering shoulders. She in turn responded with the fainted blush, somehow managing to fight back the urge to play with her caramel-coloured locks. Looking up, she smiled at him with the same, unshaken devotion she still felt after all these years. 'How did I ever live without him?'

"Thank you Milori."

She watched as a new feeling became present in his eyes; longing. She was no mind-reader - not even close to it - but she knew exactly why the feeling was there. She could tell that he wanted to hold her, kiss her, protect her... But the battle of his heart and mind could also be seen in those heartbroken eyes; no matter how badly his heart wanted him to be her shelter, his mind knew that their love was still too dangerous.

"Please, take cover," he begged, his voice weighted with fear for her safety.

She lingered for a moment, unwilling to leave him again, but couldn't deny the desperate look in her lover's eyes. Tugging the top of the cape further over her shoulders, she turned away from the Winter lord. Managing only two steps forward, she stopped dead in her tracks when she heard the faint shuffling of his boots as he walked away. She knew what she'd see if she looked back now, but the temptation to catch one last look at him was too strong for her to bear. Looking back, her eyes saw only 'it'.

Her face blank, she let her eyes trace the jagged edge of his broken right wing. As he continued, she couldn't help but notice that his head hung low. 'I know, love... I'm hurting too...'

Lifting his head, he addressed the fairies and sparrow-men still watching the freeze, "Winter fairies, stand guard."

A deep sigh left her body, and she clenched her eyes shut to hide her forming tears. So many years had gone by since that fateful moment, and yet she still remembered it as if it were yesterday. She still remembered the shakiness of their last 'I love you'. She still remembered tasting nothing but his cold, salty tears the last time they kissed. She still remembered looking back over her shoulder as she flew away, just in time to see his knees give way as he crumpled into the snow.

Drawing in a breath, she gazed at her lover once more. Turning away, she slipped back inside the tree, but rather than joining the others, she let herself crumble onto the bark floor, aching sobs rattling her whole being. Her lips didn't move as her own salty tears rolled down her flushed cheeks, but all she could hear was the sound of her heart painfully singing out for some sort of miracle.

Closing her eyes and tugging her lover's cape closer to her quaking body, Clarion listened to her heart's desperate, shaking pleas, "Heal what has been hurt, change the Fates' design. Save what has been lost, bring back what once was mine. What once was mine..."

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These two are so perfect... :) I'm so glad they put Milori in The Pirate Fairy; okay, so he didn't talk, but at least he's there... And I read that Timothy Dalton will be in Legend of the Neverbeast, so who knows- we just might get some more Milarion fluff next year... ;)