EUREKA!

"EUREKA!" Zarina shouted. She had burst open the door to Tinker Bell's workshop and startled the tinker fairy badly. The Pixie Dust Alchemist was covered in layers of shimmering dust and holding a flask of glowing, pale blue pixie dust.

Tink, who had been pondering a new and more efficient design for the snowmaker, was nearly frightened right out of her shoes by Zarina's sudden appearance. She carefully removed the goggles from her face and caught her breath. "Wha-? What happened?"

"I did it!" the alchemist replied, a beaming smile across her face. "I did it and it works."

Tinker Bell stepped forward and inspected the flask. She had always been excited for Zarina and her ideas. Though, regretfully, Tink wasn't as supportive as she should have been when the dust keeper first revealed her alchemy experiments. It might have prevented the girl from being publically humiliated and running off with pirates. "Did what?" Tink asked as she eyed the pale blue dust.

"I made a dust that can turn anyone into a Winter Fairy," she gleefully explained.

"Huh?!" Tink couldn't utter another word. She stopped everything to try and process what she had just been told. "Wait, did you say 'Winter Fairy'?"

"Uh huh." Zarina stretched out her arm holding the flask of dust. "This can change anyone into a frost talent. I just mixed in a touch of frost, a clipping from a frozen leaf and added just the tiniest pinch of Blue Pixie Dust and there you have it, frost talent dust."

So stunned by this revelation that Tink had trouble sputtering out her next question. "Does it work…, I mean it can…, we can turn into…, and we can go into…, without jackets or, or…?"

"Frosting our wings or wearing heavy jackets? Yes, Tink."

Tink was desperate to sit. This revelation had made her weak in the knees. She stumbled backwards toward a chair, but missed it and dropped to the floor, landing on her bum. Her breathing was hard, her eyes wide as saucers, her heart beat like a tinker's hammer. The stunning implications of this new discovery flashed through her mind. "…And our wings won't break?"

"No. Not in the Winter Woods, but they can if you return to the warm seasons without changing back into a warm talent."

"Into the warm season…. Wait? Did you already test it?" Tink asked.

"On myself. All last week. It works perfectly." Zarina was all smiles. "Do you know what this means, Tink?"

"I can…, I can finally visit my sister without having to worry about my wings," Tink muttered. "I can learn what it means to be a frost fairy. I can finally share her world, be what she is, and learn her talent. We'll be closer than ever."

"And she can share yours in the same way," Zarina added. "That's why I came here first. With a pinch of dust she can become a warm fairy and visit you all she wants without the need of the snow machine."

Tinker Bell turned and looked at her plans. She was so close to finishing the new design. It was lighter, easier to maneuver and navigate through tight quarters. She even had an idea for one that Periwinkle could wear. But if this new dust worked as advertised the machine was unnecessary. As a sister, Tink's heart jumped for joy. As a tinker fairy and designer she felt a bit sad. So much work had gone into this new design and it would never see the light of day. But if it meant she and Peri could live in each other's respective worlds without any encumbrance or limitation then it would be worth it.

"Zarina, do you know what you've done? You have finally united the two halves of our world," Tink exulted. "This is going to be the beginning of a new era for all of Pixie Hollow."

"YES!" the alchemist shouted. "Now come on." Zarina grabbed Tink's arm and dragged her out the door.

"Wha? Where?"

"Where else? To the queen."

Of course to the queen. She would want to know. She would need to know. As much as Tinker Bell, Clarion had a stake in tearing down the last wall between the warm and cold seasons of the fairy home world.

~O~

"Remarkable," Queen Clarion gasped when she heard the news. "This works as intended?"

"Yes, Queen Clarion," Zarina answered. "I've spent the last week in the Winter Woods as a frost fairy. I wore no special clothing, my wings were never frosted to protect them and I learned the talent of the frost fairies."

"There are no ill effects?"

"None, except that you must change back into a warm season talent when you return across the border," the alchemist warned. "Otherwise, it is free of any side effects. You can finally oversee your entire kingdom without need of special precautions. And you can visit Lord Milori indefinitely."

The queen hovered silently, staring meditatively at the pale blue dust. That last part was what the queen wanted to know. She had avoided asking about it so as not to appear more concerned about herself than her subjects.

"I see," was her calm and dignified response. Outwardly Clarion was as conservative as ever. Inside she felt wave after wave of relief and gratitude.

Then came a thought.

"How will I change back when I'm ready to return to the warm seasons?" the queen asked.

Instantly the huge grin on Zarina's face collapsed and her heart sunk. She had been too excited to remember that nothing in her considerable arsenal of special talent dusts could allow the queen to be a queen again. "I… I have nothing. I am very sorry Your Highness. I raised your hopes needlessly."

"Nonsense. This is a monumental achievement," Queen Clarion answered, offering a sincere if weak smile. "You have further opened the border for all of Pixie Hollow. I am quite pleased. Now why don't you escort Tinker Bell to the Winter Woods? I am quite certain she is eager to visit her sister."

Zarina bowed reverently. "Thank you, Your Highness." She and Tinker Bell left the Pixie Dust Tree where the queen resided and held court. The alchemist was mortified for not anticipating that the queen would need the means to turn back into a queen. Zarina felt as though she had just cruelly teased Clarion with something she had wanted to desperately but could not have.

The alchemist handed the vial of dust to Tinker Bell and instructed that a small sprinkling was all she needed. She also handed the tinker fairy the dust that could return the blonde fairy to her warm season roots.

"Where are you going?" Tink asked.

"I feel sick," Zarina replied. "I'm going home."

~O~

Inside the Pixie Dust Tree Queen Clarion carried on with her day as though nothing of any importance happened. She remained placidly attentive through each ceremony, every review and in her meetings with the ministers. Inside she was torn up. Finally there seemed to be an answer to her prayers only for it to evaporate in the blink of an eye.

"So much the better," she tried telling herself. "If anyone could become queen with a mere sprinkling of dust then it would become a useless designation."

She was equivocating. Trying to soothe her broken heart and spirit. That evening, such equivocation fell apart and her perfect demeanor shattered. Within the privacy of her quarters, Clarion wept sorrowfully.

So close. So tantalizingly close.