The gravel lane looked different in the daylight, they noticed as soon as they dismounted the blackbird, and let him fly back towards the forest alone.

The black, silent, Firefly Guards which Hans and Louise saw the night before were now replaced by two lines of several brown field mice, as big as Orangebeak. Unlike the fireflies, they were neither still, nor exactly silent-- soft squeaks accompanied the constant pitter-patter of their paws as they scurried up and down along the lane ceaselessly.

"Rosalind! Finally, you're back, I need to talk to you!"

Hans, who had just opened his mouth to start asking questions about the Mice Guards, had to close it again because a Rose Fairy they had not met before rushed towards them down the path.

A very... yellow Rose Fairy, Louise noticed. She was dressed head to toe in a long dress composed of many layers of shiny, silky fabric in various shades of honey, amber, and gold, shaped and overlaid like petals of a rose. Her curly hair was as long as Rosalind's, but brown like Hans'. The fairy was very pretty, Louise concluded, taking Hans's hand in hers and giving it a gentle squeeze to make him stop staring at her.

"Rosabea," Rosalind said, embracing the Rose Fairy. "Hans, Louise, Rosabea is my cousin."

The fairy smiled at them. "I've heard all about you two already from Roza and Rolo, of course. But let us hurry now, everything is ready for lunch, and you still need to get changed," she added, lacing her arm through Rosalind's as they started to walk up the lane.

"What did you want to tell me?" Rosalind reminded her cousin who was biting her lip silently, lost in thought, as if she couldn't decide where to begin.

"I don't know if I should tell you really... Knowing you, you'll only catch yourself in some trouble again..."

"Rosabea, tell me now!" Rosalind demanded, frowning at her.

Rosabea sighed heavily. "Fine. Last night, on my way back from the forest, I met two butterflies," she whispered.

"Blue?" Rosalind breathed, her dark eyes sparkling with hope.

"No, not him," Rosabea said gently. "And when I asked about him, they said... They said that he did not return to the group of butterflies following the Monarchs after you two were found and... Blue has been missing for weeks now, Rosalind. His parents and a few friends tracked him all the way to the seashore, but there they lost every trace of him."

"Noo..." Rosalind said, looking so pale that Hans let go of Louise's hand and rushed to the fairy, afraid that she would faint.

The boy wrapped his arm around Rosalind's waist, mindful of her wings. For a while they all walked in silence only interrupted by the whisper of the mice's paws moving swiftly through the long stems of grass growing on the sides of the lane, in the shadows cast by the multitude of rose bushes.

"We will find him, Rosalind," Louise said when they reached the castle.

"Of course we will," Hans added, letting go of the fairy once he was sure that she regained her composure and was steady on her feet.

Rosalind thanked them with a faint smile before they followed Rosabea inside the rose bush.

"Rosland!" Rosabea called suddenly.

The fairy had entered the castle in such a haste, and was still so blinded by the sunshine, that she had bumped into someone as soon as she stepped into the first one of the dim and narrow corridors. "I asked you to stay with our parents in the garden while I looked for Rosalind!"

"Mother noticed that you disappeared and sent me to find you, sister. You must come with me," the young man told Rosabea. "At least she found you," he added, coming closer to Rosalind and embracing her. "And you are not alone."

He was quite... something, Hans thought as he saw Rosland's eyes land on Louise over Rosalind's shoulder. Tall, dark and dressed in ochre and gold, this Flower Fairy boy looked very regal.

As soon as Rosland released Rosalind, he was in front of Louise, her hand at his lips.

How very polite and charming he is, the girl thought, curtsying shyly as their eyes met.

"I'm Hans," Hans spoke suddenly, offering his hand to Rosland and thus making him let go of Louise's. "And she's my friend Louise."

Rosland smiled good-humouredly at him. "And I'm Rosland," he said before turning to Rosalind again. "I guess you still need to get ready, but hurry up. Most guests have already arrived."

"You heard him. Be quick!" Rosabea instructed, then followed her brother outside.

Rosalind, Hans, and Louise rushed through the corridors and up the staircases until they reached the fairy's chamber, where Roza was waiting for them impatiently.

While the two girls washed and changed their dresses behind one of the rose petals and Hans behind another, Roza told them that Rosalind's parents had not noticed her absence, which was good. But, as Sir Francis had not arrived yet, she could not have spoken to him, and Rosalind would have to do that alone. Which wasn't so good.

"At least I have already talked to Garrett, and he understands. You were right, Hans. He only proposed to me because of his parents. Now I can concentrate on Sir Francis," Rosalind said, stepping out from behind the rose petal, followed by Louise.

The girls looked gorgeous, Hans thought, meeting them in the middle of the chamber. They both wore long gowns similar in style to Rosabea's. Rosalind's was in different shades of red and Louise's all white and pink. They looked like two rose blooms.

Hans, on the other hand, was dressed like any other male fairy or elf they had met so far. The clothes he had been wearing before, quite similar in style to what he used to wear back at home, were now substituted by a pair of tight, brown trousers, a large moss-green shirt with puffed sleeves, and a wide silver belt. And of course, the pointed shoes.

Louise giggled when she noticed them, but she had to admit that his new attire suited her friend perfectly.

"Here," Rosalind said, passing a little pouch similar to the one she carried tied to her belt to each of them. "We might not be back, so pack whatever you think we might need. No, they are not too small, Hans. They are magical and will carry anything you put inside," the fairy responded to Hans before he could put his thoughts into words.

They scattered around Rosalind's room, followed by Roza, deciding what to take with them.

While she could produce most things by magic, overusing her powers was tiring. So it was better to bring with them as many necessary things as they could, Rosalind explained as she stuffed a blanket in her pouch. Louise followed her example while Hans added his bird whistle, his notebook, and the history book Rosalind had given him on top of everything.

If only he had had this pouch by the lake this morning, he could have carried the marigold with him, Hans mused. The mermaid was so intriguing and charming...

Rosalind giggled as his thoughts reached her, making him blush.

"Let us go then." The fairy sighed, walking towards the door as soon as they were ready.

She reminded Roza to keep nearby and be ready to leave after sunset. Hans and Louise thanked the Rose Elf for their new clothes and followed Rosalind out of her chamber, along new corridors, then into a large garden spreading behind the castle.

A very large round table, laid with delicious looking food and drinks, was placed in the shadows of the surrounding rose bushes. As Roza had said, most guests were already there, conversing cheerfully.

"There are your places," Rosalind said, pointing out two empty chairs between Rosabea and Rosland. "And there's mine." She indicated a place next to Garrett, where they could see the last four empty seats-- Sir Francis and Rosalind's parents were the last ones missing.

As Rosalind walked with them around the table towards their seats, they were stopped frequently by the loud guests, a happy, colourful bunch composed mainly of Rose Fairies and Tree Elves, interspersed with other sorts of Flower Fairies and talking animals. They all wanted to greet their Princess, and asked to be introduced to her new friends.

The animals, all dressed at least as bizarrely as Captain Garrett, were cute, Louise thought, smiling to herself as they reached their places and Rosland jumped to his feet politely to pull the chair out for her.

Hans, lost in thoughts and worries about the lingering glances the guests bestowed upon Louise, now scowled at Rosalind as she kissed Rosabea on the cheek before she continued to walk alone towards her seat.

"Not now, Hans, there will be time for this later," the fairy whispered in his ear as she brushed past him.

He nodded and sat down next to Rosabea, who made him forget his worries quickly with her delightful chatter.

Sir Francis, a large mole covered with black, velvety fur, wearing nothing but a stiff white ruff around his neck, white lace cuffs concealing his long-fingered, pink hands, a broad black hat and a pair of tiny, but very strong, round spectacles perched on the tip of his long, rosy nose, arrived soon, and sat next to Rosalind.

Rosalind was just gathering her courage to speak to the mole, Louise deduced from the fairy's exchanged glances with Garrett, when her parents were announced.

"Their Majesties King Rosario and Queen Rosamunde!" a Rose Elf called, and everything went silent for a while. The only audible sound heard was made by the Mice Guards moving relentlessly around the whole garden.

As soon as Their Majesties were seated, the guests exploded in their loud conversations again, but this time, their voices were accompanied by a choir of song birds hidden somewhere in the nearby roses.

After they had eaten, one of the Rose Elves made the whole table disappear to make space for dancing.

"Would you like to dance with me?" Rosland asked Louise.

Even though she didn't know exactly how to dance to the birds' songs, Louise agreed, leaving Hans alone with Rosabea.

"Shall we... too?" Hans asked the Rose Fairy hesitantly, and when she agreed, he let her lead him among the other dancing couples.

Dancing to the birds' songs wasn't so difficult, if he followed Rosabea's steps and moves, Hans realised after a few songs, and was just starting to enjoy himself when someone put a hand on his arm.

A cold, four-fingered hand, Hans noticed. He and Rosabea stopped dancing and followed Captain Garrett to the edge of the dance floor.

"Roo-sa-lind is talking to Sir Fraaancis. You two are to distract her paaarents if they look for her, while I follow Roo-sa-lind. She might neeed my help," Garrett croaked, then pushed through the Mice Guards and leapt into the deep shadows of the surrounding rose bushes.

"Hmm... what shall we do, exactly?" Hans asked Rosabea as he followed Louise, who was still dancing with Rosland, with his glance.

"Help Rosalind. Come, let me introduce you to my uncle and aunt," Rosabea said simply, taking him by the hand and dragging him through the medley of dancers.

"Your Majesties!" she called as they stopped next to the royal couple.

"Rosabea, let me see you, you look wonderful. I can't believe how much you and Rosalind have grown lately. But where is that girl again...?" King Rosario, the ruler of all Rose Fairies, a head shorter, and a lot wider than his wife, demanded.

"Oh, she's just dancing with Garrett, as you wanted, Uncle Rosario. Let me introduce you our new friend, Hans..."

"Andersen," Hans said when Rosabea looked at him inquiringly. "Hans Christian Andersen."

He wasn't sure if one was supposed to shake hands with Fairy Kings, so he only bowed to King Rosario politely, then kissed Queen Rosamunde's proffered hand, as he had noticed Rosland had done with Louise.

"Shall we dance?" Rosalind's mother proposed when the birds started to sing a new song, taking Hans by surprise.

"Let us dance too then, Uncle." Rosabea led King Rosario away, winking at Hans as if this had been their plan all along.

Hans took a deep breath, then offered his arm to Queen Rosamunde.

"Who are you, Master Andersen? Why did my daughter bring you into our world?" the Queen Fairy demanded as they danced, Hans concentrating hard on not stepping on her toes. His pointed shoes were such a nuisance on the dance floor.

"I don't know," he said truthfully.

"You don't know who you are? How curious," the queen said, purposely misunderstanding him.

"I do know that," Hans said, squaring his shoulders, resolved to stand his ground. "My family is related to His Majesty Christian VIII," he announced seriously, remembering all the stories he had heard as a child from his grandmother and his father. He never really believed them, but now, true or not, they came useful.

"Oh?" The Fairy Queen's eyebrows shot up in surprise. "Are you a duke, then?"

"Something like that, I guess," he said tentatively.

Hans let the queen interrogate him for a few more songs, inventing himself a very important ancestry.

When he finally spotted Rosalind waving at him from under one of the rose bushes, with Louise, Rosland, Rosabea and Garrett all pacing impatiently around her, he apologized to Queen Rosamunde as soon as the song ended, and headed towards them.

Rosalind caressed one of the Mice Guards who stood still next to her, whispered something in its pink ear, and when the small group made its way silently deeper and deeper into the shadows, farther and farther away from the dancing guests, none of the mice tried to stop them.