"It seems you have some sense about you boy," said Nai Nai with a satisfied nod. Harry was quite sure she knew he was being extra nice to try and make up for his rudeness at not recognising their land quicker, but she gave him a wink so he hoped things were okay between them. "Now, what brings you here to Spring Festival Land? You said you were looking for someone?"

Harry shifted on his feet, acutely aware again of how daunting his task was. "Um, yes, ma'am," he said, tagging on the title as a mark of respect. Fan peeked briefly over her shoulder as a finished envelope flitted upwards, then hastily grabbed another sheet of paper. "I'm looking for my friend, I think...I think he might be in danger."

"Oh dear me," said Nai Nai with a frown that added extra wrinkles to her already heavily lined face. "And you think he might be in Serpent's Square?"

Harry blinked and shifted the stick on his shoulder. "I thought," he said slowly, aware he was about to put his foot in it again. "This was Spring Festival Land?"

The huff from Fan confirmed his hesitations, and she spun around once again. "Don't you elves know anything?" she demanded, arms crossed and glue dripping from her paint brush onto her trousers. "Spring Festival is divided into twelve districts to honour each of the twelve animals of the calendar. Any child should know-"

"Fan," Nai Nai warned. "Our guest is trying his hardest."

"I'm sorry," Harry said sincerely again, wringing his hands. Fan's expression softened a bit, and she sighed.

"Well," she prompted impatiently. "What makes you think he might be here?"

"I don't," Harry said honestly. "He could be anywhere, in fact, I'm not entirely sure he's real. I just had a dream-"

"A nightmare," Rocky interrupted firmly, taking flight to land on the arm of Nai Nai's chair. "And nobody has nightmares in Christmas Land. We're on a quest of true love, and we think we might find some answers in Halloween Land."

"Oh," said Fan, sitting up straighter. "I don't think I've ever heard of an elf willing to go there." She narrowed her eyes at him. "This boy must be really special. What's his name?"

Harry's shoulders slumped in defeat. "I don't know," he admitted. "All I know is that he's tall, with blond hair and grey eyes. And...I think he's sad. Or he's in trouble, I'm really not sure."

He sounded ridiculous and he knew it, but both the women looked at him with sympathy. "Well I'm afraid there's no one like that around here that I know of," said Nai Nai. "Blond hair is very unusual in these parts."

"But if you'd like to go to Halloween Land," cried Fan, shooting to her feet and dislodging several sheets of paper so they fluttered to the wooden floorboards. "I can take you, I know the way."

"You also have much work to do," Nai Nai admonished with a raised eyebrow, and Fan's hands dropped to her sides. "Besides, no good ever came out of Halloween Land. Nothing but trouble."

"I work every day," she pleaded. "I never get to have any fun. Please let me take the elf over to the portal. I won't actually go to Halloween Land, I just want to see the portal in action. If you let me go, I'll never ask for anything again, ever."

Nai Nai rolled her eyes. "Oh don't be so dramatic," she said with the hint of a smile. "We both know you'll be asking for new brushes and sweet dumplings by the end of the week. Go on, be off with you, have some fun and leave your old Nai Nai in peace."

Fan squealed and danced on her toes before dashing over to hug the older woman. Harry suspected she might be her grandmother, but he wasn't willing to put his foot in it again. "Come on Harry-the-Elf," she said happily, grabbing his hand and dragging him towards the front door. "Let's help you find your true love."

"He's not my true love," he mumbled as he was dragged outside, but Rocky just chuckled as he landed back on his shoulder.

"Yeah," he drawled. "Because people just go trekking all over the many lands for any old body."

The door to the shop closed behind them with the tinkle of a bell, and Harry took in his first proper glimpse of Spring Festival Land. He'd been right, in that it looked a lot like home the way the street was cobbled and the old businesses with wooden shutters lined the pavements, but in their nature they were quite different to the ones he was used to in Christmas Land.

He turned and looked up at the sign on Fan and Nai Nai's place, which read "Lucky Gifts" and had an emblem of a small pile of coins beside it. Either side and across the road were dozens of different kinds of cleaning businesses; carpets and curtains, floorboards and ceilings, bath tubs and kitchen sinks, even one to scrub up your pets so they were "Flea free and fluffy for a fee!"

A little further down, he could make out a hairdressers and a tea shop, however it was hard to tell through the mist that was creeping up the street, and he shivered despite the fact he was used to the snow of Christmas Land. He wasn't the only one though, as Fan hugged herself and rubbed her hands quickly up and down her arms. "Well, this isn't normal," she said as her head whipped back and forth, tossing her long sheet of hair over her shoulders.

"It isn't?" Harry asked warily.

She shook her head and walked slowly down the street to their right, eyeing up the closed doors on the various establishments either side of them. "Oi, Chang!" she shouted unabashedly at the window of the place that offered pristine cleaning of your fish tanks and your fish (for a special joint discount price).

The window on the second floor above the front door opened and a boy a bit older than Fan and Harry poked his head out. "What are you doing?" he hissed, motioning that she go back to her own shop. "Get out of the street!"

Fan raised an eyebrow. "You're afraid of a little smoke?" she asked dubiously.

Chang wiped his hands on his work apron and glanced nervously up and down the street, where Harry realised the fog was now so thick he could no longer see more than a couple of dozen feet in each direction. Rocky fidgeted on his shoulder.

"No," said the boy. "Afraid of what's in the smoke. My Nai Nai says it's the Nian."

Fan laughed out loud at that and placed her hands on her hips. "Lin Chang," she scolded, then wagged a finger up at the older boy. "The Nian is a children's story. You expect me to hide from a bit of mist because of a myth?"

"Suit yourself," Chang squeaked with a shrug, then snapped his window shut again.