Jane was still fascinated with the satchel, even after two hours stuffing anything and everything they could think of into it, including food and, much to Jane's amusement, a cooking pot. She was glad they'd decided to wait until morning to leave; she was tired, even though it was only mid-afternoon.

"So, where are we going?" she eventually asked Orson. Shelly rode on her shoulder, gently holding on to her ear.

"Let's go up into the turret. I'll show you," he suggested. "The view is amazing."

Jane was grateful that he didn't take off down the hall like he'd been doing. He could out-stride her quickly with his long legs, leaving her behind. He was learning to shorten his steps so that she could keep up. Not that it wasn't still difficult, but she could manage.

When they reached the top of the tower, he led her to the North side to look out over the landscape. The sun warmed Jane's skin, and it peeked out from behind great fluffy clouds high in the sky. They hung low but didn't bring the threat of rain. Instead, they flowed happily along on the cool and refreshing breeze.

She inhaled, the air filled with the scent of horses from the stables below. She'd always liked horses. It must have been just past the time for mucking the stalls; the sweet smell of hay mixed with the pleasant musky odor of the animals.

The land she saw spanned from castle to horizon, stretching from the nearby city's bustle of people and houses to the wild nature of hunter-green forest in the distance.

There rose a rocky triplet of mountains in the far, far distance. Between the houses surrounding the Giant's royal home and the great, dense trees lay farmland that formed a patchwork of golden wheat, bright jade corn, and an unidentified darker emerald. Mixed among these were stands of greenery that Jane concluded to be orchards.

This is beautiful, she thought. Unlike anything I've ever seen. She chuckled to herself at the thought. As if I've seen a kingdom in the sky before.

Orson pointed over her shoulder at the mountain peak to the left. "That's where we're going. That's where the dragon lives."

She turned to the west, shielding her eyes from the glare of the afternoon sun, to study their destination. The foreboding mountains, scored and jagged, wore heavy caps of snow and ice. "Wow. Umm... how high up will we need to go? The snow looks intimidating. I mean, not that the rest of it doesn't either, but that especially so."

He shrugged. "I don't know. We'll have to ask the locals when we get there."

Jane nodded. What Orson said made sense. She hoped the dragon didn't like the cold. "Maybe we'll even find a guide?"

"It's possible. Though, how many people do you think will want to go chasing after a dragon?"

"Good point."

"Please tell me we're not riding horses the whole way?" Shelly bemoaned.

Orson chuckled. "No. We'll take the swans. They like adventure."

"What?" Jane blinked. "We're flying? On swans?" she squeaked.

"Oh, thank goodness! I really don't like horses," Shelly proclaimed. "They don't particularly like me, either. They keep trying to swat me with their tails."

"Small, flying things tend to bite them, I guess. Makes sense." Orson grinned.

Jane was still stuck on the fact they would be flying. "How will the swans support us? I mean, how does one go about riding a swan?"

Shelly huffed. "It's magic, Jane. Magic can do anything! The birds get big enough to carry the rider, and then the harness helps everyone hang on."

The blood drained from Jane's face. "What if we fall off?"

Orson put his hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry, Jane. You can't fall off. The magic doesn't let you. And, we travel this way all the time. It's going to be fine. Trust me."

She eyed him. "Well, I guess I don't have much choice."

He cocked an eyebrow. "Do you want to ride the horses instead? It'll take us a month to get there."

"A month!" Jane exclaimed. "I don't have that kind of time."

Shelly giggled. "Welp, sounds like our trip is," she paused for dramatic effect, "for the birds."

Orson groaned at her joke. "You were waiting for that, weren't you?"

The fairy laughed. "Yeah. Kind of was."

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Dawn found the trio of newly-formed friends pulling cloaks around them to ward off the morning chill. They set out on foot, heading toward the lake outside the castle walls. It wasn't long before they stuffed the outer garments into Shelly's satchel; the sun was quickly warming the day. When they reached the shore, Jane watched two distant swans respond to Orson's whistle.

They were both beautiful trumpeter swans, snow-white with black bills. As they swam toward them, Jane noticed that one was distinctly larger than the other. Other than that identifying characteristic, she couldn't tell them apart.

"Orson!" said the bigger one with a distinguished male voice. "Jolly good to see you, my boy!"

Jane's jaw dropped open as she watched them come onto the bank to greet them.

"Good to see you, too, Archibald," Orson replied. He held out a hand, palm up, and the swan slapped it with his wing.

"Yo, what's up, dude?" the female swan said, slapping his palm, too.

"Hi, Wendy. How's it hangin'?"

The swan cocked her head and gave Jane a one-eyed stare. "Well, you seem to have obtained a funny-looking companion. Does her mouth stay open like that?"

Orson snorted when Jane snapped her jaw shut and turned beet red. "Nah. She's pretty cool." He gestured to her. "This is Jane. She, Shelly, and I are going on an adventure. Jane," he nodded toward the birds, "this is Wendy and Archibald, the best Transporters I know."

"Shelly?" Wendy asked, cocking her head again, looking around.

"Adventure?" Archibald asked, shifting his weight, clearly excited by the prospect.

Shelly flitted out from under the hair on Jane's shoulder and introduced herself. "Hi! I'm Shelebanisefaeynore. You can call me Shelly."

"Dude!" Wendy ruffled her feathers before glancing at Orson. "How did you wind up with a mosquito and bread ingredients as quest companions?"

Shelly screwed up her face and huffed. "Not a mosquito!" She settled onto Jane's shoulder again and pouted.

"Father was involved," Orson explained.

Archibald held up a wingtip. "No need to say more. Anything is likely with that giant."

"True that," Orson agreed.

Jane ignored the banter to state the obvious. "You can talk!"

Archibald studied her. "She doesn't seem very bright."

"Come on, Jane," Shelly said in her ear. "Get with the program. It's magic!"

"Okay, okay. I'll try," Jane assured her, "but you need to remember this is all new to me."

Wendy preened as Orson told them about their buy-out assignment.

Archibald whistled. "Stealing gold from the dragon? Now, that is an adventure. You'll be needing transport, I take it?"

Wendy honked and rolled her eyes. "Of course they do, dude. The dragon is a long way away."

"Hmm. Quite right, quite right," the bigger bird responded, bobbing his head on a slender neck. He puffed out his chest. "And I know just the birds to fly you there."

Orson smiled. "I was hoping you'd say that."

"But... how..." Jane began.

"Magic!" everyone answered in unison.

Jane let out a sound of frustration, looking from Wendy to Archibald and back. "And you're sure I won't fall off?"

Wendy studied her again. "You climbed a beanstalk into the sky, but you're afraid of falling off while flying?"

"Well, when you say it like that..." Jane went quiet.

She felt Shelly pat her ear. "Cheer up, Jane. Once you're on and flying, you're going to love it, I just know it! So much better than a shabby old horse."

Jane nodded even as she swallowed her fear.

"Okay!" Orson said, impatient. "We're ready to go whenever you two are," he told the swans.

"Let me go tell the missus I'm heading out, else I'll be in the dog house." Archibald waddled back to the water and swam away toward a small group containing three adults and a bevy of goslings. He bent his head to one of the swans, and she mirrored the motion to him, making a heart-shape with their pose that Jane found endearing. Soon, he was swimming back.

"Don't you have anyone to say goodbye to?" she asked Wendy.

"Nah. A pair of mallard ducks raised me, and they've decided to stay south this year. So, I'm on my own."

"A pair of ducks? Oh! Wait! Are you the Ugly Duckling?"

Orson winced. "Jane. Wendy isn't ugly. Be nice."

Jane gasped, a hand flying to her mouth as if to hold back more offensive words. "I'm sorry! It's just the title of the story." Her eyes narrowed at Orson. "Besides, the duckling ends up being a beautiful swan in the end, so there."

"Dude, it's okay," Wendy assured them. "I suppose I am the Ugly Duckling. I was bullied enough for it, that's for sure." She touched her chest with a dramatic gesture. "There's trauma there."

Jane's face reflected the sadness she felt. "I'm sorry that happened to you."

"I 'ppreciate that."

Archibald rejoined the group. "Aerial Transport Master Archibald Thoroughgood reporting for duty!" he declared, throwing a wing up to salute Orson. Jane was sure he was smiling, but it was a little hard to tell.

Wendy rolled her eyes again. "Dude. Do you have to be so weird?"

Archibald honked in laughter. "Only if it annoys you, my dear."

Jane smiled at the exchange. It was clear the two of them were close friends. She was going to enjoy getting to know them. But, first things first. "Okay, what do I need to do to get ready?"

"Nothing! We just need to wait for Archibald and Wendy to grow to flight size," Orson told her. "I'll be on Archibald since he's bigger, and you and Shelly can ride Wendy."

Jane nodded and watched in rapt fascination as the two swans moved away. She sucked in a breath and made sure to hold her mouth closed as golden sparkles surrounded each of them. They grew at least ten times their size in a matter of moments.

"We're ready!" Archibald called in a deep booming voice when the sparkles disappeared. "Orson, my good man, don't dawdle!"

Orson steered Jane ahead of him with a gentle hand on her shoulder. "Come on, let's get you settled. You still have the harnesses we put in the bag last night, right?"

"Oh! Yeah, I think so." Jane thought about the smaller leather harness and reached into the bag. She found it on top, right where it should have been, and brought out the armload, handing it to him. "This one is for Wendy."

"Thanks. I'll help you get her ready."

With Shelly supervising, Jane, Orson, and Wendy managed to get the harness buckled into place. Orson hefted Jane up onto Wendy's back and taught her how to tuck herself securely under the harness strap.

"So, if I won't fall off, why do I need the strap?" Jane puzzled.

"Dude, just because you won't fall off doesn't mean you'll keep your balance. If you don't want to roll everywhere, you need to be mounted properly," Wendy explained.

"Oh. Yeah, I guess that makes sense."

Wendy shifted, settling the harness into place a little better. "So, you want to go on a test flight? See if you like it?"

Jane's stomach flip-flopped, and her mouth went dry. Trying to sound braver than she felt, she said, "Yes, please. I think that would be a good idea."

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