Orson was thankful the storms had passed; he was worried about how much the lightning had frightened Jane. He looked over at Wendy, who flew just ahead of Archibald, to watch his new friend dig through the satchel. It looked like she had found something to drink.

He calculated when they'd arrive at Applewoods yet again. The time wasn't any different than what he'd estimated five times before: about an hour before sunset. He was tired of traveling and longed to do something. Anything. Even take on a dragon.

He sighed and lay back, tucking his hands under his head, and watched the clouds. The sun was warm, his feather bed soft, and the temperature just right. It didn't take long for him to doze off. He slept until he felt Archibald bank sharply.

"Wake up, my friend!" called the big bird back to him. "We've arrived, and it looks like we have a welcome party."

Orson peered over Archibald's shoulder to see a group of bears waiting for them, muzzles raised to the sky, watching their descent. He hoped it wasn't a bad sign.

Fortunately, there was a pond off to the north of the orchard where the swans could glide gently to a halt, then swim for shore. By the time they reached the bank, the group of bears was making their way to meet them. Orson couldn't help but wonder if they would be friendly or not. Either way, he felt it would be best to meet them standing on solid ground, so he expertly slid from Archibald's back to land spryly on his feet beside his friend.

"Hey, Archibald," he said quietly. "Don't shrink down yet. We don't know if they're going to ask us to leave or not."

The swan nodded. "Good call. Wendy, the ol' girl, will follow my lead."

When Jane slid off Wendy, with Shelly on her shoulder, she made her way over to him. She immediately picked up on his mood. "Is there something wrong?"

Orson looked at her and tried to smile. "I don't know. The bears and my father have a history of conflict. I don't know if they will extend that to me immediately or if they will be willing to take me at face value."

"Oh," Jane said in a quiet voice. "So, they might ask us to leave?"

"If they're nice, they'll only ask. We will, of course, leave if they do."

The bears' expressions were impossible to read. It was a good sign, however, that they didn't seem to be armed. A bear with a pitchfork was a ferocious thing. Still, knives could be hidden in clothing, and these bears were well dressed.

When the small sleuth of bears stopped some distance from them, the biggest one, whom Orson presumed to be the leader, stepped forward. He did the same, and they met. Not knowing exactly what to say, Orson decided honesty was the best policy.

Extending his hand in greeting, he said, "Hello. I am Orson Thomas. I displeased my father, and he sent me on a quest as punishment. I hope you won't hold my relations against my friends and me."

The large brown bear dressed in a yellow vest and red pants looked him up and down. He made no move to take Orson's offered hand. "So, what did you do to piss off the high and mighty Mr. Thomas?" he asked with a chest-rattling voice.

Orson chuckled and gave him a lopsided grin. "I missed a beanstalk and let an Englishwoman into the castle. It was completely unintentional, but you know my father."

"Indeed, I do know your father, to my great displeasure."

Another smaller bear joined them. "What do they want, Johnathon?" she asked. Orson noted how her blue dress accented the fact she had blue eyes.

Jonathon sighed and rolled his eyes. "I haven't gotten that far, Arleen."

"Well, what are you waiting for?" Arleen demanded before she focused her intense gaze on Orson. "What do you want?"

"We would like to make camp for the night and barter for some apples to take with us on our trip tomorrow."

Arleen was insistent. "A trip to where?"

"The mountains."

She scoffed. "Pfft. No one goes to the mountains. There's nothing there but those furious goats and that enormous dragon. Who wants to deal with either one?"

Orson was quiet. He managed not to wince when Jane piped up. He would have preferred it if she had kept quiet.

"Enormous?" she squeaked.

Arleen and Jonathon swung their muzzles in Jane's direction, and she swallowed.

"Why do you care about the dragon?" the larger bear rumbled.

Jane glanced at Orson before continuing. "Umm... Orson's father, Mr. Thomas, has said that I can buy my way home with my weight in dragon's gold." She looked down and unconsciously shuffled a little closer to Orson.

Orson put his arm around her. "My father sent me along to keep an eye on her, not knowing that we'd become friends. In reality, I'm here to help Jane with her quest, not simply throw her to the beast."

He heard Jane say thank you quietly.

"So, you're not a raging poopy-head like your father?" Arleen asked.

Orson blinked, then laughed. "Well, I don't think so. But Jane is mad at me right now, so she might disagree." He grinned at his friend.

She punched him playfully. "I guess you're not a poopy-head."

He squeezed her shoulder before refocusing on the bears. "So, can we make camp? And then talk about apples in the morning?"

Johnathon's eyes narrowed. It was clear that he was still distrustful. But Arleen stuck her paw out. "I'm Arleen. Welcome to the Applewoods."

Orson shook her enormous paw with a firm, but not overwhelming, grip.

"Arleen..." began Johnathon.

"Oh, come on, brother. Stop being so paranoid. If poopy-head wanted to start something, do you think he'd come up with something so lame as sending people on a quest in our direction?"

Johnathon stared up at the sky for a moment and sighed. "I hope I don't regret this." He looked at Orson and offered his paw, too. "Welcome to the Applewoods. You can make camp here beside the pond so your Aerial Transport friends can swim. We offer dinner and breakfast in the Great Hall. Dinner is an hour after sunset, and breakfast is an hour after dawn. We can discuss apples, too."

Orson took his paw, too, and shook it. "Thank you very much, Sir. We will endeavor to be model guests."

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Jane looked from Orson to the big bear and back and wondered what the story was behind the bears and Mr. Thomas. But, before she could ask, Orson took her arm and guided her away. He leaned down to talk to her quietly.

"Let's look through the satchel and see what we have that we can give as gifts. We shouldn't arrive empty-handed."

"Oh, good idea!" Shelly said. "You know the bears are practical, so let's see what tools or gadgets we have. There's no telling what the previous owners might have left behind."

Jane's eyebrows shot up. "You mean there's more in there than what we put in?"

Shelly cocked her head to the side. "Well, sure. Why wouldn't there be? We're not the only people who have used it."

Jane couldn't fathom being so careless with possessions. "Some things are expensive! I'd never leave stuff behind!"

The fairy nodded. "I understand. But, 'expensive' is a relative term. Like... I think I saw a golden clockwork mouse in there. My uncle is a watchmaker, and he'd have added something like that to the bag. To him, they're not worth much because he has so many."

"Oh! A clockwork mouse!" Jane exclaimed, a wistful expression on her face. "How I'd love to have one!"

Shelly grinned as she took flight. "Then remember to take it with you when you go home, a gift from me!"

The swans busied themselves with shrinking, happy to be off duty. When Orson apologized for not inviting them to dinner, Archibald reassured him.

"Think nothing of it, ol' chap! A paddle and a dive, that's the life for me!" He waddled off to the water's edge, stepped in, then glided away.

Jane's forehead crinkled. "Paddle and dive?" she asked Wendy.

The swan chuckled. "We're going to go swimming, then dive for the grasses that grow on the bottom of the pond. That's a tasty dinner, dude! Much better than whatever the bears will serve, at least for us."

Jane smiled. "Enjoy your 'paddle and dive' then!"

Wendy gave her a little salute. "Will do, dude! See you in the mornin'!"

"Pull out the tents, Jane, and we'll pitch them while Shelly looks for presents for the bears," Orson directed.

By the time they had set up the tents, the sun was going down. They needed to be heading to dinner soon.

Orson flopped down on the grass beside Shelly and the bag, which had shrunk down to her size since Jane no longer wore it. "What did you find?"

Shelly motioned for Jane. "Come make this big again."

When Jane touched the satchel, it grew. She placed it, opened, in the center between them.

Shelly fluttered up to sit on the rim. "Okay, I saw a dagger, fishing equipment, several clockwork mice, a spyglass, a snow globe, a clock, a weather vane, and various candies, some of which I think are honey chews."

Orson rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Well, we are likely to need the dagger, fishing equipment, and the spyglass, so we shouldn't give those away. Let's take the clock and the weather vane."

Jane chimed in. "I think we should take the snow globe and honey chews. There'll be kids there, and they'll enjoy those more than the more practical things."

Shelly nodded. "Good point!" She pointed to the bag. "Okay, Jane, pull out the things we want so they're big. If I do it, they'll be tiny."

In short order, they had what they needed. Jane carried the items for the children, and Orson carried the other things. Shelly took possession of the satchel for the evening. They made their way through the orchard's trees, heading for the lively noises they heard.

Jane gasped when they found the Great Hall in the center of the orchard. It wasn't the largest building she'd ever seen by any means, but it was brightly lit and colorful. Everyone was smiling and laughing, and the food smelled amazing. Tables had been moved out to the clearing so that the pleasant weather of the evening could be enjoyed, and the lanterns all had colored glass.

When Jane saw the acrobats, she gasped. "Oh! It's like a fair!" She became enthralled with the small black bear tumblers, and Orson had to tug on her sleeve to get her to keep moving. He steered her in the bonfire's direction so that they could greet Jonathon.

"Good evening, Sir!" Orson called, stepping forward to shake his paw.

"A good evening to you as well," the big bear said in return. He eyed the things Orson and Jane were carrying but was polite enough to wait.

"We have brought a few gifts with us as a small thank you for your hospitality," Orson explained.

"What do they have?" Arleen shouted, making her way to them from across the fire.

Jonathan rolled his eyes to the sky. "I don't know, Arleen. I haven't gotten that far yet."

She tsked. "Well, why not?" She flounced to a stop between him and Orson and put her hands on her hips. "So, what did you bring?"

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