Her mom kissed the girls' cheeks and spoke chidingly," Girls, are you going anywhere after this." Jade laughed and Julia shrugged noncommittedly. "MOm, can't i keep anything from you?" Mrs Lake looked at her pointedly while she continued, "Alright. We're going to explore the mysterious forest behind the Hotel." Mrs Lake frowned in concentration," The forest rumored to be the home of the fairies? (Jade nodded) well, girl, you better be careful. I don't want to wake up in the middle of the night to feel your death." Mrs Lake, like Jade, was a witch and her strongest power was empathetic projection and reception.
"Mom, don't worry. I'll be safe, i'm not exactly defenceless, you know. Besides i thought fairies all are good-natured?" Jade reassured her mom as Julia stood beside her uneasily. "Well ya. But fairies are playful in nature too, and they might play a trick on you. Be careful nevertheless ok? Now go change out of your costumes."
Hurriedly, they ran into Jade's room. Julia borrowed a pair of black long pants and tee from Jade while Jade dressed casually. In a few minutes, they were running back to the car. Gabriel started the engine and drove towards the forest. The foursome were excited about the adventure. Jade noticed that Gabriel's eyes kept fixed on her in the car mirror and smiled dazzingly at him. He flushed and quickly focused on the road.
What's wrong with me? I've never stared at a girl for so long. Granted she's really beautiful, but still... Gabriel sighed. Julia was chattering to Ted who was showing a great deal of interest in her conversation. Jade still couldn't shake the uneasy feeling of Ted's seemingly interest in Julia. And Julia was still ignoring her advice. Jade finally resigned to fate and swore by Earth, Air, Fire and Water to be there for Julia if ever there's the need.
Soon they reached the entrance of the forest and Gabriel parked his car in a dark corner. The forest looked mysterious with the full moon hanging above it. There was no sounds from the forest, but they could see there was a trail in front of them. Each of them had taken a torchlight from the car and with Gabriel leading, they entered the forest. Jade and Julia were in the middle while Ted was behind them.
At the beginning, all they could see were dark figures of trees and bushes. Owls hooted through the night and the sounds of the forest insects were heard. But as they walked more towards the core of the forest, a magical melody could be heard. They all grinned at one another. Jade spoke excitedly in her sweet melodious voice," Let's go and be friends with the fairies!" They agreed simanteously and followed the melody to a part of the forest that seemed somewhat brighter.
As Ted ran to where Gabriel stood, Jade thought she heard something to her left and followed the sound. Suddenly she came upon a small clearing and saw to her surprise, a sparkling fairy floating in the centre of the clearing. Unsure to how to greet a fairy, she stood quietly watching the fairy.
