Sarah wanted to call, but she felt it would be too loud now. Except for a soft wind above the grass canopy, it seemed all sound in the world had stopped. She didn't even hear popping sounds anymore. Were dangers still around? It was so dark that Sarah wondered if it was possible for Dip to find her again. When she was a giant, all the grass looked the same.

Time wore on, but, in deciding to stay put, Sarah wrapped her arms around her. She was helpless in a world filled with creatures who could actually see and do something for themselves right now. It made her wish Dip was right. If she had retained some kind of 'giant' powers, she would be fine small. She could hit things really hard, or jump really high. She couldn't remember which of her father's comic books it was, but she recalled a superhero like that.

She wanted superheroes to be real now, too, if only for a flicker of momentary hope a human could be magical.

The wind above ceased. Then the moonlight faded behind a cloud so that the grass blade in front of her disappeared. To keep a grip on her sanity, she strained her ears for a sound. Any sound at all. She couldn't tell how long the silence dragged on while doing this. It occurred to her, however, that she couldn't hear crickets, or any bug sounds for that matter.

And before she wondered why, she heard a flutter, then a hard crunch onto the tiny rocks and soil behind her. She could only tell it came from above. Maybe Dip had come back?

Sarah's mouth almost opened, then didn't. If it was Dip, wouldn't she have said something?

The footsteps were approaching. In renewed fear, Sarah covered her head with her arms, and pressed herself against the pebble. She also prayed her breathing wasn't too loud.

Then a soft sigh, like the wind, came from behind the barrier between them. A voice followed, almost like a violin in the distance strumming out a gentle, low note. "Sarah."

Her heart accelerated. This creature knew her name. Did it overhear her and Dip talking? Were they being watched this whole time? Was it a goblin? Or was it one of Dip's friends? If it was, what kind of friend was it?

The voice didn't speak, and had stopped approaching. It was for too long of a beat, and Sarah didn't know why it was doing it. She wanted to look to figure it out... but no, she thought. She didn't want it approaching. Not approaching was a good thing.

Yet its voice... it didn't sound bad.

Her mind whirred in panic.

"Hmm..." the creature's voice had turned away, looking off somewhere. "Yes. It seems she can't return."

Sarah kept silent, uncertain what that meant except that it knew what happened to Dip which wasn't good. That couldn't have been good at all.

She then heard the creature continue its approach, and Sarah finally cried in response, "No! Stay away!"

The footsteps stopped once more. She heard the flutter again, and a slight wind passed by her arms as the voice spoke. "We see a chaotic song about you. Very easy to distinguish. We encourage some practice in restraint." It paused, as if considering its next words. During this, Sarah tried to understand what it said. Then it continued, "Ah. It's confusion now. Has the pixie not spoken of us?"

"Of us?" Sarah repeated, dumbfounded by its formal speech. Was it speaking for its whole tribe or just itself?

The creature didn't respond. Perhaps it was reading her 'song' again. Whatever that meant. It was scary enough.

"Chaos again. Is it actually fear?"

"Y...yes." This creature spoke its questions like statements. It was as if it had no interest in conversing or had an obligation to do so which bored it. This made it hard to tell if it cared. "...Who are you?" Sarah whimpered. "No... nevermind. What happened to Dip? You know what happened right? I... I want to know, too. What did you do to Dip?"

There was another fluttering breeze. After another brief pause, it sighed once more. "First... we have done nothing. She's informed us that where she falls is her own choice, and to not interfere."

"Dip... Dip fell?" Died? "N... no..." Sarah didn't think she could curl in on herself anymore.

"...It was a lamentable squander of our instruction, we assure you."

Sarah cried into her sleeves.

This continued for a little before the creature responded, "I see. Apologies. We did not realize her magical capabilities mattered to you to this extent."

"Of course they mattered!" Sarah muffled out from between her knees. "Who is going to make me big again with her gone? She's the only one who knew who could make me big again. And now... I have no one to trust."

"Ah." There was another flutter and some wind. "I see she has not told you anything at all." The tone, although flat, seemed disappointed. It made Sarah feel guilty for some reason. The creature added, "Well, it is no matter at present."

Its steps approached once more. Sarah's heart and mind were too shattered to stop it again. Dip was gone, and whatever these creatures were knew everything from the beginning, and were going to take her wherever they wanted instead. She didn't even care to look anymore. There were many fantasy creatures, and so many things it could be. Dip knew so many people. And this creature seemed so cold to her.

No, she no longer cared what it was. She was probably going to die anyway.

She kept sniffling as it leaned over the rock. Its voice above her now, she heard the distinct, low timbre which females couldn't reach. "My lady," he said. "Your song is somber, but we have no time to console."

Sarah whimpered back.

"We... I am not amused by her associate, and refuse to allow her to rely on him as a safe harbor."

"W...what do you mean?" How could this creature be so confusing?

"By your trust, allow me to escort you onward."

So formal. It was almost chivalrous. "But who are you?" Sarah asked, looking up into a pair of glowing lavender eyes just a few heads away from her own. The intensity pierced into her mind, stunning her into silence. Somehow, they said 'trust me, please' without saying anything. And Sarah, almost hypnotized by their depth, even considered agreeing in spite of her fears.

Then, a far off rustle broke her eye contact. A small light was approaching.

The creature above her whispered, "Sarah."

"Y...yes?" She was terrified once more.

"Dip put trust in a goblin after she fell. Do you trust goblins?"

She indeed did not trust goblins. Was the light approaching a goblin? She had never read anything good about them.

He added, "Or would you mistrust a pixie for putting trust in goblins?"

The light was shaped like a little spirit slowly dancing in and out of view between the tree-like grass.

"I'll tell you now before you fret any longer... That is Dipity."

“Dip’s not dead?” Sarah whispered. "Dip!" The ball stopped briefly, then came toward them with a more direct course.

"Yes," he said, "Definitely. Such an unstable shape for her light spell. I am surprised she's still singing."

"Dip!" Sarah called, but it didn't change the ball's speed. Sarah took in a breath to call again.

"Refrain. She is going to bring you to a goblin."

Sarah's breath exhaled as a "Huh?" She looked back up at the creature again. He had leaned over the rock to the extent his hair got in her eyes. "Hey!" She brushed it out of the way. "Why are you so close?" Their eyes locked again, but his weren't glowing anymore.

Even still, she could see some touch of wavering patience in them. "Will you humor me and listen?" She saw the flutter of two translucent butterfly wings behind him. "I didn't think you'd be this--"

Sarah gasped in, stopping him. "Oh!" The tension in Sarah's mind had broken down from the realization. "You're a fairy!"

"...Your sudden, positive reception in this situation is tiring." It was so subtle, but his eyes indicated some kind of vexation. "I do not wish her to know of my intervention."

Sarah looked back to the light. She trusted him now that she knew Dip was okay, though she wasn't sure whether she trusted Dip trusting a goblin. It backtracked on her assumption that Dip was a good pixie. "Do you know Dip, too?"

"Please, my lady. Decide."

Pressured, Sarah needed to place trust once more. Did Sarah want to stay around Dip if she was going to rely on goblins? How would goblins get her to the Fairy Kingdom? Didn't goblins hate fairies? It certainly seemed fairies were leery of goblins.

No, besides that. It only just dawned on her: She was inches away from a fairy now. Or, rather, millimeters. Whatever! He was one of the very creatures she wanted to go to in the first place. He could know who to talk to at their kingdom far better than Dip, right? He definitely knew more fairies than Dip. And he was even talking in a gentile manner, albeit seeming cold. Somehow, his eyes did not reflect pure ice, and it intrigued her. Dip did say something about how fairies acted 'oh-so-perfect'. Perhaps this stoic lack of emotional display was just a barrier of misunderstanding?

Ever so slightly, his eyes narrowed at Sarah's massive pause of consideration. It was odd to see such a small shift in composure translate into an immense amount of exasperation. When his wings fluttered again, it made Sarah squeak out a reply: