"I'm back!" Rosie yelled, entering grandly into the cottage.
There was no response.
"Hello?" she called. "Anyone home?"
Again, no response. Now that was odd. The aunts would never have left the cottage, not when Rosie was in the woods. They had one time, the first time she had twisted her ankle. She had hobbled back to the cottage crying, and when she got back there was no one there to comfort her. Rosie had sobbed until the aunts had returned. They'd patched her up and promised never to leave while she was in the woods.
They would never have broken their promise. They had never broken a promise before, and she had no reason to believe they ever would.
They would never have left.
Except that they were gone, without a trace.
Tweet tweet! called Zazzles from her shoulder.
"I don't know where they are, Zazz," Rosie replied to her bird. "I just hope that they're alright."
Just then, she heard a bump in the next room, then a crash.
"Hello?" Rosie called nervously. "Who's there?"
"Rosie?" called out a familiar voice muddled with sleep. "Is that you?"
"Yes Flora!" Rosie called back. "Yes, it's me!"
"Oh my dear, I'm sorry!" said Flora, coming out of her bedroom as Fauna and Merryweather came out of theirs. "You must have been so worried! I don't know what happened. One second we were in the living room reading, then poof! I was waking up from my bed to you calling out! Do you girls remember anything?"
"Not a bit!" Merryweather said. "Not one thing!"
"I wonder what happened," Rosie muttered. "Oh well. Anyway, I have a question about the castle."
"Ask away, dear, and we'll attempt to answer," Fauna replied helpfully.
"Would it be okay if I brought Zazzles?" Rosie asked.
"What? Who?" Merryweather responded, puzzled.
"Zazzles," answered Rosie. The aunts looked at her with blank faces. "You know, my bird? The one that flew into the forest? The reason why I go in there nearly every day?"
"Is that why you kept going in there?" asked Flora. "I always wondered, but I never knew for sure."
"Yes," Rosie answered. "Zazzles is why I kept going in. Zazzles, say hello."
Tweet tweet! he chirped cheerfully.
Fauna laughed. "Hello little fellow!" she said delightedly. "How are you?"
Tweet tweet! he chirped again.
"That's wonderful," Fauna seemingly replied.
Tweet! Zazzles interrupted. Tweet tweet!
"Alright, then," Fauna said. "I won't worry."
"What about?" asked Rosie.
Tweet! answered Zazzles.
"Huh?" Rosie murmured.
"He said you," Fauna replied. "He said he had been taking care of you in the woods, and he would do the same in the castle."
"Oh good!" Rosie said happily. Then a thought occurred to her. "You can speak bird?"
"Yes," Fauna answered. "I can communicate with any living creature."
