The water was clear and blue. When I peeked over the side of the bed I saw strange fish swimming below us. They had long snouts and small fins, and most of them were purple and yellow. The fish were sprinting through tubes made of something spongy and, every once in awhile, they jumped above the water to do a flip.
I saw that that we were in a small pond. The bank had bright emerald grass and a group of houses that were the size of dog houses, but fancy as mansions.
At the far edge of the pond was a flat stone with dozens of glowing lights dancing around on top of it. They were the same lights that had flown by us during my "landing". They were moving in a way that even the best Christmas lights in the world couldn't mimic.
"Why aren't we sinking?" asked Soy.
But before he got an answer, the bed started to float towards the stone platform. I got a closer look at the lights and realized that they weren't just lights. They had a human shape, with one big difference.
"Are those over-sized fireflies?" Soy asked.
"I think... those are fairies," I said, when I saw their wings.
"That's right," said Deli, "Pavidale is the home of the fairies."
"... Do you ever do anything normal?" Soy asked.
The fairies wings were glowing brightly, and you could almost see right through them. Their ears were tall and pointy on the sides of their long faces. Each fairy had its own colorful glow, and they all hummed with excitement as we drifted closer. Without a sound, the bed tapped the edge of the stone.
I guessed that the fairies must be about six inches tall. Almost all of them were a shade of green or blue, but there were a few yellow and red ones, too. There was only one pink fairy, and its glow was stronger than any of the others. The pink fairy floated forward from inside the crowd.
"Allow me to introduce, Tryt," Deli said as she gestured towards the pink fairy.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Miss Tryt," Soy said, bowing his head low behind me.
"We have waited a long time for your arrival. Although, I had hoped that you both would have learned some manners by now. Just because a fairy is pink, does not mean that it is a female," Tryt said.
Soy picked his head up and blushed. As we stepped off the bed onto the stone, the fairies swarmed us. They fluttered and giggled, and gossiped in whispers.
"Come now," commanded Tryt, "leave them be. They've traveled far, and there's much to do before they leave."
I had never seen a place like this before. There was something magical and comforting and serene about it. I wasn't ready to think about leaving anytime soon. We followed Tryt down a wide, tan road. He flew low to the ground, at the same height as Deli's hops.
Tryt had a regal look about him. He wore a magnificent clear robe that glimmered (with holes in the back for his wings). Somehow he always seemed to be talking down to us, even when he was speaking from a few feet below.
"There were some fairies here who were beginning to wonder if you'd ever find him," Tryt said to Deli.
"Yes, well. It's just that, I needed to be certain," she responded meekly.
After a long pause, Tryt spoke again. "Of course," he said calmly, "I knew you wouldn't fail with so much at stake."
Tyrt led us to a circular building much bigger than the houses, with pillars and some letters above the entrance that I did not recognize. As we walked through, I discovered there was no roof in the center, just an open garden with a round table. Around the table were four chairs that looked like they were made of glass.
"The pond fairies will take care of your bed. Although I must say, we did not expect you to land so abruptly," he said to me. "Have a seat and let us get down to business."
