Anna's eyes lit up. "What?"
"You'll see soon enough."
As if his words were a starting gun, they flew into the sky together toward the second star on the left. Faster than Anna thought possible, they broke through the realms and landed back in the world where magic was a part of everyday life. She flew happily next to Chris over the meadows, which were in full bloom and filled with many busy fairies. Anton was lying near the fairy tree in the meadow, waving to her as she flew on with the captain toward the coast where the Fortuna was waiting for them.
When they landed on deck, there was no trace of the crew, but there was a table that had been set. A few appetizers were waiting between the plates and wine glasses, and three candles were burning next to them. Anna's eyes lit up. "Tell me Johnny was performing his magic in the galley again."
"Aye, madam. And this time he outdid himself."
Anna transformed into human form and slipped on the pirate boots that were waiting next to the table. She was hungry and ready to dig into the delicacies, but before she could sit down, Chris took her by the hand and pulled her to the railing. He leaned against it and pointed to the sun setting into the endless sea. They watched the play of colors in silence for a while. They had seen it so many times, but it was always a pleasure to see the glowing fireball sinking into the sea.
"After solving the disappearance of the fairies, we could move on to a new adventure," Anna mused as they stared out at the vastness of the ocean. She wanted to travel the entire sea kingdom with Chris and explore every nook and cranny of the world.
"Aye, and could you be more specific, madam?"
"How about we finally find the island you've been searching for all this time?"
"An excellent idea. But we still have a lot to do first."
A lot? Anna frowned. "What's on your mind?"
He picked her up ravenously and carried her to the captain's cabin. "We have to make up for all the time we missed."
"We do, do we?" Anna laughed, setting his eyes ablaze.
"Aye, and it's best we get started." Before they even got to the cabin, she wrapped her arms around his neck and he pressed his lips to hers. Chris's kisses were the loveliest ones that Anna had ever received. Shivers coursed through her body and she hoped it would always be this way. Who could have imagined that back when he'd fished her out of the water, an extraordinary love story would follow?
Many years later, people would still tell the story of the pirate and the fairy who fell in love. How the love between the two first upended the world and then saved the fairies. It was Ani and Chris's story and it would never be forgotten.
