Amy flew as quickly as she could, but her tiny body and small wings could just not fly very fast.
"I know, " squeaked Amy. "I can just use my magic!"
Amy closed her eyes tightly, and wished that she was at Mara's cave. She grunted in fierce concentration, picturing the entrance in her mind. Suddenly she felt very light, and her skin tingled as she blinked out of existence.
Amy reappeared in the forest, closer to Mara's cave, but still quite a distance from it. She felt a little tired, but otherwise fine.
"Cool!" she said excitedly. "It works! I really can do magic. But it looks like I need a little practice. I didn't make it all the way to Mara's cave. Oh well, practice makes perfect."
She concentrated again, and slowly warped her way towards Mara's cave.
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Mary was still sleeping, when she heard some annoying insect buzzing by her head. She kept her eyes closed, trying to return to blissful sleep, and idly swatted at the bug. But the bug was persistent, and the noise almost sounded like words. She slowly opened her eyes. When she saw the fairy hovering in front of her beak she thought she was still sleeping and this was just some strange dream. Then it spoke.
"Mara, it's me. Amy, " squeaked the small creature.
Mary's jaw dropped. The foolish child had used the vials, and turned herself into some kind of fairy. Mary hadn't even known that was possible. It seemed incredibly dangerous for a child to use powerful magic like that. She tried to warn Amy, to beg her to use the vial to become human again before it was too late, but all that came out was a series of caws and squawks.
"Mara, Mara, calm down, " said Amy. "I still can't understand you. I know. I can just use my magic."
Amy closed her eyes in concentration, and wished that Mara could speak human English. Mary stared in shock as Amy began to glow bright yellow, and sparkles of dust began to drip off of her body. Amy opened her eyes, and saw the dust. She flew over Mary, and began to sprinkle the dust over Mary's head.
Mary began to hack and cough. She cleared her throat, and said, " Stop that, Amy. It's making me choke."
Amy and Mary stared at each other in shock. Mary could talk again! Amy was ecstatic, but Mary was even more concerned. If the vials had given her the magic to do that, what else could she do now? A child with the magical powers of a fairy? The thought was incredibly frightening to Mary.
"Amy, what have you done to yourself? You have to reverse it before you get hurt, " said Mary.
Amy scoffed. "Oh, pshaw. I'm fine. In fact, I feel great. I have tons of energy, and now I can do magic. We don't have anything to worry about."
Suddenly, they both heard the sounds of several vehicles pulling up outside Mary's cave. The sound of car doors opening and closing was quickly followed by the gruff voices of men and the cocking of guns.
"Oh, yeah, " said Amy softly. "I was having so much fun I almost forgot about them. That's why I came over here. To warn you about them."
Mary scowled. "Them? Who are them?"
"Just some hunters. My stupid brother told them about you for some money. Now they want to stuff you and mount you. Or maybe just capture you. I'm not sure. I couldn't really hear what they were saying, " said Amy.
Mary crept to the edge of the cave and looked out. The men had formed a perimeter around the cave. They were still being cautious, plotting how to safely enter the cave. Mary quickly retreated to the cover of darkness.
"Shit, " said Mary. "What the Hell am I going to do now?"
"Ooooo, you said a swear word, Mara, " said Amy, covering her mouth with her hands and giggling. "I didn't think magical creatures could say things like that. At least the ones on TV don't."
"This isn't TV, kid. It's real life. And my name isn't MARA, it's MARY, " said Mary.
"Mary? What kind of name is MARY for a Gryphon?" said Amy.
"Just please be quiet, " said Mary. "I need to think of a way out of here."
"I know. I'll just use my magic on those Hunters, and wish them all away, " said Amy, as she began to fly towards the entrance.
Mary grabbed her tiny body, and pulled her back into the cave.
"Oh no, I think we have had just about enough magic for one day, " said Mary. She had no idea what Amy had intended to do with her magic, but she didn't think it would be a good idea to let a small child wield such awesome power on innocent people.
"Maybe I can just rush by them, catch them by surprise, and use my speed to get by, " mumbled Mary.
"I know. I know. I can just wish you past them. It's how I got here and beat them to the cave, " said Amy.
"You can teleport? " asked Mary with shock.
"Well, sort of. I kind of jump around when I do it, and I don't always end up where I want to, " said Amy.
Mary shuddered at the thought of ending up inside a rock or tree, fused in some misguided teleportation accident.
"Thanks, but I'll pass. You don't even know if you have enough magic to move other things, especially something as big as me. Besides, you have used enough magic for today. You should probably rest up and recharge, " said Mary.
Amy nodded her head. To a child, it made perfect sense. Fairies were always resting to restore their magic in the movies. Amy flew to the back of the cave and sat down.
"Maybe I can make you a fairy like me, " said Amy.
"Did you bring any of the vials? " asked Mary. She dared to hope that the small child had brought the "Human" vial to use on herself.
"No, " said Amy glumly. "They were too heavy. I left them back at our farm."
Mary sulked, and continued to watch the hunters outside her cave. A few of them were slowly approaching the cave, while the others hid, ready to provide cover with their guns if needed.
"Hey, " said Amy. "Why don't we just go out this way?"
Mary turned, and saw Amy hovering in the air. She glowed slightly, and Mary saw a small hole at the rear of the cave. It would be a tight squeeze, but she could make it through.
"What's on the other side? " asked Mary, as she retreated to the rear of the cave.
Amy quickly flew through the hole, her tiny body easily making it through. She returned with a smile.
"It's a really big cavern. It seems to go on forever. But it is really dark, " said Amy.
"That shouldn't be a problem for me, " said Mary, tapping her eagle eyes with advanced vision. "Even if it doesn't lead out, we can at least hide from the hunters in there. Let's go, " said Mary, as she worked her way through the hole and into the dark abyss beyond.