Chapter Twelve – The Fairy of Iglis, or the Keeper of the Iglis Trees

I sighed, annoyed that Kya was going to be stubborn. But I was going to get back to America, whether she was or not. Soon, snow started falling, lightly at first, and then very hard. But I was determined to keep going; going west. I continued walking for several hours, and when I felt I could go no further, I looked at my watch. It was ten-thirty at night! Up ahead, I saw a faint light. Hoping it was a warm house, I continued trudging through the now nearly waist deep snow; it seemed I was getting nowhere. And then, in front of me, there was a neat little cottage. Smoke came from the chimney, and there was light inside the house. I walked up to the door, and my hands were almost too numb to knock. But I knocked, and the door was opened by a kind looking elderly lady.
“Good heavens, child! What are you doing in such weather?” she asked, leading me inside.
“Can I please tell you after I've had something to eat, and warmed up a bit?” I asked; my teeth were chattering horribly!
“Of course, child. I shall get you something to eat.” She busied herself with getting me food, and I walked over to the fireplace to warm up. A little while later, she had some stew, bread and butter and milk waiting on the table for me. As I ate, I told her all that had happened, ending with,
“And I shall sleep better than lazy Kya tonight!” The old woman chuckled and said,
“Now I shall tell you who I am. I am the Fairy of Iglis, also the keeper of the Iglis trees, perhaps I can help you some, to find the Great Iglis Tree. Though I can not tell you precisely where the tree is, I have a faint idea of it's whereabouts.” I sighed a sigh of relief, perhaps she could help me. And then I could get home. She led me to a bed which looked very inviting, so I layed down after thanking her.
The whole night I could not sleep, the fairy slept well, for she was snoring loudly. But it was not her snoring that kept me awake; I was thinking about Kya. Wishing she were here with me, and how uncomfortable she must be. In the morning, I told the fairy,
“I am going to go and bring my friend here. I must.” The fairy smiled at me,
“You can't. It is snowing too much, you could not possibly go out in this weather.”
But I had made up my mind,
“I will go. I will bring her here, if you do not mind.”
The old fairy nodded and smiled, and patted my shoulder,
“You are always welcome here, child. But you best be off. Do you have any food to bring with you?”
“I do.” I replied, and then after thanking her again, I set off to find Kya. I used my compass to get myself back to her, and for hours and hours I trudged through the snow. The snow was still falling harshly; and then, to my great dismay, I dropped my cellphone in the snow and couldn't find it.
“That does it. That does it, Kya. You lazy, annoying girl! You should have come with me in the first place!” I grumbled as I searched through the snow. But it was no use, I just gave up and continued. Then, I saw that faint light in the distance, which was the fire of Alice's. I made a big X in the snow as before, and headed slowly over to the cave. I looked inside, and there was Kya asleep and Alice was asleep. I was angry, I had gone through all that trouble and Kya apparently slept better than myself.
“Kya!” I almost yelled her name, Kya jerked up and rubbed her eyes.
“Jess? What are you doing here?”
“You, lazy Kya, were sleeping the morning away while I went several hours out of my way in this blizzard to come and get you. That is what I am doing here!” I said it in a very angry and annoyed voice, and by this time, Alice was awake too and was listening.
“I'm sorry, Jess...”
“You better be sorry!” I snapped back, interrupting her.
“Did you sleep anywhere last night?” Kya asked me.
“Yes, in a fairy's house, but I could not sleep one wink last night because I was thinking how uncomfortable you must have been, and how I wished you were with me. But you were sleeping like a log, and I worried for nothing!” I picked up a stone off the cave floor and flung it into the snow. Kya looked ashamed of herself.
“And I have not finished either. I dropped my cellphone in the snow and I could not find it. So where is your cellphone? I will take care of it now.” I stated. Kya took her cellphone out and turned the power on, it flashed a message that said,
'Battery too low. Shutting down.'
Kya tried to not let me see it, but I saw.
“That does it Kya. Why did you let your battery run down?” I demanded an answer.
“Well, uh, I was showing all my apps to Alice and I played a few games....”
“Well, now we will not be able to get there very easy without a compass, just great.” I sighed and felt like throwing a bunch of snowballs at her.
“Perhaps this can help you..” Alice said, pulling a compass out of her bag. I sighed a sigh of relief!
“Thank you, Alice. That should help!” And soon, Kya and I were off on our way. Though I was still irritated with her.