Belle was staring at amazement in her lesson. She glanced up at her larger cousin, with the strangest expression that seemed lock on her form.
"Do you need winding?" asked Ricky concerned.
"No... it's not that. I... I can read." She said still staring at the large paper in front of her. "It's all... all so clear to me now."
The little clockwork girl was in so much awe as everything just.. seemed to make sense. Words were no longer a jumble, but all in perfect order....
Lilly looked at her branch. The idea of magic- whatever magic was present in the branch fading made her feel unhappy. She was back home, and tried to call Jenny but she was sleeping. She should be sleeping too actually.
"Good night my girl..." Said Leslie with a gentle kiss on her forehead.
"'Night dad," She said though her eyes glanced to her wardrobe sadly, where she kept the branch.
"What's wrong sweety? We had a good time didn't we?"
The squirrel girl nodded. "Oh -yeah. It's just..." How could she explain it? "Dad? What if... you found a special plant an' you want to make more of it?"
Leslie smiled. This was his area of knowledge "Oh, there are many ways... plants are very strong."
"Could you.. could you grow this?" She shyly showed the tree branch opening her cupboard.
Leslie nodded looking it over. "Well, with the right conditions... yes. I actually have some root powder downstairs... wait a moment."
The biologist returned, with a container. "Just cut the end of a twig... and put this powder around the cut end. Then put it on your window. She will need a lot of sunlight. If you're lucky, she should grow. But you'll have to water it carefully. There's no guarantee..."
The little girl nodded as she took the powder. She used her teeth, to chew off an end of the branch, leaving a piece that was about the size of her hand. With her father's help and expertise they placed it inside a pot on her window sill, resting on fertile soil.
"Strange... a blue branch." thought Leslie. His daughter must have painted it. Well it wouldn't do any harm...
Jeff placed the egg gently back in the pool. He wasn't sure what Wanda wanted to to with it in the end, but leaving it where it was was the best thing to do for now. Still looking at the mermaid he couldn't help but think there was something he was forgetting... oh...
Oh crap!
He was supposed to get some clothes for her!
He could leave it for tomorrow- no... no, he's done enough damage. He needed to get to the mall now, and return quickly. Glancing at his watch, he had an hour and a half until sunrise. It would be extremely close, but he was going to do it. He already lost everything else, losing Wanda was not going to happen.
He practically ran to his car, revving the engine. He dove, but he was already encountering the rush hour traffic. He wasn't the only one going fast, everyone sped when sunrise was less then two hours away.
Damn it this was taking a lot longer then he thought!
He glanced at his watch once more. "Just enough time... just get the right clothes for her and get back."
