The sound of voices singing reached our ears. To my surprise, I recognized the tune: it was an old sea shanty Dad had picked up from a tourist from Marina. He often sang it to the pumpkins, claiming that it helped them grow.

"Hey, ho, to distant shores I go. To where the sea winds blow," the voices sang. "To where the ocean meets the sky, whether tides be high or low."

I hummed along as we followed the voices. Eventually we came to a wide space ablaze with light, where five small men hacked at rocks and shoveled piles of dirt. Well, four of them were working . . . the fifth was fast asleep on his feet. They stopped singing when they saw us.

"What are you kids doing down here?" one of them snapped. "Do you have a license?"

"Calm down, Crank, you're starting to sound like M.D.," said a fat dwarf with a kind face and a deep belly laugh. "They must be lost."

"M.D. sent us here," I said quickly, introducing Geoff and myself. I made sure to mention Maud and Madam Chu, too, and even Crank's frown disappeared at the sound of their names. "We're looking for diamond glass."

"What for?" asked a thin dwarf, who blushed cherry-red when we looked at him.

"I want to make shoes with it." I braced myself for the ridicule, but it only came from Crank, who rolled his eyes and threw his head back in disbelief.

One of the dwarves, who had been sitting in the dirt, looked up. He had a sweet, smiling face and curious eyes. "Diamond glass?"

"That's right, Fuzz, your favorite," the jolly dwarf said. "How much do you need, young lady? We've got plenty here and would be happy to share some."

Crank glared at him. "Hold on now, Grinnen! You know the law. Half of this loot goes to the royal treasury! We can't just give it away to every stranger who asks."

"I don't need very much," I said quickly.

The one called Fuzz jumped up from the floor. He rummaged around in a wheelbarrow and produced a silvery brick that shone in the lantern light. "Pretty," he said, holding it out to me. "Shiny."

"Fuzz, put that back!" Crank warned.

His brother ignored him and shoved the brick into my hands. "Pretty glass. Shiny shoes."

The brick felt like heavy ice in my hand. "M.D. said you knew all about melting diamond glass," I said to Fuzz. "Can you please show me?"

He nodded eagerly and held out his hand for Geoff's lantern. Taking the brick of diamond glass, he passed one corner of it through the flames. Nothing happened. "No good, see? You need special fire." From a corner of the wheelbarrow, he pulled out a stone jar that glowed with a rose-pink fire, like dancing quartz.

Geoff gasped. "That's dragon fire! How did you find it?"

"Collected it myself," Fuzz said, beaming with pride.

"He's the only one crazy enough to get near those giant lizards," Crank sneered.

Grinnen, the jolly dwarf, shook his head. "No, it's easy for him because Fuzz has a gentle heart. Animals aren't afraid of him."

I watched as Fuzz passed the same corner of the brick over the strange pink fire. Instead of melting, it merely softened. My heart pounded as I imagined shaping that glass to create the shoe I dreamed of, the one that sparkled like a thousand diamonds melted together.

"Touch it. It's not hot," Fuzz said. He pressed the corner with his thumb to show us. It made a small indentation.

Geoff and I each took a turn touching the cool, soft glass. It reminded me of the clear glue Mom used on shoes sometimes. Within seconds, the brick solidified again.

"How much would you like for it?" I asked, but Fuzz turned away, offended.

"It was a gift from Fuzz, my dear, and you should accept it as such," Grinnen explained. "Go on and take it."

"We wouldn't do anything with it, anyway. Just keep it to look at," said the shy dwarf, who reddened again when I glanced at him.

"Are you sure this is okay?" I asked anxiously. "You're supposed to give the queen half of everything you find, aren't you?"

"Not to worry, young lady. We found four bricks today, so we'll give her two," said Grinnen.

Fuzz tapped me on the shoulder and handed me a tiny stone jar. He tipped his own jar over it and three small pebbles rolled out, glowing pink-hot.

"Fire never goes out," he said.

The heat warmed my face, but the jar felt perfectly cool. I bent down to hug Fuzz. "Thank you very much, Fuzz."

"You are Maudie's friend," he said simply.

Crank was still scowling. "That's enough fluffy stuff. Let's get back to work." He punched the sleeping dwarf, who woke with a start, sputtering.

"Yes, you should probably go," Grinnen agreed. "The queen's guards sometimes patrol down here and we don't want you to get in trouble."

Geoff and I thanked them again and began retracing our steps back to the surface.

I studied the jar Fuzz had given me. The polished stones were no bigger than my little fingernail, but gave off surprisingly strong flames. "What are these?"

"Stones from a dragon's throat," Geoff explained. "All dragons have them. It's what helps them breathe fire. Baby dragons cough small ones like those out when they're growing bigger ones. It's like us losing baby teeth. And it's true what he said . . . that fire will never go out."

When we finally came back into the sunlight, we found nothing but carriage tracks from where Jessaline had left in a hurry. I guessed that she had gone back to Irisia with all due speed, and couldn't help grinning when I pictured Sloane confronting Maud about the dragon.

Geoff and I hiked the rest of the way to his knight school, where we spent the afternoon exploring the places where he practiced and studied. My best friend seemed to fit right in, and he glowed with pride when I told him so.

"Knight school was definitely the right decision for me," he said, as he walked me back down the mountain that evening. "What about you and C.A.F.E.?"

"I'm more cut out to be a fairy godmother than a knight, that's for sure," I joked.

He cackled. "And you were so jealous when I got accepted and you couldn't even apply!"

"Well, I still think some girls would make great knights. Just not me." I gave him a big hug when we were back in front of the tavern. "Will I see you at home in December?"

"I won't be in Indigo, and neither will you. The King's Festival, remember? The big Christmas ball." He grinned and puffed his chest out. "Our queen is going and she's bringing a few trainee knights as part of her guard. I was selected especially."

"I'll see you there, then," I said, amused. "Maud and I don't have a client to parade in front of Prince Christopher yet, but I'm sure she's got a plan."

We said goodnight and I went into the tavern, which was completely empty except for M.D. He stood alone behind the counter, wiping glasses.

"I knew Fuzz would help you out!" he said, smiling when I showed him the diamond glass and the fire. "Do you feel ready to make your shoes?"

I took a seat. "I'm going home to Indigo soon for a client visit. I'll consult with my mom before I start, since she's the real expert. By the way, I liked your brothers a lot."

"Even Crank?" He chuckled, ladling soup into a bowl for me. "Who was your favorite?"

"Fuzz, definitely," I said, gulping down the hot, delicious soup.

"He has a big heart, my Fuzz." M.D. studied me as he wiped down the counter. "You seem to be quite the shoemaker, coming all this way for materials. Are you sure you want to be a fairy godmother?"

I thought for a moment, blowing the steam that swirled over my soup. "I do like my internship a lot," I said at last. "I love helping Maud, and I love traveling. But . . . I guess . . . I do miss making shoes and growing pumpkins a little." My own words surprised me, because I hadn't even realized they were true until I said them out loud.

M.D.'s eyes danced with laughter. "I saw what you did with that pumpkin out there. It seems you've got quite a knack for it."

"I mean, I do like the idea of being a fairy godmother. But I feel like I'll betray Maud if I go home after the internship. And I'll betray Mom and Dad if I abandon the family business." I sighed and looked down into my soup. "I don't know what to do."

The dwarf shook his head. "Stop thinking about what everyone else wants. The whole point of you leaving home is to think about what you want."

"I want both. I want everything," I said, shrugging helplessly. "But that's impossible . . . isn't it?"

"Is it? Is it so different from me wanting to work in the mines and run this inn at the same time?"

I considered this. "I guess not."

"It's getting late, Noelle. You should go to bed if you want to return to Maud at a decent hour tomorrow," M.D. said kindly. "But I will say this one last thing. You might need a magic wand to help you turn that pumpkin into a carriage, and maybe you'll even need it to make those glass shoes. But you won't need one to turn your life into a life that you want."

Later, his words echoed in my ears as I lay awake in the darkness. And when I finally drifted off, I didn't dream about shoes. Instead, I saw the rolling fields of Indigo wrapped around the wandwood tree like a blanket of grass.

I returned to Heliotropia the next morning in my slightly worse-for-wear-but-still-functional pumpkin carriage. The dwarves had helped me reinforce the springy vine wheels with metal supports and I bounced into the courtyard to the amusement of Maud, Muffet, and pretty much everyone who lived in the castle. Alfonso laughed so hard, he had to lie down. I think I liked him better as a frog.

Maud was feeling much better and had been allowed to get out of bed, on the condition that she take it easy. She told me our C.A.F.E. carriage had been fully repaired, with brand-new wheels. I told her about the proof that Sloane and Jessaline had stolen our good carriage.

She let out a heavy sigh. "I should have believed you. Forgive me, Noelle."

I waved away the apology. "All that matters is that we know for sure now. And if they ever give us any trouble, we'll just mention Deathgrip," I added with a wink.

A few days later, we climbed into the restored C.A.F.E. carriage for the journey to Irisia.

Muffet, who had missed me while I was away, curled up in my lap. "You know, I think I'm going to miss that frog," he said.

Maud sighed. "I'll miss him, too."

They both looked at me.

"What?" I said. "Okay, fine, I guess I'll miss him, too."

We spent the ride discussing our tasks in the months ahead.

"We'll file a client report and then you're free to go to Indigo," Maud told me. "Visit your parents if you like, and then see Princess Cynthia. I'm curious about what you'll find."

Muffet lifted his head suddenly. "Before Noelle goes home, wasn't there something you needed her to get you from the Tented Market, Maud?"

The fairy godmother frowned. "I don't remember. Let me see if I made a shopping list."

The moment she buried her head in her bag, the cat looked gleefully at me and mouthed "Kit," as though I didn't know what he was up to.

"You're a nosy little busybody who should mind his own business," I whispered, but couldn't help hugging him. He put his two front paws around my neck and hugged me back.