In the Hall of Winter, just outside the Keeper’s chamber doors, Tinker Bell listened carefully. She had followed the winter fairy all the way there, and he was speaking with the Keeper now.

“It came from the warm side, in one of the baskets,” she heard him say. Then he turned to fly off. “Have a good day!” he called back to the Keeper.

Once the fairy was out of sight, Tinker Bell quietly stepped inside the chamber. But the floor was slippery. It was made entirely of ice. Tinker Bell could barely stand up.

She clung to a wall and struggled to get her balance. As she steadied herself, she noticed a soft purring noise coming from behind her. Slowly, she turned around.…

An enormous snowy lynx was just inches from her face! Tinker Bell clapped her hand over her mouth. But when the creature snored, she realized it was asleep. Sighing with relief, Tinker Bell backed away…

…and slipped on the ice! “Ahhh!” she cried as she slid down into the frozen depths of the hall. She kept sliding and sliding, until finally she crashed into a large stack of ice books against the wall. She breathed heavily for a moment. This was not going as well as she’d hoped. She staggered to her feet and looked around.

What she saw took her breath away. She was in a grand library, bigger than any room she had ever seen. Thousands of books lined the walls, and stacks of frosty parchments towered in every corner. Several large ice tablets teetered on the edges of their shelves, held in place by even more books and papers piled on top. It was incredible!

Across the room, Tinker Bell spotted the wing book that the winter fairy had dropped off. She began to inch over to it when suddenly a short, elderly fairy walked in. He had tousled white hair and small, round spectacles. Tink could hear him mumbling to himself.

“Ah, that’s the end of that chapter,” the fairy was saying. “Boy, that’s a beauty. Flora and Fauna of the Fairies.” He chuckled.

That must be the Keeper, Tinker Bell thought. She couldn’t believe it. She had found him! She was just about to step out from behind the ice books when a young winter fairy came whizzing by.

“Keeper! Keeper!” the winter fairy shouted. Her voice was filled with urgency.

“Yes?” the Keeper answered, turning around.

“The most amazing thing happened!” the fairy gushed. “Yesterday, at the border. You’ll never believe it!”

Tinker Bell watched as the fairy paused to catch her breath. The commotion had woken the snowy lynx from its nap, and it wandered into the room. “Hi, Fiona,” the young winter fairy said to the large cat.

Then she turned back to the Keeper. “You’ve got to tell me what it means! Okay, my wings…”

As Tinker Bell listened, a tingling sensation suddenly overwhelmed her. She looked over her shoulder and saw that her wings were shimmering so brightly she could see them right through her coat.

“My wings, they actually…they lit up!” the young winter fairy finished. She gasped. “It’s happening again!” She turned so that the Keeper could see that her wings were sparkling.

“Oooh,” the Keeper said, amazed.

Tinker Bell peeked out from her hiding place and got a good look at the winter fairy’s face for the first time. Her stomach did a little flip. Something felt so familiar about the fairy! She had short, silvery hair and ice-blue eyes. Her dress was made from a delicate material that glistened like frost in the sunlight. Tink was positive that she had never met this fairy. But she couldn’t help feeling drawn to her. She took off her coat and stepped out of hiding.

The winter fairy turned and stared at Tinker Bell. They began drifting toward one another, as if they were guided by an invisible force.

“In all my years…” the Keeper said quietly.

“Your wings,” the winter fairy whispered. “They’re sparkling.”

“Like yours,” Tinker Bell replied.

Then, as suddenly as it had started, the sparkling faded.

“Keeper?” the winter fairy asked.

“I’ve only heard of this,” the Keeper said in amazement. “But I’ve never seen it right here in front of my own eyes.” Then he chuckled excitedly. “Ooh hoo hoo!” His expression said that he knew more than either of the young fairies did about the sparkling. He rubbed his hands together, delighted. “Follow me!”