The child looked as if she were about to cry, and Harper stared at his feet, counting the pebbles around them. He felt bad for asking, but still, it had to be done. Jasper placed a kind hand on the girl's back and she sniffled for a moment before taking a deep breath. The boy didn't know what to do, so he looked away, felt guilty and left the comforting to Jasper. 

"I miss her," the girl mumbled before she clasped Jasper's hands between her ice cold ones. The older girl had been so nice, so the child tightened her fingers around Jasper's hands as if seeking warmth and comfort. She missed Serena and her friends emptiness lingered inside her. It was lonelier without Serena, she had been a lively nobody and ran the best bakery for miles and miles around. In fact, the queen used to order rainbow and sunbeam tarts from her friend's little shop. But ever since Serena died the moonbeam cakes tasted bitter and the sweet-happy feeling it would give her would be replaced by loneliness. The bakery shut down a few weeks after Serena's death, citizens of Yonder moved away, the town's reputation went down hill and it slowly began turning into the rundown place it was now.

The child wiped away at her teary eyes then mustered up a cheery smile. "Thank you, miss." She beamed, looking happier than she felt.

Jasper, feeling it was alright to continue asked the question they had all been thinking. [b]"What did she see... and... who's them?"[b]

[i][b]Them.[/b][/i] The girl didn't know how to feel, but before she could think too much the other girl asked for her name and leaned in with a grin.

"O-Oh, I'm Marina, but you can call me Mary." She smiled almost sheepishly before tilting her head at the three teens. "What are your names?"

Harper was glad that Marina was feeling better. He adjusted his glasses and gave her a kind smile. "It's a pleasure to meet you Marina. That's Jasper and Ace and I'm Harper." The little girl repeated their names as if it were a mantra then grinned when she got all three right. Harper smiled and gave her a light pat on the head. 

Then Ace leaned in and whispered something in Marina's ear. The first statement made a faint blush appear on her pale cheeks. The compliment flattered her and soon she was bouncing on the heels of her feet and giggling. "Oh, thank you very much!" Then Ace lowered her voice a bit more and told Marina why they were looking for answers. They wanted the truth, and that made the child stare at them with sparkling eyes filled with respect and cheer, the lights in her hair flickered bright and she gave them a childish salute. 

Her gaze fell on Jasper. "[i]They[/i] didn't kill her...but I remember them. There was a boy and a girl...I-I think they were just like you. But I don't remember, that was so long ago, I'm sorry." She wriggled her toes and stared at them through the water. [b]"They were visiting the town, trying to find things, for some reason the queen's guards were after them. Mayor Spicy Tuna said they were criminals and that they had done something terrible. There were around five of them, but the a tall boy and a girl with grey eyes led the others along." She paused.

Harper glanced at both his friends worriedly. What he was hearing frightened him. It was the first time they were hearing negative things about the past humans.

"The queen's guards caught up to them, tried to arrest them, they resisted. Serena ran into one of them, saw something she wasn't supposed to. I don't know what she saw, but she was declared a witch after that...there were witnesses who said she performed magic on one of the humans." The girl was quiet for a few moments, after her friend's death, she searched right and left for information and she got opinions here and there, but nothing was ever concrete. "I-I don't know anything else, but..." she looked up at them wide innocent and wide eyes. "Will this help?" She held Ace's hand in one and Jasper's in the other. "That's all I know."

Harper nodded, eyes kind and sympathetic. "Very much, thank you, Marina."