The sky had darkened, and the section of the forest they were in had become eerily quiet, as if everything in the clearing had died at once. No birds sung, and nothing stirred up in the bare trees. The only thing that could be heard was the slight whistle of wind that wreathed around them. Kara shivered, wrapping her arms around herself. "Are we almost there?" "Almost," replied Mrs. Fern. She held April close to her as they walked. Reena looked around warily, walking beside Kara. They finally reached a strange tree. It was huge, but had no leaves, and in the dim lighting, its trunk looked charred and blackened. Mrs. Fern knocked four times against its side, and a door appeared. They opened it and went inside. The chamber in the tree was small, far too small for Flit. He remained outside, moving away. Kara sighed. She'd call him back later. Various pieces of furniture filled the room, and candles were everywhere they could possibly be placed. A fancy rug covered the wood floor they walked on. The rug was a sort of tapestry that depicted a fierce war that was fought for a long time between many mythical creatures. The room smelled strongly of incense and smoke. The fairy they had come to talk to was nowhere to be found, however. "Peony?" Mrs. Fern called. "Peony, I need to speak with you. There's a powerful spell that must be undone, and only you can aid us." Suddenly, the room was filled with a cold gust of wind that made Kara shiver again. There was a flash of light, and a fairy in a black cloak with a hood appeared. She pulled the hood back with delicate hand movements, revealing her face. She had pale skin, shoulder length violet hair, and golden-green eyes that seemed to stare into their souls. Her outfit was a lavender and black dress with white lace and dark leggings underneath. Her black shoes were dainty, like ballet slippers. Her wings were thin but curved, and they moved ever so slightly, gleaming like polished silver. She was hauntingly beautiful, but seemed sad and distant. "I have heard your call," Peony said quietly, her voice startling in the silent room. "Who is the girl that has come here with you?" Mrs. Fern seemed calm, but afraid as well. "Her given name is Kara, Peony. She is a Flightless that came through a Portal to our realm and is staying with me for now." "Oh, yes, of course. I know many things about you, Kara Tilling. I was a good friend of your mother's." Kara was shocked. "My mother? What do you know about my mother?" Peony laughed, her giggle echoing in the hollow space. "Patience, Kara, patience. Answers always come to those who are patient." She turned to face Mrs. Fern. "What kind of spell is it that we are dealing with here?" "A transformation spell," she told her. "There is a dragon outside that was once a human or a fairy." "I see." Peony smiled, rubbing her hands together. "Bring the dragon to me, and we can begin the reversal process. You are certain that he or she is actually a human or one of the fay?" "Yes," piped up April. "I heard his thoughts." Mrs. Fern glared at her youngest daughter, and the girl instantly quieted. Peony only smirked. Her teeth were as white as her skin. "Okay, then. Kara, can you retrieve the dragon?" Kara nodded. She left Peony's tree home and searched for her scaly friend. "Flit!" she shouted, cupping her hands around her mouth. "Flit, come here, wherever you are. There's someone here that can help you!" There was a responsive roar, and Flit appeared from above, his mighty wings flapping as he landed on the ground. His landing had been a bit clumsy, so he fell forward a little. Standing up, he squeaked in greeting. Kara laughed. "It's nice to see you too. Flit, I need you to follow me. There's a fairy here that wants to see you." Flit snorted, folding his wings up at his sides. His expression seemed to say, "Who wants to see a dragon?" "Please, Flit," Kara pleaded. "She may be the only one that can undo the curse on you." Flit looked thoughtful. He seemed to be remembering something. At last he nodded, his eyes glinting. "Thank you, Flit. Now, come on." She started to walk towards the tree again, and Flit followed closely behind her.

When they reached the entrance, Flit was still too big to go inside. Peony smiled, and with a wave of her hand, the room grew to the correct size for the big black dragon. He lumbered in with a nod, but growled when he looked at the Gifted fairy more closely. Peony was unafraid. "Calm down. Like Kara told you, I'm here to help. What do you call him?" "Flit." Kara felt a bit ashamed at the name now. She shuffled her feet on the floor nervously. "It's, um...a name from my childhood." Peony examined him, her eyes shining. "Alright...let us begin." The purple haired fairy waved her thin hand, and all the candles that lit up the already darkened room flickered out, causing the room to turn pitch black. Peony lit a single candle, the tiny orange flame lighting up her golden gaze. "Germaitus glowernum," she murmured, speaking in a dialect unknown to Kara. She was staring intently at the single lit candle. "Draconus fairnum, cursetire erasis, glowernum, glowernum, glowernum!" Kara looked at Peony, alarmed. Her voice had risen to a loud volume. Now she raised her arms upwards, energy crackling between her two hands. Peony shot the energy at the candle in front of her. The energy surrounded it and dissolved. The candle's fire flared up with a mighty roar, turning blue. The flames surrounded Flit as well, a fire ring that billowed and crackled across the floor. Flit howled and looked terrified, then in pain as the flames touched him. He convulsed in his circle, his tail lashing and his wings flapping wildly, his claws scraping the floor as he cried out. Kara had enough sense to move away from the rampaging, agonized dragon. Reena and her mother and sister moved away too, their eyes wide as they witnessed the powerful magic. Peony's eyes glowed blue, and she waved her hands around as she spoke more words of the reversal spell. "Draconian hesperinam reversam!" The candles around Peony were floating in midair, and their fire was blue. They hovered side to side like strange fireflies. It felt like they were linked to the Gifted fairy's powers. Everything in the room shook as Flit roared. Peony started chanting again, practically yelling over Flit's howls. "Domesticus humanus faerienum-" She gasped, her eyes flashing golden again, and she collapsed where she stood. The fire faded, and Flit crumpled to the ground as well. Blood stained the ground around him. "Flit!" Kara screamed, racing towards him. Mrs. Fern ran to Peony's side at the same time, and woke her up. Peony looked surprised and angry when she recovered. "The spell...I finished casting it, but barely." She looked frustrated. "There was something that almost stopped me from completing it, though." "What could it have been?" Mrs. Fern wondered. "You've never had trouble casting a spell before, especially not a reversal one." "Yes, but reversal spells are hard to use to undo transformation spells sometimes." In a quieter voice, she said, "I couldn't save Toby, could I?" Mrs. Fern looked solemn. "No, you couldn't. I suppose you're right. Did your spell work?" "Not physically, but mentally...perhaps." Peony went to the unconscious dragon. "That's why he was roaring so much. He was going through memory retrieval, which would cause massive headaches. I was trying to physically change him back, but I didn't finish that. He'll turn back by himself in a week's time." Kara still knelt by him. She looked directly at Peony. "Is he okay?" "Yes. Don't worry about him, Kara. He doesn't have all of his memories, but he'll be fine, whoever he is." "Thanks, Peony." Kara stroked Flit's head, and he stirred at her touch. He seemed to smile, and his eyes opened. Kara smiled back. "Hey, Flit. You okay now?" Flit nodded, but looked weary. He grunted and laid back down. Kara wanted to help him, but what could she do? She didn't have magic powers-or at least, didn't have ones like Peony's. She'd just have to wait until he healed on his own. Flit struggled to stand, but finally managed to. Jagged cuts lined his back, his wings, and his head. He nodded to Peony, and giving Kara an apologetic look, he left, walking instead of flying away.

That night, Kara slept at Reena's house on one of their big, soft couches. She quickly fell asleep, weary from what had occurred that day. She had a strange dream, one about Shade. He was there in all of his former glory, wearing his usual black clothes. He reached out to take her hand. His spiky dark hair lay across his forehead neatly, and his pale green eyes twinkled when he met her gaze. "Shade?" Kara gasped. "I...I thought you were dead." Shade didn't say a word, only taking her hand. Kara saw something move out of the corner of her eye, and saw that it was her guardian's wings. She had seen them before, but not in detail. Now they were easy to see. They were clear and long, with silver glittering lines running through them. The end of the right one was torn. Shade led her through a meadow with beautiful pink flowers. The nighttime sky was devoid of clouds, the full moon very visible. They chased each other down a hill. Eventually Foster joined them in the chase, his laughter sweet and musical to her ears. Kara's heart lurched in her chest. Foster. He was different somehow. His hair was messy, tousled like wind had blown it in every direction. His glasses were cracked, and his blue eyes were dull looking. What was majorly different about him, however, was that he had wings, too. One was brown and feathery, and the other was a fairy wing. They looked mismatched and strange on his thin, normal body. As she glanced at them more closely, she was horrified to see that the wings were both drenched and scarlet, dripping with his blood. Foster looked at her again. His expression was pained, his smile forced. He fell to his knees, and Kara cried out, running to his side. She didn't reach him before the meadow suddenly disappeared, and she found herself in a dense forest, oak trees and pine trees trapping her there, preventing her from escaping. Shade was beside her, but he was dragged away from her. Flit's roars blocked out every other sound. Fire blazed up on the trees, and a single voice could be heard over everything else, one that Kara didn't recognize. "You are half human and half fairy. You are more important than you could ever imagine." Kara awoke with a jolt. What did this dream mean? As she got up in search of breakfast, the last words from her dreams echoed in her mind: "You are half human and half fairy. You are more important than you could ever imagine."