Kara made sure that Shade made it to Reena's house before he did anything else. They both went inside, and the first person to greet them was April. The little girl's eyes widened, and she practically flew over to where they were, her tiny wings fanning out to carry her along. "Shade?" she said with a small voice. Her entire face brightened with joy. "Oh, Shade! It's you! You're home, you're home, you're home!" April wrapped her arms around him, laughing and jumping around him. Kara knew what was coming before she did, as she saw the blank look on the older boy's face. "Um...who are you?"
April's expression turned from happy to worrisome. "Don't be silly, Shade! It's me, April!"
"Oh...I don't know an April." He smiled distantly, and Kara felt like crying again. "That's a pretty name, though...April. Like the month."
April was horrified. "I'm your sister. I'm seven, and you're...you're my brother. But why are you like this?"
Shade looked entirely lost, as if he'd forgotten where he was. He probably had. Kara wouldn't stand for it. "Shade, stop it!" she whispered angrily. "That's your little sister, April! You said you would see your family!"
"I thought I would recognize them, but I don't. You've brought me to some strangers." He shook his head, rubbing at his forehead. "She can't be my sister. I'm an only child, aren't I?"
April's face reddened, and she went up to Kara, her eyes filled with tears. Her hands were balled up into fists, as if she meant to hit her. "What did you do?" she wailed. "What did you do to my big brother?"
Mrs. Fern made her way into the room, brought in by April's shrieks. Kara met with her gaze, and hoped that she'd take this better than her daughter. A look of astonishment came to Melanie, then glee as she recognized who was standing there dazedly. "Shade?" she murmured. "Oh, by the Skies-" She was beside him in an instant, kissing his bruised head and holding him close. All this motherly affection seemed to do nothing to fix Shade, though. He just continued to look very lost, and his eyes lacked the gleam they'd had when he'd been with her. "Oh Shade, my baby," Mrs. Fern choked out. "Where have you been for all this time?"
Instead of answering, the boy turned away, struggling out of his mom's embrace. There had been no smile on his face, no sort of happiness upon being reunited with the people that cared about him. All he did was look down at the floor, and avoid eye contact with them. "I'm sorry," he said under his breath, "but I don't know who you are. Kara found me in the woods, but..she's the only person I know." He backed up, hitting a chair as he went. The boy righted it and then backed up further as he spoke. "There's no point in pretending to know me. I would remember if you were my family members or not, but you're...you're not them." He backed away, looking sort of skittish. Shade was never like that. This bothered Kara to no end, and she knew in that moment that it had been a mistake to bring him here. "You can't be them. I-I have to go. My real parents must be outside somewhere." With that last statement, he left the room, darting away like some spooked animal. The room had grown still. No one spoke for a while, just looking at each other in complete dismay. Kara knew it was her fault, and she avoided looking at them. Suddenly, Mrs. Fern grabbed her arm harshly, causing the girl to meet her gaze. There were tears in Shade's mother's eyes. "What happened to him?" she sobbed. "What happened to my baby?"
Kara's eyes widened. She tried to explain, but fright caused no consoling words to come to mind. "Um, uh..I don't know."
"How can you not know? Shade only knows you!" Shade's mom was doubled over in grief, leaning over the kitchen counter with her head in her hands. She lifted her head, and then slammed one fist down on the counter with a ferocity that caused Kara to jump. Mrs. Fern straightened up, and then pointed to the door, her voice low and broken. "Go."
"What?" She was shoved forward by her then, close to the front door. "Go...go where? I can't just leave! I-I don't have anywhere else to stay!"
Mrs. Fern's eyes were cold, the green in them darker than usual. Kara hadn't thought that the hospitable fairy could have such a heartless expression on her face. "You'll figure something out," she snapped. "You've hurt my son. You've made him forget his entire family. For that, you don't deserve to live here anymore." She waved her hand, and the door opened on its own, letting in freezing cold air from outside. "Leave!" she yelled. "Leave, and don't you dare come back!"
"But...but wait!" Kara was in tears just like the mother fairy was. "I brought my things with me. My clothes, a-and my books-" Before she could say much more, Mrs. Fern frowned. Her spell book and her old washed top and boots materialized at her feet in a flash of light. Kara picked them up, holding them close to her chest. "Go now," Shade's mother said. "Take Foster with you."
Kara nodded, trying not to cry in front of her. Taking her things, she trudged down the hallway, sniffling and searching for her boyfriend. I deserve this, she thought. Shade is suffering, and it's my fault. I deserve to be cast out. If only I'd helped him sooner...

Foster was in Shade's old room, sitting on the bed and looking through a book that had been on the bedside table. The title was the Guide to Flight and Other Faerie Necessities. It was rather interesting, explaining how fairies did what they did. All at once, a certain redhead bolted into the room, closing the door behind her and breathing hard. Tears lined her freckled face. "Kara," Foster gasped. "What happened? What's wrong?"
"We're leaving," she told him. She took a shuddering breath and then went on. "We have to leave this house."
"Right now?" Kara nodded and sniffled, grabbing his hand and opening the door to leave. "But why?" he exclaimed as she dragged him out. "We have nowhere else to go!"
"You think I didn't know that already?" she shouted. "Mrs. Fern kicked us out. Shade lost his memory because of me, so she doesn't want us here anymore." She sighed, her unhappy look increasing. "Don't ask about it. You must think I'm an awful person now."
Foster was taken aback. "No...Kara, I could never think that. You're wonderful."
Kara faced him. There was unease there on her face now, and disbelief. "Do you really mean that? You don't have to lie to me to make me feel better."
Foster didn't have to think about his answer. "I wasn't lying. You are wonderful, in all the ways a person can be." That's when he leaned in to kiss her. Kara stiffened, then returned this action. It didn't feel the same. There was no rush of bliss, no smiling from her as he held her. She pulled away from him then, more quickly than usual. Her late smile felt forced. What's wrong? he thought. Was it something I said? He received no answer to that, for Kara began descending the rope ladder to the forest floor, turning her back to him. When she reached the ground, a figure stepped in front of her. Resentment built up inside of Foster as he caught a glimpse of him. Shade. You still love me, don't you? Or has that fairy taken you away from me?

Shade looked at Kara with a solemnity that she hadn't thought he was feeling until now. "Kara, I...I wanted to ask you something." His wings moved a little with what seemed like nervousness. "I don't remember much from before, but...you do. Who was I to you? Could you at least tell me that?"
Kara's vision blurred almost immediately. Shade's eyes narrowed out of confusion. She found her voice and told him, though her crying made it hard. "You...you were my Guardian," she said. "You were my friend too. You tried to save me at my school from a demise beast, but...he tricked you and then sent you here as a dragon."
Shade nodded. His eyes contained some of the old spark they'd used to have. "Alright. Some of it's coming back...I guess that's good enough for now." He smiled a little. "Goodbye, Kara. I suppose there's no way I could come with you to get that sword back."
Foster had been silent throughout this entire interaction, but now he spoke up, stepping in front of his girlfriend angrily. "No," he snapped. "You can't come." Kara was annoyed by this. She stepped forward and shoved him aside. "Thanks, but I can speak for myself, Foster." Kara turned to look at Shade. The fairy with none of his memories gazed back at her with something like hope. He wanted to go with her, but she had to turn him down. "I'm sorry, Shade, but for once, Foster's right. You should stay here with your family. I know you don't remember them, but they are your family, your real family, and they care about you more than anything else." She shook her head, remembering the events from earlier. "Your mom doesn't want me to stay here anyways, so I'll...protect myself from now on."
Shade's dark eyebrows drew together as he considered this. He put his hands in his pockets, and then responded. "Okay. If that's what you want, then it's fine by me."

Kara wanted to hug him. He'd introduced her to this world-this beautiful, dazzling world-and she'd never thanked him for it. It had caused trouble for her, certainly, but it had given her many new friends as well. Before she could do that, Shade went back up to his house, his movements effortless as always. Once he reached the top and grabbed for the doorknob, it took all of Kara's willpower not to go after him. Foster was her boyfriend, not Shade. She would just have to forget about him.

Kara's only regret as they left was that she hadn't said anything to Toby about it all. She decided that she couldn't go without saying goodbye, so she ran back inside to meet with him. She hugged him, and Toby almost fell out of surprise. "Kara? What is it?"
"I'm...I'm leaving."
Toby's eyes widened. He let go of her and only stared out of disbelief. "Leaving? But..why?"
"It's kind of a long story. I'm...gonna come back, I swear to you." Kara was taken aback by these words. Why was she lying to him? If she went home, then she couldn't return. Her father would never let her out of his sight again. Before she could take that back, Toby shrugged. "Oh...well, if you really have to go, then you should." He straightened out his blond hair, then lost his composure all at once and tackled her in a fierce embrace, burying his head in her shoulder. "I'll miss you."
Kara smiled in return. She knew she would feel like that towards the sweet fairy as well. She would miss Shade, but she would miss Toby just as much. He was like the brother she'd always wanted. "I'll miss you, too."
They pulled apart then, and Toby scratched the back of his neck. "Well...I guess that's it, then. Bye, Kara." He walked away with a longing sort of look, and Kara waved, trying her hardest to ignore the pain in her chest.

When Foster stepped outside, getting off of the rope ladder of the tree house, the wind that swirled up around him had chilled him to the bone, as if he had made Mother Nature angry. He turned to face Kara, putting his hands into his jean pockets to warm them up. "Where are we headed now?"
Kara hesitated. "I-I don't know," she mumbled. "Everything's all wrong. We never should have gone through that portal." Foster smiled faintly. "I tried to stop you, you know. If you'd listened to me, we would've still been at home right now." Kara laughed, shaking her head and punching his arm playfully. "I know. You're too smart for your own good." Her eyes glimmered then, as they always did when she had an idea. "We could go see Sylvan," she said. Foster was puzzled by this. "Sylvan? Who's that?" "Someone I know. Come on, I'll explain on the way there!"

The couple came to a stop in front of a brown maple tree with drooping upper branches. Kara knocked on its trunk the way she had seen Reena do it, and the tree became a log cabin, one with a leaf ringed door. She opened it and went inside, and Foster followed slowly behind her. Sylvan was there, thankfully. The Gifted fairy of nature was sitting at her dining room table with Peony and someone new, a young man with hair that was similar to Peony's. They were all talking amongst themselves, but when Kara and Foster came inside, their conversation quieted. "Kara!" Sylvan explained. "What a surprise this is."
"Kara." Peony's smooth, silky voice rang out somewhat loudly in the formerly silent room. "I agree. What brings you here?"
Kara was suddenly intimidated. They were staring at her, all three of them at once. The new boy's eyes were narrowed. She took a step backwards, but found her voice anyhow. "Mrs. Fern kicked me out."
"Of her house?" The inquiry came from Sylvan. Kara nodded, and swallowed hard at the thought. "Shade came back, though. He couldn't remember anyone except...well, except me. I don't know why."
"I do, Kara." Peony stood up and walked over to her. "It's a simple answer. Some transformation spells can be combined with others, such as one that takes away memories. The beast that Shade was assigned to take down meant to erase it all, though. It must be your Hybrid nature. The powerful magic in you made it impossible for him to forget you." She smiled. "That's good. It gives him something to work with, a way to put himself back together again. He's lucky to have you."
Kara looked over to Foster. His expression was hard to interpret. It turned to a frightened one as Peony realized he was there. "Who's this?"
Kara turned back to Peony nervously. She knew most fairies didn't like humans, and Gifted fairies were no exception. She just had to hope they wouldn't mind right now. "Oh, um, that's Foster, my boyfriend."
Peony raised her eyebrows. "A human?"
Kara nodded, too fearful to say anything. "Yes," the unknown fairy at the table said. He stood up and moved to stand with Peony. He was pale skinned with dark eyes and wild, purple hair. His fairy wings were jagged at the ends, as if a large portion of them both had been ripped away. A scar also ran across one of his eyes, not blinding him but certainly giving him a more creepy appearance. "My name is Oren," he explained. "I am Peony's brother. You're Kara, right?" Kara spoke meekly. "Y-Yes." She locked gazes with him accidentally. His eyes, at first glance, had looked brown, but they now had many colors in them, a swirling, dizzying amount that seemed to be altered every second. She turned her head and looked away, shivering. "Yes, that's me," she replied, looking down at her feet. "I, um, received your message."
"Splendid. Ghost messages are hard to send and even harder to receive, but I had to alert you somehow." A cup floated in the air by Oren's outstretched hand, ringed with lavender magic. "Come, sit with us. Your human friend can, too."
Kara nodded and found herself a chair, bringing Foster with her. When they were both seated at the table, her boyfriend had finally thought of something to say. "I don't understand everything that's going on," he began, "but I appreciate your hospitality. Could you-"
Before he could finish, Oren's eyes glittered, turning the same shade as his hair. Foster gasped, then slumped forward in his chair, his chin hitting the tabletop. Kara looked at him in horror and grabbed his shirt, trying to wake him up. When he didn't stir, she turned to face the male fairy furiously. "What's wrong with you? He didn't do anything wrong!"
Oren smirked, his eyes shifting in color again. "Oh, but he did. His words were rather stupid, so for the rest of his stay he'll be resting."
Resting. The word filled Kara with relief, but it also bothered her. "You put him to sleep? But he needs to hear this!"
Sylvan shook her head disapprovingly, her cobalt eyes flashing as she did so. "I'm afraid not. You see, he's a Flightless, Kara, and a weak minded one. He was being controlled by demise beasts before. Those whispers I heard-they were orders, and your friend was swayed by them. I know you trust him a lot, but if he learns about us, he could be forced to reveal what he knows to our enemies. Either that, or he would tell his human friends back at home. It would put us all in great danger."
"But no one would believe him if he did!"
Oren spoke up then. "Maybe not, but the beasts would. He already knows too much." His eyes changed color once more, turning to a deep purple tinged with scarlet. "He should be properly silenced." Sylvan suddenly gasped an covered Kara's eyes. Kara tried to pry her fingers off of her face, but she had a strong hold on her. She stopped struggling when she remembered Reena's warning. "She can kill someone with a single stare."
Well, if Peony could do it, then Oren probably could, too. "We can't do that," Oren's sister snapped. "That's against the Queen's laws.
Oren sounded disappointed. "Fine. If we can't do that, we could at least erase his memories of us, just so he won't know enough to say anything."
"No!" Sylvan's grip had loosened, and Kara forcefully shoved her hand away. She looked at Oren with despair, not caring if he meant to kill her or not. "Don't do that! Please don't!"
Peony's expression was a stern one. "Why not? We're only ridding him of his memories of us."
"Just don't! I want him to remember because he's the only one that I could talk to about all this that wouldn't think I was crazy back home. I don't want to be the only one that knows about this place." She knew her words weren't helping, and she tugged at her hair out of frustration. "Please," she begged. "I'll keep him from telling anyone! Just leave him be, and I'll take care of it."
Peony was skeptical at this. "You will?"
"Yes, I promise!"
Oren shook his head. "Don't just promise. That's an empty statement. Swear upon something with value. Swear upon your life."

Kara froze. "My life?"
"Yes, your life. Your mortal, natural existence. Swear upon it, and your little sweetheart can keep his memories."
Kara looked at Foster. He looked so lost there, so lifeless. She wanted him to be safe at home, and he'd already been hurt enough by magic. "Alright. If that's what you want, then I'll do it. I-I swear upon my life that I will keep Foster from saying anything. You won't hear a word from him about fairies, or magic, or any part of Lymeria!"
Oren exchanged looks with Peony. The two Gifted fairies seemed to holding a conference of sorts, though it wasn't as secretive as it probably should've been. "She seems sincere enough," Peony said to him. "Kara means no harm. She just wants to bring the child home to his family. Release the boy already."
Oren glared daggers at her. "I will do what I decide to do. Do not give me orders."
Peony rolled her eyes. She snapped her fingers, and Foster sat up, blinking groggily as if he had actually fallen asleep of his own accord. Kara beamed, gratitude making her almost giddy. "Thank you," she cried, helping Foster sit up further. "You're very welcome," the Gifted fairy said in reply. Oren was gone now, having stormed off to the other side of the room out of anger. "My brother's a drama queen, but he won't give you any more trouble." Peony gestured to the hall across from her with a dainty white gloved hand. "There's a room down there for you both." Kara smiled, thankful beyond what she could express, just as Foster stood up and almost fell over beside her. She grabbed his arm and steadied him, and he turned to look at her with half lidded eyes. "Wha..what? Did I fall asleep?"
"Yes, but it's fine, Foster. You didn't miss much." She grew quieter then. "Don't day anything about what you've seen here when we go home."
Foster looked bewildered. "Um, okay, but why-"
"Just don't." Kara shook her head at him. "Please don't."