The next day, Kara awoke on a couch in Sylvan's home. A green blanket was wrapped around her. As she rubbed her eyes and sat up, she felt the material and realized that was made of moss. For moss, it had been strangely soft and comforting. She threw the blanket off of herself and grew nervous when she saw that the room she was in was empty. Where was Foster? Oren hadn't gone against her vow, had he? Standing up, she looked around, and when he didn't appear, she became hysterical. "Foster!" she cried. "Foster!"
"What?" Kara turned around at the familiar voice. She had done it too quickly, though, and stumbled, hitting the floor hard. Finding her bearings and ignoring the pain in her legs, she raised her head, brushing her hair out of her eyes. Foster was standing by the couch, his arms crossed. He straightened his glasses and held out a hand to her, pulling her upright. His eyes showed his mild amusement. After getting over her immediate relief, Kara found that she was rather angry. The anger in her words surprised her. "Foster, where were you?" "Nowhere new. I was here, in this weird fairy's house, exploring a bit. I mean, when else would I get an opportunity like this?" He smiled, his expression somber. "I'm sorry. If I had known you'd wake up so soon, I would've stayed." Foster took her hand and held it more tightly than usual. Kara found that she wanted him to let go of her. Something about this felt wrong-repulsive, even, to say the least. It shouldn't have. He's my boyfriend, she thought. I'm supposed to want to hold his hand. Maybe it's because he's been away for so long. Yeah...that's it. Kara was broken out of her thoughts by footsteps in the quiet room. Sylvan was there in the kitchen close to them. Today the Gifted fairy wore a dark blue, short sleeved shirt with a design of flowers and leaves across it. Her pants were gray, and her glasses were blue to match her top. Her hair was tied back in a messy bun. She looked incredibly worn out, as if she hadn't seen a wink of sleep last night. "Good morning," she said to them. "Did Peony invite you to stay here?"
Kara and Foster nodded in unison.
"Oh, that's just as well." Sylvan began to mutter things to herself as she turned to the kitchen to gather up an assortment of items off of the countertop and set them aside. Kara didn't hear everything, but what she did catch on to couldn't have been meant for them to notice. "She never asks for my opinion on such matters. Of course not, she probably thinks I'm not worth her time!" Sylvan began to furiously wipe down the counter. Sparks came off of her, and her eyes seemed to glitter with the same sort of magic. Kara moved a few steps back, forcing Foster to do the same. Sylvan continued to mumble nonsensical things under her breath as she cleaned up, and only stopped when Kara cleared her throat to get her attention. "Ahem! Um, Sylvan...are you okay?"
Sylvan froze where she was. The fairy's wings drooped a little as she caught her gaze. "Uh...certainly. I'm just-well, I'm, um-"
Foster didn't let her finish. "Did you want to talk about something with us, or not?"
The fairy's agitated look changed to an apprehensive one. "That request was more aimed towards Kara. It'd be best for you to learn your place, human." She narrowed her eyes and then pointed to the couch he had just been close to. "Kara and I will exchange words outside. You, on the other hand, will stay here."
"Hey, wait a minute!" Kara turned to Sylvan, raising her voice. "Foster has the right to hear what you have to say!"
"No, he doesn't." Sylvan's expression hardened, and she faced Foster, gesturing to the couch. "Persedeo, ergo!"
A split second afterwards, Foster vanished in a flash of blue light, only to reappear in a sitting position upon the piece of furniture in question. The boy, realizing what had happened, frowned and tried to stand back up. Before he could get very far, he was brought back to the couch with the same light from before. He turned visibly paler and looked at Kara helplessly. Kara turned on Sylvan at once, not caring if she got in trouble for yelling. "You jerk! Let Foster go right now!"
Sylvan was unmoved by this outcry. "Oh, please. Why should I? All Foster does is enrage others. If I let him run free, he'd just cause more issues for the both of us."
"I can still hear you, you know! I'd be just fine, I swear!"
Kara nodded, trying to add on to this. "See, he swears! He won't bother anyone, really!"
Sylvan grabbed Foster's shirt, pulling him forward to sneer at him. "I beg to differ." She was about to speak again, probably to use more magic, but Kara stopped her. "Wait! Wait, please...give him a chance, Sylvan!"
"He had one already when you first got here, and no good came of that." She let him go and paced around the room, eyeing her captive as she went. "He became a demise beast pawn. What if that happens again? It could mean the end of this world."
"Oh, that's a bit much. You've fought those things for a long time and nothing like that happened!"
"You're wrong." Sylvan looked at Kara grimly. "It did happen. They were the Beast Wars, and they tore apart this dimension, killing off fairies and Flightless alike. The Seelie king was lost with them. The queen barely held her kingdom together, and the Council put laws in place that ordered humans to be put to death or children to be separated from their parents." She was in tears now, and her hands shook as they became fists. "You don't know. You don't know the suffering the beasts have caused. What makes you think that you can escape from them? You're humans, and you're fragile. They know that, and they'll manipulate you."
Foster shook his head. "That's where you're wrong. Humans are stronger than you think. We've fought against monsters and corrupt government, too. They might not be the same as what your kind faced, but we've gone against all kinds of evil and won."
Kara smiled, and piped up to assist him. "He's right. Wars were fought in our world, too, but we won and we moved past the bad things that came afterwards. You should really trust us. Whatever those stupid demise beasts are planning, we're stronger than them, and much more trustworthy. Please." She looked into Sylvan's eyes, praying that she was getting somewhere. "Just listen for once."
The Gifted fairy was silent for a while. The silence was uncomfortable, and it weighed heavily on them. Sylvan's face was distant, as if she was reliving the war she had mentioned. She crossed her arms, and then closed her eyes, moving her glasses to wipe away any tears that still lingered. "You humans...you're persistent. It's annoying, but...you won't give up. That's a good thing." She smiled, and then nodded. "Okay. He can come, but if he says anything I don't like, he's going to come right back here."
Before Kara could say anything about that, Sylvan raised both of her arms, and blue magic flowed from her outstretched hands. It swirled around them in a steady glowing stream. "Transporta sylva!"
There was a shimmer as the blue magic joined together on all sides. Kara moved to speak, but the roaring of wind filled her ears, and everything was flooded with white.

When Kara came to her senses again, she could hear birds chirping and felt stone beneath her feet instead of tiled flooring. She got up and saw Sylvan with a little watering can in her hands. Foster rose to his feet dazedly, staggering before he was steady on his feet again. He looked to Kara and then followed her gaze to Sylvan. The fairy had tipped over her watering can to the flowers beneath her. Tulips and roses with a silvery sheen upon them were growing by her side. In fact, more flowers than it was possible to count were growing everywhere. They were in an orderly fashion, though, and they lined the outsides of the path they stood on. Kara looked up to see the brilliant cloudless sky that Lymeria seemed to be known for. It was all gorgeous, but Kara still was unsettled, mostly because she'd been sent here partially against her will. "Sylvan?"
The nature fairy didn't turn to look at her. "Yes?"
"Uh...where are we?"
Sylvan still didn't look up. She pressed her hand to an empty patch of soil, and new plants sprang forth, sparkling as their tops reached for the sun high above them. "That's not important now. What's important is that we can privately discuss how the two of you will be getting home."
Kara stiffened. Home? The thought made her happy, but how it would be done made her nervous. "Fine. What's the plan?"
Sylvan stood up, brushing dirt off of her pants. "A Gateway should do it. With Peony's help, I can make one of those to send you and Foster back to your realm."
Kara felt hope surge up through her. It was a feeling she welcomed, after the onslaught of despair that often came to her with every thought of her home. "Really? You can do that?"
A confident look crossed her face then. "Kara, Gifted fairies can do anything. Well, within the extent of the law." Her confidence faded soon after. "That reminds me...the Council forbids Gateways to be used to take anyone to and from the human world. It's allowed when Guardians are sent there, but never otherwise."
"Then we're still stuck here!" Foster cried. "We still have to stay in this horrible place!"
Kara flinched. She hadn't heard her boyfriend get mad at someone before. This was the worst time for that. Sylvan blinked and looked at him with an observant expression. "Foster, calm down. You don't have to yell, and Lymeria is not horrible. Just earlier you were complimenting my house."
"Well, that was before I remembered what happened to me. I was tortured, turned into a monster somehow, and then the moment I came back I was told off for being a Flightless. I don't even know what that is! And to make matters worse, you came now to tell me that I have to stay here to be constantly ridiculed and attacked."
Sylvan was astonished by this, but was still able to rival his statement. "You don't have to stay if the Council approves of my creation of the Gateway."
"And if they don't?"
"You will remain here in my home until further notice," she snapped. "If that does occur, you will keep your mouth shut. You do not need to give other fairies more reasons to think less of you."
Foster was suddenly incoherent, his expression cold and furious. Kara couldn't recall a time when he had ever acted like this. It was unlike him. After some hesitation, she pushed past her fear and voiced her inquisitions. "Couldn't you help us in secret?" she asked. "I mean, what could you lose from this?"
Sylvan was sullen. "So much, Kara. I might be able to make an exception, but I could only do it if Peony agreed to help. Gateways are a burdensome thing to construct." She sighed. "I can't go against my better nature. I'll do what I can. If I am caught, though, I could be severely punished. Peony would be too, if she agrees. Remember this favor I am granting you."
Kara nodded, delighted but careful not to show it too much. "I will."
Foster followed her lead. It seemed that he had come to terms with his aggression from earlier.
"I will, too. Thank you, um-"
"Sylvan. It's Sylvan." The Gifted fairy had calmed herself down, too. She did the proper gestures, and the couple with her braced themselves against the rush of magic.

Toby sat at his kitchen table, looking through a spell book of his mother's to distract himself from Kara's absence. It didn't help, however. His mind wouldn't let him forget about her.
Kyle had slept in, and his mom had an errand to run, so he would be all alone for a while. Why did I let her go? If I'd just told her how I felt, maybe she would've stayed. Toby kicked the table leg closest to him and slammed his hands down on the table, only to bury his face in them with shame. I'm such an idiot. I really blew it this time, didn't I? Kyle appeared in the kitchen. He came without a sound as he always did. It was the Guardian's way, to enter a room without any indication of such. Toby didn't know it was his brother until he nudged him lightly, making him jump. "Hey, little bro," he murmured. "What'd you break?"
"Nothing." Toby looked up at him, irritated. "Why do you always assume that?"
"Because that's usually what it is." Kyle slid into a chair beside him. He looked more tired than before-somehow older, too. Toby wanted to ask him about it, but he knew if he did, he'd have to be discreet or his brother would just dodge his questions. Ah, never mind that. He wanted answers, and if he had to be pushy to get them, then so be it. "Kyle?"
"Yeah?"
"What have you been doing lately? This job you keep telling me you have...it takes up too much of your time. You're never specific about it, either. What kind of job is it? Don't tell me it's because you're a Guardian now. It's not even the right time of year for that."
Kyle's fingers tapped against the table a few times, and he sighed. Toby hoped that the resignation in his eyes were from his decision to explain, but there was a chance that it wasn't from that. If his brother was anything, it was secretive. "I can't tell you much. I know it's not what you want to hear, but I am still a Guardian. I've been doing practice work, mostly, some prep for next year."
Toby narrowed his eyes. "What else?"
"What do you mean?"
"Don't say that. There's something else, another job. There has to be. Guardian preparation wouldn't keep you busy for so long."
Kyle sighed again, rubbing his eyes. "Fine, fine. There's another job, yes. The group is called Alae Salvatores. That's winged saviors in the old language. I work with Gifted fairies to help with beast outbreaks, and forge weapons. It's nothing to worry about, Toby."
Toby shook his head. "I don't know. How can I know for sure that you're-"
Kyle moved.
It was a small thing, but Toby still saw it. The way his face twitched and looked agonized. He was clutching his arm, but once he noticed that Toby had stopped talking to look at him, he let it go and dropped it down at his side again. His brother tried to get him going again, but it didn't work. "Toby, why'd you stop?"
"You know why I stopped."
Toby got up from his chair and went to Kyle's side, grabbing the arm his sibling had clutched. There it was again. That flicker of pain. Spots of blood were quickly darkening the back of his sleeve. His fingers were coated with it when he moved his hand to push his brother back. Toby, far from being discouraged, pulled Kyle's sleeve down and saw a series of holes-little ones that ran all the way down the length of his arm. Violet blood trickled from each one of them. They reminded him of something, but he didn't quite know what. "Kyle...what is this? You need bandages. How did this happen?"
Kyle laughed rashly. "It was just an accident with the weapon I was handling this morning. God, Toby, you sound like Mom."
"Well, Mom's got some sense in her, at least. You clearly don't." While Kyle had been trying to lie to him, Toby had made his way to their kitchen's cabinets. Some gauze from his mother's days as a doctor had been in one of them. He'd taken them out and brought them with him when he returned to dress his brother's wounds. Kyle had been pressing a hand to something behind him. Toby saw it before he could move his hand away. "Show me your back."
Kyle raised his eyebrows. "What? Toby, you're being ridiculous."
"Just do it. Do you want me to bring Mom into this?"
Kyle frowned, giving in. "Fine."
He turned around to roll up his shirt, and Toby's eyes widened. There were large abrasions running along the bridge of his spine. They were circular but gaping and bloody just like all the others. Toby pressed the bandages to his brother's injuries, and stepped back, baffled. "H-How did you get those?" he stammered. "You didn't even move from your chair." Kyle shook his head again, standing up and putting his shirt back in place before Toby could finish what he was doing. "It's not important," he yelled. "You need to stop asking me about my job. You're going to put yourself in danger."
Toby was confused. This was the most Kyle had  ever said about any of this, but it had only made him more lost than before. "Wait, what do you mean?"
Kyle didn't answer this time, only pushing in his chair and leaving the room. Toby wasn't sure what to do. What was going on here? He trembled. His own brother wouldn't tell him what was happening, and it felt awful. In Kyle's eyes, was he just too stupid to be of any help? That had to be it. Well, he wouldn't let that be the case any longer. I'm not a little kid anymore. I can handle whatever you're not telling me. The only problem with this was that Kyle was like a brick wall. He couldn't climb, jump, or fly over it, no matter how hard he tried. It would take time, but Toby would scale the wall that was his brother. Kyle used to share everything with him. The death of their father and his time being imprisoned had made them drift apart, but maybe soon, they could be close again as they once were. No, not maybe. Definitely. Certainly. There had to be no doubts, and no delays. If Toby was to figure out this mystery, then he had to go to the source of the dispute. Kyle held the answers, or at least some of them. Alae Salvatores, what's that all about? I need to look that up.