Morning arrived soon enough, rousing Kara from an incredibly deep sleep. She groaned and stretched, then accepted that it was time to get up and sat up in her bed. She had stayed up late looking at the royal family's spell book.
However, something felt strange about waking up this way. The last time Kara had been woken up, it had been a servant's task to get her. This time, no servants had come to do so-
none at all. Though she hadn't been here long, she had been expecting this, and was surprised to see things go differently. Was everything alright? At this point, Kara didn't see a reason to stay in bed any longer and got up, tiptoeing as she went so as to not wake up Lily, who was fast asleep in the bed across from hers.
The hall she entered was large, but empty and somewhat drafty. Kara saw from a nearby window that it was still dark outside.
So it wasn't morning after all? Great, she thought. Just great. I've woken up too early.
Oh, well. Now that she was here, Kara figured she might as well take a look around before going back to her room.
She hadn't seen much of the castle yet, anyway.
The corridors in the room she stood in were each a faded purple or red, and were eerily silent. That didn't bother her much, but the discernible voices from farther down the hall did. It soon became obvious that the easily heard conversation was coming from a room across from her. Kara knew she shouldn't eavesdrop, but she really had nothing better to do, so she quickly darted over to one of the doors on the hall's left side and listened in, pressing one of her ears against the wood frame. The voices grew in volume, becoming more familiar.
"Sylvan, you can't just decide to give up on this when the Stone can be fixed by her."
"I'm not giving up, I'm trying to be reasonable. We don't know if Kara can fix the Stone or not! Besides, I couldn't teach her about magic, even if I wanted to. I don't have the right qualifications." The Gifted fairy was frantic, that was for sure. She paused out of agitation, then continued her rant. "Besides, my queen, this is not a safe plan. Kara's magic, if she has any at all, would've been contained and suppressed by her human blood ever since she was born. That would make her powers extremely unstable, but..that's just assuming she even has them at all. With the amount of human nutrients she has taken in over the years, the powers once possibly existing there would have either been greatly diminished or just faded away altogether. This is impossible."
"None of that matters. You must try."
There was a hint of desperation in what could only be Queen Iona's voice now.
"Please, Sylvan. She is our only chance. Our last chance for our kind's salvation.
You know that."
Kara couldn't believe this. The queen..where had this side of her been when she had been addressing her kids? She sounded much more honest and real now, less fake and fraudulent.
Sylvan seemed to sigh. "Fine.
I'll try to work with her, my lady, but I can't guarantee any immediate progress."
Shuffling came from inside of the room, and Kara hurtled down the length of the hallway to safety. She ran back inside of her bedroom, immediately closing the door behind her.
She released a shuddering breath, then took deeper ones, trying to calm down as she settled back down into her royal bed and covers.
With each passing day, it seemed as if she was carrying the weight of the world upon her shoulders more and more. Kara got back up onto her bed and tried to go back to sleep, soon forgetting the conversation she had overheard as she drifted away into a gentle dream.

Foster couldn't see. However, it wasn't just that it was dark, or that he had lost his glasses and the world was blurred. It was a blackness unlike anything he had ever seen before.
An unnerving thought came to him:
Have I gone blind?
No, no way. That couldn't be it.
Foster shook his head, then tried to lift his arm out and feel for a light switch, or anything that would let him know he wasn't just freely floating or hanging, suspended, in an empty, shadowy space. His fingers met with a wall, and something slimy. Foster recoiled, backing up against the wall behind him. Since he couldn't see where he was going, he slammed into it hard due to the irrationality coming from his fear. There was a curt laugh, and then a torch was lit, revealing all of Foster's formerly hidden surroundings to him.
A pair of bright yellow eyes stared at him from a pale girl's face.
She had hair as dark as the shadows covering everything, and pointed ears, but what caught Foster's attention the most were her horns.
They were thick and jagged at the sides of her head, like a bull's were, but they were ringed with red, like they were coated with blood.
"I thought I'd found a Flightless," she murmured.
"Hi, little one. You were out for a while, but it's okay now. You're safe here."
"Safe?" Foster was terrified. "No, I'm not safe here. You're..o-one of those things, one of the monsters th-that possessed me."
Foster shrank back as the weird girl came closer. Her scaly, clawed fingers had formed into fists at her sides. Despite this violent look, she straightened out her pink tank top and smiled at him. "Oh, so you remember that after all. See, that guy was my sweet brother, Cal. He couldn't do much, being as young as he was, but we talked together before he was picked out for you. He was so excited to have you as a host, and when he finally had you, he promised me he would carry out our master's plan. Until, of course, your cute Hybrid friend decided to save you."
She smiled still, in a sweet way. "But no worries. It wasn't your fault. In fact, I'm here to help you."
Foster's eyes narrowed, and he backed away further. "I doubt it. Why would you want to help me? You almost killed me!"
"Oh, that's an easy answer. I've seen you looking at that girl." She leaned in close to his face, winking at him. "I can sense emotions.
All of us can. You want to be with your little Hybrid, but you can't."
Foster felt ashamed, but violated too. How did this stranger know all of this about him? Was this just something they could do? With those horns of hers, she certainly wasn't human.
What had Shade called them?
Oh, right. Demise beasts.
"Who says I can't?" he snapped. "I could get her back if I really wanted to."
"No, you can't. You couldn't, not ever. Not like this. You know nothing of this world, and aren't from it. Your sweetheart might look like a Flightless, but her heart has always been that of a fairy. It's what led her here, after all."
Foster remembered hearing something similar before this. Danny had been raving about how Kara was half human and half fairy, but Kara had always been just..Kara. The way they talked about her made her sound like an object they could mess around with. Besides, she had no wings or pointy ears or magic powers.
"How do you know that for sure?" he asked.
"I've known Kara my whole life. That can't be true."
"But it is." The girl closed in even more, and Foster tried to move further away, but couldn't.
He was trapped.
"She has fairy blood from her mother," continued the girl, "and human blood from her father." She laughed at him, turning away. "Face it. You're out of her league, kid."
The girl started to leave, but Foster stopped her. "Wait!"
The girl whirled around to face him, her eyes like golden daggers piercing his soul.
The volume and intensity of his voice lowered due to his tiredness.
"You creatures," he said simply. "You things, you..beasts. You're powerful, aren't you? Good with magic, too?"
She raised an eyebrow at this. "Sure. What are you saying?"
"I'm saying I want your help."
Foster knew this was probably wrong of him, but he hated being looked down upon like this. "If you are really as powerful as you seem, then..help me. Help me be a person worthy of Kara, instead of someone she hates.
Help me..fix things."
The girl seemed to consider it, then just frowned at him.
"Listen, I'm no genie, dear.
I don't grant foolish wishes. But.."
"But?"
"I can make an exception. If you help me with something of my choice, I could help you with your predicament."
Foster felt woozy at this. He hadn't been expecting her to agree. "Wait, really?"
"Yes, of course, but..the choice you make will be final. Once I tell you what to do for me, you must do it, or you will face the consequences. Do you understand?"
Foster's heartbeat sped up at these words. There was no getting out of this now.
He wanted to run, but something kept him rooted where he was. This was creepy, but this girl hadn't hurt him at all, and only wanted to help him. That was a good thing, a really good thing. After so much pain, he could finally find someone who could offer their assistance and understanding. His thoughts were followed by a headache, one of massive proportions.
It felt like something was slowly cutting him open. He put a hand to his forehead, and when he felt no blood or wound there, he chose to ignore his ache and go with her.
It felt like it was the right thing to do.
"Yes, I understand."
The girl smirked, her eyes glittering. "Good.
Here is my deal for you.
I can make you like her."
Foster straightened his glasses nervously.
"Like her? But..but that would mean-"
"Yes. You get it now."
When the girl saw his reluctant look, she frowned, looking worriedly at him.
"What's the matter, child?"
Child? She wasn't that much older than he was.
Annoyed, he shook his head and chose to ignore that small slip up of hers.
"Nothing, it's just..I don't think that's really what I want. I just want to spend more time with Kara, and for her to treat me like I matter."
"But..if you do this, she will! Don't you see? If you let me do this, then you'll be what she is, and you'll be taught to do what you need to by her or your friends!
That would give you more time with her." She smiled more. "Humans don't matter here, but guess what? As a fairy, people here would give you positive attention and treat you well."
"Really..?"
Foster's rational thoughts were gone. The pain in his head had worsened significantly.
He felt sick. He had hardly heard what the girl had said to him. "Yeah! So let's begin.
Come with me." The girl grabbed his arm and dragged him through the darkened place, using a vibrant torch to light their way. They were in a cave, and crystals of all different colors glowed as they passed them.
Foster's headache became worse and worse, until he could barely walk. "How..much farther are we going?" he gasped.
"You'll see."
The girl pulled against him harder as he slowed down. A large stone came into view, a stone so dark that it almost looked like a giant hole in the floor. "What is that?" Foster managed to say.
"The Stone of The Ages."
The girl looked at it longingly.
"There is another stone like it, but it's not nearly as magnificent as this one."
She nudged him forward.
"Go on. This is your job for me.
Touch the Stone's surface.
It will give you everything you could ever want."
Foster swallowed hard, and slowly reached his hand out to the Stone. Up close, it somehow looked foreboding and sinister.
There was something wrong here, something he shouldn't be doing.
God, his head hurt. Why did it hurt so much?
Suddenly, the urge to do what this strange girl was saying was gone. The haze had left his head, and the pain.
He now wanted nothing more than to leave.
How could he have let this go this far?
"Uh..I'm sorry, but I've changed my mind.
I don't want to do this."
He tried to run, but the girl sunk her outstretched claws into his arm. The haze returned to his mind, and his head drooped forward. It was hard to look at her.
"You will do it," she hissed. "You will! Cal made sure of that. You are ours."
The haze deepened. The girl's sharp nails had brought this cloudy, dreamlike sensation to his thoughts. What am I doing? He thought. I..I can't remember. Why am I here?
The stranger in front of him snickered, then narrowed her eyes at him. "Touch the Stone," she crooned. "That is why you are here. You must do as I say."
The Stone, the dark rock she spoke of, wavered in and out of his vision. Foster was..so tired. So, so tired. Maybe doing what she said would make his tiredness go away. With no more hesitation, Foster did as he was told.
His shaky hand moved to touch the Stone's top, not quite connecting yet to it.
They moved of their own accord.
Then fire, fire or something like acid, went through his hand. Foster crumpled to the floor, leaving the Stone behind. His whole body seemed to turn on itself, but his back was hurting the most.
His very bones seemed to smolder within him.
All at once, Foster remembered.
He remembered why was here.
The agreement. Oh god. Oh god, oh god..what had he agreed to? He couldn't remember.
What was happening now? What was this pain?
His conscious mind began to leave him, and shadows gave him tunnel vision.
"You," he whispered weakly as he staggered forward.
"You! You said you would help!
What did you do?"
The girl grinned widely, revealing her teeth which were curved like a shark's.
"What you wanted, but..with a little twist.
Kara will certainly like you now. The thing is, my brother's venom is rather lethal, so..your end might be a good topic for conversation." She laughed at his agony. "You may not think so, but this will help. Not you, of course, but me. Hurricane will be ever so pleased with me."
Foster tried to yell at her. He tried to speak, tried to call for outside help, but he found that the darkness all around him was too great and too encompassing for that. Soon enough, his vision faded to black, and he went into a blissful state of nothingness, so similar to death.