Lily was a modest person, so she never really said it, but her family was relatively rich due to her father's job. Their house was practically a mansion with many different rooms, each one more spacious and decorated than the last. Kara got out of the car and walked up to the front door of her friend's home. She rang the doorbell and waited for a few moments. Instead of Lily herself arriving, her little brother, Devon, greeted her there. "Oh! Hi, Kara!" he said with a smile. The ten year old had messy black hair and blue eyes. One of his eyes, however, had a bruise across it. Kara knew that Devon participated in a wrestling club at school, and he was a rowdy kid in general, so a black eye-or any other injury, really-was normal for him. He wore a green shirt that was white at the collar and sleeves, and his jeans looked brand new, albeit a little dirty. "Hi, Devon," she said to him. "I've been..on vacation lately, and I'm here to see Lily. Do you know where she is?"
"Yeah! She's upstairs!"
Kara nodded. Usually she would've been hit by tons of questions from Lily's younger sibling, but she had made sure to leave too quickly for that. She raced up the large corridor that led to the family's bedrooms, and soon found what she was looking for. Lily's room was easy to spot, since it was labeled with a name tag that she had made when she was in an art class with Kara in elementary school. Kara knocked, and when a voice from inside said, "Come in!" she did just that.
Lily was sitting on her bed, listening to music and painting her nails with blue nail polish that was precariously close to the edge of her mattress. Her room was ajar, the books and clothes that were usually on shelves or in neat piles now tossed all over the floor. Lily wore a black top adorned with little white hearts, and her black and white ruffled skirt reached down to her knees. Her wrists were lined with silver bracelets, and they hit each other with a ringing sound as she finished with her nails and set down the tiny brush on her bedside table. She heard Kara's entrance and raised her head. When she turned around and caught sight of her, her mascara and eyeliner coated eyes widened to a size that made them look impossibly large. She forcibly tore out her earbuds and sped forward, almost knocking Kara down. "You're here! Omg, Kara, you're really here!" She hugged her tightly, then pulled back, smiling. "I thought you weren't coming."
"Really? How could I not come? I love hanging out at your place." Lily laughed at this response, but then her expression grew deathly serious. "I thought you were dead, Kara," she cried. "Dead! Well either that, or something else that's equally bad. Everyone else thought that too. You didn't call, or write, or leave some sort of ransom note-you just disappeared without any notice. When Foster went missing too, I wanted to think you both had run away together, but I knew you were too fixed on school to do that."
Kara nodded. That was all she could think to do. Lily's lip quivered. "If you hadn't come back today, your dad might've considered having a funeral. A funeral, Kara! I didn't want to accept that. I knew you weren't dead. You couldn't be, and..and now you're back." Tears were gathering in her eyes, and she rubbed at them furiously. "Ohh, I hate crying. It always ruins my makeup." She smiled again, her sad demeanor going away. "Kara, listen. I don't know where you've been or what you've been up to, but..thank you for coming back. School was boring without you."
Kara smiled back at her. "You're welcome."
After some time, the truth came out. Kara told her all that she could, but kept out the fairy stuff because of Oren's threat, rewording things when she could. She had told her father because she felt she had to, but she didn't know if she could trust Lily with that same knowledge, or if she would believe her, even. The whole story was hard to believe, but Lily had grown out of fairytales long ago. It would be hard to get her interested in any part of it. At least, that's what she had been expecting. Disinterest didn't show itself. Shock and surprise were there instead. When she finished, her best friend looked appalled. "That's a lot to take in at once," she murmured. "So Shade's your..what, exactly?"
"My Guardian." Kara blushed at this, but then frowned. "That's like a, uh..police force where he comes from. They're assigned to protect Fl-I mean, um, people...you know, certain ones that need extra help that their acquaintances can't give them."
"Oh. Isn't he from Europe, though? They should have the same police force we have here."
"Yeah, that's right, but, uh.." Kara was scouring her mind at this point. Lily was giving her an expression that meant she might be seeing through her lies. She had to come up with something, and something fast. "I don't know..it's probably different in some parts."
"Oh, okay then.." Lily looked at her questioningly. "How's Foster doing? Are you and him still a thing?"
Kara was slow to answer, looking down at her hands instead of looking ahead at her friend. This told her all she needed to know. "You broke up with him, didn't you?"
Kara couldn't deny that. "Yeah."
"Why? He was really nice to you."
"Yes, but only at first." She recalled what he'd said to her during their argument and scowled. "I was friends with other guys while I was away, and he assumed I was cheating on him, even though I wasn't. He wouldn't listen, not even when I had made it clear that nothing had been going on."
She shook her head, angry at the thought of it all. "I broke up with him for that."
"So he was a jealous nut?"
"Basically."
Lily smirked. "Ha, yeah, I hate people like that. You did the right thing." She smoothed down a part of her skirt before talking again. "Do you have a new boyfriend yet?"
Kara shook her head at this, blushing again. "No. Why would I?"
Lily smiled slyly. "Well, this Guardian of yours sounds pretty interested in you. Are you sure you and Shade aren't a couple?"
"Me? With him?" Kara pretended to gag, which earned her a laugh. "Never. He's too self centered and rude. Besides, we're just friends."
Lily rolled her eyes. "People who are 'just friends' don't kiss each other, Kara. He wouldn't have done that if he wasn't into you."
Kara shrugged this off. "I don't know. It's too soon after the breakup with Foster to go ahead and date someone else. I don't know Shade very well, anyway. It's probably best for me to lay low and learn more about him before I even consider dating him, if I do at all."
Lily crossed her arms. "Alright. You can do what you want, but if you don't go after that boy, I will."
"What-Lily, no!"
"Why not?" She stopped short and chuckled. "I'm just kidding. From what you've told me, he sounds like he would be too high maintenance anyway."
Lily adjusted the sparkly white hairpiece that held her raven hair up in a neat bun. It resembled some sort of exotic flower.
There was a flash from outside, a spark that was visible through the nearby windows for a moment. Lily noticed this and gasped, taking a closer look. "Kara, what's that glowing thing down there?"
Kara went up to the window and peered out of it with her friend. A colorful vortex that could only have been a Gateway was forming outside close to the woods that bordered Lily's house. It was orange and blue, and it all swirled together in a fiery overlapping circle. The colors solidified, becoming a sturdy, dark brown door with golden trim and a gold knob to go with it. A figure that Kara didn't recognize opened the door, stepping out into the thicket. It had a black cloak on, one that concealed its face from view. "Who is that?" Lily asked in a whisper. "I don't know," Kara said back, frightened. She had an idea of who it might be. She knew it was unlikely, but the beasts had told her Hurricane would come. What if he was here now? She would have nowhere to run.
The figure removed its hood, its face ridding Kara of the horrible fantasies her mind had begun to conceive. It was a face she was unfamiliar with, one that was middle aged. He had dark, wild looking hair, and wide blue eyes that seemed to have thin, diagonal pupils like a goat's would. He blinked, and his eyes changed into normal ones. Lily had started to tremble. "Kara, what's going on here? Who is he?"
"I have no idea, but I'm going to find out."
Kara stood up from the bed, then moved to the door to leave. Lily saw this, so before she could go much further, she grabbed Kara's arm before she could run down past the staircase and leave. "No! Don't go outside!" she pleaded.
"That thing out there could attack you, or worse!"
"Lily, listen to me. I know this looks bad, but I don't think he's here to hurt me."
"How do you know?" Lily was shaking more now. "How am I supposed to know? What if that person grabs you and takes you away? What would I do then?"
Kara moved Lily's arm so that her hand was touching her own. She held it and looked into her eyes. "You won't have to worry about that, not if you come with me." Lily looked terrified, her whole body shaky and on edge. Her fingers were shaky, too, and it was hard to hold them. She didn't say anything for a few minutes. Just when Kara had started to reconsider and was about to let her go, Lily turned to her calmly, and without crying or yelling, she said something that startled her greatly. "Alright. You really want me to come?"
Kara nodded. Lily nodded too, her expression braver.
"Okay, then. Count me in."
She squeezed Kara's hand, and the two of them hurtled down the steps, passing Devon as they went. The door was ajar, so the two ran outside after pushing it open and closing it behind them. The strange man wasn't too far away. When they approached him, he stared in their direction in a way that was unsettling.
It made Lily try to turn back. The man sighed, rubbing his eyes before he spoke. His voice was deep, but easygoing and gentle. "I know you are there, Flightless," he called. "You too, young Hybrid. Come here."
Kara listened to him first. Lily went next, hiding timidly behind Kara once she reached the stranger. Kara forced herself to speak up, hoping she could reason with the man if he meant to harm her. "Who are you, and what do you want?"
The man with the strange eyes smiled broadly. "My name is Everett Thomas. I was a friend of your mother's while she was still with us."
Everett stretched out his gangly arms and legs. He was wearing a worn out blue jacket, along with torn up jeans. He was barefoot too, and up close, his hair was spiky at the ends. "The Seelie Queen of Lymeria has requested that you return to the fairy realm. She needs your assistance with an urgent matter."
Kara was curious. "What kind of matter?"
"The Fairy Stone has been broken."
Everett's voice was solemn. "If it breaks any further, then there is a definite chance that every fairy in Lymeria will lose their magic forever. The queen believes that only you can fix it."
"Me?" Kara had mixed feelings about this. One was immense pride, and the other was dread. Having every fairy lose their magic forever was catastrophic, and if she didn't help them, then she didn't want to think about what might happen as a result.
"Yes, you. However, no one else may accompany you this time." Everett's voice was gruff sounding now. "My queen wants no complications of any kind, such as when your friend turned into a griffin and went on a rampage. He tried to kill Gifted fairies, and destroyed private property. Queen Iona does not want that sort of problem again."
"Oh." Kara didn't like this very much. She had taken someone with her to Lymeria so that she wouldn't end up all alone there. Foster had been separated from her, yes, but at least he had been someone she could rely on while she was there for the first time. Now, things were relatively different. She had friends in Lymeria, friends that were close and helpful and kind.
They seemed trustworthy, and knew her mother, which was a plus. Also, they knew how to fight against demise beasts. That was something that she and the rest of her human friends and family couldn't do. With all that aside, she found that she missed the place anyway, regardless of the dangers or the hardships it posed to her. Missing the realm, though, still didn't change what had happened there. Foster had nearly been killed, and on occasion, she had almost been, too.
Not only that, but she didn't really want to go see the queen on her own, not without someone else she knew to help her out.
It felt like she had to sever all connections from the people she knew, and she couldn't do that, not even for a queen. Even if her mom had been a fairy, she didn't have to listen to someone of their authority. She didn't owe them anything. "Well, tell your queen I won't help her."
Everett narrowed his cold eyes. "Excuse me? You cannot refuse her orders."
"I just did. I won't help her unless she lets me bring someone with me."
The man made a noise that sounded like a guttural growl. "How dare you," he spat. "You insolent girl! Queen Iona's word is nonnegotiable. You cannot bring anyone with you, for that is her command. This cannot be changed!"
"You want me to fix the Fairy Stone, don't you?"
"Yes."
"Then arrangements will need to be made."
Everett bristled at this. He clenched his fists, and bright blue light flickered over him, over the entirety of his face and his body. He growled loudly, and through the light that passed over him, Kara thought she could see a dragon's face overlapping his. The energy surrounding Everett faded as he calmed down.
"Fine," he said through clenched teeth. "You can have a companion come with you, but only one." He grumbled something crossly, but Kara had heard it anyway. "Any more than that, and the queen will have my head." He shook his head, then faced her, looking cross. "Choose who you wish to accompany you on your trip, and then come through this Gateway with me."
"Okay. I will." Kara made a mental list of who was able to come. Her father seemed to be too emotionally scarred to come, and she didn't want Foster to come with her ever again. Any other person she thought of didn't really fit, but  there was one that did, and she was right beside her. In that instant, the decision was easy. She raised her hand, and pointed to the girl standing hesitantly next to her.
"Lily," she said. "That's who I'll take with me."
"Me?" Lily had been standing there for a long while-listening, puzzled, to the conversation with Everett. Now that her name had been called, she was attentive again. "But..why me?"
"Lily, you're my best friend. Why wouldn't I want you to come?"
Lily looked uneasy. "Wait a minute...I can't just leave without any notice. What will I tell my family?  I could be gone for a long time."
Everett had a solution. "If you want, I could use magic to keep your parents from noticing you ever left. I could even make it wear off when you return." Lily nodded. "Oh, um...alright! I guess that'll work."
Kara frowned at her. "Lily, no, that doesn't sound safe." Her friend shot an indignant look at her. "Well, if he doesn't do that, then my parents will see I'm not home and go looking for me. I don't want that to happen."
Kara sighed. "Alright, fine, just..leave my dad alone, Everett. We won't be gone long enough for him to worry."
Everett nodded. "Fine. Let's get going, you two. The queen wants you to be in Lymeria before sundown."
"Okay, okay, we're going," Lily snapped. "Aren't you pushy."
This made the man growl again, and she shrank back in fear. The man gave an amused smirk, then raised his hands. A Gateway formed behind him, appearing in glittering shades of red and gold before turning into a door with the same reddish color. Everett walked up and opened it, going inside. Kara grabbed Lily's hand, and they both followed him, disappearing inside of it.