Kara left the previous hallway with the doors and went where Lily had pointed. She wasn't sure if this was the right way to go or not, but it was as good of a guess as any. Hillary and Axel could honestly be anywhere by now.
A staircase came into view, one with a pearly white banister and golden adorned steps.
The low him of voices could be heard, even from where she and Lily stood.
It had to be because of the high ceilings.
Kara ascended the stairs, and Lily went after her, as she always seemed to lately. Once they were at the top, there were two plainer, purplish doors with gold knobs.
Kara chose the one on the right, and timidly opened it, unsure of what would be inside.
It was a grand bedroom, much fancier than her own back home. It had large windows and a mattress that could've easily fit four people on it at once. On the middle of it sat Axel.
Once Kara noticed him there, she paled and went back behind the still open door.
The fairy prince was quietly murmuring something.
No, not murmuring. Singing.
The lyrics sounded very old, but they also seemed to hold meaning. Suddenly interested, Kara listened in, trying not to make a sound. Lily tried her best to do the same.
"The winds of change run through the woods, the winds, oh, how they run.
They've tossed and turned me through this wood, and taken all my fun.
The winds go east and west and back, and could make many weary.
For those that traverse wind with ease,
death is slow and dreary."

Though the words had been soft, they were filled with grief, and immediately it felt wrong to barge in on Axel and hear him like this. She stepped out from where she'd been crouching, just for a moment, and the prince spotted her, making her jump. Oh no.
"What the-Kara? What are you doing here?" he snapped.
Lily came up beside her, her face reddening out of embarrassment and her crush as well.
"We just..wanted to know why you left so fast," she explained. "Also, was that..a song you came up with, or-"
"No! It was a lullaby, but..that doesn't matter." He frowned deeply.
"Why should I tell you anything? You're just a Flightless! You could never understand."
He looked at Kara with his pale eyes, and his expression darkened further.
"And you! You're supposed to save us all, but you don't even know how! You don't know anything about magic."
He made a noise out of frustration and turned away from them.
His small wings, half hidden by his old fashioned outfit, shone with inner light behind him. "This is hopeless," he groaned as he looked up at the ceiling of his room. "We're all going to die, and it's going to be my mother's fault for trusting the likes of you."
He sat up slowly and raised one hand up as he did. Gold sparks glittered around his fingertips.
"I'm sorry, but..I want you to leave."
Lily objected to this. "Wait, what about-"
"I said I want you to leave!"
His sparks soared upwards, nearly touching the ceiling. They turned slightly, targeting the two girls.
"Okay, we get it," Kara said anxiously. "We're leaving now."
She left the room first, and Lily went after her, a bit more reluctantly. The moment they were out of the prince's room, Kara shook her head and sighed. "Axel's right, you know," she said.
"I don't know anything about magic. How am I supposed to save anyone without that?"
"I don't know. Wasn't this other person supposed to teach you or something?"
"Yeah, but I don't know when that's going to happen." Kara sighed again. "Let's just go back to our rooms. It felt bad enough invading Axel's personal space like that, but now I have to deal with this other stuff too."
Lily looked back at the closed door longingly.
"But..what if he needs our help?"
"He doesn't. He doesn't want us to do anything. Let's just go."
Kara started to leave, and Lily had no choice but to follow, unless she wanted to get lost in this labyrinth of a castle.

Foster was falling, surrounded by an abyss of color. Caleb held him steady, but he too was shaky amongst the strong magic.
Foster expected to be torn away from Kara's dad at any moment now, but the older man kept such a firm grip on him that he never did.
The two arrived in a dense forest.
Some of the trees had bizarre symbols carved into them. Foster could only stiffen at the sight.
He remembered this from the last time he was here. "Let's go," Caleb said, breaking him out of his thoughts. "We need to find Kara before we do anything else."
Foster nodded. He agreed with this plan, but this was the fairy world-or realm, whichever one it was called. It was similar to his home too, but it was dark, and sometimes deadly.
He had seen that part of it with the witches here.
Foster put all this aside and followed Kara's father as he made his way through the forest.
Soon, there was a loud rustling noise from up above them.
Foster looked up, straightening his glasses. Caleb glanced back at him, coming to a stop in the undergrowth. "Foster, what is it?
What's wrong?
"Nothing, it's just..there was a noise up above us. Should I be worried about that?"
"Maybe. There's plenty of animals that could've made that sound, but we should still be cautious anyway. Keep an eye out for anything that might be dangerous."
Foster adjusted his shirt collar nervously. There could be anything up there, and that was frightening. He frowned and hurried after Caleb, recoiling at every little noise.
Kara's father soon laughed at him.
"Foster, it seems like you've never heard anything before." His laugh faded, becoming something more serious. "Calm down, alright? We're nearly there, and if you fidget any more, you'll attract attention we don't need."
Foster nodded again, taking a deep breath to steady himself. Caleb was right.
He had to stay calm, for Kara's sake.
He followed Caleb further and further through the dense woods. Soon after Foster thought he could glimpse a castle through the foliage.
Could it be? Was it real, or was it just his eyes playing tricks on him? He wanted to let Kara's dad know, but before he could, a series of rustling sounds came from up above him again.
A scaly hand came out of nowhere and took hold of his shirt from behind. Foster pulled away, alarmed. Sharp claws dug in, and he was pulled off of the ground entirely. A cloth was wrapped around his mouth, and he sunk rapidly into darkness, too tired to call for help.

Caleb reached the edge of the path he'd managed to make. The trees themselves had parted too to reveal the fairy royal family's place of residence.
He smiled, relieved. Finally, some civilization.
"Foster, we're nearly there," he happily stated.
"We'll be seeing Kara soon enough."
When he received no reply, the man turned around to see that his daughter's childhood friend was no longer standing beside him.
In fact, he wasn't just not standing there.
He was nowhere to be found.
Somehow, he had disappeared completely.
"Foster," Caleb shouted, shocked by this and somewhat frightened. "Foster!"