Kendra's hands shook slightly as she poured out another cup of tea for herself, and she promptly downed it like a shot. It scalded her throat, but the taste was enough to help calm her nerves—a little.

"Kendra, enough." Bracken reached across the table and stole the teapot away from her before she could snatch it back. "You're going to end up making yourself sick."

"I'm nervous," Kendra said shakily. "I'm stress-drinking."

"It'll be fine. My mother loves you," Bracken reassured her. He had pulled his silvery hair back into a ponytail, and his blue eyes stood out against his coffee-brown skin. Just looking at him normally made Kendra feel better. Now, not really.

"Sure, she loves me now," said Kendra. "But what if I say something wrong? Or I totally go against some fairy kingdom tradition? Or—"

Bracken reached across the table and grasped her hand. "Kendra," he said, "it will be okay."

"Okay."

"Say it."

"It will be okay."

"There you go."

Kendra took a shaky breath. She had been stressed ever since Raxtus had brought the Fairy Queen's invitation for a cup of tea. She was grateful that Bracken had invited her to come a little early so he could calm her nerves, but she still felt like her stomach was in her throat.

The scenery was nice, at least. Bracken had pulled her through the shrine at Fablehaven and to the shrine at a small Grecian preserve called Blooming Tulips. The prince and the handmaiden were kneeling by the shrine with a slab of rock serving as a table in between them. The breeze through the rocky hills easily chased away the late August heat, and the small statue of the queen sat peacefully nearby with her hands folded.

"I just don't want to mess up," Kendra said.

Bracken picked up the teapot and refilled his own cup, still using his free hand to interlace his fingers with Kendra's. "I will tell you right now, I have seen people do some wild things in front of mother, and she still holds high opinion of them."

"Wild things?"

"One fairykind was ambushed on the way to give their report. They decapitated a few orcs that had followed them and accidentally dropped one of the heads on mother's shoe. They were mortified, but she was more impressed by their fighting."

"And she was still okay with them?"

"Absolutely."

"...Okay, that's good."

"All you've got to remember is you and I serve the tea, she doesn't," coached Bracken. "It's just a sign of respect. Other than that, my mother just wants to see how you've been. A check up, I guess."

"You and I serve the tea, and it's just a check up. Okay." Kendra sucked in a breath, and slowly let it out. "I got this."

Right on time, the small statue of the fairy queen began to glow. Kendra shielded her eyes, and when the light subsided, the Fairy Queen was casually kneeling at the table.

"Good afternoon," she said gracefully.

Even though Kendra had seen her before at the Battle of Zzyzx, she had never actually gotten a good look at the Fairy Queen at a time other than the heat of battle. The queen was tall and graceful, with deep brown skin and close-cropped hair. Several patches of white—vitiligo, maybe, if royal deities were still prone to it—dotted her skin. It took Kendra a moment to notice, but she quickly realized that each patch of different color moved slowly across the queen's skin as though caught in a slight wind. With her came a slight feeling of contented peacefulness and the scent of flowers.

"G-good afternoon, your majesty," Kendra said hastily. Great. She was stuttering like Gavin, the ultimate jerk.

Bracken gently prodded Kendra's side, and she quickly picked up the teapot and poured the Fairy Queen a cup. The pot quavered in her hands, but luckily she didn't spill any.

"It's good to see you again," said the Fairy Queen, and gracefully picked up her cup to take a sip. "I had been hoping to talk to you earlier, but everything has been very busy in the kingdom."

"I understand. How is reconstruction going?"

"It's going excellently." The queen's eyes sparked, and Kendra felt excitement well up in her too. Despite the fact that the queen's skin was several shades darker than her son's, her blue eyes were the same. "Bracken and his sister Lichen have taken that and run with it. She's quite the architect, and Bracken is a wonderful builder."

Bracken's cheeks went silver. "I have lots of help, your majesty," he said humbly.

"You're still doing well. But what about you, Kendra? How are the Knights doing?" The queen turned to Kendra.

Kendra shakily put down her teacup. "We've been... busy. There are a few preserves that the Society took over in the last months before it was all over, and there are still some wandering branches who want revenge on the Knights. There's been a lot of missions to take back the preserves and get rid of the last Society members."

The Fairy Queen nodded. She didn't surprised, but Kendra still felt a weight on her chest—the same thing the queen must've been feeling. "How many preserves?"

"Seven, I think. Grandpa hasn't said much to Seth and I. He doesn't want us to worry." Kendra looked down into her tea. She could still remember her and Seth going to Grandpa in his office and begging for news, but all they had gotten was an order to go to bed and rest, that they had seen enough and they shouldn't go through anymore. It hadn't made them feel any better. This was still their world. They had to help somehow.

The queen was quiet as she studied her teaspoon, but after several beats of silence, she spoke. "One of those preserves is The Plains, in China." It wasn't a question. The queen cracked a bitter smile. "That was actually the area that tea originated from. The mortals there taught my fairies, and eventually my daughter Thicket brought it back to the kingdom. It caught the people by storm. It's still the most popular drink we have."

Kendra wasn't sure how to answer. Luckily, Bracken broke the silence.

"Gilgarol dispatched several astrids to assist the mortal Knights, and Captain Stan told me that The Plains is one of the preserves he's sending them to," Bracken said.

Now the Fairy Queen smiled. Kendra's heart lifted. The queen's emotions had subtler effect in person, but Kendra was still glad that the queen had left behind her melancholy.

"Perfect. Some of them know the preserve very well, I'll ask Gilgarol to send them," the queen said. She flicked her hand, and a quill dashed out of her pocket and scribbled something on a napkin. A reminder, Kendra realized. It was oddly reassuring. Even the queen had to make notes to keep everything on track, the same way Kendra did.

"How about a more cheerful topic?" suggested Bracken. "Kendra, how about you talk about your training sessions?"

Kendra brightened. Now here was something good.

"It's been going really well! Bracken's been really helpful. I can do most of the basic exercises, and I'm hoping to move on to level alpha spells sometime soon." She giggled. "Seth's been trying some of them too, but it doesn't translate well into dark magic."

"Something caught fire?" guessed the queen with a chuckle herself.

"More like someone. Seth lit up his own shirt. Luckily Dale got the hose."

The queen laughed, and Kendra could feel joy bubbling in her own stomach. Her worry melted away. "You've understood the basic exercises? That's great! You'd be surprised how much you can do with just those spells."

"Yeah, I've been practicing a lot." She flexed her fingers. Making her hands glow was one of the simplest things she had learned so far, but it had still taken an embarrassing amount of time to get it. Bracken had told her over and over that she shouldn't worry about it, these spells were completely new to her, but she still had gotten frustrated. Luckily that had just made getting it all the more satisfying.

"Do you have an idea on what types of magic you'd like to focus on?" asked the queen. "Don't feel pressured to give a definite answer now. You are always free to change your choice."

Kendra steepled her fingers. "I'm... not sure. I'm thinking maybe defensive magic, or healing. The preserve's barrier needs repairs, so I want to help with that, and since Seth has strong offensive magic and weak defense, if I use defensive, we'd make a better team."

"I'm impressed."

Kendra looked up. "What?"

The queen smiled. "Too many have gone astray to seek power, but you are trying to work with those you have and repair what has been hurt. I think those paths would work well for you."

Kendra straightened, feeling reinvigorated. "Thank you! Uh, your majesty."

"You're very welcome." The queen went to take a drink, but suddenly her quill jumped up and started poking at her cheek. It dashed down to her napkin and quickly scratched out a message. The queen looked at it for a moment, then heaved a sigh, grabbed the quill, and shoved it in her dress pocket.

"I have to leave, I'm afraid," she said. She nodded to Bracken. "Lichen needs us. There was an incident at one of the construction sites, and they need as many hands as possible to stabilize it."

Bracken got up. "Was anyone hurt?"

"I don't believe so. Take Kendra home, then come to the site." The queen grasped Kendra's hands across the table. "Keep practicing. Take care of yourself and your family. I have so much faith in you. You are strong and capable, and I know you can become all you want to be."

Kendra's breath caught in her throat. She didn't realize that the praise would mean so much to her until it was said.

"Thank you so much," she said quietly. The Fairy Queen gave a small smile before sweeping up to her feet.

"Until next time." With another steady glow, the queen disappeared.

Kendra took a deep breath. With the queen gone, the effect of the queen's emotions had left as well, leaving a strange feeling in her chest.

Bracken offered Kendra his hand. "Ready to go?"

"You didn't say much," noted Kendra.

Bracken shrugged, looking a little guilty. "I knew mother wanted to talk to you. She talks to my sisters and I all the time. I figured you should have your chance. Do you want to stick around for a minute? You look like you're thinking."

Kendra took his hand and let him pull her to her feet. "I'm ready to leave," she said. "Let's go. I've got spells to practice."