Cailin stayed up in her room all morning. She was drawing a picture of a pretty land, with large mushrooms and large flowers. She had been told briefly by her father that this land did exist. How Cailin wished greatly that she could see it.

"I wonder just how tall the mushrooms are," she said, kicking her legs in the air, as she lay on her stomach across her floor.

"I wonder what the talking flowers are like...I wonder if they're nice," Cailin thought.

Cailin thought vary long on the mushroom forest. "If I ever go to the mushroom forest, I will climb onto the mushrooms, and bounce from one mushroom to the other. I wonder if they bounce..." she thought. "I wonder if I will ever go to the mushroom forest..."

She looked back at her door. Then she decided to go ask her father if he would ever take her. She walked down the stairs to find her father. She walked into the living room. He was not there.

Then she walked into the kitchen, and he was not there ether.

"Father!" she called. Then she looked out the window. Tarrant was out in the garden working. "Oh, there he is!" she said.

Then she rushed out side. Once she reached the garden, she climbed over the fence and ran to her father.

Tarrant looked up from hoeing the ground. "Hello, My Dear," he said.

"Hello, Father," Cailin said, a little expectantly.

"Do you need anything?"

"Well..."

Tarrant smiled at his daughter. "What is it?"

"I was wondering, Father...Have you ever been to the Mushroom forest?"

"The Mushroom Forest? No, I have never been there. It is quite dangerous you know?"

Cailin's face fell. "Why is it dangerous?"

"Because, all of Underland is dangerous," Tarrant assured her.

"Why, Father?"

"Because, unfortunately..." he hesitated, "Our leader is a very bad leader."

"The Red Queen?"

Tarrant turned his face a little. His mood changed to a melancholy sadness. "Yes..." he said quietly.

Cailin dropped the subject right away. She knew that her father always got very upset, whenever the Red Queen was mentioned. Cailin did not even know the full reason why. Her father never talked on the subject at all. She knew very little about the clan that she had come from, her cousin's, aunts, uncles, and grandparents, she didn't even know about the mother that she had come from.

Tarrant would answer any of Cailin's questions, but she knew not to talk about it to him. It just made him too upset.

Cailin kicked the ground that she stood on, with her toe. "So...can I help you?" she said.

Tarrant looked around. "Well, I suppose you can weed the carrot patch," he said.

Cailin walked over to the carrot patch. She knelt down and began weeding the area. As she picked the weeds, she began to feel sad. She wished that she had a chance to know her clan, her family, and most of all, her mother. She also wished that her father's life was a happier place for him. All though he was always loving and caring to her, there was always a hint of sadness in his presence.

...

At night time, Cailin was about to get into bed. She had just gotten into her night gown, and brushed her long red locks. She was climbing into bed, when there was a knock on her door. She looked up to see that her father had entered.

She smiled when she saw him. "Hello, Father."

"Hello, Sweet Heart," he said, and he sat by her side. He rubbed her leg under the blanket. "How was your day?"

"Oh...fine..."

"Really?"

"Yes."

"You seem like you have something on your mind. Do you want to ask me something?"

Cailin did want to ask him something, but she knew that he would be upset if she did. She wanted to ask about what her mother was like, but she wouldn't dare. "No...Nothing."

"You can ask me anything, you know?"

She smiled a little, looking down. "No, Father. I don't have anything to ask."

"Well, okay, then," he said, giving a small chuckle. He rubbed her soft cheek.

Then Tarrant spotted the picture of the Mushroom forest on Cailin's floor. He picked it up and admired it. "That's beautiful, Cailin," he said.

"Oh, thank you," she said, bashfully.

"So...why are you suddenly so interested in the Mushroom Forest?"

"It looks quite lovely," she said.

"Oh?"

"I wish I could visit it some time. Father?" she asked.

"Yes, Dear?"

"Will Underland ever be safe?"

Tarrant looked at her seriously. He was silent for a moment. "I certainly hope so..." he finally said.

"When?"

He shook his head. "I don't know..." he said sadly.

"Do you think that we will live to see the Frabjous Day?"

"I do hope so, My Dear. I pray every day that one day, we will be free."

Cailin smiled at him. "I believe that we will," she said.

He smiled back at her. "Well, you know what? You are probably right," he said, and he kissed her on the fore head. "Good night, Dear."

"Good night, Father," she said, hugging him.

Then Tarrant got up, and he went to the door. He blew her one last kiss before leaving the room. Then he stepped out and shut the door.

...

Tarrant went to his bedroom. He pulled a box out from under his bed and began shuffling through it. Then he pulled out a picture with a frame around it. Every night he took this picture out. It was a small picture, and simple. But it was perfect. It was a picture of Tarrant's beloved wife.

She stood, standing next to a large cherry tree. Her long curly hair styled into a simple pull back. She smiled with the sunlight in her face. Happiness shone upon her face as well, as she held on tightly to her new born, little baby, Cailin.

Tarrant smiled through tears, as he looked at the picture. He rubbed it gently with his fingertips. "Good night, Kila," he said, in a shaky voice. "I love you..." he whispered. He kissed the picture. Then he looked at it for a few more minutes, before setting it back into it's box, and putting it away.

Then he climbed into his lonely bed and pulled up the covers. When he fell asleep, he dreamed of Kila.