Chapter 4: Father and Son
"What's the plan?" asked Seth, looking over at Warren, who was sitting on the couch across from him.
"Can't say I really have any real semblance of a plan," replied Warren. "This whole situation just took us all by surprise."
"Are you going to send Passion and Goldenrod back to Fablehaven?" asked Ingrid, as she eyed the two fairies who were standing on the table before everybody.
"It's better we don't," said Bracken. "At least, not yet. "If this boy really is drawn to fairies, I'd be interested in finding out just why that's the case."
"You two are coming with us," said Bright, looking down at Passion and Goldenrod. "That's an order."
"Yes, Bright," said Passion.
"As you wish," added Goldenrod, nodding in response.
"Then let's get going," said Warren, as he slipped the Oculus back into his bag. "Come on."
The group made their way back out of the room and walked down the hallway, where they waited for an elevator. Once one arrived, they all got on and began to ride it downwards.
"You fairies still with us?" asked Kendra, speaking under her breath.
"We're here," said Goldenrod. "We're hiding in Bright and Clover's pockets."
"Where did Larissa and that boy go?" asked Ingrid, as the elevator stopped at the ninth floor.
"Forget it," muttered Bracken, as the doors slid open and an older man stepped onto the elevator. He greeted the group by nodding at them.
Once the elevator reached the lobby, everybody stepped out and looked around.
"This way," said Warren, directing the group over to an enclosed area where several couches and armchairs had been arranged. The group all sat down and Warren presented Seth with the Oculus.
"Okay, I'll try this again," said Seth, as he used the Oculus to once again focus on the boy and Larissa.
The boy quickly came into view. He was sitting at a table in a restaurant, across from the other man. Seth then shifted his focus onto Larissa. His view then dropped downwards, where he could see Larissa hiding underneath the very table that the two strangers were sitting at. She was gripping onto a table leg with both hands, her eyes fixated up at the boy.
"They're in a restaurant," exclaimed Seth.
"Which restaurant?" asked Kendra.
"Hold on, I'll check," said Seth, as he extended his view away from Larissa, backing up from underneath the table. The restaurant appeared to be rather high end, and was furnished with classy decor, plush seats and even chandeliers. In one corner, there was a pianist playing an inaudible melody on a grand piano.
Needing more information, Seth backed away to the entrance of the restaurant. He then saw that it was actually within a larger building, and was looking in from a familiar-looking hallway.
"That's it!" said Seth, as he opened his eyes and regained his normal vision. "They're eating at a restaurant in this very hotel!"
"It figures," said Warren.
"I know we passed it before," said Seth, as he gave the Oculus back to Warren. "I believe it's this way!"
Seth then got up and proceeded to dash down the hallway.
"Seth, wait up!" exclaimed Kendra, as her brother continued to jaunt across the main lobby. He then entered another hallway, where he stopped before the entrance to the very restaurant he had just seen through the Oculus.
"This is it," said Seth, once the others had all caught up with him.
"You sure they're in here?" asked Clover, staring into the restaurant at the patrons.
"This has to be it. I know it."
"We need a plan," said Bracken. "How are we going to get Larissa without arousing suspicion?"
"She was hiding under the table that the boy was sitting at," replied Seth.
"Okay then," said Bright. "Passion and Goldenrod, I want you two to go find Larissa and get her to come back to us. But wait until we're closer to the table."
"Let's do this, then," said Warren, as he walked up to the head waitress' counter.
"Good afternoon," said the head waitress, who was dressed in a formal suit. "Are you here for lunch?"
"Yeah..." said Warren, who was partly sidetracked by the various people who were already sitting at various tables.
"For how many?"
"Seven."
"Right this way, please," said the waitress, as she picked up a small stack of menus and led the group into the restaurant. The group followed her past several rows of occupied tables, before stopping at a long, unoccupied one, where she seated them. After asking the group if any of them wanted a drink, she proceeded to walk back towards the entrance of the restaurant.
"I see them," said Seth, as he peered over towards the far wall of the restaurant. Surely enough, sitting together at a small booth were the boy and the older man.
"That table over there?" asked Ingrid, who was looking in the same direction.
"Yup."
"Okay, girls," said Bright, looking down at her waist. "I want you to fly underneath that table over there. That's where Seth spotted Larissa. Find her and bring her back, now. But keep close to the floor, so you can reduce your chance of being spotted."
"Got it," said Goldenrod, as she and Passion both flew off across the carpeted flooring of the restaurant, heading towards the other table.
"Bright, why don't you just summon Larissa to yourself with your power?" asked Ingrid.
"I'm not close enough from this spot," replied Bright. "Plus she's out of view. I could just get closer, but it's best if I don't loiter around in this place."
"As long as we're here and we're waiting, let's get some grub," said Warren, as he picked up his menu.
Just then, Passion and Goldenrod zipped back up from the floor and flew onto the center of the table.
"Where's Larissa?" asked Clover, speaking with a stern tone in her voice.
"She... wasn't there," replied Passion.
"What?" muttered Bracken. "Look, you're in enough trouble as it is! You're only making things worse!"
"This isn't a joke!" snapped Goldenrod.
"You know what, I'll check this out myself," said Clover.
"Seriously!" said Passion. "Larissa is not under that table!"
"She was five minutes ago," stated Seth.
"So where is she now?" asked Kendra.
"She can't have gone far," said Bright. "I'll just casually walk past that table and see if I can summon Larissa as I do so. Those people don't know who I am."
Bright then got up from her seat and proceeded to walk over towards the booth where the boy was seated. Trying to avoid eye contact, Bright slowly sauntered past the booth, no doubt using her innate power to summon Larissa to herself.
After passing the booth, Bright continued past several more tables, then turned around and backtracked past the booth a second time. She then walked back to the group's table and slunk back into her chair, a look of disappointment etched onto her face.
"You couldn't sense her?" asked Ingrid.
"It's like she knew we were coming, so she's deliberately avoiding us," replied Bright. "All I can say for sure is that she's not under that table, or anywhere close by."
"Enough is enough," said Seth. "Warren, let me use the Oculus again."
"Here you go," said Warren, handing the Oculus over to Seth.
Seth accepted the Oculus, then used it to focus on Larissa once again. Once the fairy came into view, Seth discovered that she was now in a flower bed. Backing away from Larissa, Seth discovered that the flower bed was in a garden just outside the hotel, still within the proximity of the restaurant.
"Now she's in a garden outside," said Seth, as he "Maybe we should go get her while we can."
"Hold on a second," said Warren. "A fairy like her won't go too far in an unfamiliar world. And as long as we have the Oculus, we won't lose sight of her."
"So, what are we waiting for?" asked Kendra.
"That boy. He knows something. And I want to find out just what it is."
Warren got up from his seat. "Kendra, I want you to come with me. We're going to ask that boy a few questions. The rest of you, wait here. It's best we don't overwhelm them more than we already have to."
"Are you sure this is a good idea?" asked Kendra. "It seems kind of intrusive."
"I know. But as improper as this seems, it needs to be done. And Clover, if the waitress comes while we're gone, order me an avocado and chicken sandwich."
Warren gestured for Kendra to get up from her seat, which she did. The two of them then walked across the room and stopped in front of the table where the boy and the other man were sitting.
"Excuse us," said Warren, looking over at the two occupants of the table. "But do you mind if we have a talk?"
"I'm sorry," replied the man, "but who exactly are you?"
"Look, this is mainly to do with the boy," said Kendra, her eyes fixated on the child.
"My son? Luke? What about him?"
"Dad," said Luke, "what's going on?"
"I'm not sure. What's this all about? Do you have an important matter to discuss, or are you just trying to waste our time?"
"Take it easy," said Warren, holding up his hands. "We just want to ask a few questions. "Luke, we saw you down at the beach just before lunch. Is that true?"
"Well, yeah..." replied Luke.
"And you were going on about a butterfly, yes?"
"You know about this butterfly?" asked the man, whose eyes had suddenly lit up.
"Uh... no," replied Warren. "We were just at the beach ourselves, and couldn't help but overhear your son going on about some butterfly. I mean, it's pretty unusual to find a butterfly in a place like this."
"It is pretty unusual. Do you know anything more about it?"
"Not exactly. However, your son was pretty enthusiastic about it. Luke, what was this butterfly like?"
"Well, she was blue," replied Luke. "And she spent a lot of time playing with me."
"What do you mean by playing?" asked Kendra.
"Oh she was just flying around by my side for a while. It was strange. I've never seen a butterfly act that way before."
"I even tried to capture it," noted the man. "But it kept evading me. There was something highly unusual about this butterfly."
"It's only a butterfly," said Kendra. "Besides, you really shouldn't be capturing wild animals and uprooting them from the wild. It's cruel. Even if it is only a butterfly."
"This isn't what you think! You should have seen this butterfly! It was something else. If only I could've captured it. Then I'd have been able to prove everything!"
"Look, just don't worry so much about this whole thing," said Warren. "It was probably just a stray butterfly that was confused about its surroundings. No need to make a mountain out of a molehill."
"You sure seem calm for somebody who just a moment ago was so intrigued by my son's encounter with some random butterfly."
Warren winced. "Well, sorry. But your son was kind of making a big scene. The whole thing piqued our interest."
"Look, I was just interested in finding out anything I could about this butterfly that seemingly took a liking to my son. Is there any information at all whatsoever that you might be be able to share with me?"
Warren and Kendra stopped and turned their heads to face one another, then shook them in response.
"Sorry," replied Kendra. "But we don't know anything more about this butterfly that you already would."
"Well then," said the man. "I don't know what else to say. If you have nothing else to share with us, then I'm afraid that I can't help you. Now, if you don't mind, my son and I would like to enjoy our lunch in peace."
"Okay," said Warren, as he let out a reluctant sigh. "Sorry to have bothered you." He then turned to face Kendra. "Come on, let's go."
Kendra and Warren proceeded to walk back through the room and sat down at their table, where the rest of the group was waiting for them.
"So..." said Seth, "how'd it go?"
"Those two are up to something," said Kendra. "Especially the father."
"You mind starting from the beginning?" asked Clover.
Kendra and Warren went on to tell the others about the little discussion that they had just had with Luke and his father.
"Well, that sure sounds like a red flag," said Seth. "How're we supposed to find out more about what those two are actually like?"
"I don't know," said Ingrid. "It's not like we can just walk up to them and start talking about... them."
Ingrid proceeded to point at Passion and Goldenrod, both of whom were standing on center of the table.
"Speaking of these two," said Kendra, "what exactly are we supposed to do with them?"
"Well, there's not much else for them to do here," said Warren, "so, let's see to sending them back home after lunch. But we need to go out and round up Larissa as well. Fortunately, it's unlikely that she'll go very far, and we can just track her using the Oculus."
"Is it really such a good idea to wait like this instead of going after Larissa right now?" asked Bright. "I mean, she's unsupervised as well as in a strange land."
"Look, fairies like us aren't stupid," noted Clover. "I mean, how much trouble can one little fairy like her even get into?"
Everybody else at the table glanced across the room to where Luke and his father were currently sitting.
"Either way, I don't want to get up again to start chasing after a fairy," said Warren. "I think we've already caused enough commotion as it is. Let's all just take a deep breath and enjoy our lunch. Then we can go after Larissa."
Before long, lunch had been served. Everybody at the table had been treated to a delicious lunch. Except of course, for Passion and Goldenrod, who weren't even supposed to be there. Nevertheless, Seth, Ingrid and even Kendra couldn't help but share bits of their food with the two fairies, be it a tiny french fry or a sliver of a chicken tender.
"Must you feed the fairies?" asked Bright, rolling her eyes. "They're not even supposed to be here!"
"You'd think the kids were feeding dogs under the table," noted Bracken. "Mind you, little fairies like them aren't going to eat very much."
Once everybody had finished, Warren paid the for the bill and the group proceeded to leave the restaurant. On their way out, they passed by the table that Luke and his father had been sitting at. As they had left beforehand, a busboy was currently wiping it clean.
"Now what?" asked Ingrid, as the group walked out of the restaurant and back into the hotel hallway.
"Let's go find Larissa already," said Seth. "I think I know where she was. Follow me."
Seth led the group outside of the hotel, and directed them around a corner, over to the flower bed he had previously seen Larissa frolicking in through the Oculus. Situated against the wall of the hotel, the flower bed made up only a small section of the greater garden that was easily large enough to be a small park.
"So?" asked Bracken, as Seth pored through the stems, petals and leaves within the flower bed. "Where is she?"
"She was here when I looked through the Oculus!" exclaimed Seth. "It was this very spot! Honest!"
Bright sighed. "That was at least half an hour ago!"
"Well, she might still be somewhere in this garden!" stated Seth, as he stood up and stared around at the various flowerbeds, trees and other plants that made up the rest of the garden.
"Forget this," said Clover. "Let's just use the Oculus again right now to find out where she even is."
"Fine," said Seth, as he walked over to a nearby bench and sat down.
Warren presented the Oculus to Seth. Gripping the artifact in his hand, Seth used it to concentrate on Larissa. Surely enough, the blue fairy came into view.
Larissa appeared to be sitting on top of a car. A taxi, to be precise, since she was leaning against the sign on the roof of a yellow car which had TAXI spelled out in big, bold letters. On top of that, the taxi was in the midst of driving down a busy Honolulu street.
"You won't believe this," said Seth, "but Larissa is on a taxi."
"A taxi?" asked Warren. "How'd she even hail a cab?"
"No..." moaned Seth. "I mean she's riding on the roof of a taxi!"
"Larissa's riding on top of a car?" asked Bright. "That is not safe!"
"No kidding," said Warren. "She doesn't even have a seat belt."
"Where's she heading?" asked Bracken.
"Beats me," replied Seth as he continued to watch Larissa ride through the city by means of the Oculus. "I don't know the geography of this city at all."
"Seth," said Ingrid. "I'm wondering. Who's even riding inside the taxi?"
Seth then lowered his focus into the backseat of the taxi. Surely enough, Luke and his father were the ones sitting there.
"I should've guessed," said Seth. "It's Luke and his dad."
"Great," said Clover. "How are we supposed to catch up with them in a busy city like this?"
"Relax," said Warren. "Let's just wait this whole thing out and see where they get off. Once they're on foot, then we can go after them and Larissa."
