Ronin got to the house as fast as he could. He drove up the driveway and headed straight to the door when he caught something out of the corner of his eye. There were dark marks on the grass.
Ronin frowned as he drew closer and saw a trail of them coming out of the woods. He pressed his fingers against the blades of grass, and shivered. "Dark fairies," he muttered as he stood up.
It M.K. had been part of a horrible prank by the dark fairies they wouldn't have bothered leaving the woods. They knew he and Finn did routine guard patrol, and would severely punished them if caught.
So, if they had risked coming out of the woods that meant M.K. had been a target, someone they HAD to bring back with them, but why?
Ronin picked up his pace and rang the doorbell. It only took a few seconds for Nod to appear and usher Ronin in. "Am I glad to see you," Nod said as he lead him to M.K. "We got to act-"
"We need to take her to our place," Ronin said as he gently scooped M.K. up in his arms.
Nod blinked, confused. "Why?"
"I found traces that the dark fairies left the woods to go after her," Ronin said as he supported M.K.'s head against his chest. "If Bomba hadn't safeguard his house, she would have been taken with them."
Nod chewed his bottom lip. "Ronin, if they went after M.K., then do you think they got her dad too?"
"Don't know," Ronin replied as he carried M.K. to the door. "We'll find out later, but she'll be better protected at our place-"
He was interrupted as a small dog barked and began to endlessly to circles around Ronin's legs.
"Hey, calm down, boy," Nod said as he scooped up the dog into his arms. "M.K.'s old dog, Ozzy," he explained. "If it's dangerous here, we better take him too."
Ronin looked down at the dog that still growled, and paused to lick at his own nose. He sighed, but gave a nod. "Alright, however, you'll have to keep him away from Mub. You know how he feels about dogs."
Nod gave a half smile as he followed Ronin out of the house and into the car.
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M.K. moaned a she awoke and blinked at a green ceiling. This wasn't her house? Where was she? M.K. wanted to turn her head, except found she was unable to. Her whole body felt too heavy and stiff to move like it had all turned into lead. Her body ached. It hurt! All she could do was give a whimper.
Someone gently held her hand. "M.K.?"
M.K. blinked as Nod came into her vision. She tried to speak, but her lips could barely move. "N-Nod…."
Nod hushed her. "Don't talk, you're at my house." He patted her head like her mom use to do when she was sick. "You're going to be okay."
She heard a door open. "Nod," she heard Ronin say. "She conscious?"
"Barely," Nod answered as she felt someone sit on the bed next to her. Large hands helped her sit up and she stared directly into Ronin's face. She couldn't look away if she wanted to.
"M.K. listen," Ronin said gently. "You got hit by a dart in your neck and I need to extract it."
Dart? M.K.'s fuddled mind tried to remember. Right something sharp had hit her in the neck.
"Nod, help me roll her onto her stomach," Ronin said as M.K. was lowered. She felt like a doll as she Nod and Ronin rolled her over and felt fingers poke at her neck. She whimpered as the fingers pressed into it. "Bare with me, M.K.," Ronin said as he heard the clanking of metal. "Nod, get the ointment ready while I do this."
M.K. felt Ronin's fingers pressed against her skin, along with the tip of something sharp poking into it. "This will sting," Ronin warned, "but only for a moment." The sharp tip poked deeper into her neck and M.K. whimpered again. It felt like she was being stung by a giant hornet.
But then, a great relief washed over her as she felt a hard lump be extracted from her neck. "Got it," Ronin said as she the clank of metal dropping onto a tray.
"Here's the ointment," Nod said.
"Good, next get the tea ready," Ronin instructed.
Fingers pressed into her neck again, except this time they were rubbing something that felt like butter. She shut her eyes as the ointment seemed to soothe the ache in her neck. She then felt herself being turned back onto her back and Ronin moved into her vision.
"The ointment will get rid of the ache in the your neck," he said as he wrapped an arm around her to sit up. Nod appeared holding a steaming clay cup, and handed it to Ronin before wrapping his own arm around M.K.
"You need to drink this," Ronin explained as M.K. could only blink. "Your body will heal on it's own now, but this will help you sleep through the worse of it."
The cup was brought to her lips and M.K. coughed at the bitter taste. She didn't like the idea of going to sleep, she wanted to stay awake. Nod rubbed her back and squeezed her hand.
"It's okay," he whispered. "You're safe, we promise."
M.K. relaxed slightly, and that was enough for Ronin to tipped the cup into her mouth and make her swallow the bitter tea. "Good job," Ronin said as he removed the cup and lowered back onto the bed.
Ronin patted her head as Nod tucked the blanket around her. She was finding it hard to keep her eyes open. "Go to sleep," he told her. "Trust me, you'll feel a lot better when you wake up."
M.K. struggled to keep herself awake, she had so many questions, but was unable to resist and allowed herself to go to sleep.
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M.K. had no idea on how long she slept, however, her body felt stiff as she awoke. Her eyelids fluttered, but she was relieved to be able to wiggle her toes and fingers. She pressed her hand to her forehead as she tried to remember where she was.
Nod's place, remembering seeing Nod and Ronin faces. Ronin had said something about a fairy dart? How did that make sense? She forced herself to sit up which proved to be harder than she imagined. Her joints and muscles ached like she had run three marathons. M.K. didn't dare try to climb out of the bed. She rubbed her neck and felt the thick ointment Ronin had rubbed on her earlier. It still hurt, although it wasn't the throbbing sensation that had caused her to pass out before.
The door then swung open and Mub let himself into the room to perch himself on M.K.'s bed. "Hey, Kitty," M.K. said as she watch the cat groom himself. "Came to keep me company-"
A sharp bark cut her off as Ozzy suddenly dashed in and started to circle around M.K.'s bed. M.K.'s eyes widened. Ozzy was here, too? Mub responded to Ozzy with a fierce hiss before he jumped to the sanctuary of the book shelf.
M.K. watch Ozzy sit on the floor growling as Nod poked his head in with a scowl. "I told you two-" he then noticed M.K. looking at him. "Hey, you're awake!"
"Yeah," M.K. replied. "I feel stiff as a board though." She chewed her bottom lip. "My memory's a bit fuzzy, what actually happened?"
Nod's fingers drummed on the doorknob as he look hesitant to speak. He ran a hand through his hair as he turned a chair around and sat in it. "Okay," he said. "This is going to be totally weird to hear, but...promise to keep an open mind?"
M.K.'s eyes narrowed, but gave a nod. "Okay."
Nod chewed his bottom lip. "You know how just about the whole town takes the fairy lore seriously? Well, there's a reason." Nod raised his head with his eyes narrowed. "Fairies are real, M.K."
"W-What?" M.K. replied stunned.
"Bare with me," Nod replied quickly. "You've been asleep for a couple of days now cause you got hit by a fairy dart." He waved his hands. "Everything your dad's been searching for, it's all real."
M.K. shook her head. "Nod, wait that doesn't make sense. If fairies are real, how come my dad has never found them?"
Nod sighed. "Because, Ronin and Finn make sure he doesn't. My family are the descendants of a legendary guardian that make sure humans stay out of the fairy realm and stay safe from the dark fairies...and I'm half fairy."
"Half fairy?" M.K. repeated, hoping Nod was playing a weird joke on her.
"Yeah, my dad is dead, but the reason I don't see my mother much is because she's a fairy and stays in the fairy realm."
M.K. blinked as she rubbed the back of her neck. Something had been chasing her in the woods, but fairies? And Nod was part fairy? She narrowed her eyes at him. "Prove it."
Nod sat straight up. "What?"
"Prove it," M.K. repeated. "If you're part fairy you should be able to have wings appear or something right?"
Nod scoffed. "I wish, although Ronin wouldn't think me having wings was so great, but I don't." Grasped his chin as he stared at the bookshelf and sighed. "Although, I suppose there's something I could show you." He glared. "But you can't laugh, got it?"
"Um...I'll try?" M.K. said. What on earth would Nod do that would be so embarrassing?
Nod stood and took a deep breath as he held out his arms. M.K. wanted to ask what in the world Nod was doing when blue sparkles appeared around his fingers. M.K. covered her mouth with her hand to hold back her gasp as blue sparkles also appeared around one of the books on the shelf.
The sparkles swirled around the book as it was lifted into the air, causing Mub to give a hiss and arch his back. Ozzy barked and attempted to jump up and snatched it in mid-air.
"You're making it float!" M.K. gasped and then it dawned on her as the book landed into Nod's hands. "With sparkles?"
Nod blushed as he held the book. "Yeah, sparkles. Unfortunately, all magic of the Summer Court includes sparkes."
M.K. was silent. Fairies were real! Fairies were real little creatures and her friend was part fairy...and could apparently make things sparkle. A thought crossed to her and then slipped from her tongue. "Do you sparkle in sunlight too?"
Nod's eyebrow gave a twitch. "No, I don't and why would you ask that? I'm not a vampire!"
"Sorry," M.K. replied as she covered her mouth to hide her smile. "But well, can you blame me. You sparkle."
Nod glared annoyed but sat back on the chair. "Yes, yes, believe me I am well aware how girly this is."
"It's not girly," M.K. replied. "Just...very pretty," she finished with a snort.
Nod looked ready to argue, when the door opened and Ronin entered. He blinked upon seeing M.K. and looked to Nod. "How much have you told her?"
"I've told her fairies are real," Nod said and gave a wince. "And showed her my magic to prove it."
Ronin sighed, but gave a nod. "Right," he pulled up a chair next to Nod. "M.K., how are you feeling?"
"Stiff and sore," M.K. replied, "but..you're seriously telling me that fairies are real?" She frowned. "And that you've been messing with my dad this whole time?"
"We didn't do it because we wanted to," Ronin said. "It's our duty to keep normal people away for their safety." His eyes narrowed as he gave a grim frown. "And, I believe your father got too close."
M.K. paused as she straightened her posture. "What do you mean? Where is he?"
Nod and Ronin exchanged unsure looks, but Ronin reached out and gripped M.K.'s shoulder. "First, you need to understand we will find a way to get him back, he's not the first one-"
"Get him back?" M.K. said cutting him off. "Get him back from where?"
"Your dad, got taken by the Winter Court," Nod explained as he raised his head. "The Dark Fairies."
"There are mainly two kinds of fairies," Ronin explained as M.K. started confused. "The fairies we deal with, including the Queen are members of the Summer Court, they're fairies that while can play pranks, but are willing to help humans in exchanged for favors."
"And the Winter Court?" M.K. asked as her chest tightened.
"They're the type of fairies that think it's fun to drown a human, or kidnapped them to the fairy realm for their own amusement," Nod explained.
M.K. swallowed, unsure if she dared to asked the next question. "What do they do with the kidnapped humans?"
"Depends on the fairy," Ronin said. "But it's usually to torment them or worse. It's why I've been trying to keep your father away from them, but he was persistent."
M.K. held her head as she tried to process this. "So, my dad has been kidnapped by dark fairies who may or may not kill them." Her eyes widened as it dawned on her. "Wait, were they trying to take me to the fairy realm too?"
"We think so," Nod began. "But it's a bit different for you."
"We knew Lord Mandrake, the ruler of the Winter Court, may try to take humans so he could cause trouble for the Queen Tara of the Summer Court. She's in the process of choosing a new heir to replace her." Ronin explained as he looked to M.K. "But there's something odd, I saw the fairies had chased you to your house."
"That's right," M.K. replied, "is that weird?"
"Yes," Ronin said. "Dark fairies rarely leave the forest, generally if you stay away from there you're safe. They know that Nod, Finn and I are always on the watch for them."
"But they came all the way to your house," Nod added. "They were risking a lot by doing that."
"So, for some reason they wanted me to badly they risked getting caught by you guys?" M.K. said as Ronin and Nod both nodded. She shook her head. "But why, I'm not anyone special-"
"We don't know," Ronin said, gently. "But we're going to find out. For the time being, I want you to stay here even after you recover. It's safer here for you."
M.K. dug her fingers into her blanket. "What about my dad? What will happen to him?"
Nod looked unsure as he glanced to Ronin, but his face was unreadable. "I'm going to talk to the Queen," Ronin said softly, "one of the scouts may and seen or heard something." He reached out and gently squeezed M.K.'s hand. "We're going to do everything we can to get him back."
M.K. shut her eyes. But what if they couldn't? What if M.K. had just lost her dad only a few months after she losing her mom. Ronin rose and looked to Nod. "Why don't you stay and keep her company? I'm going to try to contact Tara and I'll send Finn over to keep an eye on things since I don't know how long I'll be."
"Sure," Nod said as Ronin proceeded to leave, but then the man paused.
"Almost forgot," Ronin muttered as he reached into his pocket. "M.K., I got some added protection for you." He took M.K.'s hand and placed a chain of bells that looked identical to the one Nod had.
"Bells?" M.K. asked.
"Iron bells," Ronin explained. "They're the most effective weapons against fairies and I want you to keep them on you at all times."
Nod scoffed and held up his own. "Just think of it meaning you and I are part of the 'prime target for dark fairies' club," Nod said.
M.K. frowned, wondering what Nod meant by that as she held the bells to her chest. "I will, thanks."
Ronin nodded and then left the room. Mub chose that moment leap off the shelf and onto M.K.'s bed. He stretched before snuggling into the side of M.K.'s leg and she reached out to stroke one of his ears. "Nod, what did you mean 'you and I are prime targets'?"
Nod sighed as he ran a hand through his hair. "Well...Mandrake, he's kind of been trying to catch me since I could walk."
"Why?" M.K. said, "you have special powers or something?"
"My fairy powers are rather weak when compared to other fairies," Nod said, "I am immune to iron and bells thanks to my human blood, but I think Mandrake just wants to get me to spite Ronin. He and I are the only living descendants of the original Guardian."
"So, unless Ronin has kids the line ends with you?" M.K. concluded.
Nod nodded. "If you ask me, Mandrake just wants me as some kind of trophy." He held out the bracelet of iron bells. "Some fairies tried to kidnap me not long after my dad died, but Ronin saved me in time. I've been keeping these on me ever since so I won't be caught off guard again."
M.K.'s eyes widened. Nod had to worry about being kidnapped by fairies since he was five? No wonder he was such a loner, it wasn't exactly something he could bring up. If M.K. hadn't almost been kidnapped herself, she would even be questioning if it was real.
She reached out and held his hands. "Well, at least you and I are in the same boat."
Nod gave a half smile. "Yeah, but honestly, it's not a club I was hoping you would have to join."
She gave an understanding nod as she gave his hand a gentle squeeze.
