It had taken a few more days, but M.K. was finally able to gained back her strength and leave her bed. Ronin still insisted she stay close to the house until she had fully recovered. M.K. didn't argue since she knew Mandrake was looking for her and she didn't dare leave the house without the bells Ronin gave her. Nod was also making sure to stick to M.K. like glue; he seemed to be making it his personal mission to be her bodyguard.

M.K. was getting nervous about her father. It had been over a week since he'd been kidnapped, and there was still no word about him. Was he hurt? Did he miss her? Or was it possible he was having the best time of his life with seeing fairies face to face? M.K. knew Ronin and the others were doing their best, but it was hard not to feel anxious.

Things finally changed one morning though with the arrival of Queen Tara. M.K. and Nod had been sitting on the front porch with Grub and Mub when she appeared. Tara arrived in her normal everyday outfit like the last time M.K. had seen her. Her hair was even tied back into a ponytail. There was no trace of her being the fairy queen and there was no reason for anyone to suspect otherwise.

M.K. rose, clutching her bells tightly in her hand. They had been providing an odd sense of comfort to her lately. "Do you have news?"

Tara wasn't smiling and gave a worried frown. "Nod? Where are Ronin and Finn?"

"Went to town for groceries," Nod said, "but they should be back in an hour."

Tara nodded as gave M.K.'s shoulder a gentle squeeze. "Your dad is alive, Sweetheart, but before I explain more, I'd rather have Ronin and Finn here as well."

M.K. chewed her bottom lip, dying to push Tara into explaining further, but she swallowed her fears and forced herself to nod.

Tara smiled sympathetically at her and looked to Nod. "Let's practice your magic while I'm here."

Nod winced and moaned like he had to get a splinter removed. "Do we have to?"

"You have to be the only kid I know that complains about getting lessons in magic," M.K. teased as she poked Nod's ribs.

"Most kids don't have magic powers that sparkle like a Christmas tree," Nod grumbled as the trio made their way into the house.

0808080808080808080808080808080808080808080

"That's it," Tara instructed as she placed her hands on Nod's shoulders. "Just concentrate and keep that book levitated."

Nod grunted as kept his hands raised in the air. "Did you have to pick the giant dictionary?" Nod asked. "It weighs a ton." He clearly wanted to wipe the sweat off his forehead, but that would risk breaking the flow of his magic, at least according to Tara.

The queen chuckled as Nod had the pink sparkles carry the book over the rug. "You need to practice lifting heavier things," she explained. "Someday, you might have to lift a person and that's a lot harder, believe me."

M.K. watched entranced from her chair on the other side of the room. "I wish I could do magic, even if it makes me look like a glitter bomb," she said with a half grin. Having magic would give M.K. better protection against the dark fairies. She glanced over, expecting Tara to laugh except she didn't.

Tara was silent and frowned uncertainly as she chewed her bottom lip. M.K. found her hands fumbling in her lap. What was wrong? Did what she say offend Tara somehow?

M.K. opened her mouth to apologize when Ronin and Finn entered the living room. Ronin nearly stepped on Mub's tail as he looked up to see the Queen. "Tara? When did you get here?"

"A while ago," Tara said as she tapped Nod's shoulder. "Why don't we stop for the day, Sweetie?"

"Sounds good," Nod said as he lowered his hands. Suddenly, the sparkles around the book vanished and crashed to the floor with a loud thud. "Sorry," Nod mumbled. "Don't have the hang of that yet."

Ronin sighed as Finn chuckled as he took a seat. "Could be worse, Ronin," Finn said, "he could be practicing with vases."

"No, he couldn't," Ronin replied as he narrowed his eyes at Nod. "He already broke all the of them."

"Yeah, yeah," Nod grumbled as he sat on the couch next to M.K. "Sure, blame the kid."

Ronin smirked, but it disappeared as he looked to Tara. "If you're here, I take it you have news?"

"Yes," Tara said as she pulled up a chair to sit closer to M.K. "Sweetie," she said, taking M.K.'s hand into her own. "We got a letter today from Mandrake. It's regarding your father."

M.K. gasped and tried to keep her body from shaking. "Is he okay?"

"Yes, well at least for the moment," Tara said, "Before they were allowing him to eat rations he had with him, but now they're apparently attempting to starve Bomba until he agrees to eat fairy food."

M.K. blinked as she frowned. "Fairy food? What's wrong with that? Is it poisonous?"

"No, it won't kill him," Finn said as he leaned on his hands, "but if a mortal eats fairy food, they can't leave the fairy realm."

M.K.'s eyes widened as Nod confirmed with a grim nod. "What do they want?" Nod asked as he gave M.k.'s shoulder a gentle squeeze. "If they went to the trouble of telling you, they must want something."

"They do," Tara said with a sigh, "Mandrake will let Bomba go free if M.K. gives herself up to them."

"Me?" M.K. asked, stunned. They knew Mandrake had interest in her, but she never imagined he would go to this extent. "Why does he want me? I mean, I know I got away from him and all, but I'm just a regular girl! What makes me so special?!"

Ronin and Finn's bodies went tense. "Tara," Ronin said as he leaned forward. "You should tell her now."

The Fairy Queen nodded. "That's also why I'm here. I found the information I was looking for."

"Um…," Nod said as he scratched his head. "Mind filling the kids in on this?"

Tara frowned as she looked to M.K. with a half smile. It was the same kind of smile M.K. had seen on her mother's face when she had to announce bad news.

"Honey, there's no easy way to say this," Tara explained, "but you're not completely human. You're a half fairy like, Nod."

M.K. blinked. "Wait, what? I must have heard you wrong." She gave a nervous chuckle. "I thought you said I was part fairy."

"Um..if you heard wrong, then so did I," Nod said as he raised a hand and looked equally as stunned.

"No, you heard right," Tara explained as she looked to M.K. "Your mother not only originated from Moon Haven, she was a fairy."

"What?!" M.K. gasped, her eyes wide in shock. "That..No! She would have-"

"She didn't know, thanks to the spells put on her to make her be mortal as possible," Tara explained. "I'm assuming your father told you about the fairy tale of the first Guardian of Moon Haven?"

M.K. swallowed as she tried to remain calm and to keep from squeezing her knuckles. "Yeah, but what about it?"

"Your mother was a descendant of the fairy queen that placed the seal to keep the winter court from reaching their amulets."

M.K. was stunned. She was part fairy and related to a fairy queen? No, no, that couldn't be true.

"Wait, wait," Nod said as he stepped up. "I thought that family line died out. You guys told me she died before I was even born um...ah," he snapped his fingers as he racked his brain to remember. "Rowana! Right?"

"That would be M.K.'s grandmother, but yes we thought she died with no children," Tara explained and then reached into her jacket and pulled out a piece of parchment. "But that was not true."

"What's that?" M.K. asked, pointing to the letter. Although, part of her felt she didn't want to know.

"A letter Rowana gave to me with the instruction that I should not open it unless I thought there was a threat to the seal," Tara explained as she held it out. "It explains that she and her late husband had a child, but they were both afraid Mandrake would come after her. He had been recently crowned then and had made it clear he would do everything he could to break the seal. They were certain their newborn daughter wouldn't be safe, so they claimed she had died and placed spells on her to make her appear as mortal as possible and sent her to the human realm."

"Like a changeling?" Nod replied. "Thought you outlaw those, Tara."

"They didn't take any mortal children in exchange," Tara explained. "So, that's why it happened unnoticed."

"So, they abandoned my mom?" M.K. asked, in a dark tone. Her mother had spent years wondering where she had come from, only to discover it had all been right here.

"Not quite," Tara explained. "They left her with a human woman they trusted and who then claimed she had found her abandoned in the woods. Not long after, she assisted in finding your mother a proper mortal family to raise her far away from here."

Tara then offered a kind smile. "Your mother has a strong resemblance to Rowana. I never would have guessed if I hadn't seen that photo." Her gaze darken. "However, I fear Mandrake may have seen a photo from your father and reached the same conclusion I did."

Her father? Again, it could all be blamed on her father? If they hadn't- M.K. went still as a thought struck her. "You said they placed spells on her? What kind of spells?"

"To keep her magic hidden even from herself," Tara replied, "and also to stop her from being detected if members of the Winter Court were near her." She patted M.K.'s shoulder. "You have no spells placed on you if that's what you're wondering-"

"No, it's not that," M.K. replied, hastily. "My dad said he and my mom were both into researching and believed in fairies, but one day she started getting nervous and felt she had to leave...like she was scared."

"She must have sense the dark fairies," Finn explained, "or possibly Mandrake's presence. So, it's possible the spell activated and urged her to go."

M.K.'s body tensed at the revelation. So, if it wasn't for the spell, her mother wouldn't have left her father. They still could have been together. That's what she wanted to suddenly yell, but she couldn't.

M.K. wished she could place all the blame on the spell, but the logical part of her mind argued one fact. The spell may have driven her mother to go, but it didn't forced her father to stay. He very well could have gone after her, and the fact remains neither of her parents reached out to each other in all those years they were apart. Still, M.K. couldn't fight back the thought that the spell had triggered the rift between her parents.

Nod must have sensed M.K.'s anger. She noticed he was fidgeting a bit, and then decided to place and arm around M.K.'s shoulder. The girl found herself leaning into the touch for comfort.

"So, Mandrake wants me to get those amulets for him?" she asked, softly.

"It's your blood itself, actually," Ronin replied, as he sat on the edge of the coffee table. "The seal keeping the amulets away from Mandrake can only be broken by the blood of the fairy queen who originally sealed it, and that blood flows through you."

Her blood? Oh, wow, that wasn't creepy at all! She shivered at the thought, but then frowned, recalling the story she read in her head. "If they get the amulets, they could leave the fairy realm during the day?"

"Yes," Tara replied, "and if Mandrake were to get back those amulets the human realm wouldn't be safe."

"And neither would the Summer Court," Ronin added. "They also give extra power to the dark fairies, and you know they would want revenge on you."

"So, wait, what are we supposed to do then?" Nod asked, as he gave a protective glance to M.K. "Hand her over to them?"

"No, that is the last thing we would do," Ronin stated, firmly.

"Then, what about my dad?" M.K. asked. "If I don't go to Mandrake, how are we going to be able to get him back?"

Ronin tensed as he exchanged an uneasy expression with Tara. It made M.K. feel queasy.

He then looked back to her. "M.K. I promise we'll do everything we can to get your father back, but I won't lie to you," he took a deep breath. "There is a high chance he'll have no choice, but to either die of starvation or eat the fairy food he's given."

"But then he won't be able to leave, right?" M.K. replied.

"Yes," Tara said, with a solemn nod, "and by the fairy realms laws he would also belong to Mandrake since he's the one offering him the food. We'll do what we can, but as Queen I am obligated to think of the safety of the fairy and human realms first."

M.K. wrapped her arms around herself. It's not like she couldn't understand Tara's reasoning. As Queen, the safety of her kingdom would outweigh the life of one mortal man...but that man was her dad.

She took a deep sigh, as she rose. "I'm sorry, I need to be alone."

No one said anything as they watched M.K. leave the room. She heard Ronin, Finn and Tara mutter something about 'plans for the worse case scenario', but she tuned it out. She only focussed on going to her room, and collapsing on her bed. She rolled on her back, and covered her eyes with her arm. She had never felt so drained.

Why couldn't all of this be a bad dream she could wake up from? And part fairy? Did that mean she had powers like Nod? Would she live longer than a normal human? Fairies had long lives didn't they?

It suddenly dawned on her if Tara hadn't told her, M.K. would have realized something was amiss eventually as the people around her grew older and she didn't. Her thoughts were interrupted as Mub hopped onto her stomach, and poked at M.K.'s chin with her paw.

She gave a half smiled as she reached down to stroke the cat's ears. "I'm kind of wishing I was you right now," she whispered. "Then all I would have to worry about is who would feed and pet me."

Mub answered with a soft purr, like he agreed with her.

There was a knock at the door. "M.K. can I come in?" Nod asked.

She sighed as she rolled to her side, keeping her hold on Mub. "Yeah, go ahead."

Nod opened the door and quietly shut it behind him. "Hey...I would ask how you were doing, but I'm figuring not too great."

"Oh, why would you say that?" M.K. replied with a force smile. "Because I found out I'm the descendant of some old fairy queen, turns out I'm part fairy, and there's a high chance I'll never see my dad again." She slumped as she stroked Mub. "It's been a great day."

Nod joined her on the bed. "If it helps...I can at least relate to the 'I'm part fairy' issue."

M.K. raised her head alarmed. How could she forget that?! "Nod, I'm sorry, I didn't…"

"Hey, it's okay," Nod replied as he patted her shoulder. "It's a lot to take in, believe me, I know. I really didn't grasp my mom was a 'fairy' and therefore not a normal human until I was like 6."

He smiled at her. "And look on the bright side, at least this means you're not the only half fairy around...I can't deny I do rather like that part of it."

M.K. sighed as she leaned against him. Yeah, at least she wasn't alone, that part was good. "So, does this mean I'll have sparkle powers like you?" she said with a grin.

"They're not 'sparkle powers'," Nod said with a pout, "but I'd say there's a high chance."

M.K. laughed softly as she stroked Mub's ears. "Wish we were strong enough to just march into Mandrake's place and save my dad."

Nod paused as he straightened his posture. "Well...why don't we?"

M.K. blinked and gradually sat up to look at Nod to see if he was serious. "Huh?"

"Let's go get him," Nod repeated, and looked directly at M.K. "You and me, let's go save your dad."

"What?" M.K. asked, wondering if Nod had lost his mind. "But Ronin said it was too dangerous."

"Well, for a large group it would be, but it's a lost easier for a couple of people to sneak in and get back out unseen," Nod said as he rose and started to pace. "I know Ronin. He needs time to think of a proper plan, but it's hard right now with the whole 'got to protect the Queen until the heir is picked' is settled."

He winced as he looked to M.K. "And there's a high chance that by the time Ronin can think of a good plan, it'll be too late for your dad. The longer we wait, the less likelihood we can save him."

"And you think Ronin and Tara would let us go?" M.K. asked skeptically.

"No, which is why we have to go in secret," Nod replied.

"Nod, be serious," M.K. replied as she sat up and Mub leaped to the floor. "This is dangerous."

"I know, but sometimes you have to take some risks," Nod said insisted. "If you want any chance to save your dad, we need to act now." He raised his hands. "But it's your call."

M.K. paused and chewed her lip. Despite all her dad's faults, she still loved him and wanted him back

"I'll admit," Nod said slowly, "I thought of going by myself, but I have enough training to know an operation like this is a two man job," Nod explained. "And you're the only other person I can think of who would be willing to go with me."

M.K. said nothing as she tucked her hands into her pockets and thought. It was stupid, but what if this was her dad's only chance. The hesitant looks from Ronin and Tara clearly hinted they weren't sure they would be able to save him before time ran out.

"What if we get caught?" M.K. said, feeling she had to voice all the cons with this plan. "We would be giving Mandrake exactly what he wants."

"Then we try not to let that happen, but, like I said before, it's a fact that it would be easier for us to sneak in and out then a horde of Tara's fairies." Nod placed his hands on M.K.'s shoulders. "I won't do this if you don't want to, but this is probably the only way to save your dad."

M.K. looked down at her hands. Could they do it? Go, and get her dad back? Should she bother to try? He hasn't exactly been the most attentive dad, but he was her dad. Besides, with the knowledge she had now of her mother, it was possible they could start over. She couldn't deny there were at least things she had yet to say to him. If anything else, despite their past, she did still loved him.

She took a deep breath. "Ronin will kill us when he finds out."

Nod shrugged. "That's a given."

"We'll get into a lot of trouble."

"Trouble is my middle name, remember?" Nod said with a grin.

M.K. shook her head. "In that case, I can't believe I'm saying this, but," she looked Nod directly into his eyes, "let's go save my dad."