"Mia… Mia…"

"Go away, Emily," Mia muttered while still half-asleep and she rolled over in Kevin's arms to hide away from the fairy trying to pull her from her dreams.

"I wish I could, Mia, but it is almost sunrise. If you are not in your bedchamber soon, your father will be angry."

Mia opened her eyes and looked up at Emily. She groaned loudly and uncurled herself from Kevin's arms.

"What won't anger my father?" she asked and straightened out her dress so it didn't look like she had slept in it. Emily shrugged her shoulders.

"You must understand, he is only trying to do what he thinks is best for you."

"Then why will it piss him off when I tell him I want to marry Kevin?" Mia asked.

"He does not believe that is best," Emily said.

"But Kevin makes me happy."

"And this feud between the two lands had made many people unhappy. The wedding between you and Prince Jayden will restore peace and join the two lands, making many people happy."

"That is a lot of pressure," Mia lowered her head and looked over at Kevin. He was still sleeping soundly and she didn't want to leave him, but Emily seemed eager to go, desperate even. Mia didn't know what King Ji was like when he was angry, but if he was anything like Mentor, she didn't want to find out. "But I should be allowed to do what I want, right?"

"You have a right to your own happiness," Emily nodded her head. "This feud had existence long before you were born. It is not right for everyone to expect you to end it and deprive you of your happiness. I'm sure the lands can be joined another way."

"We'll have to hope Serena can convince Mentor of that, huh?" Mia looked to Emily. The young fairy nodded her head.

"We must go, Mia. We do not want to upset your father just yet."

"I'm coming, I'm coming," Mia leaned down and kissed Kevin's cheek, pulling him from his sleep, "I have to go."

Kevin opened his eyes and looked around. It was still dark, but the light of day was beginning to glow. He nodded his head.

"I will visit you tonight," he promised, kissing her lips, "We will tell your father of your decision together."

"You're leaving, already?" Mike yawned loudly, having been awakened by the conversations. He sat up in his cot and looked at Emily, "Will you be safe traveling in the dark?"

"I will keep the princess safe," Emily nodded. Mike shook his head.

"Will you be safe?" he repeated. A faint smile appeared on Emily's lips.

"I will keep to the ground," she chuckled, "My wing is recovering, but I will not be able to fly for another few days."

"Go straight back to the castle," Mike told her. "Avoid shortcuts."

"I promise," Emily nodded. Mia took her hand.

"You said we needed to go?" she reminded the fairy. Emily nodded her hand and pulled Mia out of the small home. She looked around the field carefully, making sure the way was clear before they started heading to the castle.

During the night, Mia had spent quite a bit of time with her focus on Kevin, but she hadn't been completely blinded by the other couple in the room. She knew, back in the real world (or other world. She wasn't exactly sure where she was), they were engaged, but here things seemed to be very different. She noticed Emily seemed very shy around Mike and she would blush when they touched. It was like the two were right back to the square one.

On the walk home, Mia gently nudged Emily and smiled, "So, you and Mike, huh…"

"What do you mean?"

"I'm not blind, Emy," Mia smirked, "You like him, don't you."

"It is forbidden. I cannot like him, nor can I like anyone else. My sole purpose is to protect and guide you. Now, keep your voice down."

"It's forbidden to like someone else?" Mia frowned and grabbed Emily by the arm, spinning her around. "Emy, you're going to have to explain that."

"I'm your fairy," Emily said. "Your father made it my responsibility to keep you happy, healthy, and safe. He knows falling in love would distract me from my duties, so he has made it forbidden."

"For you?"

"For me. If I were to love a man, that would take me away from you. If you were to get hurt or if something terrible were to happen…"

"Emy…"

"Your father is a nice King," Emily turned away from Mia, "He loves you dearly and always has. Nothing matters more to him than you."

"So, he'll be fine with who I choose to marry?"

"It's complicated, Princess," Emily looked down the land and saw the sun beginning shin over the horizon. She grabbed Mia's arm again and began to tug her along, "We must hurry, Mia!"

Emily led her back to the castle and the two girls tried to sneak back inside. Mia was completely lost. Every hallway and every room looked the same to her, but Emily knew her way around. Mia stuck close to Emily right up until she felt someone grabbing her by the waist. She let out a quick scream that was silenced almost immediately by a hand over her mouth.

Emily was soon grabbed by what appeared to be a guard, as far as Mia could tell. The princess then quickly assumed the man who grabbed her was also one of the guards.

"Your father has been searching all night for you, Princess," the guard whispered to Mia as he let her go, "Where have you been?"

"I've been," Mia glanced over to Emily, remembering Emily's desperation to get home and how she kept mentioning her father would be angry if he found out she had left her room to see Kevin, "in the garden."

"During the night?" the guard asked. He turned to Emily, "You know better than that."

"I…"

"It wasn't her fault," Mia quickly interrupted, "I insisted. She was only…"

"Your father is waiting for you," the guard told Mia as he signalled to the other guard to drag Emily away. The guard gestured down the hallway to a large door before he too walked off. Mia gulped, deciding it was best not to stir up trouble. She turned to the large door and made her way into the room.

She found Mentor pacing in front of a throne in what appeared to be the throne room. Serena was sitting on the steps watching him, trying to keep him calm by telling him Mia would be fine. The King wouldn't listen until he saw Mia with his own eyes. Mentor raced over to her, wrapping her up in his arms.

"Where have you been?" he asked her, setting her back down on her feet as he looked into her eyes. "I went to wish you goodnight and you were not in your bed."

"I know. I was out…"

"Out where?" Mentor gently led Mia to a smaller chair by his big throne and sat her down. "It is not safe for you to wander the kingdom alone at night."

"Okay, but…"

"You know better than to leave the castle walls without Kevin by your side."

"Kevin by my side?" Mia furrowed her brow and wished she had Emily here to translate. She tried to put the pieces together on her own, but she couldn't.

Mentor, or rather, the king, looked at her curiously, "You still do not remember? You must still be ill. You are not fit to wander around and that fairy lets you go," he growled and turned to Serena, "Your sister…"

"Is trying her best, you know she is," Serena insisted, "And I mean no offense to you, Great King, or to your daughter, but the Princess is a rather stubborn lady at the best of times."

"How do you expect your sister to protect and guide for my daughter if she cannot care for her while she is ill?" Mentor frowned. He pointed to the doors, "Until your sister returns, I ask that you keep an eye on my daughter. Prepare her for tonight."

"As you wish," Serena nodded and stood up. She gestured to the door, "Princess."

"Now what?" Mia asked.

"Come with me. We only have a day to prepare."

"What's going on?" Mia looked to Mentor and then Serena. The fairy looked at her quizzically.

"You do not remember? Tonight is the ball. You will meet your Prince for the first time and your father will announce your engagement to both Kingdoms."

"Tonight?" Mia asked wide eyed. Serena nodded and took Mia's hand, pulling her from her throne.

"You must have hit your head in the fall," she said. "I will explain everything. Come with me."

-Samurai-

Kevin paced the common room nervously after hearing what had happened to Mia. On the one hand, he was relieved that she was only trapped within the pages of a book. Normally she found herself in much more danger when something like this happened. But on the other hand, Kevin had no idea where she was or if she truly was safe within the Nighlok's book.

"So, let me get this straight?" Mike asked, hugging an exhausted Emily on his lap. He looked to Serena, "we can't destroy the Nighlok until Mia comes back."

"If Mia comes back," Emily mumbled. She was done barfing up the candies Mike had given her, but her sugar crash had left her feeling very lethargic. She barely had enough energy to think about what she was saying and couldn't see her words were stressing Kevin out. Mike kissed her forehead.

"Just go to sleep, Em."

Emily nodded and snuggled into his chest. Mike looked over to Kevin, "Mia's going to make it back," he promised. "If anyone can find their way out of a storybook, it's Mia."

"Until then we have to find a way to keep the Nighlok from causing havoc without destroying him," Jayden said. "If we kill the Nighlok, Mia's trapped forever."

Kevin felt his stomach turning and placed his hand over it to keep it still. There was nothing he could do to help Mia and it bothered him. She was all alone.