"So the plan is to take Demona to her house during the daylight, when she's in human form," David Xanatos said, all business. "She will remain in handcuffs, and completely surrounded by the Iron Clan to avoid further spell casting on anyone else."

Goliath gave a tight nod.

"In the meantime," Fox Xanatos continued, "Doctor James will be monitoring Elisa here. He has her hooked up to any and all available means of machinery, so if she so much as blinks oddly, he'll know about it."

"Skyler will be watching over the youngest of the children," David said, "While Owen and Alexander continue to try to find something on their own to reverse whatever spell that Demona used."

"I wish I could remember the words," Angela snarled.

"That could potentially be helpful," Owen said, as wooden as ever. "But ultimately, it comes down to magic. I can only turn into Puck if I were training Alexander. Today, we will be learning how to dispel both fae and non-fae magic, and we will hopefully be able to figure it out on our own."

The clan, subdued with their somber mood, nodded their understanding of the plan. With the sky already starting to lighten with the coming sunrise. They would have no choice but to go into stone sleep for the day, leaving their allies to take care of what needed to be done to protect the clan and care for Elisa.

-{- -{- -{- -{- -{-

While the clan was gathered in David Xanatos' office, Elisa stretched and rubbed her hands over her face.

Her head felt fuzzy, her eyes gritty, and her body ached. It was like the world's worst hangover, except she knew damn well that she hadn't been drinking.

She groaned. The last thing she remembered was…following Angela back up to the castle. Is that where she was?

She opened her eyes to find… nothing. She rose from her laying position to find she'd been laying on nothing. All around her was a bluish fog. She felt a solid surface under her feet, she was standing on something, but there was no actual floor.

Where was she?

"Nell?" came an unfamiliar male voice, echoing as if from a distance.

Elisa looked around, trying to see where the voice came from.

Suddenly, a section of the fog cleared, and Elisa could begin to see shapes and colors. The first thing she was able to make out was a pair of dust covered brown leather shoes.

The vision tilted, as if the person who was actually seeing this was moving upright. There was a loud thus and a groan.

"Ow," came a melodic female voice.

Elisa flinched as she, too, felt the bump to her head. What was going on?

The owner of the shoes chuckled, and bent over to come into her vision.

"Wake up, sleepy head," the voice said. "The sun is coming up."

As Elisa watched the scene, it started as a movie screen. Slowly, it took over her vision, and it was almost as if she merged into it.

The view tilted again, and Elisa found that the girl was crawling along the ground.

Elisa tried to look around her, but sound that while she was able to see and hear…and feel apparently, Elisa thought ruefully, still rubbing at the throb on her forehead... what this girl did, she was unable to control anything.

Not her movements, not her speech.

She was simply along for the ride.

"Och," The girl said, "Why do ye have to wake me like that?"

The boy grinned. "Tis not my fault that you slept under your cart last night."

"It was so nice out last night. I love sleeping outside," The girl, Nell, said. "It looks like it might rain now, though."

"Tis the highlands," The boy said. "Tis always looking like rain here."

"Nell!" Came stern shout.

The girl cringed a little, before turning to meet the wizened face of an old man. His face, rough with years of sun and time, was wrinkled and set into what looked to be a permanent scowl.

"Yes, Motshan?" Nell replied.

"I found this plague-ridden creature in my wagon, again, playing with the herbs and medicine bottles," He shoved a scruffy-looking cat into Nell's arms. "If I find him in there again, I will give him to Cook to make a soup."

With that, he stormed away.

The girl stroked the agitated cat, calming it down. As the cat settled into her arms and began a deep purr, Nell turned back to the boy.

Elisa studied him. He was tall, with long dark hair that was tied back out of his face. He had a deep tan, giving his skin a deep olive tone. He had a smattering of small, almost imperceptible freckles across the bridge of his nose. He wasn't bad looking, but he still appeared very… young.

How old was he? 15? 16?

For that matter, how old was Nell?

And what language were they speaking? It definitely had a hint of either Irish or Scottish… but it wasn't a language she'd hear before.

As she thought it, the answer formed in her mind. It was a form of Shelta, the secret language of the gypsies that traveled the roads in this part of the world.

Elisa could only assume that it was her link to Nell that allowed her to understand it at all.

"I think he means it, this time," The boy said, jerking his head at Motshan's back. "He sounded more stern than normal.

Nell hugged her cat. "Nay. Motshan loves Danior. I have seen Motshan scratching his head more than once. He sneaks my kitty food sometimes, too. Motshan doesn't want to look like he's gone soft, is all," Nell said.

"You'd better pack up," The boy said. "We're leaving soon."

"Patrin," Nell asked. "How long until we reach the castle?"

"Not long," He assured her, giving her shoulders a squeeze. "Go, clean up a bit." He said, pushing her towards the lake. "I'll get your things."

"Thank ye," Nell said, placing her cat into the back of the enclosed, brightly painted wooden wagon.

Nell hurried to the lake, and scooped up water in her hands to splash on her face.

Elisa wished the girl would take a moment to stop and look into the water. Elisa would love to know what Nell looked like.

Then again, Elisa decided that it didn't matter. She was going to wake up any moment, and tell Goliath all about this crazy dream.

Any moment now…