As Jennifer approached the palace, she was joined by a companion. The bird's golden belly shone in the sun coming through the trees. Jen smiled. "Nice of you to accompany me. This is all your fault anyway," she told him.

"Do not go blindly into the dark," Jerry replied.

Jen rolled her eyes. Again with the riddles. Heaven forbid a death watcher ever give any clarity to a situation. She didn't try to get anything out of him after that. But maybe they'd have more luck later. They flew side by side towards the palace.

She slowed and smiled as she reached the clearing. The palace was built inside a mighty oak tree with its heavy bark and twisting branches high above them. Everything was ornately carved into the wood of the tree and imbued with magic to keep it alive and healthy and beautiful. The colored glitter and golden gilding that striated through the walls made the palace by far the most beautiful place in the fairy realm and, to Jen's mind, the most beautiful place in the whole world.

Jennifer flew through the open courtyard and landed on her feet once inside the grand entrance hall of the palace. The other guards, her colleagues on duty, nodded at her in greeting, and she did the same in return. None of them hindered her progress in going straight to the office of the head of the Royal Guard. She knocked once on the ornate green and gold wooden door and walked right in.

"Hello there, Jane."

Her jaw tightened in response. "My name is Jen, sir," she corrected for the thousandth time. "Jennifer."

He just scoffed in response, brushing it off. It was a fun little game Sir Terry played, calling her by the wrong name. Jane instead of Jen. She knew he didn't really mean anything by it, nor did he care about getting it right. In his mind, her name was Jane and that was all there was to it. Oh well. "What do you want?" he asked, breezing past the issue of her name.

"Sir, I was hoping I could discuss something with you. About Jerry," Jen said, broaching the subject.

Sir Terry leaned back in his chair, lacing his fingers behind his head. He never was much of a stickler for formalities or general polite manners. How Queen Bernice put up with him was something of a mystery to most of the realm. "Alright then," Terry said. "What's the birdie done this time?"

Jen looked to Jerry to see if he'd do anything. But no, he just perched on the edge of the desk and preened himself. Jen turned her attention back to Sir Terry. "A few days ago, I was doing my patrol in the woods and got caught in a hunter's trap. Big net caught me and suspended me about five feet in the air. So I asked Jerry to get help."

"Not like you to get distracted, Jane," he chastised.

"I know. Jerry was saying things like he does, and I wasn't looking where I was going. But he did find help for me. It was…a human."

Terry sat up. His whole expression turned serious. "A human?"

"A man. He was out birdwatching, he said, and he followed Jerry and found me. He cut me down from the net."

"And that's all there was, right? He didn't see anything?"

Jen hesitated. That certainly was not all there was. "I made my wings invisible so he wouldn't ask any questions. But when I fell from the net, the knife he was using to cut me free slashed my leg."

"Well that should have healed up quick," Sir Terry reasoned.

"Yes, but it bled a lot. If I'd been alone, I'd have just healed it myself. But since I wasn't alone, the man…Nick Buchanan…insisted on helping me."

"Jesus, Jane!"

"I know!" Jen replied. "He helped me to his car and drove me to his house and helped clean up my leg and bandage it, and as soon as he left the room, I went invisible and I flew right back."

Terry was not happy. "And you waited how long to tell me this?"

"Well, that's not all…"

"WHAT!?" he bellowed.

The shouting upset Jerry and he squawked back, "Patience is rewarded by enlightenment!"

Terry glared at Jerry. "Bloody bird," he grumbled.

Jen continued, giving Jerry a nod of gratitude. "I was with Matt's children today in the woods. I wanted to keep them away from Emma's memorial, so I disappeared their wings and brought them to a clearing just outside the portal. And Jerry was with us until he flew off like he does. And then…he came back with Nick."

"The human followed Jerry again?"

She nodded. "Nick was in the woods and Jerry found him and led him to me. And then he had to leave, so I took the children home and came right here. If Jerry's going to be leading a human to me, I thought you and the queen should know."

"Yeah," Terry agreed. "I'll talk to Bernice about it later. She's holding court at the moment. You know I hate that crap."

Jen chuckled lightly. Yes, she knew very well that Sir Terry absolutely despised when Queen Bernice made him join her for the formal royal things. Jen herself didn't much mind when she was there to assist the queen, but she preferred actually doing things rather than just standing around.

Terry continued, "Something about this bloke must be important if Jerry's been bringing him to you. And you, specifically. I'll talk to Bernice about it, but I think you'd better keep an eye on this Nick. Jerry's not going to tell us what to do with him…" He looked to the bird questioningly.

"The rocks are worn by time into sands," Jerry stated.

"Yeah, he's bloody useless," Terry confirmed. "So it'll be up to you to figure out what's so important about him, Jane. See if he's a threat we've gotta deal with."

"I don't think he is, sir," Jen posited. She didn't know that for sure, of course. She had no idea what sort of person Nick was. But she knew that he had rescued her and been insistent on making sure she was safe. He had been quiet and gentle with her thus far. Though such traits could hide treachery, of course, but Jen's instinct told her that Nick wasn't like that.

"Well, you could be wrong. We just don't know. Maybe he's important for another reason. Keep a watch on him and find out. I'll make sure Bernice knows you'll be away for a while."

Jennifer nodded. She had a feeling that this might be what ended up happening. They didn't know enough about Nick, and the only way to learn more would be for her to spend the time figuring it out. Stealth was not one of Jennifer's favorite things. Hiding and sneaking around and often lying to those around her were not natural for her. But she knew she was the best one for this job, even if she wasn't the one who'd had the contact with Nick so far. Her skills would be put to the test with this, she knew. And she was glad for the opportunity.

She was also quite glad for the opportunity to get to see him again. There had a been a singular moment when he had patched up the cut on her leg when their eyes had met and something happened between them. Jen had gotten the overwhelming urge to…well, she wasn't sure. But there was just something about his dark hazel green eyes that drew her in. He had a look of goodness about him. Kindness and gentleness bolstered by an incredible strength that was not just physical. Jen could not imagine that Nick could be a threat to the fairy realm, but perhaps he was if just looking into his eyes made Jen want to tell him every single secret she'd ever had. That was dangerous, she knew. She had thankfully not had much opportunity to be alone with him, nor would she if she could at all help it. It was just that he was so handsome and so good that she wanted very much to be alone with him.

Terry dismissed her with her assignment and Jen made her way out of the office. She would go home and start planning what to do about Nick, how best to approach this surveillance.

"In everyone shines the light of love," Jerry told her softly, flying lazily beside her as she walked.

Jen sighed. "You're not going to tell me what that means, are you?"

Jerry flew up and did a large loop upside down in the air, coming to hover in front of her face and flying backward as he kept pace with her walking. "In everyone shines the light of love," he repeated.

She shrugged, knowing she'd not get anything else out of him. "If you say so," she replied in resignation.