Walking up to the gates of the castle, with the crown Prince at her side no less, felt a bit like a lucid dream she was sure to wake up from at any moment. The colors here were too bright, the sky seemed to hang too low, the flowers were too big; magic pulsed through the air here, making everything look different than it did in the mortal world.

"Shall I take you to Remus or to your room first?" James asked, throwing Lily for yet another loop.

She clenched her fingers around the straps of her backpack and thought over what he said before she responded, wanting to be sure that there was no way that she could have misinterpreted what he'd just said. "Where is my room?"

"The east wing is for visitors."

"The east wing of the castle?" Lily was fairly sure that her voice jumped an octave or two, but she couldn't believe that he was telling her that she would get to stay in the castle with such an air of nonchalance.

"Yes, the castle," James narrowed his brow and then smiled at her, his hand jumping up to his hair in a gesture that Lily had forgotten about. He used to do that all the time when they were younger, right before he caused trouble. Lily braced herself. "You did not think that I would make you stay in the bog or something, did you?"

Lily was still tense, waiting for the punchline, waiting for whatever magic punch he was going to send her way.

He sighed, his hand falling to his side, making him look more boyish than creature, despite the antlers still protruding from his head. "I am not going to turn you into a frog, Lily. I was only making a joke."

"I don't remember your jokes being so tame. I also wasn't expecting to stay in the castle."

"Well that is where Remus is staying, and you are his guest. Why would you not stay in the castle?"

"I'm mortal," She shook her head. "I didn't know that it was allowed."

James narrowed his eyes now. "I am the prince, I can allow or forbid whatever I wish. And I wish for you to stay in the castle while you are here."

Lily felt a rush at that. There was something that made her feel powerful about him talking about her like that. He wasn't commanding her, he wasn't telling her what she had to do, but he was suggesting that he preferred her to be comfortable and safe than for the old fae to be happy. And she knew that the old fae would not be happy with her staying in the castle.

"I didn't know that Remus was staying here either."

James nodded. "It is safer that way for everyone." He blinked and looked at her again, "I did not mean to say that. He is a friend and I only wish to care for him. That is why he lives in the castle."

Lily's eyes were wide. "What do you mean safer for everyone?"

"I told you earlier, it is not my secret to tell. Now, follow me and we will find Remus." He left no room for argument as he started down the corridor.

The castle had been picked up from a fairytale and placed here in the middle of these rolling hills. There was ivy growing up the side of the deep gray stones, there was small romantic details carved into the archways and windowsills. There were guards standing still at the entrances, wearing leather and swords. The castle seemed alive somehow, in the same way that the trees had felt alive in the forest.

When they reached Remus' room in the east wing, Lily's heart was racing. She was excited to see her friend, but she had no idea what she was about to find out about him. Why was everyone safer with him living in the castle? Why had he not visited her in the mortal world in so many years? Why had he suddenly invited her here after he hadn't even written her in so long?

James knocked on the door before he pushed it opened and walked in. "Remus," Lily tentatively stepped in after him, not sure if she was ready for this meeting. "Lily is here."

"Lily?" She knew that voice though, and that put her mind at ease enough for a smile to spread over her face.

"Remus?" She walked further into the room, looking around at the fine decorations that had not adorn his childhood home, that she could not connect to him. They were ornate and gold and velvet. They were not warm and friendly.

And then there he was. The boy who had been bathed in sunlight as a child, who had once had curly hair that could have been made of springs and sugar candy. He looked so much older, and not like he should look older since he was now in his twenties and she hadn't seen him since they were teenagers. He looked old and tired, he had shadows under his eyes and his fair fell limp.

He walked up to her with a smile that wasn't reaching his eyes and she stepped into his arms for a hug. She pulled him close and could feel his bones in a way she shouldn't have been able to. "It's so good to see you!" He said, pulling back and looking her over. "You're beautiful, of course. I forgot how fast mortals age, but it looks good on you."

"You would stop aging if you stayed here," James interjected.

Remus raised his brow at the prince and nodded. "What a fun fact." He smiled at Lily and then looked back at James. "Thank you for helping her through the woods. I really do appreciate it."

"Of course. I would not want her to be found by any other creature. I am happy to have helped you."

Remus bowed his head and then James walked out of the room.

"He's very different than I remember." Lily said quietly, not sure how well James' fae ears could hear after the door was closed.

"He is," Remus agreed.

"You," Lily reached out and touched his lackluster hair. "You are much different. What happened to you? It felt as though you and this place had fallen off the edge of the world. That I'd just dreamed it all up or imagined the entire thing."

Remus sighed. "I know. I should have written to you, but I didn't know what to say. I still don't know what to say," He sighed and nodded toward a small table in the corner of the room. It was surrounded by windows and overlooked the most magnificent lake that Lily had ever seen. The water looked liked it was made of glass, still and a perfect reflection of the forest that grew along the far edge.

"Something happened. James said that he wouldn't tell me because it wasn't his secret to share, but then when we were coming into the castle he said that you lived here for your safety and the safety of others. Is someone trying to hurt you?"

Remus fell more than sat in one of the heavy, oak chairs at the little table. Lily took a quiet seat next to him. "No, no one is trying to hurt me. And I sort of wish someone would have told you so that I didn't have to. I hate telling people."

Lily reached out and put a hand on his knee. He was still there, she could see bits and pieces of the little boy she'd grown up with, like pricks of sunlight through the forest canopy. But he'd weathered a storm recently that she knew nothing about.

"I'm a werewolf." He said bluntly, sitting up straighter only to slouch back against the chair a moment later.

"Werewolves are real?" Lily knew that that was the wrong question, but it was the first one that sprouted on her tongue.

Remus gave her a soft smile. "Right, I forget that there are still parts of this world that you don't know about." He nodded. "Yes, there are werewolves and I am one of them."

"Twilight type werewolves?" She asked, though judging by his appearance, she was going to guess that it was a no.

Remus snorted, "No, Jacob was a shapeshifter, not a werewolf, remember?"

Lily laughed, put a bit more at ease now that he was making mortal references and smiling more. "Okay, well then what does it mean?"

"It's not good." Remus said, folding his arms over his chest. "And it's why I haven't been able to visit you. If I stay in fairyland, then I only transform into a wolf once a month, when the moon is full. If I go to the mortal land, then I turn into a wolf immediately."

Lily pressed her lips together and tried not to ask another ignorant question. "Why is it bad?"

"I'm not myself when I turn into the wolf." Remus said quietly. "I lose control over myself, I wake up the next morning unable to remember what happened. It's like when Bruce Banner turns into The Hulk." He ran a hand through his hair and sighed.

"Oh," Lily tried to process all this new information. She wasn't sure why she hadn't thought werewolves could be real. And if they were real, that meant other creatures that she hadn't thought lived in fairyland could be real as well. Sirens, mermaids, vampires? They could all be just around the corner here.

Instead of frightening her, it thrilled her.

"I'm sorry that you're going through this," Lily reached out for his hand and he allowed her to take it. "I wish I would have known something was wrong so that I could support you through it."

Remus shook his head. "I didn't need you worrying about me. It's bad enough that my mortal parents were worrying about me, but I can't go home and visit them." He looked down at the tips of his shoes. "I tried to write to you, Lily."

"Remus,"

"No, I did, and I should have tried harder. I didn't mean to just disappear on you."

Lily pulled him in for a hug. She had been hurt by his sudden disappearance from her life. He'd been the gate to the magical world to her, and one of her best friends. When he disappeared, magic disappeared as well, and even if she had only spent a handful of weeks in fairyland throughout her childhood, losing magic had felt debilitating for a long time. "We're together now, yes? That has to count for something."

When she pulled back, Remus was smiling slightly. He must have known that she was making light of the situation, not because she hadn't been upset, but because she couldn't be mad at him for it. She sat back at the table and grabbed her backpack, reaching in to pull out two peanut butter and banana sandwiches. "Would you like one?"

Remus' eyes lit up. "Yes please!" He took the sandwich and Lily laughed as she watched him rip away the cellophane. "I have missed mortal food so much! I mean, fairy food is good of course, but they don't have peanut butter," He smiled at her, a large bit in his mouth. "You didn't happen to bring marshmallows, did you?"

Lily reached into her backpack. "You can't have peanut butter and banana sandwiches without marshmallows." She pulled out the bag and tossed it to him.

As they ate their snack, he filled her in on what had been going on in fairyland. Who Mary and Reginald were, why they were getting married at the castle, how he'd come to live in the castle, though she got the feeling he was leaving quite a bit out. He also told her about James, Sirius and Peter.

"They're a lot calmer now than you remember them. Fairy children are never very well behaved."

"You were well behaved."

"Yes, but I wasn't full fairy. I grew up in the mortal land, same as you. Fairy children grow up more wild, with less love from their parents and more independence. Older fae find their antics humorous instead of harmful." He shrugged. "James will take the throne soon, and I think he'll be a good king. Kind and fair."

Two words that Lily wouldn't have ever thought to associate with Prince James.

"He was very kind to me in the woods. He didn't threaten to turn me into a toad at all. And my feet stayed on the ground the entire time." Remus chuckled.

"I forgot how much of their antics you saw when you were here. But you should get no threats from any of them, to be a toad or anything else. James seemed glad that I was inviting you back."

"Yes," Lily nodded. "I was surprised about that. He asked if I'd dance with him tonight." Remus laughed.

"You don't have to dance with him."

"He also made sure that I knew that."

"Good. I think we should start getting ready now. The sun will be setting soon, and guests should be arriving shortly after that."

"I didn't know that this was a fancy castle wedding," Lily stared at her backpack dubiously. "I don't have any ball gowns."

Remus looked her over. "Would you like one?"

"I don't want to stand out," She said, not sure if he actually had the ability to procure her a gown. "I mean, I know that I'm going to stand out anyway," She touched the tips of her rounded ears. "But I don't want to stand out any more than I have to."

Remus nodded. "I think we can work something out. We have time."

He introduced her to a small fae woman named Marlene, who's skin had a greenish hue to it and she told Lily that she was from the sea.

A real live mermaid helped Lily get ready for the wedding.

She made sure to give Remus a look of pure excitement before he walked out the door and he smiled at her. She hoped to make him smile as often as she could while she was here. She didn't like how she'd found him, all sunken and dull.

"This hair is to die for," Marlene cooed as she twisted and knotted it into such an intricate updo that Lily wasn't sure that she was ever going to get it down again. Not that she would mind all that much, the finished look was completely remarkable.

And the dress Marlene gave her to wear was phenomenal as well. Petal pink with gold embellishments, gossamer lace sleeves and it made her feel like a princess. She didn't remember feeling like much of the fairy world was safe and storybook like before.

Marlene dusted gold flakes over Lily's cheekbones and painted her lips a bright pink and then stepped back and smiled at her.

"Stunning!" She reached out and tapped Lily's nose. "Absolutely stunning."

"Thank you," Lily said, turning around to look at herself in the full-length mirror that was framed in gold branches and leaves. She was a bit taken back when she saw herself standing beside Marlene, the mermaid. She didn't look out of place at all. Marlene had hidden the tips of her ears, and it didn't even look as though she'd done it on purpose, so she looked as though she might be a fae creature herself.

"Wow," Lily said softly, which made Marlene giggle and grip her hand.

"You like it?"

"I love it." She said, turning her head from side to side, watching the candlelight catch the flakes of gold on her cheeks. "This gown is so pretty. Thank you for letting me wear it."

"When Remus asks for a favor, I have no problem helping out." Marlene grinned, leaning closer to the mirror. "Alright, I need to put my gown on and then we will go and find him again! Yes? I am sure you are very excited to see everyone again. It has been so long since you have been here."

"Did you and I," Lily shook her head, "Sorry, I just, I'm not sure that I remember meeting you before."

"I used to be much greener," Marlene laughed, "And my hair looked like seaweed. But I'm full grown now." She ran her slightly webbed fingers through her long blonde hair and batted her eyelashes at her.

"I do remember you," Lily nodded, and she did. She had been terrified on Marlene when she was a child. She hadn't looked anything like a mermaid, but maybe something that would crawl out of the swamp and pull you back in with it.

If she remembered correctly, Marlene had actually threatened to do exactly that to a few different people. Never Lily though.

Marlene danced out of the room and came back a moment later with her own dress of lilac purple, which complimented her green skin tone rather well. "Now I am nearly as lovely as you," Marlene announced as she twirled around the room. "Let us go and find Remus. We shall see if he has cleaned up as nicely as we have." Marlene linked arms with Lily and started dragging her out the door.

The wedding was nothing like Lily thought it would be. There was no formal ceremony for one thing. The bride and groom just disappeared after greeting everyone and then when they came back, they were married.

"The vows are supposed to be a private thing between the bride and groom," Remus explained while Lily clapped along with everyone else. "They promise to be together, and then they come back for the celebration."

"That's nice," Lily said. She'd been to many mortal weddings and they were all beautiful and nice of course, but they were also long and stuffy. This one took place out under the stars, and while she knew it would be a long party, since fae parties typically lasted until the sun came up, or it wasn't considered a good party, there was nothing stuffy about it. "Are the stars always this bright here?" She asked, looking up. They seemed bigger than she'd ever seen them, like they were somehow closer to the rest of the universe while in fairyland.

"Yeah," Remus shrugged. "I suppose they are."

"You've not been in the mortal world in a long time," Lily reminded him and his nonplussed attitude. "They don't look like this there." She reached up, imagining that she might just be able to pluck one out of the sky.

Remus smiled at her. "I'm not jaded," He said. "I know that they're beautiful."

"Good," Lily laughed. "But you did sound a little jaded."

"Would you like to dance?" Lily was startled when she realized that it wasn't Remus who asked this. She watched his face harden before she turned to find the owner of the new voice.

He had shoulder length black hair tucked back behind his pointed ears and eyes so dark that they appeared to be entirely black. "Me?" Lily asked, raising her brow.

"Yes," The stranger didn't smile at her. "I noticed that you had not been asked to dance yet."

"Oh," Lily clenched at the soft lace fabric at her sides. "Well, I was asking Remus questions about the wedding and such. I came here with him."

"I see," The man nodded his head. "Of course, everyone knows that you came here to see Remus, but I did not realize that he had laid claim to you."

Remus put a hand on Lily's arm even as she scoffed. Some part of her brain realized that Remus was trying to calm her, trying to warn her against shouting at this male fae, but the louder part of her brain could not stand the misogyny. "No one has laid claim to me. I only meant that I came here to spend time with my friend, not to dance with strangers."

"Thank you for extending your hospitality, Severus." Remus gave him a small smile and Lily bit the tip of her tongue. Had she offended him? She had gotten upset with James earlier when he'd suggested that Remus somehow owned her or had called dibs earlier. She hadn't been thinking straight when she'd opened her mouth.

She'd broken the first rule of fairyland. Again.

"Yes, thank you," She nodded her head. "I do very much appreciate your offer."

Severus didn't look completely pacified by her appreciation, but he nodded and then walked off.

"Dammit." Lily muttered. "How bad did I just screw everything up?"

Remus shook his head. "It's not as bad as you think it is."

"Are you sure? Because that sounded like a roundabout way of saying that it's pretty bad."

"It wasn't good." He allowed.

"I don't remember him. Have I met him before?"

Remus shrugged. "I don't know. Probably. I'm not sure why he's here, to be honest."

"Was he not invited?"

Remus gave her a smile. "Everyone is invited, it's a fairy wedding. It just generally assumed that if you've personally insulted the bride on multiple occasions, you don't show up."

"He insulted Mary?"

Remus nodded. "Yeah, it took three healers to get her back to normal."

Lily shook her head and closed her eyes. "Wait, what? I thought you said insulted, did you mean assaulted."

Remus rubbed his hand along his jaw. "It was a big thing. Severus didn't actually hurt her, but he did try to defend the people that did."

"Why did they do anything to her? Were you all still kids?"

Remus shrugged. "Sort of, but it wasn't really a joke. They said it was of course, but it was dark magic, and dark magic isn't a joke to anyone. Even young fae."

"What's the difference-"

"There you are, Lily," And that was James. When she turned to look at him, she saw that Sirius and Peter were flanking him. He was smiling at her again, like he'd done in the forest and it hit her just as hard. He was all cleaned up, his hair styled to show off his antlers, his suit jacket colored to bring out the colors in his eyes. Every detail added something to his overall appearance and Lily almost reached out to touch him.

Luckily, his friends spoke up before she could make a fool of herself.

"Lovely to see you again, Red." Sirius smiled at her and extended his hand. Lily cautiously took it and returned the smile to be polite. She needed to work on remembering to be polite. Going to uni had shortened her fuse with men, but these weren't normal men and she still wasn't convinced that one of them wouldn't turn her into a worm if she annoyed them, despite James' assurance that he wanted to keep her safe while she was here. She needed to be more polite, and less distracted by James.

"Yes, we were all rather excited when Remus told us that he was inviting you to come and visit again." Peter nodded, grinning at her like he knew something she didn't.

"Were you now," Lily smiled at Peter. "I feel as though you all remember our time together very differently."

Sirius laughed, loudly, tossing his head back. Peter was laughing as well. Lily didn't think that she'd said anything worth that much laughter. "Oh Red," Sirius clapped her shoulder, but he was looking at James. "We remember everything that happened."

"Then why were you excited to see me again?"

Sirius shrugged and looked at Peter. "It's always fun to see a mortal. Especially one that isn't glamoured and still remains unafraid of us."

"Especially one that is able to glamour-" James elbowed Peter in the side and Sirius laughed again.

She didn't want to correct him by informing him that she was in fact, very afraid of him and his friends. How could she not be? James seemed to know that Lily was not as unafraid as Sirius thought she was, but he didn't say anything about it.

"Would you like to dance now, or later on?" He asked, his charming smile returning. Had his friends been teasing him, as well as her? She felt like she was missing something.

"Later on," Remus answered for her. James narrowed his eyes at his friend and Remus quickly explained his reasoning. "Severus just asked her to dance. It's probably best not to anger him."

"I am unworried about angering Severus." James said in a clipped voice. "He should not be here."

"No." Sirius agreed. "He should not." They both looked around them, surveying the party guests with a new light.

"Does Mary know?" Peter asked. "Mary would not want him here."

"He is going to ruin her night." Sirius agreed. "Especially if he brought his friends with him."

"He never travels alone." James muttered. "When did you see him?" He looked between Remus and Lily.

Lily shrugged. "I don't know. He was here about five minutes ago? Remus thinks I insulted him."

"You did." Remus bumped her with his elbow.

"Well I didn't want to dance with him! I don't even know him! Then he suggested that you own me!" She almost covered her face with her hands, but then remembered all the time Marlene had put into her makeup.

"We will go and find him." Sirius said, "Get him to leave."

"You have nothing to worry about, Lily." James nodded.

And then the three of them started back into the crowd.

"I should probably go with them," Remus said, taking a step forward.

"You can't leave me alone," He gave her a wry smile.

"Why? Are you afraid to talk to new people?"

Lily lowered her voice. "I'm afraid to talk to these new people." She nodded.

"Lily, you're staying in the castle as a friend of the prince. No one is going to give you a hard time."

"What if Severus comes back?"

"Then shout!" He sighed. "Look, if I don't go with them, then who knows what they're going to do. I know they said that they're going to kick them out so that they can't ruin Mary's night, but they'll end up ruining her night when Severus and company decide that they don't want to leave quietly. Someone needs to play the mediator and that's usually my job."

"Fine." Lily nodded, because this made sense to her. What he was saying now fit with what she knew about James, Sirius and Peter. "Fine, I'll go and find Marlene. See what she's up to."

Remus nodded. "Alright, I'll meet up with you later. Don't drink the wine!"

"I know!" She waved her hand after him and watched him disappear into the crowd too.

She stayed where she was, looking around the garden, looking for any sign of her new mermaid friend, but there were so many people here, so many people to look at. Every single one of them had their hair intricately done up in curls, braids or twists, decorated with sticks, flowers, leaves, and on one gentleman, moss.

She smiled as she continued to take in everyone's party attire.

They were all fascinating. And she could feel herself calming as she let the cloak of protection that being the prince's guest was, fall comfortably over her shoulders.

She took a deep breath, ready to step into the party and mingle with the magical creatures that she'd always been so weary of. Perhaps she could find the bride and groom, properly introduce herself. But when she took her first step, dread crept up the back of her spine, gripping her lungs and preventing her from calling out for help.

Before she could realize why she was afraid, her world went black.

AN: I forgot that we get to the action so quickly in this fic! I hope you're enjoying it! Let me know what you think below!