The following morning, Bibi was back at the lake. She toed the border, magic heaving where it fought between two rival cultures. It was like hazy ground in the summer heat, filling the air, the force of it pushing back and forth spilling cool air in multiple directions.

"Hey." Bibi glanced round. The dryad from the bush, she was near her shoulder. "Did you figure it out?"

"Not really. Did you tell anyone?"

"I would never."

"Thank you."

"You can't cross."

"I have to."

"An imp walking into the land of the fairies… that's a death penalty, you know that." Bibi nodded. "I will come with you." Bibi started, head whipping round to stare at the dryad.

"No, you can't-"

"My home is on this border. I am allowed to freely cross and," she shrugged, "they will trust me. Dryads never lie."

"They can omit the truth." Bibi reminded. The dryad nodded. "Why do you want to cross?"

"I am curious; I would like to see how this plays out."

"I appreciate your help, but I don't want you getting hurt."

"Fairies can't hurt dryads. They rely too much on our homes to build their own." Bibi nodded, wringing her hands. "My name is Angea."

"Bibi."

"I will follow you, Bibi."

"Thank you, Angea." The dryad smiled, alighting on Bibi's shoulder. Taking a breath, Bibi stepped over. The magic and the coolness of the air tried pushing against her, but it had no physical force. Her skin tingled, she could feel the clashing of two energies buzzing through her veins. There was a soft whistling noise seeming to emanate from the border wall, it grew and then slowly dwindled, as if it moved further away. "What was that?"

"It's a signal. The fairies will know you are here within the next shift." She pointed at the sky. "You do not have long." Bibi nodded and headed down towards the lake. She could see no sign of the fairy.

"This fairy. Do you know much about her?"

"I do not know her name. But she comes to the lake often, she likes to sing."

"Have you talked to her?"

"In passing."

"Has she been back since I was last here?"

"Once. Four nights ago, she came with another fairy I did not recognise. I did not hear what they were talking about, but they were not here for long." Bibi nodded again, waving her hand. The water rippled and she could walk on it. "Impressive." Angea remarked. "But you are of a strange nature, no?"

"I-"

"I can sense these things. You are against nature."

"Wow, thanks."

"No, you misunderstand. I know who your parents are, I know you were born in exile. You and your siblings should not exist, fire and water have never combined so well."

"What do you mean?"

"I have been alive for many more winters than you, more than you think. In my time, I have heard many stories, I have seen many pairings from all walks of life, but never have I seen or heard of a fire imp and a water imp being compatible, let alone birthing live children."

"Live children?"

"Yes." Angea replied matter-of-factly. Bibi hesitated, nearly taking a dunking in the water. She hurriedly regained her balance, now halfway across the lake. "But this is new. An imp and a fae, both female at that."

"There's nothing wrong with that!" Bibi replied heatedly.

"Not with you imps, no. The Fae have… slightly different views." Angea sighed. "They are stricter. Pairings should only be of those capable of offspring."

"Oh yeah?" Bibi grumbled. "What if one of them can't have offspring?"

"They're exiled." They had reached the other side. The Fae's forest loomed before them.

"Exiled?" Bibi repeated, staring up into the trees overhead.

"Yes." Angea sighed. "The forest here is deeper embedded in magic than your side. The Fae are expert spellcasters and delight in their showmanship of it. They love their rituals, they keep their magic alive. Unlike imps, they are not born with gifts, but most learn their trade or trades."

"The singing fairy. Her trade?"

"Music, of course. Music is heavily linked with magic here. Songs can do anything, if a fairy is singing it."

"I should go back."

"No. You will not get the answers you came for."

"But-" Bibi stopped. A tingle wound down her spine, her ears picking up on the rustling of leaves without any breeze. It simply could have been a shift in magic, like in the Imp woods; magic liked to play and tease its home as much as the imps did. Some believed its where the imps gained their mischievous natures.

This felt different. This rustling, this magic. It was watching.

Angea seemed to pick up on it as well.

"Up there." She pointed, floating from Bibi's shoulder so she could see her. A second after Bibi followed her direction, a pink-orange light fled from the tree, zipping out of sight a heartbeat later. "That was a Fae."

"The singing one?"

"I would not like to say for sure. Let us keep moving." Bibi glanced back. The lake was not too far behind her, she could be back in her home land within two minutes.

Angea had different ideas. She pulled on Bibi's hair, turning her attention forward. She urged her onwards, humming quietly to herself while Bibi walked. Every now and then, they saw more flashes of light burst from trees and head further inland. They summarised they may be Watchers, hurrying away to report back on this Imp coming into their land.

Glancing up at the sky, Bibi could see they were now within the next shift. She had lost sight of the lake long ago. All that spread before her was forest. If not for Angea, she would have been misled, turned around, taken into the trees to never be seen again.

"Wait." Angea warned. "Kneel." She said a second later. Bibi did. The lights were back, mostly reds and blues this time. They circled Bibi, hissing angrily. "These are the Guards from the Fairy Kingdom. They want to know why you are here?"

"I've got a mark." Bibi replied, looking from one light to the other, trying to figure out which one she should address. "I need your help to understand it." Some faint buzzing this time, some of it curious, most infuriated.

"They do not believe you. Show them." Bibi fumbled to remove the gauntlet of her left wrist, showing the nearest light the round marking there. Angea explained to them what had happened, listening to their responses carefully. "No, it is real. I saw it appear. I know, I understand this has never happened before, but I have accompanied Bibi here to figure this out. She comes in peace." More buzzing, almost laughter like. The light on Bibi's right expanded. Within seconds, a man stood there, wings folding carefully against his back. His hair was dark, to his shoulders, his face hard and cold. "Stand." Angea advised. Bibi did, scrambling in her haste. "This is Grah, he leads the Fae Guard." He was dressed in royal blue, a uniform of sorts, some sort of armour plating built into it. Bibi didn't pay him much heed, her eyes couldn't focus as her heart thudded behind her ribs.

Around her, more and more fairies appeared, male and female, all dressed the same as Grah. They all held swords, the craftsmanship Bibi had not seen before. Every single blade was aimed at her. She raised her hands. Angea insisted they came peacefully.

"We believe you did, dryad. But imps are another matter altogether."

"Please, I just wanted to figure out what this meant." She showed Grah her wrist again. His eyes narrowed dangerously, cold fingers clamping around her arm. He yanked her hand forward, leaning down to closer examine the mark for himself.

"It is disjointed writing, that of a child learning his penmanship. The sentence is incomplete." He threw her hand away, wiping his own clean on his clothing. "By Law, you are to accompany us to the Council. There, they will decide what to do with you. Considering you have not shown any destructive behaviour yet, they may go easy on you. They may even send you to the mines, if you are lucky. Imps are such efficient workers when given the right incentive." He smirked, eyes glittering coldly.

"Now, I'm sure it won't come to that-" Angea tried.

"We'll see." Grah interrupted, fixing a steely look on Bibi. "We will see."

So Bibi followed Grah, surrounded by his colleagues. Angea sat on her shoulder, trying to soothe her, but Bibi could hardly hear her. This was a bad idea, she should never have followed the mark, despite its protests. Her family, if she were never to return, what would happen to them?

The forest grew deeper, trees taller. Fae shrunk into their orbs upon seeing her, but they buzzed overhead, hundreds upon hundreds of them, whispering amongst themselves like an endless wind. A tightness crossed her chest, clogging her throat; Bibi trod as carefully as she could, hands trembling. It took her willpower and more to focus on the back of Grah's head. She was never going to leave this place, they would not allow it.

Finally, they arrived. A tree, its lowest branches lost to the green heavens above, the roots spreading in every direction as far as she could see. The trunk could have easily held thirty of her village. She hesitated; a sharp point immediately dug to her spine.

Grah went into the roots, a cave, twenty feet above her head. Okia would have been so happy here. They walked further in, climbing stairs wider than her home. She lost track of all the twists and turns, but they eventually emerged onto a landing. It was well-lit, despite its lack of windows, the rainbow flames of torches reflecting and shimmering from the golden inlays of the tiles, tapestries woven of silken fabric that glittered in every gemstone shade and more. They detailed aspects of Fae life, past and present, stories and truths. Grah told her this as they walked along- "Consider yourself lucky, Imp. Those before you that have seen these never lived to tell anyone else." Bibi stayed quiet, frost growing on her fingertips in her agitation. She tucked her hands under her arms, shoulders hunching as she struggled for breath.

She looked for Angea. The dryad managed a small smile, but her eyes betrayed her- she was already wondering how to tell Bibi's family.