Hello, everyone! I'm back! (for once actually keeping my promises) This is the chapter I promised you all, and here it is! Also, you get to learn more about some of the places in my story! Yay! It's not at random after all! (Maybe I should draw myself a map) I actually know how I'm going to end this story! (the wierd thing was, I dreamed it! Don't know why, or how, just know that I have an awesome ending planned! Anyways, that should be in a few chapters, actually...maybe six or seven, I'm not entirely sure. Just read the story!

(And those of you who reviewed, I'm kinda shocked by the fact that you're still reading this story, but good for you! You all get brownies that I stole from my sister {there ARE brownies at my house!} Enjoy the new chapter!)

Summary: Kurt is a Fallen, an indescribably beautiful race of demon–angels. Kitty is a fledgling priestess with a hidden power. Kitty knows that Kurt isn't her enemy, but can she prove it?

Fallen Angel

12. The Tribe of the Moon/The Old Woman of the Swamp

Kitty stared at the fairy, all illusions created by the brightly colored butterflies gone, as she looked into the furious eyes of the strange fairy.

She sensed rather then saw Kurt and Sparks stepping out from behind her; had they been trying to get her attention away from the butterflies before? She wasn't too sure.

"Fallen…"

The cold voice jerked Kitty back to the present, and she glanced uncertainly at the fairy, which was glaring at her. "What are you doing here?" the fairy demanded.

"I…I…" Kitty stammered; she heard Kurt speak up.

"We came through the waterfall. We apologize for trespassing, but we don't know where to go from here."

The fairy stepped forwards, into the light, and Kitty got a better look at her. The fairy had dragonfly-like wings, and white-blonde hair. Cold blue eyes glared out from shaggy bangs.

Surprise emanated from the nameless fairy. "Where are you from, Fallen?" she asked at last.

"Treehaven." The replier was Sparks this time.

The fairy gave a grudging nod and vanished back into the undergrowth; feeling desperation well up in her, Kitty cried out, "Wait!"

The fairy's voice floated back. "What now?"

"You're not going to just leave us here, are you?"

"…" The fairy reappeared, grumbling, retrieving her spear from the trunk of the nearby tree, and waved it. "Come," she growled grudgingly.

Kitty complied, wondering where the fairy was taking them.

The fog of the forest in the Valley of Mists seemed heavier than before, and Kitty was beginning to think they must have traspised half the forest by now. The fairy was leading them, only occasionally glancing back at them to see if they were following.

Kitty figured since Sparks had known where they were, and she was part fairy, she'd know the fairy too.

"Sparks?"

The red-haired Fallen sighed to herself; the inevitable questioning had arrived.

"Yes, Kitty?"

"What's with the fairy? And what were the butterflies doing?"

Sparks sighed again. "Kitty, why must you always ask questions?"

"Sorry!" the brunette squeaked, and ducked behind Kurt in case anything came flying her way. She was surprised to hear Sparks's answer.

"The fairy is of a fairy tribe known as the 'Tribe of the Moon', the tribe that resides within this valley. And the butterflies…" She paused here, as if to think of a good enough wording for her next sentence. "I believe the creatures were casting a spell on you. The magic was easily detectable; if you had followed the butterflies you would undoubtedly not be standing here talking to us right now. It's a sort of luring system; you'd probably end up in some sort of trap."

Kitty felt another question coming; she held it in for a little while and they traveled in silence for a bit, heeding the occasional command from the fairy leading them; but soon, Kitty felt the need to let the question out.

"Sparks, how do you know so much about this place?"

Sparks turned her head so her eyes were staring at Kitty; she looked surprised, and Kitty wondered if it had been a personal question.

Finally, the half-fairy, half-Fallen girl spoke. "I know about this place because this is where I grew up."

And that single sentence was enough to shut Kitty up for the rest of the journey.

"We're here."

The unknown fairy's voice rang in all three Fallen's minds. Kitty looked around, but all she saw were the trees. Sure, they were standing in a glade, but did that count? She nudged Kurt and asked him if he saw anything, because she didn't, and he advised her, "Look harder."

She stared at the trees, realizing that in the trees were actually houses, carved from the bark and made to look like the rest of the tree (which Kitty had to agree to, as she would never have guessed there were any houses there had Kurt not told her to look again)

More fairies were appearing, some whispering to each other, and Kitty caught some of the mini conversations.

"Fallen! But what are they doing here?"

"The one in front looks familiar…"

"How did a group of Fallen get here?"

"Why did they come?"

But most of the speculations, Kitty surmised, were about Sparks, who as far as she knew had lived in Treehaven for a long time. One of the fairies, an older one with dark hair and butterfly wings, moved to the front of the small gathering of fairies. This fairy walked right up to them, but her eyes were focused entirely on the only fairy-like member of their group; it was as if Kitty and Kurt didn't even exist.

"Sparks?" the fairy whispered, and Sparks's head jerked up, her pure-white eyes blinking in shock. A single word was all she said.

"Mother…"

Kitty was shocked, to say the east. To say the most, well…she was stunned; surprised that Sparks had a mother.

Kitty and Kurt stepped back, looking around at the small glen for a while. Fairies flitted by with not a care or a real reason to glance at the two Fallen, and so Kurt and Kitty remained relatively invisible, that is, until Sparks walked over to them, apparently having finished her conversation with her mother, and was now leading another fairy towards them.

The two looked at each other and watched as Sparks appeared in front of them. The other Fallen stated, "This is Lyria. She'll be taking us to see the Old Woman of the Swamp."

"Old Woman of the Swamp?" Kitty repeated.

"Yes. The Old Woman of the Swamp resides near this forest, and she is known for her far sight. She will be able to tell us where to go from here." Sparks explained. The fairy she had brought over, Lyria, had shoulder-length brown hair, brown eyes, and wings similar to a lunar moth's.

Lyria flitted through the trees, the three Fallen following her through the ever-present maze of trees, boulders, glades, and the occasional meadow.

The sun was high overhead by the time the forest trees thinned, and a mix of water and mud began to cover the ground. They had reached the swamp.

Kitty decided she didn't like the swamp. Not one bit. There was mud and water everywhere, and it smelled. It reeked really badly, and the awful smell made her wonder who or what had crawled out here to die. Holding her nose, she sullenly followed the others—she wasn't about to be left behind!

"Here we are," Lyria announced as they stopped in front of a ramshackle hut that had to be standing on the only dry ground in the entire swamp.

Kitty, Kurt and Sparks sat down to wait; Lyria had told them that the old woman came and went as she pleased; the fairies didn't bother her, and she probably knew they were there already anyways.

Minutes passed by before an old woman emerged from the practically-falling-down hut. Now, Kitty had seen old people before, so she knew what to expect, but this lady was an old hag! Dresses in many-times-patched clothes, the wrinkled woman's beady eyes stared at the three sitting before her. Kitty could see from her rounded ears that she was neither fairy nor Fallen—this woman was human, though it seemed as though she had lived far beyond the normal lifespan or the average human, of which Kitty had once been (she was surprised to find that she now considered herself a Fallen)

"And what can I do for you?" she asked, obviously used to seeing random visitors showing up on her doorstep with something they wanted from her.

"We need your help," said kitty, and the Old Woman on the Swamp nodded, beady eyes glittering.

"That's usually the reason why most come to me…but there is always a price to pay… So what do you have to offer for my help in your little quest to save the world?" the woman cackled.

Sparks, Kitty and Kurt exchanged a look. Payment?

"What kind of payment?" asked Kurt hesitantly.

"What do you have to offer?" the old woman countered.

"Er…" Kitty blinked. "Conference!" she hissed at the other two and they crowded together. "What could we possibly give in payment? Seriously! I mean, what have we got that's worth anything?"

They investigated what they had, but what they had was only the clothes on their backs, surely not worth any sort of information.

"Maybe showing something…?" suggested Kurt finally.

"I have an idea!" announced Sparks and walked over to the old hag. "Will you take us showing you something instead, as payment?"

"Depends on what it is," the old woman contemplated.

Sparks nodded; she'd been expecting an answer like that. She held out her hand, and like a miniature sun, the heart of the dragonfire appeared, it's pure white light reflecting off of both Sparks's face and the old woman's, who was staring at the tiny light with wide eyes.

After a few moments, the small orb of light shrunk and vanished. A silence followed, broken by the old woman muttering, "I haven't seen something like that in years!"

"Does that mean…you'll help us…?" ventured Kitty nervously.

The Old Woman of the Swamp nodded. "You must go to the Shrine of Stars."

"The shrine of what now?" asked Kitty, clearly confused, but Kurt grabbed her hand and whispered to her, "This valley is the ancestral home of the Fallen. The Shrine of Stars is said to be the place where the very first Fallen entered this world…and where the ancient gateway to the realm that first Fallen came from, remains…"

Kitty stared at him. "Really? Why do we have to go there?"

They turned back to the old woman, only to find that she was gone. Sparks, who stepped up behind them, said quietly, "It seems our audience is at an end."

"So we have to find this shrine place? How?" asked Kitty.

"It shouldn't be too hard," stated Kurt. "After all, it's on the tallest mountain in this entire valley!"

"Oh…" mumbled Kitty; while she hadn't felt stupid in a while she was feeling it now. "So we…fly?"

"Easiest and fastest form of transportation, that is, unless you count teleporting," replied Kurt with a grin.

He held out his hands, and Kitty and Sparks each took one. Kitty watched as the swamp vanished in the blink of an eye.

All righty, this chapter's finished! Yup, they're off to finally start trying to save the world! Amazing, right? Yes, this story does have a plot, it's not just random plotbunnies out of Shadey's head. Review peeps, it's the best thing since chocalate chip cookies and ice cream were invented!

~Shadey