Disclaimer: This story is completely original. All characters, settings, and events are spawned from my own mixed up little mind and may not be used, copied, or adapted without my express written permission. Do not steal my story!!!

12.

Sunday, strangely enough, started in an almost normal fashion. Toby's mother spent most of the morning on the couch pouring through fairy tale after fairy tale, and Dominic was nowhere to be found. Toby wondered over her bowl of cereal if he'd told his mother, too. It wasn't like this was that much of a secret; everyone at the mall had seen Theo and Georgette's little spat. It just seemed like not many people realized that it was real.

Theo poked at the cereal she offered, reluctantly taking his first bite. Then his eyes lit up and he gobbled it down, followed by a banana, two apples, six sausage links, ten pancakes, and a bowl of ice cream.

Apparently being the size of a human didn't mean he had the appetite of one.

Toby had then settled down to do her homework… easier said than done. Every time she tried to concentrate she found her mind wandering. Where had all the other Princesses gone? Who was trying to take away the only ones who kept the fairy tale land alive? And what was the Fairy Court like? She bet it was beautiful but alien, the way every new magical being who entered her life seemed to be. Even Theo was striking with his blue eyes and bright blue hair, and he'd been downright breathtaking in his dragon form.

How she got her homework done she wasn't sure, but at least by the end of the next hour or so she had an answer – a theoretically possible answer – down for each question. Good enough.

She wandered downstairs to find her mother baking a pie. Her mother had odd ways of relieving stress; one pie now meant that by the time Linda felt better they'd probably have enough baked goods to feed Theo for the next week. She glanced around for the dragon and found him snoring away on the couch. Toby shook her head. Some protector she had.

Her feet led her outside and a few minutes later she was perched on the back porch swing, looking out over her flowers.

Suddenly, a tiny little face was staring back at her.

She shrieked and nearly toppled off the swing before righting herself to find the fairy from yesterday hovering in midair and grinning at her. "… Fizzybink?" she ventured, cautiously.

"Yep!" He stuck his hand out as if to shake hers. "Just Fiz though, Princess. Fizzybink's too girly for me."

Toby looked at his hand and finally offered her pointer finger to very carefully shake Fiz's hand. He grabbed hold and pumped her finger up and down energetically and Toby was glad he was tiny, or he might have thrown her shoulder out.

"Where's Verum?"

"Probably still talking fashion with my sister, Sparklydink," Fiz said, resting his hands on his hips, while effortlessly floating mid-air. "Don't worry, Princess! I'll protect you from the evil trolls!"

"Trolls?"

"Of course! Trolls are only the most horrible and horrendous beings in the fairy tale world. They're probably the ones who made the other Princesses disappear. Their Queen, the Jade Lady, is a most vicious and cunning and cruel opponent! Why, I wouldn't be surprised if a whole troop of them were on their way right now! But don't worry, I'll protect you!"

"Verum didn't say anything about trolls!"

"Well, she's probably hoping that they won't notice you," Fiz said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "After all, as long as you don't cause any more big ruckuses like yesterday, they won't know where to find you."

Toby sighed and leaned back in the seat, regarding Fiz for a moment. He was tiny and absolutely the cutest thing she'd seen in ages, from his spring green hair to his sparkling translucent wings, to the way he put his tiny little fists on his hips and stuck his chest out like he thought he was the biggest strongest fighter in the world. She grinned at him. "I'm sure they'll be absolutely terrified of you, Fiz."

"That's right! I'm the Fairy Court's most fearsome warrior!" His chest puffed a bit further out and Toby couldn't help but giggle softly.

"Well, most fearsome warrior, do me one favor and try not to freak out my mom, okay? She's having a bit of a tough time coming to grips with all of this." She tapped her tiara for emphasis and the fairy looked very serious, nodding slowly. Toby resisted the urge to poke his cute little cheeks.

"It will be my pleasure, Princess! After all, the Fairy Court's most fearsome warrior knows when not to be seen!" With an oversized wink and nod, he suddenly disappeared in a little pop of sparkles.

Toby blinked, but a moment later felt a very slight, almost unnoticeable weight, settling down on her shoulder. "Grand," she replied.

Tomorrow was Monday, and she'd have to show up at school to maintain the illusion that everything was normal and her life hadn't been turned completely upside down. With an invisible fairy and a dragon-in-human-form in tow, she had the distinct feeling she was going to need more luck than could possibly exist to escape unscathed…