***i've been on painkillers all day, so i'm sorry it's taking me so long to post this! it may be like this for the next few days, so i apologize in advance if i post late or if the chapters are really short, like this.. :/ oh well... stupid dentists...***

Allison stared at her mother, impatiently waiting for an answer.

Sabrina didn't know where to start. She glanced over at her four-thousand-year-old husband whispering furiously to his just-as-old brother, who was putting an arm around their many-thousands-of-years-older mother, Titania. And here was little fourteen-year-old Allison, wondeirng why it was so hard for her mother to answer such a simple question. Sabrina closed her eyes, trying to unscramble her thoughts.

"Allison, do you know what the flu is?" she said finally.

Allison rolled her eyes. "Duh, Mom. It's like a cold, only worse. Everyone gets it."

"Everyone? Even you?"

Allison stared puzzledly at her mother in a brief silence.

"Now... Do you know what a gray hair is?"

Allison rolled her eyes again. "Okay, where's this going?"

"Answer my question!"

"Yeah, Mom, I know what a gray hair is. You get them when you turn old."

"How old am I, Allison?"

"Um... 42, right?"

"Do I have any gray hairs?"

She shook her head slowly.

Sabrina bent over to look her daughter in the eye. "Have you really never noticed? In all of your life, you've never gotten sick. Since the day you were born, your parents have never aged. You have magic in your blood, Allison. We all do. That's because you're an Everaftter. And Everafters do not get sick. Everafters do not get old. Everafters, if they choose to... can live forever."

Allison could only stare in shock. She shook her head stubbornly. "You're not making sense, Mom. Nothing that you're saying is possible!"

Sabrina nodded her head towards the rest of the family. "Your grandmother Titania over there is thousands of years old, but she chooses to remain youthful. Your late grandfather was the ruler over all of the Faeries. Your father took over his title. Your aunt and I ended the Everafter War. Yes, Allison, Everafters have power, but we also have a responsibility in this world." She softened a bit as she looked over her daughter lovingly. "I know this is a bit of a shock for you, and I know you've been considering running away. The ironic thing is that I would have done the same thing when I was your age. But you can't leave your family, and you'll never be able to escape your heritage. Don't you see, Allison? This is what it means to be a Grimm-this is what it means to be an Everafter!"

Allison looked yearningly at her mother for a moment, and then burst into tears, running out the door.

"Allie!" Sabrina cried, reaching out an arm. She was about to go after her when she felt a hand on her shoulder.

It was Puck. He looked at her sympathetically. "It's all right, Sabrina. Let her go. She needs time."

Sabrina didn't even realize she was crying until he reached out and wiped the tears off her face. "Thanks," she said quietly, and then threw her arms around his shoulders. He hugged her, startled.

"I thought we did the right thing, Puck," she said, trying to hold back tears. "I just wanted her to enjoy a regular childhood like everyone else. I didn't think it would hurt her this much to know the truth." She let him go and regarded him warily.

"No, I think we did the right thing," he said softly. "Don't worry about Allie. She's part Grimm- -and all Grimms are tough. I know that first-hand."

She tried to smile.

"Here, I'll go after her and have a talk with her. In the meantime, my mother and Mustardseed are heading to the Hall to try to dissolve the chaos. You can take Emma with you; I know she's dying to meet everyone."

Hearing her name, Emma skipped over and smiled hopefully up at her mother.

"It'll be fine," Puck reassured her again. "You all just go have fun until everything calms down."

"Oh, trying to calm down a Hall full of mad, chaotic Everafters-that would be your idea of fun," Sabrina retorted sarcastically.

Puck grinned. "Hey, at least it's not my fault this time." He looked one last time at her before exiting the room to go look for Allison. "It's going to be alright," he called out. "Really. Oh, and make sure Emma doesn't try to eat the Gingerbread man again."