Dinner was ready within twenty minutes.

Beforehand, Makenna escorted Tracey to the guest room and showed him where he would sleep that night. The guest room fascinated Tracey because it reminded him of his room on Merlin's Island. Makenna was happy he liked it. Despite being in so much trouble with her mother, and even after that terrifying experience on the beach with the Octopus Man, she was in an excellent mood. Makenna was in such a good mood that for the next ten minutes after she got Tracey settled, she went into her room and did some homework.

Dinner that night was in the dining room. It was a roast beast, beans, salad, and bread night—a formal dinner in the Delling household that they usually didn't have unless it was a special occasion. Caleb and Tracey talked Mr. and Mrs. Delling into the formal dinner, and Mrs. Delling gave Makenna the fun job of pouring tea and delivering cookies to everybody.

At the dining room table that night, Michelle sat on one end, directly across from Tracey, who sat as tall as a king on the other. Merlin taught him how to eat and sit at a dinner table, so Tracey knew what he was doing. Mr. Delling and Caleb were seated on either side of him.

Fluttering her wings, Makenna approached Tracey's back. She balanced a tray with a tea kettle and cookies in her hand.

Mrs. Delling soon started a conversation. "So, Tracey," she voiced, poking her food, "do you, by any chance, go to school?"

"Oh no," he replied, focusing on Makenna's mother. "Apprentice Fairies aren't allowed to attend fairy school because we're educated under our masters."

"I see," Mrs. Delling said, squeezing her glass of water. "And this Merlin you speak of is your master?"

"Yes, ma'am," Tracey politely yet nervously answered. He lowered his head and shut his mouth.

Still hovering behind him with the tea tray, Makenna tried to pour him some, but Tracey's wings got in her way. Leaning toward him, she asked, "Excuse me, Tracey, do you mind?"

"Oh," he said. He glanced at Makenna, "Of course," and moved his chair off the side. However, his wings got in Mr. Delling's face.

"My word!" Mr. Delling exclaimed.

Tracey glanced at him. "Oh no, I'm so sorry." He turned his chair the other way, but his wings smacked Caleb and knocked him and his chair to the ground.

Mrs. Delling yelled, "Caleb!" She quickly stood and rushed toward her son.

Tracey attempted to remain calm, but it wasn't easy. "I'm so sorry, Mrs. Delling!" he whimpered. "I don't know what's happening to me!" Standing, he reached down to pick up Caleb's chair, but his wings smacked the tea kettle. It tipped and spilled all over the table and everybody's dinner.

Makenna and Mr. Delling gasped.

Tracey glanced at the spill and said, "Oh no, I'm so sorry! Here, let me help you clean that up!" He reached for a napkin to clean the table, but Mr. Delling stood and smacked his hand away.

"Don't touch anything else!"

Tracey jumped.

Mr. Delling sighed. "Perhaps, young Tracey, it'd be best if you just sat down!"

Embarrassed, Tracey obeyed.

Mr. Delling sat and added, "You should also move into the hall."

Tracey turned red. "Of course, Mr. Delling." He flapped his wings, picked up his chair, and slid into the hallway.

Dramatically sighing, Mr. Delling turned to Makenna. "Makenna, please get some paper towels."

"Yes, Daddy," Makenna said. She landed and started toward the kitchen, but she tripped, and the tray flew from her hands. It crashed into her father, drenching him in cookies and tea.

Tracey gasped from where he hovered. "Oh no!" He got off the chair, and it splintered into the floor. Tracey gasped again. He peered down at the broken chair.

"That's it!" Mr. Delling shouted. He quickly stood. "Dinner is over!" He stormed away.

Tracey, still embarrassed, covered his face with his hands. He groaned and quickly flew up the staircase, hurrying toward his quarters for the night.

Makenna held out her hand and called, "Tracey!" She heard the guest door slam shut. "Tracey!" Makenna added. She flapped her tiny wings and also lifted into the sky.

Makenna started for the staircase but heard a "Hold it!" behind her. Suddenly, Michelle's mighty hand grabbed her arm and pulled her down and toward the table. "Not so fast!" she snapped at her daughter. "You have some explaining to do!"

"But, Mom," Makenna protested. "You don't understand. This is all very new to Tracey. I have to comfort him."

"You will not!" yelled Mrs. Delling. She grabbed Caleb, who tried to sneak away, with her other hand. "You will sit down right now, young lady, and explain why you did what you did today! I don't care if Tracey's your boyfriend, but he won't interfere with your studies!"

"No, Mom!" Makenna yelled. She tried to free her arm, but Mrs. Delling had a tight grip on it. "You don't understand. Tracey's not my boyfriend. He's not the one I snuck out to see today. He just appeared from out of nowhere. He tends to do that. He's innocent!"

"Then who did you sneak out to see today?" bellowed Mrs. Delling. "And you better not lie to me again, Makenna! I'm getting sick of your lying!"

"Mom, please," Caleb begged. He tried releasing his arm. "I'm starting to lose feeling in my arm."

"Oh, sorry, Caleb," apologized Mrs. Delling. She released Caleb's arm.

He rubbed it and looked her in the eyes.

"Sit down, Caleb." Mrs. Delling added. "You will help explain this nonsense."

"What?" Caleb asked. "Why, Mom? Why are you bringing me into this, too? I had nothing to do with Makenna sneaking out! Like you, I didn't know she snuck out!"

"Don't worry, Caleb," said Mrs. Delling. She, Caleb, and Makenna left the dining room and sat in the living room. "Makenna's going to do the explaining there. You're going to explain about her so-called fairy form."

"But, Mom!" Caleb protested. "I already explained it to you! But you didn't believe me!" He and Michelle sat on the couch, and Makenna sat in an armchair.

Mr. Delling soon entered the living room, rubbing his face with a towel. At the sight of the gathering, he stopped and asked, "Hey, what's going on here?"

"Sit, dear," Mrs. Delling said, pointing at another armchair. "Makenna here will explain why she did what she did today."

Makenna groaned. "Why can't I just leave?" she mumbled.

"Where's Tracey?" Mr. Delling asked. He searched the area.

"He went up to his room," explained Makenna. She hopped off the armchair. "I'm so sorry about his clumsiness, Daddy, but understand that Tracey's lived on Merlin's Island all his life. He's never had the chance to experience the real world past it. He's completely humiliated. I have to go to him. I will go to him, and you can't stop me."

"You will not, Makenna!" Mrs. Delling snapped at her. "You're not going to get an inch closer to that boy until you give us the scoop on what exactly you did when you got home from school!"

"Sorry, Mom," Makenna said, shaking her head, "but I don't have time for parental lectures. Currently, Tracey needs me. I'll tell you later. For now, Caleb's going to take the stage."

"Whoa, what?" asked Caleb.

"Re-explain to them why I'm a fairy," Makenna told him. Her wings began to flap. "I'm going to go to Tracey. I'll bring him down when I return so he can help with the explanation. Then, after we finish that explanation, I'll tell you what I did after school. I promise."

Mrs. Delling gave her a suspicious look.

"I promise," Makenna repeated. "I'll be down in ten minutes. Caleb, please. Do this for Tracey."

Caleb smiled. "All right, Makenna," he said, nodding. "I'll re-explain to them about the fairy form."

"Thank you, Caleb," Makenna said. She focused on her mom. "Please, Mom."

"Fine," she growled, still glaring at Makenna. "But you heard yourself. Ten minutes. If you do not return in that amount of time, there will be consequences."

"I understand, Mom," said Makenna. "Thank you." She again flapped her wings, and her family members watched as she lifted into the air. Makenna waved at them. Then, acting out her flying pose, she hurried to the staircase and flew toward the guest room.

Behind, Mr. and Mrs. Delling glanced at Caleb, who chuckled nervously.

"Well, Caleb," said Mrs. Delling, "you heard your sister. Hit us."

"Right," Caleb spoke. He cleared his throat and watched Mr. Delling sit in an armchair across from him. Turning to his mom, he added, "Mom, Makenna is what people call a Metamorphic Fairy."

***

Up in the guest room, Tracey curled into a ball and rested on the bed's covers. He stared out a window across from him and mumbled, "I'm a disgrace to the world of humans," tightly clenching his fist. "I'm such a junior fairy. I'm sure I embarrassed Makenna and her family members like crazy. I've failed you, Sensei."

Silence. But then Tracey cried out when a knife of pain suddenly stabbed his head. Lifting one hand, he reached for and clutched it. "My head!" Tracey yelled. He closed his eyes and shook it.

Makenna's voice came from the other side of the guest room's door. "Tracey." The door opened, revealing her hovering in the doorway. Makenna soared into the room, adding, "Tracey, I need to talk to you. Mom also wants you to—" She cut off when she saw Tracey lying on the bed, clutching his head. "What's wrong?" Makenna asked. Hurrying to the bed, she landed choppily beside it and studied Tracey.

He felt her presence and quickly sat, yelling, "Makenna!"

Makenna jumped. "Yes, it's Makenna. Tracey, I need to talk to you about what happened at dinner. Mom also wants you to return downstairs with me."

"No, Makenna!" Tracey announced. He lifted his other hand and gripped either side of his head. "I have a terrible headache! They're back! The sirens are back!"

"Sirens?" Makenna asked. She reached for Tracey's shoulder. "Calm down, Tracey, please. You're good at that."

"I am calm!" he shouted, clutching his head harder. "But it burns! I feel like my skull is splitting in two!" His wings fell behind him and started to shake.

Makenna was worried. What was wrong with Merlin's apprentice? He had never acted this way before. "Tracey," was all she could say. Makenna tried to think of a way to comfort him. A light bulb appeared above her.

Approaching Tracey, Makenna reached for his shoulder. "You're still recovering from your unconsciousness, Tracey. You just need to rest. I don't even know why Merlin let you come back here. Here, let me help you lie down." She gripped Tracey's shoulder, but he pushed her off.

"Don't touch me!"

"Tracey! I'm just trying to help you! We're friends, and friends look out for one another!"

"Don't touch me!" he shouted again. "Ah!" Tracey held his head so tightly that it looked like it would burst like an Airhead.

"Calm down," repeated Makenna. She pulled back the bed covers and attempted to lie Tracey down.

"Get off!" he shouted. The mark of the Octopus Man flashed on his arm. With his eyes still closed, Tracey removed one hand from his head and held his palm to Makenna. A ball of green and purple light appeared in it.

Makenna watched it and gasped. The spell flew out of Tracey's hand and hit Makenna square in the chest. She cried out when she was thrown backward.

Makenna crashed into the floor, barely missing the wall, and her necklace pendant flew from her neck. It landed behind the dresser beside the guest room's bed.

Tracey, still holding his head, fell onto the bed's pillows and yelled, "Leave me alone!" at the sirens.

Makenna soon rose to her knees, a pained expression on her face. "Tracey attacked me?"

"Makenna!" Mrs. Delling yelled from the first story of the house at the base of the stairs. "What is going on up there?"

At the sound of her voice, Makenna gasped. "Nothing, Mom! Don't come up! Please don't come up!" However, she heard her mother's pounding feet hurrying up the staircase.

Makenna gasped again. Quickly standing, she brushed herself off and sprinted to Tracey. Soon standing beside him, she asked, "Tracey, what is wrong with you? There is something more than a magic overload going on with you! But what?"

"It burns!" he shouted again. "My head!"

Makenna clenched her teeth. Nervously lifting her hand, she pressed it against Tracey's forehead. "Oh, my God!" Makenna shouted, pulling away. "You have a fever, Tracey! What should I do? How do you treat a fairy fever?" She reached for her cheeks. "Caleb! I need Caleb! He's the fairy expert!"

Removing her hands, Makenna shifted away from Tracey's face. Her eyes landed on the mark of the Octopus Man on his arm. "Tracey, what's wrong with your arm?" Makenna grasped it and examined the Octopus Man's trident. "Why do you have this mark on your arm?" She released Tracey's arm, "Caleb!" and turned on her heel. "Caleb, please! Tracey needs help!" She sprinted out of the room, leaving behind Tracey, who shook from pain and fever.

"It burns!" he shouted for the third time.

Tracey didn't see it, but behind the dresser, not far from him, Makenna's necklace pendant glowed again. Blue sparkles escaped it and went to him. They circled his arm with the Octopus Man's mark and head.

Tracey's headache eased, and the mark vanished from his arm. He breathed deeply, and his head drooped to the side.

Very faintly, a mysterious, magical voice came from the pendant. "Sleep," it said. "Sleep, my child. You just need to rest. You'll be okay in the morning. Promise."

The sparkles left Tracey's head and arm, and he mumbled, "I'm craving chicken soup." Sweat trickled down his forehead.

"Sleep," repeated the pendant. It stopped glowing, meaning the guest room was finally quiet.

Makenna soon returned to Tracey's room, Caleb and her parents on either side of her, and pointed at him. "There he is! Caleb, please! You're the fairy expert! What's wrong with him?"

"Hmm," thoughtfully spoke Caleb. He tapped his chin and approached the bed. Stopping beside it, he placed his palm on Tracey's forehead. "Oh yeah," Caleb spoke after a bit, removing his hand. "That is definitely a fever."

"I don't understand!" Makenna choked out. "He's never acted this way before! He didn't start to act like this until he was dragged into the ocean on Merlin's Island!"

Beside her, Mrs. Delling dabbed her face with a wet towel. "Of course," she uttered in a small voice. "Merlin's Island. I've always wanted to go to a make-believe fairyland."

Mr. Delling, holding a thermometer, glared at her. "Would it kill you just to believe a smidgen of this?"

Mrs. Delling lowered her towel. She placed her hands behind her back and didn't speak.

After a bit, Mr. Delling faced Tracey. "The boy is ill! He may be a fairy, but he is still a person! Let's have a look at his temperature. And you, Michelle"—he glanced at his wife—"will get a bucket of cold water and a towel for his forehead."

"He's a ninja," Mrs. Delling mumbled. "Can't he take care of himself?" She dabbed her face again.

"Michelle," Andy growled. He gave her an evil death glare. Makenna and Caleb did, too.

Mrs. Delling finally shrugged. "Fine." She turned and hobbled out of the room.

Once she disappeared down the hallway, Makenna feebly smiled at her dad. "Nice job, Dad. Thank you for helping."

"No problem, Makenna." Andy approached Tracey. "All right, Tracey, let's look at your temperature." He lifted the thermometer and stuck it under Tracey's tongue.

"If you're not better by morning, Tracey," Makenna whimpered, "then I am going to take you back to Merlin's Island." She glanced at Caleb, who examined Tracey. "Caleb, have you come up with a diagnosis yet?"

Caleb nodded. "Yeah." He met Makenna's eyes. "It's a spell fever."

"A spell fever?" Makenna asked. "What's a spell fever?"

"It's a fever a fairy acquires when they are affected by either a spell, magic overload, or are right on the brink of magetical shock," Caleb explained.

"He can't be under a spell, though!" Makenna argued. "Merlin told us it's most likely a magic overload instead!"

"I didn't say he was," Caleb explained. "But he is obviously suffering from something. The best thing we can do now is watch him. When a fairy has a spell fever, they need to rest. Rest will help their magic level return to base level. Tracey may have woken from his magic coma, but it doesn't mean his magic level is back at base level. The thing is, he's been pushing himself too hard today."

"Why did Merlin send him back then?" Makenna inquired. "This makes no sense. And what about that mark on his arm?"

"Mark?" Caleb asked. Bewilderment flashed across his face. "What mark, Makenna?"

Mr. Delling soon removed the thermometer under Tracey's tongue and checked it.

Makenna pointed at Tracey's now mark-free arm. "A strange mark of a trident has appeared on his arm!"

"A mark of a trident?" Caleb confusingly asked. He turned his head and examined Tracey's arm. "I don't see any mark, Makenna."

"What?" Makenna's eyes again landed on Tracey's arm. "But," she added in a small voice, "there was one."

Caleb crossed his arms. "You were probably imagining things."

"Maybe," Makenna softly spoke. She sighed and reached for her neck. However, she gasped when she didn't feel her necklace. "My necklace!" Makenna yelped. Her fingernails turned black. "Where's my necklace?"

"Is that it down there?" asked Mr. Delling. He pointed behind the dresser, where Makenna's necklace still rested.

"Oh, thank God!" Makenna fell to her knees and crawled hurriedly to the dresser. Soon reaching it, she reached behind it and dug out her necklace. Her fingernails changed back to blue. "Thank goodness I still have it," Makenna said to herself. She closed her eyes and hugged her necklace.

Mr. Delling and Caleb stared confusingly at her.

Mrs. Delling soon reentered the room, carrying a bucket and towel. "I've returned," she growled.

Makenna, Caleb, and Mrs. Delling focused on her.

"Thank you, dear," said Mr. Delling. "Now hurry! He has a temperature of 103°F!"

"103°F?" Makenna said. "Oh, Tracey." She clutched his hand and closed her eyes. "Don't worry. You'll be better in the morning. Your fever will be broken. And if it's not, I will take you back to Merlin's Island. I promise."

Makenna's tiny wings sparkled while she continued to comfort Tracey.