Ugh, my head was killing me. My mouth was as dry as the day after Clara, and I thought it would be fun to drink all of her mom's fancy wine, gross. I needed water. I hoped I wasn't getting sick again, I felt like crap.

Cracking one eye open, I looked around. I was outside, the sun was going down, and I was on the ground. How the heck did I get here?

I ran my hand through my hair to push it back, and it hurt my thumb; I yanked my hand out of my hair to look at it. It was hard to see in the dim light, but there was a cut on the pad. How did that happen?

I tried to think of the last thing I could remember. I was talking to Ash on the phone, he was going to come over to show me something. I was waiting for him and heard...something.

"Ah, she's awake, finally. One of you go tell the Queen."

I recognized that voice, but I couldn't place it. The only thing I saw was trees and the outline of a weird statue with wings.

The statue moved closer, and I saw it was Dahlia. She was wearing a tiny red dress and a giant pair of red wings that matched her hair.

That's bizarre, what is she do...? It all came rushing back. My head was killing me because it bounced off the porch! I sat up and my head swam.

"You bitch! What did you throw at me?"

She shook her head, "Slow, annoying, stupid humans. Always worried about the wrong things. If I were you, I'd be more worried about why you're in a cage and what we're going to do with you."

I tried to stand and stumbled; it took a second to right myself. Something was seriously wrong with my balance. Walking toward her I realized she wasn't joking. I was in some kind of cage, it was just blending with the trees in the dark.

There were no bars, it looked like it was made of vines. It even had leaves growing on it. I turned a slow circle, I was surrounded. Looking up, I saw that it was closed at the top too, shaped like a giant birdcage. I raised my hand to touch the vines to see if I could break them.

"I wouldn't do that," the high pitched child's voice was coming from behind Dahlia and she turned to bow in its direction.

Walking past Dahlia toward me, it wasn't a child but a full grown woman, who was also wearing wings. Is this some kind of weird cult?

I reached out, touched the vines, and my body exploded in pain. I fell back and hit the ground. I could feel my pulse everywhere, but it was like it was made of electricity. My hand was burning and I'd hit my head again.

Taking a deep breath, I stayed still, waiting for the pain to lessen. When it did, I held my hand up to check it for damage. I was almost afraid it wouldn't be there after the pain I felt, it'd be nothing but a stump. It was there though, most of it was covered in a red welt.

Sitting up, I found Dahlia grinning at me and the one with the child's voice looking annoyed.

"I did urge against that." She turned to Dahlia, "What could he possibly see in her?"

Dahlia tittered, "I don't know my Queen. I certainly don't see it."

Every time they spoke, I got more confused. Clearing my throat I said, "Could one of you tell me what's going on? Where am I? And what he, are you talking about?"

The one Dahlia called a Queen spoke slowly, as though I should have already known, "You're in the Seelie Court, where I am Queen and you will speak to me with respect. You're here, because I wanted to see the little human that was trying to steal from me. I'm also reminding Ash where his loyalties lie."

"Ash? What does he have to do with this?" Everything this lady said was nutso.

The one who thought of herself as a Queen looked surprised, "Are you saying that you didn't know any of this? He didn't tell you?"

I shook my head; big mistake, it started to really pound.

"He's thinking of giving up everything, leaving where he belongs and facing my wrath, all for someone who doesn't even know what he is?"

"What do you mean what he is? Don't tell me he's in your weird wing costume cult," I rolled my eyes at their outfits.

She looked pissed, good. I'd love for her to come in this cage with me. I smirked at her anger, hoping to push her over the edge.

She took a slow breath, "I see it's my responsibility to educate you." As she came closer, Dahlia looked excited. That couldn't be good.

"First of all, these are not a costume," her wings flew open behind her, they were beautiful. A light blue that went nicely with her silvery hair and long shimmery dress.

"Cool trick. They're pretty, but I'm still thinking you're nuts," I looked at her sadly, like I felt sorry for her. It didn't seem like she'd like that and I really wanted her to open the cage.

She studied me quietly, tilting her head at strange angles with quick little movements, like a bird. She was really committed to this whole look, I had to give her that.

The wings flapped and she lifted off the ground gracefully. She went as high as the top of my enclosure and looked down at me with a smile. What the crap?

She waved her hand and I lifted off the ground, floating. She brought me to the top of the cage, my face barely an inch from the painful vines. I tried to lean back but it did no good.

Laughing at my struggle she waved her fingers and I fell, hitting the ground hard, again. The damn cage was tall. It took me a minute to get up, and she watched me the whole time with a grin.

Landing back on her feet she turned to Dahlia, "I had almost forgotten how disgustingly inferior humans are. If I have to be near one at least it's a nice reminder of how truly spectacular I am."

Dahlia grinned and nodded like a crazy-ass bobblehead, "Yes my Queen, you are magnificent."

Damn, she has definitely drunk the kool aid.

The Queen turned to me, "Do try to pay attention. We are fae. Ash is fae. I am the Queen of the Seelie Court. Ash belongs to me, not you."

I stared at her, "Wait. So I'm here because you're jealous of me and Ash? Maybe if you didn't act like such a bitch you could find your own boyfriend."

Dahlia rushed toward the cage, "Blasphemous little bug! I'll kill you!"

"Stop," the Queen raised her hand and Dahlia stopped immediately.

"My Queen, such disrespect cannot be ignored," she was shaking with rage.

Perfect, come in here pissed. The best way to knock someone out, is to knock them off their game first. Drug me? Put me in a cage? I don't think so.

The Queen smiled and caressed Dahlia's cheek, "You are a treasure to me, my songstress. But I need her alive, for now. I want my Dream Walker to guide me when the war begins. She will be the perfect tool to keep him in place.

"I didn't spend years planning to have it ruined by some insignificant little human girl. It's bad enough I had to wait so long for her to be brought here."

She turned her attention to me, "That was a poorly timed illness, dear, very inconsiderate. But you're here now and you will serve your purpose. Don't you agree that's what should be done, Dahlia?"

Dahlia lowered her head, "Yes, my Queen. Of course, you're right."

"You did ensure no one will be looking for her, correct? I don't want any human authorities slowing my Dream Walker's trip home."

"Yes, my Queen, I did just as you asked; it will look like she's left for the day."

The Queen nodded and then raised her voice slightly, "Guards!"

Two faeries dropped out of the trees. Were they sitting up there this whole time?

The Queen hardly spared them a glance as she walked away. "I'm done here. Watch her and keep an eye out for the Dream Walker and his warrior friend. I'm sure they'll be coming for her soon."

That was when I realized I was bait. Dahlia drugged me and caged me, all so I could sit here like a damsel in distress and wait to be saved. That was really irritating.

I felt like I should be wearing a pearl necklace, something I could clutch as I claimed to have the vapors. I almost laughed out loud at the thought.

Dahlia gave me a smug look before following behind the Queen. Once they were gone, the guards came closer, and I got a better look at them.

One was a very tall woman; they all seemed to be tall. Her coloring was mostly green, dark green hair and wings like mint ice cream. Her short dress was the color of turmeric, and her olive green pants seemed stretchy but tight. Everything about her was pretty, but her clothes were functional.

When she looked at me, her eyes were a surprising bright yellow that was beautiful against her dark brown skin. She stared at me in a completely detached way, like I could be a person in a cage or another tree; it made no difference.

The guy was tall, wiry, and besides his pale skin, totally monotone. His shaggy hair was navy blue, his wings were navy, his pants were navy, even his eyes were navy. He didn't look detached the way she did; he looked like I stole the last of his favorite candy.

Gawking through the vines at me, he said, "This is it? I don't understand. She doesn't look special at all. Her tiny eyes are unattractive, and she has no magic. Why would the Dream Walker stay in the human world for this?"

The woman shrugged, "He's always been odd. His parents loved the human world. They thought people could be considered our equals." Her tone said she was bored, but her face said I smelled bad and she didn't want to be here.

These two really didn't like me. I'd just be quiet while I tried to figure out what the hell was going on and wait for my head to stop pounding. Taking a quick inventory of myself basically, everything hurt, but it was all workable.

If the swelling in my hand could go down, that would be great. My entire body was sore from that fall. Sitting down, I stretched my back and raised my arms above my head, making sure I still had a full range of motion; I did.

Laying back, I tried to rest my body while still keeping an eye on my guards. None of them has touched the vines either, so I assumed they weren't immune to whatever caused that pain.

That was good; it meant they were only going to get in and out of here through the door. If I knew where the door was, that would be helpful. I tried to find it unobtrusively, but I didn't see a single break in the vines. How the hell did I get in here?

The woman was leaning on a tree, not really looking at me. But the guy wouldn't go away. He was watching me like I was a monkey in the zoo.

I guess that's how he thought of me. I smiled at him, and his eyebrows slammed down. Apparently, he didn't want to be friends.

I widened my grin, "So faeries are real, huh? Wings and magic and everything. That's pretty cool."

His eyes bugged out of his head, making them look even bigger. Did he not know I could speak? This guy might not be the brightest crayon in the box.

"Don't talk to me!" He yelled, "You just be quiet in there!"

"Or what? Are you going to float me around the cage, like your Queen?"

He looked down, and I took that as a no. Good. I didn't think they could all do that, or Dahlia would have thrown me when she freaked out about respect.

"So you can't do that, what can you do?"

He looked at me angrily and didn't answer.

"Nothing? Dang, that sucks."

The woman didn't move, she didn't even look up, but she said, "Get away from the cage, Blue. There's no reason to talk to her."

I chuckled. His name was Blue? Wow, his parents really didn't put a lot of effort into that. He gave me one last angry look before walking over to lean on a tree near her.

I guess they had the B team watching the stupid, weak human. Perfect. I could act stupid and weak. I needed to rest a little anyway before I tried to figure out how to escape these vines.