With each step I took, I felt like I was floating till the ground beneath my feet was gone.

I opened my mouth to scream but I couldn't.

The light dimmed around me, the darkness wrapping me in a cold cocoon as I was hurled through space.

I squeezed my eyes shut.

It felt different with Darien. I felt nauseous then but now I feel a strange weightlessness.

Maybe I'm dreaming. Maybe I was dead. Maybe I had accidentally taken too much acid given to me by a homeless man.

I couldn't hear anything but the wind rushing past my ears.

I landed on the ground hard, my body hurtling forward as the darkness finally gave way.

Light flooded my vision.

"That wasn't pleasant, Gion!" I groaned as I turned onto my side.

Gion was sitting on a small rock. In his small hand was a twig just half the size of him. 

He turned to me. "Forgive me, my lady. If Master Darien was here, it would've been more pleasant for you."

I frowned just at the thought of him.

That jerk. He's off doing god knows what. I wish I had a way to know.

I turn on my back, letting my eyes adjust for a moment.

I landed somewhere in the woods, the sky a clear blue azure above me. The air is different here. With each breath I take I can feel some sort of tingling sensation under my skin, as if whatever magic runs underneath the earth is coursing through me.

The leaves are bright shades of red and yellow, swaying in the wind as the sun's rays made them glow.

It was a captivating sight but I couldn't stay here forever.

It was also very warm. Right. Court of Summer and all that.

I felt like I was back in Spain with my grandmother.

All I had with me was a vague understanding of the Fae Realm, Gion, and a bag full of supplies.

Those weren't the best odds but it's all I have until I can find either Darian or Fallon.

I got up, brushed the dirt off me and tied my jacket around my waist.

I'll be completely honest, I came here with no plan. Gion and the other Brownies had begged for me to find Fallon and I had said yes.

Another prime example of not thinking things through.

Oh well. Better here than there. Odile and her smoke of doom were still out there hunting me.

I reached into my backpack and pulled out a map.

It was an old piece of parchment, its edges were torn and it smelled like an old shoebox. I opened it gingerly, laying it down on the flat piece of rock.

I had no idea what I was looking at.

There was a small compass of rose on the bottom right corner and in bright, fancy words 'The Realm of Fae.'

The last time I used a map was when I was a little kid in Girl Scouts. They gave us a map, a compass and a very enthusiastic guide as we marched up the hill towards the campsite.

I reached back inside the bag and my fingers wrapped around something metallic.

A compass!

Gion waddled up to me, his small boots in his hand. His silver puffy hair hung limp on his shoulders. I picked him up and placed him on my shoulder where he snuggled into my hair for warmth.

"Gion, recognize anything?"

"Of course." He said. "We are in the summer court."

I placed my hand on the largest piece of land on the map. It was located on a continent that was northwest.

If I squinted enough, it looked like the head of a dragon.

"Is that a good thing...?"

"It is the home of our Mistress. We will be safe." He glanced at me. "Mostly."

"Oh, that's a relief. I'll be mostly okay."

"Sarcasm is not your strong suit, my lady," Gion remarked.

"Neither does your hair but I'm not saying anything about it." I rolled up the map and put it back inside. "Earlier you told me you could sense Fallon? Can you sense her now?"

Gion shook his head. "None. The people who have taken my mistress have hidden their tracks."

I hesitated for a moment. "What about Darien?"

"Oh, yes!" Gion exclaimed. He scared off a blue bird that was perched on a tree. "I can!"

Well...that was a start. Find Darien and we'll find Fallon.

Hopefully.

I held up the compass.

"Point the way!"

—-

It was a good thing that I grew up in what was considered to be the countryside.

As a kid, my siblings and I would go explore the forest. My parents never really cared what we were up to...as long as we came home in time for dinner.

There were times when I was left alone. I used to think that my siblings were playing a game of hide and seek that I was really good at.

It wasn't until the moon rose high in the sky that I realized that they had forgotten about me.

Funny, isn't it? Being forgotten like that.

I'm used to people forgetting about me. My parents overlooked me like I was never there and my siblings seemed to forget that they had a sibling.

Even when I went off the college, they called once in a blue moon. Usually to remind me to come home.

I'm used to it.

Or I was.

Until I met Fallon and Darien, I had people who remembered me. Even the small and insignificant things.

Maybe that's why I came out here, even if it meant I was in danger.

It was weird out here. The forest around me felt alive.

I felt a little creeped out by the swaying trees. There was no wind and its branches seemed as if they were trying to bend down and snatch me up.

Maybe I was imagining it. Maybe I wasn't. I didn't know which one freaked me out the most.

We stumbled onto a dirt road that cut through the forest. It was cratered with wheel tracks and animal tracks that turned into human footprints.

According to the map, if we followed this trail we would reach Darien by sundown.

I didn't want to stick around to find out what was going to happen after sundown. From the echoes of animals deep in the forest and the whispering trees...it wouldn't be good.

Darien would be able to manage but I'm as good as dead.

"My lady!" Gion hissed in my ear.

I snapped out of my thoughts, stopping in the middle of the road.

"Jeez! What?" I whipped my head around. "Can't a girl think out here?"

Little hands tugged at my hair, trying to steer me away from the road. "We must hide!"

Listen very carefully. When a tiny little creature from a different realm is telling you to hide, you get off the damn road and hide like you're a professional hide-and-seek player.

I looked up, noticing a tree with thick leaves that cast a long shadow.

Perfect.

Time to put my tree-climbing skills to good use. Thank you eight year old me.

"Hold onto me, Gion!" I said, placing my foot on one of the roots that sticker up from the ground.

"Trust me, My Lady." He held on tightly to the strands of my hair. "I will have no problem doing that."

I scrambled up a tree, the bark scraping my face and hands. It stung like a bitch. 

I hid between the trunks of two large branches. They crawled as I placed my weight against them. My back was to the trunk and the road that we were travelling on was just below me.

I craned my neck out, hoping to catch a glimpse.

There was a silence in the forest. No bird song, no shaking of branches, not even the sound of animal cries.

There was only the wind.

And in the far-off distance, I could hear trumpets.