It should be of no surprise that nightmares initially plagued my dreams. Luckily, I didn’t wake Stephanie and managed to fall back to sleep. I now stood in a familiar but not so familiar forest. It’s like when you dream of school, it’s not your school it’s your dream school. Anytime you dream of school, you’re in that school, familiar but not familiar.

Hesitantly I stepped on a sure-footed path. Making my way deeper into the woods the sides of the path fell away. Now well above the forest, I spied a dark figure ahead of me. Drawing closer I thought it might be a tall man. My journey continued, but the footing soon became treacherous and unsteady. The dangers did not bother me as I now had a goal.

The man now stood facing away from me at the end of the high path. Below there was nothingness. I could now tell that he was a Sidhe with long brown hair tied up in a ponytail. He wore an old battered WWII Bomber jacket. I called out to him, but he did not reply.

Now finally close enough to touch his jacket, he turned and smiled at me. The young man wore old fashion motorcycle goggles on his face, but I could see he had very kind eyes. That thought disturbed me.

“Choose my Princess.” He took my hand. The road no longer ended, branches opened up everywhere, and all of the paths were treacherous.

++++++

Warm kisses woke me up, for a moment, I thought it was the Sidhe, but the smell of wildflowers gave the lips away. I turned my head and looked up into the eyes of Abigail. It was a pleasant surprise I only spoke to her a few minutes the night before.

“Good morning Morgan.”

I smiled and tried to sit up. I had pulled two of the chairs together. One of the few benefits I have found with my lost height. It was far from the most comfortable sleeping arrangement. We spoke for a few minutes about the accident, but there was a lot more I wanted to talk to her about.

Moreover, Stephanie was not in the room, but I could hear her talking outside. Even on the other side of a closed door, I could clearly tell she was speaking with Eshne Teague, Abigail’s Aunt. The pair made some sort of decision about me, so glad I was involved. Before I could comment to Abigail, the two women entered the room.

“Good morning Morgan.” Stephanie carried what appeared to be breakfast. She set down a basket of pastries, muffins and big fluffy biscuits. Eshne Teague gave me a warm hug and told me how sorry she was that my mother was hurt.

As Stephanie passed out containers of orange juice, she explained that the Doctor had come by. Very pleased with my mother’s recovery they decided to move her to a private room. Abigail gave me a big hug as I grinned at the news. Wiping a tear from my eye, I picked up a blueberry muffin and asked between bites.

“So is this the switch off of the adults watching me?”

Abigail Aunt looked startled, but Stephanie gave me a knowing smile.

“Yes dear, I must go home.” I could tell that Stephanie wanted to stay, but she had her own family. “Be sure to call me if anything else changes or you need to talk.”

“Thank everyone for me, please. And be sure to tell Mal thanks for hanging out with me last night.” I frowned. “We still need to talk to Stephanie, more so now.”

“Richard called for a Council meeting tomorrow night,” Eshne commented. ”He had already spoken to most of the others.”

Others? Apparently, my understanding of the powers in this town was lacking. So besides Witches, Were-bears and the Fae what else lived here? Of course, having an unusual forest in your backyard would most likely attract all sorts of the Unseen. I figured I would need to quiz Abigail later.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if you are asked to be on the council Morgan,” Stephanie said while buttering a biscuit.

Eshne seemed surprised at the comment. “Morgan I didn’t get all of what happened, but it supposedly concerns your job. I wasn’t aware you had other responsibilities. Richard insisted that this information came from you.”

I could tell that she was a little annoyed with me. Well a lot really, I imagine the reason was that I didn’t invite her to my meeting with the Unseelie. I rationalized I wanted to keep the numbers small, but actually, I didn’t want to get Abigail involved. I didn’t want to worry her. It was now a moot point everyone was involved.

I turned to Abigail. “You didn’t mention to anyone about my family?” When I emphasize the family part, her hand went to her mouth.

“No...I mean...was I supposed to?”

I smiled. She hadn’t told her Aunt about my mother. I was surprised but actually a little pleased. Still failing to pass that little tidbit of information was not going to make her Aunt happy. I realized that alienating the Witches in the town even under good intentions was a mistake. I was failing at the responsibilities my mother assigned to me.

My foolishness also almost cost me, Rebecca. Waiting two days for this information was unacceptable. Eshne needed it yesterday.

Waving my hand, I set several powerful wards around the room. Eshne eyes opened wide as I drew in my power. Abigail squeaked.

“Eshne Teague, I apologize for not including you yesterday it was for selfish reasons. I am Morgan, daughter of Mab, Princess of the Summer Court and Arbitrator.”

“Arbitrator Morgan?” Eshne asked a little hesitantly

“Yes, Eshne.” I continued leaving nothing out.

++++++

After lunch, the three of us sat in my mother’s rooms as she slept peacefully. Pulling over a chair, I took my mother’s right hand. She still had a long way to go. Her left leg and left arm were in a cast. Bruised all over her face, her head covered in bandages she still looked a hundred percent better than last night.

Stephanie had left a few hours earlier but said she would check up on me later. A number of other women since I spoke with Eshne came in and out of the hospital. They all seemed very excited upon meeting me. I was surprised to find that one of the women was actually the principal of the High School.

I continued to hold her hand, reinforcing my mom’s natural healing as we spoke about Abigail’s walk through the woods. Emotions flashed across Eshe's face. I knew she was still upset for me not filling her in sooner. She had every right to be, but the story of Abigail’s meeting with the Wood-Wife brought her to tears. The Wood-Wives were the gentle caretakers of the forests.

“Abagail, my grandmother used to tell me wonderful stories about the Fae and of her friend Sabina.”

Like Deputy Rose, when she was little Eshne grandmother wandered into the woods. Lost she came across a large friendly green dog who guided her to Sabina. Her grandmother didn’t know how long she spent with Sabina in the forest, but she had been gone well over a month. Eshne remembered other stories about her grandmother disappearing into the woods for months or longer throughout her life.

“She always had an air about her that was different from everyone else.” Abigail’s Aunt smiled fondly remembering her grandmother. “I know now it’s because she spent so much time in the Fae Realm.”

Eshne turned to Abigail. “Please Abigail. Promise me that you won’t go into the woods again unless you are with Morgan.”

Abigail looked confused. “I thought the only reason why I could go into the woods was because of Morgan?”

“Perhaps child but I think you’re more like my Grandmother. As you know, the majority of people cannot enter the woods they find themselves back where they started. Our Magisters have been studying the woods for many years. It is thought that a special few have an affinity to the forest. This affinity runs in our family.”

“Your Highness,” Eshne said I am guessing this is a formal request. She had been calling me Morgan all morning. “If permissible could you speak to one of our Magisters? It might be beneficial to all of us.”

“Yes, that should be possible.” I could see a long discussion with Sapphira in the future. I now felt so out of my depth with the lack of knowledge about what is going on. This lack of knowledge is going to get someone killed more than likely it’s going to be me.

++++++

In a desperate need of a shower and a change of clothes, Aunt Eshne drove me back to my house. Actually, I had a feeling that neither of them was going to leave me by myself. After giving Eshne the three-cent tour, she explained that she needed to go home and pick up a few things as well. When she revealed that they were also planning to spend the night at the hospital with me, I started to cry. I have been so alone most of my life. I have never had so many people concerned for my well-being.

Abigail quickly came to my side, and Aunt Eshne joined into a big three-way hug. “Of course Morgan, you’re very dear to us.”

As soon as Aunt Eshne left the condominium, my pack of house Fae came to greet me. It took a moment for the dozen or so little girls with fairy wings to sort themselves out. Bria, the leader of the small gang who borrowed sugar from me what seemed ages ago, told me how sorry they were to hear about Rebecca’s accident. They didn’t particularly care for her because of how she treated me, but they knew I was upset.

“If there is anything we can do your Highness, please ask.”

“How did you hear about her accident?” The three of us really did not talk about it when we got home just now.

“We heard about it from some of our sisters at the hospital.” She looked a little embarrassed. “Sapphira asked me to keep an eye on you. You’re very important to us Your Highness.”

"Thank you for that Bria, you are all important to me as well.”

I slapped my hand to my head. What was I thinking? Once again, I am not using everything I had at my disposal to do my job. I gave them a quick overview of what was happening. Bria knew some of it, but the rest of the girls were horrified.

“I have a favor to ask all of you. Can you and your sisters be my eyes and ears as well? We need to find the Unseelie lair.”

As one, they all made a deep curtsey. “We shall do as your command, your Highness.”

“Please be careful my friends. Don’t put yourself in jeopardy.”

“Oh, Morgan.” I turned around completely forgetting that Abigail was still in the room. She had a look of awe and wonder on her face as they flew away.

The telephone interrupted whatever Abigail was going to say. It was something mundane but important. It was Rebecca’s work. My mother’s assistant Lori wanted to let me know that the office had taken care of everything. Rebecca was now on sick leave and if necessary long-term disability. The whole office sent their very best and if I needed anything just call.

As I hung up the phone, the sound of a motorcycle came from my driveway. I could tell it was going to be a busy night. Last night’s dream comes to me as I made my way to the door stopping in the middle of the den as the doorbell rang.

“Morgan, what’s the problem?” Abigail asked from the kitchen.

“I don’t know.” I turned to her. “Abs, can you please stay in the kitchen.”

I wasn’t afraid someone was going to break in. I had set up several wards around the house. No member of the Unseelie Court was going to be able to enter. The doorbell rang again.

I stood in front of the door for a couple of breaths then opened it. No surprise, a tall Sidhe wearing a bomber jacket stood before me. He really did seem familiar.

“Greetings your Highness, I am Lord Alexander, son of Duke Uilleam.” He had a light Bostonian accent. After giving a very courtly bow, Alexander gave me a flashing smile.

Really, was he supposed to kiss my hand next? This one was as bad as Sile and her shenanigans. I raised an eyebrow at him. That must have messed up whatever else he was supposed to say. Stumbling over his next words, Alexander suddenly stopped talking.

“Want to start over Alex?” I smiled. I will admit he did have kind eyes.

He nodded. “Hi, I’m Alex, my dad, and your mom sent me to help you.”

“Hi yourself, you might as well come in.” I noticed he had a blue BU shirt under his jacket.

What surprised me was that he picked up a pair of swords from the side of the stairs. “You normally carry swords around?”

“One can never be too careful your Highness.”

“Very true.” I took his a jacket and set it on a hanger in the closet. “Alex please put the swords in the closet. Nothing is going to bother us in my home. So do you actually go to Boston University?”

It was a wild guess he rather reminded me of a frat boy.

“I’m a sophomore.”

“So, what’s your major?” I asked as we walked through the den.

“Poly Sci”

“Cool.” I brought Alex into the kitchen.

Abigail took one look at him. “Is he a relative of yours Morgan?”

“Hi I’m Alex, you must be Abigail.” He walked over and shook her hand. “You’re right I am her cousin.”

“You’re not just here just for a family visit.”

Alex shook his head. “No, I was sent by Queen Mab to help her out.”

She looked at him confused. “I thought you weren’t going to get any help.”

“Oh, I’m a special case.”

“Special in what way?” I had a bad feeling about this.

He looked embarrassed for a moment then blurted. “I’m your fiancé.”
