After months of searching, scouring Revaliir for any sign of Jade, the devious offspring has finally been spotted. What had thrown off the scouts was the lack of magic traces from the illusions, as the hiding fairy was no longer changing forms. Information was now pouring into the king's attention, and a sinister plan was soon hatched. ”If Jade won't come to us of her own accord, we shall bring her here ourselves. Bring her little woman friend in, I've got a surprise for her.” Oberon played it off that he wanted to chat with his daughter, to see how she was coping with the curse recently bestowed upon her.

A plethora of fairies flew forth, with direct instructions to capture but not harm the red headed elf. She was a “special” guest, and they all feared Oberon’s wrath should she be injured. A special cage was ready just for her arrival near the king's throne, a cage that nullifies all magic of the occupants within.

---

Cecil woke to another beautiful morning on the plains. He and Nelanna were walking north, headed to the Jasumin Lake. It was a gorgeous place that always appeared be in autumn. After living there for some time, it was a place he wanted to share with her. In addition, maybe he could find some of his belongings before Oberon chased Cecil into the mountains? The snowy haired fairy smiled at the pallet where his red headed goddess was supposed to be.

Nelanna’s bedding was empty. Concern creased his forehead as he checked. It was cold, she has not been there for hours. 'Kohaku! Kokahu!’ While he and the fox despised each other, it was the only form of contact he had.

    Nelanna woke to find herself in a cage. She was confused and struck with alarm, quickly sitting up and looking around to see where she was, and hopefully what was going on. How did she get there? The last thing she remembered was sleeping in her bed with Kohaku on the floor next to her, and Cecil nearby. This place looked completely unfamiliar to her. She seemed to be in an almost magical looking place, more specifically an open meadow-like area surrounded by dense trees. The canopy overhead allowed filtered light through, but not enough to burn anyone from prolonged exposure.

Looking next to her she saw a magnificent throne made of twisting blue bark, entwined with ivy. Upon this throne sat a man draped with an elegant red cloak over one shoulder. The way his fairy armor adorned his arms, and his extravagant belt accentuated his bare chest. Long, white hair dipped just below the shoulder level, and a delicate golden crown sat upon his head. Her eyes widened as she looked over him, and she desperately tried to move as far from him as possible. But the cage bars stopped her from getting very far at all. “Who are you? What’s going on?” She asked. Seeing his crown and fairy armor, Nelanna had a hunch she knew who the man really was, and she didn’t like it.

---

Kohaku slept through the night in his fox form, as not to make his master uncomfortable. And as morning came, he suddenly felt a strong feeling of confusion and alarm, until it quickly turned to fright. Since he was still asleep, he wasn’t aware that these were the feelings his master was feeling, until he heard Cecil’s alarmed and desperate call. He woke, blinking groggily as he looked up at Cecil. Normally he would reply back with an irritated tone, but this time was different. Cecil never called out to Kohaku in such a way, which told him something must truly be wrong.

“What is it?” He asked, sitting up and then glancing up at Nelanna’s bed. It had become a habit for him to do so, making sure she was still alright. But as he saw her bed was empty, his heart dropped. Immediately he transformed into his human form and turned on Cecil. “What happened to Nelanna? What did you do to her?” His eyes were threatening, his words dripping with venom as he tried desperately to restrain himself from attacking Cecil and ripping his throat out. He knew Nelanna needed to stay away from him. Dream boy was nothing but bad news.

Oberon glanced at the elegant looking woman as she stirred in the cage. Before him were fairies dancing lazy circles to enchanting music played by three musicians off to the side. A sinister smile spread across his face, waiting for her to absorb her surroundings. While she had a typical response, the look in her eye revealed that she already had suspicions. The fairy king stood and took slow, measured steps toward the cage, peering through the bars at her. ”I must say, she has decent taste towards non fairy folk.”

He turned his back and walked toward the center of the dancers. Music and movement ceased as he did so. With a dramatic flare, the king turned and made a grand gesture at the cage. ”Ladies and gentlefolk! May I present to you, the Lady Nelanna.” The way he said her name was with such a sneer, it was obvious he was mocking her. ”Isn’t it obvious, my dear, why you are here? You have what I have been after for years, and you’re going to lead her here. At long last, I shall finally be reunited with my daughter.” There was no love in his voice. Mere scorn and malice.

---

Kohaku was slow at waking up, but at least he didn’t immediately resort to irritated retorts. ”Nelanna’s gone.” But the fox did not react the way he had hoped. Instead, he was now that flirtatious human glaring down at Cecil. The poor fairy threw up his hands, palms forward in a show of innocence as he took a defensive step backward.

”I don’t know! I did nothing! Literally, I just woke up!” Still, the fox was refusing to believe him. ”Seriously, Kohaku, when are you going to realize that I want to protect her just as much as you do? I could have left without waking you up to try and find her on my own. But I’m still here.” Something behind Kohaku caught his eye. Ignoring anything else from the familiar, Cecil approached Nelanna’s bed.

There was a cloth of the finest material, something Nelanna would not have carried with her. It was something that he was all too familiar with. Fairy cloth. Cecil crumpled it in his hand, infuriated. ”That bastard!” He stood and prepared to leave, pausing only to give one more effort to reason with the fox. ”I believe I know who took her, and why. Your help in retrieving her before Oberon does anything to her would be greatly appreciated. Can you do it, Kohaku? Can you work with me to save your master?”

Nelanna narrowed her eyes and furrowed her brows at Oberon, silently watching his every move. As he moved away she relaxed a little, and crawled in his direction in the cage. There, she sat with her legs to the side, her hands holding onto the bars as she continued to watch him. The other fairies stopped their dancing and music as he introduced her mockingly, but his following words made her heart drop. Nelanna’s eyes widened, her heart swelling with fright. So it was Cecil they were truly after? “You cad!” She shouted, ending her words with a growl as her fright gradually turned to anger. Nelanna gave him such a glare, eyes burning. It wasn’t like her to be so angry, but there was something about Cecil that brought out the best in her, and apparently the worst when he was in danger. Especially when it came to his father.

“How could you be so cruel to your own child? What has he done to deserve such cruelty?” Her grip on the bars tightened, and silently she tried to reach out to Kohaku, hoping to warn Cecil of the trap. But for some reason she couldn’t get to him. The only proof that their bond still existed, was the fact that she could feel his own anger and alarm. He must’ve found out already, which meant Cecil probably did too. She needed to get out before he got caught in Oberon’s trap. But, how?

---

“If you wanted to protect her then you should’ve stayed away,” Kohaku barked, giving Cecil a look of completely disgust. Nelanna didn’t have an enemy in the world. So even if Cecil wasn’t the one who took her, he was surely the cause. If he had to bet he’d place all his money accusing that stupid Fairy King. He knew he would get to her eventually if she stayed near Cecil.

And as Cecil found that Fairy cloth, and said he knew who it was, Kohaku’s suspicions were proved in his book. He narrowed his eyes with a stubborn ‘humph’, and crossed his arms. He didn’t like the idea of working with Cecil at all, and didn’t trust him. But he was well aware that he couldn’t take on the Fairy King all on his own. As much as he hated to admit it, he actually needed him. So, with a heavy sigh, he decided to agree. “Very well. But only because I don’t know where your father is. That doesn’t mean I trust you,” he stepped closer and pressed a clawed finger against Cecil’s chest threateningly, his face inches away as his amber eyes burned like fire, bearing into Cecil. “But as soon as we get her back I want you to stay away from Nelanna. You hear me? You’ve made her a target, and now who knows what all your father is doing to her.”

He had to admit, she held herself with such poise, even when trapped as she was. This Nelanna was turning out to be quite the prize for little Jade. Too bad that she had fallen for the wayward fairy, for it would be her downfall. Oberon had no intention of letting her escape, and that cage was magic proof. Both Jade and Nelanna would be stuck here for as long as Oberon wills it. The king and everyone in the court laughed at her shouted anger.

”Jade’s “little goddess” has such a temper!” The king gave some disappointing tsk’s toward her, waving a single finger from side to side. ”I treat my people as I see fit.” Oberon stalked up toward the cage and reached out to caress her soft cheek with the back of his hand. Should he succeed, she would find that his hand was surprisingly soft and warm. ”These are magic safe bars, m’lady. No message can be sent to that little fox of yours.” He had deliberately left out what his child had done.

---

”Oh come on! Can’t you see that she’s the best thing that has ever happened to me? Without her, I’m worse than the dirt under your feet. But you wouldn’t understand, you’re nothing but a filthy, stupid fox!” What did foxes know of fairy feelings? Cecil waited for Kohaku to go over the taunt, to realize that the fairy had him exactly where he wanted him. His father had trapped them both into working together. ”Of course, I wouldn’t expect you to.”

He merely rolled his eyes as he grabbed their packs and darted over to the owl griffin. A moment later, the packs were secure once more, Cecil then went to pet the owl’s beak the whey he liked it. ”Hey boy, she’s in trouble. Time to take me home.” Gahara gave a deep sound of acknowledgement, bowing his head for easier mounting. After Kohaku was behind him, Gahara took to the skies and went to fly due south. ”Ever been to the Feeorin Forest? Do not eat anything, do not drink anything, and most importantly, do not listen to anyone but myself and Nelanna. Seriously, Kohaku, now is not the time to argue with me, when I say listen, I mean listen. Fairies are not to be trifled with!”

Even with the brave front, Cecil was an emotional wreck. What if Oberon has already started his torture on her? It was undoubtedly a trap. He feared that he would not be able to free her. ’Please let her not eat or drink anything before we get there. I swear to all the gods that if they safeguard her, I will spend my life until my dying breath to protect her.’ The fairy prayed silently to himself, urging Gahara to fly faster.