Half and Half

Fairy Godmother was shaking Dawn awake. Dawn opened her eyes, blinking in the bright sunlight. There was a strange sound--like the sound of somebody shouting.

"What's that noise?" Dawn asked sleepily. Fairy Godmother looked worried.

"Humans," Fairy Godmother replied. Dawn sat up, her heart pounding. The Birch Guard was gone, and so was the king.

"Where are the others?" Dawn whispered.

"They've gone back to the castle to get help. Come with me," Fairy Godmother said. She pulled Dawn to her feet and they ran into the forest, with Fairy Godmother going at a very fast clip. They ran until Dawn saw a small stone house, and Fairy Godmother took her inside. She took a long stick out of her bag and tapped it on the door, turning it into heavy stone slabs, sealing them inside.

"What is that?" Dawn asked breathlessly.

"It's a Changer. It can move the elements around, make them interact with each other, and then make new substances. It's new and expensive, and can only do simple things like turning wood into stone. But it'll help us tremendously," Fairy Godmother replied. The house was just one room, with nothing but two logs inside it. Dawn sat down on one, and concentrated on her problems.

Suddenly she heard more shouting, and then somebody was banging on the walls of the house. Dawn shrank back, her heart pounding.

In the midst of all this, Dawn would very much like to take a bath, and she chuckled at this thought. She was hiding with a Fairy Godmother inside a stone house with no door, humans were trying to attack them, and still Dawn wanted nothing more than to take a bath.

Fairy Godmother heard her laugh and turned.

"Why are you laughing?" She asked curiously. Dawn shook her head.

Then she heard loud thumps, as if the humans were kicking the walls. Dawn saw cracks in the stone. More and more thumps followed until a chunk of stone fell out, and a foot was sticking through the hole.

Dawn went to the darkest corner she could find and crouched there, wishing she had her wings so she could fly to the ceiling and so the humans couldn't reach her.

After what seemed like hours, large pieces of stone fell out, and Dawn saw a human for the first time.

It was a man, and Dawn thought that he looked quite funny. His ears were shaped like question marks, and his eyes were narrowed and yellow like a cat's. He had no hair, and was wingless. He wore black clothes, and was holding a large net. More men were standing behind him.

"Who's there?" he said in a loud, barking voice. Fairy Godmother emerged from the dark corner, with her hands raised.

"Hello, gentlemen," she said calmly. Dawn noticed she had tucked her small wings inside her dress, and she wore her hair over her ears.

"Ma'am, what are you doing in here?" The human asked.

"Oh, I was just finding a place to spend the night. I came here with my human son, and he is out collecting wood," she said. The man frowned.

"We're terribly sorry to have barged in. What are you wearing?" The man asked, gesturing to Fairy Godmother's old, faded clothes.

"My clothes were torn, and I found this on the road. Would you be so kind as to leave?" Fairy Godmother replied. But the man peered behind her and spotted Dawn crouching in the corner.

"Who's that?" The man asked. Fairy Godmother bit her lip.

"Fly, Dawn!" she whispered. Dawn shook her head.

"I can't!" she whispered back.

"What're you saying?" the man asked. He walked over to where Dawn was crouching and pulled her up by the arm.

"Why, it's the girl!" The man said, laughing. "The half-fairy! She'll please the master." And then the man threw the net over Dawn and tied it. Then he slung it over his shoulder as if she was a rag doll.

"Fairy Godmother, help!" Dawn screamed, kicking against the thick net, hoping to break it. Fairy Godmother was about to run over to her, but the man heard her name.

"Catch her too," he said to one of his friends. They threw another net over her, and three men had to drag the net, as Fairy Godmother was especially heavy.

They walked out of the house, and Dawn saw a curious-looking carriage. It had four, thick, black wheels, and a large box at one end and a place to drive at the other.

"Put them in the truck," the man ordered his friends. They dumped Dawn and Fairy Godmother inside the truck. It was dark in there, and when the truck started rumbling and bumping Dawn felt sick.

"Hold on, Dawn, I can get us out of here," Fairy Godmother said. She fumbled with her bag, and brought out the Changer. She fumbled with it a bit, and then pointed it at the heavy nets. It changed into metal.

"What was that for?" Dawn exclaimed. Fairy Godmother sighed.

"The tip's cracked," Fairy Godmother said, struggling against the heavy metal net.

After what seemed like days, the truck skidded to a stop and the truck was opened. Dawn and Fairy Godmother were dragged out.

"Why is she wearing a metal net?" One of the men asked. Another one shrugged.

"I don't care if she does," he said in a bored voice. Now it took five men to drag her.

They were approaching a large wooden house which was unkept and messy. There were cobwebs hanging inside corners, and the door was torn out. Windows were cracked and the shingles on the roof had fallen off. There was a girl sitting on a bench outside, and she stared at Dawn as they walked past. She had caramel coloured skin, and dark eyes which shone with curiosity. Her hair was black and tinged with a dark red, and the perfectly round curls hung down on her shoulders. She was wearing a dark blue shirt with a white skirt, and her hands were carefully folded in her lap. Her ears were shaped like a question mark, so she was probably a human.

Dawn mouthed the words "help me!" as they passed the girl. The girl frowned and shook her head, though her eyes were sympathetic.

The men carried Dawn through the empty doorway, and Dawn saw herself inside a dining room, with a worn-out table and broken chairs. There was one good chair, and a man was sitting on it. His skin was pale and sickly, and his eyes were a dull blue with narrow slits. His hair was brown and looked like it hadn't been washed for quite a while. He was clutching a long, wooden stick.

"You got the girl?" he said in a husky voice. The man that was holding Dawn nodded.

"Bring her here," he said. The man took the net off of Dawn and tied her hands with a piece of rope. Then he shoved her towards the man in the chair.

"Hello, Dawn," he said in his terrible voice. "My name is Florin."