Song: "Fairy Nightsongs" - Gary Stadler

        That night was a very quiet, mysterious, night. It was so still; it was almost as if nothing was alive. By two in the morning, clouds moved in and hovered over Seabrook Island. The Atlantic Ocean became a little rough, and medium-sized waves crashed onto North Beach's shoreline. Makenna Delling was lying fast asleep in her bedroom, and shuffling in her sleep, she turned onto her side. She was dreaming. This dream was almost as mysterious as the ones she had about the mysterious girl from the United Kingdom and Tracey. Makenna again found herself in a meadow. She was picking flowers, and sniffing a flower, she smiled up at the sky. She was dressed in her Level 1 attire, and her wings were sparkling behind her back. Suddenly, over the sound of a zephyr, the young, Metamorphic Fairy heard singing. The singing was beautiful. Makenna was curious on where it was coming from. A few butterflies fluttered to her and hovered in front of her face. Makenna reached to them.

Outside of the dream world, she was sitting up in bed, still asleep, and she was holding her hand out to midair instead of butterflies. Makenna smiled.

Returning to the dream world, the butterflies fluttered forward and called for her to follow them. Outside, Makenna continued to smile. She chuckled and pulled the covers of her bed off her body. Then, she climbed out of bed, held out her arms, and started to sleepwalk. She headed toward her door which was open and stepped out into the hallway.

In the dream world, the butterflies led her to a mysterious forest, and they stopped at the top of a mossy staircase. Makenna was really standing at the top of her own staircase.
She chuckled again, and her wings began to flap. "Come, Makenna," spoke the butterflies, "Come." They flew to the bottom of the mossy staircase and stopped, peering up to her.
Makenna, who was still smiling, called, "Don't leave me!" down to them. Picking up her foot, she rested it on the first stair and started down the mossy staircase.

In the real world, she started down her own staircase, and she still held her arms out in front of her. Back in her dream, a few more butterflies fluttered to her and started circling her head. Makenna's hair waved. She flapped her wings and lifted into the sky. Outside of the dream world, yes, she had lifted off the staircase and into the air. Behind her, the door to the guest room opened, and Tracey appeared! He too was sleepwalking. He was strangely having the very same dream as Makenna.
In his dream, he saw her hovering over the mossy staircase, and he called to her, "Makenna!"
Makenna heard him, "Tracey!" She turned, and chuckling, she waved him over. Tracey also lifted into the air, and he flew toward her. Soon, he was hovering next to her, and both fairies continued their flight down the stairs.

In their dreams, they saw they were going toward a cluster of trees. The trees moved aside and created a path for them. Makenna and Tracey continued forward. Back in reality, they had reached the bottom of the staircase, and they were flying slowly toward the front door of the house. A sound came from the kitchen. It was Caleb.
He was having a late-night snack, a hot bowl of mac and cheese, and he heard the two fairies chuckling. "Huh?" he asked. He put down his bowl of mac and cheese and stood up from the kitchen's bar-like countertop. Caleb shuffled over to the kitchen's exit, toward the front door, and his eyes widened at the sight of Makenna and Tracey heading toward it. "What in the name of?" he whispered, and he crept toward them, "What are they doing?" Makenna and Tracey landed at the front door, and Makenna turned the knob, pushing it open, although, really, in her and Tracey's dreams, she was really pushing apart a cluster of ferns. Directly in front of the two fairies, further away, sat a mysterious lake. In reality, it was the Gator Pond. The butterflies called for Makenna and Tracey to keep following them, and they did. The butterflies led them to another mossy staircase, the front steps in reality. Makenna and Tracey started down the stairs, and they watched as the butterflies flew closer to the lake. Momentarily, they stopped and waited for them to catch up. Makenna and Tracey soon reached the bottom of the staircase, and they picked themselves off the ground again, starting to fly closer to the butterflies and lake. The closer they came, the louder the singing became.
A beautiful, female voice was singing the lyrics to the "Fairy Nightsongs," a beautiful, mysterious, magical tune.

"Sounds of the forest in sweet harmony.

We give the gift of our song to the fairy.Making a circle of magic and light.The fairy night wings, our songs fill the air ("The Fairy Nightsongs")."

"You have such a beautiful voice." Tracey admitted, and in his dream, he closed his eyes, passed Makenna, and headed closer to the location where the singing was coming from. It was coming from the Gator Pond. Dark magic was at work here, – the Octopus Man – but Makenna and Tracey were totally unaware.
The singing continued, but this time, a few more beautiful voices joined the first one.

"Our songs in the night as we dance 'round the flame.

The Fairy Nightsongs are never the same.The words from our lips as we sing for the night.Impart to the Fey our hearts truest sight ("The Fairy Nightsongs")."

"Even I think you have a beautiful voice." Makenna confessed, "Who are you?" In reality, she and Tracey were getting closer to the Gator Pond. Both of them were now hovering at the end of Makenna's driveway, still asleep, and they started to cross the road. Behind them, Caleb stopped at the end of the driveway, and he yelled, "Stop!" at the two fairies, "What are you two doing?! Wake up!" He shivered, "There's dark magic at work here. Makenna! Tracey!" He hurried after his sister and friend, but suddenly, from out of nowhere, he tripped over a knot of grass that grew out of the road and fell to the ground. "Ow!" Caleb whispered. He closed his eyes and clenched his teeth. Then, opening his eyes, he peered up to the two fairies. "They're being put under a spell!" he finally realized, and he struggled to his feet, "I have to stop them!"

Makenna and Tracey were now really close to the Gator Pond. The mark of the Octopus Man reappeared on Tracey's arm, and Makenna's necklace started to glow.
The singing, which was now very clear, shared a new verse. It was back to the first singer.

"Our hearts' full of love and our arms open wide.We hold the key to the fairies' delight.Songs in our hearts belong in the air.The words of our wisdom we bring forth to share ("The Fairy Nightsongs")."

"Wake up!" Caleb suddenly shouted from behind Makenna and Tracey. Similar to what Makenna did to Tracey to knock him out of the sky when he got close to the wall back in Merlin's Cave, he leaped into Makenna's back, and both she and he crashed into the grass, right at the edge of the Gator Pond. Tracey remained standing. He lifted his foot and prepared to step into the pond, but Caleb grabbed his ankle and pulled him to the ground too. Tracey yelled and landed on his back. Caleb soon flipped Makenna onto her back, and he yelled, "Makenna, wake up!" into her face. He forcibly shook her shoulders, and Makenna woke up.
She gasped. "Caleb!" she shouted, and she started to breathe rapidly. She was totally shaken up. "What happened?!" she yelled, "How did I get out here?!" She turned her head, and her eyes landed on Tracey, "Tracey!" Tracey was groaning on the ground. He still had a fever. The mark on his arm vanished, and Makenna's necklace pendant stopped glowing. Argh, again the Octopus Man was so close to having the two fairies! Makenna started crying. "Oh, Caleb!" she sobbed, and she fell into her brother's arms, "What's happening to Tracey and I?"
"Shh, Makenna." Caleb said, and he patted her back, "Shh. It was just a dream. You and Tracey were sleepwalking. Come on, let's get you back to bed."
He grabbed Makenna by the arms and started to drag her back toward home, but she stopped suddenly and yelped, "Tracey!" They almost left Tracey behind. Makenna released herself from Caleb's grasp, and she flew to him, landing next to him. She was getting a little better at landing now. She grabbed Tracey by his own arms and pulled him to his feet. "Caleb, can you help me?" she asked Caleb.
"Sure, sis," he said, and he hurried toward Makenna and Tracey.
Makenna felt the apprentice's forehead again, and she gulped, taking her hand away. "He still has a fever," she told Caleb who had stopped next to her.
"Don't worry, Makenna," spoke he, and both he and Makenna wrapped one of Tracey's arms around their shoulders, "He'll be okay. I promise you; his fever will be broken by the time you get up and get ready for school."
"How can you be so sure, Caleb?" Makenna asked.
"I feel it," said Caleb, and he shivered as he got a sudden chill.
"I hope you're right." Makenna spoke, "Then again, you are the fairy expert."

Eventually, 6:20 a.m. on Tuesday arrived. Amazingly, Caleb was right about Tracey's fever. It had broken by 6:20! He was almost old, normal Tracey again! Makenna was beyond relieved. As were Mr. Delling, Mrs. Delling, and Caleb. Perhaps there wasn't something seriously wrong with Merlin's apprentice? This Tuesday morning at 6:20, everybody got up at the same time, but some people were slower than others in terms of changing and getting ready for either school or work. Makenna, of course, was one of those people. She spent a great deal of her time in her room, trying to figure out what to do with her wings. She couldn't go to school as a fairy! Today was Mathlete vs. Athlete Day, not Human vs. Fairy Day.

While Makenna sat on her bed, going through the Spirit Week schedule again, she thought about the Sunset Delay spell. She could probably use the Sunset Delay spell, but she didn't know the words to it. Makenna knew what she wanted to go to school dressed as today. She wanted to go as a mathlete, even though she stunk at Math. If only she could succeed in hiding her wings. Makenna studied the Spirit Week schedule for a little bit longer, and she found out that after lunch today, there was going to be a Spirit Week activity in the auditorium. It didn't say what the activity was though. When Makenna finished studying the schedule, she slipped her notebook back into her backpack and scurried over to her dressers. Once she reached them, she dug out the outfit she wanted to wear to school today, that was as if she could find a way to learn the words to the Sunset Delay spell. Makenna tucked her costume into her backpack and opened the door of her bedroom. When she stepped into the hallway, her fairy instincts kicked in again, and she felt Tracey's aura. It was not weak, it was strong! Makenna gasped. Was he better? She flapped her wings and leaped onto the railing of her staircase. The Metamorphic Fairy acted out her surfing pose, and she slid down the railing.
When she reached the bottom, she jumped and landed on the wooden floor. "Hello?" she called, "Dad?" and she searched the area.
"We're in here, Makenna!" called back the voice of Andy Delling from the dining room, "We're in the dining room! Your mother is in the kitchen."
"Mom?" Makenna asked. She turned and peered out from behind a wall into the kitchen. There was her mother. She was standing at the stove, and she seemed to be a little upset. Why though? "Hey, Mom," said Makenna, and she stepped into the kitchen, approaching her mother, "What's wrong?"

Mrs. Delling threw down her spatula, and she pointed into the dining room, yelling,
"That boy just ate all the scrambled eggs!"
"Who?" Makenna asked.
Suddenly, she gasped when over the air conditioner, from the dining room, she heard the voice of Tracey! Tracey! "I was hungry!" he explained, "And those eggs looked delicious!" Makenna whirled around, and her eyes widened. There he was! Tracey was in the dining room, standing up from the table, and the back of his left hand was resting on his hip. His wings were standing up behind him, and they were shimmering. Caleb and Mr. Delling, who were smiling, were hovering behind him.
At the sight of her friend, Makenna's mouth gaped open. "Tracey!" she yelled, and suddenly, Tracey appeared in front of her.
Behind in the dining room, Mr. Delling lifted his hands, and his eyes sparkled. "Wow," he squeaked.
Merlin's apprentice nodded at Makenna, and he said, "Hey, Makenna. Good morning."
"Tracey!" Makenna again yelled, and she threw herself into Tracey's arms, "You're better! Caleb, you were right!"
Caleb chuckled and scratched his nose. "Aren't I always?" he asked.

At the sight of Makenna and Tracey hugging, Mrs. Delling's face turned red, and she pushed them apart, saying,
"All right, all right, that's enough. Makenna, you should be ashamed of him!" She pointed at Tracey, "He ate all the scrambled eggs!"
"I do apologize." Tracey calmly spoke, "But they were so tempting. I've never had scrambled eggs before, so when I tried them, I just had to have another bite. Here, I'll help you make some more."
He reached for the saucer resting on the stove, but Mrs. Delling yelled, "No!" and she slapped his hand away, "You will not, Tracey! Not after what happened last night! Here. Why don't you," She left Tracey and sauntered over to the kitchen's countertop where, resting on its face, was a box of colored pencils and an animal adult coloring book. Mrs. Delling picked it up and flipped to a picture of a horse standing in a meadow. Approaching Tracey again, she offered him the coloring book and pencils and finished her sentence, "color the pretty horse?" Tracey gasped. His eyes sparkled.
He had never colored before. "Awesome!" he said, and he took the coloring book and colored pencils out of Mrs. Delling's hands. He hurried into the dining room and sat down at the table, starting to color.

Back in the kitchen, Mrs. Delling shook her head, and Makenna chuckled.
However, she lost her smile when suddenly, she felt the hand of her mother on her shoulder, and she asked, "Makenna, can you do me a favor?"
She led Makenna to the furthest corner of the kitchen. "What do you mean?" asked her daughter.
"Can you," Mrs. Delling asked, and she put her hands together, "take Tracey to school with you today?"
"What?" Makenna inquired, "Take Tracey to school? Why?"
"Because," explained Michelle, "I have a lot of work I need to do around the house today, and I don't want Tracey and his clumsiness to get in the way."
Makenna cleared her throat. "Um, Mom, have you seen that boy? He's a fairy! He has wings on his back!"
"I understand." Michelle whispered, "But there has to be some way he can hide his wings."
"What about me?" asked Makenna, "I have wings too you know."
Here, Michelle slightly glared. "Well," she growled, "find a way to hide them! You are not going to skip school all because of stupid fairy wings! You need to get those grades up!"
"Oh, Mom." Makenna said, "We're in way over our heads here. If I take Tracey to school, what am I supposed to tell the teachers?"
"Just tell him he's a transfer student," spoke her mother, "but I want him out of my hay!"
"But, Mom!" protested Makenna, "He's older than me! I'm a freshman! He'd be either a junior or senior, depending on when his birthday is! How am I supposed to find a solution to that there?"
"Just think of something!" snapped Michelle, "But I don't want to see him again until later! After last night, those wings would definitely give me a headache!"
"Oh, Mom." Makenna repeated, and she took a step back from Mrs. Delling.

Suddenly, from out of nowhere, appeared Tracey! He approached Mrs. Delling and Makenna, and they together glanced at him. Tracey held the coloring book in his hand, and stopping in front of the Metamorphic Fairy and her mother, he held up to them, a finished coloring of the horse! It was colored lavender. What?
He was already done? "Look!" Tracey cutely spoke, and he held the picture up closer to Makenna and Mrs. Delling's faces, "I colored my horse lavender!" Makenna and Mrs. Delling stared at him.
Makenna nodded. "I'll take Tracey to school with me," she spoke.
"Thank you," whispered Mrs. Delling.
"Come on, Tracey." Makenna said, "Let's go." With her hand, she gestured the ninja over.
Tracey dropped the coloring book. "Where're we going?" he inquired. Makenna stopped at the kitchen countertop, and she reached for a green book bag that was sitting in a chair.
Giving Tracey a funny look, she answered, "School," and picked up the book bag, "You're seventeen. You go to school."
Makenna tossed Tracey the book bag, and he caught it. "School," he uttered in a bewildered voice, "Of course. Do we learn supernatural abilities there?"
"No." Makenna replied, and she next tossed him a notebook and box of pencils, "We learn science, mathematics, history, and English. Question, Tracey, when do you turn eighteen?"
"In November," he answered, "November 24."
"November?" asked Makenna, and she nodded, "All right then, then you'd be a junior. Perfect."
"Perfect?" Tracey questioned, "What do you mean 'perfect,' Makenna?"

Caleb and Mr. Delling soon entered the kitchen, and they listened to the conversation.
"They have quite an interesting relationship." Mr. Delling whispered to Caleb, and he patted Tony, who was sitting next to him, on the head.
"All right." Makenna suddenly said. She clapped her hands together, to get Tracey's attention, and added, "Next step on the agenda." She peered up to her wings, "Trying to figure out what to do with our wings."
A question mark appeared above Tracey's head. "What do you mean, Makenna?" he asked, "Are we not allowed to have our wings in school?"
"No." Makenna replied, and behind her, Mrs. Delling rolled her eyes, "We're not going to fairy school, Tracey, we're going to regular school."
Tracey gasped, "Oh, right! Compared to humans, young fairies have a very different school life."
"Yeah, we do." Makenna said. She sighed. Under her breath, she added, "Although, it's times like these I wish I went to fairy school instead of regular school."
"I've never been to a human school before." Tracey told her, "This ought to be quite the adventure. I know what I'm going to do about my wings. What about you, Makenna?"
"I'm still working on it." Makenna mumbled. She brought her hand to her chin and started to rub it.
"Working on it?" asked Mrs. Delling, and she scoffed, "Is it not Fairy vs. Human Day at your school, Makenna?" Mr. Delling, who was standing next to her, glared and nudged her. Mrs. Delling huffed and crossed her arms.
She pointed her nose up to the ceiling. "No, Mom," said Makenna. "It's Mathlete vs. Athlete Day." She glanced at Caleb, "Caleb, can you help me out with something?"
"With what?" inquired Caleb, and he crossed his arms, "What do you need help with now, sis?"
"I have a slight problem," spoke his sister, and she peered up to her wings, "What am I supposed to do with these wings? I can't go to school dressed like this! What should I do, Caleb?"
"Try the Sunset Delay spell," he answered, "It worked last time."
"Yeah," said Makenna, "but I don't know the words to it!"
"That's sad, Makenna." Caleb admitted, "You need some serious fairy tutoring. I'm getting tired of helping you all the time. Here, I'll tell you the words to the spell, but you're going to be the one to cast it."
"What?" Makenna asked, and she stepped back, "But what if I mess up?"
"You won't. You'll be fine. Here." Slowly, Caleb approached Makenna, and he whispered the words of the Sunset Delay spell into her ear. Makenna listened carefully. After whispering the words to the spell, Caleb backed up and asked her, "Can you do that?" Makenna sighed. "I'll try, Caleb," she said, "I'll try. All right." She glanced at Tracey, "Are we ready to transform, Tracey?"
"Almost," answered Tracey, "Let me say goodbye to my wings first, Makenna."
"Right." Makenna spoke, "You love your wings, Tracey."
Tracey reached up and patted each of his wings. "It'll be okay," he told them, "You'll be fine. This is going to be a big adventure for all of us. Okay, Makenna." He let his wings go, "I'm ready."
"Oh, I can't watch this," groaned Michelle Delling. She reached for her head and left the two fairies, turning their backs to them. She hid behind her hand, not daring to watch, but Mr. Delling and Caleb watched intrigued.

Makenna and Tracey nodded at one another. Then, together, they lifted from the ground and hurried to one another. Once they were hovering side by side, the fairies together announced, "Makenna and Tracey!" and they lifted their hands over their heads, "Time to transform!"

Tracey was the first one to transform, well, hide his wings. He closed his eyes, and like before, his entire body glowed up green. Bending his knees, he lifted his right hand and threw his magical, purple and green throwing stars into the sky. They circled the apprentice's wings, and smiling, he acted out a few dance moves.
The bottom of his tunic-like shirt shot up again, and Tracey announced, "Tracey! Pupil of Merlin the Great!" His stars fell on top of his wings, and they went poof! Right into midair! They were tucked into his shirt. The bottom of Tracey's shirt fell back down, and landing on the floor of the kitchen, he clenched his fists and glanced at Makenna.

She took a deep breath and cleared her throat.
Then, closing her eyes, she waved her hands and yelled the words to the Sunset Delay spell, "Hidden in the shadow! Across the vast meadow! Blending in the ghetto! Hiding the wings shadow!" A weak blast of blue light escaped her hands, and Makenna too started to glow up. The outfit she wanted to wear to school that day floated out of her backpack and flung itself on top of her. There was another blast of light. This one was so bright that Mr. Delling, Caleb, and Tracey were forced to look away. When the glow faded, they looked back. All three people gasped. Makenna had done it! She was hovering in the air, with her necklace glowing, and her wings were gone! She was now dressed in her mathlete costume that she was going to wear to school that day! It consisted of: a light blue shirt that was tucked into khaki shorts held up by a brown belt and silver buckle, red suspender straps, white shoes, earrings that were addition and subtraction signs, and fake glasses over her eyes. Makenna's hair this time, was held up in two high pigtails. She definitely had a mathlete-like appearance to her. The Metamorphic Fairy was soon taken to the ground, and her feet touched it. Her necklace stopped glowing, and Makenna examined herself up and down. She broke into a grin. "I did it!" she yelled, and she started to jump up and down, "It did it! I performed the Sunset Delay spell!"

"Congratulations, Makenna!" announced Tracey, Mr. Delling, and Caleb at the same time. They clapped.
"Is it over?" Mrs. Delling asked from where she was standing. She took her hand away from her eyes and turned back around.
Her eyes widened at the sight of her daughter now wingless. "I did it." Makenna repeated, and she rubbed her new attire up and down, "It even changed my clothes for me."
"The Sunset Delay spell does that," explained Tracey, and crossing his arms, he approached Makenna, "It senses what outfit you want to wear, so whatever outfit is on your mind, it will change you into that outfit so you won't have to do it yourself. You did well, Makenna."
"Wow." Makenna squealed. She was overwhelmed. Mr. Delling and Caleb were too. Makenna was getting better at being a fairy.
She pulled her book bag over her shoulder and picked up the coloring book Tracey had colored in that had fallen when he hid his wings. "All right!" the young apprentice suddenly called out, "Now it's time for the fun step!" He clenched his fist, "School!" and jumped up and down in excitement. Everybody watched him. They were a little bewildered. They had never seen somebody so excited about school before.

Tracey soon stopped jumping up and down, and his golden-brown eyes landed on the coloring book Makenna held. He gasped. "My horsey!" he yelled, and he reached for the coloring book, "Makenna, give me my lavender horsey! I named him Fred!"
"Okay, Tracey," said Makenna, "Here." She handed Tracey the coloring book, and he thanked her. Makenna, Mrs. Delling, Mr. Delling, and Caleb watched as he slipped the coloring book into his book bag and put the strap of it over his head. Caleb tapped Makenna's shoulder, and feeling him, Makenna turned and glanced at him.
Caleb whispered into her ear. "Good luck, Makenna," he said. Makenna clenched her teeth.

After Tracey made sure everything was A-Okay with his book bag, he faced Mr. Delling, and he asked him, Caleb, and Makenna,
"Well, are we ready, kids?" Fourteen-year-old Makenna glanced at both Caleb and Tracey.
She nodded, "I believe we are, Daddy. Now, Tracey." She grabbed Tracey's arm and pulled him close to her, "Try to blend in, okay? Try to act like a normal person. Not a fairy."
Tracey nervously chuckled, "Define 'normal person,' Makenn." Caleb slapped his hand to his face. He had a feeling this day at school was going to be quite interesting for both Makenna and Tracey.