The paper had said to take the stone to the castle. It had been very clear on that.

The problem was that Reece didn't want to take it to the castle. It was shiny and it was pretty but the best part was the way that it seemed to warp the world around her, giving back the magic and making things pretty again. She had tried to use her magic and it didn't work but she felt like she could do something with it. The ground seemed almost like it was talking to her but she couldn't do anything with it. It was like the earth had gotten smart! The girl giggled at the thought of the earth coming alive and Wefios looked up from where he was crazing to wonder what, exactly, she was laughing about. The red-head had been staring at the stone, playing with the stone, and otherwise obsessively using the stone since she found it and he was starting to get worried. “Days” was not a time one used when describing Ree's attention span on anything. Even the poor glow-monster had begun to be neglected and had he not pushed and prodded her to remember him the poor thing would likely be left behind somewhere, in or out of the jar. The fact that the poor thing hadn't died or sickened was a miracle.

“Reece, you need to take that to the castle.”

“But it's mine, my pretty!”

“It's not yours!,” those had been the only words he could get out of her regarding the stone. It was frightening paired with the way she stared at the stone the entire time rather than looking at him. If he was able he would take the stone himself and throw it back but without hands it was hard to rip it from her grasp and hard to hold it long enough to throw it far, far away. The fairy perhaps sensed his intentions for she looked up at him for the first time in hours and hugged the stone closer to herself. Wefios was being strange about the stone and she didn't understand why. It was just a pretty! He was just jealous that she had found it. Except Wefios never got jealous, not even when she was trying to make him jealous of something. And he was looking at her, not the stone, but all the same she hugged it tighter. He wanted her to give it to someone else! How could she give it away when it was the only thing that still had magic? When the mule stopped grazing and walked over she reached out to pet him, but didn't say anything to him otherwise.

“Let's go, Ree,” he nosed at her shoulder as he spoke, making no attempt to dislodge the stone. “They'll know what the stones are needed for.” They had to know what to do with it and why it was so attractive to his fairy, why the air around it hummed and whispered of old magics. Reece got up unsteadily, trying not to hold on to Wefios but needing him. He was still hurt, the wound from the naazer was an ugly mark against his hair. He was tough, as familiars tended to be, but the wound was still red, it was still swollen and she knew it was hurting him even if he tried to pretend that it wasn't hurting him at all. Maybe someone at the castle could help him and then she could go there for that and not the stone even if he thought she was going to give the stone. She would just... just hide it in the castle! Somewhere only she could get to.

It was a long trip, made longer by the fact that Wefios had to stop frequently. A few times she hesitantly mentioned that they could stop, that they didn't have to go all the way to the castle, but he insisted that they did. She cradled the rune stone in one hand the entire trip, the other trailing against Wefios' uninjured side to make sure she didn't lose him. It felt like forever but the castle finally came into view and she remembered what it had been like the night of the party, when it had been full of light and people laughing and milling around. There had been laughter, she remembered, laughter and joy and people enjoying being alive.

Now it was tense and silent. The stench of too many people and too little space was evident even here and she stared at the castle and wished that she didn't need to go near it. Her hand left the mule to draw comfort from the stone, to hug it tighter to her chest and try to find the courage to walk toward the castle. Wefios let her stand and stare at the castle, afraid to try to push her forward in fear that doing so might cause her to bolt. For a minute he thought that would happen anyway – she turned away from the castle and looked to the east trembling. Her face was set but he couldn't tell if she had decided to stay or to run to wherever she was looking. Was it the home they had started to talk about? The... no, he didn't know about that for sure yet. Without being in her mind he couldn't, wouldn't, say that even to himself.

“Let's go, Wefios. Inside.”

Without another word the girl turned back toward the castle and began to walk. Without being able to phase, without being able to make a ladder or fly or anything else it would have to be the gate and the suffocation within... but she was walking that way and Wefios beside her. At the gate she was stopped and it was the last time, the last chance to run but rather than doing that she answered their questions and suffered to be lead beneath the wall and into the central courtyard with her familiar. She wanted anything to be able to talk to him without them hearing, to be able to feel his mind brush up against hers, but no matter how hard she wished or how many stars she called on the link between them was not restored. Standing in the courtyard she was uncertain now. The stone was hers, but the way Wefios looked at her and it... was it meant to be hers? Was it for her? She didn't know anymore. Reece wanted to be back out where it was more sure, but Wefios just kept looking at her, staring at her, and seemed to care more about it than he did about the gash on his side. The fairy looked back at him flatly before nodding at him and walking further into the courtyard to face the castle itself.

Wordlessly, the fairy stopped cradling the stone and held it forward, presenting it to the castle proper.

Then she waited. Someone would come for it. It would call to them as only magic could.