Two years pass, during which Ellanor has not opened her eyes once, being permanently encased in her shadowy armor while suffering through her trauma on repeat together with Ellaine who stays by her side every day, only leaving Elleanor's inner world to eat, drink, sleep or feed Eleanor. Maggie has spent most of her time training and studying these past two years and has grown quite a bit. Nowadays, she looks like a confident and well toned young woman, in stark contrast to her slightly starved and severely weakened state two years ago. Ever since she found Elleanor again, her goal has been to protect her but since the day she stopped opening her eyes, Maggie has been obsessed.

Sitting in a carriage together with Almenor, Ellaine and Elleanor, Maggie asks one more time, "Are you sure we can't wait any longer? Elleanor could open her eyes any second. She'll be scared and surprised if I already changed when that happens."

Almenor answers with a chuckle, "You already did change quite a lot. Your body grew up quite a bit."

Biting her thumb, Maggie answers, "I…I guess that's true. Will mom be awake when I change?"

"Yes, if Elleanor is having another fit during your change we will just sedate her. Don't worry, neither of us will miss it."

"Is sedating her safe though!?"

He takes her hand, "Yes, as long as we don't use it often, it is."

"Alright…"

Waking up Ellaine, Almenor says, "We're almost here. Look ahead Maggie, the tree of life will soon appear."

Approaching a portal, the scenery changes from frost covered lands to a luscious green jungle where in its center stands an impossibly large, slightly luminescent tree. Its branches reach far above the clouds and its trunk is so wide, it appears as a slightly curved wall of mosscovered bark that seems to go on endlessly.

Wow…This is insane…I know this place is magical but how…How could something this big live? It defies all laws of biology and physics, right?

Slowly losing altitude, the carriage flies over an impossibly wide swamp river, with thousands of naked Fey swimming in it, and lands on a massive lily pad right in front of the wall of wood. Being up close to it, Maggie is now able to see thousands of different animals living in and on the tree. Some normal, some fantastical. Ranging from birds and insects, to mammals and even some feral looking Fey.

Getting outside the carriage together, the scent of swampwater, wood and vibrant forestry is heavy in the air while the temperature feels perfect as if there is no differentiation between skin and the air.

Looking ahead, Maggie finds a floating pathway in front of her, leading into a hole in the tree.

Taking some deep breaths, she looks at Elleanor and her adoptive parents and asks, "So I just need to go inside there and everything else will happen by itself, right?"

Ellaine answers, "That's correct. Some accounts say that they entered and instantly left with their bodies changed, others recount having conversations asking them about their personality but so far, I heard of no experiences that were negative."

Taking another deep breath and nervously shaking her body around a little, Maggie looks at Elleanor and slaps both of her cheeks, "Alright. I'm going. Please turn around, dad."

"Sure."

Almenor then turns around as Maggie undresses completely, "Wish me luck…"

"Good luck!"

"Good luck!"

Awkwardly covering her privates with her hands, Maggie walks over the wobbly bridge made from smaller lily pads while multiple Fey in the waters around her watch and sing a song that harmonizes beautifully but is not made from words, just beautiful gibberish, similar to how mermaids in movies tend to sing and hum. The sounds of water, paired with the leaves playing in the wind and the sounds of animals, gives the entire song both a mystical and relaxing yet slightly eerie feel.

As Maggie gets closer to the tree, some of the feral looking Fey from the tree come climbing down to lower levels while joining in the song, a few of them even using wooden flutes while some of the animals join in as well.

Getting close to the entrance, she can slowly make out the inside. It just looks like a dark hallway.

Oh boy…This is so creepy…I'm making the right decision, right? Yes…Think of Samuel, you're doing it for her. Once I become Fey, I can stay by her side and protect her. I have to. This time, I will be the big sister. I'm tired of being protected by those I care about while they suffer inside and smile at me.

Stepping over the threshold of the entryway, Maggie suddenly finds herself in an infinitely vast white room in front of the tree, while a green man made from leaves approaches her.

Trying to hide her privates from him, Maggie notices she is without a body.

In a jolly yet gentle voice, the green man speaks up, "Greetings Magdalene, I have been waiting for you."

Maggie tries to answer but no voice comes out.

"It is enough to think of the answer, I will hear it."

You have been waiting for me? Why?

"I've been waiting for the both of you. Though I am saddened you came so soon. Your sister and I met before."

You met Elleanor?

"I did but only after I met your other sister Bethany."

Wait what? You know Beth!? What happened to her? Do you know?

He smiles, "I do. While one of my many incarnations was wandering through a world that had lost its direct connection to the four forces, inside of a city named after a big apple, I was pushed aside by a young woman as a so-called 'airconditioning unit' fell down and struck her dead.

Impressed by her act of heroism I gave her the option to reincarnate. She agreed under the condition that you two will follow into the same world and timeline when you die. I'm saddened to find out the circumstances lead you both here so early."

So what you're saying is Beth is alive and she is…She is here?

"Yes. She reincarnated into this world, 2537 years ago."

What? But…How? If Samuel died just a few years ago, why is he over two thousand years apart from her?"

He smiles, "The travel of souls between realms and timelines is slow. All I can do is lead them to the place but only they can find their calling.The call can be instant or it can take eons. Either way, it will feel like just a blink of a second."

I see…So…Can we meet Beth? "Of course, though our time is limited, I would rather talk about the type of body you seek."

Right! I want a body that's strong and durable enough to protect Elleanor and stay by her side! I don't want her to suffer ever again!

"Something strong and durable, huh? Perhaps something similar to an Ogre?"

Suddenly feeling a body around her, Maggie feels completely wrong and disgusting.

"No, that does not seem to be it. Perhaps something more animalistic?"

Feeling her body shift, Maggie finds herself on all fours, her body completely distorted, growing even more distressed while the green man seems calm, "No, that's not it either…It seems your soul wants to keep its shape, perhaps something compact then?"

Feeling her body shift again, it takes on a similar shape to her old body.

"Yes, this is more compatible…Though some changes have to be made."

Feeling her body shift, grow, reduce and tear into different directions, Maggie's feelings of comfort and discomfort guide the green man into a more and more comfortable feeling shape until Maggie feels better than she did before entering the tree.

The green man now smiles at her with a proud expression, "From now on, your name shall be Lila and your people will be called Wardens. Soon your kind will start to walk this world and others like it and your soulmate will be born."

My what?

Pushing a leaf inside her hand, the green man waves at her, "It is time. Once Elleanor awakens, tell her to greet the white queen for me."

Taking a deep breath, Lila finds herself on the lily pads outside the tree. Looking into the murky waters, a woman with kelp green hair, blue skin and yellow eyes looks back at her before swirling her arm around and changing a small section of the swampy water into water so clear its surface reflects its surroundings perfectly.

Looking inside, Lila finds her body covered in white scales, its shape did not change much though it is a lot more beautiful and close to her ideal self. Her hair has changed from a curly blonde, to a wavy icy blue and her pupils changed from round to slit ones in a piercing purple color. Her face looks a lot more mature and beautiful than before without hiding its origins and her tongue has become snake-like, occasionally sliding out of her mouth on instinct, smelling and tasting her surroundings. Touching her face's skin, it feels tough, yet still smooth, just like her scaled body parts.

Turning around for a bit, she finds that the entire backside of her body is covered in black scales, even thicker than those in front, that still remain smooth and elastic along with a black scaled tail that can be split open and folded up like a shield as well as closed again to return to a slender form.

Trying to get up, everything feels somewhat dreamlike as she takes her first uneasy steps and slowly walks back towards her adoptive family and Elleanor, falling over a few times on the way before Ellaine flies over, puts a robe around her body and gives her a hug, "You've done well my daughter. Are you willing to share your true name with me?"

"Yeth," Lila answers in a pleasant sounding voice different from her old, "It ith Lila."

Before passing out.

When she wakes up again, she finds herself in the family bedroom. Sitting by her bedside are her adoptive parents as well as Elleanor, still covered in her shadow armor. Sitting up, she stares down at her body.

Woah…This is…Kinda freaky.

She moves her hand, fingers and arms around a bit.

This feels…Okay? But it's so strange.

Feeling her tongue leave her mouth and go back in, she puts her hand over her mouth.

What the hell…

Almenor notices her being awake and gives her a hug, "Good morning, Lila! How do you feel?"

"I'm not thure…Oh wow my voithe thoundth a lot different."

She carefully slides her tongue over her teeth.

"Thith ith thrange, ith like my entire mouth ith different," her tongue comes out again, "My teeth are completely different and my tongue…Kind of moveth by itthelve…"

"Hohohoho, a bit of weirdness is to be expected, how do you feel otherwise?"

"Good? Like I thaid, everything ith thtill a little thtrange but I feel nithe, thtrong and healthy. Though thith lithp ith a little annoying…"

"Pfft Don't worry, I'm sure your lisp will get better as you get more accustomed to things." He then wakes up his wife, who slowly opens her eyes before giving Lila a smile, "Good morning, how are you feeling?"

"A little thtrange but overall I'm feeling well. By the way, did you thee a leaf? I was gifted one."

"Yes, it had coordinates on it. We kept it for safe keeping somewhere else, where did you get it from?"

"The man inthide the tree gave it to me."

Seemingly confused, she asks, "A man inside the tree?"

"Yeah, he wath the one I talked to. He had a body made of green leaveth."

Both Almenor and Ellaine seem both shocked and impressed, when Ellaine asks incredulously, "You personally met the Greenman?"

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"Uhm…Yeah? I gueth. Ith he famouth or thomething?"

Alemnor explains, "He is one of the oldest Archfey to still live."

"Huh…What'th an Archfey? How are they different from regular Fey?"

Ellaine answers, "The Archfey are the first of their kind. For example, my mother is the Archfey of Darkness. Together with my father, she is the first Fey manifestation of Darkness."

"How come your parentth aren't Nightmare Elementalth like you?"

"That's because I'm a mutation of the Night. A pseudo-archfey so to say. While I am the first of my kind, I am born of a Fey and not created by the tree of life. As such I am not an Archfey."

"Tho it'th jutht about who you're born from? Doethn't that make me an Archfey too?"

"Hmm, how do I best explain this? You would only be an Archfey if you were the first of your kind and formed into existence by the tree of life. When an Archfey is born, people of their kind start to be born in all timelines from that point on, while I am just a mutation. If Elleanor and I die permanently, there won't be another Nightmare Elemental unless the same mutation happens again or an Archfey is created."

"Ah, tho I'm not the firtht of my kind?"

"I don't know. We would first have to ask a specialist."

"Well, if it helpth, the Greenman told me my kind is called 'Wardenth'."

"Wardens, huh…Can't say I have ever heard of any. How about you, darling?"

"Hohohoho, if you don't know them then I won't either. You're better at trivia than me."

"Hmm…No matter, we will find out after we talk to a record keeper. More importantly, how about we all go have breakfast together? I'm sure Lila must be hungry and we decked the tables to make sure all potential dietary concerns will be taken care of."

"Thure, I am a little hungry."

Ellaine smiles, "That's what I thought. Darling, you go ahead, we'll be with you soon."

Giving Ellaine a kiss, he smiles, "Sure, see you two then!"

Once he has left, Ellaine taps on one of her rings and a knock on the door is heard, followed by a dozen maids bringing in different types of Toga-like clothing.

"Do any of these strike your fancy Maggie? I went with a classic white with red accents for now but we can change the colors easily, I'm more interested if the style of clothes you prefer is currently present or if we need some more designs."

"Hmm…" Covering herself with her blanket as she gets up, Lila takes a look around.

These are definitely pretty but most of them look quite restrictive to move in…I guess, this would be the closest.

Stopping at a simple Toga dress with a red waist belt, no sleeves and a slit on the side to show off the legs, she says, "This one is the clothetht but it needth alterationth."

"What kind of alterations?" Ellaine asks.

"I'd prefer for it to only go down to thkirt length. I would like to be mobile at all times. Ath for the dethign, I'd like the color to be black and the accethorieth to be of a hot pink."

"Quite an interesting idea. The black will make you help stand out quite a lot and the pink will give you some color. I like it. Generally speaking though, in the customs of the Humananoid tribe, Men wear clothes down to their knees while women tend to go for ankle length. It would come off a bit tomboyish."

"Pfft Yeah, I don't care. I intend to wear armor motht of the time anywayth. Thith ith jutht for my leithure wear."

"I see…In that case," Ellaine looks at the maids, "Tell the tailor to alter this dress to her specifications. Also, inform the record keeper to look up the Warden race."

They bow and in unison answer, "Of course your Majesty," before leaving.

Looking over to Lila, Ellaine gives her a smile, "We have about twenty minutes for ourselves until preparations are done but we can extend that time however long you wish. I know I have been quite absent in your life these past two years but I still wish to be close to you."

Waving her hands in front of her, Lila answers, "Don't worry about that! You were taking care of Elleanor! You barely were awake during thothe two yearth and you always made thure to thpend that time with dad and me!"

Ellaine gives her a somber smile, "That might be true but you're still being neglected by me. I wish I could be there for you more than I am."

Tightening her right hand into a fist, Lila sits down next to Ellaine, "I'th not neglect when you have a legitimate reathon to not be there and thtill thpend motht of the time you do have available with me. My old mom, she wath what you call neglectful. Not necetharily to me but definitely to Elleanor. I know what neglect lookth like and you're not doing that. You're a good mom."

Her eyes tearing up, Ellaine puts her arm around Lila, "I'm glad you think so. Truly."

Resting her head on Ellaine's shoulder, they stay like this for a bit but due to Lila's wagging tail repeatedly hitting Ellaine's back, Lila cuts the moment short by saying, "I uhm…I don't really know how to control that yet…"

"Hyahyahyahyaha, that's completely fine, Lila. At least I know you're enjoying yourself."

Getting a little embarrassed, Lila tries to get up but Ellaine stops her, "There is no need to be embarrassed. Let's stay like this a little longer."

Letting out an awkward chuckle, Lila answers, "Thure," and sits back down next to Ellaine, repeatedly slapping her tail on her back.

They stay like this for about twenty minutes until the dress gets delivered with the new alterations in place. Putting it on, it looks stunning. The toga is perfectly fitted to flatter her new figure and both the black and pink pop out at you. Especially with Lila's white scales in the front, her icy blue hair and the piercingly purple pupils.

Striking a bit of an awkward pose, Lila seems nervous as she asks, "Tho…How do you like it…mom?"

"I believe it suits you very well! Together with some jewelry, you will stand out as one of the prettiest flowers in this kingdom."

Awkwardly twiddling her thumbs, Lila asks, "You really think tho?"

"Of course I do."

Now very embarrassed, she becomes pigeon footed and answers, "Tha-"

"Uh-uh! Remember what we said!"

"Right, no thanking each other. Uhm…I'm glad you think tho, it maketh me happy. But uhm…Could I…Could I athk you a weird question?"

Ellaine smiles, "Of course."

"Could you…Could you teach me how to do that walk you do?"

Cogging her head, Ellaine asks, "What do you mean?"

"You know…That confident regal walk you have? Where everyone inthtantly knowth you're the most badath woman in the room…"

"Hyahyahyahya, sure. I'll gladly teach you good posture. As for the confidence, that's something you need to work on yourself. Both certainty and uncertainty in yourself shines through to the outside. The more confident you are, the more confident you will appear."

"Fair…But like, there are wayth to fake it too, right?"

She smirks, "Of course, I'll teach you those too."

After a bit more chatting, the both of them go down to the dining hall together, where Almenor greets them with a smile, "If it isn't my three favorite girls in the world!"

Rolling her eyes, Ellaine gives him a kiss, "You're my favorite 'boy' in the world too."

"Hohohoho, I'm glad!"

Going over to Lila next, he gives her a kiss on the cheek, "You are looking absolutely stunning, Maggie!"

Awkwardly brushing over her arm, she answers, "I'm glad you like it."

"Hohohoho, so am I, hohohoho."

Walking back to his wife, he looks at Elleanor's shadow engulfed body with a somber look on his face. He then grows a thick layer of ice over every part of his face besides his mouth and goes to kiss the black cocoon as well, prompting multiple shadowy spikes to shoot out at him partially piercing into his ice, "I don't know if you can hear me my little snowflake but I love you a lot. We all do."

More spikes start reaching out to Almenor as he moves his face away again, wildly lashing out before returning back to a stable cocoon shape after not finding their mark.

"Anyway! Lets go sit down! We need to find out what you like now after all, Maggie."

"Thure!"

Once everyone is seated, Almenor gets serious, "There is one more important thing we need to discuss too now that we are all together."

Narrowing her eyes, Ellaine asks, "What is it?"

"We need to find a cute nickname for Maggie too! I have been restraining myself for too long! I wanted to call her Curly first but you said it was a dumb name and that we should wait for her to become Fey to see if she keeps her curls. Which, in hindsight, was very smart since her hair is wavy now…"

Letting out a sigh, Ellaine mutters, "Not this conversation again…"

"Now, we could of course go by physical characteristics, she has a tail now and scales. So perhaps something like 'little dragon' or "icy scale". Or we could go for something like, 'pretty princess' or 'my lovely'. Then there is also the possibility of going after her inner traits and-"

Ellaine interrupts, "We are ready for breakfast," and multiple servants leave to come back with tons of different foods from all over the world and dishes Lila has so far only seen in the Feyrealm.

"Try to ignore your father's rambling for now, Maggie. It will take him some time but he will eventually come up with something without our input."

"Pfft, alright."

Looking at the food, Lila gets up and just fills her plate with things that appeal to her nose and flicking tongue as well as some other things that she used to like and sits down to eat.

Hmm…My taste does seem to be a little different. It's not completely different but I do prefer meat a whole lot more than before and cold food tastes way better as well. Now cold meat tastes just as good as freshly cooked one. I'm also not entirely sure if it's just because I just changed my body or not but I am REALLY hungry. I can easily eat five times the amount I used to before feeling full and my teeth are way sharper and stronger than they used to be.I even accidentally bit into some bone and ate it and…It wasn't all that bad. It added a nice crunch to it. I just hope I won't regret that on the toilet later…

"Oh! By the way! Now that I'm Fey, I can get a magic teacher, right?"

Almenor answers, "Of course…My little snowbunny? Oh, I like the sound of that, that goes on the list. Dalan write that down!"

Rolling his eyes, Dalan gets out a noteblock and writes down snowbunny next to some other ideas.

Ellaine interjects, "What your father was trying to say before losing himself to this obsession of his, was that we have already prepared the best teachers of each magic school who will teach you once you wish."

Really excited, Lila gets up from the table, "May I thtart right now then?" Ellaine looks to Almenor and he answers, "Sure, just leave a hair with us so your mother and I can get the boring stuff out of the way and talk to the record keeper without you."

"Thure!" pulling out a hair, Lila puts it on the table and talks to her personal maid, who is a young looking Polar Bear Faunite woman with short white hair and bushy eyebrows, "Caroline, pleathe show me the way to my teacherth!"

"Of course, Mistress."

Gleefully marching through the castle halls, Lila walks past the giant castle library and enters a classroom, inside are eleven people who are presumably going to be her teachers.

A green skinned floral woman with a violet flower on her head that has white spots on it making it look like the night sky, approaches Lila first. She is wearing what amounts to a small purple bikini and is carrying a yellow messenger bag with some books and papers sticking out and her petals look almost like a wizard hat.

She then curtseys and speaks up in a slightly deep whisky voice, "Greetings, Miss."

"Uhm, hello."

"I am Astara. I am both in charge of your general education in magic and your teacher in Domination magic. I am pleased to meet you."

"Me too! Tho, are you going to teach me today?"

"In part, yes. Today will serve as a small introduction as we look into your disabilities and aptitudes. Has the young Miss already studied the basics of the eleven schools?"

"I have!"

"Great, then for today we will keep the explanations short. Sir Karsten, if you may."

Some type of bald Ogre with yellowish skin, a huge underbite and a lot of muscle approaches next. He is at least ten feet tall and is wearing a tight brown suit as well as glasses that seem slightly too small for him."

"Hello there, Miss. I am Sir Karsten, I work for the magical division of the knights corp. Hopefully, as long as we get along well, I will be your teacher in Spatial magic for the foreseeable future, a pleasure to meet you."

"Thame!"

He then moves over to a table and puts down a bowler hat, "Now, if you may, Miss. I would like you to imagine forming a tunnel with your arm to grab this hat through without moving from your spot."

"Okay…Do I need to do any incantation or thomething?"

"No, just make sure to clearly imagine it."

"Alright…"

Visualizing a tunnel, similar to a sci-fi star gate, to connect to the hat, a hole suddenly opens up that Maggie easily grabs through and picks the hat up.

"Woah. Did I do that!?"

He smiles, "You sure did. Very impressive, you have an aptitude for Spatial magic."

"Fuck yeah!"

Picking up his hat, Sir Karsten puts it on his head and goes back to the other teachers while another man with short blonde hair and blue eyes, wearing what looks like a lion tamer outfit in the zoo made of exotic furs approaches.

Slightly bowing his head, he says, "Greetings, Miss. I am Alius, I work for the magical research institute as a professor in chronic magic."

Putting three equally tall hourglasses on the table where the hat stood before, Alius looks at Lila, "When you are ready, I will turn these hourglasses at the same time. I want you to imagine the one on the right to fall slowly, like a feather rather than a waterfall. The other two will serve as a control group to see how well you did."

"Gotcha!"

Getting in position, Lila nods at Alius and the hourglasses get turned around. Imagining the sand flowing down like a feather it slows down.

"Three seconds slower than the other two. That's quite good for your first try! You have an aptitude for chronic magic."

"Awethome!"

"Indeed, I hope that we will be able to foster your talent further in the future."

A blueish translucent cold elemental steps up next, he-

Holy fuck…He is completely naked…Like…Completely completely…I know some of them walk around in their underwear but this guy…He straight up has his cock out…

Trying her best not to stare, Lila locks eyes with the cold elemental and stares him down.

Seemingly getting nervous, the cold elemental tries to avoid eye contact as he introduces himself, "I uhm…I'm Sibel, I research magical theory in the magical research institute…I Uhm…anyways…"

He awkwardly puts down a candle on the table, "Uhum, please imagine casting a wide net out and reeling it in towards the wick of the candle, making it tighter and tighter until the candle lights aflame."

Sure…Anything to distract me from your dick, man…I just need to imagine long and hard- I just need to imagine the fucking net.

Imagining the net, Lila reels it in, in her mínd, and the candle lights aflame.

Huh…That was easy.

"Oh wow! It seems like you have an aptitude in Energy magic as well, Miss."

Yeah, yeah just don't get too excited…

"Well, tho far everything theems very eathy. Are you thure you're not giving me tethtth that are too eathy?"

Alara, the head teacher, answers, "These are all tests for first time magic users. They only seem easy due to you being exceptionally talented so far."

"Hmm…I thee. Tho thome people actually fail thethe testth? Don't you jutht need to imagine thingth?"

Alara smirks, "You speak with a confidence that only comes from the talented. The reason simple imagination is enough for you, is because of your talent. Others will need more help."

"Hmm…I thee. Let'th do the next one then."

"As you wish," a high pitched voice answers as a little woman with a pink hat covering her eyes, long blonde hair and a blue frilly dress with a red scarf shows up standing on top of a floating planting pot and levitating onto the table.

"Hiya, miss! I am Brunhilda, your teacher in Life magic. I am also a professor at the magical research institute. For this test, I would like you to imagine a seedling growing into a sturdy tree."

"Alright."

Imagining the seed grow, a sapling, about the length of an arm, bursts forth from the ground.

"Very good! You have an aptitude in life magic as well."

"Neat."

Man this is boring…they have to be going soft on me, right? Didn't Eleanor say she got her aptitudes tested too? I wonder how she did…I wonder how she's doing in general…I…I-"

Hearing a jar slam down on the table, carried by an Elven looking man with long green hair wearing a white tunic, he says, "To see your aptitude in Spirit Magic, you must first form a contract. Do you know how to do that, Miss?"

"Yeth I do."

"Great! Then please go ahead and touch the conduit."

"Alright, I'm looking forward to it~"

I definitely have a lot of things I want to say to that bitch.

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