And then there was a burst of brilliance up ahead, like the striking of a match, and then another, and another, until the cave was lit with the glow of hundreds of fairies. Tammy, Nil, and the three goblins followed the fairies through the twisting cave tunnels, past stalactites and stalagmites, underneath gleaming crystals that sprouted from fissures in the ceiling, and over small rivulets of water that slicked the rock floor.

Tammy eventually got the feeling that they were being watched, and sure enough, out of the corner of her eye she could see hulking shadows, with spiraling horns and large, bulbous noses. Or, if she turned her head fast enough, she could catch glimpses of elves—some dark like Nil, others unnaturally pale—just before they slipped back behind a stalagmite. And now the pattering of goblin feet had grown from just the three pairs that echoed behind them.

Nil squeezed Tammy's hand in reassurance as the small group approached a flat stone dais in one of the many caverns they had been passing through. From the middle of the stone rose a majestic cherry tree, gnarled and twisted, with large knots of wood in the trunk. The tree's branches were filled with beautiful light pink blossoms, and large roots extended out over the entire cave floor, even wrapping around some of the smaller stalagmites that rose up to meet the rocky ceiling.

As they grew closer, Tammy noticed with rising panic that the knots in the wood closely resembled faces, and jumped back into Nil with a squeak when the face closest to her opened its eyes.

"This child is older than most of the ones we raise," the tree face spoke, "Yet she has no one left. Her family was cutting down a tree from this forest, and has been duly punished."

A murmur of disapproval spread throughout the cave, and Tammy looked around to find that many of the elves had come out from hiding, and the large, shadowy creatures could now be clearly seen—silent, rotund creatures that closely resembled large boulders, except with horns or antlers.

"We'll make sure she's brought up right!" Jashu promised, stepping forward and dragging Gandar with him.

"Hey! Hey! Let go of me!" Gandar slapped at Jashu's hand on his shirt, but immediately stopped when the face turned its attention to him. "I mean—yeah," the goblin corrected, suddenly very interested in the ground. "Sure. Okay."

Not wanting to be left out, Helder joined them. "Me too!" she said, shooting a glare at Gandar.

"I am also willing to teach her," Nil said. Tammy was thankful he didn't let go of her hand in the presence of the tree. Somehow, such a seemingly-harmless being exuded a sense of incredible power and unheard-of wisdom. And if Gandar, of all people, was intimidated by its presence, Tammy figured she should have a good reason to behave too.

"Then you shall stay," the tree told Tammy. She froze when its eyes met hers, but after a few tense moments, she realized the tree would not harm her.

There was a light weight on Tammy's left shoulder, and she turned to find a shimmering fairy regarding her curiously. When the fairy was done with its inspection, it gave an impish grin and darted off Tammy's shoulder, to merge back into the golden glow of the other fairies that circled overhead.

Nil began to lead Tammy out of the cavern, and the three goblins bounded after them. Gandar was much more lively out of the supervision of the tree, and did a few cartwheels ahead of the group while Jashu chased after him.

"Just wait until the moonlight celebration tonight," said Helder. "The dancing is unlike anything you mortals have ever seen!" She giggled, then suddenly switched topics. "Your hair is so soft and bright. It reminds me of an orange tabby cat. Tabby Tamar-Yn-Joes."

"That's not how you say my name," Tammy protested. "It's Tamara Lynn Jones. You're missing a lot of parts."

"I prefer Tamar-Yn-Joes. It's fun to say fast. Tamarynjoes. Not Tama…Tamaralinjo…Tamalinjone…No. Too much to that name." Helder shook her head.

"Can't you just call me Tammy?" Tammy asked.

"No, because that name's too short. Tamarynjoes is perfect."

"But Joe is a boy's name!" Tammy exclaimed. "Tamara Jones!"

"Now what happened to your second name? See? You have so many you can't keep track of them all. Imagine how your name must feel, with you leaving it out. Tamar-Yn. Jones."

Tammy sighed in a way that only a seven year-old could, figuring the goblin's pronunciation was close enough. "I'm hungry. Is there food?" she asked Nil. It must have been almost noon by now.

Just then, Gandar swung into view, hanging upside-down from the tree in front of them so that his beard covered part of his face. "Apple?" he said, holding out the proffered fruit. But before Tammy could take it, Jashu dashed by and snatched it out of Gandar's hands.

"Mine! Mine!" Jashu crowed.

"Hey! Give it back!" Gandar growled.

"You'll get plenty of food at the moonlight celebration," Jashu retorted, taking a big bite out of the apple before spitting it out and chucking the perfectly-good fruit into the bushes.

"But I need food before then!" Tammy objected.

"No, you need to know how to dance before then," Jashu said. "There won't be time for learning once you get there."

"I can't even have an apple first?" Tammy asked. Jashu shook his head, but Helder whacked his arm and Nil gave a look of disapproval.

"Oh, all right," Jashu rolled his eyes. "But let's see a little bit of your dancing first."

Tammy stepped forward, and like the princesses from her favorite stories, gave an elegant curtsy before grabbing Jashu's hands and leading him in a regal waltz around the trees.

"Stop! Stop!" Jashu squirmed out of Tammy's grasp. Gandar was hooting in uncontrollable laughter from his tree branch, while Helder snickered from atop a nearby rock. Even Nil was regarding them somewhat amusedly from beneath Gandar's tree.

"What's wrong?" Tammy asked, confused.

"That's not how you dance!" Jashu huffed, crossing his arms.

"But all the storybook princesses—"

"No. No ridiculous prancing. The real way to dance is like this," Jashu said, suddenly jumping into a lively series of movements, spinning and stomping his feet like a wild thing. Nil, Gandar, and Helder began clapping in rhythm with his steps, watching as he whirled around them in complete abandon. After a few minutes, the goblin stopped before Tammy. "That is the correct way to dance," he said.

Tammy decided to give it a try. She held out her arms and began spinning, then jumping up and down and waving her hands all over the place, only to stop when she nearly ran into Nil, who steadied her before she could hit the tree he was leaning against.

"I do believe you're a natural," Nil smiled.

"Really?" Tammy asked happily. Princess-dancing was fun, but this new way of dancing gave her such a thrill.

"More dancing! More dancing!" Gandar demanded from his tree branch.

And so Tammy danced. For eight years, her life was a blur of music, of color, of magic. The goblins taught her to climb trees and swim in the river, to find the best fruit and stand on her head. The elves taught her sword fighting, and how to track an animal through the forest, and how to tread silently across the dry leaves that littered the loamy forest floor in Autumn. And the trolls, those quiet, stony creatures with abnormal horns and antlers, who never left their cave except on the darkest of nights, taught her patience. Tammy learned to enjoy life, and live it to the fullest.

And then, one day Tammy's life in the forest drew to a close.

"Betcha can't catch me!" Tammy vaulted over an old log and raced off through the vibrant green forest. The bow across her back pounded with each step of her bare feet as she raced through the mossy trees, far ahead of the others.

"No fair!" Gandar shouted. Tammy could hear him crashing along behind her, but she had too much of a head start.

"Betcha I can catch you!" Tammy looked up to see Helder swinging through the trees, almost right next to her. The goblin's blue hair streamed out behind her as her long arms reached for branches that would bring her closer to tackling Tammy. In a sudden impulse, Tammy veered off to the right to throw the goblin off her trail.

"Where are you going, Tamarynjoes?" Jashu called after her. "That way's towards the cliffs!"

Tammy ignored him and continued her race, knowing she could circle back around and return to the cave before her friends realized where she had gone.

But the further Tammy ran, the closer together the trees in the forest became. And no longer was the ground soft and loamy, but dry and littered with pine needles and small rocks that pricked at her feet.

"Ow!" Tammy suddenly tripped over something buried in the dirt and threw out her hands to block her fall. Once she had caught her breath, Tammy realized how different this part of the forest was. It was newer than the area where the Fae lived—moss hadn't had as much time to envelop the smaller, younger trees in this part of the forest. There was more brown, and less green. Yet somehow, it still felt familiar.

Looking back, Tammy could see the dull gray object she had tripped over, half-sticking out of the dirt. It rested close to the roots of a somewhat-familiar tree, with faint scratches in its bark. Two smaller trees grew on either side of the first tree, each with two branches oddly bent and reaching out, like arms.

Something was tugging at the back of Tammy's mind, and she didn't like it. She turned her head to the right, only to find two large, leafy plants shading a moss-covered rock.

Tammy's stomach plummeted as memories rushed up to meet her. A silver glint caught her eye and she whirled around, only to find a large, metal carriage lying on its side, so overrun with vines and weeds that it was hardly recognizable. And instead of wheels, four metal legs—improved technology—snaked through the grass and stones.

Backing away from the monstrous contraption, Tammy could no longer deny the truth of what she was seeing. This was where she had come with her long-forgotten family, so long ago, and where the Plague Witch had turned them into trees as punishment. Those two plants near the rock—those were Sarah and Henry. And the two trees by the scratched one—her father and Ben. And one of the other trees must be her mother. But this area was no longer on the edge of the forest—trees had grown out, and expanded the forest's borders.

"Tammy." Tammy spun around in alarm, only to come face-to-face with Nil.

"Nil!" she wasn't surprised, as the elves always managed to sneak up on her, but her voice was shaky. "I…" she tried to explain the situation, but couldn't find the words.

"You remember?" Nil asked softly. Tammy could only nod.

"Your time here has come to a close," Nil said softly. "It was decided that when you returned to the place of your entrance into the forest, you were to leave the Fae and return to your own kind."

"But I can't do that!" Tammy protested. "Go back to the town…with all the noise and filth, and humans." She spat out the last word distastefully. "Why couldn't I have been born a goblin or fairy?"

"Not all humans are bad—you yourself are a perfect example," Nil consoled her.

"Nil, I won't have any idea how to live with them," Tammy said. "They don't appreciate the forest. They're simple-minded and fearful. And they deal with money. I hardly even know what money is, let alone how to use it."

"You do not have to return to the town, if that is your wish," Nil said. "But you cannot stay with us anymore."

"Well, where do I go then?" Tammy cried out in frustration.

"There is a mage who, with our permission, has taken up residence here in the Northern Forest, where the giant trees grow. He has recently taken in two apprentices, and has agreed to welcome you into his home."

"So I won't have to leave the forest?" Tammy was curious; in all the years she had spent with the Fae, she had never seen a house in the part of the forest with the giant trees. It was the oldest section of the Northern Forest, and Tammy wondered why the Fae would have let a mage stay in such a valued area.

"No," Nil replied. "But you will still have to leave the Fae."

"Can I at least say goodbye?"

"Tamarynjoes?" A scraggly blue head poked out from the shrubbery around them.

"Helder, did you know…" Tammy couldn't finish the sentence. She didn't want to leave.

"Yes," the goblin replied quietly. Gandar and Jashu soon joined them.

"You're leaving?" Jashu said sadly.

"She must," Nil said.

"Where ?" Gandar asked.

"Draylen's home in the giant trees," Nil said. "We'll take her there immediately."

"Will I get to see you again?" Tammy asked as the group, led by Nil, made their way through the forest. "Or any of the other Fae?"

"You may catch glimpses of us from time to time," Nil said. "But you cannot come looking for us."

"Ever?" Tammy pressed. Nil sighed sadly.

"When you die, you may be allowed to rejoin us as a spirit," he explained. "But until then…"

"I'm to stay away," Tammy finished. "I will miss you all so much."

"We'll miss you too, Tamarynjoes," Helder said.

"We're here," Nil finally announced after about twenty minutes of walking. Tammy looked around, only seeing giant trees, but no house in sight. It was only until Gandar tugged at her sleeve and pointed to her left that she realized there was a door in one of the tree trunks, leading to a spiraling staircase that went up into the tree.

"Well, I guess this is goodbye, then," Tammy said, trying not to cry. Jashu gave a quiet sniffle and rubbed the back of his hand across his nose.

"We'll check on you from time to time," Helder promised. "You won't see us, but just know we'll be there, every once in a while."

"Thanks, Helder," Tammy smiled, but couldn't help as her eyes welled up with unshed tears.

Gandar gave her a hug, and soon Jashu, Helder, and even Nil did the same.

"I'm going to miss you all so, so much," Tammy whispered against the lump in her throat. Gandar hugged her again.

There was a small cough behind them, and Tammy and the goblins jumped, startled. Of course, Nil had already heard the approach of the visitor behind them, and so calmly turned around, while the others in the group spun to face the person nervously. Sometimes, Tammy wished she could have the cool, collected attitude of an elf.

"You're Tammy?" A brawny, middle-aged man, with black hair and a beard, dressed in light green and carrying a tall wooden staff, regarded the strawberry-blonde from beside the door in the tree trunk. He had a long scar running down the left side of his jaw, and bright golden eyes, which Tammy could tell were curiously inspecting the pink highlights the fairies had magicked into her hair a few years ago.

"Tamarynjoes," Tammy corrected him, using the name the goblins had called her. She never wanted to forget them. "But you can call me Tamaryn," she added, after seeing his confused expression.

"I'm Mage Draylen," the man said. "It's good to meet you."

Tammy looked back at Nil and the goblins. Nil gave a single nod to encourage her.

"It's good to meet you too," Tammy turned back to the mage. "Thanks for letting me stay in your house."

"There are two other mages besides me—Dante and Raziel," Draylen said. "Would you like to come in and meet them?"

Tammy turned back to the Fae she had come with. It might have been her imagination, but they seemed a little transparent, almost as if they were fading away.

"Go on, Tamarynjoes," Helder said. "We'll see you again someday."

Tammy finally managed to tear her gaze from them and turn back to Draylen.

"Yes," she said. "I would like to very much."