The Silver Ring

Rose's phone rang and she stopped folding her clothes to answer it, smiling when she saw it was her mum calling.

"Hiya," she greeted.

"Hiya to you too," laughed Jackie, on the other end. "How are you, sweetheart?"

"I'm good, yeah," said Rose, sitting down in her desk chair. "What about you, Mum?"

"Yeah, not bad. Bev's niece is pregnant and the dad's in the wind," she said.

"Really," said Rose, dryly. "Who is it?"

"Said it's Camilla's stepson, but I doubt it," said Jackie. "He's got a proper job at a law firm and all. Besides, rumours are he loves musical theatre."

"You don't say," said Rose, amused as always at listening to Estate gossip from her mother.

"But enough about that," said Jackie. "Are you all done packing?"

"Just started," said Rose.

"You need to get a move on, sweetheart," said Jackie.

"Mum, I only just finished my last exam this morning," laughed Rose. "I don't leave until tomorrow afternoon, anyway."

"Hmm, alright then," said Jackie. "What time are you leaving Oxford? Mo's asked us to be at her place by 6."

"Why are we going to Mo's?" asked Rose, frowning lightly.

"Whole family's getting together to celebrate you completing your first year at Oxford," said Jackie, sounding pleased as a punch. "I was gonna host at the flat but then Mo offered up her new place."

"Mum, I told you I don't want a fuss," said Rose. "Besides, I've got two more years to go and I don't even know if I've passed this one yet."

"Oh, stop it," said Jackie. "I know you'll do brilliantly. Besides, you're off to bloody Cardiff next week for a whole month."

Rose sighed; she had her there. Dr Bailey had accepted her application to join his dig team in Roundstone Woods and she was due to start her summer fieldwork in the following week.

Not unlike the Hilary Term, the Trinity Term had passed without incident. If anything, Rose had been even busier with her studies, since she had four exams at the end of the term, which would determine her standing for her first year at Oxford.

"Alright," she told Jackie. "Miranda and I are driving back to London after lunch tomorrow. I'll drop my things off and then come round to the flat at 5."

"Bring Miranda too," said Jackie.

"I will," said Rose. "Alright, I need to finish packing. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Ta, love," trilled Jackie, and hung up.

Rose shook her head as she tossed her phone onto the bed where a pile of clothes was still waiting to be folded and packed away in her suitcase. She would miss this room and being so close to the main college building.

The first years had drawn lots for their rooms next year and Rose's new room was over in the coveted Folly Bridge accommodation which was nearly a mile away from the main Hertford college buildings. Miranda's new room was in Warnock House just across the river from Folly Bridge, and while Rose was a bit disappointed that they wouldn't be neighbours, at least they were in the same area of Oxford.

Speaking of whom, Rose checked her watch and saw it was almost time for her to meet Miranda. The Butterflies had their final dinner for the year that evening, and Rose and Miranda had volunteered to go shopping for groceries with a meticulous list from Adi.

Rose stood up and stretched, before putting her shoes on and grabbing a jacket. Miranda's room door was ajar and she was in the middle of packing up her books. She stopped and smiled, when she saw Rose.

"Time to go?" asked Miranda.

"Yeah," said Rose. "There'll be time to pack tomorrow morning."

"What about later tonight?" asked Miranda, as she started putting her shoes on. "There should be time after dinner."

"Clarissa told me she's bringing tequila," laughed Rose. "I'd write off the rest of this evening."

"Noted," said Miranda.

Rose filled her in about Jackie's dinner invitation as they shopped at the nearby Sainsbury's.

"So who's Mo again?" asked Miranda.

"Mum's older sister," said Rose. "She's alright; a bit chatty when she has anything to drink, but good at heart. She and her girlfriend live in a house not far from the Estate."

"Right," said Miranda. "I look forward to meeting them then."

They queued up at the register, and Rose frowned as she saw the morning's newspaper bearing the headline of a murder in San Francisco.

"Second of its kind in three months," said Miranda, evidently looking at the same headline.

"Serial killer?" asked Rose.

"Not officially until they have a third one," said Miranda, her expression unreadable.

Rose grabbed the newspaper and scanned the article. "Bodies drained of blood," she said. "They're calling them the vampire murders," she added, shaking her head. When Miranda didn't comment, Rose gave her a look.

"What?" asked Miranda.

"This is the part where you say, 'of course vampires aren't real'," said Rose, putting the newspaper in their shopping trolley.

Miranda just shrugged. "We don't know that," she said.

"Oh, come on," said Rose, disbelievingly. "You don't think vampires are real, do you?"

Miranda grabbed the newspaper from the trolley and read the article instead of answering. "Says there were similar murders in San Francisco in the late 1980s as well," she said, and gave Rose a scrutinising look. "Could be vampires. The murders sound brutal."

"Humans are pretty capable of being absolutely brutal without involving the unexplained," said Rose.

Miranda hummed in a noncommittal manner, but before Rose could ask her anything further, the person in front of them paid and left, and it was their turn at the checkout. Rose forgot all about their conversation as they scanned, paid for and bagged their groceries and rode their bicycles to the Chrysalis, where a waiting Adi and Tara were ready to cook up a feast.

The evening that followed was a joyful one for the Butterflies as they ate, drank, laughed and talked well until midnight. They wouldn't see one another until they returned in October for the new year, though they had all agreed to stay in touch over the summer break.

Rose slept in the next morning, and then had to rush to pack the rest of her things before it was time for her and Miranda to drive back to London.

The newspaper about the brutal vampire murders in San Francisco remained forgotten; thrown away in a pile of recyclable rubbish from Rose's room.

Mo's house was a flurry of activity by the time Rose, Miranda and Jackie got there. It was a semi-detached little white house and Mo had set up tables and chairs in the back garden with strings of fairy lights overhead. The house and back garden was entirely too full with various Prentice cousins, and as the guest of honour, Rose was immediately swarmed away by the crowd.

She found her way back to Miranda after an hour and three glasses of wine, while she was chatting happily with Rose's cousin, Ruth, and Ruth's twin, Evan. Rose couldn't tell if it was Ruth or Evan who was trying harder to pull Miranda, but both of them seemed equally unlucky to Rose.

"Having fun?" asked Rose.

"Definitely," grinned Miranda. "You have a very nice family."

"You clearly have had too much to drink if you think this lot of lunatics is anything near nice," laughed Evan.

Ruth made a noise of dissent. "I think you're not drunk enough," she said. "I'll go and get you another glass of cider."

"No, wait, I'll do it," said Evan but Ruth was already walking back inside. Evan made a face but then followed after her.

"If you need to escape, now is a good time," said Rose.

Miranda laughed. "Anywhere safe to go?" she asked.

"My Nan's room," she said. "Come on."

Her Nan had lived with Mo and her girlfriend since her Pop had passed, preferring to be close to family and all her grandchildren. She had passed when Rose was sixteen and she was missed everyday.

Andrea Prentice's room was left exactly the way it had been while she'd been alive. The bed was still neatly made, with the same pink patchwork quilt folded at the foot of the bed on top of the neat white sheets. The curtains were pulled back to overlook the rose bushes at the side of the house. Rose didn't check but she knew her clothes would still be hanging neatly in the antique armoire in the room. Mo had kept the room pristine, but Rose sometimes wondered if it would be helpful to pack it up so her family could begin to cope with her Nan's loss rather than holding onto it.

"She's beautiful," said Miranda, and Rose saw she was looking at the photograph on the nightstand which was taken the day her Nan and Pop got married. "Her ring looks like yours," she added.

Rose smiled at the plain silver band which she had worn on the ring finger of her right hand since her Nan's passing. "It's the same ring," she said. "Nan left it to me. Well, she left it to Mum, but Mum gave it to me."

"That's nice," said Miranda.

"Nan was fond of taking photos," said Rose as she sat down on the floor with her back against the bed. Miranda followed suit and sat next to her a moment later. "There are too many family photos to count."

"Can I see?" asked Miranda, eagerly.

"Sure," said Rose. "Mind you, I haven't seen them in years." She still remembered the box under her Nan's bed which was full of photo albums and reached behind them to pull it out.

It was nice, she thought, going through these photos with Miranda, who seemed genuinely interested everytime Rose pointed out certain people or recounted the stories behind the photo.

Rose found the massive Christmas album and grinned to herself. It was an old fashioned album, the kind that looked more like a scrapbook. Each page held the family photo used for the Christmas card that year, and the date was written in neat calligraphy on the page next to it. The first photo was from 1955, which was her uncle James' first Christmas.

"It must be nice," said Miranda as they flicked through the Christmas album. "To have such a large family."

Absently, Rose flicked to the next page and jumped when she saw her dad in the Christmas card photo. He was dressed in a white shirt tucked into dark blue jeans and had her Mum sitting on his lap, arms wrapped around each other with bright smiles on their faces, surrounded by the rest of the family.

"That's your Dad, isn't it?" asked Miranda, softly.

"Yeah," said Rose. "Must be their first Christmas as a married couple." She glanced at the date that read Christmas 1985 and smiled. "First and only Christmas as a married couple," she added. Miranda gave her a stricken look. "He died in November the following year."

"I'm sorry," said Miranda.

Rose shrugged. "Thanks," she said.

The door to the room opened and Evan poked his head in. "There you are," he said when he saw Miranda. "Been looking all over."

"Go on," said Rose. "I'll put this away."

Miranda must have sensed she needed a moment and she nodded and left with Evan. Rose glanced back at the photo for a brief moment and then closed the album.

Something seemed to be bothering her, a tickle at the back of her mind, but she ignored it as she began packing the box back up. It was as she reached for the Christmas album that it struck.

Rose's entire body grew cold and she scrambled through the Christmas album to get back to the photo for Christmas 1985. She was hoping she was wrong, that she had just imagined it, but the sense of dread and anxiety grew firmer when Rose stared at the photo again.

Christmas 1985.

First Christmas that Pete and Jackie Tyler had spent together as a married couple.

First and only Christmas that they had spent as a married couple because Pete Tyler had died in November the following year.

Survived by his wife.

And his daughter who had been born a mere three months after this photo had been taken.

Three months.

And yet, as Rose pored over the photograph and hoped she had been mistaken, she saw the same thing.

Jackie Tyler was not six months pregnant.

In fact, she was not pregnant at all.

Three months before Rose's birth, Jackie Tyler had not been pregnant.

"Welcome to Cardiff," smiled the pretty Irish girl with curly brown hair. "Are you Rose?"

Rose smiled and held out her hand. "Rose Tyler," she said. "You must be Hannah."

"Hannah Gibson," she said, shaking her head with a pleasant smile. "Nice to meet you in person at last."

"Yeah, you too," said Rose.

"How was the journey over?" asked Hannah as she grabbed Rose's suitcase, waving away her protests.

Rose shouldered her backpack and smaller satchel and followed Hannah from the train station out toward the car park. "Yeah, not bad," said Rose.

"That's good," said Hannah, as they reached a battered VW Beetle. Hannah placed Rose's suitcase into the boot and Rose similarly dropped her large backpack inside before they got in the car.

"We'll be staying at a rented cottage near Roundstone Woods," said Hannah, answering Rose's unasked question. "Dr Bailey prefers renting a place locally as opposed to staying at a hotel. Cheaper, too."

"Have you been with him long?" asked Rose.

"Eight years," said Hannah. "I joined his dig team in the Hill of Tara at the start of my doctoral studies. Most of his team from back then has moved on. I'm the only one left from that lot but he has plenty of new students joining every few years."

"Is there anyone apart from me who's new this year?" asked Rose, curiously.

Hannah grinned at her as they started the drive. "One," said Hannah. "She's a bit older than you and is doing her masters at Cardiff University. You'll be sharing a room with her."

Rose nodded, grateful that she wouldn't be the only new face. "How many people does he have on his team?"

"Depends on the project," said Hannah. "And depends on what stage the project is at. Roundstone is a relatively small project and we're at the beginning, so he has a smaller team than usual. There's a dinner tonight where you'll get to meet everyone."

Rose smiled at her and they drove in companionable silence for the rest of the drive. After another twenty or so minutes, Hannah pulled the car into the driveway of a two-storey stone cottage surrounded by a white picket fence. The cottage had crawling ivy covering almost the entire face of the structure and sweet violets planted in the flowerbeds at the front of the cottage.

She was certain she saw a bright light flicker in and out of the sweet violets and smiled briefly in that direction before following Hannah inside the cottage with her luggage.

The foyer was empty but Rose could hear voices from further inside the cottage. Hannah, however, led her up the stairs which were right next to the door. Rose followed her to a bedroom down the hall with twin beds. One of the beds already had a few books and a laptop on it and Hannah put Rose's suitcase at the foot of the other bed.

"Bathroom's at the end of the hall," she said. "And there's another lavatory downstairs. Are you hungry?"

"Not really," said Rose, having eaten lunch before leaving London.

"Alright then," said Hannah. "Come downstairs when you're unpacked so I can make the introductions."

Rose nodded and set her backpack and satchel down on her bed. Hannah took her leave, and Rose sighed as she was left alone in the room that was supposed to be her home for the next four weeks.

Hannah had been her point of contact about arranging her fieldwork, and Rose didn't know anyone apart from her on Dr Bailey's team. Rose hadn't even spoken to Dr Bailey himself, even though he'd apparently approved her application to join his team.

Rose walked around the rest of the room, which was not a lot of room at all, and saw that the wardrobe already had her roommate's things neatly hanging up. Her roommate had graciously left half the space empty, presumably for Rose, and she found it to be a nice gesture.

She started unpacking her things, putting away clothes in the wardrobe and arranging her books in an empty box by the nightstand. As was common these days when she had a moment to herself, her thoughts inevitably drifted to the photograph she'd seen in her Nan's room.

Rose had done her best not to think about it, and had not succeeded at that. She hadn't mentioned it to anyone, least of all her Mum, because Rose couldn't believe it herself.

Why wouldn't her Mum have been pregnant three months before Rose's birth? Had she lied about her date of birth? That didn't make sense.

Rose had thought through other possibilities such as the photo being at a wrong angle, the light and shadows hiding the baby bump, her Mum being one of those people who didn't look pregnant etc. but each excuse had seemed more feeble than the one before.

The only thing that made sense was the thing that Rose didn't want to think about.

Rose left her room and went to the bathroom down the hall to wash her hands and splash some water on her face. She had dark circles under her eyes, she realised, because she hadn't been sleeping well since she'd found the photograph.

Refusing to let her thoughts wander down the path she knew was the truth, Rose returned to her room and was surprised to see Hannah waiting with a familiar woman.

"Ah, Rose, I thought I'd introduce you two," said Hannah. "This is Toshiko Sato, the one I was telling you about. She's your roommate."

Rose stared at Toshiko who held out her hand hastily. "Rose, is it?" she asked, shooting her a look. "It's nice to meet you. Call me Tosh."

"Nice to meet you too, Tosh," said Rose, shaking her hand and going along with it. "Hannah tells me you're doing your masters."

"That's right, in archaeology," said Tosh.

"Well, I'll leave you two to get acquainted," said Hannah. "We're going down the pub for dinner at 6. It's Dr Bailey's shout to welcome everyone to the team."

"We'll be downstairs in a bit," promised Rose, and Hannah nodded and left them alone. As soon as she had left, Rose fixed Tosh with a look.

"I know, I know," said Tosh. "I can explain."

"I swear if this is Jack's way of keeping an eye on me, I'll punch him square in the face," said Rose, sitting down on her bed.

Tosh glanced toward the door and closed it before sitting on her own bed. "That's not why I'm here," she said, though Rose could see her suppressing a smile.

From the brief interactions that Rose had had with Jack's team, Rose knew that Tosh was very quiet and soft spoken but she'd thought it was because the rest of them were so outgoing. However, Tosh really did seem to be as shy as Rose had initially assumed.

"Jack got the idea because he knew you would be here, but we're investigating a missing persons case," she said, and reached over to grab her laptop. She opened it and typed something briefly before turning it around and showing it to Rose. "Anya Hillman," she added. "7 years old."

Rose frowned at the photo of the little girl with honey blonde hair in twin plaits and big blue eyes. "How long has she been missing?"

"2 days," said Tosh, closing the laptop.

"And you suspect alien involvement?" asked Rose.

"The circumstances of her disappearance are similar to a case previously recorded in our archives," said Tosh.

"What circumstances?" asked Rose.

"The girls disappeared from their beds at night. No signs of forced entry into the home," she explained. "It's like they stood up and walked out of their own volition." She sighed deeply. "Jack's working theory is that they were lured. By fairies."

Rose stared at her. "You're kidding," she deadpanned.

Tosh shook her head. "I won't pretend and say I'm on board with that theory but I've learned there is much in the universe we don't know about yet."

"And this is what you got from the case in your archives?" asked Rose.

"Yes, four disappearances in the same area back in 1955 and four more back in 1905," said Tosh. "Almost half a century to date. We then looked through the police records and found the same dating back to 1705. Four girls disappear every 50 years." She hesitated visibly. "Jack told me you have some experience with fairies."

Despite knowing it was unwarranted, Rose found herself glaring at Tosh. "What else did he say?" she demanded. She knew logically that anything she told Jack would have made its way to whatever organisation he worked for, but it still bothered her greatly.

Tosh seemed to know what was causing her to react in that way and she held up her hands. "He's only told me, and that too because of this mission," she explained, and hesitated again. "Usually, we would have opened a file on you and monitored you, given your frequent encounters with alien life. However, Jack has refused to open a file on you and when Susie asked, he told her to back off."

Despite herself, Rose found that comforting. She nodded and decided to let it go. "I have encountered fairies once or twice," she conceded. "I'm here at the request of the fairy queen in Roundstone Woods," she added.

Tosh looked surprised and Rose knew it was because she hadn't told Jack about that.

"I don't want to say that fairies are definitely involved because I was told they don't usually harm children," said Rose, remembering what Violet had said the first time she had pulled Rose past the curtain. "But it's worth looking into."

"Why did the fairy queen ask you to come here?" asked Tosh, curiously.

"I don't know yet," lied Rose. "Just that she needed my help."

If Tosh had caught onto her deception, she didn't show it. "I have more questions but we should get going," she said, checking her watch.

Rose nodded as they went downstairs to meet everyone else. Like Hannah had said, it was a relatively small team and most of them were post grad students at various stages of their academic careers. Rose was the only undergrad among the group, a fact that earned her some good-natured ribbing.

Dr Bailey himself was a rather quiet, soft-spoken man with salt and pepper curly hair and an untidy beard. He shook Rose's hand vigorously when Hannah introduced them.

"Splendid to meet you, Miss Tyler," he said. "I was most pleased with your application, most pleased. It is rare to find interest in my particular area of work. Most young students want massive crumbling monuments or old bones. Fairy rings are considered nothing more than stories and some old stones."

"I think there has to be some truth to it," said Rose, carefully. "Most myths and legends arise out of phenomena that humans who witnessed it at the time could not explain. It is important that those stories and legends and relics are not forgotten."

Dr Bailey nodded eagerly. "Precisely, Miss Tyler, precisely," he said. He smiled at Hannah, who grinned and clapped Rose on the shoulder.

"Alright, you lot, we're going down to the pub," said Hannah. "Eat your fill, because Dr Bailey's paying."

There were a few hoots and cheers, and Rose found her mood lifting.

It dimmed only slightly when they got to the pub and another familiar face was working behind the bar. As Hannah and two other girls in the group (and one of the boys as well) made starry eyes at Jack, Rose just shot him a cutting look which made him grin.

"He said he wanted me to have backup," Tosh murmured to her as they all took a seat in one of the large booths.

"He could have given me a heads up," Rose murmured back.

Unfortunately, once they were all seated, she was trapped between Hannah and one of the doctoral students from Cambridge, who was swinging between coming onto her and telling her how much better Cambridge was than Oxford. Rose had never been much for the age-old rivalry, but having to listen to Colin Reynolds was making her want to dye his hair Oxford blue while he slept.

After the first round of drinks and before the food was brought to the table, Rose excused herself and went toward the bathroom, shooting a look at Jack at the bar as she did. She waited in a stall for only a minute or so, before Jack eased in and locked the door behind himself.

"We gotta stop meeting like this, gorgeous," he grinned. "People will talk."

Rose punched his shoulder lightly, even as her cheeks went pink. "I'm mad at you," she said.

Jack dropped his attitude and gave her a small smile. "I know, I'm sorry," he said. "I wanted to tell you, but then I supposed it would be better to ask forgiveness than permission."

Rose sighed and nodded. She knew she would not have agreed to having one of Jack's people on an undercover mission while she was trying to do her fieldwork and assist Violet at the same time. "Fine," she said, smiling back at him. "It's nice to see you again."

His eyes softened. "Nice to see you too," he said. "Tosh is good at what she does. She'll watch your back."

Rose stared at him for a moment. "Alright," she agreed. "But it's a two-way street. She has to keep me informed about your case too. Particularly since Violet is apparently your prime suspect."

Jack nodded seriously. "That's fair," he said. He gave her a scrutinising look. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, fine, just tired," she said, quickly. "I better get back to the table. My absence will be noticed."

He gave her a look but nodded. "Alright," he agreed. "And besides, you're not seventeen anymore. I can't be held responsible for my actions if we stay squeezed together in this little stall for much longer."

Rose rolled her eyes at him and gave him a hug. "Stay safe," she murmured into his chest.

He hugged her back and kissed the top of her head. "You too, gorgeous."

The evening's surprises weren't over it seemed. Everyone had decided to have an early night since they would be going out to the woods at 5.00 am, but Rose had definitely spotted a flickering light in the sweet violets and got the distinct feeling that she was being invited for a chat.

So after everyone else had gone to sleep, Rose informed Tosh where she was going and then climbed out of the window in their room. There was a trellis on the outer wall of the cottage and crawling ivy that was stronger than it looked so Rose was able to climb down easily.

The fairies, and Rose thought there might be two of them, flew out of the violets and down the road toward the woods. Glad that she had worn her trainers and remembered to grab her phone, she followed after them.

They didn't lead her inside the woods, just hovered at the edge of it. No one was around, given it was nearly midnight and the locals didn't venture out to the woods after sundown either way. The lights blinked out of existence and Rose fully expected to be pulled past the curtain. However, to her surprise, Violet materialised into view, dressed in a flowing, almost translucent white dress, still wearing the crown of sweet violets on her head. Beside her was another female fairy, an older woman in her mid seventies if Rose had to guess a human age, dressed in a neat black pleated skirt and high neck cream coloured silk blouse.

"Hello, little flower," greeted Violet, with a small smile. Rose didn't know if it was just her imagination but she thought she looked rather tired.

"Hello, Violet," said Rose. "How have you been?"

"I've been better, little one," she admitted. "This is Brigitte," she said, indicating the older fairy. "She's one of my advisors."

"Pleasure, little one," said Brigitte as she inclined her head toward Rose.

"Nice to meet you," said Rose, smiling at her.

"Thank you for coming here to aid our queen," said Brigitte.

"Happy to help," said Rose. "What's going on?"

Brigitte glanced at Violet, who nodded. "There is a coup being planned," said Brigitte. "It is a small faction but we do not know exactly who they are and we do not know what has led to this now."

"I presume you have heard of the human child disappearing," said Violet. Rose nodded and Violet looked slightly ashamed. "It was an old practice that our kind had. Have you heard of changelings, little one?"

Rose's stomach churned uncomfortably. "Children who were abducted and then replaced with an identical copy?"

"Crudely speaking, yes," said Violet. "But not quite. Our kind had a practice where we would place one of our young ones in disguise as a human and then take them back once they had lived among humans for a while. It was meant as a way of learning about humans, about walking among them as one of them."

"We wouldn't abduct humans, you see," added Brigitte. "The children would be fae to begin with."

Rose frowned slightly. "Hang on," she said. "That doesn't make sense. Why would the humans raise the children if they knew they weren't theirs?" she asked, ignoring the sick feeling growing worse in her stomach.

Brigitte and Violet smiled at her with equally sad and understanding looks. "Our kind chose humans who longed for a child of their own," said Violet. "When one appeared on their doorstep, they didn't question it and raised it as their own."

"But then you took them back," said Rose.

"Yes, it was rather cruel but our kind justified it as a form of temporary gift we gave humans," said Violet.

Rose had a lot she wanted to say to that but she sensed it was a point of shame for Violet. She nodded, indicating that Violet should continue.

"This practice has been abolished for fifty years now," said Brigitte. "It was a treaty signed unanimously by all fairy kingdoms. To violate it would incur the worst punishment."

"But the child, Anya…" started Rose and then her eyes widened. "Someone in your kingdom has violated the treaty by taking her."

"Yes, but it is not quite that simple," said Violet. "The child that was taken is human, not fae. While it is easy to pull humans across by magic, it is exceedingly difficult to lure them the way the child was lured. The magic required to carry out something of this caliber is quite complex. An ordinary fairy, even a group of them, would not be able to do it."

"Only someone of royal blood would have the magic strong enough," added Brigitte.

"So the suspicion will fall to you," said Rose, looking at Violet who nodded dejectedly.

"Royal blood is powerful," said Violet, her eyes shuttered. "The power of our command is unparalleled and our magic is strong enough to destroy our own kingdoms, if need be."

Rose nodded slowly as the issue became clearer to her. "So someone's stolen a human child to make it look like your kingdom is still engaging in the forbidden practice involving changelings," she surmised. "And you're the prime suspect, Violet, because you're the only one in your kingdom who would be capable of doing it."

"The only reason I remain on the throne is that this knowledge has not left the kingdom," said Violet.

Rose frowned. "Why not? If the idea is to depose you, then why not blab?"

"We suspect they mean to wait until the customary four abductions to make it abundantly solid that it was the practice of the changelings," said Brigitte after she and Violet had exchanged a look.

Rose considered it and nodded. "What happened to Anya?" she asked.

Violet and Brigitte gave her confused looks. "What do you mean?" asked Violet.

Rose looked at them like they were insane. "I mean, where is she now?"

"Oh," said Brigitte and looked at Violet, who seemed equally bewildered. "We do not know."

"We did not even think to look," added Violet.

Rose gave them incredulous looks. "You don't know?!" she hissed. "A human child was abducted by someone in your kingdom and you didn't even think to look for her?" She could tell by their confused faces that they did not see why she was so angry about that. Rose took a deep breath to calm down but didn't succeed. "Let me simplify it for you then," she said, anger colouring her tone. "If all you care for is keeping your throne, find Anya. Return her to her family. If there are no abducted children, you have not violated the treaty, have you?"

Violet looked suitably chagrined. "Little one...I did not intend…"

Rose shook her head, too angry to continue. "I'll make sure Dr Bailey does not look too closely at your kingdom," she said. "Find Anya and return her. That's your best chance."

Without waiting for a response, Rose turned around and stalked off. Neither Violet nor Brigitte stopped her, and she had lost some of her anger by the time she reached their cottage again. She knew it wasn't entirely Violet's fault but the unsettling reminder of how inhuman the fairies could be was a rather unwelcome feeling. Rose knew she was acting a bit like a hypocrite, but the lack of concern about anything but their self-interest irked her more than anything.

The fact that she still felt sick to her stomach about what Violet had said about changelings, was neither here nor there.

For the next two weeks that followed, Rose didn't hear anything from the fairies. Not that she had enough time to focus on anything but her fieldwork.

Her day usually began at the crack of dawn, as the group set off into Roundstone Woods. The site had been surveyed, mapped and divided into quadrants already, and everyone had been assigned a quadrant and a strict procedure to ensure uniform excavation of the site.

Rose, being the only undergrad, was assigned to shadow Hannah so she mostly fetched and carried for Hannah. Hannah was a good teacher, though, and explained her process and techniques in great detail to Rose. It wasn't too different from assisting River, and given the experience Rose had had, Hannah realised she could be trusted with more. After a few days of just assisting, Hannah started supervising her instead, letting Rose use the techniques she'd learned at Oxford and from River.

Despite things weighing on her heavily, Rose found herself enjoying her fieldwork immensely. After a full day of working onsite, she would catalogue her notes for the day back at the cottage, since she was supposed to write a thesis based on her fieldwork as part of her degree. Dr Bailey was usually happy to assist Rose with this process, providing great insight into the various archaeological techniques as well as the historical and anthropological component that went alongside it.

She didn't hear anything from the fairies, though she occasionally caught sight of a flickering light from the corner of her eye. She spoke to Jack regularly who said they had not had any further leads on Anya, who still remained missing. The good news was that no other children had gone missing.

"You did the right thing, Rose," Jack had said when Rose had told him of her conversation with Violet and Brigitte. "Returning Anya would solve everything."

"Not everything," Rose had added. "Violet still needs to find the ones responsible."

Jack had given her a nod, before glancing at her in concern. Rose had become used to those looks, not the least because she knew she wasn't doing as well as she was pretending. The truth she was ignoring was always there, settling like a heavy cloud over her head, casting shadows over her. She tried to keep busy and interact with the new group of people around her, but the cloud always stayed there.

She must have picked up her phone a hundred times to call her mother and confront her about it, but chickened out at the last minute. Any time her mother called, Rose answered monosyllabically, claiming to be too busy or too tired when her mother asked.

Her mother.

Was she really her mother?

"Oi, Tyler."

Rose jumped and looked up from the book she had been staring at without reading. Colin Reynolds, the doctoral student from Cambridge, was in the doorway of her room with his usual smug smile on his face.

"Off with the fairies, were you?" he asked, and Rose rolled her eyes at the poor joke.

"Did you need something?" she asked, closing the book and sitting up in her bed.

He glanced behind him in the hallway and lowered his voice. "Bunch of us are going to the woods later," he said. "Thought you might like to come."

Rose frowned and glanced at the time. "Sundown's in an hour," she pointed out.

"Exactly," he said. "Rocco and Simran are convinced there is truth to the whole fairy business and they want to investigate after sundown."

Rose stared at him, knowing full well there was truth to the fairies. She also knew if the humans snooped around and pissed off the fairies, it wouldn't be pretty. She could try and discourage them but knew they wouldn't listen to her, and just go ahead without her. Knowing her only choice to keep them out of trouble would be to go with them, she nodded.

"Alright, meet us out front at midnight," grinned Colin.

As midnight rolled around, Rose dressed warmly and tied her hair into a single braid. Her hair was growing longer, she realised, and she was due for a cut soon. Tosh gave her a look of concern as she got ready.

"Are you sure you don't want me to come along?" she asked, probably for the sixth time since Rose had told her.

"I told you, it might not be anything at all," said Rose. "I'm just going along as a precaution."

Tosh nodded, albeit unhappily. "Jack and I are on standby, though," she said. "If there's any sign of danger, you call and we'll come running."

Rose nodded back, and then smiled at Tosh before climbing out of her window. She saw two people waiting at the front gate and recognised them as Rocco and Simran, who were both postgrad students from the University of Edinburgh. Simran gave her a small smile and Rocco waved, when they saw her. She hadn't really interacted much with Rocco but she liked Simran who was extremely smart and easy to talk to.

"We're still waiting on Colin," Rocco whispered.

"It was his idea to begin with," said Simran, rolling her eyes. "Least he could do is meet us on time."

"Speak of the devil," said Rose, as they spotted Colin jogging up to them. He grinned at them unrepentantly.

"Let's go boys and girls," he said, jumping ahead in the lead.

Rose rolled her eyes as the rest of them followed Colin toward the woods. Rose kept a keen eye about but did not spot any flickering lights. Even when they got to the edge of the woods, she didn't see any fairies.

"Let's make sure we stick together," said Rocco, sounding a bit nervous as they prepared to enter the woods. "And remember to stay on the path."

"You can hold my hand if you're nervous, Tyler," said Colin, cheekily.

Rose resisted the urge to thump him. "Rocco's right," she said. "Let's stick to the path."

It was quiet as they entered the woods and Rose felt goosebumps erupt across her arms. She couldn't tell if it was just her imagination or if there was someone watching them. Rose glanced at her companions, and noticed looks of similar discomfort on their faces, even Colin's.

The feeling seemed to intensify as they reached the archway. Their dig site was a bit further ahead past the archway but as they crossed the archway, Rose heard a faint sound.

She stopped and glanced around, but didn't see anything.

"What?" asked Colin.

"Shh," said Rose, straining her ears. There was silence for a moment before she heard the sound again, a low shuffling noise, almost like a tired sigh. "Do you hear that?" she whispered.

"Hear what?" asked Rocco.

"You're having us on," laughed Colin. "Good one, Tyler, you almost had us going-"

"Colin, shut up," said Simran, as she turned in the same direction as Rose. Rocco's eyes widened as well.

"I can hear it," he whispered. "What is that?"

Rose knew they would have to veer off the path to follow the sound, but couldn't stop herself as she started walking toward it. She heard Colin, Rocco and Simran follow her.

"It's probably an animal," hissed Colin, but Rose didn't stop. The sound started sounding more and more like breathing as they got closer. The overgrowth was making it difficult to navigate, which considerably slowed their pace down.

"Wait," said Rocco. "I gotta catch my breath."

Rose stopped, as did the others, and Rocco leaned against a nearby tree to catch his breath. Rose checked the time and realised they had been in the woods for over an hour. The sound was louder now, and very distinct. It was still difficult to tell how far away they were, and Rose made a split second decision to send a message to Tosh.

"What do we think it is?" asked Simran. "It doesn't sound like an animal." She didn't say what they had all been thinking; the breathing sounded human. Like a person, who was asleep.

"Maybe we should turn back and go for help," said Rocco.

"We've come this far," said Colin. "Besides, it might be someone in trouble. A hiker who might be injured or something."

"He's got a point," said Rose. "But maybe it won't be a bad idea to get some help. Rocco, Simran, why don't you start heading back? Colin and I could keep going." She didn't particularly want to go with Colin, but she could see that both Rocco and Simran were considerably more scared than they were letting on.

At her suggestion, they both looked a little relieved. "Are you sure, Rose?" asked Simran.

"Yes," said Rose.

Simran nodded back and she and Rocco turned around and started heading back the way they had come. Rose looked at Colin, who looked uncharacteristically serious.

"Let's keep going," said Rose, and Colin nodded and fell in step with her.

They continued walking, and Rose couldn't help but think that it was odd they had heard the sound, when the source seemed to be so far away. She knew sound carried easier when it was quiet, but not to this extent. It reinforced her belief that whatever the source of the sound was, it wasn't quite rational.

The overgrowth continued to get denser, but as they brushed past some bushes, they emerged out into a meadow of sorts. Neither of them got the chance to observe the surroundings in any great detail because they found themselves staring at an impossible sight.

"What the fuck," muttered Colin, and Rose internally echoed the sentiment.

In the centre of the meadow, was the upright figure of a seven-year old child with blonde twin tails, floating about a foot off the ground, surrounded by a white oval glow around her body. Her eyes were wide open and Rose could see her chest moving as she breathed. There was a blank expression on her face, but Rose easily recognised it to be Anya Hillman.

"That's the girl who went missing," murmured Colin.

Rose slowly stepped closer, the leaves crunching under her foot, ignoring Colin's hissed warning. Nothing happened as she reached Anya's form and she extended a hand to touch the glow. To her surprise, she felt glass under her hand and as she looked closer, she found that Anya was inside an oval-shaped, floating glass pod of sorts.

"Alien technology," murmured Rose, her mind racing.

"You're not wrong about that, little one."

Rose whirled around and saw Brigitte as she held Colin in a headlock, holding a pointed dagger made of ice to his neck. Colin's eyes were wide with terror, and he looked too scared to even struggle. Brigitte smiled at her, a cold nasty smile that made Rose's insides freeze, and she screamed a second too late as Brigitte drove the dagger into Colin's neck.

Colin's body slumped to the forest floor, unmoving, blood pouring out of the wound when Brigitte pulled the dagger out.

"You should have kept your nose out of it," said Brigitte, wiping Colin's blood off on her cream-coloured blouse, the macabre sight making Rose want to retch. "Played detective for Violet's sake and then gone away."

"You took Anya," said Rose, her throat going dry. She positioned herself between Brigitte and the pod containing Anya. "You're the one planning a coup."

Brigitte shook her head. "There is no coup, not really," she said. "Violet believes there is one...because I told her so."

"What do you want?" asked Rose, her jaw clenching. Mentally, she wondered if Simran and Rocco had made it out safely and whether Tosh and Jack would be arriving soon. She wished she had a way to call for Violet but she couldn't see a single flickering light when she looked around desperately.

"I have what I want," said Brigitte, in a matter of fact voice. "I have a queen who is on the verge of losing power. I have one child behind you there and once you're out of the way, I'll gather three more children, and wait for the chaos to swallow the kingdom."

"And you think you'll be put on the throne instead of Violet?" asked Rose.

Brigitte laughed, a nasty shrill sound that made Rose's ears hurt. "I don't want the rotten throne. What I want is so much more precious, little one." When Rose just looked confused, Brigitte smirked toward the pod. "I want the stars. I want to leave behind this backwards world that is slowly killing us and I want to escape to the stars."

"Then just leave," shouted Rose. "I'm sure Violet…"

"Violet can do nothing!" shouted Brigitte. "She's weak like the rest of the royals. Dying out with this planet, their power diminishing until there will be nothing left. I wish to see them all die. See their precious kingdoms razed to the ground, and when there is nothing left but ashes, I shall escape to the stars."

"How?" asked Rose. "How will you escape?"

Brigitte smirked. "Nice try," she said, and before Rose could blink, she had flown right to Rose.

Rose dodged at the last minute and the dagger grazed her arm instead of slicing her neck open. She hissed in pain and ran, her mind racing as she tried to think of a way to stop Brigitte.

"You can't escape me, you worthless human," said Brigitte, as she flew into Rose's path and swung with her dagger once again.

Rose was better prepared this time and was able to stop herself and turn back to the pod containing Anya. She could feel the blood flowing from her arm and saw Brigitte glaring at her as she prepared to fly at her again. Rose's fists clenched and as she felt the cold metal of her Nan's ring, she thought back to the photo again.

"Am I one of you?" shouted Rose.

The question was apparently absurd enough to make Brigitte stop. "What?" she asked.

"Changelings," said Rose. "I think I might be a changeling."

Brigitte stared at her and then burst into hideous laughter. "I think the blood loss is affecting you, little one," she said, mirthfully. "You're not fae, not even close. Not a drop of our kind in your lineage."

"My mother wasn't pregnant," Rose blurted out. "Three months before I was born, she wasn't even pregnant."

Brigitte rolled her eyes. "Hate to say it, little one, but it sounds like you are adopted," she said.

Rose felt bile rise in her throat at the confirmation of the truth she had been avoiding all this time. She clenched her fists harder, the ring feeling colder against her skin. She felt like ripping it off her hand. It hadn't been meant for her, she wanted to scream. She was nothing to them; the group of strangers whom she'd thought of her as her family her whole life.

The silver of the ring felt like it might as well have been a collar choking the life out of her, and she pulled it off her finger but couldn't bring herself to throw it away. Rose felt her strength zap out of her as Brigitte prepared to attack once more.

Silver, her brain supplied as she clenched the ring in her fist. The ring is silver.

Rose's eyes widened and as Brigitte flew toward her, Rose stayed still and thrust her hand out with the ring at the last minute, bringing the silver ring into contact with Brigitte's hand holding the dagger.

Brigitte hissed in pain and dropped the dagger as the silver burned her. Without missing a beat, Rose ducked down and picked up the dagger. The ice burned her skin but Rose picked it up and plunged it straight into the glass pod. The glass shattered and the glow died down as Anya fell to the forest floor, blinking in shock and confusion.

Rose grabbed her hand and pulled her to her feet. Holding Anya behind her and the dagger in front of her, she eyed Brigitte, who had recovered from the burn but Rose could still see an angry red mark branded into the pale skin of her hand.

"Move out of the way," said Rose. "I am taking Anya with me."

Brigitte snarled at her and produced another ice dagger seemingly out of nowhere. "You are in no position to make demands, little one," she said.

"No," came an imperious voice from behind Brigitte. "That would be me, I suppose."

Before Brigitte could turn around, green vines rose from the forest floor and wrapped themselves around Brigitte's hands and feet. Violet, eyes blazing in anger, emerged from the darkness and glared down at Brigitte who was struggling against the bindings.

A furious Violet tore the dagger out of Brigitte's hand and held it to Brigitte's neck. "I shall cut you open," she snarled. "Your traitor."

"Do it, I would welcome death rather than live another moment of the pathetic existence of our kind," snapped Brigitte.

"Violet, wait," said Rose, as Violet pressed the tip of the dagger to her neck and looked like she would follow through on the threat. "She had help from someone. An alien, someone who promised they would help her escape the planet."

Violet had turned to Rose when she had spoken and she nodded as she turned back to Brigitte. "Speak," she ordered.

Brigitte clenched her jaw in pain and Rose remembered Violet telling her how the command issued by someone of royal blood was impossible to ignore. For a moment it looked like Brigitte would be forced to spill her secrets but then she reared her head back and drove it right into the dagger that Violet had still been holding to her neck, impaling herself.

"No!" screamed Violet in rage, and Brigitte smirked in relief as the life left her eyes.

Violet let go of the dagger and the vines unwrapped themselves from Brigitte's lifeless form. Brigitte's body fell to the ground, not far from Colin's corpse. Violet stared at the two bodies, unmoving.

Rose dropped the dagger and looked at Anya, who looked frightened and confused. Forcing herself to smile, she bent down to her eye level.

"Hi, Anya, my name is Rose," she said. "I'm going to take you back to your mummy, alright, sweetheart?"

Anya stared at Rose and nodded mutely. Giving her another smile of encouragement, Rose told her to sit down on a nearby log, making sure she wouldn't be able to see the bodies. Once she had Anya sitting down, Rose walked up to Violet, whose green eyes were full of tears.

"I…" said Violet, at a loss for words.

Rose swallowed roughly but they heard rustling from the bushes which made Rose tense up again. Fortunately, Jack and Tosh emerged into the clearing, looking at them with wide eyes.

"Rose," said Jack. "You're bleeding."

"It's just a cut," she said. "Anya's back there. You need to get her home."

Jack nodded at Tosh, who immediately went over to Anya. He looked back at her and then at Violet and the bodies on the ground.

"Brigitte was the traitor," said Rose, woodenly, sensing that Violet was in no position to answer Jack's questions. "She had Anya prisoner and she killed Colin when Colin and I found her."

"We found two more bodies back there," said Jack, grimly.

"Rocco and Simran?" asked Rose, faintly. Jack nodded and she felt like throwing up.

"I'll call the rest of my team," said Jack. "We will have to explain the bodies." He turned to Violet. "I could use your help, seeing how this is your mess."

"Jack," hissed Rose, but he ignored her.

Violet nodded. "I will do what you need," she said.

"You can start by healing Rose," he said.

Without even blinking, Violet raised a hand and touched Rose's shoulder. Rose hissed as the wound closed, leaving nothing but a pink scar.

"I am truly sorry, Rose," said Violet, looking at Rose.

"It's not your fault," said Rose, ignoring Jack's quiet scoff. "Brigitte was...she wanted to destroy everything and she was playing you."

"And I got played," said Violet. "I should be above such things."

"You trusted her," said Rose. "The fact that she took advantage of that trust is on her, not you."

Violet smiled, though her smile didn't reach her eyes. She turned to Jack. "What would you have me do?"

Jack frowned. "It'll be sunrise soon. Gather the bodies and hide them away for now," he said. "Tosh and I need to get Anya and Rose out of here and then I'll be back."

Violet nodded, and vanished along with the bodies. The walk back out of the woods was silent, and Rose could feel exhaustion in her bones, and stumbled more than once. When they reached the edge of the forest, Jack placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Go back to the cottage with Tosh," he told her. "I'll take Anya home."

"What-?" Rose began to ask.

"Don't say anything yet," said Jack. "Pretend you were in your bed all night. I'll see you in a bit."

Rose nodded and he stroked her cheek gently before picking up Anya and walking away. She and Tosh snuck back to the cottage, just as the sun was coming up. Once in her room, Rose changed into her nightdress and ignoring the fact that she was filthy, she slumped on top of the bed and fell asleep.

The official story was that Colin Reynolds, Simran Kumaran and Rocco deLuca went on a walkabout in the woods after sundown and went missing. Just a few more victims of the Roundstone Woods, as far as the locals were concerned.

Dr Bailey and the rest of the team was left in shock, and while the project had only been put on hold for two days before resuming, the enthusiasm had been zapped out of everyone.

"I can't cancel the dig, you see," Dr Bailey had explained to Rose one evening. "The site is partially dug. We are not permitted to abandon it in that form."

Rose had just nodded numbly and accepted it. The four weeks were up before she knew it, and while many of the others would be staying on, Rose's official stint was up. Hannah organised a going away dinner on her last evening, and though it was a rather subdued affair due to their missing numbers, Rose was grateful for the gesture.

She returned to London and instead of going back to the townhouse, she went over to the flat.

Jackie looked surprised, but smiled when she saw Rose. "Oh, sweetheart, I wasn't expecting you," she said. "Did you just get back?" she asked, probably noticing the suitcase and backpack.

"I just have one question," said Rose, not making a move to step inside the flat.

Jackie frowned. "Are you alright, sweetheart? You have been sounding off on the phone since you went to Cardiff…"

"One question," interrupted Rose. "Am I adopted?"

Jackie's eyes went wide briefly. "Rose, what are you…"

"The truth, please," said Rose, her voice trembling just the slightest.

"Rose," said Jackie, and Rose didn't need to hear the rest.

Rose reached into her pocket and pulled out the silver ring that Jack had returned to her after his team had finished clearing up the meadow.

"I'll send Miranda over to get the rest of my stuff," said Rose, as she handed the ring back to Jackie.

"Rose," said Jackie, eyes filling with tears. "Sweetheart…"

Rose shook her head. "I just...I need time," she said. "Please," she added.

Jackie clapped a hand to her mouth as tears flowed down her face. She just nodded, choking back a sob.

Rose nodded, and turned around and left.