"Now that we have gone over the plants that are native to our fair town and their mystical properties," Marcel turned around to emphasize his points to our little group, "I shall explain some of the plants that are not native to our town and were introduced by the First Witch Kawthra, herself." Marcel turned back around to head to the other half of the garden exhibit.

"It is because of Kawthra that we are as mystical a town as we are." Marcel continued his storytelling as he walked. "She is the one who stole the power of the fairies, forever creating a time and space vortex that surrounds and encases the town, with unexplained--"

Marcel spun around causing the two agents to jump on either side of me.

"Magic!!" Marcel uttered the word low and forcefully, using his hands to emphasize his words.

I was used to this part, Marcel always did it to newcomers and they always rolled their eyes with impatience or looked on with wonder and awe glittering in their eyes. These FBI agents did neither.

They actually looked stressed.

And a little worried.

"Wait, I'm sorry, who is Kawthra? A witch?" Sam asked carefully.

"Yes, Kawthra is considered the first witch of Ennisbrooke. You see, legend has it a coven of witches were the first settlers here. They had been fleeing from justice for crimes they had committed in the East, so they were very secretive about this settlement. Until Kawthra took matters into her own hands." Marcel had found the sweet spot for his story. He loved to tell anyone who would listen the legends and the tales he had acquired in his research and study. And I knew every word that he would say by heart:

"You see, Kawthra was not like the other witches. She was not using magic for evil. She wanted to help others and do good with the abilities she had attained. She was also a natural witch, so the magic came from inside of her, causing her to be revered within the coven itself!" Marcel raised a warning finger, "But she was also a just person, and murder was not to be condoned.

"Different stories persist about what exactly the witches did. Some say they killed an infant for a powerful immortality spell. Others, say they burned a family alive in their home for the ashes of the oak tree the house was built with. Still others say they simply killed for spell practice and sport. Either way, Kawthra...she wanted no part in it. And so, when the coven fled and she fled with them, she took matters into her own hands."

Marcel stopped talking and began to walk back inside the building. Sam and Dean looked at me questioningly, "Is he uh, gonna finish the story?" Dean whispered at me.

"I guess you'll just have to follow him and see...now won't you?" I smirked cheekily at the men and followed after Marcel's bowed figure.

As we entered the museum once again, Marcel stopped and turned to look at his tiny group of followers, "Kawthra needed to concoct a powerful spell, so powerful it could actually kill evil. And she needed to be able to do it alone...for the witches would have exiled her in an instant if they had known. And a banished witch on her own, even with natural magic, is no match for her entire coven united against her.

"So one night, she took some of the herbs she had brought from the East and spread dried peonies in a large circle. She placed a bowl of cream upon the ground beside a bouquet of glowing foxglove and began the ritual. She was drawing in the fairy-kind." Marcel pointed to the wall beside them.

"That is a piece of the very bouquet of magical foxglove from that night. Miraculously preserved, even after Kawthra's horrific demise." Marcel's face fell and he turned sadly away, walking to the next exhibit. "Nothing quite like giving away the ending!" Dean whispered to Sam and I and we shot him matching looks intended to silence him. Dean looked offended, but Marcel, noticing nothing, continued,

"To this day, no man, creature, witch or other being knows how Kawthra accomplished it. But Kawthra herself stole from the magic of the fairies." Marcel paused for effect.

"Kawthra simply wanted the power to help her rid the world of the evil that these witches had accomplished. Perhaps enough power to rid the world of evil itself. But she did not know what she had done when she took to herself that fairy power within her talisman that night. And that instead of a blessing...a curse would be unleashed upon the world!" Marcel pointed towards a glass shadow case centrally placed in the large room they had just entered. He said nothing as we approached the case. I knew what was coming next, but I decided to wait and see what Sam and Dean would say out of their own curiosity.

To my astonishment, these men were completely intrigued by this story. Their eyes never losing Marcel or his gestures, their attention never wavering, even Dean's comments had been in keeping with the presentation Marcel was performing. They actually seemed...intense. Studious...like they were anxious to learn an important fact or receive a crucial clue.

Maybe this is the psychology part of their investigation. Maybe, by listening to Marcel's stories, they're getting a glimpse into the psyche of the average townsperson in Ennisbrooke. Maybe...

But I wasn't convinced.

Especially after the "fairy" conversation I had overheard this morning.

This was officially odd.

Don't jump to conclusions...they're probably just nerds...

Nerds who are plotting to kill you...

FBI killer nerds??!? Girl, calm down...they're probably just into this stuff the same way you are.

We had reached the glass case and the agents were peering down into it as Marcel explained:

"Kawthra used this very talisman to hold the magic she stole from the fairies that night. She wore the emerald that she had already spellbound, around her neck on a chain made of little loops of iron, forging a hold within the gem that could never be broken!" Marcel gestured for emphasis.

"So if Kawthra caught the magic within the talisman...why is it here like this now, all dull and on display?" Sam asked. I expected skepticism, but he actually sounded like a little boy wanting to hear the end of a good story.

Marcel fairly beamed at his captive audience. "You see, when Kawthra stole the magic, she left a gift of enchanted lilies behind for the fairies, as a peace offering. The lilies held some of her very own magic. She knew it wasn't the same, but she hoped it would make up for it. Unfortunately, she had miscalculated the worth of her gift in the extreme. The second she clasped the necklace around her neck, the magic infused her and caused a reaction she had never considered.

"The transfer of magic between the realms caused an imbalance and actually created a tear in between space. You can still go to the place where the imbalance began and once a year, watch the magic glow in the far hills..." Marcel's voice trailed off, and I found myself spellbound by his story, as always, at this part.

"What happened next?" Dean asked wide-eyed. He also had the appearance of a little kid...but I guess Marcel's stories kind of did that to everyone.

"Kawthra's acquisition of the magic, she thought, would be positive. But as the magic infused her, it was then she realized she had lost control. There was too much power. With a scream that rent the heavens, the power exploded out of her and killed every other witch in her coven and all other living things for a mile radius from her feet. Kawthra herself became nearly immortal, except for one thing. As much as she had spelled the gem to be unbreakable, she didn't spell it to keep the magic from seeping out. Slowly, the only thing that could kill her, did kill her. As the months went by, the magic seeped into her heart, bit by bit, edging her life out. As much as she tried to do good, the overage of power awakened a darkness that had not existed within her before. She grew more and more evil, creating chaos and havoc throughout the land. It is said she even consulted with the mother of all evil herself as to how to better the evil creatures that already roamed the night and tormented mankind."

Sam and Dean abruptly started coughing and sputtering out of nowhere. "Are you alright? Do you guys need some water?" I asked, heading slowly towards the doorway to the reception area.

"No, sorry, just swallowed and uh, went down the wrong way." Sam smiled tightly and Dean nodded aggressively.

"Careful boys, we don't need you dying on us!" Marcel laughed before continuing, "After consulting with the mother of all evil, it is said the evil creatures wanted access to the power that was encapsulated within the gemstone, but no matter how they tried, they could not kill Kawthra, nor could they take the gem from her.

"Kawthra knew her time was running short. As evil as she was, she had been the object of vile creatures torture one too many times and decided that she never wanted the evil things to have the power she had. No one knows where she hid the magic, or where she died, but it is said the evil things roam these streets even now, looking...hunting...waiting for the magic to show itself." Marcel finished as we came to the final exhibit.

"Here are written some of the theories about where Kawthra hid the magic, there's even a conspiracy theory that she found a loophole and kept her immortality and is still alive somewhere in the world." The irony of the sentence appeared lost on Dean, but Sam smirked, "but you can read that for yourselves. And that, my dear gentlemen, is the story of the fairy curse that haunts this town. And now I think my work here is done, don't you think so, Lynn?"

"I think so, Marcel! Thank you for showing these men around...you do have the best way of telling the story of this town!" I gave him a hug and he shook Sam and Dean's hands.

"Well, I'd better get back to work. If you need anything, just holler! It was a pleasure to meet you agents, I hope that you find what you're looking for." Marcel was shaking Dean's hand while he said the last sentence, and it seemed like they shook for a fraction of a second too long. But that's probably just me noticing things again. I really needed to just stick to being aware of my surroundings and leave the investigative nonsense to people who were professionals...like my companions.

I suddenly realized it was just the three of us standing awkwardly by the final exhibit.

"So...you guys want to look around here for a bit? Then maybe get some lunch?" I asked cautiously...I didn't know how to be cool, but I'd be darned if I didn't try my hardest!

"Lunch? Two days in a row? Well, Miss Lynn, I don't know...I guess after this we'll just have to go steady." Dean joked and I laughed.

"Yeah, but who's she gonna go steady with, Dean?" Sam smiled cheekily at his partner.

"Well, me, of course, 'cause I'm the handsome one."

"Are you assuming that our friend Lynn here is only attracted to a person by outer appearance?"

"And you didn't even argue with me...everybody knows I'm the handsome brother."

"Brother?" I interjected and looked at them incredulously.

"NO! Sorry, you see--" Dean began and Sam finished,

"We have been partners for a long time. We call each other brother. Hey, do you happen to have any more information on where Kawthra lived? Like, what part of town, what kind of home she had, that type of thing?"

I decided to ignore the awkward change of subject. "Yeah, sure, it's over here..." I retraced my steps, wandering deeper into the museum, the two agents trailing behind me in silence.

"Look around to your heart's content! Let me know if you have any questions..."

***

"I'll have the pasta with the soup of the day, please."

"And I'll have your double bacon burger with extra onion and French fries, please and thank you."

"I think I would like...the same. The double bacon burger and fries for me too, please."

Dean raised his eyebrows and nodded to himself across the table from me.

"What?"

"What?" he asked innocently.

"What's with the look?"

"What look?"

"Whatever, never mind." I grumbled and fidgeted with the straw in my Coke. I leaned against the wall of the booth and turned towards my seatmate, "do you guys need to go somewhere after this? Like, is it a super in depth investigation?" Sam frowned slightly before replying, "honestly, Lynn, we aren't 100% sure of the profiles we are dealing with, or the nature of their disappearances yet. But as we learn more about the town, it's history and people, the closer we are getting to finding some answers."

I nodded and took a long sip of my Coke. I decided to break the silence, "like the fact fairies aren't anything to joke about?"

Dean nearly spit out his drink, "uh, pardon me?"

I lifted my glass with one hand and twirled its straw with the other. "I heard you two talking this morning when I was walking up about that you might have scared me off. And that I would possibly know that fairies weren't anything to joke about."

I took another long sip.

At this rate, I was going to need a refill before we even had our meals.

"Well, uh, you see, what we meant was, that we had been talking about some very serious stuff yesterday and uh, we didn't want you to be afraid of us, I mean, just because we're the FBI doesn't mean that we aren't just normal people too. I mean, there's a lot of nasty about this business, but we're still just guys and we were afraid, well, that the 'suits'," Sam put his fingers in the air as air quotes, "would be intimidating to you."

I frowned and nodded. "Makes sense. But then again," I leaned towards them along the table and lowered my voice, "I'm not your average girl." I watched something change in Dean's eyes as he looked at me, but before I could psychoanalyze it, I wasn't letting them off the hook.

"And what about the fairies?"

"Well, uh, that's a little embarrassing..." Dean began, "you see, we were afraid that you thought the fairies were real. And if you did, then they wouldn't be anything to joke about. But we also thought that you might've been messing with us, and if so, it would be terribly odd for us, FBI agents no less, to be acting like they were...real. You know?" Dean leaned back on his side of the booth. "We didn't want you to think we were incompetent because we did or did not believe in the fairies and their curse."

I sat for a minute, processing...it did kind of make sense. But how intense they were when I was walking up didn't really equate.

"Ok!" I smiled and wrapped my hands around my half empty glass.

"Ok...?" Sam sounded unsure.

"Just ok! Like, yes, I understand...ok." I shrugged and looked at him puzzled.

"Oh, haha, must of um...blanked out there for a minute."

"So where are you guys from, anyways?" I decided to change the subject. I'd get more information out of them later if I needed it. There were ways to see if a story was true. Not that they were lying...why would I think they're lying? And if they were lying...

I need to spend less time in magic and make-believe, I think.

I shook my head to clear my thoughts and inhaled deeply while listening to Sam describe how beautiful his childhood home in west Texas had been.

***

The rest of lunch was fairly uneventful and soon we were leaving the restaurant.

"So, Miss Lynn, can we drive you home?" Dean asked as he held the door for me .

"Actually, if you don't mind, that would be awesome! I really need to get home. I don't get a lot of time off, so when I do, I try to stay close to Gramma. She needs me more than she says; I know she hasn't been feeling all that well the past few weeks." I went to get into the backseat of the beautiful black vehicle, but Dean stopped me.

"Nah, you get to ride shotgun! Sam here don't mind a short drive in the back of the car, do ya, Sammy?"

Sam tried mightily to hide his wince. "Nope, not at all." Dean hopped in the driver's seat and shut the door while Sam and I were still walking around to the other side.

"You can totally ride shotgun, I don't care...it's you guy's car anyway!" I offered but Sam shook his head.

"Nah, it's totally fine. I can tell how much you love this car. It's a better experience in the front seat." Sam opened his door and winked at me before he slid into his seat. I bit my lip to stifle a squeal of excitement.

I'm such a child...

I opened the door gently and carefully stepped in, shutting the door behind me.

"You ready to ride?" Dean chuckled as he turned the ignition, the radio blaring to life.

"You better believe I am!" I could actually feel my eyes sparkling.

And we were off.

The thing is, it really wasn't that much different than riding in the back seat, but it was this feeling...this feeling I was struggling to describe to myself as she shifted into drive and rolled across the parking lot. I tried to figure it out as we drove out onto the roadway and started picking up speed. It grew and bubbled up inside of me until I let it boil over into a small giggle as we exceeded the speed limit and showed no sign of levelling off. Something in my heart. In my blood. Something...daring. Aggressive, deep, thrilling: I felt excitement course through me creating a yearning, a need to feel this way again, all the time.

I didn't recognize it at first, it had been so long, but as I looked over at Agent Page smirking to himself and over my shoulder at Agent Bonham reclining in the backseat, I felt the familiarity. I gazed back out the windshield, and in that instant I knew. It was back, the thing I'd wanted to shake. The one thing I once rabidly desired and vehemently rejected. The only long dormant threat to my contentment and stability. Chagrin widened my eyes as I realized it had returned to reclaim its territory. And then joyful resignation that I wasn't going to fight it anymore. Somehow, some way, I was going to give in and let my hardwiring rule at long last.

The one thing that kept me sane made me insane...and I would have it, the thing that I craved.

Adventure.