The flower was ugly. It had come out irregularly shaped, all sharp edges and wrong colors, displeasing to the little girl who had concentrated so hard in the hope of producing something beautiful. Why was this so hard, when other things came so naturally' Lyneth pouted, scowling at her forlorn little effort as she sat back, her little face screwed up in a quiet scowl. And yet her teacher was full of praise for her.

"Lyneth, that's a wonderful effort," she praised the tiny half-Fae, crouching down beside her to inspect the ugly thing one of her students had produced.

"No, it's not, it's horrid," Lyneth argued through her scowl, shaking her head and wishing she was allowed to destroy the thing she had created.

"Don't be such a perfectionist," her teacher told her pointedly. "This is only your first try, and crystal singing is a complex skill. Just that you managed to make a recognizable flower at all is something to be very proud of, Lyneth."

"But it's all horrid colors an' it's got sharp bits an' I wanted it to be pretty," the tiny child argued, her dissatisfaction with herself clouded by something she wasn't entirely sure she should be noticing.

"But, Lyneth, it's -"

Alone in the house, Piper went about her usual chores. There was no writing to distract herself with right now, the demand that she begin the third book of her trilogy was being held off until sales of the second book established themselves. The laundry was done, Loki had been walked, she'd cleaned as much as she could clean. And she couldn't get the thought out of her head that her little girl didn't trust her. Her little girl didn't love her as much as she loved Des. That insidious little voice in the back of her mind just wouldn't stop, telling her over and over again that the problem must be her. She just wasn't what Lyneth wanted or needed in her life. That could be the only reason why the tiny girl kept taking her love away.

She'd been fighting those feelings all day, wanting them to just go away, to do as they were told and let themselves be ignored the way she had promised herself she would. She didn't want to hurt anyone with her own insecurities, her own inadequacies, her own failings, but the longer that little voice spoke, the harder it was to hold those feelings of resentment, of guilt, of failure at bay. Until she just gave in, crumpling down onto the couch to let the tears run their course, her face pressed tight into the first pillow to hand.

"- listening to me" Lyneth?"

The tiny Fae-child shook herself suddenly, turquoise eyes filled with tears as she looked up at her teacher. "I got to go," she informed the startled adult, pushing out of her little chair to move toward the nearest wall.

"Go' Where are you going?"

Lyneth ignored her teacher, reaching out with one hand to touch the air just in front of her wall. It rippled, like movement on a pond, a vertical shimmer in the air that declared some kind of portal had just been made.

"Lyneth Davidson, if you don't come back here, I will have to call your mother," her teacher threatened from behind her, but she ignored that threat. It was her mother who needed her, and school was never going to be as important as that.

The air thickened around the tiny girl as she stepped through the portal, feeling it close behind her, before anyone else could follow. There she was, in the familiar warmth of the living room at home ....and there was Mummy, curled up tight on the couch, crying into a cushion. Loki was pacing anxiously back and forth across the floor between them, the big Malamute's eyes hard with the upset he shared with his mistress, vaguely accusing when his little mistress stepped out of nowhere. Lyneth's big eyes filled with tears once more as she felt the pain and upset and anguish radiating from the woman she loved best in all the worlds, and knew that somehow it was her own fault.

Just like the last time, when Ollie was long gone, and the Fae who had taken his place had left. Lyneth had been very small at the time, but she remembered how sad Piper had been. Sad and angry and how unloved she had felt, because of the way Lyneth herself had behaved over the past year. And now all those feelings were back, and the tiny girl thought she knew why, regretting her impulsive decision not to share everything with her mother when she knew Des would not keep Piper in the dark. Last time, it had taken months of obvious love, and a new flame in her heart, to bring Mummy out of her darkness. Who knew what it would take this time"

"Mummy, don' cry," the tiny girl declared suddenly, hating the sight and sound of her mother so miserable after being so happy for so long. She pattered over to the couch, climbing up to pull the cushion away and cuddle into Piper's arms, kissing her mother's cheek as she, too, began to cry for the sadness that ruled one of the most important people in her life.

Piper started, shocked to hear Lyneth's voice so close, to have the pillow pulled away from her and find her daughter suddenly there, pushing into her arms to hug and kiss and cry with her. "Lynnie?" She sniffed hard, habit and long practice suppressing those tears as she curled her arms around her little girl. "What's wrong" Why aren't you in school?"

"'Cos you're all sad an' you needed me," the tiny Fae-child told her through her own sniffles. "An' 'm sorry, Mummy. 'M really sorry, don't be sad anymore. I didn' mean it."