[ WP ] Your young daughter is a magic prodigy with summoning powers . Despite you being normal , when she 's in danger she keeps summoning you first .

The first time I was summoned, my daughter was 5 and she found a spider in the bathroom. I was downstairs reading when I heard a crackling, like electricity, and then a loud pop as I appeared in the bathroom upstairs, falling hard on my tailbone. 
 
 Being summoned while sleeping was the worst though. We talked it through many times, but she still got scared. What was I to do though? She was only five and the dark still scared her. To be honest, I think the dark still scares most adults too. 
 
 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- - 
 
 The first time I faced an owlbear, she was 13. I appeared in between her and the owlbear, but the first thing I noticed actually was the elf boy hiding behind a tree. 
 
 “ Were you out here with him?! ” I asked, a bit more upset-sounding than I actually meant it to be. 
 
 “ Uh, mom, can we talk about this later? Like, owlbear…behind you? Big teeth? ” 
 I didn ’ t actually know what to do about the owlbear, so I decided to follow the general suggestions for any animal interaction: look big and menacing and hope they go away. 
 
 I turned to the owlbear, raised to my tiptoes, pointed a finger and in my best mom voice said, “ and as for you, mister! You go back to your cave! I ’ m dealing with a teenager right now, and so help me Hades I will ruin your day too if you don ’ t leave right this instant! ” 
 
 Mom-speak is a language that spans all species. That owlbear immediately looked at my daughter, slunk its head, turned, and lumbered off back into the forest. 
 
 “ What ’ s his name? ” I asked, turning and looking towards the elven boy. 
 
 “ Lorelian, ” she said, “ we have several classes together. We were out looking for lamb ’ s ear. ” 
 
 “ Class, huh? Look Maddie, you can ’ t just go wandering out into the forest alone. I don ’ t care if you ’ re looking for lamb ’ s ear or Lorelian ’ s lips, it ’ s not safe. ” 
 
 “ Mom, ” she said, dragging it out to let me know I was embarrassing her. 
 
 “ No, no mom. I was lucky that owlbear wasn ’ t hungry. Next time we might not be so lucky. Maddie, look, I love you, but I don ’ t have the gift of magic as you do. Your father had that gift, and I ’ m so glad you get to share a part of him. I just… ” 
 
 “ I know mom. Seriously, I won ’ t do it again. ” 
 
 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- - 
 
 The pixies were easier to deal with. I remember Ryan once telling me about his adventures and interactions with them. They appreciated limericks and riddles along with bright colors. Maddie was supposed to be in school and I had just finished closing a deal for a new client with my advertising company when I heard the crackling. I apologized as I vanished from the office, appearing in the forest again, this time next to a glade. 
 
 The scene was actually picture perfect. A small waterfall feeding into a natural pond which continued on as a brook, feeding the farmlands south of the area. I had actually been to this same area with Ryan years ago while in college. It was his favorite place to study, and he always brought the pixies chocolate coins which they always fought over, dueling with swords the size of needles before feigning death in hopes Ryan would take pity on the loser, which he did. Always. 
 
 I looked around the glade and found Maddie sitting on a rock, surrounded by several dozen pixies and Lorelian was tied down with an incalculable number or small tethers made from various grasses, hemps, and the like. The pixies were not happy, and then I noticed the wings… 
 
 Dozens of wings had been placed into a pile inside a small circle of rocks at the water ’ s edge. 
 
 “ Maddie! I swear— “ 
 
 “ Mom, it wasn ’ t me. Gods no! I swear, I came out to meet Lorelian and he had de-winged most of them before I arrived. He was… ” She began crying. 
 
 “ It ’ s alright…I don ’ t…I ’ ll get us out of this. ” 
 
 I looked around for a face I might recognize…I hoped they still recognized me…it had been a decade or so. 
 
 “ Mrs. Sommerfield, is that really you? ” a tiny voice called out near my right ear. 
 
 I turned, and saw the queen I had met so many years ago was still alive. I relaxed a little, “ Titania! Oh my, it has been too long! I am terribly sorry for the circumstances of this reunion. ” 
 
 “ Your daughter tells the truth, she has no party to this villainy, but she did try to free the elf child. We can not let this be. His acts are too grievous to go unpunished. ” 
 
 “ What would you do? ” I asked, in a hushed tone. 
 
 “ We have not decided yet, though some wish to remove an eye and an ear so that he may understand then hindrance he has placed upon so many of our brothers and sisters. Some wish more…permanent measures. ” 
 
 “ You would kill him? What about the truce you brokered with Galadriel? I know the boy ’ s actions carry serious consequences, but I would remind you of Ryan and all he did to help keep the forest in a peaceful stalemate. ” 
 
 “ You would ask us to release the boy unscathed? ” 
 
 I looked at Lorelian, still lying in the grass, face stricken with fear and eyes wet with tears, “ No. We are all free to act, we are not free of the consequences. Even elves must learn this, I know that. ” 
 
 “ Then leave us. Take your daughter. I shall do all I can to ensure the boy does not perish. ” 
 
 “ Thank you Titania. Please know, Ryan always cared for you deeply. Please, have this, ” I said, reaching into my pocket, handing over a locket. 
 
 “ Anya, I can not take this…it would be like taking your wings. ” 
 
 “ Then, perhaps, you can spare the boy some pain instead, ” I said, gently placing the locket on a stone. “ Come on Maddie, we have to leave now. ” 
 
 Maddie was silent the entire walk home. That was the last time she summoned me throughout the remainder of her high school years. I think she felt too guilty for what happened. 
 
 At her graduation, I presented her with a locket. In it, I had placed a picture of myself and her father. 
 
 “ Mom, I thought you had given this to Titania! How?! ” 
 
 “ Honey, I went back to see the Fae queen a few months later. I needed to know what happened to Lorelian. I don ’ t think I could have lived with myself if I didn ’ t at least know. ” 
 
 “ But, they let him go…they clipped his ears to make him look human was all…he said they all laughed at him after. ” 
 
 “ Yes, which, I mean, it is quite funny if you think about it from an elf ’ s perspective. However, Titania said it was you that convinced them to show mercy. She said all the elders looked at you and saw your father ’ s face. ” 
 
 “ What happened? You never talk about it. I ’ ve heard rumors, but mom, I just want to know how dad died… ” her voice trailed off. 
 
 “ Okay. I think you ’ re right. You deserve to know, especially before you head off to college. Your father was an avid magic user. He could duel with the best of them and was especially skilled at language learning and rune magic. And he loved the forest as much as I did, though for different reasons. I appreciated the flora, exploring all sorts of herbal remedies, poultices, etc. Anything non-magic I could do, I would. Your father though, he found the various forest races to be fascinating. He was actually instrumental in helping schools recognize students of any race deserved learning. He was not alone in this belief of course, but he was one of the most vocal. ” 
 
 “ Why did he care? He was a human. ” 
 
 “ Your father met Titania when he was fairly young. He says he was only 8 years old and was wandering around her pond when she appeared and asked him to never return. He gave her a chocolate coin instead—it was his favorite as a kid. ” 
 “ And they let him stay? ” 
 
 “ Eventually, but first, he had to help them out with the elves. You see, the elves would constantly follow game into the glade, the fae kingdom, and kill them regardless of location. They needed the meat and most of the hunters didn ’ t care where the food was caught so long as it fed more elves. ” 
 
 “ So, what happened to dad? ” 
 
 “ He went to talk to the two queens. He set up a meeting in a neutral area of the forest and negotiated terms of peace. He then decided he would camp out in the glade for the next week to ensure the treaty was upheld. ” 
 
 “ Did the elves kill him? ” 
 
 “ No, nothing like that. He was out there for the week, and then returned home. Upon returning home though, he said he wasn ’ t feeling well. We took him to the hospital. He had contracted a strain of fae flu, which in pixies is manageable, but in humans, it ’ s fatal. He couldn ’ t do anything. Even magic could save him. I was devastated. I went back to the fae and demanded to know why and how. I even threatened Titania. I was escorted out and asked never to return. ” 
 
 “ Just like that? ” 
 
 “ It was a threat on the queen. I deserved worse than simple exile. Titania wrote later to apologize and made sure you would be taken care of. She cared much for your father, almost as much as I did, though it was more of a motherly love. She thought of him as the son of the forest. ” 
 
 “ I miss him. ” 
 
 “ We both do, Maddie. ” I wrapped an arm around her, leading her out the door. “ How about we both head out there and enjoy some post-graduation celebrations? ” 
 
 “ Okay, but answer me this, all those times I summoned you, you never flinched, you never backed off. Why? ” 
 
 “ Because, regardless of the danger, Ryan would be doing the same if he were here. Beyond the love I have, beyond my own desires to make sure you are protected, I wanted you to understand the sort of bravery your father also carried with him. ” 

