Prince Rhys [mentioned], Princess Nancy, Ember and Chepi belongs to GeekyCookie1

Here's a fun little Avalonian translation here for all of you:
flormagi - seeker energy
Xaxaza ser lomos - force of mind, bend to my will
Lum-tastic - the light kingdom's play on "fantastic"

~~~~

One year later

"OUTRAGEOUS!"

Leaning against the throne that will (unfortunately) belong to him in a few years, the young prince looked at his suitor in boredom. "Please tell me you're done," the prince bluntly spoke, gesturing to the door as his suitor angrily gasped.

"Don't you know who I am!"

"Hmm... no and to be honest, I don't really care," the prince honestly stated to his suitor with a shrug. "I am Princess Aurelia of the Light Kingdom!" the princess snapped as the prince aggressively blinked.

"What part of I don't care did you not understand? You are a waste of time and you would be doing both of us a favor if you left right now," the prince shot back as he crossed his arms.

"Just because you're the prince of Fairytopia, Marcus, it does not give you the right to treat me with so much disrespect! I am a princess!" Aurelia angrily snapped but she didn't get under the prince's skin. If anything, he only laughed in her face, which made the princess angrier.

"You know what? You are absolutely right. You are a princess. Forgive me," the prince began before clearing his throat. "Castor!" the prince called out and seconds later, he spotted his faithful knight standing on duty. "Yes, Your Highness?" the knight greeted, which made him internally frown at the sound of hearing his royal title.

"Please escort Princess Aurelia out of the palace. Her visit is over and I hope to never see her again," he ordered the knight as the princess's eyes widened from disgust and disdain. As she began to protest against the whole matter, the prince smugly waved in her direction as Castor was able to succeed in getting the princess out of the palace.

When Castor arrived back inside the palace, the knight gave him a solemn look as he shook his head. "Your Highness, that is the third suitor this month you've rejected," he began as Marcus grinned.

"I know! I can probably reject five more suitors by the end of this month!" the prince excitedly answered. "Your parents are getting worried, sire," the knight pointed out as the prince sighed, now leaning back against the throne. It felt weird being on the throne when the prince felt he didn't earn it.

"Well, I don't see why I need to be looking for someone when I already had the perfect person in mind," the prince insisted as the knight sighed. "Your Highness, your pirate ex does not count," he gently explained as Marcus rolled his eyes before standing up as the knight began to follow him.

"I know, Castor, but he was the only one I loved," Marcus explained as he sighed, before facing his knight. "I know and I'm really sorry about the way you two turned out, but according to Avalonian law—" the knight began as Marcus solemnly sighed, already knowing what Castor was going with his statement.

"I must marry someone of royal blood. I know, Castor. Trust me, it's not like I've been told this law the first time," Marcus dully stated, now walking around the palace with a heavy sigh. "It's just... If I'm going to marry someone, shouldn't I marry for love?" he asked the knight, before turning to the fountain as he sat down.

"You should marry for love but—"

"I must follow the law like everyone else. I know, Castor. Again, it's not the first time I've told the law," Marcus solemnly interrupted the knight as he sighed, before facing the sky.

"You know, I'm one-hundred-and-seventeen now but I've never had a chance to see Fairytopia for what it is. That's tragic, right?" the prince continued, now adjusting himself as he sat straight.

"I've never left these palace walls and I don't think I have any ties with the common folk. All I have is you and occasionally Rhys when he comes over," Marcus continued with a sigh. "For once, I just want to know what it would be like to be free and explore the world outside of these walls. You know?" the prince followed up, turning to the knight who awkwardly stared at him.

"Fairytopia can be a mess and I don't really know, but it seems like you have a great life here," Castor gently stated as the prince's face fell. "Right," Marcus mumbled to himself with a heavy sigh.

"Your Highness—"

"You're excused, Castor. If I need you, then I'll summon you," Marcus told the knight, who reluctantly left. Now alone, the prince sighed as he lingered at the palace walls before standing up.

"You know what, I'm doing this. Today is the day that I go see Fairytopia for myself," he told himself as the prince flew to retrieve a cloak before teleporting himself out of the castle. As he stared at the castle from the outside, Marcus triumphantly smiled at his escape plan as he stealthily placed the cloak on.

"Goodbye, palace."

———————

As Castor left the prince alone, he returned to the throne area with a sigh before a few range of snickers trailed behind him. "Hey, errand-boy!" he heard a voice call out. "How long are you going to attend to the prince and his pity needs?" a voice mockingly called out as Castor rolled his eyes. Glancing over, Castor stared at the three knights that stood amongst each other.

"Of course, I would be stuck with Silvanus, Katsu and Aragon," Castor mumbled to himself as he stared at the three, the knight felt a sense of disgust towards the trio, which he knew stemmed from the fact they were responsible for drowning Aliya and robbing the girl of her wings when she was younger.

"I am not the prince's errand boy. Okay? Don't think I'm doing this out of courtesy. I dislike him as much as you three do, but he's still better than letting Ambrose take control of the throne," Castor firmly stated.

"Pfft," the three scoffed among each other. "Come on. You could join us, you know. The Senior Fae is still looking for recruiters and you're the best one out of everyone here. If you were within his ranks, I know we would have a better chance at overthrowing the palace from within," the three insisted.

"Right, so I can become a traitor like you three? You're lucky I'm still willing to keep your secrets," Castor sharply stated as the three knights reluctantly eyed each other before facing him.

"Thanks, but no thanks. I'm not going to throw my life away for some false hero, Katsu," the knight insisted.

Yet between his training and assisting the prince, it's been harder to spend time with Aliya and her siblings. He sighed, realizing he wanted to be with them. Anything had to be better than dealing with the prince, who couldn't comprehend how good his life was when all he had to do was simply pick a suitor.

But no!

Instead, the royal prince felt the need to complain about every suitor that entered those chamber doors and talked about freedom. Castor's eyes widened as he realized why he never liked Marcus. The prince reminded him of Jesse and the knight was never fond of the love fairy.

"I'll even look past your false hero comment," Katsu insisted as Castor simply scoffed, now crossing his arms. "You can keep the offer because I pass," he firmly stated as Katsu solemnly sighed before shaking his head.

"I know you're only disagreeing with me and my crew here because you let that wingless freak plague you with lies about The Senior Fae, so I'm still going to leave the offer on the table for you whenever you're ready to embrace the truth," Katsu insisted as Castor darkly eyed the knight.

"Aliya isn't a freak," he firmly stated as Katsu laughed. "Don't tell me you got feelings for the Fae-Maid now, Castor. That would break my heart to know my best friend has feelings for the social reject," he sarcastically stated as Castor rolled his eyes once more from Katsu's response.

"You and I are not best friends."

"No. You let the freak get inside your head and tell you lies, but I swear to break her hold over you," Katsu determinedly stated before looking at the knight with a solemn look. "So help me, I'll get the old you back and we will be best friends. I promise," he vowed before turning to his friends.

"Come on, let's go," Katsu told his friends as the three knights left. Alone in the palace, Castor solemnly sighed before he forced himself to go back to the prince. Surely, he had something for him to do. It was either that or he went back to training. So upon opening the palace doors that led to the outside area, the knight began looking.

"Your Highness?"

As Castor kept looking around, a sudden dread began to overwhelm him. Out of panic, the knight quickly looked at every room and possible hiding spot that would give the prince away, but to his dismay, the prince was no way to be seen. Without warning, the prince had just disappeared!

"Where could have the prince possibly gone?" Castor asked himself, trying not to stress as he began pacing back and forth. "Okay, Cas, calm down. You can still come back from this. If I was the prince, I would..." he began, only to trail off as he stared at the palace walls.

"For once, I just want to know what it would be like to be free and explore the world outside of these walls. You know?"

"... go outside of the palace walls!" the knight finished as he gasped at his own genius thinking. However, panic had quickly set in. "He went out of the palace walls!" he exclaimed, the panic now settling in.

"His parents are going to kill me if he gets hurt! Plus, he hasn't been outside before! The prince won't last out there on his own!" Castor exclaimed as he quickly began activating his bracelets.

"Hang on, Your Highness! I'm coming!"

~~~~~~~~~

"Stand up for justice! Stand up for the truth on my quest to change our laws!"

As the princess continued speaking to a empty crowd, the demigod was disheartened to see fellow bystanders walk past the podium and ignoring her words. So when she saw two girls passing by, the princess jumped at her chance.

"Hi! I'm Princess Nancy of the Light Kingdom and I was wondering if either of you were interested in joining the revolution against the Senior Fae," she began with a sense of perkiness. As the two girls looked at each other and back at her, only one of them had taken a step forward.

"Revolution?"

"Ember, no," the dark-skinned girl next to the fire faerie whispered, fixing her wavy hair to the side as Ember playfully rolled her eyes. "Yes! I'm protesting against electing the Senior Fae," she explained as the girl next to Ember scoffed. "Why? His laws are fine," the girl insisted as Nancy shook her head.

"The law is wrong," Nancy stated at once. "We need change to make things right. That's why I'm hoping by getting more people to go against the Senior Fae, we can actually work towards building a better community," she continued, observing as the two girls had vastly different views.

"Crystal, we have to join the revolution! If what she's saying is true, then we really can work on building a better Avalon!" Ember excitedly began, only to frown when the girl next to her shook her head.

"Em, I love you but I'm not rebelling against the Senior Fae," her girlfriend told her, much to Ember's disappointment. "If you want to, I will support your decision, but leave me out of it. I'm not trying to get on his bad side," the water faerie continued before flying off.

"I'll think about it," Ember softly told the princess before curtsying in the demigod's direction. "Thanks for informing the public though! I loved your presentation!" she added as the fire faerie took off. "Crystallia, wait!" Ember called out to her girlfriend, before she too left.

"Well, at least I got something. That's better than nothing, I guess," Nancy mumbled as her eyes went towards one of the girls passing. Naturally, the princess and demigod teleported her way directly in front of the nature faerie.

"Hi! My name is Princess Nancy of the Light Kingdom and I was wondering if you were interested in joining the revolution against the Senior Fae," she cheekily said as the faerie eyed the princess before shrugging. "Sure, why not? Besides, you remind me of someone I used to know," the faerie said as Nancy grinned.

"Lum-tastic!" Nancy happily exclaimed with her grin growing larger. "Just sign here," she said, snapping her fingers as a signature list appeared. When the faerie signed her name, the list reappeared in the demigod's possession.

Chepi.

"Thank you for signing up, Chepi," Nancy followed up as the nature faerie grinned. "Any time. The world needs change to grow and more importantly, we need less of the Senior Fae, so... I have no problem being in your revolution," she responded with a grin. "Well, I should go. Best of luck on your recruitment though!" Chepi cheekily told the demigod princess, who smiled.

"Thanks."

~~~~~~~~

As Chepi began to leave, she made her way to the marketplace on her way home when she spotted a distinctive face in the crowd.

"Aali?"

The girl's ears perked up and not long after, she had turned to face her. As she stared at her, her eyes widened. "Epi?" the girl curiously asked as Chepi smiled upon hearing her nickname.

"Aali!"

Now grinning, the two faeries ran to hug each other as the two bumped their elbows, wiggled their hands and fist-bump each other. "It is you!" the two cried out with sheer joy, laughing afterwards. "I can't believe you still remembered our secret handshake!" the two followed up in the midst of their laughter.

"You know her, Aliya?"

"Jax! Lily, this is Chepi! She's one of the first friends I met," Aliya began with a grin as she turned to face Chepi. "Epi, meet Jaxon and Lillian, my siblings," she followed up as Chepi smiled.

"Hi, it's trees to meet you," the nature faerie greeted before noticing the two's confusing looks. "It's how we nature faeries and elves say nice to meet you," Chepi later explained, noticing the nods from her friend's siblings.

"Oh!" Jaxon and Lillian sheepishly exclaimed at once, looking bashfully at each other before facing her. "In that case, it's trees to meet you too!" the two followed up before shaking hands with her.

"Aali, you never mentioned having siblings!" Chepi teasingly exclaimed with a shock, though she was somewhat offended that her friend felt the need to keep Jaxon and Lillian a secret. "I could have probably met the two sooner had I known!" the nature faerie followed up as Aliya and her siblings chuckled.

"We just became Aliya's siblings like last year, so...." Jaxon and Lillian briefly began as Aliya hugged the two. "Yep! I'm their adoptive eldest sister!" Aliya proudly announced as Jaxon rolled their eyes.

"I'm older than you by six months," Jaxon pointed out. "Plus, I'm younger than you by six months, so you have been demoted to the adoptive middle child," Lillian added as Chepi laughed at Aliya's playful huffing. "Fine, I'm the middle child," Aliya corrected, much to the joy of Jaxon and Lillian.

"Oh! Princess Nancy is recruiting people for a revolution against the Senior Fae. Were you two going to sign up?" Chepi curiously asked before turning to Aliya. "I don't even think I have to ask you," she said as Aliya's eyes lit up mischievously. Chepi chuckled from her friend's reaction.

"I heard against the Senior Fae, so you already know I'm going to sign up. Anything to stop Ambrose from coming into power is better than nothing," Aliya responded as she grinned.

"Fae-Maid, you are under arrest on the account of treason against the Senior Fae!" the four heard as the nature faerie glanced over to see an officer approaching the four, which made Chepi look at Aliya, who groaned from frustration.

"I haven't even sign the demigod princess's petition yet!" Aliya angrily shot back as she sighed. "Well, it was great catching up with you, Epi, but as you can see, I have to go... again," she reluctantly added as Chepi blinked. "Again?" the nature faerie repeated before laughing.

"Actually, I'm not really surprised anymore. I mean, you were always escaping from the authorities ever since we met," Chepi added as Aliya chuckled. "Yeah, I guess you could say I'm a escape artist," the girl joked. "Well, I should get going. If I don't leave soon, I will land myself in trouble," Aliya explained as Chepi laughed.

"Trouble? No. You're only in trouble if you get caught," Chepi cheekily explained as her friend nodded. "Hence why I am now leaving," Aliya swiftly countered back as Chepi giggled. "Do you want me and your siblings to buy you some time?" the nature faerie offered as Aliya's eyes softened.

"That's sweet, Epi, but you don't—"

"Nah, I insist. Plus, it's been a while since I had a chance to use my powers for rebelling purposes," Chepi softly explained as she smiled at Aliya, who hesitated. "But what about your reputation? Won't people freak out when they learn you're siding with the freak?" the faerie pointed out as Chepi scoffed.

"Aliya, you are not a freak and I don't really care about my reputation, not when there's a possibility that you could be in danger," Chepi softly explained. "Plus, my friends will always come first. I thought you knew that by now," she followed up as Aliya sheepishly but shyly smiled.

"Yeah, but I still find it hard to believe that a rich nature faerie is helping someone like me," Aliya later admitted as she awkwardly glanced away from her. Chepi briefly sighed at her friend's answer before shaking her head.

"Aliya, you should know I'm always going to be your side. No matter what. You're my friend and we stick together," she softly explained, touching the girl's shoulder with a gentle but soft firm as Chepi saw Aliya's eyes softened at her words. "Thanks, Chepi," Aliya sincerely said as the nature faerie grinned.

"Any time. Now, go get a move on," Chepi insisted as her siblings teleported to hug their sister. "Try not to get into any more trouble," she overheard Aliya's siblings say as the girl laughed.

"Jax, Lily, I'll be fine. Plus, it's like Epi said. You're only in trouble if you get caught," she heard the girl softly assured her siblings, turning to face her with a smile as Chepi grinned.

"Besides, neither of you should be scared. Okay? I never stay in a prison cell for long," she heard Aliya tell her siblings, who eyed her with a level of concern and skepticism, but Chepi came to her defense.

"This is true. If she's not out-smarting the guards, then she's escaping from her prison cell. I would trust her words. Your sister has never been caught and when she does get caught, she tends to escape from the Senior Fae's men pretty easily," the nature faerie explained, softly smiling when she saw Aliya's smug grin.

"You see? I'll be fine," the girl assured her siblings, who were still unsure. "I see her!" the four heard one of the officer yell out as his eyes were focused only on Aliya, who blinked. "Guards, don't let the Fae-Maid out of your sight!" the officer exclaimed as Aliya awkwardly chuckled.

"I might be in trouble after all," Aliya reluctantly admitted as Chepi chuckled. "You're only in trouble when you're caught, remember?" the nature faerie reminded her with a smile. "I know, but—" she began, only to get interrupted by Chepi, who smiled in her direction.

"Hey, your siblings and I will buy you some time, Aali. Okay? You're not getting caught on my watch. However when all of this is over, I want to formally catch up with you, so we can talk about everything," the nature faerie insisted as she eyed the girl's gloves, to which Aliya pretended not to notice.

"Good luck, Aali," Chepi told her as she saw Aliya's smile in her direction. "Thanks and best of luck to you and my siblings against them," she said, gesturing to the officer and the guards. "Oh, your siblings and I won't need luck. We got this, just do your part and don't get caught," Chepi boasted as Aliya chuckled. "Okay, if you say so," she said before thanking her again.

Once Aliya took off, Chepi eyed the girl's siblings, whose gemstones began to glow. "Are you two sure you're ready for this?" the nature faerie asked as Jaxon and Lillian nodded at her question. "Yep!" the two answered as the nature faerie smirked as her gemstone began to glow.

"Let's do this."

~~~~~~~~~~~

On her own, Aliya slipped into the shadows as she sighed in relief. "Finally. I thought I would never lose them," she said, only to frown and groan from frustration when the girl was spotted.

"I found her!" one of the guards called out as Aliya saw a group of roughly ten men and the officer start running toward her hiding spot. "I must really be special if it takes ten of you and an officer to get me," Aliya sarcastically mocked the group as the girl quickly began climbing the walls.

Once she was inside one of the buildings, Aliya glanced down to see the guards looking dumbfounded, much to the officer's annoyance, who angrily snapped. "What are you idiots doing just standing there?" the officer insisted, gesturing to her as she smirked, now waving.

"Get her!" the officer angrily ordered as Aliya promptly bowed and took her leave, not wanting to stick around any longer. As the wingless faerie ran across the building, she had bumped into several Avalonians, who all mocked her as she apologized for getting in their way.

"I blame the girl's parents for her upbringing. She's a hazard to our society," the girl overheard one of the women say as Aliya's face briefly fell, before she shook her head and kept going. So when she came across the top of the roof, Aliya took a deep breath before a few guards suddenly 'poof' their way into appearing.

"We have you at last!" the guards spoke, raising their swords as Aliya smugly smirked as she spotted a clothesline. When she faced the guards, Aliya faked a defenseless look as she began backing away.

"Oh, no. You guys caught me. Whatever am I supposed to do?" she feigned, maintaining a helpless tone though her voice was dripping in sarcasm as the guards scoffed. "You will have the honor of coming with us, Fae-Maid, as you attest to your crimes over the years," the guards firmly stated as Aliya rolled her eyes.

"My actions were pity at best, but I wouldn't refer to my deeds as crimes," Aliya insisted as she faced the guards. "Besides, can't we all just get along? I mean, I'm just like all of you," she followed up as the guards glanced at each other and back at Aliya before all of the guards crackled at her response.

"You? Like us? Fae-Maid, you are nothing like us! You are extremely reckless! You are a disgrace to our society. Besides, you are nothing more than a traitor, a thief, a street rat, a freak and a scourge at best," the guards insisted as Aliya kept her smug look, masking the inner pain she felt from the insults.

"Well, this has been fun, but I should get going," Aliya cheekily responded with a grin as she saluted the guards. "See ya," she said, winking as she let herself fall. When she saw the guards peer over, Aliya was already halfway down from using the clothesline as her exit.

With another bow, Aliya took off once again. This time, she had the unfortunate luck of being discovered by more guards. "I thought there was only ten of you," she insisted as the leader scoffed.

"You're such a handful that the Senior Fae specifically requested that all guards be on the lookout for you," the leader of the guards firmly stated, raising his sword as Aliya awkwardly chuckled. "How many guards are out for me, specifically?" she asked as the guard smirked.

"Fifty."

Adding the amount of guards she dealt with so far plus the additional ones led her to roughly thirty. She had about twenty more guards to face... great. All of this over a petition to revolt against Ambrose. She nearly laughed, but she couldn't anything humorous about her situation.

"Of course he would," Aliya mumbled as she shook her head, just as the leader smirked in her direction. "Now that we finally have you cornered, Fae-Maid, the Senior Fae will be proud that we captured the town's nuisance troublemaker once and for all," he spoke as she laughed.

"Sure, keep dreaming," Aliya insisted, knocking down a few barrels before she resumed her never-ending race to out-run the guards and the officer. It seemed like the growth of the Senior Fae's forces never ended! Even when she managed to escape the guards who managed to get past the barrels, she was faced with another set of obstacles just as a new set of guards (which were roughly ten) and the officer spotted her.

"Get her!"

"Just give up!" Aliya yelled to the guards as she sighed in annoyance. "Never! We won't stop until we have you captured and executed for your crimes against all of Avalon and the Senior Fae!" the guards exclaimed as the girl's eyes widened.

"He wants me executed? Seriously? I might have done stupid things, sure, but being executed? Don't any of you think that's a bit much? Even for his standards?" she followed up, but the guards were more interested in hunting her down as though she was a threat that had to be exterminated from this world.

Shaking her head, Aliya resumed her running and as she skillfully jumped over a stream of cloud puffles, a series of solidified cloud-like animals with a fuzzy-like structure. As the faerie reached the end to see some of the guards weren't so lucky. She thought about laughing until she saw some of the guards making their way through. So once again, she went on the run.

When one of the guard's swords landed against the wall, Aliya leaped herself from the sword and performed a summersault over the magician struggling to perfect his latest magic trick as she landed on her legs, watching as the guards were caught in a slippery, tar-like substance as they were all stuck sliding and failing to stand up.

As her eyes widened from the sight, Aliya glanced back to see the magician giving her a wink. With a smile, she thanked the magician before she took off, making a mental note get his name. Now in the clear (for once), Aliya could feel the exhaustion start to kick in as she wasn't used to dealing with this amount of guards. She was about to give in when Aliya heard a dark snarl.

"Are you trying to steal from me, boy?"

Glancing over to her left, Aliya saw a cloaked stranger hand an apple over to a kid, only to get caught in the process. "N.. No, sir. I just saw the kid was hungry. I.. I have money at my place. I can go get it and..." she overheard the male weakly defend himself as a part of her wanted to go help him.

However, Aliya shook her head, telling herself not to get involved when she saw a few guards patrolling the area. "I don't want your money," she heard the vendor darkly state as Aliya saw the sword being raised. "I think I'll take something else from you instead," she heard the vendor tell the boy.

So when she got closer, she caught the boy's eyes widen as he saw the fruit seller raise his sword. As the boy closed his eyes, Aliya pulled him close just as the sword dropped on the wood. "You can open your eyes, kid," she told the boy, who did so. While she had smiled, the moment faded when the two heard a growl.

"You. I should have known," the vendor bitterly stated as Aliya blinked. "Calm down, I have your money right here," she bluntly insisted, knowing the cost of the apple as she held the eight golden coins [each one representing the face of the fallen heroes] toward the vendor.

"Just leave the kid out of this. It was a simple mistake and he didn't know any better," Aliya insisted as the vendor darkly chuckled. "Word on the street is you're wanted by the Senior Fae himself," he began, pausing as the vendor collected the coins as Aliya crossed her arms while the boy looked on.

"It would bring me great pleasure to see you punished, street rat," the vendor spoke as she scoffed. "You don't have to be dramatic now. Me and the kid was just leaving," she insisted, preparing to leave when the vendor grabbed her arm. "Oh, I don't think so," he insisted as she caught the sight of sheer delight in his eyes.

"Guards! Guards! I have her! The Fae-Maid is here!" the vendor sharply called out, his loud voice alerting the guards as Aliya blinked. Then a flash of anger crossed over her face as she punched the vendor in his face. In pain, the vendor released his grip on her as Aliya retrieved two apples.

"You thief!" the vendor angrily exclaimed, preparing to grab her when Aliya sharply placed his sword on the vendor's sleeve, keeping him in place. "You will pay for this, street rat!" he snapped as she rolled her eyes, cleaning one of the apples before she turned to the cloaked male, who looked less frightened.

"Here. You're going to need it," she said, shoving the apple in the boy's hands. "I see her! Men, get her!" she heard the guards exclaim as Aliya rolled her eyes. "Come on," she said, grabbing the boy's arm. "I'm not coming with you," the boy insisted as she laughed.

"You don't really have much of a choice," she strictly told him, which was only enforced when the guards spotted them. "That's her! The Fae-Maid and her accomplice harassed me and then stole from my stand!" the vendor angrily exclaimed as Aliya saw the boy's eyes widened.

"B... But I... I'm n... not—" the boy began, trying to defend himself, only to stop when he saw the swords. "Get them!" the leader of his section exclaimed as Aliya rolled her eyes before she gripped the boy's arm. "Come on. These idiots don't listen to reason," she told the boy before turning to the vendor.

"For the record, we paid but since you want to be rude, you had it coming!" she snapped before grabbing the boy's arm as the two took off.

"After them!"

~~~~~~~~~~

On his first day of finally obtaining freedom, Marcus wasn't expecting to be running from the Senior Fae's guards or even being an accomplice to a girl who was literally a wanted fugitive.

When the prince had leaned against the wall for a break, the girl grabbed his arm, lifting him up. "You can't stop. Believe me, I've tried and the guards just kept coming," the girl instructed as he stared at her. "Why does the Senior Fae want you?" he asked her as the girl shrugged.

"I don't know. First, it was being wanted for treason on the account of betraying Avalon and Ambrose for wanting to participate in a revolution against him. Then, it was to pay for every 'crime' I committed, so it could be anything and everything at this point," she admitted with a exhaustive sigh as she held her head.

"Hey, are you alright?" Marcus asked as the girl dismissively waved off his concerns, much to his annoyance. "Yeah, I... I'm fine," she said, almost faintly before her body began to sway. Out of pure fear and instinct, he caught her from falling. "Hey, I got you," he insisted, helping her stand.

"Thanks," she sincerely said as Marcus smiled in her direction. "Sorry about getting you involved in my mess though," she followed up as he brushed off her apology. "I think we have a lead against the guards now, so you're more than welcome to leave," she told him as the girl tried to stand, only to fall back onto his arms.

"Yeah, I'm not leaving you. Especially in this state," Marcus firmly told her as he saw the girl look at him in confusion. "Why?" the girl puzzling asked as the prince blinked, as if he thought his answer was quite obvious.

"No offense, but you look exhausted. Plus, if I end up leaving you, who's going to come to your aid?" Marcus followed up as the girl tiredly chuckled. "I'll be fine. Eventually, the guards will have to get tired. By then, maybe I'll get lucky and they'll stop chasing me," she told him.

"Plus, this isn't the first time I've been in this position. I've been out-running the Senior Fae and his men since well... forever, I guess," she began with a low, quiet chuckle. "The whole mess started during my changeling years after the gift ceremony turned out to be a disaster for me," she continued with a sigh.

"I must have gotten on his nerves with my lack of magic, because ever since then, he's been trying to peg me down for something," she explained as the prince blinked at her response.

"You're magic-less?" Marcus asked in shock as she chuckled. "Yep. I'm magic-less and wing-less," she answered, gesturing to her lack of wings. "Wait, so you've been beating the Senior Fae and his guards without any use of magic or wings?" the prince asked as he laughed.

"You must truly be one of a kind if you can single-handedly make the Senior Fae and his men look like idiots," he continued, frowning when he heard her wince. "Hey, are you alright?" Marcus concernedly asked, fearful that the girl was really going to collapse on the second time.

"I'm fine," the girl dismissively told him again as Marcus crossed his arms. "Really, I'm fine," she repeated once more before sighing. "It's just Ambrose usually doesn't send so many of his men to hunt me down. I'm accustomed to seeing ten, many even twenty of his men, but never fifty," the girl admitted. "Plus, it doesn't help that this is the longest chase I've endured, so I'm pretty sure I'm just tired at this point, but I'll be fine," she insisted before looking at him.

"Thanks for what you said, though," the girl said before blinking. "I don't think I ever got your name, actually," she awkwardly admitted as he chuckled. "Marcus," the prince answered, seeing how his birthmark was well-hidden from her eyes. He was positive his name was common, so there was no way she could guess at his true identity.

"Marcus..." she repeated before looking at him. "Wait, is your name Marcus as in the Prince Marcus of Fairytopia?" the girl followed up as the prince's eyes widened at her answer. "What makes you say that?" the prince briefly asked, awkwardly coughing as she raised an eyebrow.

"Well aside from your odd response just now, you're wearing a cloak, which means you must be trying to conceal your identity. Plus, you didn't seem to know how things work at the marketplace, so I can safely assume it was your first time being in Fairytopia, just from how you interacted with the vendor," she answered with a shrug.

"O... Oh. I... I'm n.. not..."

"Come on. The place isn't much further," she said, moving on as she began to climb before holding out her hand to him. Once he held her hand, the girl lift him up as she retrieved a long stick from the side of the wall.

"Um, I have to cross that way, but you're more than welcome to fly over there," she said, pointing to the other side of the building. "It won't take me long," she added as Marcus crossed his arms.

"Hand me a stick. I'll learn from you," he insisted as she blinked. "Um... are you sure?" she slowly asked and Marcus thought she was going to act differently, which made the prince nervous as he didn't want to deal with his prince-like status.

However when she began to laugh, he sighed in relief. "I mean, you just don't look like the athletic type," she pointed out, gesturing to the prince's scrawny arms as he faked a offended gasp. "Plus, it's a long jump and I just don't think your legs could handle the long distance," she continued as Marcus laughed.

"Is that a challenge?" he asked, now grinning as she smirked. "Maybe, maybe not," she teased as he laughed, opening his mouth before blinking. "I never got your name," he sheepishly admitted as she chuckled. "The name's Aliya," she cheekily answered as he smiled.

"Well, Aliya, feel free to hand me a stick because I bet I can out-do you," Marcus began as the girl raised an eyebrow in his direction. "Hmm... I don't know. You don't look like you'll last long," she said as he scoffed at her response. "I mean... Unless you're scared of a little competition," he cockily continued as she blinked.

"See? Now, that's a challenge," Aliya cheekily complimented, smirking in his direction as she tossed the prince a long stick, to which Marcus caught with ease. "Alright, since you think you can handle it, I'll show you how to start," the girl said, holding onto her stick. "Then, we can see who does the jump better," Aliya continued, before turning to face him.

"Deal?" she followed up. As Aliya held her hand out to him, Marcus looked at her before he smirked. "It's a deal," he told the girl, now shaking her hand. "Okay, so the process is slightly tricky, but the key is balance and timing," she explained as she straightened her stick.

"Try to visualize the length between the next wall from here using the stick as a tool," she said, leaning the stick down as Aliya measured the distance before grinning as she picked up her stick.

"Now once you have the length in mind, everything comes down to your jump. Try to get the best height as you can possibly get and make sure to lean the stick at a good angle, so you won't fall," she continued as she looked at him.

"Did you get all of that?"

"Got it."

"Okay, I'll demonstrate and then, we can go from there."

As Marcus took a step back, he witnessed the girl take a deep breath as she ran before jumping as the stick landed on the wall in a slightly acute angle. As she leaped to the other side of the wall, she tugged at the stick which came to her side moments later as Aliya landed on the other side.

"Whoa," Marcus whispered in awe, realizing she would be great as his instructor, if he could ever get someone to teach him how to fight. Plus, she had the athleticism to stay on par with the royal knights in the Crownsguard. Granted, his statement was a stretch since Marcus hasn't seen her with a sword, but he was tempted into inviting Aliya to the Trials of Avalon next year.

Aliya seemed like a worthy candidate to participate and he wouldn't be surprised if she actually ended up winning the tournament. Plus, the Crownsguard needed a knight who was actually from Fairytopia that knew the locals.

Maybe, the people didn't like her now but they all certainly knew her and maybe, if she won next year, then people would gravitate towards her and he could get the people to like him through her.

"Now you try!"

Snapping out of his thoughts, Marcus took a deep breath and gripped onto his stick just as a thought came to mind. If Aliya kept staring at him, he was never going to get the move right, so he needed to distract her. "Hey! I don't think I can do it!" Marcus called out to her.

"Use your wings then!"

"My wings aren't working!" Marcus lied as the girl shook her head. "Hang on! I'll make a bridge for you then," she insisted, turning her back as Aliya went to retrieve a wooden plank. With the girl distracted, he took a deep breath and began to follow her advice as he began to visualize and measure the length of the next distance.

By the time, Aliya came back and began working on angling the wooden plank correctly, she was preoccupied not to focus on him. So taking this opportunity, Marcus began to run before he jumped.

"You see, the thing about planks is..." the prince heard her, only to trail off and stop as Aliya looked up to see Marcus achieving a higher jump than her as he landed onto the rooftop with a smirk. "Whoa," he heard the girl say in awe, which made him grin as he wasn't sure the last time he was actually able to impress someone.

"I told you I could do it," Marcus cockily told her as the prince saw the girl blinking. "Y.. Yeah. You... um you definitely proved me wrong," she truthfully admitted as the prince laughed at her response. "Well, I'm a fast learner," he smugly told her, tossing the stick back to Aliya, who caught the item.

When Marcus glanced back, he saw Aliya was staring at him with admiration. At first, he was confused until the prince realized that he had impressed her with his jump and the prince found himself grinning.

"Speechless?" Marcus lightly teased as he saw Aliya awkwardly cough. "S... Something like that," she later admitted. "Never thought I would see the day I find myself getting beat by a newcomer, but here we are," she followed up, now grinning. "Good job," she told him as he chuckled.

"How close are we to your place?" Marcus asked as she grinned. "We're almost there," she said, gesturing to the wall as the prince looked on. "All we have to do is climb up and go through those stairs," she continued as Marcus nodded. "Sounds easy enough," he insisted, walking beside her as the two began to climb.

When Aliya got to the top, she held her hand out as she pulled him up. "Thanks," Marcus told her as she nodded. "No problem," she casually told him as he began to follow her.

As the two looked around to make sure they weren't being followed, Marcus and Aliya went through the stairs and made their way to the top, where she pulled a sheet back as Marcus entered her space. "Um, it's not much but welcome to my hideout," she said as he frowned at the sight of the palace.

"Your view is the palace."

"Eh, I find the exterior to be relaxing," Aliya admitted as he laughed. "Well, I've been inside and it's not the best," Marcus confessed, glancing back to see her raised eyebrow again. "Do people treat you badly or something?" she slowly followed up as the prince sighed before he sat down while Aliya leaned against the wall.

"People don't take me seriously and I think that's why I get annoyed," he admitted as she nodded. "Maybe, they just never got to see the real you," she said with a shrug as Marcus glanced over to see her staring at the palace.

"I mean everyone just sees me as some kind of street rat whose a nuisance to society, as if being magic-less and wingless was suddenly my fault," Aliya bitterly stated before she sighed. "That's all people ever think about when they see me and because of that, I'm never taken seriously. So I can relate," she continued as Marcus stared at her.

"I don't think you're a street rat," Marcus softly said as she looked up from her view to look at him. "I think if anything, you and I are just two individuals who got stuck with the world's terrible perception of how people perceive us. I'm sure if Fairytopia got to know us better, their opinions would change," he optimistically told her as she briefly chuckled.

"Maybe for you, but I've seen Fairytopia long enough to know people don't change," she admitted before her eyes widened. "Actually, you might be right after all," Aliya later corrected, a small smile forming. "So, Mars—" she followed up, only for the prince to interrupt her. "Mars?" Marcus curiously asked.

"Yeah, it's my nickname for you," she dismissively said before cautiously eyeing him. "I mean, unless you don't like it. I'm sure I can think of something else," Aliya followed up as Marcus happily laughed. "No, it's perfect!" he exclaimed, now grinning. "Mars. My first nickname," he said, his grin growing larger.

"Your first nickname? That can't be true. A guy like you has got to have like a couple nicknames at least," she insisted as he shook his head. "Oh come on," she said, looking at him in disbelief. "Watch. You're about to say you don't have any friends either," she added as Marcus quietly chuckled.

"I have a friend and his name is Rhys," Marcus admitted before realizing that he would indirectly expose himself as a prince. "Maybe Castor, but that's a stretch because I don't think the knight likes me very much," the prince continued as Aliya looked at Marcus.

"That's it?"

"Yeah..."

"I'll be your friend," Aliya softly offered, now moving closer as she moved to be next to him. "You want to be friends with me?" he asked as she chuckled. "Yes, Mars. I want to be friends with you," the girl stubbornly insisted in a honest and sincere tone as Marcus looked at her before he smiled.

"Okay. I would love to have you as a friend," he said as the two shook hands. "You said you knew Rhys?" she followed up as Marcus nodded. "Yeah, I tend to talk to him when he comes to the palace..." he began, only to trail off as Marcus caught himself too late, glancing over to see Aliya's smug grin.

"Aha! I knew it. You are Prince Marcus of Fairytopia!"

"W... Wait, I... I'm n.. not—"

"Look, it doesn't matter if you're a prince. You're still a person like the rest of us and I think people forget that," she dismissively answered as Marcus stared at her in shock, unable to speak.

"You're not going to bow down to me or start referring to me by my titles?" he slowly asked, almost hesitating as she chuckled. "No... I mean, unless you want me to," she said with a shrug. "I can see Rhys liked you now," he said with a grin as she turned to face him.

"He doesn't hate me?" Aliya curiously asked as Marcus blinked before laughing. "No, he doesn't hate you! Where did you get that idea?" he asked as she shrugged. "We just quit talking to each other, so I just assumed he hated me," she admitted as Marcus shook his head.

"No, if anything, he misses you a lot. Plus, he thinks you hate him," Marcus countered back as Aliya's eyes widened. "What? I never hated him. Where did he get that idea?" she asked, now laughing.

"Rhys thinks you hated him because you had stopped talking to him over that night," he explained as Aliya shook her head. "Well, if you see Rhys, can you let him know I don't hate him? Also, if it's not much of a stretch, could you tell Rhys that I miss him too?" she requested as Marcus nodded. "I'll be sure to tell him," he said as Aliya smiled in his direction

"Thanks."

Grinning, Marcus went to search for his apple before he frowned. "I must have dropped my apple in the midst of running," he said as Aliya playfully shook her head. "You can have mine," she said, trickling an apple down her back before using her elbow to toss the apple to him.

"Cool trick," Marcus lightly complimented, catching the apple as Aliya's eyes lit up from his compliment. "Thanks! I had to convince Castor to teach me," she confessed as his ears perked up. "Castor does tricks?" he curiously asked as she nodded. "Yeah! He loves doing tricks," she said as he sighed.

"Castor sounds like a cool person. I just wish he wasn't annoyed by me," Marcus later admitted as Aliya gave him a sympathetic smile. "Hey, I'm sure the knight will come around once he sees the real you," she softly assured him as the prince smiled in her direction.

"Thanks. You know, you're pretty different from the others. I'm glad I got to meet you," Marcus softly said as Aliya grinned. "Yeah, me too. You're definitely not what everyone made you out to be," she softly said in turn and before he could ask what she meant by her statement, the two heard footsteps.

Glancing at each other, Marcus and Aliya stood up as the two blinked upon seeing the knight.

"Castor?"

~~~~~~~~~~

"Castor?"

Upon staring at his crush and the prince who was certainly not supposed to be out of the palace, he debated between who to address first. So in the end, he looked at the prince and bowed out of respect.

"Your Highness, I've come to bring you home," Castor insisted as Marcus blinked. "How did you know I was even here?" Marcus asked as the knight referenced his one bracelet as Aliya glanced at her arm, which had the second bracelet. "That's pretty smart using me as a tracker. I honestly forgot I had your bracelet still," she admitted as he saw the prince frown.

"Do I have to go back?" Marcus asked as Castor briefly nodded at the prince. "Yes, you have to go back to the palace," the knight insisted as Aliya blinked. "Surely, he could stay a little bit longer, can he?" she asked as he blinked.

"No. Anyways, Aliya, what are you doing with the prince?" he followed up as his crush and Marcus glanced at each other. "Well... um, that's a rather long story," she admitted as the three heard footsteps. "Um, Castor, you didn't have anyone following you, right?" the two asked as the knight scratched the back of his neck.

"I don't think so... why?"

At that moment, Castor eyed Aliya at once. "What did you do?" he asked as she lightly scoffed at his response. "I didn't do anything this time," she corrected, now crossing her arms. "Ambrose sent that idiotic officer and his guards to track me down because I was apparently betraying the Senior Fae by wanting to participate in a revolution against him," she began as he blinked.

"That doesn't make sense..."

"Exactly! Anyways, I was just expecting ten or at least twenty because that's what I'm used to seeing but from what I counted, I must have dealt with at least forty guards before I found Marcus on the verge of having his hand chopped off," she explained as his eyes widened.

"So, I dragged Mars and we were both able to get away," she continued as the knight shook his head. "Though granted, I was told there were fifty. So, ten more guards are missing," she said as he blinked.

"Mars?"

"It's my nickname for the prince," Aliya explained as the prince grinned. "I got my first nickname, Cas!" Marcus happily told him as Castor stared at the two, confused on why (or even how) his crush got that remotely closed to the prince within a few hours [not even a day] of meeting him.

"Okay, Aliya, you have to explain everything to me later because none of this is making any sense," Castor truthfully admitted as Aliya nodded. "Fair enough," she simply said as the three heard the sound of wood being knocked down. "I hear voices from the top! I bet the Fae-Maid and the boy are there!" the three heard as Castor awkwardly stared at the two.

"Okay, so maybe I might have been followed...."

"Cas!" Aliya exclaimed, now whispering as she facepalmed herself. "I thought you said you weren't followed!" she and Marcus added, maintaining their whispered voices as Castor sheepishly smile.

"Technically, I said I don't think so," Castor clarified, but the intense stares of his crush and the prince was not helping the situation. "Sorry," he added as Marcus paced back and forth. "What are we going to do?" he asked as Aliya took a deep breath, staring at him and the prince.

"Okay, there's a way out of this," Aliya stated as she ran to the only exit from the hideout. "Marcus, I need you to jump down and use your wings," she insisted as Castor's eyes widened.

"Aliya, are you crazy! The prince can't jump! He'll get himself hurt!" the knight insisted as she blinked. "Cas, trust me. I've seen him in action. He's fine," she assured him but Castor only shook his head. "No, no, no. Absolutely not!" he protested as Marcus stared at her.

"Are you sure about this?"

"Yes."

"Aliya, the prince is helpless as it is!" Castor stubbornly insisted as she climbed onto the top of the ceiling. "Cas, if you actually let him do this, you'll see that he's not helpless," she insisted, grabbing onto a carpet as she jumped back down. "You say you could trust me, remember? I need you to trust me now," she said as Castor winced, trying not to let his fears get the best of him.

"Hey, Aliya wouldn't let me get hurt. Just trust her. I can do this," Marcus firmly said as Castor stared at Aliya and eventually sighed. "Okay. I'm trusting that you don't get the prince killed, because then that means the end of my life as I know it," he told her as she nodded.

"I swear to you, Cas, no one will touch him," Aliya firmly stated and as Castor stared at her eyes, he found nothing but pure seriousness. "You have my word as a faerie, I will not let anyone harm him," she continued, a faint glow appearing as his eyes widened.

"Did you just bend yourself to a faerie oath?" Castor asked as she nodded. "It's the only way you would believe me," she insisted as the knight blinked. "What do you want me to do?" he asked.

"Take care of the guards."

"What!"

"Cas, it's not like you work with the guards... or at least, I would hope you don't work with them," she insisted, fanning the carpet out. "Why don't you deal with the guards?" Castor pointed out as she bluntly stared at him.

"If I deal with the guards, I'm going to get sent to a prison cell and executed by Ambrose because I've been outrunning his men all day that I doubt I have any more energy in me to run anymore as a wanted fugitive," she insisted as he facepalmed. "You didn't tell me you were a wanted fugitive!" he whispered as she cheekily grinned.

"Come on. That's the charm," she teased and Castor found it impossible to stay mad at her any longer. "What are you going to do with the carpet?" he asked as her eyes lit up at the question. "Fly out in style," she answered with pure passion. "A bit dramatic, don't you think?" he teased.

"Hmm, maybe, but it's either I use the carpet or I plunge straight to my death," she pointed out as Castor eyed her. "You know, I wouldn't let you plunge straight to your death right?" he asked as she nodded. "That's exactly why I'm using the carpet," she said as Marcus stared at her.

When she nodded, Marcus jumped down as Castor and Aliya rushed to the edge just as the prince activated his faerie wings, landing on the ground safely. "Aha! I knew it! Your wings did work after all!" she called out and Castor sworn he heard the prince laugh for the first time since he was assigned to assist him.

More so, Marcus was able to survive the fall. Maybe, the prince wasn't so helpless after all....

"In here!"

"That's my cue to go," Aliya cheekily told the knight, who had briefly held her hand. "Be okay," he told her as she softly smiled. "I will. You do the same, Astor," she told him as Aliya squeezed his hand before she proceeded to jump down with the carpet in hand.

Naturally, Castor ran to watch and when she landed on the ground with the carpet providing her a cover, the knight sighed in relief. "Oh thank stardust, she's okay," he told himself as he heard footsteps.

"Mirage?"

Turning around, Castor saw two guards, whose eyes widened upon seeing him.

"Um... Hey."

~~~~~~~~~~

"I can't believe I just did that!" Marcus happily cried out as he ran to help Aliya up, who grinned. "You did great!" she said before she sighed. "I'm pretty sure this is the part where we separate," she insisted as Marcus frowned. "Come on! I can help you!" he insisted as she nodded.

"I know, but your safety is important here. There's a mirror pool straight down that street that should take you back to the front of the palace. Take it and you should be fine," she explained as Marcus shook his head.

"I'm not leaving you," the prince stubbornly insisted. "Mars, come on. Don't make this any harder than it has to..." Aliya began, only to trail off as her eyes widened. "What?" he asked, unaware of the danger behind him as an officer stepped out of the shadows and began to approach him.

"Mars!"

Without much of a warning afterwards by her, the prince found himself pushed with an considerable amount of force by Aliya as Marcus used his wings to stop himself from tumbling. When he tried to go help her, Marcus found his gemstone glowing as a force field wrapped around himself.

"No, no, no, no!" Marcus exclaimed from panic, furiously banging on the force field as the prince heard the girl's screams as he witnessed the shock of electricity stemming from the officer's hands.

"Aliya!" Marcus exclaimed, banging harder as he tugged at his necklace, hoping to rid himself of the force field that activated anytime he found himself in danger. It was a safety device granted by his parents and right now, it had the worst possible timing!

"Come on! Deactivate!" the prince yelled as he growled before taking a deep breath as he closed his eyes.

"Xaxaza ser lomos."

When his eyes had opened, the prince's eyes glowed a vibrant lavender glow as the force field came undone within a matter of seconds. "Unhand her!" the prince ordered as the girl looked at him. "What are you doing?" she whispered, her voice no more than a mere echo in the wind.

"Right. What are you going to do about it?"

"As Prince Marcus, I order all of you to unhand the girl! Now!" Marcus sharply ordered, removing his cloaked hood as the ten men gasped. "Y... Your H... Highness," the men spoke as the officer harshly grabbed Aliya and forcibly made her bow.

"We are s... so s... sorry, b... but..." one of the guards slowly began as the prince felt his anger rising at the guard's inability to listen. "I gave you an order, Captain. Follow it!" he snapped, grabbing the guard, who began to scream, as the lavender flames began to spread.

The prince's eyes glowed brighter as if his entire being was becoming consumed by the gemstone itself. As he gripped harder onto the guard, the captain kept screaming as the flames were becoming more intensified by the prince's anger.

"Marcus! Stop!"

When Marcus heard Aliya's voice, the prince was able to snap out of his powers as his gemstone stopped glowing. Immediately, he dropped the guard, who cowered at his sight.

"See, we would love to, but your magic has been overpowered by the Senior Fae," the officer spoke, though there was a snarky undertone as the prince blinked, his powers now flickering. "We follow his orders now and he wants the girl," the officer explained, much to the prince's dismay.

"She is to be punished under the Senior Fae's lawful eyes," the guards insisted as the officer smirked, attempting to knock the prince over when Aliya had briefly used her strength to knock the officer over. "Don't touch him," she firmly stated as the officer stood up and wiped the blood from his face.

In response, the officer sharply electrocuted the girl as the prince's eyes widened. "No!" Marcus exclaimed, trying to stop the officer when the guards held him back. "Stop it!" he pleaded, but the officer went harder and eventually once he had stopped, Aliya fell to the ground, her body limp.

"In other words, you have no power here, Prince," the officer coldly spat as the guards left Marcus to grab the girl's body. "The throne will soon belong to its rightful owner," the officer continued, smirking as Prince Marcus fell to his knees. "You tried, but you never stood a chance," the officer said as he snapped his fingers.

"Come on, men. Let's go."

As the guards and the officer vanished, Marcus attempted to grab at least one of them but in the end, he failed. His defeat only got harder once Castor reunited with him, the knight eagerly searching for the girl. "Where's Aliya?" the knight asked him as Marcus forced himself to stand up and face Castor.

"She's gone."

~~~~~~~~~~

"We got her!"

As Ambrose heard those words, he stared at the bumbling officer, who eagerly looked at him for validation. "It took you long enough. How many men did it take to get her?" he asked as the officer's face fell.

"Fifty."

"It took fifty guards to get her?" Ambrose sharply asked as the officer's eyes widened. "I split the guards into teams, but she went through each section of the guards! Plus, she had help from her siblings, a nature faerie and a magician," the officer quietly stated as the Senior Fae stared down at them.

"Do you know how old she is?"

"N... No."

"She's one-hundred-and-seventeen. She's a child, yet whenever that Fae-Maid existed, she has done nothing but cause us problems. She makes my men incompetent and in turn, she makes me look like a fool," the Senior Fae sharply stated before he calmly sighed.

"Take me to her," Ambrose firmly stated as the officer quietly obeyed. Upon taking the Senior Fae to the girl's cell, the two were greeted by a healer. "What are her levels?" he asked. "Stable. The girl lives, if barely, but we did detect some weird energy levels from her," the healer explained as Ambrose stared at the healer.

"Energy levels?"

"We traced flormagi in her system. It's dormant, granted, but it's there. But that should be impossible, because she's magic-less. She shouldn't have this in her body," the healer insisted as Ambrose's face became neutral.

"Unless she was chosen."

"Chosen? Why would the previous seeker choose her of all people? She's a magic-less faerie with no wings," the healer insisted once more as the Senior Fae shook his head.

"It doesn't matter. It's time I dealt with her on my own," Ambrose firmly stated as the healer quickly gathered her team and left. When the officer followed him to the center of the cell, Ambrose stared at the officer.

"Wake her."

As the officer sparked electricity into the girl, Ambrose smirked as the wingless faerie woke up with a jolt. "Thank you, officer. You may go," he told the officer, who glared at Aliya before leaving.

As the girl faintly groaned and started to come to her senses, she was alarmed from the amount of iron he had personally hand-selected in an effort to keep her fully contained this time around. In the past, she escaped but now, there was no way for her to perform her usual stunts.

She was either going to help him or he was going to kill her.

No games, no surprises.

When the girl's vision looked as though it had adjusted and she made eye contact with him, Ambrose smirked at the sight of her weakened state. This time, he was going to get his revenge against her.

"Oh, it's you," she mumbled, the initial shock fading away as the girl spoke in a bored-like dullness. "Hello, Aliya," Ambrose maliciously greeted, a cruel smile forming as he stared at the girl.

"Miss me?"