(Ailis POV)

I needed to do something. I could tell she was drifting. The last few weeks Emerson had weaseled her way into some sticky situation. Things were getting worse. She had stolen from her sister which I allowed since Lily had been stealing from her for years, but then she took some necklaces from her mother, and that was horrible having to hide as she lied to her mother. I could tell when she was lying, her right eye always seemed to twitch. I wondered if her mother had noticed this as well.

Emerson has gone down a path that was opening up a bad side of her. She was forming her addiction, realizing how easy it was to just take things that didn't belong to her and I had been feeding the addiction. I needed the gold just as badly as she thought she needed it. The magic was the only thing that would allow me to keep my Leprechaun powers... but if anyone found out how I had gotten it then it would all be over for me. Gambling had almost ruined my life and now I had opened up a new world to Emerson. Stealing had become a part of her daily life, whether she was thinking about it or acting on it.

Nathan had been the only good part and I had tried pushing her away from him. Maybe I wasn't cut out for something like this. Maybe I needed to just step away, tell the council I couldn't't fix things. They would erase everything, all the mistakes I've made and put her life back together. Or at least put it back on track where it would be if I hadn't messed with things. This assignment was horrible. It allowed us to play with people's lives and honestly we had no clue what we were doing. It would be better if there was more of an apprentice period. This would be so much easier if I had someone here to show me the ropes.

I felt the weight of my pocket, it was heavy with magic. The powder weighing them down. I couldn't believe how much I had fit in my pockets. Emerson had so much going on with helping her mother plan a wedding... all because we were able to get enough magic to wish things back to normal.

It felt wrong though that my magic supply had come from someone else committing crimes. When it was gambling it would be my own fault. Now Emerson was playing with my life and it hurt me. I was hoping that if we were able to stop this soon then there would be no harm. As long as I left it out of my report and the council didn't check too closely into my history they would never notice the sudden flux of magic. I just had to be careful.

This meant Emerson needed to be careful too.

I watched as her chest raises slowly, the adrenaline of stealing from the store had kept her awake for a while but she crashed pretty soon into the morning hours. I couldn't sleep though, fears of my entire world imploding kept me up. I watched the sun rise through the blinds of her bedroom, careful to not open them up too much. I didn't want anyone seeing in and I didn't want to wake Emerson with the blinding light.

I could feel the bags forming under my eyes, the darkness taking hold of my skin. My hair though a bright red was probably dull due to exhaustion. I would need to get some sleep some time today, but right now was not the time. I groaned as I stretched out my back. I needed to finish writing these contract. Emerson would have to sign one as soon as she woke up. We wouldn't be able to continue this assignment without the commitment from her that she wasn't going to steal anymore. We only had a few weeks left and if we could make the magic we have last for the rest of that time, then things would be good.

I thought through my adventures the last couple of days. I had been busy searching for a job. There had to be something I could do to earn some magic that wasn't going to hurt either of us. Emerson didn't deserve to go to jail for something she would never be able to explain to anyone.

My heart broke at the thought of her not being able to explain this part of her life to anyone. She needed to be able to talk to people about what was going on. Maybe once we built up a better trust with one another I would allow her to tell one person. Of course their mind would be wiped clean as soon as I graduate....if I did graduate.

Emerson stirs in her sleep, I freeze waiting to see if this was the time she would wake up. I needed her to sleep for just a little while longer so I could finish these papers. I needed to make sure I was able to get all of my thoughts down on the paper. This all needed to sound professional and it had to cover everything. We couldn't have anymore slip ups. My entire life counted on it.

I dipped the feather into the ink once again... I liked the feel of this more than writing with a normal pen. I carefully write the last few words making sure to cross the t's and dot the I's. Everything had to be perfect. Reading over it one last time I glanced at the one I had written for myself.

I had to say goodbye to Rumple. We couldn't be friends anymore. Especially if I wanted to pass. I wouldn't be able to gamble with him if I lost my powers anyways. We had a good run but there needed to be some boundaries and since he wasn't interested in hanging out then I wasn't interested in it either.

I figured now would be the best of time to wake Emerson up. I had the contracts ready and I just needed her to sign them. Maybe it was better to wake her up early so that she wasn't wide awake when she signed hers. Then she wouldn't ask too many questions.

I shook my head. That was an awful idea. I needed her wide awake and ready to focus so that she didn't mess anything up. She needed to really read it and understand what was asked of her.

I make my way over to the bed climbing up the sheets until I was standing on top of it. Her chest raises as she breathes, the dreams of whatever girls dreamed about frolic in her mind as she sleeps peacefully. I didn't want to wake her up for fear that she would be angry with me, but I needed to know this was taken care of. I couldn't hold it off anymore.

"Emerson?" I could feel the word felt uncomfortable in my voice. I tried my best to remove the accent but at times it was difficult. I placed my hand on her shoulder shaking her slightly to shuffle her out of her sleep. She stirs easily as she rolls over nearly crushing me in the process. I let out a yelp before jumping out of the way. Her eyes flutter open as she looks at me.

"What do you want?" She groans as she pulls the pillow closer to herself. I shook my head holding the paper tightly in my hand.

"I nade yer ter sign dis," I could feel the words tremble on my lips before they hit her. She rolls her eyes sitting up carefully.

"What?" She questions rubbing the back of her head. I didn't know how to respond. Did she really not know what I was talking about?

"I... need.. yer to sign this," I tried my best to say each word carefully so she would understand what I was saying. She looked at my hands, her eyes dancing over the paper they held. I decided to show her. Tossing the paper gently into the air the scroll unfolded itself before it grows to it's normal size. It unrolls in front of her the world carefully etched on the sheet of yellow and golds.

"Why do I need to sign this?" She leans forward peering carefully at the sheet in front of her. Her eyes shaking as she reads.

"We nade ter make sure we are followin' de rules an' oi nade yer ter never knuk anythin' ever again," The words flew out of my mouth like a jet stream. There was no way she was going to be able to understand everything I had said. "Steal, I mean you can't steal anything," I did my best to fix the accent once again. I kept forgetting and I'm sure I always would. It was so much easier to talk to people from my world. I wasn't always trying to adjust my dialect for them.

She reads the contract carefully before turning back to me.

"I won't steal anything ever again. I'm so embarrassed I did in the first place, there is no need for a contract," She plopped back onto her bed staring up at the ceiling. I shook my head.

"Sign it," I muttered.

"Why are you so demanding so early?" She groans rolling over in her bed as she sits up again. Grabbing the pen from me she scribbles her name across the bottom.

"Because dis is serious, yer are gonna ruin me life if yer don't folly dees rules," She rolled her eyes as I spoke. My heart was racing. She had signed the contract but was she being honest. Would she really steal something for more magic. I knew I was going tomorrow to work, trying to earn magic in the most proper way I could think of.

I had a job set up for tomorrow morning and I needed Emerson to trust that I was going to work as hard as I could to get as much magic needed to finish off the rest of the assignment. This was important and I needed to pass. I had to pass.

"Why is it so important? How could I ruin your life?" She questions pulling the blankets over her head as if she was annoyed with me. Odds are she probably was. I couldn't help it though. I plopped down on the pillow next to her head. She needed to listen and if she wasn't going to I was going to have to tell the fairy council and then she would be in real trouble.

Humans weren't let off easy if they misbehaved while knowing about mythical creatures. This made creatures like myself very unhappy and usually they would use their magic to hurt the humans.

"Oi lose me magic if yer don't listen ter me," Without my magic I was nothing. I would become a figment of her imagination. The idea that I would cease to exists scared me. I didn't want to disappear. I wanted to continue to live, I wanted to use my magic to the best of my ability. I needed her to focus so I could do so.

"What do you mean you lose your magic?" I could hear the confusion in her voice but I could feel that she didn't actually care. She was just asking the questions to get them out there. I shook my head slightly annoyed with the way she was acting. Was I this difficult when I first wake up?

"Withoyt me magic, oi'm not a leprechaun, oi 'ill jist vanish an' everythin' Ah've done or everyone Ah've known 'ill naw longer mind me. oi 'ill 'av 'ad naw impact on de warrld," The words came out so fast they flew like lightning. Emerson cocked her head to the side pulling it out from under the sheets.

"Fine, I won't steal anything else," With that she threw the blanket over her head again leaving me to sit in silence as she tried her hardest to fall asleep.

There was nothing to say.

But I hoped she would keep her word. She did sign a contract.