Chapter XVIII

"It's still magic even if you know how it's done,"

—Terry Pratchett

Draco stood in front of the flower garden. The soft flowers bloomed up towards the sun, their vibrant colors still present. Draco was never good at remembering anything he learned it school, but he was pretty sure this breed of flowers was called a Poinsettia.

He gently reached forward and touched the red petals.

A sigh escaped him. It was so peaceful here. It made the overwhelming rage he felt recently disappear.

Ever since he found out that he was a Horsemen, everything seemed different. He felt more on edge, and an even greater urge to fight everyone. It was horrible.

Draco clenched his fist, trying to keep his emotions at bay. If he were to blow up...who knows what would happen? Faith had warned the Daevas that they had powers, and potentially letting your emotions go over would cause them to boil over.

Faith warned him especially that his powers would be incredibly powerful. Being the embodiment of war, his powers would be incredibly destructive. Faith told him she didn't know for sure what he could do, but she said he would be a skilled fighter.

That didn't scare him, though. What scared him was the fact that Lucifer was vying to control him. What would he do? Could Draco resist whatever Lucifer has up his sleeves?

Fear settled in his bones. There was no way he could do this.

Draco wasn't supposed to be a Horseman. He wasn't supposed to be part angel and part Demon. He wasn't supposed to have powers. He was supposed to be a high school screwup! Someone who would move through life like a shadow, only ever mentioned when a parent tries to get their kid to be better.

He wasn't supposed to be important.

Draco felt the first layer of skin break as his nails dig into his palm. Hold it in.

His breath shook as he let it out. He had to calm himself. If he didn't, then who knows what could happen. He couldn't focus on his anger.

Instead, he focused on the poinsettia. It's red petals framed the yellow plumes that exploded from within. It was inviting. Draco gently took the flower into his palms. He bent his nose down and took a deep breath in.

Before he could break into a sneezing fit from the huge amount of pollen he had just inhaled, the sound of two people arguing cane from within the manor. Draco frowned, looking towards it. Only then did he sneeze.

He watched as Fai suddenly stormed out of the house, darkness clouding her beautiful face. Draco felt a sense of calm wash over at the sight of her, but then extreme rage over who could make her so upset.

She made her way to the flowers and pressed her face against them. He swore he heard a soft voice singing. Was it her? Draco carefully approached her, but managed to step on a twig.

Fai looked up, only just now noticing Draco. Mortification filled her face. Draco saw the trails tears left behind, making her face shine in the hazy sun. Anger boiled deep within him. He clenched his fists again, making the indentations already present bleed.

"What are you doing here?" She whispered, sadness clinging to her voice.

Draco carefully walked towards her, careful not to get too close in fear of scaring her. "I was admiring the poinsettias. They look lovely this time of year." If anger was in his voice she didn't react to it.

Fai nodded, gently petting one of the other flowers. "They're winter flowers. Don't really bloom any other time."

Draco gently stepped a bit closer. "What's wrong?"

"My father summoned me." Fai answered, her blue eyes clouded with worry. "He wants me to go back and forget Lucifer."

"Why don't you?"

"I can't just leave. That'd feel like me betraying you, all of you. I can't— I can't just run back home to the palace."

"You're a princess?"

"No, my dad's a Lord. I am only a noble."

Draco looked at the purple flowers. "At least you have a place within the castle."

Fai scoffed, shaking her head. "Like I want it. Fairy politics is so one-sided. Before I came here I thought fairies were superior, more so than even our best allies, the elves. But now— we are so weak."

"I've heard fairies are incredibly powerful."

"Yes, but in a trickery way. All the other species— they have intense weaponry that even the master silver-tongue couldn't hope to dismantle."

Draco grabbed hold of the pot's rim, steadying himself. His emotions, they were boiling. "Why don't you just tell your father that you'd rather stay here and fight?"

"It's not as simple as that, Draco. He thinks I'm weak."

"That's not true at all and you know it!" Draco exclaimed, his anger dripping from his words.

Fai flinched. Draco immediately pushed the wave of anger aside. "Sorry. I'm doing my best to remain calm. It's difficult though."

"It's alright." Fai muttered, gently smiling.

Draco tried to calm his beating heart.

Ever since he saw Fai, he was attracted to her. That innocent look she held, yet a genuine spitfire when she needed to be. He also had a thing for blondes, so that was a plus. At first he thought she and Estal had a thing, but it was clear they were friends? Maybe. He hoped so, else his heart might shatter.

Draco cleared his throat. "So why can't you just prove him wrong?"

Fai paused, looking back up at him. "What do you mean?"

"Show your father just how strong you are. Prove to him you can handle your own here. Show him. I know that all of us here believe in you. You just need to believe in yourself, and prove to your father that you aren't some weakling he can boss around!"

Fai blushed, her cheeks a rosy red. "Yeah, you're right."

Draco nodded. "So, when are you gonna go do it?"

She hesitated. Draco frowned. "I can't do it alone."

"So bring Estal then." Draco said, shrugging.

Fai scowled, crossing her arms. "Who do you think I was yelling at in there? Estal agrees with my father. He doesn't want me to get hurt."

"What's with that?" Draco asked, thinking of all the possibilities. None of which benefited him.

"We've been best friends for a while now. My father is one of the main threads that connects the elven and fairy kingdoms. He's the communication between the two. So, sometimes, he's take me and I got introduced to Estal and he's basically my best friend."

"Really? I thought you two might be involved." Draco said, testing those waters.

Fai grimaced. "Ew. No. Never. He's like an older brother to me."

Relief flooded through him. "Oh, I see."

Fai fidgeted. "Hey, Draco?"

"Yeah?"

"Would you like to come with me?"

Draco blanched. "What?"

"I just thought— I mean, you support me here and I thought it would be great to have you there." Fai was blushing furiously now.

Draco grinned. "I'd love to go with you."

Fai looks sup, light filling her crystal blue eyes. "Really?"

"Of course! But how do I get there?"

Fai have him a mischievous grin. "We gotta get you small."

****

Draco was terrified to find out what she meant. Turns out that it meant shrinking him down to the size of a fairy.

At first he laughed it off because Fai wasn't small, but it turned out she was just in her human form. The form they used to hide their real identity.

When Fai shrunk down into her fairy form, Draco could only see a glowing ball of azure blue light.

He remembered staring at it for a moment before it suddenly swirled around him. His limbs felt like electricity and he felt himself lifting slightly off the ground. The next thing he knew he was shrinking.

Draco blinked and looked around. Everything was huge. He had to be barely three inches tall. He looked around, disoriented.

Suddenly, Fai landed in front of him. Her blonde hair was curled in this form and piled a top her head. Her blue eyes looked even brighter and larger. Light blue flowers on vines were weaved into her hair. She wore a blue dress with purple layered beneath it. The end of it barely brushed her knees. She had on silver gladiator sandals that wrapped all the way up to her knees. She also had silver bracelets wrapped around her arms. Her wings were glittering behind her. They reminded him of butterfly wings, a deep, beautiful royal blue. The tips were white, and the faded into the deep blue near her back. Soft sparkles seemed to drift around them, and light spilled around her. She smiled. "Hey."

Draco could barely breathe. She was even more beautiful in this form than she was in her human form. Draco swallowed nervously. "Hi."

Fai blushed, rubbing her arms. "Are you ready?"

Draco nodded numbly, failing to stop himself from taking another look at her. Fai blushed even deeper before gently grabbing his hand. "You can't fly, so I'll have to get you up to the portal."

"Where is the portal?"

Fai smiled sweetly at him. "In the flowers,"

Draco frowned. "What?"

"Inside the flowers. A fairy can access it. It immediately sends you to the fairy world. Different flowers send you to different areas. Thankfully for us, Estal knows this. He had multiple flowers planted that sends us near the castle."

"Wow." He breathed.

Fai gently squeezed his hand before lifting herself off the ground. Draco felt his feet leave the ground and soon he was being pulled up towards the purple flowers.

Once they reached it, Draco watched as Fai pushed the petals and other things aside. Draco remembered learning about the anatomy of a flower but couldn't remember what those were called.

Draco watched the area she was pushing towards. It became clear in a moment. He saw a castle seated atop what looked like a large circular beach of a tree. His jaw dropped as she pulled them through.

Immediately the difference in temperature hit him. Sweat began to form under his thick layers. He pants, trying to cool himself down. Fai glanced at him before waving one hand. He felt his layers melt away and then he was standing there wearing a black tank top and short gray capri's. He was barefoot. Draco looked up at her. "What happened to my clothes?"

"They're back at the house."

"Oh, okay."

Fai gently flew them over to the branch the castle sat upon. Once they landed, Draco relaxed his hand. However, she didn't remove her hand from his.

She looked back at him, fear in her eyes. "Hey." He whispered, gently squeezing her hand. "It'll be okay. You can do this. I believe in you."

Fai took in a breath and then let it out. "Thank you. Let's do this."

Draco allowed Fai to drag him to the castle. Once they reached the gates, it became obvious that he was not welcomed.

Anyone who noticed his absence of wings would give him this dark look. Draco tried to ignore it. He had never cared much about what people thought of him, but these were Fai's people. If they couldn't accept seeing him, would they ever accept a relationship? He didn't even know if she liked him. Perhaps this is why she didn't.

The guards at the door nodded at Fai but gave him a horrible glare. Fai frowned. "He's with me. He's a friend."

"More than a friend?" One of them hissed, gesturing out their inter joined hands.

Fai blushed before letting go. "No. I was simply leading him. We are just friends."

That stung.

The other guard frowned. "How do you know this man, Lady Fai?"

"He travelled to help save my friend in hell." She answered. "He is the one who saved her. I owe him a lot."

The guards frowned as they looked at each another. Finally, the first guard looked to them. "Alright, but just this once, Lady Fai."

Fai smiled and thanked them. Draco watched as the doors opened. Fai pulled him through. She looked back and smiled at him. "Come on. Let's go prove my father that I can be here."

****

More on Fai. Yes. Fairies. I love fairies.

Anyways, what's you think?

Romance, daddy-issues, and power struggles? Love it.

I'm currently at my grandparents house as I typed the majority of this.

I've been doing a good job of uploading daily and having a good chunk of chapters as backup for them.

I'm happy.

Anyhow, I'll see you all later!

—Paige