The entire room felt a shock. Lady Larkdale let out a bloodcurdling scream, her body coiling up like the snake she was.

Tears stung her once confident face. She couldn't even stand anymore. Blood stained what little was left on her back as her wings fell to the floor, now lifeless.

"HUMANS!" She shrieked, pounding her fist on the cold, hard floor. "Brilland, do something!"

Lord Brilland was frozen. His wand was clutched in his bony fingertips. "Your highness, they're too strong! He brought a knife to a magic fight!"

"Just kill him! Kill them all!" Larkdale demanded. Her voice was a harsh scream that echoed through the room.

Catra turned to Heartwinger. "Now!" She cried.

Heartwinger nodded, waving her wand in the air. In a moment, the tip of her wand turned into a torch, orange flames dancing on top.

Larkdale looked up, seeing what was unfolding. "Don't you dare, Mistress, don't you even dare!"

Heartwinger held up the torch, her face as cold as stone. "This is what I should've done years ago. Lady Larkdale, you have made your bed. And now, you must lie in it." Heartwinger pressed the flames against the walls, catching them on fire.

Larkdale screamed as she tried to stand, but failed miserably.

"Come on! Get out!" Ellabelle yelled, grabbing Lue's wrist and turning back to Dask. He was still in the corner next to Hadley.

It didn't take long for the entire Council building to be engulfed in flames. It was, after all, a stump.

A large beam supporting the building fell, nearly crushing Hadley's leg. Dask ran to her side, shoving his knife in his pocket and grabbing Hadley. He wasn't the strongest twelve year old alive, but he had just enough strength to move her out of the burning building. Just before they reached the stairs, Dask planted the tiniest kiss on her forehead, making Hadley smile although she was still unconscious.

As the heroes escaped, Brilland dragged Larkdale across the floor. She screamed in agony and pain all the way. Her body was weak, and the smoke entering her lungs was just making it worse.

Ellabelle, Lue, Catra, and Mistress Heartwinger had made it outside to watch the flames eat up the rest of the stump. Dask and Hadley were still inside, trying to find a way out. Each time he'd find a sufficient escape route, it would be covered by burning boards or engulfed in flames. As he made it to the base floor of the building, he realized he was trapped.

Lord Brilland and Lady Larkdale had jumped out of one of the windows in the throne room, landing semi-safely in a bush down below.

After a few minutes, Ellabelle began to panic. She tried running back into the burning building, but Lue grabbed her wrist and stopped her.

"No, Ellabelle. We have to wait out here." Lue said gently.

"They could be dying! I have to help them!" Ellabelle cried, trying to wriggle free of his grip. Lue didn't let go.

"I can't lose you too." He whispered. "We have to wait here. It's safer."
"But I can't lose Hadley, either," Ellabelle cried. Her brother encased her in a hug, in which she spilled all her tears onto him.

"If you went back in there, we'd lose all three of you," Lue tried consoling her, patting her on the head. "I'm so sorry."

The four of them stood together, crying and waiting. Their weapons were laid down at their feet. They were done with the fight.

The smoke rising in the sky and the smell of ashes began attracting a crowd of fairies that lived near the stump. They were all shocked and devastated, wanting an explanation.

"Where's Lady Larkdale?" "She'd know what to do." "The whole place is burning up!"

Ellabelle turned from her brother's embrace and looked at all the curious citizens. They wouldn't believe the right side of the story. They thought they could trust Lady Larkdale.

The crowd only got bigger as the news spread around. Lady Larkdale and Lord Brilland were nowhere to be found, but Lady Larkdale's wand was still intact, lying on the ground. Ellabelle stepped out in front of the crowd and grabbed Larkdale's wand, trying to ignore her tear-stained eyes. As she stood in front of the burning building, she mustered up enough courage to speak.

"Um... hi, everyone. You don't know me, but that's ok. You don't have to know me in order to know the truth." She stopped to take a deep breath in. "My name is Ellabelle Eos, and I have a story to tell you. When I was young, my parents left me. I thought it was because they were ashamed of everything I've done, which I won't get into right now. Let's just say there was a lot." She cleared her throat, beginning to get choked up. Then, her eyes met with Lue's. He slightly nodded to her, sending a shockwave of confidence through her body. She continued. "But, in recent hours, I realized that may not be the case. I found out that my mother was on the Magic Council. I found her wand with her initials engraved on the side of it. After all that I had done... it was Lady Larkdale who forced my parents to leave me, and my brother, by ourselves in the village."

The crowd of fairies began to stir with confusion and anger. Their voices began to rise, and Ellabelle tried to quiet them.

"She exposed herself. She wanted to get rid of the Eos bloodline. Erford and Rosalie Eos weren't ashamed of me; Lady Larkdale was." Ellabelle explained. The fairies listened carefully. "Trust me when I say she's been lying to you all, every single one of you. She disguised the village with a blanket of happiness in order to hide all the dark secrets she'd been lying about."

Ellabelle turned around to reveal her wingless back. A few fairies gasped, horrified.

"She cut off my wings at the Horizon Festival." Ellabelle continued, turning to face the crowd once again. "And if you don't believe me, you can check the security fireflies that Lord Brilland has been using to spy on you all."

"This can't be true!" A fairy gasped.

"I'm afraid it is," Ellabelle continued. "Not only did they lie about their village, they also lied about humans. Lady Larkdale brainwashed all of you into believing that humans are a monstrous species, and that they have pointy teeth and red eyes. But in reality, they're not." She sucked in a breath. The crowd was beginning to sit down in front of her, captivated and still surprised at the information being presented to them. "I've had the pleasure of getting to know three human beings in my lifetime. And, sure, not all of them have the best qualities about them... but if you look closely, you find the gems that make up their species. They're not out to kill us or harvest our hair for thread. They're actually... amazing."

Ellabelle remembered Hadley and Dask. Tears began forming in her eyes again. They hadn't escaped yet, and the stump was collapsing in on itself.

She took a long pause. It felt like the entire fairy world was frozen, waiting for an answer and crying out for the truth. Ellabelle stood there, in front of all those fairies, crying. She had no other choice.

Without anyone speaking, one fairy after the other went up to Ellabelle, surrounding her in an embrace. It continued to spread as each fairy wrapped their arms around each other, a new, somber feeling emanating from their bodies. For the first time in what seemed like forever, they all felt more connected to one another than they ever had before. It was as if each fairy was breathing in unison in that one moment. Reality faded away, creating something that none of them had ever really experienced before; a family.

Ellabelle knew that Lue had somehow made it to her through the embrace. She felt his touch on her shoulder. It stuck out from the others; it wasn't a stranger fairy's touch, but a gentle, loving touch. Someone she'd known forever, finally realizing what made their connection so special. He laid his hand there, pushing Ellabelle into yet another wave of emotions.

There was suddenly a noise. A screech of some huge creature that came from the sky. Every fairy's gaze pointed upward, seeing a dragon. Ellabelle was scared at first, realizing that it was the exact same dragon she had fought earlier with Catra. It had come back for revenge after she made it swallow a ball of light.

Then, she looked closer. On the back of the dragon was Dask, and...

"Hadley," Ellabelle whispered, her smile returning. The tears were still flowing, but so was a joy that overwhelmed her insides. She couldn't believe it. Hadley and Dask had made it out alive, on the back of a dragon, no less.

When she heard screams erupt from the crowd, she realized she had to speak up again.

"Woah, woah, it's ok, guys! That's my human friend Hadley, and her human friend Dask. They're alive!" Ellabelle yelled over the commotion.

Dask and Hadley flew above the fairies atop the dragon. Dask was smiling ear to ear as he handled the dragon with Hadley in his arms. She'd woken up from her sleeping spell. The gash on her forehead had dried up, leaving a blanket of blood in its place. Her body was covered in ashes and soot, just like Dask's, and her hair was somewhat charred on the ends from their obvious attempts to escape.

They landed next to the stump. The dragon let out a shriek. Ellabelle noticed that its eyes looked like little white suns glowing in its sockets. She almost felt sorry for what she'd done to the beast.

Dask hopped off of its back first, reaching up and helping Hadley get down. Once the fairies realized they were safe, they loosened up. One after the other, they began clapping and cheering. Ellabelle, Lue and Catra met up together and ran over to greet Hadley and Dask. They surrounded one another in a giant group hug, crying and laughing all at once.

"I can't believe you're alive," Ellabelle whispered through her obvious tears.

"Me either," Hadley whispered back with a tiny chuckle.

After their hug broke off, Hadley realized that Ellabelle was holding Larkdale's wand. She tilted her head.

"Where'd you get that? And where's Lady Larkdale?" Hadley asked. She put a hand to her forehead, feeling the dried gash on her head.

"I don't know where Larkdale or Brilland went. She left this behind, though," Ellabelle replied softly, holding the wand out in front of her. Hadley touched it with her fingertips.

Suddenly, she remembered Dask after all that had happened. Her mind was still confused, but her memories stayed with her. She ran over to him and gave him the biggest hug in the world. Sadly, she couldn't see the smile that escaped his lips as she did this seemingly simple act.

"I had a somewhat funny dream about you," Hadley whispered in his ear. "I had a dream that you kissed me."

Dask's heart fluttered inside his chest and his face lit up bright red. He wanted so badly to tell Hadley that it wasn't just a fantasy, but he kept it within him. He was still trying to sort it out in his own mind.

"Huh. That is a funny dream." Dask replied, letting go reluctantly. "Oh yeah, I brought something for you."

Dask told Hadley to close her eyes as he reached into his satchel. He took out his witches and wizards book and set it in her waiting hands. Hadley opened her eyes, looking at the book and smiling.

"I think I'll borrow this," Hadley told him.

The group of five hardly even remembered that there was a crowd of fairies watching this all play out. They turned back to them, wrapping their arms around each other.

"What do we do now?" A small fairy child piped up, stepping out from the crowd.

The quintet looked between each other, not exactly sure how to answer. All the fairies in the crowd were now looking up to them, seeing them as the heroes, all while they still had a million questions. They were relying on these once ordinary people to give them what they'd always craved; someone they could trust.

"Well, Ellabelle, Lue, what do you think we should do?" Catra asked, putting her hand on her hip.

The Eos siblings looked at one another with their somewhat confused faces.

"Why are you asking us?" Lue questioned, scratching his head.

Catra stepped away from their group, parting the crowd. She found all their weapons laying on the ground, gathering them all up in her hands. She turned back to her friend group, walking back to them.

Catra began handing their weapons back to them one at a time. Finally, she handed the white wand off to Ellabelle, who stared down at it with her diamond eyes.

"You're next in line," Catra smiled. "Become what your parents couldn't. You guys are the best fairies anyone could ever hope to be, and the best leaders I could imagine. You guys are next to be in the council. You could rebuild it from the ground up!"

Ellabelle looked down at the wand, running the tip of her thumb over her mother's initials. Everything was changing. There was no way she could run an entire village by herself.

"What do our villagers think? Do you guys think Ellabelle should take the throne?" Catra asked the crowd after turning to them. A few of them clapped, others nodded or smiled quietly. Catra looked at Ellabelle and Lue. "It's up to you guys now."

Ellabelle shook her head. "Catra, I can't be on the Magic Council." She replied flatly. Lue nodded in agreement.

"Ellabelle, don't let this opportunity go to waste," Hadley told her, setting a gentle hand on her fairy friend's shoulder. "You can raise awareness about human and fairykind all over the village. You can be the trustworthy leader everyone here needs." She continued. "I don't want to make the decision for you, but your leadership could save this village."

Ellabelle glanced at Lue. He smiled back at her.

"Well..." Ellabelle began. "I was just going to say that I can't be on the Magic Council because it's a cruel and twisted society. But... I can certainly try my hardest to rebuild something that's better than that, if the village agrees."

The crowd began applauding. The entire situation felt surreal. Five nobodies standing in front of the village fairies, now turned into somebodies.

Mistress Heartwinger stepped out of the crowd, holding her wand high in the air. A few fairies backed up, remembering what Ellabelle had said about the Magic Council.

"Don't worry, guys, I'm with them." Heartwinger said with a wink. She then turned to Ellabelle and Lue, instructing them to get on one knee. They confusedly obeyed, looking up and waiting patiently. Heartwinger faced the crowd, still pointing her wand towards the sky.

"This is the first prince and princess ceremony to date in Ofan Village history."
"Princess?" Ellabelle whispered to Lue. His facial expression was just as surprised as hers was. Heartwinger continued.

"We are going to build a new kingdom from the rubble of the old, despicable ways of the Magic Council. Our leadership will depend on the Eos siblings from here on out. All major decisions will be led by them. Is there anyone opposed to this ruling?"

The only sound that arose from the crowd were crickets chirping.

"Good, I'm glad we're all on the same page." Heartwinger chuckled lightheartedly.

Suddenly, there was a scream. Unfortunately, everyone in the crowd recognized who it belonged to.