MELUSINE HATED the cold.

And that night, it was terribly so. Icy winds blew over the town, bringing with them bits of snow and frost. It knocked at the closed doors and shook the broken glass panes, making them jingle to their tune.

They made the leaves of the trees sway, which made a horrid moaning sound. Darkness loomed all over, the moon invisible. Coupled with the winds, the scene resembled a long deserted ghost town.

It was a little after midnight and all the houses in the town were locked. The candle flames were snuffed, and the scraggly curtains were drawn as the residents of Oakenvale retired for the night. All were fast asleep in the comfort of their springy mattresses and thin wool blankets. All except for one.

A solitary lady, draped in a thick green robe, glided over the snow-covered ground. The wind played with the cascading locks of her long brown hair. Her fair, heart-shaped face seemed relaxed despite the harshness of the weather.

And yet, something called to her. A voice? Melusine leaned her head to the side, thinking, but she shook her head to dismiss the thought. No, not just a voice, but a strong gut feeling telling her that she needed to be here. Fairies like her rely mostly on their senses, so she had to trust this one.

Until now, Melusine could hear the trees from the forest beckoning her to come back. Her green gilded robe was full of snags in every place when the trees clung to her with their branches just to stop her from going. But for whatever reason, she had no idea.

Puffs of chilly smoke emanated from her breath as she stopped by a willow tree in the garden of an abandoned chateau. The snow would merely bounce on the invisible force she conjured around her, but it could not protect her from the coldness and chills. For goodness sake, Melusine was a forest fairy; she was not meant for the cold.

"M-Me-Melusine?" said a tiny voice from behind her. Melusine turned to see a white ball of fur emerging from the shadows of the garden's hedges.

"Robby!"

"Oh, Melusine," the rabbit whined as he wiped some snow matting his fur. "Good Goddess, I have finally caught up to you."

Melusine crouched down. "Is something wrong?"

Robby grunted and stomped his foot, burying it in the pile of snow. "Oh, something's definitely wrong with you, forest fairy. This is a human village," he said with a hiss. The rabbit flattened his ears on each side of his head while scanning their surroundings for some threat. "You shouldn't be here."

Melusine sighed and stood up.

"No, you don't just turn your back on me, lady." Robby hopped up and sat on her shoulders. He grabbed a handful of her hair, wrapping it around him like a blanket. "The trees have warned me."

Melusine nodded, her face devoid of emotion. "And so they did."

"And you haven't listened."

"Yes, I didn't."

"But why?" Robby sneezed. He was about to wipe his snot with Melusine's hair when she slapped his tiny hands off her.

"Hey!"

"I need to be here, Robby," she said, stopping the rabbit from ripping her ear off. "Someone... or something tells me that I need to be here."

"The Fairy Mother?"

Melusine sighed then shook her head. "No. It is not her. I can't explain. It's in my head."

She looked far beyond the patched-up and broken squat roofs of the houses towards the towering structure with broken walls and fallen spires. The castle looked different from the outside.

It was the first thing the fairy thought when she saw it again after the war. It felt like years since she had laid eyes on it, but the days and years in the human realm were centuries apart in Theolia and it was becoming difficult for her to make sense of time. Now, as she stared at the monstrosity looming high on the hilltop, she felt her breath catch in her throat.

Melusine couldn't fathom the effects of war, all because of greed and power. Humans wanted a share of the power her kind possessed, but the former must have been fed up with the superiority the fairies imposed.

But swords, cannons, and crossbows had no match for transcendental powers. The kingdom of Cassen lost so much, but it was always the people at the bottom who would suffer.

"Melusine?" Robby pinched her cheek, pulling her away from her musings. "You said it yourself. It's only in your head, which means you shouldn't be here. And for goodness' sake, you are not disguised! What if a human wakes up and sees you through their window? A fairy amongst them? You could be the reason for the second war to start."

A shiver ran up her spine. Melusine played with the leaf pendant hanging around her neck to calm down. Indeed, she didn't bother to hide in the form of an animal because Melusine liked to be herself. Free, powerful, and proud. She never liked the idea of disguising herself as something she was not.

She was Melusine, a forest fairy. Her brown-feathered wings with claw-like talons on top were her pride.

The clang of metal against metal snapped her out of her reverie and she visibly flinched. Distant shouts resounded in the right alleyway. Curious, Melusine flapped her wings and flew close to the ground with Robby on her shoulder.

"What are you doing?" Robby pulled his ears as if wanting to rip them off his head.

The wind whizzed past them then Melusine took a sharp turn to the right, growing closer and closer to the sound. "I want to know what's happening. I have a feeling there's something wrong. Maybe I can help."

Robby let out a sigh of defeat. "Your compassion for these ungrateful humans will be the death of you one day, Melusine."

Robby wasn't the first one to tell her that, but Melusine would always brush them off, their words falling on deaf ears.

As Melusine turned to the last corner, at the alley beside the mangled ruins of the town's bakery shop, she fell to a quick stop and hid behind the tall rubble. She peeked around her hiding spot and watched in disbelief and horror.

"What in Theolia's name are they doing?" Melusine muttered under her breath, shuddering all the while. "Humans hurting another human."

"See? Humans are no saints like you give them credit for," Robby whimpered, burying himself in the fairy's loose strands of hair. "Coming here would only bring you trouble. Let's go back before they see us."

Melusine gave him one apologetic glance before turning her attention back to the group of five men clad in blood-red capes, their faces covered with black domino masks. Their swords were raised at the lone man whose only weapon was a short blunt dagger. Everything about the man was covered in black, perhaps cotton, except for his cerulean blue eyes. He was tall and muscular under those clothes, but against these five men, Melusine feared he wouldn't stand a chance.

"We know who you are. Your disguise is no help at all." Melusine did not know who spoke since everyone had a black cloth covering their mouth. "Throw your dagger and other weapons away and come with us in peace. Fight back and we will make sure to deliver your head to your family."

Melusine took a swift intake of breath, pondering whether to break up their fight. She was about to stand from her crouching position when Robby bit her ear lobe. He shook his head wildly, almost breaking his neck. "No, Melusine."

Everything was still for a moment—even the wind had gotten silent too—until the man lunged at the nearest bandit and swung his dagger. There was a sharp ripping noise, a metallic scent of blood wafting in the air. 

The other bandits all raced towards the man with weapons in hand. Without delay, the man pressed the hilt of his dagger and it transformed into a twin blade.

He elbowed the bandit who was posing for a strike on the neck and he fell on his back, choking. Another sword attacked, slashing his side, but he knocked it off the enemy's grip and stabbed him in the gut.

Two down. Three to go.

The man crouched into a defensive stance as the remaining three continued their simultaneous assault. It was torture for Melusine to watch at the side and do nothing when she wanted to help.

One person slashed his arm but the black-clad man kept going. He kicked, punched, sliced, and dodged but they were stronger and they had an advantage in numbers too.

He grunted as he felt a swipe of metal on his back. Their large bodies enclosed him as he fell.

"Let us deliver the Primo's head to the missus, boys. She wants him dead or alive. That means we can kill him," their leader stated in a boastful tone. "And what more? When the Knight's spirit goes down with him, we can easily hunt them down."

The man struggled to get up as one of the enemies pinned his head to the ground. And for a moment, their eyes met. The man's fierce blue eyes bulged upon seeing Melusine.

She gasped as she pressed her back on the tall rubble. Her heart pounded in her rib cage. A human saw her. And Melusine didn't know if the shortness of her breath was caused by nervousness or... something else.

"I-I saw that." Robby trembled. "I saw you two look at each other. He saw you, Melusine."

"H-He did."

A piercing scream made Melusine look back at the scene. Her chest heaved with fast breaths. The wintry winds howled in her ears at all the nasty possibilities, while her heart warned her that she must leave right at this moment.

Despite the chill, sweat formed on Melusine's face and neck. And Robby had been muttering thousands of curses under his breath.

The man was now lying on his back. The bandits let out maniacal laughter as one of them thrust a knife into his abdomen. He twisted it within him so that it may tear the vital veins, arteries, and organs, rendering him incapable of recovery. Tremendous pain shot through his body, making his eyes dilate.

"Stand aside," the leader pushed his comrade, brandishing his sword. "Enough playing. It's time we end this." He raised the sword, ready to slice the man's head clean from his neck when Melusine jumped out of her hiding spot.

"No!"

"Oh, heavens," Robby said before he fell from the fairy's shoulder and fainted.

The bandits dropped their swords from shock. Their mouths were agape, trembling, as they staggered back a few steps.

One of them pointed a shaky finger at her. "F-Fai—"

But before he could finish his words, Melusine unleashed a shock wave, the raw force sending every man thrown like a rag doll. All of them lost consciousness from the impact. She had no time to worry about them, whether they were still breathing or not. Deep down, she felt bad, but what they did was unforgivable. Melusine could worry about the consequences of her actions later, but right now, someone needed her help.

She rushed to the blue-eyed man's side and checked all the wounds he sustained. Melusine drew in a shaky breath. He was in no good condition. The more blood he lost, the closer he was to death's door.

Melusine placed a kiss on her pointing finger and it glowed a bright green light. She trailed it over his wounds, sealing them with her fairy magic. She noticed a tattoo of fairy wings under his tattered clothes on the right chest. 

Then something grazed her cheek softly and tenderly. Melusine jerked away in surprise and a hand grasped her wrist, preventing her from moving further away.

"F-Fairy," the man rasped. His blue eyes were barely open but he fought the urge to fall unconscious, afraid that she may disappear. He rubbed his thumb in circles over her wrist, making the fairy gasp in pleasure.

"Remove your hands off me," she whispered, pleading rather than commanding.

"You saved me... again. How can I ever repay you?"

"Again?" Melusine's brows knitted in confusion. "Who are you?" Her free hand reached out to remove the black cloth covering his face when the sound of a bell resonated from the forest.

"It's the summon. All fairies shall gather in the High Court," Melusine whispered to herself as she slowly got up. But the man's grip on her wrist never left. "Let go."

Despite the dizziness, he shook his head. "No. You'll be gone again."

"Melusine," Robby called to her. "Theolia's gate has opened. The Fairy Mother summons all members of the court." He hopped onto her lap, his ears down. Worry was visible in his glassy eyes. "I told you to stay away from trouble. You never listened."

"Then I must go." She snapped her head back to the man, who was so close to slipping out of consciousness. "Let go, stranger."

"No. Y-Your name."

She gave him a soft smile as she pried his hands off her wrist gently. He was too tired and weak to fight it anyway.

"I'm sorry," she said at the same time the stranger finally closed his eyes.

She closed her eyes and tilted her head to the sky. The snowflakes landed on her face and the wind blew a gentle caress on her skin.

Melusine spread her wings open. The forest fairy flapped her wings once, then twice. And then she took off. The fairy disappeared into the night towards the darkness of the forest.