Hi guys! Here I leave you with my entry for the once upon now contest! Voting begins June 14 at 12:01 GMT so if you like it please reserve your votes until then! Feel free to share your thoughts with me and most importantly, enjoy!

*I don't own any images used in cover.

Beautiful cover made by Galasriniel_00

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You set one forest on fire and all of a sudden you are assigned to the worst job in Faerie.

Mae gazed longingly at the lunch she'd so painstakingly packed that morning –a delicious berry medley, sprinkled on top with fresh cut oats—and resigned herself to the fact that it would most likely go to waste.

Josh had been talking to a girl lately--heaven knows why anyone would be interested in him--but if he followed the same pattern as the last three days, Mae knew she'd be working well into the midnight hours.

Sleep for the night? She could forget about that too.

Blowing out the air in her cheeks, she flew up to the keyboard in front of her, began firing the magic necessary to get Josh's text message going, fingertips sparking like fireworks.

Next to her, Zoria fumbled with the non-stop string of blue magic needed to keep the song playing in the background.

"I hate Josh," Mae announced for the millionth time that day. Her fingers ached. The magic --which always seemed to take a toll on her body--was slowing down a little. With the fast pace Josh was typing, she knew she had to press on, didn't have the luxury of a break unless they be discovered.

You see, Josh was her human. Unfortunately for Mae, Josh also happened to be a despicable human being.

On her spare time, say when Josh would miraculously put down his phone for the ten minutes it took to get the battery from zero to ten percent, she'd fantasize about all the ways she could embarrass him.

She could send Linda the picture he took in front of the mirror the other night. The one where he was flexing his non-existent muscles while grunting and making faces into the mirror. That oughtta get her to stop texting him for like, forever. Or she could type up a deliciously embarrassing paragraph about all the ways he was an air-headed fool and tag all his friends on social media.

But then again, Mae really couldn't afford another slip up so most nights the fantasies would dissolve to nothingness and she'd go home, sleep off the day's work for an hour or two and then be back for another round of torture.

As a techno fairy, she had no time to herself, no life, really. So immersed were the humans in their devices that the faeries like her were expected to work around the clock, never catching a break.

She'd like to blame Josh for all her misfortunes but the truth was that it was all her fault. All her and no one else.

"It's not that bad," Zoria responded, her blonde hair whipping around her face like pale razor blades. The sweat on her nose and brow said otherwise, but you could count on Zoria to make any wretched situation look like a walk in the park.

"We get to learn so much from the web. No one else knows as much as we do." She said.

Mae rolled her eyes. She'd trade celebrity gossip and the latest fashion trends for a chance to work with nature just one more time in her life. Heck, she'd give up her weights worth in gold, if only that would get her back on nature duty.

But Mae's reputation preceded her. No sane Fae Mother would give her a job in flora and fauna, not after she'd been responsible for one of the biggest forest fires in the history of the state of California.

With a sigh, she turned her attention back to Josh and his most recent acquisition. He was getting ready to send a picture message. Mae steeled herself, drew in a long, cleansing breath. Picture messages always took the most magic, were always the most draining.

She expelled her magic through the tips of her fingers, a cloud of blue dust rising up around her, engulfing her, making it unbearably difficult not to sneeze.

The message was sent and she sighed a sigh of relief.

"This sucks," A hint of blue fairy dust lingered in the space within Josh's phone, the dark indigo fading to the hue of the sky during sunrise.

"Oh, Mae." Zoria began, "See this as an opportunity to learn something new."

"It feels more like a prison sentence." She grumbled.

Zoria sighed and Mae didn't pursue the argument. It was pointless; Zoria had been born a techno fairy, had never known anything else except gadgets and beeping machines. It was foolish to expect anything else from her. But Mae, on the other hand, had been a nature fairy and going from nature fairy to techno fairy was almost as bad as having your wings ripped right from your back.

Finally, after many hours of mindless texting, Josh decided to call it a night. He set his phone down next to his night stand. Mae could see him through the camera, watched him throw back the covers on his bed and settle into it comfortably.

How she envied him. He'd never have to work a day in his life, and he'd never know, never be able to appreciate, how hard she worked to make his social life possible.

A thank you would've been nice, but she didn't hold her breath for one. Josh was never thankful for anything.

She waited until he was deep in sleep before going home. At least that way she could ensure she wouldn't have to come back five minutes after she'd left when he decided to check social media 'one last time'.

Tired and worn, she poofed back into faerie. Now that her magic was running low, the transport was shaky and she was deposited into an alley, inside a big, green rectangle of goo instead of the sidealk she'd been aiming for.

She threw a banana peel off her head and clambered out. The sight of her blue dress smeared through with dirt and grime and who knew what else was in that dumpster, made her want to burst into tears.

"It's okay, Mae. It's okay. Get home, change, sleep. One day, one day you'll show that wretched Mrs. Terrisinger that an accident can happen to anyone..." She made her way out of the alley and into the cobbled streets of faerie.

Clouds overhead deposited a light, silver mist onto the little cots in the town square. Brown, thatched roofs glinted under what little rays of pale moonlight managed to pierce the congested sky.

"Oh great, I forgot my lunch, too." She complained as she stepped carefully around a wooden cart. From there, she could see the mountains in the distance. They seemed to undulate like waves, their golden tops like sprinkles over a freshly baked vanilla cupcake.

"Mae, is that you?" A voice said. A figure appeared in the doorway of the nearest shop. The scent of freshly baked bread drifted down to her, wrapping its familiar fingers around her nose. Hunger made her stomach grumble and she froze, hoping the person at the doorstep would ignore her if she remained still long enough.

"Mae?"

"It depends," She finally sighed. "Do I look like I just took a swim in a dumpster?"

"Well...only a little."

"Then no, it's not Mae." She let her shoulders slump, tried to stay out of the light of the lamppost so her best friend wouldn't get a good look at her. Fin shook his hair out of his face. In his hands, he held a tray with a loaf of bread peeking out over the top of it.

She stared longingly, at him, and not the bread.

Fin had to be one of the most beautiful creatures she had ever laid her eyes on in her eighteen years of life and the worst part was that he didn't even know how beautiful he was. His green eyes peered at her from under a crop of light, brown hair. He drew closer, placed a mitted hand over her arm.

"Come inside, Mae. You can get cleaned up. It's still a long way before you get home, anyway."

She wanted to say no, but how could anyone say no to his perfectly chiseled jaw? She could just swoon into his muscled arms, faint against his flour dusted apron. Considering how tired she was, she almost wanted to do just that.

Instead, she took a step forward, wrapped her arms around her body and nodded her head.

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Fin's house always smelled like bread which was a no brainer since he did bake for a living. After a while, she stopped recognizing the delicious scent of bread, let it become a background smell to the fragrance coming from the pot of tea Fin set in front of her.

"Mae, you've gotten skinny." He observed as he laid a loaf of bread next to the tea.

"I hardly have time to eat at work. My human is the worst."

His eyes crinkled with worry as he came around to sit on the tree stump he used as his kitchen chairs.

"I'm so sorry, Mae. You must miss nature so much."

She shrugged. "I guess. I mostly just miss eating." She replied, trying to make light of her situation. Fin didn't buy it. If anyone knew Mae, it was him. They'd been friends since they'd sprouted out of their cocoons, had spent more nights together than they did with their own families.

They'd been inseparable ever since Mae had saved his cocoon from getting devoured by a bird. If she'd sprouted just a few seconds later, the beautiful specimen that was Fin Clearmist would not be sitting in front of her now. Even though she had quite literally saved his life, all the thanks she had received was his friendship and a never-ending supply of bread.

"I've been talking to Mrs. Terrisinger when I deliver bread to her. I'm this close to convincing her to give you another chance." He said as he held his pinched thumb and forefinger in front of him. Though Fin could charm the scales off a fish, there was one person he'd never be able to charm and that was the crude and evil Mrs. Terrisinger.

"I appreciate that, Fin, but Mrs. Terrisinger won't ever let me back on nature duty. She told me she'd poof me into fairy jail the next time I asked."

Fin made a face. "I'd never let that happen to you."

She shot him a smile but didn't have the energy to uphold it, letting it dissolve back into a grimace as she stirred her tea with the tip of her finger, watching the brown liquid slosh around against the rim of her cup.

She pushed up the giant sleeve that rolled down her arm before it could get wet. Fin's sister's clothes were a little loose on her body but they were clean and for that she was grateful.

"I know what will cheer you up." Fin clapped his hands together. He went to his chimney and turned on his radio. Cheery music began to stream out of the speakers. He grabbed her by the arm, and though she put up some resistance, eventually he got her to stand up.

"Up you go." He said. Mae rolled her eyes, placed her hand in his and stepped onto the tops of his feet. That's the only way they could dance without Mae bruising his toes.

He wrapped an arm around her waist and then they were up in the air, his wings whipping madly as he twirled and turned her.

Despite her best efforts, she found herself laughing exuberantly.

He always knew how to turn her frown upside down. It was one of the many reasons why she loved him. As they danced and twirled, they became so caught up in their giggles that Fin didnt watch where he was going.

"Careful, Fin, the door!" Mae shouted.

His smile fell as he looked behind him but he was flying much too fast to stop. They crashed into the top of the doorway and went spiraling towards the ground, their hands reaching desperately but catching on to nothing.

Mae yelped as he landed on top of her over a rack of mercifully cooled bread. His brown hair tickled her cheeks and the magic dust he'd left behind made her sneeze right into his face.

"Oh my Fae, that's so gross, I'm so sorry!" Mae blubbered.

Fin chuckled as he swiped at his cheek.

"Nothing a little soap can't fix."

Mae became aware that he was still strewn on top of her and that they were oh so close. She became lost in his green eyes, like swimming in a pond of lilies. Was it just her or had his breathing hitched up higher?

She could feel his chest rising and failing more rapidly against her belly. Their eyes remained glued together and he leaned in closer, closer until his lips were but mere centimeters from hers.

He was going to do it! He was finally going to kiss her. After all those years of waiting, one messy dance party would allow them to finally express their feelings for each other, feelings that Mae had always hoped he reciporcated and that he now seemed about to confirm. Mae closed her eyes, waited to feel the brush of his lips. Just as their lips began to touch—

Ring! Ring! Ring!

No! No, no, no, no! Mae groaned as she felt the tiny pendant on her neck screech and vibrate. Josh had woken up! Josh had woken up and now she had to be inside his phone immediately.

Fin pulled away, his cheeks flushed red. She scrambled to her feet, grabbed her shoes and began dashing towards the door.

"I'm so sorry, Fin. I've gotta go. I—" She ran into the door.

Fin rubbed the back of his neck. His hair was full of bread crumbs and his chest was still rising and falling rapidly. His lips looked so kissable and sweet that she wanted to run back to him and kiss him before she left, wanted to make sure the moment between them had been real and not some vivid, sleep-deprived day dream. The furious vibrations of her pendant kept her from finding out.

She poofed back into Josh's phone just in time to answer a video call which required so much magic she wanted to cry. Everything that had happened that night made her want to cry.

"Josh, wake up, honey. I need your help." Josh's mother said on the other end of the video call.

"Wha—mom, I'm sleeping. What the heck?"

"Honey, your dad has been in a car accident. He's okay so don't worry. It was only a fender bender but I need you to drive down to the hospital and bring me some clothes and a charger."

"Ma, if he's fine then everything else can wait." Josh groaned. "Let me go back to sleep."

His mom's face fell with sadness on the other end and Mae felt anger bubble up inside her. Josh hit the end call button and she found herself sitting within the cellphone, huffing and puffing in the hopes that her rage would subside. She blinked the red out of her eyes in time to see Zoria poof into the phone beside her.

"What's going on?" She asked.

"What's going on is that Josh is an entitled brat."

Mae glared at Josh's snoring form through the tiny phone camera.

"I'm going in." Mae announced.

"Mae, you can't!" Zoria gasped. "If you go out there you'll be breaking the most sacred rule in faerie."

It was time to teach Josh a lesson, Faerie rules and Mrs. Terrisinger be dusted. She'd had enough of this, enough of him, enough of everything.

"He needs to be taught a lesson and I'm going to be the one to deliver it." She rolled up her sleeves and closed her eyes.

"Mae, think about what you're doing! Think about the consequences!"

"What have I got to lose?" Mae shrugged and focused all her energy on the world outside the phone. Sweat broke out on the back of her neck, her entire body quivered. She poofed into Josh's room and almost couldnt believe she'd had the guts to do it.

The window let in a cool, ocean breeze and Mae shivered, suddenly feeling naked. Being inside Josh's phone was much different than being out in his world. She faltered for a moment, wondering if she should just go back.

Her wings fluttered while she whipped her head back and forth between Josh and his phone. She saw Fin in her mind, how close she had been to having her dream of becoming something more than his friend come true and decided she wanted to teach Josh a lesson more than ever.

But once she was centimeters from his face, an image of her mother brushed her memory. Mae had held her hand as she died, her worn and haggard fingers had touched her gently on the cheek.

"Promise me you'll be the best fairy you can be. Promise me you'll love the earth like you love yourself."

Tears flooded her vision but she pushed them back. She turned around, ready to go back into the phone—she couldn't bring such a disgrace to her mother after promising her she'd be her very best. Just as she was focusing her magic on poofing back into the little device, Josh shifted.

His eyes flung open and he saw Mae, fluttering near his nose.

"What the—" He scrambled to sit up in his bed, tangling his legs up in the process. Mae panicked. She threw a burst of blue magic into his face and made a mad dash towards his phone. As he flailed, he managed to drop it onto the floor.

While he groaned, she frantically tried to find another place to hide, a crevice through which she could escape.

"What are you!?" Josh yelled. He chucked a giant pillow at her and she was sent crashing into the window frame, nearly being thrown out into the cold night air.

That was it! That was her escape!

"I gotta stop eating before bed!"Josh rubbed his eyes.

As she was leaving, she remembered how terrible he'd been to his mother. How she longed to have her mother back even for just one moment and here this fool was wasting his chance at loving the woman that had birthed him. And it wasn't the first time he'd been a jerk. She was forced to watch him day after day be a selfish, entitled monster and hurt those around him.

She spun around with a new mission. The damage was already done. Maybe this way she could at least make her trip to the human world worthwhile.

"Listen here you brat!" Mae said to Josh as she wagged her finger in the air.

His big, brown eyes widened in horror, his mouth puckered into an 'o' of surprise.

"Y-you can talk?"

"Of course I can talk! And ya know what else I can do? I can send all the dirty little pictures you've got in your phone to Linda."

"Wha—how do you?"

She mimicked him sarcastically then held her finger up to her mouth to shush him.

"Have you gone brain dead from always being on your phone? Pay attention!"

"What in the world are you?" He whimpered. For a big guy, Josh was sure a weenie.

"I'm the person that makes your phone work. I am also the person who can destroy your personal life if you are ever rude to your mother again. Look around you. You've got such a great life and all you can do is sit there and be glued to your phone twenty-four seven."

She blew another round of dust into his face, eliciting a scream from his lips.

"You listen here and you listen good. I better not ever catch you being mean to your mother ever again or I will send all of your contacts a picture of the inside of your nostrils! I have a copy of that, in case you were thinking of erasing it."

"Okay, okay! Just don't hurt me!" He wailed. He pulled the covers up to his chin and she would bet her life that he was one burst of magic away from wetting the bed.

"Just leave me alone you demon fly!"

Mae placed her hands on her hips. "Demon fly? How rude! I am not a fly, I am a fairy. And I'm an angry fairy at that. So you better get your crap together Josh or I'll make you the laughing stock of your entire class. You'll be the guy on the memes that everyone laughs at. Do you understand?"

"Yes, yes!" He nodded his head furiously.

"Okay," Mae said, feeing proud of herself. She blew out a long breath. "Okay, good. I'm glad we understand each other. I'll be going now."

Josh nodded his head and she waved goodbye causing him to flinch with fear. If she'd known that was all it would take, she would have done this a long, long time ago.

"And one more thing. Let your phone charge for at least twenty-minutes before using it again, jeez---" Mae stopped mid-sentence as she glanced out the window. Something was looming up on the horizon where the ocean met the sky, like a giant mountain materializing out of thin air. She fluttered towards the window and out into the cool night air.

She squinted, thinking that her eyes might be playing a trick on her. But no, what she was seeing was a rushing wall of black. The ocean was rushing towards the city in a giant tidal wave.

"Where in fae are the water faries on duty!?" She groaned. "I gotta do everything around here!"

She flew out the window and down the winding path that led to the shore. Right there, nestled into a slope of sand was Fina, the water fairy on duty.

So she wasn't the only one who accidentally fell asleep on the job. But never mind that, there were more pressing matters at hand. Say, like the giant wave rushing towards them.

She shook Fina awake. The girl with the wild, blue hair shot up into the air, doing a little piroutte of confusion.

"I was just resting my eyes for a second, I swear!"

"Shut up and look!" Mae exclaimed as she grabbed Fina by the arm and spun her around to look at the impending wave of doom.

"Oh my fae! How did this happen!?"

"I'll tell you how it happened. You're only fairy. You're tired and you fell asleep. We have to get help!"

Fina nodded her head. Mae snatched her hand and pulled her back into Josh's room with it's plainly decorated walls and sock ridden carpet.

"I told you I'd behave! Please leave me alone!" Josh wailed as Fina and Mae flew through the window. Fina shot him a confused look while Mae rolled her eyes.

"Please don't hurt me!"

"Oh, shut up you!" She focused on the phone. "Please work, please work. If I can't get back in the phone on time, all the work for summer, everything will be gone. The humans will die!" Mae shouted.

"This is all my fault, Mae. I'm going to be in so much trouble...I'll get kicked out. I'll become a techno fairy."

"They can't do anything to you if they don't have proof." Mae tried to focus her energy on getting back into the phone but Fina was making it very difficult.

"But, Mae, I was supposed to be watching the currents."

"Accidents happen! Mrs. Terrisinger needs to understand that. Now hush!"

It took an extrenuating amount of magic to get back into the phone but Mae somehow managed it. She was huffing and puffing and her nose began to bleed, droping big fat drops of red into the inside of Josh's phone. Fina remained on the other end, the fairy dust around her turning yellow with nervousness.

"Sound the alarm Zoria!" Mae huffed. " A tidal wave is coming! We need every water fairy we can get now!"

Zoria's eyes widened. She rushed to the control panel they used to operate Josh's phone. Instead of tweaking the buttons, she threw a burst of magic into it, securing a line between the phone and Faerie.

"F11. What is your emergency?

"A tidal wave is coming! A tidal wave is coming!" She shouted as soon as the operator picked up.

The next few moments were a blur of colors and magic and of lots and lots of wings. Mae placed her hands against her knees and doubled over, trying desperately to catch her breath. Mrs. Terrisinger showed up outside of Josh's phone and extracted her and Zoria from it.

Josh's entire room became overrun by her people. His eyes were as wide as saucers--Mae could swear there was a rapidly growing stain against his bed sheets.

Everyone ushered outside where the uncanny sight of the approaching wall of black greeted them taunted them with it's gaining speed.

"We need every fairy we can get!" Mrs. Terrisinger shouted. Her white up-do and round belly moved to the same beat as she flew.

Zoria and Mae were Techno fairies, they had no water magic, and Mae had been stripped of her earth magic when she'd set that forest on fire. But at the very least they could pool their magic for the water faeries to draw from.

At least a thousand faeries coalesced outside of Josh's home which stood so near the ocean you could feel the ocean mist spray your face. The humans were non-the-wiser, everyone off in a deep slumber. If their home was destroyed now, they would never know what hit them.

The faeries could not let that happen.

The wall of black was fast approaching. The faeries braced themselves, their colorful wings flapping so fast and wild that they created their own breeze.

"Now everyone!!!" Mrs. Terrisinger shouted.

The giant wave was cresting, was beginning to fall now. The faieries shot their magic out and the ribbons of colorful dust seemed to push back against the wave like desperate fingers. The water was so much more heavy than their magic but the faeries were more determined.

Groans and shouts filled the air. Reinforcements poofed into existence all around her and everyone pooled their magic together. It seemed like the end was near, for all of them. No more techno, water, earth, or fire fairies. No more anything faeries. No more humans.

The world exploded into a brilliance of colors as if a rainbow was raining down from the sky. Fairy dust littered the air in a thick cloud that made it difficult to see if they had suceeded or if they were mere seconds away from death.

Mae wondered if this is what it looked like to be caught in the middle of an exploding star.

A few moments thick with fear passed and as the dust cleared, a silent night saluted them. The enormous wave had broken down into a million tiny waves, all rushing furiously and depositing white foam against the rocks of the cliffs.

Mae let out a breathe she hadn't known she was holding, let her fingers fall back down to her side. A unanimous sigh filled the air. The world continued to spin.

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"What you did, going into the human world, that was very wreckless. Even more wreckless then letting a forest catch on fire."

"Mrs. Terrisinger, I didn't see that cigarette butt, I promise! I didn't see that it had been dropped. I know I should have been paying more attention, but, I--"

Mrs. Terrisinger interrupted her with a wave of her hand. "What you did this time was so unbelievably wreckless..." She was silent for a few moments. Fae twitched nervously, afraid of what she would say next. She feared they'd assign her to someone more wretched than Josh, or worse, take her wings away all together.

She waited, her breath caught in her throat.

"...But thanks to that, you spared an entire city from death and a season's worth of work was saved. For that reason, we have decided to pardon you--"

"Yes!" Mae shouted as she jumped up from her seat. Mrs. Terrisinger shot her a warning look. Mae sat back down and mumbled a small, "Sorry."

"But you have to take an oath that you will never, under any circumstances, EVER, wander back into the human world ever again. If you do, I can guaranteeyou that there are worse things out there than being a techno fairy."

"Yes, yes, Mrs. Terrisinger, I promise. A thousand times I promise!"

Mrs. Terrisinger sighed, letting her finger fall back down to her side.

"Very well then. Mae Loveleaf, we are giving you back your nature magic." Mrs. Terrisinger announced. "I declare you once again, a nature f—" Mae rushed Mrs. Terrisinger and wrapped her up in a giant bear hug, no longer able to contain her excitement. The older woman gave a whoop of surprise but after a few moments she gently patted Mae on the back.

Mae nodded, bowed her head and zipped out of the room to tell Zoria the good news.

On her way out, she didn't see the person coming her way with a stack of boxes. She tried to skid to a halt but it was too late. She crashed into the white-clad figure, sending a dozen loaves of bread flying out of their boxes and into the air. Fin's limbs tangled against hers and they both crashed into the ceiling. Their wings bent and they both tumbled to the floor.

Fin knocked the air out of her as he landed ontop of her. He quickly put his elbows in the way to lift himself up so that his entire weight didn't smother her.

He looked down at her face and laughed as a loaf of his own bread thwacked him on the back of the head.

"We've gotta stop meeting like this, Mae." He said. His smile was dazzling, like it'd always been.

Mae grabbed him by the face and pulled him down to her lips. It was everything she had every hoped for and so much more. It was better than nature magic, if she was being honest, it was like a dream come true.

After a moment, Fin pulled back to catch his breath.

"What was that for?" He laughed.

"For being the best kind of magic in my life." She responded and then she crushed her lips back onto his.