Elowen liked Avangelique's rules. Just last night, she'd had to stand and watch helplessly as Estefania worked against her stepmother for what seemed like an hour. Avangelique proposed only one question, and the winner would take the prize. 

It was the question, though, that threw Elowen. She was hoping that Avangelique might give her some sort of edge or advantage over Monique since she was the one choosing the questions. Instead, Elowen stood before the fairy empress, rattling over the wish in her head. 

"A girl desperately wishes for the means to break her family's curse and return home."

There was a little twinkle in Avangelique's eye when she read the wish. Elowen knew that, somehow, this wish was personal rather than something she'd chosen arbitrarily. The fairy practically glowed as she waited for the answers from Elowen and Monique. 

"Curses are deserved," Monique said. "They are rotten wishes that bring to life cruelty unimaginable."

"Is that what you did by bestowing lovely little challenges on my family?" Avangelique said. "Making my sister only love beastly things? Cutting my brother's days in half by making sure he only saw sunlight as a frog. And me. You cursed an unborn baby to a fate worse than death."

"Your family deserved such suffering," Monique said. "I granted my own deepest desires that day."

"And broke cardinal rule number one as a fairy," Avangelique said. "You've lost your compass and ability to help others. Now, how would you grant Estefania's wish made on her twenty-first birthday."

There it was. The brilliance in the sixteen-year-old fairy empress's mind. The wish was Estefania's. Monique was being forced to help a girl she hated so much she'd challenged her to a duel. 

"I would make sure that little girl never had any wishes granted," Monique shouted. "She doesn't deserve to be the heir of Sahar. It is my daughter who should have ruled the lands. I was betrothed to Hadrian, and he broke our contract."

Avangelique smiled. "And you, Elowen?"

"I would help the girl home by releasing her family from the magic that bound them and, therefore, lifting their curses," Elowen said. "It's a selfless wish after all. The girl wants only to return home for herself, and that doesn't even require magic."

Monique's eyes widened. "Wait, I'm supposed to go first."

Avangelique looked down at the book. "It looks like your answer has been accepted, Monique de Dalinos. The book has rendered Elowen de Nene the winner of this trial."

Monique grabbed the book from Avangelique, and the color drained from her face. The book smoked, and Monique dropped it, letting it fall to the ground at her feet. She screamed like a tea kettle boiling over and lunged at Elowen. 

"You stupid little baker," Monique tackled her to the ground. 

The golden bubble around them, cutting them off from the rest of the ball, vanished. Avangelique waved her hand, and Monique was thrown backward. Elowen heard a clacking on the marble behind her, and Fletcher helped her to her feet. 

"Did she hurt you?" He murmured. 

Elowen shook her head in shock. He cupped the back of her neck, and for the first time, she leaned into him for strength. His warmth seeped into her like a warm pastry, and she never wanted to leave.

"Monique de Dalinos, Countess of Nene," Avangelique's voice echoed around the hall and blended into a symphony of harmonious voices. "You will release the Marquess de Ryne and the Prince of Sahar as outlined in the trial."

"Y-You can't kill me," Monique's voice quivered. 

There was no reasoning with the wrath of the fairy empress. Elowen knew that in her bones. The very earth shuddered under Avangelique's feet. Her power was unmatched and rattled the room. 

"Give them back," Estefania stepped forward with a large wolf at her side. 

Elowen hadn't even seen Nathaniel transform back. The marquis growled and barred his teeth at the countess. Monique cowered and held up her hands in surrender. 

"I release them," she said. "I release them."

There was a flash of black smoke on the other side of the ballroom. Wryn stepped out of the darkness with Bastien at her side. They were both still dressed as they were for the first ball, as if no time had passed at all. 

"Did we miss something?" Bastien asked. 

Estefania ran across the ballroom, barreling around people to reach her brother. The wolf followed her, and people jumped out of his way to avoid his claws and teeth. She pulled him into a bear hug and started sobbing. 

"Bash," she said. "I was afraid I wouldn't see you again."

For the first time, Elowen actually felt for the princess. Estefania must have carried tremendous guilt after losing that first trial. Now she had her brother back, and that weight was lifted off her shoulders. 

Wryn moved behind Bastien and his sister as Nathaniel approached, wagging his tail and lolling his tongue. Though Elowen didn't think that Nathaniel seemed particularly menacing, he was still a massive beast. 

Estefania broke away from her brother and scratched Nathaniel behind the ears. "Wryn, this is your brother Nathaniel. He's been looking for you for a very long time."

A scream came from the stage. Elowen turned to see Nathaniel's mother, the Dowager Duchess of Ryne, near the base of the stage. She held her hands to her mouth and stared at Wryn with tears in her eyes.

"Oh, what is it now, woman?" The king of Cyra sounded bored. 

The Dowager Duchess whirled on the king. "You don't recognize our daughter. Our Caitryn."

"I see a silly peasant and a prince, Patricia," the king said. "Honestly, you can't expect some mystery girl to be your daughter. She's just common."

The Dowager Duchess pushed her way towards Wryn and hugged the girl. Nathaniel jumped around them excitedly, and everyone gave the overjoyed wolf a wide berth. 

"There's no chance Than is changing back tonight," Fletcher said, his attention falling back on Monique and the empress. "Unless..."

Elowen could follow his thoughts easily enough. Monique had cursed the royal family of Cyra. If they could get her to reverse the magic, Nathaniel could return to his true form. 

"Mighty empress," Fletcher raised his voice above the chaotic din of the ballgoers. "My family has been greatly wronged by the fairy before you. Is there any way that the curse bestowed on our house might be undone?"

Avangelique turned to face Fletcher. Elowen thought she could see a great deal of pity in the empress's eyes. She gripped her scepter so hard that her knuckles were white. 

"I am not at full strength," Avangelique said. "And the book only grants me dominion over those in my sisterhood. Monique has abandoned her vows. She is not one of my fairies anymore."

It was as if Avangelique's words rewrote reality. Monique's wings fell from her back, and the former fairy wailed. Elowen could feel the power rush from the countess, and the room shook again as the power vanished into nothing. 

"Ava," Fletcher said. "Please help us."

Shouts and screams once again started up at the other end of the ballroom. It took Elowen a moment to figure out what some of the women in the crowd were staring at. The king of Cyra had aged almost twenty years, and his hair was falling out as his face wrinkled. Instead of a man looking the age of his son, the king of Cyra now looked middle-aged. 

Fletcher's entire body stiffened as if he were struck by a bolt of lightning. He dropped his cane and stood up straight. Elowen wondered if it was the first time in his life he actually felt like he had all the energy he needed. 

"Are you all right?" She asked. 

"Better than ever," Fletcher said. "Thank you, Avangelique."

The king of Cyra got to his feet unsteadily. He teetered for a moment as a howl pierced the ballroom. A moment later, Nathaniel transformed, and the marquis was curled on the floor, hugging his chest to hide his naked body. 

Fletcher swore and ran towards his brother, calling for a cloak. Two guards spread their outer garments across the marquis. Nathaniel turned to Fletcher, gaping in wonder.

"Fletch, I don't think I've ever seen you run," the marquis stood careful to cover himself. 

"And you..." Fletcher grinned. "You're you."

The brothers embraced. Elowen made her way over to where they stood, and then she noticed the king screaming for someone to do something about his appearance. No one moved to help the king since they were so distracted by his sons hugging. 

Lorenzo joined his brothers, rubbing his temples and throwing his head back in laughter. "I can think, finally. I never knew the joys of a headache-free life. I mean I know that's not as bad as what you two have endured but thought has never felt so free. Thoughts like, can I please kill that blasting countess now?"

Fletcher turned to his brother. "Is that what you want Zo?"

The youngest prince drew his sword. "I think it's only fair."

Avangelique shook her head. "Revenge is never the answer."

Elowen knew deep in her heart that the fairy empress was right. Monique had done terrible things, but if they murdered her, they were no better than the fairy she had once been. 

"She's right," Elowen said. "We cannot sink to her level."

"My betrothed is correct," Fletcher said. 

Lorenzo raised an eyebrow. "Say that again, brother?"

Fletcher looked Elowen in the eye. "I, Prince Fletcher de Cyra, have decided to break my betrothal with Princess Estefania de Sahar to pursue Lady Elowen de Nene, the kindest baker in the lands."   

Elowen blushed as every eye in the room judged her. A week ago, it might have made her sink into her kitchen, but now she stood tall and proud before all of Cyra. She would one day be their queen, after all. 

Estefania gave her a gentle smile, and she slipped her hand into Nathaniel's. The princess of Sahar's heart, after all, very clearly belonged to another. 

"No, no, no," the king of Cyra stumbled off the dias and towards his sons. "Fletcher, I told you. I want Sahar. I'm the king, and no one is breaking off any engagements."

Fletcher pushed Elowen behind him. "I have no interest in Sahar, Father."

"First, you take my youth, and then you decide to forsake that beautiful bride and throne I procured for you, Fletcher," the king was red in the face and breathless as he pointed his pudgy finger in Fletcher's face. "You're ungrateful, and you're banished from Cyra. You hear me, banished."

"Your majesty," Avangelique said sweetly. "You should take it easy. Your aged body has never handled this much stress before."

The king whirled on Avangelique. "You. I should have thrown you out when your grandmother begged me to take you in. This is how you treat your adoptive family. I expect some magic to make up for all the chaos you've caused, little girl."

The fairy empress looked at the king of Cyra dead in the face with a one-word answer. 

"No."

The king made a noise akin to a pig being slaughtered, and with a great REEEEET, he swung his hammy fist at the fairy empress. Avangelique caught his arm with magic, and suddenly, the king fell forward flat on his face.  

His crown fell off his head with a clatter and rolled on the floor. Everyone stood there in shock. No one moved to help him. They just watched as the king's body twitched one last time, and then he went limp. 

"I was wondering when his heart would give out," Avangelique finally said. "That much aging at once is incredibly bad for one's health. If he'd given up his wish even after the first five years, he might have survived. Unfortunately, in his condition, there wasn't much we could do."

A physician in the ball attendees announced a short while later, after an examination, what Avangelique had told them. His heart had given out. The king of Cyra was dead. 

It was only then that Avangelique let the fallen crown float off the floor and rest on Fletcher's head. The crown prince ascended the dias, and the crowd dropped into a bow. Elowen curtsied alongside them to pay respect to the new monarch. 

"All hail Fletcher de Cyra," Avangelique said. "King of Cyra."