Hi everyone!  SK here.

So last chapter was pretty hectic, this one is a little more toned-down in terms of craziness.  That doesn't mean big things aren't happening this chapter~!

I won't waste much time talking here, so let's get started.

I hope you enjoy~!

Valerie

Reza, Kya, Star, Mlm, Sylkie, Hiro, Brooklyn, Luna, Her Majesty and I all start running for our lives from the humans that are currently chasing after us.  

"Why are we not flying!?" I yell out.

"DO YOU THINK WE CAN FLY!?" Brooklyn screams.  "NO!"  I want to cringe at myself for forgetting that Spirit Soldiers aren't actual fairies.

"The hell was that, Valerie?" the normally-quiet Hiro questions rather loudly and angrily.  "You were supposed to not do whatever you just did!"

"We're going to the Route," huffs the Queen.  "We'll lose the humans that way, and knowing Heliux, Layra, Ash, and Serena will all be on their way there themselves."

"Can't they just follow us?" I protest, glancing backwards as I do.  We're so small that we go by relatively unnoticed, but there is still a crowd chasing us.

While running, the Queen shakes her head.  "The Route is full of twists and turns, so it is very easy to get lost.  There is little chance of any humans making it into the fairy world."  She pauses, still running, and turns back to me.  "Valerie, what happened back there?"

"I don't know."  I start to fumble with my words.  "My inner consciousness started talking to me and-"

"Okay okay, hold on," interrupts Her Majesty as we continue to stay on the move.  My legs are starting to tire out but I will them to keep going because if not, I'm as good as dead.  "I don't have time for a big explanation right now.  Let's return to the fairies first."  She turns back to face in front of her once more.

"Alright," I say breathlessly, nodding my head up and down at her even though she's in front of me and cannot see me.  We push through grass, gravel, and bushes as the ten of us burst into the forest.  I don't see a clear path ahead of us, but Her Majesty seems to know where she is going.  That's when I look down and see the slimmest and dimmest of lime green lines on the ground, zigzagging through shrubs and flower patches.  This is the route, I realize.  That's how humans can get lost; I can barely see the line and I'm fairy-sized.

"Won't humans wreck the forest with their size if they follow us through?"  I think that's a pretty valid question to ask.  

"They would, but they won't," Luna promises, the knot on her cyan-coloured shirt fluttering slightly as the air rushes past her.  "If we can barely see the line, how do you think the humans could?"

That's true, I admit to myself.  By that logic, we should be safe then.  But...

"Where is the part where we cross dimensions?" I shout to the Spirit Soldiers.

"There isn't one clear line," Reza returns breathlessly.  "It's more of a gradient.  There are parts where they blend together.  It fades."  Alright then.

We continue to run along the Route and its winding trail until we begin to hear some familiar voices.  Once we turn a corner, we meet with both the Ministers and the Leaders.  To my disappointment, August and Verity aren't here to relax me.  Although I guess that's partly a good thing, I still have no idea what I'm going to say to that Light fairy.  

"Thank Zagan," Layra says in relief as soon as she spots us.  "What happened?  Are you all alright?"

"Yes, we're all fine, thank goodness," answers Her Majesty.  The Spirit Soldiers all echo her response with nods and thumbs-ups.  

"What happened?" Heliux presses.  "It seemed to me like the Venom of the Fae, but it seemed much more magnified than it should have been."

"That was me," I offer meekly, my heart pounding a million times a minute from sheer anxiety as everyone present turns to look at me.  "I messed up.  Big time."

"What did you do?"  Serena's voice isn't sincere, but it's not angry.  It's a colourless voice.

"I was going to perform the positive version of the Venom of the Fae spell on my friends to practice," I confess, my ears- no, scratch that, my entire being- burning from shame as I continue to talk.  "When I got to meet with my consciousness to create the spell, it convinced me that I should do the bad version of the spell to the whole of humanity to get my revenge... and I did.  I was so stupid, I'm so sorry."  I can't even look at anyone.

Heliux sounds urgent as he speaks.   "What were the specifications of the spell?"

"All the humans will feel distrust for one another, fear, despair, and probably something else but I can't remember," I mumble.  "Also, they will hate the fairies, and know that they exist- if they didn't already because of the spell, a number of them saw Her Majesty, the Spirit Soldiers and I.  That news will spread like wildfire."

"What!" Ash exclaims, something that is clearly anger rising in his tone.  "Why would you do that!?"

"I don't know."  I blink back tears.  I know why, I am why, and I know I am guilty.  I want to die, for real this time.  "I'm so sorry."

"This is more than just a mishap with a spell," Serena tells me slowly.  "This is going to hinder our safety; if humans know about us, they will not hesitate to come looking for us, and we don't have the strength to fight back against the entire human race."

"Nothing about our location was leaked into their minds, right?" asks Layra.  "Nothing about the Colony, or any specific fairies?"

Does she think I specifically wanted the humans to target her and Heliux?  "No, nothing of the sort," I promise her, as if that justifies it.  "They just know in general that fairies exist."

"Your Majesty, what do you think we should do?" Serena asks her suddenly.  All heads turn to the person in question.

The Queen thinks for a moment, tipping her head to the side while she does.  "Until this matter is resolved, fairies should not, under any circumstances, be going into the human world.  It is far too dangerous.  Going there would only initiate more tension, and that would lead to a potential war.  We do not need that in our lives right now, don't you agree?"

"We don't need it in our lives ever," jokes Ash, but no one laughs.  I gulp, this can't end good for me... and it shouldn't.  I deserve a punishment here.  

"How can I fix the spell?"  All eyes turn to me, and they look somewhat shaded, as if something is being hidden from me.  "I want to help," I add, stressing that last word.  It's my mistake, I need to fix it.

"Remember how I said part of this spell requires the Sapphire Staff to perform it?" Her Majesty asks, waving around said object.  "Well, your soul needs to be bonded to this Staff to undo your little spell, which means that you must complete your Queen's training and complete both tests.  Even if you do that, there is still a problem."

"Humans retain memories of the incidents that happen during this spell," Heliux explains when the Queen doesn't.  "They would all know that fairies exist, and over time there would be negative inflictions associated with us because of this spell.  Soon enough people who join us to become fairies would not want to anymore, and if we collapse, the entire world does."

There's that fast heart rate again.  All I heard was that the world is going to end and it's my fault.  I hate myself so much, I deserve the death penalty or whatever the highest penalty is in fairy law if fairy law even exists in the first place.  Fairy laws have to exist, right?  I mean, fairies are smart, they should have laws just like humans do-

Focus Valerie!

Argh, sorry!

"We shouldn't all be talking here," Mlm is pointing out as I tune back into the conversation.  She gestures to our surroundings as she continues.  "We're still on the Route.  Let's go back to the Colony and discuss our plan further."

"Good idea," says Layra, everyone else being relatively tense while I'm over here trying not to have a freaking stroke or cardiac arrest or something drastic.  "Let's go home."

I follow the fairies and the Spirit Soldiers back to the Colony.  I'm not sure if this is just my new Elemental Soul or Space powers taking into effect for the first time, but I can't escape the feeling that we're being watched, and maybe followed.  

August

"What's taking them so long?" I mumble to Verity for what must be the-

"You've asked me that about five hundred times already," she points out, sounding annoyed.  I can't see why she would be.  She should be worried, like I am!  "I'm sure they're fine, just taking their sweet time."

I mutter something under my breath, and she puts a hand on my shoulder.  "I know you're worried about facing Valerie but you'll be fine."

"It's not just that," I confess, looking away from her. 

Verity grows confused.  Right now, we're just sitting on one of the floating platforms that are scattered throughout the Colony.  This one's pretty high up, so we can see a lot of what's going on.  "What is it?"

"I know you like her too," I admit to her.  People say I'm dense, and maybe I am a little oblivious when it comes to some things, but I do notice when my sister is in love with someone.  "I don't want to make you upset."

For once, I cause Verity to be at a loss of words.  "I... okay, fine."  She crosses her arms.  "I really like Valerie, and I think I have a little crush on her... but that's all it is.  A crush.  I barely know her, but you both spent all this time together and at this point if you say you love her, it's love.  She clearly loves you, and you like her back.  I don't know what all that friend stuff was about-"

"I WAS IN DENIAL-"

"But if you two are going to get together, I fully support both of you.  I care about you both and if you're happy, then I'm happy," she finishes, grinning when she interrupts my shout.  "Still though Auggs, you have to stop denying the obvious all the time.  It makes you look dumb."

I cringe at myself and nod.  "Thanks for the harsh reality check, Ver."

"No problem!"

Suddenly, we both hear a flurry of voices from below and we see a large group of people enter the Colony.  I can pick out both of our parents, the Ministers, the Queen and her Spirit Soldiers, and- and... my breath hitches.  Valerie.  I frown at the group because I can clearly sense that there is some kind of tension.  Verity senses it too.  "What's going on?" I wonder out loud.

"No clue," Verity responds.  "Let's listen for a bit, see what we can gather before we go down."

The platform is high, but low enough so we can still hear voices on the ground.  "Good idea," I tell her.  "I-"

"Shut up, I can't hear anything," she complains, grinning at me once again when I scowl at her.

Rolling my eyes, I decide that this isn't worth the fight and I just do as told.  The two of us look downward, our hands gripping the edge of the platform as our faces peep over the side.  

"Valerie, what you did was very-"

"Bad, I know," she says, interrupting Layra.  "My actions were unforgiveable.  I deserve to be punished for them."

Our parents cast side-glances at each other, and I become nervous.  Surely they wouldn't punish a sweet girl like Valerie?

I see Mom mumble something to herself, but from this distance I can't exactly tell what that something is.  However, Heliux is quick to counter whatever she just said.  "Valerie shouldn't need a punishment," he insists.  "She has been through a lot throughout the past couple days, it's completely understandable why her consciousness made the spell go rogue the way it did.  Your Majesty, I really do not think it was wise to have her perform a spell that she herself cannot fix until she takes your position."

Silence.  Did Heliux really just say that to the Queen of all people?

Alara looks at him, and even from up here I can see the steely gaze she gives him.  "What are you saying?" she asks slowly, which makes even me afraid and I'm not even the one in this conflict.

Heliux holds his head up high.  "I'm saying that you made a bad decision having Valerie perform the spell, a spell that relies heavily on emotional connection.  You yourself would have seen everything she went through, she was in no condition to perform that spell at this time."

"Are you saying that you disagree with the fact that I let everything happen for a reason?" Alara points out, her voice sounding high and mighty.  "I let her perform the spell, this is true, and what's done is done."  I would hate to be Valerie in this situation; thinking about how all the older fairies are just talking about her in front of her makes me a little sick.

"I am not saying that," comments Heliux, something in his voice that is just itching for a fight.  "I agree with that fact, I always have Alara."  Heliux not using her formal title?  Oh crap.  "I just don't believe that she should be punished for it, when all the circumstances would have theoretically led the spell to be a failure, and they have."

"Are you questioning my authority?" asks Alara, her voice low and quiet.  

"I can't believe Heliux would do this," I whisper to myself.  "It's so unlike him."

"She's his daughter, he's trying to protect her you idiot," Verity promptly tells me in her usual manner.  "Although what's funny about this is that Alara didn't actually suggest for Valerie to be punished."

Oh crap, you're right, I think to myself.  I return to the scene below, it appears we've missed some stuff while we were talking because Heliux and the Queen are basically at each other's throats.  

"Stop it, Alara didn't say she wanted me to be punished!" yells Valerie, putting her arms between the two quarrelling fairies to push them apart.  

"Serena, Ash, you've both been thinking for some time.  What do you guys have on your minds?" Layra asks to clearly shift the conversation in a different direction.  Both Alara and Heliux turn away from each other, and I think I catch Star snickering at the whole exchange down below.

Dad pauses a bit before answering.  "What Heliux said is true; Valerie, you didn't have control of your actions.  So, this is partially not your fault."

"But, at the same time, it is partially your fault," adds Mom.  She puts both of her arms at her sides and continues.  "You were the one who performed the spell, so you must be to blame for at least some of it."

"So basically, we don't know what we should do with you," finishes Dad.  "Layra, what do you think?"  

From up here, Ver and I can see the Dark Minister tilt her head to the side in thought.  "Valerie should be held accountable for her actions; however, I don't think she should be punished.  Like Heliux said, she had no control over herself.  This is just what I think, but," she turns to face the two Leaders, "Valerie should go unpunished, but the very first thing she must do as Queen is erase the effects of the spell, as well as perform a mass memory-erase on the whole of humanity to ensure that they are not aware of our existence."

I watch Valerie uncomfortably twirl a strand of hair around her finger, her nervous tic, as the older fairies discuss Layra's idea right in front of her.  If I were in her position, my scarf would probably be twisted up into knots by now.  Not loose knots, but those tight undoable knots.  I also begin to notice the small crowd of fairies that is watching the conversation, but I think it's because that the Queen and her Spirit Soldiers are here, not because of Valerie.

"As long as Valerie is willing to work toward this, I see no reason to not go along with your idea Layra," Mom says warmly, looking at both the Minister and her daughter.

"I know she will be.  No daughter of mine would walk away from her mistakes like that," Layra says in a half kind half joking tone.  She turns toward said daughter, waiting for her affirmation.

"Mom's right," Valerie says earnestly.  "I'm definitely willing to work to fix my mistake as soon as possible."

There's a pause, and it takes me a moment to realize that there's a pause because Valerie just called Layra her mom for the first time.  I watch Valerie's face go from a calm expression to a horrified one.  Verity and I glance at each other, both of us in what I think is at least a slight shock from what she said.  She just verbally accepted that Layra is her mom... that's big.  Looking toward the Minister we can see that she's trying to compose herself, but there's an expression that's a mixture of shock and happiness that she's trying to hide.  

"Your Majesty?" Dad asks, oblivious as ever to what is going on in front of him.  "What do you think about this?"

"I think that this is a good enough plan," she answers evenly.  "Valerie, I expect you to be extra diligent with your training, as I think we need to finish it sooner rather than later."

"Y-Yes, of course," Valerie answers, regaining her composure as she does.  "I promise I will."

"Excellent," says Dad almost excitedly, clapping his hands together.  "Then I think that's settled- Your Majesty, you can head home if you'd like."

"Thank you Ash, I will," she tells him pleasantly.   Alara gives a small wave to the watching fairies, then she and her Spirit Soldiers exit the Colony.  

"Valerie, you're free to go off and relax yourself; I think after all that's happened, you need a break," Mom says gently.  "The four of us are going to announce to the Colony about what happened- we will not be blaming you in any shape or form," she adds when Valerie's expression shifts.  "We need to warn them about the potential conflict, that's all.  Come everyone," she says, gesturing for them all to follow her.  Valerie gives Mom a nod, and goes off in her own direction away from the Leaders and Ministers.

Dad starts to go, but Heliux and Layra pause.  They probably want to talk about what she said, I tell myself.  However, Mom catches them.  She whispers something in their ears, probably something along the lines of "let her be for now, she needs some time for herself", because both of them nod and follow our parents off into the distance.  

"Let's go find Valerie," I tell my sister, and she nods.  We both fly down, ignoring the Colony Gathering that my parents are calling.  I'd rather hear what happened from Valerie herself.

Luckily, she hasn't walked that far.  I'm about to call out to her, but Verity beats me to it.  "Val!" she shouts, quickly catching the Queen fairy's attention.  She turns toward us, her eyes lighting up when she sees who it is.  She falters when she sees me, and I feel horrible.

https://youtu.be/G-ox7oYvBDM

The two of us run up to meet her.  "Valerie, what happened?" I ask her, making sure my voice is overly concerned.  

"I- I messed up, big time," she coughs out.  "I tried to perform this spell to help all of my friends move on from my passing but instead I poisoned the entirety of humanity to hate fairies.  The Queen, her Spirit Soldiers and I were all running for our lives from humans as we were getting back to the Colony."

"You're sure you're okay?" I press her.  She doesn't say anything, her eyes avoiding mine, and just nods.  Yikes.  She's still angry, understandably so.

Verity seizes the opportunity and speaks up.  "You mean you guys took the Route back to the Colony?" she inquires.  Valerie nods, and my sister's fiery personality heats up.  "That means some humans could have followed you," she says, and I can't tell if that's excitement or fear in her voice, they both sound the same with her most of the time.  "I'm going to go check the forest for humans!"

"Wait, we should come with you!" Valerie exclaims, staring at the Dark fairy incredulously for wanting to do that task by herself.  However, Verity shakes her head.

"Valerie, you should be taking this time to relax," she points out.  "But, either way, I'm not letting either of you come with me until you both talk it out.  You know what I'm talking about.  I care about you both and I'm not letting your friendship break over something stupid."  She leaves us, smiling and waving as she does.  I turn back to Valerie, dumbfounded.

"How did she know I-" she breaks off.  "Were you guys spying on our conversation?"

"Half the Colony probably was," I point out.  "The Queen was there.  She's an attention-drawer."

"Then you-"

"Yeah, I heard you call Layra your mom," I tell her.  "How do you feel about that?"

"I don't know," she answers curtly.  I expect more, because with her there's usually a whole spiel that follows that statement.  When I don't get one, I know it's time to speak up.

Taking in a deep breath, I open my mouth.  "Valerie, we really need to talk about yesterday."

"Contrary to what your sister said, we don't," she says, almost angry.  However, I'm not taking this.

"Let's go somewhere more private," I say, grabbing her hand before she can protest.  I fly up toward the platform Verity and I were on earlier, but I let go of her hand before I launch myself off the ground.  I don't want to force her to do anything.  However, she still flies up after me.  She's still willing to listen, and I'm willing to work with that.

"Is this so you can lead me on again?" she asks point-blank.  She's angry, she's upset, and she has every right to be.  Still, I'm not used to Angry-Valerie.

"I deserve that," I tell her honestly.  "But, Valerie, yesterday on the lake, you didn't let me finish my sentence."

"You were apologizing right after I confessed to you!" she practically shouts.  "What else could have come in that sentence other than I'm sorry I don't love you back?"

"How about I'm sorry I didn't kiss you back, I was in shock that you actually reciprocated my feelings and I wanted to kiss you back too?" I offer her.  She falls silent, gazing at me with silent shock.  I take the opportunity to explain.

"I think I started liking you a few months in when I was helping you cope with your old dad.  I wanted nothing more than to protect you and I think my feelings stemmed from that.  When the feelings didn't fade months later, I knew it had to be love," I tell her honestly.  I'm so uncomfortable, so nervous, my palms are sweaty are they too sweaty? but I'm ready.  I need to try and fix her heart.  

"The thing is, I didn't think you liked me back.  I didn't think you would; after all, I was a fairy and you were a human.  How would that work out?  Not well, that's how.  So, I think my brain started to make me act dense as a coping mechanism for the eventual heartache that would ensue.  I saw that you were giving me obvious signals, but I convinced myself that you were just my friend and that's what you thought too, because I couldn't handle the opposite.  When you kissed me... I don't know, it shocked me.  Part of me expected it, part of me wanted it, and the part of me that was oblivious didn't even believe it happened.  I was in such shock that I didn't kiss you back, and I was going to apologize for that and kiss you."

Valerie sits still, although her eyes are starting to wobble.  "I love you Valerie," I tell her.  "I'm sorry I hurt you, I'm sorry I was so stupid to not believe that what we had, what we have, is a thing and is real.  Please tell me that there's something I can do to help you forgive me, I'll do anything."

"No, you're not stupid, I am," she forces out.  "Stupid because I ran out before letting you finish.  I could have saved us so much pain and grief-"

"Don't you dare blame yourself," I tell her, gripping her wrists and moving closer to her.  "This isn't your fault.  It's mine, so please tell me what I can do to fix it."

"You already have," she says, giving me a sheepish smile.  A sheepish smile that I can now say with confidence that I love.  There's not a part of my brain that can deny what's going on, not a part of me that can be dense enough to say that she's just a good friend.

"That's good," I tell her.  I give her a sheepish smile of my own.  "That's really good."

We stop talking for a little bit, the two of us just stupidly smiling at each other.  "So, what happens now?" asks Valerie, her voice as soft as a dandelion seed.

"Well, I'm just a boy who loves the girl who is sitting right beside him," I say quietly, moving closer to her.  "I'm just a boy who was denied his kiss with that girl yesterday."

"It's like you've changed with the flick of a switch," she laughs, swopping her arms around my neck.  "And I love it."

I shrug.  "We both confessed, we both love each other.  There's nothing left for my brain to deny, nothing that can make me doubt and act dense.  You know why?"  I move closer still.

Our faces are inches away, and her beautiful purple, golden-flecked eyes stare back at me.  "Why?" she whispers.  I can feel my heart pounding in my chest, and I know she must feel the same.

"Because I know that I love you," I tell her.

"I love you too," she breathes out, and just like that, we have our first kiss together.  I never thought it would be like this, but even while my parents are discussing a potential war below us, nothing could be better.

It's so... imperfectly perfect.

Verity

"I hope those two join me soon," I mumble to myself.  Back-tracking through the Route is hard mostly because there's no clear path and it's getting annoying doing it alone.  Knowing those two they're either A) sheepishly smiling at each other, B) kissing, or C) all of the above.  But now that they've made up I really hope that they will come out to give a fellow fairy a hand.

Suddenly, I hear voices- two voices that I can clearly tell are humans because I've never heard them before.  I hide, reading my focus to shrink them down when they come into my sight.  This is another reason why I wanted others with me.  I don't want to deal with humans by myself; that's how I get captured.  You can do this, I tell myself.  Just breathe and remember that August and Val are probably on their way.

I see two humans come into sight, a boy and a girl.  I don't get a good look at them, but what I do do is shrink them down to fairy size as soon as I see them.  While they looked utterly confused and shocked, I step out into the light.  "My name is Verity, the next Leader of the Dark fairies," I proclaim.  Okay, I'm just winging this.  They don't exactly teach you what you're supposed to say if you find humans in fairy territory.  "State your intentions."

"My name is Leaf," frantically says the grey-brown haired girl.  She has light brown eyes while the boy beside her has darker brown hair and eyes.  "This is Red," she adds, gesturing to the boy.  "and we're looking for my friend Valerie."

I stare at her.  "Hold on, you know Valerie?"

Aaaaaaaand cut!

XD I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and YES AULERIE IS NOW CANON GO CELEBRATE.  Sorry Verilie shippers, if there are any... but this won't be the end of Verilie I promise.  At least I'm saying this now with the stuff I have planned out.. not sure if things will change.

And yes I'm sorry I didn't have time to do a full coloured drawing for their becoming-canon kiss, but I have stuff coming up for Aulerie in the future...

Anyway, we're getting into the big moments of the book, lots of them are coming up pretty soon.  Stay tuned for future chapters, you won't wanna miss 'em!