Stormy and Poseidon (mentioned) belongs to GeekyCookie1

~~~~~~~~

"Welcome to my realm, Aliya."

As soon as Aliya heard her name come out from Narcissa's mouth, the faerie froze. "You know my name," she stated in disbelief as Narcissa sweetly smiled in her direction, briefly teleporting to her side.

"Of course, my dear! You've been quite the talk!" the sea witch exclaimed, allowing her tentacles to wrap around the faerie, who indirectly tripped as a way to get out. "Yes, you are truly something," Narcissa briefly continued as Aliya awkwardly chuckled, silently wondering if she took on too much.

"Mija, sometimes you just tend to into things first hand and you don't think about the consequences at times," Amara softly said while Issac applied a ice pack to his daughter's right eye.

"Yeah, but Marcellus and his stupid friends were making fun of Jesse because of his fascination with the human world. Marcel and his friends think they're so cool, but I bet they will end up with terrible talents. Ugh! They each deserved to get punched in the face, but I could only get away with one, so—" Aliya defensively rambled before she was cut off by Stormy, who giggled at her niece's reaction.

"That's why you chose Marcellus since he was the leader of the group. You thought you could get a scare out of everyone else, but it didn't work out that way, did it?" Stormy gently reasoned as Aliya winced from the ice pack. "I'm sorry mija, but you have to stay still. This is the only way I could get to the source, since your body won't take the eye injection," Issac gently said, holding her hand.

"No, it didn't work like I wanted. Instead, Marcel's second-in-command, Katsu, picked a fight with me over his ringleader and I lost to him," Aliya dejectedly mumbled before sighing. "I'm just as weak as everyone says I am," she said as her parents and Stormy shook their heads.

"No, sweetheart. You are far from weak," Amara firmly began as Stormy and Issac nodded. "Flower Blossom, this has nothing to do with weakness. You have a good heart, my dear flower, but sometimes, you don't think things all the way through," Stormy softly said, tenderly rubbing the girl's face as Issac grinned.

"If anything, all of us are proud of you for standing up to your beliefs. Marcellus and his friends should have been nicer to Jesse, even the boy's obsession with the human world is uh... a little bit odd," Issac softly said as Aliya stubbornly shook her head.

"Jesse isn't odd, he's cool! He wants to show me some of human artifacts, but I don't have anything to show..." Aliya excitedly began before frowning. "Hmm... I think we have a few things from the human world. Would you like to take a look around and see what you want to bring to Jesse?" Stormy offered as Aliya's smile grew brighter.

"Yes!"

"Heh... right," Aliya awkwardly began as Narcissa eyed the girl darkly, which did little to calm her nerves. "You know, you've been quite the troublemaker for me. I had Jesse in my hand, but then Atticus goes to you and the next thing I know, you and your friends come along to help him!" the sea witch continued before smirking as she willed her tentacles to wrap itself around her leg.

"It's almost ironic that you're here actually," Narcissa began with a cold underlying, dangling the girl, who found her heart racing. "Yeah, uh... what makes you say that?" Aliya briefly continued, trying to refrain herself from screaming.

"Well, I was about to send my eels to drown you more intensively, given how I still had to hold my end of the bargain to Jax's request," Narcissa began, briefly pausing as she stared at the girl. "Oh, they never told you about that part, hmm?" Narcissa continued, grinning mischievously.

"Yes, they specifically requested me to make you suffer, but since you're here now, I don't see Jax has to know about your little whereabouts. Yes, I think I'll do more then just drown you," Narcissa confidently stated, a dark gleam in her eyes as Aliya nervously chuckled, her thoughts racing.

"I should make you a meal for my lovely piranhas. Isn't that right, my babies?" the sea witch as she swung Aliya to the pool where the piranhas excitedly jumped up from the water in an attempt to reach her. "It only seems fitting, given how you're here. Besides, I doubt you'll be missed much," the sea witch continued, preparing to drop Aliya into the pool of piranhas when Aliya gripped onto one of Narcissa's tentacles.

"Wait! Wait! Wait!" Aliya repeatedly exclaimed, partially from fear and desperation as she refused to die at the hands of the sea witch's pet piranhas. "What if I made a deal with you? If you made a deal with me, you could get payback for me sabotaging your clients and perhaps, figure out another punishment for me to complete?" she quickly asked.

"One that preferably doesn't include being eaten alive by piranhas," she later mumbled, the words escaping out from her mouth. "You have nothing I want and quite frankly, I have no use for you, Fae-Maid," Narcissa bluntly stated, preparing to drop the faerie once more when Aliya hastily held onto the sea witch's tentacles once more.

"Wait! I have Erebus's gemstone!" Aliya loudly exclaimed in a panic as Narcissa raised her eyebrows, before dismissively flinging the girl to the other side of the room where the faerie held her grip on the gemstone, refusing to let her primary item get harmed in the process.

"Ow! Did you have to fling me across the room? You could have just dropped me on the ground!" she later protested, to which the sea witch merely shrugged. "Show me now," Narcissa sharply ordered, reverting her tentacles back while Aliya rubbed the back of her head.

"Sure, sure, but I have a few demands of my own," Aliya stated, now leaning on the wall for support. "Fine. What are your demands, Fae-Maid?" Narcissa impatiently stated as Aliya rubbed her eyes before making eye contact with the sea witch. "First, I want you to revoke Jesse and Jaxon's contracts," she began as the sea witch cackled at the girl's first request.

"You want me to revoke both of their contracts?" Narcissa asked as Aliya shrugged. "I mean if Erebus's gemstone isn't that important to you, I'm sure I could get a better deal from Atticus," Aliya shot back as the sea witch angrily raised her tentacles towards the girl, who tried to shield herself before Narcissa forced herself to calm down, calling the tentacles back into her possession.

"Fine. I'll revoke both of their contracts if you can show me that his gemstone is the real deal," the sea witch began as Aliya nodded, revealing the gemstone in her possession as Narcissa's eyes lit up. But when the sea witch tried to seize the gemstone from her, Aliya was faster.

"We weren't finish here. In addition to revoking their contracts, I want you to honor the terms as listed on their contracts. This means that on the last sunset tomorrow, Jesse should get his voice back as promised," Aliya firmly stated as Narcissa bitterly groaned.

"Fine! But what of Jax? I can't make Jesse fall in love with them, no matter how much magic it took," Narcissa irritatedly asked as Aliya shrugged. "Let them get a wish as in-charm credit for their request being physically impossible to produce," Aliya suggested, noticing the sea witch's eyes twitching.

"In my defense, you shouldn't have told Jax that you could make Jesse fall in love with them," Aliya smartly pointed out before realizing that if she pushed the sea witch any further, she would really end up as fish food.

"Okay, as for my last demand, I want it to be on-record that Jesse came here to see you and asked you specifically to become human," she concluded as Narcissa raised her eyebrow. "There's an Avalonian hunt going on back at Fairytopia and Jesse's parents are stubbornly persisted that I'm holding him hostage, so by having your words down on record, I'm hoping that will serve as my proof of innocence," she later explained as Narcissa sympathetically nodded.

"I used to live up there on Avalon. I was a humble witch until I was kicked out and force to live underground here," Narcissa softly said as Aliya's eyes somewhat softened. "Oh, I'm sorry to hear that," she sincerely said. "Though for what it's worth, you seem cool, just minus the whole you nearly feeding me to the piranhas part," Aliya offered as a compliment as the sea witch laughed.

"Well, you are not so bad yourself, Fae-Maid," Narcissa truthfully admitted before holding out her hand as the girl only grinned. "First show me the contract, then you'll get the gemstone," Aliya countered back as Narcissa snapped her fingers, causing a contract appeared in Aliya's face.

"Once you sign the contract, I'll take the gemstone and as a precautionary measure, I'll be taking your voice in place of Jesse once I retrieve you from the human world," the sea witch briefly stated as Aliya stared at her. "Wait, why do you need my voice?" Aliya curiously asked, but the sea witch merely grinned.

"My child, I cannot reveal the answer to your question," the sea witch simply answered, sending shivers down her body. "Oh, that is very reassuring to know," Aliya sarcastically mumbled to herself, staring at the contract in front of her.

I hereby grant unto Narcissa, the witch of the Avalonian seas, possession of Erebus's gemstone and my voice (upon being retrieved from the mortal plane) in exchange for Jesse and Jaxon's contracts being void upon the signature of the signer, with the final terms of both contracts being granted.

Furthermore, the signer will be subjection to punishment on grounds of said signer inferencing with the contract made in accordance with Jesse. This punishment will be as the witch of the Avalonian seas deem fit.

Failure to comply with the contract and/or any notice of violation of the terms listed on this contract under any circumstances is deem fit to result in Narcissa claiming the soul of the signer.

"Hey, how come my contract doesn't list any voids? I thought those were required," Aliya pointed out. "Where you are going, Fae-Maid, a void won't be necessary. Not in your particular case," Narcissa stated in a tone that was hard for the faerie to decipher, but the sea witch's eyes revealed the hidden truth: she was never getting a way out.

As she read the contract and took into account of the sea witch's strange behavior, Aliya realized the sea witch had plans — much bigger plans — that specifically involved her.

She had lucked out on escaping one puppet master, only to find herself clutch into the scheme of another one. The faerie knew by signing the contract, Aliya would free Jesse and Jaxon from being subjected to the consequences of their contracts at the cost of her freedom. Still if losing her freedom meant the safety of her friends, then that was a risk she was willing to take.

"Having second thoughts? Take your time, but if you don't sign, I'll have Jesse and Jaxon's souls by sundown tomorrow," Narcissa chimed in as Aliya silently bit her lip, weighing her options.

Surely, she could find another way to help out her friends, but then again... did her friends even want her around? Did anyone want her?

"Maybe, your parents and Stormy would actually be taken seriously if people knew they didn't have someone like you around to ruin their reputation. Heh, maybe Libby, Jesse and I would even be happier if we all knew you wouldn't be around to mess everything up, because that's what you do, Aliya."

No, everyone would be better off if she wasn't part of their lives. Besides, she was just a trouble magnet. It didn't matter how much good she tried to do, trouble always follow her around. So, why did she think this time could possibly be different?

"I did have second thoughts, but I'm ready now," Aliya truthfully admitted as she picked up the floating golden quill in her hand. "Here goes nothing," she added before taking a deep breath and willing herself to sign the paper. "Done," she later added as Narcissa snapped her fingers, the quill now disappearing out of her hand.

As Narcissa greedily held the contract in her hands, she made sure to confirm that her latest victim signed off her life.

I hereby grant unto Narcissa, the witch of the Avalonian seas, possession of Erebus's gemstone and my voice (upon being retrieved from the mortal plane) in exchange for Jesse and Jaxon's contracts being void upon the signature of the signer, with the final terms of both contracts being granted.

Furthermore, the signer will be subjection to punishment on grounds of said signer inferencing with the contract made in accordance with Jesse. This punishment will be as the witch of the Avalonian seas deem fit.

Failure to comply with the contract and/or any notice of violation of the terms listed on this contract under any circumstances is deem fit to result in Narcissa claiming the soul of the signer.

Signed,
Aaliyah Finkelstein

"I'll be taking this now as promised," Narcissa firmly stated, snapping her fingers as Erebus's gemstone teleported from Aliya's hand and directly into the possession of the sea witch, who grinned maniacally at the sight of the gemstone.

"Uh, well if that's it, then I guess I should go take my leave," Aliya awkwardly stated, preparing to leave when the sea witch appeared in front of her with a quill and a tiny bottle.

"Actually, before you go, dear, I need one more thing from you," Narcissa firmly stated, her eyes glowing a light darkish green — almost lime like — as Aliya felt the sea witch's tentacles wrapped itself around her, making her escape rather difficult as the tentacles added intense pressure onto the girl.

While Aliya protested against the whole ordeal, Narcissa managed to collect sample of the girl's blood, which she kept sealed in the tiny glass bottle. "There," Narcissa stated as her eyes returned to a dark mahogany color, the tentacles reverting back into her arms as Aliya fell on her knees, coughing from the process.

As she stood up, Aliya wobbled, her vision getting hazy as the sea witch caught her. "Oh, my dear, you don't look so good," she could vaguely hear Narcissa, but the faerie sworn she heard a sense of mockery and vile pleasure out of the sea witch, rather the concern nature the sea witch presented in her voice.

"I'll be fine," Aliya heard herself say, almost in a dismissive tone as she tried to move away from the sea witch, only for the girl to feel the room start spinning. She felt herself slipping, but Aliya just barely caught herself in time. "Oh, let me go get my eels to carry you back to the surface. I insist," the sea witch stated, before Aliya heard her footsteps fading away.

"Yeah, sure," Aliya sarcastically mumbled, shaking her head soon after. She had a small window before Narcissa appeared with her two eels and so, she willed herself to take this opportunity to escape. Taking a deep breath, Aliya began swimming her way back to the surface.

When Narcissa returned with her eels, the sea witch smirked at the sight of her latest victim's disappearance. "Jax's contract may be void now, but I won't let your desires go to waste, my babies," she softly cooed, lightly scratching the chins of her two eels, who hissed joyfully from her touch.

"Drown her."

~~~~~~~~~~~

While Lillian and Jesse were searching for Aliya, the two had crossed paths with Jaxon, who was also trying to find her. In a rage of anger, Lillian snapped at the sight of her sibling.

"You are the most idiotic sibling I have!" Lillian angrily snapped, knocking onto her sibling's head as Jax gawked with each hit. "Ow!" Jaxon exclaimed as they rubbed their head. "You know in my defense, I was trying to apologize to her but she ran away," Jaxon stated as Lillian pulled on their ear.

"Ow!"

"Oh, geez, I don't know. Maybe, Aliya ran away from you because you told her that everyone's lives would be better if she had gotten her suicide attempt right the first time!" Lillian angrily snapped once more, before pulling on Jax's ear harder. "Ow! Libby, will you just stop?" Jaxon snapped as their sister glared at them.

"Don't you think I feel horrible enough as it is?" Jaxon countered back as Lillian shook her head. "No. I honestly think you could feel a lot worse about you said to her," she firmly stated, angrily shoving her sibling to the ground. "Will you stop!" Jaxon snapped as they stood back up.

"No! Did you stop to see yourself pushing Aliya to her limit? Did you stop to see how you were hurting her? She's our friend and our sister, Jax! She trusted us when Jesse failed her as a best friend and you just betrayed her trust by basically telling her she was better off dead!"

"Libby—"

"You knew she was suicidal and you purposely told her those cruel words just to spite her!" Lillian angrily exclaimed, punching her sibling until she took a deep breath to compose herself.

"You don't think she hears those words enough from everyone else back home? We were supposed to be the ones Aliya could trust! But no! Thanks to you, I have to figure out what to say to Issac, Amara and Stormy that their daughter and our sister is now dead!"

As Lillian moved away from Jaxon, they began to approach her. "Libby, just take a deep breath. Okay? We will find her, alright? Besides, we were able to talk Aliya out of killing herself once. I'm sure we'll be able to do it again," Jaxon assured their sister, only to stop when they saw Lillian gripping onto a sheet of paper.

"No, we won't."

"Libby—"

"We won't be able to talk her out of this one because we were too late to stop her," Lillian slowly answered, maintaining a death-like grip on the paper, her body now shaking. "I hope you're proud of yourself, Jaxon, because you won," she continued, gripping onto the paper as Lillian's voice cracked.

"She's dead and I lost the only sister that ever cared for me, because of you," Lillian solemnly continued, crumbling up the paper before throwing the paper to her sibling, who caught the paper. "That's her suicide note. Feel free to frame it, so you can force yourself to remember how you led your sister to end her life," she bitterly continued as Jesse grabbed Aliya's bag.

"Now, if you excuse me, I need to go track her down in the water. Issac, Amara and Stormy should at least be entitled to having their daughter's body to bury," Lillian continued, her voice now completely devoid of emotion.

As Lillian walked away from her sibling, Jesse kept his eyes down as he chose to follow her, leaving Jaxon all alone.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

"You're a terrible sibling, you know that? I always expected this kind of behavior from Iris and even Jesse on several occasions, but you? I never thought you would be the one to do this to me."

As Jaxon stared at the note, they gripped the paper in their possession, their body now shaking with disgust toward themselves.

"I really am a terrible sibling. I allowed my anger to fester and corrupt me. I allowed my jealousy to consume me and now look. I hurt the one person who was ever there for me and Libby," they regretfully spoke, clenching their fist as Jaxon forced back their tears.

"If I had better control of my emotions, then none of this would have ever happened to you. You didn't deserve this, Aliya," they continued before crumbling the paper. "Ugh! I'm so stupid!" they exclaimed, tossing the note into the water, their eyes landing on the area where the paper landed.

"Huh," Jaxon mumbled, treading the water lightly as they began navigating themselves through the area they were so fixated on. It wasn't until they looked below did they spot a body. "Hang on!" they exclaimed, clinging onto hope that the body they found still had a chance to survive.

As they swam, Jaxon found the body sinking and once they finally were able to reach the body, they sworn they saw two pairs of bright yellow beading eyes staring back at him before vanishing. Upon bringing the body back to shore and discovering the girl was still breathing, Jaxon's eyes widened almost immediately.

"Libby, Jesse, come here! I found her and she's still breathing!" Jaxon instantly called out to the two, their heart racing at the possibility of their sister still being alive. "Hang on, Aliya," they said, positioning their hands on her chest.

"You're not dying on our watch."

~~~~~~~~~~~~

"... She's waking up! Everyone move out of the way!"

As she began picking up on voices, Aliya could start making out images within her hazy vision. After coughing out the last amount of water in her system, she saw her vision finally adjusted, finding herself surprised to see Lillian, Jesse and Jaxon look at her, each of them with tears of their own.

"Why are you all crying?" Aliya puzzling asked, stunned by the hoarseness of her throat before realizing that was expected. "Because we thought you were dead!" Lillian and Jaxon exclaimed while Jesse nodded, the tears streaming down his face. "Dead? What are you two—" Aliya began in confusion, only to get cut off.

"Your suicide note, Li."

Aliya's eyes widened as she briefly opened her mouth, wanting to tell the others that she already went through her attempt, failed to drown herself properly and got sent back by Poseidon, who she already shared a heart-to-heart conversation. She wasn't sure she wanted to go through the whole ordeal again.

She wanted to explain that she had drowned on account of Narcissa's pet eels. But if she said that, Aliya would have to explain why the sea witch's eels were after her and she knew once she stated Jaxon as the reason, she imagined Lillian and Jesse turning on them.

So for all intents and purposes, Aliya chose to spare Jaxon from further harassment... not that they deserved it.

"Lillian, that note... it... I..." Aliya awkwardly began, trying to figure out the right words before sighing. "I only wrote the note because I thought everyone would be better off without me," she admitted, though to the faerie, her statement came out more like a lie because in truth, Aliya still felt like everyone would be in a better position if she wasn't around to screw everything up.

"Aliya, that's not true!" Lillian protested, pulling her sister into a hug in spite of the faerie's dampening state. As she pulled away, Lillian held onto Aliya's face using a gentle but firm touch.

"You listen to what I'm about to tell you, okay? You matter, Li. You matter to me. You matter to a lot of people and soon, Avalon will see that too and if they fail to recognize your worth to their life, then that's on them," Lillian sincerely said as Aliya managed to give her a small smile.

"Thanks."

As Aliya found herself being hugged by Lillian and Jesse, she was able to acquire her bag from the love fairy. As the faerie observed the two walking ahead, she began looking for Jaxon until they had startled her by speaking from behind. "Sorry! I just wanted to say I shouldn't—" Jaxon began, only to be interrupted by Aliya.

"Hey, don't worry about it. You're not the first person to tell me what I already know," Aliya casually began, shrugging off their apology. "Besides, you were just being truthful. I do have a tendency of messing everything up for everyone, even when I have the best intentions at heart," she continued before perking up.

"So after tomorrow, I hope to be less of jinx to everyone and make their lives somewhat easier. So thank you, actually, for giving me that clarity," she sincerely stated, preparing to walk away when Jaxon grabbed her arm. "Wait. Aliya, you're not making any sense," they briefly began as she merely chuckled. "What do you mean, after tomorrow?" they continued, but she only gave them a optimistic smile.

"You'll see," Aliya simply stated as Jaxon released her arm. "Oh, and I know you were the one who ordered the sea witch to get her eels to drown me. I may have kept quiet about the whole ordeal, but don't think that makes us even. I'm only keeping this from the others for your sake," she firmly stated, walking away when Jaxon grabbed her arm once more.

"Why would you decide to keep the whole eels drowning you because of me situation a secret between us? If anything, this moment seems like it would actually be in your best interest to tell them. Besides, I'm sure Libby would love to get more hits on me," Jaxon briefly stated, confused by the girl's approach to the matter.

"You do deserve to get beaten up by Libby, but I guess I didn't want you to get hurt any further," Aliya plainly stated as Jaxon only stared at her with a puzzled face. "I'm just stupid for putting your well-being over my own, but I'm sure you already knew that," she continued, pulling her arm away as she began walking.

"Why?"

"You're my sibling, Jax, in spite of what you said and did to me," Aliya began, turning to face them. "We stick together because we are a family, even when those people are the same ones to stab you in the back," she added, turning away from Jaxon before finally succeeding in leaving them behind.

~~~~~~~~~

As the next day came, Jaxon couldn't stop thinking about their conversation with Aliya and each time they attempted to get answers, she remained as cryptic as the day before, which bothered them more than it should have.

But even as they wanted to figure out the reason behind Aliya's behavior, Jaxon had to focus on how they would have to eventually deal with Narcissa and unwittingly become her next victim. They tried to convince themself that Jesse would keep them company, but Jaxon only got sadder from the thought.

"Aliya, I need you to watch over our little sister," they told her as Aliya blinked. "Jax, what are you talking about?" she puzzling asked as Jaxon solemnly sighed. "I failed to complete the sea witch's terms in time, so as listed in my contract, Narcissa is going to claim my soul and I'll live on as one of her latest victims," they truthfully admitted, but to their surprise, Aliya only shook her head.

"Jax, nothing is going to happen to you, okay? You'll get to watch over our sister," Aliya softly stated, much to Jaxon's shock, though they merely chose to play her response as though their sister was simply in denial. "That's sweet, Aliya, but I'm not coming back from this," they stated, much more firmer this time around.

"Jaxon, I'm being serious. You are going to be fine," Aliya firmly stated, emphasizing on the last part of her statement. "Why do you keep insisting I'm going to be fine when you and I both know this is a lie?" Jaxon irritatedly asked, now becoming annoyed from her false reassurance.

"I never said it was a lie. You're just overreacting," Aliya bluntly stated as Jaxon glared at her. "Am I? Am I really overreacting here? You know if you had just let me destroy Erebus's gemstone instead of interfering like you always do, I wouldn't be stressing out right now!" Jaxon angrily snapped, but Aliya simply laughed at their response, which only made Jaxon's emotions intensify.

"Yeah, okay, go ahead and laugh at me," Jaxon sarcastically snapped at her with a bitter undertone. "It's not like you were the one to make a deal with Narcissa, anyways. You're not the one whose life is on the line here," they bitterly shot back and that's when Aliya finally stopped laughing.

She didn't say much after that.

As Jaxon and the others watch the sun set on the third and final day of this nightmarish quest, they embraced themself for the worst and did their best to reassure Jesse. Yet, to their surprise, the worst did not come.

In fact after the sun set, a golden light engulfed Jesse and once he was placed on the ground, the love fairy found himself laughing before his eyes widened. "M... My voice!" Jesse exclaimed before he let out another, cheerful laugh.

"My voice is back!" Jesse happily exclaimed, rushing to hug Lillian, who threatened to punch him if he ever touch her again. "If Jesse got his voice back then..." Jaxon gasped, piercing over the waters and saw no sight of the sea witch.

"Oh my stardust! I'm not going to become a mindless slug and devoured by Narcissa!" Jaxon delightfully cried out, turning to Aliya as she smugly crossed her arms. "I told you nothing was going to happen to you, but you didn't want to believe me. I knew you were overreacting this whole time," Aliya cockily stated as Lillian laughed.

"This is our sibling, you're talking about here, Li. Jax is always overreacting," Lillian lightly teased, the girls laughing as Jaxon playfully tackled their sisters to the ground with Aliya pulling Jesse into the pile. It was a long, stressful three days for the four but everything had paid off.

Jesse and Jaxon were now free from the clutches of the sea witch and everyone could all return back to Avalon, safe and sound. But before this picture-perfect fairytale came to a close, Jesse had one thing he wanted to do.

~~~~~~~~~~

While Lillian and Jaxon were rejoicing, Jesse only kept his focus on the faerie, who was busy looking at her siblings with a tender fondness. As he took the girl's hand, Jesse felt his heart beating, but it was only after Aliya looked in his direction, did the love fairy's heart adjust to a rapid rhythm.

"Jesse?"

"Aliya, from the day we met, you changed my world. You led me to discover myself and I owe it all to you," Jesse sincerely started as he noticed the girl's eyes soften. "Jesse—" she began, failing to sense the urgency in her voice.

"I'm in love with you, Aliya. I've always been in love with you, but it took coming here to see just how much I was risking. You are the only one capable of loving the real me and I don't know what this life holds for us, but I would love it if you allowed me to be part of your world, not as a friend or a best friend, but as your boyfriend."

"Jesse—"

"I was thinking about living in the human world and I want you to come with me. We would be happy together!" the love fairy excitedly continued, his eyes sparkling from the sudden burst of joy.

"Jesse, you don't really expect me to just leave Avalon for you and you alone, right?" Aliya slowly asked. "Well.... yeah. We both suffered in Avalon together, so I thought it would be best if we were to just leave our home altogether and start our new life here," Jesse casually stated, frowning when he saw his crush's expression go grim.

"Jesse, I'm not leaving Avalon. If I choose to leave, it'll be with my family or when I'm ready on my terms," Aliya firmly stated, now frowning when she heard his chuckle of disbelief. "I don't understand.... You always loved the human realm as much as I did. I thought you'd be happy about this," Jesse pointed out, surprised to hear her dry laugh.

"Happy? You're asking me to leave my life— my whole family — behind for you!" she exclaimed as the love fairy blinked. "But you told me you wanted to burn Avalon to the ground. Why do you care so much for Avalon when your home could care less about you?" Jesse pointed out, his heart aching from his crush's reaction.

"Because as much as I hate Avalon, I know changes can be made. Avalon can be a place of hope and possibility. Our home doesn't just have to serve as a means for oppression and routine. If we could just get Avalonians to become open-minded towards humans like you, then we could start building the foundation for a better world!"

"But—"

"Jesse, I'm not leaving Avalon just because you don't want to confront the trapped cage you live in. If you want to leave, that's fine, but leave me out."

"This wasn't how my confession was supposed to go. You were supposed to say yes, say you agreed to live with me in the human world and we were going to live happily ever after!" he defensively exclaimed. "Your life isn't some kind of fairytale, Jesse!" she snapped in turn as Jesse bitterly laughed.

"Why not?"

"Because you actually have to face your consequences for running away, Jesse! I mean, what did you expect? Your parents are turning Avalon into a nation-wide hunt for me when you can tell them the truth, clear my name and fix this!"

Jesse knew he must have been confused, because then he saw Aliya look away from him, rubbing her arms.

"Ever since you ran away, your parents started searching for you, but Talia and Shiron made the mistake of asking Iris, out of all people, of your whereabouts. So she told your parents that I saw you last, and I guess that...." she briefly paused, gripping tighter on her arm.

"... must have set your parents ablaze. It was easier for your parents to take Iris's lie and pin the blame on someone they despised, so while I was with Castor, your parents and Iris ambushed us," she continued, while Jesse observed the glove clinging onto the girl for dead life now.

As Aliya spoke, Jesse could sense that reciting the story, even to him, was taking a toll on her.

"Shiron had activated his force-field from his fire abilities, but I didn't know this until I pushed Castor out of the way and took his place. Your father kept asking me questions about you, believing that I was lying when I told him I didn't know anything about your whereabouts. So, he persisted and I snapped."

Aliya paused again and this time, Jesse could clearly see her body tensing up. He tried to approach her, but she flinched and took a step back, perhaps not wanting his touch at the moment.

"Well, your father didn't take too kindly to my words, so he decided to raise the stakes of the situation, still believing that I was lying to him about you. He took out his flame sword and intensified the flames of his force-field. At this point, I realized your father wouldn't take anything I said, so I told him what I now know is true."

"What?"

"I told him you were in the human realm," Aliya answered as Jesse's eyes widened. "But the only person who might have known was Atticus! How did you—" he quickly began, assuming Atticus must have betrayed him. "At the time, it was a realistic guess. No one knew where you were, so I told him an answer based upon what I knew about you in the past," she continued, though he could see the pain hiding behind her eyes.

"Anyways, your father didn't believe me, but by then, it was expected. I just thought he and your mother would at least go attempt to look for you in the human realm, just to see if they could go inspect for themselves. Still, by then, your father was tired of playing his pointless game with me, so..."

When she had trailed off, Jesse caught a glimpse of a slash on Aliya's throat, trying to quickly look away, so she wouldn't notice. "Your father thought by trapping me in his force-field, he had exhausted most of my strength. So Shiron thought he could finish the job by using his sword," she continued, gesturing towards her scar.

"Only instead of seeing my life end at the hands of your father, Castor used the last of his energy and his hyper jumps to save me by using his bracelet to teleport me away from your parents. If he hadn't saved me... things could've done differently, so that's why I have this scar and I'm able to stand here. It's because of him," she concluded as Jesse observed the range of emotions in her eyes.

"So if you went back and told them the truth, your parents would finally believe me for a change! Whatever the consequences are for making a deal with the sea witch behind their back, I don't know, but it has to be better than dying at the hands of your father," Aliya firmly stated, but as Jesse processed her story, he also realized he wasn't human.

Jesse would have to go to Avalon and deal with his parents and Iris. As he recalled the events leading up to now, Jesse realized he forgot about Iris's marriage proposal to him. The love fairy didn't want to go through with the marriage, much less deal with the wrath of his parents, but he also didn't want to lose Aliya.

"If I confessed the truth to my parents, would you consider going back to the human realm with me?" Jesse slowly asked, believing this was the best way to get the best of the two worlds he desperately wanted.

"No."

In that moment, Jesse's hopes crumbled and the reality of the love fairy to achieve both of his dreams vanished. He wasn't human and he wasn't getting the girl of his dreams, who had just so clearly rejected him. As his mind went through the memories he shared with her, a part of him snapped.

Rather than view the girl with the tender, loving fondness he had since reuniting with her, Jesse found himself viewing the girl in anger. Suddenly, he wondered what gave her the right to reject him!

He was Avalon's top-ranking love fairy. He was famous, wealthy and had a long line of girls willing to date him in a heartbeat. Even now, Ambrose's daughter wanted him! To him, that meant he should have rights to any girl he wanted because he wasn't just any kind of Avalonian: he was Jesse Åarons!

He was more than just a name thrown around; Jesse was famous for a reason and Aliya just made a very, deadly mistake.

As he stared at Aliya, Jesse felt the same amount of genuine disgust his parents and all of Avalon felt towards her. In this moment, he saw the bridges burn between them and he knew if he wasn't going to be the one to have her, then she sure as hell was going to suffer for making the wrong decision.

"Okay, say no, but I'm not confessing. In fact, I'm going to insist you held me hostage and this time, I'll make sure my father gets it right by telling him to strike you straight in the heart," Jesse bitterly began and as he saw the anger and sadness in her eyes, he found he didn't care and for once in his life, he was glad.

"Unbelievable," she began, shaking her head in disbelief. "So I tell you no and you want to act like this now because you can't handle the idea of rejection?" she angrily asked as Jesse bitterly glared at her. "I know all love fairies think they're entitled to whoever they want but I didn't think you would act like them..." she continued, less anger in her tone.

"Heh. You're just like Iris and all of your elite friends now. I guess you won't even need to get your memory erased after this then! You are now the kind of Jesse your parents and Avalon always wanted you to be. Congrats, Jesse. You just revealed your real self to me."

In that moment, Jesse felt a sickening pit in his stomach. Glancing at the red string of fate, he saw their string severed itself from Aliya and that's when he realized the heavy, disappointing truth: he had just lost his soulmate and it would be years before his string would ever tied itself to Aliya again.

But worse, Jesse felt a stronger disgust towards himself because this wasn't a moment where he was mind-controlled or even under Cain's possession. This was him, Jesse, genuinely telling Aliya how he felt, and the worse part was he just revealed to her he was like his parents.... something he never wanted.

As the love fairy turned away from her and began walking, he ignored his heart tearing itself apart. It didn't matter what happened to him now: he had lost the best version of himself to Aliya and Jesse was never getting that side of him back.

"You've changed, Jesse."

As Jesse froze in his tracks, he turned around to see Aliya and what was supposed to be the perfect ending to his story, quickly turned into a hellish nightmare. He had wanted to be part of two worlds so, so badly. Jesse wanted everything to work out in a neat, little bow like how the stories go.

"It's you and me against the world, and nothing is ever going to change that," Jesse followed up as he held out his hand. "Promise?" Aliya lightly quipped, the girl eyeing him with such fondness.

"Promise."

Jesse almost laughed at how his life with Aliya has changed since that fateful day. If his love strengthened during his youth as a changeling, then his love for her truly died here as the two stood apart, now as fully-fledged Avalonians.

"You've changed too, Aliya."

As Jesse slowly looked up to see the extent of the situation, it became clear to him that things were never going to be same for them. As he gave a solemn chuckle, he stared at Aliya — hoping, just hoping, there was still some way to fix this before he truly chose to view his childhood best friend — the girl he once loved — as a threat.

When nothing happened, Jesse decided to let the bridges burn between them. Once and for all, he was going to move on from her — and their shared past — for good. He didn't want anything to do with humans or Aliya anymore. He was done with letting their past define him.

"Well, here's to the new us."

~~~~~~~~~~~~

When Jesse returned to Avalon, his human form faded from view.

As he stepped into his home, he returned to his shorter pink hair and his rose-gold tint-shaped wings, which now took on the appearance of a broken heart. More so, Jesse's personal red string of fate began turning black, which he skillfully hid among the other, purer red strings of fate in his pocket.

He was also relieved to know his short-sleeved black T-shirt and jeans were still in good condition, considering he ditched his long-sleeved pink sweater long ago. When Jesse glanced up, he saw his parents and Iris rushing to his side, while Atticus interestingly enough was no where to be seen.

Behind them, Jesse could see Aliya's parents and Stormy eagerly looking for their three children while Castor was just starting to catch up. He tried to avoid staring at their direction, afraid of anyone of them wanting to talk to him.

"Oh, Jessi-bear! You're okay!"

As Iris threw herself into his arms, Jesse spun her around and as he saw her smile, he found himself looking at the girl in a different light. In spite of everything Iris did to him, he found her to be the prettiest girl out there.

Beforehand, he would have pushed Iris's advances toward him away, but now, he didn't have that manipulative, deceiving Fae-Maid around to distract him from what really mattered to him. How could he had been so blind? The love of his life was staring in front of him this entire time!

It wasn't Avalon's residential troublemaker he was meant to fall for, but rather the girl's complete opposite. The truth struck him so quickly, he nearly found himself blindsided by it. No, he was surely meant to be with the the Senior Fae's daughter, the gorgeous and elusive Iris Roquelot herself.

"Yeah... Yeah, I'm okay," Jesse slowly said, now in a more breathtaking tone as he softly brushed her hair back. "You look radiating, Princess," he continued, smugly grinning when he saw Iris's hair begin to glow. "You mean, your Queen," Iris wittingly shot back in an attempt to hide her flustered state.

Jesse would have usually sighed or groaned at the sound of her pet name, but this time, he thought the idea of 'Queen' suit her perfectly.

"Of course," Jesse cheekily began with a heartfelt laugh of his own. "You look radiating, my Queen," he tenderly whispered, correcting himself with great ease before surprising Iris (and himself) by pulling the girl into a passion-driven kiss.

As he pulled away, Jesse found himself grinning as he began wondering what he saw in his old crush. Aliya was nothing like Iris and to think, Jesse ever thought she — the troublemaker — was better than the Senior Fae's daughter herself! The absurdity of the whole ordeal made him want to laugh.

Here, perfection stood in front of him and Jesse wouldn't want it any other way. While Iris tried to recover from the unexpected kiss, Jesse chuckled to himself, waltzing away from the girl before making it into the arms of his parents.

"Oh, sweetheart are you okay? Did the despicable Fae-Maid hurt you? Did she leave any marks on you?" Talia concernedly asked, searching her son as Jesse softly laughed. "No, I'm okay," he answered, but in truth, his heart still ached for Aliya — despite the great strides he took so far to rid himself of her.

"Jesse, we are so sorry! If we had just paid attention to you more —" Shiron began, nearly on the verge of tears himself when Jesse wholeheartedly laughed, grinning in spite of how he felt in the moment.

"You and Mom have a responsibility to Avalon. It's understandable that you two stay preoccupied. I'm sorry that I let myself get carried away with my fantasies of Aliya and the human world. I can rest assured that from my experience, Atticus was right about everything. The outsiders are truly a mess," Jesse continued, adding a laugh afterwards.

"Can you two ever forgive me?" he continued as Shiron and Talia looked at each other before pulling their son into a tight-knit hug, the three finding themselves closer in the moment. "Of course! You're still our son! How could we not forgive you?" his parents began and for a blissful moment, all was well in the world.

Then reality came crashing in.

~~~~~~~~~~

"Jaxon! Lillian!"

As the two siblings were greeted by Aliya's parents and Stormy, the two were taken tackled into a hug by Castor. As the three laughed, Issac's eyes widened as he quickly picked the illusionist up. "You're still in recovery mode!" Issac stressed, the panic getting the best of him as Castor sheepishly grinned.

"I know, but I'm almost done!" Castor playfully protested, causing Amara and Stormy to shake their heads. "Aye, he's just like our daughter," Amara whispered to Stormy and Issac, who chuckled. "Our daughter had quite the influence on her," Stormy and Issac whispered back and when the three felt it was safe, they each lightly kissed each other on their face.

"Besides, I can finally tell Aliya the good news!" the knight happily exclaimed before he looked around. "Speaking of which, where is she?" Castor continued, now frowning when he saw Lillian and Jaxon's smiles drop.

"She's not here?"

When Issac, Amara and Stormy heard this, the three quickly made their way to the two siblings. "What do you mean, Aliya, isn't here?" the three slowly asked as Lillian and Jaxon looked at each other. "We thought she came back with Jesse..." the two began, now trailing off.

"Jesse!"

When Jesse reluctantly made his way over, it was clear from the six his demeanor had completely shift but the two siblings chose to overlook this side of him because Lillian and Jaxon needed answers.

"Did you see Aliya when you came through the portal?" Lillian and Jaxon asked as Jesse shook his head. "No, I thought she was with you two, since I just assumed freaks stuck together," Jesse answered, his response sending a blow to Jaxon in particular, who fell for him pretty hard.

"Wait, so none of you know where Aliya is?" Stormy, Issac and Amara sharply asked the three Avalonians. While Lillian and Jaxon tried scrambling for answers, the two noticed how unsettling calm Jesse's reaction was than opposed to theirs and as Jaxon dug through Aliya's bag, they pulled out Castor's Avalonian necklace.

"My necklace!" Castor exclaimed, before looking at the three. "Wait, my necklace was on Aliya the last time I saw it... why is the necklace here, but not her?" he continued.

"I don't know. We all thought Aliya was with us, but—" Jaxon abruptly paused, turning to Jesse. "Wait... Jesse, how were you able to get your voice back when your deal with the sea witch wasn't completed?" Jaxon asked, which caught the attention of the love fairy's parents.

"Sea witch?"

"Wait! Jax, how were you able to avoid getting taken by Narcissa when your deal wasn't completed?" Lillian asked as Jaxon's eyes widened, realizing that she was right. They hadn't completed their side of the bargain, so it should have been impossible for them to be standing alongside their sister, their parents, Jesse and Castor.

"Wait, wait, wait. Jax, you made a deal with the sea witch too?" Issac and Amara asked, trying to figure out what was going on. "I thought Jesse was the only one stupid enough to do something that drastic," Stormy added as Jesse shot her a look.

"Yeah, well.... I'm starting to get the feeling Jesse and I weren't the only ones stupid enough to make a deal with her," Jaxon slightly mumbled, twirling Castor's Avalonian necklace in their hand.

"Jax! You don't think..." Lillian began as Jaxon sighed, giving Castor his necklace back just as they pulled out the purple cloth with the crystal heart in the middle. "The lost princess's homage. I remember Aliya being really excited about getting this for Castor, because she thought the color went well with..." Jesse trailed off, tossing the cloth to the illusionist, who gripped the fabric close to his heart.

"You were supposed to protect her!" Castor angrily snapped, which caught Jesse off-guard.

"Hey, I never told her to go look for me! Just like I never told them!" Jesse angrily shot back while Shiron and Talia magically received a paper, detailing how their son made a deal with the sea witch and how Aliya was innocent from any charges the couple might have potentially wanted to pursue.

"You didn't need to! Aliya would have gone looking for you, even if her life wasn't at risk because she cared about you!" Castor continued, shaking his head in disbelief. "How can you insist you love Aliya when you failed to prevent her from getting in danger?" he followed up as Jesse scoffed.

"So, what? You think you wouldn't have done what I did?"

"I'm pretty sure I wouldn't be standing here next to you. I'm pretty sure I would be with the sea witch at her lair, because I would have gladly exchanged my life for her before Aliya could ever do the same for me," Castor firmly stated, crossing his arms. "Because I actually care about her and I refuse to see her ever get hurt," he continued, rendering the love fairy speechless.

"Fighting over me, already?"

When everyone looked up, the group could see the girl in perfect view as she softly chuckled. While her parents, her siblings, Stormy and Castor were all hesitant, Jesse was the first to approach her, forgetting everything he tried to enforce in trying to rid himself of her.

"Aliya?"