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For centuries, faes and humans have had a long conflict. After a war that lasted over 20 years, they came to an agreement that they wouldn’t do anything to each other. But there have been a few that have broken rules, like humans would kill faes for no reason and faes would curse humans. No one really knows how this all started, but it’s been going on for centuries.There are many kinds of faes. There’s fire, water, earth, sky, and more. There’s also light, plant, you name it. But the most powerful kind of dark faes, they practice things like necromancy, dark magic, and more. A majority of them aren’t evil, most people and faes see them as evil, because of what we practice.Yes, I am a dark fae myself. My name is Sebastian. Like I said, I’m a dark fae. But me and my family aren’t evil. Most faes that are friends with me and my family see us differently. But it’s mostly the humans that see us as evil.My friends, Audrey and Primrose, really like to be around me and my family and want to know more about our magic. Audrey is a fire fae, she can summon fire, control fire, and even change how hot fire is and the color. Primrose is a plant fae, they can grow almost anything, it’s pretty interesting what they can grow, they can also control plants.Ever since we were little, we always wanted to be reunited with the humans and live in peace. There were times where we’d sneak into the woods near our village and try to find a human. But there was one problem with that, all dark faes have horns, so I’d immediately be spotted and recognized.I think it all started from when I was born, I had a cousin who cursed some humans. It’s not just any humans but royals. This cousin saved a member of the royal family’s life, and because of that, they were recognized for their work. When this royal became king and eventually had a child, he didn’t invite cousin to the party. My cousin wasn’t happy with this, so they cursed the baby. No one knows what happened to my cousin or the baby.My aunt says that it’s not like my cousin to do something like that. They were kind and wouldn’t hurt anyone. Despite who it was.But back to what I was saying, me, Audrey, and Primrose used to sneak into the woods of our village to talk to a human. I went over to see something.“It won’t be that long, and plus they both won’t notice me being gone.” I thought to myselfI went over and saw a human. I observed him, it looked like he was reading. I slipped and he looked over at me.“Are you okay?” He asked while helping me up.“I’m alright, I just slipped.” I replied.We both talked for a bit. He’s always been interested in faes and wanted to learn about them.“I need to get your name, so I can remember the fae I met.” He said.“Oh I’m-” before I could finish, Primrose was calling for me.“I’m sorry, I have to go! It was nice meeting you!” I said. I then ran.“Where were you?” Audrey asked.I lied and said “I got lost. And couldn’t find you two. Primrose then called me, and I eventually found you.”Primrose looked at me and just laughed “Sebastian, I know when you’re lying. You always fidget with your fingers.”I put my hands behind my back. “Okay! Fine! I’m lying! I actually met a human boy and talked to him. He’s very kind, and I’d like to meet him again.” I admitted.Primrose kept laughing.“Primrose, stop laughing at Sebastian. Anyways, we can help you Sebastian, we’ll try to find him again.” said Audrey.We tried to find a plan to meet up with the boy and found out who he is. I can’t believe that I might actually be friends with a human.

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Later that night, I met with the boy again. “We didn’t get each other’s names, so I’ll start with mine. I’m Robyn.” The boy said.“I’m Sebastian.” I replied.Robyn lived in the woods with his aunt and uncle. They were both really close friends. They both raised Robyn ever since he was a baby, because his parents died when he was young.He loved living in the woods. He thought it was beautiful and loved the animals. He’s also heard ancient stories of faes from aunt and uncle, but they warned him about what potential dangers can come to humans learning about faes.So I talked about all the faes, including the dark ones. “So what fae are you?” Robyn asked.“Me? Um..” I replied. I thought about it for a second. “People say that dark faes are all evil, but that’s not the truth. Some of these dark faes are evil, but a majority of us aren’t” I explained.“What do you mean by ‘us’? Are you a dark fae?” Robyn asked.I opened my mouth, when I heard my big brother, Viktor, calling me.He found me and Robyn. “Sebastian! What are you doing here?” Viktor asked.“Viktor I’m sorry!” I said. He picked me up and walked away.When we went back to the village, Viktor wasn’t very happy with me.“Sebastian! How many times do I have to tell you, you can’t go around humans!” Viktor said.“Viktor, I’m sorry. I got carried away, he’s not so bad!” I argued.“I’m saying that it’s most likely not safe, someone could overhear us and try to kill us. You know what happened to our cousin, I know you didn’t meet them, but I’m worried about you and your friends. You are young, but please be careful next time.” said Viktor. I put my head down.“I won’t tell mom or dad what happened, let’s just forget about it. Okay?” Viktor added. I nodded.I told Primrose and Audrey about what happened. “Yeah. My dad kind of found out and wasn’t too happy..” Primrose agreed.“Let’s just not be seen by humans,” said Audrey.Ever since then, I did all I could to not be seen by a human. Although I may never be able to talk to Robyn again, I’ll at least have the memories I made with him. I’ll never forget how kind he was to me.I always thought that if a human saw me with my horns, black hair, green eyes, and pale skin, they’d be afraid of me. But Robyn wasn’t, and I wonder why. I guess he’s not a quick to judge kind of human.

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10 years laterIt was when I turned 19. I’m a few months younger than Primrose and Audrey, so they’ve been making fun of me. When I’m 20, I’ll be able to live my own life and soon start a family of my own.“He’s finally a man!” Primrose joked.“Yeah. He’s no longer a baby.” Audrey laughed.“At least I’m more mature than you two. Also, who was it again that almost set the school on fire because they wanted to heat up their food?” I asked.Primrose coughed and Audrey hid her face.“That’s what I thought.” I laughed.“We were 13!” Primrose and Audrey said.“That’s not an excuse.” I replied.We were all kind of arguing about that, it was a stupid argument though. We argued over stupid stuff, and it wasn’t a big deal. We’d just laugh it off.I wanted to walk in the woods for a bit. And to just look back to childhood memories.‘I hope I can see Robyn, if he remembers me..’ I thought to myself.I then heard some singing. It was really pretty so I walked over to it. It was a boy, he had brown hair, brown eyes, and freckles. His hair was slightly long and tied back. I recognized those eyes. ‘Is that Robyn?’ I thought to myself. I accidentally slipped.“Is someone there?” He asked.I thought for a second. “Uh, sorry! I’m just lost and got carried away by the singing I heard.” I replied.“Oh sorry. That was me. I didn’t mean to have you lost. Do you need help?” He asked.“I think I’m okay.” I replied.“Let me help you. That thud didn’t sound good, so let me see if you’re hurt.” He said.I tried to run so he wouldn’t see me. “Sebastian?” He asked. “Is that really you?”I looked over and it was indeed, Robyn. Robyn hugged me. “I thought I’d never see you again! How long has it been? 10 years?” He asked.“It’s nice to see you as well, Robyn.” I replied.We both talked for a while. He said he's been doing well. “You never told me what fae you are. I’ve tried looking at all the kinds of faes that come close to you, but my aunt and uncle limited my research of faes. So I’ve been stuck on what fae you are.” Robyn said.“Yeah, I don’t know if I want to say what fae I am, because it can be dangerous.” I said. “That’s alright!” Robyn said.We’ve talked for a long time. During that time, I felt like I was in love with him. His beauty, his voice, and personality just made me love him. But who am I kidding? A fae and a human can never be lovers.A woman was calling for Robyn. “That’s my aunt, she probably needs me” said Robyn.“When can I see you again?” I asked.“How about, same time tomorrow?” Robyn asked.“That sounds good.” I replied.I walked back to the village and thought about Robyn. I wasn’t paying attention, but Audrey was talking to me.“What?” I asked.“Did you get your head stuck in the clouds again?” Audrey asked.“I- uh- well-” I stuttered.“Wait! I know that look! It’s love!” Said Audrey.“What?” I asked. “I’ve seen it before with my cousins! So who’s the lucky one?” Audrey asked.“Audrey, stop. Let him talk, he’s 19 now. Don’t be surprised if he found someone.” Primrose said.I just smiled and laughed.“What’s so funny?” Audrey asked.“Nothing. It’s just you two are so funny. You act like some old married couple. You guys act like my cousin, Jasper, and his partner, Lunar.” I replied.“Are you just jealous that you’re still single?” Primrose asked.“No. Not at all.” I replied.“Why are you being so dreamy eyed then?” Audrey asked.“Well, remember Robyn?” I asked.The two nodded. I told them everything.“No way!” Said Audrey.“So you’re in love with Robyn? I knew it! I knew it! You love him!” Primrose said.“I never said I was in love with him.” I said.“Well, you were kind of getting dreamy eyed when you were talking about him.” Audrey said.We then started to kind of argue about me talking about Robyn.“What’s all this racket about?” Viktor asked, walking to us.“Your brother’s in love with a human!” Audrey said.“Shut up! I’m not!” I replied.“Yes you are!” Primrose joked.I just hid my face in embarrassment.“Are these little kids bothering you, little brother?” Viktor asked.“‘Little kids’?” Primrose and Audrey asked.“‘Little brother’?” I asked at the same time as Primrose and Audrey.“You’re 19, but you all act like you’re 7. Grow up you three.” Viktor joked. “So, my little brother is in love with a human?” He added.I nodded. “Is it that human from 10 years ago?” Viktor asked.I nodded again.“Sebastian, I don’t know if you can actually be with him or not, but I’m here for you and support you. Okay? I won’t tell anyone, not even mom or dad.” Viktor said.“If you do, you will sing 'The Sparrow‘s Lullaby' to a frog in mom’s wedding dress.” I said.“Okay! Deal!” Viktor sighed.“You’re 27 and still make dumb deals with your own little brother.” I joked. Viktor rolled his eyes.'The Sparrow’s Lullaby' was a love song that was usually sung at fae’s weddings, or when a fae is born. It is also a lullaby for child faes. It went like:One bird flies and one squirrel sings,They both meet under a willow tree.Winter comes near, and the singing squirrel falls.The bird flies up, but hits the sun.The two animals meet again in the sky,This time the bird can now sing and the squirrel can now fly.They spend their time together at last until the end of time.It’s a little dark, because it’s basically saying the two animals died in the end. And it’s also a bit confusing if you ask me. No one knows why it’s a bird and a squirrel falling in love, but it's very beautiful in some ways.That night, while I was lying in bed, all I thought of was Robyn.“After all these years, I’m seeing him again, and will be with him again.” I thought to myself. I started to sing 'The Sparrow’s Lullaby' for some reason.“Am I the bird and is Robyn the Squirrel?” I thought. But who am I kidding, it’s just a stupid lullaby, right?

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I met right where Robyn and I planned to meet at the same time yesterday.“Hey!” Robyn said.I smiled at him “Hi.”“How are you?” Robyn asked.“Good. How about you?” I asked.“Great! All I thought about was you, and how much I’ve missed you.” Robyn replied. “Yeah. I thought I’d never see you again.” I said.“Hey, I want to show you something.” I added.We both got up and went to a nearby pond. “What is this?” Robyn asked.“Just close your eyes, and keep them closed until I tell you to open them.” I replied.The sun was about to set, and I wanted to show him the sunset at the pond.After around 3 minutes, the sun was setting. “You can open them now.” I said.Robyn opened his eyes. “This is beautiful! I’ve never seen a sunset like this!” He said.“When I was a kid, me and my friends would always watch the sunset here.” I said.“I wish that I grew up with this beautiful view.” Robyn said.I moved a bit closer to him, and we both ended up touching hands, almost as if we were holding them.We looked at each other and quickly moved them away from each other. We also blushed at each other.“Rob, do you believe in love at first sight?” I asked.“A little. I think that people shouldn’t be in love with looks, but with personality.” He replied. “Well, I think I fell in love with your beauty and personality.”“You don’t think I’m scary?” I asked.Robyn shook his head. “Of course not. My uncle Tobias always told me that ‘you should never judge anyone despite how they look. If they look scary, they can actually be beautiful’ and when we first met, I was distracted by your beauty.” Robyn said.“Before I became friends with Primrose and Audrey, kids were scared of me because of the way I looked. I had green eyes that were a bit small, dark hair, pale skin, and of course my horns. Kids would try to stay away from me because I was ‘mean and scary’. I thought a human like you would think I’d be a scary monster, but you never thought of that.” I said.“Of course not. I’d always like to see the beauty in almost everything.” said Robyn “So to answer your question about believing in love at first sight.. I actually do believe in it, only a little though.”“I do as well, and like the way you say it.'' I said. We got a bit closer to each other, there was a piece of hair covering his eye, so I moved it. We were about to go in for a kiss.“Shh! He’ll hear us!” A familiar voice said.“Well sorry! I want to cherish this moment.” Another voice said.“Well, we should’ve invited his brother.” The first voice said.I immediately knew it was Primrose and Audrey. “Cut it out you two! I can hear you!” I sighed. The two came out.“Sorry Sebby.” Audrey said.“Audrey was being a bit noisy, and burnt a mushroom on my head.” Primrose said.“When I feel some emotions, the tips of my hair get on fire. I am a fire fae after all.” said Audrey.“We’ve been together for 4 years now, and you still forget that I would grow plants from my head at random times. Usually, when I’m feeling certain emotions.” Primrose said.“Rosey.” Audrey said.“Don’t you ‘Rosey’ me. I could’ve gotten hurt.” said Primrose.“Rosey, I’m sorry. As your girlfriend, I should be more aware of my romantic partner and care for them. I’m sorry.” said Audrey.“Okay fine. I forgive you.” Primrose sighed.“This is Audrey and Primrose. My best friends.” I said.“It’s nice to meet them. I’m Robyn. I’ve heard a lot about you two.” Robyn said.“Oh, so this is the famous Robyn.” Audrey said all smug.“He’s a nice looking gentleman.” Primrose smirked.“Okay you two! Leave us alone!” I said pushing Audrey and Primrose away.I sat back down with Robyn. “Sorry about that.” I said.“It’s alright. My aunt and uncle would act like that if they saw me with you. They know I’m not attracted to women, so they’d be like, well mostly my Uncle Tobias would be like ‘son, when you’re looking for someone, make sure that they love you and treat you right’ so I think they’d like you.” said Robyn.“My family knows I’m also not attracted to women, so they’d want me to be happy with the person I love. So I think they’d like you.” I said. We talked a lot longer.“So you never told me what fae you are.” said Robyn.“I- I’m a wind fae. We basically do magic that has to do with the wind and air.” I lied.“I've never heard of wind faes.” Robyn said.“There’s not a lot of us, that’s why.” I lied again.I know it was bad to lie, but I didn’t want him to think worse of me. We lost track of time, and it was almost midnight.I walked Robyn home and made sure he was safe. “So, this is your home?” I asked.“Yeah. It’s a nice cottage in the woods.” He replied.“Well, I’ll see you soon, my Prince Charming.” I said.“Good night, my Knight in shining armor.” said Robyn.He opened the door and was about to walk in when he turned around to me. “One more thing..” He said. He then kissed me on the cheek. “I’ll see you later.” He added. He walked inside the house.I sat there touching where he kissed me. I then just smiled and blushed. I walked home.“He likes me? I never thought I’d be capable of having someone love me.” I said to myself.When I was in my village about to go home, Primrose and Audrey were looking at me.“We saw that!” Primrose said.“Robyn kissed you!” Audrey said.“Yep! So what?” I said.“You two are made for each other!” Audrey said.“Can I be the flower fae?” Primrose asked.“I want to be the best woman.” said Audrey.“The best man is saved for Viktor and Viktor only.” I said.“Is my little brother having a wedding?” Viktor asked.“How long have you been standing there?” I asked.“For a while now.” Viktor replied.“So what’s all this talking about a wedding for? I need an explanation of what I’m missing.” He added.“I really like this human boy, he’s very handsome, I want to be his boyfriend.” I said.“You two will eventually be together. Don’t worry about it, but I don’t know how everyone would react to you being head over heels over a human.” Viktor said.Viktor and I then walked home together. And I talked about Robyn to him. “He seems like a very nice boy. And a perfect man for my little brother.” said Viktor.“Can you stop calling me ‘little brother’? I’m a man now. I’m not a little kid anymore.” Sebastian said.“One of these days, you’ll miss me calling you ‘little brother’.” Viktor laughed.“Shut up.” I said.We then went home and went to bed. I looked out my window at the moonlight. “Good night, Robyn.” I whispered.

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I woke up feeling a gentle touch on my head. I woke up to see Robyn.“What are you doing here?” I asked. “How did you find my house?”“Primrose and Audrey showed me the way.” Robyn replied. “I also just wanted to see you. I know it sounds creepy to just show up to your house uninvited, but Primrose and Audrey gave me the idea, and they both said that your brother, Viktor, suggested it.” He added.“I- nevermind. Please be careful next time, someone could see you.” I said.“Okay, I’m sorry. I know I shouldn’t have.” Robyn said.“Please go back to your house right now, I want you to be safe.” I said while kissing Robyn on the forehead. I then walked him out of the woods.“I know how dangerous it can be, but I want humans and faes to be reunited again and live in peace.” Robyn said.“You do?” I asked.Robyn nodded.“Maybe one day, we’ll tell our people about our love and it’ll reunite the faes and humans.” I said.“Yes! We will. I’ll see you later.” Robyn said. We then went our separate ways.For the next few months, we kept meeting each other secretly. No one knew about our relationship, except for Audrey, Primrose, and Viktor. 2 weeks before he turned 19, we kissed, finally. It started with us talking. We’ve already been having a romantic relationship, but we’ve just haven’t really kissed yet. We talked about what we wanted if we ever had a life together, and how much we loved each other.A week later, I was doing a type of spell that lets one look into the past. I was trying to see where my cousin who went missing when I was born was. But I looked at something that would make me look at myself differently. I found out what happened to the baby of the royal family. He was sent to the woods to be hidden, and that baby was Robyn. When I found this out, I sat there with a million thoughts in my head.I didn’t really tell anyone about this, because I didn’t want anymore tensions to rise between the two of us. I did all I could to try to get rid of Robyn’s curse, but nothing could get rid of the curse.2 days before Robyn’s birthday, I was with him. He was walking around in the field we were in. “Robyn, how would you feel if we started a life together soon?” I asked.“I’d do anything for that! But I’ll be right back, so stay put” Robyn said. He then walked away.'Please don’t tell anyone. Please don’t tell anyone.' I kept thinking to myself.After a few hours, Robyn came back looking a bit scared. “Hey, is everything okay?” I asked.“Sebastian, my aunt and uncle told me some things I never knew about myself. I’m actually the son of the human king. When I was a baby, there was a fae that cursed me. I had to live with my ‘aunt’ and ‘uncle’ who know my father, and they’re also faes. It was a dark fae, and they also told me what dark faes look like. They said dark faes have pale skin, dark hair, horns and green eyes. But you’re a wind fae, right? Just please tell me the truth.” Robyn said.“I actually am a dark fae. I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have lied to you. I’m assuming that you’re wanting to dump me because I lied to you..?” I said.“I’m going to be honest, I’m a bit mad that you lied to me, because I wouldn’t have been mad anyways. I shouldn’t judge on past things someone did.” Robyn said.“I’m also related to the fae that cursed you…” I said hesitantly.“Hey, that’s alright. It’s not your fault. I shouldn’t judge someone based on who they are or what their family did.” Robyn replied. “I’ll still love you no matter what. You’re my boyfriend anyways.”“Okay! I’m just glad that we have that out of the way.” I sighed.“Just, please don’t lie to me again. I’m not really that happy that you didn’t tell me the truth. I understand that you might’ve lied to me because you’d probably think I’d think that you’re evil, but I would never judge until I get to know them.” He exclaimed.Robyn’s curse was basically, once he turns 19 he will prick his finger in a spindle of a spinning wheel and fall in a sleep-like death, but only be awoken by true love’s kiss.“Hey, Sebastian, I feel like you’re the only one I can talk to about this. It’s because I REALLY trust you, so can you please promise not to make fun of me for this or call me anything negative?” Robyn asked.“Yes! I promise! Cross my heart, hope to die, stick a sword in my eye.” I replied.Robyn took a breath. “When I was a kid, Odessa would- She’d basically physically and mentally hurt me. And I’ve had times when I didn’t want to be alive anymore because of that. I’m unsure now if Odessa really meant that or not. Now she doesn’t do it as much. But I still sometimes have nightmares about it, and it makes me not want to do anything, do things I like to do, or be myself.” He said while holding back his tears.I then hugged him.“It’s not your fault. Don’t you ever feel like you can’t talk to anyone about how you feel. Your mental health is very important, so if you ever feel something like that, please talk to me. I’m here.” I said.“I never had the courage to tell Tobias, because I thought that I’d just break down and it’ll show that I’m weak. I thought that since I’m going into manhood, I can’t cry, because I’ll be seen as weak.” Robyn said while shedding a tear. I wiped the tear off.“You know what my father once told me? He said that crying is a healthy way of letting out your emotions. If you’re someone who keeps your emotions inside and wants to let it all out, crying can be a good way to let it out. It just shows how long you’ve been courageous.” I said.Robyn smiled, “Thank you. I feel a bit better after letting that out.”I hugged him, “Yeah. Anytime.”He then hugged me back. “I also thought I’d ask you this, I don’t know if you have the knowledge for this.” He said.“Just ask and I can tell you what I know.” I replied.“Ever since Odessa has been treating me horribly, every night I had dreams of a woman. I’ve never seen her before, but she was always there. She acted very motherly to me, that I considered her as like a mother, but in my dreams.” Robyn said.“Did you ever meet your birth mother?” I asked.Robyn shook his head.“I’m guessing that it is your mother, which is a possibility. But only the dead can contact the living in their sleep. So if your mother is dead, the woman can be your mother.” I replied.“It’s a possibility. I guess I’ll find out soon.” Robyn said. “Also since you’re a dark fae, and able to preform necromancy, may I be apart of a necromancy seance?” “We’ll see. It’s a little complicated for non-dark faes to be apart of these seances, but I’ll see what I can do” I replied, then kissing him on the head.  After a few hours, I walked him home. We were also going to tell his caretakers about our relationship.“Do you think that Odessa and Tobias would like me?” I asked.“Of course they would. We’ll explain to them the whole thing, and I’m sure they'll understand.” Robyn said.Our plan was to first introduce me as a friend and then tell them about our romantic relationship. He then opened the door to the house.“I’m home!” He called out.A woman went over to Robyn. I knew it was Odessa. “Robyn, who’s that?” She asked.“Oh, this is a friend. He's very nice, and a good friend. And I’d like you to meet him.” Robyn replied.Odessa immediately pulled Robyn away from me.“That’s a dark fae! They cursed you! He’s most likely going to kill you!” She said.“He would never! Didn’t you say not to judge anyone?” Robyn argued.“Yes. But this is a different case!” Odessa said.A man then came in. I knew it was Tobias.“Odessa, you didn’t tell me we were having a guest over. Are they a friend of Robyn’s?” Tobias asked.“Tobias, are you blind? It’s a dark fae!” Odessa yelled.“You shouldn’t be rude Odessa, they can be nice and good to Robyn.” Tobias argued.“I don’t trust them! Robyn can have a different friend.” Yelled Odessa.“He’s my boyfriend!” Robyn shouted.Tobias looked happy while Odessa looked angry.“You found someone, my boy? I’m happy for you two.” Tobias congratulated us.“No! I will not allow it!” Odessa shouted.She then looked at me and then to Robyn. “You are to never see this monster ever again, you got it? I can’t have this evil being the one to wake you up when you fall in your sleep-like death!” Odessa declared to Robyn.“Odessa, this is cruel! You can’t do this!” Tobias said.“Don’t talk like that to my boyfriend!” Robyn yelled.“Shut up you!” Odessa shouted while slapping Robyn so hard that he fell to the ground. She then grabbed me and threw me out of the house.“We will settle this later.” Odessa exclaimed while slamming the door.For the next 10 minutes, all I heard was shouting coming from the house. Robyn then came out.“Hey, is everything okay?” I asked.“I appreciate everything you’ve done for me and all the memories we’ve had together, but I can’t do this anymore.” Robyn said, holding back his tears.“Are you breaking up with me?” I asked.Robyn slowly nodded.I hugged him. “You’re 19- well almost, you can make your own decisions!” I said.“I’m sorry, but we can’t see each other any longer. Because apparently the king- or my father said that I shouldn’t be around dark faes, or else the curse would get worse. Because that’s how I was cursed.” Robyn softly spoke.“That’s impossible! That doesn’t even make sense! Please, move into my village, we can have our own life together. Screw this stupid curse, we can forget about it.” I said.“Tobias said that ‘the curse getting worse’ is a lie, so I believe him. But when I go back to the palace, I can’t see you anymore and I’m forbidden to see you.” Robyn said.“I truly love you and believe that you can break this curse, but it can’t be broken from you. That’s what I was told, faes can’t break other faes’ curses or spells. I’m sorry.” Robyn cried. He then kissed me quickly and went back into the house.I was mixed with a lot of emotions. I was sad but angry at the same time. I then stormed back to my village. Primrose and Audrey saw me.“Hey, what’s up? Why are you being all ‘Mr. Angry’?” Primrose asked.“Go away!” I yelled.“Hey, why are you mad?” Audrey asked.“I don’t want to talk about it!” I angrily said.Viktor grabbed me by the shoulders. “Sebastian! What happened?” Viktor said.I don’t know what it was, but I started to cry. I honestly don’t remember the last time I cried. Viktor then hugged me.“Hey, I’m not mad, just tell me what happened.” Viktor said.I told Viktor, Primrose, and Audrey what happened.“Robyn’s the cursed prince?” Audrey asked. “Is there a way that we could at least prevent it? Like, Primrose could hide all spindles with plants? Or could I burn them?”“That true love thing is still a thing you know.” Viktor suggested.Viktor, Primrose, and Audrey looked at me.“I know that I can probably do it, but I apparently can’t, since I’m a fae and can’t break this curse.” I said.“Our cousin could’ve had it where other faes can’t break this spell. But it’s possible that it didn’t happen.” said Viktor.“I just don’t know.” I said. “I want to get my mind off of this, so I’m going to go for a walk, by myself. I just need to be alone for some time.”“Take your time.” said Viktor.I got up and went to the woods.

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I was walking around for about an hour, but I realized I was lost.‘Oh no! Where am I?’ I thought to myself. I tried to find a way home but was still lost.‘How can I be lost in these woods? I’ve lived around here my whole life!’ I thought.I then heard a stick breaking. “Who’s there?” I asked. There was nothing that responded back.“Don’t be stupid! Don’t say anything! Don’t do anything that would get you killed!” I said to myself.I grabbed a large stick from the ground and quietly walked to a bush, where there was a rustle coming from it. I ran to the bush and hit the stick to what was making the sound.I looked over to see what I had hit. It was a person. I couldn’t tell if it was a human or fae.“Hello?” I called.They didn’t respond.“Well, you did whack them with a stick.” I said to myself.After a few minutes, they woke up.“What happened?” They asked.“Who are you?” I asked.“The most important question is, who are you?” They asked.“I was out in these woods, by myself. I heard you in the bush and hit you with a stick.” I replied.“You hit me with a stick?” They asked.“No, I hit you with a rock. And stop asking questions! I want to know who you are!” I replied sarcastically.They looked at me for a minute.“First it’s questions, now awkward stares.” I said.“Edmund?” They asked.“No. That’s my father’s name, I’m Sebastian.” I replied.“If you’re Sebastian- wait, how old are you?” They asked.“19. How do you know my father?” I asked. I then noticed their horns.“Wait-are you related to my father?” I asked.“He’s my uncle- that means. The last time I saw you, you were a baby.” They replied.“So you’re my cousin that disappeared all those years ago!” I said.“Yeah! I’m Aspen. It’s so good to see you again!” They said.“Yeah.” I replied. I then slapped Aspen.“What was that for?” They asked.“That’s for randomly disappearing!” I said. I slapped them again.“That’s for cursing the royal family’s baby!” I added.I slapped them for a third time. “And that’s for running away from all of your problems!”“I didn’t curse the royal family!” Aspen said.“Yeah you- what? What do you mean you didn’t curse the royal family?” I asked.“19 years ago, when I was loyal to the king, he planned a genocide of the faes. He was going to kill a lot of humans as well. I tried to tell people about it, but he found out about me, and blamed me for cursing his baby son. The humans were after me, so I had no choice but to hide. I’ve lived in these woods hiding since then. I wish I actually did something, but it’s now too late. I’m a coward for doing that, I know.” Aspen said.“So if it wasn’t you who cursed the prince, then who?” I asked.“That’s what I’ve been trying to figure out all these years. But the only thing that I can do to see it accurately is to sing the Forbidden Tune.” Aspen said.The Forbidden Tune is basically a kind of poem that is used to either see things from the past, present, or future. But it’s a dangerous way to see these things. Many faes have tried, but have failed. Some have even died reciting the chant.“I’ve actually been doing my own research about the Forbidden Tune, you have to have a kind of bond with someone involved with the thing you want to see, and of course a protection talisman.” I said.“Why are you bringing up the ‘bond’ thing?” Aspen asked.I took a breath. “I’m the prince’s boyfriend- well used to be... It’s a long story. But basically, after you fled, the king sent the prince to live in the woods. We met 10 years ago and met when I turned 19. Earlier today he found out about the curse. He wasn’t mad, but his caretaker forbade us from seeing each other.” I replied.“Wow! That’s surprising. I hope that it’ll work.” said Aspen.We put candles in a circle around us, and drew a sigil between us. We sat down and held each other’s hands.“Have your protection talisman?” Aspen asked. I nodded.“You?” I asked. Aspen nodded. We closed our eyes and began the chant.“Death rolls in to dance with the young soulThe bird falls out of the skyThe dark sea’s tide rises to the villageThe lovers are never to see each other againAs one lover is in the clouds while the other is undergroundMemories die with hopefulness and innocenceAll there is darkness and destructionEverything is dead and there is no lightThe soul of the devil has possessed the face of man and has taken all that is good”We sang.After the chant, I opened my eyes to a house in a village. “Aspen! Aspen, where are you?” I called out.I sighed. “Guess it’s all me.”I walked into the house. There were sigils all around the place.“Why would I be taken here?” I thought.I saw a human sitting down at a table. They had things that a dark fae would use to do dark magic. I went over to the person.Someone then walked into the house. “Have you done it?” The human walking in asked.“Yes! All you need to do is have the child take it. You can feed it to him.” The human sitting down replied.The second person laughed “Now there will be no one in the way of taking over the throne. Now remind me, what is this curse you’re placing?”The person sitting down got up.“Once the prince turns 19, he will prick his finger on a spindle of a spinning wheel and die.”I sat there in fear. ‘Aspen was innocent this whole time.’ I thought.I was then transported to a castle at night, there I saw a baby. I recognized the baby’s eyes, it was Robyn, most likely. And he was crying. From a window, I saw Aspen, but when they were younger.“My child, I’m so sorry that you have a terrible curse like this, I wish I could take it away, but unfortunately I can’t. But I can change the outcome. You will prick your finger but only fall into a sleep-like death, and you will be awoken by true love’s kiss. Please find the one that’ll love you and you’ll love them.” Young Aspen said.A guard came by and word got around that Aspen cursed Robyn.‘This is bad! Who are these people that placed the curse on Rob?’ I thought to myself.I was seeing more and more things, but they were blurry and unclear to me.I then heard some mumbles. I then heard a whisper calling my name. I turned around to see a dark shadowy figure looking at me. I immediately ran.“Wake up! Wake up! Wake up!” I kept telling myself.I then stopped at a cliff and there was nothing but an ocean of darkness.‘What do I do?’ I thought to myself. I then felt something push me.I tried to hang onto the edge of the cliff, I thought that I can push myself up and find a way out of this vision.I looked up and saw a dark shadowy figure looking at me. It smirked at me, then kicked my hands off the cliff. I fell into the dark sea, thinking that this was where I was going to die.I then woke up to the woods being pulled back to the ground. I was panting, out of breath and sweating.“Hey, you’re as pale as a ghost, are you alright?” Aspen asked.I tried telling them what I saw but I passed out even before I could say anything.

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I woke up in a small house.“My head... Where am I?” I groaned.I looked over and saw Aspen. “You passed out. Luckily, you had your talisman and it wasn’t damaged. So you’re still alive.” Aspen replied.“I never knew that the Forbidden tune could actually do that. I’m lucky to be alive.” I said.“Just rest. You should feel better after some rest. Now tell me what you saw.” Aspen said.“Couldn’t you see anything?” I asked.“I only heard little things, but everything felt dark and I couldn’t see anything.” Aspen replied.I told them everything.“We just need to find out who these people were and why they cursed the prince.” Aspen said.“Yeah.” I agreed. After an hour, I felt better and was going back to my village.“Hey, I should probably go back with you. Plus, I haven’t really seen the family in years.” Aspen said.“It’s changed a lot. Your parents are still doing fine, despite them not seeing you for years.” I said.“How’s my sister, Opal?” Aspen asked.“Well, she’s engaged, and has met a nice man. He treats her very well.” I replied.“Wow. Guess I need a huge update on what I missed.” Aspen said.I laughed. “Yep.”We then got to my village. Viktor immediately hugged me.“We were so worried that you got lost!” He said.“I’m fine! Don’t worry!” I said.Viktor then looked at Aspen. “Aspen? Is that really you?” He asked.“Yeah. It’s good to see you, Viktor.” Aspen replied. Viktor then hugged Aspen.We then brought Aspen to our family. Their mom then came out and hugged Aspen. “My child! It’s been so long! I missed you!” She cried.“Mom! I’m not a kid anymore! I’m now 39.” Aspen said.“What am I supposed to call you then? You’re not a man or a woman. So I guess ‘child’ will have to do.” Aspen’s mom said.“Okay, fine.” Aspen sighed.“You’re 39! But you look so young!” Primrose said.“Yeah. I was surprised when I found out that they were 39.” I said.I introduced Primrose and Audrey to Aspen. They both liked Aspen.“Hey, Sebastian, I want to speak with you, Viktor, Audrey, and Aspen alone.” Primrose said.We followed them to a place far from the village.“So I ran into your boyfriend- ex boyfriend- I don’t know- Robyn! I was out on a walk to look at the plants in the woods, and I saw him running. I went to him and he asked ‘why are you here?’ I then replied with ‘The better question is where are you going?’ Robyn then sighed and said ‘A place where I can stay. I need a new life for myself, and I can’t have my caretakers immediately know where I am. I wish I could stay in the village, but I can’t.’ Then he stormed off.” said Primrose.“He’s going to get lost in these woods, so it’s our job to protect him.” I said.“Are you still not over him?” Audrey asked.“Look! I know it’s stupid, but I love him! I never thought I’d meet someone like him! But here I am still in love with a human! So god forgive me for falling in love with someone who I’m not really supposed to be in love with, but I’ll do whatever it takes to make sure Robyn is safe!” I replied.“Wow! I never knew that my little cousin thought that.” said Aspen.“You’re 39 and still single dude.” I joked.Audrey, Primrose, Viktor, and I laughed at Aspen.“Viktor, you’re 27. And also still give in to things your little brother bribes you into!” Aspen said.“Don’t throw me into this! I did nothing!” Viktor said.“You two ‘grown faes’ are acting like little kids. Do you want me to do your hair like a pretty pretty princess?” Primrose joked.“Audrey, tell your partner they don’t need to get into our business.” Viktor said.“I don’t take orders from any man! So no one’s going to tell me what I get to tell my partner.” Audrey replied.We all then just laughed it off.“We are all acting like little kids.” Said Primrose.“I guess we’ll never grow up.” Aspen said.“Nothing’s going to stop us though.” Viktor said. We all laughed.Night then came and we went to find Robyn. We hid in some trees so he wouldn’t see us. He was trying to build a little place for him to stay for the night, but he couldn’t really build it.“I can’t do it! This is hard! Hey, can you hold-” He said then looked over to his right. “Oh, nevermind. Guess it’s just me for now. I guess I need to find some food before I get hungry.” He added.He then walked away with a large stick in his hand.Viktor, Aspen, Primrose, Audrey and I went out of hiding. “Prim, make a place for Robyn to sleep. Audrey, get some fire ready. Me, Aspen, and Viktor will go find some food for Robyn.” I said.“Yeah, we want the old married couple to be together.” Aspen laughed.“Oh shut up you single 39 year old!” Audrey shouted.“Hey, the animals are trying to sleep. Do I need to treat my older cousin and little brother’s friends as children?” Viktor said.“Can you stop calling me little brother? I’m an adult now.” I said.“I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again, one of these days, you’ll miss me calling you little brother.” Viktor said.I rolled my eyes. We then went off into the woods.After about 20 minutes of us walking in the woods, Aspen started to walk ahead of me and Viktor.“Don’t worry, we’ll find some stuff before it gets too late.” Aspen said. “I’ve lived in these woods for 19 years, so I know these woods like the back of my hand.”I took a breath. “Robyn’s never been alone in these woods before, so I’m worried about him.”“Hey, don’t let it get to you. He’ll be fine.” Viktor said.“You think so?” I asked.“Look, I don’t have desires for relationships, whether it’s a romantic or a- you know. But what I’m saying is that I can’t really give my insights on relationships. But I want to tell you that everything’s okay, I know it’ll seem like nothing’s going to work out, but it will. I just want you to be happy. If I ever die young, all I want is my brother to be happy.” Viktor said. We both then hugged.“Guys! Sorry to ruin the nice ‘brother moment’, but I found a river! We can get some fish from the river!” Aspen said.“Perfect,” said Viktor. “Also, little brother, how do you know if Robyn hasn’t been on his own before?” He added.“I- um- I kind of guessed. But he has told me that he’s never really been far into the woods by himself.” I replied.“I guess that counts.” Viktor said.We got some fish and went back to where Primrose and Audrey were.“That was quick.” Primrose said.“The place looks nice.” Viktor said.“I think I hear someone coming, hide!” Aspen said. We hid in separate trees. Robyn came back.“Who left this for me? I don’t know if I should trust this, but I don’t know- maybe someone did this for me while I was gone. That’s kind of them. Or could it be-” Robyn said. He then looked over to some trees and smiled.After about 30 minutes, Robyn went to sleep. Primrose made a small little house out of plants and wood.It soon started to rain. “Rosey, did you forget to build a strong roof for rain?” Audrey asked.“Oops, I forgot.” Primrose said. I went over to the small house to see what I could do to not get rain in the house.Something fascinating about dark faes is that they can turn into dragons. We can do it on command mostly, there are rare times where we’d become dragons unexpectedly, but it almost never happens. We can also have certain features come out when we want it, so I let out my dragon wings and put them over the house.“You’re going to get yourself a cold.” Primrose said.“Oh, when we’re in dragon form in some way, we don’t get colds.” Aspen said.“Lucky. Although I’m a fire fae, I still get cold when I can warm myself up.” Audrey said.“Well, water puts out fires, love.” said Primrose.“I’m not an idiot, darling.” Audrey said.“You two love birds can take your argument somewhere else, someone’s trying to sleep.” I quietly said to Audrey and Primrose.“We’ll try to get some sleep, see you in the morning.” Viktor said.After about an hour, the storm stopped. Audrey started a small fire in the small house.“Primrose will make a better roof where rain won’t get in the house.” Audrey said.“Thanks.” I said. Audrey then left. I then went into the house and saw Robyn still sleeping.I sighed. “You’re still asleep in the storm? Wow.” I said to myself.I went a bit closer to where he was sleeping. “Never in all my years would I ever think I’d be in love with a human, but here I am. I hope that one day this curse will magically be broken and that we can have things like they used to be, and that we’d all be reunited as one. Although we are different creatures, I still see us as just living beings. I’m still in love with you, I know it’s strange to still be in love with someone who you kind of broke up with, but I hope that we can resolve this conflict.” I softly said to Robyn.I didn’t pay attention to the time, but I ended up falling asleep.

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I woke up to Aspen calling me. “We got to go! He might be waking up soon, so let’s get out of here!” They said.I got up and left.We eventually walked around the woods. “So I heard what you were saying to Robyn.” Viktor said.“Please don’t tell anyone what I said, it’s kind of embarrassing and I want it to be between me and him.” I said, embarrassed.“He was asleep, so he didn’t hear a word, most likely.” Primrose laughed. I hid my face.“Hey, we all get embarrassed. My sister Opal would always make fun of me like that, so don’t worry.” Aspen said.“You’re 30 something and still single!” Viktor said.“You’re 20 something and still live with your parents!” Aspen shouted back.“Oh! You want to go there!” Viktor shouted.“Let’s dance!” Said Aspen.“Ladies first.” Viktor said.“Stop, I want to go easy with the little kids.” Aspen said.“Girls! Girls! Stop with your kitty fight.” Primrose said.“Let’s just go you two.” I said.“Are we just going to jokingly fight right now, because if we were to write this story or to tell it, the readers and or listeners would be like ‘why are they fighting the whole time? It’d be nice if we had something to forward this story and know what happens next’.” Audrey said.“That’s a weird statement to make, but Audrey’s right,” I said. “Also, didn’t you two have the same argument yesterday or something?”“Not entirely. It’s because I know that Viktor doesn’t want a relationship, so I can’t say he's single. I had to think of something else.” Aspen said.“You’re almost 40, and still single. And I like to make fun of you for that.” Viktor laughed.We then heard a man and a woman fighting. We quietly caught up to them. I recognized their voices, it was Odessa and Tobias.“You should’ve told him today, or else he wouldn’t have run off.” Odessa yelled.“Well, I’m sorry, Odessa, it’s not my fault that the king didn’t give specific instructions.” said Tobias,“Well then, Tobias, where could’ve he run off to?” Odessa shouted.“I don’t know! And stop shouting at me, please. We need to think.” Tobias said. I then went behind the two of them.“Sebastian! You’re going to get yourself in trouble!” Viktor whispered.“I need to make things right and clear things up!” I replied.“He’s going back to the palace. I overheard him wanting to find the village of his kingdom.” I said.Odessa and Tobias turned around.“Why hello there, it’s nice to see you again.” Tobias said.“Where is he?” Odessa asked in an angry tone.“I don’t know exactly where. He was talking to himself and said he was going back to the palace. I don’t know where it is though.” I replied.“We’re going to need your help to find him-” Tobias said.“No! We can’t have the cousin of Aspen help us, what they did is unforgivable and not justified!” Odessa interrupted.“It wasn’t Aspen! I went to the past and they did all they could to save Robyn.” I replied holding back my anger.“What’s your proof?” Odessa asked.“Well, if you want to see the past, I can find a way for you two to see the past yourselves, but I would never lie to you about Robyn.” I replied, still trying not to be angry.“Why would he ever trust you! You’re just a vile evil thing that shouldn’t be here. Robyn doesn’t need someone like you. You’re just a murderer.” Odessa scoffed.I couldn’t take it anymore, so I let my anger out. “I don’t give a damn about what you think about me, a dark fae, in love with a human! He never saw the bad in me or the way I looked, but he saw me as someone to love. His life may be in potential danger if you don’t do anything about this! We have to go back to the palace and destroy any spindle we find, or seek the truth for yourselves! So shut up and stop judging a ‘mistake’ Aspen made! They never wanted to curse Robyn in the first place! So stop being so ignorant! I would never murder anyone, no matter who it is! You’re also being very hypocritical by telling Robyn he shouldn’t judge anyone. Tobias seems not to care about who I am, he’s just happy that I treated Robyn right! You are a fae and should know that we stick together as faes!” I yelled.Primrose then cheered. “Sorry!” They said.My friends, Aspen, and Viktor then came out.“Tobi?” Aspen asked.“Hi, Aspen” Tobias smiled.“You know each other?” I asked.“It’s a long story” Tobias and Aspen said at the same time.“What he said was right. I actually can look at the past through plants. He’s telling the truth, Aspen is innocent.” Primrose added.“I’ve been afraid to tell this, but that night when Aspen was accused of cursing the boy, I actually saw them changing the curse. I offered to help, and as soon as I left, that’s when people were saying that they were trying to kill Robyn.” Tobias said.“It’s not your fault, sometimes people of high power would mostly have their followers see what they want to see. So it makes sense if the king wanted everyone to see me as evil.” Aspen sighed.“Things like that are corrupt!” I said.“The things that those who have high power do to keep their power..” Primrose sighed.We kept walking, trying to find the palace. While walking, Audrey sat down for a bit.“Are you okay, my love?” Primrose asked.“I’m fine. I’m just a bit tired. Let’s keep going.” Audrey replied.“We can have a small break if you want to.” Tobias suggested.“We can do that.” Audrey nodded.We ended up sitting down for a few hours.“Audrey, are you sure you’re alright?” I asked. “I’m fine. I needed a break. I didn’t really get a lot of sleep last night.” Audrey replied.“When we get to a nearby house, we’ll have you sleep.” Primrose said.After another few hours, it was night, and we were near the kingdom.“I’ll make a house for us to stay in for the night.” Primrose said.After the house was built, we were all getting ready to go to sleep.<“Hey, Prim, is it okay that we talk to each other, alone?” I asked.“Sure. We can also walk around if you want.” Primrose replied.We then started to talk. “So what is it?” Primrose asked.“Do you remember in school we learned about possession?” I asked.“Yes. Possessions can happen to any living thing. It can be used for good or evil, and can be very dangerous.” Primrose replied. “Why do you ask?”“Audrey could be in the process of being possessed.” I replied.“What do you mean? What made you think of this?” Primrose asked in concern.“I remember learning that when someone is possessed, they first claim that they have a lack of sleep. They then start resting longer than they usually do. And they seem to switch from themselves else to themselves. They act a bit two-faced, as you can say.” I replied.“What do we need to do?” Primrose asked.“I’m not 100% sure if she is possessed. But we should be cautious. If she ever does become possessed, we need to use a kind of weapon that is under a spell of any kind of fae and-” I replied.“So we have to kill my girlfriend? Is there any way to not harm her?” Primrose asked.“She’s not going to die, nor is it going to harm her. It’ll only harm what is possessing her. So she’ll be fine.” I replied. “If that is the case, I brought a dagger with me, and have already put a spell that’ll get rid of the possession.”“That’s good! I was worried for a second..” Primrose sighed.“Yeah.” I said.“Is it just me or Odessa doesn’t seem like someone to be trustworthy?” Primrose asked.“I don’t trust her.” I replied.“She’s just rude, and doesn’t give me good impressions. Like- I shouldn't be judging from the outside, cause that’s what my parents always taught me. But the way I see others on how they act, I sometimes can determine how they are. It just seems like I’m reading them. I know it’s a bad habit I have, but I just can’t stop it. I wish that I could, but I can’t. I know in some ways it can help me know who to trust, but I sometimes end up trusting the wrong one. And it causes me to have trust issues and-” Primrose said quickly, then stopped.“Sorry! I didn’t expect me to talk about how I felt. But it’s a tendency I have.” They sighed.“No. You’re good. I sometimes do that as well. But you’re right, Odessa is rude. Robyn said that she hurt him throughout his childhood. And I saw Odessa hit Robyn right in front of me.” I said.“We should keep an eye on her as well.” Primrose suggested.“Yep!” I agreed.We went back to where everyone else was. “Why were you two out?” Viktor asked.“I- I’m just asking for relationship advice. Because they’ve been with Audrey for 5 years.” I lied.Primrose nodded.“Oh! You’re back! Can I ask you something, son? We can walk around for a bit.” Tobias asked.I nodded. Primrose went back into the house, while Tobias and I walked around.“What do you need?” I asked.“I’ve been meaning to tell you this for a while. I’ve had romantic feelings for Aspen for years.'' Tobias replied.“How long?” I asked.“We met when we were both 11, we went to the same school. And when we met, we quickly became friends. I felt like I was in love with them.When we were around 17, we snuck into a ball that a king was hosting. That’s when they told me that they had feelings for me. We then kissed in the moonlight and quickly got out of the ball. 2 years later, I proposed to them. We planned our wedding for a long while. A month before they disappeared, we got married. No one really knew about it, because we wanted a small wedding.When they disappeared, Odessa found out about our marriage and told the king. I was then forced to break the marriage of Aspen and I, and was to never to see or look for them.”“Now that we’ve met again, I can finally renew those vows and live the life Aspen and I have always wanted.” Tobias finished.“I never knew that. Did their parents know? Did my family know?” I asked.“They did. Only a few came, Aspen wanted it to be a small wedding. Their parents were there.” Tobias replied.“So what is it you want to ask me?” I asked.“Well, I’m trying to figure out how to tell Aspen. I hope that they still love me, because I still love them. They’re the only one that have really given me love and affection in my life. I want to know what to say to them. I don’t know if they still love me, I love them so much. I’ve missed them a lot. What can I do? What should I say?” Tobias asked. “Well, I’d start with asking them how they are, and you should probably talk about memories you’ve had with them. Tell them that they’re the only one that’s given you love and affection. I’m sure it’ll make them happy. Then, I’d say you could tell them about the life you dreamed about with them, and tell them you still love them, and want to have a new life with them.” I replied.“I’ll do that. Thanks, my boy.” Tobias said.“Anytime.” I replied. “You know, when I see your relationship with Robyn, it reminds me of when me and Aspen were young. I wish you two all the happiness in the world.” Tobias said.“If I were to propose to Robyn, would you allow it?” I asked.“Of course! He seems to be very happy to be with you. Are you going to once we see him?” Tobias asked.“I don’t know, maybe. Just- when I think it’s the right time.” I replied.“I’m planning to tell Aspen tomorrow. We’re planning to have a time where we just talk. So I’m positive that’ll be a perfect time to talk then about my feelings for them.” Tobias said.“I wish you luck.” I said.We then walked back to where everyone else was. Aspen came out of the house.“Everyone is asleep. Viktor fell asleep immediately. It took Audrey a little bit to sleep, but she’s now asleep. Primrose just fell asleep. Odessa wouldn’t shut up, but she’s now asleep, thankfully.” They said.“That’s good.” I said.“Yeah. Come on in you two, and let’s get some sleep.” Aspen said.“Thank you, Aspen.” Tobias said.“Of course lov- Tobias.” Aspen replied.I laid down to sleep. ‘I’m sure that Aspen still likes Tobias, because they did almost call Tobias, love.’ I thought to myself.

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The next day, we arrived near the kingdom gates.“Should we have some disguises of some sort?” Primrose asked.“I think most of us should be good. Just hide your ears.” Tobias replied.“What about us?” Viktor asked.“Well, most of the villagers remember what Aspen looks like. So that’ll be a problem.” Tobias said.“I say we don’t bring those three with us.” Odessa suggested.“Hey! They can talk to the king! Sebastian can explain everything and so can Aspen!” Audrey shouted.“She’s right!” Aspen said.“What about me?” Viktor asked.“Oh yeah. You as well.” Audrey replied.“Well, can you at least shrink your horns?” Odessa asked.“Nope!” I replied. “It’s a part of us, we can’t do anything to get rid of them.”“I’m not asking you, young man. I’m asking the one who caused this in the first place.” Odessa sneered.“Don’t talk like that to my brother! You’re the one who caused Robyn to run away.” Viktor shouted.“Let’s take this fight elsewhere and figure out a solution. The dark faes can’t shrink their horns, so we need to think of another way.” Audrey suggested.A human then came to us, they had blue eyes, pale skin, and brown hair.“I couldn’t help but notice your conversation, and I’d like to help. I’ve actually secretly been talking to some faes,” they said. “Oh! By the way, I’m Noelle!”Noelle was a sorceress, and wanted to have faes and humans reunited. She gave Viktor, Aspen and I cloaks to use.“Don’t worry, the cloaks will help so your horns aren't noticeable.” Noelle said.“Wait! What about my hair? It’ll be noticeable! Sure there are humans who have dark skin like me, I’m not sure if they have green hair like me.” Primrose said.“Follow me” Noelle replied.We followed her to a cottage near the woods. “I have wigs for anyone to use for an emergency like this. Because I, in fact, use them.” Noelle said.“What? What do you mean?” Viktor asked.Noelle took something off her head, and she had another colored hair. It was platinum blonde.“I myself am a fae. But these humans don’t know. I live pretending to be a human, because I’m trying to figure out where the prince is, and what the king is hiding from the kingdom. So I made myself something to hide my hair and ears, so I won’t draw attention to myself, not like these villagers.” Noelle said.“Thanks.” Primrose said.Primrose put on a wig that made them look like they had dark brown hair. Noelle then put her fake hair back on. We then went to the village.While passing by some villagers, we overheard some people talking about Robyn.“Have you heard? The prince has returned?” One asked.“No! Do you think the curse is lifted?” Another asked.“Could be,” the first replied.“Is he here? Is he in the palace now?” I whispered to myself.We arrived at the gates of the palace. “Who goes there!” A guard shouted.“It’s us, Tobias and Odessa. We’re here with a few friends. They’re apprentices of ours. We’d like to speak to the king.” Tobias said.“Aren’t you two the faes that raised the prince?” The guard asked.“Yes! Now let us in!” Odessa yelled.“Alright! Alright! You don’t have to be so rude about it.” The guard sighed.The gate opened and we went in.“I’ll do the talking. I know Robyn the best.” I said.“Hey, if anything happens, we’ll be here,” said Tobias.We went to the throne room, where the king was sitting on his throne. “What are you two doing here? And who are all these? And what’s Noelle doing with you?” The king scoffed.“Your majesty, I am a friend of the prince, your son. We know Odessa and Tobias, so we’re here with them. We met Noelle on the way, and she helped us get through the village.” I replied. “I know about the curse. I can help! I think I might know how to break it.”The king laughed. “You’re a boy though. How could you think that the prince’s curse would be broken by a boy he knows?”Primrose then stepped in. “Love comes in any form. The curse is ‘true love’s kiss’ right? So maybe they do love each other a lot, and that’s alright.” They protested.Audrey nodded.“What I’m saying is, let me see Robyn, so I can protect him.” I suggested.“What are you going to do? You’re not a kind of sorcerer. So how are you going to fight off the curse?” The king laughed.I took an angry breath. “I’m not trying to lose my head here, but I have knowledge on curses like these, so please listen and believe me. I know what I’m doing. My brother and cousin, who are also in cloaks, also know what to do. My friends can help as well.” I said in annoyance.A man then came in.“I couldn’t help but notice you have guests with us, my king.” he said.“Unexpected ones. I never got their names and don’t care to. I only know Noelle, Tobias, and Odessa.” The king replied.“I guess I’ll introduce myself, I’m Keres. I’m a sorcerer.” He said.Primrose slightly sneered at him.“Don’t worry Prim, I don’t trust him either.” I mumbled to myself.Keres walked over to me. “Tell me, why do you still have the hood of your cloak over your head?” He asked.“It’s not a big deal, just- A bad hair day.” I lied.Noelle covered her mouth while trying not to laugh.“I don’t think the king would mind if you have a ‘bad hair day’.” Keres said.“No. It’s embarrassing. I don’t want the first time I talk to the king I end up having a terrible hair.” I said.Before I could explain more, Keres took off the hood of my cloak, revealing my horns.“My speculations were right.” Keres smirked.Viktor and Aspen’s cloaks were burnt, which also revealed their horns. “Oops. My fingers slipped. Accidentally casted a fire spell.” Keres laughed.The fire spell also burnt Primrose and Noelle’s fake hair.“You all lied!” The king yelled.“Please let us explain-” Tobias pleaded.“No! I will not have it! I knew that faes should never be trusted!” The king replied.“I was never the one who cursed your son.” Aspen said.“I thought you were dead! You were seen to be placing the curse on him.” The king shouted.“We’ve seen the past, it wasn’t Aspen. Someone else did. We don’t know who it is though.” Viktor said.“We can show you the past and have you see it yourself.” Primrose said.“Why would I trust you?” The king scoffed.“Odessa! Please tell him that they’re telling the truth.” Tobias said.She sneered at us. “I don’t know what they’re talking about.”We all looked at her.“I have nothing to do with this. Throw them in the dungeon or something.” Odessa said.“You bi-” Audrey yelled while about to pounce at Odessa, but Aspen caught her.“So all is this was nothing to you?” Tobias asked while holding back his anger.“I don’t care anything about that stupid prince, he was good for nothing.” Odessa sighed.I was filled with anger, so I ran over to Odessa, but I froze and fell down. The last thing I remembered was blacking out and Viktor yelling my name.

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I woke up in a dark cold room. I looked around, and saw Viktor, Aspen, Primrose, Audrey, Noelle, and Tobias with me.“What happened?” I groaned.“You were knocked out. After that, we were taken here to the dungeon.” Viktor replied.“Where’s Odessa?” I asked while getting up.“Turns out, she actually knew it wasn’t Aspen who placed the curse the whole time. She was the one to accuse Aspen. She was an ally to the king. Who knows what they’re scheming.” Noelle replied.“Since we’re here, we’re most likely to be executed, or tortured, or even both!” said Audrey.“Then, we have to find a way out of here! I don’t want to be executed for something I didn’t do!” said Aspen.“None of us do,” said Viktor.Tobias punched the wall. “All this time! All those injuries weren’t accidents. It was all Odessa! How could she do this!” Tobias said in anger.“What?” Audrey asked.“I’m a healing fae. And most times when I was with Robyn when he was a child, he always had a sort of injury. He claimed he accidentally hurt himself. But it was all Odessa. She was the one causing those injuries!” Tobias replied.“You never knew what Odessa was doing to Robyn?” I asked.“No! I feel so blind and stupid! I thought that the first time when we first met you, was the first time Odessa hit Robyn. Odessa would threaten Robyn if he ever told anyone what she was doing.” Tobias replied.He then sighed. “I’m a terrible caretaker! I wish I could go back in time and find a new place for me and the boy to live in. He doesn’t deserve a childhood like that.”“It’s not your fault, don’t blame yourself for your past.” Noelle said.“We need to find a way out of here and find Robyn,” said Primrose.“I’ve been meaning to talk about this for a long while now. I know we just met, but I feel like I can trust you all. I’ve never really had anyone I could trust about this. I don’t know if we’re going to die or not, but I want to say this and talk more about myself if we do end up dying. I am seen as a woman- or a girl, because I am only 14, but when I was born, I wasn’t like that. I was expected to be like all the other boys around me, but I didn’t like that. I envied all the women and girls I lived around. They were all beautiful and wore beautiful clothing. I envied them. One day, when I was 9 years old, I went into my mother’s wardrobe and took one of her dresses; it was her wedding dress. I did my own make-up and made myself look beautiful. When I looked at myself in the mirror, I thought to myself ‘This is me. This is the real me’. I told my mother how I felt. She was hesitant at first, because I would’ve been the one passing on the family name.After talking to my father about it, my parents told me that they’d support me and help me be comfortable in my own body. When they called me their daughter, it felt good and I liked it. So those around me would start calling me ‘Miss’ or ‘Young Lady’ and I loved that. My parents helped me change my name, and did all they could to make me happy.Then, when I was 11, they were killed. Before my mother died, she said ‘you’ll always be our girl, Noelle. Please never forget how much your mother and father love you, you’ll always be our daughter’. I ran away from my village and started a new life in this village.Because my village still called me a boy, even though my parents explained to them I wasn’t a boy. I even got times where others wanted me dead because of my identity.Everyone here saw me as a girl, and I was happy about that, because I just didn’t want to be seen as a boy.” Noelle said, while holding back her tears.Primrose and Aspen hugged her. “I know how that feels. You’re not alone, Noelle. We’re here for you. When I was little, I never thought I was a girl nor a boy, just somewhere in between. I wanted to tell my dad, but I was afraid he’d disown me. But when I told him, he supported me and made me feel loved. He wanted me to be comfortable in my own skin. It was hard at first, other faes would be like ‘you’re suppose to be the gender you were born in’ or like ‘there’s only man and woman’ but I learned that those negative things don’t define you. You are you and that’s all.” Primrose said.“For me, I never felt like I was a ‘woman’ or ‘man’ or anything else, but more of not a specific one or just me. I was very nervous to tell my parents, but they didn’t care, they went ‘that’s alright, as long as you’re happy, we’re happy’. So Noelle, you’re very brave and strong, you have others who understand you and will listen to you.” Aspen said.“You’re the bravest girl I’ve ever known, Noelle.” Viktor said.“Whoever has you as their wife, they’ll be very lucky to have a wife that’s beautiful, kind, brave, strong, and intelligent.” I said.“You’re a very courageous young woman.” Tobias said.“I’m glad to have met a girl like you,” Audrey said.Noelle started to cry happy tears “Thank you. You all make me so happy. I’m glad to have met you guys.”The room got darker. I looked out the small window and saw a dark cloud over the sun.“He did it. He pricked his finger on the spindle.” Aspen said in shock.“I need to save him! I don’t care if I’m not able to, I’ll do all I can!” I yelled.“Oi! Keep it down!” A guard said.“I think I have an idea.” Viktor said.“Viktor, if it involves danger, please don’t tell me.” I said.“Oh, it’s not dangerous, trust me.” Viktor smirked. After 10 minutes, we were quiet.“What did you just say?” Viktor yelled.“You heard me, why don’t you go do your silly little magic tricks for children!” Aspen yelled.“Silly magic tricks!? I’ll show you a silly little magic trick! You’ll be the one who I’m doing it on!” Viktor shouted.“Stop it! Fighting is going to make it worse!” Audrey shouted.The guards came by and tried to break up the fight. While they were distracted, Noelle froze the lock of the cell, so she could break it. Primrose then tied the guards with plants.We then ran out.“You’ll forget that this happened!” Primrose said, then threw some powder at the guards, that made them fall asleep.We tried to find where Robyn could be. “I can sense where he is. Just follow me!” Said Aspen.While we were walking, we saw the king, Odessa, Keres, and some other guards. We quickly hid so that they wouldn’t see us.“I’ll distract them! Because I have a plan!” Primrose said.They walked out of hiding, and they were walking in an odd way.“What are they doing?” Tobias asked.“Audrey, they’re your partner, you should know.” I said.“I honestly have no idea.” Audrey replied.“What are you doing out of the dungeon? And stop running!” Odessa yelled.“Oh this isn’t running! It’s formal speed walking! So you better come catch me!” Primrose replied.They then sprinted away, with the others chasing them.“We’ll go after them, and help with whatever Primrose needs,” said Audrey.“You three go find Robyn!” said Tobias.“If one of us yells something weird, we need help,” said Noelle.“Okay!” said Aspen. The three went after Primrose.Viktor, Aspen, and I went to where Robyn could be.“He’s in here. I’m sure of it.” Aspen said while in front of a room.I went into the room, and there he was, my love, asleep.I walked over to him. “He really looks like a prince like that.” I whispered.“You can compliment your boyfriend later, we need to wake him up!” Said Viktor.“This kiss thing won’t work, so we need loud noises, and all we can do.” said Aspen.No matter what we did, Robyn would never wake up.“It’s no use then.” Viktor sighed.“We tried everything from loud instruments to pouring water to even screaming.” Aspen sighed.I quietly shed a tear. “So he’s really gone...” I said softly.“We’ll leave it to you two. Alone.” said Viktor. I quickly hugged my big brother.“If anything happens, I love you. And you’re the best big brother any little brother can ask for.” I cried.Viktor hugged me back. “Anytime.” Aspen and Viktor then left the room.I stood next to Robyn. “I guess this is it. I never thought I was capable of receiving love from someone. Even if they were a fae or human. You always saw beauty in everything. Even in dark times of your life. I’m at least happy you’re not suffering anymore. You deserve all the happiness in the universe. If I could, I would want to be a part of that happiness. I would’ve asked you to be my husband and make me the luckiest man alive. I love you.” I said to Robyn. I then kissed him and sat next to him and cried.I then felt a gentle touch on my hand. “If I were asked that, I would definitely say yes. Especially if it’s from you.” a familiar voice said.I turned around, and it was Robyn, awake. I hugged him.“Oh, my little bird, you’re okay and alive! Hold on, I want to make this more formal!” I said.I took a ring from my pocket, and got down on one knee. “Robyn, would you make me the luckiest man in the universe, and be my husband?” I asked.“Of course I would!” Robyn smiled.I put the ring on him. We then hugged. He then pulled me for a kiss.I then looked over to Aspen and Viktor standing in the doorway and smiling.“How long have you been standing there?” I sighed.“Ever since you had your talk with Robyn.” Aspen laughed.“I knew there was going to be a wedding!” Viktor said.“How long have you been carrying that ring with you?” Aspen asked.“I made it last week, I was planning to propose when I had the chance” I replied.“So, this is your cousin?” Robyn asked.“Yes! Robyn, this is my cousin, Aspen. Aspen, this is my boyfriend- or fiancé, Robyn” I said.“I’ve heard a lot about you,” Aspen said.“Also, I thought that I couldn’t break the curse. So how did I do it?” I asked.“Well, Aspen and I found out that we could change that part of the curse and get rid of it, because it didn’t have a protection spell on it. So whoever added that part to the curse probably forgot to place a protection spell on that.” said Viktor.“That’s- I’m glad that you two were able to fix it.” I replied.We told Robyn the truth about the past. “Whoever casted the spell on me the first time wanted me dead. We need to find who it is.” Robyn said. “But first, I want to deal with Odessa.”As we were about to leave the room, there was a small peck on the window. I turned around to open the window. It was a skeletal bird.“What is that?” Robyn asked.“It’s my pet bird, Crimson,” I replied.“It’s a skeleton?” Robyn questioned.“Dark faes have pets that are dead or skeletons. I’ve had Crimson ever since I was like 10. She’s been like my child.” I replied.Robyn gently touched Crimson’s head. “She likes you a lot,” I said.Crimson then chirped at me. “They need our help? We have to get there as soon as we can. Lead us the way.” I said.Crimson led us to the courtyard. “We came here as soon as we could! What do you need?” I asked out of breath.“All the guards, Odessa, and the king ran away.” Primrose replied.“So is everything okay?” Aspen asked.Noelle nodded.Tobias ran over to Robyn and hugged him. “I’m so sorry for everything. I should’ve provided you with a better home and childhood.” Tobias cried.“It’s not your fault. It never was.” Robyn replied.‘If Crimson said that they needed help, what did she mean?’ I muttered to myself.“Hey, where’s Audrey?” Viktor asked.There was a loud whisper that we all heard. We turned to where the whisper was heard.“Audrey, are you alright?” Primrose asked.

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“Audrey, are you alright?” Primrose asked.Audrey was standing still. “The prince is awake now, I see.” she said.“Hey, stop acting like this. You never act like this!” Primrose said.Audrey turned around to us. “Oh, forgive me, Primrose, I’m sorry for acting like that. My mind seems to be somewhere else.” Audrey replied.Audrey’s eye color then changed to a dark red and was slowly walking towards us. “Truly, you are all clever.” Audrey said, but her voice had a darker tone and was creepier.“Who are you and what have you done to my girlfriend!?” Primrose yelled.Creepy Audrey laughed maniacally. “You’re so naive and stupid. You all thought this battle was over. That the two forbidden lovers would make a change with this centuries long conflict. That’ll never happen, this is reality. Things like that only happen in made up stories for children. This is no fairytale. No one lives happily ever after, especially to the evil ones, like the dark faes.”“I’m going in.” I whispered to Robyn.“Are you crazy?! She’s possessed! You could die!” He whispered back.“I have a plan.” I whispered. I took the dagger out of my pocket and hid it behind my back.“You are correct. What was I thinking?” I asked.“Sebby! What are you doing?” Viktor asked.“I really am living in a make-believe world. Never will that be a reality. I should’ve really thought this all through.” I said. I walked over to Possesed Audrey.She then grinned. “That’s what I thought.”“Dark faes have always had a bad reputation, because we use dark magic and more, so of course I won’t get the happy ending here. I am stupid.” I said. I then took the dagger out of hiding and aimed it to Audrey.She grabbed my arm and was laughing. “Did you think I was stupid? I saw that from a mile away.” She threw the dagger and me to the ground.“Oh shi-” I said but was interrupted by my hand getting stepped on, and I heard a crack coming from it. I didn’t know if a bone in my hand broke or not, but it was painful. Possessed Audrey picked up the dagger.“Did you really think that’ll work? You are indeed foolish.” She then burned the dagger into ashes.“No!” I yelled. I was then kicked in the ribs.Robyn then ran to me. “Whoever you are, get out of Audrey- or else-” He trembled.“Or else we'll make you!” I finished, angered by seeing how frightened Robyn was.Possessed Audrey laughed. “You and what army?”“How about two dark faes, a plant fae, and an ice fae?” Noelle asked.“We got you two. Go make sure my little brother’s alright.” Viktor said to Robyn.Aspen, Viktor, Noelle, and Primrose then went over to fight Possessed Audrey while Robyn carried me over to Tobias.“That looked and sounded bad.” Robyn said.“Is there anywhere that’s hurting the most for you?” Tobias asked.“My hand and my ribs.” I groaned.Tobias held out his hand above where I claimed to feel my pain. “You have two broken ribs and a few broken bones in your hand. But I will heal them as quickly as I can.” He said.After about a few minutes, my bones were healed.“How are you feeling?” Tobias asked.“Better. Thanks.” I replied.“Anytime.” Tobias nodded.“We need to find a way to defeat creepy Audrey.” Robyn said.“Right!” I agreed. “We need to find a sharp object, and I’ll cast a spell on it to make it get rid of the possession.”Robyn then pulled out a dagger from his pocket.“Where did you get that?” Tobias asked.“You gave it to me when I was ten, I’ve kept it ever since.” Robyn replied.“Oh! I remember now!” Tobias reminisced.“Why would you give a ten year old a sharp object for them to keep?” I asked.“I thought it would keep him safe! In case something were to happen. Also, you fell asleep with said sharp object with you?” Tobias asked.“When I first came into the palace, I was locked in my room, and I hid it under my pillow.” Robyn replied.“I won’t ask about that but can I have it?” I asked.“Sure, anything to save Audrey.” Robyn replied.I then put the spell that can rid the possession of Audrey.“May I do the honors? Because I have an idea who might’ve possesed Audrey.” Robyn said.“What do you mean by that?” I asked.“When you told me that Audrey wasn’t acting like herself, it got me thinking for a second. Was Odessa with her?” Robyn asked.“I don’t know.” I replied.“Odessa was behind her, but then Audrey walked back slowly to Odessa. I didn’t think much of it, so I walked ahead of them.” Tobias said.“Did Audrey say something that felt out of the ordinary?” Robyn asked.“Well, the other night, she started muttering things, at one point she even sounded a bit like- Odessa.” Tobias replied.“By any chance, Tobias, do you know what kind of fae Odessa is?” Robyn asked.“She said that she’s a rare species of fae, but never has told me what kind she is.” Tobias replied.“Yesterday, before I ran away, I snuck into Odessa’s room to find out what kind of fae she is. I found that she can manipulate the thoughts of others, and a lot more. But in general, she can control anything that she’d like to. These kinds of faes are very rare,” Robyn replied. “Not to mention, she uses this to her advantage, that’s how she- nevermind. The reason why I think that Odessa is the one to possess Audrey is because, I noticed Audrey’s facial expressions are exactly like Odessa, and I heard a bit of Odessa’s voice in Audrey’s.”“I never noticed that! I feel so stupid!” I said. “I thought it was something, but not as serious as this.” Tobias said.“And can’t forget the way Audrey looked at me, it was a look Odessa has given me for years, and a look that terrified me as a child. When I saw that stare, that was confirmation that Odessa is behind the possession of Audrey.” Robyn said while shaking.“Hey, it’s going to be alright, once this is all over, we can punish Odessa.” I said.“I know, it’s just every time there’s a small thing that happened during the hard times in my childhood, it brings back all the memories. I try to forget, but I can’t.” Robyn said.“I’ve never told you this, but I went through similar things as you did in my childhood. My parents weren’t the best parents. When I started living on my own, I didn’t know who I was. The first few weeks after not living with my parents, I had repeating nightmares of my childhood. It’s going to be hard to forget these terrible memories, but don’t let it ever determine how you live.” Tobias said.He then hugged Robyn.“I don’t know if healing faes can internally heal someone, but I hope I am.” Tobias said.“You’re doing your best, thanks.” Robyn said.I then hugged Robyn as well.“This is what my dad taught me, you have so much power within you that you don’t know about. You may see yourself as weak, but you have a great strength in you that you never knew that has grown. It’s been building up inside of you, and will release once it’s the right time.” I said.We got up and went over to Possesed Audrey.“Come for another round I see.” She laughed.“Yes. But I won’t be the one to fight you off.” I said.Robyn came up from behind Possesed Audrey. She turned around and grabbed Robyn’s arm.“Robyn, why would you do this to me? I was the only one that was like a mother to you. And this is how you treat me?” She asked.“No! You’re not my mother, nor will you be like a mother to me. You’re a monster! I will never again let you manipulate me, hurt me, or hurt any of those who I care about! I absolutely despise you! All you did was lie to me! I will NEVER let you control me like your puppet again!” Robyn replied. He then stabbed Possesed Audrey.There was then loud screeching and a black smoke coming out of Audrey’s mouth, she then fell back but Primrose ran and caught her.“Aud! Audrey! Are you alright?” Primrose asked.Audrey coughed out a small bug. Aspen blew fire on the bug to burn it to ashes.“DARK FAES CAN BREATHE FIRE?!!” Robyn asked.“We’ll tell you later, right now, we’re concerned about Audrey.” I replied.Tobias went to Audrey, he then whispered something. Audrey woke up.“Primrose, is that you? Why do you have blood on you?” She asked.“It’s a few scratches. I’m alright though. And it really is me, my little firebird.” Primrose replied. “Can you tell us what you remembered?” They added.

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“I remembered Odessa whispered something to me, which was the spell to cause possession. I tried to fight back, but I eventually gave in. I did my best. I’m sorry. I didn’t want to cause all this damage.” Audrey replied while holding back tears.“It’s not your fault. You did your best.” Aspen said.“I can heal your wounds. First, I’ll get Audrey to do alright.” Tobias said. He then healed Audrey.“How are you feeling?” Tobias asked.“Better, thanks.” Audrey replied.“Now, with the rest of you.” Tobias said.After a bit, Audrey got up and hugged and kissed Primrose.“So, I guess this possession thing is done?” Viktor asked.“I hope so.” Audrey replied.“Hey, Aspen, I’ve been meaning to tell you this for a really long time…” Tobias said.“What is it?” Aspen asked.‘He’s going to tell them!’ I thought to myself.“Remember when we were 15, we talked about who we wanted for a future spouse?” Tobias asked.Aspen nodded.“I remember I wanted someone who was caring, sacrificing, loving, kind, brave, beautiful, and intelligent. I still would want that. And those are words I’d use to describe you.” Tobias said.“Me? You describe me as that?” Aspen asked.“Yes! And remember how we were married for some time?” Tobias asked.“We would talk about how much we wanted for our wedding, and when it happened, it felt like a dream come true to me. Like I was living in a fairytale.” Aspen replied.“It’s been around 19 years since our wedding, I think about that day every second. And I want to ask you, will you start a new life with me, and have a second chance together?” Tobias asked.Aspen hugged Tobias so hard that they both fell to the ground.“Yes! Of course!” Aspen cried happily.“I want to tell you something Aspen, so after you disappeared, Odessa found out about our marriage, and forced me to break off the marriage, and have the king forbid me from finding you.” Tobias said.“I’m not even surprised that Odessa would do a thing like that.” Aspen said.“Really! But now I don’t give a damn what Odessa does anymore. Because she’s not worth it!” Tobias said.He then kissed Aspen, and Aspen kissed him back.“Wait! You were the one who married Aspen! I remember I couldn’t say your name for a long time, so I just called you Tobi! I knew you looked familiar! After Aspen disappeared, someone told the family that you went missing or were dead! I’m so glad that you’re doing well.” said Viktor.“Viktor, was I ever told Aspen was married?” I asked.“I don’t think those who were born after the wedding knew. Because it was a healing fae with a dark fae, and we didn’t want too much word to get out.” Viktor replied.“Oh I see now.” I said.“You two were always together. I knew it! You two seemed to have something together.” Primrose said.“Wait- you always made fun of them for being single, and you probably knew that they weren’t.” I added.“Dude, I forgot! Okay? I was like 7 when they got married, and I fell asleep during the wedding, so I couldn’t remember.” Viktor replied.“Audrey watch out!” Primrose shouted. They pushed Audrey to the ground, and then a long spear stabbed them.“Primrose!” Audrey screamed.I then heard a voice, but didn’t hear what they said.“Everyone else, hide! I’ll go find who’s there.” said Aspen.“I’m coming with you.” I said.“I am too!” Robyn said.“Let me come!” Noelle said.“Noelle, I know that you want to help. But this can be dangerous.” Aspen said.“But I fought someone who was possessed.” Noelle said.“It’s alright, she can help us. I’ve learned that ice faes are one of the most powerful faes.” Robyn said.“Alright, but please be careful, Noelle,” said Aspen. Noelle nodded.“Everyone else, go find a safe place to hide. Tobias, make sure that Primrose is alright. Viktor and Audrey, you two make sure everyone in the village is alright. Do whatever you can to protect them.” Robyn instructed.Everyone went their own ways.“I guess Audrey confirmed that Odessa possessed her.” Robyn said.“Yep.” I said.We explained to Noelle everything Odessa did.“That’s awful! She’s insane!” Noelle said.“Once this is all over, and I take my place as king, I’ll deal with her.” Robyn said.“Does this mean you're going to kill your father?” I asked.“He’s not my father. He was nothing to me. I don’t think I would feel anything if he died. So I guess that's a possible way to do it.” Robyn replied.“We don’t have to resort to murder!” Aspen said.“Let’s do murders!” Said Noelle.“Not too loud! But we’re going to kill the king, if it’s necessary. I know it’s morally wrong to kill someone, but it’s one of the things we have to do to end this war.” said Robyn.“What do we do though? Do we even have a plan?” Aspen asked.“I have a plan actually, we’ll go into the palace, confront the king, show him the past somehow and do whatever we need to do to get rid of him.” I replied.“But who was the one that actually cursed Robyn? That’s what I’m wondering about!” Noelle said.“Noelle, can you find a way to see the past, because I know that ice faes can look through a time in the past with water.” Robyn said.“I don’t even know how to! My parents never taught me that! I’ve tried to, but I failed.” Noelle replied.“Noelle, I’ve known someone who was an ice fae. How they looked into the past was they would touch some water and ask to reveal something from the past. But they need to believe in it, and actually put their intentions into it, or else it won’t work. And they have to take breaths slowly and focus on what they’re trying to see.” Aspen encouraged Noelle.“Okay” Noelle said. She went over to a small puddle of water that was on the floor.“Who was the one that cursed Prince Robyn?” she asked.After a few seconds, the water began to rise from the ground. More water began to form with the puddle from the floor. Noelle opened her eyes.“Woah.” she said.The water formed into an ice circle and showed a face. It was Keres.“It was all Keres!” Noelle said.“What? That snake! That sneaky little- he was behind this!?” Aspen said.“I knew he wasn’t trustworthy!” I said.“I saw him when I first arrived to the palace. Who is he exactly?” Robyn asked.“He’s the royal sorcerer. I used to be his apprentice for a few months, but he’s been evil this whole time!” Noelle said in shock.“Noelle, can you explain?” I asked.“When I first came to this village, I was alone and had nowhere to live. Keres found me and told me that I could stay with him. He told me he was a wizard and wanted me to be his apprentice. A few months later, he became a royal counselor for the king. So I had to move to my own cottage, so the rest of the magic I know is from self taught. I didn’t know Keres was evil.” Noelle said.“You didn’t know. He’s a trickster. So it’s not your fault.” Aspen said.“Let’s go find him and tell the king and Odessa.” I said.“I see another face, it looks like Odessa!” Noelle said. “We've got to tell someone about this!”“All this time, Odessa was the one to accuse me for this curse, but it was all her! I had to miss out on everything in life because of her.” Aspen said with a tone of anger in their voice.“Let’s go tell the king and prove your innocence.” I said.“I don’t know if we should tell the king, cause something feels a bit off to me. Odessa and Keres are with the king, so they might’ve planned something. I don’t know if the king knew what Odessa and Keres did." Robyn said.“We all can go together and find out for ourselves.” I said.“Seb, can I talk to you, alone?” Aspen asked.“Sure,” I replied.“Noelle and I can talk about the plan and what we could do.” Robyn said.Aspen and I walked a bit away from Robyn and Noelle.“What is it?” I asked.“I’ve meant to tell Tobias this- well everyone I mean. But I never told Tobias that he was a father.” Aspen said.“What do you- you had a child together? How? If you don’t mind, can you tell me?” I asked.“I knew you’d ask, so I guess I’ll tell you.
After I ran away, I found out that I’d be having a child. I didn’t have anyone to turn to because I was far from home, so I had this child alone and afraid. After the child was born, I couldn’t care for them, because I was already trying to fend for myself. So I left the child in a nearby village. I’m hoping to find the child after all of this is over.” Aspen replied.“What was the child’s name?” I asked.“Daisy. The child was born a darling little girl, and I’ve always wanted a daughter named Daisy, and she was born near a field of daisies. I hope to find her and tell Tobias about her. He would’ve been a good father.” Aspen replied.“I truly do regret running away. I possibly ruined the life of my daughter and her living without any parents, having her think that they never cared or wanted her.” They added.“Hey it’s not your fault that this happened. We’ll find Daisy and have her reunite with you and Tobias. And that you all can live happily together, and have a good family.” I replied.“I’m hoping that all of this goes well in the end, so that I can make up for all the lost time for Daisy.” Aspen said.“We will. Don’t worry.” I replied.We then went back to Robyn and Noelle.We walked to the gates of the palace, and there weren’t any guards, surprisingly.“This feels too easy,” said Noelle.“Whatever happens, we have each other.” I said.“Let’s get to the king, quietly. So that none of those guards will notice us or suspect anything.” Robyn suggested.Tobias then caught up to us.“What are you doing here?” I asked.“Viktor and Audrey are taking care of the villagers. I’ve already healed Primrose, and now they’re resting where Viktor and Audrey are. They both told me to go to you all, I know that something might happen, and I want to help.” Tobias replied.“Thanks for doing that.” Noelle said.We told Tobias who was the one to actually curse Robyn.“That’s terrible! I can’t believe Odessa was the one to know who really cursed Robyn. I am- I’ll give her a piece of my mind later.” Tobias said, while trying to hold in his anger.“How are the villagers?” Robyn asked.“They’re alright, and I’m surprised a majority of them are alright with faes.” Tobias replied.“I think it’s because times have changed, Sunshine.” Aspen said.“I guess they have, Starlight.” Tobias replied.Noelle started gagging. “You two love birds can flirt with each other another time.”Robyn and I quietly laughed.“What's so funny you two?” Noelle asked.“Oh Noelle, they’re just being a normal couple. Telling how much they love each other.” I replied.“Like how we’re about to be right now.” Robyn said.“Please don’t.” Noelle groaned.“Oh my little bird, you’re such a light in my life. And I love you more than the stars in the universe.” I said to Robyn.“Awh, Moonlight, you’re making me all flustered. They say beauty is tiring, so I’m guessing that you’re very exhausted.” Robyn replied.I blushed. “Stop, you’re too kind.”We both then kissed.Noelle closed her eyes and groaned.“Hey Noelle, do you have anyone you have feelings for?” Aspen asked.Noelle blushed. “Yeah. There’s this girl my age, in the village, I’ve talked to her a few times. She’s so beautiful, kind, and so much more. Her name is Talia, and I love her so much!” Noelle said quickly.“Hey! Are you guys trying to make fun of me for being annoyed with all your love lives, when I have mine?” she added.“Maybe.” Tobias smirked. Noelle rolled her eyes.“Noelle , you said you like this girl, can you tell us more about you two?” I asked.
“Well, we met two years ago, we quickly became friends. I thought she was the only one that I could trust, so I told her my actual age, and she was happy that we were actually the same age. Talia is a girl who doesn’t really judge others, she’s kind to everyone, and cares about others' well-being. She loves to learn about faes, and really wants humans and faes to be reunited. A year ago, I felt safe to tell her that I was a fae, she was alright with it, and thought it made me more interesting. I’ve also told her about my life, and that I’m not ‘biologically a female’, but she was alright with it, and I would always be considered a girl to her. It’s nice to have her as a friend, but I don’t know how to confess my feelings for her.” Noelle replied.“Okay, Noelle, I’ve had a similar experience. Tobias and I have been friends since we were children, and when we were around twelve, I had feelings for him, but never knew how to tell him. I think the best way you can tell Talia your feelings for her is to compliment her, you can tell her all the things you love about her, and how she stands out to you.” Aspen said.“So this is how Sebby and I told each other that we liked each other, we just talked for a bit,
Then we gradually started to tell each other how we felt about each other.” Robyn said.
“Before Audrey and Primrose started to be together, Audrey asked me the same thing. Despite how confident and fearless Audrey is, she still asked me what she could do to confess her love to Primrose. I told her that she could tell them everything she loves about them, talk about favorite memories she’s had with them, and how she wants the future with them to be like. You can do something like that.” I said.“Noelle, just be there for Talia and make sure that she knows that you’ll be there for her, and make sure you compliment her a lot, it’ll make her happy.” Tobias said.Noelle smiled. “Thank you, you’re all the best!” We then hugged Noelle. “You got this Noelle!” Aspen smiled. “You’re going to be a good girlfriend to her, okay?” I encouraged her. “I will! I’ll protect her from any harm.” Noelle replied. “Talia’s going to have an ice fae girlfriend, so she’s going to be safe.” Tobias remarked. “Okay, let’s go now. We should be on our way to make things right,” said Noelle.We then walked around to find where the king could be. “Do you know who Noelle and Talia remind me of?” Robyn asked. “Who?” I asked. “Us.” Robyn replied. He then held my hand. “A fae, in love in a human. I wonder if Talia has the same feelings for Noelle.”“Yeah. I knew that when Noelle was talking about Talia, it felt familiar. It reminded me of how I wanted to confess my feelings towards you, but I didn’t know how you’d react and others would as well. Because I’m a dark fae, and you’re a human.” I replied. “And now, you’re the one that saved me and are also my fiancé.” Robyn said, then kissing me on the cheek, and then resting his head on my shoulder.“I wish Noelle and Talia the best of luck.” I said. “Hey Bessy, once we’re married, can we adopt Noelle?” Robyn asked. “Adopt Noelle? As in raising her as if she’s our daughter?” I asked. Robyn nodded. “I’ve been considering it. She needs a better home to be in. Plus, I think she needs some parental figures in her life. So I’d like for us to adopt Noelle, once we’re married.” I replied. “I want to provide a good home for Noelle, and this good home would help her grow to be an excellent woman. I want to be there, I want to give her the father I couldn’t have. She did lose her parents at a young age, so I want her to give her a chance to have parents again.” Robyn said.“I’ve always wanted to be a father, when I figured out that I like men, I was a little worried I couldn’t be a father, but I know I can for Noelle. I also want to provide a good home for her. And I think my parents would like Noelle as their granddaughter.” I said.We eventually found the king. “What are you all doing here?” He asked. “Your majesty, you have something to tell you, we have proof that Aspen is innocent, and who cursed your son.” I said. Noelle showed the king the past.“Oh, I see you know the truth now. I suppose you’re wondering why they’d place this curse in the first place?” The king asked. “You knew the whole time? Who knew that they were the ones to curse your son? I- I don’t even know what to say.” I replied.The king started to laugh maniacally. “It seems you know the truth. I wanted the prince out of the way from the throne. It took me all I had to be king, and having that title taken from me once he comes of age, well, it’ll be a waste to me. I had to kill family members just to be king. I was the first born in my family, but I had the crown passed to my younger siblings instead. When I realized my mistake, I killed all my younger siblings and made it look like an accident. I then had to kill my parents, because they found out that I was the one killing my siblings. When I became king, it finally made me feel that I had all the power I deserved, and I didn’t want that work wasted away, so when I had a child, I wanted that child dead. So to make it not look like it was me that killed their own child, so I had a curse placed on him, and make it look as if a dark fae placed that curse.”Robyn stood there in shock. “You. YOU! You wanted me dead this entire time? I was kept alive, just to be killed. My purpose was to just die? When I first met you, I was happy that I’ve finally met my father, and would be able to have the time with him that I never had. But all this time, you just wanted me dead!” “Come now, son, we can forget about all this, and we can-” the king said. “No! Don’t say ‘forget about this’ I was kept alive, just to be killed! How could I ever forgive you?” Robyn interrupted.“You expect him to forgive you after all that you’ve done? What a joke. I think you should be known as ‘King Adrick, the Foolish King’, because that’s all I can see you as.” Aspen said.Noelle screamed, and then fell to the floor. “Noelle! Are you alright?” I asked while going over to her. I looked over to where Noelle was standing, and saw Odessa with a bloody dagger in her hands.
“Oops, I got a little clumsy.” Odessa laughed. The king then ran off to another room.“Let’s get out of here!” Said Tobias. “But the king-” I said. “Forget about him! We have to find another way to resolve this situation.” Aspen replied, while picking up Noelle into their arms.We then ran to find a place where we could either escape or hide. While running, we were at the top of one of the towers. “It’s pretty high up here,” Tobias said. Aspen then gave Noelle to Tobias. “Tobi, go help Noelle. She’s most likely in potential danger. The boys and I can take care of this.” Aspen said. “No! I’m staying here until everything’s done. I don’t want to lose you again.” Tobias said. “I know. But please, make sure Noelle makes it. For me.” Aspen said. They both then kissed. “And, please take good care of this for me, if I don’t survive.” Aspen said while giving something to Tobias. “Your pendulum necklace? No! I can't, it's one of your family heirlooms-” Tobias said. “Tobi, please. That’s all I ask, and what will make me happy at the moment. I love you, always, and nothing is going to change my love for you.” Aspen said. They then kissed Tobias, again. Tobias then left with Noelle.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Aspen wiped tears from their eyes.“Hey, we’re all going to survive. You and Tobias can get married again and live a life together. And you’ll be able to see me get married to Robyn,” I tried cheering up Aspen.“Yeah. It’s going to be alright. I know we’re going to make it alive,” Robyn reassured.“At yours and Tobias’ wedding, I’ll make sure there’s all the wine you can wish for, Opal told me that you liked to drink a lot,” I added.Aspen smiled and laughed a little, “Let’s just be careful, okay?” They asked. Robyn and I nodded our heads.We then heard footsteps come up to where we were. ‘I want to settle this properly, and I want everything to turn out well in the end,’ I thought to myself.The king came out, along with Odessa and Keres. “Now I remember something that I was thinking of. There was this story long ago, about a dark fae who was in love with a human. The two were married and had a child. But the two were found, and were then killed. No one knows what happened to the child after their deaths, but the way you two are, reminds me of that story. Except, I’d like to change the story a bit. This time, the fae and human both die, and never had a chance to live a life together.” Odessa laughed.“If you want to hurt them, you’ll have to go through me,” Aspen said.“Aspen, I remembered how we were when we were little girls. We were friends for a bit. But after Tobias started to talk to you. You began to be with him more. I had feelings for Tobias, but I don’t know if you cared or not. So I did all I could to try to get his attention, but you were in the way.There I was, like Robyn, my parents not even wanting me, so I was raised in an orphanage. I wanted a normal childhood, but never could have it. When I found out you two were secretly married, I was furious. I thought Tobias would’ve been better off with someone who isn’t an evil dark fae like you, I was only looking out for him. So I had him break off the marriage between you two. But now that you’ve seen each other again, and want each other back, I guess the only way to take that away is to kill one of you.” Odessa said.“A few things. First, I’m not a girl, nor was I ever a girl, I was always someone who never really had a gender. Two, you were never my friend, you only cared about yourself, and treated me like I was nothing. Three, you don't care for Tobias, you just wanted to have control over him.” Aspen replied.“Robyn, you understand don’t you? You were abandoned by your own family and left to be raised by others. You’re like me,” Odessa said.“No! I’m nothing like you, nor would I ever be like you. I’m done with you! You will never manipulate me or anyone else, not when I’m still alive!” Robyn replied.“Do you really think that you’re going to defeat me? You look so stupid when you try to make yourself look tough.” Odessa laughed.“I know that I look stupid to make myself look tough. But deep down, I really do feel like my courage and strength is building up and ready to show itself,” Robyn said.“Honestly, I’m so relieved that we’re not friends anymore. You were always selfish and manipulative, and I can’t believe it took me years to realize that,” Aspen said.
“And with our ‘friendship’ you used and manipulated me. You weren’t there when I needed it, you treated my feelings like nothing. I kept lying to myself about you being a good ‘friend’. You talked bad about me in front of my face and behind my back. When some of the faes you were friends with mistreated me, you did nothing and just laughed. When I told you about a very dark time in my life, you acted like it wasn’t a big deal, and told me that my feelings weren’t valid. When I told you I wanted to end my life, you did nothing to help, you just ignored me. After I tried to kill myself, and when I told you, you just said ‘okay’ like you didn’t even care if I was dead. I thought that you were my true and best friend, but that was a lie. Tobias made me realize that you were nothing but horrible.”Odessa went up to Aspen, and grabbed their neck to strangle them. Robyn and I ran over to Aspen, but both fell to the ground. After falling, I felt like my body was being pulled back, and I couldn’t get up because of it. I looked over to Robyn, and I saw that he was struggling to get up.“I guess you two are having problems standing up. It’s a part of what type of fae I am. I am a telekinetic fae, I can basically have control over anything. So I had you two lay around like some lifeless bugs.” Odessa said.“It really matches your personality,” Aspen choked.“If you make any comment like that towards me again, I will snap your neck like a twig.” Odessa replied, gripping onto Aspen’s neck. “I only used you and pretended we were friends just so I can make you look and feel weak, I never really cared for you. I’ll have to admit, I did like having you as a friend for a bit. But having control over you felt better.”Aspen gasped for air, but then I heard a whole bunch of cracking sounds. Aspen then screamed in pain. Odessa threw Aspen to the floor and then laughed, and walked away. Robyn and I were able to get up, we then ran over to Aspen.“Everything hurts. My bones are broken,” Aspen breathed heavily.“It’s going to be okay!” I said.“I’m cold and scared. I don’t want to die yet. There’s still so much I want to do. I don’t want to leave without saying goodbye to Tobias,” Aspen huffed, while holding back their tears.“Robyn, go find Tobias. I’ll have Crimson go with you so that you’ll be safe,” I said to Robyn.“I will!” Robyn said. I called for Crimson to come to where we were. She flew over to Robyn. “Please be safe, my little bird,” I said.“I’ll be okay. Please you and Aspen be safe, my love,” Robyn said. He then went away.It was only just Aspen and I. “Please stay with us, you’re going to live, Tobias will be here to heal you. You’ll both be able to live your lives together.” I said.“All I want right now is for Tobi to hold me in his arms, and to whisper in my ears about how much he loves me,” Aspen softly spoke.“I know I’m not Tobi, but I’ll at least carry you in my arms,” I said, while putting my arms under Aspen to lift them up a bit.“Odessa broke my fingers, hands, wrist, arms, ribs, spine, and legs. I don’t think I’m going to make it.” Aspen cried in pain.“You are going to make it! Robyn’s getting help! Tobi will be here to help you,” I said.“You know, I remembered that once you were born, and when I held you for the first time I thought to myself ‘I won’t let anything happen to this child, and I will do everything I can to protect him. Even if it’s risking my own life’. Now, I’m fulfilling that vow. I guess this time, I’m not a coward and am not running away from my problems. Go ahead, you can call me a piece of shit, it doesn’t matter because I really am,” Aspen cried.“No! You’re not a coward! You never were one! You never really ran away from your problems, you did what you could to protect yourself! Please, don’t leave Aspen! And you are not a piece of shit! After all these years of finally meeting you, I don’t want to lose you!” I said while holding back my tears.“Hey, it’s going to be alright. I don’t want to go either, I am scared of what’s awaiting me beyond the grave, and I don’t want to die, but that's all that’s left for me. I don’t want to leave my parents, Opal, our family, and Tobi again, but there’s nothing I could do about it now. If you could find Daisy, please tell her how much her parents love her. I just wanted to see my precious baby and how she’s grown.Seb, please make this world a better place for humans and faes, and don’t forget how much your family loves you, and please tell Tobi that I love him with all my heart and was so happy to see him one last time before I left,” Aspen smiled. They then closed their eyes and let out a small gasp.“Aspen. Hey! No. No! No! No! No! No! No! Please! Wake up! Stay with me. Stay with me. No!” I cried. I then let out a yell. I don’t really think that I ever yelled to mourn. I then just sat there, cried, and held onto their corpse.“Oh, is the dark fae really crying over a death, even though they should be a necromancer?” A voice said. I turned around to see Odessa, the king, and Keres.“Where’s Robyn? I won’t be afraid to kill you all if I find out that you did something with him,” I said.“The Prince is alright. I see that Aspen is now finally dead,” Odessa said, while throwing Robyn to the ground.“I’m sorry, I tried to find a way out, but they caught me.” Robyn panicked.“It’s because of you that his dear cousin Aspen is now dead. If only you’d gone to find help faster, she’d still be alive,” Odessa said.“Shut up! Don’t you dare think about mourn for them or even blame their death on someone else. You know that you wanted to kill them! Don’t you dare try to make an innocent person feel guilty about something he didn’t do. And don’t you dare refer to Aspen as ‘she’!” I shouted.“Would you like to meet the same painful death as Aspen did?” The king asked. Robyn then punched the king in the mouth, it was very hard that it knocked out of the king’s teeth.Crimson then flew over to me. “Crim, go get my brother, quickly please,” I whispered. Crimson chirped and flew away.“Don’t you dare speak to him like that, father. Or should I even call you that? You’re selfish and don’t even deserve to call yourself a king. You wanted me dead ever since the day I was born! Odessa, I’ve lived my entire life through the abuse you’ve put me through! You are a horrible heartless woman that deserves nothing! And Keres, you are a deceitful lying snake! You’ve used and mistreated those around you. All of you deserve to rot in hell where you belong!” Robyn snapped.I stood there in shock. ‘Was that really my fiancé saying that?’ I thought to myself.“You’ll wish that you never said that,” Odessa said. She then used her magic to throw and dismember Aspen’s corpse off the balcony.“No!” I screamed.“You’re now thinking ‘how could you do something like that?’ Well, it’s what super villains do,” Odessa chuckled.Robyn grabbed Aspen’s dagger, which fell off them as they got dismembered, from the ground and ran to Odessa. Keres then grabbed him.“I order you to unhand me this instant! I am your future king, you do as I say!” Robyn yelled.“I don’t take orders from you. Did you think that’ll work? You really are dumb and naive,” Keres laughed, then held a knife to Robyn’s throat.“Don’t touch my fiancé like that!” I yelled, realizing what I’ve said, I quickly covered my mouth.“Fiancé? Is that so?” The king asked. Keres took Robyn's hand that had the engagement ring.“It seems to be true.” Keres said, then cut Robyn’s hand. Rob then groaned in pain.“Let him go! You can do whatever you like to me, just don’t hurt him,” I said.“Do you really think we’ll ever do that? No wonder you two are so called soulmates, you’re both equally dumb,” Odessa laughed. “If it weren’t for your stupidity, Aspen would still be alive right at this moment.”“You shut up! You don’t deserve to mourn for them. You treated them like nothing! You were the one to murder them! It’s not my fault that they died!” I yelled. I then felt a force of some sort strangle me.“I’d like to kill you the same I did with Aspen, in front of your ‘fiancé’, but I’d also like to brutally kill him in front of you and let you suffer while you slowly die a painful death.” Odessa smirked. She then took out a knife and cut one of Robyn’s arms, which caused him to yell in pain.I felt useless and terrible for just being vulnerable and standing there as I was watching Robyn getting tortured and being in pain.“The king is planning to kill all the faes. This means you as well Odessa,” I choked.Odessa smirked and laughed, “I know this already, but the king is letting only me live, because I’ve helped him so much in this scheme.”The king then walked in front of Robyn, and then strangled him. “I was wondering where I remember your face here at this moment, but now I know. From the night I killed your mother. The way the fear in your eyes reminded me of hers. You really are your mother's son, naive, gullible, and weak,” he laughed. He then let go of Robyn’s neck and slapped him in the face.“Oh. And one more thing before we kill you. You didn’t tell anyone about how I treated you in your childhood, right? Because if you did, I told you about your consequences you’d have.” Odessa asked.“No. No. I didn’t.” Robyn lied.“Are you lying to me? I always know when you’re lying. You’re going to tell me who you told out of that dirty little mouth of yours!” Odessa demanded.“No! No! I’m not lying! I didn’t tell anyone. Stop asking me that!” Robyn lied, again.“He told this disgusting fae, his ‘fiancé’.” Keres reported.“Please don’t hurt him! He has nothing to do with any of this. I just told him because I wanted him to know that I trust him. Kill me however you want and do whatever you want with my body once I’m dead, just don’t hurt him!” Robyn’s voice broke as he begged.I tried to speak up and do something, but I felt a force cover my mouth so I wouldn’t talk. I wanted to close my eyes and look away, but I couldn’t blink or move my head. I was stuck standing there like a statue.“Oh no. Don’t be begging like that. You know the consequences of your actions, I said that I would kill you and whoever you told,” Odessa smirked. She then started to stab Robyn repeatedly. He then started to scream in pain.“There’s those screams I’d always hear when I hurt you, it’s like music to my ears,” Odessa laughed. “Should’ve kept that dagger Tobias gave to you, instead of wasting it on something useless, just like you.”I don’t know what happened after that, but all I remember was that all my anger had its breaking point, where it caused me to turn into a dragon. When dark fae turn into dragons, we lose control of ourselves.
I remember that I was trying to set Odessa, the king, and Keres on fire, but they kept trying to put Robyn in front of them. A few minutes later, I saw Robyn fall to the floor, from what I assumed was pain. He then looked at me with fear in his eyes.
‘Is he afraid of me? Have I truly turned into a monster that is making him scared of me?’ I thought to myself. I then transformed back into my fae form, and fell into Robyn’s arms.“Please wake up. I’m here,” he said. I opened my eyes, and smiled at Robyn.“Hello my little bird.” I said.“Let’s get you up and take care of you,” Robyn said.“Kind of wish that there was a mirror, because at the moment, you still have some features from your dragon form. Your eyes are like a dragon’s and you have some faint scales on the side of your face. I might even say you look handsome,” he added.“Yeah. I bet I look great.” I joked. Robyn laughed.We got up, then I noticed more stab wounds around his torso and legs, other brutal injuries on him, and a deep scratch on his arm.“God, what did they do to you? You look like you’ve been to the depths of hell and back.” I asked.“Just before you turned into a dragon, Keres stabbed me near my heart, and then hurt me real bad, which caused you to become a dragon. And I did get other injuries and some of my bones broke before and after you became a dragon from the king, Odessa, and Keres.” Robyn replied.I then noticed a scratch on his neck that was bleeding, I asked him where it was from.“It was Keres trying to slit my throat, he did end up cutting my neck, nowhere near the throat. So I should be fine.” Robyn replied. “Do you not really remember anything?” He asked.“I’ve only become a dragon a few times in my life. But from past experiences and just barely, I don’t really remember a lot. When dark fae turn into dragons, we tend to forget a few things that happened and lose control of ourselves.” I replied.“Oh. I never knew that.” Robyn said.“Also, was I the one to scratch you? Because the scratch in your arm looks like claw marks.” I asked. “If I did I didn’t mean to hurt you in any way and I’m sorry.”“When you first became a dragon, Keres was pushing me into your way, so that you’d be the one to kill me. Odessa was yelling things like ‘yes. Be the monster you are and kill the Prince, it’s all what’s left for you to do’ and you were screeching and trying to attack Odessa, Keres, and the king. But they had me in their way which ended up in you accidentally scratching me.” Robyn replied.“Here, let me bandage that up for you,” I said, while taking off my sash around my waist, ripping it, and wrapping it on Robyn’s wounded arm and a bit of his torso. I also noticed one of his fingers missing.“What happened to your finger?” I asked.“My finger which had the ring you proposed to me with got sliced off. I found the ring, but not my missing finger. It happened before Keres tried to slit my throat…” Robyn replied.“We’ll try to find that finger, and let’s have Tobias get that finger back on,” I reassured.“And if it’s alright that I ask, when I was a dragon, you looked afraid, am I really a monster that you’re afraid of? Please tell the truth. I’d rather you let me know so that you don’t have to live in fear of me.” I asked.“No. Of course not. Why would I be afraid of you? I was only scared for you. I was afraid that you’d end up dead as a dragon or get a serious injury.” Robyn replied.I then hugged him, “You don’t need to be afraid for me anymore now, I’m safe and alive.”“And if you don’t mind answering, why did you tell me what Odessa did to you, even though you know that you would get killed for that?” I asked.Robyn just looked at me and tears filled his eyes. I immediately hugged him. I gently rubbed his back to comfort him.“Shh. I’m here. It’s going to be alright, I won’t be mad if you tell me. I could never be mad at you.” I spoke gently.“I’m sorry but it hurts to cry. I feel like if I cry, I’ll bleed out more.” Robyn breathed “But, I’ll be honest, Odessa never accepted me for being attracted to men. She told me that I don’t know how I feel and I’m just confused.
I told you about what Odessa did to me, because I was planning on telling her that you were my boyfriend, and I was hoping and wishing that she’d disown me, kick me out of the house, and that the king would never want me back as his ‘son’, so that I could run away with you to your village. And I also really trust you and I want to be honest.
Keres knew about the abuse, and he used a spell to look back into the past, and that’s how he found out I told you. I’m really sorry for dragging you into this. I’m so stupid for that, I shouldn’t have told you.”I dried Robyn’s eyes and kissed his cheek. “You don’t need to apologize. You didn’t ask for any of this, all you wanted was to be free from her, and I’ll make sure that you feel safe with me.” I replied.He hugged me and kissed my cheek back. “I love you so much. Thank you, darling.”I got up and then helped Robyn up. “Do you know where they went?” I asked.“They ran away like the cowards they are after that,” Robyn replied.“Cowards are we?” Odessa asked. A sword then went through Robyn. He then fell, but I caught him, and kicked Odessa away from us.“Is stabbing all you have?” Robyn asked while groaning.“We’re doing all we could to make sure you’re dead. We thought if we left you with this monster, you’d be dead in no time. But it seems you’ve somehow managed to survive.” Odessa replied.Odessa approached us while holding out a sword to, what I assume, kill us with. As she got close to us, Robyn ripped the sword out of her hands, and stabbed her. “This is for the abuse you did to me, and this is for Aspen!” Robyn yelled.Odessa then started to laugh maniacally. “Oh Robyn. Sweet, innocent, stupid, naive Robyn. The world was always cruel to you, ever since you were born. You were kept alive just to be killed, just like a sheep sent to a slaughterhouse, you’ll always be haunted by your past memories. Death will be the only way for you to be free.”“What did I ever do to you that made you abuse me? I want to hear it! Right out of your mouth! What was the reason for all that pain you made me go through? What made you want to hurt me? Since you were ordered to ‘take care of me’ since I was a baby, what was in your mind to ever think about wanting to make me suffer throughout my entire life?” He demanded, while twisting and pushing the sword deeper into Odessa.Odessa opened her mouth, but immediately closed it.“That's what I thought. You deserve to rot in hell and go through all the pain I went through because of you!” Robyn scoffed.He then ripped the sword out of Odessa. She then fell to the floor, and was breathing heavily.“Robyn, it’s me, Auntie Dessa, you used to call me that when you were a little boy. I truly did love you. I’ve always wanted to be a mother and have a son, and you were like a son to me. Please, spare my life and forgive me,” Odessa tried to convince Robyn to not kill her.“I’m not your fucking son!” Robyn snapped, then stomped on her multiple times, “That’s what you get, bitch!” He yelled, with a slight laugh to his voice, then kicked Odessa in the face, which killed her.“I- babe- you- I’m impressed.” I commented.“That felt good,” he smiled. Robyn then fell into my arms and was heavily breathing.“Hey, what’s wrong? I’m here.” I tried calming him down.“It hurts so much.. I felt like I was ignoring the pain from all that just happened. It hurts like hell. I want the pain taken away now, Seb. I can’t take anymore,” Robyn held back his tears.“Don’t worry my love, I can try to get my dragon wings out and fly you to Tobias as fast as I can.” I comforted him, kissed him on the head.Robyn smiled at me and nodded.The king and Keres came in and saw Odessa, dead. The king then went up to Robyn and I, before I could get my wings out. “I’ll teach you two what happens when you kill a high official like Odessa!”I then wrapped my arms tighter around Robyn to protect him from the king. We backed up at the edge and fell, Robyn then took the king down with us.I held onto the edge, while I was holding Robyn, and the king was holding onto my leg.“Throw me, and I’ll pull you up. I have an idea for the king.” Robyn whispered to me.I nodded. “Be careful, Keres is still up there.” I whispered back.“I know,” Robyn whispered. I carried Robyn up, then he pulled me up. The king then held onto the edge.“Robyn, son, please, let me up. I’m your father. I’ve missed you all these years, I want to be the father that I couldn’t be all those years,” the king pleaded.Robyn then went to the king, pulled him up a bit. Then, pulled out a knife and pierced the king’s heart. “Don’t you ever refer to me as your son. You’re not my father, nor will you ever be. You never loved me, nor do I love or care about you, so don’t give me that bullshit. Now rot in hell where you belong you bastard.” Robyn fumed. He then threw the king off of the palace.“Glad that’s over,” Robyn sighed.“Yeah.” I agreed.“Oh, and where did you get that knife?” I asked.“I stole it off Odessa, as she fell, I quickly grabbed it from her.” Robyn replied.“Wow. That’s amazing,” I remarked. We then hugged.“Now, let’s go get Keres and make sure he’s dealt wi-” Robyn said, but then he let out a painful gasp then collapsed on me. I saw that there was a snake slithering away from his leg. I quickly picked up Robyn, and carried him.Keres appeared from the shadows, laughing, “I knew that a poisonous snake bite would’ve been effective.”“You son of a bitc- ” I ran to him, but then a sickle went through me.“Do us all a favor and die,” Keres smirked. “Oh, and one more thing, say hello to Apollo for me.”“It….was….you?” I coughed.“Who else would it be? But I guess you won’t see him, because you won’t even see the lights of Heaven, you disgusting dark fae. You are nothing but a worthless creature who deserves to be in hell, with whom you decide to love and your repulsive fae species. So it would be better if you and your ‘fiancé’ were to just die here, we don’t need sickening creatures like you in this world.” Keres laughed.“Go to hell.” I coughed“You’ll make it there before me,” Keres laughed.He then had the sickle cut through me and broke my spine before the sickle came out. I fell down, and dropped Robyn while doing so. Keres then ran away.“So I guess this is it. This is where we die.” I said.“I’ve always been afraid to die. I was afraid that I’d be alone and in pain. But I’m not alone, and I don’t really feel any pain. The only thing that I feel preventing me from being in agony, is you,” Robyn said.We moved closer towards each other, where we were holding onto each other. We then kissed. “Please don’t let me go,” Robyn pleaded.“I won’t, I promise. I’m here.” I replied. “And Happy Birthday, my love,” I said before I kissed him on the forehead.He smiled back and kissed me on my cheek, “Thank you,” he whispered. “Seb, will you still love me, even in death?” Robyn asked.“I’ll love you always and forever. No matter what happens. I will never stop loving you.” I replied, then kissed him on the head.“I love you more than anything in the world,” Robyn said. “I’ll see you in the afterlife, and we can live as lovers there,” he added.“We may be dead, but will live as though we’re still alive and well,” I said.“Good night, Seb. I love you.” Robyn said.
“Good night, Rob. I love you too.” I replied.We both closed our eyes accepting our fates of death.‘So this is what death is going to be like? Goodnight world, goodnight mom, goodnight dad, goodnight Viktor, goodnight Noelle, goodnight Primrose, goodnight Audrey, goodnight Crimson, goodnight grandma and grandpa, goodnight childhood, goodnight stars, goodnight rain, goodnight Tobias, goodnight trees, goodnight family members, goodnight to everyone, I love you all. It’s now my time to sleep and rest from this world. Please don’t forget me’ I thought to myself, as I breathed out a small sigh, accepting it as my last breath.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

I didn’t know if I was dreaming or dead, but I was in a state where I was floating in darkness. “Hello? Is anyone there?” I called out, then fell to the ground. I stood there, staring into what was like the abyss. A woman then came to me.“Who are you? Am I dead? Are you death?” I asked.“Woah! Easy there, my boy. I know it can be scary, but please listen to me. I just want to tell you how much I’m thankful that you took care of my son and loved him,” she replied.“You’re Robyn’s mother?” I asked. She nodded.“Yes! Of course ma’am.” I nodded.I then woke up in a room with the light shining through the windows, the sun wasn’t out, but yet it was still bright.“Am I in heaven? How can I be though? I’m a dark fae, I don’t even know if those who work with dark magic can go to heaven.” I muttered.“Seb, are you really awake?” A familiar voice asked, it was Viktor. We looked at each other and immediately hugged.“I thought I lost you,” Viktor cried.“It’s okay. I’m here and still alive, and I don’t plan on leaving anytime soon,” I replied. I then groaned in pain for a bit.“Hey, rest. You were found with very severe injuries. But luckily, Tobi was able to get most of those taken care of.” Viktor said as he laid me back down.“Where’s everyone else? How are they doing? Is everyone okay?” I asked.“They’re in other rooms, resting. We know that the king and Odessa are dead by the way,” Viktor replied. “Primrose, Noelle, Tobi, and Audrey are fine.”“Also remember when Primrose was stabbed and we heard that whisper?” He added.I nodded.“Well, that was from Odessa. It looked like she tried killing Audrey by using her magic to stab her, and I’m not entirely sure what the bitch whispered, I think it was something about trying to stab either you or Robyn, but Keres ran into her and it caused her to aim for Audrey and Primrose.” Viktor explained.“What about Robyn?” I asked.Viktor looked hesitant “About that-”I then got up and ran to his room. I didn’t care if I was in pain while running, I wanted to know if Robyn was okay.When I got there, everyone else was there and they looked upset, Tobias was crying. “What’s going on?” I asked.Audrey then came over to me, “When you two were brought in, Tobias found that Robyn had very severe injuries that could result in death; He was also found with deadly poison in him. Just a few hours ago, his heart stopped beating and- I’m sorry, but he’s gone…” She held back tears.I ran over to Robyn, and carried him into my arms. “Hey, please wake up. Everything’s okay now, I’m here!”I knew he was dead, but I just wanted to deny it there. I already lost Aspen, and I didn’t want to lose the love of my life.There wasn’t an answer. I hugged Robyn’s cold corpse. Then let out a loud scream and started to bawl my eyes out.“He’s dead! Like you wanted! Are you happy now? You’re probably now laughing in your grave now as I mourn! Your heir is dead! You didn’t want him to be king, and so you got it now!” I yelled out, then broke down in tears.Tobias came over to me. “I did all I could before it was too late, but even my abilities have limits, even if I’m a healer.” He then handed me my ripped up sash with Rob’s blood on it, and the engagement ring I gave him. “Here’s what I assume is your ring. It was between the two of you. I was able to get his finger back on; Audrey had found it when we found you two.”“Viktor, we’re necromancers, right? Can we bring him back to life?” I asked.“I’ve only brought back a few souls. But I’m not the best at it.” Viktor replied.“Can we at least try to? Please?“ I begged.“I guess we can give it a try,” Viktor sighed.“Ooh! A necromancy seance!” Noelle said gleefully.“You won’t be able to see the spirits here though, just us walking around like idiots.” I replied.“Aww, I wanted to talk to a ghost.” Noelle sighed in disappointment.“You all need to be quiet though, and we need the room to be dark,” Viktor instructed.“Can someone get us a bowl of water?” I asked.“We got you.” Audrey and Noelle said.Viktor and I got some candles and lit them up, and put the blood drenched pieces of the sash into the water. I held onto Robyn’s dead hand.“I heard it works better when you're in contact with the corpse of the spirit you're trying to contact, and that blood from the corpse also helps.” I remarked.“That’s what mom and dad told me too,” Viktor replied.We both closed our eyes, and recited an old dark fae necromantic chant.“Wherever the spirits are at, slightly open the door to let us know of your presence,” Viktor said, after reciting the chant. The door opened slowly.“We’d like to speak to all the spirits within the palace, especially to Prince Robyn,” I called. Viktor and I opened our eyes, and there were spirits floating above Noelle.“Who’s the most attractive coachman you’ve ever had?” one spirit asked.“Uh, I actually never-” The other spirit replied.“We can see and hear you,” Viktor interrupted the second spirit.“Oh, hello there!” The first spirit greeted us.Viktor and I went out of the room to look for Robyn.“Did I do something wrong?” I asked.“You didn’t, don’t worry, let’s just look around,” Viktor replied.We walked around the palace, and then walked outside.“I knew that this place was haunted,” Viktor commented, because there were spirits in almost every corner“As long as we don’t find Odessa or the king, I think we’ll be fine,” I added.“I’m with you.” Viktor agreed.We tried to ask the spirits if they’d seen Robyn.I then stopped and looked over at some woods. Viktor noticed and went up to me.“What’s wrong?” He asked.“Nothing. Let’s just go.” I replied. “I thought I saw someone….”“Hey, I know it’s been almost 12 years since that happened, but he's gone. I know it’s hard for you and you blame yourself for it. But it wasn’t your fault, he’s also probably moved on now and wants you to let go,” Viktor reassured me.I nodded. “I know, and I have let go of it, it’s just- I can’t believe it’s been that long. He would’ve loved Robyn…”“Vik, Keres killed him,” I added.“Oh- was he serious?” Viktor asked.I nodded, and then broke down to tears. Viktor immediately hugged me.“Hey. It’s going to be okay, you can let it all out…” Viktor hushed me.“He took away the two who were most important in my life. He took away my best friend and fiancé. I want to give him hell and make him pay!” I cried while hugging Viktor back. “I wasn’t able to save either of them. I’m the one who actually deserves death and suffering.”“No. You don’t deserve suffering. You are so brave and caring. You deserve to live. You are my little brother and are such a loving fae and I’m always here for you and am willing to help you with anything, Sebastian,” Viktor reassured me.He lifted up my head, moved my hair out of my eyes, and wiped away my tears. “You heard that, right? I love you, and you’re the best brother any man can ask for,” Viktor smiled, and hugged me again.“Thanks Viktor, I love you too,” I wiped away my tears, and hugged him back.Viktor got up and helped me up. “Let’s go find your fiancé now, okay?”I nodded. “Thanks again, Viktor.”“Anytime Sebastian,” Viktor nodded back.We looked for about 10 minutes and were losing hope. A woman then came to us, “Do you two need help?” She asked.“We’re trying to look for Prince Robyn,” Viktor replied.I recognized her, it was Robyn’s mother.“Here, I’ll lead you the way. I was just done talking with him,” she stated. We followed her out of the palace.“Seb, who is this woman?” Viktor asked.“I’m Robyn’s mother. My name’s Sylvie,” she replied. “My son has told me a lot about you two.”Queen Sylvie took us into a garden. “When I knew about the truth of Aspen, I wanted to find my son and start a new life with him, but I’m sure you found out about the truth of my death; I was killed by the king. I apologize for what the king has done, he’s gone now and can no longer cause problems.” She confessed.“Can you explain to us quickly, isn’t there like the whole heaven and hell thing, and if it is, why aren’t you in heaven?” Viktor asked.“Sometimes, spirits will visit the mortal realm. I doubt that my horrible husband and that awful woman, Odessa, will ever come to Earth. Even when he died, I didn’t want to see or talk to him. Us spirits can’t say much about our afterlife, so I’m afraid I can’t explain further.” Queen Sylvie replied.“That makes sense now,” Viktor commented.“Queen Sylvie, why are we here? What is this place?” I asked.“This is my garden, after I died, the garden has as well, but for the spirits, it’s alive for them. And you can just call me Sylvie.” Sylvie replied.We soon saw Robyn. He immediately hugged his mother. “You’re back!” He rejoiced.“I am,” Sylvie replied.Robyn and I made eye contact. He then quickly walked over to Viktor and I. I ran up to him, and we just stood there in front of each other. “Can you and Viktor see me?” Robyn asked.“Yeah, we can see you,” I nodded. We both tried to hug, but Robyn went through me.“I keep forgetting I’m a ghost now,” Robyn laughed. “But why are you two- oh! That’s right! You’re necromancers!”“I want to ask you something, I know that you just reunited with your mother, but do you want to live a longer life?” I asked.Robyn looked at me and then his mother. “I don’t know. I’m dead now, which means that I can move on, but I don’t want to leave you here alone,” Robyn replied. “Do I even have a choice to either stay in the spirit world or to live?” He added.“Yes. You do,” Viktor replied.“I- I don’t know. I’m happy to be with my mother, and be able to have the life- or afterlife I wanted to have with her, I can feel free from my sufferings. But, that means I’ll leave you alone with nothing.” Robyn confessed.“Robyn, it’s all your choice. You can be with your mother and be happy, I don’t care. You’re free from all your suffering and your past. I’ll support you with your decision, because I love you so much.” I reassured him.“That’s kind of you to think about me, but I don’t want you to suffer alone. And I know that Odessa is dead, but what she’s done to me will still be a part of my past, even though I’m dead; I’ll still in some ways have bad memories of it.” Robyn replied.“It’s all your choice son, no matter what it is you choose, I will always be there with you. You’ll always feel my presence. I’ll appear in your dreams, like I have been.” Sylvie smiled.“So you were the woman in his dreams.” I stated.Sylvie nodded, “The day I died, I found out all about what Odessa was doing to my darling son. I was furious, so the only thing I could do was comfort my son in his dreams.”He looked at his mother, then Viktor and I. “Mom, I’m going to stay with my true love. I want to fulfill what I need to still do in life. If that’s alright with you.” Robyn asked. “I just don’t want to leave you alone in the afterlife.”Sylvie smiled. “If you’re happy, then I’m happy. Whatever makes you feel joy will be best for you.”Sylvie then smiled and bowed her head at me. “Thank you for everything you’ve done to make my son a lucky man by having you. I wish you two well on your marriage. Please take very good care of him.”“Yes, of course. I will.” I nodded. I gestured for Robyn to follow Viktor and I, then we left for the palace.“Just to tell you, you can’t go back after this and you’ll have to wait a few years if you want to go back, are you sure you want to live?” Viktor asked.Robyn nodded. “It sounds like you don’t want me to marry your brother,” he joked.I then laughed. “Yeah Viki, are you jealous that I’m getting married?” I joked.“I’m not jealous. I’ve told you I’m not interested in whatever relationships you two have, I just want to make sure. I’m happy for the two of you!” Viktor replied.We went back to Robyn’s room. “Wow, that’s really me? Dead? It feels strange to look at me without mirroring myself,” he admitted. “Have I really been dead for hours? Because it feels like years.”“Hey, it’s alright. Sometimes death does feel longer than it seems, that’s what I got from spirits I’ve talked to, but don’t think about that too much. Okay?” I replied.Robyn nodded.I guided his spirit back to his body.Robyn then slowly woke up. He looked at me then smiled. “I guess I was a part of your necromancy seance, like what I wanted”.Viktor then blew out all the candles and opened the curtains.“He’s alive!” Tobias smiled.“Oh thank god,” Primrose sighed.I hugged Robyn. “I thought I lost you for a second.” I said while trying to hold back my tears.“Yeah. Me too,” Robyn replied. He then started to groan in pain. “I didn’t expect to still be in pain when I was brought back to life.”I moved away from Robyn. “Sorry about that. Are you alright though?” I asked. “I just remembered I’m kind of in pain as well”, I said, groaning slightly.“Yeah. I just need a few days to recover, maybe even a few weeks.” Robyn replied.“We’ll give you all the time you need,” Tobias nodded.“Tobi, can I tell you something? Well I guess I’ll tell you all.” I asked.“What is it?” Tobias asked.“I didn’t mean to be rude but, where’s Aspen?” Audrey asked. I then started to cry.“Are they- gone?” Noelle asked.I nodded. “I’m sorry, we did all we could…”Tobias fell to the floor. “No! It can’t be! How?” He asked, while holding back tears.“After you left, Odessa came out and…” I replied. But I couldn’t hold it in, I started to shake and cry.Crimson then flew on top of my head, and rested on me.“Do you want me to tell them, moonlight?” Robyn asked.I nodded.“Odessa used her magic to break all of Aspen’s bones. She then dismembered their body. We really did all we could to have them make it out alive, but Odessa was too powerful. We’re so sorry…” Robyn reported, he was also trying to hold back his tears.“They truly loved and cared for you Tobi.” I added. Tobias started to sob.“They risked their life for me? I’m the reason why they’re dead!” Noelle cried.“No. It’s not your fault. They wanted you to live, they risked having Tobias not being with us just for you to live.” Robyn comforted Noelle.“We should go out searching for what’s left of them, so we can give them a proper burial,” Viktor remarked.With faes, we have a belief that our souls eventually come back to our dead bodies, and whatever our conditions our corpses were in, that’s what we’ll have to live with for the rest of time. So we wanted Aspen’s body parts back together, so that they would live just like how they were before they died.“If it’s alright, may Robyn and I have some time together, alone?” I asked.“Yes, of course,” Audrey replied. “We’ll look for Aspen’s remains while you two are alone. Hope it doesn’t take too long.”“Hey Vik?” I got up.“What?” Viktor asked. I then hugged him.“I love you, big brother,” I said.“Love you too, little brother,” he replied. Everyone then left, except Robyn and I.We both hugged and kissed. “I’m so glad that you’re alive,” I smiled.“I am as well. I didn’t want to miss our wedding and our amazing life together.” Robyn smiled back. I sat next to Robyn.“Well, now the king’s dead, it’s now you that’s going to be the king.” I said. Robyn sighed.“What’s wrong?” I asked.“I don’t know if I’ll be a good king. I know that I’ll never be like the man who I’m supposed to call my father, but- I don’t know what to do.” Robyn replied.“Hey, don’t worry about it too much. You have Tobias, my brother, Primrose, Audrey, Noelle, and I to help you. It’s okay if you don’t know what to do, we’ll be here to help you.” I comforted him.“Seb, do you think that the entire kingdom will accept me being engaged to a male dark fae?” Robyn asked.“I don’t think the entire kingdom will accept you, you don’t need everyone to support you to feel valid. You are you and that’s enough. You at least have some support. Are we planning on announcing our engagement anytime soon?” I asked.“If it isn’t too much to ask, can I announce our engagement to the entire kingdom? And would you like to rule as a second king with me?” Robyn asked.“That’s alright with me. And of course I would rule with you, my darling.” I nodded.
“Has there ever been two kings that were married and ruled together?”“I don’t know. Maybe there were, maybe there weren’t. I’m just glad that I’ll have you rule by my side, plus you’re going to be the first fae ruler and my amazing husband, it’s going to be better.” Robyn replied.“And if you don’t mind me asking, who’s Apollo?” He asked.I didn’t really say anything at first. My smile dropped, and I just had a very neutral feeling showing off.“If you don’t want to answer, that's fine. And I’m sorry if that may have offended- ” Robyn spoke quickly.“He was a friend of mine. It’s not too important, it’s been years since he’s died. Keres killed him, and that’s all. I don’t really like talking about it.” I answered.“Oh. I’m sorry. You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to, just whenever you’re ready. Don’t feel forced to tell me, alright?” Robyn responded, then wrapping his arms around me and burying his face on my back, then kissing me on the back of my neck.I put my hands over his and smiled, “I love you.”“I love you too,” he replied.“If it’s alright with you, can we go help the others look for Aspen’s remains?” Robyn asked.“I’m fine with that. Are you alright with that?” I asked back.“I am. It might take me a bit to-” Robyn replied.“I can carry you, it's alright. Tobias said you need to rest still. I suggest you don’t walk for a bit, just to be safe.” I answered, then carried Robyn.“Are you sure you’re alright? Do you need rest as well? Your spine broke, and I imagine that your back hurts…” Robyn asked.“I should be fine. It’s not that painful or serious. You had more severe injuries, just let me hold you.” I added. “And plus, you’re as light as a feather.”We went over to the palace’s courtyard, where we found everyone else.“Do you need any help?” I asked.“We found all their remains,” Primrose held back their tears.“I say that we have a funeral for them as soon as we can. Viktor, can you spread the word to the village?” I asked.Viktor nodded.“I’ll put their remains back together, so they look nice for their funeral.” Tobias stated.I hugged Tobias, “It’s going to be alright. We’re here for you, Tobi.”Tobias hugged me back. “Thank you.”Tobias then held onto Aspen’s head, closed his eyes, and kissed Aspen’s forehead. “Rest now, my love.”******Two days later, it was Aspen’s funeral. There wasn’t a way we could’ve used necromancy for them. Because Odessa found a way for those who could communicate with the dead being unable to reach Aspen. Specifically against us, so it was extra hard for us dark faes. My aunt, Ebony (Aspen’s mother), was bawling her eyes out. I sat next to my cousin Opal, who was Apsen’s little sister. She was about 14 years older than me. She was crying a lot.“I just got my sibling back, and now they’re gone. Why is life like this?” Opal asked. I hugged Opal.“We all had them back, but they had to leave again, so we all know how you feel,” Viktor comforted Opal.“I wanted them to come to my wedding. I wanted them to meet my future children. I wanted to spend time with them again. I wanted to make more memories with them. I want my sibling back…” Opal cried.At the funeral, my family met Robyn. When I told them that we were dating and our relationship, they were happy for the two of us; I didn’t tell them that we were engaged yet.“You’re very lucky to have our son. He truly is a wonderful young man. He’ll take great care of you.” Mom commented.“He must be very handsome to catch the eyes of a Prince,” Dad remarked.Robyn and I laughed.“He knows where he gets his good looks from,” Dad added.“I’m just very glad to meet you both, because Seb tells me a lot about you two,” Robyn smiled.Apollo’s family was also there at the funeral, and I talked to them for a bit and introduced Robyn to them.“He would’ve liked and gotten along well with him.” Apollo’s older sister, Helena commented. Helena was Viktor’s age and his best friend.“Yeah I know,” I replied.“Seb, you know it was never your fault, right? Viktor was talking to me about it and how you were feeling a few days ago.” Apollo’s dad, Anatole, remarked.“I know that. Thanks. We know who the killer is now, and he will be punished for it.” I replied.The rest of the day was bleak and depressing. Robyn, Tobias, and I were at Aspen’s grave for the rest of the day.“Aspen, starlight, I don’t know if you can hear this, but I’ve been wanting to tell you this. You were the light of my life. When I first met you, I truly had something to live for. When my parents were hurting me, you were the only one to ever show me what love really was and how it felt like. I’ll never forget you, Aspen, and I love you so much, my dear. My love for you will never die. You may be dead, but your presence and memories will never be dead, they’ll always remain alive. You’re alive within our hearts and memories. I’ll miss you a lot, love, and I’ll never forget our memories and love for each other.” Tobias said to Aspen’s grave, then started to cry.I hugged Tobias. From the corner of my eye, I saw a black cat walk over to Aspen’s grave.For dark faes, black cats could mean both a good and bad omen. But they’re mostly associated with death. It’s said that if ever a black cat is near a gravesite or at a death site of someone who you care about, it’s sent from the spirit of the deceased. When I saw that cat, I started to cry. The cat went over to me, and rested its head on Tobias lap. He looked at the cat and smiled.“Aspen had a cat when we first met. The cat’s name was Jinx. We were planning on having cats after we were married, but we never could.” He hugged the cat and cried. “I know you can’t talk back to us, darling, but I’ll always feel your presence, and I believe you’re here with us and sent forth this cat to be able to comfort everyone who is hurt by your death. I love you deeply, darling,” he added.Viktor, Audrey, Primrose, and Noelle came to us. “We thought that we’d come by here,” Audrey spoke.Primrose placed some flowers on the grave. “Forget-me-nots for memories, chrysanthemums for respect and grief, and lilies for innocence and divinity.” Primrose explained. “We’re really going to miss Aspen,” they added.Noelle sat down and placed a hydrangea flower on the grave. “Aspen, thank you so much for sacrificing yourself for me. If it weren’t for you, I would’ve been dead. You’re truly a wonderful soul that’ll be missed. We love you, and can’t wait to see you again.”Robyn left some marigolds and hyacinths on Aspen’s grave. “These were my mother’s favorite flowers. She and Aspen were close. She actually attended Aspen and Tobias’ wedding. And when my mother died, Aspen left a marigold on her grave. They also sent some hyacinths to my mother after I was born. So I’m leaving something they left and gave to my mom.”We all stayed at the grave site for the rest of the day. It was bittersweet, because although we were all mourning together, it brought us together in some way.I then told Tobias about Daisy.“I have a daughter? Where is she?” Tobias asked.“I don’t know,” I replied.“What’s my daughter’s name so I could at least find her.” Tobias asked.“Daisy,” I replied.“Daisy? I think I know her. We’re really good friends, we’ve also told each other that we’re faes. I know where she lives!” Noelle added.Noelle brought us to Daisy’s house. Noelle knocked on the door, and a woman opened the door, she had small horns and fae ears.
“Noelle, what are you doing here? And where’s your hood, you know it’s dangerous for you being a fae in the village.” She asked.“Daisy, I found your father,” Noelle replied.“My father? But I was told that he was dead, and so was my mother…” Daisy replied. Tobias went up to Daisy.“You have their eyes,” he commented.“Are you my father?” Daisy asked.Tobias nodded. They both then hugged.Daisy and Tobias then talked for a while.“I knew I was a fae, but never knew what fae I was. So I guess I’m half dark and half healer. And my parent was a dark fae and you’re a healer fae?” Daisy asked.Tobias nodded.“Can I meet my parent? They seem like a wonderful fae. Where are they? And what would they like me to call them?” Daisy asked.“Daisy, dear. They died.” Tobias replied.“What! How?” Daisy asked.We explained everything to Daisy and about Aspen.Daisy started to cry. “When I finally met you, I was happy to meet my family. I’m sorry that this happened.”“Don’t be sorry, Daisy. We’re happy that we’re able to meet you.” Viktor commented.“Daisy, I swear on my life that I will be a good father for you and be there when you need it. I know it’s been 18 years, and I want to make up for all those years,” Tobias stated. They both then hugged.We took Daisy to the fae village where she met the rest of my family. It was nice to have something from Aspen still alive and well, so that their memory can still live on.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

A few weeks later, humans and faes slowly started to get along, and resolve the centuries long conflict. It was nice finally putting an end to this war, because it was a childhood wish that I’ve wanted to come true.I moved in with Robyn. It was a little hard for me, I was leaving the home I spent my entire life in, moving out of a place where I grew up. And now I was moving to a place where I was very unfamiliar with, but I was at least with the man I love. Soon, it was Robyn’s coronation as king. Since now the king was dead, the crown passed down to Robyn, because he was the only one heir to the throne and alive within the royal family. At his coronation ball, Robyn and I were planning on announcing our engagement to the entire kingdom. The day of his coronation, almost everyone was there. Some faes at the fae village knew Robyn, because they met him at Aspen’s funeral, and wanted to be there for his support; and the word
that a human and a fae were dating got around quickly. We were waiting in a cathedral for Robyn to come. To be honest, it felt a bit weird that I was in a church, because I practiced dark magic, and I’d be thought of as the devil.“Where is he?” Daisy asked.“I hope he’s alright” I murmured to myself. We waited for a few minutes, and Robyn still hadn’t shown up. I decided to go check on him to see how he was doing. I went to the palace, walked to Robyn's room, and knocked on the door.“Who’s there?” he asked.“The love of your life” I replied.“Come in” he responded. I walked in, and found Robyn sitting on the side of his bed. “Are you okay? Everyone’s waiting for you” I asked while sitting next to him.“I can’t! I can’t be king! I’m not fit to rule! I haven’t prepared for a moment like this all my life, because I was expected to be dead at this point. But here I am. I don’t think I can govern an entire kingdom” Robyn shook his head.“Hey, I don’t know anything about royalty. But I’ll be here with you. Plus, we are planning to announce our engagement to the entire kingdom right?” I asked. Robyn nodded.“Well, I can rule with you. So you don’t feel the pressure is all on you” I reassured him. Robyn smiled.“I know, but I don’t really- I want to be a good king, and I know I will, but I’m only 19, have no family to assist me, and the entire kingdom is going to come to me if they need anything. I don’t know if I’m actually ready for that, because I never had preparation for something like this, and I feel like I’m going to be a failure” Robyn sighed.“You won’t be a failure. Not with me. I’m here. My brother’s here, and so is Audrey, Primrose, Noelle, and Tobias. We’ll help you be a successful king” I replied.Robyn then hugged me, “I know all of that, but just things in my head are telling me I’ll end up like my father and- ”“I’m sorry for interrupting you, but you’re nothing like that awful man. Nor will you ever be like him. You’re you. I’ll make sure that you won’t end up like him. Okay? Just remember, I can talk to spirits, so if I see the ghost of your ‘father’ come near you, I’ll have ancestors of mine deal with him. Also I’ve heard Audrey had some family members that were pretty intimidating, so he’ll have to deal with them as well” I replied.Robyn snickered, “Thanks for that. I feel better now”“Anytime. Now, let us go on and get you crowned. Shall I assist you to the coronation, my king?” I got up and pulled Robyn with me.“Indeed you shall, my dearest” he replied, then kissed me on the cheek.We walked over to the cathedral and stood at the gates for a moment. Robyn stepped back a bit, “Am I really doing this? Is this real? I’m really about to be king,” He panicked a bit.I walked back to him, and to his hand, “Hey, it’s okay. I’ll be here. I can walk down with you so that you don’t feel alone”He smiled and nodded, “I’m glad to have you as my fiancé. I love you, and nothing’s going to take that away from me”. We then walked in. After he was officially crowned king, there was a ball at the palace that night. I sat in the corner, while Robyn was talking to people. Noelle came next to me.“Why aren’t you with your boyfriend?” She asked.“He’s busy doing all the royalty work, I just don’t want to be too much into the crowd” I replied.“Understandable,” Noelle sighed.I took a sip of a non alcoholic drink I had in my hand. “Aren’t you an adult? You know you’re allowed to drink” Noelle asked.“I am and I’m aware of that. But my mother doesn’t want Viktor and I to drink. She’s worried we’d get addicted and end up ruining ourselves because of it” I replied.“Fair. But you still listen to what your mom says even when you’re an adult? I thought adults didn’t have to listen to parents” Noelle added.“My parents are smart people. Even my parents still listen to their parents’ advice. But it’s more of agency we have” I smiled.“Ah, okay. I see what you mean” Noelle nodded.“So, I saw you talking to a girl, is that the Talia you’re talking about?” I asked.Noelle then blushed.“If you love this girl, ask her to dance with you. Tell her your feelings for her” I encouraged Noelle.“I know, I’m just nervous and don’t know how to,” Noelle replied.“You could just talk to her then gradually tell her how you feel for her” I advised. “That’s what I did with Robyn. I was worried and scared about how I would confess my feelings to him, but we naturally told each other how we felt about each other, and here we are. We’re living and happy together” Robyn then ran up to me, “I need your help!” He frantically said out of breath.“What? Why?” I asked.“Just follow me!” He replied. He took my hand and dragged me away from Noelle. I quickly drank the rest of my drink and gave it to a nearby servant.“I’ll be back, and we can talk more later” I called out to Noelle.Robyn then went up to Tobias. “Tobi! It’s an emergency! I need a distraction!” He whispered.“Do I get to improvise?” Tobias asked.“Just anything! My life is on the line!” Robyn replied.Tobias got up to the middle of the room and fell to the floor “I’M HAVING A BABY!” He screamed at the stop of his lungs.“Not what I had in mind, but that works,” Robyn commented. We then went into another room that was near the ballroom.“Okay? What is it?” I asked“This is my first ever ball, I don’t even know what to do” Robyn panicked. “I’m going to look like a fool if I can’t dance” he added“Not technically balls, but I’ve had fae gatherings like these” I commented.“Seb, I want you to teach me to dance,”“What?” I asked.“I’ll repeat what I said. I want you to teach me to dance” Robyn replied.“Well, I’ll see what I can do,” I remarked. “I know that waltzing is most common at balls, so I guess we’ll do that. First, take my hand, I’ll lead. I’ll put my hand around your waist, and you put your hand on my shoulder” I instructed.“Now, you don’t want to look at your feet the entire time, just try to mirror my feet as they’re moving. Alright? We can practice a few times, so don’t worry about it” I added.We danced for a bit. He was able to get it down easily and learned it quickly. We looked at each other in the eyes; deeply. I twirled him around while we were dancing, and put my hand on his cheek afterwards.“We’re alone, right?” Robyn asked.“I think so, why?” I asked back.He looked at me, and kissed me on the cheek. I gently grabbed his chin, and we pulled closer to each other to kiss, but were interrupted by someone walking in.“I was looking for the king, but it seems like he’s…. busy” they remarked.“Uh- we’re just about to leave. Yeah! We’ll be out” Robyn replied. We walked out into the ballroom.“That was close,” I whispered.“That was” Robyn whispered back.We made it back to the ballroom. Everyone was surrounding Tobias. “Tobi!” Robyn whispered l, trying to get his attention.“I forgot! I’m not pregnant! I’m a man after all” Tobias got up and walked away. Robyn then got up near where he could get everyone’s attention, “Hello everyone, I hope you’re all having a wonderful evening tonight. I’m sure you’ve all noticed that there’s faes around here. I wanted to announce something” He then took my hand.“This is Sebastian, he’s a dark fae, and he saved my life. He was the one to break my curse that my ‘father’ had placed on me. Sebastian and I met each other when we were 9 years old, and I’ve always had feelings for him. And after knowing each other for a little while, we’ve decided that we want a life together. Now I want to announce that we’re engaged to each other. This kingdom will soon get its first fae ruler!” he added.A round of applause then erupted. ‘This was better than I expected’. I thought.A few minutes later, we were with Audrey, Primrose, Viktor, Tobias, Noelle, and Daisy.
“You two are engaged?” Audrey asked.“I know I just met all of you, but I wish you both health and prosperity in your marriage” Daisy said“Who else knew?” Noelle asked.“Viktor and….Aspen. They were both there when I proposed to Rob” I replied.“Sebastian Draco Briar!” Mom called out. “Why didn’t you tell us you were engaged?” She asked.“I wanted it to be a surprise. Is it alright Robyn and I get married?” I asked.“Of course, son. He makes you happy, so we’ll be happy” Dad replied.“We wish you two the best of luck” Mom said.“And if you need any advice, son. Just ask your Dad, he knows how to be a good husband. Even ask your Mother,” Dad said.Mom then gently smacked Dad on the head. “Don’t embarrass our son in front of his soon to be husband”Opal then came to us. “A few things I’d like to say. Rob and Seb, congratulations to you two on your engagement. And Daisy, I’d like to give this to you” then gave Daisy a lute.“My sibling loved playing the lute and when they told me when they were engaged, they’d love to teach their children how to play the lute. And before when you were born, they also told me that they wanted to give their lute to you, please take care of it, okay?” Opal asked.“I will. Thank you” Daisy replied. They both then hugged. “But how will I learn how to play a lute?” Daisy asked.“I’ve played the lute before, I can teach you. I also taught Aspen,” Mom replied.“Thank you” Daisy smiled.“Of course my dear” Mom nodded.Helena then came sprinting towards me. “YOURE ENGAGED? VIKTOR HOW COME YOU NEVER TOLD ME?” She said out of breath.“He wanted it as a surprise, would you have liked it if I told everyone about you and your wife’s engagement before you wanted to announce it?” Viktor asked.“No. But Seb, congratulations! I’m sure you and your future husband will have a happy marriage” Helena replied.Helena had a wife named Pearl, who was a water fae. They’ve been married for about 6 years. “I’m sure the two are happy together, like how we are, sunlight” Pearl spoke to their wife. A little bit after, it was time for a waltz. “Well, I guess this is where that practice will pay off” Robyn remarked.A girl then walked over to us, it was Talia. “Oh Talia! Hey! How are you?” Noelle nervously asked.“I’m great. How about you?” Talia asked.“Talia, I think I have dances for you. May I have this feeling?” Noelle asked.“Are you asking me to dance with you?” Talia asked.“Yeah! Uh- did I say something else?” Noelle blushed.“You might be a bit embarrassed about it, so I won’t tell you,” Talia replied.Noelle then hid her face.“Now about that dance… Of course I will dance with you,” Talia replied.Robyn and I went over to the dance floor. And we danced together. He looked a little worried and slightly scared, so I decided to ask him what was bothering him.“Hey, is something wrong, my love?” I asked.“Keres is still out there. He could even be here at this ball” Robyn replied.“It’s going to be alright, my little bird. Right now, we’re together. There is a bounty for him, you know. We’ll talk about that later. Alright?” I comforted him, then kissed him on the head. He then rested his head on my chest as we continued to dance. After the waltz, Robyn was needed to meet with some members of the Royal council, so I stayed behind. “It won’t be long, I’ll be back soon” he reassured me, and then left.My dad then came up to me “Wouldn’t this technically be your engagement party?” He asked.“I don’t think so. It is my fiancé’s coronation” I replied.“Well then, maybe in a bit, we can have an engagement party for you two. How does that sound, son?” Dad replied.“That’ll be nice. I just don’t want it too grand, just something small and simple. Because the wedding is for sure going to be grand, I’d assume” I replied.Dad then grabbed two glasses of wine, and gave one to me. “Wouldn’t Mom not be happy if I were to drink?” I asked.Dad laughed a bit, “You’ve been an adult for a little while now, she wouldn’t mind, and you’ll be a married man soon. Here’s a toast to your engagement” We made the toast, and that was the first time I ever drank.I then had a few more glasses and became drunk, so I didn’t remember a lot of what happened after that. But I did remember seeing Robyn run out of the ballroom. I tried to go after him, but I fell into Viktor’s arms instead.“Hey, are you alright?” He asked.“Viki- I- I- I’m gonna throw up” I slurred.I don’t remember what happened after that, but I remember Viktor leading me outside to a balcony, and I threw up. “Everything okay? Are you feeling any better? Or are you at least a little less drunk?” Viktor asked.“I feel like shit. But I’m fine, and also a little tipsy…” I replied.“Can’t wait for how Mom will react to Dad letting you drink alcohol” Viktor snickered.“He’s a dead man,” I laughed. “What was it like when you first drank?”“I drank on my 20th birthday, Helena brought some alcohol for me, we both ended up passing out. But I remembered feeling sick after. Mom wasn’t that mad, because she could never be mad at Helena or her family.” Viktor replied. “So..Rob and I are planning on adopting Noelle once we’re married. How do you feel about considering Noelle as your niece?” I asked.“Are you kidding? I’d love that. Noelle is a brave young lady and she’ll make a fine addition to our family and an amazing daughter to you and your soon to be husband. And I’m positive Mom would love her as a granddaughter,” Viktor replied.I leaned on the balcony and just looked out in the distance, “Think of it, this kingdom will get its first fae ruler. How unbelievable is that.”“I can’t believe that you were able to catch a human royal’s feelings, or even have someone catch feelings for you, I thought no one would,” Viktor stated.“What the hell, Viktor,” I replied.“I’m kidding!” He laughed. “But I am happy that you and Robyn found each other. It seemed like the universe knew you two were perfect and needed each other. I’m happy that you’re happy with him, and that he’s happy with you”“Vik, how would you like to be my best man at my wedding?” I asked.“Of course I would! I’d love that,” Viktor replied.“Who knew that you’d be marrying a human king. It seemed like yesterday we were just young boys climbing up trees, staying up late at night to watch the sunrise, reading stories to each other, and just being kids. And now you’re a man and engaged,” he added.“Where did this suddenly come from?” I laughed.“I’m serious. Time really flies by. I still remember the day you were born. I remember looking at you and thinking to myself ‘I’m going to be the best big brother to this boy’,” Viktor replied.“And you are. You really are the best big brother any little brother can ask for,” I responded, then gave him a hug. As we hugged, Mom found us, “There you are! We’ve been looking for you!” She was with Robyn, and they walked over to Viktor and I.“Baby Bear, I was talking with your fiancé, and it seemed like he was looking for you,” Mom added.“Your mother calls you ‘Baby Bear’?” Robyn asked.“Mom! Don’t call me that, you’re embarrassing me!” I hid my face.“Oh no. I actually think it’s cute,” Robyn replied. “Your mother also is an amazing woman. I can see how great she did with raising two amazing sons,” he added.“Yeah. Our mother is pretty good,” Viktor replied.“‘Pretty good’? Viktor Ryuu Briar. I didn’t wait 27 years for one of my sons to say to me that I’m a ‘pretty good’ mother." Mom responded.“Okay fine. You’re the best mother ever.” Viktor admitted.I then snickered.“What, Sebastian? You don’t agree?” Mom joked.“No. I agree that you’re the best mother, I was just laughing at Viktor and how much of an idiot he is,” I replied.Viktor sighed in annoyance.“Now, what are you two doing out here?” Mom asked.“Well, after Rob left for something, I stayed behind and then dad gave me a drink. I then got a little drunk and Viktor and I made it out here where I threw up,” I replied.“‘A little drunk’? You were slurring your words and looked very intoxicated. You even threw up!” Viktor commented.“Are you alright?” Robyn asked.“I’m fine, darling. I’m just a little tipsy now,” I replied.“Your father made you drink?” Mom asked.“Yeah” I replied.“Oh! He’s in trouble now!” Viktor snickered.“I’ll have a long talk with your father after the ball tonight.” Mom sighed.Viktor, Robyn, and I then laughed. “Oh you boys are so mature. You’re all adult men but act like 4 year old boys." Mom rolled her eyes.“I can see where you get some of your personality, my dragon,” Robyn commented.“Is that a new pet name you have for me?” I flirted.“After I found out you can become a dragon, why not then?” Robyn flirted back.“Get a room!” Viktor scoffed.“Viktor!” Mom scolded.“It’s alright mom, Viktor’s just being himself,” I laughed.Viktor then rolled his eyes.“Oh Robyn, before I forget, I was speaking with your mother just after the waltz. She’s an amazing woman, I can see if I could arrange a time for you to speak with each other more, I’m sure she’d love that,” Mom announced.“Oh really? Mrs. Briar I-” Robyn replied.“Forgive me for interrupting you, but you may call me Lilith, and you may call my husband Edmund,” mom added.“Lilith, I- thank you. I would love that.” Robyn smiled.“Mom, can you plan an engagement party for Robyn and me, at the fae village?” I asked.“Of course, baby! I’ve been waiting for this moment ever since I became a mother. I want to make this the perfect engagement party ever. Now, how about we talk about this tomorrow and plan for it to be next week. What do you think?” Mom asked me.“I think….I’m going to throw up again,” I confessed.“Do it over the balcony.” Robyn replied, while turning me over the balcony where I threw up some more.“We should get you something to make you feel better,” Robyn suggested, while rubbing my shoulders.“Oi! Who keeps throwing up from the balcony! It’s getting bloody disgusting!” Someone at the bottom yelled.“Run!” Robyn added, while grabbing my arm and running back into the ballroom. Viktor followed us back in.“Boys! You three get back here now!” Mom called out and followed us.We met up with dad, and Robyn and I went through a little bit about our engagement party we wanted. And we agreed to talk to my parents the next day and for the party to be next week. After the ball was over, Robyn and I went into his room. He took off his cloak and vest and hung them up near the closet. I took my vest off and put it on a nearby nightstand. We took off our shoes and then just rested and laid on his bed. “This crown is killing me!” Robyn groaned, while setting his crown on a nightstand.“Excuse me, sir. But I have horns and have lived with them my entire life,” I joked.Robyn laughed, “I can’t imagine how heavy they are.”“Honestly, it’s not really that big of a problem,” I admitted.We rolled over and just looked at each other, “I can’t believe it, we’re going to be married and live happily together. I guess we will get our happily ever after,” he smiled. “Indeed we will. And of course, adopting Noelle, we’ll be a family. Hopefully have some or more children along the way. We could of course either adopt or find a way to have biological children,” I added.“And we’ll watch them grow and they’ll become great individuals and they’ll be influenced by both of their fathers. And we’ll grow old together and watch our children get married and have children of their own.” Robyn replied. “No matter what happens in our life, I’ll always love you. You’re the love of my life, little bird, and the reason why I still keep going.”“I love you too, my dragon, you’re the reason why I’m alive and why I want to live more. Every day reminds me when I see you and your beauty,” Robyn smiled. He then leached onto me. I grabbed onto him, rolled over, and held him down. He then blushed. We had a moment where we just looked into each others’ eyes, and leaned in for a kiss. But someone knocked on the door.Robyn and I immediately got up. “Come in!” I said in a tone of panic. Noelle opened the door and came in.“Was I interrupting something?” She asked.“No! You weren’t, we were just- talking.” I replied.“Hey, Noelle. Seb and I have been talking about something and we want to know your thoughts about it,” Robyn changed the subject.“What is it?” Noelle asked.“Do you want to tell her or should I?” Robyn asked me.“I could tell her,” I replied. “Noelle, once Robyn and I get married, we were thinking of adopting you as our own daughter, so would you like us to be your fathers and us to adopt you?”Noelle cried and hugged us. “Are you serious?” She asked.“We’re being honest. So would you?” Robyn asked.“Yes of course!” Noelle cried happily.We all talked for a bit. Rob and I wanted to have time with our soon to be adopted daughter, so we thought that talking to her would be good. She then left an hour later.“So where were we?” Robyn asked while tightly wrapping his arms around me.“We were about to kiss, but Noelle came in and then- ”I replied.“Just shut up and kiss me already” Robyn interrupted, while pulling me in for a kiss. I then grabbed his face and kissed him back.“Are the doors locked?” I asked.He got up to lock the doors, “so that we don’t get interrupted this time.” he walked back to the bed. We then kissed more after that. I then kissed him on the neck and shoulder, while he wrapped my hair around his fingers. He then pulled me down with him, but we still kept kissing each and whispered about how much we love each other in between kisses, and having our fingers intertwine with each other, and me gently touching and holding onto Rob’s neck, arm, shoulder, and face. There were times where we’d look deeply into each other's eyes for a minute, and then go in for more kisses. The rest of the night was filled with our love for each other as we eventually dozed off into sleep.