Scarlette walks over to me with a chicken tucked under her arm, its frantic clucking echoing through the marketplace.
"Look at how fresh it is!" she beams, proud of her chaotic find.
But I'm not even looking at her. My gaze sweeps across the crowd—wide eyes, hushed whispers, horrified faces drinking in every scandal.
"No, Scarlette. Look at how fresh that is."
I smirk and tilt my head toward the gossipers.
She glances up, still holding the chicken like it's a newborn. "You're really good at this," she laughs, oblivious as always.
"You're not so bad yourself," I say lightly. She's the mistress of chaos; I'm the poison in the well. A perfect pair.
"So you're sure you can cook this?" she asks, eyeing the chicken like a dare.
"I could just make a bonfire," she adds.
I shiver. Memories flood back—her making a wild chicken fall in love with a fish, only for it to be snatched by an eagle and tossed into a bonfire.
"There's a stove in Lumera's house," I reply. "I said I would cook. Why does everyone doubt me?"
She just shrugs, smirking. Damn that spice-shop keeper. He really wounded me.
We reach Lumera's house. Scarlette swings the door open and, without hesitation, uses the Emerald to kill and defeather the chicken—clean, efficient, merciless. I look away. It's too much like murder with a manicure.
I pour out Lumera's old soup and set a new pot to boil, my hands trembling only slightly as I add the chili.
This meal is going to be fantastic. She will admit defeat. She will.
I swirl oil over the fire while the fish simmers quietly. Lemons from Lumera's garden—thinly sliced, perfect—go into the pot. I know what I'm doing.
Despite Lumera's sudden death, her home remains pristine. A Light Fairy trait, perhaps.
Scarlette washes her hands and drops the chicken into the boiling water with calm, steady precision.
"Alright, Scarlette. Let me take over from here," I say.
She glances up, unreadable, then smiles faintly.
"It's like you're human."
I shrug. "I've had interactions with humans. Watched how they do things."
I transfer the chicken water into a bowl, slice the chicken into thin strips, and bury it under a cascade of bright red chili.
Scarlette sneezes immediately.
"Are you sure it's supposed to be like that?" she asks, nose scrunched.
"Yes," I say firmly, stirring with ceremonial confidence.
"Every good thing needs time to simmer. Food… and rumors."
She watches me with round-eyed disbelief. I'm making a three-course meal. She should be impressed.
Then she grows quiet.
"So… what are you going to do once you have the Light Guardian?" she asks.
My stirring turns aggressive.
"We're close to altering reality. You must want something."
"Redemption," I say.
"Redemption?" She sounds amused.
I plate the food, ignoring her tone.
"Is that your big plan?" she presses.
"I want to be human," I snap. "Can't you tell?"
She freezes.
"What are you thinking?" I mutter.
"I just don't get it," she says. "You want to abandon your nature?"
"I was born a Dark Fairy. A creature of destruction," I say quietly. "I've killed so many. Fed on countless others. If I want redemption for any of it, I need to be human."
"So… the vampire hunting Lumera?"
"I ate him. And all his darkness."
Her jaw drops.
I chuckle. She thinks I'm the terrifying one?
"What about you?" I ask.
She frowns, then softens. "But you're Veravos. The boogeyman of villains."
She pauses. "…Yeah, that actually tracks."
"You thought I was a saint?"
"A saint?" She laughs. "Human-like sometimes. Not a saint."
Human-like.
A compliment? Maybe.
"Everyone has dreams," I say. "Don't I deserve one?"
She looks at me more gently. "You don't need to explain. And I'm glad you want this. You deserve to be happy."
Her words hit me harder than any spell.
"After everything I've done… do you think redemption is possible?" I ask.
"Yes," she answers, taking a bite of chili chicken.
Then she freezes. Eyes blow wide. She coughs violently.
I smirk. Wimp.
"Veravos! What is this?!" she wheezes, drinking soup like it's salvation.
Then—
"It's so good!"
I nearly drop my spoon.
"Can I finish this?"
"I cooked it for you. Go ahead."
Why is she immune? That masochist.
Between bites she says, "I never said why I want the spell."
I raise an eyebrow.
"I want a world where fairies can live in peace. Where origins don't define destiny."
She devours the bowl. I eat my lemon fish in silence.
"I think… our visions might coexist," I say.
But fear gnaws at me.
What if her ideal world is my nightmare?
Can one spell hold two realities?
No one alive knows.
But we need the Light Guardian. And he's trapped by Dark Fairies.
I hope my rumors reach them soon.
Scarlette leans back, swirling the last drops of soup.
"I've never met anyone like you," she says softly.
"All these centuries… and the one person who gets me is the thousand‑year‑old Dark Fairy boogeyman."
She isn't looking at me—until suddenly she is.
"I'm going to tell you everything, Veravos. Hold this to your heart. It's personal."
I lower my fork.
"I'm never like this with people. But you're not people."
She inhales deeply.
"A long time ago… it was just me. I was the first Love Fairy."
The air shifts.
"I was formed at the dawn of magic. I created spells—ancient ones. Then more Love Fairies appeared. Naturally, I became their leader. The strongest. The oldest."
Her voice darkens.
"But their ideals diverged."
"How?"
"They believed love magic was for survival only. A tool. Under King Baltimore, they stripped it of meaning. They even erased offensive Love Magic. Then they arrested me."
She laughs bitterly.
"They called me the Queen of Hearts and Ruin. For 'inciting a riot.'"
"What about King Baltimore?"
Her eyes harden.
"He twisted love magic. Poured it into an artifact: the Baltimorean Emerald. A device meant to 'fix' the universe through forced ideals—through toxic love."
"What did he want?"
"To be adored. To be King."
She wipes her eyes.
"He erased me from memory. Became the first Love Fairy in history. Even he forgot me."
My breath catches.
"But just before he rewrote reality again," she says, "I changed the spell."
"You rewrote the Emerald's moon spell?"
"Yes. The moon is predictable. Too easy. So I severed the link."
"And?"
"Now the Emerald works only when the Emerald, the ancient scroll, and a Light Guardian come together."
"Hard to exploit," I murmur.
"That was the point. Reality shouldn't be changed casually."
"No one's seen the scroll or Guardian in centuries," she adds. "Because I hid them well."
"So the Emerald broke."
"Catastrophically." She smiles. "Baltimore locked it away."
"And then?"
"They made a mistake."
I raise an eyebrow.
"They released me. A clerical error. With my name erased, I walked out as just another Love Fairy."
"But history repeated itself."
"The elders tried to control me. Again. And again I refused."
"What did you do?"
"I stole the Emerald and ran. They chased. I fought."
Her smile turns wicked.
"I perfected obsession hexes, narcissism spells. Invented the Love Pentagon. I even withdrew a healing spell I'd once used to sustain the king."
"Chaos followed," she says simply.
"And that's when you saw me."
I remember the wreckage. The cyclone of magic. And her, blazing at its heart.
"You became my savior," she whispers.
My breath catches.
"I knew you had your own plans. But I let it happen. Because the only path for a Love Fairy hated by her kingdom… is death."
Her voice trembles.
"I don't go gentle in suffering. If the rules hurt me, I'll flip the entire board."
She laughs softly.
"And more importantly… we became something. A kindred soul. Someone unwanted by his own kind. Someone like me."
A tear slips down my cheek.
Before I can speak, she pulls me into her arms.
Her warmth breaks me.
"Is King Baltimore still a threat?" I whisper.
She pulls back, eyes dark.
"You know the answer, Ver."
"When I withdrew his healing… it killed him."
I freeze.
"And my obsession spell on his guards sealed it."
She turns away, shaking.
"There's no redemption for me," she sobs.
I hold her tighter.
She is not the villain.
She is the victim of a broken kingdom.
There is no king now.
Only chaos.
She wants to escape her origins.
And I want redemption—and humanity.
But is either even possible?