The bell above the door chimed, clear and bright.
"Welcome to Happy Happy! Please take a seat, someone will attend to you shortly," one of the apprentices said smoothly, bowing with practiced courtesy.
The couple who entered glanced around in surprise. They had expected the cramped gloom of an apothecary. Instead, sunlight streamed through wide glass panes, spilling across rows of glass vials that glimmered like captured stars. Herbs dangled in bundles from the rafters, their mingled scents sharp, clean, and strangely invigorating. Shelves lined with sealed jars and polished instruments gave the impression not of a shop, but of a laboratory where precision ruled.
This was not the Nexus City most knew. Outside, the planet was still the dump yard the galaxy called it—rusting hulks of ancient ships, scrap heaps piled high, and whole districts crumbling into slums. Even the city itself was only half-tamed, its streets uneven, its skies grey with the smoke of airships. But here, within these bright walls, there was order.
At the center of the shop now named 'Happy Happy' courtesy of Selene, sat Jade.
Behind the broad counter, the boy worked as though nothing in the world existed beyond the ink and parchment before him. His silver-white hair fell down his back in a silken river, tied loosely with a black ribbon. His quill moved with quiet certainty, scratching tallies and notes into his ledger. At only ten years old, he carried himself with the composure of a master whose authority no one questioned.
Several customers caught themselves staring. Whispers rose but cut short the moment the woman at the counter lifted her head.
Selene.
The Lady of Nexus. The Governor's wife.
She was perched on a stool beside Jade's counter, elbows resting on its polished wood, chin cradled in her hands. Her emerald eyes sparkled as she leaned close, studying Jade with the single-minded attention of someone who had claimed him as hers.
"You've grown taller again," she mused aloud, ignoring the startled looks of the nobles seated on the benches. "But your cheeks are still the same. Perfect. My little Jade hasn't changed at all."
Without hesitation she reached out, pinching his cheek softly. The apprentices kept their heads low. A faint twitch passed through one boy's mouth, but he dared not smile openly, not under Selene's gaze. Nobles averted their eyes entirely, as if watching would be a crime.
Jade, unmoved, slid his ledger just out of her reach. "Lady Selene. Customers are present."
"Let them see," she said without missing a beat, pressing her cheek to his hair in a display that made half the waiting nobles stiffen in their seats. "They ought to know you're more than Nexus' treasure. You're my treasure."
In the back, Niamh quietly sorted bundles of firevine and heartleaf, lips pressed thin. She said nothing. But the look she cast Selene's way was sharp, the kind only a protective mother could give. Selene, of course, paid it no mind.
Amara glanced over from where she was arranging jars, a faint smile tugging at her lips. She bowed her head quickly when Selene's eyes flicked toward her, feigning composure, hands folded neatly behind her back.
The room seemed to breathe around Selene's presence. No one dared to laugh, no one dared to whisper—save for the whispers they would take outside, when they were safely beyond the Lady's notice.
"Your skin hasn't changed either," Selene continued, voice lilting with indulgence. She brushed her fingers against Jade's cheek, ignoring his sigh. "Still flawless. If I weren't so proud, I might even be jealous of you, my Jade."
A nobleman coughed into his fist and studied the floor tiles with an intensity that suggested they were the most fascinating thing in the universe.
Jade finally set his quill aside, turning his calm, silver-grey gaze to Selene. "Lady Selene. Please."
For a heartbeat the shop held its breath. Then Selene gasped, clutching her chest as though struck. "So cold! My little Jade has grown up to scold me."
No one laughed. The apprentices kept their hands folded tightly, their gazes lowered. Even Amara busied herself at once with the jars, hiding the faint curve of her mouth.
Selene's dramatics filled the silence, and the nobles—helpless witnesses—could do nothing but avert their eyes and remind themselves again why Happy Happy had become the most sought-after alchemy shop in the city. It was not merely the Lady's presence. It was not even her protection. It was the boy himself. His potions healed where others failed. His remedies brought the weak back to strength. Even the skeptical had been silenced.
But it was a strange sight, still, to see the First Lady of Nexus doting openly, shamelessly, on a boy who calmly ignored her. And so the nobles held their tongues, prayed they would not be noticed, and waited their turn.
But it was a strange sight, still, to see the First Lady of Nexus doting openly, shamelessly, on a boy who calmly ignored her. And so the nobles held their tongues, prayed they would not be noticed, and waited their turn.
Selene, meanwhile, showed no intention of relenting.
"Ah," she said suddenly, sliding off her stool to circle behind Jade. "You've been sitting too long, haven't you? That's no good for your back. Here—"
Before Jade could react, her hands came down on his shoulders, kneading firmly as though she were some hired masseuse. Nobles shifted in their seats, mortified at the impropriety, while apprentices froze mid-step, clutching trays of bottled tonics.
"Lady Selene…" Jade said evenly, though his brow twitched the faintest degree.
"Yes, yes, don't thank me," she interrupted cheerfully. "It's my duty to take care of you. Honestly, working yourself like this—you'll wither away before you're grown." She leaned down, voice dropping into a mock whisper, though the entire shop could hear her. "If you keep skipping meals, I'll just bring my kitchen staff here. Imagine, the Governor's cooks stationed in Happy Happy. Wouldn't that be nice?"
The nobles looked like they'd swallowed their tongues.
One apprentice—a girl barely sixteen—swallowed hard, bowing her head lower as she set a tray on the counter. In the corner, Amara smoothed her expression into perfect neutrality, though her eyes gleamed with amusement.
Niamh cleared her throat deliberately from the back. It was not a rebuke—more a subtle reminder of propriety. Selene ignored it entirely.
"There," Selene said at last, finishing her 'massage' with a decisive pat on Jade's shoulders. "Perfect. Doesn't that feel better?"
Jade dipped his quill again, resuming his ledger without so much as a sigh. "It feels… distracting."
Selene gasped, clutching her heart again. "Distracting! My kindness called distracting!"
A few nobles bowed their heads deeper, as if the floor might open and swallow them from this unbearable secondhand shame.
Still, no one left. No one dared.
The bell above the door chimed again.
This time, a noblewoman in fine violet silks entered, flanked by two armored escorts. She carried herself with the poise of the upper district, chin lifted, gaze sharp. Her lips parted as though to announce her presence—then froze.
Selene was crouched beside Jade now, cheek pressed firmly against his arm, nuzzling as though he were a beloved pet.
The noblewoman's escorts stiffened. The apprentices bowed at once, murmuring greetings. The noblewoman's face, however, turned a shade paler as recognition dawned. She dipped her head immediately, nearly tripping over her own skirts.
"Lady Selene. Forgive me. I did not know you were here."
Selene didn't so much as glance her way. "Mm. Yes. Sit down. Wait your turn."
The woman obeyed at once, almost stumbling onto the nearest bench.
Niamh's lips curved faintly, though she hid it as she bent over her herbs. Amara lowered her eyes, fingers tightening on a jar to keep from betraying amusement. The apprentices stood straighter than soldiers.
This was daily life now. Happy Happy had grown beyond a shop—it was a court of its own. Nobles who once scorned the boy alchemist now flocked here, waiting hours for remedies they could find nowhere else. Merchants bargained for tinctures that fetched five times their worth in other districts. And all the while, Selene sat at Jade's side, fending off rumors with her brazenness.
Jade, for his part, worked without pause. Orders tallied, recipes checked, quills sharpened. If the galaxy had burned beyond those glass panes, he might not have looked up until his calculations were complete.
But the weight of eyes on him was unceasing. Nobles watching, apprentices scurrying, Selene clinging.
And Jade bore it all with the unshakable calm of one who already knew the path laid before him.
But Selene was not finished.
"Distracting, he says," she muttered, still theatrically wounded. "Fine. If my touch is distracting, then I shall simply stay still."
She did not move away. Instead, she folded her hands primly on the counter, resting her chin atop them—directly beside Jade's ledger. Her hair spilled across the parchment like molten gold, catching the sunlight in shimmering waves.
"Lady Selene," Jade said, carefully moving her hair aside so the ink wouldn't smear. His tone was polite, neutral, but that small action alone sent another ripple of disbelief through the waiting nobles.
Selene, of course, misinterpreted.
"You're so considerate! Always thinking of me." She clasped her hands under her chin, gazing at him with exaggerated affection. "How is anyone supposed to leave you alone when you're like this?"
The apprentices exchanged quick glances, fighting to keep their faces straight. One boy bit his lip so hard he nearly drew blood.
From the back, Niamh let out a soft sigh that said: this woman. Amara's lips twitched behind a raised hand.
Selene, sensing she hadn't gotten a proper rise out of him, went for her final strike. She leaned in close and declared brightly:
"Then it's settled. Tonight, I'll dine here. We'll eat together—my treat. I'll have the governor's chef send a full spread!"
Half the room almost choked. The First Lady… dining in a humble alchemy shop?
Jade finally set his quill down, lifting his head with slow precision. His gaze was calm, level, yet firm enough that even Selene stilled.
"Lady Selene," he said softly. "If you bring your chef here, it will disrupt the work. This place is for alchemy, not banquets."
It wasn't a rebuke. Not sharp, not cruel. Just… decisive.
The nobles exhaled, a collective release they hadn't realized they were holding. The apprentices straightened, as though invisible weight had been lifted.
Selene blinked, lips parting in surprise, then she laughed, musical and unrestrained. "Oh, Jade. Always so serious. Fine, fine. No banquets."
She leaned back at last, satisfied with his small acknowledgement, and turned her attention lazily to the nobles waiting like mice under a cat's paw.
The atmosphere relaxed slightly.
And the rhythm of the shop resumed. Bottles clinked, parchment rustled, quiet conversations hummed again.
Jade resumed his work as though nothing at all had transpired.
...