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There’s alarms and screaming as people run back and forth.
“Hurry up, the prince’s forces will be here any second!”
No one addresses him, so he just sits there, waiting. Finally, his master thrusts a sword in his hand.
“Pixie! Fend them off! Kill as many as you can. Don’t stop until you die.”
People burst into the room, and he takes his orders. There’s a whirr of people, he doesn’t know who’s on his “side.” He wasn’t told to spare anybody, so he just goes for the nearest figure.
None of the intruders stand out to him as distinctive. They’re simply bodies to him, and he begins slashing his way through with abandon.
There’s a shattering of glass and screaming, and green flames start to envelope the lab.
He just follows his orders. He doesn’t feel the pain as he passes through the flames to keep fighting.
Kill as many as you can .
Suddenly, he stops. He notices something. One of the intruders… he’s young. He has orange hair and green eyes.
There’s a flash of something in his mind. A face perhaps? For the first time in as long as he can remember, he has an urge to do something.
He stabs the person fighting the boy with orange hair, who seems confused.
“What are you doing, pixie?!” A guard says. “Kill him!”
And he doesn’t listen .
He… he has to protect this boy. He has to get him out of here. He kills the guard and then takes the boy by the hand.
“H-hey, what are you doing?” the boy coughs.
He doesn’t say anything, just presses the secret switch for the emergency exit. He flinches at how bright it is. He doesn’t remember feeling this heat on his skin, or anything brighter than the torchlight in the lab.
But still, protecting this boy comes above all else. So he keeps running.
“Are… you… alright?” he says. He doesn’t remember the last time he spoke more than a few affirmative grunts.
“Why did you do that?” the boy asks.
“I… have… to… protect…”
Between the fight and the running, he’s been exerting himself too much.
There are footsteps following them.
Suddenly more people show up.
“Akito!” One says, a boy with light and dark hair.
He brandishes his sword against the new person.
“Go… I’ll…”
“I-It’s ok,” the boy with orange hair (Akito? That… name, it makes something stir in him) says, though it’s not clear who he’s speaking to. “He’s a friend.”
“Are… you… sure?”
“Yes, it’s alright.”
He lowers his sword.
“This is Lord Aoyagi, Crown Prince Kamishiro’s Chamberlain,” Akito says. “I’m Akito, personal attendant to Lady Shimizu. Who are you?”
He’s taken aback by the question. “I…” He’s never been addressed with a name in that place. “The Doctor… calls me pixie,” he says.
Akito frowns. “You don’t like it though, do you?”
“You… can… tell?”
No one’s asked how he feels before. Or if they have, he doesn’t remember.
“... You’re a fairy,” Lord Aoyagi says.
“Huh? What would a fairy be doing here?” Akito asks. “And he doesn’t have wings.”
“T-tore…” he says. Something flashes into his mind, a very early memory. “They… tore… them off.” They’d done it multiple times, to study a fairy’s regenerative ability. Vampires could heal faster than humans, but fairies could regrow entire limbs.The Doctor had torn off his wings in various ways to see how long it would take them to grow back.
He’s breathing heavily, and spots are dancing in front of his eyes. It’s too much… he can’t. He can’t .
And then it's dark.
~
Akito never knows how to feel when he’s called into the Prince’s office. He’d normally be apprehensive about speaking to the children of the four Vampire noble houses, but… he has to do something.
“What did you want to ask about Akito?” Prince Kamishiro asks.
Akito takes a deep breath. “I’d like to remove the fairy from the dungeon.”
Lady Asahina glares at him. “He’s dangerous. He was working for Melor.”
The Prince’s Court had received word that Tetsuya Melor, a disgraced scientist from Asahina territory, may have been responsible for various unethical experiments and disappearances in the capital, and so they had raided the place.
They’d only managed to save a few papers from the fire.
“He was tortured,” Akito says. “And he stopped fighting!”
“He also killed several knights before then,” Lady Asahina points out. “Even if you’re right and he was tortured and brainwashed by Melor, he still might be unstable.”
“So, what if we show him we’re safe?” Lord Aoyagi suggests. “I think Akito’s right, I think if we approach him slowly we can get him to calm down.”
“That’ll be difficult. From the second he woke up he’s been snapping at everyone who tries to bring him food,” Lady Shimizu says.
“Let me do that at least!” Akito says. “I don’t know why but he said he wanted to protect me.”
Lady Shimizu glares. “When he kidnapped you?”
“He didn’t kidnap me, I just wanted to see where he was going,” Akito says. “I was never in any danger even if he was hostile.”
“I think we can let Akito be in charge of him,” Prince Kamishiro says. “If you can speak to him without him lashing out. We need to figure out how he got here. The border to the Fairy Kingdom has been closed for a decade.”
Akito breathes a sigh of relief. “Thank you, your highness, I won’t let you down.”
He leaves right away, bringing down food to the dungeons.
“Hey, I’m relieving you,” Akito says.
“Be careful sir, he’s been on edge for a while.”
“I’ve got it.” Akito takes the keys from the guard and heads into the fairy’s cell.
The fairy jerks upward, but relaxes when he sees him. “Akito… are you… ok?”
“Yes, I’m alright. I’m sorry about this situation, I think if we can prove you're not dangerous they’ll allow me to move you to an actual room,” Akito says, unchaining the fairy and handing him the food.
“Will you… come back?”
Akito nods. “I’m going to come back.”
“Good. I… need… to…”
“Protect me, I know?” Akito says. “Why is that?”
“I don’t… know… I just… have to.”
“Do you remember anything? How did you end up here? What were you doing before?”
“Before…?”
“Before you were taken by Melor,” Akito says.
“It… hurt…” the fairy says. “The furthest… back… is pain. I… wanted… to die. But…”
“So you have no clue who you are?”
“No…”
Suddenly he seems to remember something. He pulls a chain from around his neck with a gold ring on it.
“I have… this…” the fairy says. “It’s… the only thing… that doesn’t… hurt.”
“Hurt?” Akito asks. “What do you mean?”
The fairy rolls up his shirt revealing some sort of prosthetic brace going along his arms. “I need them… to walk… but they’re iron…”
Akito winces in sympathy. “I’ll see what I can do.” He takes the ring and the finished plate. “I’ll be back soon, I promise.”
~
He feels a pang of distress watching Akito leave, like despite his promises, if he takes his eyes off of him Akito will disappear.
Still, he understands that he can't go, so he just waits in the dark.
All of a sudden, his lack of memories is distressing. He wants to know why he has to protect Akito. He wants to know who that ring reminds him of, and why it’s a comfort.
He wants to know his own name.
He closes his eyes and tries to think back.
“You know there were old stories that your kind aren’t simply harmed by iron,” The Doctor says. “But it was meant to bind you, make you subservient. But I never knew the old stories were true.”
He’s so tired. He’d long forgotten why he’d been fighting the pain, so now he simply does as he’s told. The Doctor’s words don’t mean anything to him, he doesn’t have to care about them.
His eyes wander to something on the Doctor’s desk. A glinting piece of metal that looks different than the iron that’s all over this place.
The Doctor is proudly talking, focused on his own brilliance, so despite the tiredness and pain, he manages to reach out and grab the piece of metal.
It’s a ring.
Huh.
Looking at it, he feels warm. It reminds him of someone.
And he slips the ring into his pocket before the Doctor can do anything.
“Hey, are you ok?”
He opens his eyes to see Akito is back, and instantly he feels better. Then he notices Lord Aoyagi and another person he doesn’t recognize and he glares at them.
As soon as he’s unchained he puts himself between Akito and the newcomer.
“Hey, hey it’s ok, it’s ok.” Akito says. “This is Prince Kamishiro, he’s going to help Lord Aoyagi and I take you to the infirmary.”
“Why?”
“We want to remove those braces,” Prince Kamishiro explains. “I’ve read that iron blocks fairies’ ability to heal. I think if you got something else then you could regain your memories.”
“No.” He says.
“Huh, why not?” Akito asks.
“If… I can’t… walk…. I can’t… protect… you.” He says. “If… something… happens….”
“I’ll stay with you in the infirmary,” Akito says. “That way you can be sure I’m safe.”
Akito seems certain, so he follows him.
There he lies down, and with the help of Prince Kamishiro and the palace doctor, they pull off the prosthetics.
Everyone winces at the raw mess that’s left beneath them, but he’s mostly focused on using his one good hand to grab onto Akito.
“It’s alright, I promised, ok?” Akito says.
Prince Kamishiro nods. “It shouldn’t be hard to make new versions of these, just some magic and steel. Toya-kun, please prepare a place for Akito to stay overnight.”
“Should I also inform Lady Shimizu that you’ve ordered Akito to stay with the prisoner for the time being?”
“If you would be so kind.”
They leave, and the doctor turns to him. “Hello, I’m Dr. Kaito Aoyama, but everyone just calls me Kaito.”
He doesn't realize he’s squeezing Akito’s hand until Akito squeezes back.
“It’s ok,” Akito says. “Kaito’s a good doctor, he won’t hurt you.”
He nods, but feels a pang of guilt. He’s supposed to be keeping Akito safe, isn’t he?
“I think we should give you a bath,” Kaito says. “It might help the burns. I haven’t read anything about iron poisoning leading to infections, but the palace’s collection of information on fairies is much too short.”
With Akito’s help, they carry him to the bath. Akito pulls his shirt off and flinches at the sight of his back.
“What’s… wrong?”
“Your wings,” Akito says distantly.
“I… told… you?”
“I know, it just looks worse than I expected.”
They’d stopped growing back around when he had to start wearing the prosthetics. If they grew back, would he even know how to fly?
In the bath, Akito and Kaito help wash off the dirt and grime. Without the iron on his skin, the water feels… freeing. Like it’s natural for him to be here.
“Huh?” Kaito gasps.
“What is it?” Akito asks.
“The wounds, they're healing,” Kaito says. “Slowly, but they’re definitely… are you a water fairy?”
Water… fairy? That sounds right.
“I… like… the water,” he says. He sticks out his hand and the water moves to put out the nearest fire.
“W-well you don’t have to turn out the lights, but this is good! Fairies heal best when near they’re associated element. If we could get him to a river or a lake or something, that'd be even better.”
Akito’s busy relighting the gas lamps, but he nods. “Put it into a report to his highness.”
He feels much better once he’s bathed and in fresh clothes.
“Oh hey, by the way, Lady Asahina said she found a match for your ring!” Akito says, giving it back. “She says it’s most similar to the design used in merchant families for weddings.”
Merchant? Wedding? He doesn’t know about the merchant thing, but he does know the idea that he’s married feels right. That there’s someone waiting for him.
“Can… you… help me…” he asks, and Akito gets what he means. Akito slips the ring onto his ring finger.
It feels right. It’s been missing for so long. Who is the person with the other ring? Where are they?
Akito yawns, and something on his other hand catches the light.
“You… have… a ring… too?”
Akito looks down. “Oh, it’s not like yours, it was a gift from Lady Shimizu when I officially completed my training to become her butler,” Akito says. “You shouldn’t touch it, it’s iron.”
“Take… it… off…”
“Huh, is it hurting you? I’m sorry, I didn’t realize–”
“No… you…”
“What?”
“It’s… hurting… you…”
Akito looks confused. “No, you’re confused. I’m a human, iron doesn’t harm me.”
“...Human?” He frowns. He’s certain Akito should take that ring off.
“I’m sorry. I’ll wear gloves if I’ve accidentally hurt you, but Lady Shimizu will be very angry if I take off her gift,” Akito says. “A-anyway, you should get some rest, iron messes with your ability to heal, right? Without the prosthetics you might start to remember something.”
“You… won’t… leave?”
“No, I gave my word,” Akito says. “But–”
“What is it?”
“Nothing. Good night.”
The constant pain from the prosthetics is gone, so he finds it easy to drift off to sleep.
~
Akito… doesn’t know what this feeling in his chest is. He should have realized sooner, the fairy didn’t really want to protect him, he’s mistaken Akito for someone else.
Another fairy, given his reaction to the iron ring. That’s the only way that makes sense.
Akito grew up in the slums before ending up in Fuyune’s service, where he was bullied and put upon for being a weak human daring to take a position that should by all rights go to a vampire.
He… he can't be a fairy, if he were a fairy he could have done something about his suffering, he wouldn’t have had to make a deal with Fuyune to keep Ena safe.
Even this fairy, injured and in constant pain as he is, had managed to kill several knights before spotting Akito and ignoring his orders. If Akito were a fairy he’d certainly be stronger.
No, Akito isn’t who the fairy is meant to protect. Soon he’ll get his memories back, and hopefully he’ll find that person and they’ll be free to return home.
So why… why does the thought of never seeing the fairy again hurt so much? Why does something feel missing?
Akito doesn’t want to see him hurt, above and beyond his treatment at the hands of Melor being horrific. The fairy’s well-meaning desire to protect him feels nice, even if he doesn't need it.
It’s almost like…
Ah, Akito thinks, there it is.
The fairy is like Ena, when they were little.
She constantly nagged him to be safe when he went out to work odd jobs at night. He found it annoying at the time, but he knows she was just protecting him.
Hell, she’d tried to fight off Fuyune Shimizu to keep her away from Akito.
She’d begged him to not take Fuyune’s deal, but Akito had done it because it was the only way Ena could get out of that place. After so long being protected by Ena, he wanted to protect her.
Akito sighs. Wherever she is, she’s probably cursing his name still.
He misses her a lot. Not enough to wish she was anywhere near the mess that is his life now, but still.
Now that he thinks about it…
The furthest back he can remember is Ena sobbing over him, begging him to wake up. They were… someplace dark, but there were strange bottles and needles everywhere.
Akito blinks. What reminded him of that? The circumstances of how they came to Shimizu had never bothered him before.
Akito looks and sees the fairy is fast asleep, still holding his hand. He’s so tired. Lord Aoyagi should be back soon with another bed, but maybe he can just… drift… off…
~
“I don’t wanna go back!” Aki cries. “I wanna perform too!”
“Maybe if you’re as good as me and ——” Arata laughs.
“Waaah! —— , Nii-chan’s being mean to me!”
He laughs and picks up Aki, then adjusts the hat on his small orange head. “Calm down, we don’t want anyone recognizing us, right?”
“‘S not fair,” Aki hiccups. “Why can’t I sing too?”
“Oh you’ll get your chance,” he says. “You just need to practice. But for now it’s past your bedtime. You don't want your mother to be worried right?”
Aki pouts. Ena’s clutching onto Arata’s hand and rubs her eyes. “Akitooo I’m sleepy! Let’s go.”
“See, even Enanan’s tired,” he says. “Come on, I’ll buy you a treat on the way out.”
Aki settles down, and soon he falls asleep on his shoulder long before they reach the stand selling cheesecakes on sticks.
Ena’s asleep on Arata’s back, and Arata smiles at him.
“Handsome, great singer, good with kids, could Shinonome herself have granted me a better partner?”
He feels his face flush. “I’m the one who hit the jackpot. I mean, who could believe that the fairy I met in the woods would be–”
“Nngh.” Aki grunts. “S-stop, it hurts.”
“Huh? Aki?” He asks. “Wake up, you’re having a nightmare.”
“I-it hurts! Help me!” Aki cries.
“Arata, what do I–” he turns, but Arata is gone. Ena’s on the ground, covered in burns and bruises.
“Wh-when’s nii-chan gonna come?” Aki asks. “It hurts so much, —— ”
“What are you saying?” He asks. “Is that my name? Who’s Arata?”
“Help —— ! They keep sticking us with things. It hurts. I wanna go home.” Aki’s full on crying now.
“It’s ok,” he says. “Everything will be ok, I won’t let them hurt you.”
The door opens, and the guards try and grab Aki out of his arms.
He pushes the guard away, biting at their hands when they get close.
“Just take the big one,” a familiar voice that fills him with dread says.
The silhouette in the doorway is Melor.
He puts Aki down and lets the guards grab him.
“It’ll be ok,” he mouths as Aki watches in horror. “Arata’s coming.”
There’s nothing he’s ever felt more certain about.
He opens his eyes, and Aki’s curled up into the cot next to him.
He doesn’t remember what he was dreaming about, but there’s a name on his lips. He furrows his eyes trying to think of it, but then in the early morning light he catches something on Aki’s neck.
A pair of very red bite marks along with other bruises, like someone grabbed him tightly.
Someone’s in the room, he realizes. Lord Aoyagi.
Instantly, he pulls Aki close protectively.
“I-I just brought the cot for him,” Lord Aoyagi says.
“He’s… hurt…”
Lord Aoyagi is confused for a second, but seems to get it.
“Believe me, I’m doing everything I can to help him, but but Lady Shimizu is… very possessive of him.”
“...Lady Shimizu,” he says. He doesn't think he’s seen her, but he knows he doesn’t like her.
Lord Aoyagi nods gravely. He clears his throat.
“You were saying a name in your sleep. ‘Arata’?”
He feels a jolt through his body at that name.
“Arata… are you… the other one?” He mutters, looking down at his ring.
“Are you starting to remember?”
“I think so… Other things too… earlier… you said… Shimizu,” he says. That sounds… familiar. “War?”
“Hm?”
“The Shimizu… fought hard… the most formidable.” He feels like he’s reciting classroom notes.
“The war!” Lord Aoyagi realizes. “You couldn’t have fought in it, you’re too young.”
“I… read about it?” That’s right. The information is too disconnected otherwise.
“Your memories are already coming back?” Lord Aoyagi gasps. “The books were right about fairy healing being formidable.”
“Iron… slows it down…” he says. “There’s a lot… here.”
“In the infirmary?”
He shakes his hand. “Built into the walls. The streets. I can’t… the air doesn’t feel like it should.”
“When destroyed buildings were rebuilt during the war, we mixed iron into the cement and roads in the hopes of warding off fairies. It didn't seem to do much good.”
He shakes his head. “I feel it.”
Lord Aoyagi hums. “Are you saying if you were someplace with less ambient iron, you’d heal even faster? How much can fairies heal in their homeland…?” Lord Aoyagi shakes his head. “No, that won’t work, we can’t even get in touch with them,” he says mostly to himself.
“Regardless, let me move Akito,” Lord Aoyagi says, but he glares and pulls Aki closer.
Lord Aoyagi steps back. “Ok, let me just bring the cot in and then I’ll leave. I have to make sure his highness doesn’t burn the palace down smelting you new prosthetics.”
Soon, Lord Aoyagi leaves, and he turns to Aki.
“I’ll… keep… you safe…” he whispers.
~
Akito's mortified to find out he was clinging to the fairy like a child after a nightmare, so he carefully slips out of his grasp and moves to the cot Lord Aoyagi brought.
There’s a book by the bedside table, and a note.
Rui says he’s finished. Tell us when the fairy wakes up.
I thought you'd like the book.
Akito snorts to himself. Lord Aoyagi is impossibly nice, he almost can’t believe it. What Akito wouldn’t give to be serving under him instead of Fuyune.
But alas, the chips fell where they did.
So Akito pops open a romance novel about a count’s daughter who relived the year of her 18th birthday seven times.
Akito’s not sure what Lord Aoyagi likes about this premise, but the prose is good and the action scenes are well done, so Akito enjoys himself until he looks over and sees the fairy staring at him.
“Hey! You’re up!” Akito says. “Let me call for Prince Kamishiro, he said he finished your prosthetics.”
“Already?”
“The Mad Prince doesn’t slow down when he’s set his sights on something,” Akito laughs.
When Prince Kamishiro comes with Lord Aoyagi, they help attach the prosthetics.
The fairy doesn’t flinch at the steel, and stands up to move around.
“Yes! It worked!” Prince Kamishiro says. “Let me know if you run into any problems.”
“Thank… you…”
“Of course!” Prince Kamishiro says.
“Now, your highness, will you please get some sleep?” Lord Aoyagi asks.
“Toya-kun, you’re so strict with me~”
Lord Aoyagi looks unimpressed and simply herds the prince out of the infirmary.
“I’ll be back in a second,” Akito promises, and he runs down to the kitchen to get some breakfast for the both of them.
He hands the fairy a roll and a butter knife. “Let me know if you need any help,” Akito says. “And then I’ll see about getting you a proper room. I think you’ve proven we don’t need to leave you in the dungeon.”
“We should… leave,” the fairy says, suddenly.
Akito’s taken aback. “What?”
“We should… leave… you aren’t… safe.”
Akito bites his lip. “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t…”
“No, you’ve mistaken me for another fairy,” Akito says. “I’m not the person you’re meant to protect.”
The fairy frowns. “No… it’s… you.”
“I can’t be,” Akito says. “I’m just some orphan.”
“I’m not… familiar… to you?”
Akito’s about to deny it, but the words stick in his throat. “You… remind me of my sister,” he decides. “But that’s why I want you to find the person you’re really supposed to protect.”
“Your… sister?” The fairy says. “Ena?”
“How–” Akito stands up. “I– you’re confused. I’m confused. I can’t–”
He doesn’t know why the thought makes him think of being locked in a room, of Ena crying over him.
“Aki…? What’s… wrong?”
Akito whips his head up.
“Did you hear Lady Shimizu call me that?” He asks. And why don’t I hate that name when it comes from you?”
“No… but… I know she’s–”
“Know I’m what?”
Akito spins on his heel to see Fuyune in the infirmary. Before he can do anything, the fairy pulls Akito behind him and points a butter knife at Fuyune.
“Stay… back…”
Fuyune is unimpressed. “What do you think you’re doing little fairy?”
“I won’t… let you… hurt him.”
Fuyune scoffs. “I wouldn't hurt Aki. He’s my precious butler!”
“Liar… I can tell… you hurt him…”
“And what exactly do you know? You’re some lab rat who can’t even recall his own name.”
“Milady–” Akito starts, but she glares at him, and he shuts his mouth.
“Aki, come here,” she says.
“No… don’t…”
“Aki, are you seriously choosing this fairy over me? After everything I’ve done for you?” She asks, with that tone that sends a shiver down his spine.
She was already mad he’s been avoiding her, but now she’s livid.
“I-I- he’s my responsibility,” Akito says, firmly. He can’t avoid her ire forever, but if he can just smooth this over.
“Ok. That’s how you want to play it?” She asks. “GUARDS!”
Suddenly, several guards come in and Fuyune points. “The fairy is threatening me!” She cries.
The guards move to grab the fairy and Akito tries to stop them. “Stop! Stop it’s a misunderstanding! He couldn’t even hurt her, it’s just–”
A guard shoves Akito out of the way to get to the fairy and the fairy growls .
The flames start cackling around his fingers, and he blasts the guard away.
“Leave… him… alone!” The fairy shouts.
Suddenly Fuyune’s eyes light up like when she’s on a hunt and has finally found a worthy prey.
“No!” Akito yells, grabbing onto her. “Stop, don’t!”
“You should know better than to test me, Aki,” she says.
“This is a misunderstanding, we can–”
Suddenly the flames die down, and the fairy collapses.
Akito runs over to check on him, and breathes a sigh of relief when he’s just unconscious.
There’s a hand on his shoulder.
“The guards can return the prisoner to his cell, Aki,” Fuyune says icily. “You and I have some catching up to do.”
“Ok,” he says, quietly. “Just… the fairy, don’t let anything happen to him. I promise he’s not dangerous.”
“You’re rather audacious, making demands after what just happened,” Fuyune says. “But I guess if you’re very good, I can let it slide.”
“Yes, yes, whatever you want. Just– he needs help .”
Fuyune grins. “Good,” she purrs. “Come now.”
~
By Shinonome it hurts. Everything hurts so much. He can barely think through the haze of the pain. He just wants to give up so he doesn’t have to feel it anymore.
Suddenly a pang goes through his chest. A drive to fight, to survive, to just hold on. He knows it’s not him though. It’s Arata.
Through their bond, Arata is telling him to hold on, and he’s trying. He’s trying so hard.
If not for himself, then for Aki and Ena.
When Arata gets here, then he can save them too.
“Subject’s memory loss is persisting. He seems confused about information received recently.” Doctor Melor’s voice is cold and clinical. “Who are those two to you? Your children? With the fellow you keep calling for? Or perhaps a sweet little niece and nephew? Is that why you don’t want to believe me when I tell you they're gone?”
“Gone?”
“We moved them to another facility days ago, pixie. You kicked and screamed as much then as you are now.”
Aki and Ena aren’t here anymore? They’re gone and he didn’t notice?
“What are you doing to them?”
“Their blood will turn a tidy profit to fund my research, so I can really see what makes you tick, pixie.”
Arata, he thinks, They’re gone. I’m sorry.
Through the haze of the pain he can at least remember how they got here.
How he and Arata had lost sight of Aki and Ena at the festival, how they’d searched frantically until they found the kids being carried off by a vampire.
Arata had stayed to fend him off, and he was supposed to take Aki and Ena back to the palace.
He was supposed to keep them safe.
Instead he failed. There were others, and they shot through his wings. He’d collapsed to the ground and couldn’t do anything as the three of them were taken away.
That was when they woke up in this lab. He fought to take the brunt of their experiments so Aki and Ena wouldn’t have to, but he’d failed.
“Arata, I’m sorry,” he sobs.
There’s a feeling along their bond. Of Arata wrapping his arms around him and saying “it’ll be ok. I’ll come and get you.”
“I hope your Arata comes,” Doctor Melor says. “A marriage bond must be impressive if it still works through all the iron we pumped into you. If your beloved comes, I could have another test subject.”
That makes his blood run cold.
The Doctor wants to capture Arata? No. No he can't let that happen.
If he can’t protect Aki and Ena, he’ll die to protect Arata.
There’s a panicked feeling through his bond, but he focuses on one thing. Letting Arata know how much he loves him before he finally succumbs to the dark.
When he wakes up, he’s back in a cell. Aki’s gone.
He punches the wall. No, could he have failed again?
There’s something burning in his chest and then–
The pressure drops. He hears the wind whistling outside his cell. There’s power humming through him, but in a split second he realizes it’s not his power.
Then the wall explodes.
“What the hell?!” A girl's voice says amidst the rubble and smoke. “Are you insane? You take off without a word to the Vampire capital and blow up one of the buildings! What are you–”
The smoke clears, and his breath catches in his throat. Standing in front of him is another fairy with brown hair with orange streaks, olive eyes, and the most gorgeous crimson wings he’s ever seen.
The crimson fairy ignores the girl and just rushes over to pull him close.
“When I felt you after so long, I couldn’t believe it,” the crimson fairy breathes. “I thought I’d gone mad, but it was real. You’re here. You’re alive!”
The crimson fairy kisses him, and suddenly everything feels right.
He sees a familiar golden ring on the crimson fairy’s hand.
“Are you… Arata?” He asks breathlessly.
“Yes, yes it’s me,” Arata, the crimson fairy – no, his crimson fairy – says.
He looks past Arata to the girl who has brown wings and, who’s carrying a flask of water and a potted plant. The girl puts them down, and they turn into a blue-haired nymph and a pink-haired nymph.
“It’s really you,” the girl says. Suddenly her name comes to him.
“Ena?”
“Yes! You remember?” Ena asks.
“I remember… you…”
“And us?” The pink-haired nymph asks.
He shakes his head. “No… I’m sorry…”
“That’s quite alright,” the blue-haired nymph says. “I’m Shizuku and this is Airi. We’re Ena’s knights. You seem to be recovering from severe iron poisoning.”
“Arata…” he asks “...what’s… my name?”
“You remember my name but not yours?”
“I only… remembered recently… after I found Aki…”
“Akito’s here?!” Arata gasps.
Ena shivers. “Yeah, I feel him. He’s in trouble, we have to—”
Suddenly guards burst into the room, along with Prince Kamishiro, Lord Aoyagi, and someone he assumes is Lady Asahina.
Arata pulls him close and points a sword at them while Shizuku pulls the droplets of water on the ground and forms a bow and Airi expands a stick into a staff covered in peach flowers.
“What is the meaning of this?” the Prince demands.
“I am Prince Arata Shinonome of the Fairy Kingdom,” Arata says. “And I would like to know why my husband Souma Miyata is sitting in your dungeon after being missing for ten years.”
Souma Miyata. He has a name. He has a name . It fits perfectly.
“I thought you said his husband was a merchant,” Prince Kamishiro says, turning to Lady Asahina.
“I thought he was !” she replies. “Certainly we would have heard about a member of the royal family going missing.”
“Your king was informed,” Arata says, coldly. “We let him know immediately, requested his help, and he dismissed us as looking for an excuse to start another war! He said we were lying and heard none of it! Fortunately for him my father, despite his many flaws, is not so impulsive and dropped the matter. My sister managed to escape and make it home, but I thought my husband was dead and my brother was lost forever. Perhaps our king should have been more distrustful, since they were evidently in your clutches the whole time!”
“Brother? We’re not holding anyone else prisoner,” Prince Kamishiro says.
“Liar.” Ena says, and the shadows seem to grow around her. “I can tell he’s here. I can tell he’s in pain.”
“How?” Lady Asahina asks.
“Fairies can form bonds,” Arata explains. “Sometimes it’s through marriage, which is how I found Souma, despite your attempts to dampen it, I presume. In times of great distress, two can also form one to survive. Akito and Ena did so when they were trapped and subject to your experiments.”
“This whole time I’ve known he was alive, I just didn’t know how to get to him,” Ena says.
“Akito?” Lord Aoyagi gasps. “Akito’s your little brother?”
“We had no idea who he was!” Prince Kamishiro says. “Nor about your husband. We have no interest in holding them captive, I’ll take you to him. He’d be in Lady Shimizu’s quarters, we’ll take you to him immediately.”
-
Akito's wrist hurts from how hard Fuyune is dragging him back to their quarters.
He's desperate to try and help the fairy, but keeping her calm is probably the best thing he can do.
She motions for him to sit in front of a table with some wine. He cringes internally. She wants to thin his blood so she can drink more.
She pours him a glass, and he takes it, drinking it quickly. To his surprise, she pours another one.
“I thought you didn’t like—”
“Since when do you question me?” she snaps.
He drinks until she’s satisfied. He feels… strange. Is this her new idea? Drug him before drinking? He doesn’t get it, and he can’t bring himself to care.
“There we go,” she purrs. “Aki?”
“Hmm?” He can’t muster the energy to move as she comes over to sit in his lap. He reaches to try and unbutton his shirt, but she stops him.
“Just relax~ You said you’d do what I want, right~?”
She unbuttons the shirt for him and nuzzles the crook of his neck."It's quite rude how much you've been avoiding me, Aki," Fuyune says. "You're leaving me to starve here. You're so cruel."
She bites into his neck. Her fingers dig into his shoulders so he won't move, not that it's necessary, even with the haze in his mind. He learned a long time ago that squirming only makes her bite harder.
"Have you been talking about me behind my back?" She asks.
"No, Milady," Akito says. "I've never said anything I wouldn't say to your face."
"The fairy seems to have a low opinion of me,"
"He's distrustful of everyone."
"Except you," she says. "Do you know why that is?"
"Because he's mistaken me for someone else."
"Yep~" Suddenly she gets up, lifts Akito, and throws him onto the bed. Throughout it all he can’t find the energy to resist her. "He thinks you're a fairy. Isn’t it hysterical? A little weakling like you," she laughs. "You'd be dead dozens of times over if it weren't for me."
She grabs his wrists and pins him.
"A real fairy is powerful. They can fight for days without stopping. Nature itself will move to protect them. Does that sound like you?"
"N-no." The pain cuts through the haze and he feels like his wrists are about to split in half.
"That's right, because you're a weak little human," she says. "The only one who's ever protected you is me. So you owe me your blood, your life, everything I could possibly take from you."
The pressure on his wrists doesn't let up as she leans in.
"I think you can forget basic facts too easily," she whispers. "What are you?"
"A h-human."
She grabs his hair. "Not what I wanted," she says as she jerks his head forward to feed on him again.
"Y-yours!" Akito says, breathing heavily. "I'm yours, nothing else."
She lets go.
"Good," she says, wiping his blood off of her mouth. "Don't make me remind you again."
Akito’s breathing starts getting shallower as she continues to eat. He should push her off, he’ll die soon if she doesn’t stop, but he can’t.
Everything’s so… wrong. It’s not even just whatever she put in the drink, it’s like the fact that she doesn’t want him to move keeps him from moving.
“M-milady—”
“Shhhhh, I’m making up for lost time, my dear Aki.”
There’s the sound of a door opening, and her head shoots up. “Who dares—”
She dodges a ball of fire. Akito forces himself to turn and sees a crowd of people in the doorway. The fairy and Lord Aoyagi look horrified, there’s another fairy with red wings who’s starting to literally smoke, and someone pushes through the crowd.
“E-ena?” Akito mutters.
“Akito!” she cries, hugging him. “Oh my gosh what have they been doing to you?!”
“What’s going on?”
“It’s ok, the one who looks ready to burn this whole place down is Arata, he’s our older brother.”
“Older… brother?”
“Mhm. And the one who was held here too, it’s Souma, remember?”
The fairy has a name.
“Oh, he can find the real person he wants to protect now,” Akito says. “That’s good.”
“Huh? What are you talking about?”
Souma comes over and kneels next to him. “You’re who I’m supposed to protect,” he says. “I… failed…”
“But I can’t be. Then I’d hafta be a fairy,” Akito says. “And I can’t be.”
“What? Why not? What do you think these are, dummy?” Ena spreads a pair of brown butterfly wings behind her.
“I dunno,” Akito says. “But I’m too weak to be a fairy.”
“You’re not weak, Akito—” Lord Aoyagi moves to take a step towards him, but two girls Akito doesn’t recognize move to block him.
“None of you come near my brother,” Arata growls.
Prince Kamishiro doesn’t say anything, simply stalking over to Fuyune. “What exactly did you do,” he asks.
“I’m enjoying private time with my butler!” Fuyune snaps haughtily. “I don’t know what’s going on!”
“What’s going on is that I gave you too much benefit of the doubt when you claimed to care about your underlings!” Prince Kamishiro says. “Did you seriously kidnap a fairy prince?”
“You dare accuse me of that? I found him in the slums of Shimizu and I took him in. I had no clue he was a fairy.”
“Liar…” Souma says. “You feed on him… all the time… And you… made him… wear this…” he takes the ring off Akito’s finger, and everyone flinches seeing what a raw mess it is.
“Souma-san is correct, I thought you’d have more respect for your prince than to lie to my face, but since you’ve also been hiding a fairy for years, I guess I should have known better!”
Arata crosses his arms.
“Impressive show, but how do I know that you’re not just making her your scapegoat to cover for your own crimes?” Arata asks. “I find my husband in your dungeon, and my brother bleeding, delirious, and bound by iron while living under your roof. Why shouldn’t I take that as an act of war?!”
“T-this is all a misunderstanding!” Prince Kamishiro insists. “We really had no clue! We found your husband being held by a disgraced madman and he was unstable, so we had to leave him in the dungeon. As for Akito…” he turns to glare at Fuyune. “You have my word, had I known what she was doing, even if I had still believed him to be human, I would have put a stop to it.”
“And why should your word mean anything?”
“The prince… made me these… because the old ones were iron,” Souma says, showing his prosthetics. Arata’s gaze softens, and Akito tries to sit up.
“Y-yeah. Prince Kamishiro is nice.” Akito says. “A-and Lord Aoyagi tried to help me.”
Ena gets up and walks over to Arata. “Believe me, no one wants to fight Fuyune Shimizu more than I do, but we can't exactly throw around starting a war.”
Arata puts away his sword. “Fine then. We will discuss this situation civilly.”
Lord Aoyagi breathes a sigh of relief.
“On two conditions: one, you treat Aki, Ena, and Souma in a manner befitting visiting royalty. Second, Lady Shimizu is kept as far away from us as possible”
Lady Shimizu growls, but Prince Kamishiro steps in front of her. “Yes, yes of course!”
He keeps her at bay as Lord Aoyagi motions for the rest of them to follow him.
Arata gives Souma a kiss goodbye before staying to talk with Kamishiro.
Akito can barely move, so Souma lifts him up.
“It’s… ok…”
“Am I… really a fairy?” Akito asks. “I don’t…”
“The iron… made you weak… you’ll be… strong soon.”
Akito feels himself start to cry. “S-souma-nii,” he says, the nickname rolling off his tongue.
“It’ll be ok…” Souma says. “As long… as we’re… together…”
Aki swallows. “I hope you’re right, Souma-nii.”