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I happily blew out the candles on my chocolate birthday cake, waiting for the fairy godparent to appear!
My best friend had turned 18 before me, so her fairy godparent had accompanied her here as well. She had brown hair, beautiful hazel eyes, and the largest smile I've ever seen on her face since she met me. It wasn't a fairy-smile, but a real one!
From what I knew, the fairy godparents were human sized, and they appeared beside you. They always had an unnerving fake-ish smile, hence the term 'fairy-smile.'
Each godparent is made specifically for the person.
So why did mine appear and look like he wasn't paid enough to be here? Sure, he had impeccable taste in fashion—judging off of his clothes—but still. From the once-over I gave him, the fairy who was sitting on the table wore a white mutton-sleeved shirt with a jabot collar, and a dark red vest on top. He also wore some nicely trimmed black dress pants, and shiny dress shoes of the same colour.
"Uh… what's your name?" I asked sheepishly.
"Humans these days," he grumbled, crossing his arms.
"That doesn't answer my question at all," I deadpanned.
"Valerianus, prince of the Fae," he said, putting a gloved hand on his chest for good measure. "Anyways, I was summoned for you," he pointed at me for emphasis, "Because we have a shortage of fairy godparents." Yet he didn't get off the table.
"How the hell does that happen?" Vale, my best friend, asked. And he hadn't gotten off the table.
"Oh—well, apparently humans aren't happy enough," Val said dismissively, with a wave of his hand. He wasn't off the table, which really pissed me off.
And I was confused.
He looked at us both like we were stupid. To him, we probably were though, so I kind of get it. But still, he needed to get off the table.
"The fairy godparents are manufactured. From human happiness," he said slowly, as if explaining to a toddler.
"Can you please get off the table? It's bothering me so much right now and I don't think I can listen anymore until you sit in a damn chair, please and thank you," I said.
He hopped off the table with a surprising grace, and summoned a chair to sit beside me with a snap of his fingers. Oddly skinny, I thought.
I got a closer look at his face. Tired, pitch black eyes and pale skin, with short, messy black hair that was probably bedhead. His four black wings were shaped like leaves, with gold patterns etched on them.
Why he kinda…Nope. No way. Not in a million years.
"Good lord, you're insufferable," he complained.
"Thank you, I try my best," I joked.
He gave me a look, and sighed.
"You know what the function of a fairy godparent is, yes?"
"Yeah. Basically like the advice-giver you desperately need for adulthood. They're like 'don't date that guy', or 'that place seems iffy', right?"
"Wow, I'm impressed," he said. Vale snickered.
"Vale, seriously? After all I did for you, this is how you repay me? By laughing at my suffering?" I was being overly dramatic, and I knew it. Vale cackled like a madwoman, while her fairy godparent just stood there, watching her.
"If they're manufactured…then how are they tailored to each individual?" I asked Val.
"Fae signatures, my dear." His voice was oddly nice to listen to. He had a slight British accent, and a silky smooth voice. Oddly expressive as well, it changed with the words that he said.
"Hm?"
"Well, humans and Fae had… a mild disagreement—" He averted his gaze, and focused intently on my floorboards.
"Bullshit," I cut him off with that, and added, "I know there was a war."
"What?—Ryo, we were never taught this! How would you know?"Vale exclaimed.
"He was sugarcoating, obviously," I said.
He looked pissed.
"You're right, there was a war. In exchange for our survival, humanity made us manufacture the godparents. Still on a binding contract to not interfere politically though," he explained reluctantly.
"Then you placed signatures on everyone without us knowing?"
He nodded.
"The godparents are a blank slate, right?"
"Yes, but they shift accordingly to respond to the signature that they were embedded with."
"And that's the same signature as their human?" I was slowly starting to understand.
"You're a fast learner, aren't you?~" The prince smiled at me, and he looked at me approvingly.
The last time I was told that, my mother looked at me with pity instead.
"Thanks," I said, but it sounded wrong, like taking credit for something that was never mine.
Vale noticed, and watched the Faerie carefully.
"I suppose I'll have to learn about you slowly, right?" He asked, more quiet and sincere than before.
I nodded.
"Well then, Ryo, have fun with me as your godparent!"
That sounded fake as hell, but I wasn't going to tell him that. It technically wasn't a lie, after all.
The four of us went and sat on the sofa to watch my favourite movie. I turned on the TV with the remote that Vale passed to me.
I was squished in between her and Val, with barely any room. Vale's godparent slung an arm around her shoulders, probably trying to provide warmth.
Val tried to sit on the armrest multiple times, and gave up after the 5th try. He seemed to be on edge for the duration of the movie, probably due to my proximity.
Understandable, I thought.
Once the movie was done, Val didn't smile like he did when he appeared. Instead, he had a blank expression.
I gave him space, and told Vale to give him some too. If I was right, then he must've needed it.
She went to the table to cut the cake for me, and her godparent steadied the hand that was holding the knife.
I watched them with a blank gaze.
"Ryo, come on! It's your birthday after all!" She grinned, but I felt like she was trying to compensate for something.
I headed over, and put my first slice into a paper bowl.
Vale passed me a fork that she had for some reason, and I took a forkful of cake.
The chocolate melted in my mouth just the way I liked it, but I still felt a little uneasy.
Vesper was still near the sofa.
I left my plate on the table, and walked over to Vesper, making sure to be as loud as I can.
"Hm? What could you possibly want, Ryo?" He looked at me blankly.
"I can't do something out of the goodness of my heart?" I joked, trying to ease the mood.
"Yeah, I'd have to kill you on the spot then. Your signature holds enough negativity to kill off a small portion of the Fae, should you choose to weaponize it."
I felt offended, shocked, and also remorseful at the same time. But if I can weaponize my negative emotions…then I'd be getting rewarded for my suffering! And also, I don't do things if there isn't a long-term benefit.
I grinned. "Well, when can I start?"
Vesper sighed. "You really are fucked up beyond return," he said as he shook his head.
"What? It can't be that bad," I reasoned.
"Do you think a normal person wants to get rid of their father entirely?"
"Maybe it's a little bad," I admitted.
"Biggest understatement I've ever heard. But you don't have to worry about judgement with me~" He put a hand on his chest for dramatic effect, and winked.
"…Anyways, reading signatures. What's that like?"
"It's the events of your entire life and the emotions associated with each event," he explained.
I remained silent. This Faerie knew my entire life story, even the things that Vale didn't know. To make a long story short, I was fucking terrified.
"You…know," I managed weakly.
He nodded. "Sad to see that that was your first heartbreak, Ryo."
"Well, he can go fuck himself," I said.
"Your heart is quite bitter," he stated. "Once you die, it won't taste good to the Fae."
"They…eat our bodies?"
"Yeah, and we suck the soul out. That's what rigor mortis actually is."
"Are you guys cannibals?"
"Why the fuck would you ask that?" He looked appalled. His wings fluttered as he floated in the air.
"…Just wondering?" I said sheepishly.
Vesper facepalmed, and went down the hall to look for a bed.
I told him to go to the second door on the left side. That was Vale's room, but he didn't need to know that.
"…What the fuck did I just witness," Vale asked.
"Me," I replied confidently.
She sighed, and muttered about not being paid enough.
I went into Vale's room, and Vesper was sleeping peacefully. Or, it looked like he was at peace.
He slept on his side, hugging a pillow. (Honestly, valid.) His features were softened, in a way, and his wings fluttered every few minutes. Maybe that was like snoring in the Fae realm?
I sat in Vale's chair in front of her desk, and grabbed a piece of paper. I stole her pencil, and drew some doodles of him sleeping. It was a great way to practice drawing side profile bodies, after all.
His messy hair covered his eyes in my drawing, and he smiled softly. I drew that mainly because…
Well, no need to dwell on that.
I tried getting the wings as accurate as possible, and I think I did a good job.
Vesper woke up soon after, and I covered the paper with my arm reflexively.
"Can't be that bad," he yawned.
I left the paper on the table for him to see, and I got out of there as fast as I could.
I turned on the TV again when I sat on the sofa, and I picked an episode of a show I hadn't watched.
"Ryo?" Vesper called. "This is… really good! Thank you!"
I could almost see the smile on his face from a room away.
What hit me most was that he sounded genuinely happy. Believe me, I know the difference between fake happiness and this real, childlike one.
He came to the living room soon after, and sat close to me on the sofa. He left me with a respectable 6 inches of distance, thankfully.
We binged the show together, and he summoned tissues when I needed them.
Maybe this Faerie wasn't so bad after all.