Archive of Our Own

"Magic is beautiful. But so is the fleeting nature of human life."

— Frieren: Beyond Journey's End

✿

Koutarou always believed in magic.

She had never experienced anything sort of close to the depictions of magic she had heard about or read in books. Her journeys across the lands were mostly plain, and the only thing that ever got close to getting out of the ordinary was when she met another paladin like herself, travelling through woods or climbing the northern mountains—those she tried to avoid as best as she could, selecting her duties mostly according to the place where it would send her.

When she did not meet another soul, nothing in her endless walking and hiking could be considered magical, though she tried her best to see magic in the things she did—finding a stream where to collect fresh water, plucking a pretty flower and tucking it behind her ear, carrying its perfume with her for a day, and even trying to pet a deer when she crossed path with the graceful animal, each time disappointed when it fled at the very sight of her.

Nevertheless, Koutarou believed in magic, even though the average person thought otherwise, and her own experience could not prove them wrong. She believed in magic because it made people dream at night; because thousands of books that were written in the lands talked about magic, as well as countless tales that had reached her generation; because people's eyes shone when they would tell her about magic, and some experience of a peer of theirs that had got close to it.

There was no proof that magic existed, yet it made people's lives brighter and their hearts warmer. So, Koutarou believed in magic—because she loved how the mere thought of it shaped the world in a different, beautiful way.

✿

Abandoned villages were a common thing in the lands. Most of those Koutarou had the chance of passing by during the last months she had been travelling had been empty of souls, with only a few exceptions at the intersections of the main roads of the region—those she had parted from long ago to venture deeper in the heart of the lands, where human life had slowly withered away.

Koutarou's boots left traces on the ground with each step she made, trampling on the grassy land and avoiding wildflowers as much as possible. Her belongings were heavy in her travelling backpack, and she wiped sweat that had collected on her eyebrows. She looked up from the green land—it was slowly awakening, as winter retreated and left spring reign over the world, twirling in its flowery dress and sowing the seeds of life with its dewy hands—and caught sight of the roofs of rows of houses sleeping soundly in the valley down which she was walking. Hopefully this one would be inhabited for once…

Unsurprisingly, the village turned out to be just as silent and petrified as the rest of the villages Koutarou had been staying in since she left the central lands; but as she walked down the narrow road leading to the hamlet, she could sense that something about it set it apart from the places she had visited so far. It didn't take her long to guess what may have brought up this feeling.

This village—not that this was a feature specific to it—was invaded by plants. Nature had seized its rights over the vestiges of human civilisation: vines crept up house facades and snuggled around the remains of the tower of a temple, trees had grown branches that sheltered even the roofs of the highest dwellings of the village, even bushes that once formed disciplined lines along roads now thrived on the once trodden grounds, invading the labyrinth of alleys linking the old square to the extremities of the village and its most secluded edifices.

Again, this was no unfamiliar sight for the paladin who had seen ruins nearly disappeared beneath a curtain of thick greenery hundreds of times before; and still, wandering through those empty streets felt like breathing fresh air.

Colours greeted Koutarou wherever she went—on the paved roads, where wildflowers found soil to grow in the space between cobblestones; on walls, where wisteria trees hanged their purple fragrant clusters; along the alley she was following, diving into an abyss of luxuriant vegetation and leading her to a remote building.

The house whose courtyard she walked in was big and wore the charm of old dwellings, although the wildness of the place let the traveller know it was just as deserted as the rest of the village. Plants had grown in the cracks of the stone walls, and roots stretched and reached for the sky, flipping cobblestones over and piercing the dirt ground where the alley turned into a thriving garden.

There, flowers formed a waltzing rainbow of colours, gathering in bright bouquets or hanging to the branches of trees, making Koutarou's mind swirl from the bright sight and the rich scents of the place. She ventured deeper in the garden, discovering poppies and lilac here, tulips and daffodils there. Roses bordered a side of the house, and flowerbeds composed of crocuses and dandelions unfurled around the building, bathing in the sunlight that filtered through the branches of a few fruit trees in bloom—cherry and peach.

Koutarou had never beheld such a beautiful sight. Perhaps this was the reason why she felt that this place was different from the places she had seen before.

The paladin rounded the house, looking around as she made slow progression toward the back of the house, marvelling at the profusion of flower species that raised their bright, delicate petals to the sun. There were myriads of them, so many that Koutarou wouldn't be able to count them even if she tried—she would have to be content with simply gazing at them.

The fragrances and colours were slowly and traitorously going to Koutarou's head, so much so that she suddenly stopped in her tracks, staring in front of her for a solid minute before taking in the new sight before her, which she had been blind to until now.

In the middle of the garden, joined to the dwelling, was a greenhouse. It was large, perhaps even bigger than the house itself, and the glass walls were dusty and covered with plants, both from the inside and the outside, making it hard to catch a glimpse of what secrets nature had hidden between these walls. Koutarou stood there for a moment, just looking at the greenhouse—that was something which she had undoubtedly never seen before.

The solemn nature of the greenhouse intrigued Koutarou. How come such a majestically beautiful dwelling was abandoned? The scent of the flowers surrounding her, the light filtering through the leaves of trees and shining down on the glass, the secret things hiding behind those dusty, translucent walls, it all lured her inside the greenhouse—after all, wasn't this the hallmark of the traveller? As she dropped her backpack to the ground, the paladin decided she would indulge in a few hours of exploring.

Koutarou soon discovered it would be no use trying to get inside the greenhouse through the regular entrance: the hinges of the door that linked the edifice to the garden were rusty, making it impossible to open it. Besides, this entrance had not been spared by the forces of nature, which jealously kept the door locked, weaving thick, thorny branches over a whole facade of the greenhouse. Koutarou would not be able to enter the building so easily.

The paladin, not in the least discouraged by this failed attempt, resolved to search for another way to enter the greenhouse, rounding it several times and observing it from every angle. After a few minutes, she spotted an open glass panel on the sloping roof of the greenhouse, allowing fresh air into the edifice. Koutarou perked up at the sight, and looked around for something that could help her reach that entrance.

She soon found an old ladder behind the house that had been put away against a wall. She carried the ladder to the greenhouse, using it carefully to climb up the building, grabbing branches that crept up the glass facade when she reached the top of the ladder to help herself up. She moved carefully over the roof of the greenhouse, avoiding glass panels that seemed ready to shatter at the slightest touch, and crouched down in front of the open panel. She pivoted it, throwing one look down, and jumped into the greenhouse.

The fall was higher than Koutarou had expected: fortunately, large, soft bushes covered the ground where she landed, preventing her from crashing on the solid ground. The traveller sat up amidst the branches, rubbing her back with a grimace and slowly standing up—thanking the bushes for catching her, and her armour for absorbing a part of the impact. Koutarou dusted her pants and took a look at her new surroundings—gasping at the sight before her.

Between the walls of the greenhouse grew the most beautiful species of flowers and plants she had ever seen in her life. She did not recognise any of those species—everything was just so new, every tree and flower something she had never laid her eyes upon before. Koutarou wanted nothing more than to take a closer look at every single plant she could see. Tingles coursed through her body, the excitement of the exploration getting to her. She crouched in front of a patch of tiny, bright orange flowers with pink, curving pistils, before gasping as she looked up to see a shrub with leaves that were shaped like sea shells. She saw large, purple fern plants, and pearly white fruits hiding between the petals of a huge blue flower.

Koutarou felt like a child as she contemplated her surroundings, awe making her chest swell. She walked around a fountain that was full of limpid water and along the small alley that twisted through the greenhouse, grinned widely as she could barely contain her wonderment. She walked faster, her head whipping around every time she spotted a new species of flowers, making her feel pleasantly dizzy and light.

A traitorous root that had been stretching lazily over the alley wrapped itself around the paladin's feet as she ran without looking ahead of her, and held onto her limb firmly, making Koutarou trip and collapse on the ground. She rolled in the grass, and immediately went to sit up and look daggers at the root.

Only when she raised her head, she found herself meeting the most beautiful gaze she had ever seen in her life.

Shiny blues eyes stared into Koutarou's amber ones. Koutarou's lips parted as she stared at the creature before her. She had silky, black hair that curled in all the right places, and the brightest eyes in the world, where blue and green collided into an oceanic sight. The creature was a fairy, Koutarou realised with a gasp: her wings were folded around her in a shield, and they glimmered as the sun hit them from just the right angle, projecting sparkles over the ground and speckling her skin with freckles of light.

Koutarou's gaze returned to the fairy's face: from where she lied, mere inches away from her, she could see how the light caught in her bright eyes, how her dark locks of hair perfectly framed her face, she could even see the sparkles glittering all over her face. Could she hear the paladin's heart fluttering in her chest? Koutarou's face felt warm, and she could barely breath as she remained frozen in place, staring at this ethereal being that hid in an equally beautiful place.

The fairy blinked fast, staring at Koutarou as her wings slowly moved to protect her curled up body. Her wide pupils hypnotised the paladin—she could easily let herself be lured into being swallowed by this gaze, and she probably would be grateful for that. Those huge eyes had something sharp in them, something that flickered as they looked at the paladin's face, the sword attached to her belt, the garden behind them, and back at Koutarou's eyes. Her body was pressed to the grass, frozen beneath Koutarou's curious, spellbound gaze. She was scared, the paladin realised—of course she was, how could she not, when a human being had intruded her realm and she was now face to face with the danger?—and the realisation had her feel a pang of emotion that slightly drew her away from the fairy.

Seizing the fleeting second during which Koutarou's wonderment dropped with her guard, the fairy recoiled and spread her wings around her to try to scare the paladin off—only she stared at the shiny limbs with equally bright eyes and an expression of pure awe. Koutarou's gaze found the creature's fearful eyes—once again meeting the most beautiful gaze she had ever seen in her life.

Raising her hands to show she was no danger, she went to speak to the most beautiful being she had ever laid her eyes on. "Hey-"

But the fairy was already gone; she fled to another corner of the greenhouse. Koutarou bit her lip and chased after her. "Wait!"

Following her, Koutarou figured far too late, was scaring her even more. At that point, she had already managed to corner the fairy in a place where she could not escape. Now, she was pressed against the glass wall, standing on trembling legs and spreading her wings to try and push Koutarou away. The paladin felt a surge of pity at her display of anxiety—in her own enthusiasm to meet a fairy, a magical being she had merely read about in books, and moreover the prettiest girl she had ever seen, she had not thought that her behaviour might look threatening in her eyes. She stepped back; the fairy's wings twitched in surprise.

"I'm sorry," Koutarou began. She looked down to the ground sheepishly, rubbing the back of her head as her cheeks reddened in embarrassment at her display of eagerness. "I didn't mean to scare you. I should have figured my presence would frighten you." The fairy blinked at that, batting long eyelashes on her tensed face. The lack of response made Koutarou continue. "My name is Bokuto Koutarou. I'm a paladin from the central lands. May I know your name?"

The question startled the fairy, who seemed to make herself smaller in response. Koutarou caught her pink lips moving as she whispered something, barely audible.

"Why… are you here?"

The fairy's voice was like liquid velvet poured in Koutarou's ears. It was both soft and deep, a sound so pure which, Koutarou was sure of it, did not exist outside these glass walls.

"I…" Koutarou took a second and inhaled deeply. The fairy's words echoed in her ears, smooth and enchanting—making her heart beat faster to the soothing rhythm of her voice. The paladin composed herself, willing her voice to remain even despite her excitement. "My visit here is purely by chance. I was heading to the western waterfalls when I found this village on my path. I'm quite accustomed to travelling through empty places, but I can't hide my surprise at seeing that a soul still inhabits one of the dwellings here."

The fairy was silent. Koutarou hoped her answers could alleviate her dread, and that she would trust her enough to offer her a few more words.

"…Keiji."

"Is that your name?" Koutarou breathed. The fairy nodded, pressing her back against the wall and hiding her face behind her wings—they shone as the sunlight filtered through them, making her whole body and the vegetation around her glimmer.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Keiji." Koutarou grinned. Keiji peaked over her wings at the paladin, before averting her eyes again. Koutarou thought she saw the fairy's face get warmer during the exchange—realising at the same time that her own cheeks felt incredibly hot.

That was Koutarou's first encounter with magic.

✿

"…Didn't you say you were only passing by the village?"

Koutarou blinked. "I did. Why?"

The fairy—Keiji, who sat a few metres away from the paladin, shrugged, curled up on the earth bed as she said, "Well, you're still here."

"Oh. You're right."

Koutarou looked up at the roof of the greenhouse, musing over her words. She did have to leave the village soon in order to complete the mission she was assigned near the western waterfalls; only she did not feel like leaving yet.

The traveller could not deny the truth that the fairy intrigued her. Hell, maybe she was a little bit obsessed with her. Koutarou just thought about how incredible it was that she stumbled across such a being in the middle of nowhere; that she had just been there for years, alone in her cage of glass with no one visiting her in probably decades. She could not believe that magic hid in this abandoned village, sleeping with the rest of the ruins while the world around her lived, unaware of its existence.

Koutarou's body buzzed with the need to know more about this fairy— about magic. So much so that it kept her in this village, drawing her again and again to that same translucent building.

Keiji hummed something. Koutarou perked up, staring at her until she sighed, speaking louder. "You're strange."

Koutarou just laughed. "Eh. So are you!"

The paladin smiled, while the fairy looked down at her feet, curling her toes and gathering dirt beneath the sole of her feet.

"Tell me, Keiji," Koutarou continued, "do you know what the village was like before it was abandoned?"

Keiji shook her head. "I've only ever known this greenhouse. I don't remember anything except it."

"Really? So you've been living here all your life?"

"I guess that's right." Keiji's legs unfolded and she dropped her hands on her lap, looking ahead absentmindedly. Her wings were laid on the ground behind her. "I don't know. My memories aren't really the most reliable."

"What do you remember?"

At that, the fairy's eyebrows knit together, and she curled up on herself again. "Why do you want to know?"

"I'm just curious!" the paladin exclaimed, holding her hands in front of her and shaking them to try to dispel Keiji's wariness. "It's fine if you don't want to tell me."

Keiji turned her back to Koutarou. The paladin pouted, feeling hurt that the fairy put so little trust in her—it was understandable, but it still stung.

"I told you," Keiji said in a slightly annoyed whisper, "I don't remember anything—not even the owner of this house. I can only sometimes picture their silhouette, and I'm not even sure if it is theirs."

"Oh." Koutarou crossed her legs, holding her hands together to keep them still and looking at Keiji. "So this is like your house?"

"No," Keiji said, "the door's locked."

Koutarou hummed. The paladin let herself fall backwards, laying with her arms stretched around her and sighing deeply—startling Keiji in the process. "Keiji!" Koutarou shouted. "Let me be your friend!"

Keiji spun around. "What?"

"I've never met someone like you before! You're so mysterious and pretty and you're a fairy! How could I not want to get close to you?" Koutarou sat up in a swift motion, groaning when she felt something pop in her neck from the sudden, violent motion. "You're so cool, Keiji! Please?" she asked, rubbing her neck and grinning at her.

Koutarou stared at Keiji with shining eyes, praying that she would say yes. Now that she knew her, Koutarou could not just leave her in her greenhouse and move back on to her regular life. She had in front of her the living proof of centuries of oral tales and written stories—she was the queen of a dream realm, and the most intriguing woman she had ever met. Keiji had lured her here; why should Koutarou just leave now?

Keiji looked anywhere but at Koutarou as she shrugged and spoke. "If you insist. But I don't—"

"Yeah!" Koutarou exclaimed, leaping to her feet and raising her fists above her head. "My first fairy friend! Thank you, Keiji!"

Keiji blinked, taken aback by such a passionate reaction. "You're… welcome?"

Koutarou took a deep breath in when she had got this burst of energy out. She turned back to her new friend, smiling down at her. Keiji looked back; her soft lips remained shut in a straight line, but something in the way she stared at the paladin, perhaps a flash of curiosity, breathed warmth and giddiness in Koutarou's chest. They were going to be such good friends, she could feel it.

✿

Koutarou kept visiting Keiji after that. Every day, the traveller would wake up in one of the beds of an ancient tavern she had found while exploring the village, and she would nearly run to the greenhouse to find her friend either still asleep under her favourite tree or tending to her garden. There, they would talk for hours—mostly Koutarou, and Keiji would listen, sometimes rewarding the paladin with a hum or a question to signify she was still listening to her stories. Sometimes, when Koutarou was really lucky, Keiji would tell her about one of the plants she was watering.

Time spent with Keiji truly flew by. At some point, Koutarou had lost count of how many days she had spent in that abandoned village, hanging out with her magical friend, just talking to her, watching her, listening to her. Everything about Keiji was just so enticing, the paladin could not find it in herself anymore to continue her journey to the western waterfalls—in fact, she no longer had any desire to leave, for any reason whatsoever. Not when she could stay here with her dear friend, the one soul who had been occupying her very thoughts since she met her.

She would have to leave, someday. Koutarou knew it; but for now, she was happy to indulge in this prolonged stay.

A small smile played on Koutarou's lips as she watched Keiji water a patch of purple flowers. The way she tended to her garden was hypnotising: her slow and careful gestures, the way she cupped water in her palms from the fountain that stood in the middle of the greenhouse and blew on it softly over the plants. Koutarou would always stare with glimmering eyes as the water rained down upon the flowers in tiny droplets that Keiji's breath would scatter in the air, casting shimmering reflections in every direction as they caught the sunlight.

Keiji shook her hands above the plants, so that the last drops of water would fall onto the petals of the tallest flowers—Koutarou gasped as they seemed to unfurl as the fairy watered them, opening up to catch as much of the precious liquid as possible. Keiji scooted over, a small, content smile adorning her lips as she watched her dear flowers blossom in the light. She sat down next to Koutarou, smiling at her. "You always look so thrilled to see me water them," she said, raising a brow.

Koutarou started, and she felt her face redden at the implication of her words—she would need to work on staring in a more discreet manner. "Yeah," the paladin stammered, rubbing her neck sheepishly. "I like to watch you take care of your garden. It's cute." This time, Koutarou's cheeks flushed a bright red. "I mean, the flowers!"

Keiji just chuckled—Koutarou blinked as the sweet melody reached her ears. A couple of weeks before, she would have never imagined she would one day hear Keiji's laugh. She loved the sound of it. She needed to make Keiji laugh a million times more.

Keiji started suddenly as she heard commotion coming from above them. She lifted her head toward the source of the noise—Koutarou watched as her posture grew defensive: her limbs tensed, and her wings straightened, no longer lying limp on the ground behind her. She bit her lower lip in anxiety as she searched for what produced the noise, fear pooling in her eyes.

The two women watched as a bird struggled for a moment on the roof of the greenhouse before taking flight. Its shadow ran over the greenhouse, projecting its silhouette over the ground. Koutarou glanced at Keiji, who stared at the spot where the bird had stood for a moment.

"…Keiji?" Koutarou dared to nudge the fairy, who looked at her.

"Mmh?"

"You've never been outside the greenhouse?" At Keiji's stupor, the paladin shrugged to let her know she meant it as a casual question, but she knew she had guessed right.

Keiji looked ahead of her, staring at the edge of the water fountain with her lips shut in a tight line. "No, I have never."

Koutarou did not know whether this was a touchy subject or not. She attempted to weight the pros and the cons, but her curiosity tipped the scales in its own favour. "Don't you ever feel like getting out of it?"

The greenhouse was silent for a moment, as Keiji collected her words. She looked up at the translucent roof above her head, and for a second, Koutarou thought she saw regret flash across her unblemished face.

"That's funny," she said. "The first time I wanted to get out of the greenhouse, it was because of a bird. I used to love watching them land on the roof, stay there for a while before taking flight again." Keiji sighed. Her wings drooped behind her back as she continued. "One day, I thought I could fly in the sky, above the roof of my greenhouse, just like them." She glanced at the door leading to the garden outside the greenhouse, at the vines that crept up it, at the rusty hinges, the resolute lock. "But I was never able to open that door. As for that glass pan-" she said, looking up at the passage Koutarou used every day to enter the greenhouse, "I was the one who opened it. My wings are not used to fly, so it wasn't easy to reach it. Once I did, though, I was faced with another failure. I tried to sneak out, but…" A shiver ran up Keiji's arms, and she rubbed them, the rest of her sentence dancing on the tip of her tongue, never slipping past her lips.

"Hey! You!"

The two women nearly jumped in surprise. Keiji was the first to spin around, and Koutarou yelped as she felt the fairy's wings brush her arms as they spread, blocking her view. The paladin leaned to the side, just enough to catch a glimpse of the tip of shiny wings and a delicate pink dress.

"Don't look!" Keiji hissed, and Koutarou averted her eyes before closing them completely, shuddering at the shouted words—but she could not get the sight of the tiny wings out of her mind. She heard whispers, and Keiji's distressed words as she spoke to someone who was not Koutarou. The paladin's curiosity was gnawing at her from the inside.

"You promised me to not show yourself," she could hear Keiji said with slight hurt in her voice.

"Did you hear her? She doesn't know what she's talking about!"

"We don't want her to hurt you, Keiji!"

"I know," Keiji said. "But that doesn't mean you should put yourself in danger. I know how to defend myself."

The whispering stopped; Koutarou could not bear to keep her eyes closed anymore. She slowly, cautiously opened one eye.

Keiji threw a glance at the paladin behind her. Her wings were still spread, forming a barrier between the fairy and the human. Koutarou glanced at Keiji's arms, crossed in front of her chest as though she was holding something against her heart.

The traveller nearly screamed as one, then two heads peeked out from Keiji's embrace. The fairy looked down in haste, attempting to hide them, but her companions sneaked away from her hold and flew toward Koutarou who recoiled. Fairies.

Koutarou stared at the tiny fairies in awe. Her jaw had gone slack at the sight of the small beings that floated in front of her, their small wings moving incredibly fast to hold them up in the air. They both wore clothes made of flower petals, a flowing dress for the first one, a shirt and delicate pants for the other; one had neatly braided hair, while the other's cascaded freely down her back. They stared at the paladin with their tiny eyes, but their intense gaze and huge pupils left Koutarou restless.

"Keiji!" one of the fairies exclaimed. "She's even uglier up close."

"Hey?!"

"Yuko, that's not a nice thing to say!" Keiji admonished the fairy with the long hair who stuck her tongue out in Koutarou's direction. Her tiny companion burst out laughing, while Keiji looked horrified. "I'm sorry, they are not usually so impolite."

Koutarou just kept staring at the little fairies. "That's… fine," she said. Yuko turned her back to the paladin. Koutarou frowned.

She looked at Keiji, whose eyes were filled with worry. The fairy looked at her tiny companions who had shown themselves, visibly getting lost in her thoughts. Koutarou cleared her throat, and Keiji started.

Averting her eyes, Keiji crossed her arms in front of her chest. "I'm sorry I hid their existence from you. I… They're so small, you never know what might happen-"

"I understand." Koutarou felt hurt that Keiji had not trusted her to let her know about the fairies' existence, but she knew at the same time that it was a normal thing to do. They did not know anything about each other. It was natural that Keiji was worried that Koutarou might hurt her companions, either by will or not. "So, they're…?"

"My siblings," Keiji said. "I've always regarded them as such, though none of use know whether we are truly related or not."

"I see," Koutarou hummed. "So there's Yuko and…"

"Oh, there are many more of them. Sayu and Yuko and the boldest ones, which is why I made them promise me not to reveal themselves. I feared something like this would happen."

"Keiji, you're making this sound like you can't trust us!" Sayu—the fairy with the braid—exclaimed.

"Well, am I wrong?" Keiji's siblings opened their mouths, before closing them, at a loss for a convincing response. "I do trust you, but I need you to stick to your words. I already worry about your safety a lot."

The two fairies pouted; Sayu's eyes welled up with tears. Keiji opened a hand for her to curl up in, and she held her tiny sibling against her heart. Yuko glanced at Koutarou, who had not moved and watched the scene with soft eyes. She huffed and flew away somewhere else in the garden.

The previous topic was dropped, and the two women spent the rest of the day talking about Keiji's family. She learnt their names, and met the most courageous ones—the others would need more time before trusting Koutarou to approach them. Keiji told the paladin about each of her sisters, their favourite spots to sleep, their favourite flowers, their relationship with the rest of the siblings.

When Koutarou realised that the night had fallen over the land, hours later, she had to stand up and disturb the fairies that were sitting on her shoulders and in her hair. The tiny beings cried as she climbed up a tree that had grown near the open glass pan, gasping as she reached the roof of the greenhouse without falling and hurting herself. Koutarou waved at them through the glass, and they waved back, wishing her goodnight in unison.

As she walked up the alley leading to the village, Koutarou glanced above her shoulder once: in the greenhouse, she could spot tens of shiny dots flying in the edifice, and a taller silhouette watching her leave—knowing she would be there the next day.

✿

"Keiji…"

The fairy, who sat on the edge of the fountain, brushing her hair while listening to one of her siblings telling her a story, sighed. "Yes, Koutarou?"

"Are you sure you don't want to come out of the greenhouse with me?"

Keiji did not answer immediately. Beside her, her tiny sister gasped, and left the two women alone, hiding in a bush with a squeaking sound. Keiji turned to the paladin slowly, as if the gesture required far more effort than she was willing to let on. "You know I can't go out, Koutarou."

"But Keiji! The outside world is right behind these glass walls! Are you not even a little bit curious about what's beyond them?"

"Of course I am. But that does not change the fact that I'm meant to stay here."

Koutarou whined, falling backwards dramatically and ending up lying on her back with her hair splayed around her head wildly. "What if I opened the door?"

"You know it's locked and too rusty for you to manage to make it move."

"You're not funny!… And what about another exit?"

"What do you mean?"

"I can open another glass pan, just like you did! I can even break it if you want!"

"I'd rather you don't break anything. I'll remind you that this greenhouse has been my home for as long as I remember." Keiji dropped one hand that had been in her hair onto her lap. "Do whatever you want, but I highly doubt that all your best efforts will allow me to step out of this place."

"You make it sound as though you were trapped in here!"

"Well, that's pretty much the case."

Koutarou blinked.

They had not talked about it again. Koutarou had drawn the conclusion that when she tried to climb out of the greenhouse, she had fallen and hurt herself; but perhaps she did not know the truth about her attempt at escaping her prison of glass—

"Keiji!" A swarm of fairies rushed toward the two women, interrupting Koutarou's trail of thoughts and startling her. "Aska hurt herself, she needs your help to clean her wounds!" Sayu led the group and she swooped on Keiji's shoulder to get her attention. Keiji started and whipped around.

"Oh dear— where's she?" Keiji asked.

"She fell in the flame lilies and now she says her skin itches and she feels nauseous! Kinoko and Nami stayed with her but they're scared of touching her. She's covered in pollen!"

"I see… Sayu, can you and Moira go find me marigolds? I'm going to help Aska get rid of the pollen."

"On it!"

The fairies split, Sayu and Moira flying to the other end of the greenhouse to find the required flowers. Keiji collected water from the fountain in her palms and stood up, jogging to the spot her siblings showed her, where Aska was still struggling with the pollen.

Koutarou watched her friend leave in a hurry without protesting. Aska needed help, of course, but the paladin could not help but think that Keiji might have used that excuse to end their conversation. She did not understand. She did not know why Keiji would not leave this greenhouse, but there was definitely more to it than the fairy was willing to admit to her.

Koutarou huffed. Well, that did not mean she was right! She stood up swiftly, turned around and marched to the door of the greenhouse.

She stood in front of the vine-covered entrance, glaring at the rust and the dust and the spider webs that veiled the passage, turning it into a cocoon. It seemed everyone and everything except Koutarou wanted to keep this place an untouched sanctuary. Even if Keiji did not want to go out, Koutarou could totally open that door anyway. It would be much easier to enter the greenhouse through the door that had been designed for this purpose than to climb up the building and jump inside the greenhouse through the tiny entrance Keiji had opened.

Only had she underestimated the stubbornness of the vines. Koutarou first tried to tear them away from the door, starting with a huge branch that snaked up the door and reached the roof of the edifice. She rolled up her sleeves, grabbed the branch and used all her might to make it move: she ended up doubling over, lungs panting and hands burning, while the vine stood proudly in front of her, not having moved a centimetre—how humiliating.

Koutarou did not let herself be discouraged by that. The paladin had many more resources. She first tried to work the smaller branches before moving on to the toughest ones—she managed to rip a few weak branches that fell limp to the ground, not without needing to catch her breath afterwards.

The paladin sat down after an hour of work, wiping sweat on her forehead and sighing. She looked up at the vines from her seat—pouting when she realised that she had leaned against the very same branch that had made her a fool earlier. She leaped onto her feet and spun around. She had left her armour in the tavern where she slept at night, but had kept some essential items with her: she retrieved a pocket knife which rested at her belt, brandishing it in victory. "Ha!"

"What is wrong with you?"

Koutarou yelped, nearly dropping the knife on her foot. She whipped her head around to find an annoyed Yuko flying behind her. Today, the haughty fairy wore her hair in ponytails.

The paladin pouted. "Nothing's wrong with me."

"And what are you doing exactly?"

"Is that not obvious?"

"That door's been locked for decades, it won't move."

"How do you know that?!" Koutarou turned back to the door, tightening her grip on the knife. "I just wanna open it so that I can come and go without risking my life every time, is that really so strange?"

"You and me both know that's not true."

Koutarou grumbled. Yuko went to sit on her shoulder and pinched her cheek. The paladin mouthed a small 'Ouch'.

"I don't understand how you can be so obstinate," Yuko sighed, tapping her heels against Koutarou's collarbone.

"You're one to talk." The fairy kicked Koutarou in the side of the throat. "See how easy it is to resort to violence?"

The little fairy gasped. She turned her back to the paladin and curled up on the edge of her shoulder. Koutarou looked down at the blade of her knife, still sharp and clean. With a swift motion of her wrist, she closed the knife and, with the blade resting safe in the handle of the tool, she dropped it. It tumbled on the ground with a thud.

"I know that's stupid," Koutarou said. "But I'm allowed to hope."

The paladin sighed and let herself slip to the ground. Yuko nudged her and Koutarou hummed. "You know, Keiji didn't tell me why she doesn't want to go out. You can't expect me to understand if you're all hiding the reason from me."

Yuko slid down Koutarou's arm and sat in her palm. "I don't think Keiji would like me to tell you. If she thinks you should know, then she'll tell you herself."

"Mmh." Koutarou glanced at the other end of the greenhouse, where she could see the tip of Keiji's wings peek out from behind a curtain of thick plants and bright flowers. A swarm of her siblings flew around her, and she seemed to be holding someone—certainly Aska—in her hands. So she was hiding something, the paladin mused.

"You know," Yuko said, "Keiji won't be happy to know you've been trying to cut those vines."

Koutarou gasped. "You're not going to tell her, right?"

Yuko looked everywhere but at her. "You haven't been too much on my nerves lately so… I don't know. It'll depend on how you behave."

"What?!"

Koutarou tried to catch the tiny fairy, but she sneaked out from her grip and disappeared in the vegetation. Koutarou frantically searched around for Keiji's petty sibling, only to gasp in horror when she noticed her flying toward Keiji. She ran after her.

"Keiji!"

The latter, who had just put Aska down, who was now helped by Sayu and another of her siblings—Ifa, Koutarou believed her name was—turned around to spot her sister waving her arms as she approached. "What's the matter? You're not usually so loud," she chuckled.

"It's because I've got very important matter to tell you!" Yuko exclaimed, glancing back and baring her teeth in a rictus at poor Koutarou who was struggling to catch up with the fairy.

"Really? What is it?"

"You're gonna be so surprised," Yuko mumbled. She cleared her throat. "Ahem-"

"Wait! Don't say anything!" Keiji turned to Koutarou, who had stopped behind Keiji's tiny sibling and panted, resting her hands on her knees as she tried to interrupt Yuko.

The latter did something terribly petty then. She gasped, and grinned at the paladin who just stared at her in utter shock. "She's here! Keiji! I wanted to tell you that Koutarou has something veeery important to tell you!" Yuko batted her eyelashes at Keiji, then at Koutarou—sniggering as she did.

Oh, you little-

"What did you want to say to me, Koutarou?" Koutarou started, standing straight and facing Keiji—beautiful Keiji who watched her with her deep eyes and her pretty smile and her rosy cheeks. Koutarou was at a loss for words.

"I…" Koutarou trailed off. Yuko hummed, while Keiji just tilted her head to the side in an adorable manner that set the paladin's heart ablaze on the spot. "I…"

"C'mon, don't be so shy!" Yuko nudged Koutarou in the arm and flew up to lie on top of her head, pulling at a strand of silvery hair. "Or would you rather I told her for you—"

"No!"

"Koutarou, is everything okay?" Oh, she was lovely. Keiji kept staring at Koutarou, waiting for her to speak and say—well, even Koutarou did not know what. The paladin took a deep breath in.

"Keiji!" she exclaimed. A few of Keiji's siblings started at the shout, and even the fairies who helped Aska clean her wings after her fall in the pollen raised their head to the paladin whose face was beginning to feel—and certainly look—very warm. "I think—" Koutarou continued, overcoming her embarrassment and silently cursing Yuko for her despicable plotting, "that you are very beautiful! And also, I wanted to say I'm sorry for trying to open the door of the greenhouse, but the vines are much stronger than me so I'm giving up!"

Koutarou closed her mouth and clenched her jaw, waiting for… well, an answer, maybe. Keiji stared at the paladin with round, wide eyes, still as a marble statue, while her siblings whispered words that Koutarou could not hear to each other.

Laughter burst out from the assembly. Koutarou's cheeks flushed a bright red as Keiji's siblings expressed their mirth, laughing and looking at her like she was the weirdest person they had ever met. Yuko's laughter was bitter in Koutarou's ears, and the paladin grabbed the fairy that was lying in her hair, holding her above the ground and looking daggers at her, before dropping her—the fairy yelped and flapped her wings just fast enough not to fall into the patch of flowers before Koutarou's feet.

Koutarou froze as she looked up to meet Keiji's gaze, and much more than that. Keiji's eyes were no longer framed by her dark eyelashes, and she looked slightly dishevelled with her lips parted and her cheeks that were at least as bright as Koutarou's. She shook her head to dispel her shock and averted her eyes. She was unbelievably cute—Koutarou's heart tightened inside her chest and she felt her face redden again.

"Well," Keiji stuttered, "I appreciate the compliment. As for the matter of opening the door, I knew you wouldn't be able to get rid of these vines so I let you find out by yourself…"

Yuko's laughter must have echoed throughout the entire greenhouse. Koutarou just gaped at Keiji, who would not look at her and feigned to listen to one of her siblings telling her something. She turned her back to the paladin, her wings twitching behind her back as she kept her head low, talking to Nami about Aska's state. Koutarou stared at those sheepish wings—so she was embarrassed too.

So cute…

"Wait, what do you mean you knew I couldn't get rid of the vines?!" Koutarou whined. "Keiji, do you not think I'm strong?!"

"The strongest…" Yuko said behind her. Koutarou whipped her head around and spotted her flying away.

"You, wait!"

"What do you want—Ah! Keiji help me!" the little fairy screamed as Koutarou chased her through the greenhouse, determined to get her revenge on her. Keiji's laughter reached Koutarou's ears and mixed with Yuko's panicked screams and the sound of her wings flapping and struggling against Koutarou's giant steps. "Stop chasing me! I won't do it again I'm sorryyy!"

Keiji glanced over her shoulder at Koutarou and Yuko—the predator and the prey—and huffed. There was little chance she would trick the paladin again, indeed…

✿

The warmer days were a blessing in the land. Winter was an especially cruel season on the continent, and the cold days usually reigned over the hills and fields for many months during which rain and wind where common occurrences: it was truly wonderful to witness the sun return after such a long absence.

Between the glass walls of the greenhouse, though, the warm days were a curse. That was how it felt to Koutarou, at least.

The paladin sighed loudly, slumping against the side of the fountain and letting her hands dip into the fresh water. The sunlight hit her back mercilessly, and the lack of wind made the atmosphere unbearable. She raised her head and used her sleeve to rub the sweat that had collected on her eyebrows. Her hair, despite being tied in a tight braid so that it was out of her face, left her overheating. On top of that, she felt her clothes begin to dampen from absorbing sweat. It was an absolute nightmare.

"Are you okay?" Keiji hummed—the fairy sat in the water, on the other side of the fountain ledge. "Your face is very red."

"Keiji…" Koutarou whined, "I think I'm going to die."

Keiji chuckled. "Go sit down in the shade," she said, "you'll feel much better."

Koutarou nodded, frowning as she stood up and trudging toward the closest tree. She dropped to the ground with a groan and lied down, relishing in the coolness of its shadow. She heard chuckles coming from the fountain, and she smiled.

After some time, Koutarou leaned against the tree, taking a deep breath in and gazing at the fountain. Sunlight spilled from the roof of the greenhouse, pooling in the fountain and glimmering as the water swirled gently. Koutarou meets Keiji's gaze, watching her from her spot in the water—her face peeked out from behind the edge of the fountain, her gleaming eyes competing with the shimmer of the water surface. Droplets of water beaded on her dark locks, framing her rosy face and cooling down her warm skin. Koutarou watched as they dripped down her neck and collected on her delicate collarbones, swallowing hard and averting her eyes sharply—too late, she thought as she felt her cheeks begin to overheat.

The greenhouse was pleasingly quiet, offering its inhabitants a moment of respite. Keiji's siblings had mostly hidden in patches of grass and under the wide leaves of plants to sleep, as their tiny bodies were quickly exhausted from remaining in the sun on such warm days. The greenhouse now stood empty of their chatter and laughter, replaced by the chirping of crickets and the buzzing of bugs delighting in drinking flower nectar.

Koutarou could hear water splash gently as Keiji moved in the water. The paladin had learned that her friend took great pleasure in spending hours bathing in the fountain and soaking up in the sunlight. Her slender silhouette shone as light spilled down on it, golden, silky smooth skin welcoming the warmth and donning faint red hues. Her wings stretched behind her small back, beautiful and shimmering as she tried to keep them out of the water, failing to prevent the tip of them from dipping in the shiny current. Koutarou could not keep her eyes off the fairy—her soft nape, her pretty face, her gleaming skin, her ethereal wings. She was unbelievably beautiful.

The clearing of a throat snapped Koutarou out of her gazing. The paladin turned her head to Sayu, who was giggling, holding the hand of two of her younger siblings. Koutarou huffed, averting her eyes when Sayu shot her a knowing look. "You're so obvious."

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Mmh, sure." Sayu flapped her small, glimmering wings toward Koutarou so she hovered in front of the paladin's face. "Anyway, look! My sisters want to show you their new clothes!"

Koutarou blinked, and observed the three little fairies showing off their outfits in front of her. She had always been amazed by the fairies' clothing, which was made out of flower petals and similar materials which they painstakingly sewed to create pretty outfits and hats. Koutarou knew they also used this skill to make themselves hammocks to sleep in; they hung them in Keiji's favourite tree, which Koutarou found incredibly cute.

Sayu did a little twirl in the air, encouraging her siblings to do the same, and giggled as Koutarou gasped at the swirl of their dresses. They were made of big petals that overlapped over their legs in a large, layered skirt, and smaller ones were intricately sewed for the top, which wrapped their chests and were adorned with cute off-the-shoulder straps.

"Your dresses are so pretty!" Koutarou exclaimed. "I love them!"

"Aw, thank you!" Sayu grinned. She nudged her siblings who mumbled a word of gratification as well, making Koutarou chuckle. "Did you find what inspired them?"

"I should have found your inspiration source?" Koutarou grimaced. "I have no idea, unfortunately."

Sayu giggled. "My inspiration is right there, though!"

"Really?" Koutarou frowned, and inspected the dresses again. Sayu wore a pink and yellow dress that complimented her bright hair, while her siblings wore similar dresses—one was pink and violet, the other purple and blue. After a while, the paladin shook her head. "Ah, I don't know!"

This time, all three fairies laughed—Koutarou even heard Keiji giggle in the fountain further on, watching her siblings' antics.

Sayu took a deep breath in, puffing her chest and grinning. "The inspiration for these dresses is… you!"

Koutarou gasped. "Me?!"

"Yes! Look!" Sayu approached the paladin's face and pulled at a strand of her hair, freeing it from her braid. She showed the strand to Koutarou who raised an eyebrow in confusion—she did not know what she should be understanding from looking at her own hair. "You really don't know?" Sayu said. "Your hair and our dresses both have two colours!"

Now that she said it, Koutarou finally noticed that the dresses were indeed two-toned, mirroring her black and white hair. She opened wide eyes and exclaimed, "You were inspired by my hair colour? That's so cute!" Sayu grinned, and her sisters laughed while the paladin feigned to faint. "Stop laughing," Koutarou exclaimed, "I'm gonna cry!"

The paladin lied on the floor, throwing an arm over her face to cover her eyes that really started to prickle. Keiji's siblings burst out laughing, dropping on Koutarou's chest and lying spread-eagle over her stomach as their own tummies nearly hurt from mirth. Koutarou laughed with them. Those fairies were truly unbelievable.

✿

Koutarou's eyes fluttered as she roused gently.

The shade of the tree she had been sleeping under had got wider, draping her in a cool blanket that the sun pierced here and there with sharp rays of light. A tiny shiver coursed through her body as she felt a soft gust of wind rush into the greenhouse through the open glass panel in the roof, flying over her body and brushing her skin with fresh, dainty fingers. Koutarou's neck hurt a little from sleeping on the ground—at least her hair, which the fairies had unbraided at some point during the afternoon, had made it a tiny bit softer to rest on—and her eyes remained obstinately closed, hurting from the light that was still bright.

Koutarou could feel something smooth tickling her nose. She did not hear any voice around her, and assumed it must be one of the fairies' facetiae: more often than not had she fallen asleep in the greenhouse and woken up with traces of Keiji's siblings' passage on her, whether it was a pile of tiny stones on her stomach, a crown of flower in her hair or leaves covering her face. The paladin snorted, expecting petals to fall from her nose, but she was instead met with the sound of someone's breathing catching, and the touch on her nose tensed without retreating.

Koutarou slowly opened her eyes, blinking at the light of the late afternoon. The sight above her got clearer, and the paladin locked eyes with another set of dark blue eyes.

Keiji stared back at Koutarou, the tiniest blush dusting her cheeks a faint pink. The fairy hovered over the paladin's body, looking down at her with a mix of fondness and curiosity. Koutarou swallowed hard, but did not move. The ground supported her as she felt a little dizzy from being looked at like that.

You're so beautiful.

The tree above them shivered as the wind waltzed with its leaves. Keiji blinked, not looking away. Her gaze was so intense, deep and unravelling Koutarou on the bare dirt, leaving her limp as an open book she would always be able to read through, no matter the language.

Koutarou did not flinch at that thought. That knowledge the paladin had long since accepted—that Keiji had seized her heart, that the thought of her had nestled deep in the crook of it, and that she was probably aware of it all, of the power which only she had on Koutarou.

Keiji smiled down at Koutarou, whose heart responded at the gesture. The fairy was still as she gazed at her friend lying below her. Her hand, which was still open and hovered above Koutarou's face, her finger brushing the tip of her nose, moved to trace the paladin's cheek gently. Koutarou's skin tingled where Keiji dragged the tip of her finger, feeling her cheekbone under her skin and the slope of her nose that had probably donned a bright red hue by now.

Koutarou had known for a long time that magic did indeed exist, but she had never experienced it in her body as she did now—feeling giddy and warm, yet shivering at the fairy's touch. Keiji truly had her under a spell.

(Koutarou had no desire to break that enchantment.)

"This is unfair…" Bokuto whined, staring at Keiji and pouting. "How can I compete with you?"

"You don't need to," Keiji said, smiling softly. "You've won in my heart."

Koutarou's heart sang loudly in her chest, a choral echoing within her ribcage and shaking her. She took a deep breath in and averted her eyes. "Unfair…" she mumbled. Keiji giggled.

The paladin glanced in Keiji's direction again. The fairy had not moved since Koutarou woke up. She had not dropped her smile, still offering it for Koutarou's eyes to behold. Koutarou thought that she had never seen Keiji this close—perhaps that may be the reason why she felt so lured, so drawn to her now.

The two women remained silent, eyes locked and intense. Keiji's lips were slightly parted. Koutarou felt a little breathless.

The paladin breathed in sharply as Keiji tucked a lock of hair behind her ear, ducking her head lower as she did. She gazed at Koutarou, her smile getting smaller, almost shy. Koutarou's eyes could not tear themselves from Keiji's lips. Slowly, Keiji leaned down.

Koutarou's eyes fluttered as Keiji got closer, hiding the sun behind her silhouette. The paladin was still as a stone, holding her breath as she waited for Keiji's next move. She felt tickles running across her skin as Keiji's soft breath brushed her parted lips, slipping in her mouth and spreading warmth through her whole body. At that second, she could feel magic seep into her, making her dizzy and blissful. It was an extraordinary feeling, fleeting but unforgettable.

Keiji pulled away slowly, smiling at Koutarou who could only stare at her in awe, not sure yet of what she had just experienced. There was only one word she could think of to name it: a kiss.

A fairy kiss, Bokuto mentally corrected.

The paladin giggled. Keiji hummed, questioning her with her round eyes. Koutarou grinned at her, and Keiji shook her head, chuckling.

Koutarou turned to the side, showing her back to Keiji and bringing a hand to brush her lips softly, giggling to herself with pink cheeks. She heard Keiji shuffle behind her, and watched her as she stood up and walked away, soon finding one of her siblings flying toward her. Koutarou saw Keiji glance over her shoulder at her, and she rolled around, hiding her face from the fairy's gaze.

Keiji had shown her a kind of magic she would always remember in her core.

Koutarou hoped that she would be allowed to show Keiji the magic of a human kiss one day.

✿

Night draped the greenhouse in a dark cloak, with the first stars starting to peek out from behind their dark covers and gleaming on the dark canvas; and yet, Koutarou was struggling to leave the greenhouse.

"No, don't leave just yet!"

Koutarou yelped as Keiji's siblings grasped her shirt and pants, not letting go of her even when she jumped up and down to make them lose their grip on her clothes. The paladin whined at their tenacity. "Just let me go! I'll be back tomorrow anyway!"

"No, stay here!"

"We can have a sleepover!"

"In this cold?! I'll fall sick!"

"Keiji will keep you warm!"

Koutarou glanced up at Keiji, who averted her eyes, a blush spreading on her cheeks. "Don't get me involved in this."

The paladin walked toward the greenhouse entrance in spite of the cries of the little fairies.

"Koutarou! If you leave, Nami is going to cry!" Aska argued.

"And then she'll hug me all night and I won't be able to sleep—or breathe!" Sayu exclaimed.

"Help me instead of finding excuses for me to stay!" Koutarou huffed. Yuko turned her back to the paladin without a word, feigning not to hear anything, and Sayu stuck her tongue at her. "Hey!"

"Alright, that's enough," the paladin heard, and she turned back to Keiji, who was walking toward her. She grabbed Aska's waist and tried to pull her away from Koutarou, but the fairy remained stubborn. Keiji tickled her sides, and her sibling yelped, letting go off Koutarou and rushing to hide in the nearest patch of flowers. "Everyone lets go off Koutarou now. She needs to sleep."

"But Keiji!" The latter threw a look at her siblings, who yelped and immediately stopped arguing and holding Koutarou's clothes. They looked sheepish as they flew toward their sister who did not look pleased with their behaviour.

"Thank you," Keiji sighed at last. She looked at Koutarou. "Sorry for the trouble. It seems they're liking you more and more every day."

"The same applies to you!" Sayu muttered, and Keiji started, throwing her a cold stare—her red face betraying her embarrassment. Sayu shrugged and moved to sit on a bunch of leaves woven in a mat on a bush.

Koutarou chuckled. "It's okay," she told Keiji who frowned anyway. "Well, I'm off now," she smiled.

"I'll accompany you," Keiji said. Koutarou's eyes widened.

"Really?"

"I'm not leaving the greenhouse, but I'll climb up to the entrance with you," Keiji shrugged.

Koutarou's chest filled with hope at her words. "Thank you!" she said, looping her arms around Keiji's neck and hugging her firmly for a couple of seconds—just long enough for her to hear Keiji mumble a 'It's nothing' against her shoulder.

The paladin slid her hand in Keiji's and led her to the tree she climbed every night to leave the greenhouse, humming a tune happily as they walked. Koutarou was the first to climb on the lowest branch of the tree, helping Keiji up behind her. They climbed together, branch after branch, until standing right beneath the open glass panel.

Koutarou looked at Keiji. "Well," she grinned, "see you tomorrow!"

"Sleep well," Keiji smiled back at her.

Koutarou turned to climb the last branches to the exit of the greenhouse, when she felt Keiji's hand sneak down her arm and intertwine her fingers with the paladin's. Koutarou threw a glance at Keiji. "Seems like your siblings aren't the only ones who'll miss me," she teased.

"You're right. I will too." Koutarou gasped, but Keiji did not look away.

"Wow." Koutarou turned back to look at the exit above her, and she smiled to herself.

Slowly, Koutarou managed to hoist herself up the glass panel all while holding Keiji's hand, who seemed reluctant to let go of her now—how ironic that she had been the one to tell her siblings to let Koutarou go mere minutes before. She was so cute, Koutarou thought with a chuckle.

Koutarou sat with her legs dangling from the greenhouse roof, Keiji's hand still in hers. "I really need to go now," she chuckled while Keiji pouted. "Goodnight, Keiji."

Keiji blushed and she smiled. "Goodnight, Koutarou," she answered.

Koutarou raised her legs and shuffled on the roof, so that she was no longer in the greenhouse anymore. She was leaning forward, Keiji's grip on her hand still tight, not willing to let go just yet. Koutarou began to retreat her hand, Keiji's slowly slipping away.

Koutarou bent down with the intention of kissing Keiji's hand, approaching her lips of the back of her hand and closing her eyes—blinding herself just as Keiji's hand crossed the threshold of the greenhouse.

Koutarou's eyes shot open as she heard Keiji scream; the fairy stared at the paladin with wide, frightened eyes as she was struck by pain Koutarou did not know the source of.

Koutarou yelled as Keiji's hand slipped from her grip, watching in terror as she fell down the tree she had climbed, flapping her wings to soften the fall in vain. Keiji's siblings gasped, and they rushed in a single, crying swarm to catch her as she collapsed to the ground, curling up on herself and sobbing. Koutarou leaped inside the greenhouse, falling on her feet next to Keiji and crouching down beside her friend who howled in pain.

"What's happening?! Keiji, do you hear me?!"

But Keiji did not answer, she only kept hurting and crying as she lay on the ground, her body convulsing and letting out more sobs. Koutarou's hands shook as she raised them above Keiji's body, not knowing what to do. She did not understand what was happening.

"Move! She needs space!"

Koutarou whipped her head to the side. Sayu and Yuko led Keiji's siblings, who surrounded Keiji's body: some of them had brought water, others carried plants in their arms which they pressed against Keiji's skin. Yuko talked to Keiji with a soft voice as she encouraged her to drink water, while Sayu and her sisters worked to lay Keiji's wings flat on the ground, unfolding them carefully—Koutarou noticed how crumpled they looked now, and realised with a gasp how grave Keiji's state really was.

Keiji's wings that usually were translucent and shone like a prism whenever light fell on them had now turned grey and blurry, and they were streaked with dark lines, making them look as though they were on the brink of shattering like broken glass; her skin looked burnt, as though she had got struck by a flash of lightning.

Koutarou felt sick from guilt. Keiji did not deserve to suffer like she did now—she wanted to be the one to be in pain instead.

"Tell me how I can help," Koutarou asked Yuko, shuffling toward the little fairy who blinked.

"Well," she said, "you can help me raise her head a little so that she doesn't choke on the water."

Koutarou nodded, and scooted over. She sat on her folded legs and slowly raised Keiji's upper body with Yuko's help. She rested Keiji's head on her lap, brushing strands of damp hair out of her face. She brought water to the fairy's mouth, using a small, old ceramic bowl which she tilted slowly so the liquid slipped past her parted lips.

The paladin ran her hands through Keiji's hair as her siblings cleaned her skin gently, rubbing leaves against her neck to soothe the burning feeling. She looked away when Keiji's siblings tugged on Keiji's dress, pulling the sleeves down her arms—averting her eyes half out of respect, half because she was afraid to see the damage that had been done to her body.

She stared at Keiji's face, tensing as pain coursed through her body, petty and electric. Keiji pretty eyes were closed, and her skin was pale, burnt and sweating.

"Oh…" Koutarou whispered, her voice breaking as she kept gazing at her friend. "You're gonna be okay, I promise…" she said, carding her hands through Keiji's hair and using one big leaf to fan her.

Not once did Keiji speak while her siblings and Koutarou worked to heal her fresh injuries. She lay inert on the ground, barely conscious of anything at all. When she fell asleep, after her sisters were done treating her wounds, Koutarou carried her to her favourite spot under the thickest tree of the greenhouse, where her siblings had hung hammocks to sleep close to her. She lay Keiji there, covering her in a soft blanket woven by the fairies themselves, and lied down next to her.

Koutarou watched Keiji's face, her still tensed expression that was slowly relaxing—in her current state, sleep felt probably sweeter than to be awake. Keiji's back rose and fell as she breathed. She may have looked similar to Koutarou in the way she breathed and laughed and smiled, but Koutarou knew something about Keiji made her different from the paladin—something other than the fact that she was a fairy. Tonight, Koutarou had been able to name this impression.

Keiji was the victim of a curse—and Koutarou had no idea how to free her from it.

✿

It took Keiji a couple of weeks to recover from that night.

For ten days straight, Koutarou stayed by her side, helping treating her wounds and watching over her at night. Yuko had to scream at her before she reluctantly accepted to get some rest and leave Keiji under the care of her siblings. It was unbearably painful to watch the fairy hurting so much, but it was even worse to remain passive while she suffered.

Koutarou felt awfully guilty. It was her fault that Keiji had been hurt. She may have not known that the fairy would get hurt if she tried to leave the greenhouse, but that was no excuse. She knew Keiji did not want to put a finger out of the greenhouse, and yet she selfishly pulled her hand out of it even still.

Taking care of Keiji felt like the only natural thing she could do now—as a form of apology, perhaps, but also because Koutarou thought Keiji needed people right now. She needed help from those she could trust, and Koutarou wanted to be one of those people. She wanted to protect her while she was so vulnerable.

Yuko argued that Koutarou would not be able to achieve such a thing without getting a full night of sleep, and perhaps Koutarou would have argued back if she was not falling asleep where she was sitting next to Keiji, who watched her through half-open eyes. The fairy had tried to convince her to sleep, but Koutarou would hear none of it—Yuko knew how to handle the stubborn traveller better than her older sister, who let her make sure that Koutarou would not degrade her own health by taking care of Keiji's.

"Go to sleep now, or I will put soporific plants in your next meals." Koutarou knew Yuko well enough by now to know that this was not an empty threat.

But Koutarou could not sleep well—not when she knew that Keiji had not fully healed yet, and that she could not rest well. Such thoughts kept her awake, and woke her up in a start when she would finally manage to doze off.

Koutarou rested her head on her arm and gazed in the distance. She played the memories of a conversation in her mind for what was maybe the hundredth time already.

The night when Keiji got hurt—that awful night Koutarou wanted to erase from her memory—she had freaked out so bad that Keiji's siblings had trouble to calm her. None of what had been happening made sense to Koutarou, she was utterly lost and scared for her friend who wept in agony.

Keiji's siblings felt sympathy for Koutarou, so much so that they accepted to tell her about the greenhouse, confirming her suspicions about the existence of a curse. It was useless trying to get out of the greenhouse. If anything, it was dangerous for the fairies. A cage of crystal, that was the greenhouse they called their home. It was poison dressed in an exotic, elegant costume.

They told her about the day Keiji tried to escape. She had worked on opening the glass panel for a whole week. With little means, she had spent days and nights scratching the mastic on the panel with a sharp rock she had carved herself, before discovering the panels could be pivoted on hinges that were rusty but still solid. She had been so happy when she had finally managed to open a path out of the greenhouse, Sayu had told Koutarou, her usually bright face looking downcast as she spoke.

The fairies had gathered under the tree below the open the glass panel. Keiji had counted that everyone was there—they had all packed their belongings, and some of them had even cried at the thought of leaving the greenhouse.

Keiji had been the first to climb, leading the way out. She had climbed on each branched with ease—she had got used to doing that—while her siblings followed, flying higher as she reached the top of the tree.

"We're leaving today!" Keiji had exclaimed—and she had stood on the tip of her toes, so that her head was peeking out of the greenhouse.

It had felt like being struck by lightning. That was how Keiji described it to her siblings; none of them had experienced it, but it was what came to her mind when she talked about it with them, months after the incident happened and she recovered both physically and mentally. It had felt like something invaded her body, but it was more than just an intrusion. The shock had drained her of her powers, of her essence, leaving her feeling like she had lost a part of herself. Her body had convulsed before collapsing.

She had woken up weeks later, unable to move or to speak. Her wings, which had always been weak—her height had always prevented her from making use of them, and she had never been able to fly for more than a couple of seconds before falling, exhausted—those beautiful wings had nearly shattered that day. The lines that mapped it, Bokuto had thought they were natural; they were scars. Keiji's wings were never able to carry her weight again after that day.

Koutarou now understood why Keiji had never told Koutarou anything. The very same greenhouse that shielded her from the outside world was also the greatest weapon to use against her. The greenhouse was no paradise, it was an enchanted trap. Anyone ill-intentioned could have easily killed Keiji if they ever knew the truth about this place. If she had never opened up, it was not by choice, but out of necessity.

Koutarou's teeth gritted. More than ever, she wanted to find a way to break that curse. Keiji did not deserve to live in such a tiny world. She had been made for the sky, and it had been taken from her. She would not stand that the greenhouse also took from her the freedom to walk on the earth and see the flowers that grew naturally outside of her cage of glass.

She would find a way out for Keiji. For if curses were real, then there was a way to break them.

✿

A month passed, then another one, but Koutarou had made no progress since she promised herself to break the curse.

She hated having to admit she was running out of resources. She had lay awake entire nights thinking about every single way to free the fairies from the greenhouse, and spent days scouring every library in the village in search of books that might deal with magic, but to no avail.

She had come to the conclusion that breaking the glass walls was too dangerous, for she did not know if it would break the spell or unleash a greater, more dangerous force. She had not been able to identify the source of the curse despite inspecting the entrance for hours—there seemed to be nothing that could sense somebody's presence, no magical barrier that she could break. The greenhouse looked perfectly normal, and it made it all the more nefarious.

Keiji watched as Koutarou worked tirelessly to find a way out. The fairy answered every question she asked, helping her to gather as much information as possible, but even that was in vain. It merely ruled out one hypothesis after another. Koutarou felt as though she was standing and staring at the horizon—walking and trying to reach the end of the world without ever succeeding.

"Have you ever been inside this house?"

Koutarou stood in the middle of the path that weaved through the greenhouse, staring at a wall of the abandoned house leaning against Keiji's cage. Keiji shook her head. "The door's locked, and just as rusty as that of the greenhouse."

Koutarou frowned. "I'm not buying that. There must be a way to open it."

"What are you thinking about?" Keiji asked, raising her voice as Koutarou made a beeline toward the door that was carved in the wall. Koutarou did not answer. She stared at the door—old, rusty, made of glass. The traveller blinked, and stepped closer to it. She used her sleeve to wipe the dust and webs that blanketed the glass, and peeked inside the house: inside, there seemed to be the same furniture as that which she had found in the other houses of the village, but she felt strangely uncomfortable as she looked at those blurred shapes separated from her by the glass. A shudder ran down her spine: she almost felt as though a presence had been locked inside the house.

"This is really mysterious," Koutarou hummed. "And you've never been in there?"

"I haven't."

"Mmh." Koutarou inspected the door closely, looking daggers at the lock. She tried to pull on the handle, but nothing moved, and she was disappointed at the former owner's precaution, for they had not forgotten to lock the door before vanishing with the key. The paladin pulled harder on the handle, in vain—even with Keiji's help, who had sneaked up behind Koutarou to observe her, they did not manage to move the door by even a centimetre.

"Hey, look," Koutarou said then. She nodded at the glass, and Keiji, after looking at her for a moment, pressed her face close to it, squinting in order to distinguish the layout of the dimly lit room on the other side of the door. "Do you feel it too?"

Koutarou saw Keiji shiver, then nod. "…What is it?"

"No idea," Koutarou sighed. "But I think it's worth investigating."

Keiji hummed. "I just hope there isn't anything too dangerous inside."

The only way to find out was to enter the house. Koutarou put her hands on her hips. "I'm going to search for a way to unlock that door."

"Okay. Let me know if you need help."

Koutarou nodded, still looking at the door. Just when she expected Keiji to turn and leave her to work, she felt arms loop around her waist slowly. Koutarou started as Keiji's body leaned against her back, and her face was pressed to her shoulder.

"Thank you for what you're doing," Keiji murmured, the words partially muffled in Koutarou's shirt. "I don't know if this is going to work, but I appreciate that you're concerned about all of us… about me."

Koutarou was breathless; in a second, the magic was gone, just as Keiji retreated and her arms returned to her sides—how right they had felt around Koutarou, and how much she grieved the loss of Keiji's warmth against her back already. The paladin looked over her shoulder and stared at Keiji for a moment, feeling embarrassment paint her cheeks red. "It's… nothing," she mumbled. "I guess I'm doing this for myself as well," she shrugged.

Keiji smiled. "Well then, I'll let you get on what you have to do in peace," she said, and gracefully turned her back to Koutarou, her wings undulating as she walked away. Koutarou swallowed, and turned back to the door, biting back a smile.

The paladin looked at the door defiantly. There were no vines covering that door, and trust her, she was going to find a way to open it.

✿

Koutarou wiped sweat off her eyebrows, and stretched her back, groaning when her bones cracked and her spine unfolded after being hunched for a long time.

She stared at the tool in her hand. She had been filing the bottom of the door so that it would slide more easily across the floor; a particularly arduous task, which required that she took regular breaks to stand up and walk—soothing her body by moving after remaining still and hunched for hours.

"You should eat something," Yuko commented when the paladin leaned against the wall and sighed. "You look tired."

"Do I?" Koutarou mumbled. The fairy hummed.

Sayu rushed to Koutarou, carrying a container with her siblings that was filled with a liquid. "Koutarou! Do you think this will help remove the rust from the hinges of the door?"

Koutarou perked up, and took a look at what the fairies had brought with them. She smelt the liquid, and a strong waft of vinegar filled her nostrils. "This is perfect! Sayu, you did it! You made vinegar!"

"Did you hear that?! We did it!" Sayu exclaimed, turning to her sisters. "We made vinegar!" she shouted, louder, so that her siblings could hear her throughout the greenhouse. Sayu bit back a grin, and put the container down, smiling at her blurry reflection in the liquid.

The fairies had been trying to make vinegar for weeks now, using fruits that grew in the greenhouse to create the solution to most of their obstacles. With that fresh tool, they were getting closer to opening the door. They were not far from finding out the truth—from the fairies' liberation.

"Thank you so much!" Koutarou exclaimed. "This is going to be so useful. You'll see, the rust will come off so easily thanks to the vinegar. The hinges will be clean as on the day they were made!" The paladin turned toward the door, grabbing the container with the vinegar and dipping her sleeve in it, using it to wipe the rust off the hinges. "I might have to pour it straight onto the hinges…"

"Don't use your sleeve, you'll make it dirty!" Yuko admonished her. "I'm going to find something else for you to use."

Koutarou grinned "Thanks, Yuko!" Keiji's sister smiled and flew to the other end of the greenhouse. Koutarou smiled at herself. "I want to surprise Keiji today," she admitted. "Hopefully we'll manage to open the door before the sun sets!"

Sayu laughed. "Hopefully we do!"

It was nice, working together with Keiji's siblings: Koutarou filing the side of the door while Sayu cleaned the rust with her sisters, laughing when one of them sneezed—blame it on the the vinegar, a fragrance much too strong for the little beings. There was an effusion of cries when Kinoko fell in the bowl and came out soaked in the liquid, crying and yelling that her eyes stung; she was taken to the fountain, and Keiji was called by her side, watching over her sister as she cleaned her body—later giggling when Kinoko complained about how she would smell bad for weeks. The fairies took turns helping to clean the door, and near that working area, a group of them were also working on crafting a tool to use as a key to open the lock, which remained the main problem to solve—now that the rust was being slowly eliminated, their arduous task would become easier, for they would be able to start to examine the lock precisely to determine the shape of the key. It was collective toil, and for some reason she could not quite understand, Koutarou loved it.

The evening passed, then night rolled over the greenhouse in a fresh wave. Koutarou sighed, lying down and closing her eyes. She had been sleeping in the greenhouse for a few days now, and kept a blanket somewhere to wrap herself in until dawn, when she would wake up and get back to work.

A nudge in her side startled her. "Koutarou, don't sleep near that door, it's not comfy."

Opening her eyes, she saw Keiji crouch down beside her, gazing down at her softly. The paladin slowly sat up, yawning and nodding at the fairy who looked at her affectionately. "Sorry I couldn't open the door today…" Koutarou mumbled.

Keiji shook her head. "Silly," she smiled. "There's no rush, take as much time needed." Keiji stood up straight and held out her hand. Koutarou slid her hand into Keiji's, letting the girl pull her to her feet and guide her to their sleeping spot by each other's side, under Keiji's favourite tree.

They lied down together on the soft grass, gazing at each other in silence for a while, Koutarou's face peeking out from under her blanket.

"Do you think the source of the curse is behind that door?"

Keiji shivered at the use of the word—a curse, that was the name of the obstacle rising between her and the world outside the walls of the greenhouse. "I don’t know. But I think there are answers behind it."

"We'll find those answers," Koutarou promised her.

"I know," the fairy said, a small, tired smile flashing on her lips before sleep washed over her, closing her eyelids with its velvet-smooth fingertips. Koutarou watched as she drifted to sleep, a tender, resolute look in her eye.

She would break the curse—for the fairies, for Keiji. For they deserved nothing less than the entire world, and Koutarou wanted nothing more than to offer it to them—and nothing would stop her from doing exactly that.

✿

That night, Koutarou slept longer that usual. When she woke up, she did not sense any presence nearby—usually, it was Keiji who woke up last, always grumbling when her sisters woke her up, arguing that it was nearly noon and that she could not let the sun reach its zenith before she had even woken up. Koutarou propped herself up on her elbows, looking around to see no fairy around. She sat up with a yawn, stretched her limbs, and stood up slowly, lurching a bit to the side, still struggling against the fog of sleepiness.

She was drawn by the noise that was coming from a corner of the greenhouse—near the door they had been trying to open for weeks now, where all the fairies seemed to have gathered without letting the paladin know. Koutarou perked up upon seeing Keiji standing amidst her siblings, watching something.

"Good morning," Keiji smiled when Koutarou came to stand beside her.

"Morning," Koutarou slurred back. "What are you all doing?" she asked, peeking over the fairy's shoulder to catch a glimpse of whatever Keiji had been looking at.

"Nami told me that they formed groups to work on opening the door's lock. Sayu's group is trying to pick the lock while Yuko's group is working on making a key that'll open the door."

"Oh," was all the sleepy paladin could answer. She observed as Sayu gave instructions to her siblings who were carrying what seemed to be a piece of thin metal that almost looked like a hairpin to Koutarou.

"Lift it a bit higher!" Sayu shouted, raising one edge of the tool, her sisters soon following. "Now fly forward!" They attempted to insert the piece of metal in the lock, but it hit the wall instead and fell to the ground. "Gah!"

The fairies dived to pick up the tool again. Koutarou glanced at Keiji. "Looks like they're struggling to pick the lock. Why don't you try to help them?" she asked.

Keiji sighed. "If it were up to me, I would try to pick the lock myself, but they keep on insisting that I shouldn't help them. I don't understand why they'd rather I watched them struggle…"

Koutarou hummed, while Sayu kept yelling instructions that her team followed. "I think they all want you to be able to leave the greenhouse. It might be their way of helping you and showing you that they care about you."

Keiji blinked. She looked at her siblings again, and smiled. "Sillies," she said.

Koutarou chuckled. "They could've at least woke me up or let me know they were planning to open the door early," she commented. Keiji raised an eyebrow, and Koutarou threw an arm around her shoulders. "Why that look? I've been working my ass off to open that door, isn't it normal that I wanna be there when we manage to do so?"

"Sure, sure," Keiji giggled. Koutarou nudged her playfully.

"Clear the way!" someone shouted, startling both women who looked over their shoulder at the same time, nearly knocking their foreheads together. Koutarou yelped as Yuko flew toward them, leading another group of fairies who carried something that looked way heavier than the hairpin Sayu's group had been fighting with. "This is fragile, if we drop it it'll break!"

The two women stepped aside, allowing the convoy to reach the door. They approached the package slowly, holding tight on the thin ropes made of flower stems that supported it. Yuko folded the leaves wrapped around their creation, revealing the edge of what looked like a key—though it was not made of metal, but of branches glued together with resin. Yuko positioned the key in front of the lock, before motioning for her group to insert the key in it.

"Perfect!" she exclaimed. "Now everyone helps us turn the key!" She called her siblings who all gathered around her, and together, they removed the wrapping of the key. Little hands held the wooden handles, and they used all their might to force the key to turn.

Something clicked inside the lock.

Everyone was silent for a moment. Then, Sayu cried out, "We've done it!" and everyone gasped, before shouting and clapping their hands together. Aska was crying as she was crushed in a hug by Nami, and even Yuko seemed happy about their triumph, even though she tried to contain her joy.

Koutarou whipped her head around, meeting Keiji's gaze who was already looking at her, because of course she was. She grabbed Keiji's shoulders and shook them. "It's open! The door is open Keiji!" she yelled.

"I heard that," Keiji said while the paladin held her.

"That's incredible!" Koutarou leaned forward and embraced Keiji, squeezing her tightly against her, pulling a yelp out of the fairy's mouth. "We're gonna find out the truth about this place and get you out of it!" She lifted Keiji's body off the ground, spinning her once before putting her down. "I'm so excited," Koutarou grinned, and Keiji could not help but return the smile.

"Shall we go in, now?" Keiji asked as Koutarou put her down gently. They stared at the door standing ramrod between them and the truth. How long they had waited for this moment. How long Koutarou had waited for answers.

The paladin walked along the wall, reaching a corner of the greenhouse where she put on her armour and retrieved her sword which she had left there. She attached the scabbard to her belt, and sheathed her sword, staring at the sharp blade for a second, at the light that reflected on the metal.

Koutarou walked back toward the door, casting a determined look at Keiji. "Yeah," she breathed. "Let's go inside."

The door tried to stay shut, even with its lock no longer protecting it from intruders, like the last soldier standing on a battlefield, fighting with his fists when their sword is shattered on the filthy ground and their shield nothing but a pile of shards sprinkled over the bloody soil. It relented with a wail of affliction as its last forces gave out, faced with the strength of the paladin who grasped the handle and pushed it hard. The wood creaked as the door rotated on its weary hinges—they too had fought for a long time—and revealed darkness inside, light just too shy to step past the threshold.

Koutarou peeked inside the house before stepping in. The house was dark and silent; curtains had been drawn years before, preventing light from filling the space with its warmth. As she observed these surroundings, Koutarou was struck by the similarities between this house and the ones she had explored in the village. Nothing could tell this house from the others apart: armchairs filled a small living room, a fireplace sat comfortably against a wall, an old buffet was still cluttered with papers and cutlery. It was almost unsettling, how perfectly normal this house looked.

Koutarou pushed the door further, until it was wide open and allowed daylight to explore the secret place. She swallowed, and glanced over her shoulder at Keiji, who observed the room revealed behind the door silently, apprehension showing on her face—Koutarou could not believe that even this was unfamiliar to her, that she had never known the comfort of an opaque roof over her head and of furniture to use daily. It was heartbreaking.

"Are you ready?" Koutarou asked her softly. She held out a hand toward Keiji, who looked down at it. She watched as the fairy swallowed, before nodding. Slowly, she slid her hand into Koutarou's.

Keiji looked at her, a resolute gleam burning in her eyes. "I am."

They stood together in front of the house, hand in hand. There was no point of return after stepping inside: the key made by Keiji's siblings was created to open the door, but it would not have the strength to close it again. Once they would walk inside the house, they would have to face whatever hid there—secrets, threats, answers.

Their fingers interlaced silently. Koutarou squeezed Keiji's hand, and they put one foot in front of the other.

Koutarou held her breath as they crossed the threshold, sighing in relief when nothing happened—that Keiji could be hurt again by walking inside the house had been her main source of concern. They stood in the living room together, observing their surroundings from inside—the pictures hanging on the faded walls, the books lined up on a single shelf, the key still in the lock of the main entrance of the house—how simple it could have been, if only that key had been resting on the other side of that lock.

The room was dark and dusty, and it was hard to see and even harder to breathe without coughing. The wooden floor creaked with each careful step Koutarou took, on the watch for any trap, for any sign of a threat near them. The house was silent, eerily so—the two women could hear nothing but the sounds they were making; it felt like their senses were fading like the paint on the walls with every second they spent in this room.

At some point, their hands untangled, and Koutarou walked to the end of the living room, spotting, as she reached the darkest corner of it, a staircase leading upstairs. The paladin stared at those stairs, swallowing slowly. A shudder ran down her spine as she looked at the dusty stairs. It was there, the source of the curse. She could feel it, both magnetic and daunting, drawing her toward the staircase and keeping her away from it at the same time. The danger they were looking out for was on the second floor.

"Keiji," Koutarou whispered. The fairy was standing next to her the next second.

"Yes," the fairy replied in the same tone.

"Do you feel it too?"

Keiji nodded. "I do. It's up there, isn't it?"

Koutarou nodded slowly. "Let's find out the truth," she breathed.

Their hands found each other naturally, interweaving and squeezing silently, nudging each other to find it in themselves to make the first step towards the stairs. Koutarou's foot raised in the air, then it dropped on the first step, the wood creaking as her weight rested on that step. Slowly, they took one deep breath, and began their ascension.

The second floor was plunged in utter darkness. Koutarou and Keiji had to stand still at the edge of the stairs while their eyes got used to the absence of light, holding each other's hand tightly as they made sure even their breathing was quiet, that their presence would not awaken anything within these unknown walls. They were blind in a dangerous territory, in a realm the secrets of which might be too dark themselves to be revealed to the bright world outside the house.

Keiji squeezed Koutarou's hand very tightly once, pulling on it as the tiniest gasp escaped her. Koutarou looked at the fairy, who nodded upwards as she looked at something above her. The paladin raised her head, and her eyes met a ray of light, thin and sharp as a blade. A trapdoor.

Light filtered through the interstice between the wooden planks, revealing the trapdoor behind which hid the attic. Koutarou's breath caught at the sight, for this house, which she knew very well from the outside, had never looked like it had been built to contain such a space beneath its roof. The paladin swallowed—this dwelling was not sound asleep as it looked like. It was alive, and much more mysterious than they had expected. This was not a house, this was a whole different realm.

"Look," Keiji whispered. "There's a handle." She pointed at the shiny metallic loop hanging from the ceiling—indeed, it was attached to the trapdoor.

Koutarou walked under the trapdoor, and raised her arm. Her hand reached the handle easily, and she nodded at Keiji to step aside while she tried to open the trapdoor. The fairy hid against a wall, and Koutarou used all her weight to pull on the handle, expecting it to be rusty like the door they had spent weeks trying to unlock. This one gave in as soon as her hand drew the handle toward the ground.

The trapdoor fell heavily, swinging hard and swatting Koutarou's hand away. It knocked into her shoulder, throwing her to the ground. Koutarou groaned as she landed on her elbows, hearing Keiji rush to her side in the dark. "Are you okay?"

"I'm good," she muttered, grabbing Keiji's hand and pulling herself back onto her feet. She glared at the entrance to the now open attic, staring back at her almost in contempt. "We need to find a way to get up to the attic. There should be a ladder…"

The attic entrance stood above them, a gaping void waiting for the two women to climb and let themselves be swallowed by the darkness. Koutarou attempted to grab the edge of the attic floor and pull herself up, unsuccessfully; she had to resolve to carry Keiji on her shoulders and let the fairy enter the attic first.

"Be careful, okay? Just sit down on the edge of the floor and help me up," Koutarou mumbled as Keiji reached the attic. She did as Koutarou said, and held out a hand. Koutarou first gave Keiji her sword, which Keiji placed next to her on the attic floor, then she grabbed the fairy's hand. Together, they pulled Koutarou's weight up into the room, Keiji shuffling and making space for the paladin who sat next to her and sighed.

They slowly rose to their feet, Koutarou sheathing her sword back in its scabbard, bodies tensed as they looked around themselves. It did not take them long to spot the source of light at the end of the attic.

It very much resembled a library: books were piled up on shelves against the walls, and a large wooden desk sat in the middle of the room, filling most of the space. On this desk was several objects that had been left there, lying on the polished wood - an open book, whose yellowing pages were filled with words written in an intricate calligraphy and what looked like drawn symbols, and a crystal ball, which hovered in the air.

Koutarou stared at the crystal ball as it gleamed from the inside, a flame flickering inside the glass, lapping at it and projecting light on the ground in the form of orange rays. There, in this attic, faced with this flying crystal ball in which a flame burnt without ever seeming to consume all the air inside it, Koutarou was given a second, vivid proof of the existence of magic, of its persistence amidst the darkness.

"It's this flame," both women murmured at the same time. Koutarou nodded, and Keiji swallowed.

"How do we extinguish it?" Keiji asked.

"I don't know," Koutarou said. "I don't think it'll let itself be put out so easily."

The floor wailed as Koutarou took one hesitant step toward the desk, watching for any reaction on the other end of the attic. When nothing happened, she took another step, and then another one. "I think it's safe to walk," Koutarou said, glancing over her shoulder at Keiji who had not moved from her spot next to the trapdoor, "but let's remain careful."

Keiji nodded. Her hands, which had been fiddling together for quite some time now, untangled and fell to rest at her sides as she began to walk up to her friend, her gait slightly more assured than Koutarou's, knowing that her friend had crossed half the room without triggering any reaction from the ominous items facing them. She was extending a hand toward Koutarou with the beginning of a smile, hoping that the paladin would take it. She stepped in the first rays of light reflecting on the ground with confidence—not even noticing it until her wings entered the orange halo in the room.

As though she had winded up an automaton or stepped on a trap, something in front of the two women suddenly reacted to their presence. Koutarou sensed movement behind her back, and whipped her head around to see the pages of the book turn slowly, then faster and faster, until stopping abruptly. Light sprang from the pages, ink shining and lighting up the whole room. Like the consequence of some strange mechanism, the crystal ball tumbled to the ground.

It shattered on the wooden floor with a loud noise, glass shards sprinkling the ground and paving it with sharp threats. The flame, instead of vanishing at the impact, fell with the crystal and lay on the floor. Suddenly, the whole room was set ablaze, flames towering up over Koutarou's head and entrapping both Keiji and her. The book was swallowed by the flames, reduced to ashes in mere seconds, leaving no trace of its wicked existence. Keiji shouted in fear, and Koutarou ducked her head lower, covering her face with the sleeve of her shirt. "Get down, the smoke is going to rise!"

Koutarou had never seen something like this: the fire burnt brightly, purple mixing with yellow and red, lapping at the walls and the furniture and the ceiling without burning anything. It seemed the house was immune to the spell that had been cast—though the same could not be told for the two women trapped in the attic. Koutarou looked around frantically, spotting the trapdoor behind a blazing curtain: their only way out was sealed off.

"Koutarou, watch out!"

The paladin turned around, leaping to the side just in time before a burning blow reached her. She watched in fear as the fire burnt fiercely, and she noticed the tiny flame that had been burning in the crystal ball mere minutes before in the middle of the fire, now dark and assailing the women. Light pierced the darkness, the flames birthing rays of light that ricocheted on the walls and attacked the fairy and the human incessantly. Koutarou heard Keiji tumble to the ground behind her, and threw one horrified look behind her. "I'm okay!" Keiji screamed. "You need to destroy the source of the flame!"

"What?!" Koutarou looked at the flame. The flame had a will of its own, it did not—

Yes it did. It had a source.

The paladin gasped as she now noticed a small piece beneath the flame, some sort of support that allowed it to burn without never lacking air. It was there, shining below the darkness. Koutarou gritted her teeth in anger, and she drew her sword.

She walked fearless in the middle of the fire, Keiji yelling at her to stop, but to no avail. The paladin stood in the flames, staring at the source of the curse, a tiny, round piece that resembled a coin. She could not tear her eyes away from it: was there some sort of symbol engraved on it, just like those she had spotted on the book before it threw the spell? Was it in the crystal ball before it crushed to the ground, or did it appear magically to cast another, deadlier spell? Who had created such a lethal item? Had people conserved such knowledge in the world to this day?

"Koutarou!"

Koutarou was torn from her thoughts. She breathed in, the fire burning her lungs but not her skin. She looked down at the flame at her feet; her eyes shone brighter than the magical spark.

She raised her sword above her head. A scream tore itself from her throat as her arm dropped, and her wrist twisted, and the sword came down on the flame with a deafening clatter of metal. The magical flame was cut in half, the blade reaching the core of the curse and wrecking it in an explosion of light.

The impact was violent, and Koutarou was pushed back, falling backwards and gasping as air was pushed out of her lungs. The flame died in a screech, and rays of blinding light blew from it, drawing back like a bow before being shot at the paladin. The arrows rebounded on Koutarou's armour, but the paladin heard a scream of pain near her, followed by a deep sob.

Koutarou crawled on the ground, escaping the flames trying to devour her whole and searching for Keiji, blinking away the tears that prickled at the corner of her eyes from the smoke and the burn. She caught a glimpse of the fairy, lying on the ground. The sight reminded Koutarou of the night she saw Keiji fall in the greenhouse when she tried to fight against a curse which was way too cruel, suffering the consequences of the paladin's recklessness. Keiji's back trembled in the same way as when she had curled up on herself on the grass, and she cried in the same way—her sobs full of pain and fear. The fairy's wings lay completely limp behind her back: Koutarou gasped as she saw it then, the trace of a blow that had sunk into the floor, tearing one of her wings in the process.

"Keiji!" Koutarou yelled, attempting to stand up on her weak legs. She dragged her body across the floor, glass shards sinking into her forearms as she leaned on them. She howled in pain.

The magic was still erupting from where the curse had been bound, purple and green and white light escaping the debris and raining upon the women whose eyes met, recognising fear in each other's stare. Koutarou saw Keiji's eyes widen in terror and her mouth open to scream something.

Then, she felt a throbbing pain in the back of her head, and the world faded away.

✿

Koutarou's eyes did not open straight away when she regained consciousness. She lay for a moment in the darkness of her mind, floating in some strange state that was half awake and half asleep, staring at flashes of light and hearing the echoes of shouts before she sensed a presence around her, bringing her back into reality.

She did not expect the room she lay in to be illuminated. Her eyes fluttered open, throwing timid glances around: she was in the living room of the house, lying down on the large sofa at the centre of the room. The curtains had been opened, allowing the light in and expelling the darkness—this room would no longer hide any secrets in the shadows. Koutarou gasped upon seeing all the doors open, the one connecting the room to the greenhouse, and the one leading outside. The air was fresh, the wind flying across the room, through the open windows, carrying the scent of flowers inside.

"She's waking up," Koutarou heard, as well as a few whispers near her.

Her eyes fluttered at the sound of fairies gathered near her. Only then did she notice she did not wear her armour anymore, and her shirt had been changed, the fresh fabric unlike that of the clothes she wore when she rushed into the fire. Koutarou tried to sit up, but she felt throbbing pain in her head and groaned, lying back down against the stuffy cushions and closing her eyes. The bright lights hurt her eyes, causing them to shut again, and she felt slightly nauseous. The memories in her mind were hazy, a mixture of colours and loud noise that was painful to remember.

Koutarou focused on her breathing, inhaling and exhaling slowly until the pain dulled. She must have had a concussion—she probably would not be able to stand up for a moment, she thought with a grimace.

The paladin sensed the presence which stayed beside her as she kept her eyes close, breathing deeply and slowly. Then, she felt gentle fingers brush the back of her hand. Koutarou dared to open her eyes again, first looking through the tiny slits formed between her half open eyelids, then blinking and confronting the light again.

Her eyes lay on Keiji immediately, like it was the most natural thing in the world. The fairy was sitting at the girl's side, and Koutarou's heart stung as she heard the soft sniffles she was trying to conceal. Keiji smiled at Koutarou through watery eyes; smiling back, she slowly moving her hand over the fairy's and intertwined their fingers.

"Hi," Koutarou grinned.

"You're awake… Hi," Keiji whispered, barely containing her tears. "I'm sorry, I…"

"It's okay," Koutarou said. "Hey," she murmured, squeezing Keiji's hand in hers. "I'm fine. We're safe now."

Keiji sniffled and nodded. she rubbed her eyes before smiling again. "You're right," she chuckled. "I'm just glad you've woken up. I was very scared."

Koutarou stared at Keiji in silence. She glanced at the fairy's chest, spotting the bandages encircling it: her wings were tucked in the bandages, pressed against her back, and it prevented them from moving or getting caught on any surface. The sight was painful to watch, and Koutarou's eyes flitted up toward Keiji's face again. "…What happened?"

Keiji averted her eyes for a moment. "What do you remember exactly?"

"I remember the moment I destroyed the source of the curse, and… when I fell. I could see you with your back turned to me, I think, and then… this."

"I see." The breeze was much welcome in the dusty room, allowing Koutarou to breathe more easily and Keiji to gather her words clearly. "After you were hit by a ray of light, you lost consciousness," she explained. She stared ahead of herself, a tired smile adorning her lips even as her eyes glinted with the remnants of fear. "I thought I wasn't going to get us out of the attic. I almost didn't make it…"

"I'm sorry," Koutarou said. "I failed to protect you."

"You didn't," Keiji shook her head. "You saved me. You saved us all."

Koutarou wanted to retort that Keiji had been the one who saved Koutarou's life, but in her current state, she knew protesting would lead her nowhere.

"Can you tell me what happened after I passed out?" she asked. Keiji nodded slowly. The paladin drew her lips in a tight line, and braced up for the retelling of the events in the attic.

✿

"Koutarou!"

The room was unbearably loud with the sound of fire crackling, of light projectiles ricocheting on the walls, of crying escaping a vulnerable body curled up on the floor. The attic smelt of smoke and of salt; it was soiled with ashes and tears drying on red cheeks.

Pain shot through Keiji's wing, and the fairy cried in agony. She glanced over her shoulder through teary eyes, her trembling gaze landing on her injured wing hanging limp off her back. Keiji bit back a sob at that vision of violence—why did it have to happen that way? Why was she always forbidden from flying?

Leaning on her forearms, Keiji pushed herself up, whining when her wing bent and she felt more tissue rip. She sat up, panting as her eyes welled up with tears, drenching her cheeks and blinding her to the danger surrounding her. She rubbed her eyes in vain, her sight remaining blurry as she looked around, lifting her arm over her nose as she coughed from inhaling the smoke that was quickly filling the room.

Keiji whipped her head around, eyes widening in fear when she saw that the trapdoor they had used to climb up into the attic was on the other side of the barrier formed by the fire. A flamboyant cage kept her in this cursed place; Keiji was so tired of such restraints.

A groan reached the fairy's ears, and she turned toward the source of the noise, dissolving into tears upon seeing Koutarou's figure lying on the ground, inert. Gathering strength, the fairy dragged her body across the room; her blood stained the wooden floor, tracing an opalescent path behind her. She shook Koutarou's shoulders without managing to rouse her. She pulled Koutarou's arm, gasping when the paladin's body rolled to the side toward her. Keiji searched for Koutarou's gaze, meeting closed eyelids.

The fairy's breath caught as her eyes landed on the small, deep reed pool forming where Koutarou’s head lay.

"No," Keiji sobbed. "No, no, no…" She shook Koutarou vigorously, hitting her over her armour with weak fists. Her hands dropped on the woman's chest after a couple of attempts, unclenching slowly as her body hunched over Koutarou's—tears shining as they fell on the metal pieces the fighter wore. Keiji did not know how to fight alone; how could Koutarou leave her in such a situation?

"You can't do this…" Keiji hiccuped, speaking words between every breath she gasped in. "Don't die on me… Please…" The smoke was making it harder and harder to breathe, and it cast a dull veil over Koutarou's figure—was it how her beautiful face was meant to end up looking, pale and blurry behind her tears and the smoke?

Keiji gritted her teeth. No, she could not let this be how Koutarou's journey ended—she deserved so much more than to suffocate in this stuffy attic. She was born in the bright, vast world; she could not die imprisoned in a trap that had been designed for Keiji only.

Biting back sobs and shaking tears away, Keiji grabbed Koutarou's shirt, pulling on the fabric. She bent over, pulling the paladin up and leaning her body against Keiji's back. She sheathed her sword, too, promising to herself to bring it back with its owner. Keiji sat on the attic floor, gasping for breath and handling Koutarou's weight. She laced her fingers behind her back, holding Koutarou's body pressed against her, and shuffled her legs.

The fire projected the shadows of the two crawling women over the floor, much larger than they actually were. Keiji felt tiny in that space, dragging hers and Koutarou's bodies across the room, holding her breath and ducking her head low, avoiding the smoke threatening to invade her lungs. The artefact had been consumed already, and the spears of light had knelt in front of the darkness; only the fire remained, bright and impressive.

But it was just that, precisely; impressive, but not dangerous. Keiji had seen it, when Koutarou had walked in the middle of the flames and brandished her sword. She had realised it as she curled up over the paladin's body, when she had seen the beautiful, unblemished skin, saved from the scorching bite of the fire. It was an illusion—a trap relying on the credulity and the fear of its prey. A prey who had learnt all her life to never attempt to escape the cage she foolishly called her home.

Carrying Koutarou's weight in addition to Keiji's was exhausting. The fairy's arms hurt from remaining tense behind her back, looped around Koutarou's waist and struggling to prevent her from lurching to one side or the other. Keiji could almost see her reflection in the fire, staring at her and daring her to step into the flames—daring her to break the rule she had lived by all her life. Her safety did not rely on these ancient rules anymore: to live, she now had to rebel.

Keiji held her breath as she crawled in the fire, shuddering when she felt the lick of the flames on her skin—hot, yet not painful. The fairy sighed in relief, and glanced over her shoulder to ensure Koutarou was still leaning safely against her back. She pressed the paladin's body against her own, grimacing when she applied pressure on her injury—her wing was trapped between their bodies, and every motion shifted it against Koutarou's cool armour, which wasn't pleasant at most, and painful at worst.

"Hang in there," Keiji whispered to Koutarou when the trapdoor appeared behind the flames, open and inviting. The fairy used her last resources to drag herself and Koutarou to the entrance to the attic. Keiji detached Koutarou's sword from her belt and threw it in its sheath through the opening: it landed on the floor below with a thud. Keiji pulled Koutarou's body over her lap, her breath trembling when the woman's bright blood got on her hands, mixing with her own pale blood. She pressed Koutarou against her chest, covering her head with both of her hands in a gentle shield. Keiji's legs dangled over the edge of the trapdoor. As though she were going to dive in water, she breathed in deeply and held her breath in, before she let herself fall down from the attic.

Koutarou's body followed her, and they tumbled down into the corridor. Keiji's back hit the floor violently, taking most of the impact of the fall. Koutarou's body fell on top of her, pushing the air out of her lungs and literally taking her breath away. Keiji coughed and gasped for breath as she slowly sat up, crying out in pain when her wings unfolded—the fall had crushed them under her back.

Keiji looked down at Koutarou's head lying over her stomach, heavy and bleeding. More tears gathered in her eyes, and she began hiccuping again, breathing faster as she stared at the bloody sight. The fire crackled over her head, overwhelmingly loud; Keiji could not look up, could not look at the danger hovering over her, ready to pour down the attic into the narrow corridor they lay in. She looked around frantically through glassy eyes, swallowing tears and saliva together and spotting the stairs a couple of metres away from her. Keiji attempted to stand up, only for her legs to give out under her weight. She punched them in frustration, and tried again, failing again. They were not safe yet, she could not let herself betray them now.

"C'mon…" she muttered. She grasped Koutarou's shirt and dragged her body behind herself, each passing second making it more difficult to move and breathe. Keiji could feel the corrupted breath of the smoke whispering behind her, the lapping of the fire on her nape, threatening to bite this time. She descended the stairs one by one, Koutarou's body pushing against her as it threatened to fall down the stairs. Keiji's arms and legs trembled as they moved slowly, crawling downstairs and slipping when she had almost reached the ground floor. She tumbled down, Koutarou's body following—Keiji extended an arm to protect her head, reducing the impact as best as she could in her current state.

The light that blinded her was familiar. It stood at the threshold of the house, peeking inside and caressing the fairy's weary face with a gentle, sympathetic hand. Keiji did not have strength to move anymore. She opened her mouth, but when her lips moved, they could not utter anything more than a whisper. "Help…"

Thankfully, her family always stood behind her at every moment of her life. Yuko was the first to react: she dived into the darkness of the house, shouting. "They need help!"

Keiji saw her siblings fly toward her, forming one, familiar swarm that buzzed with anxiety. But the fairy did not hear what they said. The light flickered before her eyes, and like her friend beside her, she gave in under the assail of pain and exhaustion.

✿

"I woke up the next day, with my wing already stitched. It still hurts a lot," Keiji said, shivering as she spoke, "but the injury is now under control, thanks to my siblings' care."

Koutarou stared at Keiji with wide eyes as she narrated what happened while she was unconscious. The paladin looked around frantically, finally registering some major information. "The attic… the fire! Where is it?! Why hasn't it burnt the house down yet?!"

"The fire went out on its own," Keiji smiled. "After the trapdoor was closed by Sayu and Nami, it consumed all the air in the room, then extinguished. This fire was magic, its purpose was not to burn the cage it protected all this time."

Koutarou remained speechless for a while. "How… how long was I unconscious for?"

"Three days." The paladin gasped. "You lost a lot of blood," Keiji explained. Koutarou brought a hand to her head, only now feeling the bandage wrapped around her skull. "Your life was in much more danger than mine. I'm relieved that you're okay now."

"You're a saviour!" Both women started at the shout. Sayu let herself drop on Koutarou's stomach who groaned in discomfort. The little fairy sat cross-legged on the paladin, grinning at her. "Keiji told us everything that happened in the attic. You freed everyone from the curse! You're the strongest!"

Koutarou chuckled. "Thank you, Sayu. You're sweet."

"You know she'll brag about it forever when she has fully recovered," Keiji commented. Sayu shrugged.

"It's true! She's the best. She saved you!"

"I didn't save anyone," Koutarou mumbled. "I passed out and you guys are the sole reason I'm still alive."

"You're right, Keiji," Sayu mused, "she's really not in a good state right now. All that she's saying is nonsense."

"I'm fine, and that's mean!"

The tiny fairy fell backwards as Koutarou sat up, ignoring Keiji's protests and fighting the hands that grabbed her shoulders and tried to push her back into the cushions. Sayu hovered over the paladin's face, sticking her tongue at Koutarou who glared back at her. Sayu headed to the greenhouse, Koutarou's eyes following her little silhouette. "Yuko's influence is starting to show on her," Koutarou muttered.

"Don't say that," Keiji admonished her. "You know, Yuko's been the one who stayed at your side the longest while you were unconscious."

"Really?" Koutarou stared at the threshold of the house, behind which flowers and plants peeked. "I'll have to thank her, then," she whispered.

Koutarou's gaze returned to Keiji, who had not stopped looking at her for even a second since she woke up. "So… the curse is really gone?"

Keiji nodded. She went to speak, but was interrupted before she could utter a single word.

"It is. We saw it while we still were in the greenhouse."

The two women started for the second time in a few minutes. Koutarou raised her head, meeting Yuko's gaze on the chandelier that hung from the ceiling. Yuko folded her legs, sitting with her back leaning against a crystal tassel, and rested her chin over her crossed arms, averting her gaze. "When you broke the artefact, you triggered the curse one last time. We saw it light up the walls of the greenhouse. It was… shining with more colours than all the flowers that grow in the greenhouse."

"So the curse died with the fire," Koutarou finished.

"Yeah," Yuko said. She twirled a strand of her long hair around her finger mechanically. "You know, what you did was reckless. You shouldn't have put yourself in danger like you did. The fire could've burnt you."

Koutarou didn't answer. She knew that Yuko meant to say something else: the fire could have killed her. She simply stared up at the fairy who hid in the chandelier. Yuko was unpredictable: she may have appeared aloof, but she cared more about people than she was willing to admit.

"Thank you, Yuko," Koutarou eventually said after a while. "For watching over me."

"It's nothing," Yuko dismissed the words of gratitude. "Listen to Keiji and don't try to do too much now that you're awake. You're still weak."

"I'm not weak!"

Yuko threw her a disillusioned look, but Koutarou just laughed, light and bubbly. She caught a glimpse of the fairy's smile through half-open eyes. Yuko stood up from her spot and joined Sayu outside.

Keiji giggled. "She always stays true to herself," she smiled. She stood up, smoothening the folds of her dress. "Everyone is packing up their things now. I know you just woke up, but they wanted to leave this place as soon as you were conscious."

"That's okay. I want to get out of the house too," Koutarou grinned. Keiji looked at her fondly.

"Don't be so enthusiast, I won't let you help with anything. Any protest is futile," Keiji added when Koutarou opened her mouth to complain. "We'll leave tonight. In the meantime, I want you to eat something and rest."

"But—"

"Would you like me to ask one of my siblings to watch you? Or can I trust you to take care of yourself and let us do the work for once?"

Koutarou swallowed. "I'll… I'll keep still…" she mumbled, defeated. Keiji smiled.

"Thank you," she said. She leaned down and pressed her lips to Koutarou's forehead, retreating and walking toward the greenhouse while Koutarou stared at her in shock with burning cheeks. "I'll wake you up when it's time to leave."

"O-okay…"

The paladin watched as the fairy left, raising her hand and touching the skin that was blessed by Keiji's kiss. There was absolutely no way Keiji expected her to get to sleep after that.

The day went on, both excruciatingly slowly and fast, cadenced by the shouting of the fairies gathering their belongings and the warbling of birds outside, watching the peculiar house with curiosity from their spots in trees. It was a warm, late spring day, and the sunlight filtered through the dusty windows and the foliage of the trees. Koutarou's senses kept being distracted by the scent of flowers coming from outside, the soft melody of the fairies' hard work and the glittering light dancing on the floor. The paladin slumbered peacefully, grateful to be able to rest her body and her mind—especially the latter, who had spent nights fearing a curse that no longer existed.

Tonight, the fairies would escape the greenhouse. They would all live together, as one big family—for it was what they all meant to Koutarou. The paladin had spent years travelling through the lands alone, with her only purpose in life to complete the tasks she was assigned in every place she went. For the first time in a very long time, she had people she could hold onto. People she loved, and who she wanted to stay close to. No curse could rip such a treasure away from her.

Koutarou was nudged gently when the sun began to descend in the sky. Her eyes opened slowly, meeting Keiji's soft gaze. Being able to stare at those beautiful, bright eyes was a priceless reward for putting her life in danger. She would do it over and over again, if only she were promised to be looked at like this forever.

"Do you think you can sit up?" Keiji murmured as her hand found Koutarou's almost on instinct. Koutarou nodded slowly. She would climb a mountain in her current state if only Keiji asked her.

Keiji helped her sit up in silence, and handed her a glass of water—Koutarou stared at the clear liquid moving gently in the container. "I found it in the house," Keiji whispered. Taking a sip, Koutarou allowed the liquid to wake up her system.

The fairy slid her arm around Koutarou's waist gently, and with utmost care, she helped her stand up. Koutarou felt weak: she hadn't stood up in a few days, and her legs wobbled a bit as she took a few steps forward. She leaned against the fairy's side, trusting her to lead her out of the house, and Keiji accepted the additional weight, safely holding her up. They walked slowly together, Keiji occasionally asking Koutarou if she was doing okay. Koutarou's mind was reeling with the feel of the fairy's soft arm looped around her waist, their bodies pressed together in a helpful embrace.

Stepping over the threshold of the house felt a little surreal: Koutarou blinked several times, accommodating her eyes to the bright light, and at the same time, she stared at Keiji—she could not afford to miss the moment when she escaped her prison of stone and glass. Koutarou had imagined this moment thousands of times, but she had never envisioned things would happen like this: with Keiji being the one to guide Koutarou out of the house, watching her with a tender gaze and the sweetest smile. She had always thought she would have the privilege of escorting Keiji out of the greenhouse; but Koutarou thought this was also nice.

The two women slowed down, stopping once they stepped on the path that bordered the house and led to the village. Koutarou stared at Keiji with shining eyes, her lips parted in wonderment. Keiji stood on that path, injured and scared but also glowing. The grin that bloomed on her face was exquisite, competing with the beautiful roses growing against the walls of the house, and her eyes glimmered with tears of joy. She looked happy and healthy. She was free.

Keiji grinned at Koutarou, sniffling softly. The fairy's grip of Koutarou's hip trembled as she cried in relief, in happiness, in the kind of way one does when what they always dreamed of just turned into reality.

"How are you feeling?" Koutarou asked her in a murmur.

"Good," Keiji answered. "I have never felt so happy in my life."

Koutarou could not fight the smile that bloomed on her face either. She stared at Keiji, silenced by the look on her face, by her words, by the fact there was nothing to add. Things were perfect the way they were now.

The paladin's heart fluttered when she saw Keiji's eyes fall to her lips for the tiniest second. They returned to her face and met her eyes again, not saying a word, but in that brief moment of vulnerability, she had told her more than words could.

Koutarou leaned forward slowly, stopping when her forehead was pressed against Keiji's. Their gazes were locked, silently asking each other something that they both desperately wanted.

Koutarou wondered for a second what was more magical between being able to witness Keiji stand outside of the greenhouse she had always lived in, or the sweet feeling of her lips on hers. At the soft press of their lips, they both closed their eyes, giving up on sight and relying on touch to communicate their feelings.

Keiji's siblings surrounded the two women, bracing up to catch Koutarou if her feeble body betrayed her in that vulnerable moment. The swarm witnessed silently as they experienced a different kind of magic, one which words would forever fail to describe. Sayu giggled as they watched the two women confess without words a love that had grown too big for the walls of their former cage. Yuko nudged her in the stomach, and she reluctantly averted her eyes, rolling them at her sibling.

Koutarou held Keiji's face close to her, her fingers brushing her cheek softly. Keiji's free hand rested over Koutarou's heart, and the latter thought that her life would never return to what it was before she met her. A spell would always shape the world she experienced from now on—not a curse, but the benediction of being loved by a magical being.

Koutarou's beating heart underneath Keiji's fingers, and Keiji's soft breath against her lips would be as many reminders of that spell. But if being in love were the greatest spell of all, Koutarou never wanted to break it.