Do I want to be Prince Protector?

As... as Ri?

I bang my head against Ran’s mane, and she growls. “Stop growling. You’re supposed to be a pony.”

She quits, but smacks me upside the head with her tail. I groan.

“What am I to do? I thought I hated the prince. Hated royalty. But he seems decent. Jenny and Hans are wonderful, and... most of the nobility aren’t so bad.” My mind thinks back to Duke Robert, who was so welcoming to me during the tournament.

A question passes through my mind. If I do not become Prince Protector... will the actual protector know enough to keep him safe?

I groan again.

I didn’t want this. I didn’t want to come to care for the royals and nobles. I am an idiot.

But I am an idiot who knows what she wants and I will do what I need to in order to get it.

I want my family safe and living in a world where there is hope, compassion, and love in abundance. Where fairies and Eldertrees can live peacefully with humans. Where Bamshee aren't prevalent, where good people don’t get kidnapped, where there aren’t assassins trying to take over the world, and where there isn’t a leviathan, whatever that is, to defeat.

Yeah. All that.

The library spire looms ahead of us, and something in the pit of my stomach grows cold.

Without the Spark... will I be able to control my Gift?

But I know this is best... and the pain I felt from Natasha far exceeds my own. I have my family back. We’re safe... for now. I don’t need the Spark. Natasha does.

Ran whimpers beneath me, and I realize she’s been mighty quiet. The poor thing... her and Rose became good friends. A tear drops from my eye, glistening in the fading moonlight before splattering on Ran’s whither.

“I’m so, so sorry, sweet girl. But do not worry. We’ll visit, and visit often, alright?”

She peers back at me with those equine eyes, and... it breaks my heart. She’s mourning her friend, and if I’m feeling correctly... so is Rose.

Why is life so daggum hard? Why is it filled with such hard choices?

We exit the back alleyway, and at the library wall waits the little orb.

Larich bobs, his usual happy orange light lighting up the dreary passageway. I hop from Ran, leaning against her when my legs tremble in fatigue. The aches and pains are gone, only a bone deep weariness and hunger left from months of being under constant mental and physical stress. I feel I could sleep for a week.

Ran turns and licks my cheek, agreement coming over the bond. I smile.

Larich leads us through, tugging on the boar-like animal with tusks and horns, opening another secret tunnel.

He says nothing, merely leads us to the throne room.

It’s filled this time, almost to the brim, and none of the fairies change into orbs. The many colored little sprites watch me, nodding. Some smile, but most look at me with somber faces. I feel like I’m at a wedding. Or a funeral.

I walk down the middle runner that is a gold and silver intertwined into a rug with light blue around the edges. On either side are a multitude of fluttering, glittering fairies. Every color of the rainbow is defined in such brilliance in dresses, wings, and hair that it hurts the naked eye to look at them. I need the shades some of the nobles are in a rave about.

Something catches at my foot. I trip, catching myself on Ran’s neck. She waits for me to get my footing and then continues, her steps sure and regal with cat-like grace. And here I am stumbling like a drunk.

My cheeks grow red under the haughty huffs and scorn from the many eyes that just watched me trip on a smooth rug.

The king has a mighty big grin on his face. He salutes me.

That bastard.

The queen thwacks him on the wing. His smile dims, but doesn’t go away.

I turn my eyes to the ones beside him before I do something stupid. Why can he do selfish stuff with the Spark and I can’t?

Natasha beams from beside her mother, bouncing in excitement. Even from here I can see the huge splitting her face, and the way she bites her lip, perhaps to keep from rushing to me. I speed up slightly, partially because of the anticipation in her little face and the way she leans forward, and partially because I’m ready for this walk of death, with everyone staring, to be over.

And so that the king can’t trip me again.

Natasha’s sister watches with a hint of a smile around her lips, her gossamer wings fluttering behind her. Other fairies, smaller than the palm of my hand, flutter behind the king and queen and the two sisters. They jostle each other to get closer to the front, before the queen sends them a death glare and they settle. Are those... are those Natasha's siblings? There are so many! At least a dozen, maybe more.

I bow in front of the king and queen, both exuding an aura that almost drives me to my knees despite how they are hardly bigger than my hand.

And I realize Rose is giggling inside me, hopping inside me in harmony to the wing-beats of Natasha.

Natasha breaks away from the queen’s grip on her wing, barreling into my chest.

I’m ready for her, so this time she doesn’t knock me flat on my back. I cradle her to me, smiling down even as my brows crease.

She smiles up at me, tiny water sparkles gathering in the corner of her eyes and trailing her cheeks.

She opens her mouth, but words don’t come out.

My smile grows gentle. I kiss her head. “Don’t worry, little one. I know. It’s time for Rose to come home.”

Gasps sound from the flittering fairies gathered in front of the thrones, but they barely penetrate my mind as I focus on Natasha and Rose.

Natasha hums, a soothing melody beyond words... beyond thought. It’s a grand orchestra and a whistling of wind and a timeless tale all wrapped into one ringing sound as she opens her mouth and it pours from her lips.

I watch in wonder as the little orb I’d come to see as a friend materializes before me, just as I saw her in my mind or soul or whatever it was I had created for her. Natasha continues her song, the thrumming becoming the jagged winds of a hurricane and the thundering of lightning.

A glimmering light streams from my chest. The orb coalesces, dancing right in front of my chest, its light so bright I must close my eyes or risk blindness.

The melody calms to the soothing sound of a mother’s lullaby, soft and cajoling and filled with love.

I open my eyes, blinking away the spots dancing in my vision, and... Natasha floats before me, her wings still. A serene smile tips her lips slightly, and her brow smoothed of the pain that lingered.

The orb is gone.

Rose is back where she belongs.

Then Natasha’s eyes pop open, and she glows, literal light embalming her in its embrace. Her smile is bright and tears stream from her eyes. She looks… complete. As if she were missing something, and now she is whole. I suppose that’s exactly what it was. And no matter what happens, I know that giving back the Spark was the right choice.

She flutters up to me, smiling so broadly her eyes are squinty, and wraps her arms as far as they’ll go around my neck, squeezing tightly and almost choking me. “Thank you, thank you, thank you,” she says, her voice high-pitched and choked with emotion.

Peace coats my heart in a warm embrace. I glance towards the sky—well, the ceiling painted sky blue and white—and smile. If nothing else, I know The King has been watching out for me this entire time. For my family to still be alive... for me to be able to live... for all that’s happening and all that is coming together... The King had to have his hand in it.

And now... will I trust that he’ll guide me where I need to go, even without the little Spark to help me control the Gift? He gave me Rose in the first place, right when I needed her for a trial I didn’t know I would have. I don’t know why I’ve had to go through such pain, but... there is a reason for everything. And I’ve seen how he works through even the poorest and most awkward of folk… like me. If he can do such things, then he can help me with my Gift issue. I just don’t know if he will... and that scares me.

I try to believe and trust as my grandma always taught... but it’s hard.

But for now, I will do my best. For my best is all I have, and I hope it will be enough.

Calm peace invades as Natasha goes to celebrate with her family, her mother and father and sisters and brothers welcoming her in a group hug of laughter and tears. Even the king sheds a tear, cupping his daughter’s cheeks and kissing her glowing forehead.

I turn to leave, Ran at my side.

A world is coming for us.

They started this.

But we will end it.