As it turned out, I ran into Mel first.

I'd love to say it was sheer coincidence, and that we were fated to be drawn together that night.

But I could tell from the way she was watching the alley I emerged from that she had been waiting for me.

"You knew," I said, breathless, as my greeting.

"That Mari Belle was waiting for you in the kitchen." It wasn’t a question. Mel nodded, solemnly. "We can sense our kind."

"Okay, so, you know that makes zero sense and only raises more questions, right?"

Mel just nodded again. "I know, Harper. Do you want to ask them?” She smirked and shrugged in an exaggerated manner. “Would it make you feel better? I'll answer any questions you have, if it'll help. I’m tired of there being secrets between us."

I thought about that for a moment. Here was Mel, pixie and friend, offering to tell me whatever I wanted. I could find out so many things. All the questions about pixies and magic and wonderment, all answered. Laid bare for my small brain to tear to logical shreds.

But none of my questions mattered. They were all just knowledge. Useless knowledge that wouldn't solve anything and wouldn't make me feel any better.

Well...

There was one thing I needed to ask, though.

"Does my contract with Mari Belle interfere with our friendship?"

Mel's eyes softened around the edges and she smiled as she took a step forward. I recoiled, but only because I remembered Mari Belle's multi-toothed grin. That flinch gave Mel pause. A look of hurt crossed her face before it faded behind her smile again. "Absolutely not, Harper. That bitch can't take you from me that easily, and I will never hurt you like she will."

I don't know why, but I believed her. "Good. The rest are just details." I looked around, as if just now realizing Berry wasn't with Mel. "Did our adventurer friend make it home okay?"

That gained another smile from the pixie, but this time I didn't flinch. "Yeah. She's likely safe in bed by now." Mel looked back towards the way I'd come. "So, what happened? Did they leave of their own volition?"

"Um... pretty sure not. Last I knew they were duking it out in the kitchen. Sounded like a hell of a mess I don't want to deal with."

"I'm sure that without you there it will fizzle a lot faster than you think. But... let's not go back." Mel held out the crook of her arm to me, as if she were going to lead me somewhere. "Let's go for a little walk. Talk some things over. And then we can go back to Ambition and either figure out how we're going to clean it up, or get some constables involved."

I nodded mutely and linked my arm in hers. Honestly, as long as we were anywhere but Ambition, that would be great.

Which sucked. I was just starting to think of that place as my own. Sure, it was really owned by some heavyset jackass with a really stupid haircut. And it was about six sizes too small to be an actual functioning eatery. But it was mine. My blood and sweat and experience points had gone into it. And I was damned if some stupid money grubbing lenders were going to be what made me abandon it.

Eventually one day I'd have the money to pay them off and then buy out the plot from Phelps. Maybe I'd even buy the places next door. I could remodel everything.

Have a place that was really my own.

"You're quiet," Mel said in a small voice, dragging me from my thoughts. "Is everything okay?"

"Yeah. I'm just... worried." I looked up, but didn't exactly know where we were. Somewhere in Mystic Falls, obviously, from the smell... but this was a street I'd never been down. It seemed fairly nice. There was way less rubbish on the sides of the street and the houses didn't have mud splattered across the fronts of their facades.

"About Ambition?"

"And a lot more than that. But, it'll turn out okay, right? It always does."

I could see Mel frowning out of the corner of my eye. "I've been meaning to talk to you about that. Things have worked out for you so far, Harps. A lot of things that shouldn't have worked. But sooner or later your luck stat is going to run up against something it can't topple. And then you're going to be in a lot of trouble."

I laughed. I didn't know what else to do. "Moon's mercy, Mel, I'm already in a lot of trouble. Hell, you should have heard them. They were both threatening me a lot. And like, well, I don't want to say it out loud, but I'm pretty sure Duncan is just going to straight up kidnap me."

Mel said nothing, and instead turned us down a side street. This one wound for a bit before heading into the outskirts of the forest.

I immediately tensed up.

"Hey, Mel, I still don't have armor," I warned.

"It's fine, Harper. No harm will come to you tonight, I promise."

I wanted to argue. There were a lot of things that could happen in the forest that could be considered "not harmful" - from pixies and other malicious forest sprites to witches or warlocks... I could end up doing headstands until my eyeballs exploded out of my skull due to the pressure without a creature so much as touching me.

But Mel looked solemn.

In the moonlight, she looked like an avenging being, a protector who would keep me from danger.

All she needed was a set of wings, but the ones she had would ruin the look.

I smiled up at her and motioned for her to lead the way.

We walked in the forest in silence. My eyes weren't made for the dark, and so I stumbled over every branch and bramble that was so much as remotely in my vicinity. But Mel held me aloft and guided me around the worst obstacles, which appeared in front of me without warning.

I'd never been jealous of her ability to see in the dark before now. Urban living doesn't really require one to go stumbling around in darkness with a stick. Mostly everything was lit one way or another, and so you just kind of forgot that the rest of the world wasn't.

But Mel did a great job of guiding me. And eventually we came to a small clearing with a rotting log sitting alone in the center.

Moonlight shone through the trees, illuminating the darkest corners and making it feel welcoming.

"Welcome to my home away from Ambition," Mel said with a thin smile. She motioned towards the log, and I stepped over to it.

The old bark was still firm, without any sign of serious decay. New shoots spouted from it anyway. I couldn't tell if they were other plants that had claimed the fallen tree as their home or if the tree itself was sprouting new life.

Forestry wasn't exactly my specialty.

Mel sat on the log, and I followed suite. We faced the same direction, staring off into the darkness of the forest.

And then we just sat there in silence.

Which was totally not awkward or weird.

"So, um, would you mind telling me why we're in the middle of the forest at night?"

The human-sized pixie next to me let out a small breath of air. "Could I say that I just wanted to get away from it all and we move on?"

"I mean, you could... but is that really the reason?"

"No, Harper." Mel ran a hand across her brow, pausing for just a moment to rub a spot above her right eye. "Spirits have mercy, I don't know how to say this."

I reached out and touched Mel's shoulder. She flinched away from me for the barest moment, but relaxed instantly. "It's okay, Mel. Just say whatever's on your mind. We can sort out the specific wording later."

She nodded. There wasn't relief in her eyes, so much, but she did seem to unwind. "Mari Belle cannot know about me. And I'm afraid that she already does."

"Why? What's wrong?"

"Pixies are... we're territorial. As I'm sure you've already figured out, from the way I treat humans."

"And from the way Mari Belle treated Duncan."

Mel blew a breath of laughter out of her nose. "Yeah. I bet she didn't pull any punches there." I shook my head to confirm, but then just sat there and waited for Mel to continue her thought. "In my culture, as a pixie, you and I have a contract. Which means we're... our fates are entwined."

"That sounds very serious."

She nodded. "I was an idiot. I didn't put any limits to our time together. I thought you would be like every other human and we'd agree to go our separate ways after a time." Mel frowned and looked up at the moon. Her brow was knit in such a tight line that I was afraid her face would stick that way. "But you weren't. And we haven't. And so now we're in this position."

"I'm confused. What position are we in?"

"With Mari Belle. And... Ambition. And friends. And... and human things." She snarled, as if the idea was distasteful. "Like emotions."

My heart fluttered in my chest, but just for a moment. "Mel, if you want to leave you are absolutely in no way beholden to me."

Mel looked at me and smiled. "You're an absolute idiot, Harper."

"So I'm told."

She paused and then tilted her head, leaning her ear against my shoulder. Her blonde hair cascaded over my shoulder, tickling my collarbone where my shirt left skin exposed. I wrapped an arm around her back, my fingers pressed into the soft skin of her upper arm.

We sat like that for a moment. Not saying anything. Just enjoying the wind whistling softly through the trees, and the sounds of the forest beyond the clearing.

At some point Mel sniffled. She wiped at her face, and I felt my brow twist in confusion.

"Is everything okay, Mel?"

She nodded, and sniffled again. "Fine, Harps. Just... fine." With a quick tilt of her head she flicked her hair in front of her face and straightened up. I released her arm and let her sit up on her own. Her hands scrubbed at her eyes for a moment and then she shook her head, throwing her hair back over her shoulder.

"We should go back to Ambition."

Talk about whiplash. "Did you... was there something you needed to talk about?"

"Nope. Other than, you know, don't let Mari Belle know about me or us or our contract."

"Um. Sure. I wasn't really planning on telling her anyway."

"Okay, great."

Mel stood up, and held out a hand to me.

I just stared at it.

I felt lost. Confused. Bewildered. Like I'd missed some important social cue. Which was entirely true. I was Harper Emerson, world's stupidest man. But there was an equally good chance that Mel had a conversation in her own head without me, leaving me in the dust.

"Hey, so, I know I'm a dense motherfucker. Stupidest of the bunch. And more. But like, I'm serious. Is everything okay?"

Mel nodded. "I'd tell you if something was wrong, Harper. Everything is fine. But we should be getting back to Ambition. It's been nearly an hour."

"What?" I looked up at the sky, trying to figure out where the moon was and where it had been. Everything looked the same as when we entered the clearing, which didn't seem right. "Bullshit. It's been like ten minutes!"

"It's enchanted, Harper."

"Oh."

Well, that solved it then.

I guess.

I vowed to never go into the woods with a pixie ever again.

Even one I trusted with my life.

The walk back to Ambition was a quiet one. When we arrived at the eatery, it was very clear that the place was empty. There were no shouts of anger or surprise when we entered. No one erupted from the shadows and grabbed me, intent on dragging me off to whatever lair they were most fond of.

I was surprised that the dining area was just as we'd left it. Bowls sitting out on the table and everything.

The kitchen, however, was another story.

Nearly every square inch of the place was torn apart. There was broken pottery on the floor, smashed wood spaces, and splattered bits of goo. It looked as if the world's most inept demolition crew had come through and whirlwinded through my kitchen, tearing up floorboards and smashing them against walls. I could still see the hole in the floor from where Duncan had stabbed Dee and Dum, and there were about six more just like it.

But there was not one speck of blood or other bodily fluid.

And no sign of a winner, either.

"Shit, Harper, I'm so sorry. This place is a mess."

I nodded, mutely. It sure was. Understatement of the fucking year.

But it was also an excuse to get it cleaned up. Streamlined. Right.

A popup intruded on my vision.

One More Night

You are so close to opening your eatery! But a minor setback has caused a serious issue. Repair the damages and test your last two dishes, and then open Ambition to the public!

The bubbly nature of the quest text was such a strange contrast to the state of the kitchen. But I accepted it without question.

As my favorite saying goes, when life gives you quests you do the fucking quests.

I told Mel about it and what it said.

And then, even though it was well after bedtime, we got to work.

Hours passed in a montage of menial tasks. We swept and scrubbed and wiped and repaired. Using both of our strength stats combined, we moved furniture and rearranged things to match the flow that I knew I needed. We then took inventory of our various supplies and wrote a note for what needed to be replaced.

A handful of ceramic bowls and plates had succumbed to final death. Some were still salvageable, but they were the minority. We also found that some of the spice canisters I had left upstairs were also gone, which would explain the faint spicy scent to the air.

My cooking pot was dinged but it was still mostly solid. I could likely get someone to hammer it out, but it felt a bit better this way. Like it had personality.

When the cleaning was done, we locked up and went to bed.

Mel fell asleep instantly, but I laid there in my cot, staring at our shared ceiling for a few more hours.

My body ached. I wanted nothing more than sleep.

But my brain refused to let it come.

Instead, I was worried.

Frightened, even.

Mel was right. My luck stat had gotten me far. I'd played things fast and loose so far, but my haphazard way of bumbling through obstacles was getting me in more and more trouble. I needed to start thinking through things. Not that the world gave me time to do so, but maybe if I put an ounce of trust into those around me, they could help me think through them together. Instead of me just always assuming I knew best.

I finally drifted off to sleep.

And as I lay dreaming, I found myself in a lovely little enchanted forest, suspended from time, sitting for hours with my most favorite person in the world. Smiling. Laughing. Talking.

It was a lovely dream.