Mei Ruan May 16th, 20xx

The heavy vase I carried slowed me down as I flew toward the garden I’d given Cai. I’d ended up winning a pretty valuable plant off someone while I’d been out with Talan to relax.

When filled with magic, the plant would instantly bloom and its petals release a pleasant fragrance around the room that could help one relax. I didn’t have much of a use for it so I’d decided to give it to Cai as a present.

At first, I’d intended to wait until he returned from the human world but eventually decided to go and place it in the garden myself. That way I could take a look around and see if there was anything else I could place into it.

As for tending to my own garden, I feared that I wouldn’t have enough time to do so. As well, I knew that such a hobby wouldn’t suit the mighty ‘General Ruan,’ so I had to deal with occasionally visiting the one I’d given Cai.

It was a bit of a twisted reason to give a present to someone but he’d seemed happy enough with it and had even asked to have the garden built within his inner chambers.

Once again I was taken aback as I looked at the building that was referred to as the prince’s chambers and flew through the doors, depending on the building to recognize my magic signature and let me in.

It was a tad inappropriate for me to be registered as a rightful guest of where his highness slept and attended to his daily activities but since he didn’t seem to mind too much I chose not to bring it up.

I did make a mental note to remind Akseli to remind Cai of proper regulations though.

The feeling of being surrounded by the overwhelming amount of clean magic swept through me and I slowed down as I flew through the building and towards the garden.

It was common for the feeling to linger long after he had left for the human world so the density of purified magic didn’t bother me too much, but I was put on guard.

It wasn’t possible that he would try to ‘ambush’ me again was it?

The memory of Cai hung upside down by an ankle and grinning foolishly at me floated to the forefront of my mind and made me smile as well.

I suddenly got an idea and descended from the air onto the ground, then set the vase down at the entrance of the garden, deciding to find a proper place for it later. I began to take light steps as I approached the pavilion and kept my magic as close to myself as possible.

The smile didn’t last for long though as I got to the entrance of the pavilion where Cai typically liked to spend his time and noticed the childish lock he’d thrown onto it.

It was odd that he would take care to lock anything in the entirety of the palace, never mind in his inner chambers. Had someone overstepped their boundaries and started going through his things? Or was there something he wanted to hide.

I quickly undid the lock and strode in, planning to investigate but was stopped in my tracks by the sight.

An incredibly detailed statue of a human male had been placed at the center of the room, where it would be exposed to direct sunlight and had been carefully separated from the other parts of the heavily decorated pavilion.

I circled the statue a few times and sank into thought as I inspected it and tried to figure out where it had come from.

It was a long-outdated tradition by now but at one point, marble statues had been in vogue as a courting gift. I’d even considered getting one for Cai at a point but had decided against it once I had actually met him.

The prince’s overwhelming magic had flooded all immediate traces of another fairy’s magic so I couldn’t make out who had sent it.

I didn’t consider myself much of a jealous fairy and knew I could even be considered tolerant, but for some reason, the sight of the statue that had been so carefully hidden away and placed so carefully was irritating to the eye.

After all, the thought that there was a fairy that dared attempt to steal my fiancée out from under my nose showed a grave disrespect towards me. Both as the general of the Ruan army and as the future queen.

For those reasons and a few more, I chose to destroy the statue.

At most I could say it had been an accident and give Cai a new one if he had any complaints.

Before that though, I chose to do an undoing spell. The last spell whoever had sent this statue would have cast would most likely have been a spell to hide traces of their magic. I couldn’t locate a card either so Cai had probably taken it with him or, I hoped, had disposed of it.

The statue began to tremble as the previously cast spell undid itself and the thick fog of royal magic lifted. I tried to peer through it to see whatever magic was left but was shocked at the sight before me. The marble sheen began to retreat and left behind the warm tone of a living being... more specifically a human.

For a moment I was so shocked that I could only stare in horror as the human began to stumble and yell around.

I tried to apply the little knowledge I knew about human language to translate what he was saying but he was speaking too fast for me to put much effort into it.

What was important was finding out how he had gotten here and why.

The human then let out a strangled sound as he stared at me, or rather, at the wings on my back.

His mouth slightly popped open as he choked on his words and his eyes frantically darted around, probably trying to find Cai, and stumbled backwards from me in fear. He kept looking up at me and his pupils stayed glued to my wings as he panicked. It was while he kept this pose that the thin ring of decay finally caught my attention.

Then things started to come together.

I knew Cai had human friends so it was unlikely that he'd taken an interest in this human and decided to bring it over as a statue. The more likely option was that he'd accidentally brought the human over and had panicked when he started to show signs of decay. It was probably also why he'd used such an outdated method to buy himself time.

It was a long shot but I tried to talk to the human, in the hopes that maybe Cai had taught him some of our languages.

“Who are you?”

The human startled at my sudden speech but the heavy fog of confusion still clouded his eyes. He took a few deep breaths, although I wouldn’t have recommended doing so, and finally calmed down after realizing I couldn’t understand him and he couldn’t understand me.

He sank into thought and then started to motion long curly hair with his own short-cropped hair and large wings on his back in an attempt to communicate he was looking for Cai.

Unlike moving fairies to the human world, which needed a lot of equipment and supporting spells, acclimatizing a human to the fairy world was a much simpler deal.

Fairies not only used magic to breathe but also to support our organs, our bodies, and our minds. We also needed magic to support our wings. Since they were made of a thin amount of skin and an even thinner membrane atop them, they depended greatly on magic to work. If there was no magic to support them, it would be akin to dragging around a rotted arm and could have long-lasting implications even upon return. Humans, on the other hand, were much more adaptable, and as long as they could breathe, they could pretty much live anywhere. Well, I would have to cast a thin protective spell around his skin to avoid discoloration but gradual exposure to magic tended to benefit humans more than it harmed them.

I quickly raised my wand to cast the acclimatization spell, not wanting to risk accidentally killing the human with my hesitation but was stopped by the human letting out a shout and stepping back into a defensive posture; not that it would have done him any good had I chosen to attack.

Using the same method of charades, I tried to communicate that I was trying to help him but I eventually lost patience and knocked him out.

I was sure Cai would thank me for it, even if the human wouldn't.