"I gave you a chance. Why didn't you take it?" I said to the hooded fae standing in front of me. The quietness of the morning pools around us in its stillness as the first rays of dawn broke, painting the forest in shades and hues of pink.

The hooded fae huffed and folded her arms. "That was only a window of minutes demi-fae. How am I supposed to speak to her and tell her everything?"

I shrugged. There's nothing I could do anyway.

"Were you the one who helped Gabriella in the club?"

It was the fae's turn to shrug. "That's none of your business demi-fae."

At least she had called me demi-fae and not other names which I'm sure the fae have for creatures like us. We are after all abominations. Born from the union of a human and fae. Weak by standards of the full bloods and misfits in the Human World. We belong to neither. We are just simply outcasts. My phone started buzzing with a text from the headquarters and I groaned.

"You can't ask me that question when you failed to take care of my sister."

I can feel a headache coming. The number of hours I get from shuteye are getting more and more phenomenal each passing day. I wonder how the hell I'm still standing and kicking. I pulled my phone out from my jeans pocket. It's a notice of a rogue banshee and an international warrant for her capture.

"What's that? Did someone follow you?" The fae exclaimed in anger. "If you betray my location to anyone I will make sure that-"

"No one followed me. Chill princess. We're safe here. Your location is secure. This is the only place I can meet you without the influence of iron and I've checked the perimeters already. There's no one." Of course I didn't exactly check but who the hell will wake up at the crack of dawn just to come snooping around in the Garden of Sins?

When I had left the dorm, I made sure that the rest were still asleep.

Glancing around, the fae heaved a sigh of relief before pulling back her hood to reveal a pair of clear blue eyes and pale blonde locks. Her beauty is unprecedented for someone of royal blood. It isn't just her looks, but her plain clothes and an unspeakable charisma that draws others in.

"When can I meet her then? I need to speak with her. And I mean an actual conversation."

"Patience princess. We have another upcoming mission and Gabriella is soon undergoing training. She can't meet you now." Damien had shared his plans to us about initiating training for Gabriella. Both magic and physical. We are going to focus more on the physical because magic comes naturally to a wielder. There's nothing we can do to force her magic out unless there are experts somewhere in the Faerie Realm.

Based on what we've seen, Gabriella's powers do not manifest unless she's in a sticky situation and under pressure.

"When does this mission end?" The second high princess of the High Court asked me. Sometimes I wonder why my luck is always down in the gutters. I was just snooping around the gateway and I just had to bump into someone sneaking around. And this person just had to be a faerie princess who had the authority to give me what I wanted.

"After the next full moon. By then you should be able to meet her."

"That's too late." She groaned frustratedly. "I have stayed here long enough. Four days have gone by. The Autumn Solstice may have marked the slowing of time in the Faerie Realm but, time is ticking. I've already spent four days in the Human Realm which means almost one week has passed already." She muttered to herself.

"The Autumn Solstice is definitely ending. I have to get back soon. No, now." She muttered before uttering a very unladylike curse word. I raised my brows in surprise.

"Since I can't be there to personally tell her, then you'll pass this to her." She said as she pulled out a letter sealed with wax and handed it to me. If I hadn't seen the similarities there myself, I wouldn't believe it. Both Gabriella and the princess look alike, with high fae features that I can clearly see now. No wonder there was something about Gabriella that I can't seem to place my finger on.

I nodded and took the letter.

"What about our promise? If you return now, how am I going to pass through the gateway? And the information? I thought we had an agreement." I said angrily. If this woman tricked me I will have to take some drastic measures. Gabriella's sister or not.

"Right." She seems to be contemplating something but from her pocket she pulled out a piece of paper. "This is a list of the possible people who might be your father. After careful consideration and thought, I've jotted some of them down. Just a warning. There's no guarantee that they will turn out to be your true father. This is only speculation. I'm sorry but without access to the archives I can't confirm anything. This is all I have."

I gripped the piece of paper in my fists like a lifeline and bowed. "Thank you. This is already enough."

"At the Central Park, midnight, of the next month. Meet me at the weeping tree. I will try to make ends meet and bring you across if the war hasn't already erupted. Remember your promise. If you allow a single harm to come to Gabriella, I will make sure this is annulled and make your life a living hell." With that she placed her hood on before leaving me to stand alone in the forest of Soren's most prestigious university.

***

- Gabriella -

My phone rings again and I knew I couldn't avoid him forever. Even without the meeting with the Dark Beast, I would've chosen to avoid Res like the plague. It has been ringing throughout my lessons and I'm making excuses along the way like "I'm in a lesson, let's not answer that" and "who answers a call while eating?".

But now my classes are over and I'm taking a recharge under the green foliage of our usual spot in the Garden of Sins. The sun beat down on me relentlessly and I had to hide under the cover of some bushes to avoid its glare.

My tank top is already half drenched in my sweat.

I sighed as I picked up my phone. "Hello?"

"Hey could I speak with you face to face." Res' breathless voice sounded over the speakers and I immediately regretted my decision to answer the call. "Wait Gabriella don't hang up."

I said nothing as I listened to Res' heavy breathing. He seems to be catching his breath from running after something. "Listen. I know it was insensitive on my part to dump the load of my feelings on you. But what's done is done. The past few days got me thinking... maybe I shouldn't have unloaded and pressurized you to feel something you don't. Or maybe it was my part being hopeful. I just wanted to say I'm ready to face whatever your reply is."

Internally, I'm groaning and slapping myself. This is not going to be good. I'm laden with guilt. If things were different and had my powers not awakened one fateful night weeks ago, maybe I would've said yes.

"Right....Where do I meet you?"

"Um... well are you free in the evening? You can come over to my place at the guy's dormitories. I also have something to tell you. I think I have fallen for Clau-" The call disconnected and the beep beep beep of the line left me hanging.

"Hello? Res?" What was he going to tell me? Has Res fallen for someone else...? Isn't that great?

All I felt was slight relief that Res won't be feeling as much hurt if I were to turn him down. But the happiness for him that should be there is empty. I must be a heartless monster.

My phone went off again and I answered it immediately thinking it was Res. "Hello Briel? It's Rebbeca." Once again I'm transported back into mum's studio room and there she sat smiling at me. "Mum? Is that you?"

"Yes Briel. It's me." She sighed. "You know life is boring without you around. It's quieter with just me and my paintings." I smiled and blinked away my tears.

"School has been pretty great. I met a bunch of friends and now we seem to hang out everyday." I endured the burning in my throat. The first time I tried to lie, my throat burned with such an intensity that I couldn't even breathe. Since then, I never lied.

Vesna said that half-truths are easier because the fae can't lie. It is a taboo for the fae to lie, like a geas or an unspoken vow. I guess half-truths kinda work since the pain is easier to deal with. Somewhere along the phone line Rebecca laughs.

"So my baby girl has been enjoying the time of her life and forgot all about her mum."

I winced at the statement because it was true. The things on my plate have started to accumulate until it pushed all my thoughts about Rebecca from the back of my head.

"But Gabriella I'm glad you're enjoying your time there, you deserve to have the chance to do so. Recently, there's been a new customer who wishes for some of my artworks. He's rather prestigious, an art collector. So I'm not all that bored even if I made it sound as it was. Don't blame me, I just miss having you around." I laughed.

"If you ever come back for the night, there's some ice-cream in the fridge. Remember to keep the place clean if you bring your friends. I will be at the office studio for a few weeks. The new customer has some fresh ideas that has made my boss inspired and fired up the team. Guess I can finally get out of the house and do something new yay!"

I smiled at her enthusiasm. One thing you can never take away from Rebecca is her passion for her work. "Bye mum, miss you."

***

5 p.m. sounds like a good timing for an evening. I stared at the text message Res sent me. After the call cut off, he messaged me the location of his dormitory. I checked the block number and made sure it was the right one before heading into the building. The student dorms don't have glass elevators and air-conditioners, but stairs, and Res' room is located on the fifth floor.

As I climbed the stairs, I thought about what I should say to make things feel less hurtful. Isabelle and Vesna had given me advice when I told them about my situation. "You should make it clear. Break it clean with him." Vesna was saying. Isabelle nodded.

"You guys are not meant for each other. The fae blood in you will make things complicated and we still don't know your exact origins. I know I sound contradicting, but Damien is different. There are ways to open a human's sight but all the methods require some form of payment." Isabelle said. "The most you can do is to let him down slowly."

I bit my lip as my mind wandered to the conversation that will take place soon. If what Res said was about him falling for someone else, then it might just make things easier.

I knocked on his door but it was unlocked and it stood slightly open. With a frown, I pushed it. "Res? I'm here. Let's talk about this and settle our feelings once and for all."

Something crashed loudly and I pushed the door further, hastily stepping into his room. Books are strewn all over the place in a mess. Res' prone figure laid on the ground with a trickle of blood running down his nose. "Res? Hey? Are you okay?" I shook his shoulders but he only let out a moan before slipping into unconsciousness. "What the hell happened? For Suola's sake!" A slip of my tongue to mention the dark queen's name. The squad members must have rubbed off on me.

"Suola's sake? I see, so you're a demi-fae." I turned my head and saw Claudia staring at me with a strange expression on her face.