Note: Stormy (mentioned) belongs to GeekyCookie1

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Hours before his birthday bash began, Jesse was ordering the servants alongside Iris to do simple tasks [that arguably could have been done themselves]. Holding hands, Jesse tenderly smiled in the girl's direction.

"Thanks for being letting me use your place for the birthday bash, babe," Jesse softly said, kissing her right cheek. Since announcing Iris as his plus-one, he took things a step farther and confirmed the rumors that Iris was his girlfriend. Now the two were always seen being affectionate towards each other and never out of each other's sights.

"Not a problem," Iris gleefully stated, softly squeezing his hand. "I'm honored to host the bash this year," she continued, briefly pausing her conversation to lash out at a servant for hanging one of the chandeliers incorrectly.

"B... But mademoiselle—"

"The chandelier is supposed to go in the other direction!" Iris angrily exclaimed, essentially frightening the nymph servant trying to do their job. "Is your kind truly incompetent? It's so simple, even a wingless Fae could do it," she sneered as the servant blinked.

"If it's so simple, why don't you do it?" the nymph servant bitterly mumbled as Iris held their throat tightly. "If I wanted to do this job myself, I would have done it, but I won't, because it's above my duties in Avalon. You, on the other hand, have no real purpose in Avalon except serving those above your station," she sharply answered.

"Now, do the job correctly and never talk back to me again. If you disobey my orders, you'll lose more just than your job," she threatened, lowering her voice before releasing the servant's throat, who quickly climbed back onto the ladder in complete silence, proceeding to fix the chandelier to Iris's liking.

Satisfied, Iris went back to Jesse, who smiled proudly at his girlfriend. When she saw his smile, Iris returned the gesture with ease. She was finding herself truly falling in love with the Jesse she created. No longer having to hear him ramble about his obsession with the human realm, Iris felt she was truly at peace.

Even better since her little mind game, she has heard nothing but Jesse saying just the most dreadful things about Aliya and her family. It was perfect; Iris had a boyfriend she could finally be proud of.

She thought about ending her control over him, but seeing Jesse like this (who was supportive of her verbally abusing one of the servants, when she knew he would criticize her action in the past), Iris decided she would simply marry him like this. Why waste a good thing? Besides, Iris still had control over her powers.

As long as nothing went wrong tonight, she was almost guaranteeing herself a spot as Jesse's fiancé and the best part? He wouldn't be able to decline her marriage proposal!

Iris was so delightfully happy, she could almost jump for joy! But she needed to contain her excitement for tonight, so as she giggled when Jesse twirled her around, it was really her subtle way of saying she was currently winning life. "What did you get me?" Jesse teasingly asked as Iris softly pecked his lips.

"Now, that's a surprise, my prince," Iris cheekily answered, doing her best to keep her expression neutral. If she got herself too excited, she might have spilled her plan to him right then and there. But luckily for her, she was able to keep Jesse from getting suspicious.

"Then I will definitely look forward to your surprise, my Queen," Jesse answered, a subtle tenderness in his tone as the two kissed once more. Pulling away, Iris still saw the red tint in his eyes, a sure sign that he was still under her spell. "Good," she softly said, both to Jesse's response and her inner glee that her decision to continue using her powers hasn't backfired on her.

"I am truly honored to be your boyfriend, Iris," Jesse sincerely stated, grinning brightly when he saw her smile light up. "I can't possibly see myself with anyone else. You're the only one for me, and I would do anything just to see your bright smile every day," he affectionately continued, much to his girlfriend's satisfaction.

Iris's smile grew larger, knowing she was bound to win at this point. She was inching closer and closer towards obtaining Jesse as her husband, getting him to work alongside her and her father to overthrow their current royal rulers and ensuring her father's life wouldn't be jeopardize.

Victory was so close, she could almost savor it! It was impossible not to get excited, especially since she knew there was no way for that pesky useless faerie would come spoil her night.

Everything was truly perfect.

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Once the event actually began, Jesse noticed Ambrose stepping away from the festivities as he felt unwell. Although Iris insisted her father was stressed and simply needed to rest, he had a hunch that there was more behind it. However, he refused to ask, out of respect for his girlfriend.

His girlfriend, gosh, Jesse could hardly stop himself from smiling. She was smart, resourceful, beautiful, charming, irresistible.... Jesse thought he could go on and on about her. He was so incredibly lucky that she got to be his girlfriend as Jesse didn't want it any other way.

At least, that's what he thought until he saw Castor and some girl next to him.

"Hey Castor, buddy, where have you been these last few days? We hardly saw you," Jesse insisted, trying to sound casual, but it was clear he still felt some tension towards him.

But when he saw the girl, whose eyes were concealed by a light pink mask, he found himself staring at her as she was wearing a soft light pink ball gown with white pearls, accompanied by a white lotus flower and her elegant bun with parts of her hair flowing down. He didn't know how, but somehow, she felt familiar to him.

"Oh, you know, being a knight is time-consuming, so I've been at the palace," Castor explained, actively choosing to dismiss the tenseness of Jesse's tone as Iris took a sip out of her drink.

"Is being a knight truly time-consuming?" Iris asked, placing her drink down as one of the servants passed by. "It must not be, if you had enough time to get a girlfriend," she insisted, as Jesse found himself unwilling to look away from Castor's mysterious date.

"Though I admit, she is pretty. Perhaps too pretty..." Iris mumbled, which Jesse took her response as a chance to be nice to the girl. "Yeah, she's pretty cute," Jesse insisted as Iris stared at him. "But not as pretty as you, my Queen," Jesse quickly added, confused as to why he had called Castor's date "cute."

He was fine, up until he saw this girl... So, what was up? Why was he suddenly acting weird? Jesse had Iris and he loved her. He always loved her, and nothing would change that. But the more he found himself staring at the mysterious girl, the longer he found thinking whether or not, he might have made a mistake.

"So, where are you from, love?" Iris plainly asked, though it was clear that Jesse heard the jealousy in her tone. "I'm from Canti Hallows, but recently moved to Fairytopia after Castor told me he got accepted as a knight," the girl casually explained, observing as his girlfriend eyed the stranger closely.

"Huh. I don't recall Castor mentioning you," Iris insisted as Castor protectively held his girlfriend's hand. Jesse tried to pretend he wasn't finding himself attracted to Castor's date, but that was slowly becoming a understatement.

"You never asked. Maybe, if you actually cared about my friendship, I would have gladly told you," Castor boldly shot back, much to the surprise of Jesse and Iris. That's when Jesse shook his head and stepped in. "Watch it," Jesse warned Castor as Iris calmed her boyfriend down by stroking his chin. "Babe, it's fine. He's clearly just trying to show off to his girlfriend," Iris insisted before she and Jesse began laughing.

"Actually, you're the one trying to show off to your boyfriend by using him as a way to hold onto your fragile ego. My boyfriend has the right to call you out, but I wouldn't expect you to understand," the girl chimed in, much to the couple's surprise. "Excuse me?" Iris angrily asked, caught off-guard by the girl's response.

"Iris, was it? You heard me the first time," she boldly stated, now stepping in front of Castor to defy his girl. "I won't repeat myself twice. If you forgot, then you figure it out," she sharply concluded as Jesse quietly found himself feeling guilty for making fun of Castor. Wait, why was he beginning to feel guilty now?

"Now if you excuse us, we are going to some quality time together and away from the likeness of you two," the girl finished, glaring at the two in disgust, though Jesse sworn when she made eye contact with him, there was almost a hint of sadness in her eyes. As he watched her walk off with Castor, Jesse actually had to stop himself from calling out to the girl.

"Who does that girl think she is?" Iris angrily exclaimed, fuming underneath her breath as Jesse merely shrugged, his eyes following the girl and her boyfriend. "I don't know, but whoever that girl is underneath the mask, she's truly extraordinary. I can see why Castor likes her so much," Jesse answered, his voice in a dream-like tone.

"You're not falling in love with her, are you?" Iris asked, trying to keep her anger in check as Jesse immediately shook his head. "What? No! You're the only one for me, babe. There's no one else I would rather be with than you," Jesse stated, but somehow he didn't sound convinced by his words.

"Why do you ask?" Jesse asked, finding himself pulling away when she tried holding his chin once more. It was a small moment, so he didn't think nothing of it, but Iris knew Jesse was lying straight to her face, because his eyes were slowly becoming less red, a sure sign he was beginning to fall out of her control.

"Oh... Nothing," Iris assured him, before sending Jesse off. As her eyes landed on the mystery girl chatting with her boyfriend and mangling with a few of the guests, she thought about approaching Castor's girlfriend, but before she could, the guests were screaming as the lights turned off.

Then, a few seconds later, the lights came back on, but Castor nor his girlfriend were in sight. "Huh, very interesting," Iris silently whispered to herself, before glancing at her gemstone and observed the crowd around her. Iris knew her plan was about to come with several risks, but she was done holding back for the sake of her father.

At this point, she knew Aliya was somewhere within the house and Iris was determined to rid herself of the girl, once and for all. "I hope you're ready to play, Aliya, because the game is on. It's time to see what I can really do," she whispered, touching her gemstone with a sinister smirk.

"Let the games begin."

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As Aliya and Castor searched through one of the rooms, the two came across an ancient book titled The Siren's Lifestyle: Pros and Cons. Staring at the title, the two blinked.

"Well, if this book doesn't count as obvious proof Iris and her father are lying, I don't know what will," she said as Castor laughed, to which she smiled. "Yeah, that will do it for you," he cheekily said, staring at Aliya longer than necessary. However as she set the book down and continued searching, the two heard singing.

Aliya didn't think nothing of it, because she thought Lillian and Jaxon were using their decent singing skills to distract the crowd, but when the song got louder, she realized this singer was more high-pitched and arguably more on-key. Castor, on the other hand, began holding his head.

"Ow..."

When she heard his soft "ow," Aliya turned around to see Castor's feet swaying. From there, she managed to catch him before Castor fell. "Hey, are you alright?" she followed up, her voice full of concern. "Yeah, I'm fine," he insisted, before the two heard footsteps.

Grabbing the book, Aliya and Castor quickly made their way underneath the stairway as she sighed. "Aliya, I don't know if I should go with you," he said, backing away as she blinked. "Cas, I'm sure you are—" she began, before seeing Castor hold his head again as the singing grew louder.

"Oh, Aliya! I know you and Castor are over here!" Iris exclaimed in a sing-song tone, her voice dangerously low. "Just come out, you two and I grant you whatever you want," she insisted. "Nonsense! I'm taking my chances with Aliya!" Castor shot back as Aliya softly stared in his direction. She forgot how nice it was when people defended her.

"Castor, sweetheart, if you take your chances with her, she'll lead you astray. Aliya is a liar and manipulative at best," Iris began as Aliya tried appearing unfazed by the words, but Castor could see every word went through the girl like a sword. "She'll just use you, hurt you and leave just like everyone else in your life," she continued as Castor's eyes flinched, resembling a pained look that Aliya never saw before.

"Hey, don't listen to her. She's just trying to get to into your head. I don't know what happened in your life, but I'm not going to do any of those things to you," Aliya firmly stated as she held his hand. Staring into her eyes, Castor saw nothing but pure honesty and her tone told everything. She truly had no intention on abandoning him, and he couldn't help but smile.

"You think you found someone, a kindred spirit who gets you, but Cas, the truth is you and her are nothing alike," Iris continued as Castor's smile faded, as he stared at Aliya with a blank look.

Still, she never let go of his hand, hoping he would be able to fight Iris off. Though Aliya wondered how Iris was getting through to Castor, despite the distance. Iris was directly by her ear when she attempted to lure Aliya, with no success. As she glanced back at the book, she wondered just how fast Iris was able to advance in her skills.

"Unlike the freak, you're meant for so much more. If you give her up now, I'll make sure people know your name, and you'll never be underestimated again. You'll get the adoration you always deserved," Iris continued, touching her gemstone as she smirked.

As he heard the words, Aliya noticed his blank stare shift to one of disgust when his focus when directly to her. "If I go with her, she'll make me respected," he slowly said, his golden brown eyes beginning to turn into a scarlet shade. When this happened, she panicked and indirectly slapped him.

"Ow!"

"Look, I'm sorry, but you and I both know Iris doesn't really care about you. She made it clear when she laughed at you. She doesn't take your friendship seriously. Do you really want to be lured in by someone who is just as willing to throw you away at a second glance?"

As Castor thought about Aliya's words, his eyes began losing the red tint, being replaced by his golden brown eyes. "No... not really," he began. "But being adored by everyone..." he continued, trailing off as he let go of her hand. "Castor—" she persisted, before getting interrupted.

"I can get everything I ever wanted just by giving you up," he said, his look of disgust towards her coming back as he laughed. "Why should I be defending some freak like you, anyways? You're not special. You're nothing. In fact, you should have just died when you had the chance," he spat at her as Aliya flinched at his words.

She knew Castor was in the process of being controlled by Iris, so he was saying what Iris wanted him to say, but still. Hearing the words out of his mouth when the two were just beginning to be close... She could do her best to ignore Iris (though most of the time, Aliya was unsuccessful with her efforts), because by now, Aliya got used to it, but Castor?

Aliya genuinely found herself liking him, so each word literally stabbed through her heart. But instead, she managed a small smile and did her best to keep her voice steady.

"You shouldn't. You have no right to defend me, and that's fine. Whatever you say, I've been heard a thousand times from everyone else. So, that's fine. Say whatever you want about me. Say I'm nothing, or how I'm not special, or... or how I should have died when given the chance, but I refuse to let Iris control you," Aliya began, which caught Castor off-guard.

"Castor, you are so arrogant and you are so, so annoying but you're also thoughtful and caring when others take the time to know you. You try to act like you don't care, but in reality, you care a lot. It's why you got upset when Iris neglected you as a friend, and it's why you chose to stick with me this whole time."

"No, that's not true."

"You know it's true," Aliya countered back. "You're not here because of this truce being temporary, or getting revenge on Iris by having me as your fake girlfriend. You're here to save Jesse, because deep down, you value your friendship with him, even if you're not the one to show it. You care about him, and in turn, you began to care about me."

"No!"

"Okay, prove it. Turn me in, then. Right here, right now. Call out to her, announce my presence, whatever you need to do to ensure you get her to me," Aliya promptly challenged, patiently waiting for the boy to make his move. He momentarily froze, his eyes flickering between scarlet red and his original golden brown eyes. In the end, he made his choice.

"Aliya, go," Castor pleaded, trying to fight against Iris's control. "You can still make it out of here," he added, solemnly glancing at her as Aliya saw his eyes flickering between scarlet red and his golden brown eyes once more.

"No, I'm not leaving you behind," she firmly stated. "I don't care whether you think I'm stupid for taking you along with me, or what, but you're my friend, Cas. No matter what happens, we can deal with it, together," she confidently added, holding out her hand to him.

"Aliya, I..." Castor softly began, before trailing off as he gripped onto his head. "Cas!" she called out, whispering his name but as he stood up, his eyes were now scarlet and his eyes remained directly on her, anger and disgust in his face. "Cas..." she whispered solemnly, before clenching her fist.

"Oh, Aliya, where are you?" Iris called out as Castor began opening his mouth, to which she reacted by quickly covering his mouth. "Sorry," she whispered, trying to figure a way out when her elbow activated a secret passage.

"That works," she mumbled, once again taking her chances with where the room would lead her and Castor. As she grabbed the boy's arm and the book, the two entered the passageway by going down a slide, the wall sealing itself up. In between holding Castor, she also had to deal with the boy trying to allegedly kill her.

"Thanks, Iris," she sarcastically mumbled to herself, continuing to hold Castor when the slide threw them onto the ground. As the two fell, Aliya went to assist Castor. "Hey, are you alright?" she asked, pretending she didn't see his beady, glowing scarlet red eyes in the dark as the young faerie held out her hand to him.

Aliya was hoping kindness would actually win and bring the old version of him back, but when Castor knocked her onto the ground, she was partially annoyed and irritated by the process. She had dragged him into the passageway in this state, so now Aliya was forced to deal with the consequences of her decision.

"Fine, I never thought I would have to fight in the dark, but here we go," she mumbled, forcing herself to stand up as she tried to train her eyes on Castor. Unfortunately in the dark, the knight was faster, smarter and really had the advantage of using his power source: the bracelets.

Despite her efforts to use his power source to put Castor as a disadvantage, this version of Castor saw through her attempts, blocking Aliya at every turn. As she found herself thrown against the wall, her back had landed on a power source as the lights came on.

"Give up. I'll take you down right here," Castor insisted, as Aliya struggled to stand up. So in response, she wheeled a vanity mirror in his direction as Castor made his way to her. But when he saw himself in his current state, he froze as Aliya collapsed onto the ground.

"Aliya!"

In that moment, Castor's eyes fully reverted back to his golden brown eyes as he pushed the mirror back and helped the girl stand on her feet. "Hey, welcome back," she said, as Castor brushed her hair back, careful not to damage her lotus flower. When she was able to stand on her own, Castor only shook his head.

"You're crazy, you know that? You could have just left on your own, but you didn't and despite everything, you still chose to..." he momentarily paused, choosing to reflect on his words as he trailed off, watching as Aliya couldn't stop herself from laughing, even when the words were true.

"... stay by my side," he softly finished, observing the way her eyes lit up and sparked in spite of everything going on. From her infectious smile to her willingness to defend him, Castor couldn't stop himself from staring at her. Beforehand, he would have absolutely laughed at the idea of falling for someone beneath him, but now, he wouldn't mind the idea of potentially spending his life with her.

"Heh, um, I hate to rude, but you've been staring at me longer tonight than in the few interactions we had prior. Is there something I should know?" Aliya softly pointed out, as Castor's hair glowed from her response, which only made things worse for him when he saw her cute, innocent smile.

"No, there's nothing to know!" Castor answered in a panic, feeling embarrassed from staring at her for too long, so he forcibly made himself look away from Aliya. "Anyways, what room are we in?" he asked, taking a deep breath as his hair began returning back to normal.

"I... uh..." Aliya began, before awkwardly rubbing the back of her neck. "To be honest, I don't really know," she said, staring at the cave-like room. As the two searched the area, Castor and Aliya came across different vials, scattered images and a series of clear crystal necklaces.

While Castor held one of the vials, Aliya's eyes lingered on a old image of the Senior Fae with her mother in their teenage years. While he looked happy, she couldn't help but notice her mother's forced smile, even though it was taken years later.

"Huh. He must have really loved her if the Senior Fae chose to keep a picture of your mom, and not have any pictures of Iris's mother," he chimed in as Aliya blinked.

"Yeah... That is weird," she mumbled, flipping the photo to find some words written on the back. "To my lost love, one day, you will see the fatal mistake you made in choosing Issac and Stormy over me. You'll see that we were meant to be, and when you do, I'll be here, ready to help you live the life you were supposed to have. Sincerely, Ambrose," she finished as her eyes widened.

"Whoa!"

"What?"

"He still has feelings for my mom!" Aliya exclaimed, the realization dawning on her as she laughed. "No wonder why he despises me so much! I'm the product of the path my mother chose with my dad and my aunt, rather than the one the Senior Fae envisioned with her," she finished.

"Well, he is just being extremely petty at this point," Castor insisted as Aliya chuckled, placing the image back. "Oh! What does that vial say?" she asked, staring at the reddish vial. "The words are kinda hard to make out," he insisted, just as a growl was heard.

"What was that?" Castor and Aliya immediately asked each other, their eyes cautiously glancing around as the growling continued. "I'll protect you!" Castor exclaimed, pulling Aliya close to him as she established distance between them, though she maintain her politeness. "Yeah, you have some work to do in terms of protecting me," she mumbled.

As the growling grew closer, Castor and Aliya soon saw a staggered beast with white, hairy fur whose eyes were coldly grey and eerily lacked any resemblance of a soul. With their long, sharp nails, the beast walked around aimlessly in search of something.

Seeing how the beast didn't recognize their presence yet, Aliya thought the two could make it out with ease, until Castor fell, the motion attracting the attention of the beast, whose eyes were now set on them.

With a loud growl, the beast ran towards the two as Castor activated his bracelets before smirking. "Hang on," he said, holding Aliya close as he used his bracelets to create a shield before teleporting the two out of the mystery room.

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Landing back at the dance floor, Castor and Aliya held onto each other as Lillian and Jaxon helped the two stand up, before Aliya felt her back, realizing her illusion wings had vanished and worse, she didn't apply her old wings back on before leaving her house.

"Well, look at who finally decided to show up at the party. We have the wingless freak, the traitorous knight and her half-hybrid freaks," Iris began, teleporting herself to the center as she sneered at the four. "I'm guessing she didn't like the distraction?" Aliya whispered to Lillian and Jaxon nodded.

"Castor, it really is a shame you chose to switch sides for the freak and her friend. You really could have been someone important had you remained loyal to my cause," Iris insisted, attempting to stroke his chin when he stepped back.

"I never needed you to make me feel important, and you hardly did anything to keep me loyal to your cause in the first place," he confidently told her, crossing his arms. "Tough break, I know, but I found someone better to root for, so if that's wrong, then I must be a freak too," he added, catching Lillian and Jaxon by surprise.

"Did we miss something, or when he did...." the siblings whispered, trailing off as the two gestured to Castor. "It's a long story," she admitted, though that didn't stop her from smiling at Castor for standing up to Iris.

Growling, Iris snapped her fingers. "Attack!" Iris ordered as the audience all turned on the four, their eyes all red.

"Did we miss something or why..." Castor and Aliya whispered as the two siblings glanced at each other. "That's a long story," the siblings answered as Castor and Aliya only nodded, observing the tired look on Lillian and Jaxon's faces.

In the midst of the fight, the creature from the mystery room reemerged as Castor and Aliya glanced at each other. "You know what to do," Iris whispered to the beast as the beast growled, their eyes set on the four.

"Wait, isn't that a soul seeker?" Lillian and Jaxon asked as Castor laughed. "A what?" he asked. "A soul seeker," Jaxon repeated, "A soul seeker is a type of mythical creature that feast on their victims to obtain their bodies and their powers for eternal immortality, but it is a curse of itself," they continued without skipping a beat.

"Once you feast on your first prey's blood, the host is cursed to this lifestyle and if they fail to feast on time, then every full moon, they revert to this form. The tales of soul seekers are usually told as a myth to prevent young Avalonians from getting close to strangers, but as of tonight, the myth is definitely real," Lillian finished for her sibling, who was preoccupied in the moment.

"I'm surprised you never heard of the myth. It's usually a common staple around here," Lillian insisted as Castor shrugged. "Well, I'm from Canti Hollow, so..." he said, before trailing off. "Oh," Lillian mumbled as her eyes widened.

"Aliya, look out!"

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As Aliya blocked his attack, Jesse angrily growled in her direction, actively trying to ensure she wouldn't be able to defend herself. "Dude, why — are — you — so — angry?" she asked, dodging each attack with a tiny squeak. She tried keeping up with him, but Jesse knew it was only a matter of time until Aliya cracked.

Instead of answering, Jesse just continued becoming more aggressive in his moves, at the point nearly attempting to crack her head, which she barely managed to dodge. A lot of her moves were now becoming near fatal stances, which made Jesse feel better, knowing that victory was right around the corner.

"Jesse, if you're still in there, I know you can fight off her control! You did it once before you got to me, and you can do it again!" she cried out as he laughed at her pity attempts to make him weak. "No! You will not get me again!" Jesse exclaimed, now screaming at her, unwittingly gaining a crazed look in his eyes.

"Iris, call this off! The longer he stays under your control, the more deranged he's going to become!" Aliya exclaimed, now practically pleading with his girlfriend, observing as backed herself into a corner. "Hmm... No. He's much better like this," she insisted, the soul seeker and Jesse standing next to Iris.

"Seek her," Iris ordered the soul seeker, who nodded. As the soul seeker charged at her, Aliya 'casually' tossed the remaining drink onto the soul seeker, the clear liquid causing part of their face to melt as the soul seeker charged at her, screeching out in pain. Upon holding onto the soul seeker by the neck, Aliya held the sliver crystal necklace, tearing the necklace off.

"No!"

With the soul seeker's form now fading away, the fur melted away, revealing the Senior Fae, who was now unconscious. Dropping him, Aliya held onto the necklace. "You will pay for this," Iris threatened, preparing to charge at her, but it was Jesse who initiated the act by grabbing a spear.

"Iris, call everything off now, and perhaps no one will know about the two of you being liars," Aliya ordered as Iris boldly laughed. "No," she answered. "Now, I just really want to see you die. Since you're weak to pull off your own death the first time, consider this a gift," she insisted, growling as Jesse's eyes grew darker than before.

Charging at her, Jesse's strength escalated with Aliya now struggling to be par on him, so when he tried landing a punch, he was shocked when the girl had disappeared. By the time Jesse managed to register Castor's sheepish look, Jesse realizing that he was tricked by an illusionist.

So when he saw the real Aliya grabbing Iris's necklace from behind, something snapped inside him. He knew his strength had escalated and Aliya would crumble with one final move. With each hit she took, Jesse knew the girl was getting weaker. Despite no harm actually coming to his girlfriend, he still a strong amount of anger towards Aliya and knew she had to go, right then and there.

"Let go of me!" Iris screamed as Lillian and Jaxon held onto her. "I will make you pay for ruining everything," she threatened Aliya, before glancing over to see Jesse picking up the spear. "I didn't ruin everything, just this one night," Aliya clarified with a shrug, not checking from behind.

"If I have to suffer, then so will you, Fae-maid," Iris darkly added, before spitting directly into Aliya's face. Before Aliya had a chance to speak, Jesse rammed the spear into her, actively ensuring she felt the same way he did at the moment before pulling the spear out.

"J... Jesse," she began as Jesse held her throat, the others watching in horror. "Any last words before your funeral?" he asked as Aliya weakly smiled, her eyes watering from his words. "I'm sorry for e... everything, but not for saving you," she said, before dropping the necklace.

Jesse tried to catch his girlfriend's gemstone, but as the gem shattered, everyone's eyes went back to normal as Iris pushed Lillian and Jaxon off of her, rushing to pick up the pieces of her heirloom.

As Jesse realized he was still holding Aliya's throat, he immediately released his grip on her, stepping back as he stared at his bloody hands, a glimpse of panic rising inside him as he made himself look at Aliya, who could barely stand. Glancing at the spear, Jesse only saw the sliver blood dripping from the tip for him to know what he did.

Almost instantly, his heart sank as he stared at the girl's newfound state. Her light pink dress was stained with her white lotus flower now stained with sliver blood, parts of her dress torn. She must have looked beautiful at the start of the night, but because of him, Aliya was probably going to die.

"H... Hey, lover boy," Aliya weakly began, smiling before falling. "Aliya!" Jesse cried, trying to help her, but Castor ran to the girl's aid first, pushing Jesse aside as the knight held Aliya close, picking her body up before glaring at Jesse in disgust. It was clear to Jesse that Castor despised him and for once, he didn't even get upset.

Because in truth, Jesse had hated himself too.

"She tried saving you, and you are so incredibly stupid to realize just how important she is!" Castor angrily snapped at Jesse, who emotionlessly accepted his words. "If anything happens to her, I will—" Castor angrily continued, before getting cut off by Lillian and Jaxon.

"Let's just go. We got what we needed anyways," the siblings assured Castor, as Jaxon was the only one who gave him a pity look before the three teleported with Aliya. As Jesse stared at the mess around him, his eyes landed on Iris, who was still struggling to pick up all of the pieces to her gemstone.

But before he could even talk to her, Jesse felt his parents rushing to him. "Are you okay?" his parents asked, completely ignoring the blood on his clothes before pulling away as quickly as the couple had hugged him.

"Can you believe the mess that freak and her friends left behind? Your birthday bash is ruined!" his father cried as Jesse's stomach turned with disgust. "Iris, love, what happened?" his mother asked as Iris emotionally wiped her tears.

"Everything was fine, until the Fae-maid crashed the party and ruined everything. She tried manipulating Jesse to hurt me and she even convinced Castor to join her little freakish cult," Iris began, her voice on the edge of crying. "Worse, she even harmed my father, and now I don't know if he's going to be okay!" Iris exclaimed, before bursting into tears as Jesse's mother held the girl close.

"Hey, it's going to be okay. We'll make sure she pays for this," his mother assured him as his father held him close. "I am so sorry we failed to protect you from that dangerous freak. Apparently, she didn't get the memo, but I'll make sure she gets it the second time around," his father assured him as Jesse's stomach turned.

How could his parents believe Iris so easily and simply blame Aliya like this? Why did every incident associated with him need to be cover up just to further destroy Aliya's reputation?

"At least, she didn't ruin the surprise."

"What surprise?"

"Oh, Jessibear, I wanted to tell you during the big celebration but since that freak ruined everything, there's not much of a celebration left," she said, continuing to wipe her eyes before softly thanking Jesse's mother. Gaining her composure, Jesse suddenly felt tense.

"Jesse, I loved you since the day we first met. You're caring, generous...." As she started throwing these compliments in his direction, Jesse tuned her out. He couldn't believe this! She was actively lying to his parents and his parents didn't even care! His mom and dad were sincerely believing her every word!

".... Jesse, will you do me the honor of being my husband?" she finished as Jesse tuned in at the worst possible line. "It's okay if you're nervous. Your parents already said yes," she whispered, shifting from being sad to gleeful as Jesse's eyes widened.

"What?"

"Isn't this exciting, Jesse? How could you not say yes to her?" his parents delightfully asked as Jesse shook his head, darkly laughing. "Maybe, it's the fact she manipulated me into nearly killing my best friend! Or, maybe it's her only using me to elevate her status further!" Jesse began, slapping Iris's hand from his reach.

He was done with trying to defend her, and Jesse was done acting like Iris made him happy. "She couldn't even stand the real me, so she went and created a version she liked and you want me to say yes to that thing?" he angrily snapped, much to the concern of his parents, while Iris's face suddenly darkened.

"No! I will not be her husband! In fact, I don't even want to be by her!" Jesse exclaimed before sighing. "I'm sorry, but I don't love her and I will never be able to bring myself to love her. I love Aliya, but I screwed that up too. None of this would have happened, if I chose my heart and stuck by her side from the start," he finished, lowering as his voice as Iris's face fell.

"Oh, Jessibear! I was too late. Aliya did manage to corrupt you after all," Iris softly said, which finally set him off. "Aliya didn't corrupt me. You did!" Jesse firmly countered back to Iris, now sniffling as Jesse's mother frowned, holding the girl closer.

"Jesse, apologize to her now," his parents ordered as the boy tensed up. Still, even when he was telling them the truth, his parents still chose to believe in lies.

"No."

———————

When the three came back home, his parents were furious at their son while Jesse was arguably upset at his parents. As a result, the tensions between the three were quite high.

"What is wrong with you, son? Iris just offered you a marriage proposal, and you rejected her!" his father snapped, now yelling at Jesse, who only scoffed. "I'm not going to marry someone I don't love. How many times do I have to say this? Me and Iris are not compatible!" Jesse argued back, standing in front of his father.

"You were all over her these last couple of days," his mother pointed out. "Yeah, when Iris put a spell on me," Jesse justified, crossing his arms. "Are you sure it wasn't the Fae-maid who put a spell on you, sweetheart? Maybe, this was Iris's way of saving you," his mother softly said.

"Aliya."

"What?"

"Her name is Aliya and she's not some Fae-maid. Iris is the one who cursed me, but Aliya..." he trailed off, staring at his hands. "She saved me more times than I can count at this point and I couldn't stop myself from hurting her," he finished, mumbling a solemn "again" at the end.

"So, how much we start giving her some respect to her name?"

"Iris was right. Aliya did get inside your head."

"You don't listen, neither of you do," Jesse insisted, sighing afterwards. "I'm going to apologize to Aliya again, gain her trust and within time, maybe I can try asking her out when the time is right. I'm breaking up with Iris, and that's the end of it," he insisted, much to his parents' surprise.

"Son—"

"I'm done trying to be someone I'm not and I'm done neglecting my feelings to please you two," he firmly stated. "Oh, and I'm going to reopen the Human Appreciation Club. If I'm lucky, Aliya will be my Vice President again. If I'm become a social outcast after this, I don't care. I would rather be happy than suffer any longer," he finished, actually smiling for standing up to his parents.

"The Human Appreciation Club?" Jesse's mother asked in confusion. "Wait, you mean the group Aliya forced you in? Is that why her stuff is still here? I thought you threw everything out months ago," his father insisted as Jesse face-palmed, realizing how his father got in the room.

"It's not her stuff. It was never her stuff to begin with."

"But—"

"I lied! Okay? I lied about the whole thing!" Jesse angrily confessed at last. "I created the club, I made the suggestion to keep our artifacts here! I created the name, and she created the acronym. It was our collection, but it was mine to start, not hers," he truthfully answered, refusing to look at his parents.

"I lied because I had no choice. Neither of you would have understood—" he began, now looking at his parents, noticing a pained look in his mother's eyes and a dark look in his father's eyes.

"No. I really thought you got over this human phase of yours years ago, but ever since you reunited with that freak, you've started reverting back to a former shell of yourself," his father darkly cut off, as his mother wiped her tears. "Jesse, your father and I should have done this a long time ago, but we both wanted to give you the benefit of the doubt," she said.

"What me and your father are about to do is for your own good, sweetheart. I promise it'll sting at first, but once it's over, you'll see things from our side," she softly continued, glancing at her husband who nodded and began walking away. At this point, Jesse felt his mouth go dry, his heart rapidly beating.

"W... What are you guys going to do?" Jesse nervously asked, as his mother solemnly smiled, kissing his forehead. "Freeing you from Aliya's shackles," she softly answered, as Jesse heard stuff breaking from the basement. As he pushed his mother to the side, Jesse ran and when he arrived, the room was cemented in ashes.

Falling to his knees, Jesse watched as his hard work burned down with him. When he found a picture of him and Aliya as kids, the photo had charred marks and while he had remained perfectly intact, the girl in the image did not. Gripping onto the picture, Jesse tried to see what could be saved, but whatever wasn't fire-proof, became completely shattered as Jesse held a fragment of a camera's lens.

"We're really sorry, sweetheart, but it had to be done," his mother spoke, her soft tone making him sick. "Now, you're free from Aliya," she continued as Jesse slowly looked at his mother and back at the glass's lens. In a flash, he rammed the lens into his mother's throat, watching her bleed as he continued shoving the lens into her throat, ignoring her cries before maliciously laughing.

But when Jesse had dropped the lens, none of that happened. That didn't stop the boy from being shaken though. "Jesse, sweetheart," she said, trying to approach him but Jesse only pushed her aside, running past her as he stumbled upon his father.

"Hey, feeling better?"

As he stared at his father, Jesse felt the room suffocating him. He tried to talk, but no words came out. Instead, his eyes landed on the spear he had stabbed Aliya with, the spear his parents insisted was meant to be seen as a symbol for the fighter inside him.

As he blinked, Jesse picked up the spear before stabbing his father from the back, aggressively shoving the spear deeper into his father's skin before knocking him down and watching his father bleed out, laughing as he listened to his father's screams. But when he blinked again, none of that happened. Rather, he could hardly stand as his father was trying to catch him.

"Don't touch me!" Jesse cried out, trying to resist the urge to break down. "Neither of you touch me," he insisted, glaring at his parents. "I just... I... I need to go," he choked out, barely able to talk as he tried to run, only to be stopped by his father.

"Move."

"No. As long as you live under our roof, you'll obey our rules," his father insisted, just trying to his son to stop as Jesse weakly laughed. "Your roof? You and Talia aren't even here half of the time! The only person I have as a parent is Atticus, and he doesn't even like me!" Jesse pointed out as Talia's face fell.

"You never called us by our names before."

"Because back then, I actually had parents or, maybe I never had parents to begin with," Jesse harshly shot back, observing his parents' injured expressions. "I'm leaving. If you two decide to follow me, that might end up being your worst decision," he threatened, walking past his father before flying away.

"Jesse!"

—————————

"Ahhhh!"

As Jesse threw another rock into the ocean, he fell onto the knees before trying to rip off his wings, just trying to direct his anger onto something but nothing worked. In the end, he stood up, glaring at the full moon, deciding it would be the perfect target to deflect his grievances on.

"This isn't fair! Why don't I deserve to be happy? Why did you give me this gift? Why!" he screamed to the moon, before losing his composure altogether as he gripped the sandy ground, holding himself close as he cried to himself, tears falling while his heart ached in grief.

"Hey, are you alright?"

Glancing up, Jesse wiped his tears before staring at petite tiny girl in front of him. She must have still been young, since her wings were nowhere to be seen. As he stared at her lightly tanned skin and unique white hair, he saw that her eyes were a deep shade of purple, marking the first time he ever saw someone with purple eyes.

Staring at her simple light blue night gown, Jesse realized she was barefoot, but chose not to address that directly. "I've been better, but I'm okay. Where are your parents?" he answered honestly, before asking about her parents.

"Down there," she said, pointing at the ocean. "It's just me and my mom, but she can help you," the girl added. "My mom is good at all sorts of magic. I bet she can help you feel better," she cheekily told him, brushing her white hair back. "Who is your mom?" he followed up as the girl smiled brightly, as if Jesse just gave the little girl a chance to affectionately talk about her mother.

"Narcissa," the girl simply answered, grinning afterwards. "I'm going to be a witch just like her some day!" she later perked up as Jesse smiled at her energy. "If you follow me, I can take you to her!" she added as Jesse slowly blinked. "Really?" he asked as the girl proudly nodded. "Yeah!" she happily answered.

Did Jesse really want to do this? He read the stories, he heard about the tales of those who failed to meet Narcissa's demands. He tried to tell himself that it was a stupid idea, and he was better off declining the girl's offer. But if Narcissa was his chance at leaving the life he despised so much....

Then, shouldn't he take that opportunity? Shouldn't he get to be happy too? Besides, the girl seemed sweet enough, even though Jesse didn't recall anything about Narcissa having a family. He made pretty dumb decisions before, but this one... Jesse was almost certain that this one wouldn't backfire on him.

"Sure, I'll tag along with you."

"Yay!"

—————————

As Jesse held her hand, the love fairy held his breath as the little girl jumped into the water. Then seconds later, he found himself inside a underwater cave, and found he was able to breathe again. As he walked around, Jesse stared at the endless potions on her shelves before observing the girl release his hand.

"Mom! I brought the boy here like you said! Are you proud of me?" she happily asked, running into her mother's arms as the older woman chuckled.

"Of course, love. You did very good," she told her daughter, ruffling her hair. Satisfied, the little girl ran off, happily giggling as the woman smiled before focusing her attention on the boy. "Huh, so Atticus was right. The boy really did come," the woman mumbled, chuckling to herself before approaching her latest client.

However when he saw her, Jesse panicked before profoundly apologizing afterwards, as the woman only smiled, making note of his gullible nature. "I'm Jesse," he meekly said as the woman shook his hand.

"Narcissa. Welcome to my realm."