Fanli marched her way through the forest, heading towards home, tears in her eyes. What might have happened tonight? What would have happened to her? And what would have happened to Pest?

Out of how everything unfolded, Pest's reaction had surprised her the most. He acted angry, as if her resolving to not be bludgeoned and dragged was some slight to him.

Pest was a fairy. Their fury and vengeance lust was why they were left in peace. Fanli...was nothing. And it wasn't fair to say all ogre males would do this. But most ogre males would treat people of their value. To know that they'd thought she was attracting them on purpose.... And why wouldn't they think this? In the history of their people, there had never been an ogre to human relationship—not with the ogre being visible.

Having tasted her mortality so sharply, Fanli didn't want to be alone. She kept telling herself that it was nonsense, and she should go but truly, her feet led her towards her sister's camp.

Laughter came from all directions. Someone played a lute.

Fanli emerged from the woods to a clearing where a man, sitting on the ground beside Bati, sang to her.

To say he was handsome would be the biggest understatement yet.

For a moment, Fanli debated showing herself. Rather than risk it, she gave two snaps of her fingers while releasing a distress scent.

Bati, sitting with her knees to her chest, went stiff then scanned the trees. When she settled on Fanli, standing some distance at the man's back, she made a face and shook her head.

The man read her expression and stopped strumming.

"Is something wrong?"

With a warm smile of contentment, Bati moved closer to him and said, "Tell me again how many ogres you've slain."

A hearty laugh answered her. "Again?"

Fanli flinched. She also took the warning and backed away. She'd go around them to reach the path home.

After a time, Fanli's strides slowed. Bati.

Perhaps Fanli had misunderstood and that had been Bati's coded way of asking for rescue.

But then why hadn't she found a way to run the man off...or let out a distress scent and allow for any ogre in passing to help?

Fanli told herself there were valid reasons for going back. So she did. What she found upon returning to her hiding place was two lovers in the throes.

Eyes down casted, Fanli set off home. She reached the base of her mount before beginning to wonder if her heat scent still lingered on her. What would her parents think?

She must have been a sight, standing there like a fool rather than going up.

Her treasure lay hidden in the rocky hill which her parents inhabited. Going home reeking of human was suicide, so she headed high up the other side of the mount to her hiding place. She could find a dress here. The one made for her by the hunchback's wife was the treasure, so she didn't dare consider wearing it or tapping its magic.

One rock went sailing when she slipped then another. It was a dangerous side, but she'd chosen that specifically. Upon reaching her goal, she eased the loose stone away.

Something awful greeted her.

"No." Fanli gasped, lips parted. "No." Her eyes stung as she pressed both palms into the empty crevice. Her treasure.... "No. Please. Not that. Anything but that."

Something flickered in the moonlight, and she swallowed hard and picked it up.

A red dragon scale stared back at her.

Her body grew heavy. She wanted to fling herself off that mount.

Scales rarely shed. The dragons had left it here on purpose. It was a warning—don't come looking unless she wanted a fight.

Fanli's eyes watered as she scanned the hillside. Several boulders were still in place, hiding various treasures. But much like ogres gave off a scent to repel insects, so, too, did they give off one for dragons; the secretions came from an oil on her fingertips.

But it had to be applied nightly.

And she had made a mistake. One night. One night out of so many. Dutifully, for years, she'd done the nightly ritual perhaps akin to a human washing his body before sleeping.

In all that time, nothing and no one came to disturb this mount. Now, the one night she made a mistake and could not return—everything was gone.

She flopped down, head hung as the first tear rolled from her eyes. By the second and third, she opened her mouth and let out a cry so loud the ground shook.

It was an awful sound to be sure.

Now she truly had nothing.

Becoming human would have solved everything. Absolutely all her problems. But not at the cost of her treasure—she'd never expected to lose it. Even human. Now.... Now she had no hope. She had no treasure.

And what did she lose it for? For one reckless day, a bee, Pest's fleeting attention and a miserable tavern where she almost lost more than she'd bargained for. Perhaps. She'd lost it for that word. Because Pest didn't fight to keep whatever this was—he said perhaps. He hadn't wanted her. Finally, she could stop trying to look for the good in all bad. There was no good. She'd lost her treasure and hadn't the power to fight to get it back. And...it was for nothing.

She must have cried there the entire night before finding the strength to stand. Now what could she do? Climb up to the cave of her home? Confess to Father and Mother what had happened?

Instead of up, Fanli made her way down, praying for death with each step.

Her treasure. She'd lost all of it. They couldn't even bear to leave one.

Those greedy dragons.

Her hand still clenched the dragon scale but as it was given with malice and not heartfelt, it turned black and faded like ash by the time she reached the docks.

She felt fractured. And as she sat, she imagined a small piece of her breaking off and falling into the water. And there she remained all night.

The sun shined bright when a tentative body came to sit beside her.

Pest let out a deep breath. The moment he opened his mouth, Fanli covered her own to stop the cry leaving her.

Perhaps he wanted to demand she get a hold of herself but she was angry at him, too. He'd said he'd wake her and he hadn't let her go home yesterday and now....

"Fan?"

The gentle tone wasn't what she expected. A hand holding her neck then combing through her hair certainly came as a surprise.

"I'm sorry for letting you walk home by yourself yesterday. That wasn't fair. Not after being put into such a dangerous situation like that. And through no fault of your own."

He made the mistake of holding her shoulder and she doubled over, both hands over her mouth as she bawled so suddenly that he flinched.

"Hey. Wait. What's wrong? What's happened?" He knelt at her side, cooing. "Fan, you're going to attract the entire valley."

Pest's pleas for her to quiet only had her crying harder though she tried with everything in her to stop.

"Oh, what is that ruckus?" a voice called.

Now it was Pest's turn to go rigid.

He lowered his hand from her shoulder, not at all that discretely.

Someone lumbered onto the dock and said, "Oh. It's an ogre. Very well. Human child, your mother wanted me to find you. She's offering you breakfast, but you need not trouble yourself with coming; it's only fruits and berries per usual."

The man turned to leave, and Pest shot to his feet. "Wait. Do—do you know what's wrong with her? I don't think she can talk."

"What?" The clearer voice meant the owner turned around. "Oh. A cry like that means an ogre's lost its treasure. Best to abandon it to shrivel up and die."

"Die?" Pest cried with a note of alarm.

"Well, of course. They get so overwhelmed they simply sit down and cry until their magic drains out of them, and they die. And it takes months so probably a human will come to kill it to get it to stop that awful bawling." After a pause, Pest's father said, "I will tell your mother it's a maybe on the breakfast then."

Hands covering her face, Fanli fought to shut her mouth, but the cries simply refused to stop.

"Wait! F—" Pest balked at saying "Father," but it was enough to catch the man's attention. "I—I can't just leave her here and I can't carry her."

With a scoff, his father agreed. "Of course, you can't. You haven't any magic. Simply find another ogre to carry her then. Hurry with the breakfast."

He turned to go but Pest rushed him. "Can—well, well, breakfast would—would go best if we took her with us, wouldn't it?"

"What? You speak nonsense, human child. And I know full well when a filthy human is trying to trick me."

For a long while, Pest had no words to offer. Finally, he said, "Mother'd love having a guest. Es—especially one who needs some cheer. Wouldn't she?"

The next sobbed had Fanli's body shivering and she tried to stop. She honestly did.

"You speak truth. But you do not understand much about ogres, human child. A temporary feeling of joy forced, will lead to a faster decline. Leave it here now and it'll die in months. Having your mother force its cheer and it'd die in days."

Pest's voice came out strangled. "Please stop saying die."

Letting out a sigh, the man marched back onto the dock and said, "In human form, I cannot carry her. But as a fairy, I'm plenty strong. But you do not tell your mother I've shed my mortal husk. Understood? And carry my clothes."

The moment Fanli felt weightless, a scream shot from her mouth. And it wasn't rational. She could see herself, from the outside looking in. She could reason to stop carrying on this way. She could do a many things, but she could not get her body to comply.

She wept so bitterly that the world went black.

"What is happening to her? You're hurting her."

"Stop talking nonsense, human child. It's only tired. Its magic is diminishing."

Fanli lost time but when she came back to herself, she was sitting up, shivering.

"Cold. Cold," she bit out.

"But it's autumn. Mother, is she really cold?"

Something zipped by. "I suspect she is. Here, give her this blanket." The words came with a giggle. "Why do you act so strangely? If you want to hold her, then hold her. Your father's not here to tease you."

After a long pause, a blanket, accompanied by two tight arms, wrapped around Fanli. The sound came from her again—the ogre lament.

"Oh, it's begun." It was the voice of a fairy. "Are you sure you want me to do this? Mixing magics isn't always a good idea. Especially fairy magic this old and tampered."

Pest hesitated then said, "Yes. At least so I can figure out what's wrong."

The answer came with a clicking of the woman's teeth. "She would do well to simply find a male ogre to care for her. He could share his own treasure and take her out of this—this spiral. Pity."

Nothing came into focus for so long that Fanli'd expected solitude. When Pest sat beside her, pulling her close to him, going so far as to put his chin on her head, she found herself crying harder.

"Was it the dragons?" he asked. She couldn't respond and he sighed.

Dust fell out of the air, sticking to Fanli's skin. Little by little, the chill vanished. With a deep breath, color filled Fanli's closed eyes. If this was the world without perceiving it, she was eager to look upon it directly.

But when Fanli did just that, what she saw was a fright. Instead of a fairy as she anticipated, a dragon sat before her.

All amicability and cheer vanished. Terror flooded her veins. The chill came back, full force. Fanli shut her eyes tight. "Dragon!"

"Oh dear," the voice said. "Pestel, dear. I do believe we've made it worse. But it's not your fault. She must have picked up a dragon's scale."

"What?"

"Yes. Dragons are nasty hunters. To ensure their prey not recover quickly, they do tend to poison whatever treasure they've robbed. As a result, my fairy magic wears off instantly. I don't think she has much time...."