#oddberry fics

A human had discovered this little hidden part of paradise, and it didn’t seem like she was leaving any time soon. 

She and Silver had taken a quick liking to each other, as if they had been old friends for a long time. That was false, because Malleus had been there throughout all of Silver’s childhood, and not once did this girl ever dare appear before them until now. 

Malleus felt a twinge territorial when Lilia described in detail how Silver had let this girl into their home when alone, and by chance, Lilia was finally there to witness it himself. 

They ‘met in a dream,’ supposedly, though Silver retained very few memories of his unconscious spell. Pip could recall the dreams perfectly, and Silver accepted this from her. Lilia told him he just had to accept it too.

As it was, Pip was aware that the Prince of Briar Valley was acquainted with Silver, but it seemed she didn’t understand the depth of their relationship. Even as she was shown the private childhood photos, she naively assumed Malleus’s presence for all of Silver’s birthdays was just some ‘royal visit.’ 

She also didn’t seem to know much about fae at all, night or diurnal. She knew plenty of humans and had been filling Silver in on the happenings of human towns. 

Malleus knew he had suggested Lilia leave Silver with humans years ago; Lilia would remind him of this whenever Malleus found himself rolling his eyes at Lilia’s recollection of interacting with the girl. He didn’t take kindly to reminders of it. 

“It’s not a bad thing for Silver to engage in more human things. You yourself said it was good for him and Sebek to make friends at NRC. How is Pip any different?” Lilia asked from his slouched position on his living room couch.

“You know well why she’s different. I suppose holding hands and wanting to take him to the human lands for an entire season sounds like ‘just friends’ to you?” Malleus retorts, arms crossed and against the wall.

“It’s adorable, isn't it?. You know, your parents were friends for hundreds of years until courting each other. Even with their short lives, humans like to take love slow too.” Lilia sighs wistfully. 

The little stories Lilia would sprinkle in about his parents often gave Malleus pause, encouraging him to take a leaf out of his father’s book and try to be more understanding and thinking before feeling. 

If Silver gaining a partner in life was inevitable and it had to be this girl, Malleus wanted to ensure that she understood two things— That she needed to prove herself worthy and she must understand the mighty power of the night fae. 

Though Lilia appeared to have an easier time letting things play out, Malleus was still a Draconia. Even if Silver no longer desired to be a knight, he was the child of Malleus’s friend, whom he reared alongside him. It was not outside of his jurisdiction to decide the worth of any partner Silver would have, as a future King and as Silver’s family.

So while Lilia would chide him over needing to allow Silver to have independence and make his own decisions, Malleus still felt the need to scope the situation out himself. In his mind and large chaotic Draconia feelings, it was his right to. 

“You’re certain Silver will be preoccupied by the time she comes here?” Malleus asks. 

Lilia waved a flippant hand, “I requested he collect some wild berries, though I’m sure he’ll be in a hurry since he’s anticipating Pip’s visit. Whatever you have planned, we’ll have to do it quickly…What do you have planned?”

“You’ll see,” Malleus replied cheekily, lip curled upward as he envisioned his plan coming to fruition in mere moments, “Just remember to dim the lights, grab her as soon as she enters, and we’ll whisk her away to her trial.” 

Lilia did as he was asked, using magic to blow away the tiny flames in the oil lamps that kept the cottage alight in the early evening. 

For fae, waiting even a dozen minutes was like seconds melting away. A gentle knock appeared on the cabin door. 

“Come in~” Malleus replies in a warm, almost sing-song voice. 

As Pip walks inside, Malleus quickly magics the door behind her to shut abruptly. That was Lilia’s cue to quickly grab her, wrapping his arms and legs around her shoulders and waist the way he would during defense training. 

Pip did thrash and try to fight him off, but she was far weaker to Lilia’s tight hold than Sebek and Silver were. The moment Malleus brought a single candlelight to her face, she froze. 

“Prince Malleus-“ she exclaimed in shock. Clearly, she was impressed by his sudden appearance. It was rare that Malleus conversed with humans other than Silver, Sebek’s father, and his classmates at NRC. 

She referred to him as all denizens of Briar Valley were meant to. Both Human and Fae knew of his power. 

Malleus shushed her with a finger to his lip, “We’ll talk in a moment.”

With magic, Malleus teleported the three of them to an area in the forest he had constructed ahead of time, made with fallen rocks from Mount Dread, and shaped into a small, dome-like dungeon nestled not too far from the cottage for a quick return. 

It resembled the interior of BlackScale Castle enough to trick someone who surely never set foot in fae lands before, but it was a safe, innocent distance away from his Grandmother’s actual dungeon. 

Lilia set her down on a lone flat stone that served as a makeshift seat. To seal the deal on their fake dungeon, Malleus conjures up cuffs and chains to keep her tethered in place by her arms. Lilia steps behind Malleus, completely covered by Malleus’s massive stature, especially standing above Pip as she sits, eyes looking up at him in a pitiful way. 

Keeping up his facade as a frightening, vengeful lord, he prodded her to speak up. 

“Come now, why so melancholy?” He asks, “I merely wish to ask you a few questions. Not as the Prince of Briar Valley, but as myself…What is Silver to you?”

“He’s my…” Pip attempts to answer calmly, but then she questions him, “Where is he? Is he okay?”

Malleus deviously smiled; a new idea dawns on him. Raising his arms, speaking in the most theatrical, fearsome King voice he could summon, he exclaims, “In yonder topmost tower of my castle is where he lies, in ageless sleep. Should you prove yourself worthy of his affection, he will wake…I’m sure even a human such as yourself can make it to him after a hundred years or so in here.”

Malleus had expected one of two possibilities from his small test. Pip would either cower at his magnificence and beg for her freedom and Silver’s, or, if she were truly weak-willed, abandon her pursuit of Silver altogether. 

Pip did neither of those things. 

Suddenly, Pip stood up from where she sat and lunged at him, only stopped by the length of the chains around her wrist. She writhed and continued to tug at her restraints as if she could break them off and tackle him to the ground, face contorted into a scowl of genuine anger. 

Suddenly, a burst of magic blew a hole into the makeshift dungeon, revealing Silver with the remnants of a spell dissipating from his fingertips. 

“What are you doing?!” Silver uncharacteristically shouted loudly in anger. 

Malleus and Lilia looked at each other guiltily. Malleus could see the look of regret wash over Lilia’s face.

It was rare for Silver to get angry with them. When he was, it meant that Malleus and Lilia had done something truly wrong. 

What was amusing for fae did not always translate well to humans.

Silver stormed past them and checked over Pip, who was in disbelief that the supposedly cursed Silver was very much awake and not trapped in some tower. 

“Why would you do something like this to her?!” Silver whipped his head back around to them, voice still raised and filled with rage. 

“It was a trial,” Malleus explained, as Lilia had fallen completely silent, too afraid of speaking up and making things worse than they already were, “A ruse to test her willpower. She was not in any real danger, we would reveal the truth at the end-”

“Chaining her up like this is NOT okay. Whatever your intentions, you both went way too far with this!” Silver chastised them both, “Dispel the chains right now!”

Malleus did as he was told and freed Pip. Before either of them could speak up and try to calm Silver down, he took Pip firmly by the hand and led her out of the makeshift dungeon, completely ignoring his remorseful Lord and father. 

After Silver and Pip disappeared into the woods, Malleus turned to Lilia, who somehow looked even paler than usual. 

“We did go too far,” Lilia said quietly, “We should’ve thought more carefully about this and how Silver would feel. Even after all these years, I’m still misunderstanding him…”

“Don’t fret, Silver never stays angry for very long.” Malleus tried to comfort him, but then Lilia got snappy. 

“That doesn’t matter, we were still careless, and we still hurt him,” Lilia told him, “Hopefully Pip isn’t frightened of us now.”

Speaking of Pip…

“She lunged at me…Did you see?” Malleus asked. 

The image of Pip attempting to fight Malleus on Silver’s behalf was a far more intriguing response than he ever expected to get. Although he felt shame over causing the humans distress, he wasn’t unsatisfied with the results. 

Despite his guilt, Lilia briefly smiled at the memory too. 

“She’s a mere human. Even unbound, she never would have stood a chance against me. Yet, she still tried to fight me for Silver.” Malleus adds, still intrigued by Pip’s bravery.

“She’s an interesting one, isn't she?” Lilia replied. 

The two returned to Lilia’s cottage and found that it still remained empty. 

Malleus saw Lilia pace a bit anxiously in the living room while keeping his eyes on the door. Surely this was bringing back memories of when Silver had disappeared into a storm, but both knew well enough that he wasn’t a child who needed to be searched for. 

Humans grow up fast; he was almost at the age where he could decide to make another place his home and never return. 

Malleus secretly hoped he would always return to this hidden place.

Silver eventually did, alongside Pip, whose hand he still held in his own. Silver bowed his head as soon as the door opened. 

“Lord Malleus, Father, I’m sincerely sorry for losing my temper,” he apologized. 

“I’m sorry, Silver. We should’ve thought more carefully about what we were doing. I now realize a fae test of strength isn’t something humans are familiar with,” Lilia apologizes right back.

Malleus sees how Silver looks a bit sadder at the differences between him and his father being pointed out. It wasn’t Silver’s fault at all. Lilia could be careless, and Malleus, unfortunately, prioritized his own interests over Silver and Pip’s human sensitivities. As guardians, they should strive to do better. Malleus was ready to do just that.

“You didn’t think we’d hurt you, did you, Pip?” Lilia asks Pip.

“No, I was just surprised!” Pip insists, taking both her hands back and waving them in a frantically dismissive manner, looking far more concerned than upset like Silver was, “I also want to apologize. I’m sorry I lashed out, I thought-“

“Now, now. You both have nothing to apologize for; the fault is on Malleus and me, right, Malleus?” Lilia assured them, looking to Malleus to assuage their worries. 

“All is fine,” Malleus says, “I’m more than impressed with your bravery, Pip. It’s time you know my position here now that you’ve joined us.” 

When Silver first came into his life, he thought there was no way he could ever care about a human. Yet now he was attending a predominantly human school on Sage’s Island, caring for and watching a human grow, and welcoming more change. 

There was space for one more. 

“You know me as the heir apparent of Briar Valley, and that Silver is one of my vassals, but I am also a close friend of this family.” He gestures to Silver and Lilia, “I have known Silver since he was an infant. Anyone who wishes to be at his side must earn my approval.”

Lilia rolled his eyes. Although not wanting to intrude on Silver’s decisions, he couldn’t help but compete with Malleus a little bit. “It was never your decision. If anything, it’s mine.”

“Do you truly believe I would allow just anyone to court him? Were you not the one to entrust Silver to me when you would suddenly step out? I changed his diapers too-“

“Lord Malleus, please!” Silver meekly spoke up, his face turning pink.

Pip found the scene he painted cute and laughed, placing a hand on Silver’s shoulder, “You really got babysat by the future King of Briar Valley? That’s amazing!” She exclaimed, then turned to Malleus, “Did I earn your approval?”

Malleus smirked, “I believe you have, for now,” he said, “you will never be too far from my watchful eye.”

Pip made a horrified expression, which made Malleus drop the act yet again.

“There’s no need to be scared, I was joking,” he said rather disappointedly. 

It reminded him a bit of how the humans at NRC acted around him. Though if Silver could look at him without fear even during infancy, perhaps the two of them growing closer would rub that unique trait of his off on her. 

“Please don’t tease, test, or tie her up without her consent again,” Silver politely requested, which both fae took a mental note not to forget. Silver looked to his father and laid down another boundary, “and I’m sword training her, father, not you.”

Lilia laughed as if he had not been worried sick minutes prior and reached up to place a hand on both Silver and Pip’s heads, “I look forward to seeing the results of your teaching. Pip, you keep growing stronger, alright?”

Silver and Pip looked pleased and, just as Malleus expected, the two of them seemed to move on from their previous distress with ease.

With this much company at once before Sebek had made the trip over, the crowded cabin was bound to be louder than when it once housed a crying infant. 

Pip was far from the worst addition to this little family Malleus had so diligently looked after.  

“Ohh, you’re going out, you say?” Lilia grinned, “Is it a date?” 

“Yes,” Silver answered bluntly. 

Lilia sputtered; he hadn’t expected an answer like that to his light teasing. “Wait, you’re certain it’s a date? A romantic date, not just a regular outing?” He had to confirm; sometimes, Silver blurred the lines between different social constructs. 

“Yes,” Silver responded in the same tone as before.

“And you’re going to wear that?!” Lilia gestured at him wildly. 

“This is all I could think of wearing.” Silver excused himself, “I’m already running late, so I have to go. Thank you for the hair tie-“

“Wait!” Lilia grabbed his arm before he could go, “You can’t go out like that.”

“Father, please let me go. She’s probably going to be at the port soon-“ 

“No! You are not going on a romantic date looking like you’re going to class!” Lilia latched onto him, legs squeezing his waist as Silver desperately reached for the door. 

He managed to turn the knob, only to fall forward as Lilia wrestled him into a headlock to prevent him from embarrassing himself on his first-ever date. He was not going to mess it up before he got to start!

A few bystander students gawked at them as they wrestled and walked in the opposite direction. Malleus, however, knew something was afoot and walked right up to the father-son brawl. 

“Lilia, why are you wrestling Silver?” He asks. 

“Malleus, you have to help me! Silver has a date!” Lilia shouted as Silver continued to try to free himself from his grip. 

“And he’s wearing his school uniform?” Malleus questioned, immediately seeing the problem, “Hold on,” 

Malleus spelled the two, and they separated while suspended in the air. Malleus only released his hold once one of his arms was locked around Silver’s, and Lilia grabbed the opposite side. 

“Is he really at that age already?” Malleus muses aloud.

“He is, and I’d like for him to at least dress the part right.” Lilia asserts, “Now, you’ll help me?”

“Of course…But, who is it you are seeing?” Malleus’s attempts at being supportive dropped as he was already marred with suspicion.

He still wanted to help. The thought of dressing Silver up nicely excited him, but it was not knowing who this person was that was romantically inclined towards Silver that made him worry. He was growing too fast, Malleus knew that was bound to happen, but he truly blinked, and that small, sweet little boy was already pursuing a relationship that could last the rest of his lifetime.

He felt he deserved to know, and that his approval should at least be considered. 

They walked Silver to Malleus’s room, where they forced him to sit down. 

“Her name is Pip,” Lilia answered for Silver, who was showing rare signs of being upset that he wasn’t allowed out until a better outfit was made. 

“Pip…Is that the human girl you told us about? The one who claims to have met him, even though he has no memory of her, and somehow discovered your cottage on her own?” Malleus came off a bit too judgmental, which gained a look of warning from Lilia. 

“That’s how it started, but they obviously know each other now. I believe she’s a very nice girl if Silver is so taken with her. Right, Silver?” Lilia replies. 

“I don’t want her to be at the docks alone.” Silver insisted, probably thinking that would grant him the ability to leave. 

Lilia just gave Malleus an ‘I told you so’ gesture, to which Malleus tried to swallow his reservations…For now.

“Alright…If it’s a date, it should be something classy.” Malleus started to formulate the image in his head, “I’ve got it.” 

With a simple conjuration, Silver’s school uniform temporarily changed color and shape into a distinguished light pink suit. Malleus was quite proud of himself, but when he turned over to judge Lilia’s reaction, he was met with a grimace.

“No, no, that’s too formal. They’re going out into town, not a fancy dinner party.” Lilia exclaimed, “Besides, it should be blue.” 

Malleus frowned, “Pink is a beautiful color on him. Right, Silver?”

“I-“ Silver attempts to speak.

“We decided long ago that blue suits him best.” Lilia tries to inform him. 

“You decided.” Malleus reminds Lilia. 

“Can I-?” Silver once again attempts to speak, only to be inevitably interrupted again. 

“It should be casual and cute.” Lilia insists, to which Malleus’s irritation turns to arrogance. 

“Then why don’t you spell him an outfit then?” Malleus asks, knowing well that Lilia did not have his ability to do so. 

Lilia frowned and pulled Silver’s jacket off his shoulders to reveal his more casual undershirt. He waved his hand, and the outfit turned sky blue. 

That was all Lilia could do, so cheekily, Malleus immediately undid his work by turning it pink once more. 

They did that back and forth at such force that little spurts of the color spell shot out into the hall from the door being slightly askew. Sebek had heard through dorm commotion that there was some kind of fight, and he went to check it out himself. 

“Lord Malleus-“ Sebek knocked on the door, only for it to swing out and hit his face. He walked inside and saw the chaos ensuing. 

Malleus and Lilia were no longer irked with each other and instead turned it into a competition. Silver sat helpless in the middle between the two of them, accepting his fate of being their canvas, his suit now a splatter of different colors. 

“What’s happening?” Sebek asked. 

Malleus undid his clothing charm, returning Silver’s mess of an outfit to his regular school uniform.

“Silver’s got a date,” Lilia explained. 

“And he was planning to go out in his SCHOOL UNIFORM?” Sebek exclaimed, exacerbated. He doesn’t even know why he’s still shocked; Silver still had yet to grow any sense for that sort of thing. He was getting more perturbed by the moment. 

“Is it with that strange human who found the cottage?” Sebek guessed.

“Her name is Pip,” Silver corrected him, “and she’s very kind.” 

“Kind of what?” Sebek questioned, which earned him a quelling from Lilia. 

“If we could all stop questioning the poor girl’s intentions while she isn’t here, please, Silver still needs a decent outfit.” Lilia insists. 

Malleus and Sebek exchanged glances in a rare moment of shared apprehension. They couldn’t say much more on the subject, for now at least. If they could have control over one thing, it would be Silver being presentable. 

“…Hold on, I have something that will probably fit you just fine with some adjustments.” Sebek relented and quickly sped-walked back to his dorm through the halls and down the stairs and back up again.  

He brought with him to school a distinguished black jacket with subtle illustrations of briars sewn into it. With a more casual top and a simpler color scheme, Silver could come out looking rather sophisticated, as he often did during their equestrian tournaments.

“Is black really a good color for him…?” Lilia, the one who always dressed Silver in very girlish-cutesy things since he was a little baby, mused aloud.

“I like black.” Silver insists. He never wears it, but always claimed to like the color. Sebek remembered that much. 

His jacket was just a bit baggy on him, but with a flick of Malleus’s finger, the jacket resized to fit Silver better. 

“Ohh, I have a good idea!’ Lilia chimed in once he began to see the vision. He jumped up and pulled open two of his dresser drawers, throwing clothes across the room as he took them out. He eventually came across a rather fierce graphic tee with a dragon on it. 

Internally, Sebek was hoping Lilia wasn’t seriously considering that as proper date attire, but he was always into graphics of all kinds. 

“Malleus, can you make this fit him?” Lilia holds it up to his protégé. 

“You don’t even have to ask,” Malleus replied smugly and spelled the shirt. 

Silver’s outfit was starting to come together better, with his mix of serious and light-hearted attire. Weirdly enough, it was starting to suit him better the more Sebek thought about it. 

“I have something for you too,” Malleus spelled a rose into his hand and tucked it into Silver’s jacket pocket, “A rose from my garden at home…”

The three fae stood back to admire their work. Sebek caught from the corner of his eye Lilia bringing a hand up to his face, as if wiping something away. Malleus wore the proudest of smiles that made Sebek have to swallow back jealousy. 

“You look like a very dignified young man.” Malleus compliments. 

“He is a very dignified young man.” Lilia corrects him, “Though, it feels like something is missing…”

As if summoned there, the blue birds that usually congregated around Silver’s bedroom were now pecking at Lilia’s window. The two were carrying something long and thin in both of their beaks. 

Lilia opened the window, and they all watched as the birds wrapped the ribbon around Silver’s ponytail and created a small bow. It was blue, matching part of Silver’s multi-colored irises, and made the outfit altogether pop in a purposeful way. 

Silver may have never had good sense for dressing himself, but with everyone’s combined efforts, he looked the part of a poised young man going on his first date. 

Lilia looked through his desk and found an eyeshadow palette and brush, “Close your eyes for me, but don’t fall asleep.” He instructs as he colors Silver’s eyelids a light blue like his ribbon. 

Once he was truly done and ready to go, he was given a wide array of well wishes and tips as he strapped on his baton on his second belt. 

“Have a good time! Remember to hold doors open for her!” Lilia advises. 

“Be on your guard if anything suspicious happens,” Sebek adds. 

“Do not despair if it does not end well,” Malleus says rather curtly. 

“Malleus!” Lilia hisses and nudges the future ruler of Briar Valley hard with his elbow. 

Silver lingered at the door for a moment to bid them farewell, “Thank you all for helping me.” He left wearing that small smile of his. Lilia held a friendly wave and, when the door finally shut, he turned around and crossed his arms in front of Malleus and Sebek. 

“Care to tell me why you both have so little faith in Silver’s judgement?” He questions. 

“It’s not that I distrust his judgement…I know him, and he has always been very kind, perhaps more than most children of men. This girl, though, I don’t know her at all.” Malleus explained, “If I knew more about her, then I may be more at ease.”

“I agree with Lord Malleus! The little we know about her already proves that she’s already a strange individual. For all we know, she could have bad intentions for Silver that he isn’t recognizing!” Sebek adds, “Surely you feel similarly, as his family.” 

Sebek realizes a little too late that he was being presumptuous toward Lilia for assuming he wasn’t feeling enough as Silver’s father, but Lilia did reluctantly agree to one thing. 

“His lack of outfit coordination does still worry me, but I trust Silver’s judgement.” Lilia says, and looks to Malleus specifically, “He isn’t a child anymore, he’s grown up, and humans his age are going to be finding their partners in life. Sooner or later, he’ll have a family of his own, and that family will more than likely be human too.” 

Sebek, still in denial that what he’s feeling is protectiveness toward Silver, realizes that what his Lord is feeling is something akin to not wanting to lose Silver to his origins. A creeping anxious feeling that maybe Silver will leave that little cottage in the woods for the human world, and that the Faeries who raised him will be phased out for a growing human family seemed to pass over Malleus and him, from what he could detect from his Lord beside him. 

“It’s natural for Silver to take an interest in his own species, and it’s not something we should dissuade him from.” Lilia continued to lecture, “Now please, promise me you two will not meddle with this.” 

“While we’re on the discussion of faith in others, you seem not to hold much for Sebek and me yourself.” Malleus pointed out. 

“I only say this because I know you both. I mean it. If you’re both good boys, then we may all test her together later.” Lilia compromised, but by the smile on his face, it was obvious he was eager to scope her out too, but wanted to respect human boundaries. 

Sebek had no clue what ‘test’ he meant, but Malleus seemed to get the picture and hid a mischievous smile. 

He nodded in agreement and tried to go about his day, but he couldn’t stop thinking. 

What if Silver fell asleep along the way? What if Pip had somehow discovered new sensitive information about Silver and even LORD MALLEUS himself?! What is it about this girl that was making Silver willingly take breaks from his training and go into town??? 

He did not want to go against Lilia’s wishes, but his curiosity was too powerful. 

Sebek rationalized his spying in his head. He was just going to visit his favorite bookstore in town and maybe grab a bite to eat, hang around the traveling carnival that was setting up near the docks, check all the spots that Silver and Pip would probably be at…Not because he was actively spying, but because he just felt like being there too. 

Yeah, that was the alibi. Then he could report any findings worth noting to his young master. 

On his way to the docks where Pip would arrive by ferry, he ran into a familiar face wearing clothing he didn’t often see her in. 

Night Raven College’s prefect, Tia Dumarais, was alone and free from the direbeast she was forced to look after. She was bundled up in casual fall clothing with a quite large reusable tote bag around her arm, looking like she was on a mission. 

PERFECT, Sebek thought to himself, IF I RECRUIT HER FOR THIS MISSION, MY ALIBI WILL BE EVEN STRONGER.

Without so much as a warning, Sebek strode over to her and placed his hands on her shoulders. She jumped and spun around, eyes wide and fearful until meeting his face. She let out a sigh. 

“You scared me! I didn’t even hear you comin’” she said. 

“What are you doing in town without your beast?” He asked. 

“I just wanted to shop for some spices at the back street shop.”  Tia pointed her thumb in the direction she meant to go, “Grim wasn’t interested because spice isn’t exactly food on its own.” 

Sebek nodded, then took Tia’s arm and dragged her in the other direction, “You’ll have to do your shopping later, I need your assistance for something.” 

Tia dug her heels into the ground, but it did nothing to stop Sebek from effortlessly dragging her to the Portside buildings overlooking the shipyard.

“What’s the deal?” Tia asked. 

Sebek pointed to Silver, who had situated himself on a bench, waiting for the ferries to arrive. “I need someone to make observations of Silver’s interactions with an unusual girl. With your aid, I will be able to assess if she poses a danger to Silver and my young master.” 

Tia paused for a moment, deconstructing what he was saying. “This is all because of Silver being on a date?” 

“NO! It’s MUCH more than that, now SHHHH, this is a stealth mission!” Sebek asserted, not at all quietly. Even his shushing was loud enough to draw attention. 

The place they moved to hide wasn’t exactly far. Silver was practically just a few feet away. It was to the point that Tia was sure if Sebek ‘shushed’ her again, Silver would surely hear him, even with all the people walking around, but it was the best place to get a good look at this date that bothered Sebek so much. 

Eventually, the person Silver was waiting for did arrive in a crowd of people. She stood out amongst the rest with how quickly she leapt from the docks to grab both of his hands in hers. She shakes hands with him with a beaming smile. Maybe that was just something the two of them shared because Silver easily copied her motion. 

The first thing Tia notices is that this girl is beautiful. She’s got strawberry blonde hair tied into a braid, thick eyebrows, a charming smile, and a deep red coat that makes her positively pop in a crowd. 

“She’s really pretty…” Tia muses aloud. 

Sebek scoffs, “Oh, please. You are far prettier than she is.”

Tia paused and looked to Sebek, who hadn’t seemed to notice what he said. Was that a backhanded compliment, or something else? 

“Oh wow, you look great!” Pip says once she releases Silver, inspecting his whole outfit with awe, then sheepishly looks down at herself, “If I had known, I would’ve tried to look nicer.”

“You look fine. I was going to come here in my school uniform.” Silver admits. 

Sebek slaps a hand on his forehead, “He was raised by gentlemen like Lord Malleus and Sir Lilia, yet he has no decorum…” he complained, earning a shush from Tia.

“Thank you, but I just feel so underdressed,” Pip answered with a smile and a laugh.

“I know you wanted to check out the traveling carnival today, but maybe we could go shopping before we start. That’s something people do on dates.” Silver informed her. Maybe he did research on what he was supposed to do beforehand, or was just making educated guesses, either way, Pip was immediately receptive. 

“You’re right! Are you sure, though? I don’t want to throw off any of your plans.” Pip replies. 

“I didn’t have any ideas outside of the carnival, so I’m good to try out anything.” Silver replies truthfully. 

Although Tia is inexperienced, she knows that Silver’s manner of speaking isn’t exactly appropriate for a romantic outing, as he’s admitting he doesn’t entirely know what he’s doing, but she notices that Pip doesn’t mind this at all. 

Maybe she’s just lax and open-minded, or perhaps she’s just as inexperienced. Even still, a warm feeling came over Tia as she watched Silver try to make sense of an experience he’s clearly never had before and Pip being receptive and encouraging. 

“Cool! I’ve seen movies about this sort of thing. Lead the way!” Pip exclaims. 

Silver holds his hand out for her to take. Despite her eagerly taking his hand into her own, she seems entranced by this subtle gesture and allows her hand to be held in his for their walk into Foothill Town. 

Sebek throws his arm around Tia and drags her into the shadows so they aren’t spotted as they leave the docks. Tia was so small in comparison to him that she practically disappeared in his hold, and couldn’t see anything he saw, so long as she was pushed into his chest. 

“I can’t believe they’re already holding hands!” Sebek exclaimed. 

Tia tapped his shoulder, “I can’t breathe.” She pointed out. 

Sebek let her go, but didn’t acknowledge that he was criticizing what he was doing, and continued to drag her along with him. Once they were a decent distance away from the couple, they walked at a more lax pace and blended into the surrounding crowds. 

“Silver never shops for his own clothes; he won’t even know where to go.” Sebek points out. 

Tia, who felt the need to be a contrarian and support the couple, added “They’re both trying something new. They’ll probably just explore the first clothing shop they find.”

Sure enough, Pip and Silver were enthralled with the well-dressed mannequins in the window of a quaint little boutique. Pip excitedly took the lead and dragged Silver in with her.

Sebek and Tia followed them. She wondered what exactly was going through Sebek’s head, because it went well beyond the usual jealousy Tia was accustomed to. If he did truly believe the girl was a threat to Silver and Malleus, which was truly illogical even for him, then Sebek easily could’ve yapped Silver’s ear off and prevented him from going. 

But instead, Sebek just hid behind a clothing rack, watching as Silver offered to hold the clothing that Pip wanted to try on in his arms for her, fae fangs literally barred at them. 

Both Sebek and Silver had spoken highly of each other’s physical capabilities. Sebek never seemed to worry about Silver in any dire circumstance, yet this is what made him worried.  

Tia took Sebek by the hand and led him to a different corner of the boutique. Since Pip had gone to try stuff on in the changing room, it was ‘safe’ for Sebek to take his eyes off her just for a moment. 

“One of the employees is probably going to ask us if we need help looking for anything.” Tia pointed out. 

“…I suppose I could shop for Silver, since he’s busy shopping for her. He doesn’t have anything proper for himself.” Sebek grumbled under his breath. As much as he complained, his first thought was still to help out Silver.

“Do you have history with that girl or something?” Tia asked. 

“She appeared at Silver’s home one day, claiming that she knew him, though he had no recollection of her. Even more suspicious, Silver’s home is hidden in a glen; no one knows its location except for my family, his father, and Lord Malleus.” Sebek explained, “Yet for all of our training, he not only continues to meet with her, but did not tell anyone about her until I discovered her by accident by myself! The day before one of our training trips!” 

Tia pressed a finger on his lips, quickly silencing him. She could tell as his frustration grew, he would bring a lot of unwarranted attention to him. 

“That is a little strange, but honestly, so is he, and he’s not bad. I doubt she has any bad intentions for him.” Tia tried to reassure him, “Have you thought about talking to him about this?”

“Let me ask you this: have you or have you not experienced Silver completely misunderstanding your words or falling asleep as you try speaking to him?” Sebek asked back. 

Tia sighed, he did have a point there. But it still felt like Sebek wasn’t being entirely truthful. 

“Have you tried giving him a heart-to-heart instead of yelling at him and being angry?” She retorted. 

“As a future knight and son of one of Briar Valley’s most esteemed Generals, he should know better,  but he’s…Sometimes he’s just so…” Sebek struggles to phrase himself. 

Just then, Pip reemerged from the changing room sporting an adorable black skirt and taupe top, which complemented her red coat perfectly. Silver smiled fondly at her, and Tia realized that the expression he was wearing right now was surprisingly rare in itself. 

She’s only seen it a handful of times. For someone who usually struggled to express himself, he seemed at ease beside his date, who excitedly showed off all the tags she ripped off so they could purchase the outfit. 

Silver and Pip seemed to share an off-kilter way of thinking that complemented each other well. They weren’t doing things ‘correctly,’ but they were happy and having fun. 

She could see now how obvious it is that these two like each other, and as badly as Sebek wanted there to be a nefarious purpose behind the girl’s actions, it wasn’t there. So that again brought her back to initial suspicions: why was Sebek so upset? 

Sebek stopped himself once he saw Silver pull out a stack of thaumarks from his wallet to pay for the clothes. The employee looked too tired of their job to even be concerned that Pip was wearing the clothes Silver intended to buy her, or that she dropped a handful of tags on the counter. 

“She’s making him buy stuff for her!?” Sebek complained, hand against his chest, “The nerve!”

“I’m pretty sure paying for your date is normal,” Tia reminded him. 

As Pip excitedly took the bag containing her previous outfit into her hands, she suddenly had an idea. “Wait, can I have three more bags?”

Again, the employee didn’t question anything and grabbed three more bright pink clothing bags for Pip to hold. As they were leaving, Silver quietly asked her a question that only Sebek could properly pick up with his fae hearing. 

“Why did you need the other bags?” 

“In movies, people usually leave shopping trips with a bunch of bags in hand!” Pip explained, “It’s part of the experience!”

“Is it?” Silver questioned, but not for very long; he was as accepting as she was and offered to hold her things when she got outside.

Sebek and Tia were not far behind them. Sebek purchased a nice-looking jacket in Silver’s size, despite his previously complaining about people purchasing gifts for others. 

Next, they followed the pair up to Seawind Plaza, where the little festival was set up. A couple of rides like Ferris Wheels and Roller Coasters were brought in pieces and built up in the commons. There were lots of game booths and food stalls too, Tia felt herself getting hungry just from the smell. If Sebek hadn’t dragged her into this, she could’ve been cooking at Ramshackle by now…

“Oh, Silver, you’d probably be really good at this!” Pip showed Silver some dart throwing game. Small balloons lined the wall as people tried to pop them for prizes. The prizes were little things that represented the tales told on Sage’s Island, hats, shirts, and plastic toys no more than 5 dollars at most. 

Tia wouldn’t have indulged in a cheap game that was rigged so that people would have a tricky time hitting the balloons at the top, but Pip and Silver were clearly there for the experience. 

True to Pip’s word, Silver decimated the balloons, popping every single one he threw at, all up on the top row. Pip, on the other hand, missed every shot and caused the carnie to duck and cover as one of her darts went completely haywire. 

“Darn, I still haven’t gotten the hang of hitting targets without the use of my signature spell.” She lightheartedly complained, though her face couldn’t hide the disappointment she clearly felt at not looking ‘cool’ in front of her date. 

“We can go again, for practice.” Silver offers, but the carnies seem distressed at the thought of Silver beating them out of all their prizes. 

“That’s alright, there’s plenty else to do!” Pip assures him, and the carnies seem relieved, “So you can pick whatever prize you want since you got top score.”

“I don’t really want anything.” Silver admits. 

“Of course he would say that…” Sebek grumbles into Tia’s ear, literally leaning down to her height to complain to her, “I can’t believe he showed off like that. I can score higher than him on that game.” 

“They’re just playing together, not everything is a competition.” Tia remains in opposition to Sebek’s endless complaints. 

“Is there anything you’d like from this stand?” Silver asks. 

“Look at the hats, see the one next to the Thorn Fairy’s horn headband?” Pip points at a little red hat with a feather, “Look familiar?” 

“Oh…It’s like the Prince from the Sleeping Princess tale,” Silver exclaimed, “I thought you already had something similar?” 

“You can’t have too many bycockets.” Pip told him with a smile, “I’m something of a collector. It can be fun to have multiple of the same thing.”

“I think my father would agree with you, as you’ve seen.” Silver actually joked back, and the two chuckled a bit at some shared understanding. 

“Now she’s forcing him to make jest at our teacher’s vast collections of knick-knacks and doo-dads! Do you see now how terrible of an influence she is?!” Sebek looked to Tia, wishing her to join his rage. 

At this point, Tia was beginning to get hangry. 

“I think you’re just looking for reasons to dislike them being together,” Tia mumbled.

“I am not! I’m only exuding the normal amount of caution that any proper knight in training should have!” Sebek went straight to arguing, “Now, before they leave, I shall conquer a game of similar caliber to prove a point later, and you can have my prize.” 

“I just want food now, honestly.” Tia admits. 

“Come now, I know you’ve been eyeing that fleece jacket by the ring toss. I assure you, I can win it and we can shove it in Silver’s face later.” Sebek assures her. 

It was fluffy…and she could use more warm things to wear around Ramshackle as it got colder. But as nice as the offer was, Sebek still made it too easy for her to poke at his horrible plan. 

“I thought this was supposed to be a stealth mission. He’s going to know you were following him if you show him.” 

“All the more to critique his lack of awareness of his surroundings! Now watch me launch those rings onto the farthest bottle!” Sebek declared and took Tia aside to the game. 

She turned back and watched as Pip tried to fit the bycocket on Silver’s head but it was just a bit too small. He, in turn, insisted she wear her favorite form of headwear. She heard Pip promise to win him something before the day ends as they were eventually drowned out by growing crowds and Sebek enthusiastically shouting as he swung the rings like they were weapons onto the bottles.

His force was so mighty that he broke two, and the carnies insisted he take the prize of his choosing and leave to avoid breaking even more. Sebek held onto Tia’s jacket for her in its thin plastic covering. The two finally caved in and bought some funnel cake as Sebek could barely hide the fact that he was getting hungry too. 

They ate together at a bench that oversaw a row of other benches that Pip and Silver parked themselves at. Pip seemed like she still wanted to walk around, but Silver had gotten sluggish, so she dragged him to sit down. 

Tia recalled finding it concerning at first, the way Silver would suddenly collapse into sleep. He seemed far more distressed about it than Pip did, who still wore a calm smile. 

“I’m sorry,” Silver says, his words warping together as he struggles to express his thoughts before sleep claims him, “I tried to prevent this from happening.”

“It’s fine. If you feel tired, then you should rest for a bit.” Pip assures him, then points to her shoulder, “Lie your head right here, I can wake you up later.”

Silver does, he rests his head on her shoulder as if it belongs there. Pip, in return, rests her head against his own and slides her arm behind his back in a half-embrace. 

Tia’s heart warms at the sight of it, because she can’t recall seeing anyone, not even Silver himself, embrace his sleep as Pip does. It wasn’t an inconvenience to her, just something that needed to be taken care of with understanding and acceptance.

While Tia had folded her arms to watch them rest fondly, Sebek was irritated as usual. 

“I don’t know what she thinks she’s doing. He could be like that for hours,” Sebek grumbled under his breath. 

“I think it’s sweet.” Tia said, “…What if they kissed?” 

“They should do no such thing, because I should be the first between us to kiss someone, not him!” Sebek argued. 

“You are so full of it, I can only imagine everything going on in your mind.” Tia poked at him. 

She usually didn’t stir the pot, but Sebek was such a complicated mess that he couldn’t help but want to get to the bottom of it. 

“I am far too complex to be read.” Sebek defended himself, and finished his funnel cake in just two more bites. 

“You’re complex, alright, because you’re being jealous and protective at the same time,” Tia said. 

She saw Sebek’s eye twitch, and just the faintest shade of pink flushed over his face, as if he knew he had been read. 

“You’re upset because Silver is pursuing a relationship before you, but you’re scared he’s going to be either hurt or taken away from you too,” Tia continued, “I’m right, aren’t I?”

Sebek grumbled, and his lack of denying it the instant she spoke made the silent truth all the louder. She understood him just fine. 

“I think it’s fine to feel those things, but don’t let them go too far. You can’t do stuff like this every time they go out together.” Tia advised, but seeing as Sebek wasn’t very interested in accepting any advice, and she felt bad hovering over a more intimate moment for Silver and Pip, she decided to turn her attention elsewhere. 

Though the prizes in these Twisted Wonderland games were a bit unorthodox compared to her original world, the Ferris Wheel was a staple even here. At the sight of such a recognizable attraction, Tia tried nudging Sebek again. 

“Since we’re already here, want to take part in more of the carnival? You could probably see the whole island on the Ferris Wheel.” Tia suggested. 

“And take my eyes off of them? I think not!” Sebek retorted. 

Yeah, that was about what she should’ve expected. She could practically hear Grim telling her that there was no use in trying with him. She almost wishes Grim had tagged along on her shopping turned spying mission. 

She dusted the crumbs from the funnel cake that landed on her lap and she stood up, tossing her napkin in the trash.

“Suit yourself.” She said a bit curtly, and took one last glance at Silver and Pip’s bench, where Pip dutifully remained at Silver’s side. 

Though she understood Sebek’s feelings, she couldn’t bring herself to waste her day watching Sebek stubbornly resist accepting that his fellow guardsman’s life was changing. 

He’d work through it himself, she thought, as she left to get in line for the Ferris Wheel. 

Sebek remained where he was, eyeing Silver and Pip like a hawk does its prey, ready to swoop down the moment he sees Pip trying something ‘funny.’ Unfortunately for him, that moment never seemed to come. 

There was one point in which she moved the arm opposite to the one she hung around Silver, and Sebek was ready to leap at the scene—! Except, it seemed she just took out her phone to scroll through and pass the time.

“To think she just plans to leave him asleep while she sits there idly, the nerve. She’s sabotaging their own outing. I should go wake him, right Tia-“ he looked behind him and saw no one.

Oh, right, she did say she was leaving to do something else.

Well, he could do just fine on this mission without her. But he was still holding onto her things…

His ears picked up on a yelp from the direction of the Ferris Wheel that Tia had fled to likely ten or twenty minutes prior. The seats were uncharacteristically still, and the ride operator had waved over extra help with the control console. 

Perhaps Tia was still in line, and she would return to their mission once she saw the state of the ride…That’s what Sebek thought to himself, at least. Until he saw, even from the distance he was at, Tia poking her head out from one of the top seats to look down at whoever was panicking earlier. 

To Sebek, it mattered not whether she was panicked or not; she was stuck, for Sevens only knows how long! 

Sebek looked back to Pip and Silver, who were stubbornly refusing to move from their spot, then again at the distant sight of Tia disappearing out of view, the Ferris Wheel still stuck in place, possibly for HOURS if he didn’t intervene. 

With these tough decisions, he went with the most logical option. He reluctantly trusted Silver to defend himself should Pip try a surprise attack and he sprinted toward the spirit wheel to rescue her. 

Did he have any special knowledge on how the mechanics of the machine worked? No, but he did have the ability to free her from her situation with reliable brute force. 

He ignored the operators who demanded to know what he was up to and the shouts they emitted once he began to scale the massive structure by hand was mere white noise. He didn’t attempt to try to sneak a look at his initial targets, as he knew in his experience of climbing upwards at 90 degrees that he would lose his balance should he dare look away from his target. 

Tia poked her head out once more and her eyes widened in shock, “Get down, you’re crazy!” She shouted at him, even as he was already so close. The woman two seats down from her was panicking again. 

“I’m nearly there,” Sebek told her. 

“You shouldn’t be up here, the workers are fixing it!” She chastised. 

After she said that, some dolt pushed the on lever with his elbow as he leaned against the machine. His coworkers immediately began screaming at him, and Sebek felt the machine move forward, his hands just barely clasped around Tia’s seat.

She grabbed his arms and tried pulling him in with all of her strength, which admittedly wasn’t much. Sebek lifted himself up, and Tia fell backwards after putting all of her bodyweight into trying to save him. 

“I just wanted to go on one ride. Do you have to make a production out of everything?” Tia exclaimed angrily, but she was still checking him over. 

The seat was big enough for two people, so they had no choice but to sit down together. Even as they did so, the argument was far from over. 

“You were trapped, I wasn’t going to leave you when I still require your aid.” Sebek grumbled. 

“Give it a rest, Sebek. I know you don’t like accepting things you don’t agree with, but Silver and this girl clearly like each other a lot. You aren’t going to find anything wrong with them.” Tia replied with a sort of knowingness that rubbed Sebek the wrong way. 

The way she spoke often made her sound like she had all the answers, that she knew what was true. That sort of soft tone had an irritating habit of swaying Sebek’s most set-in-stone thoughts and ideologies. 

He wasn’t ready to admit to any wrongs. He wasn’t ready to face the romantic music. 

“Even so, I’d like to see how this outing ends for them,” Sebek says, avoiding agreeing with Tia’s stance, nor letting go of his initial opinions. He was now in some strange, in-between place. 

That was good enough for Tia, who sighed, but always stuck with what was started. “Alright, they’re probably still at the bench, right? It hasn’t even been fifteen minutes.”

That’s what they both thought, that Pip had misjudged Silver’s spells as him needing a quick nap and not a near-constant soporific phenomenon that had been occurring since forever. But, when they returned to their previous hide out spot, the couple was nowhere to be seen. 

They could be anywhere at this point. Sebek’s eyes darted around back and forth through the sea of people, couples, and families alike. He couldn’t make out Silver’s striking platinum hair that often reflected colors depending on the light, so it was safe to assume they had left the carnival area…Or worse.

“She attacked him while he wasn’t on guard, the idiot!” Sebek seethed. 

“No,”  Tia told him firmly, “That’s not what’s happening. They probably just decided to go somewhere else. Seawind Plaza isn’t that big, we can easily check by the other stalls…” 

She took a pause to realize what she had just said, “What am I even talking about. This is the perfect opportunity to just leave them be.”

“I agree with your previous statement. It is easy to patrol around the plaza. We shall do that before venturing back into the foothill town.” Sebek decided, and by grabbing her arm, he wasn’t allowing Tia to go back on her previous observations anymore. 

She sighed, but she joined along. Sebek was sure Tia would be rightfully rewarded for her insight. The bag he still held onto with he purchase he made for Silver now had many other game prizes for Tia as he was determined to show-up Silver’s record of winning at the games. If only he knew how many prizes he won for that human girl, he would’ve made doubly sure to win twice as many. 

Silver and Pip could not be found at the carnival. If they were still there, they must have kept missing them by going to the wrong spots at the wrong time. 

Both Sebek and Tia were hungry again, and the walk back to NRC felt like too much strain without any good food in their stomachs. 

Tia was particularly entranced with a confectionery shop they passed by. The smell from the shop was sweet, meant to draw in customers. The workers inside were making caramel apples on the spot. It was the perfect autumn treat…and even better, PIP AND SILVER WERE SITTING INSIDE THE SHOP. 

Sebek took Tia in and froze in place as he heard the little bell atop the door ring to alert the workers of their presence. Despite his height, Sebek lowered his head and threw a hand up as if that would block anything and dragged Tia to the farthest other end where other customers were sitting to eat. 

“Blasted bell…Did they notice?” Sebek whispers to Tia, who looks over his shoulder. 

“Doesn’t seem like it. They’re pretty busy talking.” Tia observed. 

Sebek takes the opportunity to take a glance for himself. 

Pip seems very absorbed in whatever she’s talking about, using exaggerated hand gestures to illustrate her point. Silver is sitting silently in front of her, nodding along not from tiredness but to show that he’s listening to her. 

Silver was never talkative. There were very few instances in which Silver spoke for more than a couple of sentences at a time. He seemed content to sit in silence as Pip theatrically recalled some event to him. 

Tia looked to Sebek and noticed he no longer had any snarky remark to make. She thought he’d be bothered by Pip being the only one talking, or something else. But instead, he sat quietly in front of her, head resting on his left palm, casting a silent gaze at the two. 

“We should probably order something to eat here so we aren’t booted out,” Tia suggested. 

“Yes, please do, I’ll give you the thaumarks…” Sebek reached into his pocket for his wallet, still occasionally looking back. 

Once Tia had the paper money in her hands, she stood up and asked, “Is there anything in particular you’d like?”

“Anything is good. Actually,” he pries his eyes away enough to lock onto hers, “Whatever it is you think is best, I’ll have too.”

Tia turned to get in line and smiled to herself. He probably wouldn’t admit it now, but she could tell that Sebek finally realized that she had good judgment. 

Yes, her judgment was sound…Like ordering three different kinds of Petit fours to try. She just couldn’t choose between sets of Glacé, Salé, or Sec. They came in little boxes of four, with a variety in flavors and ingredients ranging from sweet to savory. She doubted she’d need much help tasting each one, but having a big eater like Sebek with her helped. 

When she returned with the three dainty boxes, she chuckled to herself, “Grim will be mad once he finds out there was food on this trip after all.” 

“Is that not why you bought so many of these little things?” Sebek questioned once she opened them up and revealed how tiny the treats were. He must’ve been holding back what he really thought, Tia saw how much he could eat. 

“These are all for us. I wanted to try every kind they had.” Tia said. 

Sebek looked inquisitively at the desserts and then back to her, “That’s an ingenious decision, I’ll admit.” 

He tried not to show it, but Tia could tell he was eager to try them all. He was a couple of bites in when he caught a bit of their conversation as Pip offered Silver a window to speak up. 

“I’m sorry, I got carried away with my story.” Pip apologized. 

“There’s no need to apologize, you’re a very good storyteller, and I enjoy listening to you. I’m sorry I don’t have much to add, or if I looked spaced out, I really was listening.” Silver replies with an apology in her stead. 

“Oh, that’s okay, just making sure.” Pip assured him, “I haven’t even gotten a taste of the almond roll. How is it?”

“It’s good, you say these are staples of Briar Valley cuisine?” 

“At least it is in my neck of the woods. There’s an amazing baker in this town I visit to charge my phone and get better cell connection. You and I should go there together sometime.”

“You’re at least a day’s ride on horseback from where I live. I’d take a broom, but without the proper training and combined with my bad habit, I worry I’d be left prey for direbeasts.” 

“C’mon, I’m sure even direbeasts would love you.” Pip nudged him playfully, “But I get it, it’s a lot even for me. Still, it’d be a shame if you never got to visit a single town, fae or human. I mean…”

Pip leans in forward to whisper something more sensitive to Silver, Tia can’t hear it, but Sebek’s more keen fae hearing can. 

“Is there a reason why you’re hidden away from civilization?”

Sebek felt that anger within him boil back up. Right when he was beginning to be okay with her, she starts questioning Silver’s upbringing, his childhood that had been so carefully reared by Lord Lilia and Lord Malleus.

…And yet. 

Sebek couldn’t help but feel a twinge of guilt that, at one point, he had wondered the exact same thing in his youth. 

“I don’t think there’s a reason, at least there isn’t one that I know of. I’ve just lived the life my father’s lived.” Silver explained in a very ‘silver-like’ fashion, equally confused but accepting of his circumstances, “I wasn’t discontent, and because I never knew what was going on in the lives of those who lived in cities and towns, I never had a desire to see what it was like, but…”

Sebek held his breath as he saw the earnest look in Silver’s eyes, widened as they rarely ever were, with complete awareness as they gazed into Pip’s own, and Sebek could see his hand reaching for hers. 

“I do want to see it now.”

In Sebek exploded a mix of emotions, the first of which was an insatiable desire to protect. His mind taunted him with images of Silver leaving the cottage, abandoning his father and his training to hold hands with a human girl. He thought of how sad Lilia and Malleus would be, how his animal friends would be waiting for him to emerge from the woods, only to never find him again, how lonely he would be as a knight with no training partner to rival with. 

Then came sadness, at the realization that maybe, just maybe, everything Silver had wasn’t enough. He was alone so often as a child as Lilia would leave for weeks on end. Even when Sebek’s family took him on vacation, Silver would still be in the exact same cottage he always was. Sebek recalled times when he would check on Silver alongside Malleus, finding him collapsed asleep from wherever he was, working in the garden or in the middle of cooking…

Finally, there was Tia, who placed her hand on top of his and squeezed it before he could sit up and act upon his emotions. She didn’t look mad at him; she looked sympathetic but firm that he shouldn’t approach the two. 

“I know how you’re feeling, but don’t stop them. Just let them talk.” Tia whispered. 

Sebek took a deep breath to calm himself down. Surely he could approach Silver about it another day. 

“I saved the last two glacé for you,” Tia noted, shamelessly having eaten the rest of the little treats when Sebek was distracted. 

Sebek held back a chuckle, and supposed maybe worrying about the future of his fellow guard could wait. 

“Come to my house next break we have. I’ll make sure we have a guest room ready for you.” Pip decided with a wink, and Silver, who was so easily swayed by the whims of other, easily agreed. 

Except he seemed to genuinely want to, that much Sebek could glean. He could hear it in the subtle change of tone in his voice, as if he sound something else he enjoyed as much as training, maybe even more. 

“I’d like that.”

· · ─ ·✶· ─ · ·

Silver bid farewell to Pip at the docks by the time the sun began to set. He continued to wave until the ferry was out of sight. Sebek and Tia were quick to return to campus ahead of him, believing they had remained disguised the entire time.

Silver returned to the dorm with a yawn and knocked on his father's dorm room door to return pieces of the borrowed outfit. 

Lilia was quick to swing the door open, “Silver! How did it go?!”

“It went well, Pip seemed to have lots of fun.” Silver began, “However…”

With the dip in his voice, Lilia was quick to try to assuage the disappointment, “Oh, don’t tell me you two had a spat? You know that’s very normal-“

“It’s nothing Pip and I did, it was Sebek. He followed us during the entire outing.” Silver admitted. 

“He…Followed you the entire outing.” Lilia repeated, “Did Pip notice?”

“She didn’t, and I didn’t say anything.” Silver adds, “I avoided acknowledging his presence as to not embarrass him and ruin Pip’s time. I believe he might’ve done so out of concern for me, or training.” 

“Could be either or.” Lilia nods, though he knows it’s the former. 

“I’m letting it go for now, but…If he does that again, I’m going to reprimand him.” Silver said decidedly. 

So this too had become something of a test of strength. Gone seemed the days where Silver would allow Sebek to have his way for the sake of peace. This wasn’t a bit of competitiveness training or sports; this was something he wasn’t willing to share nor give up. 

Lilia couldn’t hide his fondness and went straight to brushing his through Silver’s hair, “children grow up so fast!” He says, more musing to himself than responding to Silver, but the message was read all the same. 

No, he wouldn’t let Sebek know that his cover had been blown from the very moment Silver could sense his gaze from afar, because although he was busying himself with being nosy, he did also seem to be socializing with peers like Tia, and that was a good thing.

Just as it is good to be with Pip, and he was already thinking of all they could do during their next outing. 

He felt the spot on his forehead, under his bangs which Pip brushed aside to peck a light kiss during his impromptu nap, and thought about how nice it would be to return the favor on her lips. 

· · ─ ·✶· ─ · ·

Hours later, Sebek happened upon Malleus sitting atop the housewarden throne in the lounge alone. The moment they met eyes, Malleus beckoned him. 

“Sebek, I have a question to ask you.” 

“Yes, my liege?” Sebek’s voice quivers as he tip-toes closer. It was rare for Malleus to single him out and he didn’t know what to expect. 

“Have you observed Silver’s date in secret?” Malleus asks. 

“Y-Yes, I did. If I overstepped-“

Malleus lifted a finger, silently asking him to pause. His serious face turned into a grin. 

“Excellent work, I considered doing the same myself but didn’t wish to invoke Lilia’s wrath.” Malleus complimented, “Now, tell me how everything went. I want every detail.” 

He rested his elbow on the armrest, chin on his palm, eagerly awaiting the story.

“OF COURSE, MY LIEGE!” Sebek feverishly obeyed, and prepared to recount everything of the day.

Those thoughts came to the forefront of his mind when he awoke to incessant knocking at the cottage door in the morning. It was too early for Sebek to arrive, and Malleus usually allowed himself in with ease, so it could only be one other person. 

Lilia groaned and eventually dragged himself out of bed, hissing at the early morning sun peeking in through the living room windows. He did not like getting up at this time outside of school. He opened the door to greet Pip, who looked surprised to see Lilia still in his pajamas. 

“Oh, I’m so sorry, I didn’t know you’d still be in bed,” She greeted apologetically. 

“Dear, we’re late risers. Both Silver and I are still asleep at this time. Training with Sebek usually begins at 9 or 10, right now it’s-“ Lilia explained, rubbing his tired, squinted eyes. 

“7am, I thought if I rode at night I’d be here at a better time instead of late in the afternoon,” Pip apologized profusely, even bowing her head as if she were overstepping, “I can leave.”

“No, come inside. It’d be a waste of a trip if I sent you away. You and I can have breakfast together; how does that sound?” Lilia quickly assured her, not wanting her to feel unwelcome, even widening the door for her to enter. 

“I wouldn’t want you to be overtired because of me,” Pip exclaimed with big, sad brown eyes. That enough sobered Lilia up to be a proper host. 

“It’s fine, Night fae don’t need as much sleep as humans, but we are technically nocturnal. My schedule has changed to be closer to humans since Silver came into my life. Though with his sleep, not too much has changed,” Lilia explained while stretching, leading a surprisingly timid Pip through the door, “I can try to wake Silver, but he’s difficult to rouse this early…He’s difficult to rouse all the time, really.”

“You don’t need to, I’m fine with waiting,” Pip said and took a seat at Lilia’s dining table with mismatched chairs.

Lilia conjured up a small flame for his trusty cast-iron pan under the stove top. From the icebox he took out the remaining eggs he had left and thin cuts of pork. They needed more food groups for a balanced meal, so Lilia dug through the vegetables he had collected from the fields out back and tossed some green beans in for good measure. 

When he had first gotten Silver, he agonized over what to feed him after learning that human infants could easily become sick and die if they didn’t get proper nutrition. Maybe he went overboard with herbs, spices, and ingredients in general, but Silver was hale and hardy enough now to prove that Lilia’s diligence had done him well. 

Lilia grabbed his ground turmeric, garlic, and cayenne and sprinkled it all over the sizzling meat and eggs until completely coated. 

He looked back and saw Pip looking rather cumbersome, her shoulders slumped forward as she held her hands. Poor thing was beyond guilty for an honest mistake; that wouldn’t do at all. 

Lilia flipped the contents of their breakfast over a few times until he was sure it was cooked thoroughly, split the meal in half, and dispersed it to two plates. He dumped a spoonful of yogurt on the side for enhanced bone health and lathered the eggs in ketchup. He drew a little face on Pip’s and wrote her name the way he would when Silver was little. He made sure to remember to give Pip proper utensils, as Silver always found that very important, sticking to just a simple fork for himself. He poured water into two different-sized cups and magically transported them to the table.

“Whoa,” Pip’s eyes widen as she is handed her plate, “What is it?”

“Eggs, bacon, veggies, and yogurt. Would you like some fruit too? The wild blueberries grew in well this year,” Lilia answered. Before Pip could give a reply, he spelled the basket of fruit Silver left by the windowsill over to the table. He plucked some and sprinkled them into the yogurt.

“Thank you,” Pip said with a smile and rather politely cut into the meal with a fork and knife as Lilia stabbed and shoveled the food right into his mouth. 

Pip pursed her lips together after the first bite, held back a cough, but continued eating. Once she was finished, she drank all of her water, and then ate a spoonful of yogurt and berries. 

“Did you like it?” He asked expectantly.

“Yeah! I didn’t expect it to be so spicy, but it’s good,” Pip replied in between swallowing her spoonful and eating another one. 

“That’ll be the cayenne. It’s good for you, it…I forget what it does exactly, but it’s important for human health. I read it in a book once,” Lilia explained, then he sighed and looked around his barely organized mess of a home, filled to the brim with knick-knacks of all kinds, “I’ve always wondered where I misplaced that.” 

“I don’t think I’ve ever gotten the chance to tell you this, but all the stuff you have is really cool! You’ve been all over the world, right?” Pip spoke up with enthusiasm, “My mom does that too for work. What kind of job do you have?”

“I don’t have one currently; I simply do it for fun. But a long time ago, I was a member of the royal guard,” he said with a smirk and a wink. He appreciated now that Silver wasn’t much of a talker and that Pip wasn’t dissuaded by that, leaving Lilia room to entice someone new with his stories. 

“Oh, that makes sense as to why Silver’s so serious about training!” Pip exclaimed as she came to her own conclusion, “Well, that and…”

Pip quickly shut her mouth and looked away guiltily. She was very, very bad at preventing her thoughts and feelings from appearing on her face. 

Lilia wasn’t one to pry, although he was curious about what else she and Silver may have discussed in private, he decided to let them keep their secrets for now.

“Can I ask you something that stays just between you and me?” She instead asked. 

Lilia felt excitement swelling up in him, “Of course, dear.”

“Could you tell me what Silver was like growing up?” 

Lilia practically leapt up out of his seat and into the air, “I thought you’d never ask! I can do you better than just telling you, I can show you!” 

He sprinted over to his bedroom, on the bottom floor, thrusted open the trunk from beside his bed, and gathered in his arms as many photo albums as he could carry in one trip. He reappeared behind Pip and dumped them over her from behind her chair.

“Whoa! Are these all photos?” She asked, pushing her plate aside, opening one and flipping through the pages, “I was surprised there were no family photos displayed anywhere here. Where have you been keeping these?”

“They’re just for me, in a hidden place,” Lilia said with a wink, returning to his seat, “Of course I don’t mind sharing them with you, though. His first years and the birthday ones are my favorite.” 

Pip opened the oldest-looking album and let out a gasp as many baby photos were practically bursting out of the plastic sleeves. She eagerly flipped through all and noticed a common theme. Lilia was honestly surprised she hadn’t noticed before. 

“He’s asleep in a lot of these,” she points out a particularly lengthy page of nothing but photos of just that. 

“That’s just what he was like most of the time,” Lilia shrugged, “He’s more awake now, but surely you’ve noticed?”

“Yeah, but I never thought…I just thought he needed more sleep than other people,” Pip gave a rather innocent answer, a far more compassionate assumption than anyone else Lilia and Silver had encountered before.

Usually, when people saw the remnants of Silver’s powerful 400-year-old blessing, they assumed something was very wrong with him. It had been a source of personal anguish for Silver for a long time, and Lilia could find no way to alleviate that while still avoiding telling Silver the truth of what happened to him. 

Not even the best medical mages could find and analyze the spell that remained in him, and those who got close told Lilia in private that there was nothing they could do. 

It felt impossible that someone could simply miss Silver’s biggest insecurity, yet there she was, looking at Lilia with worry like she had missed something dire. 

“Is he sick?” She asked, a more common assumption that others came to. 

“Not exactly, but it’s something he’s struggled with since he was an infant,” Lilia explained, “I think over time he’ll improve more, but it may be something that stays with him through most of his lifetime.”

‘Or all of it,’ Lilia wants to add, but holds his tongue. 

Pip looks introspectively at Silver’s more active photos of him proudly holding a proper training sword; another sword was stuck in the chest of a wooden dummy that Lilia set up. 

“The reason I trained Silver in survival and combat wasn’t so that he could grow up to become a knight; it was to give him the skills he needed to survive. It just so happened that becoming a knight was a goal Silver wanted to achieve, and the training helped keep him alert,” Lilia further explained, “even if he does fall asleep at odd times and in odd places, he’s able to protect himself with those skills of his, so you don’t have to worry; he wouldn’t want you to.”

Pip smiled fondly, and then she began to tear up.

“There’s no need for tears, I already told you not to worry-“ Lilia hurriedly tried to make amends, but Pip shook her head and looked back at him, drying her eyes before any tears properly spilled. 

“It’s not that. I’m just realizing what a bad daughter I’ve been,” Pip tells him, “My mom was always really insistent I learn about weapons. Maybe she was doing it because she wanted me to have more knowledge and skills to protect myself; she’s always worrying about that.”

Lilia’s hands fell slack to his side. In the back of his mind, he always wondered if his idea of ‘parenting’ was far too different than real parents. The Zigvolts and Malleus would scold him for making mistakes, and Lilia would try again while thinking that Silver would be in a better place once he left to be with other humans. 

Someone else, besides his closest companions, believed he had been doing a good job. 

“I’m not as disciplined as Silver is. I never really did as I was told…Silver is a really great person,” Pip admits while sheepishly averting her gaze.

Lilia’s heartstrings felt like they were pulled right out of his chest. 

He liked her. 

He really liked her. 

Lilia reached over the table, placed a hand on Pip’s head, and stroked her hair. Maybe it was a bit much for him to show this gesture to someone who was not his own, but it felt right; he felt that same paternal spark as he did before. 

“Believe me, I know how lucky I am,” Lilia tells her cheekily, “and I believe your family is very lucky to have such a strong, kindhearted young woman for a daughter.” 

Pip smiled back at him and, without even noticing what he was saying, something else suddenly snuck out. 

“Thank you for finding him.” 

To think she wouldn’t be here had she not followed a dream that came about by chance or fate, not even knowing for certain if that dream were real or not. 

“Thank you for finding him,” she uses his words on him, “who knows what would’ve happened had you not been the one to find Silver in the woods when he was a baby.” 

Lilia paused. Right, that was the story. 

Silver seemed satisfied with that answer after all, if he was so eager to tell Pip his ‘origins’…That was good. 

Surely with Pip at his side, Silver would acclimate to human life easily.

It was tough to think about that eventuality, but for now, the kids were still young. He still had more photos to take and keep away in his secret place. 

The two of them enjoyed going through all the photos, with Pip interjecting with more questions about what it was like and how present the Prince of Briar Valley was in their group photos. 

Lilia decided to let Malleus handle explaining his role in Silver’s life to her himself. 

Eventually, Silver emerged from his room and sluggishly made his way down the stairs, still in his pajamas.

“Good morning, Father,” Silver says.

He straightens up once he makes it down the stairs and matches eyes with Pip from a distance; what she and Lilia were doing was obscured from his view. His eyes widened, and he quickly walked back up the stairs, likely in a hurry to dress himself in clothes.

Lilia couldn’t help but chuckle. Usually, Silver was unbothered by guests seeing him in his pajamas. He must really want to look his best around Pip.

Lilia flicked his right wrist once, and the photo albums Pip had piled up on her lap closed themselves up and floated their way out of the living room and into Lilia’s room, to whatever secret place they were pulled out of, all while Silver was busy changing upstairs. 

When Pip looked like she wanted to ask Lilia why he was so secretive about it in the first place, Lilia simply placed a finger upon his lips, and she understood to keep it between them. 

It was sweet, sharing a secret with someone. It would be the only one, he was sure, as the rest were his alone. 

Silver eventually came back down the stairs with proper clothes on, even his hair was partially fixed, though a few parts still stuck up as bedhead. 

“Hello Pip,” He says kindly to her, then looks to his father, mildly disappointed, “Father, you could’ve woken me up.”

“I offered!” Lilia exclaimed while lifting his hands to show innocence, “Now that you’re here, I’ll go make a pot of coffee.”

He left them to sit together and talk at the table. Silver fervently apologizing for being late, and Pip smiling and brushing out his remaining bedhead with her hands. Lilia pretended not to be sneaking peaks from the kitchen.

Never in hundreds of years did he expect to see young budding love again, this time from the perspective of a parental guardian. 

She had locked eyes with the stranger once or twice every few dreams, but he left as quickly as soon as he came, walking wordlessly out of her sight and outside the realm of her imagination. 

The shock of seeing and losing him usually prompted her to wake up and, frustratingly, she’d jot down a few more things she remembered about him and try to see if she could find him the next night. 

This boy might not be real, but it was the mystery of not knowing if that was true or not that kept her intrigued. 

If she could just talk to him…

Pip awoke with a start and stared up at her ceiling. Beside her on her nightstand, her candlelit lamp was still just barely ablaze, and hot wax flooded the bottom…So she accidentally slept with the lamp on, her father would surely make a fuss that she wasted yet another candle because of her forgetfulness. 

She remembered what mattered, she thought, like every detail of the mysterious stranger from her dreams. 

Pip took the hot lamp into her hands and used magic to reform and harden the candle. The wick would need to be replaced, but that was a problem for later. 

She ran to her desk by her windowsill and combed through her sketchbook. The closer she got to recreating the stranger’s face, the easier it would be to find him. 

He looked kind of close to what she remembered, but it was hard to get the details just right when she only caught a few parting glances…The colors were important, though. Silver white hair, auroral eyes, and fair skin. If he were real, that would be very hard to miss. 

“Pippa!” Her father called for her from outside her room. 

She looked down at herself, still in her pajamas, and then at the window. Dawn had long since risen, and the sun was high in the sky…Uh oh. 

Pip ran a hand through her strawberry blonde hair and began to braid it in an attempt to look more orderly before her father came in, but she knew the image of her being ‘bright and early’ to help around the house was out the window.

Her father knocked incessantly at first, but then barged right in anyway. He took one look at her  and her messy braid and let out an exacerbated sigh. 

“Pippa, you said you’d be up bright and early. You said your…Your whatever device was a suitable enough alarm!” Her father chastised, wagging his finger at her.

“My phone must’ve died again," Pippa looked back at her poor phone that couldn’t be charged in the comfort of her home, “I’ll have to head back to charge it in that one town with electricity.” 

“You don’t have time for that right now. Hurry and dress into something suitable. Your mother is returning today, and I’d promised her you’d be spick and span.” Father insisted. 

What he didn’t know is that there was an image she couldn’t forget…It was on the tip of her tongue!

“I will! I just need to sketch this one thing…” Pip returned to her notebook. She had to act quick before it was gone, “I had that dream again-“

“Again with the dream nonsense! Your device and your dream boy don’t take precedence over greeting your mother! Now dress yourself, please.” Father placed his hands around her shoulders. 

To appease her father, she did put her notebook down…After finishing a few lines when he left her to change alone. 

When Father described what she needed to wear as ‘suitable,’ he didn’t provide any specifications. So no one could complain when she entered the living room wearing boots built for hiking, jeans, a breathable top, and her favorite red coat, ready to take on the Tenebrous Woods as she often did in her dreams. 

Mother was there with her new graduate assistant. The visit was to be short-lived, their home a rendezvous point before she left for research again. She was spending a lot of time studying local history at the Land of Dawning and its surrounding islands, with a focus on ancient weaponry. She even forged weapons herself in the shed by the horses! 

As busy as she was, she would often bring who worked with her to their home to gaze upon the family’s personal collection. 

“Pip, dear, I hope you’ve been well,” Her mother quickly took her into a hug as soon as she walked out, “You’ve been staying out of trouble? Staying out of the woods?”

“The woods aren’t so bad,” Pip tries to defend, but is met with a familiar rant. 

“Briar Valley is filled with fae who don’t like humans, direbeasts, and other carnivorous creatures. You need to be more cautious about your surroundings. I don’t want to hear of you getting hurt while I’m not here to protect you.” Mother says.

Pip understands the sentiments. Really, she does, but at this point, it all just blows right past her. To ask her not to explore her home, not to try to solve the mysteries surrounding the woods and her dreams, was just too large an ask. 

Mother brushes a hand through her hair and returns to the assistant’s side, “My assistant here wants to do an extensive genealogy study on some of the oldest human families in Briar Valley. He heard our family has been here for around four centuries, and I agreed to stay here for a few days to look through our collection.”

Pip got excited at the idea of sharing some of her grandfather’s and great-grandfather’s extensive treasures. They had books so old she couldn’t even read the words, and tons of cool artifacts she didn’t know the origins of yet. 

“Thank you so much for this,” The graduate assistant thanked them, and the family graciously led him into their study. 

Beside Mother’s bookshelves of her own published books and research writing, there were boxes filled with dusty tomes and framed paintings. They also had display cases of some priceless treasures, jewelry, and armor passed down to them from their oldest known ancestor. 

But 400 years was a long time, and it was still hard to trace everything back. Aside from the mysteries of Pip’s dreams, there was a lot of mystery in general surrounding how their family came to be. 

“This is magnificent…” the assistant exclaimed, and pointed at what he was most interested in, “That helmet is so unique…Do you think there’s a way to find the complete set?”

“We don’t know,” Pip spoke up, observing the object of his awe. 

It was a very beautiful helmet. Bright silver, with carved wings that enveloped where the face would be. It was unlike anything seen in human history in Briar Valley thus far, the stuff of legends…

They knew it wasn’t from their ancestor, though. 

“Our ancestor took this helmet after a duel. Not sure who the person was, but…I always thought it was really pretty,” Pip explained.

“If I can spend a few days working here with your mother, we could possibly solve that mystery," The assistant said with confidence

So that was one mystery solved, now onto her own mystery…

“Well, it was really lovely getting to see you so soon, Mother. Is there anything special I could get for dinner? Something from town…Or I could hunt for some bird-“ Pip tried to smooth-talk her way past her mother, who she, unfortunately, learned all her tricks from.

“Excellent idea, Pip. Now that I’m here, I think I’ll be getting food for dinner tonight. You just relax,” Mother spoke back to her in a similar tone. 

“Father would probably love turkey. Turkey is best when hunted fresh, and with my magic, it’ll be done in no time-“

“You don’t need to do that, dear.” 

“But I really think Father would like it. I just want to help out around the house more.” 

“You’d be helping me by remaining here, safe inside our home.” 

Pip held back a groan. This was impossible. She not only met her match, but she was trying to beat her very teacher. 

It was a no-go with Mother…but Father was easier to bend. 

Pip returned to the living room and dutifully suited up to care for the horses and let them graze outside their stables, keeping up the ‘prim and proper’ facade until she could see her mother sufficiently busy from the study window in the yard.

She took out her horse, Butterbriar (Terrible name, but she was four when the foal was born, and the name stuck as it was), and her parents’ steeds, and allowed them to prance around while she cleaned. 

Butterbriar looked at her expectantly, and that's when Pip remembered: she had promised extra carrots to her after their last jaunt in the Tenebrous Woods, where they had escaped the danger of direbeasts by the skin of their teeth.

“Right, a deal is a deal,” She agreed, and slipped back in to grab carrots from the food safe, listening in to her mother and the assistant’s conversations about their family’s line and missing links to the narrative. That should keep them busy for a while. 

She opened the window behind the sink that also looked out to the yard, and promptly tossed the carrots one by one towards Butterbriar, who only caught about two in her mouth. The rest she had to pick up off the ground, and she didn’t seem happy about that, but Pip didn’t have the time to be gentle about it. 

Her father was already sitting on the couch, looking over his designs for honeymoon cottages to be built in the more ritzy human neighborhoods. Pips leaned over him from behind the couch and batted her eyelashes when he looked up at her. 

“Father, I’m going out to find a nice bird for us tonight,” She said. 

“Didn’t your mother tell you not to-“ 

“Now, she didn’t actually say no; she was just offering suggestions before,” Pip reminded him, which was partially true, “Besides, my poor phone needs to be charged. I’ll be around the human towns and that’s not too dangerous.” 

"Pippa, listen to me. Whatever reckless idea you have in your brain, I command you to be rid of it at once,” Father warned her. 

"And get us a nice dinner. Yes, I hear you," Pip completed for him and hurried off to pack the things she needed into the bag she had left on her doorknob outside her room.

Father had completely missed what she said, but it was too late; she was one foot out the door. 

“Goodbye, Father!” She waved. 

“Goodbye, Father- No, Pippa, stop!” She heard Father say as she shut the door. 

She ran around the back and hopped the fence, not even bothering to put a saddle on Butterbriar. She grabbed pieces of her mare’s mane and lightly kicked. Butterbriar knew what to do and took off in the direction of Briar Valley’s vast forests. 

Her phone obviously took precedent, as was finding a good bird to hunt…

However, her recent dream made her feel as though she was getting closer to meeting that dream boy If only she could properly picture what part of the woods she was in. Perhaps she was dreaming of a place she hadn't yet been before, but still retained Briar Valley's distinctive features. 

She and her horse stopped in town first. With no reins, she would surely get in trouble for not properly reining in her horse outside the shops as they were supposed to. Still, she trusted Butterbriar not to run off, so long as she offered her all the treats she wanted. 

“I’ll buy you some sugar cubes while I’m in here. I just need to charge my phone enough for it to turn back on, okay?” She brushed her hand through Butterbriar’s blonde hair. The mare snorted, and she took that as an agreement. 

She pulled the charger out of her bag and plugged it into one of the outlets by the tables of the small cafe area. Other Briar Valley residents were using the space to check up on Magicam and catch up on televised news.

Pip grabbed a box of sugar cubes and another small snack, sticking them under her arm as she took out her wallet. While at the front desk, she overheard a news story talking about Briar Valley on the TV.

“There is a new interest in the History of Wildrose Castle, which has been abandoned for over four centuries and only recently has been made a neutral zone by the International Magic Council. There are many untold mysteries surrounding the abandoned castle, such as the wars fought to claim ownership of it, and the story of a curse-“

“Have you been to that castle yet, Pip?” The shopkeeper asked once he saw her paying attention. 

"Not yet. My mother said that when she was a kid, people she knew used to try to go in as a dare, and the briars would come to life and ward them off…" Pip described, "Then suddenly, around 3 months before I was born, the magic was just gone, and people could go inside. Mother has done research there with permission, but still tells me I shouldn't explore because…Well, you know how she is." 

“I’m sure she just wants to keep you safe," The shopkeeper assured her, handing her the objects she purchased and a coupon for a coffee next time. 

“It’s clearly safe now…Can’t help but wonder what changed about it though,” Pip mused allowed, but shook herself out of her thoughts, “Well, I’ve got a bigger mystery to tackle!”

“Oh? And what’s that?” 

“There’s a mystery boy appearing in my dreams and I think there’s a chance he might be real.” 

She received the same baffled look she got from her father, of course; no one else got it. And yet!

“I have something for you,” Pip reaches into her bag and pulls out one of her drawings that she actually colored, “If you see anyone come by that matches this description, please send for me as soon as possible!”

The shopkeeper still seemed skeptical, but took the drawing, “Who did you say this was again…?”

"That's the trouble, I don't know. He could be a peasant…But he looks more like a Prince to me." Pip answered, "I can't explain it very well, but… I'm sure there's a reason I've been having these dreams. It feels as though something great might happen if I finally get to meet him."

“Well, I hope that’s true then. But I’ve seen practically every human in this country, and I’ve never seen a face like this before," The shopkeeper stuck the drawing up with the other advertisements on the board behind him. 

Pip beamed a smile, took her charged phone, and rejoined Butterbriar to ride out into a new patch of woods she had not yet seen, this time venturing out closer to the Verdurous Moors, where the abandoned castle could be seen in the distance….

Once at the Verdurous Moors, she allowed ButterBriar to graze some more and Pip took to hiding in the bushes, watching for any animals that might choose to graze as well.

She got lucky and found some large turkeys, picking for seeds and bugs in the patches of land where the grass no longer grew…A battle was fought there once. 

She took out the small dagger that she kept in her bag and removed the leather scabbard, and she whispered her incantation to her weapon. 

“Fly swift and sure, into the heart of my target. Virtuous Aim.”

Magic arose from her fingertips and lit the dagger aglow. She closed one eye and focused on one specific target, the biggest turkey of the bunch. She stood up, threw it, and watched as the dagger flew straight into the Turkey’s most vital point…Perfectly clean and painless.

The other turkeys scattered, leaving just her, her horse, her family's dinner she secured, and her alibi. 

“Hey Briar,” she spoke to her horse, “Let’s go get that turkey…And you know, while we’re at it, that great big castle is right over there.” 

Butterbriar very easily picked up on what she was implying, snorted, and pushed her nose into Pip's bag, caring more for her treats than aiding in Pip breaking her mother's rules. 

She picked up the bird and tied its legs together, then lassoed it around Butterbriar with the thin rope she kept on her. 

She finally met the large castle up close, covered in overgrown briars that once kept people away. She also looked behind her and saw that there was once a bridge that led straight toward the gorgeous structure…

She walked closer and nothing happened, so she pushed open the door…What she was met with was a large throne room and a lone, old-timey cradle. 

“Wait here for me,” Pip instructed her horse, and walked inside. 

Based on her mother’s research and their own collection of treasures, she could tell that everything truly had been left as it was for hundreds of years…And curiously, it seemed that the cradle had once been tampered with…

The blankets askew, as if the child inside had been taken out before the end, or maybe…

Pip looked around for the other rooms and found that the briars by the stairways were tragically too thick to cross. There was no way she could cut through them with the blade she had now…So exploring the rest of the castle wasn’t possible.

Still, this impressive and beautiful structure…It held a secret once. One that held out for over 400 years and still remained unsolved. 

She couldn’t explain it, but this place felt like a clue to her own mystery, and perhaps she would have that dream again tonight. 

She did leave another one of her illustrations in the abandoned castle. Hopefully no historian or council member who came in would get rid of it. She just had a feeling that the mysterious boy would visit this place too…

· · ─ ·✶· ─ · ·

Seventeen times. 

She caught the boy in her dreams, and he disappeared or she woke up, seventeen times. 

Why was he so hard to catch? Whether it be at her all-girls school, her home, the woods, or even some fantastical location, she would always miss him. 

He wasn’t even walking fast! He’d appear almost confused and taking in his surroundings, then he’d leave as soon as he arrived, slipping out somewhere as if there was an invisible exit door!

Is it because she’s starting to notice she’s dreaming when she sees him? If that’s the case, she’ll have to take drastic measures. 

“Dear, what do you need duskweed for?” Father asked, thankfully it was him because Mother was too preoccupied to pry. 

“I keep waking up at random times at night. I just want to sleep better, that’s all," Pip explained, dumping copious amounts of duskweed in her steeper. 

“Well, don’t put too much in! You have enough trouble waking up in the morning as is!” Father chastised, but didn’t stop her. 

Pip grinned to herself, thinking, ‘yes, Father, not waking up in the morning is the idea, just this once.’

If this plan failed, then she’d just have to accept that this boy of hers isn’t real, and that there’s no way she could possibly contact him…

She took a swig of her bitter tea and got dressed for bed, already feeling the edging feeling of drowsiness dragging her down. She was out the moment her head hit the pillow, before she could even get her left leg up on her mattress…

She started dreaming before she realized it, too. She was exploring through the woods as she usually dreamed, so close to her everyday life that it felt as though she was awake, except for him. 

The boy seemed comfortable in the forest, as though he was right at home there. He might not have even realized this dream wasn’t his at first- But just the sight of him was enough for Pip to stop in her tracks and realize, this was her chance. 

Pip crouched in the bushes as she would with prey. She considered, for a moment, using her spell to catch him (could she even do that in a dream?). Still, she decided not to, as her spell wasn't meant to be used on other people, whether she was asleep or awake. 

She’d just have to find a way to sneak over to him without completely scaring him off as she always did. 

The woodland creatures of her dreams that usually tormented her by stealing her clothes ran right up to the boy, two squirrels teamed up to give him a large stick that matched the stick held in the owl’s talons.

She crept around unseen to get behind the dueling owl and waited until the boy had his stick knocked out of his hand. When he reached down to grab it, Pip took the stick away from the owl and stole its place after shooing it away. 

The boy swung his retrieved stick up, expecting to still be dueling a bird, not at all prepared to match eyes with her.

As their sticks connected like swords, Pip could finally see what this passing apparition of her dreams looked like in detail.

She hadn’t been able to capture the beauty the boy held in her art at all. She could not accurately depict the silver of his hair that seemed to glow like the moon, nor capture the dawn that rose within his irises.

“Oh!” The boy exclaimed in surprise, snapping Pip out of her awe. 

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to frighten you,” Pip quickly apologized, dropping her attempt at a battle stance and letting her stick-wielding hand fall slack at her side. 

“It isn’t that…” the boy said, and looked at something above her head, “I should go-“

He turned to leave, and Pip quickly grabbed one of his hands with two of her own.

"Please, don't-" Pip pleaded, and in her forcefulness, she tripped over something, which caused her to crash right into the boy, who turned around and tried to break her fall, sending them both straight into the pond beside them. 

It must have been the work of the duskweed that prevented Pip from waking up out of embarrassment. 

She sat in the water now unable to look at the pretty boy’s face, who was now staring at her for obvious reasons. 

“Are you alright?” The boy asked, not even mad that he took a dive as well. 

“Yeah, yeah, I’m fine..” Pip says, averting her eyes out of embarrassment. She could feel his gaze on her and fought back the urge to stare into those distracting, jeweled eyes again. 

The boy stands and offers his hands to her. She allows him to help her up, effortlessly lifting her back into a standing position by her arm. 

“I apologize, I believed I was in my own dream just now, but then I saw the bird above your head and realized this was yours,” the boy told her.

Pip looked above her head and around where the animals used to be. She wasn’t exactly sure what bird he was talking about, but she was glad he finally stopped to talk.

“I’ll leave you to your dream,” He says and tries to leave, but Pip quickly stops him by grabbing his wrist as he turns.

“But why?” She asks, “I’ve seen you so many times before; This is the first time I’ve gotten to talk to you.”

“I’m not making this connection on purpose,” The boy admits, “Sometimes I accidentally get lost in the dreams of people I don’t know.”

“Oh…” Pip says sadly, “I was kinda hoping it was on purpose…”

Sadness aside, Pip realized something else about what the boy said. 

“Wait, so you definitely are real! A figment of my imagination would never say that, I think!” She excitedly declared. 

“I’m real.” The boy confirms nonchalantly, “Now, if you’ll excuse me-“

He very easily removed himself from her grip and turned to leave again, to which Pip grabbed him again too. 

“Could you stay..? I mean, I’m definitely not waking up any time soon, and so long as you’re here…” she pleaded, anything to make the moment last longer. She thought about what the boy was doing before and it seemed like a good place to start. 

“You could show me some of those cool moves you were doing before! It looks like you know sword technique!”

“I do,” the boy continues to reply with short and objective answers, “I’ve trained my whole life in swordsmanship.”

“I do some swordsmanship too! Well, it’s more like a dagger than a sword,” Pip looked around and found the long stick she had dropped during her fall on the grass beside the water. 

The boy followed her, and Pip smiled to herself. Her plan to dissuade him from leaving worked; now, she had to show off her skill…

‘Skill’ was a strong word for what she could do with a weapon. 

Without her signature spell, she actually never could’ve hit any target. 

She whacked the stick around back and forth in a way that, to her, resembled something close to swordsmanship. She only realized after receiving a blank stare from the boy that he was way out of her league. 

Of course he was; he actually had form.

He didn’t laugh at her, though. Actually, she couldn’t tell what he was thinking at all, if anything. His face remained shockingly neutral, like that of an unchanging art piece.

“Oh,” he exclaimed in an observational tone, “That’s what I did when I was first learning. Did you want to learn techniques from me?”

Pip nodded. 

The boy reached down for his own stick that got stuck between a rock in the river and stood in front of her, makeshift sword pointed forward. 

“The best place to start would be correct posture and guard stance,” The boy told her, “Can you copy what I do?” 

Pip tried to mimic him. When she did, he walked behind her and gently placed his hands around her shoulders, repositioning her so that her stance was more solid. He encouraged her to hold her makeshift sword higher.

“That’s long guard,” he says, and returns to his place in front of her. 

He moves his ‘sword’ around his body with ease, above his head, by his shoulder, and even behind his back, “There’s low, middle, hanging. Most defensive stances have your left foot positioned forward, but if you’re more comfortable with your right as I am, that’s good too.”

“Okay, okay…Long, low, middle, hanging…” Pip mumbled to herself as she tried to copy his swiftness, but her reaction time was unfortunately always pretty slow. 

Unlike her teachers, the boy did not get frustrated and waited patiently until she figured it out on her own. 

“Keep your feet shoulder-width apart, your knees bent slightly, and your back should always be straight,” The boy instructed further. 

"Feet, knees, back…" Pip abridged his instructions and did as she was told. "Is this right?"

“You’re close,” the boy encouraged, “Would you like me to assist you?”

“Yes,” she answered, and was admittedly happy to have the boy gingerly correct her stance again. 

It was hard to believe someone trained in the art of swordsmanship could be such a gentle teacher. She doubted this kind of teaching followed him into duels, however, and was excited at the thought of getting to see his prowess in action. 

“Once I’m better at this, could we duel?” She asked.

“Sure, but I don’t know if we’ll ever meet again…” the boy replied honestly. 

That was an odd answer, given she had seen him many times before. Hopefully, this encounter of theirs wouldn’t end simply because they met. One night wasn’t enough; she had to meet him again. 

“There’s no way you can teach me everything there is to know about swordsmanship in just one night…” Pip said, “So when will I meet you again?”

“Never, or…Maybe someday,” The boy guesses. 

“Tomorrow?” Pip tries for a more solid answer, but she can feel him getting distant now.

The world around them grows hazy, like her dream is breaking at the seams. The boy walks away at a pace she can't keep up with, no matter how fast she tries to make her legs move. 

She realized she had forgotten something crucial. 

His name. 

· · ─ ·✶· ─ · ·

To Pip’s dismay, she woke up well into the afternoon to a scolding from her father and no name from the mysterious stranger. 

Luckily for her, she remembered every detail from her dream and took to recreating how he looked with proper use of colors from her chalk pastels. She also practiced the stances he had taught her during her routine trips into the wilderness. 

She still couldn’t hit anything without the use of her spell, but at least she could stand correctly, so that was something. 

Pip became even more excited to reunite with this totally real boy from her dreams and began to speculate who he could be, or if she could find him in the waking world. 

He thought her dream of Briar Valley's dense forests was his own, so he must've been a Briar Valley resident! He was definitely human, but had a strange, almost fairy-like appearance, and no one in the human villages she went to knew him.

Or maybe he was a forest guardian or wood sprite that looked human. Perhaps he was some magical creature that lived in the forest and visited people in their dreams…

By the time she managed to calm herself down enough to fall asleep, she was in another part of the Briar Valley woods. The boy was there and, instead of sword fighting with the animals, he was picking some wild raspberries from the bushes and gifting them to the birds that watched him from low-hanging tree branches.

“Hello!” Pip greeted him, and just like before, he looked surprised to see her. He looked over her head and turned to leave. 

Pip quickly caught him as she did before, “What’s wrong? Don’t you remember, we met before!” 

“We have?” the boy asks. 

Pip’s swallowed her heartache. She could tell the boy wasn’t trying to be cruel and was genuinely confused, but like before, she wasn’t ready for this connection to end, even if it wasn’t on purpose. 

“We met in a dream,” Pip answered. 

“Oh, I see. I apologize, I sometimes get lost in people’s dreams due to my magic,” The boy re-explained, “I often forget about what happens by the time I wake up, and even now…”

“That’s alright,” she assured him, “Before, you told me you would help me learn swordsmanship. Are you still willing to be my teacher?” 

“I said that? Well, it’s only fair I keep my word then. What would you like to know?” The boy went right back into where their routine left off, as if his lapse in memory was an inconvenience. 

“Last night we covered stances, I think tonight we could try some moves?” Pip suggested excitedly. She snapped one of the branches the birds were hanging out on and waved it around erratically. 

“I think we should quickly go through stances again first,” The boy added after seeing her swing. That was a little disappointing, but with time, she was sure they’d be able to jump straight into sparring soon…

· · ─ ·✶· ─ · ·

Almost every night from that point, she would find the boy and reintroduce herself. They eventually got around to using names…

“They call me Pip, by the way,” She told him one visit, “Well, my father does when he’s in a good mood.”

"I'm Silver," The boy reveals, a bit anticlimactic, but she couldn't deny that the name fit perfectly. He shone just like the precious metal. "My father named me.”

“I wonder why~” she mused aloud jokingly. 

“My hair,” Silver pointed at his head. Pip found herself enjoying how earnestly he spoke and how willing he was to speak with her once she could manage to convince him to stay…

· · ─ ·✶· ─ · ·

“Hey, it’s me again!” Pip greeted while waving her hands. 

“I don’t think we’ve met before," Silver greets her with confusion on cue. 

Pip, not deterred by his resetting memory, replied as she always did, “We have, in a dream. You agreed to train me, I’d like to try out movement drills.”

She began to dream of entering the forest with actual weapons instead of sticks and branches. She tossed him a sword, and they both got into a stance. 

Of course, she didn’t stand entirely correct, but she was close. Almost as if a part of him remembered their previous meetings, Silver commended her for her nearly perfect form. 

“Let’s switch between guards, long-“

“Long, low, middle, hanging.” Pip recited. 

Silver blinked, “So we have met before.” 

“That’s what I keep telling you!”

· · ─ ·✶· ─ · ·

“Hey Silver!” Pip greets. 

“You know my name?” Silver asks. 

“We met before in a dream like this,” Pip answers, tossing him a sword, “I’d like to practice sparring. You agreed to teach me swordsmanship.”

Silver inspects the weapon, as he tends to do, and looks to her. “If I agreed, then I have no choice but to make good on my word. Do you know your guard stances?”

“Long, low, middle, hanging.” Pip showed off her ease at switching between her footwork and sword position. 

Silver raised his sword toward her, “Would you like to try parries and thrusts?”

Pip smiled as she was finally able to copy his form exactly, “More than anything.” 

· · ─ ·✶· ─ · ·

“Silver…” Pip said after an exerting session, her back up against a massive tree. It was possible to be exhausted even while dreaming. 

She dreamt of being in the Tenebrous Woods, yet somehow no spooky direbeast came to interrupt their training. Hordes of animals were drawn to Silver, and they crowded him even now as he sat beside her. 

“Yes?” He replies, pausing his stroking of a chipmunk’s little head. 

“Why do you think you’ve been making this connection with me?” Pip asked, “And how come I can remember everything, but you forget by the next time we meet?”

“I’m not sure. My spell isn’t very useful, and I find myself using it without even meaning to,” Silver answered after thoughtfully contemplating his own mystery, “I don’t remember casting my spell, so I still don’t entirely understand how it functions. And with you…Who I’ve met but struggle to remember…”

“It’s fine, I don’t mind reintroducing myself,” Pip waves off the shame she could see appearing on his face. 

“I mind it. It’s rude, and I’m sorry.” Silver insists. 

“Maybe your spell is bringing us together for a reason…” Pip suggested, then got distracted by something else, “Like the girl on your sweater.”

Silver looks down at his pink and blue pajamas. There’s a large graphic of a beautiful woman with the words ‘Sleeping Beauty’ plastered around her. 

Pip had noticed his interesting choice in clothing, but had been so distracted by his beauty and getting him to train her, that she never got around to truly observing it. 

“That’s the Sleeping Princess. My mother used to read me that story. I always thought the Prince was so brave for fighting to save her, even though he barely knew her," Pip told him. 

“I felt the same way about the Prince in that story; my father read me the same one,” Silver added, there was just the smallest, faintest shift in his usually neutral tone, like a fondness was forming. 

“Ever wonder if we’re meant to meet each other in person?” Pip suggested.

Before they could do much else, the dream they were in began to break around them. It wasn’t as scary to her anymore; she didn’t even flinch as everything faded away. 

“I think you’re right, Pip,” She heard Silver distantly say. 

She opened her eyes to stare at her bedroom ceiling, and already thought about the dreams she would have the next night.

· · ─ ·✶· ─ · ·

“Pip!” Silver greets first as soon as their eyes meet. 

Pip freezes in her tracks, surprised by their sudden change in routine. She almost couldn’t believe it. 

She'd assume she was dreaming, but she knew she was. This could be a dream within a dream…The Silver she knew didn't shout and didn't remember her name.

Silver approaches her instead of keeping his usual skeptical distance. For the first time ever, she sees the corner of his lips raised into the smallest of smiles. 

“You’re Pip, I know you," He reiterates, “We’ve met before, in a dream like this.” 

Pip threw her arms around him and gave him a tight hug. She couldn’t help herself. This was the moment she dreamed of, seeing recognition in those eyes of his and hearing his voice call out to her. 

Her resilience had done her right; now, she had to seal the deal. 

“It’s nice to finally know you,” she replied, “If you can remember me now, is there a chance you’ll know me if I see you in person?” 

“I’m not sure,” Silver replies with his usual uncommitted responses, “I don’t think I’ve met anyone from a dream in the waking world before.”

“Then I guess I’ll be the first,” Pip declared, proud of herself, “So where are you from, if you don’t mind me asking?” 

"I was always told I shouldn't give any personal information away to strangers, but given we've met before, I don't think you are one," Silver said easily, "I live in Briar Valley, far from civilization though."

That explains why no one she talked to recognized his face from her drawings. To think, someone like him was living in the same country as her…Was he hidden away in some secret place?

“Any more specific directions you can give me?” Pip prodded. 

“I live in a cottage, in a glen not far from Mount Dread,” Silver answered. 

Mount Dread. 

He lived near the Mount Dread.

That big, scary mountain suffused with powerful fae magic that wards off any humans from so much as climbing it...Legend has it that the Thorn Fairy herself once lived on the peak, and just across it was the capital city of the fae. 

Not even she, who frolicked in different parts of Briar Valley’s woodlands, dared to even explore Mount Dread…Yet. 

This was just her incentive to do so. 

“Alright, I’ll find you there then,” Pip concluded.

“But there isn’t a proper path to my home. No one besides my family and our family friends has ever been there.” Silver warned, “If you’re from any of the towns and cities I know of, it could be a day’s ride by horseback, or even more.”

“Good thing I’ve got the perfect horse for the job,” Pip claimed, undeterred. 

She noticed that Silver was looking torn, not because he was uncomfortable with the idea of meeting her in person, but that he thought the task may be impossible, that she could get herself lost, injured, or worse in the process. 

"Listen, this is the only way. This is what these dreams have been pointing us to. If I can get to you, then what we have here won't be a dream anymore; it will be real," Pip took his hand into her own and held it as tightly as he held hers now. 

He knew her. Even if he didn’t always know, her name had already been seared in the recesses of his mind. She was certain that if she could find him, everything would finally make sense. 

If there was one thing he might've already gleaned about Pip through his sparse memories of her, it was that she rarely ever thought ahead.

She could jump into things just fine, but winged pretty much everything she did to varying results. 

At the thought of her venturing into dangerous woodland areas she had never explored before, Silver might've been remembering all the times she swung her practice weapon around with no form or structure, or all the practice attacks she just barely managed to parry.

"Please don't worry. Unlike you, I remember everything that happens in these dreams. I remember everything you taught me, too!" Pip spoke confidently, unsheathing the practice sword she had dreamt up and trying to do some cool spinning maneuver Silver had done before. It kinda worked, until it accidentally slipped out of her hands and stuck the blade into the grass….

"I would never stop you, and I know you're very brave, but you should be careful when traveling alone in unknown territories. I don't want you to get injured at all, not just on my behalf," He tells her. 

It was kind of weird hearing him be so serious. Well, He always sounded serious, but their conversations never reached a point where he was begging her to be safe, in his own off-kilter way. 

“I’ll be careful," Pip affirmed, “Would it be better if I made it a promise?” 

Silver nodded silently, so Pip crossed an ‘X’ around her chest, “I promise to get to you safely, cross my heart.” 

As the dream world started to crumble as it usually always did by the end, Pip could make out the faintest of smiles appear across his fair face. 

· · ─ ·✶· ─ · ·

Obviously, Pip did not tell her parents about her plan, because they would try to stop her. She didn't put much thought into all the worry they would feel when she failed to be home for dinner; her one-track mind was too focused on finding Silver. 

She did leave them a note, however, simply explaining that she was going on an excursion and would be back as soon as she could.

Pip stuffed a bag full of snacks and easy-to-prepare foods for her inevitable campfire dinner. She doubted she'd be near any inns if Silver truly lived that far away from civilization. She made sure to bring with her as many treats as possible to get Butterbriar to keep going and forgive her for making them spend a night out in the wilderness. 

She properly mounted Butterbriar this time, saddle and all, and took to the direction of Mount Dread that she could see from a distance. It was the tallest mountain in all of Briar Valley after all.

She rode in a straight line at first, and that was simple enough, until the path became marred with fallen trees, massive rock structures, and rivers and lakes she had never seen before. At one point while traversing, Butterbriar had gotten too ambitious with a jump that Pip was flung clean off into a pool of water. 

After that, she laid her clothes out to dry. That was her biggest mistake. She had forgotten her mother’s warnings of animals stealing people’s clothes when left up to dry too long. She managed to fight off the woodland creatures that took her prized jacket and boots, but lost the cute feathered hat she brought with her. 

That hat was supposed to cover her eyes from the bright sunlight while she slept past daylight…Now she had no choice but to turn in early. 

After making herself a quick meal at her small campfire, she rested her back against Butterbriar’s lounging body and napped for as long as she could. 

She was lucky that no predators attacked her. In fact, there was a strange lack of any direbeasts at all. She came across a few in the Tenebrous Woods. She learned in her primary school that many direbeasts lived around the woodlands surrounding and even on Mount Dread.  

She could see the mountain coming in closer, and feel the chill of the miasma surrounding the massive structure even from where she was. It was a little odd that she hadn’t been confronted by anything yet. 

Maybe she was right about her theory of Silver being some forest guardian…Perhaps this meant she was getting closer to his home. 

Pip rode again as soon as it was bright out to see where she was going and, uncomfortably in her still-damp clothing, was determined not to have any more slip-ups.

She finally found a quaint little cottage, hidden between gentle slopes of hills and greenery, nestled amongst tall trees and surrounded by an adorable little stream. The cottage itself was part of a large oak and had its own water wheel.

It was lived in, with a bench table and three chairs positioned beside it. The little arch bridge beckoned her to cross it. She hopped off Butterbriar and led her across by her reins

She saw the top window on the second floor open wide. A figure stuck their head out of it and dusted the room with a handkerchief. 

The white shine of the figure’s hair reflected the light of the morning sky. From that, Pip knew it was him immediately. 

Their eyes locked from a distance. She waved, and he quickly retreated inside, only to open the front door seconds after. 

He looked exactly as he did in the dream, except his cute pajamas were replaced with pretty normal-looking clothing for a boy. It was like he was just like everyone else, even if he still looked like a Prince to her. 

“You seem really familiar,” he tells her, “have we met before?” 

“We have, in a dream," Pip replies, too happy to even care that his memory was still weak.

She'd remind him over and over and over again if only to hold his hand in her own for real. 

“It’s nice to finally meet you in person, Silver, I’m Pip.”

“Pip…” he muses aloud, like her name is on the tip of his tongue, “You knew my name. If you say we met before, then I believe you.”

Just then, a little blue bird appeared carrying a hefty object in its beak. It fluttered over to Silver and dropped the familiar object into his hands instead of hers. She recognized the little feather on top of the pointed red hat. 

“Hey, that’s mine!” She pointed an accusatory finger at the bird that now perched on Silver’s shoulder.

He handed the hat back to her wordlessly, and Pip bashfully placed it back atop her head. 

“Would you like to come in? My father is traveling, so it’ll just be the two of us,” He offered. 

“I’d love to,” She says with a grin, and leaves Butterbriar to a pile of sugar cubes by stacks of chopped wood.

She set foot in the mysterious cottage that hid Silver from the world, and she took in all the wonders that were put on display, happily accepted a cup of coffee, and basked in Silver's presence being truly real beside her.

She knew she would get the lecture of a lifetime from her parents when she managed to make the trip back home. These things never truly bothered her before, but especially not now, as her dreams finally became a reality. 

She never found out exactly why Silver had been connecting to her. It might've been an accident all along, or perhaps that's just how fate is…A happy happenstance that, for whatever reason, brings people together.. 

Both were blind to how their connection had its course set long ago, for four centuries prior, a woman that bore Pip’s last name and a Knight who wore Silver’s face clashed in a conflict for land and resources.

The Knight fell and his helmet was taken as a trophy, then went his Queen. 

As the day fairies’ spell covered Wildrose Castle with impenetrable Briars, the surviving Prince slept until all had forgotten his name and very existence. 

The Prince was reborn as the foundling child of the night fae, named Silver for the gift he had received from his new father. 

The descendant of the Istvan’s karmic destruction was named Pippa Ulstead. 

It didn’t pique him enough to wonder too much. The Asims were clearly different people…More lax when it came to companionship between master and servant. He entertained himself through reading a new book as opposed to watching his uncle and cousin’s same old performance over and over. 

Kalim was chummy, often trying to get both the servant and Nyoka to engage in conversation with him. 

All of that stopped once Kalim had overheard a casual conversation between his father and Nyoka’s uncle. 

It was an exchange of compliments, honors, and all the formal necessities of good business. At some point, Master Asim asks about anti-venom research and if any members of the immediate or extended Wadjet clan were interested in contributing to that. 

Kalim asks how that would work. 

Kalim’s father answers, “Cobra Beastmen have venom. It releases from their fangs.” 

Kalim’s face falls, and he slowly turns to look at Nyoka. The boy who had previously excitedly draped his hand over his shoulder and declared them as friends, stared at him with an intensity Nyoka didn’t think capable. 

The red of his eyes never looked so deep before, like two huge pools of blood, the kind he was probably already assuming Nyoka would spill just for existing.

Nyoka had experienced many different reactions over the years, but none were as jarring as Kalim Al-Asim, who seemed betrayed to learn of a biology Nyoka couldn’t control. 

Kalim continues to stare, determined not to lose eye contact. When it comes time for the families to join together for a meal, Kalim takes his servant by the hand and leads him away, setting himself a decent ways ahead of Nyoka. 

However, that was the coldest Kalim ever acted toward him. 

The rest of the visit was par for the course. Kalim was smiling and being outwardly social again, but choosing instead to sit across the table from Nyoka instead of next to him. When Kalim had to sit beside him, his head was always turned almost entirely to its side to face him. 

Nyoka didn’t wish to put much thought into the matter, but…He wondered why, if Kalim had such a distrust for him, didn’t he place his servant between the two as a shield.

Whatever the reason, those eyes never strayed away from his own. 

He might’ve forgotten them if he hadn’t seen them again after Scarabia gained a new member…A transfer, a wealthy heir to a merchant family, the owner of a pair of intense, ruby irises. 

Their paths did not cross much, and the year and following year rolled by without much interaction. 

It was the same as always. 

Kalim started a chummy conversation; it would reach an impasse, he would stare at him, then they’d go their separate ways. 

If he didn’t know any better, which he definitely did, he’d say that Kalim genuinely wanted to be friends. But, in his own irrational fears and prejudices, he squandered each and every attempt by placing visible barriers of distrust between them. 

It was irritating enough to deal with outside of a school setting…But now he was being tasked with giving Scarabia information in Leona’s stead…And he would never disappoint his Housewarden. 

If only Jamil Viper were made housewarden…Even as a servant, he had tact, intelligence, and the right fortitude to complete any task given to him, that much he could observe. It reminded him of someone else he knew. He shouldn’t have felt that way, but then again, he shouldn’t be phased by the eyes of a human. 

He doesn’t consider wrapping his tail around his waist like he ‘supposedly’ should. The familiar appearance of Scalding Sands architecture makes him feel momentarily at ease. A few stray students look at him with a mix of curiosity and caution. 

He supposes he has to make his presence known to that ruby-eyes gaze. “I’m here on behalf of my housewarden to deliver a message to yours. Where is he?” 

“I-I don’t know, the Vice stepped out, m-maybe you can wait for him to get back..?” one of the students stuttered. Did he seriously mishear him?

“I did not ask for your Vice Housewarden, I asked for your Housewarden.” He reiterated, “I’ll search for him myself.”

Nyoka walks past the students with ease, who all practically leap to get out of his way.

Cobra Beastmen were known for their keen senses of sight and sound. His glasses were all for show, a decoration to make him appear just slightly less intimidating to peers and future business partners. 

In truth, he could see clear images from far away hallways and hear the distinctive jingle of gold jewelry. A door closes a couple of halls down on his left side. He follows the sound. 

A soft one-sided conversation hits his ears. He recognizes Kalim’s voice, higher in octave as if he’s talking to a child or a pet, and expressing interest in investing in wanting to ‘detangle the tassels.’ 

Whatever the chatter, Nyoka was prepared to interrupt it. He opened the door to some spare room with a grand door similar to others he had seen in the dorm, and was greeted with a mass of treasure piled up to the ceiling. 

Kalim was crouched there, talking to a carpet that was floating and moving its flat body as if it were truly listening. 

Nyoka approached wordlessly; Only when his impressive shadow hung over Kalim and the carpet protectively curling around his shoulders did Kalim turn around and gasp in shock. 

Kalim quickly laughed off his initial fear reaction and looked at him with a friendlier expression than the one he wore in the past, “Oh, it’s you! What brings you here?” 

Things were going suspiciously well…Maybe Kalim had managed to conquer his biases.

“Housewarden Leona has approved your request to utilize Savanaclaw’s private Spelldrive field, on the basis that your team practices with the new recruits.” Nyoka informed him, and he held out the stack of papers to him. “All I need you to do is sign.” 

“Sure thing!” Kalim replies, “Er, wait, I’ll have to read them over just in case. Maybe I should wait for…No.” 

He seemed conflicted in his next steps, bringing his arm that was once outstretched back to the safety of his own torso. He looked away in thought. It was irritating. 

“Just take them and return them to me later.” Nyoka offered an alternative. 

“No, I’ll do them now.” Kalim insisted. 

“So take them,” Nyoka says more forcefully, ire rising, “Or would you prefer I bring them to you with my tail since you hesitate to come near me.” 

“Oh no, no it’s not that,” Kalim replied, worry rising in his voice. His small brows were knitted in concern, but his intense glare returned, and he raised his hands to show he meant no harm. 

Nyoka could read people fairly well; he had to, and Kalim was sending a plethora of mixed signals that were making him lose his composure. 

Did he fear him? Was he disgusted by him? Was Nyoka misunderstanding his intentions instead?

Whatever they were, Kalim’s inability to explain himself clearly led Nyoka to stride forward at a quick pace. Kalim backed away until he hit the wall. Nyoka placed an arm on the wall beside Kalim’s head and leaned in.

He had been making an effort not to open his mouth too widely when speaking to others. Showing his fangs to others outside of his clan was frowned upon…But he didn’t care now. If Kalim couldn’t swallow his dislike of Nyoka’s fangs, then Nyoka would make him adapt. 

“What is it about me that frightens you so, Kalim Al-Asim?” Nyoka questions him, “Care to finally admit it to me after all these years?” 

“Nyoka, I’m sorry, I really am!” Kalim bargains, “Could we discuss things over food? Someplace not here..?”

“Not until you admit it. Admit to me that the thought of my fangs piercing your skin frightens you so. Tell me that you detest my biology, that you have distrusted me from the moment you learned I had venom.” Nyoka tells him firmly. He does not shout, but he speaks in an intensity far greater than he would ever willingly show others. 

“I don’t detest you.” Kalim emphasizes Nyoka as a person; he’s trying to separate him from his body. He still cowers in Nyoka’s presence; his carpet companion had since slipped away to who knows where, leaving them truly alone. 

“But you do, because my venom is a part of me. It is a part of my magic.” Nyoka corrects him firmly. 

He leans in, close enough so that Kalim can feel Nyoka’s breath on his face. Those red irises widen with a fear that can no longer hide under baseless words and empty dialogue. 

“If I bit you now, you would die by my venom within fifteen minutes without an antidote. If I enacted my spell on you, your personality and all of your morals would belong to me.” Nyoka threatened, “Care to test if your servant is up to the task of saving your life?”

“Don’t bring him into this!” Kalim suddenly shouted in his ear and somehow found the strength to push Nyoka back just a bit. 

It wasn’t enough to release him from Nyoka’s grip, but Nyoka found himself pleasantly surprised that Kalim had managed to catch him off guard. 

Instead of begging for mercy, he lashed out at the defense of another. 

Kalim’s eyes glared at him angrily, but softened as he threw a hand to his mouth in shock, and finally…Nyoka finally saw remorse. 

“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have yelled at you like that, and I shouldn’t have treated you the way I have either…” Kalim apologizes, “Please, allow me to explain everything to you..?” 

Nyoka picks up the papers he had carelessly tossed on the floor in his anger and, with more composure, hands them out for Kalim to take. Kalim finally accepts them, and Nyoka feels ready to allow the fellow heir to speak properly. 

“I have a…Thing with poison. I got poisoned a lot as a kid, like, all the time.” Kalim said, “It didn’t stop until…”

He seemed like he wanted to say more, but Kalim quickly redirected himself. 

“I just had a lot of experiences where I had to be careful around that sort of thing. I’m sorry if that didn’t make any sense.”

“…My venom isn’t something I can change about myself.” Nyoka told him, “It isn’t even remotely close to poison.”

“I know. I’m sorry I made you feel like I didn’t like you. I do. You’re a great guy.” Kalim exclaimed empathetically, Nyoka hated the way his eyes somehow effortlessly became softer, “I’m trying to do better, and I’m not scared of you or anything, but it’s really hard for me not to be vigilant sometimes, even if nothing’s wrong. It’s like, an automatic reaction I do without thinking. Sometimes I don’t even realize I’m doing it.”

Kalim didn’t even seem satisfied with his own answer, and his eyes began to well up with tears. 

Why Kalim would cry for him, he didn’t know. It perturbed him enough to drop all his walls, if only for a moment. 

“I’m such a jerk.” He adds as his voice blends into a cry. 

The Asim’s heir shouldn’t be crying over hurting the petty feelings of a Wadjet, even if this was a private moment no one outside of this room would learn about. 

“It’s alright. I apologize for snapping the way I did. It was uncouth of me.” Nyoka speaks with regained composure and bows out of respect, “It will never happen again, I promise.”

“Please, don’t apologize to me. It was my fault.” Kalim assured him, taking one of Nyoka’s hands into his own. It was too casual, too companionable, as if they were friends. 

“It is a relief to know you stare out of your own experiences and not because of my nature. I will no longer comment on the subject.” He tells him.

“Oh yeah, it’s honestly not even myself that I worry about.” Kalim assures him, “Even if you did choose to bite me, I could handle it just fine.”

“Your confidence astounds me.” Nyoka compliments, to which Kalim beams a bright smile. “Then, who is it you are so vigilant for? You never struck me as someone cautious, even when you stared-“

“There you are!” A third voice joined in their conversation. 

Kalim’s loyal attendant and vice housewarden ran into the storeroom, disheveled and panting as if he had been searching in a panic, carpet floating loyally behind him. Kalim’s expression hardens once more, and as Jamil places himself between the two of them, Kalim grabs Jamil’s arm as Nyoka had seen him do in the past. 

Ah, that makes sense. 

“How many times have I told you to discuss things with me first!” Jamil chastised his master as if he were a fool. For all of Jamil’s intelligence, he was somehow ignorant of Kalim’s true character.

Or perhaps Kalim did not like that side of him being seen. Kalim smiles widely at him and plays into Jamil’s vision of him, allowing Jamil to take over the conversation, “My bad! We just got caught up in talking!” 

Jamil turns to Nyoka, “I’m so sorry about all this. What was it you needed?” 

“I need the housewarden to sign some papers regarding the use of Savanaclaw’s Spelldrive field.” Nyoka answered, and he wonders how, if Jamil turned around right at this moment, would he characterize Kalim’s stare of vigilance. 

Perhaps he would have found it rude as Nyoka did. For the sake of keeping up appearances and not ruining Wadjet relations for the future, Nyoka chooses to see it as Kalim’s unorthodox way of being protective. 

“Right,” Jamil says, taking the papers from Kalim’s hands and flipping through them before looking back to Nyoka, “We’ll get those right back to you after I read them.”

“Take your time, snakelet” Nyoka tells him. 

Jamil seems confused at being granted the monicker of a newly hatched snake, but doesn’t comment on it. Nyoka couldn’t unsee the way the viper tried to bare his small fangs and make himself seem large and in charge, not even knowing that his wrangler’s cold stare had already made the point clear. 

They were an interesting bunch, a connection his family would be disappointed if he ever parted with. 

He was beginning to understand those eyes, that stared at him not out of hate but out of vigilance and understanding that if Nyoka should one day choose to pounce, Kalim would rather free his neck for him to envenom in place of his servant. 

An heir who loved his vassal as he did…Nyoka couldn’t help but feel just a small bit of admiration…

So small it was easy to bury down into the depths of his carefully crafted character. He adjusted his glasses, grounding himself. The way Kalim acts is something he should not strive to emulate. 

And the gall she had to appear on days when Silver had training with him over break, and Silver abandoned his post for her! 

Sebek could hardly tolerate her while at home, but even worse, she went to school not too far from Sage’s Island. 

She was an hour-long ferry ride away, and she had somehow gotten Sebek’s number and texted him a request just as he was thinking about how he disliked her.

‘Hey Sebek, it’s me Pip! If you’re free, could we talk in person? I’ll be arriving at Crane Port around midday today.’

Sebek had half a mind to ignore the text or block her number, but he answered. 

‘Why me? Are you certain you aren’t texting me to get in contact with Silver?’ 

’I just want to talk to you, not Silver. Is that okay?’ 

That was suspicious, very suspicious. Sebek thought for a moment and decided it was best to accept her offer. If she wanted to speak to only him, he was sure the subject contained sensitive information he could report back to Lord Malleus and Lilia! 

’Alright, I’ve been meaning to visit the old Bookstore at Foothill town anyway. We can discuss things there’ Sebek replied.

Pip responded with four thumbs-up emojis, and Sebek pocketed his phone. 

He left the dorm discreetly and travelled to the Foothill town. Ships came in through the port regularly, sometimes sightseers, sometimes supply imports. Pip already paid the expensive ferry fare to visit Silver on occasion. For her to make the trip without seeing him, relying on Sebek saying ‘yes’ to meeting her, was a shameful display of poor planning and staking too much on blind faith. 

For some reason, Sebek felt compelled to lecture her on that. 

It wasn’t any of his business what she did, but so long as she was insisting on weaseling herself into Silver’s life, she should at least learn a thing or two about planning ahead. 

He caught her recognizable red coat from the moment she stepped off the ferry onto the docks. She waved, and he promptly dragged her by the arm to his favorite bookstore. 

It felt like letting in a stranger, a ‘familiar stranger’ as Silver would put it. This was a bookstore that he treasured since moving to Sage’s Island for school, and it was a place he only took his liege and a chosen few. 

He didn’t actually believe she deserved to be allowed into the sanctity of this place, but the two chairs by the historic and autobiographical book section were the perfect place to speak in private. 

Before Sebek could lead her anywhere, Pip had already grabbed the first three books she saw by one of the shelves and pocketed them under her arm to further inspect later. Sebek grabbed the fourth out of her reach. 

“Remember what you requested me for? What is it you needed to talk to me about?” He asked her impatiently

“Right, so, Silver and I have been going on a couple of dates for a while now,” Pip started with the annoying little detail that Sebek wished to forget, “When we’re out, he usually buys stuff for me, like our meals or something small I liked. I haven’t gotten him anything yet, and I want it to be good, but…”

She looked pitifully at the books she pulled, all of different subjects, from the bargain section she gravitated towards without thinking. Sebek sighed and gently took her arm, guiding her to the seats he originally wanted to start their talk. 

They both sat down. Pip surrendered her half-hearted choices of literature to the table beside her while Sebek checked over the book he took from her. A retelling of the classic tale of a frog prince and a princess who taught him how to work hard…Not a bad choice for a story, but Sebek could see the excessive flowery prose and literary jargon causing Silver to become too sleepy to finish. 

“If you want to purchase him a gift, you should just do so. You don’t need to speak to me about this matter,” Sebek explained while closing the book.

“You two are childhood friends, aren’t you? You know him better than I do right now,” Pip replies, “and there is something I noticed about Silver that’s pretty different from other people I know.”

Sebek raised an eyebrow, “And that is?” 

“He doesn’t really care about material things. He has no opinion on clothes, games, trinkets; nothing! When I asked him what he wanted, he said he wanted to get stronger. That’s not something I can exactly give him.” Pip vented, brushing a hand through her bangs. 

Sebek, against his greater judgement, immediately felt a kinship. 

“I told him responses like that weren’t helpful, but it never registers! He’s been impossible to shop for as long as I’ve known him,” Sebek exclaims, careful not to let his voice get too loud lest they be removed.

Pip leaned closer to him, “Is there something I can gift him that he might like? Like a book, or stationery?”

Sebek thought for a moment, then a devious idea appeared in his mind.

“You could gift him a good-quality pillow, or a soft blanket.” Sebek suggests with a sly grin, “He gets a lot of use out of those items.”

Pip leaned back in her seat in thought, and Sebek fought against the urge to laugh out loud. 

Silver never felt too strongly for any gift given to him outside of his immediate family, but Sebek knew for a fact that Silver was always disappointed when gifted anything relating to his bad sleeping habit. The copious amounts of pillows their dorm mates and peers had given him were sadly tucked away in his dorm room closet, only used once. 

Sebek could practically imagine the look of quiet dismay that would come over Silver’s face the moment his precious Pip gifted him yet another useless pillow. 

“No,” Pip says decidedly to his surprise, “He told me he gets gifts like that all the time, and he doesn't particularly like them. I want to get him something he’d actually like.”

Drat, he hadn’t expected her to be told and actually remember that. 

If Silver could talk so openly about disappointments to her, then what else had he been telling her?

“Did he never speak of what he likes?” Sebek questions, wondering if their Liege had ever come up in conversation once. 

“He likes sword-fighting and training well enough, but that’s like a survival thing with him. I doubt he needs more for that. What’s one more sword?” Pip continued, right hand pressed against her cheek as she slouched further in her seat, “He likes his family. He likes all his woodland animal friends. He likes you.” 

Sebek was taken aback at her sudden mention of him. 

He took her to be a vapid girl who had no understanding of the life Sebek and Silver had been building up since they were small, but she seemed to understand Silver within less than a year of knowing him. 

Here he was, worrying that this human would usurp him, master Lilia, and Lord Malleus out of Silver’s life, but she already seemed to know and acknowledge the importance of those who came before her and respected them.

Silver’s world was already so small. It slowly got bigger with his admission into NRC, but even Sebek expected him to return to that cottage in the woods after it was all over, hidden in that glen that only he and Silver’s family knew about. 

Maybe adding just one more wasn’t the worst thing in the world…

“Yes, well, I think you’re forgetting someone,” Sebek informed her after clearing his throat and fighting against the mistiness forming in his eyes. 

“Who?” Pip asked. 

“W-What do you mean who? You!” Sebek chided her, taken aback at how similar she was to Silver, “You cannot be as dense as he is. He likes you plenty.”

Pip messed around with her long braid and looked down at her feet bashfully. Sebek took in a deep breath and let out an exaggerated sigh. 

He could not believe he was about to help her…But for some reason, he couldn’t stand to watch her flounder any longer. 

“Silver usually leans towards creating gifts instead of purchasing them. It’s just something he understands better. Those wooden mugs you two drank coffee out of while over at the cottage last summer were gifts he made for his father.” Sebek informed her, “…He’d probably be delighted if you made him something by hand.” 

Pip’s brown eyes lit up once she finally made the connection, and she quickly grabbed his hand to give him a firm but friendly shake. 

“I don’t think I’m that good at making things, but I’ll give it a try. Thanks, Seb!” 

Sebek got instant flashbacks to his older sister’s cutesy nicknames for him, and he grimaced, “Don’t call me Seb.” 

“Right, sorry, thank you, Sebek.” Pip corrected herself. 

She stood up and grabbed her bag, too eager to run around Foothill Town doing Seven’s knows what with the information she gathered. Despite not even really having an idea to start with, Pip seemed ready to leave with nothing planned ahead. 

Sebek was quick to stop her by grabbing her arm, “Wait, why don’t we look around in this bookstore for craft ideas. You need to have some idea to start with.” 

“Right, another great suggestion!” Pip agreed easily, “Lead the way? I’ve never been here before.”

Sebek sighed.