Jake Addams May 19th,20xx

The previously silent journey became rambunctious as Tyus, the pixie, flew around and harassed Cai. He’d also tried it with Mei but after the female fairy had grabbed him out of the air and swung him around by the wings he’d fled to Cai’s hair and had stayed there for the next half hour. Not to say that he had been quiet for any of that period.

Right now I had been entrusted with fixing his hair since Mei could only put his hair into a strict bun and Cai had wanted to cut it off. While I couldn’t be considered an expert hair-dresser, I had somehow been dubbed the safest option for the tiny creature.

I wasn’t completely out of my league since I was used to doing my younger sister’s hair but I wasn’t sure how masculine the pixie wanted its hairstyle to be.

Cai had generously donated a mysterious looking red gem for us to use a mirror but otherwise kept out of Tyus’s hair appointment and pored over the map of Sparrow’s position, trying to come up with a plan.

“ahh! Not like that!”

I looked down to see a disgruntled pixie punch me in the thigh and realized that in my daze I had given him the same hairstyle I gave my little sister, which was a braided ponytail at the side of the head.

“Ah, my bad.”

I decided to focus and after much input from the pixie, I ended up giving him a ponytail but helped him cut the bangs to the side of his face. I wasn’t sure what was so unfeminine about this style to the pixie but since it was happy, I wasn’t going to say anything.

At some point, he had grabbed a ring off Cai’s finger that was shaped like a crown and had placed it onto his head. Tyus sat in front of the mirror for minutes, which didn’t seem like a lot but was the longest the creature had stayed still since its conception.

Mei finally set the reins down and turned back to Cai to help him finalize his plans.

Sparrow had sent a help signal to Cai, although I couldn’t imagine how, so we knew her exact location.

Cai would sneak into the place and fly her out under a disguise spell, I hadn’t been told the specifics but I wasn’t sure I wanted to know any more about magic than I already did. Mei and I would be on standby with Galen for a quick escape or for backup if it were needed.

Ever since the plan had been created and the two of them had hammered out most of the details Cai had related and had even taken the time to enchant my bat. He’d called them ‘self-explanatory’ when I’d asked for specifics but he had also made it clear that I wasn’t to leave Galen’s back if there was ever an emergency.

Mei had given me a rundown of instructions in controlling Galen but she’d spent more time talking to the beast and giving it instructions on how to get back home. Throughout the trip, Cai had made continuous trips to the human world for various pieces of jewelry and had engraved few protection spells into them. Right now, I had a headband over my forehead, three anklets, four bracelets, 10 rings and a clip-on nose ring for good measure. I couldn’t even complain as they were all for my safekeeping but I avoided the mirror as much as possible.

I was still waiting for an agent from Volui but whoever I’d gotten would most likely have screamed at the sight of me right now.

“Hey! Hey! Can’t you give me some braids instead? I'm not sure the flowing hair suits me too much.”

Maybe it was because he had been such an ornately designed book in the past but the pixie was picky about its appearance. It had stolen a section of Cai’s clothes to make itself a little jacket and pant sent and wore the ring like a crown. It had even used some of Galen’s fur to make itself a pair of boots and gloves.

Tyus turned around and waited for me to get to work, despite my lack of a response.

I’d been trying to memorize the different commands for each ornament, as they all did different things. Each ring would explode if I said the spell and threw them at someone, one of the bracelets had a couple of healing spells in them and another had a healing spell for Galen. Some anklets increased my speed, and others helped disguise my presence if I ever needed to hide.

Each effect was so game-like that the similarity made me suspicious of Cai but then I remembered that Mei had suspected I knew him in the human world. That meant that he spent a lot of time in the human world. It wouldn’t be too weird for him to know about video games. The unbidden image of the prince hunched over on a couch at three in the morning trying to beat a level was too comical to not share. I had to hold it to myself though as there was no one else to share it with.

I lowered the ponytail as Tyus had requested and finished off the braid with a strand of thread. It took a closer look to realize that the thread colour matched the clothes I was currently wearing.

I exhaled, although not heavily as the gust would startle the finger-sized creature that flew in front of me.

“Tyus, I don’t mind helping you but could you not rip threads out of my clothes?”

I didn’t get a verbal response but seeing his hands twitch in embarrassment at being caught was enough of an answer to make me drop the topic.

The air was terse as we set Galen down just outside of a bustling town and Cai started to change clothes.

I waited for Mei to do her usual ritual of flying around the campsite and slashing at random trees in patterns but this time she only looked around at the seemingly empty trees and tapped her forehead three times in quick succession.

The device on her belt suddenly began to flash obnoxiously and her expression soured into a downright murderous scowl as she lifted the screen to eyesight and read the message. I wanted to ask her what had happened but I got the feeling that it wouldn’t turn out too well for me. She looked conflicted and her eyes kept whipping from Cai back down to the device in her hands.

In a matter of seconds, her face flipped from one of worry to disgust, to anger and settled on anxiousness.

Her hands tightened around the hilt of her sword and it morphed in and out of different shapes as she paced. A sword, a halberd, a spear, a hammer, even a whip at one point. She didn’t even seem to be conscious as she swung each weapon around, obviously deep in thought.

“Mei?”

Cai finally snapped out of his semi daze and looked to the woman with a concerned gaze. He immediately jumped to his feet and flew toward her.

“Is something wrong?”

She first shook her head but then stopped mid-motion and looked at Cai with that same conflicted expression. It then softened and she carried an expression of bitter resolve. It seemed she had made up her mind.

“Aruna… One of Jaya’s spawn seems to have popped up. Someone hurt my baby sister and they’re using the opportunity to try and overtake the title. I need to go back and help her but I also can’t leave you here by yourself. I’m assuming that you can’t return either.”

I was unwilling to return, although I couldn’t see myself having much of a choice, but I didn’t see why Cai couldn’t return. I figured he wouldn’t want to return but the way she said it made it seem like it wasn’t a choice.

Cai slowly shook his head as he fell into thought. He looked even more worried than she did but more than that he looked somewhat annoyed.

“You need to go back. As of right now, you’re virtually her only family. You can’t leave her like an orphan- to deal with this sort of thing alone when you’re still alive and well.”

He spoke politely enough but his tone was tense enough to make a stand against Mei’s already made decision.

“Well, my mother…”

“Your mother holds no title nor significant enough power. She already passed down more than half to the two of you. They need you.”

“You need me. I can’t very well leave a royal in the middle of enemy territory to participate in nobility quibbles.”

“And if you lose your backing with the duchy, who will be the queen?”

“I can figure that out when we get back. Once again, it’s not like I’m the only suitable candidate.”

Now he looked downright enraged. His voice came out strangled as he responded to her cold answer; like he was choking on his own words.

“And if I ordered you?”

“You’d have to charge me for insubordination then. I wouldn’t go.”

She seemed to have realized long before I did, but he was too fast. He drew his wand mere milliseconds before she did and trapped her in a bubble, similar to the one he had used to create Tyus.

Mei glared at Cai from the inside of the bubble but looked just as resolute as she had entered it. She didn’t start to panic until Cai began to chant a spell and the sphere became increasingly dense. Her arm heavily pounded against the walls of the miniature prison she found herself in and her face contorted as she yelled at Cai.

I couldn’t hear her very well and her warnings came out muffled but from the increasing panic in her eyes, I could tell how distressed she was.

The sphere seemed to become completely solid and Cai finished whatever he was chanting and then flew more than ten meters back.

The sphere exploded and Mei’s figure was revealed holding a giant glaive. It was unclear if Cai had loosened the spell or if she had broken it but either way, things weren’t looking good.

Tyus flew out of Cai’s hair and into mine, seemingly seeking refuge in the only uninvolved party on site.

“CAI!”

He poked his head out from behind Galen’s fuzzy body and gave a mischievous smile,

“You’ll thank me later.”

Mei took a step toward him but just as quickly flew back by four.

“Your highness. Did you ever consider that I might come at you regardless of the seals being gone? I’ve never been one to mind an audience.”

Now, it may just have been me, but I was a hundred percent sure that they weren’t just talking about a fight.

Whether it was her suggestive tone or the way that Cai seemed to consider her offer and force himself to dismiss it.

“I- I'll trust that you won’t. Besides, it’s not like I haven’t noticed you leaving signs for your soldiers. How many of them, two? That should be enough to make up for a single General Ruan, no?”

She angrily waved off his praise and reluctantly brought two fingers to her lips, then let out a sharp whistle.

“Piret! Elpis! Get out here!”

Two fairies, one of whom Cai seemed to recognize, Flew out of nowhere and first knelt to Cai, foolish as he looked and then to Mei.

The covertly shot me a few curious looks but otherwise said nothing.

“What type of sloppy work were you doing that his highness knew how many of you there were? If I hadn’t wanted the best then there were a lot more of you that I could have brought along!”

It was clear that she was frustrated at what had just happened and wads taking it out on them but none of us said a word about it.

“Apologies General. We’ll strive to better ourselves.”

She exhaled heavily, like she was forced to accept their apology, and pointed to Cai, who carried an irritatingly smug expression on his face.

“I'm sure you know his highness. I have to go back to the queendom for a bit so I need you to make sure he stays safe until I return. If I find him with so much as a single strand of hair less than he has now, I'll make sure you pay in double. Do I make myself clear?”

The two soldiers didn’t even flinch at the unreasonable orders they had been given and only deepened their bows to show that they understood.

“Yes, General Ruan,”

“Yes, General Ruan”