Arc 2 Chapter 5: Kattia
Wisemen say regret never arrives on time, always too late to change anything. By the time she regained her sight, she’d already been transported somewhere else. She’s still standing at the lake, but everything seems to have reversed its course, flipping reality on its head. When she approached the lake, it was night, yet now it’s daytime, with the sun’s golden hue spilling across the trees. The gloomy, tall trees from before are now bright and vibrant with a splash of color. Anyone might mistake it for a perfect summer day with all the flowers in bloom.
“Oh, look how pleasing she looks,” But the childlike, babbling voices of the fairies remind her of the present danger.
“Yes, but her clothes are so boring.”
‘Excuse me! These clothes were made from the finest elven silk, sewn by the best tailors to match the latest trends in the capital. What do these glowing dunderheads even know about fashion?’ Ariellia is appalled by their tactless words. She can already feel the heat rushing to her head. If she weren’t already in a state of paralysis, she might have fired back a steady torrent of scathing insults.
“Oh, I know, we can give her that outfit!”
Before she could even protest, the noisy bunch had already bestowed a new dress on her, their forceful magic discarding her current clothes. She should count herself lucky to be able to keep her jewels and accessory items intact.
‘When you said they would give me a gift, did you mean this dress?’ She asks Eren, not entirely convinced the item was worth all this trouble.
‘…’
Originally, Eren might have lobbied for the hidden value of the dress. The summer Fairy armor set is a unisex item that transforms to match its owner. For a female player, it becomes a dress, and for a male player, it becomes a three-piece suit. It’s especially good for spellcasters who lack physical defense, passively stacking several beneficial buffs while equipped. But now that they’ve been dragged into this strange realm, he can only keep quiet out of guilt. He was too eager to acquire new equipment, letting his inner collector get the best of him. He has no excuse for their current predicament.
“Where are we?” Rei looks around, bewildered, but he doesn’t let go of her wrist. The shameless fairies took the opportunity to change his clothes as well.
‘I change my mind, perhaps this item was worth it.’ Of course, Ariellia would change her mind the moment she saw the matching red suit appear on Rei as well.
“Don’t just stand there, come with us!” The impatient fairies don’t give her much time to appreciate the view as they quickly herd them away from the lake. On foot, they pass several strange trees that have almost human-like features, twisted and weeping. But that can’t be; several little houses are nestled in the trees like little beehives. She tries to shake off the uneasy feeling in her gut as their pushy guides lead them to a long dinner table in a large open courtyard.
Everything in this realm appears to conform to nature, built small with the little fairies in mind. Only this space seems out of line with the common theme. This makes the normal-sized dining table before them stand out even more. Ariellia blinks as they are directed to sit in the last two empty chairs. She’s surprised to see a few familiar faces at the table. Lady Elaine sits across from her. A face she hasn’t seen since the wedding. It’s a good thing she’d been trapped in the seal then. If it had been her at the wedding venue when Elaine tried to steal her thunder by wearing a similar white dress, she would most certainly have yanked out all of her blonde locks until she became a bald chicken. Just seeing the arrogant vixen across from her is so vexing.
‘Pay attention, look closely. Doesn’t she seem…a bit…aged to you?’
It may have been an unpleasant encounter, but Eren still remembers the noble elven lady’s youthful spirit matching her face then. Her vibrant blonde hair now looks as dull as wheat under the sunlight. It’s strange how her unblemished face seems to have aged by a few years in such a short span of time, with a few added wrinkles that weren’t there before.
‘Her clothes-why is she still wearing that damn white dress!’ Ariellia scowls, finding the person before her to be a complete eyesore.
‘Um Arie…I don’t think Lady Elaine ever made it back home after the wedding.’
If they weren’t certain that something fishy was going on in the fairy realm before, they definitely are now. Lady Elaine’s state is too strange to be written off as poor grooming while traveling. Something else is going on here.
“Ari-Arie…can you he-ar me…?” It’s Uncle Jasper’s voice, though he sounds disjointed and distant, like a communicator that’s out of range.
‘Yes, Uncle Jasper. I can hear you. But why do you sound so far away?’ Ariellia grabs a hand fan from her inventory and uses it to cover most of her face so the strange, soulless eyes of the other guests don’t notice their conversation.
“That’s because I am, sweetie. Breaking into a restricted realm to rescue you two troublesome lovebirds isn’t exactly easy in my current state.” As though to prove his point, two stitches on the doll snap, exposing some of its stuffing like an open wound. Ariellia tightly grips her dress, feeling a cold sweat run down her brow. She looks to Rei to see if he can hear Jasper as well, but she finds him rapidly blinking his eyes like a child fighting off sleep.
“Don’t mind him. His inner dragon is trying to fight off the fairy’s illusion magic.”
“Will he be okay?” She bites her lower lip, wanting to reach out to help but not sure how. She gently pinches his thigh under the table, letting out a sigh of relief when that seems to help. His red eyes regain focus afterwards, like someone waking from a fretful dream. She sees his muscles tense up, like he’s surprised to be seated at the table, before becoming vigilant as he observes each new face.
“I’m surprised y... didn’t fall for... their illus... as well.” It’s hard to make out his words, but it sounds like the dragon lord is impressed with her mental fortitude.
Only she knows that if it weren’t for the jade scorpion brooch Eren picked up, she might have fallen victim to the same mental attack as well. She lightly taps the item, noting the brilliant jade now looks dimmer than the day she bought it. She wants to say more to Jasper but is interrupted by a sudden swarm of rare butterflies. They gather tightly together, glowing brightly until they merge into one large being. The light from their iridescent wings is so bright she has to squint or go blind.
Once the light dies down, a new person now occupies the head seat. An unnatural beauty with tan skin and a gold crown on flaming red hair now proudly sits at the table. The four large glowing butterfly wings on her back make it clear who she is. The impressive aura around her is enough to press most of the guests at the table to the floor. Blood begins to seep down some of their noses and eyes. What’s more terrifying is that they’re so muddled-headed they don’t even notice their own body’s internal warning response. Like thoughtless clowns, they all start clapping at her arrival. What’s worse, even though she knows what’s happening, she and Rei must follow along and clap to avoid revealing that they are no longer under the illusion.
“Kattia, the Summer Fairy Queen.”
There’s no love lost in Jasper’s voice. The newcomer is likely not a friend to the old dragon lord.
“I welcome all new guests to my summer court. Eat, drink, and be merry!”
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