Swallowing, I finally answered Akiyoshi's question as I rested against the doorframe. "Yes, sir. He expects it to be held then."

Leo was still in a state of shock. "Really?" His jaw opened wide, and his already large eyes were the size of planets.

"Indeed." I bowed my head.

"What the heck is wrong with Dad?" Akiyoshi mumbled before his eyes narrowed at me. His tone became menacing. "You didn't request this from him, did you? Because if that's the case, I will call off your inauguration entirely for you being so ungrateful and impatient."

"I wouldn't put it past her. She's stubborn," Leo added, sipping on a glass of tea as his wings gently flapped and scratched against the geometric wallpaper.

My face contorted in offense, nose scrunching.

Do they already think that badly of me?

"Certainly not. I even protested and asked him if you could handle this, and he acted like it was no big deal with Leo here."

Leo spat out his tea, which hit Akiyoshi and turned patches of his skin a searing red. "He did what now?" Suddenly launched into the situation, Leo laughed nervously. "He said… He really thinks this can happen? And he expects… me to do it? I'm hysterical."

I deadpanned, "Clearly."

"Leo! Be careful where you aim that! It's all over me!" Akiyoshi hissed with a frown, peculiarly green eyes turning colder than before. (Noticing his monolids, I realized I had never seen anyone with his combination of features who was of a single ancestry.)

"Like it matters when you've got a whole banquet and celebration to plan. You have to clean up this place first."

"Me?" Akiyoshi asked while he lifted a towel to clean himself without touching a thread of it. "The king also requested your help if you can hear past those gigantic wings. Speaking of that, would you mind keeping them still for a moment?"

I couldn't help but laugh at them.

"What's your deal, Ophelia?" Akiyoshi asked as the room calmed down.

"I'm amused by the bantering." My voice shifted lower, and I averted my eyes. "Apologies, sir."

"You'll be more amused when I put in a bad word for you," Akiyoshi stated.

I stopped giggling once he threatened me for the second time.

I think I should stop pushing it.

"Understandable, sir." I did an informal salute. "Is there anything I can do to help?"

"Unfortunately not. This is something I'll have to organize by myself with a bit of input from my dad." He glared at me like he would put me to work the first chance he got. "Thank you, though. I'll have Leo take you home for the time being."

"Then, I will oblige for now. I would like to greet my father with this wonderful news."

He's probably worried to death…

Akiyoshi nodded. "Leo, send her off, please. We have work to do."

"Fine, Akirobo." Leo pointed a freshly painted silver fingernail at him. "Lighten up. And Fifi, I'll leave you a set of clothing in about thirty minutes. Want something like what you have on now or something else?"

"Like this is fine," I told him. I wanted to ask for thinner fabric, but I didn't intend to cause more issues.

"Then, prepare well." He smiled at me sincerely, and I felt inclined to give him a soft grin back. There wasn't a good reason to fight someone who was helping, even if only by delegation.

"As I will."

***

With that sentence and without a second thought, I found myself back in my room, my long-lost hole in which I cooped myself up to study for years. I walked over to my bed, threading cotton sheets between my fingers. They weren't yet dusty, but they were so chilly and free of wrinkles that I knew they weren't disturbed since my departure. The room had an antiquated smell I missed—one of motionless fibers beginning to rot away within wardrobes and pesky clothes moth corpses lining the edges, left in a prison to die. As morbid as that thought was, at least the bedroom wasn't an illusion.

Processing that, I didn't stay there long and ran to the living room to find my dad chopping up varieties of broccoli and green beans as a hunk of meat simmered over a raging fire. The scent was of stew, the specific smell only emanated from a home-cooked meal seasoned with love. When my brain caught up with everything and acknowledged his presence, I was on the brink of tears.

"Dad!" I ran to him and gave him a tight hug from the back, trying to jump onto him.

It wasn't that I thought I wouldn't greet you again, but…

"Lia! I haven't seen you in a while." He turned around and embraced me as well. His chin tapped against the top of my head, securing me into the spot between his arms. "You left a week ago to get some materials from another town."

My smile faded as I backed away from him. That wasn't the topic I immediately wanted to talk about. "Yeah… Let's just say it's been a long way back home."

"You'll have to tell me about that. At least… Was it a good trip?"

Sure, if you count getting caught in the crossfire of warring magicians as being good.

I forced a grin. "The same old, you know."

"Sometimes, that's good." After hearing his pot bubble next to him, he swivelled to check it.

"This is about ready. Do you want to change into something else?" he asked, looking over me. "You didn't leave the house wearing that. Where are the clothes your mom bought you?"

"I destroyed them on a rose bush."

Fanning the steam from the pot, he glared at me. "Lia, I told you to be careful."

I drawled, "I was, Dad."

"How much were those? Did you bring enough money?"

The main flaw of most parents is asking too many questions without room to breathe.

I gave him an airy chuckle. "They were free."

He rolled his eyes. "Lia, those are expensive. Look: If you're honest with me about where you got those from—whether by wholesome or questionable means—while you were gone, I won't say anything to Hideko."

In any other situation, the offer was a tempting one. My mother wasn't strict, but it was natural she didn't want me getting into any trouble.

Which brings me to my main point…

"I have good news today," I told him, beaming.

"Sweetheart," he began while caressing my shoulder. "Please answer me—"

"Dad, if you let me speak, you'll hear what happened. It's nothing bad." I waved my arms dismissively as he begrudgingly listened.

I proceeded to explain my impending appointment as his successor and my meeting with the king to him, and he watched me intently as his face shifted from concern to relief. Like me, he beamed brightly with the radiance of the many stars in the galaxy upon hearing the tale.

"Lia! That's amazing! I'm so glad. I've been waiting for this day for a long time." He strangled me with another hug as I wondered how the stew wasn't boiling over the sides of the pot by then.

Gripping his back, I said, "The banquet's tonight, so I must prepare myself. I'm sure by now my clothes are in my room."

"How?" He moved away. "I didn't see anyone enter during our conversation."

Ah, yes. I left out an important detail.

"It's a fairy."

Unfortunately.

"He was entrusted with the creation of my attire and then with its delivery."

He didn't seem too shocked, instead giving me a paternal smile. "Ah, really? Did you meet Leo finally?"

"Yes." I paused and considered his word choice. "Uh, what's that supposed to mean? 'Finally'?"

He chuckled, rubbing my shoulder-length black hair. "Only nobles can meet him, so your fate as my successor must have been sealed quite a bit beforehand by King Inei." His grin was subtle, but it wrinkled his face, crevices from the years combining into endless pits juxtaposed against white skin.

"Really? I suppose I shall take it as an honor, no matter how… overbearing he seems," I replied, half sincere and half sarcastic.

My dad laughed again. "Yes, he can be like that, but he's sweet and undeniably loyal. You know, he could easily take the reigns for himself."

I tilted my head, and I was confused once more. "Would you care to elaborate for me?"

"Well," my dad said, putting his knife into a small drawer to his left. He started extinguishing the fire for the stew. "He's the guardian of the Galaxy Kingdom, so he's more magical than either king; he gives them their powers. The kids, too. It's his job to protect everyone."

I raised an eyebrow at him. "Then, if he's all-powerful," I began sarcastically, "why did he allow that fight to perpetuate?"

He sighed as he grabbed a mitt to remove the pot. "Fairies have their limits, too, Lia."