The stone plate groaned once it sank into the grounds of the faerie court, the mystical court already much more lavish than the Higher Authority’s, with oversized arched glass windows looming over each court member’s seat, each mounted with an ornate white frame. A mysterious starry sky provided the court with a celestial light, despite being underground, the court bench glistening beneath it in blue-purple glimmers. Each court member wore matching white garments similar to the priest faerie that were decorated with intricate floral patterns, which was already much more formal and uniform than Renatus was used to, making him feel underdressed for once.

“We welcome you, O’pure one,” the faeries greeted in unison. 

“We are certain that you have questions regarding your companion’s wellbeing. Be not afraid, for she is alive and well,” the priest faerie told Renatus as it guided him towards a marble seat that was surprisingly high enough for him to look at the court members at eye-level. 

“Why was there a faerie portal in Ylipeste? I thought there were sanctions against placing them wherever you wanted,” Renatus asked. If they had the ability to place them wherever they wished, the Realms would’ve been in havoc aeons ago as one overly ambitious faerie lord had attempted before his time.

His head lightly throbbed as he recalled another thing that irked him since his arrival in the faerie Realm and felt it annoying him in the back of his mind, clouding all thoughts relating to Vaina's rescue as well as any questions that would potentially help direct them in their quest to stop her father’s destructive reign. “And why do all of you keep calling me 'pure'? There's not a single drop of pure essence within me at all. It's why I was exiled in the first place. Maybe consider doing your research before giving your guests a silly nickname.”

There was a hearty chuckle in response, followed by a unison of hums as the other faeries nodded in agreement with one another after a series of whispers. 

“The portal used to capture the princess was necessary to safely arrest the evil we seek in the Ylipsten Realm to permanently ease the disturbances across the Realms,” a blue faerie gently explained, its wings lightly buzzing. “You are not the evil we seek. Rather, you are not the evil you thought you were made out to be. So, we will escort you freely away from our home once this talk is over.”

“The evil that lingers amongst Ylipeste has polluted you to do their bidding. Blinding you from the truth that you sought for so long,” a green faerie continued, leaning closer towards him on the bench. “We will send you away to save you from His Worship's frenzied gaze. We must deal with the tainted soul personally.”

“We'd like to note that there is another like you. You mustn't meet, though they desperately seek you. Otherwise, the balance of life and death may falter.”

Renatus’ eyes widened at the sudden revelation, finding himself too paralyzed by  utter shock to speak. From the moment of his creation, he was deemed as the devil that tarnished Ylipeste and its untouched sacred purity, his exile necessary to protect the angels from becoming defiled by his existence. The concept was foreign, and far too complex to accept. 

“That can’t be…” he muttered, his heartbeat almost stilled from the shock. “Then Malachi…”

“Malachi had to do what he did. Otherwise, His Worship would've caused more damage to the Realms had he known you were alive. He even went through the trouble of having false memories implanted to believe his own lies, so as to not reveal his betrayal to His Worship,” a pink faerie explained, nodding in sympathy for the now deceased Messenger. “He truly knew nothing better about the princess. The poor innocent soul, caught in the crossfire.”

The world froze around him the moment he heard their response. The fact that Malachi allegedly knew nothing about Vaina, despite him diligently searching every inch of the Realm to punish her for acting against her father's will. It all seemed too good to be true, yet there was still a hint of doubt in his mind. 

Remember, there's no telling that they can't conceal half-lies too, Hiram's words echoed. After all, that is the rule of faeries. Not for all.

Their sugar-coated words shattered into millions of crystal shards, as Renatus bolted towards the bench, lunging towards the pink faerie as its wings became trapped between his daggers, the sharp gleam of the Heavenly Blades glowing beneath the false moonlight. 

“Who’s looking to have the princess killed?” he demanded in a low growl.

“Please, we beg of you to not take our freedom away,” the other faeries pleaded in unison, watching their colleague try not to squirm their way out of the blades in fear of scorching their wings off. 

“But it is difficult for us to disclose such confidential information due to particular circumstances-” 

An ear-piercing howl rocked the courtroom followed by a light sizzling noise and the scent of roasted grass, the edge of its once translucent wing burning away into charcoal black the moment it touched the cool steel of the blades.

The blades slowly inched closer together in a smooth motion akin to scissors, as Renatus closely observed the panicked murmurs and whispers of the faeries, each passing second sharply increasing the intense pressure. He smirked, watching the pink faerie struggle in his grasp like prey. “I'd hurry if I were you… Otherwise your dear friend here will turn into a crispy snack soon.”

“The Watcher… they will be attending the upcoming masquerade ball. We merely work under them and are acting under their directions,” the blue faerie quickly rasped, Renatus releasing the blades just enough to barely hold the faerie between them, its skin almost grazing against it. 

“They directed us to capture the lady once word of Malachi’s death spread. We were intending to keep her alive, as they requested,” the green faerie continued.

“She’s not in harm's way. Please don't kill us. We'll release her,” the priest faerie said hesitantly, its expression clearly admitting defeat. 

“Wasn’t so hard, was it now?” he grinned widely, throwing the half-burnt faerie into its huddled colleagues. “Brainwashing me with sweet words like that…how tasteless. You ought to be ashamed of yourselves, lying in court like this.”

A loud groan echoed in the room as a large bird cage from the ceiling began to lower itself, its metal chains grinding against the cogwheels that controlled them. He recognised her silhouette by the illuminating light casted by her blinding wings, watching her rush towards its hinted door, an expression of relief written all over her face once she saw him.

The cage released her, violently swaying and crashing into the walls in a pendulum motion. She landed in his arms unscathed, her bright pink eyes becoming watery. “Oh goodness Renba, it’s really you…”

He helped her return to her feet, Vaina dusting herself off from the trauma of being launched from the cage. Silence filled the room as the court faeries had long escaped from Renatus' monstrosity.

“Apparently ‘The Watcher’ is looking to have you killed. Seems the faeries and Malachi were working under them,” Renatus reported, his head beginning to feel slightly hazy, almost nauseous. Must be the side effects of inhaling the fumes of burnt faerie wings, he thought to himself. “Either word here spreads super-fast, or we were being watched the moment I entered the gate, princess. They were sent to capture you the moment Malachi perished in my hand.”

She ran some fingers through her sky-blue hair, processing the new information.

“Interesting, but makes sense considering their position of power in the black market - they have eyes and ears everywhere. They’re not usually seen in the public eye, so this is a good opportunity for us. If we can get information out of them, we’ll be a step closer in stopping my father and his plans.” 

She twirled to face him, and gently patted his head, her fingers running through his silky jet-black hair. 

“You did well, my Renba. Let’s get ready for the ball.”