Mikhail was in pain as he struggled to get up. His breath rattled when he exhaled. He definitely broke a few ribs when he fought the fairy. He must have looked so pathetic in front of the bard to the point he decided to step in and beg for his life.

But what could a bard do against a fairy who flung the crown prince around with ease?

A lot apparently.

Mikhail tried not to gape as the bard swung his dark blade and released a nauseatingly black energy at the blue haired woman. He thought the evil blade vanished when it disintegrated into nothingness as the bard let it go. Did it cling to his soul somehow?

Nonetheless, the bard was putting up a fight against the fairy. If you could call it a fight at that, when all the bard was doing was swing his sword around to tire the woman out, as she jumped and flew to avoid the dark energy.

Danico wasn’t much of a fighter. 

Despite having a deadly cursed sword in his hands he picked up in the darkest pits of hell during his travels, he did not know how to wield it.

Danico wasn’t a fighter, he was a singer, a poet and a lover. 

Fighting was never in his blood, his hands have never been stained by the life of another. He was nothing but an innocent traveling bard curious about the world.

Who was he kidding, he was too lazy to learn how to wield a weapon. Why would he need to know how to fight when he had magic at the tip of his fingers?

All he had to do was throw a fireball at someone and watch them burn to a crisp. If he was feeling particularly vindictive, perhaps he’ll use some gravity magic and squeeze them to the ground like an annoying bug.

But he’ll save that for later, right now he’d like to play a bit more with the blue fairy and her broadblade.

Danico flung another beam of dark energy at her, this time it grazed her chin and cut pieces of her long blue hair. She was getting tired and sluggish. There was also annoyance in her previously blank expression.

“Stop just throwing those around and come fight me directly!” She exclaimed.

Danico smiled at her cheerfully, “I don’t know how to wield a sword and I’m not stupid enough to clash with a sword master!”

She glared at him and the wind picked up. Danico’s long hair whipped around his face as the sound of thunder rumbled in the sky and flashes of lightning appeared.

There it is, the confirmation he needed.

He had a feeling she was the one who casted the spell to separate their group, but he needed some sort of proof. He tired her out physically on purpose after she fought with the prince, toying with her like a cat toys with their prey. Danico could have ended her life on the spot the moment she introduced herself, since she didn’t seem that strong. He’s fought stronger people before where he barely made it out alive.

Danico dodged a lightning strike. It was incredibly precise and he was certain he’d be scorched if he didn’t use gravity magic on his feet to make him lighter and swifter.

He continued dodging around to see how precisely she could control the spell. It seems like she needed incredible focus to get her aim correctly. She’s currently a sitting duck out in the open, anyone could have struck her by now.

It was easy to tell that she wasn’t used to fighting alone when casting such devastating magic. The other two fairies conducting the trials probably made sure she was well protected while she left the area in ruins.

“Will you stop running around in circles?! Fight me properly!”

“If that is your wish,” Danico said and lunged at her with his sword. He might not be able to dance with the sword like a master, but a sharp weapon was a sharp weapon no matter the skill of anyone who wielded it. 

The fairy evaded with a smirk, “Finally!”

“Yes, finally!” Danico mocked. “You’ve fallen straight into my trap!”

He lifted his right hand up high, his finger pointing to the sky. The fairy looked up with trepidation. Danico smirked and activated the magic circle the fairy was under.

It might not be obvious, but Danico had been running around in circles for a reason and that was to weave magic in the air to prepare his spell. It was tedious to do it secretly, but it was always a joy to see his opponent’s shocked expression when the ground started to glow an eerie blue light whilst lines connected to each other.

“Where are you looking at? My spell is right down here!” with a swing of his hand, the spell activated and the fairy was pressed to the ground with the massive gravitational pull of the earth. The ground cracked.

She hit her head hard on the floor. 

She can’t believe she lost to such a feeble looking guy with one single spell. She, Caela the Fairy of Storms, Warrior of the Rose Garden and Protector of the Sleeping Princess, was defeated by a guy who hid behind another man for protection the first time they met. Her sisters will never let her live this down.

Caela hopes he’ll defeat the dragon, at least then she can keep her pride and point out how much more powerful he was. Perhaps the teasing would cease after a century.

The last thing she saw was the bard approaching her with a shit eating grin on his face. 

“Heh… you passed,” she muttered and blacked out.

The bard loomed over the fallen fairy and touched her head. He ran his hand through her hair and Mikhail couldn’t help but feel slightly jealous at the caress. However, he narrowed his eyes when the bard’s veins glowed bright blue.

“What did you do to her?” he asked warily as struggled to sit up.

The bard looked at him with a smile that would have made his heart skip a beat, if he wasn’t so terrified at the thought that the gentle songbird who sang him lullabies was capable of such powerful magic. 

Danico put his finger on his lips coyly in a shushing motion, “That’s a secret,” he said. “I’m surprised you’re still alive, your highness. You’re a very resilient guy.”

Mikhail rolled on his back and stared up at the sky. The lightning strikes earlier had cleared out the canopy of thorns above their head to show the starry night. The crescent moon shone bright and cast the dark garden into a blue hue. There must be some sort of time altering spell in the Rose Garden, because Mikhail was sure they entered during a full moon.

“Are you going to kill me now and do whatever you did to the fairy?” he asked as the bard sat down next to him.

“Do you want me to?” The bard asked innocently. “That makes no sense if you managed to stay alive until now. I’m sure some stray spells flew towards you earlier too, what made you want to die so suddenly?”

“Who said I wanted to die?” The prince asked. “I still have to save the princess.”

“In that sorry state?” The bard said, laying down next to the prince to gaze up at the sky with him. “Hm, the stars here are nice. They’re very bright compared to where I’m from.”

Despite his fear, Mikhail couldn’t contain his curiosity. The bard rarely talked about himself. “Where are you from?”

“Somewhere far, far away. A place I can never return to.”

“Oh,” the prince said lamely. “Were you banished?”

“Something like that,” the bard laughed.

Mikhail sighed. “I’m sorry, this is late, but what is your name?”

The bard turned his head to the prince, there was surprise in his eyes. “You’re the first person to ask my name in a while,” he said. “The last one was Lan Suyan.”

The prince tried not to be jealous at the Lan Suyan the bard talked about. The way he whispered the name with affection made him clench his teeth.

“Danico,” the bard said.

“Excuse me?”

“My name, you dolt. It’s Danico.”

“Oh,” the prince said. “That’s a beautiful name. I’m Mikhail.”

The bard grinned at him. “Next time you meet someone new, you should really ask for their name first.”

“Hey, you never asked for mine either!”

Danico shrugged. “I’m not one for niceties, so I don’t bother with introductions. You on the other hand…”

“Fine, my apologies for being rude.” Mikhail winced as he tried to move to face the bard, Danico, properly.

Clearly noticing him squirm in pain, Danico sat up. “Since I’m in a good mood, I’ll do you another favor, your highness.” 

With his left hand, Danico summoned an intricate dagger adorned in several jewels. Mikhail hoped he wouldn't stab him with it, they’ve only just known each other’s names.

“Open wide, Miki!”

The playful nickname surprised Mikhail and he opened his mouth to automatically protest. Instead he was filled with the taste of iron. There was a touch of sweetness that dripped on his tongue and he followed the source of it, licking the palm of Danico’s hand.

“Ew!” Danico exclaimed and pulled back. “Who said you can lick my hand?!”