The closet door cracks open. A creature blows into the room like a leaf, landing on the foot of the bed. She’s small, about the size of a bird.

“Please please please please pleaseeeee?”

“No.” Howard says. “Go away.”

“Why not?” she whines.

Howard rolls onto his side, pulling the covers over his ears. The small creature flies onto his pillow, insect wings buzzing.

“Aww, don’t ignore me. Please?”

Howard glares at the intruder. She has the general shape of a human, but none of the features are exactly right. Or rather, they’re too right, too perfect. She looks too human to be human, save for the ears that end in points and the wings that extend from her back.

“This pillow is pretty soft.” She falls backward and lands with a poof. “Mind if I join you?”

“No. I mean, yes-”

“Great!”

Howard groans for as long as his impressive lung capacity allows.

“And what has gotten my drama princess so grumpy today?”

“It's the middle of the night.” Howard curls deeper into the covers until only his glare is visible. “Can't you disturb someone else?”

“I think I'd rather disturb you.”

“But why? There's probably so many easier targets for you to tempt.”

“Probably? Literally anyone else would be easier than you. But there is a reason I put up with all of your drama.” She rolls closer to Howard. “Binding with humans is like getting a tattoo. Some people, like demons, just like getting tattoos for their own sake, and that’s okay. But no fae has ever gotten a tattoo before, so I’m going to be the first. When word gets out, it’s going to be a huge deal, and I’ll probably be under a lot of scrutiny. I’m being picky because I want it to be worth the trouble it causes me.”

“You want me because I'm hard to get?”

“Cute, but no. I want to give you this power because we share the same problem: We’re royalty with expectations that run counter to our natures. I can’t escape my situation, but I can save you from yours. A tattoo with that written on it would be worth the trouble, I think.”

She stands up.

“Well, It’s either that or I go home and tell everyone that I gave Joe Schmoe the ability to cast fireball just to see what a commoner would do with it. That one might actually get a more positive response, now that I’m thinking about it.”

“I’d rather you didn’t give my commoners the ability to level buildings.”

“There’s only one way to stop me.” she winks.

Howard pokes a hand from beneath the covers and flicks the fairy.

“Sweet Sol, the pain!” She falls again onto the pillow, clutching her heart. “Please, is there a doctor nearby? One whose gender matches their genitals?”

“There’s no one like that here, I’m afraid.” Howard quickly covers the rest of his face.

By the Moon I can't believe I just said that. Am I really?

Howard mouths the word ‘transgender.’ His bottom lip cracks from a smile.

Sweet Sol.

Howard pulls the covers from his eyes. The fairy is smirking, one hand over her hip.

“Have something you want to tell me?”

“I think,” Howard swallows, “I think I'd like to have the power you promised. And the new body.”

The fairy does a little happy dance.

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

“I’ll go get the book!” She twirls out and back into existence, carrying with her a leather tome that looks heavy for a creature of her size.

If teleporting is so easy for her to do, what was all of that creepy stuff earlier? Has she been messing with me?

Can I trust her?

It doesn’t matter. She can fix my body. Even the chance of fixing this is worth the risk.

“Stand here please.” The fairy points to a spot on the floor. “There’s actually a lot of material components that we’re supposed to use for this, but I don’t know what half of these things are. However! I do have a plan.”

She pulls out a comically large pocket knife.

“Blood can be used as a substitute for just about anything, and I’m curious to see how far we can push that. I think, between the two of us, we should have enough gallons to cover this.”

Howard gulps. “Gallons?”

She probably knows what she’s doing. Right?

She flips through pages faster than Howard can keep up, laughing maniacally.

“Imagine their faces when I, youngest among them, do what they said was impossible!”

“Are you sure that this is safe?”

“Not really. However! I'll be putting your soul into a new body, so it doesn't really matter what happens to the old one.”

She claps the book shut.

“One more thing before we begin. Once we bind, you might learn something private about me. No matter what, you must never reveal my name to anyone. Our names are our natures, and knowledge of a fae’s name can be used to take advantage of them. Do you understand?”

“I’ll take it to my grave.”

“Drama princess. Go ahead and close your eyes now. Picture the body you want to have. Describe it to me.”

“Well, I have long-”

The knife plunges into Howard’s neck. He stumbles back, knocking a lamp over as he collapses.

“Shhh, it’s okay. I just didn't want you to tense up. Dying is the hardest part, but it’ll be over soon.”

Cold bands of magic wrap around Howard’s soul. He tries to yell. He can’t move.

“Don’t be afraid; I’ve got you. You’ll have your new body soon, I promise.”

Howard dies.

There are so many stars twinkling in the sky. They dance around her at a measured pace, never getting closer nor farther from each other. Despite her efforts, she can’t keep her focus on any single star. Her eyes keep drifting, and no one star is unique enough to find again. She can't yell, but she tries anyway.

This is unbearable. I don't want to be a star.

She’s on Earth now, lying in a bed of itchy grass. She hears the chirping of crickets. She sees the moon. She can't cry.

Luna danced the same dance around Earth until they both died. The crickets and the grass danced the same dance until they died too. They all did the same exact thing until they all died in the exact same way. I don't want to die like them. I want to live.

Time speeds up. Clouds form and decay. Life grows, dies, then grows again. Everything is forced to move at its own suffocating rhythm until it dies and something else takes its place.

None of these options are really living. Why do I have to choose? Can’t I just be me?

The command to live is given, and the choice is made for her. Her soul is shoved into the egg of a chicken.

No! I won't be bound to your stupid chicken dance.

She feels a connection to something else far away from here. She grabs at the connection and pulls. With effort, she crawls out of the egg like a crazed rope climber.

The command to live still echoes inside of her. Her soul lunges at a pine cone as it falls from its tree, but she keeps her grip on the magic tether. She's tugged towards every living thing on Earth, pushed left and right, clinging to the thin thread of mana like a leaf in a hurricane.

I don’t want to live another life! I want to live mine!

She pours herself into the tether. The magic thread ignites, lighting up the entire sky, curling and flickering in shades of teal, blue, and purple. Colorful flames sway wildly, irregardless of the natural rhythms that govern life below on Earth.

Earth may have been beautiful, but it is gone. I want to go home!

But it is too far. She tries to scream, tries to cry, but she can't do anything. She cannot leave the atmosphere of Earth. She is trapped.

She is forced to give up. Bitterly, she settles for the fire in the sky that she prays will one day open up a road for her to get home. By the end of her first year, she has forgotten what home even was, or why she still clings to her rope. She is the dancing lights of the sky, and she can dance to whatever rhythm she chooses! She finds joy in this. She’s happier now than she’s ever been in her previous life.

She has no concept of time anymore. She sees trees, snow, and memories she doesn't recognise between splashes of hazy purple and blue.

“Don’t be afraid; I’ve got you.”

“You wouldn’t lose me.”

“I have to make it right!”

“Heya drama princess. It's been awhile, hasn't it?”

The fairy and the princess are alone, together. The lights dance around them both.

“Who are you?” The princess of the dancing lights asks.

“I’ve learned a lot about humans since we last spoke. I've actually become something of an expert, thanks to you.”

“I recognise you, I think. What was your name again?”

“I pressured you into this. If it weren't for me, you would still be alive. It was arrogant of me to assume that I could fix all your problems like some wish granting genie. I'm sorry.”

“That’s okay, but-”

“I’m just sorry. There is no body waiting for you here” The fae's face remains neutral, but her voice wavers. “I can still feel you, but I never really figured out where you went.”

“Can you not hear me? How can you be here and not hear me?”

“I’ve maintained our bond for some time now. Time moves differently in the fae realm, but three years have passed on your world. I don’t know if you can even understand me anymore, but I can’t hold it for much longer. I have to let go.”

Three years? By The Moon, Arabelle! Does she think I ran away without telling her? Or… the body…

“I've had plenty of time to think about you. Losing you has shaped so much of who I am today. You've changed me for the better, which is why I'm confident that I'm doing the right thing here.”

The princess’ skin tingles. Teal lightning crackles around both of them.

“Souls are like droplets of water; when they touch, they become something greater. The binding spell is as much to keep us apart as it is to keep us together. If our binding ever broke without the correct spell to terminate it, there would be a chance that we’d merge into that something greater. I have the spell to terminate the connection safely here, but.”

She takes a breath. “Ending your life was the greatest thing to have ever happened to me. I can cast human magic now, thanks to our connection, and I have never had to lend you anything in return. I'm powerful now, like I never thought I could be. People think I knew all along that you would just vanish, and that I’d never have to give anything in return. They think I planned this, and they praise me for it.”

“Since the fae have no laws against killing humans, I will leave my judgment up to fate. I will drop our bindings without the safety spell. Either I will go back to the way I was before I met you, or I will surrender my body and soul to you, and you will regain what I unrightfully stole. Either way, things will be made right again.”

“No matter what happens, I hope that you can find the happiness in your life that I couldn't in mine. Goodbye.”

The dancing lights collapse. There is the sensation of motion, and of being mixed, like a cold stream pouring into a boiling ocean. Waves settle into ripples, until the surface is still. Their souls become the perfect temperature for each other.

The fae and Howard both become something greater. Princess Aurora takes her first breath.

“Thank you.”