The rest of her dream passed kind of fast, actually. It almost felt that Lothrigern did something before leaving, since Velvet woke up extremely well rested.

She pushed Nebura’s thoughts away from her mind, planning on writing a letter to Madam Dorna, since the concealment spell was no longer in effect, and she could summon a fairy.

Velvet had doubts about telling her that her niece was alive and well.

Pros of telling her: Madam Dorna would get closure about Nebura's disappearance.

Cons of telling her: Nebura had cut contact all these years on purpose, and she didn’t plan on going back on her decision. That could affect Madam Dorna’s already delicate health.

Pros of not telling her: What you don’t know can’t hurt you. Seven years were a long time. Not enough to forget someone, but the wound no longer bled.

Cons of not telling her: Velvet would feel bad if Madam Dorna died without knowing the truth. She deserved to know.

“Hyde… what do you suggest?” She asked for a secondary opinion.

“Tell her. You will regret it if you don’t.”

He was right. Velvet stopped stalling, picking up a blank sheet of paper and a special pen to make the small imprints so that Madam Dorna could read it.

It took her a bit of thinking to get a letter that she found satisfactory, but she managed, closing the letter and starting to set the fae altar with the tiny bells.

Like the first time, she started by making them jingle for a bit, and then started chanting.

“From the center… to between.”

“From the earthbound…to the fae that travels unbounded.”

“I’m Velvet Consestella Dobastro, and I call for a helpful and pleasant, non Lothrigern faerie that can safely deliver this envelope to Madam Dorna, in Casrey’s orphanage, returning it to me if they can’t find her.”

The bells kept on making that pleasant jingle. After a few seconds, the space in the middle of the circle twisted, letting someone out.

Unlike the bear from the previous time, a beautiful woman came out. Her hair was translucent like aquamarine colored water, her skin was extremely pale, but not enough that it marked her veins. She was dressed in an almost transparent dress that didn’t leave anything for the imagination.

Velvet felt herself blush, until the woman moved her body a bit, the illusion breaking for an instant. Her gorgeous hair became snakes that coiled around the air, her pale, soft skin adopted a drowned corpse blue taint, and her beautiful face became rotten, having been eaten by fishes, part of it showing the bones underneath.

After that instant, she became beautiful again, giving an enticing smile to Velvet.

“Hello, do you need help?” She asked, and Velvet almost jumped.

She wanted her silent bear back! This one felt too dangerous!

“I need to deliver this envelope safely.” She said.

The fairy extended her soft, manicured hand towards her, showing her palm. Velvet did the same, giving her the envelope.

She wasn’t feeling very confident, but suddenly, the fairy grabbed her hand, touching it before taking the envelope.

“Gloves are so uncomfortable… Don’t you prefer skin to skin contact?” Upon saying that, a strip of her dress fell down her arm, as if she was trying to seduce Velvet.

You want to drown me, don’t you miss?I should add non-murderous to the requisite list…

“I like fashion. Dresses just don’t look the same without gloves.”

If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

“Take your dress off too, then.” The fairy opened the envelope, reading the letter.

“It’s cold. I would like to remain warm.” And dry. She finished the sentence in her mind.

Velvet didn’t mind the fairy being curious, and reading the letter, but every now and then, the illusion flickered, showing the cold, rotten meat underneath, and that made her more wary than necessary.

Would she try to drown Madam Dorna? Now worried about someone else, she wanted to cancel the fae summoning, without offending the fae in question.

Do I… do I call for Lothrigern? Putting that option as a last resort, Velvet calmed down.

Madam Dorna was blind, so she couldn’t be seduced by looks alone!

She hoped so, at least.

“Human writing keeps becoming stranger…” The fae said, putting the envelope back together and disappearing.

Stopping the bells, Velvet looked at the aftermath of the summon. The wood tiles where the fae was standing had become rotten with humidity, and were starting to grow some moss.

Fairy summon has to be done outside. She concluded, not worried for the tiles.

That was what magic was for! Humidity eradication!

Of course, she first needed a ‘present’ for the fairy.

She looks carnivore, would some roasted hare be enough? Velvet still didn’t have breakfast, so she went out for it.

Crossing the door, she ended up face to face with Alrai.

“What are you doing in my hut?” She asked, activating her paper figurines.

“I was bored, so I just divined where you lived. Put those down, I promise to bring you no harm.” He said, taking a step back.

“So, what do you bring? If it is not a nice breakfast, get out.”

“Don’t be that aggressive, you’re starting to behave like an old witch in the woods… or an ogre.” Alrai raised a paper box, ‘offering’ it to Velvet.

Velvet smiled at him. “I do, right? Once you get in the hut mood, it’s refreshing!” Not trusting Alrai one bit, she didn’t take the box. “Open it.”

Alrai obeyed, opening, with more movements than necessary, all of them exaggerated to the extremes, the box. A sweet smelling strawberry cake was inside, unbothered from Alrai’s movements.

“Ta-da!” He ‘reoffered’ the now open box to Velvet.

“Nuh-huh. You try it first. And I better see you swallow.”

“Oh, I just love when you talk to me like that! Any piece in preference, my dear Velbossy?” Pulling a knife out from his sleeves, suddenly and silently, Alrai played with it, pointing at the pieces, grinning when Velvet took a step back surprised. It was a really sharp knife, after all.

“That one.” She picked a piece, watching how Alrai cut it, stabbed it with the knife and ate it while staring straight at Velvet, a mocking grin on his lips.

She laughed in response, picking the box and going back inside, followed by Alrai, who looked around.

“It’s not bad.” Knocking on the walls, he seemed to be testing something. “Old but sturdy.”

Velvet put on the table, using some lust magic so that two broken chairs grew roots and could be used temporarily, making a table for three.

“Are you waiting for someone?”

“Gertine and Nereus will come later.” She lied, sitting down close to the wall, so that she could look at the inside.

Alrai did the same, but he was looking at her and the wall.

“So, did Ethra leave you? Why are you crawling back to me?” She picked some cake, and damn, it was good.

“Not him, his mother.” Alrai made a ‘tsch tsch tsch’ noise, bothered. “And her ‘associates’.”

Is he referring to the Maneelys? Velvet didn’t ask, not wanting Alrai to ask how she knew.

“And I’m the only one you can go to? Damn, you’re sooo unpopular.”

“You have no idea.”

Velvet took a quick glance at the humidity spot that was growing in the middle of the floor, and she smiled enticingly at Alrai.

“Well, I know just what you need.”

“I’m all ears.”

Leaning back in her chair, Velvet caressed her neck slowly, letting her hair fall down her shoulders. “Do you want to have sex, Alrai?”

Alrai choked on the cake, shocked to the extremes. So shocked, he didn’t notice someone approaching from behind.

“I-I, wait a second!” He coughed. “I thought you were one of those that took it slow…”

“Oh?” Velvet raised an eyebrow, grinning from ear to ear. “I didn’t mean to have sex with me.”

A pale bluish hand grabbed the free chair, dragging it slowly before sitting down with a wet, sloshing sound.

Alrai jumped from his seat, almost screaming, while Velvet cut a cake piece and ‘gifted’ it to the fairy.