“What flavor do you want?” Fox dug through his backpack, pulling out a wallet covered in comic book decal. I couldn’t pinpoint any of the series it showcased, but I was enraptured by it all the same. It was easier to pick apart the mishmash of panels then it was to look at him and wonder how I’d arrived here.

The cashier waited, her eyes bored and barely focused. Above her was a collection of smoothies, ice cream, and pastries. I only briefly scanned the menu before I went with the usual flavor I made at home, “Blueberry strawberry smoothie.”

“And I’ll have the mango pineapple. Both mediums.” He leaned back. “Medium is fine, right?”

“Yeah.” He handed over some cash, and threw the change in the sticker decorated tip jar. The cashier handed her the receipt with our order number, and informed us we’d be called when it was ready.

I hadn’t been here before, and I noted to myself to bring Nia sometime. The place was bright and colorful, with the floor being made out of rainbow tiles and streaks of color dancing across the walls. Even the tables were bright blues, pinks, purples, and greens.

As Fox guided the way towards the sitting area, I swallowed, “How much was it?”

“No need to pay me back. Think about it as an apology for such a weird day.” He took me to a table in the corner, right by the window. We both sat, letting our backpack fall to the floor beside us. When Fox had said we should go somewhere to talk, I hadn’t expected to be brought somewhere so…cute.

The whirl of a blender shot me back into my body, muted behind the glass where the workers were. “I think I’ve only been getting through this all by assuming it’s been a very long dream.”

“You’ll figure it out as reality soon enough.” He crossed his leg over his ankle, looking far more casual then he’d been earlier. I wondered if Fable just brought the worst in him. Or maybe it was the Headmaster. “But we were here to talk about a deal weren’t we?”

“What do you want?”

He tilted his head, an air of caution about him. It was the kind of gaze one gave a wounded animal. I had tried to let myself calm down, but apparently it was still showing in me somehow.

“I want you to play the part instead of your friend.” I blinked, the words unexpected in their plainness.

“But there’s…no reason for it to be me right?”

“Ah, but there’s no reason for it not to be you either.” He smiled, although it crinkled the bruise on his face. “You and Abigail are both people that caught the interest of the Headmaster. Even though he’s acted rather aloof with you, I don’t think he cares which one of you it is. Fable just insists it has to be Abigail, and he hasn’t cared to take no for an answer.”

It felt like Fable had never seen me, yet I could feel the judgement he emitted all over again, “While I understand why he’d want Abigail, is there a reason why it feels like he hates me?”

“I wouldn’t say he hates you. You’re just great at doing things you shouldn’t be able to. Like entering the Headmaster’s office, or breaking up a fight between two people instead of leaving it alone or gawking.” He gave a long pause. “And remembering things you shouldn’t be able to remember.”

“Was I actually supposed to forget?”

He shrugged, shifting his feet, and moving to stand, “Drinks are ready.”

I sat, trying to think about what he was he was asking me. There were a lot of things I wasn’t clear on. A prince, a villain, a guardian. Would that make the main character the knight? The damsel? Something else entirely? Was it solely dependent on how the person went about it?

Outside, people walked lost to their own little worlds. As a group of kids walked, laughing, and shoving at each other, an old memory surfaced. I was twelve and had fallen hard on my knees. Abigail had grabbed my hands, careful of the scrapes, and lifted me up. When I couldn’t walk without a limp, she’d joked about carrying me, before offering her arm. I’d looked up at her, noticing for the first time she’d hit her growth spurt and was inches taller than me now. She’d set me down on a bench, gotten my first aid kit from my bag, and picked the pebbles out of my knees and hands before patching them up. If there was a role she was going to play, it was one with a sword aimed to protect.

A cup slide in front of me, drawing me back to the present. Fox was already downing his drink, and I watched as the contents quickly shrank, “Is it that good?”

“Haven’t really had much to eat today.”

“…A smoothie isn’t much of a meal.”

“It’s better than nothing.” He set the cup down, shaking off the condensation on his hand. “Right, where were we?”

The smoothie was both sweet and bitter on my tongue, “You were saying Fable hates me because I’m doing things I’m not supposed to.”

He nodded, “Abigail is a great choice, because she’s easy to predict. Easy as humans can be, anyway. Giving predictable people what they want is fine, but…”

“That’s right. He said something about making sure this world runs…?”

“It’s complicated, and that part of this doesn’t concern you. Let’s say this world is in it’s infancy, and there are a collection of people trying to make sure it reaches completion. One of the ways to do that is adjusting the rules of the world and making sure nothing breaks down. Granting a wish and running through various simulations of things is like a two birds-one stone situation. The Headmaster can tinker and adjust things to make them stable, and someone gets their wish granted. It’s fine if you don’t understand it all but there is one reason why I’d rather it be you than her.”

Even if he said it was fine that I didn’t understand, it was frustrating feeling like I was always behind. Whether it was about everything he was telling me, or the entire day itself. If Abigail was here, I would have asked what she’d gotten herself into. I would have hoped she’d answer.

“So what is it?” I wasn’t sure I wanted to hear the answer. Maybe because I could already guess what he was going to say.

He smiled, like he could tell, too, “Well, Abigail’s wish may fall under the realm of ‘impossibility,’ but for someone able to adjust the world as he pleases, it’s a relatively easy task to complete. Especially because she’s someone we can predict ok enough. But for this world to be stable, he needs to understand people that aren’t predictable and that may even work against the order that’s being established in this world. That’s what you’ve been showing us today, that you’re able to go against the world’s order. And if there’s anything the Headmaster needs to look into, it’s people like you. So that way, fail safes can be made and the world won’t break down.”

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

“Then…what do these ‘fairytales’ have to do with it?”

“That’s just the Headmaster’s own ideals. He made a world in the image he wanted, that’s all. He likes the idea and cadences of fairytales, and so this world will run similarly.” When I drew my eyebrows together, he only laughed. “Again, this isn’t something you need to fully understand.”

“If that’s so, then I do have one question. The most important one.” I took a deep breath, trying to will myself to say it. “If I agree to this, wouldn’t I be taking away Abigail’s wish? No matter what it is?”

“Hmm, I’m sure if you play your cards right you’d be able to play the role and allow Abigail her happy ending and all. Plus, she wouldn’t have to go through all the trials and tribulations of figuring out how to achieve happiness and all.” He took a noisy sip from his smoothie, highlighted by the fact he’d somehow already finished it. “Essentially, you’d just be the one paying the cost for her.”

“Is the cost…that bad?”

“Depends on the person. But you already saw what she looked like yesterday, didn’t you? I’m not sure how or why her circumstances make her wish impossible, but I get the feeling that bumps and bruises won’t be the worst of it. Which then circles back to you. If you took her place, would you be ok experiencing being harmed for her sake?”

It was an easy answer. One, I didn’t need to think about, “Yes.”

He sat up straight, expression deadening like it had in the Headmaster’s office, “Are you sure? You’ll play the main character in Headmaster’s Gnight fairytale? You’ll go through endless stories until you find the happy ending? You’ll accept the pain and failures you’ll undoubtedly experience?”

The dark brown of his eyes warped into a vibrant blue. I pulled back, pressing my back against the chair. No one else noticed or turned towards us, like we’d been encased in a bubble separate from them. I swallowed hard, “If it means Abigail won’t get hurt, and she’ll get what she wished for, then yes. I accept.”

His hand reached out, ghost blue swirling around his hand. Drawn to it, I reached out, ready to meet his hand. Right before our finger tips brushed, another hand shot out and yanked at Fox’s wrist. I snapped out of it, whatever haze that’d wrapped around me dissipated. A solid crack echoed from Fox’s joint.

“Shit Fable, you really have it out for me today don’t you?” It wasn’t a surprise to find Fable here, but it was a surprise to see that for the first time today, I found him looking at me. Our eyes made contact, and I was confronted with the brunt of his contempt.

His hand didn’t let go of Fox’s, even as he tried to wiggle it out, “Your wish has been heard.”

Fox paused, eyebrow crinkling as he stared daggers, “Headmaster Gnight agreed?”

“All your complaining wore him down. He sent me to keep an eye on things and to bring her back if she did actually remember everything. I wasn’t expecting you to approach her yourself. I also wasn’t expecting you to try to initiate the deal. I suppose I should have.” He let go of Fox, and Fox shook it out. The skin where Fable’s grip had been was a deep red.

“That wasn’t what I was doing.” Before Fable could respond, Fox’s attention was back towards me. “The Headmaster will finish the deal for you.”

“O-ok.” I scrambled back to my feet, mostly to try to get away from the both of them. Any distance between us was better than nothing. Especially as Fable tracked my every move. There was nothing in his expression as he offered a hand.

Hands clasped my shoulders and suddenly Fox was behind me. His grip kept me from looking towards him, and he pulled me away from Fable, “I got it, I got it. She’s my charge, I’ll take her to him.

Pins and needles traveled down my back from where Fox was touching. I tried not to hyperfocus on it, as my gut told me whatever it was wasn’t actually dangerous, “I prefer to go with Fox.”

A slim preference. They both instilled a desperate sense of anxiety in me that I tried my best to ignore. It was somehow better to be looked at as though I were a science project than to be looked at as though I’d run over someone’s dog.

Although there was no notable difference in Fable, I got the overwhelming sensation he was furious, like this was the final cherry on top, “Very well. I’ll be on my way then.”

I shrugged Fox off the minute he vanished from view, “…What did you do?”

“A protection spell, just in case.” I blinked, but didn’t have time to question it. “For the final time, are you sure you want to do this?”

“Yes.”

“Then close your eyes, and grab onto your desire with your whole heart.”

Hesitant, I did. The small seed inside of me seemed so small and withered. I imagined cupping it over my hands, whispering what I wanted over and over again. All sensations were lost. The noise of the shop vanished, and even Fox’s presence became something no longer felt.

//

“Our favorite trouble maker is back, it seems.” It was like waking up from reality only to find oneself in a dream. When my eyes opened, I was in a sea of bushes and flowers and trees overflowing with fruit. A sweetness permeated the air, so thick I could taste it on my tongue. My feet were on a straight pathway through the foliage and up ahead I could see Headmaster Gnight, sitting at his desk as he’d been prior.

Too enraptured by the sight, I merely stood, taking everything in. When I looked up, I could make out glass, an indication this was some kind of greenhouse. The heat on my skin became almost unbearable the moment I noticed it.

“Well, come along. This is what you wanted, isn’t it?” I tried to focus on him, his form melding into the rest of the scenery. For a moment, I thought both desk and man had grown here, risen up from the soil itself. My feet drifted forward, as my senses started to fully return.

“Where is this place?”

“Right where you were before; my office.” There was no chair for me to sit this time, so I came to a stop a few feet from his desk. He watched me, and nothing about that gaze had changed.

I bit my lip, trying to think of something to say, “Are you sure you’re alright with me?”

His eyebrows raised by a breath, “Now you’re uncertain.”

“I’ve been uncertain this entire time. I can’t say I understand everything that’s going on, but what I do understand is that for Abigail to have a chance at what she wants, she has to get hurt. And I’d rather…do that for her. Through whatever these fairytales are.”

The Headmaster was the same as Fox, he made me feel like a subject in an experiment. To him, I knew I actually was, “I can arrange that. The price you’re paying will be Abigail’s price, and the situations you’ll live through will be the ones meant for her. Are you sure you can find a happy ending in such circumstances?”

“We…we made the same wish, didn’t we?”

“Yes. You did.” He stood, motioning towards all the flowers around us. “Pick a flower of your choice. Whatever calls to you the most. When you do so, time will reset. It will be the first day of school, Abigail will never have gotten hurt, and your story will begin.”

There were so many different flowers, most I didn’t even know the name to, “How will I know who’s meant to play the other roles?”

“I assure you, it’ll be obvious. Fable and Fox will be there to assist you with anything as well.” Uncomforting words that I only nodded to.

With so many flowers, I found it hard to choose. There were different shades and hues and shapes and species. Some were on small plants, others on bushes or bursting on the trees. My feet walked along the path, close to where it met the soil, taking stock of each one. I could feel him watch me as I did so, and I wondered at which to choose. One of these had to call to me, or be something that would call to Abigail.

Maybe because Abigail was so bright, my eyes landed on the marigolds. Vibrant gold and tucked between all the other flora, it was the only one in the immediate area with such a color. Everything else were shades of whites, pinks, and deep reds. It was hard not to look at it once I spotted it.

I kneeled down, hesitant to pluck the blossom. When I looked back, the Headmaster stayed the same, no indication to whether I’d picked right or wrong. I carefully broke the stem, and a feeling of warmth rushed over me. He smiled.

“Come to my office again in the morning. I’m sure you’ll have plenty of questions for me, still.”

I did have questions for him. But now my body was lead. Pulled around in every direction I could think of the entire day, there was no part of me that wasn’t exhausted. Whispers echoed in my head it was time to sleep. Time to lay down. Time to wake up. There was no energy left to argue. I let the world around me go dark again. My grip on the flower remained.