“Go away!” Stella hissed at Mervin and flew to the other side of Vur’s head, landing on the shoulder opposite the genie king.

A miniature flower blossomed out of thin air, appearing over Mervin’s waiting palm. He flew over to Stella, but she flew back around Vur’s head. Vur’s eyes flitted back and forth as the fairy queen and genie king repeatedly passed through his field of view.

“Stella, wait. I made this just for you.”

“Don’t call me by my name!” Stella said. She circled around to the back of Vur’s head, but Mervin was waiting for her there. She flinched and scrambled backwards, nearly tripping on air. She circled around to the front of Vur’s face before flying up into his hair. “Go bother someone else!”

Vur ignored the two miniature people and asked Alora, “What happens to a genie after you make a wish? The last one went back into the genie bean sprout, right?”

“That’s right,” Stella said, peeking her head out from behind Vur’s ear. She scanned the surroundings before whispering, “Hurry up and make a wish so he disappears.”

“It’s up to the genie, actually,” Alora said. Her hand flashed, and she snatched Mervin out of the air, holding him by the neck with two of her fingers as if he were a puppy. He kicked his legs and flailed his arms, but he was too small to do anything. “Some genies go back to sleep because granting a wish takes up a lot of energy. But he’s a genie king. If your wish is small enough and he doesn’t feel like going to sleep, then he’ll stick around.”

“Does that mean I can wish for another cake after the first one?” Vur asked, tilting his head.

Tafel pinched his waist. “No. You can’t even wish for the first cake.” She turned towards the pouting genie. “But can you grant more than one wish?”

“One wish per person per genie per each time we’re awake,” Mervin said, placing his hands on his hips. “That’s the genies’ code of honor. That means if I grant you a wish and go back to sleep and you find me again, I won’t grant you another wish.”

“Oh great,” Tafel said, her voice bland. “Another code of honor.” She gave Vur and Alora a dirty look. “Did you hear that, Vur? You can only get a wish from this genie king once. He can grant you anything you want, so don’t waste it on something you can easily get, okay?”

Vur furrowed his brow and lowered his head. His gaze landed on the necklace made of souls that Lindyss had given him. He blinked once. “I know what to wish for.” He freed Mervin from Alora’s grasp. “I wish my mana regeneration was faster. Can you do that?”

A wrinkle appeared on Mervin’s forehead. “That’s a tough wish. Let me check.” His body dissolved into motes of white light that disappeared into Vur’s chest.

Stella’s eyes widened as she chased after him, entering Vur’s chest as well. “Who said you could enter my house without my permission!? Vur! What if he steals my stuff? You can’t let random strangers enter you like that!”

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

“Genies don’t steal things! We’re honorable,” Mervin’s voice said from a flashing white dot on Vur’s sternum. A purple dot chased after it. “We only sometimes trick people when they make vague wishes, but that’s part of the genies’ code of honor, so it’s honorable too. But it’s really nice in here, wow. Can I live here too?”

“No!” Stella’s voice said from the purple dot. “I spent so much time furnishing this place! This is my home, not yours.”

“How long are you planning on living inside of Vur?” Tafel asked the two flashing lights.

“Until he dies, which is never, so forever and ever,” Stella said.

“You know he’s my husband, right?”

“And he’s me house, so what?” Stella asked back. “Vur let me stay here when he chose to accept my birthflower.”

Tafel looked at Vur. “And what are your thoughts on being turned into a mobile home?”

Vur scrunched up his forehead. “…Is it possible to live inside of myself?”

Tafel sighed, but before she could respond, Mervin spoke up, “It’s possible!”

“For him to live inside of himself?” Alice asked, her eyes widening. She glanced at Mr. Skelly’s helmeted face, but all the armored skeleton did was shrug.

“Not that,” Mervin said. “I meant your wish is possible, Vur. I can increase your mana regeneration.”

“Can I change my wish to being able to live inside of myself?”

“No, that’s impossible.”

“Hm. Fine,” Vur said. “Then I wish my mana regeneration was faster.”

A white light flashed as Mervin exited Vur’s body, reappearing in the air in front of his chest. “Alright,” the genie king said. “Let’s get started.” He rubbed his hands together, and a fairy-sized spear sprang out of his palms. The tip of the spear rotated like a drill, making a small whining sound. “You ready?”

Vur and Tafel stared at the spear. Tafel raised an eyebrow and bit her lower lip as she crouched down to get a better look at the genie’s weapon. “You’re increasing his mana regeneration, right…?”

“That’s right,” Mervin said.

Tafel pointed at the spear, which had smoke coming out of its tip due to the friction between the spearhead and the shaft. “And you’re going to use that.”

“Uh-huh,” Mervin said with a nod, his face completely serious.

“How?”

“I’ll use this special mana-regeneration-increasing spear and poke some holes in him,” Mervin said, his eyes lighting up. “You see, mana is everywhere around us, right? And if you want to increase the rate at which mana enters your body, all you have to do is poke a few holes for the mana to flow through, see?” He gestured towards one side with his spear. “Skin and muscles block mana flow.” He gestured towards the other side. “Removing skin and muscles unblocks mana flow.”

Tafel resisted the urge to swat the genie king and gritted her teeth. “Doesn’t that mean the mana will flow out of him if there’s more mana inside of him than his surroundings?”

“But it also means he’ll never run out of mana unless the world runs out of mana,” Mervin said, tilting his head to the side. “What’s wrong with that?”

“This operation can’t fail?” Tafel asked.

Mervin snorted. “Trust me; I’m a doctor.”

“Are you really?” Alora asked, butting into the conversation.

“No,” Mervin said. “I just wanted to say that at least once.”

“Surely Vur can’t be the first person to make a wish like increasing his mana regeneration,” Tafel said, stopping Mervin from stabbing the spear into Vur’s chest. “How come I’ve never heard about anyone with a body like this?”

“Oh, that’s because they bleed to death unless they patch the holes. Or sometimes things crawl inside of the holes and lay eggs or feast on their innards,” Mervin said, “but if they patch the holes, then they don’t have the increased mana regeneration anymore.”

Tafel’s face darkened as she snapped the spear with her fingers. “You were right,” she said to Alora. “You really do have to be careful about what you wish for.”

“Then we’re not poking holes in my body?” Vur asked.

“Don’t sound so disappointed!” Tafel said. “You should be angry at the genie instead!”