The day was Tuesday, the day that I decided to return to Prince’s house. But instead of doing that, I loitered around in front of his house’s gate, hesitant.

“I blew it the other day so how can I face him now?” I whispered to myself in a sad tone. “But nothing will happen if I don’t talk to him again.” 

So with a serious face, I pressed the doorbell. I waited for a couple of seconds and Pixie came out of the house. 

“Bella!” she called as she cried tears of joy. 

“Pixie,” I said with a smile and she landed on my chest. 

“I’m so glad you came back!” she followed and nuzzled me. 

“Sorry for leaving without notice,” I responded with a sad smile. 

Then, she flew away and made an anxious expression. 

“Prince...you need to see Prince,” she said in a restless movement. 

“Did something happen to him?” 

“Come with me,” Pixie said and flew towards the house so I followed her. We ascended the stairs and entered Prince’s room. There, I found a cute black puppy on the bed. 

“Aw!” it barked while it looked at me. 

“How cute. Did you keep a pet while I was gone?” I asked with a smile and went to the dog. “But where’s Prince?” 

Pixie landed next to the dog in a standing position. Then, the dog looked at her and wagged its tail. 

“This is Prince,” Pixie revealed in sadness. 

“What?!” I reacted in a stupefied face. 

Then, the dog jumped Pixie and pressed her down against its weight. 

“Hey, Prince, not again?” Pixie exclaimed and the dog licked her happily. She couldn’t even get away because her body was under the dog. 

“Are you for real, Pixie?” I asked in a confused state. 

“Yes, this is Prince. Hey, stop it...it tickles,” Pixie said with a giggle and tried to push away the puppy’s face. 

“But how did he turn into a puppy?” I asked and sat on the bed next to them. Then, I lifted the dog and placed it on my lap. 

“Thanks, Bella,” Pixie muttered and stood up. 

“Calm down...uhmm...Prince?” I called and petted him on the back. 

“Now I’m covered in spit,” Pixie whined and wiped her whole body with a handkerchief. After she finished, she made a serious expression. “The evening after your date, Prince returned alone, saying that he offended you. I tried to convince him to go after you but he replied that it might be for the best to wait for you to come back. He believed that you will come back in your own accord.” 

“Prince...” I whispered with sorrow as I looked at him. He was lying on his back so I could scratch his belly. “Can he still understand us?” 

“I’m afraid not,” Pixie answered solemnly. “I tried communicating with him but he only acts like a dog now.” 

“Is it because I went too far away from him?” I asked and caressed his stomach. 

“I think that’s not the case. After all, if that’s the truth, there should at least be some changes that will happen to him after you came back. But as you can see, nothing happened.”

But that could also mean it's too late to do anything anymore. 

“Then, why did he turn into a dog?”

“I think this is the real aim of the curse, to turn him into a beast. The half-beast, half-human that we saw first was only the starting stage. And this is the final form. After all, dogs are one of the real beast in this world, right?” 

“Then...can we still undo the curse? I mean, how can I make him fall for me if his brain also turned into that of a dog?” I asked, nervous. 

“I think it’s still possible...” Pixie replied seriously. 

“R-really? How?” I asked in a hurry. "I'm prepared to save him but I'm gonna give you a heads up that bestiality is impossible for me." 

“Bestia...what? I don't know what that means but what you need to do is to travel back in time.” 

“Travel back in time? Me?” I asked, confused. “But how can I even do that? I mean, science is amazing but I haven’t heard anyone inventing the time machine yet.” 

“We fairies are capable of doing that,” Pixie answered with a straight look. 

“R-really?” I reacted in a shocked look.

F*cking amazing! Scrap science, I'm now in the side of sorcery! 

“It’s a form of Grand magic and it’s very hard to execute. I can’t even say for sure that I can do it without a mistake. After all, it’s my first time doing something like this,” she explained, anxious. 

So Pixie has three kinds of magic. The first one is the basic magic, the illusion magic that she uses for mental tricks. The second one is the advanced magic that can do permanent and complicated magic. And this latest one is the Grand magic that has the power to send someone in the past. Fairies are very powerful alright. 

“I’m sure that if it’s you, you can do it, Pixie,” I encouraged her with a smile. 

“Thanks,” she replied with a slightly nervous smile. “Anyway, I could only send your consciousness back to the past, not your whole body.” 

“So my consciousness will go back to my past-self?” 

“It won't. Well, you'll see after you’ve traveled back in time successfully. Don’t worry because I will send you together with my will so you won’t get confused about what to do in the past.” 

“I see. Okay then. But can we mess with the past that easily? I mean, doing something there might change the future, right?” I asked in a worried look. 

“That’s also why this magic isn’t advisable to use. After all, one wrong move and the event where Prince found the book and open it might not happen. That’s something we should prevent from happening if we went back to the past.” 

“So the objective of this time travel is...” I whispered with a serious face. 

“To make Prince fall for you before he finds the book, without messing with the events there as much as possible. We need to connect the past to this future after all,” Pixie answered. Then, she made a thinking pose and whispered, “If only I managed to ask Prince when and where we should come in the past.”

"I know that I shouldn't think in a negative way but what if we created another world based on my action? You know the concept of 'parallel world' right? The Schrödinger’s cat to be exact. Though it's just a theory."

"Prince and I talked about that before he turned into a dog. I don't want to create another universe but we can't do this mission without taking risks," she said with a grim face.

Time travel is a complicated sh*t alright.

After I noticed that Prince started to sleep soundly on my lap, I placed him aside and got off the bed. 

“But when are we gonna start?” I asked after I stood up. "It should be before Prince opened the book and met me so...right before he entered high school?" 

“The thing is, I can’t decide when or where we will get transported to. but I’ll try my best to make us start two years before Prince discovered the book,” Pixie added with a serious look.

“Two years? That is the year before he entered high school but do you have another reason for that?” 

“Well...it’s hard to explain but when I asked Prince about the time where he met his friend, he mentioned the word 'two'.”

"Wait, who is that friend of Prince? Is that person relevant to this mission of mine?"

"That friend...she might've been you," Pixie added, anxious and unsure.

 "Me?" I muttered, confused about her answer.

"According to Prince, he met a girl named Rosa. You and that girl look very much alike. So his theory is that you and Rosa was the same person who only traveled back in time to lift the curse."

Seriously?

"Does that mean that he fell in love with that Rosa?" I asked, curious.

And is that the girl he was talking about when he rejected me? The girl he likes?

"Well...he's not sure too. But he said that if you took the role of Rosa, went back in past, do what you need to accomplish there, and return here with the curse lifted, then, he really does fell in love with that girl Rosa."

Jeez, just as indecisive as always. But if it wasn't Rosa, who is the girl he mentioned? Another girl? But more importantly...

"So he's guessing that this whole event was already predetermined?" I confirmed Pixie.

As a response, she nodded.

Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.

That's too convenient for a theory though. But I can't deny that some people believe that predeterminism is a fact. But should we really just go along with that philosophy? Well, thinking too much about this won't get us anywhere.

“I see. Then, let’s go,” I said to Pixie, serious.

"But just because its possible that everything was already predetermined doesn't mean that we should do this mission in a lax way," Pixie reminded, clearly worried.

"I know," I responded with a smile. "After all, we're not even sure if it was already predetermined, right?"

“Correct."

"So... let's do this?"

"Okay. Good luck, Bella,” Pixie added and pointed her wand at me. Then, the tip emitted a very bright light and I got swallowed by it.

──◈─▣─♕─▣─◈──

Uhmm... should I open my eyes now? 

“Pixie?” I called and when I opened my eyelids, I became surprised by what I saw. 

I found myself at a certain school ground with grade-schoolers walking about. I was standing there.

“So I’m still wearing my usual clothes,” I commented after I saw my yellow dress. “But why do I have a physical form?” 

“Bella, hide!” Pixie yelled after she zipped towards me. 

“Wh-what? Okay!” I replied in a panic and hid behind a tree. 

“I screwed up big time,” Pixie informed me in a nervous state. 

“What do you mean?” 

“I checked a nearby newspaper and we’re now six years back in time,” she responded in panic. 

“What?” I reacted in a surprised face. 

“Sorry but this Grand magic is too difficult to control,” she apologized in sadness. 

“D-don’t worry. I think we’re still fine because we arrived in the past where Prince hasn’t discovered the book yet, right?” I consoled with a smile. 

“Well, I don’t know about that,” she responded, still worried. "All we could do now is to hope that this travel was predetermined for real."

“But why do I still have my body here? I didn’t age back though.” 

“Well, your consciousness here can take a physical form so you could touch anything you want. Unlike me who is only my will itself, something no one could see or hear. Of course, you can still see and hear me because you’re the sole exception to that. But you can’t touch me. Try to poke me.” 

To follow her request, I tried to touch her with a finger but it only went past through her. 

“You’re right,” I reacted with a slightly astonished face. “Anyway, we need to find Prince, right? Where is he now?” 

“I don’t know too. We have to find him,” Pixie answered with a serious look. “But first, you should blend in this school so you could get out without anyone noticing you.” 

“Uhmm... how do I do that?”

“Well, I guess you should transform into a grade-schooler. And also make your clothes into a uniform of this school so you could exit the gate without trouble.” 

“Wait... is that even possible?” I asked in a flabbergasted expression. 

“First, look at that girl. Then, imagine your clothes transforming into one like her.”

The girl she pointed at was wearing a white blouse with a red ribbon on her collar. Those clothes were partnered with a black knife-pleated skirt and black shoes.

“I can’t use magic here after all so it’s up to you to transform yourself.” 

“I see. I’ll try,” I responded and concentrated as hard as I could. Then, my clothes glowed and transformed into the school's uniform. “I did it!” 

“And now, imagine yourself being a grade-schooler,” Pixie followed with a smile. 

“Okay,” I answered and repeated what I did. After a couple of seconds, I shrank together with my clothes to fit my change of build. It stopped when I reached the age when I was at 6th grade.

“How cute~ Is this you back when you were halway through grade school?” Pixie asked with a smile. 

“Halfway? I'm no 3rd grader at this age! I was already in 6th grade at this age!” I retorted, dumbfounded. 

“R-really?” Pixie asked in slightly astounded expression. 

“Then... how about this!” I followed and my whole body glowed again. Then, when the light disappeared, I  gave Pixie a smirk while my arms were crossed. My pony also disappeared and my hair got loose. 

“Ohhh~ Now you look like a 6th grader!” Pixie reacted cheerfully. 

“I... see,” I said with a pitiful smile and tears welled up in my eyes. 

This is what I look like back in my high school days, Pixie! 

“Is there any other magical thing that I could do besides this?” I asked curiously. 

“Well, I’m afraid that’s all you can do here. You can only change the appearance of yourself and your clothes.”

“I see...” I reacted in slight disappointment.

And here I thought I could do everything that Pixie can while I'm here.

“Is that... Prince?” Pixie asked after she saw a kid that looked exactly like Prince. He doen't have his glasses though. Together with three kids, he walked towards the boy's toilet with an anxious face. They were all in a white polo and black shorts. 

“I think that’s him. But I’ve got a bad feeling about this,” I whispered and ran towards the lavatory room. 

“Bella? Wait!” Pixie shouted and flew forward to follow me. 

“You’re lame!” the fat kid said and placed a bucket of water on top of Prince. After that, the fat kid kicked him and Prince fell on his butt. 

“That’s what you get for being weak,” the kid with glasses said in a mocking tone. 

“Look... isn’t he ‘cool’ now?” the skinny kid followed and the three of them laughed derisively. 

“F*ck it. They’re...bullying Prince?” I muttered out of disbelief from what I’ve watched.

"Should we... help? But... will that affect the future we want to happen?" Pixie reacted, confused. As for Prince, he just hugged his body while shaking in fear. 

“I can’t just watch here and do nothing!” I said and walked towards them. 

“Wait, Bella!” Pixie reacted in surprise. 

Then, I stood up between Prince and the bullies and faced the three with a serious face. 

“Wh-what is a girl doing here?” the fat kid asked in a slightly scared look. 

“Hey, isn’t she a 6th grader?” the kid with glasses whispered and took a step back. 

It looks like they immediately concluded that I’m at the highest grade already because I’m taller than them. 

“So what? We’re boys, you know! Like a girl can stop us!” the skinny guy said with furrowed eyebrows. 

“That’s right! Are you gonna prevent us from bullying Prince?” the fat kid followed, now with a brave front. 

“Of course not,” I replied with a smirk. “On the contrary, I’m here to help you.” 

After they heard that, everyone became stupefied.

Now, how should I resolve this?