While Calista spent her mornings at the Castle of Glass, Milly helped the fairies settle into their new home. Much of her time was spent healing the injured, though even the healed would carry the trauma and mental scars with them for the rest of their lives.

As Milly worked, Passiflora would often come by and pepper her with ceaselessly curious questions. Milly indulged the fairy child. Passiflora had no family left in this world, save for her promised Tentongue, though he was still too young to truly know what that entailed.

Initially, Milly had thought she would grow irritated with Passiflora’s constant questioning, but she was surprised to find she enjoyed the young fairy’s company and the chance to help the child develop. Milly found within herself a patience she didn’t know she had.

“You’ll be an amazing mother someday, honey,” Calista mumbled one night, on the verge of sleep, as Milly told her about Passiflora’s questions that day.

Milly, after recovering from her shock, had started to respond, but Calista’s jet engine snores had started before she could get the first word past her lips.

A mother? Me?

Her thoughts drifted from Passiflora to Luna, the artificial child, dressed in Milly’s old hoodie that draped down past her knees and seated on Milly’s lap as she poured her heart out. Milly remembered how she had cradled Luna in her arms as the girl cried and answered the same endless questions that Passiflora now asked her.

I should find a backdoor and visit Luna again. It’s been a week, and she’s probably lonely.

On the three-week anniversary of their entry into the God Contest – one week after their return to the Castle of Glass – Passiflora was once again at Milly’s side, kneeling next to her patient and asking her curious questions.

“What’s that pink thing around you?” Passiflora asked.

“It’s a healing aura. It makes everyone’s healing just a little bit stronger.”

“Can I learn it?”

Milly didn’t know the answer to that. Passiflora had shown more interest in her healing talents over the past few days, and Milly had anticipated she would eventually ask this question.

Can fairies level up? No, if they could, they wouldn’t be so weak. But if they were imprisoned in this God Contest like we are, then why are we players the only ones with access to the level up system?

“I don’t know, Passiflora,” Milly answered honestly. “My people… we just, kind of, automatically learn new talents when we have enough experience under our belts. Perhaps you can learn the same talents in another way – in the more traditional way. Whitewing can heal, so you might be able to learn if you practice. Here, try to copy what I do.”

Milly held her palms over the bruise on her raccoon-fairy patient’s stomach and willed her magic to form slowly enough for Passiflora to watch each step in the process.

Passiflora mimicked Milly’s motions. Nothing happened at her first attempt. Or her second. But late into the afternoon, as Milly pressed her hand against the torn shoulder of Chief Tidebreaker despite his squawking protests, Passiflora’s magic broke through.

“Tidebreaker, calm down. Fairy Killer did some serious damage to your wing, and you’re going to need another four healing sessions before it is back to full strength. So stop your squirming, birdbrain,” Milly said irritably.

“This is your fault, witch,” Tidebreaker spat, copying the insult from the CEO-aligned players that frequented their settlement. “It is your responsibility to fix it. Do not expect me to be grateful after when you did to my people.”

Milly did not engage the elder. She’d made that mistake the first time and knew the ensuing argument would go nowhere.

It was half-way through their healing session that Milly heard an excited gasp from Passiflora. Milly looked over and saw a tiny blue spark fluttering in Passiflora’s palm.

“Milly! Milly! Look!” Passiflora said excitedly, holding the spark up for Milly to see. It disappeared as a slight breeze blew past, as if it were a candle in the wind. “Aww… it went away.”

“But you created it,” encouraged Milly. “And I bet you’ll be able to keep it lit even longer tomorrow. I’m proud of you, Passiflora. You’re a clever fairy.”

Passiflora beamed with pride and glanced up at Elder Tidebreaker for his approval.

“You’ve got talent, my dear,” Tidebreaker praised without hesitation, adopting a grandfatherly voice. “You’ll be better than this witch before long. Though that won’t be much of a feat. She’s quite bad at it.”

Milly pressed her healing palm hard into Tidebreaker’s shoulder, and he squawked with displeasure.

“Why don’t you go show Whitewing what you learned, Passi?” Milly prompted the fairy girl. “She’ll be impressed. Maybe she can give you guidance on where to focus next.”

Milly spotted Calista on the beach, newly arrived and huddled with the Chief Elder to brief him on the morning’s activities. She and Calista always met at the Inlet of New Beginnings after lunch –Calista exhausted from the morning’s drama with the CEOs. They spent the afternoon in the company of the fairies to help them settle into their new home. They would hunt elk in the mountains, or fish off the shore. Milly would build rocky homes to replace the rickety lean-tos. Calista would meet with the elders on defensive tactics, and Milly would clear a path so they could begin to build their own wall.

Calista would recount that day’s frustrations with Stone and Brass and, increasingly, Alison, who tried to occupy a neutral position between the Freelancers and CEOs to preserve the peace.

When evening fell, Calista and Milly would sit at the edge of the beach, lean into one another, and eat their supper while they watched Sapphire and her clan swim in the inlet. They would stay there until the sun set behind the pines, allowing themselves to simply enjoy the world around them.

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

Milly knew their routine would not last. The Event Timer still ticked away in the lobby, an ever-present reminder that this peace was but a fleeting thing.

“Will I see you tomorrow, Milly?” asked Passiflora before they parted for the day.

Milly gave Passiflora a noncommittal shrug. “I don’t know, Passi. I’ll have to talk with Cally. Tidebreaker here was the last of your people who need healing…”

“You left me to last, witch,” accused the elder.

“You wouldn’t let me heal you until yesterday, you stubborn old gull,” Milly countered. “And your shoulder got infected because of it. Don’t go and blame me for your own stupidity.”

The elder grunted his displeasure at the insolent outsider, which made Passiflora giggled.

“Your home is developing into its own little town, Passi. You may not need me anymore,” Milly continued.

“We’ll always need you, Milly,” protested Passiflora, her cheeks puffed out in mock anger.

The girl hesitated, as if she wanted to say something more.

“What is it, Passi?” Milly encouraged. She had learned to see when a question was on the tip of Passiflora’s tongue.

“Nobori… Nobori says you’re a goddess. He’s building a shrine to you and Cally in the woods. Is she… are you…?”

“No, Passi, I’m not a goddess,” Milly sighed. “I’m just a woman, like you, trying to survive in this strange world.”

We’re both prisoners here, Passi. You just don’t know it yet.

They hadn’t told anyone what they had seen in the memory orb. The implications for both the players and the fairies had been hard to wrap their minds around.

I need to have a serious talk with Nobori though. This goddess nonsense has going too far. If Stone and Brass find out they are building a literal shrine to us, they’re not going to handle it well.

“Oh…,” Passiflora said, disappointed. “Well, you might not be a goddess, but you are my hero.”

“I’m no hero either, Passi,” Milly mumbled self-consciously. “I’m just Milly. A few weeks ago, I didn’t even want to be who I was.”

“Then what did you want to be?” Passiflora asked curiously.

Nothing. I wanted to be nothing at all.

“It’s not important,” Milly replied.

This time, it was Milly that hesitated. She needed to ask Passiflora a question, but she had held off to spare the girl grief, and because Milly didn’t know if she truly wanted to know the answer.

I need to know. Only has she grown to trust me enough?

“Passi… what happened between you and Xavier?” Milly asked cautiously.

Passiflora went white as a ghost and her knees began to shake. There was fear in her eyes, though behind that fear was a glint of something more. Something angry.

Is that… hate?

“I’ve… I’ve got to go, Milly,” Passiflora mumbled as she backstepped and ran towards Whitewing. “Umm… see you tomorrow.”

“Yah, see you, Passi,” Milly said, as Calista arrived at her side.

“She hasn’t opened up yet?” Calista asked curiously as she watched the fairy girl speed away.

“No, not yet,” replied Milly as she held Calista’s hand and led her to their usual spot at the edge of the beach. “She’s terrified of him.”

“What will you do?”

“Keep trying, I guess. At least until Xavier wakes up, and I can extract the story from his lying lips,” Milly answered harshly.

Calista had stopped at Billy’s BBQ for lunch and handed Milly her share.

“You're hangry again, my love. Here, eat.”

Milly’s mouth watered as she bit into the roasted mushroom.

“Oh my god. How does he cook like that? It’s so good,” Milly said with her mouth full.

“He’s got that magic spatula,” answered Calista. “He’s basically cheating, though he’ll claim it’s because of his phenomenal culinary skills. Ying said she doesn’t care which it is. She’ll stick with him as long as he keeps cooking like that. Lucky guy better not lose that spatula. Oh, and speaking of delicious food…”

Calista pulled out a small bundle wrapped in cloth from her inventory, her face twisted with mischief.

“You’ll want to finish your mushroom first though,” Calista advised. “This isn’t exactly dessert.”

“Oh, Cally, please tell me that’s not…” Milly said with a groan. “I thought we were going to wait until Rain woke up. Or… you know… we could never eat it.”

“Rain will have her share when she wakes up. But right now, we need every advantage we can get. It was another tough morning. Brass was in her usual form, shouting at the top of her lungs about wanting to be the arbiter of all disputes at the tower. She and Stone want to establish her as some kind of judge, with a trial process and everything. Can you fucking believe that?”

“Yah, I’m sure Brass will be nothing but fair,” Milly scoffed. “Especially to you and me.”

“Obviously, Elmer didn’t agree, but Alison was unusually silent. Stone and Brass are up to something, Milly. I can feel it. We need to be ready.”

Milly knew where this conversation was going. They had been avoiding the discussion for days, lost in the trappings of their simple, peaceful routine. They had not ventured back into the wilds since they had returned to the Castle of Glass, save to hunt, so their levels had not budged since the arena. All around them, players were growing stronger, and a few were on the cusp of hitting level twenty and selecting their classes.

“We need to get back out there, don’t we?” Milly concluded. “We need to stay ahead of them.”

Calista nodded and unwrapped the package.

“I think this will, unfortunately, help.”

Milly gagged.

Calista help the two meals in her palms – the Fairy Killer Roast and Gorath’s Fingers – cooked well done on the barbecue with a slight char around the edges. Despite its magic, Billy’s spatula couldn’t make either look appetizing.

“Oh god…” Milly said, as she held up one of Gorath’s fingers.

Gorath’s Fingers (cooked)

This is a unique meal. In its cooked form, consuming Gorath’s Fingers permanently increases the player’s strength by eight.

“Fuck… that’s a good bonus,” Milly said with regret. She had hoped, deep inside, that its impact would be minimal so she didn’t have to go through with this.

“Bottom’s up?” Calista said as she held up her own finger.

They clinked their fingers together, as if making a toast, and popped the fingers into their mouths.

Milly nearly vomited. The finger tasted of old leather and musk, its meat tough and chewy. She swallowed as quickly as she could and tried to wash away the flavor with another mushroom.

It didn’t work.

“That’s… not as bad as I expected,” Calista said as she licked her fingers.

Milly stared at her girlfriend with disgust as she felt the finger’s strength bonus take effect.

“You should have seen some of the meat my dad made us eat while we were hunting,” Calista laughed. “Ever had a pan-fried frog?”

“Cally, I’m trying not to throw up that finger. Please don’t be gross,” Milly begged.

“Well, one down, one to go, honey.”

Milly held up the roast.

Fairy Killer Roast (cooked)

This is a unique meal. In its cooked form, consuming Fairy Killer Roast permanently increases the player’s toughness by eight.

“It’s got to be better than fingers, right?” Milly hoped, as they cut off a slice and popped it into their mouths.

She was wrong.

* * *

That night, Milly and Calista walked hand-in-hand along the beach to their secret bathing pool, where they had first confessed to each other – where Calista had clumsily expressed her feelings for Milly, and Milly had answered with their first kiss.

In that secret place, under the starry sky, they made love on a blanket in the sand, then settled into the tropical bathing pool and let the current carry their worries away. For a brief moment, they forgot about the CEOs and the dangers that awaited them, and simply enjoyed their first bath together and the sights of the beautiful world around them.

When the moon had risen high above them, they lazily strolled home to the Castle of Glass. They fell into their bed, another day behind them, and soon Milly heard the snores of her lover drift across their bedroom. She had grown used to the rhythm, and soon she too was asleep in Calista’s arms, her soul filled with contentment and happiness.

Knowing that tomorrow, their routine would be broken, and they would be deep into the God Contest once more.