"Now that we're all here, let's officially welcome our new member: Mrs Clelia Neumann!" smiled the big girl in the blue dress, the very same one who had invited Clelia in the first place.

"Actually, to be precise, we are not all here: two of us are not participating this evening." The tall one with her blond hair bunched up against the back of her head pointed out blankly.

The former ignored her and started tapping her spoon against her little white cup, to which the other three, including the tall one, followed suit, letting their cups chime like tiny bells.

A delighted squeal escaped from the smallest girl. "I'm so excited to finally have a new friend in the association!"

An elegant smile formed on the luscious red lips of the fourth one. "It has been quite a while, hasn't it? Since we had a new member to celebrate, I mean."

The one who spoke first continued, "Let's introduce ourselves." She placed her hand on top of her sizeable bust.

Clelia smiled politely, "You're Giovanna, right? You introduced yourself to me when you gave me the invitation to today's party."

The big girl's smile found a way to become even wider. "Ah, so you remembered. But you don't know the others, do you?"

The fairy shook her head, trying her best to avoid staring at the girl in the dark red dress at the opposite side of the room.

Like a puppet moved by invisible wires, the tallest girl of the group elegantly adjusted the small glasses resting on her tall nose bridge, which ended in a tiny graceful upwards curve. "I am Mrs Longo, Adelaide Longo. I would appreciate to be referred to as Mrs Longo."

Quivering with elation, the smallest girl out of the bunch gathered her hands together and bubbled, "I'm Teresa! So, so nice to meet you!"

Clelia timidly bowed her head. "Nice to meet you too."

Absentmindedly stirring one of her long, perfect pitch black curls, the final young woman, the one in the red dress, spoke with her sensual voice, "Please, do relax. This is an informal meeting, after all. I'm Marianna Delle Piane, you can just call me Marianna."

It still was difficult not to stare into Marianna's entrancing eyes, which were a shade of brown adjacent to red, making them almost fiery. "Nice to meet you all. You can call me Clelia."

"This is the first time we have to welcome a fairy in our modest ranks," smiled Giovanna with hints of self congratulation. "Only the upper crust of young women and girls of our village can become part of our little association, you see. It's an intimate affair. Since you married into the Neumann family, you absolutely belong here."

Mrs Longo carefully straightened a crease in her skirt. "It is worth noting that you did receive your invitation in unusual circumstances. Usually, we would extend it during functions, at the church, but Giovanna informed us that you don't attend at all. It is the very first time that one in our ranks is not devout enough to participate to any functions. Although," she accusingly glanced towards the beautiful girl in the red dress, "some of us are definitely less pious than others."

Clelia didn't expect to have to bring it up again, considering that she explained it to Giovanna already, but she decided to spell it out once more. "I apologise, but I couldn't participate to your church functions even if I wanted to. As a fairy, I'm bound to the pact that our foremothers sealed with the prophet of your God, so I cannot step on sacred ground, like your churches."

Mrs Longo furrowed her brows as much as they could be reasonably furrowed and then a notch or two more. It looked like she was about to say something, but she ended up just muttering something to herself while making a strange gesture, moving her hand quickly from her heart to her forehead, then back down to her stomach, repeatedly. Clelia was sure she had already seen that gesture before, but couldn't quite put her finger on when.

Bouncing in place on her armchair, little Teresa beamed in her prissy little pink and white dress, "Is it true that you lived in a castle? Rumours say that you lived in a castle! Are you like a princess of the fairies? Is your mother an evil queen?"

Giovanna extended one of her plump arms to try and restrain the young girl at her left. "I'm sorry, my sister has always liked fairy tales."

"I don't mind these questions," Clelia chuckled, before addressing Teresa directly. "I did live in a castle, and I guess you could say that my mother is something like a queen. I wouldn't know about calling me a princess though."

Her eyes kept on wandering back towards Marianna and her splendid eyes. She wore a cream coloured dress with tight fitting and neckline just low enough to show off her magnificent physique. Out of all the girls present, Marianna was by far the closest to the type of stunning beauty that her and Rosalba had been talking about a couple of nights prior. The red lips, the pale silky skin, the perfect hair, the captivating voice. Several times, Clelia had been fascinated with Damian's neckbones and wrists, and she found that her gaze lingered in the same spots with Marianna too. Their shape and texture, although very different from Damian's, were equally captivating. Same thing for the smoothness of the white skin on her perfect neck. She gulped. She was married now, it probably wasn't a good idea to let her eyes wander around that way.

"But I'll tell you something," the fairy continued, still talking to Teresa, "since coming here, I've been happier than through most of my time at my mother's castle."

"Huh? How could that be?" protested the young girl. "Living in a castle is the best, isn't it?"

"Depends on who else lives in the castle," Clelia shrugged. "Think of the meanest person you know: would you like to live in a castle if, to do so, you had to share it with that person forever?"

Little Teresa pouted a bit, caressing the long braid of blond hair that descended from her shoulder. "I guess not."

Marianna suggestively raised a brow, maintaining her captivating smile with natural ease. "Still, going from living in a castle, being waited on hand and foot, to this small village certainly had to be some kind of a shock, yes? Does your husband…" she stopped mid-sentence, and, before continuing, she gave a quick but meaningful glance at young Teresa. "…make you happy?"

Clelia blushed a little. "Well, we haven't been married for long, you know… we're still getting to know each other. But… he is really sweet."

Marianna clicked her tongue, seemingly unsatisfied by that answer. "Damian always was a sweet boy. He was a bit of a pushover as a kid, in fact. Being my cousin, I never saw him that way, you know, but I've been aware of the fact that many of my friends, growing up, seemingly had eyes only for him. Because of how… reserved he's always been, I can't help but be curious: can you describe a little how he is, when the two of you are alone?"

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"You're his cousin?"

"Indeed," she confirmed, "but I'll only tell you about it after you answered my question."

Mrs Longo rolled her eyes. "The way a husband and his wife are behind closed doors is between them and our Lord, not a spectacle for the rest of us to enjoy."

As much as she appreciated the excuse not to be forced to go into more detail with a roomful of strangers, something in that statement rubbed Clelia the wrong way.

"Um, excuse me," she began, "I'm new to human society and there are a lot of cultural elements that escape me. What do you mean by that? How is the private life of a married couple something we share with a lord?"

The tall girl gasped and placed her hand on her chest, as if to keep her heart in place. "Why, how can you be so ignorant on the ways of our Lord? The Lord of Light, the almighty creator, the beacon of our hopes and master of all that is holy."

Clelia repressed the impulse to slap her own forehead. Of course Mrs Longo had been referring to the Lord of Light: humans, after all, had an even closer relationship with their God than fairies had with their foremothers.

"I still don't get it, though," Clelia puzzled. "Our foremothers weren't gods, but they still were too powerful to care about something as insignificant, in the grand scheme of things, as a couple, and the way they are in private. Wouldn't a god be above even that?"

An elegant chortle erupted from the beautiful girl in red. "You make a fantastic point. Perhaps, He may be above something as petty as that, but the same couldn't be said of His servants on earth, who try to brighten their boring lives by being insufferable busybodies."

Mrs Longo opened her mouth with a furious scowl, but Marianna cut her off before she had time to even get started, nonchalantly checking her fingernails. "Of course, I'm not trying to specifically single out anyone else in this room, I'm just pointing out a trend I've noticed. If someone were to get offended by such a general remark as mine, perhaps they should look inside and try to understand why they feel called out."

Giovanna clapped her hands a couple of times to get everyone's attention. "Girls, girls, come on, we're here to have a nice time together, there is no need to spoil the mood with this kind of subjects. Let's try something else: have you heard who is going to be at the opera, tomorrow?"

Mrs Longo's eyes twinkled. "Why, of course! My husband, after all, got out of his way to get me a ticket for loge seats."

"Ooh, so lucky!" bubbled Teresa.

"Damian and I are going too. It will be my first time seeing an opera: what should I expect?"

"If I am not mistaken," answered Marianna, "for tomorrow's event they're going to play Rigolino, one of Maestro Azzurri's most famous works. It's a tragedy with love, betrayals, and curses. You're very lucky to have tomorrow's representation be your first opera: Maestro Toscanetti will be conducting, and the lead tenor will be Carusi. Not everyone can have one of the best conductors of our time and one of the best tenors to be their very first introduction to opera."

Giovanna sighed. "So, will Teresa and I be the only ones in our association not to go? My husband told me he'll take me some other time, when the tickets aren't quite as expensive. One Rigolino is as good as the next, if you ask him, all the extra cost is smoke and mirrors to squeeze more money out of the rich and those who like to pretend to be rich."

"I mean no offence," started Mrs Longo, with ill-concealed pride in her smile, "but that's why your husband works in personnel and mine in sales: my darling does understand the subtleties of high society and how to get the attention of those who matter."

Giovanna waved her hand dismissively. "No offence taken, you are absolutely right. Dario may be a hard worker, but he's so boorish at times."

Stirring one of her luxurious black locks again, Marianna commented, "It's not just about the opera and who plays it either. Before the show, after, and during the breaks there will be plenty of chances to socialise with a lot of important people, and chances like those are priceless. Tell me, Clelia: how up to date are you, when it comes to the goings on, gossips, and rumours?"

The fairy shook her head. "I'm not up to date at all. I've had… a lot on my hands, since after the wedding."

"Ooh," cooed Giovanna, "then we absolutely need to fill you in! After all, your marriage has been under the spotlight for a few days too, so it's likely that people will try to get your attention and speak to you, which means you can't afford to be completely unaware of everything."

They proceeded to fill her in. Clelia did her best to show interest, although she found it difficult to commit a lot of attention to much of the gossip concerning public figures she knew nothing about to begin with.

"What else is there?" Wondered Giovanna at some point, while Clelia did her best not to noticeably nod off.

Adjusting her small glasses, Mrs Longo intervened. "It's a few months old news, at this point, but I suppose it might come up. Earlier this year, for months on end, the entire country was ravaged by riots and uprisings, mainly protesting stuff like our defeat in Habesha, the rising costs of living, working conditions… you know, the usual."

This shook Clelia off of the drowsiness caused by the previous topics. "Riots? For months on end? How did your kingdom deal with that?"

Marianna sipped out of her flowery porcelain cup. "Well, suffice it to say that, tomorrow, going to the opera, there's a chance you may still see in the square some craters caused by the cannons."

"If you ask me," Mrs Longo huffed, "they should have deployed the wizards. With all of the subsidies they get from the King's Treasury, the least they could do is to show up in times of crisis. All those barbarians causing a mess all over the place deserved more than the cannons."

Teresa pouted. "We didn't go to the circus because of the riots. I'm glad they're over."

Giovanna intervened, "The riots may be over, but it's still far from safe out there. Lately, the papers have been reporting on a wave of petty crimes, especially committed by very young people."

Marianna clicked her tongue again. "Even our village has been touched by this. Some people have been taking advantage of the new legal reform that bans convicting minors of eighteen years of age in most circumstances."

Clelia couldn't help but think about Rosalba, the way she had broken into her house, and her admitting it hadn't been the first time. Come to think of it, it had been a few days since the last time she had heard from her: hopefully, she was fine.

Mrs Longo addressed Marianna. "I know you very well: I'm sure you know something we don't. How about you spill the beans?"

With the slightest hint of a smile, Marianna sipped again. "I'm afraid I can't disclose many details just yet. It's for legal reasons, so don't insist. But I can tell you that there is a bit of a doozy waiting to be unveiled, something that happened very recently."

The beautiful girl laid down the empty cup with a satisfied grin. "Hopefully, this might help shifting the discourse in a way that will lead to decent people being protected once more. A criminal is a criminal, no matter their age, if you ask me."

There was something ominous in those words that caused a chill to run down Clelia's spine. Up until that moment, the beauty of the girl in the red dress had been one of the things that had captured her attention the most, in that little get together, but her tone in talking about stuff like that caused her to see her in a different light. It made her consider how Rosalba's fate could have been much different if Marianna had caught her red handed instead of herself: it was true that she had been upset at Rosalba for what she had done, at first, but she was very glad that she ultimately ended up befriending her instead of turning her in.

And it wasn't just about Rosalba either. Clelia's stomach churned as she remembered someone else she once knew who had been, by all accounts, judged as nothing more than a criminal.

"I think it's not a bad thing to show clemency sometimes," Clelia replied. "People make mistakes, and I don't think it's right to ruin someone's life because of just one mistake, especially if they're young."

Marianna chuckled. "Of course, I cannot agree more. This doesn't apply, however, to someone who makes the same mistakes again and again, and even less so if the mistakes they make keep on getting bigger and bigger. Clemency is one thing, but to allow others to step all over us in the name of clemency is nothing if not foolish. At some point, we have to recognise that a mistake is no longer a mistake, but a deliberate act of malice, and bad faith actors have no place in society."

Approving murmurs and nods came from all the other girls, so Clelia found herself nodding along, incapable of finding a satisfying response. Something deep inside of her, however, called her a coward for doing so.

Even as they moved on to different topics, Clelia was incapable of shaking off the uneasy feeling that that conversation had implanted in her.