“The city has been going wild about what you did.” Kalyani said as she cooked. “Braving the fae all by yourself and bringing everyone home? You’ve become a legend.”

  “I don’t think it was that big a deal.” Seren said.

  “Not that big a-” Kalyani’s jaw dropped. “You did what no one else has ever succeeded in doing! No one who’s ever gone to the fae realm has ever come back out again!”

  “Oh,” Seren said. The doorbell rang again.

  “That’s probably another grateful family with a gift for you.” Kalyani said. “Why don’t you answer it?” Seren frowned but got up from the bar. They opened the front door to see Wilbur and Kyi on the other side of it.

  “Seren!” They yelled and both tackled them to the ground.

  “You’re alive!” Wilbur said, the first to break away from the hug.

  “It got pretty dicey there for a while.” Kyi said. “We thought you were dead when we got to the city.”

  “Well I might be now!” Seren objected and shoved their friends back enough they could sit up.

  “We brought you stuff.” Kyi said. Then they pulled out a small wrapped present. “Y’know, cause you’re awesome.” Wilbur smiled and pulled out his own wrapped present.

  “Looks like we aren’t the first.” He said looking at all the other packages waiting in the entry hall.

  “What are these?” Seren asked, taking the boxes.

  “Open them and find out!” Kyi said and put his box into their lap. Seren took Wilbur’s package and opened them both.

  Seren was surprised to find they both contained fae silver necklaces with little bottles that little fae silver stars on the chains next to them. The bottles were sealed with wax. Kyi’s bottle was green and when Seren lifted it the liquid inside shook and turned red and a little gold plaque inside said; ‘fearless’. Seren turned to Wilbur’s. It was blue and when they picked it up it turned purple and the gold plaque inside said; ‘trust’.

  “Look!” Kyi said and pulled a matching one from around his neck. “Cause we’re besties forever.”

  “Forever.” Wilbur said, pulling his matching necklace from around his neck.

  “You guys.” Seren said. Tearing up. They put their necklaces on and then grabbed both their friends in a tight hug.

  “Forever.” They said.

  “And if the fae ever feel bold enough to show their faces here again,” Kyi said, squaring up to fight. “It’ll be us they have to deal with.” Seren laughed hard.

  “I hope that won’t be for a long, long time.” They said, “I’m exhausted.”

  “Ahem.”

  The three looked up to where Eric and Mrs. Houper were standing at the bottom of the stairs.

  “I’m about to get told off now,” Seren whispered. “I’ll catch up with you guys later.”

  “Oof. Good luck.” Wilbur hissed and bolted out the door.

  “Yeaaahh. Seeya.” Kyi patted their shoulder and ran out the door. Both left it wide open. Seren put their trash thoughtfully to the side, then slowly stood up and shut the door. Steadying themself for the reprimand that was coming.

  “Mrs. Houper, please see to the kitchen.” Eric said, completely devoid of emotion. Seren swallowed hard and wished Mrs. Houper would have stayed.

  “I know what I did was wrong.” Seren said, hoping they could get ahead of it. “I shouldn’t have snuck out, I shouldn’t have broken curfew, I shouldn’t have left the city, I shouldn’t have-” Seren didn’t get a chance to finish as they were surprised by Eric suddenly before them and pulling them into a tight hug.

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  “I am so angry with you.” He said as he held them tight. “But I have NEVER been more proud of you.” Seren relaxed and hugged him back.

  “I didn’t think I was gonna come back,” they whispered. The sudden fear they’d been ignoring came down hard on them now. “It was so scary.”

  “I bet. And I don’t EVER want you doing anything like this ever again.” Eric said. Holding them back enough to look in their eyes.

  “I think I have to.” Seren said wiping their tears away and sniffling. “I mean. I don’t want to, and I closed the doorway so they can’t come back that way but. I was the one who stood up to them and made them mad. I think it’s gonna have to be me. I don’t think anyone else can or will.”

  “It was never your-”

  “I know it’s not.” Seren stopped Eric from saying the same excuse. They were tired of hearing it. “But if I didn’t. None of them would home where they belong. Isn’t that the important part? Even if it isn’t my responsibility, isn’t it important that I take it and make a difference?” Eric sighed hard, looking at them even harder.

  “You’re too young for this.” He said finally.

  “And that’s never stopped me before.” Seren shrugged. “People think I’m seventeen. So that means I’m not too young.” Eric nodded slowly. Clearly thinking about something.

  “Breakfast is ready!” Kalyani called and Seren stood up a little straighter.

  “Can I go eat?” They asked.

  “Yeah, go ahead.” Eric said. He stood up and moved out of their way. “When you’re done, get dressed. Wear something nice, you’ve been summoned to see the Queen.”

  “Are they going to tell me off?” Seren asked.

  “I honestly have no idea.” Eric sighed. “In the meantime, I want you to tell me everything. I don’t want a single detail spared. I don’t want to be surprised.”

  “You promise you won’t be mad?” Seren asked as they followed Kalyani into the dining room.

  “To the best of my limited ability.” Eric said, completely deadpan. Seren didn’t feel confident but between bites of breakfast, they told him the whole adventure. From how they found the entrance and escaped and salted the waters to stop anyone from following them. All the while they watched Eric’s face carefully. His expression twitched but stayed steady with absence of emotion.

  “And then I woke up this morning.” Seren said unsteadily. Pushing their empty plate away.

  “I see.” Eric said. “Let’s go up to the study and rehearse your story for the king and queen.”

  “Rehearse?” Seren asked as they got up and took their dishes into the sink.

  “Yes.” Eric said. “There are going to be parts of the story you need to omit. Otherwise you could be considered liable.”

  “Liable for what?” Seren scoffed. Handing Kalyani the dishes and running to the stairs to follow Eric up.

  “If you’re not careful with this story, you could be arrested and imprisoned or worse, exiled entirely.” Eric said.

  “For saving people?!” Seren asked in outrage. “I did the right thing!”

  “Doing the right thing can also mean being in the wrong.” Eric said, “It wouldn’t be just and we can always hope the court of public opinion is in your favor, that will help. But there’s still parts you need to keep to yourself.”

  “Ugggh” Seren whined all the way to the top of the stairs. Entering the study. Eric leaned on his desk and looked at Seren.

  “Stand up straight. Act in confidence.” he said and Seren stood up and took a strong stance. “Leave the premeditation out of it. You didn’t plan on anything. You missed your friend, what’s his name? The other enforcer? Kyle?”

  “Kyi,” Seren corrected.

  “Right, him. You missed him. You got up, do not mention sprites or any gifts from them. You got up and left.” Eric said. “We had no idea you had any plans of this kind. You had no premeditation. You understand that?”

  “Understood. I woke up, missed my best friend and went on impulse.” Seren repeated.

  “Good. Definitely say best friend. That’ll help your case.” Eric said. “You should keep the part where you purposely drew attention to yourself by climbing the walls. You wander and trip and fall into the doorway. You didn’t find it.”

  “No, the queen won’t buy that.” Seren shook their head. “They know I’m fully fae. They were able to see it the minute I walked into the room. The doorway called me to it. The queen will know what and if I lie about something they know, then the queen will doubt other parts of the story.”

  “That’s… understandable. You were called to the doorway.” Eric agreed. “Skip where you free the sprites, I didn’t like how the queen acted when you mentioned sprites last time.”

  “Okay. Then I use fae powers to free the kids and I get captured.” Seren said.

  “No. You escape, just a few minutes after Kyi and Wilbur.” Eric said. “You never interacted with or spoke to the Fae Queen.”

  “Okay. I threw a rock to throw everyone off the trail and escaped.” Seren said. “But Kyi and Wilbur both saw-”

  “They were mistaken. There are no such things as unicorns. Say that back.”

  “They were mistaken, there are no such things as unicorns.” Seren repeated. “We salted the waters… Where’d the salt come from?”

  “You went shopping and forgot to put the salt away and had your bag on you.” Eric explained. “It was a coincidence.”

  “Okay. We heard the guards and ran for safety.” Seren said.

  “Good. Now let’s hear it from the top.”

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