The Dark Fairy King
Chapter 33: Shopping Isn’t For The Weak

Chapter 33: Shopping Isn’t For The Weak

"You two are a couple, aren’t you? Mixed Fairy Couple?" the spice stallkeeper asked with a curious grin.

"What gave it away?" I asked with a smirk.

"Well," he said, "you don’t see many of you. Especially not with a Dark Fairy involved. It’s rare—but... beautiful to see up close."

He paused.

"There must’ve been... a lot of cultural differences. Some Fairies don’t like it, though. They have a name for it. Not a nice one."

I stared at him visibly confused. Scarlette gave me a blank look as well.

He then leaned in slightly. "Mutt Fairy Couple. Terrible thing to call anyone, if you ask me."

Scarlette’s hand tightened around the baskets just slightly. I noticed, because I nearly dropped my own. My smile felt glued on, brittle as sugarglass.

But neither of us said anything more.

The market felt louder suddenly. Brighter. As if the warmth from the spices couldn’t quite chase the chill settling between the cracks.

As we walked away from the stall, Scarlette whispered, "What the heck was that?"

"Bigotry. That’s what." I replied, unamused. "Disappointing."

I lowered my voice. "Scar... Mutt Fairy couple."

She frowned. Not the kind you flash when something annoys you—this one dug deeper, settling in her eyes.

"Yeah, I don’t like that. Especially not when we’re supposed to be ruling this place. Doesn’t the Kingdom know that a Dark Fairy King and a Love Fairy Queen sit on the throne?"

She held my hand and looked into me—really into me. I hugged her close, tighter than usual.

"Don’t worry," I promised. "We’ll get to the bottom of this."

She sighed. "So much for an off day. What do you plan to do?"

"Trigger them, of course," I said with a grin.

"So much for an off day," Scarlette sighed again, cradling her precious chilies like they were treasure.

"Still think shopping’s relaxing?" I muttered, brushing my thumb over hers.

"What else do we need to buy?" she asked, a little too cheerfully. "We can start there."

I scanned the street. Cobblestone paths, crooked wooden signs swinging in the breeze, half-broken carts with shaded cloth covers—until something caught my eye. A shop with a pink-etched sigil above the door, shaped like a heart pierced by an arrow.

A Love Fairy shop.

"Bigotry always begins with our own kind," I said, dryly. "Will Ravos the pseudo Love Fairy be loved by his fellow Love Fairies or be treated with disdain?"

Scarlette grinned. "Here we go again, starting drama."

"Why? Do you dislike it?" I challenged, but she remained unfazed.

"Why would I? Don’t leave me out from all the fun, Ver... I mean, Ravos." She coughed.

"Don’t blow our cover. That is all I ask." I reminded, and she nodded earnestly.

I tugged Scarlette into the Love Fairy shop. The air smelled like rosewater and jasmine. In the center, a wooden table shaped like a heart showcased lavender oils, shimmering perfumes, and charm trinkets. Shelves displayed glittering amulets and keychains. Behind the counter sat rings—gold, silver, jade, volcanic black. Some even held diamonds and celestial stones.

"Did you spot the perfect trigger?" I whispered.

Scarlette shrugged, but I was about to make the best purchase of all.

"Hi there, fellow Love Fairies!" I greeted with my brightest, most insufferable smile. "Can I get a ring for my lover?"

I gestured to Scarlette.

Their smiles dropped. Every single one.

"Come along, Charlotte dear. We need to find something that suits you."

Scarlette rolled her eyes but played along, joining me with the deadliest of glares. The staff began pulling out their collection.

Then came the whispers.

"Wait... is she a Dark Fairy?"

"You’re with a Dark Fairy?"

"They’re one of those modern abominations," muttered a third.

The room chilled. A beat passed. Then another. Their gazes slid from me to Scarlette and back again, like we were a riddle they didn’t want to solve.

"Sorry," a senior fairy finally said, clearly the owner. "We don’t serve Mutt Fairy couples."

The word landed like a slap. My ears rang. I almost forgot where I was.

Shadows began to tremble around me. My temper surged like a stormcloud.

Scarlette grasped my hand tightly.

"Don’t," she warned. "We need answers."

"Isn’t our King and Queen a mixed Fairy couple too?" she asked, voice calm but firm. "Why is there so much hate?"

"It’s a charade," the owner scoffed. "A class act. They want to appear united. But everyone knows unity like that doesn’t happen. We’re built different. You don’t mix oil and water."

"Someday that Dark Fairy King’s going to snap," hissed a pale fairy with roses braided into her hair.

"Eat the Queen alive," another muttered, his wings twitching with disgust.

"It sends the wrong message," a younger fairy chimed in. "You, for example," she said to me, "You’re a heartthrob of a Love Fairy. Why settle for something as unstable as her?"

"She’s pretty though," added one with glittering eyes. "For a Dark Fairy."

I clenched my fist in anger. The lights in the room started to flicker.

They called me a heartthrob — but would they say the same if they truly knew me?

They judged Scarlette — or in this case Charlotte, the counterfeit Dark Fairy.

But Scarlette wasn’t a Dark Fairy at all. It was just her disguise. It worked well, too well.

She was the first Love Fairy, born from pure magic itself.

And me? I wasn’t Ravos.

I am not the Love Fairy I introduced myself to be.

It was but a lie.

I am a Dark Fairy who happens to be their King.

Funny how masking our true identities could reveal so much truth.

"Get a grip on your dark magic," Scarlette mouthed as she glared at me.

Then she gave a fake cough.

"You guys might want to look at that," Scarlette pointed at the flickering lights to the Love Fairies. Distracting me from my anger, momentarily.

"Come on," she said, tugging me gently. "Let’s take our business elsewhere."

I followed her out, fists still clenched, the air around me rippling with contained rage.

"I wanted to tear them apart," I growled. "Limb from limb."

"And you’d prove their point that Dark Fairies do not belong with Love Fairies," she said, unshaken.

"They won’t get away with this. I’ll evict them. Shut them down."

"Veravos," she said, "they’re your people too. I don’t think they’d think this way without reason. If one shop is full of Love Fairies that speak like this, there will be others. We need to know why. Besides, ruling by terror? Not your style."

I sighed at the brevity of her words.

"So much for an off day, indeed."

But this wasn’t just a ruined off day anymore.

It was the first crack in the glass.

The beginning of something deeper—

A rot beneath the shimmering peace of the United Fairy Kingdom.

As Scarlette and I walked, my anger began to ebb—slowly, stubbornly.

A few bumps were expected, sure. But I was still spending the day with my favorite person.

That remained an unshakable fact.

Bigotry was cruel, seeping in from the streets like smoke—but holding Scarlette’s hand made it bearable.

We stopped at a quaint bakery, its windows misted with warmth and sugar. From outside, I caught the scents of fresh milk, honey, and cinnamon curling through the air—a tempting promise of sweetness and comfort. A few fairies did a double take when they saw us—Love Fairy and Dark Fairy. Scarlette caught the shift in their gazes and squeezed my hand.

She gave me a look—steady, grounding. I nodded. She walked in alone while I stayed outside, keeping watch.

"Did you see that?" someone whispered across the street.

"That Dark Fairy is with a Love Fairy..."

I shot a glare in their direction. They shrank back instantly, one nearly yelping.

Damn it. I nearly blew my cover.

I scanned the street. No other witnesses. Then—

"Here," Scarlette said, holding something out.

A small bread, golden-brown and shaped like a Kitsune.

"Thought you’d like this," she smiled. "Looks kind of like little Juniper, doesn’t it?"

"Juniper is way more adorable," I chuckled.

"Take a bite," she insisted.

"No," I said firmly. "It’s too cute to eat."

She raised a brow. "You’re seriously going to keep it like that?"

"Yes," I declared, holding it behind my back like a prized artifact. "It looks like a little stuffed toy. I’m going to admire it. Forever."

"It’s bread, not a trophy," she muttered, a smile tugging at her lips. "But you do you."

I grinned and peered into the shop window. There were more on the shelf.

"It needs a friend."

"Veravos," she hissed, "we have three baskets of chili and one bread. We didn’t bring a carriage or guards."

I sighed. She had a point. Still, the Kitsune bread in my hand made the world feel a little less bitter.

"So the cashier’s a Light Fairy, the baker’s a Dark Fairy, and the owner’s a Love Fairy," Scarlette gushed.

"They’ve been doing this for generations, apparently."

I smiled, almost forgetting the unpleasant encounter from the previous shop.

"This is more like the world we built," I said softly. "Harmony between Fairies. Equal opportunities."

Then, just across the street, I spotted a lone stall that wasn’t on the map. A Dark Fairy stall.

"Let’s take a look at that too?" Scarlette tugged me along, curiosity winning out.

It was a small booth with cluttered shelves and glass vials arranged haphazardly. A lone Dark Fairy sat beside it, dressed in black and grey robes, looking thoroughly bored.

"I’m starting to think this new world is full of cosmic jokes," I muttered, as we spotted a familiar face. I recognised that Dark Fairy. Apparently, so did Scarlette.

"Wait—isn’t that Devran?" she whispered. "What’s he doing here?"

Yes. Devran. The Dark Fairy who used to live in the woods neighboring mine, back in the old world—before Scarlette and I rewrote reality.

He’d tried to harm us. Got himself killed for blind loyalty to the Dark Queen.

But now? He was just... a stall keeper.

Apparently, this version of him was more subdued. No way he’d recognize us. Rewritten reality and all.

"Ha. To think he’s a stall keeper now," I muttered.

"It’s an honest living. Though unexpected," Scarlette shrugged.

"Let’s be nasty customers..." I teased.

Scarlette was not amused.

"He doesn’t even remember us. Come on, Ver... Don’t be petty. Can’t we just check out what he’s selling?"

But I kept silent. I was going to have a little fun.