The Dark Fairy King
Chapter 70: Not Quite The End

Chapter 70: Not Quite The End

Dark tendrils wrapped around us as we prepared to move.

A little dramatic, but this is the most efficient way to travel, by shadows.

"Arghhh!" Warren screamed as his brown protection bubble popped into existence—his shield reacting instinctively.

I was too busy laughing at his reaction to explain anything.

A moment later, we appeared on the palace balcony, facing a roaring sea of fairies dressed in red, yellow, and black tunics.

Warren nearly threw up. Scarlette reached out and steadied him.

"What in the—" he gasped, blinking at the endless crowd stretched beyond the hills.

The shouting had already begun:

"King Veravos! We love you!"

"Queen Scarlette, you are the best!"

"King Veravos, you’re so handsome!"

Yes. Their words. Not mine.

Lumera giggled, pointing at Warren. "He’s getting the heebie-jeebies."

Devran grinned. "Relax, budding Love Fairy elder. You’ll get used to this."

Warren looked like he was about to faint. Scarlette walked to my side.

The shadows gathered to form a crown above my head, and a velvet robe made from crow feathers swept behind me.

Scarlette took my hand, a crown of red hearts forming above hers.

"Ready?" she asked.

"More than ever," I smiled.

But she lingered on my face, searching me.

"What? No last-minute warnings?" I teased.

"I’m not here to stop your chaos," she chuckled. "I’m here to back you up—if it crumbles."

"As always," I laughed.

Behind us stood our council: Lumera, Devran, and now Warren—still visibly lost.

"Psst," he whispered to Devran. "Do we take notes?"

"Oh, yes," Devran deadpanned. "Word for word."

Warren scrambled to pull out a pen and paper.

Was no one going to tell him?

Lumera, naturally, was waving at someone in the crowd.

"My cousin’s right there!" she beamed at Warren, who looked like he might cry.

I signaled a guard below. Within seconds, the crowd fell silent.

I looked at them—my people.

The palace workers. The Light Fairies, the Love Fairies, the Dark Fairies.

Waiting.

"My fellow Fairies," I began, my voice carrying across the kingdom.

"The United Fairy Kingdom is a place of dreams. Of stories. Of second chances. It’s my home—and yours."

They nodded. Silent. Listening.

"Before I go further, ask yourselves three questions:

What is Love?

What is Light?

What is Darkness?"

A pause. Stillness.

"Simple questions. But these are our roots—roots of magic, roots of who we are.

They collide. They blur. They shape us."

I gestured to Scarlette.

"I may be the Dark Fairy King, but I married a Love Fairy Queen—Scarlette, the Queen of Hearts and Ruin.

She taught me that every root matters—and that hope lives in our differences."

Scarlette smiled at me, quietly proud.

"Though we’re different, we’re parts of the same body.

A Light Fairy might cast beams. A Dark Fairy, blades. A Love Fairy, shields.

And because of those differences—we make each other stronger."

The council behind me smiled—Lumera gleaming, Devran smirking, Warren still clutching his pen.

"And that is the kind of king I want to be.

A King who loves the Light, the Dark, and Love itself.

A King who values balance, who stands for unity."

The applause began—soft at first, then louder.

"A King who supports equal opportunities for work. Equal housing."

Cheers rose higher.

"A King who believes in Mixed-Fairy marriages—even if some of you hesitate."

Some hesitant claps. Uneasy murmurs.

"Yes, I hear your hesitation. Because differences can be frightening.

But don’t you see? We’re all more alike than we think. At the end of the day, we are all Fairies."

My tone dropped, darkening.

"But peace requires hard work, understanding and acceptance. It is delicate.The United Fairy Kingdom was infiltrated by people who saw the cracks of our system.

By extremists. Mages who called themselves the Anti-Magic Mages.

They hated unity. They radicalized our kin. They sacrificed them... to resurrect Judorah, the Queen of Terror who only wanted endless darkness and full control."

Gasps. Uneasy silence.

"If we don’t stand together—we will fall apart.

Guard your minds. Guard your hearts.

Division begins in silence."

I glanced at Scarlette and raised a finger.

"Perpetrators who aided the extremists will be fined a full year’s wage."

The crowd froze. Jaws dropped.

Scarlette smirked.

"We have palace furniture to repair," I whispered to her.

She chuckled, shaking her head.

Then I raised my voice again.

"And for those still in hiding—know this: the longer you wait to come clean, the steeper the price.

There are reparations to make.

But that’s not the only reason we’ve gathered here today."

I raised my hand.

"Today, I stand with your newly elected Fairy Elders—

the most senior Fairies of their factions."

"Devran of the Dark Fairies."

Devran raised his blades and bowed. Cheers erupted.

"Lumera of the Light Fairies."

She gave a glowing curtsey. Applause swelled.

"And Warren of the Love Fairies."

Warren raised his hands above his head and made a heart sign—

a wonky, ridiculous, crooked heart.

Lumera and Devran burst out laughing.

"Guys, behave," Scarlette scolded, failing to hold back her own smile.

Warren turned beet red.

I looked at them—these chaotic misfits.

My found family.

"Today, I stand with them. My council. My people.

Because we are stronger—together."

After a brief moment of silence, the crowd exploded in cheers. Wings fluttered. Magic lit the sky.

And under the soft light of a new day—

with Scarlette at my side and three disasters behind me—

I knew it.

This wasn’t the end.

It was only the beginning.

After we retreated indoors, Devran placed the prison orb into my hand.

"Here’s Judorah," he said simply.

"You’re giving it to me?" I asked, surprised.

"Well, you gave me a whole dungeon full of royal weapons," he replied. "This is the least I could do."

"But will she ever come out?" I asked, staring at the orb.

That was when Warren peeked from behind Lumera who was hugging Scarlette, scurrying over with curious eyes.

"Is that a prison orb?" he asked. "I could reinforce it, actually. I’m good with containment charms."

Devran eyed him suspiciously. "What does that even mean?"

But Warren had already awkwardly grabbed the orb—nearly dropping it.

"Careful!" Lumera yelped, her hand flying up as the orb flickered red.

"You ruined it!" she wailed.

"Oh, no—I upgraded it," Warren said bashfully. "I just added a protective layer around it."

Scarlette raised an eyebrow, walking closer. "What kind of layer?"

Warren adjusted his sleeves. "If the prisoner inside tries to use her powers to escape, the shield reflects her own magic back. Intensely. It would essentially suffocate her in her own spellwork until she burns herself out. Or dies." He shrugged. "Just a basic reflex ward."

Devran’s jaw dropped. "You’re kinda freaky when you say things like that. And after acting all... nerdy."

Warren scratched his head awkwardly. "I don’t really know how to respond to that...I mean it didn’t explode or anything"

"Explode?" Devran gasped as he dragged Lumera away. "I am out of here, thank you."

Scarlette grinned at Warren, "Interesting you could pull that off still."

He blushed. "I-I didn’t really do much. Just tweaked some things. It sort of... fixed itself."

Scarlette tilted her head, clearly impressed. "Looks like I found my new student," she whispered to me.

I laughed. "You sure know how to pick them."

-The End