The Dark Fairy King
Chapter 82: Treason

Chapter 82: Treason

"What did you say?" The King’s voice rang through the palace.

I stood tall, spine straight, defiance thrumming through every bone. A smirk tugged at my lips.

"Well, beloved Love Fairy King," I said clearly, "is this where you’re at now? Yelling when things don’t go your way? Like a spoiled child?"

Gasps rippled through the court.

Doverel’s hand flew to her mouth.

"Scarlette—have you lost your mind?"

"No," I said darkly. "All of you did. And none of you can see it."

The King’s voice turned low, cold.

"And what does being a Love Fairy mean to you, if not helping others fall in love?"

I didn’t flinch.

"It means teaching communication. Helping people understand themselves. Real love is messy. Earned. It’s vulnerability, strife, truth. What you do?" I stepped forward. "That’s not love. That’s control. And I’m the mirror you’ve spent centuries avoiding."

His face darkened.

"I’ve never heard such nonsense. If we did things your way, our race would die out before love even began."

He still didn’t recognize me. We’d fought side by side. He’d locked me up. Forgotten me.

"I am your King!" he bellowed.

I didn’t blink.

"Your Majesty," I said coolly, "forcing love destroys what makes it real."

He stepped closer, his presence suffocating.

"You’ve got guts, little fairy," he growled. "But you need to know your place. I’ll make an example of you."

My hands trembled. Then I snapped.

"Do you seriously not recognize me, Baltimore?" My voice cracked through the room like thunder. "After everything?"

He paused. Confusion flickered, then vanished.

"It’s KING Baltimore!" he roared. "No—I’ve never seen you before in my life. And that’s coming from me, the First Love Fairy. But you?" His sneer cut deep. "This will be the last we hear of you."

The words hit like a blade. I had once been his Queen. Now I was nothing.

He even had the audacity to say he was the first Love Fairy.

And then it confirmed everything I suspected. The Emerald.

He used it. He erased me from memory—even his own.

"No," I breathed. Then, louder:

"No! It was me! I am the First Love Fairy! You erased me from history—even from your own mind!"

Laughter burst from the crowd. Cruel. Mocking.

"You laugh? The Queen of Hearts and Ruin — your myth — stood before you all along."

Baltimore scoffed.

"That old legend? She never existed. You’d have more luck calling yourself the boogeyman. She is just make-believe."

He didn’t know. Not anymore or he would not speak like that.

None of them did.

I looked down at the emerald on my belt. My fingers brushed it—cold, unforgiving.

He had stolen everything. And now he stood there as if it had always been his.

"You’ll suffer for this," I whispered. "You’ll pay."

From the cracks in the floor, scarlet mist began to rise. Slow. Serpentine. Alive.

"Treason!" the King bellowed. "GUARDS! Seize her! Strip her of her magic!"

He turned to an attendant.

"Fetch me my Emerald. Now!"

Guards surged forward.

But I was no longer the fragile fairy he had once silenced.

"Looking for this?" I held the emerald high, its eerie glow washing over the room before I tucked it back into place.

The King froze.

"Change of plans," he snapped. "Execute her. Seize her now!"

I didn’t flinch. My lips curled into a cold smile.

"Execute me? For doing what’s right? For surviving your prison?" I scoffed. "After you erased me?"

The mist thickened around me, pulsing with rage and purpose.

"Careful now."

He recoiled.

"What is this magic?" he gasped. "What wand are you using?"

"Wand?" I smirked. "I don’t need a wand."

"This is the magic of obsession. Fitting for a control freak like you."

Around us, the mist curled tighter, coiling around the guards.

"They’ll obey your every word now. Every breath you take. Just like you always wanted."

The King turned to Elder Arisa.

"What’s happening?!"

She stepped forward, but the mist lashed out—shattering her wand in a flash of red light.

Gasps erupted.

Arisa lunged, but the mist caught her. Slithered into her nose. Her ears.

"Oh, I’ve always wanted to do this," I murmured. "It’s going to hurt."

Red tendrils stabbed through her mind like shards of memory. Her body spasmed. She dropped.

Sobs tore out of her, primal and broken.

A heartbreak spell. Easy.

The King stood frozen.

"Get the elders!" he shouted.

He tried to run.

I was in front of him in an instant.

"You asked what a Love Fairy is," I said. "Now I’m showing you."

His face twisted in disgust.

"This is forbidden magic! You’ve corrupted the purity—"

"Purity?" I laughed bitterly. "Rich, coming from a false king who erased his only equal."

Panic rippled through the court.

Doverel stepped forward, her voice soft.

"Scarlette... what have you done?"

Our eyes met.

For a breath, something flickered in me. Regret?

"You forced me into this," I said, cold.

"This isn’t you," she pleaded. "You heal people. You save lives."

Her words cut deep. She still believed in the fairy I used to be.

But that fairy was long gone.

"I’m not your savior," I snapped. "Not anymore. It’s time they understood what love magic really means—and what it costs."

Tears welled in her eyes.

I turned back to the King, my voice low.

"I healed you once. Six centuries ago. During the Dark Fairy invasion. I saved your life."

He blinked, confused.

"That... that was you?"

"You forgot," I spat. "Because you erased me."

His fury boiled over.

"Don’t expect forgiveness for this treason. You will be punished."

"Insubordination?" I laughed. "You insubordinated me. I am the rightful Queen. The first."

He drew a wand.

I stepped on it.

"Bad idea," I said. My voice went cold.

The red mist surged.

It rushed into him. His eyes went wide.

Then—a wound split open across his chest. Blood spilled fast and hot.

He gasped, choking.

"You’ll see," I whispered. "The attack did happen. And now... I’ve taken back my healing."

Screams echoed.

Guards rushed to his side—but they were already under my magic. They wept into his robes. Whispered devotions. One clutched his ankle like a child Worshipped him like the god he always pretended to be.

"Please... please say I’m your favorite," one begged, nuzzling against his hand.

"Help me..." the King whimpered.

"Sorry it has to be this way," I whispered into his mind. "But look what you made me do."

He collapsed.

His blood pooled beneath him. The court erupted in chaos.

And I... I vanished.

My form dissolved into shadow, my voice the last thing that remained.

"I gave you every chance. And you chose this."

The screaming behind me was nothing compared to the silence inside me.

The real sorrow?

Standing in a room full of your own kind—

—and feeling completely alone.