The children had made up songs about her. “Red eyes, red eyes burning bright, stalking through the dead of night. Hide your face and lock your door, or red eyes will come back for more. ” It had been years since the curse took hold, and Poppy had learned to live in the shadows of every village she passed through, a hooded cloak her only shield.
But she couldn’t hide everything. “Please,” she whispered to the herb seller, keeping her voice low. “Just a loaf of bread for these mushrooms. They’re good ones.
Morels, hard to find. ”
The woman didn’t look at her directly. “Keep moving, red eyes. You’re scaring off my customers.
”
Poppy glanced around the empty market stall and said nothing. There were no customers to scare off. There never were when she appeared. She pulled her hood lower, trying to hide the crime that was now her face.
Wolf ears jutted from her skull, covered in coarse brown fur that matched the patches growing across her cheeks and forehead. Her eyes had turned the burning red of a predator, and when she’d opened her mouth to scream that morning years ago, elongated canines had cut into her own tongue. She was caught between forms, not human, not wolf, but something sick and twisted that belonged to neither world. Her stepmother Cordelia had laughed when she’d discovered her, her beautiful face bright with malicious joy.
“Don’t pout, child. That beta needed to see that Luna was his only option. But your curse will break. ” Her eyes had glittered with false sympathy.
“When a man willingly takes you as his bride. ” Then she’d dissolved into cackles because they both knew the truth. No man would ever choose to bind himself to a monster. So Poppy had made her home in the deep woods, trading her knowledge of herbs and roots for the basics she needed to survive.
It wasn’t much of a life, but it was life, and some days that felt like victory enough. Today was not one of those days. She was making her way toward the village outskirts when she heard the commotion near the well. A crowd had gathered, their voices tight with anger and fear.
“I tell you, it was her. Who else would do such a thing? Red eyes will be the death of us all if we don’t act. ”
Poppy’s blood went cold.
She knew that voice. Goodwife Henley, a sharp-faced woman who had been calling for Poppy’s banishment since the day she’d first appeared seeking trade. “We should have run her off months ago. Now look what’s happened.
Poor Widow Ranley’s chickens. All of them slaughtered in the night, torn apart like they’d been mauled by some wild beast. ”
Poppy’s stomach dropped. She’d heard nothing about chickens.
Had been nowhere near the widow’s farm. But the crowd was already murmuring agreement, fear overriding logic. She started to back away, but it was too late. Henley’s sharp eyes found her.
“There! ” she shrieked, pointing directly at Poppy. “There’s Red Eyes herself. ”
Before Poppy could think to run, strong hands seized her arms.
The village constable wouldn’t meet her eyes as he bound her wrists with iron shackles. “Sorry, red eyes. But there’s been a complaint made formal like. Have to take you before the Alpha King for judgment.
”
“But I didn’t do anything,” she whispered, hating how small her voice sounded. “Please, you know I wouldn’t. ”
“Do I? ” He glanced at her face.
“Can’t say I know what you might do, looking like, well, like that. ”
Behind him, Henley smiled with savage satisfaction. “Justice at last. The Alpha King will know how to deal with creatures like this one.
”
As they dragged her toward the waiting cart, Poppy caught a glimpse of movement near Widow Ranley’s fence. Chickens pecking peacefully at the ground. Alive, unharmed, every single one of them. But by then, it was too late for truth to matter.
It always was when you looked like a monster. The cart to the Alpha King’s castle was crammed with thieves, poachers, and debtors who whispered in their chains. Poppy shrank into a shadowed corner, listening. “Heard the king grows harsher,” muttered a gap-toothed man.
“All on account of his sisters. ”
“Poor princesses,” sighed a milk seller. “Fading like they’re drained of life, worn shoes every morning, though they never leave their chambers. ”
“Magic,” hissed the thief.
“What else? Remember the merchant’s son who tried to solve it? Vanished. The hedge wizard, too.
People don’t dare anymore. ”
“The king offers any reward? ” the woman whispered. “But what good’s a reward if you never return?
”
Poppy’s mind began to race. Six princesses growing weaker each day, people disappearing when they tried to help, and a king desperate enough to promise any reward. A plan began to form, desperate and dangerous, and perfectly suited to someone who had nothing left to lose. The castle loomed before them like a mountain of black stone.
They were herded through iron gates and stone corridors until they reached a great hall shrouded in darkness, lit only by flickering candles. But at the center grew something extraordinary: a massive tree with golden bark and leaves that shimmered with their own inner light. Fruit like captured sunlight hung heavy from its boughs. “Beautiful, isn’t it?
” the milk seller whispered. “The king’s treasure tree. They say his riches flow from its fruit. He prizes it more than his crown.
”
Poppy tore her gaze away as the prisoners were arranged before the throne. “Do you admire my treasure, thief? ” The king’s voice cut the air like a blade. “Perhaps you dream of stealing it.
”
On his dark throne sat a man carved from war, broad-shouldered, scarred, gray threading his black hair, eyes like a storm at sea. At his feet lay six princesses, pale and worn, like flowers left too long without water. “No thief could carry away such a tree, your majesty,” Poppy forced her voice steady. “It would take an army.
”
The king’s mouth twitched. “And yet you stand accused of slaughtering livestock. Your tongue will not spare you. Tell me your name.
”
“They call me Red Eyes, your majesty,” she said, chin lifting. “And I am no criminal. If words cannot save me, perhaps my actions will. ”
He leaned forward.
“Why do they call you Red Eyes? What hides beneath that hood? Show yourself. ”
The command brooked no refusal.
With trembling hands, Poppy lowered her hood. Gasps swept the hall. Courtiers shrank back in horror. A woman screamed.
Only the king remained unmoved. “A curse, then? ”
“Yes, your majesty,” she straightened. “Which is why I have nothing left to lose.
I offer myself to discover what afflicts your sisters. ”
“In exchange for freedom and the favor you promised the others,” Poppy replied. The king’s eyes flared. “Your freedom should be favor enough.
”
“With respect, your majesty, I risk my life. Others vanished attempting this, which is why none dare try now. ”
He was silent for a long moment. “Very well.
Three days, starting tonight. Solve the mystery and you shall have freedom and any favor you desire. Fail, and I execute you as planned. ”
“I accept,” Poppy said, and her voice did not waver.
Poppy was lodged in a small chamber beside the princesses’ rooms, given only a narrow cot and a guttering candle. “I’ll be watching you,” one guard growled, taking up his post. “One wrong move toward their highnesses, and curse or no curse, I’ll run you through. ”
But the six princesses themselves seemed too weary to care.
They lay on their beds like wilted blossoms. Though near midnight, one princess rose as if sleepwalking. She drifted toward Poppy with a gentle smile, bearing a steaming cup. “A warm drink for our lady in waiting,” she murmured.
The kindness in her voice nearly undid Poppy, but memory flared. Another cup. Another night. Cordelia’s poisoned milk and false maternal blessing.
“Thank you, your highness,” Poppy said. When the princess turned away, she poured the liquid into her cloak and feigned sleep. The guard accepted his own cup and soon collapsed into snores. An hour passed, then movement.
The princesses rose together, not in nightclothes now, but gowns of silk and starlight. Wordless, they pressed upon an ordinary stretch of floor, which opened to reveal a hidden stair. Poppy shook the guard, but he was lost in drugged slumber. With no choice, she followed the sisters into the dark.
The stairs spiraled endlessly until at last light blossomed ahead. Poppy emerged onto a wide avenue lined with trees whose trunks were not gilded, but gold itself. The sky glowed in twilight, amber and rose washing every surface with unearthly beauty, and music swelled with harps, flutes, voices in perfect harmony. Yet unease prickled her skin.
The place was too flawless, too dreamlike. The avenue ended at a crystalline lake, and at the shore waited boats, each steered by radiant young men. The princesses stepped without hesitation into the boats and drifted across the water. “Does the lady need a ride?
”
Poppy spun around. A man lounged in his own boat, arms crossed casually. His hair was dark as midnight, his features sharp and elegant, with eyes that shifted between silver and deep blue, like the sea. “I…
I have nothing to pay you with, sir,” she mumbled. “Then I shall require no payment,” he said, extending one graceful hand. “Come. ”
Every instinct screamed that this was dangerous, but the princesses were already halfway across the lake.
She climbed into the boat carefully, pointedly not taking his offered hand. She couldn’t bear the thought of him feeling her rough, clawed fingers. “Would the lady like me to take her to the ball? ” he asked, pushing off from the shore.
“The ball? ”
“Well, what did you think the music was for? ” His smile widened. “Yes, please.
” When they reached the far shore, he leaped out with a dancer’s grace and offered his hand again. Poppy ignored it once more, keeping her face turned away. “I do not care about your curse, human child. ” She gasped and ducked her face deeper into her hood.
“Very well. Keep your secrets if you must. ”
The ball unfolded within a vast garden pavilion, carved as though from a single crystal. At the heart of it all danced the six princesses, whirling endlessly.
“What is this place? ” Poppy breathed. “The Fay Court, of course. ”
“The kingdom of the fairies.
” She was about to ask more when she noticed the other fay pointing and laughing. “Why are they laughing? ”
“They find your princesses quite amusing,” her companion said, his tone edged with something darker. “They do look rather silly, dancing themselves to death like windup toys.
They won’t last very long at this rate. ”
Horror shot through Poppy. She started forward, meaning to grab one of the princesses. “Useless.
They won’t hear a word you tell them. They’ve been compelled to come here. ”
“By what? ” Poppy demanded.
“By whom, you mean? They’re here for the Fay King’s amusement. ”
She followed his gaze to a figure at the far end of the pavilion, watching the dancers with profound boredom. “He doesn’t seem very amused.
”
“Oh, believe me, he very much is. ”
The callousness made her stomach turn. “I have to be going. You’ve been most kind, but I need to report back to your alpha.
”
“You should bring him proof. Or he might not believe you. He didn’t believe the others. ”
“The others?
”
“There were others who tried to warn your king. But who would believe such fantastical words? Your world has long forgotten ours. ”
Poppy looked around desperately for something to take as evidence.
“Perhaps a branch from that tree,” her companion suggested, pointing to a crystal tree. “No one will miss it. ”
She reached for the branch. The moment her fingers closed around it, she felt something settle over her, invisible but heavy, like chains made of air and shadow.
“Oh, no,” the man said, his smile turning sharp. “Thank you, for giving me such a good reason to keep you here. ”
“A reason? ”
“There are rules, you see.
We can’t keep humans here against their will unless—” His smile widened. “Unless the human steal something from my realm. Which you did. ”
“You said I could take it,” Poppy snarled.
“I said you should, not that you could. I didn’t give it to you, did I? Which means you’ve stolen from me. ”
“You tricked me.
I demand to speak to your king about this. ”
“Very well. ” He executed a perfect mocking bow. “You’re looking at him.
Valyrian, Fay King of the Silverwood Court, at your service. ”
Poppy stared at him, her mind reeling. He’d orchestrated this entire thing, hadn’t he? Led her step by step into stealing that branch.
“Keep me here if you must. But let the poor princesses go. You said so yourself. They won’t last long if this keeps going.
”
“That’s hardly my problem, is it? ”
“They’ve done nothing wrong. ”
“Maybe not. But their eldest sister bargained with me and lost.
This was the price agreed upon. ”
Poppy scoffed. “You mean you lied to them just like you lied to me. ”
“She accepted our terms.
” Valyrian’s voice snapped. “I’m no liar. ”
“Then prove it. Give me a chance to free them.
I want to bargain. ”
The Fay King studied her with those shifting silver-blue eyes. “My lovely subjects,” he finally said, turning to his court. “I find myself reluctant to bargain with someone who will not show themselves to me fully, for how can I judge the worth of a hidden player?
Come now. Show us your curse, human. ”
With trembling hands, Poppy pushed back her hood. To her surprise, the murmurs weren’t horrified, merely curious.
“She looks like a perfectly normal human, does she not? ”
“No, you fool. The normal ones have far less fur. ”
Poppy flushed but forced herself to stand straight.
“What is your name? ” Valyrian asked. “They call me Red Eyes. ”
“And what do you call yourself?
”
“I’ve long forgotten to call myself anything else. ”
The Fay King frowned. “Very well, Red Eyes. Then name your bargain.
”
“Give me a chance to earn your mercy and save the princesses. I will give you three trials. Complete them all, and both you and the princesses may return to your realm. But when you fail—” His eyes glittered with dark promise.
“I will transform you into a tree to grace my gardens for all eternity. ”
“Well, I was going to be stuck here forever anyway. Seems fair to me. ”
“But you could still move.
Still speak. ”
“As a tree, you would be trapped in silent immobility forever. ”
Poppy managed a bitter smile. “When I move, people quiver.
When I fear, they run. At least as an immobile tree, I won’t horrify others. ”
Something flickered across his face. “All right.
Then it is a deal. Freedom if you win, a tree form if you lose. ”
Poppy had no choice. She nodded.
“The bargain is struck,” Valyrian said. “Should Poppy win, the princesses can go free. Should she fail, I’ll transform them into trees. ”
Poppy gasped.
“Now wait a minute. You never mentioned you’d turn the princesses into trees. ”
“But I never said I wouldn’t, did I? And in my opinion, they’d make fine trees.
I could perhaps make furniture from them. Send a chair or two to your Alpha King as a gift. ”
Horror shot through her. She’d made a terrible mistake.
“You tricked me. ”
“Indeed. ” The king smiled. “You see, you didn’t have to bargain with me to earn your freedom at all.
You could have just given me back the branch. ” He winked as she growled, turning to his court. “Now, let’s begin. ”
The Crystal Pavilion dissolved around them like mist.
In its place appeared a grand banquet hall with a long table. Valyrian gestured to the center where two goblets stood: one crafted from gold that caught the light, the other a humble wooden cup that looked battered. “You must choose one goblet to drink from. Only one is safe and poison-free.
”
Poppy approached cautiously. “Can I ask for hints? ”
“You can ask me whatever you like. But that doesn’t mean I’ll answer.
”
“Because you might lie. ”
Valyrian’s expression shifted to genuine offense. “I told you, human, we fay do not lie. ”
“But you lied before.
When you told me that other man was the Fay King. ”
“I did not. I said the princesses were here for the Fay King’s amusement, and you assumed. ”
Poppy bit back a frustrated growl and studied the goblets more closely.
“If I choose wrong, I’ll die? ”
“Yes. And the princesses will be turned into trees. ”
He didn’t seem particularly invested in her fate.
But the princesses, there was something there. A deliberate coldness that felt practiced. “Why do this to them? ”
“I told you.
I’d like to turn them into trees and send them to your Alpha King. ”
But if that were true, why hadn’t he simply done it from the beginning? Why keep them dancing night after night, slowly dying, when he could have transformed them instantly? There had to be rules governing his actions, magical bonds that constrained even a Fay King’s power.
Poppy leaned closer, inhaling carefully. Both wines smelled identical. “One of these goblets contains poison. And one does not.
Correct? ”
“Yes. ”
“And you cannot lie? ”
“I cannot.
” His tone was almost indulgent. This wasn’t a game of pure chance. The dramatic difference between them had to be significant. “I wonder if this is a test of character.
Obviously, most people would choose the golden cup. It’s more appealing than that wooden thing. ”
“Obviously. ”
“Unless, of course, that’s exactly what you want me to think.
That this is about humility, that I should choose the plain cup when it’s actually the golden one that’s safe. ”
The Fay King’s smile stretched wider. “That would be quite deceitful of me. ”
He hadn’t actually answered.
“Can you tell me if this cup contains poison? ” she asked, pointing to the golden goblet. “Yes, I can. ”
When he said nothing more, she tried again.
“Does this cup contain poison? ” she said, pointing to the golden cup. “It very well could, couldn’t it? Then again, perhaps it’s the other one that does.
”
“This poison you put into the cups. Is it deadly? ”
“Yes. ”
“How would it kill me?
Would I suffer? ”
“Not too terribly, no. We’re civilized here, aren’t we? ”
The assembled court laughed, but Poppy paid them no mind.
“This poison you mentioned, if you were to drink it, would it kill you, too? ”
“Yes. If I were to drink enough of it. ”
“And is there enough poison in the poisoned cups to kill even you?
”
“Yes, there is,” he said uncaringly. Then he caught on, and his eyes widened as Poppy grinned triumphantly. “So that means both cups are poisoned,” she said, “since you just confirmed there’s enough poison in the poisoned cups, plural, to kill even a Fay King. But you said only one goblet was safe.
That means there has to be a safe option. There is a way for me to win this challenge, right? ”
“Yes,” the king admitted with visible reluctance. “Oh, but Red Eyes,” he said with false innocence.
“You didn’t ask how much time you had left. ”
Ice shot through her veins. “How much time do I have left? ”
“As of now…
one minute. ”
Poppy’s mind raced. The Fay King couldn’t lie. He’d told her one cup was safe, but also that multiple cups contained poison.
Right now, she could only see two cups. But if both were poisoned and one was safe. “Thirty seconds,” Valyrian announced cheerfully. It was all an illusion.
Just because she couldn’t see a third cup didn’t mean there wasn’t one. He had never actually said she had to choose between these two cups. He just said she had to choose the safe cup. Poppy began running her hands across the table surface around the visible goblets, searching desperately.
“For a human, you’re not a complete fool,” Valyrian said conversationally. Then her fingers brushed against something cold and rough like stone. An invisible goblet, right where she’d hoped it would be. She grabbed the unseen cup and drained it.
“Well? ” she asked breathlessly. Valyrian’s annoyed expression was answer enough. The colors around her began to shift and swirl.
“I guessed right, didn’t I? ” She began to giggle. “Everything was so lovely, so wonderfully bright and spinning. ” Only when she hit the stone floor did she realize she might have been wrong after all.
When Poppy woke, she was lying in a bower of living trees. Beside her, lounging in a chair that seemed grown from the garden itself, sat Valyrian. “I don’t know if I’m impressed or annoyed, little human,” he said. “Did I guess right?
”
“You did. Drinking or eating anything from this realm will have effects when you are mortal, even when it isn’t poison. ”
She nodded slowly. “Come.
Walk with me while you recover fully. ”
Valyrian guided her through the gardens toward a hedge maze with walls formed of roses that bloomed in impossible colors. As they walked deeper, he caught her studying him. “Tell me about your curse,” he requested.
Poppy sighed. “A witch cursed me for stealing her corvettes. ” She deadpanned. “Really?
” Valyrian sounded so surprised that Poppy snorted. “No. That was a joke. ” But Valyrian’s entire posture suddenly stiffened.
“You lied? ” he asked, looking her in the eye. “While looking me in the eye, no less. ” The words came out like an accusation.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to lie. I meant to joke. For us, sometimes a little lie is kinder than a harsh truth.
It’s not easy to speak about my curse. You have no idea what it’s like being trapped in a form that isn’t truly yours. ”
Valyrian’s expression grew unexpectedly somber. “I have some idea.
But there is no such thing as a little lie. Falsehood is falsehood, and it corrupts everything it touches. ”
The depth of his revulsion made her stomach twist with remorse. “Would it help if I told you the real story about how I got cursed?
”
He studied her face for a long moment, then nodded. Poppy told him the whole story. “My stepmother had a daughter from her previous mating, Luna, who she obviously favored. When I woke up, I was caught between forms, and Luna screamed when she saw me.
”
“She screamed? ”
“Because I look like this, obviously. Ugly. ”
“But all humans are ugly,” Valyrian replied matter-of-factly.
“None of you can cast glamour spells or shape your forms at will. ”
Poppy gaped. To him, all humans seemed as ugly as her. “Well, to other humans, I’m particularly monstrous.
People fear me, accuse me of crimes, try to hurt me. ”
“Then why didn’t you bargain for me to break your curse? Surely that would solve your problems more completely than saving a handful of princesses. ”
The question caught her off guard.
“I didn’t want the princesses to die. ”
“And why not? All humans are the same. Deceitful, hateful, quick to turn on one another.
”
“Are the fay any better? ”
“Probably worse, actually. But at least we don’t lie. ”
“Why is truth so important to you?
” Poppy asked. Valyrian paused, his expression growing serious. “Because our words shape our world. When we speak, we don’t merely describe reality.
We have the power to make it so. A carelessly spoken word can reshape the very fabric of existence. Can bind or free, create or destroy. ”
The weight of that revelation settled over her like a heavy cloak.
“Which is why you should make amends for lying to me,” Valyrian said, his tone returning to its earlier lightness. “Didn’t I do that already? ”
His answering smile was dazzling. “Tell me your name.
Your true name, not what others call you. ”
Poppy opened her mouth to answer, then stopped as understanding dawned. “If words have power, then names do too, don’t they? ”
Valyrian’s smirk was answer enough.
“Does that mean you won’t tell me? ”
“When does my next task begin? ” she asked, changing the subject. Valyrian’s smile widened with wicked delight.
“Oh, but it’s already started. ”
Poppy froze, her smile vanishing completely. “What do you mean? Why didn’t you tell me?
”
“I did tell you. I told you the tasks would begin when you entered the maze. ”
“No, you didn’t. ” She stopped, realizing he couldn’t lie.
“Did you tell me while I was unconscious? ”
“Yes. You should really pay more attention. ”
Poppy spun around, taking in the towering hedge walls with new eyes.
This wasn’t a pleasant garden stroll. It was the trial. “May I know the rules? ” she asked through gritted teeth.
“I already told you those as well. You ought to listen more carefully. ”
“How much time do I have left? ”
Valyrian gestured ahead of them.
“Until the clock strikes twelve,” he said cheerfully. “I can’t see a clock. ”
“Good luck. ” He gave a mocking little bow, and then he vanished, leaving Poppy alone in the maze.
Poppy forced herself to think logically. The task had started when she entered the maze, so getting out must be the key. She began walking, trying to map the twisting pathways in her mind. Left turn, dead end.
Right turn, another dead end. After half an hour, desperation set in. But then she thought: what if this was another illusion? What if the walls only seemed real?
She pressed her palms against the nearest hedge wall, pushing with all her strength. The thorns bit into her skin. The branches felt solid and unyielding. “What are you doing, child?
”
Poppy spun around to find a tiny old woman watching her with curious eyes. “I’m trying to get out of this maze. ”
“You’d need to find an exit for that. That’s generally how mazes work.
”
“But these walls could still be illusory. ”
“Can you feel them? ” Poppy pressed her hand to the wall again. The thorns pricked her palm.
“Well, there’s your answer then. ” The old woman began to walk away. “Wait. Do you know the way out?
”
“Oh, yes. ”
“Can you show me, please? ”
“I would, but that sounds awfully tedious. ”
“Please, I really need to get out.
”
“Yes, yes, they always need to get out, don’t they? It’s always the same. ”
“Who’s ‘they’? ”
“A sea of faces, all identical in their desperation.
Have you met many people in this maze? I’ve met them all. I’m bound to this place, you see. ”
“You’re stuck here?
”
“Indeed, child. ”
“And out of all these people you’ve met, who managed to get out? ”
“None. ” The woman replied with crushing finality.
Poppy’s heart sank. “There has to be a way. I can’t stay here. ”
“Oh, it’s not so bad.
There’s a corner of the maze where owls have taken roost. ”
“How does that help me? ”
“I don’t know. They’re owls.
They’re quite lovely. ”
Poppy wanted to scream. “Why don’t you get out, if you know the way? ”
“I can’t.
The Fay King said I have to stay here. ”
“Why? ”
“Because he wants me to cry. ”
“He wants you to cry?
”
“Indeed he does. He longs for my tears specifically. ”
“And you won’t just try to cry? ”
“Of course I tried.
But you have to feel something to cry. And I’ve long stopped feeling anything at all. ”
“I sometimes wish I could feel nothing,” Poppy said quietly. The old woman’s expression grew sharp.
“You have no idea the emptiness that requires. ”
“What’s the point of living if not for emotions? ”
“Well, if the emotions are pain and sorrow and shame… ”
“Pain and sorrow and shame at such a young age.
” The woman’s voice carried genuine curiosity now. “How interesting. ”
Here was her chance, Poppy thought. If she could make this woman cry, maybe they could both get out.
Poppy took a shaky breath and poured her heart out. “I was seven when my mother died. She was everything good in my world, and when she left me, I had no one. My father couldn’t bear to look at me because I reminded him of her.
So when he brought home his new wife and her perfect daughter, I thought, finally, I might have a family again. ” She let her voice break. “But I was wrong. Cordelia gave all her love to Luna, and I watched from doorways as they embraced, as she received every kindness I’d dreamed of.
One day, a man came to court me. For the first time, someone saw past appearances to value my mind. But Cordelia couldn’t bear it. She brought me poisoned milk, smiling as she offered it.
And I… I was so desperate for her approval that I drank every drop. When I woke, I was trapped between forms, neither human nor wolf. My own pack banished me as if my curse might contaminate them.
And for three years, I’ve lived alone in the wilderness, watching children run from me in terror. I’ve been accused of crimes I didn’t commit, hunted like the monster I’ve become. ”
By the time she finished, tears were streaming down her own cheeks. She peeked at the old woman’s face.
Her expression was perfectly blank. “That’s it? ” she asked, crossing her arms. “That’s your great tragedy?
You’re not as pretty as your sister. ”
Poppy pushed back her hood, revealing her wolf ears, her red eyes, the patches of fur covering her face. The old woman’s eyes widened. Then she began to laugh.
She laughed and laughed, pointing at Poppy with one gnarled finger. “Oh, look at you. Crying so pathetically over a little bit of fur. ”
“A little bit?
I’m covered in it. ”
This only made the woman laugh harder. “You say that like it’s something tragic, you silly thing. ” She doubled over, tears of laughter beginning to stream down her wrinkled cheeks.
Then Valyrian materialized beside the bench, a crystal vial in his hand. With practiced efficiency, he caught the tears falling from the old woman’s cheeks. “Well,” he said to Poppy with grudging admiration, “you did make her cry, I suppose. Congratulations.
”
The maze dissolved around them, revealing the crystal pavilion and the assembled Fay court, who burst into applause. The old woman continued laughing, then, with a sound like crackling flames, she burst into smoke and transformed into a magnificent bird with feathers of gold and crimson, and flew away. The next morning, Poppy asked, “Has my third task started? ”
“No.
I thought we could see the Hall of Whispers today. The acoustics are quite remarkable. ”
She asked him again once they got there if this was part of her task. She also asked when he showed her the library where books wrote themselves, and again when he led her through gardens where flowers bloomed in response to her moods.
“What about now? Has it started now? ” she pressed after he taught her to play a game with living crystal pieces that moved upon command. “Not yet.
Tell me, what do you think of our twilight sky? Some mortals find the eternal dusk unsettling. ”
“It’s beautiful. But when will my final task start?
Surely the Alpha King will have noticed—”
“Time moves differently in the mortal realm,” Valyrian interrupted. By the following week, she found herself asking less frequently. The question would rise to her lips, then fade as Valyrian showed her some new wonder. “You’re quite good at riddles for someone so young,” he said one evening.
“Young? I’m twenty-five. ”
“In Fay years, twenty-five is but a moment. I have existed for centuries, little mortal.
You are barely a heartbeat. And yet… ” He paused. “And yet?
”
“And yet, you entertain me. You think differently than others who have come here. I find you intriguing. ”
Poppy felt warmth spread through her chest.
She hadn’t thought she could inspire anything other than horror before. Perhaps that was why she started feeling more at home in the Fay Court. She had her own chambers now, and a sprite attendant, Dwrop, who brought meals that tasted like childhood memories. “You’re cheating,” she accused one evening as Valyrian’s crystal army surrounded her last defending pieces.
“I am doing no such thing. It’s not my fault you failed to notice the enchantment on your commander piece. ”
“What enchantment? ”
“The one that makes him betray his own army if you move him to the seventh rank.
”
Poppy stared at the board in disbelief. “That’s the most ridiculous rule I’ve ever heard. ”
“Yet you fell for it quite thoroughly. Perhaps you’re not as clever as I thought.
”
Before she could think better of it, Poppy reached across the table and flicked his crystal king off the board. “I win by default. ”
Valyrian burst into genuine laughter. It was while passing the rose court one day that Poppy overheard the pixies gossiping near the fountain.
“Poor princesses,” one was saying with mock sympathy. “Still dancing alone in those woods. ”
“How much longer do you think they’ll last? ” asked another, her voice bright with malicious curiosity.
“Oh, not long now. No one’s coming to save them. ”
The words hit Poppy like ice water. The princesses, the dancing, dying princesses she had sworn to save.
She pressed herself against the marble pillar, horrified by the realization that she couldn’t immediately recall their faces. How long had it been since she’d thought of them? Days? Weeks?
Poppy fled. She wandered the palace for days until she found herself in a part of the garden she’d never seen before. Golden trees lined a peaceful grove, their branches heavy with fruit that gleamed like captured sunlight. “Lovely, aren’t they?
” Dwrop’s voice made her jump. “The king’s collection of champions. ”
Poppy frowned. “Champions?
”
“Why, yes. You are looking at all the brave humans who came to save the dancing princesses before you. They make such lovely additions to the garden. ”
That evening, when Valyrian appeared with his usual chess set, she was ready for him.
“I want to take my third trial,” she said before he could sit down. “And you will. When it pleases me. ”
“The princesses are dying.
While I’ve been playing games and letting you distract me, they’re dancing themselves to death. That was all part of your plan, wasn’t it? Why risk letting me take the trial and free them when you could just make me forget about them? ”
Valyrian kept silent.
“And all those people, all those champions you turned into trees. They had families, lives, people who loved them. ”
“Are you quite finished? ” Valyrian interrupted.
His gaze grew cold. “Haven’t I given you everything you desired? Riches, safety? You are happy here, aren’t you?
With me? ”
Poppy pursed her lips, avoiding his eyes. “What would it take? For you to give me my trial?
”
Valyrian stared at her, silent. “Tell me your name,” he said eventually, and there was something defeated in his voice. “Your true name. ”
Poppy studied his face.
He looked sad now. “If I give you my name, you’ll let me take my trial? ”
“Yes. ”
“All right.
But if I succeed, you’ll free the people in your grove. All of them. Turn them back from trees to their true forms. ”
Valyrian’s eyes narrowed.
“Why bargain for strangers? Ones who would fear your appearance, reject you. ”
“Because no one deserves to be trapped forever. ”
He was quiet for a long moment.
“Very well. Give me your name, and if you succeed in your final trial, I will restore them all. ”
She took a breath. “Poppy.
My name is Poppy. ”
Valyrian’s eyes widened as if he hadn’t expected her to actually tell him. Then his expression grew solemn, and she saw something that looked almost like regret flicker across his features. “Then your final trial begins now, Poppy.
”
The world dissolved and reformed into the most magnificent ballroom she had ever seen. The entire Fay Court was present, dressed in their finest regalia. “Your final trial. You must find what you need to go home before the last dance ends.
”
Poppy looked around. “What am I looking for? ”
“That is for you to discover. Though surely you won’t refuse me one dance before you begin your search?
What harm could one dance do? Before you win and leave me forever. ”
Despite her better judgment, she found herself being led onto the floor. They moved together, a dance that required no touching, their bodies weaving around each other in perfect synchronization.
“I’ve taught you well,” Valyrian murmured. “I should continue searching. ” “For what, I wonder. What is it you truly need to return home?
”
Before she could answer, he waved his hand, and the world shimmered. The harsh clanking of armor replaced the ethereal music. The Alpha King’s brutal court materialized around them. “This is what awaits you.
Suspicion, hostility, a world that sees you as nothing but a monster. ”
The vision faded. “But you don’t have to go. You could stay here.
”
“As your prisoner? ”
“As my queen. ”
She stumbled slightly and stared at him with wide eyes. “Stay.
Rule beside me. Never again apologize for what you are. ”
“You don’t mean that. You barely know me.
”
“I know you’re clever enough to amuse my Phoenix, brave enough to face impossible trials, kind enough to bargain for strangers’ freedom. I know that in centuries of existence, no one has ever made me wish I were… ” He trailed off with a wry smile. “Wish you were what?
”
“Whole,” he said quietly. Before she could respond, he waved his hand again. She was standing before an enormous mirror framed in silver and starlight. But the reflection staring back at her wasn’t the cursed creature she’d grown accustomed to.
It was herself before the curse, but perfected. Her skin was smooth and unmarked by fur, glowing with health. She wore a gown of gold scattered with diamonds. “This is how I see you.
This is who you truly are. Beautiful, regal, worthy of love. You could look like this always. Never again would someone you love choose another over you.
Stay with me, Poppy. Be my queen and my equal. Let me give you everything your world denied you. ”
She turned from the mirror to face him directly.
The offer was everything she’d ever dreamed of. No more hiding. No more shame. No more loneliness.
“And the princesses? ” she asked, her voice barely above a whisper. “What of them? ”
“You barely knew them.
Does it truly matter? ”
“Of course it does. ”
“Why? Why sacrifice yourself for strangers?
Do they truly matter to you more than me? ”
She stared up at him, this impossibly beautiful creature who offered her everything she’d ever wanted. “Valyrian,” she said softly, reaching for him. Her fingers passed through his cheek like mist.
The shock hit her like cold water. He wasn’t even here. “You’re not real,” she whispered. “None of this is real.
”
Pain flashed across his features. Genuine, devastating pain that made her chest ache. “You tricked me. Even now, you’re trying to trick me.
”
“I wish I hadn’t had to. I wish things could be different. But they’re not. ”
She looked around the ballroom, seeing it now for what it was.
Another test. Another temptation designed to make her abandon her purpose. “Are you even real? ” she asked, her voice breaking.
“As real as I can be. ”
“This isn’t about finding an object, is it? It’s about finding the will to leave. ”
Valyrian said nothing, but his silence confirmed it.
“I won’t abandon the princesses. Not for beauty, not for power, not even for… ” She swallowed hard, keeping the last part to herself. Not even for you.
Something shifted in the air. The ballroom began to fade, the music growing distant. “You have succeeded. You found what you needed to go home.
”
“My resolve. ”
“Yes. Your resolve. You may return to your realm, Poppy of the mortal world.
The princesses will accompany you, and those who were transformed into trees will be restored to their true forms, free to return to their own lives. ”
“Will I see you again? ” she asked, the words escaping before she could stop them. Valyrian’s smile was beautiful and heartbreaking.
“In a way. ”
The world began to spin, colors blending and reality shifting. The last thing she saw was his face, etched with longing and loss, before everything went white and she was falling back toward the mortal realm and the life she had chosen over him. Poppy found herself standing in the Alpha King’s castle once more.
Around her stood the six princesses, no longer pale and exhausted, but radiant with health. Behind them crowded dozens of people she’d never seen before, all blinking in confusion. The transformed champions. She should have felt triumph.
Instead, a hollow ache filled her chest. “He never loved you,” she told herself firmly. “It was all part of the trial. ”
“What happened?
” The Alpha King’s voice boomed across the hall. “Where have you been? We’ve been searching for you all morning. ”
“Morning?
” She’d spent weeks in the Fay realm, but here it hadn’t even been a day. Mechanically, Poppy told her story. The Fay, the dancing compulsion, the trials. The words tasted like ash.
“Fay magic,” the Alpha King snarled when she finished. “You expect me to believe this children’s story? ”
“It’s true. ”
“Prove it, then.
Show me this magic you claim to have witnessed. ”
Poppy gestured vaguely at the rescued people. “They were trees. Now they’re not.
That’s your proof. ”
“I see a group of vagrants and criminals, nothing more. For all I know, you’ve made all this up. ”
The accusation should have stung, but Poppy found herself staring past the king’s shoulder.
The great golden tree still stood in the center of the hall. “You speak of bargaining with demons. That sounds like sorcery to me. ”
“She’s not a sorceress.
” The eldest princess stepped forward. “She saved our lives. ”
But Poppy barely heard them. She was studying the tree.
Something was wrong. Everyone who had been transformed was supposed to be restored to their true form, but the tree remained. She remembered admiring this very tree on her first night in the palace. She’d assumed it was a decoration, but she now knew trees like this didn’t grow in the mortal realm.
She’d only seen their like in one place. The Fay Court. “Poppy deserves the reward that was promised,” one of the princesses said. “You owe her.
”
“I am king. I don’t owe anybody anything. ”
“Fine. Name your reward, girl.
But don’t expect me to give you my treasure tree,” he added, following her gaze. Poppy turned to face him. “Where did it come from? ”
“The tree?
It’s been in my family for generations. No one knows exactly since when. ”
“What about the fairy tales our nurses used to tell us? ” one of the princesses interrupted.
“Some ancestor supposedly won it in a contest with a Fay creature. But that’s impossible. The fay aren’t real. ”
Poppy’s blood turned to ice.
“What kind of contest? ”
“Riddles, I think, or some sort of wager. The family legend says the Fay lost and had to send something to decorate my ancestor’s throne room. The creature supposedly said if he lost, the tree would stay forever.
”
“Forever? ”
“Unless Altha touched its leaves or some such nonsense,” the king sighed. Poppy’s legs nearly gave out. She knew that word.
She’d learned it in Valyrian’s court. Altherra meant sunlight. Poppy stared at the golden trunk. “I’ve made my choice.
For my reward, I want sunlight to shine directly on this tree. ”
The king stared at her. “Sunlight? You could ask for lands, titles, gold.
”
“I want sunlight on the tree. Natural sunlight. I want you to open the ceiling completely. ”
“That’s the most ridiculous—”
“You promised me any reward,” Poppy said.
“You swore it before your court and your sisters. ”
The challenge hung in the air. “Fine,” the king bit out. “Open the skylight above the tree.
”
Guards moved to the great chains and pulleys that controlled the hall’s ceiling panels. Poppy held her breath. Sunlight poured down like liquid fire, and the entire tree began to shimmer. Golden bark flowed like water.
When the radiance finally faded, Valyrian stood where the tree had been, devastatingly beautiful. The entire court fell silent. Several people dropped to their knees. Even the Alpha King had gone pale.
“It was you? ” Poppy breathed. Valyrian’s eyes found hers across the hall. “Yes.
And after three centuries of imprisonment, you have given me back both freedom and form. ”
“Why didn’t you ask for help? ”
Valyrian’s expression grew rueful. “Words have power among my kind, remember?
To speak of my imprisonment directly could have made the binding permanent. Besides, I couldn’t trust my court with such knowledge. Too many would have seen my vulnerability as an opportunity to claim my throne. And would you have trusted humans with such a secret?
”
“You fool,” Poppy said, tears gathering in her eyes. “You were trapped as a tree for three hundred years. ”
“Not anymore. Thanks to you.
For centuries, I was forced to rule my realm as a projection, an illusion cast from this prison of bark and root. Every conversation we had, every moment we shared, I was speaking to you from this very spot, unable to be fully present. ”
“I would have helped you. Surely you know that.
”
Valyrian’s expression grew pained. “At first, I didn’t trust you. You were just another mortal. And later…
” He sighed. “Later, we had made a bargain. If you succeeded in your trials, you had to leave. If you failed, you had to become a tree.
I couldn’t bear either outcome. ”
Poppy stared at him. “You didn’t want me to win or lose. ”
“I wanted you to stay.
I wanted to keep you with me, safe and whole and mine. ”
“Nonsense,” the Alpha King snarled. “You could have asked for anything, girl. Wealth, lands, titles.
Instead, you’ll leave here poor and still cursed, having betrayed our kingdom. ”
“Your kingdom doesn’t deserve her,” Valyrian replied, his voice carrying a dangerous edge. “Poppy is worth more than all your gold and lands combined. ” His expression softened as he turned back to her.
“Come back with me. Be my queen in truth this time, not as part of some trial. ”
Poppy searched his face for any sign of deception. “Is this another trick?
”
In answer, he reached out and gently cupped her face in his hands. “No trick. Though I warn you, I may spend eternity making up for every moment I couldn’t truly hold you. ”
“Will I be your queen forever?
” Poppy asked, her words carrying the careful precision she’d learned in his court. Valyrian’s eyes lit with approval. “Forever and always, until the stars burn out and beyond. ”
“And I shall not share you with others.
You will be mine alone. ”
“Yours alone in this life and whatever comes after. ”
“And you will love me. Only me above all.
”
“Only you, for all eternity. ”
Poppy smiled as she walked over to him, reaching for his hand. “And we will be equals, partners in all things,” she asked, lifting her chin. “In all things.
My equal in power, in rule, in love. ”
Poppy took his offered hand, and the moment their fingers intertwined, magic blazed through the hall. Light surrounded her, and she felt her curse dissolving. When the light faded, gasps echoed through the hall.
She stood transformed, glowing with confidence and power and the unmistakable aura of Fay royalty. “I don’t understand. My curse should only break if someone chose to marry me willingly while seeing me as I was. ”
Valyrian’s grin was radiant.
“You just made me promise to love you alone forever, to be yours exclusively, and to treat you as an equal partner in all things. By Fay law, those are marriage vows. And the moment I agreed, we were wed. ”
Poppy gaped in shock.
“You tricked me,” she accused, but she was laughing through her tears of joy. “Of course I did. And I shall trick you many more times, just as you will undoubtedly trick me. After all, you are now my queen and equal.
Deception is one of our greatest arts. ”
The princesses began to cheer, and the sound spread through the hall. And then Valyrian kissed her, the kiss she dreamed of through all their impossible courtship, real and warm and full of promise. Around them, the hall erupted in joy.
But Poppy heard none of it. There was only Valyrian, solid and present and hers, and the sunlight streaming down to bless their union.
