The Fairy Angel

"It was never my intention, but okay," I say and pick up the fork and knife.

There is quite an assortment of dishes laid out in front of me. The last time I ate was a journey ago, so I help myself to dinner.

"Faye, I'm sorry for Logan's behavior," Melody says, "but you are so lucky. Your master was so dashing, I wish I was saved by him."

"Y-Yeah?"

"How did you guys meet?"

"I…"

As they continue their conversation with Lohikaarmi between them, I turn to Owen. There are still questions that need to be answered.

"Owen," I say.

"Yes?" His attitude is quite different from before. There is a newfound sense of respect in his voice.

"What you were saying earlier, how we came to the capital at the wrong time. What did you mean by it?" I ask.

"Oh, that? Nothing, really. There is just a rumor going around, causing a little unrest in the city."

"What rumor?"

He leans in and lowers his voice. "The Goddess, she has forsaken us."

"What?" I pretend to be more surprised than I actually am.

Astra is stuffing her mouth with ham at the corner of my eye. In a way, I guess that rumor is true.

"Calm down," Owen says, "Again, it's just a rumor. I heard it from people with connections in the Grand Cathedral. They said that the Goddess hasn't been responding to Her Holiness's requests for oracle messages in over a week now."

"So? What does this mean?" I ask.

"Disaster, my friend. The High Council is freaking out right now. No one knows what's going to happen or what to do. If this is the prophesy foretold by St. Margaret, then there's nothing we can do."

Someone prophesied this? Not even the Goddess herself saw me coming.

"What are we talking about?" A soft and honeyed voice comes in. It's Abigail. She crouches down beside us.

"Oh, Sister Abigail. I was just telling Kris about St. Margaret's prophesy," Owen says.

"The one of the Fairy Angel? Oh, what a wonderful tale," she says.

"Can you tell me about the story?" I ask.

"Sure thing, dear. Will I get anything in return?"

Information is indeed costly, isn't it?

"What do you want?"

"A massage," she says.

Huh?

"I don't know how to give a massage."

"I am not asking you to give me a massage, silly. I am asking to give you one," she says and pokes me gently in the forehead.

"Fine," I say with a sigh.

She smiles, her eyes curving like the moon.

"What is going on between you two?" Owen asks.

"Go play with the others, Owen. I will take care of Kris from here," Abigail says.

"I am not a little kid, Sister Abigail."

"Well, as far as I am concerned, you are not a man, either."

Owen is about to say something back, but he decides not to and exhales with disappointment. He steps away and Abigail takes his seat.

A weird exchange.

"What was that?" I ask.

"He got rejected by me, twice," Abigail says.

"Ah."

"Anyways, did you want to know about St. Margaret's prophesy?"

"Yes."

"I take it that Owen has told you about the rumor, then."

"Yeah. Do you know about it, too?"

"Mhm. My brother is an Archbishop. He told me about it."

"So it's true?"

I ask, but I already know the answer. In fact, I probably know the answer better than anyone else in Terradivina, because I was the one that caused it.

"Not until Her Holiness declares it, but… unofficially… you know."

"Right."

Abigail puts her hand on my knee and says, "Indeed, the current situation does have a resemblance to St. Margaret's prophecy."

"So what's this Fairy Angel about, then?" I ask.

"In the prophecy, it's said that when Terradivina is overwhelmed by sinners, the Goddess will forsake us. Then, a messenger from the High Heavens will descend upon the mortal plane, guiding us to salvation and bringing back the Goddess's favor. She will be known as the Fairy Angel."

Cryptic enough for a religious text, that's for sure.

"And has this Fairy Angel showed herself yet?" I ask.

"Not to my knowledge, no."

"I see."

Fairy Angel, huh? Could she be that shadow I saw on Cimavetta?

"Sister Abigail, can I get you to help me with the furnace?" Cecilia calls from the kitchen.

"Sure," Abigail calls back.

"I will be seeing you later for my end of the bargain then, Krissy," she says with a wink and leaves the table.

Her voice sends chills down my spine, and not the good kind. She didn't give me any more information than what I could have gotten from Owen. Also, when did this Krissy come about?

I turn around to Astra, who is currently embodying the sin of gluttony, and tap on her shoulder.

"Hm?" She turns with her mouth full and greasy.

"Do you know anything about this Fairy Angel?" I ask.

"FWAWY ANWOL?" She mumbles.

"Yeah."

Astra takes a big swallow and exhales into my face. Never have I smelled ham of such strength before.

"God, slow down when you eat."

"It's Goddess."

"Whatever."

"Yeah, what about it?" She asks.

"That angel I saw on the highlands, was that her?"

"No. If you weren't hallucinating, then what you saw was an actual angel. The Fairy Angel, even though she is called that, is not a real angel, so she doesn't have any special abilities that allow her to appear and disappear into thin air."

"So could you be the Fairy Angel? You came from the High Heavens after the Goddess has forsaken the people."

"Forsaken? That's not what I told Margaret. I told her during rough times, I would test Terradivina by having them solve their own problem, or, something along those lines. And no, of course, I am not the Fairy Angel. I am the Goddess herself. Plus, the Fairy Angel isn't a person, it's a blessing given to people who go on to guide Terradivina back to peace."

A blessing, huh? Does that mean the Fairy Angel might be a newborn baby right now?

"These rules are so complicated," I say.

"Well, you try running a world."

"I probably have more experience with that than you realize."

But yeah, indeed, there are thousands of pages of rules when it comes to running a business, I can't imagine a world to be much easier.

This Fairy Angel might become a point of interest for me. If the city is indeed in unrest, it's best to solve that before moving on to the next steps.

"Lohikaarmi, how did you and Big Bro Krissy meet?" I hear Melody ask.

"Slow down with the nicknames, alright? At this rate, I won't even know who you are referring to by tomorrow," I say.

"He-he, but they all sound so good."

"Kris is fine."

"That's so boring, though."

Is that an insult?

"Sir and Mister are fine, too," I say.

"No way. I will just settle with Krissy then."

"Do what you want."

It's not a bad feeling to have a nickname. The only thing I have close to that is when Cisca calls me Narcissus, which is not the most pleasant nickname, nor is Krissy, for that matter.

"So, Lohikaarmi, how did you and Krissy meet?" Melody asks again.

The dragon girl looks at me, and I give her a nod.

"My Master found me when I was lost," she says.

"Oh, like he took you in when you were a lost little girl?"

"…Yes."

"Aw, that's so sweet."

Does this girl not have brains? Lohikaarmi looks older than me.