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3. Hello Anxiety

Tyra

Poverty has been my unwanted companion for as long as I could remember, starting off as a pushy acquaintance when my addict mother died from an overdose and left me in an orphanage. I ran away from the place after one too many foster parents kept returning me back, claiming I was too troubled for them to handle. I was eleven when I ditched the orphanage and started living in an abandoned factory, something Poverty delighted in, quickly promoting itself from acquaintance to best friend. I only stayed in the factory for a week before I met a couple of lower fae (lower meant they were classified as weaklings) who kidnapped me and took me to Faerie, just like in a fairytale book. Except the cute fairies in this one wanted to turn me into their little Halfling slave, the flowers and birds weren't looking to befriend me- they weren't as desperate as Poverty mind you- and the Princes weren't looking for sweet lost girls to break evil curses from either. (They were more likely to put the curse on you in the first place.) It looked like I was in for a happily never after with Poverty- even after my current adoptive parents saved me from my kidnappers and took me in as their own. They were working as servants for a faerie nobleman at the time but effectively lost their jobs and home when I got into a fight with the nobleman's bratty daughter.

We were kicked out and I thought my new parents would kick me out of their lives right then.

They didn't.

They let me stay. Unfortunately Poverty stayed as well.

Until now.

I stared at the dress Elzeria had created especially for me, at the thousands of poppies it was made up of, a glittering little diamond at the center of each little flower. That, along with the diamond choker around my neck and the crown of diamonds seated on my bouncy curls were the equivalent of a huge middle finger to my new ex best friend.

Goodbye Poverty.

Wolf. Soul mates. Self-destruction.

Hello Anxiety.

Fae can't lie so whatever the crone had said was the…truth. The fact that she refused to give me a name and went cackling off into the night instead also explained the reason why she hadn't demanded a price for her fortune telling. Some fae fed on negative feelings like despair, fear and anxiety. All three emotions that have surrounded me in a black cloud of misery on the one day I should've been the happiest.

Tonight's party would be the final seal in our family's security, the performances I've done over the months were enough to get us a beautiful house (better than the nobleman's who had kicked us out) and servants of our own, but if the whispers were true and the Autumn Court's prince wanted to marry me then we'd never have to worry about an empty stomach again.

Except there was the fruit to worry about, what if this supposed enamored prince forbids you from-

"Ugh!" I shouted, drowning out the intrusive thoughts. "Wrong, wrong, wrong-"

A hand smacked me over the back of my head. "I'm aware you Halflings can tell untruths without a care but I will not stand by while you lie about my dress," Elzeria huffed. "What an ungrateful little human-thing you are."

I rubbed at the spot she'd hit, frowning. "Chill, Elz. I wasn't talking about your dress."

She nodded. "You'd be very much lacking in intelligence if that was what you were talking about, but you've just confirmed what I'd already assumed: you're a smart one."

I rolled my eyes. 'Thank you' was a saying generally avoided among Elzeria's kind because of the potentially horrid repercussions it brought, but sometimes it felt like they avoided 'sorry' with even greater urgency. I've learned the hard way not to expect either of those things from any of them.

"Have you ever met a wolf before, Elzeria?" I asked her, brushing aside my irritation.

"A wolf?" she asked, grasping her chin contemplatively. "Catching them is troublesome but I suppose their fur would make a wonderful coat. I could match it with a grey hat for you, I think grey would look charming."

I pursed my lips. "Have you ever heard of a human and wolf being soul mates?"

She nodded. "When I make that coat everyone will think that's exactly what you two are. It'll be stunning."

"Not in that sense," I said, shaking my head. "I'm talking about an actual relationship."

Elzeria tugged at a leaf from one of her branches. A new one grew right back in its place as she toyed with the one she'd plucked. "Who needs relationships when there are clothes?"

I sighed in frustration. I should've known, Elzeria was like a special breed of workaholic. Her work was all she talked and thought about. I've actually never seen her eat yet. (Maybe she ate clothes?) She probably wasn't the best person to go for answers but there was no one else I could ask, my parents would start freaking out at the mention of a soul mate despite the fact that I wasn't remotely interested in shit like that-

Another lie? My conscience snickered.

I pressed my lips together, ignoring it. What the old hag said about me becoming my own destruction could mean only one thing: I was probably going to mess up tonight. The prince wasn't going to be impressed with my performance and would kick us out. My parent's dream would be crushed and that's the worst possible fate for me.

But that outcome sounded a little bit too convenient, didn't it? Losing the prince's interest might bring great disappointment to my parents but we still had the house and I could continue dancing happily. The old hag had been talking about life and death, great doom, etcetera. However confusing it sounded to be soul mates with a wolf, I had to find this person before everything went wrong.

"Elzeria," I said. "I need to change out of this dress, I'm thinking of visiting the woods for a bit."

"No need," Elzeria grinned proudly. "The dress cannot be dirtied and it will protect itself from any kind of harm."

"Cool," I said, striding over to the window and opening it. "My parents are outside waiting for me but if they show up I think you should tell them all about the coat you have planned for me."

That said, I slipped out of the open window, flats silently landing on the grass. Two steps forward was all it took for me to melt into the crowd of partying fae.

The Autumn Lord's castle was packed to brimming with fae from numerous courts, all here to watch the main event of the festival. As much as I'd like to claim they were here to see me, the actual truth was the majority had come to watch the Challenge. It was an event that was held once a month within every court, a special occasion when one of the high fae could issue a challenge to the current lord or lady of the court. If the challenger won then they would become the new lord or lady and the fallen one would either be killed or let go- in disgrace no less- to live quietly somewhere else. Not many challengers came forward during the festivals though and the fae have used it as another excuse to party and fool around- although this time around there would actually be a challenge.

A faerie from the Summer Court was going to try and take down the Autumn Court's Lord, something everyone knew wasn't possible anyway. Despite his age, the Autumn Lord was known widely for his powerful magic, it was a given that the challenger was going to fail and get himself killed since the Autumn Lord was also widely known for his limited mercy. It didn't matter to me, so long as I could perform after the body was taken away.

But before that I'd like to take a look around, see if I'd run into any four-legged troublemakers. Better to address the problem head-on instead of letting it sneak up on me while my guard is down.

"Little girl," a man hissed, glowing green face suddenly inches from mine. "I have lipstick so red the love of your life will rather watch his own heart bleed than leave you alone for a second. What will you trade for it?"

I shoved his face away from mine. "I know I'd trade my soul to get you away from me right now. Get lost."

He bared red fangs at me. "You'll die single."

I rolled my eyes. "Tell that to the fortune-telling hag," I muttered, continuing my brisk walk, eyes searching the faces around me, ignoring the upbeat music playing, ignoring hands that reached out and attempted to pull me into a dance.

I was starting to consider venturing into the woods behind the castle when there was a tap on my shoulder. A tap I wouldn't have paid attention to if the person hadn't gripped me by the arm right after.

Annoyed, I whirled around, ready to rip into the idiot.

I stopped. Gaped at the wolf ears.

"Who are you?" I asked shakily.

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