With their appearance in court set for two weeks from now, and assured that someone would be sent to pick them up at the Weldtree, David and Niala watched in a daze as the miniature lawyers turned around and marched back through the gate, which slammed shut and disappeared in an instant the second the last fairy had stepped through. The dust faded away into thin air, and the tree's colours returned to normal, no traces of the event left apparent, apart from the tiny legal document held between two of Niala's fingers.

  David scratched his cheek. “I thought fairies had wings.”

  “What? That's what got you puzzled? Not, you know, fairy lawyers?” Niala asked, unease creeping into her voice. “Or the fact that we're being brought to court? Because I picked up a few plants? What kind of currency do they even use?! Will I be able to pay them?”

  David clasped her hand into his, giving her a reassuring smile. “It's just a misunderstanding. We'll figure out how to repay them, that's all.”

  Her face scrunched up. “Stop being reasonable! This is not a reasonable situation!”

  He chuckled and pulled her into a hug, draining away her anxiety, as her tail stopped swishing around like a stalk in the wind, and her ears flopped down.

  They discussed the event some more, resolving to avoid further complications by complying with the summons and getting back to their lives in the intervening time.

  The rest of the day was spent working around the house, neither of them in the mood for more exercise.

  The next two weeks came and went.

  They went around and asked Hodge if he knew anything about the Fairies and their legal system. The old Devil shrugged and said he'd heard rumours about how the little fairies put a lot of importance on their laws and on being “fair”, but little else. Caleb didn't have much more information to give them, beyond saying that the few stories he had heard all said the same thing; follow their rules. If you must hide something or lie, make sure it's within the purview of the law.

  It did little to help with their apprehension, but there was little they could do at this time other than complying.

  David and Niala trained together on his off days, and he continued suffering under Leandro's stern instructions, only to be healed by Niala's touch and snuggles in the evening.

  They ended up using quite a few contraceptive potions over that period of time. David was beginning to suspect that seeing him sweaty and exhausted somehow excited her, or maybe it was her dotting on him that did it?

  Whatever the cause, he wasn't going to complain. Having a “hungry” girlfriend was very much to his liking; It was a great stress reliever.

  Between both of the exhausting activities, he had the best sleep he'd ever had. So did Niala, if the amount of energy she kept displaying was any indication.

  They stood in front of the Weldtree at the agreed-upon time and waited. Niala squeezed her hands, unable to stop fidgeting. David wrenched one of her hands away and held it in his own. She looked at him, at his comforting smile, and took a deep breath, exhaling and putting up a semblance of calmness.

  The tree rang at the same time as the ninth bell did. The candy colours returned to the tree; it shed another waterfall of dust, and the gate opened once more.

  A single fairy stepped through this time, sporting a sharp three-piece business suit that somehow looked cheaper than the ones from before. They didn't remember seeing this fairy last time, and she looked somehow younger, if fairies aged at all.

  The little woman stepped up to the two giants waiting for her, doing her best to hide the jitters in her legs as she put up a collected front.

  “HeLl-” She coughed into her hand, hiding her breaking voice. She closed her eyes and started again, a pleasant smile on her face.

  “Hello. I am Totori Flamrise. I was sent by the Crystal Unicorn firm to escort one Niala of Riverwall and David Wayman. Are you them?”

  David nodded while Niala spoke up. “Hello Totori! Yes, that's us. You'll have to excuse us, we'd never dealt with fairies until two weeks ago. We don't know how to... huh... behave?”

  Totori nodded her understanding. “Fret not, Niala of Riverwall! That's why I'm here! I will be your escort during the legal proceedings and stay in the Fairlands.”

  David and Niala shared a look before she asked another question. “And this is a free service?”

  Totori's smile hitched. “I'm... afraid not. But it's a very reasonably priced service! I highly recommend availing yourself of it! Please!” She slapped a hand to her mouth and looked up at them, panic at the edge of her eyes, slowly letting her hand fall. “What I meant is, please use this service, you will find your stay much less troublesome. Yes, that's what I meant!” The little woman affirmed.

  Niala's pupils dilated, her mouth stretching into a motherly smile. David saw it happen in an instant, too fast for him to react. The fairy's small stature, overall cuteness, her uncertain demeanour and young age...

  Niala had just emotionally adopted the little fairy, as if it were a stray pet trying to play at being a humanoid.

  She let go of David's hand, pulled toward the new, two-foot-tall object of her compassion, kneeling before it and leaning forward, her head looming over the small woman, making her take a step back.

  “Of course, we'll have your help! Please, just call me Niala! Your suit is very pretty!”

  “...ah? Oh! I mean, yes! Thank you! It cost me most of my remaining savings! I had to beg the tailor to give me a huge discount, and I might have promised them a future purchase or two at full price, but my new boss told me I couldn't show up in my old suit because it was outdated and the firm had an image to uphold and-” She clamped a hand over her mouth once again. She looked up at Niala, eyes wide.

  Niala's smile bisected her face. David could see her shoulders twitch as she resisted picking up the little woman into a hug.

  He sighed, shaking his head.

  They were eventually led through the dust gate, a strange warping of perspective washing over them as they crossed the threshold. When the dizziness passed, they flinched at the sight of Totori, who was now, while still shorter, at least of a relatable height.

  She grinned at their expression before schooling her face and clearing her throat. “Apologies, I was told that Mundaneworlders made fu- interesting faces when they stepped through the gate, but that was more than expected!”

  David and Niala shared a look before observing their surroundings, another disorienting wave washing upon them.

  They found themselves in a large room, having stepped out of a large wooden arch with glowing runes etched all over its span, and intricate-looking machinery attached to it at various intervals, with wires and tubes leading away from those and disappearing into the floor.

  The gentle rolling hills and pinkish forest they'd seen through the gate were in front of them on a... screen... of some sort. An illusion, projected upon a wall, lifelike, but clearly fake.

  A fairy wearing work coveralls was standing at a metallic podium by the side of the gate, manipulating the controls upon it, before the gate behind them lost its glow, the image of Niala's courtyard and the rolling plains projection on the wall fading away at the same time.

  The rest of the room was spartan, looking to be made of single slabs of painted rock, with luminous squares suspended from the ceiling.

  Totori thanked the technician fairy before beckoning them over, through the double swinging door that led into a well-lit violet-and-white large circular room, with identical sets of doors lining the circumference, and a clump of elevator doors to one side.

  If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

  They followed the fairy woman to the elevators, which brought them up to a sort of lobby, alive with fairies in various attire, moving about alone or in groups, coming in and out of the elevators. A long row of turnstiles stood in front of glass pane doors that led outside.

  Totori passed them through, flashing a flat and smooth flower pendant at the turnstile for each of them.

  A wall of sound assaulted them as they walked outside. There were throngs of fairies walking up and down stone paths that bordered a wide road, upon which strange-looking auto-carriages zoomed in both directions.

  Then they noticed the buildings; there was not a single one they could see that wasn't at least three stories high, and all were massive stone constructions, reminding them of castles, but decorated with frescoes and carvings of cute animals and flowers, instead of mythical creatures and warriors.

  And everything was a shade of pink or purple, with some white and pastel blue highlights.

  Totori stood to the side, smiling, as she observed the gawking tourists. “Welcome to Fairlilly, the greatest and fairest capital in the world!” She said, extending her arms, showcasing the vista behind her. “Please follow me! A cariole is waiting to take us to the courthouse. We'll have time for questions on the way.”

  Niala snapped shut her mouth, her question pre-empted by Totori's comment, as they followed the fairy, their heads spinning left and right, taking in the sights.

  Their guide led them to a parking area, where several of brightly-coloured autocars, or carioles, were parked. Walking up to one, she opened the smooth metal door for them. They all climbed in and sat on one of the two facing benches, Totori taking the other one.

  The cariole backed up and accelerated out onto the wide road, dodging other carioles along the way and going speeds that far exceeded any autocar they'd ever ridden.

  Totori, hands on her knees, looked at them, a professional smile on her face, evidently enjoying their awkward acclimatization.

  Niala stared out the window, ears pointed up, the tip of her tail twitching, pupils dilated, as an uncountable number of new and exciting things blurred by.

  She unglued herself from the view for a second, looking at Totori. “What is this!?”

  Her sight turned back to the outside of the cariole. “What's all this!? What are those? What are the buildings made of?! Are they made of rock? They're so smooth! It's almost like... melted rock? Do you build with lava?! No, the rocks must be ground down, and then turned into a slurry that hardens over time... How are there so many autocars! And a lot of them look exactly the same! You can't be building all of those by hand! Are you using golems? A lot of golems that build autocars all at once?! So many people! Where do they all live? In the high buildings? I can see really high ones over there! Do people all live in those? They can't be full houses! They're too big! They must be partitioned inside! Is the rock slurry that strong, to build so high?!” Her questions began blending into each other, as Totori's smile melted away into a gaping mouth.

  The fairy looked at David, hoping for an explanation of what was happening. He shrugged, offering no succour to the distressed fairy. Niala would Niala.

  She didn't get to answer a single question, instead listening to the barrage of words coming out of the small catkin with an increasingly dejected expression.

  The cariole deposited them in front of a grand building, the front sporting several textured columns that reached all the way to the roof, decorated with climbing vines and flowers.

  Several groups of business-clothed fairies moved in and out of the building, interspersed with ones who wore dark-purple padded light armour, with various equipment dangling from their belt, marching with intent among the throngs.

  Totori led them in, logging their names and visit at the front desk, up a floor and to a heavy, ashen-pink wooden door. Beyond it was a large room with a high ceiling, filled with chairs on one side, a podium of some sort against the middle of the far wall, and sets of tables and chairs on the other side.

  They recognized Feretina at one of the tables, sitting alongside a grey-and-purple-clothed fairy with a dour look on her face.

  Totori spoke in a hushed tone as she led them to one of the tables, where they all sat. “This is the court of fair where your case will be handled. Today, we're just going to have the initial hearing, so you get to hear the charges arrayed against you. After that, the Fairqueen will give you a date for the beginning of the trial, and you will have that time to find fair representation, if you don't already have one.”

  One of the dark-purple-clothed fairies entered the room before Niala or David could ask a question, bellowing.

  “All rise for the amazing and cute Fairqueen Lapozoli Cherrymish!”

  Chairs scraped as all of the sitting fairy rose, Totori motioning for them to do the same, before clasping her hand over her chest. They copied the gesture as best they could.

  A door opened, and a severe-looking fairy, in a frilly ball dress and adorned by a clearly fake beehive wig, thin metal wires sticking out of it, with birds, stars and flowers dangling at their tip, walked up the podium and took a seat.

  Lapozoli waved her hand, prompting the other fairies to sit back down. She picked up a piece of paper and glanced at it before turning to Feretina and speaking with austerity.

  “Fairmaster Feretina Argentile, please proceed.”

  The called-upon fairy rose and began talking. “Yes, your amazingness.” She dipped her head before continuing. “One Niala of Riverwall stands accused of theft, having appropriated goods without intent to compensate the owner, Frizzy Pink Flowers Limited, to a market value of 230,000 chocolate coins. We are also pursuing commensurate business damages totalling another 835,000 chocolate coins.” Her exposition done, she sat down.

  Fairqueen Lapozoli wrote down a few notes and nodded, turning her attention to Niala. “Miss Niala of Riverwall, having heard these accusations, do you accept or deny them?”

  Niala remained frozen in shock until Totori prodded her with her elbow. She snapped upright. “No! I mean, no, I don't agree with this!”

  The fairqueen quirked an eyebrow. Totori half-rose and whispered something to Niala, whose eyes widened.

  “I mean no, your amazingness! Sorry!”

  Lapozoli nodded and motioned for the ramrod-straight catkin to sit back down. “Very well. The case will be heard in full one week from now. Accused, given your apparent unfamiliarity with our fair rules, I highly suggest you seek legal counsel. If you cannot afford it, you can request one to be assigned to you. Thank you, everyone.”

  On that note, the fairqueen rose, imitated by everyone else in the room, and left as quickly as she'd come.

  Feretina approached Niala's table, as she and David had begun discussing what to do next. They quieted down as she reached them.

  “Niala, very pleased to see you showed up. Many mundaneworlders think themselves unconcerned by Fairlands matters, much to their ensuing detriment.”

  She adjusted her glasses and retrieved a sheaf of paper from her briefcase, handing it to her.

  “If you wish for legal counsel, I would suggest retaining Totori here. She's new to our firm, and this would be her first case; as such, her services will be heavily discounted. With some fair experience, she would qualify for a junior position, with pay.”

  They eyed their guide, who was attempting not to vibrate in excitement.

  David raised an eyebrow. “With pay? You're not paying her right now?”

  Feretina shook her head.

  Niala spoke up. “Oh! I heard of some merchants who did this, back in Majestic. I think they called that, huh... internships? Interns?”

  The fairy lawyer huffed. “Please, we prefer calling these hopefuls willing slaves. Internship implies a sense of belonging.”

  “O-Oh... right...” Niala said, side-eyeing the fairy woman.

  David spoke up. “Question.”

  “Yes?” Feretina said.

  “Aren't you prosecuting us?”

  “I am.”

  “And you work for, huh, the Crystal Unicorn firm?”

  “I do,” Feretina confirmed.

  “And so does Totori?” David asked.

  “In a manner of speaking.”

  “Isn't that a conflict of interest?” He pondered.

  All of the fairies assembled gasped, their heads turning toward David, consternation in their eyes.

  “...I'm guessing I spoke of a taboo that I was not aware of?”

  Totori was the first to recover. “Hum, mam, it's fine, I'll explain it to them.”

  Feretina closed her mouth, shaking off her residual shock. “Yes, please see that you do.” She said, departing with some haste along with her client, presumably someone from Frizzy Pink Flowers.

  After they'd gone, David and Niala looked to Totori, waiting for an explanation.

  The fairy shrank somewhat, as she explained. “So, hum, we don't say the C-O-I words out loud, it's, huh, very insulting to all fairykind.”

  David thinned his lips. “I'm afraid to ask, but why is that?”

  Totori bit her lip, uncertainty shading her face, before sighing. “It's a derogatory term our once-mortal enemies, the Lieprechauns, threw at us, before fairykind rose up and broke their chains of oppression.”

  Niala's ears wiggled. “How so? What happened?”

  “It's, huh, ancient history, way before my time. Our kind were used extensively as low-level managerial and menial employees by the Lieprechauns, who owned most of the capitals. The lazy liars that they were, they would blame fairies for all their troubles, claiming there was too much collusion among the worker class, using C-O-I as an excuse to segregate and control our movements.”

  David tilted his head, while Niala's ears flopped down, sorrow in her eyes.

  Totori perked back up. “It's ok though! They're gone nowadays! We honour our great heroes from back then, and take daily vows to deal fairly and without C-O-I! That's why it's fine if both the defendant and prosecutor hire the same firm! In fact, it's done all the time!”

  David frowned. “Wait, what do you mean they're gone? The Lieprechauns? You mean from this country?”

  Totori blinked. “No, from this world. Our ancestors purged and ate them.”

  Niala gasped. David's face fell.

  Totori smiled innocently.