The Bad Fairy (girlxgirlxgirl)

33. The ultimate betrayal

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Cosmo and Astro have changed quite a bit since Chepi last saw them. When she left they were still in their late teens. Now, they are a little taller, a little stronger, with sharp eyes and a few battle scars hidden by their clothes and armour. Chepi doesn't remember much about them, other than the fact that she used to play with them when she was really young, before they began to train seriously. She's never been super close to them, and yet, seeing them today feels strange.

Like they're not supposed to be here. Like it's not possible.

Maybe it's because she's put such a large focus on the safety of the goblin kingdom.

She came here, looking for a safe haven, and when she found it she just couldn't imagine anything bad happening within it. No matter what adventures she went on, no matter how dangerous the missions were and no matter who held a sword against her throat, the borders of the goblin kingdom alone would protect her from all the bad experiences of her childhood.

Chepi knows now how naive that thought was. Because despite the fact that they are at least one or two days away from the fairy border, her brothers and their troops are right here, having marched inside without trouble. And she is forced to face them, feeling stuffy inside despite never having hated them. It's just difficult to meet people who remind you of all the bad moods of the past. Seeing Nayan is one thing, but Chepi doesn't know if she'll have the nerves required to meet the rest of her 'people'.

"What are you all doing?! Marching on enemy territory? We aren't in a war, Cosmo!"

Nayan's voice is loud and angry, having pulled the twins aside with Chepi quietly sanding behind him. They haven't really acknowledged her yet, too busy fending off their older brother's fury. The rain is heavy on their necks and it creates a thick fog around them, making it hard for them to see anything else but each other, and the shadow of the large mountain they were about to cross.

Cosmo takes a step forward, coming face to face with his brother, who happens to be bleeding in his left arm from the fight earlier. The twin folds his arms over his chest. "No, but the enemy kingdom happens to have both the heir to the throne and the youngest princess within its borders. Father gave us the green card." He sounds a little smug, beneath all the layers of seriousness, and his brother looks equally as smug behind him. They've been waiting for this day for a long time, and now that it's finally here, they can laugh in Nayan's face for all the times he's denied them permission.

Nayan shakes his head, looking even more exasperated.

"This is ridiculous Cosmo. Please tell me you weren't caught by any goblin soldiers?!"

His brother completely ignores him on that one, turning his head to look at Chepi. She must've caught his eye, and the main point of their mission comes flooding back to them. Chepi avoids eye contact. They haven't seen each other in five years. Chepi was under the assumption that they thought of her as a traitor for leaving the fairy kingdom and stealing the crystal crown. She expects to see a distasteful look on his face, but instead he looks rather optimistic. His eyes shine.

"Is that- Cherelle?"

With Nayan's tired nod, Cosmo and Astro now have their full attention on their sister. She looks quite different from what she used to look like. Although her hair is still relatively long and pink, her face and style has changed a lot. Rather than the roundish babyface that she had when she left the fairy kingdom, her face is now more angled and sharp into a heart shaped version of what it used to be. Her clothes have been replaced by goblin fashion, with wide and airy pants rather than the skirt and dress fashion that the fairies prefer, with a slightly more harsh look. Her eyes have matured and become less wide and innocent, and more serious and cunning.