The Seelie's Mirror

Chapter 11 Dadi and The Brick

Chapter 11

I stare at the bird for so long that it starts to feel embarrassed rather than scared. Although I have seen many animated and live-action depictions of talking birds, nothing compares to the impact of actually encountering one.

Suddenly, I don't feel like cooking Goliath anymore.

"H–Human? Can you understand me?" The bird asked me after a long moment of silence.

"What are you?" I keep my hold firmly on the bird since I don't want it to get any ideas now that I am talking to it. "That creature over there that has my friend captive seems to care about your life."

"I'm just a regular—"

"If you lie, you die."

The bird immediately stops. It looks at me fearfully with one of its side eyes before trying again. "I am...this floor's guardian."

"Guardian?"

"Yes." It confirms with as close to a nod as it can with my hand still clasping its neck. "Each floor has a designated guardian. I believe that you met the first guardian already, right? Kenya, the guardian of reflection."

"Kenya who?" Kellar decides to join in the conversation. Honestly, I almost forgot about him and his situation.

"Kenya mind your own business? We're having a serious conversation here." I respond to him, but as I turn to face him, it seems that Goofy has him pinned to the ground. I let out a breath when I addressed Goliath. "Get your creature off of Klovis, and I will break your neck."

"You're kidding, right? There's no way that you would hurt such an adorable—"

"I have a different definition of adorable, and sadly, you don't qualify." Goliath must have seen the look on my face and figured out that I wasn't kidding.

"Lexus, go back. I'll be fine." The bird immediately gives Goofy(real name Lexus) a look, making the creature back away in silence. Then, after a bit of a pause, Lexus heads back into the forest and lets out a sad chuckle.

Weirdo cat-tiger thing.

Klovis quickly moves away and heads to sit beside me as I continue to interrogate the bird. As per agreement, I loosen my hold on its neck, but I do not release my hold on the bird.

"...You're not going to let me go?"

"If I let you go, I will lose my leverage." I answer. "So, going back to the topic, you say that you're this floor's guardian?"

"Mhm. My name is Dadi, guardian of emotion."

Did he say that his name is Daddy?

I almost snorted out in laughter because of the pronunciation that I got in my head. I turn my head away to hide my face as I bite my lower lip and close my eyes. Get a grip, Livia. Don't laugh. It's not funny. Not funny at all!

I shouldn't have asked for his name. I should have kept the name Goliath!

"Yes, daddy?" Klovis repeats it with a raised brow, making me almost blow up with laughter. Not a second later, Klovis is hiding his face while silently chuckling. I would have almost lost it at that point if Dadi hadn't spoken.

"What are you two laughing about? Is something funny?" He asks.

I slap Klovis's shoulder, forcing him to pay attention. When he raises his head, he is wearing a straight face, but if you look closely, you can see tears in his eyes from laughing.

"Wh–What?" He sniffles, turning to Dadi. "Oh, don't mind us. We're certainly not laughing because of your name."

Sometimes, I hate the fact that fairies are honest. It makes it harder for us to avoid these kinds of awkward situations.