The mischievous fairy’s rainbow wings fluttered erratically behind her, scattering faint prisms of light across Benjamin’s lap and the couch cushions.
"And that Sakura is a very dangerous and tricky woman," she went on, voice dropping to a dramatic whisper. "She might make do sothing truly horrible if she ever found out I ddled with her precious things... again. She had even been one of the most massive pain in the rear to Lucifer himself during the last war! If she can annoy him that much, imagine what she’d do to little old !"
"And Elyndor..." Titania’s voice cracked, eyes going wide with exaggerated fear. "Elyndor is super scary. If you ss with her even a little, she’ll put you inside this horrible dinsion that feels like eternity stretched across one single second! Ti itself becos your prison! If she finds out I’m still working with Chröma, she’ll seal away... again. probably for another few millennia this ti!"
"Sigh," Dynamis muttered, bringing one large hand up to cover her face in a weary face-palm.
The golden bands on her wrist clinked softly against her forehead.
She looked utterly exhausted, as though the conversation had suddenly aged her several decades. "You fool... So you really are still in contact with that Originator?"
"Huh?!" Titania’s head snapped up to her, tears already brimming along her lower lashes. "But you said you knew that already! You just threatened to tell Elyndor about it!"
Benjamin tilted his head slightly, genuine confusion creasing his brow as he looked between the two won, then over at Vaelora, who had remained silent until now.
"Uhm... I more or less understand Elyndor—being the goddess of the world. But who exactly is Chröma? That ti god everyone whispers about?"
"Of course... Master Benjamin," Vaelora finally spoke, her voice calm and asured, yet carrying an unmistakable undercurrent of urgency.
She stepped half a pace closer, pink eyes fixed on him with quiet intensity. "Please do not associate yourself with Chröma. If you ever see them, or realize they’re in your vicinity, try and leave that place imdiately. Do not engage and do not speak to them, do not even acknowledge them if you can help it."
"She is correct, god-touched," Dynamis added, nodding once in agreent with the fairy. Her tone was grave and sowhat paternal despite her imposing size. "Chröma is a multiversal fugitive and criminal. No one truly understands how they think, except that they seem to enjoy having fun at the direct expense of entire worlds’ safety and stability."
"Not to ntion," Dynamis continued, leaning forward slightly, "the fabled red dragon, Tëhznarā, was said to have ntioned sothing implying she had received a directive from them. And you should know well the heavy role that dragon played in our loss during the last war."
"Chröma is extrely single-minded, Master Benjamin," Vaelora said softly, her voice dropping even lower. "Considering your rapid growth, the kind of acceleration most beings never see in a lifeti, they might be attracted to you if you do not lay low. They collect interesting things... including people."
"I see." Benjamin nodded slowly, processing the weight of their words. His usual easy smile had faded into sothing more thoughtful. "I understand. If I see this person called Chröma, I should run. But, more importantly, why in the world is Tania working with such a criminal?!"
"Teehee!" Titania stuck her tongue out playfully, though the gesture looked more defensive than mischievous now. "You know, I’m basically also a criminal myself."
"And she’s admitting it?" Benjamin sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose with one hand while the other remained steady around her waist to keep her from slipping off his lap in her fidgeting.
"That mischievous fairy there has her interests occasionally aligned with those of Chröma’s," Dynamis pointed out dryly, folding her arms once more beneath her chest. "So they end up partnering most of the ti, whether the rest of us like it or not."
"Uhm... sothing like that," Titania mumbled, her suddenly sulking face pressing deeper into Benjamin’s chest. "To be honest... Chröma is my friend. More specifically, they and I were part of Namadris’s wives."
[Namadris again?! Was he the equivalent of Superman in this universe?] [Ben]
Titania continued without looking up, voice muffled against his shirt. "When I saw Elara carrying so much palpable affection for you, the way her eyes softened whenever she looked at you, I felt jealous. I an, she always ignores my invitations for tea parties and playhouse sessions, no matter how many tis I ask."
"What are you, six?!" Benjamin poked her cheek gently with one finger, half-teasing and half-exasperated.
"So I tried to steal you from her with Chroma’s help," Titania admitted, finally lifting her head just enough to et his eyes. "Since they had broken out of their prison so ti ago. But Chröma said, ’oops! I only have these royal garnts of his. That sneaky fox took the rest of him. But no worries, I put him back on the tunic you stripped, so he’s not naked, at least.’ At least bring back so of his body parts, you idiot Chröma!"
Benjamin visibly recoiled from two separate horrors at once:
The casual implication that Chröma had been watching him... and the even more disturbing fact that Titania seed perfectly fine with the idea of him being reduced to scattered body parts, as long as she got her hands on him.
"Ah, so Chröma was what happened to my royal garnts, the ones Elara made for ?!" Benjamin yelled, voice cracking with sudden realization.
"Yes, they were sniffing it," Titania casually slipped in, as though that were the most normal thing to do. "Maybe Chröma has already taken a liking to you. And I can’t imagine anyone successfully hiding from that brat. Anyway, you get it, right? Try convincing Dynamis to let you stay here forever."
"Huh?" Benjamin blinked. "I... planned to leave here in a few days..."
Titania’s eyes widened instantly, as tears gradually welled up at the corners, shimring like tiny diamonds before spilling over.
"Ah, yeah... Of course you’ll leave," she whispered, voice cracking. "You all always do. The thing about being with forever... that was just in-the-mont spur, right?"
The atmosphere in the hall suddenly plumted, with a thick and heavy silence settling over everyone like a cold blanket.
Even Dynamis’s normally stoic expression softened at the sight of the tiny fairy queen’s crying face, her dark eyes losing so of their earlier sharpness.
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