Chapter 42: Charming personality

“Stand up and stop causing a scene, Fabian.”

“Am I causing a scene, or did you cause one?” Fabian retorted in disbelief and continued wailing while holding his leg, drawing several glances from passersby.

Not wanting people to think he had actually been injured, Lyriel strode over to him, grabbed him by the ear, and gave him a light smack on the head with her palm.

“Aww! That hurts!” he winced.

“Stop your childish behavior, Fabian! You're disgracing me in front of these people.”

“You've broken my bones, Lyriel, yet you think I'm being childish?” he said sadly.

Lyriel sighed in frustration. Why was he being so immature? She simply wasn't in the mood for his antics.

“I'm sorry, okay? I didn't intend to hit you that hard.”

But he wouldn't listen, so Lyriel simply held onto her cart and continued pushing it farther into the market. She hadn't actually intended to hit him; she had thought he would move out of the way. Why was he so stubborn? He and Farren were so much alike.

Seeing that she wouldn't give him any attention, Fabian stood up from the ground and sighed. She was probably still frightened by the things he had told her the previous day. Even he had gotten goosebumps. And considering that she lived in the middle of the dark forest, he could only imagine what she might have gone through. Now he truly regretted telling her those stories.

He caught up with her and grabbed the cart's handle, playfully nudging her aside with his hip.

Lyriel stumbled and glared back at him, wondering where he got the nerve to push her aside like that. Had he woken up early that morning just to torment her for the rest of the day?

“Have you gone crazy? Let go of my cart!” she frowned deeply.

“Let me help you push it to your stall. I can see how you're swaying from side to side under the weight of the cart,” Fabian teased with a smug grin.

“Hey! I am stronger than I look. And I wasn't swaying.”

“Did you even eat properly this morning?”

Lyriel scoffed in disbelief. It turned out Fabian was even more annoying than Farren—so annoying that she suddenly had the urge to grab his thin neck.

“I ate well!” she replied hastily, trying to cover up her embarrassment.

Fabian smirked and effortlessly pushed the cart farther into the market while Lyriel walked beside him. She had already given up arguing with him. She wondered how some people managed to develop such annoying habits.

“So, were you scared by what I told you yesterday?” he asked, wearing the same playful, mischievous smirk.

Lyriel tensed, clearing her throat awkwardly. How could a fae princess like her be frightened by a mere story told by a human? Did this human realize how powerful she was? But the truth was that she had actually been frightened to death, especially because Eli hadn't returned home the previous night.

The most horrifying part was that Fabian hadn't been making up his stories. At least, not after what she had witnessed when he sang that forbidden song. It had been the scariest experience she had ever had. The kingdom and the forest shared a deep, dark history, and Fabian hadn't been exaggerating.

But then she wondered whether she had made a mistake by coming to the mortal realm. If their world really was as terrifying as Fabian had described, was there still a ray of hope that humans could help save her fae kin from the apocalypse, or had her mission already failed?

“I wasn't scared,” she lied.

“Are you sure about that?”

“Stop talking, Fabian. I'm not in the mood to argue or play with you.”

Fabian furrowed his brows in disbelief.

“Play with me?”

“Yes. That's exactly what you're trying to do,” Lyriel pressed.

“I am not a child. Why would I want you to play with me?” he said a little louder than usual, embarrassed.

“Says the one who was just sitting on the ground crying for attention a few minutes ago,” Lyriel smirked, knowing she had finally found his weakness.

Fabian stopped the cart and turned to face her fully. He simply couldn't stand there and let her call him childish.

“You ran me over with your cart.”

“And so you sat on the ground crying like a child when you weren't even hurt?”

“I was just pretending!” he defended.

“Oooo, you mean... like this?” Lyriel said, mimicking the way he had behaved. She soon burst into laughter, unable to hold it back because it was simply too funny.

Her laughter soon became contagious, and Fabian folded his arms in amusement. He had seen her many times around the village, but he had never once seen her laughing so freely. He wondered how something so small that he had done could make such a difference in her.

“Ah, I see what you're doing.” He pointed at her, chuckling.

“What am I doing?”

“Forget it. You never listen.” He shook his head and continued pushing the cart.

“So now you don't want to play?” Lyriel pouted.

“Go away!” he retorted, making her laugh all over again.

“I can't, not while you're holding my cart!”

And so they kept arguing until they finally arrived at the stall. She greeted the vendors around her and began arranging her fruit on the table with Fabian's help. The market seemed a little less busy than on other days, but she was optimistic that she would sell all the fruit regardless.

“You can't sell all this today,” Fabian pointed out as he sat on the stool, munching on an apple he had taken from her.

“Watch me!” Lyriel smirked. “I have a very charming personality.”

“Hm, so charming that you almost broke my leg with your cart.”

Lyriel frowned at his joke.

“You stood in my way.”

“Okay,” he surrendered, standing up to leave. “I have some things to do. Call me when you need help again.” He winked.

Lyriel blushed at his words. He was too funny and had a surprisingly rare ability to make her forget everything else and laugh to her heart's content.

“Thank you, Fabian.”

Fabian glanced at her, surprised that she had actually thanked him.

“My pleasure,” he said before leaving.

Lyriel had only met him the day before, yet she felt as though she had always known him. Although he could be very annoying, she liked some of his energy. He was unlike Mira, who had been consumed by jealousy and hatred. Perhaps Fabian would be a worthwhile friend.

She instinctively glanced over at Mira's stall and noticed it was empty. She wondered why, or perhaps Mira was simply still on her way.

One of these days, she would personally approach her and resolve the little dispute between them. She didn't like the thought of being estranged from the first human friend she had ever made.

She wouldn't call Eli a friend, because he was far more than that.

He was her savior.