The fairy held his head wincing in pain. "I can't stand not being around her. It's so painful."

His companion observed him carefully before speaking. "I can't really help you out. You know that my position won't allow you to claim her."

"That's because you want her for yourself, you bastard," spat the hurt fairy. "I'm leaving. Whatever you do, take away this spell that makes my body scream in pain."

The fairy limped to the center of the plaza and teleported away.

I woke up at six in the morning wondering why I set my alarm. That's right. I had to help my grandmother with her shop since she is so graciously paying me for my time. She owns a store that sells occult objects and to tell you the truth, once you get used to the store, it's actually interesting. The first time my mother took me there, I freaked out. I thought she was sending me to a place the way Hansel and Gretel were left in the woods. I calmed down a bit when I saw my grandmother's sweet face waiting by the store entrance. She taught me all kinds of things like how tarot cards were only supposed to be read once during a reading and not done multiple times because it disrespects the cards. This rule was to keep the credibility of the cards since it is really a random number generator.

As soon as I entered the store, my grandmother dragged me into the back room. She didn't greet me nor did anything that she would normally do when she saw me. In fact, it made me wonder whether or not I was in trouble. I was right. I was in a great deal of trouble. The first thing she asked me was for me to sit down at the table. Already, the situation did not seem good. She sat across from me at a table. She passed a cup of hot tea to me. I watched her take a box out of a locked shelf. She handed it to me and told me to tell her what I saw. Inside the box was a mirror that seemed ordinary. I expected to see my reflection but I saw myself sitting upon a throne with many expecting eyes. I made a slight gesture and someone was beheaded. The mirror quickly showed the faces of two male creatures. One was the fairy that took the form of Nate. The other resembled a classmate of mine.

Pseudo-Nate was watching my grandmother's store from across the street. The other was sleeping in a dark room. I relayed all of the things I saw to my grandmother. "What does this mean?"

It felt like hours before my grandmother finally responded. "It seems like the fairy watching us outside has some business with you. The other seems like he will become your ally. I'm not sure though. Fairies are mischievous creatures. I informed your mother about the things we need to do around the house."

"But what about the shop?" I asked incredulously. Mondays were the days that new products were shipped into the shop. She only twirled her hand as if it didn't matter.

"My granddaughter's life is more important. What's important is why he's following you and what caused you to be part of his life."

I ended back in my house with a bunch of salt and charms hanging around my room. The fairy that watched us outside the store was approaching the house. I stood by the front door making sure it was locked. The door magically unlocked and opened. I kept shutting it and locking it. I ended up sitting against the door. I was about to pour salt near the front door when I heard a laugh. "It's useless, you know. I'm not immune to the salt barrier that you and your grandma are putting around the house. Only traditional fairies are affected. We modern fairies are harder to get rid of."

"What do you want? Why are you following me around?" I shouted at him. My grandmother started cleaning up the little salt we spread on the window sills. She sighed.

"Might as well let him in."

I let go of the door allowing him to step in. My grandmother whispered into my ear. "There isn't much I can help you with. I'll be making some tea then."

"I'm sorry I didn't introduce myself yesterday. It was quite rude of me." He grinned holding out his hand. He pulled it back as if he didn't offer it in the first place. "I'm Paul and you are Scarlett."

"I know my name thanks." My grandmother led us into the living room with the tea she promised. She sat in the kitchen waiting for him to leave when he finished his business.

"I'm here because I am bound to you. I am in pain when I'm not near you. It's inconvenient. I need to marry you and I know that since you are not going to approve, I plan on making a contract that will get me out of this mess." He sipped his tea before speaking again. "The contract will include a deal so either of us has a benefit whether we win or not. If you are able to sever your bond with me by either having sex with a nocturnal fairy or find another method of breaking my spell, I will leave you alone forever. However, if you choose the former, there is a high chance that you will become bonded with that fairy. If you are unable to break the bond before summer ends, I will claim you and marry you."

He had a delicate face and a tanned complexion. I guessed that he was what people would call a light fairy. He began speaking to my grandmother about the information that she should update about the modern fairies. I tuned him out and continued with the little things that would probably save my life eventually. By the time he left, the sun was beginning to set. My grandmother looked at me with sympathetic eyes. "He is determined to have you. You have a certain power that will determine their future. I'm sorry that there isn't much I can really do. I suggest that you don't put up any charms at all. It'll hurt you more than help you. It's getting late so I'll be off now. I order you to resolve this before you come back."

She was about to leave before adding, "This envelope is all the money that should take care of your necessities. Think of it as a paycheck like you were working during the time that you were fixing this situation."

I felt the house become cold as soon as she walked out of the house. She left me a casserole and a gift card to a local grocery store. My heart grew warmer when I realized that she really was doing her best to help me.