No Good Deed Goes Unpunished

Zero could understand why his mother had wanted to escape The Kingdom and go to the land below.

It was all he wanted to do as well.

Especially at this very moment in his life.

Sitting at a table on the fifth floor that more resembled a war zone than a library, the boy could barely follow the man’s disjointed ramblings as he shoved book after book of records under Zero’s nose, none of which he really cared to see but was forced to, nonetheless. There would be no stopping Ren now that he was on a roll, so proud of himself for the accomplishment he was showing off.

Best to keep quiet until the man fizzled out.

As if Zero even had a chance to get a word in edgewise.

The angel had had no shame that morning as he plowed through the bedroom door and leapt on top of the devil and fae, shaking them from their slumber like a child ecstatic for the day ahead, before being dragged from the room by a not so impressed Sakura who slammed the door behind her while chastising the man for his ridiculous behavior. But even then, an exasperated demon and a closed door couldn’t stop him as he serenaded the two into getting ready quicker just so they didn’t have to listen to his off key warbling and offbeat drumming on the door any longer. They didn’t even have the opportunity to eat breakfast since Ren immediately badgered them from the manor and towards the library the moment the door was opened once again.

His mouth hadn’t stopped moving the entire time, and the pressure in the devil’s head was only growing with every syllable, the throbbing beginning behind his eyes and moving towards the back of his skull in steady waves.

Sooner or later though, the man would have to stop.

Certainly.

With any luck.

Because, unfortunately for Zero, being bored to death wasn’t an option.

“You’re fae!” Ren declared at long last, finally making his winding way to the point. He squeezed one eye closed as he held his hand in front of his face, thumb and index finger coming together with only the slightest of space between them. “About this much.”

Zero looked up from the record of his mother’s birth and at the man, unable to even forge a single care. “Okay.”

His bright and confident smile faltered, ocean eyes expressing his dismay. “Okay? What do you mean ‘okay’? I just figured out what you are! Why you’ve been able to do all this weird shit!”

It made no difference to the boy, but he’d throw the man a bone. “Alright. Good job. I’m proud of you.” As stoic and uninterested as ever. “Can we leave this place now?”

For the first time in his life, Ren was speechless. He had dedicated so much time and effort into this endeavor, and the one whom he was doing it for showed absolutely no interest despite the findings being nothing short of a miracle. By no means did he expect much from the devil, but he still expected something. Anything. And yet, he received nothing.

Why was he surprised?

“I told you not to make a big deal out of it,” Sakura reminded him, too little too late, as she began gathering the books from the floor. She had tried to warn him, but once the angel made up his mind, there was no amount of logic that could stop him. Sometimes, he needed to learn things the hard way.

This was one of those times.

And learn it the hard way he did.

“But it is a big deal!” he argued. “Isn’t that right, Little One? Don’t you think so?” Certainly, the fae would be on his side.

Ivy looked up at the man, feeling under pressure with being singled out, while she helped the woman pick up. She didn’t see what all the fuss was about, but he had tried so hard, and that was worth something. “Sure. I suppose it is.” She perked up, a little too bubbly and high pitched at the man’s clear disappointment at her lack of enthusiasm. “I mean, of course! It’s a super big deal!”

Ren shook his head in disgust at his companions. “I can’t believe you three. There has never been a known male fae born, and now that there is one, right here, no one cares. What the fuck is wrong with all of you?”

The girl pursed her lips together, treading carefully as to not further upset the angel. “I understand that it’s different. But... what does it change?”

The man was speechless for a second time. Things were not going the way he’d thought they would.

“Ivy kinda has a point,” Sakura agreed, much less sympathetic to Ren’s disappointment. “Zero has always been… different. This is just another thing to add onto his already long list of abnormalities. At this point, nothing’s a surprise. So, what does it really matter if he has a splash of fae blood?”

Somewhere, there was an answer, but the angel couldn’t figure it out. “You weren’t acting like this last night. You were excited about it.”

“I was, and it still is exciting. Like you said, male fae aren’t really a thing. But it’d be a lot more exciting if you would have shut up about it for five minutes.”

The woman may have had a point. It had been difficult for Ren to keep the zeal of discovery in check, and in turn, had verbally vomited all over the demon. It was apparent that she had been intrigued in the beginning as they headed back to the manor, but he probably should have taken the hint when her eyes glazed over after getting in bed, and she rolled away from him with her pillow shielding her head.

Maybe it was a sign he should try to tone it down?

Or maybe he should try harder to bring Ivy into the fold?

Ren stepped up to the girl and took the books from her arms. “Little One, are you really not interested in any of this? I understand Zero doesn’t care. He never does. But I didn’t expect the same reaction from you. I thought you of all people would be excited.”

Ivy began to feel bad. She probably was coming off as dismissive to the man’s discovery. She felt she owed it to him to at least try to explain. “I am, and it is interesting. Very interesting! It’s just not...” The fae scrunched her nose in concentration. “Surprising. Zero and I have always been the same.”

Ren looked back and forth at the boy and girl, seeing absolutely nothing similar between the two. He turned towards Sakura, her bewildered expression at the statement was an exact fit for how he felt. “The same how?”

The girl sighed, finding herself struggling to find the right way to describe what she felt. Words were so difficult when explaining something that required no words at all.

“It’s because we share the same light,” Zero interjected casually, thumbing through the pages of a new book.

“What light?” the angel asked. These two just got stranger and stranger. It never seemed to end.

The devil tapped on his chest without taking his eyes off the page. “In here.”

Ivy smiled, pleased with the help. “That’s it. The light. What a lovely way to put it. It’s what connects us.”

“What?” Ren had no idea what was going on, where this was leading to, or how they had even gotten here. “The light? It connects you? What the does that even mean? Since when?”

“Forever.” The boy and girl said in unison, like what they spoke of was the most natural thing in the world.

Ren nodded, as if it was completely reasonable. It wasn’t though, nothing about the two ever was reasonable, and he was beginning to realize just how much of a fool’s errand it was trying to make sense of it all. There were just some things that he was never going to understand.

The man was over it.

It was time to go home.

“Whatever,” Ren grumbled. “I don’t even care anymore. I’ll put all this back, and we’ll head home. I’ve got better shit to do then hang around the heavens anyways… like drown myself in the fucking river. Finally be useful for once.”

Zero continued looking through the book he had as the women handed the angel the remaining books to place back on the shelves. He had glanced over everything, and this seemed to be the only book with any mention of the fae, but it was only a couple of pages and the information superficial at best. “Is this all there is about the fae?” he asked.

The man peeked back before continuing his task. “It’s all I could find. The records were easy. Finding that book took up most of my time. There could be something more, but who knows if it’s even worth looking for in all of this. What do you care anyways?”

The devil studied the picture of the fae woman. There were others. Somewhere. “Maggie said that the portals to Summerland were outside of villages.”

A growl rumbled from Sakura at the mention of the witch. The old hag wasn’t above lying, and did so often. “Maggie says a lot of shit.”

“Do you think it’s possible that it’s true?”

The demon turned towards the devil, noticing his expression as he stared at the pages.

Longing.

“Zero? Why are you asking?” she asked, though she had an inkling why.

He closed the book and looked up at the woman. “I want to find Summerland.”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa, wait a minute.” Ren aimlessly stuffed the remaining books in his arms onto the nearest shelf and spun around, waggling his finger at the devil, the realization that no good deed goes unpunished rearing its ugly head. “I only wanted to come up here because I had suspicions and wanted to find proof before we head back home. I didn’t do all this research to prove that you’re a fae just so you could suddenly get a wild hair to go searching for Summerland.”

“It’s not sudden a wild hair,” the boy corrected.

“Oh, no? Then what is it?” the man spat, seeing the path towards home becoming a lot longer. “And how are we going to get there?

“It’s a beckoning. I can hear it. I can follow its call. The way I did with Ivy.”

Ren chuckled bitterly. “Oh great, you’re hearing shit again. And how long has this been going on?”

Zero shrugged. “For a while. Since before we came here.”

“Really?! And you want to go now?!”

“Yes.”

“Then why didn’t we go when you first heard it?” The man’s patience was wearing thin with the boy.

“I wasn’t quite sure what it was at first.” Zero paused for a moment before carefully closing the ancient book and peering up at the man, crimson accusing. “And then you wanted to come up here.”

Well, that wasn’t fair. “To get this information about you!” Ren barked in retaliation. “You could have said something! We could have avoided all of this! My parasite mother could have decimated The Kingdom, and all would have been well!”

“Maybe, but Sakura just seemed so excited. I didn’t want to take that experience away from her.”

“Take that experience away from her?!” The man’s eyes nearly bulged out of his skull. “What experience?! The one where she fucking died?!”

Zero glanced at the very much alive vixen. “She looks okay to me.”

“It really wasn’t that bad,” Sakura agreed. “You’re making a big deal out of nothing.”

Ren rubbed his face, not wanting any part of the potential, pointless argument that could be had. “Alright. Let’s just skip over that. How are we even going to get in there? Sakura and I aren’t fae, and you’re still a devil.”

“If Maggie can get in,” Sakura pointed out, “then there’s no reason why we can’t. Zero may be a devil, but he’s also an angel and fae. I imagine if he can find his way to the portal then he can get in somehow.”

Things were really spiraling for the angel now. “I don’t want to get in. I just want to go home.”

The woman crossed the room, her heels clicking with the sway of her hips. “Come on. Don’t you want to go to a realm full of beautiful women who crave the affections of men?” She stood in front of him, reaching up and running her fingers seductively along his jaw. “Especially tall, dark, and handsome ones like you. I’m sure they’ll love you. Worship the ground you walk on.”

“I’m sure they’ll be a fucking headache!” Ren shot back. “You’re already enough of a nightmare. I don’t need another one. I don’t need to be worshiped. I need to go back home.”

She glanced away with a displeased pucker to her lips. “Well, I guess you can go back home, and we’ll go on our own then.”

“Like hell you will!” The man snatched the woman’s elbow, unwilling to do another round of chase with her. “We’ve already agreed that I trapped you. Remember? You understand that trapping you doesn’t work unless we go home. That’s your cage. It’s where you belong. Where I’ll put you, and where you’ll stay. No more of this running around the land looking for stupid shit. You. Cage. Stay. Trapped. I’ve trapped you. Stay trapped. We had a deal.”

The vixen cackled at the arrogance before her. “I don’t remember agreeing to any of this trapped business. Whatever silly delusions you create in your head are all your own, not mine. You don’t have to like it, but we’re going. With or without you.”

This was not going as Ren had planned, and unless he nipped it in the bud, the cushy life that he had painstakingly worked towards was about to get much more difficult. “No. Not this time.” He pushed his shoulders back and straightened, towering over the woman, poised confidently and ready for whatever she threw at him. “I’ve played your games long enough and done everything you wanted. I’m done. I’m putting my foot down on this one. We’re not going to Summerland. We’re going home. Now.”

A cavalier brow raised along with a challenging smirk. “Is that right?” Sakura purred as she pressed herself further against the man who held his ground like a stone. “You’re being a big man now and putting your foot down, huh?” She examined his determined frown and vehement gaze that left no room for tolerating her refusal against his wishes. “Fine then,” she conceded with out so much as an attempt to fight back as she spun on her heels and sauntered over to the nearest table, taking a seat, and crossing one leg over the other while staring down the proud man. “Go ahead and tell Ivy we’re not going then.”

The sweet taste of success turned rancid as Ren reluctantly turned to look at the girl— her head bowed and hands nervously working against each other— who had kept her silence through the entire exchange between the angel, demon, and devil.

This didn’t bode well for Ren.

“I understand you don’t want to go,” Ivy’s voice broke, and she hastily wiped at her cheeks before looking up at the man with misty violet, trying her best to hold back the oncoming tears. “I know you want to just go home and stay, and after everything you’ve been through you should be able to. It’s not fair to expect you to do more for us than you already have. I’m so sorry, Ren. I don’t mean to be selfish.”

A dagger would have been kinder to the man’s heart, preferred even, and he choked on his reply. He looked to the woman for assistance, but her smug sneer confirmed he was on his own with dealing with the girl.

How cruel.

“Zero and I can go on our own,” the girl continued while trying to hold back a sniffle, “and then we can come home after we’ve found it. You don’t have to worry about us. We can do it.”

Ren sighed, realizing he had lost long before he ever had the chance to win. “You really want to go, huh?”

She looked down and gave a small nod. “I feel like we have to. I’m sorry.”

The angel went to the fae and knelt before her, peering up at her morose expression with an adoring smile. His large hands took her dainty ones and pressed them to his lips, kissing each one. “Don’t be sorry. Wherever you go, Little One, I go. Always. Forever. I’ll even make Sakura come along.”

The girl’s eyes brightened. “Really?”

“Really.”

“Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!” Ivy squealed as she threw herself around the man, squeezing as tightly as she possibly could, her emotions finally spilling over. “I didn’t want to go without you!”

“You won’t.” Ren stood with the girl who refused to let go and looked to the smug woman. “Well, I suppose since we’ve succeeded in defiling this most sacred of holy places, it’s only natural we see would other atrocities we can commit along the way.”

“I think we may be able to manage to find some time to do that.” Sakura smirked as she got to her feet and walked over to Zero, grabbing his hand and pulling him from his seat, leading him from the library. “Come on then. Let’s take you two to Summerland.”