“And?” Wills’s eyes lit up as I appeared back in his study. I grinned as I recalled the first times I appeared out of nowhere. He was always so baffled and startled, but now he didn’t really mind anymore. If anything, he seemed to have gotten used to it.

“Ummm...” I paused as I tried to figure out the best way to let him know we were back to the drawing board.

His face fell and I could tell he didn’t need words to understand.

“That bad?”

I pulled a face. “Christian tried to drink the gold... Sorry.”

Will groaned and smacked a book against his forehead. “Of course, I forgot to change the rest. Stupid, stupid, stupid.”

Quickly, I pulled the hardback out of his hands and hid it safely behind a stack of scrolls. With a glance, I studied the rest of his desk and stealthily moved the very sharp and pointy quills out of his reach. Will always got a little... ‘Frustrated’ if his stories didn’t work out.

I took his hands into mine. “We all make mistakes. I’m sure your brother makes tons.”

He sighed and fell down in his chair. “Yes, but he doesn’t have someone like you.”

“Someone like me?” I inquired, curious to what he called me and my kind.

“Yes. A Fairy. You’re like a Fairy that roams my stories. A tale Fairy.”

My cheeks heated up and I tried to hide the blush emerging on my face. I really shouldn’t show how attached I had grown to Will. That wasn’t how my life as a Dweller worked. We didn’t age, so we couldn’t stay in one place. Like our name suggested, we dwelled... From people to people, from city to city, from world to world. Never staying long in one particular place.

“What do you call yourself?”

I swallowed the lump in my throat. I wasn’t supposed to tell Will, or any human, what we were. But maybe...

“Gris?” he breathed, his dark eyes staring into mine with an emotion I had only seen before from other people, but never experienced.

“Yes?”

He brought a hand to my face and brushed my hood away. My dark curls fell out from the cape and I studied the flecks dancing in his eyes. They were bright and deep, and I could sense the affection he held for me. For a moment, I felt like I was in one of his stories and I was the heroine being admired by the prince.

“So, did they like the donkey?”

“W-What?”

Will dropped his hand and waved one of his scrolls in my face. “Did they like the donkey better with the gold piss?”

I bit my lip and held back a disappointed sob. What was I even thinking? Dwellers weren’t meant to... No, I couldn’t even think the word. I couldn’t go there.

“The gold was liquid and flaming hot. It started a brawl on the spot,” I whispered, turning away from Will to hide my rush of emotions. I pulled the hood back over my head and adjusted the ribbons of my cape. What was I doing?

I shouldn’t be here, I shouldn’t be talking to Will about his worlds like this. I shouldn’t have told him my name or showed him my face. But it was Will...

Even though his younger brother was more known for his creative works, Will’s mind was easily just as beautiful and intricate. He was just a lot less sure of himself and much more reserved than his outgoing sibling.

“Should I keep the gold? What about the donkey?”

Disappointed, I took a step back from Will. Why did I let myself imagine those things, again?

I retied the strings of my cape and pushed my curls back. “The donkey is fine, but maybe make the gold into coins?” I suggested, thinking back to the brazen wee of the steed.

“Gris, you’re a genius!” Will beamed, twirling around me so he could hug me tight. I melted into his embrace and for a moment, I forgot who we were. What we were. I was just a woman and he was just a man. The rest shouldn’t matter, right? Maybe if I—

“Thanks! I don’t know what you did, but the ideas are swirling in my head. I need to write it all out!” he cheered, rubbing his hands as he studied his manuscript.

“Right, I’ll leave you to it then,” I muttered, calling on the magic to bring me back to the Dwellers universe. The grey portal appeared in front of me, but of course, Will couldn’t see it. With a last glance, I studied him, but he was already absorbed into his story. The glimmer of hope flickered out and I stepped into the drab pathway. Unlike Will’s, this road was dark and boring. But that was no surprise, we Dwellers didn’t dream, we didn’t create. It was only fitting that our world was the same way. Unimaginative.

The end of the pathway got near and I stepped into my world. The real world. It was grey and dark, and filled with wandering hooded figures. It was a depressing sight and I couldn’t blame us for roaming through all the worlds. Dweller District was just the worst of the worst, but this place was as good as any to roam around and waste away time.

I let my head fall down and study my feet.

Left. Right. Left. Right.

The humming around me was almost hypnotising and I just knew everyone around me was chanting the same thing. How could we not, there was really not much else on our minds.

Left. Right. Left. Right.

Fuck, this place was depressing. Just rows of capes and faceless people. I couldn’t even make out who was who. Maybe I should go wander around in a different world? But which one? No matter where I was, I wasn’t meant to really touch something or someone. What I was doing with Will was already flirting with the line. We were not supposed to get involved with others. We just watched. And dwelled.

Left. Right. Left. Right.

Why did I have to make myself invisible? I didn’t want to be invisible. I wanted to live, really live. I wanted to have a purpose, a goal. Now that I tasted what it felt like to make stories, I want more. I craved more. Observing was no longer enough. But I couldn’t create, not like the humans could.

Left. Right. Left. Right.

When would Will need me again? Would he ask me to travel through his story again or would he finalise it without me? If he became a better writer, would he still ask for my help? Or would he no longer need to rely on my magic to figure out if his universes will hold?

Left. Right. Left. Right.

Was I going in circles? Was everyone around me going in circles? Was there no end? Why did I have to be born as a Dweller, and be responsible as a warden of the realms? It sounded far more interesting than it actually was. All we did was check the new worlds and close pathways to the unstable ones.

Left. Right. Left. Right.

Bah. This world was drab. I really didn’t want to be here, but what was the alternative? I never slept and dwelling in the human world was frowned upon. But so was staying in one place. Maybe I should see if Will needed me again. Or I could just sneak into his world and watch the story unfold? But that didn’t feel right. That wasn’t very polite. Although it was inherently what we Dwellers did.

Left. Right. Left. Right.

I was going crazy. I needed to stop wandering around here, there was literally nothing here. Just more Dwellers doing the exact same thing as I was. Dwelling.

I wanted to go back and see Will again. Even if it was just standing in a little corner of his study as he wrote, at least, I would be able to see the stories unfold in his beautiful brain.

Left. Right. Will. Left. Right. Will.

I chanted his name in my head and recalled an image of his handsome face. His dark curls and his beautiful, intelligent eyes. His gentle hands and the slight calluses on his fingers from all the writing he did. The scent of dry parchment and the way he sang his words.

As I drew his image to the front, the colourful magic inside me swirled to form a pathway I became rather used to. Will’s portal.

I ditched the depressing row of chanting Dwellers and stepped through the pathway. I could almost feel his stories whisper and swirl around me. Yes, his portal was definitely one of the most colourful I had seen.

“Gris? Is that you?”

I caught the flutter in my chest and took a moment to admire the man bowed over his desk. I couldn’t be sure how long I was gone, but it was like I never left. The pen scratched softly over the paper and I could imagine the pathways light up to his fairytale universe. I lingered at the entrance and stole another second to watch him. He couldn’t see me yet, but somehow, he could sense whenever I got here. Not that I minded. I almost liked it. With a deep breath, I stepped out of the portal, revealing myself to Will.

“It is you. Welcome back,” he smiled, waving at me to come closer. “Look, look, I rewrote the story.”

I bent over his desk and tried to ignore the alluring scent that always seemed to surround him. Love was not for me, it had never been for me.

“Is it finished?”

Will dipped his pen into the inkwell and danced it over the parchment. “The end,” he grinned, sealing his characters into the story.

“Want me to take a look?”

“If you will?”

I placed my hand on his arm and refrained from trailing my fingers up his bicep. No, that wasn’t why I was here. Instead, I called on the magic surrounding him and opened the pathway to this particular universe. I wanted to stay longer with Will, but that wasn’t why I was here either. He needed my help and I was happy to help. At least, this way, I was useful to someone.

The ground felt more solid than last time and I hid the smile on my face. Will definitely structured and layered the story better this time. I could only hope that Christian wouldn’t have any more trouble with his donkey.