In the deepest parts of the Druid's castle, passed a variety of paintings of their heritage; many guards and expensive-looking chandeliers hanging from above, there is a small room that is guarded heavier than most. A small room for the size of the house but still big to Fishy. Inside the room with its pink walls and carpet, rests a double bed with a small girl struggling to breathe. The room was filled with toys all over the floor and wooden buckets of water that was used to attempt to cool down her fever, but it seemed nothing worked.
"This is Ivy." The Queen, A powerful woman named Endove, said as she approached her sick green-haired daughter, checking her temperature with the back of her silk hand.
"It's gotten hotter since you arrived."
Endove panicked but had no idea what else she could do. Her trust was to be placed on Fishy who claimed he would be able to help, but she feared the worst.
"I might be able to help… I'll need privacy."
"Understood." The queen walked out the door without question, followed behind by the several guards that were stationed inside, all waiting anxiously outside the closed door.
Fishy walked around the room looking at the pictures on the wall, paintings of Ivy and Elcan when they were both younger, playing together in the forest at the top of trees.
"Can you help?" Fishy spoke to himself.
"I can do it." A voice spoke to Fishy as the small red-clothed girl appeared from his shadow behind him, jumping on his shoulders to get an easier look at the decaying girl.
"She's really dying." The girl said. "I'd say she has exactly 3 minutes left."
"Lucky we made it then." Fishy sighed with relief as the girl jumped onto the bed and felt Ivy's skin that was as almost as pale as her own.
"As I've said before, my power involved transferring life. I used all my life up to save you the other week. But you seem well enough that it should be fine for me to transfer your life to her instead. Is that ok?"
"Of course, anything." He didn't hesitate with his answers. The red-eyed girl staring back at him with a strange smile that was filled with bewilderment.
"Can I ask about your eyes? Were they born red?" Fishy asked as the girl prepared some things, sitting close to Ivy, checking her temperature and drawing some blood.
"They were. All vampires have red eyes. But they can be any colour I want, blue, green, purple. Anything we need."
"How is that possible?"
"Illusion magic." She replied, "Most vampires have really weak illusion magic, only enough to change their eye colour so they don't get killed on sight. That's what I did. There is one person who can use really strong illusion magic. You won't be able to see through his as you did mine."
"I saw through your magic?"
"How else did you know my eyes were red? Even now I'm using magic to make them blue"
Fishy took a closer look, pulling her face closer to his own as the timer for Ivy's life continued to tick down. But, the vampire was ready to start using her magic.
"This might hurt a bit."
"Oh, that's right, what's your name?"
"Don't have one."
"Then how about I name you?" Fishy said to the girl's surprise. Excitement filling her eyes but quickly hiding it to not embarrass herself.
"Do what you want… I need to start soon so hurry up."
"Hmmm… how about I call you Lilith?"
"Lilith, huh? I like it…"
Exactly 10 seconds after Lilith had used her magic to heal Ivy, the results were already clear. Lilith retreated to Fishy's shadow whilst the small pale girl rose from her bed, looking around the room that seemed almost unfamiliar to her.
"Where am I?"
"In your room, I think. I'm Fishy."
He held his hand out to Ivy who strangely accepted. A random person stood before her but that didn't stop her from reaching out to him. A warmth came from his hand and a smile as she took it and replied with her own.
"I'm Ivy. Did you heal me?"
"Something like that. If you don't mind me asking, I know you've just woken but how did you get poisoned?"
"It's a strange story that started back when I was arguing with my brother, Elcan. Due to a long tradition, the druid king and queen will produce kids until they have one daughter. Elcan was first and I was lucky enough to come second. But the reason for this is so the daughter can take the throne. Only the princess can become queen. Elcan was never going to get the throne and he was frustrated. We broke out into an argument one summer day and he lost control of his magic. Creating a plant that he had only seen once before, one that will slaughter anything that dares to come near it. I noticed it sprouted and pushed him away so I got hit. He said he'd go find a cure in Tanba. A rare plant that only grows there which can cure me, or so he read. He told our parents that he was going to kill Venenum as a way to hide what he did. But he was really looking for the flower."
It was a story to Fishy that felt like it could be true. With how strange Elcan had always been it made sense that such a story be the truth.
"So why did he leave with us? Why didn't he stay to find the flower."
"It doesn't exist. It was a flower that was said to grow in Tanba, a silver cry is what it was called. But no flowers grow in Tanba anymore. Perhaps he knew there was nothing left and wished to spend his final moments with me, or maybe killing Venenum was a way to let out his anger."
The princess spoke as if her condition never fell. Her voice had a soft tone that spoke about her brother with no hint of anger. Regardless of what he did to her, she never saw it as his fault.
"Part of me wished he didn't make it back in time and then he would get the throne."
Ivy's words spoke a gentle melody despite their harsh meaning. But, that song was not reached by one person's ears. As the door swung open and Ivy watched her stern brother storm up to her bed, she could only smile.
"Welcome back."
"What do you mean!? Why would you say you'd die so I could get the throne." Elcan screamed at her sister as his throat tightened.
"Is that not what you want?"
"I want you to live more than I want the throne!"
A shyish outburst was met with a cute giggle from Ivy as she climbed out her bed, in her mint green silk pyjamas, she attacked her brother's chest. Pressing herself against it, rendering him useless despite being much smaller than him.
"I love you, big bro…"
"I… I… Errr… Ivy, I promise to make up for what I've done. For the rest of my life, I'll protect you, future queen."
Ivy pulled her head back and swallowed the rest of Fishy's mana with her cuteness. Although he was in the way of a sweet family moment, he couldn't help but feel rather lonely when he thinks back on his own younger sister.