"I-How did you do it? What did you do?" The fairy sounded like it was in distress. Its vice had reached a new pitch of tone that hurt Maria's ears.

But she still held onto the cage tightly, not allowing it to deform. Maria stoned her heart against the incoming attack to not be attracted by the innocent-looking creature. It was the devil that had tried to take Maria hostage against her friends.

"W-Why are you doing this to me? I j-just wanted to appreciate you a little" the fairy broke out into full-blown sobs at Maria. Big fate tears slipped out of those small eyes and the voice did sound heartbroken like a child being punished for something he did not understand.

Maria felt bad about her behavior. She had always been against the tears of children and this fairy was also a mental child. It softened Maria's heart and allowed her to enter her moment of vulnerability.

"I'll let you go but don't try anything funny. I won't be happy if you decided to try your magic on me" Maria warned and the fairy gave out a hesitant nod. It looked sad and surprisingly vulnerable at the prospect of not being able to use magic.

Maria let the cage fall but not before taking a few precautions against a surprise attack. Her chains were held ready to parry any attack that could be made.

Not that the fairy tried to attack Maria after that. She was surprisingly obedient in her next moments which surprised Maria. She had been ready to get betrayed, not have an obedient child at her side.

"Do you know where my friends are? I need to find them and break my curse before I'm stuck as a Siren forever" Maria complained to the fairy, hoping to gain some sympathy. Everything the small fairy had shown this far had indicated her as capable of feeling empathy.

And the fairy did look at Maria with a sorry and regretful expression. She also looked a little confused but tried hard to hide from Maria.

"Beautiful girl is an ugly fish person? You don't look like those monsters though. You have legs" the fairy pointed out with a confused voice. It looked between Maria's legs and her face and then down again.

Maria let out a small laugh at the action, finding it quite adorable.

"I'm like this because someone gave me a temporary solution to my curse. It won't last long though so I need to find the glowing gold crystal at the center of the cave pool. I don't want to be a Siren forever" Maria agreed with the Siren.

It caused a wave of reaction in the fairy. It broke out into different lights and its wings fluttered happily all around it. It showed happiness all over its body which was adorable.

"Yeah. Fishes are disgusting and they are slimy and they try to eat you when you get too close to them. I don't like them and rabbits are so much better. They are fluffy and cute and don't try to eat you" the fairy agreed as it looked Maria in the eye with a serious look.

Maria felt another laugh bubble inside her throat at the mental image of the small fairy being chased by a fish.

"Fair point. So, can you help me find my friends and get to the center so that I can reverse my curse? A strong creature like you should be able to do it easily" Maria asked, hoping for the kid to fall into her trap. It should not be difficult to get her to agree either. Mostly because the fairy seemed like such a simple creature to fool.

And the fairy took the bait easily enough. Maria had known that a little flattery would go a long way in this situation but even she had not thought it to be this easy.

"Alright. I'll help you out and then we can get married" the fairy boasted as it raised its arms in encouragement. Maria forced out an amused chuckle in agreement to make it seem like she was agreeing with the female.

But in reality, Maria was just playing along to get the fairy's trust. She needed the fairy's help and a little flattery never hurt anyone in the long run.

historical

"Hurry. Your friends are this way and they feel way too deep into the forest. Maybe that man helped them out despite my threats. The next time I get my hands on him, I'll kill him for sure. He dares to take my rabbits away" the fairy threatened in a cute voice.

Maria had a feeling that 'the man' being talked about here was Trishula. She seemed to have been here for a while and really, who else could control those vampire rabbits except him.

"You've had it tough all their years alone here, right?" Maria almost sounded sympathetic with her words. She could imagine how lonely such a situation could force someone to be in.

With only the Sirens as a company and a healthy fear of fish, it was easy to see why the fairy had kidnaped Maria for company. Still, Marriage was a huge step in a relationship.

"I think I had a family a long time ago. But I don't know where they disappeared to. One day there were there and the next day, they were gone. Ah, found them" the fairy hovered over the unconscious forms of Nao and Suna.

Both females had their faces flushed with a frown and small cuts littered all over their bodies. There seemed to be no immediate danger around though which reassured Maria.

"Look at them. Sleeping like babies even when the situation is so dire" Maria joked around as she tried to move closer to the pair. She carefully examined their bodies to check if they had any kind of injuries that Maria could not see.

"They're not sleeping but under my spell. It's inherent protection given to fairies. Let me do something. No, don't look. Close your eyes since it's a secret" Maria watched in amusement as tiny hands tried to cover her eyes.

Maria decided to go along with the fairy and closed her eyes. She also made sure to cover her eyes with her hands to give an illusion that she was not looking. But her eyes took in everything that happened next.

The fairy took out a small patch from her belt and dispersed a dusty substance over Nao and Suna's eyes. What was that substance?

[Fairy Dust. Capable of breaking any illusion and sleep paralysis]

Her system replied and Maria watched the fairy work around her friends.