A Price for Everything (1)

"Why? Why isn't anything happening?" Ella screamed.

"This is indeed concerning. It wasn't supposed to play out this way," someone came out of a portal.

Another fairy raised his hand to repair the mansion. In less than a second, everything reverted back into normal, appearing as if nothing had happened. Luke removed his barrier, but warily studied the fairy. We turned to the direction of the entrance since the rocks were removed, but the entrance was entirely blocked by the creation of a new spell.

"Are you ok?" He turned to me and Luke.

We nodded our heads. We didn't know how dangerous this fairy would be. From our experiences, all of them were extremely unpredictable. I wouldn't have been ever able to predict when I first entered this mansion that two people would die.

"Who are you?" Luke narrowed his eyes while pulling me behind him.

"I am the overseer," he slightly bowed.

"I give out the price for the exchange of a new life. As you know, people turn into fairies after their death when they have a great regret that lingers in their souls to the point they cannot move on. This boy has no such regret. He is satisfied that he had protected the girl with his final breath," he looked down at the dead body.

"It can't be," Ella cradled his head.

"This can't be right," she glared at the overseer.

Her brother should have had many regrets in his life. He wasn't able to save her from Liam and died at such a young age. He never got his wish of living a normal life with her. All those plans that were made for the future were never fulfilled.

"He will not come back," the overseer coldly answered her question.

"Now, please come with me," he offered his hand to her.

The portal swirled, full of energy, showing the dreamlike scenery of the ballroom in the other side. Soft moss and fields of wildflowers covered the walls while all the furniture turned into transparent glass mimicking where we were. The sky was forever violet like the sun was about set. Nothing futuristic was present, making everything seem natural.

Ella reluctantly got up, taking his hand as she still held onto the remains of her older brother. She obediently stepped into the portal, disappearing into the other side. I wondered why she wasn't arguing against him. Didn't she have any questions if there was any possibly to turn her brother into a fairy?

"You as well Rika," the overseer waited for me.

My eyes widened as I wondered why I had to get in as well. It appeared Luke was thinking the same thing as he asked, "is there anything you need from my partner?"

"There's a price for everything," he pointed to the spell on my hand.

"She promised one of us that she would look over them from preventing this from happening. However, she failed to keep her promise."

So this was what Graham meant by watching over them? I was shocked because I never knew. Did he predict that something like this would happen? The overseer continued to wait for me while I didn't want to step into the other side. I tightened my grip on his clothes, not wanting to separate from him.

"I only promised I would watch over them as the exact wording. And I did watch over them," I continued to stay in my spot.

"We can continue this on the other side," the overseer grabbed me to pull me into the other side.

Luke reached out his hands as I was sucked into the other dimension. His hands grabbed onto nothing as the portal soon closed from his late reaction. I stumbled onto the overgrown grass instead of the cold polished floor. This was too heavy a price to pay for a spell.

"I have also called for the gatekeeper," the overseer introduced us to a new person who came out of his hiding spot.

I gasped as the waiter who led me to the spirit currency centre appeared. I did know he was an important figure, but he was the gatekeeper this entire time? I wondered what it meant, but at the same time I knew it had something about people travelling between the two dimensions. Although he was considered to be a kind soul, he wasn't one. If he never brought me to this dimension, I would never have suffered through travelling between the two worlds.

As I expected, the tattooed bracelet appeared on my wrist again. At least I had the option of using the portal to get home if they weren't willing to let me go. The overseer gestured to me to sit down on a glass chair. I sat, hoping to get this over with. I didn't want to stay in this dimension more than I had to.

"As you know, everything has a price. Let me bring back your memories of what had truly happened that day," he began.

The four of us sat around a round table like we were having a tea party deep in the garden.

"Didn't you ever wonder why your brother wasn't able to see or hear you ever since you turned into a spirit? How were you not able to see Liam but able to hear him? How was Liam not able to hear you while he could see you?"

"This is the price for your second life," he revealed.