“Would you like to have more tea? Perhaps biscuits if you feel like it? Please don’t be shy since we are going to get married soon” the fairy, a kid really, spoke. The creature had an elaborate setup in front of him which made the situation look right out of a fairytale her caretaker used to read Maria.

But the only difference between the fantasy and reality was the pair of cuffs that had been snapped on Maria’s wrists and they had rendered her magic useless.

“No, thank you. I think I am full already” Maria replied in a polite tone. She ignored the raised eyebrow from the creature in front of her as it pointed to her full plate that had been left untouched.

Maria had been trying all this time to open her cuffs by trying to cut them with the help of the sharp chair’s edge. The fairy must have noticed that as well since the noise was quite loud but it also gave Maria the benefit of doubt.

“I can see that you don’t trust me but believe me when I say that I have not poisoned your food. I want you alive and well at the time of our wedding” the creature poured at the lack of response it got.

Maria’s face was impassive as she took in the creature in front of her while trying to escape all the while. Those adoring eyes creeped her out since they had no reason to look at her like that.

“Don’t bother. You won’t be able to cut them off even with magic. They can only be opened by my keys” the creature supplied as it waved the keys in front of Maria. The small body looked comical while carrying such large keys in her grasp.

Maria looked with eager eyes and hoped that the creature would drop those keys and allow Maria a choice to get them. But the fairy only smirked and the keys vanished in a pop of light.

“I won’t hand them over till we get married. Don’t worry, your friends won’t be able to crash the party until we’re done” the fairy replied cheerfully, ignoring the death glare being aimed her way.

The more cheerful the fairy acted, the worse Maria’s mood became. It made her want to crush the annoying fly under her heels and then spit it out like used gum.

And if being in the fairy’s company was trouble, being alone was worse for Maria. With the keys gone and her being reduced to a sitting statue in the chair, Maria could not contain the curses leaving her mouth.

Even the soft feeling climbing over her leg did not offer a good distraction till red eyes blinked at her form and caused Maria to let out a scream.

Maria half expected the fairy to come back and check out the source of the scream but somehow it didn’t happen. Maria stayed alone inside her golden prison with a small vampire rabbit on her lap.

“Are you here to make fun of me as well? Go ahead then” Maria replied as she waved her hands around. She decided that she no longer cared about the kind of trouble she could get in.

The rabbit’s red eyes twinkled in amused pleasure as he took Maria’s miserable self in. She just knew he was laughing at her in the way rabbits often did at their owners (not that she had ever owned one or knew if it was true).

“Just bite my wrist off along with the handcuffs. Being free would be worth the pain” Maria groaned her complaint and felt something sharp touch her hand. She looked down to see a powerful jaw about to bite her handoff.

“Y-You knows I was kidding, right? I didn’t mean for you to bite my handoff. I’m sorry for insulting you as well?” Maria tried to cozy the rabbit up. There was a chance she would survive this encounter if she buttered the rabbit up enough.

The rabbit snapped his jaws down and Maroa braced herself for the incoming pain at any second….

…But it did not come. Instead, there was a liberating feeling around Maria’s arms and she felt the weight fall off of her arms. The rabbit had cut straight through the metal and freed her.

“Errr, Thank you?” Maria’s Thanks came out like a question and she felt the rabbit judging her for it. It had its beady eyes trained on Maria to look for her next action but she did nothing.

She was not sure what the rabbit expected of her but she was not going to move around with a possible attack on the horizon. In the end, the rabbit left once he got bored and Maria felt her breath come easy. That had been a close call and after seeing what the rabbit could do, it felt even closer to her. Her wrist had just barely survived a lethal attack from a predator.

“Now, to find the key for this place” Maria muttered, almost hoping that another rabbit to appear with the key. But even her luck was not so miraculous for it to happen. Maria would have to track down the key manually.

‘System now would be the time to be useful and inform me of a way out’ Maria asked as she kept a lookout for clues.

Based on the pattern that had been displayed so far, Maira knew that the fairy tended to only give Maria a couple of minutes before returning. It should be about time as well but Maria had to advantage of this time.

Maria took her seat back, her hands hidden under the table cloth and ready for any kind of reaction.

“I’m back. Did you think over my proposal and decided to change your mind about it? Would you like to have some tea?” The fairy asked as it floated near the tabletop. It had an air of ease around it and Maria almost felt bad to be disturbing it.

But then again, she had been cursed and then kidnapped which put her in a foul mood. And she needed to go to the bathroom as well which made her doubly impatient.

And as soon as the fairy let its guard down, Maria tapped her hands on her knee and caged the fairy in a tiny cage. The magic was strong and concentrated which allowed it to not falter under the fairy’s attacks.

“I-How did you do it? What did you do?” The fairy asked as it tried to bulge the cage and Maria did feel bad. The fairy had looked young to her and it felt like she was bullying a kid.

But she also had a duty to perform and if it required her to be tough, then she would be tough.