THE STRANGE TALE OF MARIUS BOGFAE:
Chapter 4: Titania And Oberon
The celebrations were cancelled after Roland's attack, much to everyone's chagrin. The entire despaired royal family rushed to the nearest healing center, in the hopes that the healers and the Sugar Plum Fairy could remove the curse from Marius, only to end up with fruitless results.
"It's hopeless," Dawn sobbed. "Neither the healers nor the Sugar Plum Fairy could remove the curse from his heart. Marius is doomed."
"There has to be a solution!" Griselda insisted in an angered tone. "I've waited way too long to have a grandchild and I'm not gonna lose him the next day."
Lysander and Marianne turned to Sugar Plum. The former love potion maker had a sad look on her face. She felt terrible for not being able to cure the baby herself but what could she do? Aside from flying and shape-shifting, her only true magical power was the fabrication of love potions using primrose petals. She didn't do dangerous potions like the one of the Stone Heart Curse.
"Please, Sugar Plum," Marianne begged. "My son needs an antidote for that curse."
"I'm afraid I can't do anything, Your Majesty. I'm only familiar with love potions…"
"No wonder your magic is so messed up!" Griselda cut in.
"SHUT UP, MOTHER!" the Bog King shouted in exasperated anger.
"BUT!" Sugar Plum lifted a finger. "I think that Lady Titania and Lord Oberon might be able to give us the cure."
"Titania and Oberon? As in the Titania and Oberon?' Sunny asked. The mention of the names surprised everyone except Griselda, Sugar Plum, and Bog King Lysander.
"Who are they?" the latter asked.
"They're the very first fairies to have walked this realm or any of the other realms in the universe," Sunny explained. "They are the mother and father of all the fairies and elves. Matter of fact, the world we live in was created by Oberon himself. He and his wife are practically gods."
"They're also those that assign specific fairies with magical powers that are transmitted from generation to generation," Sugar Plum added. "Titania was the one who gave my ancestor the ability to craft love potions with primroses while Oberon gave the cure."
"You're telling me that your entire family crafted love potions?" Griselda retorted. "No wonder you're so messed up!"
Sugar Plum ignored her. "The point is, with every magic they created or gave away, there is always a cure. They should have the cure for the Stone Heart Curse."
"Where do they reside?" Marianne asked in a hopeful voice.
"At the northern end of this world. It's easy to go there if you go up the former borderline.
A few minutes later, Lysander and Marianne, the latter carrying their son in their arms, flew after Sugar Plum at a very fast speed in order to reach the end of the world.
During the days when the kingdoms were still separate, the northern areas of the Fairy Kingdom and the Dark Forest were the least occupied. The temperature there clashed from warm to cold then warm to cold again nonstop, which was inconvenient for fairies, with their preference for warm weather and their butterfly wings unable to handle the cold, and for goblins, who prefer damp humidity. There was also no existing border in the northern region, so the branches of the Dark Forest were clashing with those of the Fairy Kingdom to the point were they made scarier versions of the thorn bushes in the Dark Forest. Grey grass and clouds covered the environment and no living creature was around.
A horrible wasteland, really.
"I would have never believed that supreme fairies like Titania and Oberon would live here," the Bog King said as they flew even further.
"You know what they say," Sugar Plum shrugged. "Where mortals don't go is where gods go." They kept flying until they saw something at the horizon: an iridescent light similar to the one that the Sugar Plum Fairy emitted, only in different shades of blue and purple. "There they are."
The group got closer and saw an giant, old oak tree with leaves that shone with the exact light that they saw. Carved within the trunks from the roots were two thrones, each occupied by a giant figure. The first one was a man who could have been Marianne's father due to the similar hairstyle and beard, only his hair was white and the man was slender and younger. He wore a fairy-style armor with a belt and cape made of thorns. Dark dragonfly wings rested behind his back. This was none other than Oberon, the father of all fairies.
At his side sat a young woman with green, flowing hair, wearing a dress made entirely of leaves, poppies, roses, and primroses and a pearl necklace. Her dark blue butterfly wings hung behind her back in an elegant manner. This was Titania.
Lysander and Marianne looked in awe at the two gigantic fairies, both holding on the same scepter made of stone and carvings, shining with glory that contrasted the sad wasteland.
Sugar Plum walked towards them and bowed. "My lord and lady, we are honored to meet you…" she began.
"We know. We were expecting you," Oberon politely cut in. His voice was deep and hollow.
"You…were expecting us?" Marianne asked with surprise.
"Indeed, Fairy Queen Marianne of The New Kingdom," Titania replied in a soft, but firm voice. "You and your husband, the Bog King Lysander came to find a cure for the Stone Heart Curse that has affected the heart of your son Marius Bogfae."
The royal couple was surprised but nodded to Titania's response.
"Bring him forward," Oberon said.
Marianne flew towards the deities, carrying her son in her arms, and showed Marius to them. With his free index, Oberon gently touched the forehead of the baby.
"A well-mixed hybrid that is barely one day old. His parents' courage, determination, leadership, and fighting skills flow in his veins. There is benevolence in his heart and soul." He listed before removing his index. The royal parents smiled until it was Titania's turn to use her free index on Marius, only this time, she touched his chest.
"But there is also the arrogance and stubbornness that his parents once had. The villainy that once made the Bog King feared by all also flows in his veins. These will get worse when the Stone Heart's Curse affects him twice," the fairy goddess said after she removed her index.
"Twice?" Lysander asked worryingly.
"The first will be when a lover breaks his heart," Oberon explained. "The second will be when Fate chooses to pull him away from his family. Each heartbreak will make him more hateful and villainous until the curse has officially turned the heart into a hard stone that will eventually dissolve into ashes, thus killing the prince."
Marianne sobbed as she clung to her son, who fell asleep from being touched by the gods. As Lysander went to comfort his wife, Sugar Plum begged the deities: "Please, isn't there a cure?"
"Only one," Titania said. The travelers, minus Marius, looked at her. "Alone, he must follow the similar footsteps of his parents. With his own friends, we will thrive. With an act meant for his one and only true love, his heart will be cured."
"But until then," Oberon added, "make sure he lives. He's the essential key to keep the peace of the New Kingdom intact."
Lysander nodded. "We will. There's no denying."