"What kind of magic is THAT? It's pathetic."
"It's not magic," he replied tersely, "Just a little exercise I learnt in China for keeping my hands nimble."
"Why would you want to learn something useless like that?"
Tegryn didn't reply. Mentioning China had just brought a new wave of painful memories flooding back.
"I miss them..." he said quietly.
"Miss who?"
"My... family... oh, why is this happening to me?"
"Don't ask me."
"I don't deserve any of this," he said, shaking with rage as he grasped the fork firmly in his hand. "I DON'T DESERVE THIS!" he shouted, driving the fork deep into the table, causing it to split slightly. He slumped forward and buried his head under his hands, weeping quietly. "I don't deserve this."
All of the cafe's customers sat and stared at this outburst. Darcy and Icy looked on amused, as Stormy smiled back at them wickedly. "In that state, he should be easier to manipulate than we thought."
The two sisters walked over to the table. Darcy placed a large cup of what looked like tea in front of him. "Here, drink this."
Tegryn raised his head and took the cup. Slowly, he took a sip, then screwed his face up. "This tastes... odd."
"It's a special brew," said Icy smiling. "It's better if you drink it all quickly." Tegryn was in no mood to dispute this, and emptied the cup down his throat in one swig. It tasted bitter. He grimaced slightly, but avoided shouting out 'Yuck' and spitting it out purely out of good manners.
Darcy looked at the others and nodded. "Tegryn, we heard about what happened. To be honest, it doesn't surprise me that Musa would dump you for Riven."
"Yes," Stormy cut in. "She's always had feelings for him, even after you came on the scene."
"She may have said she loved you, but now you know that was all a big lie." Icy continued. "Believe us, you can't trust fairies. They'll lie to you whenever it suits them. They'll take advantage of you at every opportunity."
"And what's more, we know how the teachers at Alfea have been holding you back, stopping you from using your true magic, preventing you from realising your full potential. They're no good for you. You'll learn nothing from them... but we can help you become powerful."
"We can help you fulfil your dreams."
"We can help you realise that 'goodness' is just a myth, just something to keep the powerful from becoming truly great. You have to let go of these feelings - love, compassion, justice - they're all false. Embrace evil and nothing can stop you!"
"You already have dark magic inside of you, but you can't use it properly unless you give yourself over. Be as evil, as nasty, and as selfish as you want, and nothing can hold you back!"
Tegryn looked at them, with the false realisation of what they were saying was true dawning upon him. "Yes... yes, you're right. I should've listened to you in the first place." he said, his face seeming to darken. "Those pixies will be sorry for what they did to me."
"Excellent," said Icy triumphantly. "Stick with us and you won't regret it!"
"Regret? Pah!" he snorted. "Regret is for losers!"
The evil trio laughed along with their new pal. Darcy was particularly satisfied - so far her plan had worked perfectly...