The two agents jumped in surprise as Rhapsody suddenly appeared next to Harmony. It took them a moment to process what she had said. Agent black recovered first, the smile reappearing on her face.
"Hello, Miss, um Rhapsody," Agent Black briefly stumbled over her name as she remembered Harmony's suggestion that they drop the Miss. "We wanted to formally apologize to you and Miss Donovan for any trouble we have caused you."
Rhapsody gave them an innocent smile as she replied. "Trouble? I don't remember any trouble?"
"Ah," Agent Black hesitated, glancing at Harmony for a second before continuing. "We would also like to apologize to Miss Donovan for the way she was treated. There have been some changes in leadership to address the issue. Would it be possible to start over? We would like to maintain an open line of communication with you and foster a relationship that is mutually beneficial."
"I'm already in a relationship with Harmony and Mystery, but thanks anyway," Rhapsody replied with a wink. "Don't get me wrong—you're cute, especially with the whole lady in uniform vibe, but I think more than two would start rumors about fairy harems."
Harmony bit her lip at the suddenly awkward agents as they stared at Rhapsody in consternation.
"You are such a bad fairy," Harmony sighed with a rueful shake of her head. She looked at the two agents with an apologetic smile. "Sorry, she's a relentless tease."
The two agents tittered nervously as they navigated waters suddenly out of their depth. Agent Black cleared her throat as she tried to regain her mental footing.
"Would it be possible for us to remain in contact with you?" Agent Black tried again, her smile looking strained. "Perhaps through the chat system in your leveling interface? The Vice President would like to establish diplomatic channels with you in an effort to head off any other... unpleasantness."
"Sure, I'll send Amanda a friend request," Rhapsody offered with a grin. "I'll have to whitelist her, since she's an evil bastard. And I wouldn't have teleported the nuke they planned to drop on the circle back onto the White House. I would have just dissolved it."
"Nuke?" Agent Black repeated unsteadily, her eyes widening.
"Your President and his cronies wanted to drop a nuke on the circle," Rhapsody informed her cheerfully. "Amanda convinced them that I would probably teleport it back to the White House if they did try to nuke me. I wouldn't have though. I would just eradicate all of the remaining nukes in the world—which I'm going to do anyway, but I would have sooner."
Agent Black swallowed as she stared at Rhapsody nervously. Harmony felt a little bad for the woman. This conversation was far beyond her expertise or paygrade. Why had they sent an agent instead of a diplomat?
"I wasn't aware of that," Agent Black replied uncomfortably, nervously licking her lips. "I was also instructed to ask if there was anything we could do for you that could strengthen our... relationship."
The poor woman stumbled at the end of her sentence, remembering too late how Rhapsody interpreted the use of the word 'relationship'.
"Like a double date or something?" Rhapsody asked with a wide grin.
"Stop," Harmony scolded the fairy playfully. "You are too much."
"Too much goodness," Rhapsody replied with an affectionate smile up at Harmony. Harmony felt a moment of Déjà Vu as she stared down at Rhapsody with a puzzled crease to her brow. Was this more soul memory? She could feel Rhapsody's emotions filled with nostalgic love as she stared up at Harmony.
Agent Black's smile looked like it was plastered to her face—she seemed determined to maintain her affable persona if it killed her.
Agent Monroe was staring at Rhapsody nonplussed, clearly expecting something different than the mischievous fairy on display.
"Are you really a world tree?" Agent Monroe asked doubtfully, a skeptical frown on her face as she stared at Rhapsody.
Agent Black winced, then turned to scowl at her partner. Agent Monroe blushed under the fierce glare, looking down at the ground with an abashed expression.
"Yep, I'm the world tree," Rhapsody confirmed with a shrug. "Do you want to come see?"
The two agents froze, their eyes darting to stare at each other before darting back to Rhapsody. Harmony bit her lip to stop from grinning at the look of barely suppressed eagerness on their faces.
"You would let us inside the ring?" Agent Black asked tentatively, staring at Rhapsody intently.
Harmony was pretty sure that getting eyes on the inside of the circle was high on the list of priorities given to the agents by their superiors. Considering that Mystery had already told the intelligence agencies everything she had seen, Harmony wasn't sure what they hoped to learn by having two more sets of eyes. Confirmation?
"Sure, why not?" Rhapsody shrugged with another wink. "We have to get to know each other better if we're going to be in a relationship. Are you ready?"
The two agents hesitated as they realized they were about to get teleported. They stared at each other, seeming to hold an unspoken conversation about how much they could trust the mischievous fairy. They finally looked back at Rhapsody and nodded tentatively.
Harmony's house vanished, replaced a moment later by the entrance to Yggdrasil. The lake ended a few thousand feet away, with The Lost Forest of Choill to their right, its pink leaves painting the landscape in beauty.
"Here's the real me," Rhapsody gestured grandly at the mountain sized tree in front of them.
The two agents gaped at the impossibly large tree. It was miles wide and towered so high that its upper branches disappeared from view.
"Hey Nidhogg, are you busy?" Rhapsody called up into the branches. "I want to introduce you to some more humans."
"I'll be right down," a deep booming voice called back from somewhere high up the tree.
"Nidhogg is the Clan Chief of the dragons," Rhapsody informed the two stunned agents. "They live high up in the branches because they are too big to land down here without flattening everything."
There was a rumbling sound from up above and then the sky above them was blotted out by the gigantic form of Nidhogg. He was over five hundred feet tall with a head several times the size of Harmony's two-story house. With his wings outstretched, he blocked several acres of sky.
The two agents stood petrified as Nidhogg swooped down to hover above the ground a few dozen feet away from them. Harmony could have walked into one of his large nostrils and had room to spare.
"This is Agent Shelley Black and Agent Jessica Monroe," Rhapsody introduced the frozen agents with a gesture at the two women. "Agents, this is Nidhogg."
A small squeak escaped Agent Black's throat as she stared up at the enormous dragon in terror. Agent Monroe was too stunned to even make a sound, staring up at him like a bug looking at a playful cat.
"It's nice to meet you, Agents of the United States government," Nidhogg nodded his head in greeting, eliciting a terrified stumble backward by Agent Black as teeth larger than Mystery briefly came closer. "I understand you may be a little unnerved by our size-difference. If it helps, just think of me as a projection."
"Hello," Agent Monroe managed to choke out, her eyes a mixture of terror and wonder.
"Well met, Jessica," Nidhogg boomed in satisfaction. "I can sense the lost wonder of your childhood struggling to reclaim a place in your mind. You will find plenty of wonder here, in the circle of dominion. The leprechauns and mermaids are both a mischievous people, so be on your guard with them. And most wonderous of all, in addition to the most mischievous, is Yggdrasil, known to you as Rhapsody."
"I guess the legends fail to mention anything about Yggdrasil being mischievous," Agent Monroe noted faintly.
"She wasn't always so entertaining," Nidhogg replied with a rumbling laugh that caused a small earthquake. "That only started about twenty-four years ago."
Harmony turned to smirk at Rhapsody knowingly. Rhapsody gave one of her trademarked innocent stares. Harmony opened her mouth, the threat of words apparent on her face.
"Just don't say it out loud," Rhapsody spoke quickly, heading Harmony off warningly. "It doesn't break any rules if you're just thinking it."
"What did I miss?" Nidhogg asked curiously, his giant eye watching Rhapsody and Harmony intently. The two agents had stopped gawking at Nidhogg long enough to watch the exchange curiously as well.
"Just Harmony being too smart for my own good," Rhapsody sighed ruefully. She waved at Nidhogg with a grateful smile. "Thanks for coming down to say hi."
"You do realize that it gets rather boring up in low earth orbit, don't you?" Nidhogg asked in a dry boom. "I'm always up for something to break up the boredom."
"What are you talking about, you oversized bat," Rhapsody scoffed affectionately. "You're a spirit walker. You spend more time on other planets than you do here."
"That's because this place is usually so boring," Nidhogg complained with a sigh that would normally have spawned tornados if Yggdrasil wasn't blocking it. "You've certainly made things more interesting for the last couple of decades though, so thank you. We're looking forward to the festivities later."
Rhapsody rolled her eyes when Harmony stared at her pointedly, but she couldn't keep a silly grin from spreading across her face. Harmony knew that Rhapsody wanted her to live a normal life at a normal pace, but she could tell that she also desperately longed for any trace of her soulmate that she could glimpse. She could feel the happiness spiking in Rhapsody through their spirit bond as Harmony pushed at the boundaries of her soul memory. She stared at Rhapsody curiously, mentally tasting the name that she had learned. Clarice.
Rhapsody's head snapped toward her as soon as Harmony thought the name. She narrowed her eyes at Harmony warningly, but Harmony just grinned back at her. At...Clarice.
Rhapsody threw her hands up in the air with a helpless laugh. The bond flared in happiness each time she said her name. "You are such a troll, Aria."
Harmony froze as she heard the name, feeling like a bell struck by lightning. Her name. Her real name.
Rhapsody took a second longer to realize her gaffe. Her eyes went wide, and she quickly corrected herself. "What I meant to say, was are ya Harmony or are ya a troll."
Harmony laughed at the look of earnestness on Rhapsody's face as she tried to fix her mistake. "I'm a troll," Harmony answered with mischief in her own eyes. She finished the next part in her thoughts. "And I learn from the best, Clarice."
Rhapsody smacked her hand to her forehead and groaned helplessly. "I'm so screwed."
Screwed or not, the corner of her soul she thought of as Rhapsody was burning incandescently with joy.
The agents were both watching the two of them in bewilderment as a conversation that was only partially spoken out loud took place.
"Let me know if you bring any more humans that you need impressed," Nidhogg said dryly as he began rising up into the sky. "It's more entertaining than what's going on up in orbit with my clan."
"Do you want to come inside of Yggdrasil?" Rhapsody asked the two agents enticingly. "We could show you what the nodes look like that Harmony, Joline, Mystery, Serenity, and Aurora will be taking over when they become world trees."
"Sure... "Agent Black agreed slowly, her face curious.
"So, we'll be inside of you?" Agent Monroe asked with a kind of morbid fascination.
"You're as bad as Harmony," Rhapsody laughed as she teleported them into the chasm. "She asked me if it felt violating. She's such a goose."
"Honk honk," Harmony said dryly.
Agent Monroe and Agent Black looked around at the chasm and glowing walls curiously. They seemed to be taking teleporting in stride. When they hit the invisible field in front of the chasm, they tentatively reached out and pushed against it. It wasn't a solid barrier—it increased in resistance the harder you pushed, like pushing two magnets together with the same polarity.
"What is that beam of light?" Agent Monroe asked in fascination. The very center of the chasm had an enormous crystal pointing down. A beam of brilliant white light shot out of the tip into the chasm below. "How far down does it go?"
"That's one of the energy nodes," Rhapsody explained from where she was floating in the air near the edge of the chasm. The force field didn't seem to affect her. "That's the energy that powers the grid lines around the world. It goes through the roots of Yggdrasil until it connects to the roots of the other trees. There's a world tree at the North and South Pole too. They're responsible for Earth's electromagnetic field. Yggdrasil is more than one tree. The roots go through the world and connect to four other trees. I am the projection of the whole group of trees. Harmony will be resurrecting the node in Africa. Mystery will be resurrecting the node in the Middle East. Joline will be in Australia. There are additional nodes in Antarctica and Africa who we have found viable candidates for."
"Who's the new candidate?" Agent Black asked tentatively. She seemed to be walking on eggshells around Rhapsody, afraid of causing offense of any kind. "Or is that a secret?"
"Harmony's sister, Melody," Rhapsody answered unconcernedly. "Her soul is old enough that she is compatible with powering a world tree."
Agent black frowned as she stared at Harmony. "I was under the impression that Melody had died, and that's why Harmony had custody of Serenity and Aurora?"
"We brought her back to life earlier today," Rhapsody replied with a fond smile. "You arrived in the middle of a very emotional day."
"You brought her back to life?" Agent Monroe demanded incredulously.
"The Creator owed me a favor and promised to look the other way when I brought her back," Rhapsody shrugged like it was no big deal.
"The Creator of the planet?" Agent black gasped in disbelief.
"No, the creator of the universe," Rhapsody corrected, eyeing the two agents appraisingly. "Do you want to meet her? She's here today."
Their faces went white as they stared back at Rhapsody uncertainly. After a moment, Agent Monroe frowned at her suspiciously. "Is this more... teasing?"
"Not this time," Harmony shook her head, her expression serious.
"God is a girl?" Agent Monroe asked with a raised eyebrow.
"In this universe," Rhapsody answered with a quick nod. "Some universes have dudes while some have... well, never mind. Let's just say creators come in all shapes, sizes, and genders."
"Who created them?" Agent Monroe asked with a frown. "And who created the one that created them? And so on and so forth?"
"I only know as far as so on, but I'm not sure about so forth," Rhapsody responded with a musing expression. "We haven't found a way to get to so forth yet, but when we do, there's going to be hell to pay."
"Why?" Harmony asked curiously.
"I'll tell you when you're older," Rhapsody grinned up at her. "Though, you'll probably just remember on your own by then. Suffice it to say, there's a certain entity that knows if we ever get our hands on it that it's in for a day of reckoning."
As Rhapsody finished the last sentence, the bond briefly ignited with white hot fury.
"So did you two want to meet the creator?" Harmony asked the two agents with a curious tilt of her head. "She's really nice."
"I think I'll pass," Agent Monroe said weakly. "I feel like my incredulity meter has already been abused too much today."
Agent Black looked like she might object, but with a look at her partner's face, she sighed and nodded.
"Okay, so what now?" Rhapsody asked the two women expectantly. "Is there somewhere in particular you wanted to go inside the circle? Besides Deighvy's, of course."
"Nidhogg said there were leprechauns and mermaids?" Agent Monroe made it sound more like a question.
The chasm vanished and they were suddenly at the edge of the lake at the base of Yggdrasil. Harmony immediately recognized Eimear and Cormic sitting at the edge of the lake with fishing poles sitting next to them. Rhapsody took one look at the fishing poles and dissolved into a fit of giggles.
The two agents stared at Rhapsody in confusion as she erupted with mirth. Eimear and Cormic quickly turned around to see them, then grinned when they saw Rhapsody.
"Marishna is going to be apoplectic when she sees what you've done," Rhapsody commented grinningly.
"I've heard it's good for blood flow to have bouts of apoplectic fury," Eimear replied in her Irish dialect, her green eyes amused.
"This is Agent Black and Agent Monroe," Rhapsody introduced the two women with a gesture. "Agents, this is Cormic and Eimear. If you hadn't already guessed, they're leprechauns."
"Nice to meet you," Agent Monroe smiled at them, her face full of barely repressed excitement. Harmony thought back to what Nidhogg had said about Agent Monroe reclaiming her lost wonder from childhood. Harmony had a feeling the other woman had clung to the hope that magic was real until much later than most kids.
"It's an honor," Agent Black nodded at the leprechauns politely, her eyes fascinated. "What are you fishing for?"
The question sent Rhapsody into another fit of giggles and broad grins to appear on Cormic and Eimear's faces.
"It's more like luring certain types of creatures over here," Eimear grinned mischievously. "There's a transparent electric eel that lives in this lake that normally stays over near the south shore. We're luring them over here with a charm that mimics the mating call of their species."
"Why do you want them over here?" Agent Black asked curiously, eyeing the waters cautiously.
"The mermaids frequently swim through this area," Cormac explained with a smirk. "They don't really hurt very much when they shock you, but they cause a kind of hallucination in mermaids when they get shocked by these eels. It makes them very suggestive too. We're going to try to see if we can get some of the mermaids to fill Marishna's chambers full of stink worms."
The two agents blinked, glancing at each other briefly before looking back at Cormic and Eimear.
"So, is this what you do with your time in the circle?" Agent Black asked with an amused smile.
"When you've been around for thousands of years, you learn to enjoy the little things that make life interesting," Eimear explained with a small smile.
"Let me guess," Harmony said sardonically. "This epiphany occurred about twenty-five years ago."
"Aye, that it did," Cormic admitted with a curious look at Harmony. "How did you know?"
"Let's just call it a hunch," Harmony murmured with a sidelong glance at a glowering Rhapsody.
"Taxti's almost done setting everything up," Eimear informed Rhapsody with an eager grin. "It should be ready by sundown."
"Perfect," Rhapsody beamed, her face glowing with anticipation. She looked at the two agents speculatively. "Did you two have any plans for the night?"
The two women blinked before exchanging looks with each other again.
"Nothing solid," Agent Black answered after a moment.
"We're having a resurrection party tonight to celebrate Melody's return," Rhapsody informed them with a wink at Harmony. "There will be lots of music, dancing, stories, and games. It will be a night to remember."
Agent Monroe's eyes lit up with eagerness, probably imagining all the fairy tale creatures that would be present at such a party. Agent Black only took a moment of hesitation to nod her acceptance. They had been sent to smooth any hard feelings between Rhapsody and the US intelligence agencies. Accepting an invitation to a celebration would be a clear win to take back to their superiors.
"I'll just need to check in with my superiors, if that's okay," Agent Black mentioned cautiously. "Would it be possible to go outside of the circle so that my phone will work?"
"I can fix it for you so that it works inside," Rhapsody informed her, holding out a hand expectantly.
Agent Black slowly handed Rhapsody her phone, failing to hide her nervousness. Who knew what Rhapsody might add to her phone in addition to the ability to call out.
Rhapsody's eyes went distant for a moment before she handed the phone back to Agent Black. Rhapsody raised an eyebrow at Agent Monroe. The younger agent glanced at her partner and received a resigned nod. After all, what need would Rhapsody have to do anything to their phones when she could directly affect their brains? She handed her phone to Rhapsody and had it back in seconds. The two agents couldn't suppress their relief when they saw their phones booting up.
"Feel free to go somewhere that feels private for your check in call," Rhapsody offered with a gesture to the surrounding forests. "Harmony and I are going to fetch the others. It's getting close to sundown."
"When you say somewhere that feels private," Agent Monroe began, her face doubtful. "Is there really anywhere that is private from you in the ring?"
"My roots stretch all the way through the entire planet," Rhapsody replied dryly. "Do you think there is anywhere on Earth that is private from me?"
"I did until you put it that way," Agent Monroe said wryly. "From what you've told us, it sounds like you've been able to listen in on the President's meetings already, so I guess it should have occurred to me before now."
"We'll be back in a few minutes with the others," Rhapsody told them with a parting nod.
"I like her," Harmony commented to Rhapsody just before the world briefly vanished before they appeared in Harmony's house.
"Yeah, she's kind of fun," Rhapsody agreed with a small smile. "Agent Black's a little too high strung still. Maybe she'll loosen up after some Yuccas Fitter."
Harmony laughed as she imagined the two women getting their first taste of the radioactive looking fruit drink.
Melody was sitting on the couch in the front room petting Juno as the bright green ball of fur excitedly walked around in circles on her lap. Serenity and Aurora made sounds of adoration as they told their mother about discovering the strange creature. Michael and Mystery were watching Juno in bemusement while Harmony's mother stared in fascination. Declan had left while they were gone.
"I meant to ask you what in the world Juno was back when I was still a skeptic," Harmony told Rhapsody with a gesture at the strange animal. It was completely round and a little larger than a cat. It had long green fur and a face that looked more like a sheep than anything else. It had opposable digits on its front hands, though they were barely visible due to how long its fur was.
"That's a Chupacabra," Rhapsody informed her with an expectant grin.
"What?" Michael gasped in disbelief, staring at Juno dubiously. "Chupacabra's are all scaly with fangs and are as big as dogs."
"They are if they leave the circle," Rhapsody agreed with a sad look in her eyes. "They are nourished by the energy of the world tree, but sometimes one of them will stray too far away from the circle and get lost. They start wasting away after about a year and go feral. They can survive for a little while by draining the blood of creatures like sheep or cattle, but that will only extend their life be a few years. I put up some wards to keep them from getting lost a few decades ago."
"Are they immortal then?" Harmony asked curiously. "And how did this one end up at our house?"
"All magical creatures are immortal," Rhapsody explained, smiling down at Juno. "I asked him to go keep Serenity and Aurora company to help with Aurora's night terrors. Chupacabras have the ability to influence moods as well as dreams. He's young, for an immortal. He's only a decade old and has a lot to learn."
Melody's face had grown sorrowful when she heard about Aurora's night terrors. She had accurately guessed where Aurora's night terrors had come from.
"What's going on with David?" Harmony asked Rhapsody quietly enough to not be overheard by her sister.
"Remember what I said I would do to him if he ever showed his face around here again?" Rhapsody asked with a bleak smile that was strange to see on her normally cheerful face.
"How could I forget," Harmony answered with a shiver. "So, he's essentially a vegetable now?"
"Yep," Rhapsody nodded in satisfaction.
Harmony walked over to Melody and sat on the arm of the couch next to her. She looked up at Harmony curiously, a soft smile on her face as she continued petting Juno.
"David is a vegetable now," Harmony informed her grimly. "You'll never have to worry about him again."
Melody closed her eyes and took a deep breath as a few tears slid down her cheeks. She let the breath out and it was like an enormous weight had been lifted from her shoulders. She opened her eyes and looked at Rhapsody with naked gratitude in her eyes.
"Thank you, Rhapsody," Melody said with a fragile smile. "You have no idea how relieved that makes me."
Harmony felt guilt streak through the soul bond at Melody's words. Rhapsody was still blaming herself for not keeping them all safe. Mystery walked up to Rhapsody and dropped to one knee so that she could embrace her from behind, wrapping her arms around Rhapsody's waist and placing her chin on Rhapsody's shoulder.
"Don't dwell in the past, Rhapsody," Mystery reminded her gently. "We're all here now, and we're all ecstatically happy. Let it go."
Harmony felt the guilt fade away, replaced by a burning love as Rhapsody wrapped her arms around Mystery's arms and leaned her head back to kiss Mystery's cheek.
"Thanks, Mystery," Rhapsody whispered with a sigh.
Harmony felt interesting things happen to her insides as she observed the two of them. She really wanted some alone time with the two of them, and soon.
"Aurora, would you mind grabbing a Yuccas Fitter from the garden from Melody?" Rhapsody asked Aurora with an excited spark in her lavender eyes. "It's almost time."
"Almost time for what?" Aurora and Serenity asked intently.
"I wouldn't want to spoil it for you," Rhapsody grinned at them impishly. "Yuccas Fitter?"
"I'll go with you," Serenity offered quickly and the two of them vanished.
"I still can't believe my babies are using magic," Melody smiled ruefully, her eyes full of wonder.
A moment later the two girls reappeared with a large red fruit. Michael eyed it greedily as Serenity handed it over to her mother.
"If you don't finish the whole thing, I'm sure I could help out," Michael offered hopefully.
Mystery snorted a laugh as she watched her brother fondly. "You're a hopeless addict."
"I would say hopeful addict," Michael corrected as he continued watching the bright red fruit as Melody curiously took it from Serenity.
"Just twist the stem off and then drink from the hole that appears in the top," Serenity instructed her mother helpfully. "And I've got to warn you; it is going to make your tastebuds explode."
Melody curiously followed Serenity's instructions. When the first mouthful of juice filled her mouth, her eyes went wide, and she made a moan of pleasure as she drank it down.
"I would say I miss it, but I like our food better," Harmony told Mystery with a grin.
"Like the memory you showed us on the train?" Mystery asked curiously.
"Yep," Harmony told her with a dreamy expression. "Speaking of which, shouldn't we be refilling about now?"
"Too right you are," Rhapsody agreed eagerly.
The house vanished as they reappeared in the chasm with Harmony's mother. Mystery released Rhapsody and stood up, her eyes radiating curiosity.
"How does this work—" Mystery cut off as light flooded up out of the chasm and washed into them.
Harmony let out a loud moan of delight as the intense energy flooded her system. Mystery was no better, letting out her own moan of pleasure as the energy filled her meridians and began to stretch them out. Rhapsody once again consumed the vast majority of the light.
As the last of the light was absorbed by Rhapsody, Harmony turned to Mystery with a wide grin on her face. "See what I mean? Better than Yuccas Fitter."
"Yeah," Mystery whispered, still overwhelmed by the rush of ecstasy they had just experienced. "Being a fairy is so awesome."
"And we do this every day," Harmony's mother informed Mystery ecstatically.
Harmony still couldn't get over seeing her mother looking the same age as herself. It reinforced the knowledge that she no longer had to worry about her mother dying from an incurable disease. Everything had become so much better since meeting Rhapsody.
"Okay, let's go pick up the others," Rhapsody suggested, teleporting them back to the house.
Michael was in the process of trying to get the last few drops of the Yuccas Fitter that Melody had drained. Harmony and Mystery laughed when they saw what he was doing.
"Oh, Michael," Mystery laughed fondly. "You are such a goof."
Melody was standing, looking around the room with a bemused expression. Her blue irises were already growing larger as the Yuccas Fitter went to work.
"The colors are so much more vibrant," Melody observed with a soft smile. "I feel so light and happy. This is amazing."
"Much better than that pharmaceutical crap you used to take," Harmony commented distastefully. She remembered how little the anti-depressants had done for Melody, along with the horrible side-effects they caused.
"It's time," Rhapsody announced with an excited smile. "Let's go celebrate!"
Harmony grinned eagerly as the house vanished and was replaced by a large meadow with glowing orbs floating all around, illuminating the ground with a soft glow. Taxti was waiting for them with Declan. There were a couple dozen other fauns and leprechauns, as well as several extremely tall men that gave off a non-human vibe. One of the tall men approached Rhapsody with a broad grin when they joined the large group of people.
"Hello, Nidhogg," Rhapsody greeted the tall man with a twinkle in her eyes. "You're looking slimmer. Have you lost some weight?"
Harmony gasped as she realized the men were actually dragons in human form. There was a group of red-haired women that joined them as well. Harmony was almost certain the first one she saw was one of the mermaids she had seen rescue Mystery the first day they had entered the circle.
"This is your resurrection party, Melody," Rhapsody informed the bemused Melody. "Welcome back to life. We're going to get the first night of your new life off to a great start.