The Kingsmere.
A renowned fine-dining restaurant in London; all the customers who visit are from well-to-do families—everyone is smartly dressed and wearing expensive brands that are hard to overlook.
At one of the tables sat a man, enjoying the meal before him. His hair was a golden blonde, matching his eyes and his entire outfit; he stood out amongst the others—he was the most striking figure and the main topic of conversation amongst the other patrons.
The man had actually had no plans to visit such a high-class restaurant this evening, but a mysterious letter had invited him to meet and discuss a serious matter here. He turned his head towards the fish swimming together in a large aquarium decorated with long strands of swaying seaweed.
His fingers tapped the table to fill his empty mind; in this restaurant teeming with people—he felt alone. "Would you like to order anything else, sir?" A man's voice suddenly appeared without him realising it; he turned his head and saw a waiter with tanned skin and dark brown hair.
His eyes widened as their gazes met—the waiter was wearing a red masquerade mask, an accessory a waiter ought not to be wearing.
"You're—" Before he could finish his sentence, a hard, swift punch landed squarely on his stomach, sending him flying backwards and crashing into another customer's table.
A woman's scream echoed through the room, causing all eyes to turn towards the source of the sound. "Bloody hell… I should've known this was a trap," the pain in his stomach made him want to just lie down on the floor.
His eyes darted towards the exit, which was now swarming with people fleeing the place in droves; the mask worn by the man named Romeo turned blue—and he immediately sprinted towards the exit.
After making sure everyone else had left except the two of them, Romeo immediately shut the door and barricaded it with stacked tables. "You realise you've blocked the way out for yourself too, don't you?" He turned round as he asked, before a golden light flared from his bare hands.
"Do you think so?" he asked, a smile playing across his face—even if Romeo were cornered, he could still leap through the window and escape because he still had his mask to make his body as hard as iron.
Without warning, Romeo dashed straight towards Midas with his hand raised, ready to land a second blow; Midas's hand was quick enough to grab the round table, causing the plates to fall and shatter in a mess on the floor.
The table slowly turned into solid gold, protecting Midas from behind it; yet before he knew it, Romeo was already at his right-hand side—by reflex, his hand touched Romeo's skin, and a smile spread across Midas's face.
Now all I need to do is wait for him to become my golden statue—that was probably what he was thinking, but his eyes widened in shock when he saw that his gauntlet had only turned his arm into gold. "Heh," Romeo chuckled softly, and with his right hand he grabbed Midas's leg; with a swift spin, he hurled him against the wall.
The powerful throw immediately left a huge crack; had the person thrown been an ordinary human—they would clearly have died on the spot, but because the Fables are blessed with bodies that are more resilient than those of ordinary humans, he was still breathing for the time being.
His body crashed to the floor, and he struggled to stay conscious. He watched as Romeo effortlessly wrenched his golden arm from his body; that was when Midas realised he'd been touching nothing more than a fake hand. "You're shanier than you look…" He managed to utter a sound before spitting his blood onto the red carpet, where it immediately seemed to blend in.
"To be honest, I wasn't the one who devised this whole plan"
"Oh? Then who's the mastermind behind all this?"
"A kind-hearted girl called Alice"
Hearing this, Midas froze and could only stare blankly; he looked as though he were sleeping standing up—but not for long, as a smile reappeared on his face. "She must have made you say that too, didn't she?" He was referring to the 'kind-hearted' part.
Romeo replied with a nod and a soft chuckle, his expression seeming to shout, "Isn't that obvious?"
Midas was panting heavily, trying to regain his strength. Romeo, taking pity on him, couldn't bring himself to attack just yet—he was still far too merciful towards his foe, even though he knew that if he struck now, Midas would certainly be defeated.
"I... I won't let Marigold's death be in vain," the words hung in the air; Romeo fell silent and tried to process them in his mind.
"Marigold?" Romeo repeated the name, and their golden and black eyes met. "...Is that the name of someone dear to you?" he asked, though he doubted his question would be answered.
As he'd expected, the man didn't reply, and Romeo didn't press the matter any further—yet, to his surprise, the man suddenly answered. "My daughter... She was my favourite daughter..." hearing this left Romeo speechless.
He took a step back and looked at the man in gold before him—he had never imagined that the man in front of him had a daughter, and the fact that she was dead caused Romeo's heart to ache for someone he'd never even met. "My condolences." was at least all he could say to him.
"I accidentally turned it into gold when I got this Everafter," he said, glancing at his golden gloves before clenching his fists tightly. "That… is what I sacrificed as a Fable, and I still consider this power to be a curse."
A long silence filled the vast room; the masquerade mask slowly faded from Romeo's face, revealing his true features. "I understand how you feel," hearing that declaration caused Midas's gaze to lock onto the man standing far ahead of him.
"I don't mean to tempt fate, but I lost my cousin after becoming a Fable—even though at the time there was still a chance she could have emerged alive from those ruins."
Hearing this brought his golden eyes back to life; they no longer looked like those of a dead fish. "So I'm not the only one, am I?" His two golden gloves vanished into thin air. "All this time, I've just wanted people to feel what I felt when I saw their loved ones frozen into gold"
"So, I gathered them all in one place so my daughter wouldn't feel alone anymore," he laughed as he walked towards Romeo with both hands bare once more. "It's all right, isn't it? I mean, everything I've turned into gold belongs to me—they should be grateful to have become such beautiful objects that so many people desire."
"But that's wrong!" shouted Romeo, and Midas was finally right in front of him.
"True, I can't recall ever doing the right thing in my life," he replied, placing his hands on his hips. "My poverty before becoming part of the Fables was my own fault for the choices I made in life," he added.
For a moment, neither of them spoke, and the sound of people banging on the door from outside—those eager to enter and start this fair fight at once—filled the air. Midas launched a punch, but it was immediately parried by Romeo's arm; from below, a fist landed squarely on his chin, sending Romeo stumbling and his feet sliding off the thick carpet beneath him.
A follow-up elbow to the chest sent Romeo staggering backwards, but it didn't take him long to counter—Romeo unleashed a flurry of punches towards Midas, which were blocked by his arms. But when Midas let his guard down, his right arm was seized, and with all his might, Romeo hoisted Midas's body before slamming him violently onto the floor.
Blood flowed from his mouth once more and Romeo offered no further resistance, as Midas was already in a sorry state—with all his might, Midas tried to get up from the floor and walked slowly backwards. With the aid of the table, he climbed onto the aquarium and stood directly in front of him—his plan was to make Romeo crash into the aquarium, electrocuting him, and at that very moment, he would transform Romeo into a golden statue.
The golden gloves reappeared on his hands; he stood on top of the table, spreading his arms wide as if he had already won the fight.
"My life is full of regret and hatred! But at least… I've found someone who's suffered the same misfortune as me!"
"Is this how you're repaying me for all the misery you've inflicted on my life all this time, God?!"
WHOOSH
A sound that rang quite familiar to his ears—Thwack—something sharp had pierced his chest; his golden eyes could only glance sideways, and to his utter shock, he saw an arrow lodged in his chest. His eyes darted forward and spotted a figure who had been hiding in the shadows all this while.
His body staggered backwards and tumbled into the aquarium; every second felt like an eternity to him—his eyes watched an oarfish swim past him, as if mocking Midas, who was neither moving nor breathing. The water in the aquarium slowly turned golden and grew thick and viscous; Romeo could bear to witness it no longer—he had never seen or heard of such a tragic end to a person's life.
The man in the green hood walked over quickly before pulling his friend's shoulders back—not allowing him to witness it any longer. The ginger-haired man's dark eyes were fixed on the aquarium, watching the water and the creatures within transform into beautiful gold.
"The fact that Alice could predict all of this… It's truly terrifying."
They knew all this was going to happen, but seeing it all unfold before their eyes turned out to be very different from simply hearing about it as it was planned.