---
The human kept staring at me like I'd sprouted another pair of wings.
Well, technically I had wings — or used to — but right now, all I had was a faint shimmer clinging to my shoulders like leftover glitter from a bad party.
"Uh," he said carefully, as if talking to a possibly delusional stranger, "you sure you're okay? You kind of… fell out of nowhere."
I stood up straighter, brushing imaginary dust off my gown — or what used to be a gown. The delicate silver petals that once shimmered like moonlight had turned into a tattered, dull dress that barely reached my knees.
"Of course I'm fine," I replied, doing my best queenly voice. "I simply took an unscheduled portal detour. Happens all the time."
His eyebrows rose. "Right… so, do you need, uh, help getting home?"
I hesitated.
Home.
Fairyland.
The word made my stomach twist.
"I don't think the bus goes that far," I muttered.
The boy sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. "You know what, it's late. You can come to my place for a bit. You look like you need… I dunno, food? A bath? An explanation?"
I narrowed my eyes suspiciously. "You intend to abduct me, human?"
His mouth twitched. "You fell into a trash can, sparkled at me, and called me a peasant. If anything, you're the weird one here."
…He had a point.
---
His name, I later learned, was Riku.
A human college student who lived alone, worked too many part-time jobs, and had the kind of tired smile that made me think he'd fought a thousand invisible battles and lost most of them — but still showed up anyway.
He offered me instant noodles. I stared at them like they were a magical artifact.
"This," I asked seriously, "is food?"
"Technically."
I sniffed the bowl. "It smells like… despair and salt."
He laughed softly. "Yeah, that's about right."
I ate it anyway. Surprisingly, it wasn't terrible. Not as divine as honeydew pudding from the Fairy Palace, but it had warmth — the kind that spread from your hands to your heart.
"Thanks," I said quietly, after finishing.
"No problem." He leaned back in his chair. "So, Queen Lyria, huh? Mind telling me how you ended up here?"
I opened my mouth to speak… but the words tangled like vines.
How did I explain it? That a paperwork mistake had erased my entire reign? That the Fairy Council had exiled me over a math error?
"The short version," I finally said, "is that I was overthrown by… accounting."
He blinked. "That's… new."
Before I could elaborate, a familiar high-pitched voice squeaked from my pocket:
"YOUR MAJESTY! YOU SURVIVED!"
Riku jumped so hard he nearly dropped his cup. I fished out a glowing ball of fluff — Puff, my ever-dramatic assistant fairy, currently the size of a lemon.
"Puff," I said, exasperated but relieved. "I thought you disintegrated."
"Disintegrate? Never! I simply followed your magic trail through three dimensions and one rather suspicious laundry portal." Puff's tiny wings buzzed indignantly. "Although, Your Majesty, I regret to inform you that our debt has increased."
My smile froze. "Increased?"
"By approximately one million glimmer-coins," Puff chirped cheerfully. "Late portal fee."
I stared at him. Then at Riku. Then at the faintly glowing ceiling light.
"Human," I said solemnly. "Do you know of any quick, high-paying jobs that don't involve… paperwork?"
Riku chuckled. "Welcome to the real world, Your Majesty."
And just like that, my second life — as an unemployed fairy queen in the human world — had officially begun.
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