THE MOMENT
Siuna, the fairy queen, giggled atop her throne as her guards led the strange woman to her presence. The visitor looked completely out of place in a forest, and it was likely she got lost somewhere along the way; that was usually how humans ended up in her court. She had a bright purple fauxhawk and wore a long black leather duster with tattoos visible on every inch of exposed skin except her face. It was always entertaining to spend an afternoon mocking humans and putting them in her place before she eventually helped them. Siuna was mischievous; but, not evil.
"Welcome to my court," The queen nodded politely. "Before we talk about how I can help you, may I have your name?"
"Nah, I'm using it," the woman smirked. "But, to make communication easier, you can call me J.J.," she replied.
"Oh, you're a clever human," Siuna grinned. Admittedly, it was an easy test that very few failed. It's common knowledge you shouldn't 'give' your name to fairies or allow them to 'have' it. But, informing them of it for communication was entirely allowed and expected. They couldn't do anything with a name that wasn't given. Queen Siuna often opened with that just to let those who were quick enough feel a sense of superiority. Her favorite thing was to tear down that sense little by little until they realized she'd been playing with them all along. That was usually around the time she got bored and decided to help them find their way out.
"J.J...," Siuna spoke it carefully with an air of distaste. "I am Queen Siuna, matriarch of the fairies in this forest," she made a gesture and a young fairy girl walked forward to offer J.J. a basket of fruit. "My people found you lost and wandering the forest, you must be hungry; please enjoy our hospitality," she said. "How long were you lost?"
"No thank you," J.J. shook her head with a smile. "I haven't been here long, I wasn't lost," she said. "I was looking for you, I guess? I heard there were fairies here, and I was sent to check it out."
"OH MY!" Siuna gasped as her eyes widened in glee. As often as people got lost, it was rare that she had someone looking for fairies in particular. "You came looking for fairies? My, you must be quite surprised we're not what you expected," the Queen chittered and her lithe body spasmed, almost like a tiny, contained dance of excitement.
"Heh heh heh... Did you really think that I would be some small, diminutive thing that gives people favors? Well, you certainly seem uneducated in the true ways of the fae. Allow me to educate you," she beamed a smile the entire time.
"Oh," J.J. couldn't hold back the syllable as she had a sudden realization. She glanced around at the other human-sized fairies that were obviously exactly that. They wore the browns and greens of the forest, and each one had a translucent set of wings growing out of their backs. A few were fluttering, and hovering above the ground, but not by much. "Oh..., okay," she added as her shoulders slumped. "Well, thanks anyway," she had just enough respect left to give the queen a formal bow first, then she added a dismissive wave as she turned to leave.
"Where are you going?" Queen Siuna asked.
"Uhhh, I'm pretty much done for the day. So, the bar I guess?" she shrugged and continued walking. But, she didn't make it very far before a burly fairy in woodbark armor flew to block her off.
"The Queen has not dismissed you," he said.
"I dunno, it kind of feels like she did that as soon as I showed up," J.J. smiled. The guard did not react, nor move out of her way.
"How dare you!" Queen Siuna raised her voice. "This is my forest!" she said.
"Yeah, okay," J.J. nodded. "And?"
"AND YOU WILL RESPECT ME!!" She was supposed to be the one frustrating the human.
"Nah... not gonna go along with that one," J.J. shook her head. "No reason to."
"THE INSOLENCE!"
"I KNOOOW!" J.J. raised her voice too; but, it came out in a more whiney, sarcastic tone. "From the beginning, you assumed I was a lost human, and you decided being unkind was the way to go. Which,.. I can kind of get on board with in some instances," she nodded. "But, this whole 'better than you' vibe your group gives off really kind of soured me on the whole thing."
"What 'whole thing'?" Siuna asked.
"Geeze, for a fairy, you're really bad at paying attention," J.J. laughed. "I said I was in this forest looking for fairies, for you. My boss sent me to see if you were interested in meeting with a corporate fairy court. But, I can already tell it would be a bad fit," she said.
"Corporate fairies?" Siuna asked. She didn't know what that was, and she wouldn't ask for elaboration. "Perhaps you're not as uninformed as I presumed...," she added. It was a step toward making amends, and likely the only one she would take personally.
"I didn't give you my name, nor accept any food," J.J. shrugged. "And, I know fairies can change their size. It's really common knowledge too, in the multiverse at least."
"Multiverse?" Siuna asked.
"You mean you're uneducated in the true nature of reality?" J.J. laughed. Queen Siuna had had enough and she gave her guard the signal saying as much. But, as he stepped forward, J.J. continued talking.
"Allow me to educate you," she added as the guard placed a hand on her shoulder. J.J. crumbled immediately. Everyone was watching, and no one saw it. J.J. vanished instantly and left behind a human-sized swarm of black spiders that latched on to the guard's hand and began crawling up his arm. Him, Queen Siuna, and everyone screamed and shrank to small fairy size to flutter higher off the ground. The spiders spread out on the ground, each seemingly going its own way off into the forest.