The maiden and her cat strode boldly into the castle.
"I'm here to court the prince."
This was met with laughter, and she was thrown into the dungeons; her cat chased away.
Her loyal companion visited every night, first bringing her pen and ink, then food, and then somehow a gown and slippers. Then more food, and some soap.
After a week, the prince rushed down, "I want to know you better, your letters have been so compelling!"
The mushroom ring was drawn in chalk, so I'd thought nothing of it...
As the fae realm drew me in, I tried to remember - was it just local fairy food that I needed to avoid? Was the lunch in my bag safe since I'd brought it with me?
"It worked! It's a human!" exclaimed an excited pixie.
"They-them, please," I blurted instinctively.
"They're a human! Humans exist!"
"Ugh, you won the bet, now let's send them back..." grumped an elf.
The witches secretly watched from the shadow of the moon.
In the marsh below, the king wheezed as he jogged past the Old Stump for the third time, wearing boots, breeches and muddy leaves. He waved a scepter in his left hand, and clutched a barely sedated badger in his right.
"Last month the Leaves foretold that his next child would be a son. Why did you tell him this was the only way--?"
"Because he was rude; I'm making him work for it!"
The knight struggled out of his armor then strode toward the dragon, "I need to be crushed immediately."
The dragon shifted his massive body, waiting for the knight to lay flat in his nest of furs and fabrics. Then he gently rolled some of his mass onto the knight's, worriedly asking, "Rough day?"
"Rough week," sighed the knight.
"It's Monday!"
There was no response, the knight had already dozed off under his favorite weighted-blanket.
The human child decided not to tease their fish-tailed pal, and instead talked about marbles and their mutual love of turtles and pizza.
Decades later, the human had to admit that the siren looked so happy atop the firetruck she was assigned to, screaming her lungs out as they raced towards a blaze.
The carriage was hot, cramped and the waft of human sweat gave the air a certain umami.
In an overhead shelf, a goblin made himself comfortable. It had made sense to buy a solo-luggage ticket, being so much smaller than the average passenger, and the ticket seller had been kind enough to agree.
Honestly, being above everyone else, tucked between a sack and a satchel, the goblin felt rather lucky.
She shrugged, "Sometimes men need a little magic too."
The scruffy young man looked down at himself, then at the list of tasks he still hadn't completed, after hours, for free, "A little magical help would be nice..."
"To the gala with you, charm some princes, be back by midnight," said the fairy godmother tucking away her wand then pulling on her programmer socks, "I'll finish up here."
The kettle was always the right temperature for the intended beverage, nor did it require fire nor electricity.
Yet it was always cool to the touch. This tended to startle people, especially if they had placed it on a stove and witnessed a typical whistle of steam.
It had been created by a tea-loving wizard, then given as a gift to the wizard's favorite tea-loving Influencer.
It was delivered by raven because the wizard was too chai.