Midnight stood baffled before the Queen, outraged and confused at the accusation.

"Spiked . . . The punch?"

The Queen nodded quietly.

Midnight scoffed.

"You think I spiked the punch . . . You really think I did this?"

"That is for you and I to talk about in private." Queen Clarion's blue eyes glared chilling daggers into her own. "Come, let's fly."

Midnight's eyes widened, and she turned to Terence for support. He looked awkwardly between her and the Queen.

"I didn't do this," she told him.

"I really don't know what's going on at all," he said.

"Terence, I've been with you this whole time! Tell her I didn't do it."

Terence looked at the Queen. Then back at Midnight.

"Tell her!"

"I-"

"Terence, this does not concern you," said the Queen coldly. "This is for us to discuss alone. Midnight, if you'll come with me-"

"I'm not going anywhere with you!" Midnight's fists shook with anger. She was aware that the punishment for direct disobedience to the Queen was severe, but rage for being wrongly accused of a crime overtook her self control.

Queen Clarion blinked in surprise, but otherwise looked relatively unaffected by the outburst.

"It would be in your best interest to do as I say," she advised none too kindly.

"Your Highness, this is a mistake. I didn't spike the punch." Midnight's voice had raised about half an octave. "I would never do something like that." She looked at Terence again, gesturing to him.

"I've only been with this handsome young man the entire night. He can vouch for me!"

Terence didn't look pleased at all that she called him handsome. In fact, he didn't even smile.

"Terence, you will do right to stay out of this," advised the Queen.

Terence looked at Midnight helplessly. "I'm sorry," he said, and he sounded sincere. But clearly not enough to actually help her. "It's out of my hands. Go talk to her. I'll be here waiting for you when you get back."

Midnight sighed, rubbing an exasperated hand down her face. "Fine."

She glared scathingly at the Queen, who paid her no mind as she led her away from the commotion of the ball over to a private corner outside the deck by a patch of shrubbery to talk.

Midnight saw Fairy Mary waiting for them, and her heart skipped a beat as her chest filled with dread. Whenever the two worked together, someone was certainly in trouble.

"Midnight," Fairy Mary greeted without a touch of friendliness. "There is something we need to discuss."

"She already told me," Midnight said, sounding mildly panicked as she gestured to the Queen. "You think I spiked your punch? I would never even think about doing something that absurd, I-"

"Save it." Fairy Mary crossed her arms and frowned. "I am very disappointed in you. Queen Clarion and I and countless other fairies have been working tirelessly on this ball for weeks. For someone like you, with such a respectable reputation and honorable work ethic, to come along and try to destroy it out of nowhere is utterly deplorable."

"Fairy Mary," said Midnight, carefully calm. "Please, believe me. I didn't do this."

"Again, Midnight, you are only making yourself look worse by lying," said Queen Clarion.

"I would have expected this from some of your coworkers, like that Stone or Bolt, but not from you," said Fairy Mary, twinged with dismay.

"I'm not lying, please, believe me," begged Midnight.

Queen Clarion and Fairy Mary exchanged a look. It made Midnight nervous.

"What is it?" she asked.

"Someone already came forward," said the Queen.

"Who?" Midnight asked quietly.

"That is not your concern."

"It actually is my concern."

"Midnight-"

"Why are you so sure it was me? You don't even have proof."

"Open your bag, please."

The Queen said it calmly, but not even her tone could gate the simmering anger shining deep in her eyes.

Midnight froze. Her hands gripped her purse tightly as she swallowed. "B-But Your Highness-"

"You heard me. Open. Your bag."

Midnight knew what sat beneath the surface of that black fabric. Her insides rippled with dread. She pictured that sneaky little vial sitting on top of everything else, ready to expose her. It taunted her.

"Your Highness, is that really necessary?" she asked, playing it casual. She even threw in a chuckle for good measure.

"I thought my word held a little more value around here."

"Let me remind you how little damage it takes to devalue somebody's word." The Queen kept her eyes trained steadily on Midnight's purse. "Especially when someone whose word means far more to me comes forward first."

Midnight's fingers shook as she opened her purse. She looked straight at Queen Clarion, masking her inner apprehension and dread as best as she could. There was alcohol in her purse. That would put her in a dangerously compromised position. She might not be able to talk her way out of this one.

Averted gaze means weakness. Averted gaze means weakness. She repeated it to herself over and over until she believed it.

Slowly, as though in fairy theatre, she stiffly pulled open her purse.

"Let me see." Queen Clarion's calm yet firm voice rang in her ears.

Midnight handed her the bag.

Queen Clarion pulled out the vial and examined it closely, her frown deepening. This vial now held Midnight's fate in the palm of its hands. And the readings did not look good.

Queen Clarion looked at Midnight as though she were a very young child. Her blood ran cold.

"I'd ask you to explain yourself, but this really speaks for itself."

"Your Highness, please, I can explain," insisted Midnight. "Two fairies gave me that vial earlier tonight, and I shared it with Terence. I didn't use it to spike the punch."

"Drinking alcohol at these events is forbidden. You know that."

"With all due respect, your Majesty, isn't this a conversation you should be having with the fairies who gave it to me?"

"I'm not concerned with who gave it to you. There is a sizable difference between having a little drink at a party and spiking the communal punch so strong the entire venue suffers from it."

"So when they have it, it's just a 'drink at a party' but when I have it it's a crime?" Midnight exclaimed. "How does that seem fair, your Majesty?"

"I just explained to you that you used it for far more than inebriating yourself. I don't think you understand the consequences of your actions. Someone could get seriously hurt."

"I know this makes me look really bad," said Midnight. "But I swear to you, I didn't do it."

"Why should we believe you when the proof is right in front of us?" asked Fairy Mary.

"Wouldn't it take way more than one vial to spike the punch this badly?" Midnight said testily.

"How do we know you haven't thrown the rest of them away?" Queen Clarion retorted.

"Throw them away?" Midnight exclaimed. "Tell me then, Your Highness, why would I still have one vial left if I threw them all away?"

Queen Clarion looked at Fairy Mary again.

"See?" Midnight pointed at them. "It doesn't make any sense!"

Queen Clarion sighed. "Midnight, please try to understand. It doesn't look well for you that two fairies have already come forward about this, and we've found a vial of alcohol in your purse just as they described."

"Whoever it is, they're trying to frame me," said Midnight. That was when she realized.

Fawn and Vidia had given her the alcohol. They were the only ones who knew she had it.

Tinker Bell had set her up.

"Oh, that little pixie is going to pay," she seethed, locking her jaw and fisting her bag so tightly it could've broken.

"Who is going to pay?" asked Queen Clarion, sounding worried.

Midnight looked her dead in the eye. "No one you need to worry about."

Queen Clarion was going to speak, but Fairy Mary was faster.

"Midnight, as much as I'm sure as you'd love to erase the events of tonight, we cannot. You will face the consequences of what you did as every other innocent fairy is right now."

"Fairy Mary," said Midnight, "some other fairy had intentions far more malicious than mine. I was set up. I don't know how else I can get you to believe me."

Fairy Mary pursed her lips. She was silent, and her eyes were cold.

Queen Clarion spoke emotionlessly, "You will report at high noon to my chambers tomorrow to receive the details of your punishment. We will not discuss this matter any further tonight. Goodnight, Midnight."

She flew away. Golden pixie flakes lingered in her wake.

Midnight looked at Fairy Mary, who glared at her distrustingly. She gulped.

"Fairy Mary, I swear I didn't- Please don't do this." Midnight felt her heart beating faster as her reality sank in. For the first time in her life, she had been the one who was framed. She didn't know what to do.

Fairy Mary only shook her head dismally before flying away.

"Wait!" she called to nothing and no one.

Her blood boiled. Midnight had carefully cultivated her relationship with the Queen over the years, and in the span of a couple minutes all her efforts were shattered to pieces solely because of Tinker Bell. The Queen would never trust her again.

Midnight growled frustratedly and began flying toward the lounge room inside of the deck. Tinker Bell wouldn't leave this ball unscathed if Midnight had anything to do with it.

...

Tink had flown herself to the furthest corner of the room and turned toward the wall away from fairies' nosy glances. Shame washed over her like a river, coating every inch of her skin. Her shoulders shook as she wept.

She cried quietly for losing Terence. For being so reckless with his feelings and not treating them with care and kindness as she should have.

Her friends had surely noticed her absence by now. Guilt engulfed her. After all their kindness of getting a custom-made dress for her, she couldn't even pretend to have a good time?

She just missed him, so much. She missed his smile, his chuckle, the way he held her close late at night. She ached for him with every bone in her body.

Yet she had been the one to push him away, right into Midnight's waiting arms. She had been the one to lose her temper, yet again, and yell at him before listening to him. Spewing mean, heartless words that not even the kindest fairy could forgive. She had been the one to let her best friend go.

She tensed up and swallowed a sniffle as she heard footsteps approach her.

Please be going the other way, anywhere but here.

The footsteps faded. She breathed out a sigh of relief. She couldn't expect to keep this whole room to herself forever, but right now it was much appreciated.

She reflected back on how cruel she'd been to Terence. She had felt so jealous, so worried that his affection had not matched hers. Even though in hindsight the idea was ludicrous. Of course it had. She just hadn't seen it. Why hadn't she looked closer?

And why had she built a wall between them so quickly? What was she so worried about? That he didn't love her back?

Her eyes popped open, and she snapped her head up as she realized.

She loved him.

It explained all the raging jealousy at the idea of him being with another girl, the possessiveness she felt towards him, the fluttery feelings in her stomach whenever he kissed her. It all made sense. She loved him.

And she had lost her chance to be with him.

Suddenly on high alert, Tinker Bell dried her eyes and rose to her feet. She needed to tell somebody about this. Right now.

Rosetta and Silvermist were with their dates, and Iridessa was with Sage so that left either Fawn or Vidia. Whoever she reached first, Tink would be fine with. As long as Terence wasn't around to listen in, she would tell them.

She flew outside the room, wringing her hands together tensely. She landed and decided to walk down a corridor that connected her to the outer deck of the venue. She needed to gather her strength, so she wouldn't run away at the last second when Vidia or Fawn asked her what was wrong.

Because there was no conceivable way to convey the depths of her misdoings to her friends. There was no swift or easy shortcut to evade its severity.

She continued down the hallway, swallowing thickly and nervously picking at loose strands of her hair. She began to second guess herself. What use did it have, anyway, telling Fawn or Vidia she loved him? They wouldn't be able to help her.

Why dampen their evening and burden them with her feelings just because she couldn't figure it out when it had actually mattered? She couldn't tell them now. She couldn't tell anyone.

In spite of herself, she thought about possibly telling Terence. A burning want clawed deep inside her. Stronger than she anticipated. She imagined running up to him, pulling him somewhere far away from Midnight's prying eyes, and telling him everything. How sorry she was for the way she'd acted, how desperately she wanted a second chance, and how above all else, she just wanted her friend back.

Because friendship with Terence was infinitely better than no Terence. The constant ache in her chest from his absence could prove that in a heartbeat.

However, before she could complete her journey through the hallway and begin scanning the floor for Fawn and Vidia, her excavation was cut abruptly short.

In a rush, someone flew up to her and grabbed her uninjured arm tightly, pushing her hard against the wall, back flaring up in dull pain, all within the blinding flash of a second.

Tink pushed with all her strength against her captor, but her body did not budge. She was locked in place. She blinked rapidly and looked up at the fairy who had grabbed her.

A set of familiar, honey brown eyes narrowed down at her, with lips set in a tight frown. Midnight glared at her as her fist shook.

"You set me up. Did you really think I wouldn't find out it was you?"

"Wait a second, pause," said Tink, heart hammering heavily. "What are you talking about?"

"Come on, Tinker Bell, quit the act. You sent your friends to act nice to me and give alcohol to us as a 'gift,' which you then used to frame me."

"Hold on. Midnight, listen to me." Tinker Bell struggled in her grip again. Midnight barred her teeth, unrelenting.

"You're not going anywhere, you bratty little pixie, until you tell me the truth. I wanna hear you say it to my face."

"What did I frame you for? Midnight, you were the last fairy I wanted to cross paths with tonight. I came here with my friends. I didn't do this, I'm serious."

"You are such a liar." Midnight shook her head, scoffing in disbelief. "I shouldn't have listened to a word they said, you were behind this the entire time."

"Wait, Fawn and Vidia talked to you? What did they say?"

Tink couldn't help but express her curiosity. She wanted to know if they'd said anything about her. Fawn usually kept her mouth shut, but Vidia was known to be quite a heavy gossip, and a rather strong social influence on those around her.

Midnight gave her a pitying look.

"They didn't seem too fond of you, last I checked. To be honest, you might want to reconsider your entire relationship with them. But I don't blame them. Fairies like you always hog the spotlight, trying to outshine everybody else. It's starting to get annoying."

This was the message Midnight was forcing her to listen to that just couldn't wait until . . . literally any other time? A time Tinker Bell wasn't just trying to forget her problems for just one night?

"Midnight, I don't care what you have to say about me or my friends. But I know they would never go behind my back like that, unless they had an absolute good reason. Maybe they did frame you for something. Last I checked, my friends weren't exactly your number one cheerleaders. I had nothing to do with this, but you know what? I think if they had asked me about it beforehand, I would've said yes."

Midnight's eyes widened. She loosened her grip on Tink and pulled up a cup of bright pink punch out from behind her back, glaring coldly.

"You have some nerve, talking to me like that after everything you've pulled. You are so disrespectful to your friends and everyone around you it's not even funny. The fact you still have any at all is a wonder. The only fairies who could possibly be friends with you are the ones who have no independent thinking of their own. Who are so stuck faithfully following you, blind to your manipulation, that they don't see how much of a fake you are."

Tink raised a hand to push Midnight away, furrowing her brows, but before she could reach her, Midnight had dumped the entire glass of punch directly over Tink's head. The ice cold liquid splashed all over her skin as it spilled down her face and chest. She flinched from the intensity of it. The liquid coated the entire front of her dress, now soaking wet.

The pungent punch stung her eyes sharply, and she squeezed them shut.

She gasped as she spat out the strong, bitter substance and pawed at her face to rub the stinging liquid out of her eyes. Her hair was dripping wet. A thin, sticky layer of punch dried on her chest, soaking the material of her dress even closer in her skin.

"What was that for?" she exclaimed, shaking her arms to rid herself of the access liquid that had spilled down her front.

Midnight let go of her and pulled back, smirking openly. She put a hand on her hip and threw the empty glass to the ground.

"What is your problem?" Tinker Bell shook more punch off herself, rubbing it down her shoulders even though she knew it would only make her hands even stickier later.

"My problem? I don't have a problem," Midnight argued lightly, crossing her arms. "Did you really think getting me kicked out of the ball was going to get in the way of strengthening my relationship with Terence tonight?"

"A couple things," Tink said hotly, pulling some fallen, flat, wet hair behind her ears so she could see Midnight better.

"First of all, I don't go out of my way to sabotage fairies; that's more your thing. When I want something, I go after it myself." Tink stood up taller. "What do you do in your spare time when you're not working at the depot bossing everyone around and acting like you own it?"

Midnight's face flared with anger. She took a step closer. "You don't know me, or anything about my life. So don't pretend you do. And stop acting like you're better than me just because Terence chose you first. He doesn't care about you anymore. You need to let him go."

Tink's eyes widened. She shook her head, flabbergasted. "This . . . had nothing to do with Terence, actually. I was saying that since you boss everybody around, and that it's so innately engraved in your personality, for you to stand there and call me bossy makes you a hypocrite."

Midnight kicked the fallen glass of alcohol towards the neighboring wall. It hit the wood with a soft clatter before stilling, but it did not break.

"But I won tonight. You lost."

"That's my entire point, Midnight," Tink said with barely contained rage. "You already won. You already got everything you wanted. So why would I go out of my way to wreck your night? I bet you feel really good about yourself now, though, don't you?"

"At least I actually treat the fairies in my life with some level of basic respect," Midnight said, furrowing her brows at Tink.

"You, on the other hand, are so rude to the ones in yours, like you're holding onto some collective, irrevocable anger at the world, that the fairies in your life can't do anything about it for you. So you just push them all away until they get tired of you and leave until there's no one left to listen to your criticism."

"You're the one who uses fairies for your own personal benefit." Tink stepped tensely forward toward the other fairy. "You don't care about anyone's feelings at all, especially not Terence's. You think you can just parade around Pixie Hollow treating fairies like that and thinking they won't notice? Eventually your true colors will show themselves."

"You don't have a clue about my feelings or Terence's." Midnight placed some more distance between them, tucking a stray strand of black hair behind her ear. "You may think you know him well, but it doesn't matter anymore how much you had him under your spell. You betrayed him beyond repair, so now your chance is over."

After one last patronizing smile she flew away without another word.

Tink's face fell from its phlegmatic front, and she wrapped her arms around herself tightly as she shivered. She had never felt lower in her life, not even when she'd forced herself to push Terence away that day he'd flown to her house.

She had to accept the reality that Terence saw more in Midnight than he ever had in her. There was no possible way he'd hear her side again. Not after how destructively she'd exploded on him last time. She had ruined any chances of patching things up with him.