The next morning, Hex was in an unusually pleasant mood. He waited by the window in the library, dressed in navy blue instead of his normal black, and hummed happily to himself. Cathy hesitated in the doorway.

"Ahh, there you are." He grinned at her.

"Are you feeling okay? Do I need to fetch the doctor?" Cathy asked.

"I am perfectly fine. Better than fine. Do you know what today is?" Hex stepped closer to her.

"No." Cathy stepped backward.

"It's my birthday," the sorcerer announced, and with a flick of his fingers, a birthday cake as big as a paddling pool appeared in the middle of the room, covered in hundreds of candles.

"Happy birthday." Cathy took another step back. A library full of candles was a bad idea.

"Guess how old I am," Hex ordered.

Cathy wondered if this was a trick question. It could be extremely dangerous if she guessed wrong. Judging by the number of candles, Hex could be five... six hundred years old.

"You don't look a day over twenty," she said. With her fingers crossed behind her back.

"Clever girl. Good save. I am, in fact, one thousand, five hundred years old."

Cathy gasped before she could stop herself.

"Yes, I know... I'm marvellous for my age."

"Have you any plans?" Cathy hoped Hex was going out. Then she'd spend all day in the library.

"I have, and you're coming with me."

"I am?"

"Unless you'd rather stay at home and wash my undies?" Hex asked with a mean chuckle.

The sorcerer's behaviour was making her nervous.

"Not really."

"Then it's settled."

Less than an hour later, Cathy found herself by a brook. Hex temporarily removed the magic chain. Much to Cathy's relief. And he was busy laying out a tartan blanket, next to a large picnic basket.

"Sit," Hex said, pointing to the blanket.

Cathy wondered if this was a trap and whether Hex had hidden something horrible inside the basket. Reluctantly, she did as she was told.

Hex removed his navy blue cloak, dropping it on the grass, he sat beside her. Cathy fought the urge to move away from the sorcerer.

"Don't worry, I'm not about to turn you into a caterpillar, if that's what you're thinking," Hex said, pulling his long boots off and removing his socks. He leaned backward with his face turned towards the sun and closed his eyes.

When he relaxed, he looked younger and almost human. When he wasn't scowling at her, he reminded Cathy of her dad.

"Why bring me here?"

"You deserve a day off," he said with his eyes still closed.

Cathy frowned at him. This side of Hex she hadn't seen.

"Is there not someone else you would rather spend your birthday with?" She pulled at the grass, waiting to be shouted at, or insulted.

Hex opened his eyes and turned to face her.

"There is no one in this entire land who I would rather spend my birthday with."

"What about in another land?" she asked.

Hex's eyes narrowed. "Ahh, so you've been snooping through my study."

Cathy wished she'd kept her mouth shut, but the cat was well and truly out of the bag now.

"No, I wasn't snooping. I was cleaning, and I found a picture."

"So now you know."

"Yes, I know."

"And?"

"You made your own daughter run away. She gave up her life here and fled to the human realm." Cathy may have said too much, but she needed answers.

"Who told you that?"

"No one told me anything. It's obvious what happened. Why are you so cruel?"

Hex sat up abruptly. Cathy flinched. This was it. This time, he would surely murder her.

"That's how you see me, as cruel? I suppose I am, but I never meant to be this way. Of all people. How can I be kind?"

"It's easy," Cathy said.

"Then show me. Teach me how to be patient and considerate."

"You want me to teach you how to be normal?"

"Teach me to be a good father. Help me bring my daughter home."

"Flo won't come back here."

"Why not? If I change, she can come home. I brought you here. Maybe I can bring Florence home."

Hex only remembered Florence as the girl in the picture.

"Hex, Florence isn't how you remember her. She's old."

"Old? But you see me. Fairies don't grow old. We reach adulthood and the ageing stops. It's always been this way. She can't be old. Not my Florence." The sorcerer's eyes welled with tears, but none fell.

"It was the price she paid for leaving here."

"Then it's too late. I really have lost her."

"It's never too late to make amends."

"I can make amends to you. Tell me about your life in the human realm. What do you like to do?"

"Well, I love to dance. I've studied ballet since I was six."

"My wife liked to dance," Hex said, unpacking sandwiches from the picnic basket.

"Your wife?"

"Yes, Rose." Next, he pulled an entire honey-glazed ham from the basket and a jug. Hex clicked his fingers and two glasses appeared. He waved his hand, and the jug lifted into the air and filled the glasses with lemonade.

"Ice?"

"Yes, please."

Ice cubes fell from the sky and splashed into the glasses.

"How long were you married?" Cathy asked, sipping her lemonade. There wasn't a single picture of Rose in the house. But of course, Hex would've been married... Once upon a time.

"We were married for many years." He pulled a block of cheese, a huge quiche, a bowl of fruit, and a jar of pickle from the basket. "A goblin imprisoned her in a tower."

"Why?"

"Because she could hiccup diamonds... and occasionally rubies."

Cathy choked on her drink.

Hex chuckled as he stood up and yanked a large dark green parasol from the basket and a mallet.

"Everyone has a gift, and hers is gemstones. It's rare, and highly sought after." Hex hammered the parasol into the ground and dropped the mallet back into the basket before continuing. "So when I heard a greedy goblin called Giggleton had imprisoned a Gem Maker in a tower surrounded by thorns, I stole her for myself."

Hex paused his story while he blew up an inflatable beach ball. Popping in the stopper, he said, "I slashed and cut my way through the thorns, scaling the tower, risking life and limb, before climbing in through a window."

"Really?" Cathy asked, tucking into a cheese and piccalilli sandwich.

Hex tutted. "No, of course not. I used magic. Have I taught you nothing?"

Cathy giggled. What a lovely sound it was. She hadn't been happy for so long that it took her by surprise. Hex stopped digging through his basket and stared at her, and then he grinned.

"What happened next?" she asked, reaching for the grapes.

"Rose was the most beautiful woman I have ever seen. Instantly smitten, I knew I would marry her."

Cathy frowned at Hex. She couldn't imagine him smitten with anyone. She couldn't imagine he had a heart.

"You think I made her love me? You think I used a spell, don't you?"

"No." Cathy lied.

"Well, I didn't. Rose loved me back and there were no spells involved. So there."

"What happened to Rose?"

Hex sat next to Cathy.

"I built Rune Hall for her. It was a house for us to become a family in. It took over twenty years to build. Rose decorated Rune Hall and chose all the furniture. It's all exactly how she wanted it. A year after we moved in, Florence was born. I thought my life was complete. But a house like Rune Hall is expensive to run, so I worked hard... for Rose, for Florence, for our family. I travelled a lot on business. Rose stayed at home to take care of our daughter.

"For a while, I was happy. It didn't last. I returned home from the City of Kindling to celebrate Florence's first birthday. With my arms full of gifts, I rushed through the front door to find the house quiet. I called for Rose, searching room after room. I couldn't find either of them.

"Eventually I found Florence hidden in a cupboard, wrapped in a blanket. My wife had simply vanished. I never gave up. I searched for her, but no one knew anything." Hex wiped a tear from his cheek. "I found myself alone in my vast house with a young daughter to raise. Fear gripped me and I became paranoid that whoever took Rose would return to take Florence.

"So I kept Florence inside Rune Hall and forbade her to leave. As she grew older, she became more wilful and disobedient. She resented me and my rules. One night, she snuck out. Beside myself with worry, I waited for her to return and I punished her. I forged the magical chain you now wear. I'd make sure no one would take my daughter away from me.

"But they did—King Julius took her from me. I have been so lonely. Then one day a girl reached through the mirror in my drawing room. A slender hand so like my daughter's, and I reached out for her. At last, she was coming home."

"But I'm not Florence."

"No. I didn't realise until I had already brought you through the portal. It was only when you awoke in my alchemy room that I knew you weren't my daughter. By then it was too late to return you. The portal had vanished." Hex cut a chunk of cheese and popped it into his mouth.

"So you made me a servant." Cathy scowled at him. She desperately wanted to slap him up the side of his head.

"What else was I to do with you?" Hex cut himself a slice of ham. "Eat something. You're all skin and bone."

Cathy's blood boiled. "Is it any wonder? You've worked me half to death. And I'm not hungry."

"What if I give you Sunday off?" Hex had eaten the ham and started on the quiche.

Cathy shot to her feet. "Sunday off!"

"Alright, you may have every other Saturday."

"I hate you," Cathy yelled. And then she ran. She didn't know how far she'd get before he'd stop her.

"Come back," Hex shouted. "I was only teasing you."

Cathy didn't stop. She just ran further and further, following the brook through an open meadow and into a thick forest. She weaved between the trees. On and on without looking back. When she could run no further, she sat at the base of an immense oak tree and rested her head on her knees.