Janus blinked at Virgil.

"Why- Why am I here?" He asked. They scoffed. "Think, for a second. It is the first night of the ball and you wanted to go but can't because someone fucked up your outfit."

Virgil pulled the sleeve up his arm again. "It's really just some torn stitching. I can-"

"Ah- shut." Janus said, pointing their wand at Virgil. "You can't do anything. Now, you can't see because it's behind you but trust me, the back of your coat is ripped and stained with just a little blood."

"Blood?!" Virgil repeated. Janus sighed.

"Calm down." He said. "I'm going to fix it. Hold still."

"Why?" Virgil asked, taking a little step back.

Janus groaned under their breath. "What did I just say." They said, tapping Virgil on the head with their wand. "Stay still."

"Why?" Janus rolled his eyes.

"Because if you move, the magic's gonna go wrong and-"

"Magic?!" Virgil repeated, alarmed. Janus glared at Virgil, dead-pan.

"Yes, magic. Fairy, remember?" They said. "Now, hold still. Because otherwise you'll turn gold or something."

Virgil looked at Janus in alarm but held still as they'd asked. Janus tapped Virgil on the nose once rather unceremoniously and stepped back, still in mid-air. He tilted his head to the side and grinned.

"Perfect." They declared. Virgil looked down at his clothes.

"This is not my outfit." He said.

"Yeah." Janus said. "It's better."

Virgil had to admit, begrudgingly, that it was. The purple was darker, not as tacky or faded, and Janus had added a little gold detail to the edge of the coat. The waistcoat, trousers and shirt were still the same, though a little more fitted to Virgil's height.

"Your shoes are over there," Janus pointed his wand to the stairs, "and I will be right back."

"Where are you going?" Virgil asked, still admiring the changes to his outfit.

"To get you a carriage." Janus said.

"Oh, I'd rather walk." Virgil said.

"I am not about to waste my magic on someone who'd 'rather walk'." Janus said, rolling their eyes. "You're getting a carriage."

"Okay. But nothing too flashy." Virgil said, rubbing his arm.

Janus raised an eyebrow. "Fine." They said. "I'll rail in my creative ability." With a puff of yellow smoke, they disappeared.

Virgil looked over at his shoes on the stars. Talk about too flashy, Janus had turned his shoes into gold.

"Seriously?" Virgil asked the air as he grabbed the shoes. "They seriously had to-"

"Okay, I'm back!" Janus announced, reappearing with another puff of smoke.

"Jesus Christ!" Virgil jumped. "A- A warning. Please."

"I did give you a warning." Janus said, more interested in their wand than Virgil. "I said 'okay, I'm back'."

"Did you turn my shoes to gold?" Virgil asked.

"What? No. No, that's stupid." Janus said, rolling their eyes. "And completely impractical. No, they've just got gold leaf woven through them. Soft, practical and look awesome. Anyway," Janus motioned to the door, "your carriage awaits."

"What is it made out of?" Virgil asked suspiciously.

"Wood and glass and metal. It's a carriage. What did you want it to be made out of, a pumpkin?" Janus scoffed and rolled his eyes.

"Tada!" Janus said, motioning to the carriage. Virgil stared at it.

"Did you make me a carriage out of the shed?" He asked.

"What?" Janus asked, for the first time actually nervous. "No." They waved their wand quickly and the shed was put back in its place. "Okay, maybe I did. What did you want me to do?"

"Materialise one?" Virgil asked. "You're a fairy!"

"Fairy Godfather." Janus corrected. "I can only do so much. Okay, fine, I'll just summon one." They waved their wand again and another carriage appeared in the garden. "There. You've got roughly three hours. I'll be there to remind you to get your ass moving near midnight."

"Why midnight?" Virgil asked, climbing into the carriage.

"Cause magic has an expiry date for mortals." Janus explained. "Midnight is the expiry date. Now go get your prince."

Writing the ball is going to be daunting because I can't write dances for shit, ha ha...
Bye,
Blaize