The fairy Fortune spoke to comes back and says Thorn accepts the trade and to bring the mortal this way. Fortune follows her.

He obligatorily follows Fortune.

They pass the door whence screaming. The fairy in there is still twitching but she can't scream any more.

...oh gods oh gods oh gods is she conscious wait no he can't do that now they don't have time but is she?

Well, if she's not, whoever is methodically slicing her wings to ribbons is really wasting his time.

aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

No he needs an actual plan he can't just speak in her head out of the blue they might notice and order him to stop—and, and who knows, maybe she enjoys this, if fairies are really really immortal perhaps this kind of kink is more common?

aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

On he must follow to Thorn.

Thorn and Fortune whisper in each other's ears and Fortune goes elsewhere to collect Whimsical.

"Stop," Thorn says to Kaede.

He stops.

"You may breathe."

He breathes. He tries very hard not to hyperventilate, and does not succeed at all.

"Tell me what you're thinking."

"That I'm absolutely and completely terrified beyond what I thought was at all possible—" and while he's saying that it occurs to him that Thorn must not know about his magic at all ever ever if he hopes to ever have a chance of escaping he makes a spell up on the spot he's going to forget everything about his magic for twenty-four hours when he says "—and that I don't understand what's going on—"

There's a pause.

Then he continues: "—and that I just forgot something and I think it was important but I don't know why or why you're doing this and I'm worried for the fairy I saw on the way here and I'm afraid you're going to kill me and I never even did anything noteworthy with my life—"

"Stop." ...Longish pause. "You may breathe. Answer me honestly, concisely, and without omission whenever I ask you a question. Why did you pause?"

Breathe. "I do not remember."

He starts crying.

"How long have you been in Fairyland?"

"A few hours, I am unsure how many, but not many."

"Address me as 'Master'. Was Fortune the first fairy you met?"

"Yes."

"What did he do with you?"

"He asked my name, Master, and told me to not do anything then said I could breathe and talk but not yell and that I should follow him and he answered my questions while we walked."

"What did you ask him?"

"I don't remember everything, Master, but I know I asked him what he was and whether he was immortal and what he was doing to me and how he was doing it and where he was taking me and why and what you wanted to do with me and whether you could rescind his orders."

"Are you useful for anything?"

"I don't know what you'd want to use me for, Master. I'm a smarter-than-average human."

"Do you have any skills?"