By Bolgerjc
Albert woke to the sounds of birds chirping to greet the dawn and he made sure to get dressed before exiting the tent. Samantha was cooking up some of the salted meat they had which reminded the young squire of his traps. He was still a little embarrassed about the events of the night before so he did a circle around the camp making sure to set off any of the small traps that hadn’t gone off so no animals were hurt after they had left. Like he had expected the traps were empty until he came to the last one.
He wondered if it was going to be a rabbit or a squirrel but instead, he found a tiny glowing woman with translucent wings. Albert lifted the rock from her and carried her back to camp, he eyed her closely and it appeared that she was breathing so he was hopeful that she was alright. Fairies tended to avoid humans so this was the first time he had seen one and certainly the closest he had been to one. Lady Samantha frowned when she saw what her squire had brought back to camp.
“I suggest you bind the wound on the head and leave her here,” she said as she examined the wound. “The injury is minor and the Fae always recover quickly.”
“We should stay with her until she wakes or take her with us until she rouses,” Albert responded. “It is my fault she got hurt.”
“I understand your feeling but the Fae are nothing but trouble. She will either be angry with you or thankful for your actions and both of those can be deadly. We are already in enough danger on this quest we don’t need to add more.”
“We work for the Order of the Silver Griffin so doing the right thing even when it is dangerous is what we do.”
“Fine,” Lady Samantha finally capitulated. “We will take her with us if she hasn’t woken after breakfast. Perhaps we will get some distance between us before her friends come looking for the person who caused her injuries. We will drop her off as soon as she wakes up. Now, eat up before it gets cold.”
Albert couldn’t help having a big smile as he gobbled down breakfast and started breaking down camp. He could tell his mentor wasn’t happy to be doing this but the young squire couldn’t help being excited about the prospect of the tiny fairy. She seemed so fragile and helpless but she might be extremely dangerous, with powers feared by entire kingdoms. The Fae kept to themselves so most of what humans knew about them was old myths and legends handed down for over a hundred years. The paladin in training was curious to learn more about them and there was no better than one of them. He was worried she would wake before they left and he would have to leave her behind before they got a chance to talk.
They rode in silence away from their campsite with Samantha unhappy about the new addition to their party and Albert checking to see if the fairy was alright every thirty seconds. Albert wasn’t sure if her breathing was normal, fast or slow. Albert was going to ask to stop at a healer when the stopped for lunch if the fairy hadn’t awakened by that time and as the time approached the tiny female started to rouse herself.
The creature was humanoid in shape but very different in appearance. She had bright blue eyes that glowed but had no pupils and long pointed ears like an elf. Her hair was silver done up in an intricate pattern that shined in the sun and her translucent wings sparkled as they fluttered to life as she backed away from the giant human.
“Who are you and where are you taking me?” The fairy demanded of them with no fear in her voice.
“I am Lady Samantha and this is Albert, my squire,” Samantha responded as she pulled her horse to a stop. “We have a quest to complete so we brought you with us until you woke up to keep you safe because it was our fault you got hurt. You fell into the trap set by my squire.”
She listened carefully to the human’s words and leaped a spinning jump into the air looking ecstatic about something she had heard. Suddenly remembering she had an audience she put on a guise of proper royal.
“I am Princess Noellene and I accept your apology,” Noellene spoke in the formal tones nobles often used on official occasions. “It wouldn’t be proper if I didn’t demand something in return for the wrong you have done to me. You will take me to the village of Tranquil Falls and I will consider everything between us to be settled. Do we have a deal mortals?”
