The door to our home opens and Mum strolls in, and an unexpected but familiar sound comes from beside her.*Bu-bawk*As well as carrying her usual pack, she’s also holding a small wooden cage with what appears to be an elderly hen inside of it.Upon entering, she gnces around the room, and when she spots Garen with me hovering beside him, she pauses for a moment before closing the door.The slight twitch in the corner of her lips is all the warning I get before she speaks.

  “Talia, I trust you’ve been making certain that these two haven’t been doing anything untoward while I’ve been gone?”

  I don’t know whether I should feel relieved that she continues with her customary jest for when she finds Garen here alone with only me and Sis, or if I ought to be mildly annoyed and embarrassed as I used to be.Though now a small portion of grief also makes itself known.I mean, seriously, Mum!What could she possibly expect to happen between the two of us as I am now!?Especially with Garen, who has always acted courteously while visiting me!?Yet, I’ll forgive her, as it’s an obvious attempt to keep things as they used to be.

  Surprisingly, I feel that Garen didn’t appreciate the joke any better than I, as with a quick gnce, I see a flicker of sadness in his expression before it’s hidden away under a casual smile.He always seemed to enjoy Mum’s teasing, so I’m fairly certain it’s simply due to the fact that things have changed, and he’s concerned about me.Although…He couldn’t be worried about my future prospects, could he!?While we have been friends for most of my life, if he asks if I expect to have a fairy suitor in the future, I may have to bury myself in a hole for a time out of embarrassment.

  While my thoughts roam wildly, Talia responds to Mum.

  “I tried my best, but you know how they are. Also, she now has magic, and there’s another little one I must watch as well. I think it’s getting to be too much for only me.”

  “Hehe, well then, we can only hope your sister can finally be responsible for herself…*Sigh* though judging by my table, it may still be some time till then.”

  Finished pying with my sister, she sets the cage aside and then turns to us, her expression of amusement repced by one of seriousness.

  “Garen, Aki, I see you two have been getting reacquainted. Has my fairy daughter expined what happened to her yet?”

  “Hello, Fiona. She has already told me her story, though I must say that such a tale is rather difficult to take in.”

  Oh, right.His familiar manner of address is typical of an adult speaking to a close acquaintance, which reminded me that I may do the same now that I’m old enough.That may take some time to get used to.Not that it will be a bigger change than becoming a fairy.Although, would anyone expect a fairy to know how to address someone properly?No, this is a matter I may worry about ter, when I’m not having an important conversation.

  “He arrived shortly after you left this morning, Mum, so we’ve had some time to speak. There were some misunderstandings at first, but it turned out alright in the end.”

  “I see… And did she tell you why she has been quiet, Garen? Why she didn’t come speak to you sooner?”

  “Mum!”

  “Um, no, she hasn’t yet, though she did speak about not telling the guards.”

  “Well, since it has to do with her safety, I’m sure you’ll understand that I’d like to know your response to her decision sooner rather than ter. Akari?”

  Mum then looks at me, expectantly.Yeah, sure, I know it was my idea to hide from people after I returned home, and also my idea to speak to him.But how do I tell him that I’m scared of being kidnapped and used by people, even those in my home town?That I left him in worry and grief because I didn’t want my presence to become known?I suppose I ought to just say everything as quickly as I can.No more deying.

  “W-well, besides what may happen with the guards, I, I-I’m worried that if anyone knows that I’ve become a fairy and tells others, some may come looking for me to find a legendary magical ingredient and then I’ll get taken and put in a fsk and all my magic boiled out or I’ll be ground in a mortar or my wings will be plucked or possibly my family could get attacked or perhaps I’ll get sold as a treasure and then locked in a vault where I’ll never see the sun again or maybe I’ll be ensved or kept as a pet or hunted or driven away into the mountain caves where I’ll be forced to live surrounded by monsters or-or, or worse!”

  There, I said it.Everything that passed through my mind whenever I thought about being seen by other people.I managed to blurt it all out at once.Seemingly, with more breath than I ought to have had.Now I’m wringing my hands and holding my breath while waiting for him to speak.Just how long is he going to keep me waiting!Is he angry with me!?Please, say something!Finally, after what feels like an eternity, he speaks.

  “You couldn’t have merely asked me to keep your presence secret? Did you really think I would put you in danger?”

  Ouch!Right in the heart!Or whatever is responsible for my feelings now.

  “N-no, I didn’t think that you would. Honestly, I thought about telling you, but then other problems arose and, and… Look, I was scared, okay! At first, I wasn’t entirely certain I could convince you that I am me, and if you think back only a few hours, it wasn’t the easiest thing to do. Also, what if your parents saw me and spread the news? Or anyone else who got a clear view of me, for that matter!? Suddenly becoming a fairy was a rather drastic change, so I’ve been quite pressed while I attempt to get a sembnce of my life in order. Doing something that would perhaps bring even more trouble to me so soon was not high in my priorities. Yet, again, I’m sorry.”

  Thankfully, Mum decides to offer me some aid after forcing me to speak.

  “If you wouldn’t mind, could you cut her some sck, Garen? It isn’t an exaggeration to say she has had a terrible week. A day or two to adjust is the least you could give her.”

  He lets out a sigh before responding.

  “Yes, I can understand that. And I promise that I’ll keep the fact that you’ve become a fairy a secret. You needn’t worry that someone will hear it from me.”

  That’s a relief.While some of my concerns may or may not be exaggerated, I’m not ready to find out just how pertinent they may be.Yet he continues.

  “But tell me this, if you were so concerned, why did you harass Sinora and reveal yourself there? Furthermore, Talia said that even Emira knows about you.”

  Of course he would ask that.Now how do I phrase this without disclosing what I’d rather not?He doesn’t need to know exactly why I was at her home.

  “I was accompanying my sister to buy some needed goods when I was caught by Emira. While I tried to keep my secret safe, events soon progressed to the point where I was taken to her room. But then, Sinora walked into Emira’s room while I was attempting to leave and spped her own sister, who had begun calling out for me, for being a nuisance. As you might imagine, I felt partly responsible for the girl’s trouble, so I tried to aid her, accidently revealing myself to her completely in the process. Yet, at her age, I doubt anyone will believe stories from her about fairies, and besides, I don’t think she’ll speak to anyone about me. However, before I left, Sinora returned and started destroying the poor girl’s dolls for no other reason than Emira was simply enjoying herself! When I saw what was going on, I couldn’t just leave and do nothing!”

  Surprisingly, he doesn’t seem very shocked.His only reaction is to raise an eyebrow before responding.

  “You may not like her, but after their Mum passed away, Sinora probably became responsible for teaching the girl how to act. The young dy does have to learn how to carry herself as one of their family, so it’s not that unreasonable for Sinora to punish undylike behavior.”

  Really!?Was I not clear enough!?

  “Undylike! You should have seen that brute! Sinora wasn’t interested in teaching or discipline! I’m no dy, but I’m fairly certain they aren’t supposed to strike their own little sister in the face hard enough to bruise! And she didn’t merely take her toys from her either. No, Sinora was enjoying terrorizing the little girl!”

  That took him aback.Some people in the vilge are a little harsh with their training, and how they raise their children is up to them, yet there are lines that shouldn’t be crossed.Any sting harm to a child is quite frowned upon, and that isn’t even taking into account the fact that she’s a patrician’s daughter.Even I know that a harsh blow to her face would never be considered proper.Yet her father would be the only one in town who has the authority to stop Sinora, and without ample proof, he would never listen to accusations against his beloved, eldest daughter.

  After a few moments pass, Garen speaks again.

  “That being the case, I understand why you would want to step in, but was there really no way for you to stop her without showing yourself? With how quickly she apparently connected seeing a pair of colored lights to you being a ghost makes me suspect that you personally provoked her a bit.”

  Yeah, sure, he’s aware of my temper, but at least he believed me.Thankfully, he has always seemed willing to listen when I needed someone to speak to about that stupid imp.Yet, Mum promptly interjects before I can reply.

  “You know those two quarrel more often than a couple of rams. It would seem she couldn’t help but taunt her.”

  “Mum!”

  Is she trying to aid or hinder me today!?Yet, at that, Garen begins chuckling.

  “Hehehe. Well, that definitely sounds like something Akari would do.”

  I pout and cross my arms while hovering near his face.

  “Well, excuse me! I wasn’t about to leave a young girl alone in that situation, and to keep Sinora from harming her in the future, I decided a bit of intimidation was in order. What would you have had me do?”

  “If possible, use some magic from where she couldn’t see you, for a start. Anything to simply frighten her off or trick her out of the room. With how she is, I doubt any open taunts or threats from you would stop her for much longer than if you hadn’t been directly noticed. Yet it would seem that you succeeded in helping the girl without fully revealing yourself, so I suppose things worked out. Although you may want to try other methods in the future if you wish to hide the fact that you’ve become a fairy.”

  Talia, who had been listening quietly with Nibi on her shoulder, decides to add to our conversation.

  “If you’re asking for suggestions, I think it would have been better for you to try to confuse her instead, Sis. Make her think that Emira was protected by a new family guardian spirit or something. You could have at least tried speaking in some way that isn’t simir to your usual manner.”

  Yeah, sure, I could’ve done those things.Hindsight often makes things far clearer.Yet at the time, nature essence was pushing me to protect the girl as quickly as I could, and I didn’t have much time to consider options.I simply did the first thing I could think of, not caring about the consequences if it meant helping the young child.Luckily, Sinora somehow failed to recognize me as a fairy, instead coming to the conclusion that ghosts are haunting her, though I’m still somewhat uncertain as to why.Perhaps she was never told any fairy stories?Nevertheless, I realize my first reaction was to face her a bit more directly than was perhaps wise in my current state, instead of…

  “You both mean to say I should’ve acted more like a fairy?”