A New Kind of World

Elisa looked at the little creature in awe. It seemed so ... tiny, so fragile. She wondered if she could talk. She kneeled down by Victor, her eyes not leaving the fairy even once. Before, she could've sworn that her wings were transparent, like glass, but now it seemed of a very pale and beautiful blue. No ... They were of a sunny yellow. The blonde blinked, they changed colours. Slight, subtle changes of tonalities. She wondered if it was because of the sunlight - which was unlikely - or because every fairy's wings changed like that.

When the knight moved his hand towards her, Elisa felt her own trembling a bit. What if she hurt her? The little one seemed as if she could shatter in a million pieces if she was not delicate enough. She glanced over at Victor once, before nodding. While positioning her shaking hand on top of Victor's shoulder, both for support and to receive a certain sense of security, she carefully and slowly raised her hand to the little fairy.

Adam had followed the two of them with is sight before he tilted his head to the side. Was that ... ? Ah ... I see. He guessed it'd be something the blonde lady would like to see indeed.

"It's a fairy" He explained when he saw Rebecca's confusion "Haven't seen those in a while" Though they were mostly common, fairies were not usually seen on big cities. Adam had lived all his life on those, and during his childhood he had only gotten the chance to take a glimpse of the fluttering wings of a fairy just a couple of times. It hadn't been until he had been on the roux that he had actually held one.

So in that book they were good fairies. Kind of reminded her of how Tinkerbell would be if she was real. The fairy was incredibly light in her hand, which Elisa had both expected but not at the same time. Some side of her wanted to caress her head with her finger, but maybe the little one wouldn't like it. She was a magical creature, not an animal.

"Do they live like in groups or something? And how long do they live?" She asked, her gaze went from Victor to the fairy, as if she didn't want to divert her gaze from her for too long in fear she'd vanish into thin air in the blink of an eye.

"Oh, no, on the contrary. They are very common. But I was born and raised in the capital, and they aren't particularly fond of cities. They live in the forest, and they draw their power from nature itself, it is what keeps them alive and healthy. Take them away from it, and they eventually whiter and die. That's why I say I hadn't seen one in a long time" Adam explained.

The knight guessed that Victor would know how to deal better with them than himself. Given that the creatures Adam was used to were not as physically fragile. "Do you want to go and see it?"

"Of course" Adam replied and smiled a bit to himself when he saw her eyes lighten up. He dismounted the horse effortlessly and reached up for Rebecca to help her down. As always, he was careful and gentle while he grabbed her by the waist and lifted her up to put her down on the ground.

Elisa felt a bit encouraged when she realised that the fairy didn't really seem to mind Victor's touch, on the contrary, she seemed to welcome it and like it. She pulled her other hand from the knight's shoulder and gently held out her index finger towards the beautiful creature in her hand.

The fairy looked at the blonde's finger for a second before she took a hold of it with both of her hands. Elisa couldn't stop a gasp from escaping her lips. Her hands were incredibly small, and yet she could feel ten tiny fingers pressed against her skin. It was so ... bizarre. A delighted chuckle slipped past Elisa's lips. Then, slowly, as if asking for permission she used that same finger to gently stroke the fairy's cheek. She didn't let go of the human girl's finger not even once.

"That's a shame, I'm sure it'd be breath-taking" She stated with a smile "So do they live forever?"

"Not exactly" Adam stated as he stopped behind them. His voice sent Elisa's head railing behind her shoulder. At first, she was shocked, and even stiffened a little. However, the knight's smile was as light-hearted and gentle as always, and that caused for her to relax. "Eventually, as time goes by, they simply return to be a part of nature, until they are reborn. It's more like a cycle. You take a fairy away, and it's like you are damaging the entire thing, a piece of nature"

"Oh" Take her away? That's be horrible. Though, if there were people that tried to take mermaid's scales, she didn't see why there wouldn't be those who tried to kidnap fairies. When he gaze trailed to Rebecca, she flashed her a smile "Look, Becs! A real fairy" She exclaimed. Though Elisa usually called her friend by her full name, she sometimes used that nickname as well.

"She is, isn't she?" Elisa agreed with a smile. She remembered how her father, many years ago when she was still a little girl, had told her that fairies were real. But sometimes they feared humans, and didn't dare to show themselves before them in their true form. Some were invisible to human eyes, others could be seen under the form of a butterfly. Ever since then, the young girl had loved those winged creatures, even long after she had discovered that they were not fairies at all.

The young girl scrambled to her feet and dusted off her dress. Past Rebecca, she saw Adam leaning against a tree just behind her, a gentle smile on his face. For a moment, Elisa didn't know if he was looking at her friend or at the fairy in her hands. Without saying anything she made her way over to where he was.

Adam was quiet when he saw Elisa walking over to him, though he had tilted his head a wee bit to the side when she came to a stop by him. "May I help you, Elisa?" He asked her.

"I just ... " Elisa paused "Can I talk to you for a second?"

Adam's brows raised before he nodded "Of course" He gestured for her to come with him. When the two of them distanced themselves from Victor and Rebecca for what he considered to be enough - near the light-brown haired man's horse, Adam stopped and turned to look at Elisa "What is it?"

"I, er, you see I just wanted to apologise to you for everything I said this morning. You were right, this is war, I just ... Well I just have never been at war, and I can't understand many things, which is why I didn't have the right to really say all that" She explained, her fingers intwining with one another behind her back in a bit of a nervous gesture.

"Oh, no, no, please don't apologise" Adam shook his head "I shouldn't have snapped at you like that, please do forgive me. There are things we both don't understand about how things work in our different worlds, I should have been more patient"

"That may be, but still I ... " Elisa's voice trailed off before her eyes widened "You said ... You said worlds? Why did you-? How did-?" She raised her hand to run her fingers through her hair "Rebecca ... Did Rebecca tell you?"

"Yes, of course" After seeing her surprised expression, the knights mouth snapped shut.

The both of them remained silent for a moment before Elisa spoke "What ... What did she tell you exactly? Does Victor know too?" They couldn't have seriously believed her, they couldn't have seriously believed her friend when she had told them they ware book characters, could they? Without thinking, she threw a glance back to where the other knight was, beside her friend.

The young man raised his hand to the back of his head to rub it lightly "Well that the two of you came from a different realm ... And yes, Victor knows about it too" Oh dear, he hoped he hadn't gotten nor him or Rebecca in trouble with the blonde lady.

Elisa exhaled silently, both in relief and to release a bit of tension "I see" She said, almost quietly. That wasn't really a lie, just half of the truth. "So she did tell you" She raised her eyes to look him in the eye "And you believe us?"

"Of course we do. What I promised to Rebecca, I'll promise to you as well, I ... No, the two of us, will do whatever we can to help you two ladies to go back to your own realm" He promised once more.

Elisa looked at him for a moment, silent, before she leaned her shoulder lightly against the horse as if to support herself, still surprised. It was not like they hadn't spoke about the place they came from, they had simply not told them it was not the same world as theirs "That is ... thanks" Adam seemed so serious, so much like a real knight in shining armour when he said that, that the blonde girl was starting to understand why Rebecca had came to like him.