Heart Over Sword

"You..took it? You stole the fairy."

"Look, I know I am a heartless bitch 99% of the time. But I could not let her stay there with those pieces of shit," Cilv responded unashamedly. She really did want to help free the poor creature; no one was meant to be someone else's mantelpiece.

Evanna couldn't comprehend what was happening. Her thoughts were jumping to and from the scene downstairs to the fairy now in front of her. She sighed, giving up, her thoughts and feelings overwhelming her.

"You stole the fairy?" Evanna spoke slowly, her voice rising in disbelief. Cilv came forward, shushing her, bringing the jar forwards. Evanna then grabbed the top and started to open it.

"What are you doing?" Cilv asked incredulously.

"Freeing her, you kept her in your bag this whole time!" Evanna exclaimed and continued to open the jar.

True, she did keep the fairy inside her bag, but she did not know when to reveal her to the princess. The day's events were more troublesome than confessing her part in the abduction of the fairy.

The fairy's wings started to flap and barely flew out of the jar before collapsing in Evanna's outstretched hand. The tiny movement made Evanna's chest tighten, making her forget for a brief moment about the scene from earlier as she looked down at the little creature.

"You poor thing, do you need some water?" Evanna croaked. The little fairy's head looked up anxiously before nodding her head.

Cilv grabbed the goblet placed on the side table and gave it to Evanna's outstretched hand. She brought it towards the little creature; the fairy, in turn, scooped her dainty hands into the water and brought them towards her mouth. She repeated the movement a couple of times before sitting back and staring up at the two ladies in front of her.

"* Thank you for helping me *", The fairy spoke.

Cilv frowned, not understanding what it said; seeing this, Evanna reiterated what was said, "She thanked us".

Cilv blinked back up at Evanna and then looked back down at the fairy; she forgot that Evanna knew how to speak Muranthian. Although she figured that a fairy would speak.. well, fairy?

"* I was in that jar for weeks, fed the bare minimum to keep me alive, and my powers weakened. It would be my honour to help you when I am able,*" It spoke again.

Evanna was surprised by her comments, "* That is not necessary, you are free to go. *"

"* So sweet", She giggled "But it would be a dishonour to my name if I did not repay the favour.*"

Evanna became thoughtful before responding, "* How about this.. stay with us and regain your strength, when you.. er well, when your wings are working properly again, you can fly back home? Until then, you can help in any way you can. *"

The little fairy put her hand on her chin as though she were in deep thought before standing up and agreeing.

"What just happened?" Cilv asked as she looked between the princess and the fairy.

"We have made an agreement," Evanna responded before asking the fairy, "What is your name?"

"* Nesrin, for wild rose.*"

"* Nesrin, that is a beautiful name.*"

Nesrin giggled in response, brightening Evanna's mood. Cilv frowned, starting to get annoyed that the fairy and the princess could talk to each other, and she could not. She walked away and started to get ready for bed. Evanna noticed the cold-shoulder she received from Cilv.

"She says her name is Nesrin."

"How wonderful" Cilv's snarky self seemed to have returned.

Not paying her any more attention, Evanna set up a small spot on the wooden chair in the corner of the room, grabbing one of the spare pillows and placing it on top for Nesrin to sleep on. The fairy danced around on the pillow. Giggling then touched the surface with her tiny hands.

"* This is so soft and wonderful! I could sleep here forever! *" Nesrin giggled again before letting herself fall flat on her back, extending her arms and legs before sighing with content. Evanna smiled down at her; seeing the happiness flowing from the fairy made her wings shine a little brighter.

"* I had an awful backache in that jar. Stupid, stupid man. Thank you again, Evanna and Cilandra,*" Cilv looked over from the bed where she now lay after hearing her name.

"She says thank you, especially you, Cilv. You were the one to help her escape after all.." Evanna said she knew she wanted to be appreciated, so she added a little extra to the translation.

Cilv smiled at the acknowledgement before saying, "How does she know our names?".

That was an excellent question. Evanna looked back down at the fairy to see that she already dozed off. Evanna shrugged and replied, "She is a fairy?". Not that she knew anything about fairies other than what she may have heard from books she read as a child.

She did, however, start to wonder if Maurice was completely telling her the truth about the fairy's magic; Nesrin said her powers were weak from malnutrition. What if she were able to do more than what he said. If the roles were reversed, and she was a fairy kept in captivity, she would keep her powers a secret. Still, she did not know enough about her circumstances.

Walking around the room, she started to blow all the candles out before climbing into bed next to Cilv. Lying on her back, she stared at the ceiling. Evanna knew she would not be able to sleep properly tonight. Although the fairy distracted her, it did not mean she forgot what brutality she faced earlier.

Her body tensed up as her mind began wandering again. Her hand involuntarily went up and gently pressed the spot where the man had strangled her. She flinched, knowing there would be a bruise in its place in the morning. She hated herself for not being quick enough on her feet to grab the dagger she had on her.

Before her temper started to rise again, she saw a flickering light come to the bedside table, the light then faded to a very dull glimmer, and after blinking, Evanna could see Nesrin standing there. Cilv turned herself onto her side, the light from Nesrin revealing her annoyed expression. She huffed and put the pillow on top of her head.

"* I can feel your pain, Princess." The fairy was pressing her hands above her chest, her face showing concern. "I am sorry for what happened to you. He was a horrible man. I cannot do anything for the pain you feel, but I can help you sleep? *"

Evanna silently nodded back at Nesrin. Again the fairy knew more about her without asking her. How was she able to feel what she was feeling? She wondered again if Nesrin could do more than what the man said at the market, maybe, something like reading people's minds? The fairy had no problem speaking to her in her mind, so perhaps that was one of her abilities.

~ Let your mind calm down now, Princess Evanna. All will be explained in time. For now, you should rest. You have a long journey ahead of you ~

Evanna looked back at Nesrin, baffled; she only smiled sweetly back at her, not explaining any further. Then the fairy started humming with the sweetest voice. The sound made her muscles relax immediately; she felt like there was nothing but light and happiness surrounding her, and there were no worries in the world.

Evanna turned on her side to get a better look at the fairy, snuggling her head into the pillow. Nesrin then began twirling and dancing around on the table; the light coming from the fairy started to glow and fade as her voice raised and lowered. As she continued to twirl happily, Evanna began to see small golden fairy type shadows making the same movements.

Her eyes followed them as they spun in sequence, in the air before making their own routines different to Nesrin's. The golden silhouettes before her were holding each other's hands, swirling in a big circle; light giggles were heard from the enchanting phantoms.

Evanna glanced back towards Nesrin, who was still humming and dancing, smiling as she raised her hands up and small golden sparkles released into the air. Her hand then gestured for Evanna to look back at the other fairy shadows, as they were now in pairs swirling around in the air before her.

Evanna smiled to herself. Her breathing became regular as her heart started to slow down in a calm rhythm. Her eyes began to get heavy as sleep slowly enveloped her. The last thing she remembered seeing before her thoughts were silenced entirely was a pair of bright blue eyes.