Vidia flew down from the queen's chambers and landed on the ground. She was feeling dizzy, somewhat weak, yet fresh energy was pulsing through her. She couldn't completely grasp the fact that she had finally done it.
The fast-flying fairy couldn't stand her feelings while staying still, she simply wasn't made for it. So she took off with a strong and quick push of her large wings. Flying at her fastest long-distance-speed always helped the plum-haired fairy clear her mind. Rushing with no real destination, Vidia enjoyed the wind in her face, pulling at her tied hair. A new feeling on her body caught Vidia's attention after a short moment though and made her glance down to where it came from. A silver bracelet clung to her left wrist now.
It took several minutes before the fast-flying fairy felt calm enough to slow down her speed. She breathed in deeply. Smells of pines, dahlias and sunflowers hit her. Definitely summer. Vidia breathed out slowly. The season made something inside her stir. It marked the beginning of the thing that had lead to her previous action. A big smile crept on the pink lips of the fairy.
Vidia flew down, landing on the branch of a field maple in the summer season of Pixie Hollow. Sitting down with a sigh, she immediately regretted stopping. It was too calm for her liking right then. She had tried to find a spot with hardly any other fairies near, so they wouldn't see her current odd demeanor. The plum-haired fairy leaned back on her outstretched arms and called a light wind to sweep through the leaves of the field maple. Her head was finally becoming clear again. She pulled her legs closer so that they stood in an angle, and put her forearms on her knees. There it was, her new accessory.
Vidia looked down at it. A bracelet of massive silver with a diameter of half a centimetre adorned her left wrist. It was on her left arm so it wouldn't disturb her as she was a right-hander. It was tight so it wouldn't get stuck somewhere during work or somewhere out in the twigs for example. Despite it being so small, there could still be details seen. It appeared to be a pair of fairy wings, always overlapping with another pair in every direction. But that wasn't the most notable part about the bracelet. Vidia turned her wrist so the top of it was directly facing her. The metal encircled a beautiful orb, flashing lively in the sun of the noon. Absentmindedly, the fast-flying fairy smiled and touched the orb with her right index finger, circling around the part of the orb that she could touch. After a moment, she let her index finger glide over the engraved silver while she turned her left wrist around. The bracelet was tight, but it didn't impress into her skin. Queen Clarion had fitted it with her magic around Vidia's wrist. And the counterpart of the silvery item would fit just as well.
The plum-haired fairy looked into the distance. Some interesting four seasons were lying ahead of her. In a pouch that she had fixed at her hips sat another bracelet. It was similar to the one she wore now. And another fairy would get it.
Vidia had visited Queen Clarion this late morning. She had done so in order to bring forward the wish to flitter another fairy. In Pixie Hollow, it was a common custom to do so. Fairies and sparrow men didn't simply get together and were couples when they (possibly) liked each other, they went through a process with several rules that they called "flittering". The main rules were the following ones:
At first, the fairy or sparrow man who had a certain interest in another one would have to announce it. This included a talk to the queen at first. She would speak against it if she had any strong reasons against the two involving with each other. If she gave her blessing to the process however, she would hand over two bracelets to the requesting fairy. Both included an orb. The colour of it was determined by the talents of the two fairies in question. The requesting fairy would get the bracelet with the colour of the fairy or sparrow man of their interest while the other one with their colour was to be given to said fairy if they accepted the efforts. For the proposal, friends and other fairies were to be invited to witness it and to speak their doubts, if they had any. The beloved fairy could then accept or decline the proposal. If he or she accepted it, the second bracelet was handed over. It meant the start of the flittership.
After the beloved fairy accepted the proposal, the requesting fairy or sparrow man flittered them for four seasons. Every season was prepared in Pixie Hollow so as to bring it to the Mainland. The fairy who was flittering had to present something special about each season to the fairy of their interest. This could be anything ranging from activities to scenery to objects associated with a season.
During the four seasons, the flittering fairy had to show their appreciation for the talent of the beloved fairy. Of course, the personality of a fairy was what another one should adore, but to the fairy community, every talent had a place and was important. It was about respecting the work of the beloved fairy and accepting everything of them. At the same time, the flittering sparrow man or fairy had to impress his or her fairy of interest with their own talent. This was to give the other fairy an insight into the intricate details of the flittering fairy's talent that the latter had found for themselves in their lifetime.
The final and certainly most thrilling part of the flittership happened on the festival to celebrate finishing the preparations for and the bringing of the fourth season of the process. It was a great event where everyone was enjoying an evening completely off after the lot of work. The fairy who had requested to flitter another one would ask the beloved fairy to dance with them and at the same time, the answer would mean another thing: Whether they wanted to be with the fairy who had flittered them or not. If the answer was no, the flittering fairy had to accept it politely. At least there was the possibility to distract themselves and to find solace coming from the poor fairy's friends. The two bracelets would be given back to Queen Clarion. But if the answer was yes … the two fairies were free to do whatever they wanted. Their bracelets would be modified by the queen to show that they belonged to one another.
The thought of what could be caused Vidia to smile automatically. She had become infatuated with a certain fairy over the time. It was something that she had never expected to happen. Not only had meant fairy touched all of her feelings – good ones as well as bad ones; she had changed her to a better fairy social-wise by accepting her and finally including her in her group of friends. It meant a lot to Vidia. Other fairies had tried talking to her, but they hadn't gotten past her snarky demeanor. The plum-haired fairy had never thought that would change one day.
And even less had she expected to develop such deep, deep feelings for another inhabitant of Pixie Hollow. At first, she had thought it to be something else, then that it would go away if she ignored it, and finally she silently accepted having those feelings. But she hadn't acted on them. She had waited and waited; what for, she didn't quite know. It didn't help though, she felt worse and worse, always playing scenes in her mind that would never come true this way. And maybe she didn't do anything earlier, because it wasn't like her. Possibly everyone would hear about it – word got around quickly in Pixie Hollow – and that was probably the hardest part for her. Not that she wouldn't stand by her feelings, but with her past, odds were that many fairies would talk about it. And it wasn't their business!
Vidia snorted in annoyance. Let them be, she told herself. It was her wish to do this, and she had already made the very first step. It was actually embarrassing enough that their sovereign knew about this. Why does a sovereign have to know about such things? Who did even invent this custom?, the fast-flying fairy wondered. Well, after the things she had experienced by now, she would believe fairies were capable of doing pretty many things, no matter whether they were obviously dangerous, outright stupid, plainly stubborn or - as it seemed to her in this case – simply absurd. No wonder Vidia was so sarcastic.
The wind was suddenly blowing her hair from behind, causing single strands of hair to brush her face. It was time. Vidia stood up on the branch of the field maple and looked in the direction of the Autumn Forest. It would be her destination for the second step after a short visit at her home to place the second bracelet safely. The plum-haired fairy took off into the air with one silver bracelet with a purple orb in a pouch at her hips and another one with a bright green orb at her wrist.