AN: Now for a little down time, with some talking and connecting. :D

TM

TM

TM

Sora was floating.

Her body felt light—lighter than even her small fairy form—and comfortably warm. It was a strange feeling, but one she didn't want to go away.

A jostle brought her away from her thoughts.

Her tired eyes opened a crack, her sight still blurry. A person was looking to the side of her.

She felt her body being lowered; she shivered slightly, the warmth from earlier gone. When her body was settled, her hands found fur.

Grey eyes made contact with hers.

"Rest," his voice said softly, with a bit of a rumble to it.

She liked the sound.

His hand gently brushed over her eyes, making the lids close. The warmth from his hand made her sleepy and she decided to follow his "suggestion."

'Commanding little troll,' she thought with some affection before she blacked out again.

TM

The next time she awoke it was nighttime.

She felt the heat of a fire and the weight of some sort of blanket. 'Fur,' her mind supplied.

Her eyes were greeted by a bonfire. She blankly stared at the flames for a while as her mind took in the state of her body. 'Oooww…'

Slowly, her hand felt her bandaged side. She did notice a few bandages on her legs and hands, and felt the ache of her back from straining her wings, but the bulk of her pain was on her left side. Her body was propped at an angle so that most of her weight was supported on her right side. 'That's a lot of bandages. I don't think I've ever been this badly hurt.'

Movement by the trees caught her eye.

The archer came into their campsite with two skinned rabbits in one hand and their pelts in another.

She blanched.

'That's not how I like to see my dinner, which is why I avoided meat on this journey.' She didn't have the stomach to kill or skin her meal.

Most fairies don't eat meat. Fish, yes, but meats like rabbit, deer, pheasants, and sometimes peacock, not really. Sora enjoyed the occasional duck, but she always saw the finished meal, not the pre-cooked raw meat. 'Castle life has spoiled me, I suppose.'

"You're awake."

Sora looked up at his face.

He sat down near the fire, grabbing a few sticks. "You have some lacerations on your side. It's best if you don't move too much. I'll have some food ready." With a hunting knife, he cut some of the rabbit meat into smaller pieces and pierced them through a skewer.

The thought of food made her realize how hungry she was. 'Exactly how long have I been out?' She opened her mouth to speak, but it came out as a croak. Clearing her throat, she tried again.

"How long…,"she swallowed, "Have I been asleep?"

He paused for a moment. "This is the second night." And then he continued with dinner.

Her mouth felt dry. 'I thought this was the same day!' She shook her head. 'I must have really tired myself out.'

"Could I have some water?" Her voice wasn't the smoothest sound, but she needed some liquid.

Finishing with his task, the archer wiped his hands. Standing up, he made his way around the fire to a clay teapot. Sora watched, interested. 'I didn't notice that!' He poured some hot water into an earthen mug and made his way over.

Kneeling before her, he set the mug aside momentarily to adjust Sora into a sitting position. She grimaced at the discomfort before she relaxed again.

Grabbing the mug he brought it to her lips, "Drink it slowly."

A bit flushed from the fact that she was being nursed, she gave a small nod. Some of the drink dribbled down her chin. 'Gack! Too fast!'

He eased the angle of the cup, slowing the flow.

"My apologizes."

Her eyes narrowed at the amusement she heard in his tone. 'Still a sadistic troll, I see?'

"I saw that," he smirked, revealing some teeth.

Her cheeks reddened. 'Forget about being a troll. You're a full on mischievous pixie! I might as well call you "Puck"!'

His smirk widened at the sight of her blush. 'What a delightful color on you.' He pulled the cup back.

"The herbs in this drink have healing properties. It's best to drink it often."

"Alright, but I can finish it on my own."

He acquiesced, putting the cup down beside her. "Suit yourself."

Turning back to the fire, he checked on the meat.

Sora took this time to wipe her chin with her sleeve only to find that she lacked a sleeve. Confused, she peeled the blanket back to look down at herself.

Her tunic was missing.

With an "Eep!," she hastily covered herself with the blanket—pulling it up to her chin. 'I'm in my sleeveless under-tunic!'

Unfortunately, she dragged the blankets too far up, leaving half of her calves exposed. Her bare toes wiggled at her.

She openly gaped.

"Where are my leggings!" her throat stung a little from shrieking, but she couldn't help her shock.

Granted, before living in the castle she was used to showing her legs.

Fairy outfits are not nearly as conservative as human outfits—some fairies don't even wear clothes. However, over the months as she trained to be a fairy aide she grew accustomed to the decorum of castle life.

Some aspects of fairy life, such as having her hair loose, she tried to get away with once in a while, but showing leg…that was a huge rule breaker in castle life.

She would know—she kept breaking that one in her earlier days in the castle.

The long skirts were the hardest to adjust to.

Sora hated how restricting they were. She couldn't walk fast in them, run, climb staircases and ladders…most of the time she grew tired of dealing with it and simply hitched up her skirts. While temporarily lifting up the skirts to step is allowed, Sora's method most definitely was not allowed.

After embarrassing Ken one time too many and getting the scolding of a lifetime from her mentor, Sora decided she needed to discipline herself. She actively trained herself to not lift her skirts so high.

It was ingrained in her now.

Sora attempted to push the blanket back down.

The archer had seen her reactions to her lack of clothing state. 'This girl is too diverting.' He chuckled under his breath. 'It's curious that a fairy would be so concerned about coverage.'

Deciding to offer her some help before she re-opened discipline herselfe temporarily lifting up the skirts to step are alloher wounds, he came over. He took the blanket from her hands and re-laid it over her body.

"Is that better?"

Sora stiffly nodded before she narrowed her eyes at him. "Where are my tunic and leggings?"

He walked over to the fire. "They're still here. I had to remove them to clean your injuries." He came back to Sora with some rabbit skewers.

"I wouldn't recommend putting them on just yet. The bandages on your legs are a bit thick for your leggings." Passing one of the sticks to Sora, he continued, "While you could wear your over-tunic without the sash, you may irritate your side wounds and arms with so much heat. You already have an under shirt and bandages on."

He sat on Sora's right side and made himself comfortable.

"But I'm under a fur blanket!"

"Yes, as the nights are cold. However, the days are still on the warm side," after saying that, he began to eat.

Sora pouted.

'I guess my under-tunic is long enough. Hopefully it won't be like this for too long.'

"Back to the fairy days…" she murmured wistfully. She took a bite and chewed slowly.

The archer looked in her direction.

Catching his stare, Sora panicked. "Oh! Uh, don't mind me! Go ahead and eat!"

Something flitted through his eyes.

"Do you not want me to know that you are a fairy?" he paused, and then continued a little slower, "I don't see the harm, seeing as you already told me your name, Sora."

Sora's eyes widened triumphantly, "I knew it was you! It had to be you!"

Her happiness rose to incredible heights before it abated, slowly sinking back down. Her face lost its glow.

"You left me," she accused.

He didn't miss the hurt in her voice.

"Yes."

"Why?"

He looked away to collect his thoughts. She forced herself to give him the time to do so.

"I…misunderstood something you said. I believe I am mistaken," his gaze watched the fire.

Curious, Sora leaned forward.

"Something …I said? What did I say?"

He stayed silent.

Drawing a breath, he turned to her. "Sora, why are you in this forest?"

Not expecting that question, Sora bit her lip, wondering how much she could say.

She could tell him anything he wanted to know about her, but when it comes to the lives of the royal family, some discretion is required. 'As far as the kingdom knows Princess Layla is sick, not cursed.' That was one of the things she heard her mentor say to the head of the guards before she left.

"A very close friend of mine needs my help. The person who's responsible for her troubles is in these woods. I know that the person is a woman, most likely with an animal aide."

He nodded absentmindedly, "Is your friend named Layla?"

At her startled look, he spoke again, "I overheard you say that name a few times."

Sora settled down.

He took another bite of his rabbit. 'I can't approach this too fast.'

As he ate, Sora looked at him inquisitively. 'I didn't really notice before, but his tunic…it's not the style from this kingdom.'

It was a dark grey tunic, with ties instead of toggles or precious stones at the top. The collar wasn't high up, though the high collars were worn more around wintertime. He wore a leather belt with small pouches near the back instead of a cloth sash of some sort. 'But that could be because he's out in the forest and not in town.'

Her eyes caught the shimmer of something at the edge of his tunic. She unconsciously bent down to see what it was.

His hand brought the end of his tunic closer to her.

Silver vines curled along the border of the tunic; striking leaves were artfully placed along the vines. Sora gently traced a few of them.

His soft voice drifted to her ears, "My sister embroidered this to my tunic."

Sora smiled. "Did she now? It's beautifully done."

His lips twitched upward, "She claimed it should be the symbol of our family, hence the attention to detail."

"I noticed. She even did the veins of the leaves!" Her nose scrunched up, "I don't have the patience to do needlework like this!"

He chuckled.

Sora looked up and her smile grew at the sight he made.

His grey eyes held mirth in them, the firelight revealing its depths in the dark. The fire glowed on his long silver hair with his ponytail flowing over his front. The strands gleamed like sunlight on a river.

A few strands fell near her hand tracing the embroidered leaves. Her fingers moved towards them. Idly, she let the cool strands slide across her fingers. 'The embroidery string matches his hair.'

She quickly withdrew her hand when she felt his gaze.

Flustered and inwardly berating herself, she attempted to focus his attention on something else.

"So, what brings you to this forest, er…uh…"

"Leon," he supplied.

"Ah, yes! That's right! I never did ask you, did I? Haha!," she nervously twisted the fur blanket.

"I don't think I've heard that name before, but I like how it sounds," she gave a shy smile, some pink touching her cheeks.

Warmth spread from inside him at the sight.

Sora grabbed her mug and took a few more sips of the herbal tea. He leaned back some more, figuring that getting as comfortable as he could will help. 'Here it goes…'

"You've probably not heard of it because I'm not from this kingdom. I, too, search for a woman in this forest. Though, I know her to be a witch with an animal aide."

Sora gasped.

"A witch? So that serpent creature is her aide!"

"Yes, a witch. The serpent is actually a lower land dragon from the East, the same place where the witch comes from."

Her eyes stayed on Leon. 'Wait…'

"How…how do you know where she's from?"

His eyes looked straight at her.

"She is an acquaintance."