(A/N)

Here's another chapter!

Not much to say for this one. Though, I'm struggling as to whether I should, when I get to it, have Gowther follow the manga introduction for him of the anime version. I was thinking of doing a mixture of the two, perhaps. Guess I'll figure it out soon enough.

Oh, and I'm thinking of posting two chapters next Saturday, as a little celebration for my birthday, which will be that day. So look forward to that.

So anyway, please enjoy the chapter!

"Oh…" was all that I could say for a moment. I guess that I shouldn't have been surprised by the question. It was a good one. It was also pretty much asking why I left in the first place. "Ummm, you sure you don't want to ask a different one…?"

Harlequin tapped his foot, but it didn't have a very strong effect, seeing as how he was floating. "You said you'd answer one question. That's my question. Why were you gone from the Fairy King's Forest for so long?"

I sighed, looking to the sky. "Ummm… Well…" It's not too hard of a question. Come on, deep breathes. Now how best to word it without... "Y-you know how fairies are born from flowers and trees and plants and stuff?"

"Of course. All fairies know that. Why? What does it have to do with this?" Harlequin slightly tilted his head.

"Well, you see, I wasn't."

"..."

"..."

"What?" He looked utterly confused. "That can't be true. It's not possible..."

My voice was tight as I responded. "It is possible - it just doesn't happen very often. My mother's name was Amaryllis. She died when I was born, and I was raised by my Onii-chan." I looked to the ground. The breeze was causing the trees around us to creak, and a cold wind blew some of my hair into my face. "Fairies are normally born fully grown - minus the wings, of course. But I was born as a baby, and once I reached maturity, I stopped growing... But you didn't ask about my childhood, so I won't go any deeper into that; I'll just explain what pertains to why I left and didn't come back.

"Being different - along with causing the death of my mother, caused many fairies to treat me differently. In the end, I had to leave because of my differences. I was exiled just for being different. The m-man that I thought to be my best friend at the time left me this to remember him by."

I started to stutter before I pulled down the edge of my shirt a little ways, causing Harlequin to blush slightly at the action, before revealing what I wanted to show him. A large, jagged scar marred the skin just above my heart. If I had shown my back, it would be revealed that there was a matching mark there as well.

Harlequin sucked in his breath at the sight, and seemed like he was about to say something, but I continued my story after covering the scar. "Onii-chan was on my side, though. He got me out of there, sending Zephyr with me. He told me to not return to the forest until he came to get me." This was when I glanced back up to look the Fairy King in the eyes. "H-he has yet to bring me home..."

"How long has it been?" He looked worried.

"I answered your one question. Y-you said there wouldn't be any more." The truth was that I was barely containing my tears. I hadn't spoken to anyone about this, not even Zephyr. While the fox knew all of this, we had never actually spoken about it. It felt like I was ripping myself apart, leaving my heart bare for all to see.

"B-but!" He looked into my eyes, probably seeing the tears that were gathering there. "Oh, well... I guess you're right. I won't ask any more questions. But I hope to find out the answers to the questions I have left at some point!"

"Okay!" I agreed quickly.

We had slowly started to make our way back to the tavern when I paused and spoke again, breaking the momentary silence. "Hey, Harlequin-sama?"

He paused and turned to look back at me. "Yeah?"

"I know this might sound stupid, but it's been bugging me for awhile..."

"What is it?"

I looked to the sky in embarrassment. "What's the name of your spirit spear?"

He froze for a second, slightly confused, then he smiled and chuckled a little. "Chastiefol." He held out his hand to his side, making the large green pillow float just past it. "Chastiefol First Form: Chastiefol!"

The pillow was briefly encased in light before suddenly transforming into a long, thin spear. While it was quite simple compared to the spirit spear that I knew, I still found it amazing in its own right, and I knew that it held more power than it appeared to.

But the transformation had surprised me and made me flinch, in turn causing my wings to flutter open. Until now, they had been laying down along my back, folded in such a way as to take up very little space and make them appear smaller. Each one was as large as a smaller fairy in their own right. They were a little hard to see in this light, though, since they were mostly translucent.

Harlequin's eyes widened, and he gasped. Before he could say anything, though, fireworks shot up from the town we had been in, illuminating my wings. Colorful splotches danced across the forest floor as light shone through the thin, brightly colored patches on my wings.

"Aren't those…?" Harlequin trailed off, but I finished for him.

"-wings almost the size of a fairy king's wings? Yeah. They don't do much for me, though." My face had turned pink, and I was slightly flustered from my disobedient wings. "They just get in the way, and, though they grew in after I left the forest, they made any other fairies that I happened to meet in my travels uncomfortable around me. I'd much rather have smaller wings, or no wings at all - like you. At least you don't have to wear a cloak all the time to hide that you're a fairy when you go into town."

"But! But I'd give that away any day to have wings - even tiny ones! I'd do anything to have wings like yours. Why do you always hide them…? They're beautiful…"

"Th-thank you…" I stuttered, blushing an even darker shade than before. After I had taken a moment to calm down, I continued. "I thought I said no more questions? Well, I guess I can answer this one." I held out my hand in front of me and started counting the reasons on my fingers. "Like I said, they get in the way. My wings make maneuvering in almost any environment near impossible. They're so colorful, they'd make me a giant target if I ever got into a fight. Oh, and the humans agree with you on how beautiful they are, so some of them would stop at nothing to hunt me down and rip them off. You didn't see how easily I got caught back there; I'd have a hard time fighting off anyone hunting me for my wings"

"Oh… Well, I guess that's true. Those are all good points." Harlequin turned back, as though to continue towards our destination, before glancing back at me and taking in the sight of my still-open wings. "But you're with us now. And we're often outside in the open. There's no reason to hide them anymore." He gave a tiny grin. "You should keep them out more! They're wings you should be proud of, Zinnia-san." He then quickly turned his head away and flew towards the tavern, which was now visible in the distance.

I had been about to fold my wings back, but stopped at his words. He's right; there's not much reason to hide my wings anymore. Especially now that both Harlequin and Elizabeth have seen them. I stretched my wings out to the fullest, reveling in the feel of the night air against them.

Fireworks were still going off in the distance, the bursts of light and sound quiet compared to the beating of my heart, as I hurried to catch up to the other fairy. Only one thing went through my mind as we approached the Boar's Hat: The Fairy King called my wings beautiful.