(A/N)

Hey, so recently I've been reading more stories here on FFN, and saw that some people use author's notes to respond to review, so I thought I'd try that by going over the ones I have so far. Sorry if some of them are from awhile back, but I want to cover everyone.

(Starting with users by date and then guests by date, earliest to latest)

Ovwa: I'm glad you like it! Thanks for being my first reviewer.

pizzafan123: 1. Well, as this one was a chapter specific comment, it's already been seen what happens, but I'm glad you're enjoying and looking forward to what's happening. 2. Intense was what I was going for! Glad that came across correctly. Guess you'll have to see when she knew Meliodas and Elizabeth! 3. I'm glad to know that it was a surprise to find out what she was, but still possible to figure out. I was trying to leave hints throughout the previous chapters without being too blunt. Also, with your remark on the relationship between Zinnia and Meliodas, I tried to go over that in the Q&A (I've always wanted to do a Q&A, but no one was really asking anything, so I made up my own questions, lol) because of this review. I still tried to not give too much away about it, though. (Also, thanks for reviewing so much. It's always nice to see a new review.)

Wanderstar: I'm so happy you like her!

PrehistoricCreatorNP: I'm working on it, lol. I'm glad you seem to be enjoying so much so as to ask for another chapter within an hour of me posting one. I can't quite type that fast.

FelledandFallow: Omg! Thank you so so much! Your review made like my whole week.

Guest#1: Workin' on it!

Guest#2: I can't quite tell if this is yelling at me for skipping weeks, really wanting another chapter or a mix between the two, as it was posted during a particularly long break. Probably the third. Hopefully. Hopefully not just the first. But, other than that curiosity, as with the others asking for more chapters, I'm trying my hardest.

Guest#3: I actually didn't realize that Zephyr was one of Elaine's attacks until I was far into coming up with this story! By that point, it was already to far gone for me to change. I had actually forgotten until you brought this up, lol.

And I thing that's about it! Sorry if I somehow missed one. Enjoy the chapter. There's a note at the bottom about the bonus story.

"I'll try to come more often, I promise."

"Really?"

I didn't know what it was that woke me from my memory-turned-dream, but the first thing that I was aware of was the feeling of a thin blanket over me and sunshine pouring over me. I cracked open my eyes to find the ceiling of the Boar's hat was above me once more. How many times am I going to end up here without remembering getting into bed? Still feeling tired, I turned over onto my side in an attempt to get more comfortable.

Helbram's sleeping face greeted me.

"Wha- AHH!" I had tried to lean away but had ended up rolling off the bed in the process, landing on the floor with a hard thump! "What's going on?" I wondered blearily, my face burning scarlet. I took note of the fact that I was back in my tavern uniform, only now my green ribbon was braided into some of my hair. Who had done that?

"There were no extra beds," a voice said from across the room. I looked up to see that Gowther had his nose buried in a book. "King stated that you claimed responsibility for that fairy, so it was decided that he would be put in your bed for now."

My face only turned a brighter shade of red at this. "I-I didn't mean that he could-could-"

I didn't even know what to say, so I snatched up my cloak, which had been neatly folded on a box next to my bed, and sprinted downstairs. Anywhere had to be better than with that unfeeling person.

But going downstairs might have actually been worse, as there were a lot of people down there. When I arrived, Meliodas was behind the bar making drinks, and Elizabeth was serving food to a few customers. This wasn't an unusual sight. What was unusual, though, was that the only customers were three Holy Knights: Howzer, Griamore, and a vaguely familiar man with pink hair, happily drinking ale and eating Ban's cooking. When I looked closer, I realized that Hawk was nowhere to be seen, and that there was another girl here, who was wearing a one piece pink outfit with little pom poms on the front. Diane…? She was somehow shrunken down to human size again. Harlequin was also here, floating lazily around the room on his pillow.

"Maybe I really did die…" I rubbed my eyes as I floated lazily in the stairway.

You're not dead yet, Zinnia. I heard Zephyr speak from across the room. I hadn't seen him originally, but now that I looked, I saw that he was being held tight by a very drunken Ban. Zephyr tugged away from the Fox Sin, but Ban only tightened his grip and grinned.

"Ehhhh~ You're always hiding. I'm not gonna let you go now~" I could barely hear his slurred voice from where I was. He seemed to be holding Zephyr like a soft pillow. "Y'know, the others say you can talk~ Why can't I hear you, huh?"

Zinnia, a little help? The fox shade looked across the room at me pleadingly. He pawed desperately at Ban's arm, but it was no use.

I smiled slightly and shook my head. "Sorry; I don't think I can help you there."

"Hey, it looks like you're finally awake!" Meliodas had noticed me from his spot behind the bar, before setting down a tankard for Elizabeth to bring to Howzer, who already looked more than a little tipsy. "I hear that you also did what you could to help out the other day."

"The other day?" I had assumed that I had only been out for a day at most, but it didn't sound like it.

"Yep! You've been asleep for about a week now. You've missed out on a bunch, including a match between me and Ban - which I won." Meliodas laughed.

"No you didn't, Cap'n~! I won~" Ban cried, releasing Zephyr in his indignation, who quickly made his way to my side.

Harlequin sighed, and I noticed that his face was also pink from the drink he was holding. "It was a tie." As though suddenly realizing who it was that was being spoken to, his eyes widened and he zoomed across the room so that he was facing me. "Zinnia! You're awake! Has Helbram woken up yet?"

My brow furrowed when I noticed that he wasn't using honorifics, but I answered him. "No, not yet. I'm assuming that he's also been out this whole time?"

The other fairy nodded. "We've been keeping an eye on him, since we don't know what'll happen when he wakes up."

"That explains why Gowther was up there…" I held my chin in thought. "But… That still doesn't explain why he was put in the same bed with me…"

"Ehhh, w-well…" Harlequin turned away and scratched his chin. "That was Ban's idea. He thought it would be funny. And since we didn't have enough space anyway…" Trailing off, he changed the subject, sobering slightly. "How do you even know Helbram, if you weren't in the Fairy King's Forest?"

"Welllll…" I tucked a bit of hair behind my ear, taking a moment to feel the ribbon in my hair. "It's not like I didn't want to live there… More like I was told to not return until my Onii-chan came to get me, and I promised him to always listen when it came to big things like this. Not to mention the fact that since I was sent away from there via a fox shade other than Zephyr, I had no idea how to return. When I finally found it again, I found a nice little place nearby to live so that I could feel more at home while I waited." I looked away, embarrassed. "It was pretty frustrating to not know what was going on in the Fairy King's Forest, so I would occasionally send Zephyanthes to… look around…"

Meliodas, who had sat down at the bar during this conversation, glanced at Zephyr, then back at me. "So you sent him to spy?"

Zephyr just sighed and shook his head in exasperation.

"N-no!" I stuttered, tightening my grip on my cloak. "That implies that I was planning on doing something bad! I just wanted to know what was going on in the forest! Oh! That was probably how Zephyr recognized you when we first met, Harlequin-sama! He must have seen you during at least one of these visits."

Harlequin looked annoyed and like he wanted to reprimand me, but he just sighed loudly and pinched his nose. "So Zephyranthes-kun was your spy… But what does this have to do with Helbram?"

"Oh, sorry, I was getting to that." I picked up where I had left off. "So, one of the times that Zephyr went into the forest, Helbram noticed him and followed him back to me. After that, Helbram would come and visit every now and then. It was nice, finally getting to see another fairy after so long." I smiled, remembering all the fun we had, before the smile faded. "It was pretty worrying when he just up and disappeared. I mean, he had done that before, but not for so long. A-and then twenty years ago…" I went silent, clutching my cloak tightly to my chest and breathing into it.

Harlequin, who had been watching in rapt silence, softened his gaze, knowing that that was when the forest had burned down. "I see. It sounds like you missed him almost as much as I did."

Almost? I wanted to ask, but I didn't.

"A-anyways!" I exclaimed after about ten seconds of awkward silence. "What's going on? Why are there Holy Knights here? Did we win?"

And so, the group filled me in on everything that happened from the time that I had been kidnapped with Elizabeth and Hawk. From having Diane throw Meliodas, Ban, and Gowther into the city, to finding out that Hendrickson was behind everything, to Merlin and King Arthur appearing, to everyone turning into demons, and, eventually, everyone fighting together against the demonized Hendrickson and coming out victorious. Even though many had lost their lives over the course of the day, we had prevailed. Even Hawk had done his part.

"Wait, where is Hawk-chan?" I asked the room in general.

The pink-haired Holy Knight, who I had been informed was named Gilthunder, leaned back, revealing a tiny Hawk that was just cleaning out the last of the scraps from a small bowl on the table. He stood up, looking around. "Someone called? Are there more scraps?"

Zephyr licked his lips. Can I eat it? It's perfectly bite-sized.

"Wha- No!" I smacked the fox's head playfully. "You can't eat Hawk-chan, no matter how small he is."

Across the room, Ban burst out laughing, while Hawk only squealed in fear.

Zephyr pouted, but I could easily tell that he was only playing by the twitch of his ears and the curve of his lips.

"Oh, Zinnia!" Diane called, before approaching. "You woke up just in time for tonight's festival, you should go! There'll be fireworks and everything."

"Ehhh… but I don't have anyone to go with…"

Zephyr looked up at me, annoyed. Hey, do I just not exist or something? He sniffed pointedly.

"Oh, sorry, Zephyr!" I patted him gently on the head. "I just meant like… I don't know…"

"Like a lover?" Meliodas suddenly appeared behind Elizabeth and grabbed her breasts. I was expecting her to at least scream, but she only squeaked and turned red. Hawk, on the other hand, reprimanded Meliodas, but the captain paid him no mind.

"Y-yeah, something like that…" I looked to the ceiling to avoid the sight, my cheeks blushing brightly.

Zephyr flicked his ears back and looked away. I see…

A weird tingling feeling that I had never felt before made me look closer at the ceiling. "Huh?"

"What is it?" Harlequin asked.

"I think… I think that Helbram's waking up…"

"How would you- H-hey!" I was already on my way up the stairs before the fairy could even finish his question.

Upon opening the door, I knew that whatever the feeling was, it had been right. The green-haired fairy was tossing and turning, muttering words under his breath. "N-no… Stop!... Stop tearing…" sweat was running down his face in streams.

"H-Helbram!" I rushed across the room and sat down on the bed next to him. Putting a hand on his shoulder, I shook him lightly. "Wake up. It's just a dream."

As soon as I touched him, he calmed and slowly opened his eyes. "Zinnia-chan? Zinnia? Did you die, too?"

"No." I smiled softly, noticing both Zephyr and Harlequin coming in the door. "Neither of us are dead. See for yourself."

He halfway sat up, pressing himself against the covers, to see the other fairy and the fox shade. His eyes lit up when he saw Harlequin. "Harlequin!" He instantly shot out of bed and rushed at his friend, hugging him midair. For some reason, I felt a slight disappointment in my gut at the difference between Helbram's greeting with me and his greeting with the other fairy.

"Helbram!" The Fairy King hugged him back. "A-are you okay?" He held Helbram away from him, looking him up and down. "I mean, do you..."

"Want to murder every human that I see?" Helbram guessed. "Slightly. But it's not as bad as before." He smiled and tapped his skull a couple of times with his fist. "I think I was going a little crazy back there."

It better not be as bad as before, Zephyr growled. You have no idea what burden Zinnia has taken on to keep you alive.

"Hey, Zephyr-kun!" Helbram turned to the fox shade, reaching out to pet him, but Zephyr narrowed his eyes and stepped out of reach. Helbram closed his outstretched hand, looking hurt. "What's wrong?"

You break a promise to Zinnia, disappear, murder countless humans, and attempt to kill the Fairy King, and you ask me what's wrong? Zephyr sighed and shook his head, but didn't say any more.

Helbram's expression darkened. He looked to me for help, only to discover that tears were running down my face. "W-what?"

I couldn't hold it in anymore. I rushed forward and hugged my old friend. "Helbram! I'm so glad you're back!" I sobbed into his shirt. He seemed surprised by my action, and held his arms up in the air. "You promised! You said you would come back the next day! You promised to visit more often! But you never came back! How do you think that made me feel?!" My words may have sounded mad at him, but I was only relieved for him to be here. "Next time you do something stupid like that, I'm coming with you."

I felt him shudder. "No you're not." When I finally let go of him, he gave me one of his signature mischievous smiles. "I'm here now, aren't I? By the way, why's he here?" He pointed his thumb at Gowther, who was still silently reading on his side of the room.

"Oh, you mean Gowther," Harlequin told him. "He was told to…" He trailed off, probably realizing that it might not be the best idea to tell the fairy that there was a guard on him. "He shares this room with Zinnia."

"This is Zinnia's room?" He looked around, taking in the messy, dusty boxes that I had never bothered to organize.

"Yeah," I told him. "And the bed you were in is also…" I looked away blushing. I could see out of the corner of my eye that he was blushing a little bit too, which only made me blush more. "Oh, Diane-sama told me that there's a festival tonight!" I tried to change topics. "It sounds like fun. While it might not be the best idea for you to go into town itself with your feelings about humans - no matter how slight - I'm sure you could see the fireworks from here."

Helbram smiled and clapped his hands together, floating into the air slightly. "Fireworks? Sounds interesting! We should watch them together, Zinnia!"

"U-Um-" My face reddened even more than a moment ago, remembering the conversation downstairs about bringing someone to the festival. With a moment of clarity, I realized that Helbram had no idea about the conversation, and just wanted to take me as a friend. He'd probably invite Harlequin, too. Face still red, I nodded. "O-Okay!"

Harlequin looked back and forth between the two of us, inspecting both of our expressions. He seemed to come to some conclusion, as he quickly said "I think I hear Diane calling for me! I'm going back downstairs." He had quickly disappeared through the doorway and was gone.

Then it was only Zephyr, me, and Helbram. Well, Gowther was still here, but he wasn't paying any attention. Zephyr, though, was glaring daggers at Helbram.

"Woah! Look at that one!" Helbram grinned as another burst of color lit up the night sky above us with a bang.

I hadn't seen fireworks before, so I was just as amazed, but I had so many questions. "Didn't you get to see fireworks while you lived here? You must've seen them plenty of times by now." I looked up at the sky, the light of a bright blue flare shining in my eyes.

"Ehhhh…" He cocked his head slightly to the side, scratching his head. "It didn't happen often, and I was always so busy… And to tell you the truth, my memory of the past few years is kinda blurry."

"I see."

We lapsed into silence as we watched the lights flowering above us.

I shifted, trying to get more comfortable on the wooden roofing of the Boar's Hat. Zephyr had decided not to watch the fireworks, claiming that he'd prefer to explore the city, which was in the middle of being rebuilt. He'd said that surely now that the people had seen real demons, no one would be scared of him. That, and he had been making a point to be seen around the Sins so that people knew he was with them. He wanted to use his newfound freedom to wander the town by himself on his own four paws. Or at least, that was what he had told me.

My mind wandered. I couldn't help but wonder, why weren't Helbram's memories clear? Did I do something wrong when I had tried to save him? Or was it something to do with the magic that had originally revived him…? Whatever it was, I just hoped it didn't come back to bite us.

"Hey, Helbram?" I ventured.

"Hmm?" His golden eyes turned towards me.

"Do you remember the promise you made before you left?"

He looked back to the sky. "The one to come by more often?"

"The other one." I followed his gaze, where a quick series of purple and gold lights were flashing, ending in a flash of multicolored sparkles.

Helbram clasped his hands behind his head and grinned roguishly. "The one to search the human realm for the best apple pie ever?"

I snorted, rolling my eyes. "Yeah, that one. Though I was more focused on the adventure part than the apple pie."

"Yeah, I remember it. What about it?"

"I was just wondering if you remembered…" I leaned back into my cloak. "I was looking forward to it."

Helbram sprang up. "Have you found it?"

"Found what?" I looked at him like he'd gone crazy before floating up alongside him.

"The best apple pie. Have you found it?"

"Well… no… I don't think I've even had one since we made that promise…" I furrowed my brow in confusion. "Don't tell me…"

"Then let's go!" He showed me a closed-eye smile. "We can still find it together!" He held out his hand.

I was pretty sure that the pink fireworks were hiding my blush. "Y-you know that the pie thing was a joke, right?"

He didn't stop smiling. "So? Let's do it! It sounds like it'll be fun!"

Giving a weak smile, I reached out my hand. What would happen, I wondered, if we left right now? What if we went to explore the world, forgetting about the craziness of the past thousand years or so? I couldn't leave Zephyranthes, of course, so we'd grab him first, but after that? We could do anything.

Before I could clasp hands with the other fairy, a group of humans passed by, laughing and shouting. They pointed to the fireworks, smiling and whooping at the flashes and noise, before continuing to settle down on a hill far enough away that I couldn't hear them anymore.

I looked back at Helbram to see that he still had his hand partially outstretched, but it was in a shakingly tight fist, and he seemed frozen in place. His gaze was locked on the group. He murmured a few indiscernible phrases under his breath, before shuddering.

I quickly grabbed his wrist and yanked him into the attic of the tavern through the balcony door. He didn't resist, and instead seemed to be lost in the recesses of his mind. I could see pain and torture in his eyes, and I tried to gently settle him on my bed. "S-so perhaps now's not the best time to go exploring in a world full of humans…" I tried to smile, but he didn't seem to see me. "Helbram?" I worriedly set my hand on his shoulder.

He looked at me, his vision clearing. He blinked a few times, sweat running down his temple. "What?" He looked around the room. "When did we get inside?"

"U-ummm…" What was I supposed to say? "Just now. You seemed a little out of it. You remember what we were talking about, right?"

"Of course. We were talking about how I hadn't gotten to see many fireworks in these past few years, right?" He glanced out the window, where a red firework flashed brightly. "Did I miss something?"

I bit my tongue. "Nope! That's pretty much it!"

Well this wasn't good.

(Bonus 5: The Ribbon)

"When is Helbram coming back? How long's it been? Ten years now?"

Ten years and five months to be exact.

I sighed.

Ten years and five months. It felt like longer. Sure, to fairies like Helbram and I, it wasn't very long, but I'd spent so much time among humans, then in near solitude, that even a day could feel like an eternity. And then, about seven or eight hundred years ago, Helbram had followed my fox shade friend Zephyranthes back to my hiding place (which wasn't very hidden in the first place, just very secluded), and he had befriended me. Ever since then, I lived for the times when he would come to visit. He'd often beg me to come with him to the fairy forest, reminding me that, as a fairy, it was my home too, but I had a promise to uphold, so I refrained. But oh, how I wanted to go.

If you want him to visit so much, I could go check the Fairy King's Forest for you, and ask him to come. Zephyr broke into my thoughts. If he's not there, we could go search for him together.

"Well, that would be nice…" But I don't want to be left here alone, I added silently.

I should have spoken the last bit aloud, for the fox responded, Then it's settled. I shall return shortly. Diving into the shadow of a nearby tree, he was gone.

"Ah, wait, no…" But it was too late. Sighing again, I looked around the place that had been my home for the last roughly thousand years.

Sunshine danced through the yellowing leaves of the late-fall trees that surrounded the small clearing, and the opening in the forest mostly consisted of a large, stone-floored pool of water fed by a shimmering waterfall. The water that was refreshing in the warmer months was ice-cold this time of year, and just the thought of entering its depths made me shiver. The pebbled banks of the pond, along with the banks of the creek that led away from the falls, gave way to a mossy wall of forest that acted as a barrier from the outside world. But, as the leaves fell to the forest floor, the privacy that I usually enjoyed was diminished. Even while leaves continued to fall here, just a short distance away the Fairy King's Forest enjoyed an eternal spring filled with flowers and green leaves.

Floating a few feet off the ground, I wrapped my cloak tightly around my small frame. A chill wind was blowing through the branches of the forest, causing crisp leaves to rustle and the trees to creak.

The cold was always more pronounced when I was alone.

What to do, what to do… I wanted to find some way to occupy my time while I waited for my friend to get back. Perhaps I could wander around the woods - see if there's anything new? Not that there would be… Ah ha! I suddenly remembered.

Winding my way lazily through the silent forest, I made my way towards a small grove of apple trees. I remembered seeing them as saplings not long before the last time Helbram had visited. They should be plenty big enough to bear fruit by now. I soon reached the place I remembered seeing them. There were three large trees, and they all were covered in ripe, red apples.

"Ah, perfect!" I said to myself before removing my cloak and turning it into a makeshift bag. While I would be cold for a short while, my cloak was all I had that would work for this. I was soon collecting apples from the lower branches of the trees and filling my cloak with them. "How I wish that I had an oven, or even a stove." I was speaking to the air around me. I had picked up the habit from talking to Zephyr all the time, as he was often hidden in the shadows where I couldn't see him. Even though I knew that the fox wasn't around, the habit had stuck, and I would often think aloud even when I was alone. "Having spent quite a few years with humans, I got spoiled… I'd give anything for an apple pie right now. Sure, plain apples taste good, but having raw fruits and vegetables all the time for hundreds of years can become quite boring."

"Then why don't we get you an apple pie?" came a familiar, mischievous voice from beside me, causing me to gasp. I turned, almost dropping the apple I was currently holding, to see that Helbram was floating around the branches of the apple tree beside me. A few apples were stacked in a precarious pile in his arms. A light smirk tugged at his lips. "Hey Zinnia."

"'Hey'? 'Hey'? It's been over ten years and all you say is 'hey'?!" I dropped my bag (softening its fall with levitation), flew straight at him, and pushed him, causing all of the apples to fall from his arms. "Not even a 'sorry I was gone so long'? You said you'd be back in a week, a year at most!" I took a deep breath and swiped my hand across my face, only to find that my cheeks were wet.

"Ummm… Sorry I was gone so long…?" Helbram seemed confused, and he looked forlornly at the now-bruised apples that were scattered across the ground. "But ten years isn't that long, so why are you so upset? Harlequin's been gone for almost seven hundred years now, and you don't see me complaining."

Yeah, I guess that's right… He probably hadn't even noticed that it was such a long time. I shouldn't have expected so much from him… "It's just… you know that I don't have a normal fairy's life. I was practically raised by humans, so my perception of time is different from other fairies'." I sniffled and rubbed my face again before slowly drifting to the ground.

Helbram followed. "Look, I'm sorry, okay?" He tried again. He started to pick up a dropped apple as though to collect them again, but he set it back down and turned his full attention to me. "I'm sorry. I forget that you're like that. I'm kinda surprised that I do, considering that when we first met, I thought that you were a human! I visited you all the time back then, since I thought that you weren't going to have a very long life. I'm so used to only being around fairies that I didn't even notice that you weren't aging! You actually seemed to be getting frustrated that I wasn't noticing…" He chuckled and smiled slightly. "I'll try to come more often, I promise."

"Really?" My face was red now, be it from the cold, the crying, or something else, I didn't know. All I knew was that the green-haired fairy was rarely this serious. He was usually one to joke and play all the time. "You better be telling the truth…"

"Of course!" He performed a mock-salute before picking up the apple again.

"Hey, Aren't you wondering why I was gone so long?"

We had returned to the waterfall clearing, as I didn't want Zephyr to worry if he returned and couldn't find me. I was now pouring out the contents of my cloak onto a soft-looking patch of dirt before putting my cloak back on to keep out the chilly air.

"I mean, of course I am. Why wouldn't I?" I picked up an apple and examined it, only to find that it appeared to be home to something, and throwing it as far as I could into the trees. I only glanced up when I noticed that my friend had stopped speaking. He was looking at me expectantly and teasingly. I sighed before caving to him. "'Why were you gone so long, Helbram?'" The words were strung out slowly and had no inflection, but they were enough for the boy.

"I was exploring the human realm!" He seemed super excited, and he clapped his hands together. The force of the clap caused his floating self to start spinning ever so slightly. "Though that was only during the first few years. The rest of the time I spent in the Fairy King's Forest, keeping Elaine company. Since Harlequin's missing, she's been pretty bored and lonely…" Seeing the look on my face at this comment, he swiftly changed the subject. "Oh! I found some merchants nearby that were really nice. They were giving out flutes!" He pulled out what appeared to be a clay flute as proof. "And I managed to get them to give me something else too. I thought you'd appreciate a gift."

Hmm? So he actually thought of me while he was gone? I couldn't help but smile. I light blush danced across my cheeks, but the red light of the setting sun helped conceal it.

The gold-eyed fairy was now searching through his clothes. He checked all the pockets on both his shirt and pants, and even flipped the pockets inside-out to make sure. I think that he was just about to take his shirt off when a green bundle fell out of the folds of his clothes. "There it is!" He picked it up off the ground and dusted it off before handing me the gift. "It's not much, and it could've probably been made better by fairies, but I think that the humans' method of making fabrics is really interesting! I thought you'd like it too."

Opening up the bundle, I realized that the bundle itself was the present. It was a coiled up green ribbon. The silken fabric was deep, emerald green, and when I unrolled it, it had to be a good five feet long (That's about as long as I was tall!), and was about two or three inches wide.

"I just thought you'd like it, what with you growing up around humans. I've heard that human girls put a lot into their outfits. I know that it's not the same color as your dress, but I thought it'd be fine since it's the same color as your eyes-"

He was cut off by me hugging him. When I let go, I gave him a big grin. "I love it! Thank you so much, Helbram. I'm sorry I don't have anything for you…"

"No, it's fine. I didn't expect you to, considering that you don't really ever leave this place." He smiled sheepishly. "So, what are you going to do with that ribbon?"

"I was thinking that I could tie it around my waist or my neck. It'd hopefully look nice in either place." And so I wrapped the fabric around my neck and tied it. I was trying to go for a bow, but it'd been awhile, and I was trying to do it without being able to see it, at that, so I was having difficulties.

"Here." Helbram reached over and tied the bow for me. He gave it a couple of weak tugs to make sure it wouldn't come loose before looking to me. "Does that work?"

"Y-yeah." I looked away.

At this point, the sun was almost fully set, and a few stars were just starting to appear on the opposite horizon. I could already feel the temperature dropping.

"I should probably get back to the Fairy King's Forest," Helbram murmured. He seemed apologetic.

"What, already? But you just got here…"

"Yeah, but I promised some of the other fairies that I'd bring them to see that peddler that I got the flute and ribbon from tomorrow. I'll look at what they have, and see if I can find anything else for you, does that sound good? After I'm done there, I'll head right back here. Hey, maybe they'll have one of those apple pies you were talking about!"

"Judging by what else they have, I doubt it," I pouted, looking to the ground.

"Well, if they don't, then we can go look for one!" He smiled as I looked back at him. "As soon as I get back here, we can go on an adventure in search of an apple pie. That is, if you're willing to go?"

This just caused me to chuckle, and I smiled back at him. "I don't think it'll be much of an adventure. More like visiting the first town we see and coming back. But, yeah, I'll come. Sounds like fun!"

His smile widened. "If it's not enough adventure for you, then we'll go on a journey to find the best apple pie in the human realm!"

"Promise?"

"Promise." He looked in the direction of the fairy forest, towards the spot where the sun had just finished sinking below the horizon. "I'm going to go now. But I'll be back tomorrow." Helbram then started to fly towards the edge of the clearing.

"Hey!" I shouted, causing the other fairy to pause. "Don't forget to keep your promise - both of them!"

"Of course!" He shouted back before disappearing into the shadows of the forest.

And speaking of shadows…

Zephyr peeled himself out of the barely-visible shadow of the tree that Helbram had passed by when he was leaving.

"I was wondering what was taking you so long."

I didn't want to interrupt. It's been awhile since you've interacted with anyone other than me. The fox shade turned his pure white eyes in the direction of the fairy forest. He'd better keep those promises to you.

"Hopefully…" I murmured, lightly touching the ribbon that now encircled my neck. "He hasn't broken a promise yet…"

(Little did I know that that was the last time that I would see Helbram before his untimely death at the hands of the fairy king that he held in such high esteem.)

(A/N)

The bonus story for this chapter was actually written before even the first chapter of this story, so the style might be a little different, perhaps. I tried to not have any inconsistencies, so hopefully I didn't miss any. Sorry if I end up having to come back to this later saying something was wrong, but it should all be right.

Thanks for reading!