I woke with a sharp pain. My wings! I had almost forgotten what had happened. I had been chosen as the new fairy queen, but had been banished by the previous queen, Ino. She used her powers as the previous ruler to sway the opinions of the other fairies. Its no surprise really…I always was an outcast; there was no way they would accept me as their new queen. And now here I was. Wait, where was I? I looked around, carefully maneuvering myself off of my wings. I was on a soft bed of moss at the base of a tree with what seemed to be a piece of cloth covering me. The smell of smoke filled my nose, along with the smell of roasting fish. My eyes adjusted to the light and I saw the same man that had picked me up. His back was to the fire. I had to escape! I quietly pulled the cloth off of me and stood up, carefully scanning my surroundings. There was nothing but trees. I would never escape this place, not without my wings, I would surely get lost I the maze of trees. If I could find the river, I could make it back to the Tree of Time. But then what? The fairies had chased me out. I had no power.
The man at the fire turned towards me. His red hair gleamed in the sunlight, his face showed no emotion as he stared at her. I had no choice but to run away, so ran I did. I made my way from the mossy bed to the roots of the tree and down to the soil. I started to run but tripped over a pebble. The man made his way over to me and scooped me up in his hand once again. "You don't have to run away. I'll take care of you." He said. Sakura looked into his sea green eyes. She shook her head. "I won't eat you." He assured her.
She didn't know what to do; she was trapped in the hand of this mysterious man. Her wings were broken and she had no home to go to. Her eyes began to water as she pulled her knees to her chest. She knew that if she spoke to him she would turn into a human. Being seen by humans was punishable by death, and legend said that if a fairy spoke to a human, the fairy would turn into a human.
He stared at the tiny creature he had saved. He had noticed that something was wrong with her wings so he fashioned a small bed for her made of the softest moss he could find and a piece of his shirt so she would not catch cold. He looked her over once more and was still in disbelief. His sister had told him of the legends of the fairies, stories his mother had told her. That was their only memory of her, since she had died giving birth to him. Although he still blamed himself for her death, he had started to come to terms with her death. Many women died giving childbirth.
He turned his attention back to the fish he was cooking when he heard her stirring. He turned back towards her only to see her trying to run away. He stood and walked towards her when suddenly she tripped over something. He rushed over to her and carefully put her in the palm of his hand. He knew he was luck to have found her. Not many people had ever seen these beautiful creatures. Something must have happened to her. He tried to calm her down by telling her that he wouldn't eat her, that he would take care of her, but she started to cry. "Please tell me what's wrong." She shook her head once again. "Is it your wings?" she nodded. "You need to rest." She shook her head and pointed towards the river. "What do you mean? You want to go to the river?" she nodded vehemently. But it was his turn to shake his head. "I'm sorry. I can't go that way. My old town's that way. There are guards everywhere. I've been wrongly accused of a crime. I can't go back or they'll torture and kill me." She looked at him sadly and nodded in understanding. "I know the legends, of you fairies. Legend says if you speak to us humans, you'll turn." She nodded. "So its true then? What other parts of the legend are true I wonder?"
She sighed and thought, "probably everything." She patted the index finger she was holding onto and pointed down. Without any questions the man began to let her down. Her stomach rumbled as she set foot on the ground. She looked at the fire and then looked at the man. "I didn't know if fairies ate meat so I got some of these for you," he said as he pulled something out of a pouch on his waist. He sat down on the floor next to her and handed her a berry. She took it gratefully and began to take a bite of the delicious fruit. She was starting to like this man. As she was taking her second bite she noticed a stranger sneaking up behind her newfound friend. She dropped her food and ran to his knee. She tugged on his pants but he did not notice her. The stranger grew nearer and she noticed a dagger in his hand. She had to do something! "Please! Look! Behind you!" Although she knew she was saving his life she instantly regretted her words, for now, she began to grow in size.