"Have humans always been so terrible to fairies?" I've never read about that in any history textbooks before. Hell, when fairies are depicted on tv and in movies, they usually have a good relationship with their human masters. I had no idea that wasn't representative of the truth…. It's kinda reminds me of the veil of Hollywood. These shows look so crisp and polished; you'd have no idea of the horrible production crews behind the scenes running the show.

Challe's head lowered slightly. "Long ago, when there was more of my kind, humans were allegedly kinder, or at least more tolerate of fairies. It was easier to regulate the behaviour of the masses through shame…. When more people owned fairies." "That makes sense….." I guess it's easier for the public to self-regulate certain behaviours if it's tied to commonalities between them. I hate to make the comparison, but it's much like the decline of animal abuse in this century. The more people are aware of those kinds of horrors, especially through the rise of social media, the more likely such behaviour is going to be called out. But if only less than one percent of the population actually owns fairies now…. And they're so rare that you barely see them on any social media platforms, including TikTok and YouTube, it makes sense that the rich could basically treat their fairies however they want without the fear of shame….. The veil has been dropped, and only now am I glimpsing behind it.

Challe didn't say anything for a minute before peering toward me through the corner of his eye, smirking ever so slightly….. I noticed he was doing that more often now. "Perhaps now you can understand my confusion with how you see me, treat me…. There's no social pressure for you to act decently to your fairy anymore. I couldn't figure out what your true intentions were, if not the fear of shame from other humans," he quipped and I laughed, tossing my head back a little. "Well, it's probably no surprise to you that I'm no utilitarian either. It's not for any religious or spiritual reasons…. I just believe that all life is precious… and valuable. And there's never an excuse to do what's right." And his eyes lowered a tad onto me just then… "So you've said."

Feeling all good, warm, and happy inside, my arms tossed out at my sides merrily as I gave a wistful sigh. "Ahhhhhh, just feel that cool breeze, Challe. Isn't it wonderful?" "I wouldn't know. Fairies don't experience hot or cold like you humans." "Awe, that's too back, cause this feels great!" I stretched my arms up high into the air and he flashed me a second smirk. "If you say so….." Yawking, my eyes reached up toward the sky; it was getting cloudier out. "We must be close. We've been walking for quite a while now." "We're nowhere near close. There's still a way to go," Challe corrected me matter-of-factly and I let out a sigh. "Oh well, that's ok. We'll get there soon enough."

To my surprise, Challe suddenly stopped walking out of the blue, turning his head to glance over his shoulder. This made me pause, blinking to him puzzled. "Cha-….?" I began but he brought his forefinger to his lips in a "shushing" gesture. Still watching at the path behind us intensely, terror struck me at the sight of wolves- lots and lots of them- zooming in our direction. I cried out in fright, my feet stumbling back a few steps. Challe's one hand curled into a clenched fist. His other hand drew his sword- the same one he used to fight the crows with. I looked to him desperately, holding my hand up to my chest.

"Challe?" "There're too many of them," he hissed, preparing his posture to attack. "Challe!" I called out to him again and he just gave me a side glare. "Stand back," he ordered but I shook my head. I don't know what compelled me to say what I did next; I guess I wasn't think and went straight into panic-mode.

"Wait, you're not going to fight them, are you?!" "What choice do we have?" He retorted coldly and I frantically shook my head. "But you just said there're too many of them! We should run!" "Fool! You don't run from animals chasing you!" He barked back loudly, causing me to wince inside; he was getting angry. Meanwhile I was getting more scared of our impending situation. My fists flew up in front of me in a fraught plea.

"No, let's try! You don't have to fight them! It's too dangerous!" "So you think running is a better idea?! I won't be able to out-run them if I carry you!" "Then don't carry me! Don't worry about me! Just make a run for it!" "The wolves run faster than any human can, you idiot!" "But not any fairy! Look, please! Just run; I'm begging you! You don't have to be faster than the wolves, you just have to be faster than me!" I shouted, and by the death-glare he immediately fired at me, I knew I had messed up big time. I probably shouldn't have said that….. But it was too late. Seeing that he couldn't reason with me, Challe took matters into his own hands. I don't think he trusted me to my own devices, seeing as he proceeded to rush over to me, cursing under his breath. The pack had just about reached us when Challe suddenly and out of nowhere wrapped his arm tight around my waist. "Close your eyes!" He commanded very, very firmly, and not seeing as I had much of a choice, I did as he directed.

Blood spattered. Both Challe and the wolves winced and gave cries of pain. There was lots of brutal noise; the warrior fairy didn't stop moving, his arm clinging to me the entire time. He protectively held me against his chest until the carnage was finally over. By then we were both covered in blood, both belonging to Challe and the wolves. Challe was heaving; he was obviously out of breath and struggling to gasp for air. He clung onto me a moment longer, before finally retracting his arm. I instantly stumbled backward, landing on my knees in front of him. Challe was still heaving and doing everything he could to stay standing. He did NOT look pleased.

Wiping a tear from my eye, my hand extended up toward him worriedly, though I was too shaky to get up myself in that instant. "Challe…..?" My lips quivered and he shot me another monstrous glare. "I told you to stand back…." My eyes immediately widened in shock and regret. "I-I'm sorry, Challe. I didn't think it right to expect or even ask you to protect me." "Well you didn't give me much of a choice, did you?!" He hollered back, startling me. Staring up at him with moist, confused eyes, my mouth merely hung open dumbfounded. "W-Why are you mad? Is it because it's my fault we got caught out here? Just tell me what I did wrong; I'll make it up to you." "You idiot…. You don't even know what you did wrong," he huffed, lowering his voice a little. "U-Uh…. I… I-I….." My lips sputtered and spattered. I thought he was mad cause it was my idea to walk in the first place; we wouldn't be out here if it wasn't for me….. B-But I guess that's not it? His heavy breathing continued as he put his sword away. While he did that, I found the inner strength to stand up, still staring at him unsure.

"I-Is this because I have your wing? O-Or because you'd be re-captured if anything bad happened to me? Is that's what wrong?" And I'd never seen Challe look so enraged as he did in that moment; his eyes literally flaring up in anger. "If you ever say anything like that again…!" But he stopped himself, forcing his lungs to suck in a deep breath of air. "This has nothing to do with my wing, or even my freedom- obviously!" "B-But if not that, then what….? Wait, is this because I told you to run ahead of me?" The both of us likely knowing what would have happened if he did…

Challe shot me another vicious, furious glare. "Shut up! You're so….!" He stopped here to take in another deep breath and lower his voice again, still glaring directly at me. "You say you don't want to be a hypocrite, but you are- you're the biggest hypocrite I've ever seen. You keep talking about equality between humans and fairies…. Your life is not less valuable than mine! That's not equality, you idiot!" I gawked back his way speechless at this. Wait, so…. He's mad that I would be willing to sacrifice myself for him? And without a second thought too? I didn't…. I didn't mean anything bad by it; of course not! I was acting on instinct back there….. and only doing what I felt was right. I didn't know if Challe could kill all those wolves by himself, and it felt so insanely wrong to expect him to try… I only did what I thought was right…. But I now see that he views things differently- very differently.

Just like always, my hand rose up to my quivering heart. "I-I… I don't understand. I-I don't think my life is less valuable than yours… I just wanted to help you; to make sure that at least one of us survived….." "And you didn't think to save yourself? To use me like a tool like every other human master has? Even just this once?!" "Of course not! You're not a tool! You're a free agent! And you should use that freedom to try and protect your own life above all else!" "But it's ok when you, another free agent, don't do the same?" He snapped back with LOTS of venom and my shoulders flinched. My eyes widened again and my mouth sputtered. "Challe, I….."

He interrupted me with an irate huff, angrily picking up the handle of my suitcase again and turning his back toward me. He didn't look at me again for the rest of the journey…. "Let's get another thing straight. I don't care what you think, but don't EVER try and save my life by offering yours in its place; that's not the kind of equality I'm looking for. If you want to show me respect, start valuing yourself a little more… A lot more." "I-I'm sorry, Challe…. I really didn't mean to upset you. I-In fact, I'm actually kind of confused. Most humans, from what I've seen so far on this trip, wouldn't think twice about using a fairy's life to save their own….. If you hate humans as much as you say you do, then why would it anger you if one of us died in your place? W-Why would you care…?" Assuming he does.

Challe didn't reply, only starting to walk down the path toward the town. After a stunned second, I followed suit, making sure to stay behind him for the rest of the trek. Once we arrived at the next train station, I washed the blood off my face and hands; my clothes and hair would have to wait until we were at our final destination for the day. Challe didn't speak one word to me the whole time; he didn't even look at me. His arms were permanently crossed and he wear a strong scowl on his face. He took off as soon as we were at our lodgings, not bothering to tell me where he was going or when he'd be back. Depressed as all hell and just wanted today to be over, I ran a bath, got undressed, and quietly sobbed in the tub for hours.

I didn't see Challe again until the next morning.