"You're here."

Mina nodded, feeling shy at the look of surprise on the fairy's face.

Their eyes were locked as Mina stood still, afraid to break the moment if even a strand of her hair moved. The fairy, Tzuyu, was as usual leaning against the willow tree with a carefree look on her face, her red hair coming down in waves around her small face, spilling on the impossibly green grass under her feet.

Tzuyu smiled, and Mina couldn't hold her gaze any longer. She averted her eyes and looked down at her old boots, inspecting the rips and dirt like it was her first time seeing it.

"Is that for me?"

Mina cocked her head and briefly met Tzuyu's eyes before she quickly looked down at her hands, blushing. "I," she started, pausing to search for a correct way to word her feelings. "I saw this flower on my way here and it...it reminded me of you."

Her eyes didn't leave the flower in her hands as she walked, now standing right before the fairy, under the willow tree. "It's lovely," Mina explained, extending the yellow bloom to Tzuyu. "Just like... you."

The fairy wordlessly took the flower, a smile ghosting her lips. Mina watched as she sniffed it, closing her eyes. She looked so peaceful then, and Mina decided it was worth every and any effort if she could make Tzuyu smile like this.

"Thank you," Tzuyu opened her eyes, her dimple deepening as her smile spread wider.

Mina hummed with a small smile of her own, trying to appear unfazed by the fairy's soft emerald eyes on her.

"The dog isn't with you today?"

"Ah," Mina exhaled, "Yes. I had to leave him back home. With him around, I can never hunt. He's too loud."

Tzuyu chuckled. She slowly sat down near the tree and Mina followed. 

"I uh, also bought you some bread. It's fresh out of the oven." Mina rummaged through her small bag and grabbed some things. "My friend, Jeongyeon, she runs a bakery. She's an awesome cook. Her blueberry pie is quite famous around the town actually. But sadly, it's...a bit expensive..." She unwrapped the cloth around the bread and extended it to Tzuyu, who'd been watching her closely. "Not that Jeongyeon wouldn't give me any if I asked. I just really hate to be a burden to her. She has her own family to worry about and everything. Though she still forces a pack of goods into my hands every month, no matter how much I refuse. I can never repay her."

It was incredible how the words spilled so freely from her usually tightly shut lips. Mina didn't know why, but she felt like she could tell the fairy anything. She wanted to tell her everything. And she would have kept on talking had she not noticed the look Tzuyu was giving her. "Sorry... I'm rambling, aren't I? I'm not usually this talkative–"

"No, it's alright." Tzuyu grabbed Mina's hand that was dropped back onto her lap, and Mina paused to look at her. Tzuyu stared back and offered up a soft smile, her fingertips moving across Mina's hand, her touch so gentle and so... so soothing. "She sounds like a dear friend. And you shouldn't feel bad about it. I'm sure that if your roles were reversed, you'd do the same for her."

"I...I suppose."

The silence that fell didn't last long,

"I haven't had bread in a very long time..." Tzuyu was hesitant as she grabbed the bread from Mina's hands. It was a bit hot- she let out a small sound and almost dropped it out of surprise. Mina blinked, watching as the fairy sniffed the small piece of bread, her emerald eyes wide in wonder at the smell. "It smells delicious."

Mina couldn't help the laugh that escaped her lips when Tzuyu finally took a bite, her eyes widening even further as she chewed. "It tastes delicious. Just like I remember..."

"Glad you like it."

They ate in silence for a while, watching the hanging branches of the willow tree move with the gentle breeze. Mina felt relaxed more than she ever had in her entire life. She leaned back and let her fingertips graze the grass. She was just about to close her eyes when she felt the fairy shift next to her.

"I didn't think you would actually come back."

Mina catched a glimpse of Tzuyu's sad eyes but when Tzuyu turned to her, she quickly snapped her gaze forward, determined not to get caught staring. "W-Why?"

"I've had many visitors over the years." Tzuyu smiled, "Not many have kept their promises to me."

"But many have made promises to you?"

Tzuyu chuckled. "Is that hard to believe?" 

"No," Mina breathed out, blushing. "Not at all. I understand why they would."

"Then...would you make me a promise?"

Their eyes met. Mina nodded, as if under a spell. "Anything."

"That's bold. Anything?" Tzuyu's brows rose and her emerald eyes shone brilliantly under the light that seeped through the gaps between the hanging branches.

"Anything," Mina breathed out, almost sighing at the smell that came off Tzuyu and reached her nose– undoubtedly lavender and something else she couldn't quite tell. They were close and Mina wished to drop her gaze, her face starting to burn and her heart beating faster than she could handle.

Tzuyu smiled. It made Mina uneasy as the fairy moved away, once again leaning against the big tree and closing her eyes. "I'll keep that in mind."

***

Days passed. 

Mina continued her ventures into the woods on most days, finding the fairy by the willow tree as always. Locating Tzuyu's dear willow tree at first had been quite the challenge.

The fairy's voice became her map once she entered the supposedly dark side of the forest, and Mina chased the most beautiful melodies that made even the birds stop and listen. The third time she visited Tzuyu, Mina was smart enough to mark the path she used with small red ribbons. She tied them to the trees she saw fit and tried to keep them as hidden as possible. She didn't want people– more specifically dangerous people, to find Tzuyu.

Considering how she always occupied her thoughts, Mina truly would have suspected some magic was cast on her by this fairy, had she not known that wingless fairies didn't posses any sort of power. She learned about this matter from Jihyo, a beautiful spellsword who frequently stopped by their town to rest up before she went on another long journey. Fortunately, Jihyo was kind enough to give her the information she was looking for without a catch.

"Although rare, some fairies are born without wings. And from the second they're born without them, they're doomed to live as slaves their whole lives. Royal fairies– the ones that share the blood of the legendary Fae Queen, believe that the wingless fairies are inferior to them in every way, born for the sole purpose of serving them. The ancient books say that the royals from a few centuries back were the ones who had this inferiority passed as law despite the uprisings."

"Why would they want their own kind to suffer? Wingless fairies are still...fairies."

Jihyo gave her a sad smile. "As seen in history many times, every population- no matter what race, feel threatened by the differences found in a minority. It doesn't matter if they're the same kind, or of the same flesh and bone. The majority feel threatened because of these individuals that don't fit their usual standards. And those individuals are often forced to be outcasts in their own homes– Fairies without wings are only one of those many minorities."

This new knowledge brought a new perspective of how Mina viewed Tzuyu. Did she escape from her fae village? Was she hiding in the woods? If she was, how long had she been out there and could Mina help her?

Weeks passed and Mina still had no answer to any of her questions. Tzuyu remained a mystery.

"You've stopped reading."

Mina blinked, coming back to earth and finding Tzuyu's eyes staring into hers. A bit startled, she turned back to the book and mumbled, "Sorry,"

Tzuyu leaned back against the tree and Mina glanced at her from the corner of her eye. Tzuyu looked restless, her usually perfect red hair a bit messy and tangled. It was the first time in weeks she saw Tzuyu like this. She couldn't help but worry.

She put the book down with a sigh, unable to bring herself to read. "Are you feeling unwell?"

The fairy kept her face so expressionless that Mina wondered if she even heard her at all. Just as Mina opened to repeat her question, Tzuyu sidled closer to her. Their shoulders brushed and Mina quickly turned her head to look forward, her heart throbbing in her chest. Tzuyu silently leaned her weight against her and Mina stayed as still as a rock. Tzuyu's head eventually fell on her shoulder, and Mina's breath hitched at how close they were, how she could feel Tzuyu's warmth.

Tzuyu took a deep breath, "I hope you know that I value our conversations together. Your mere presence makes me feel better. I wanted to tell you this because lately you've been acting a bit different. You... you always have that sad look on your face lately, as if you can't bear to look at me without pitying me."

At this confession, Mina's tense shoulders relaxed. Holding the book in one hand, she brought Tzuyu's hand to her lap and gently caressed it, her feather-like touch affectionate. "It's not... pity. I'm worried for you."

"Worried?"

It was now or never. Mina felt confident this time that she could bring it up.

"You don't have wings." The words tumbled out of Mina's mouth like an insult.

"Excuse me?"

Mina panicked when Tzuyu pulled away and put some distance between them. "No, I mean I...I've talked to a spellswo-- uh, doesn't matter. I've learned about your wings and how weak fairies are without them and the um, powers your kind has and, and your history of–" Tzuyu stood up and Mina sprang to her feet, helplessly watching the situation get worse. She couldn't collect her thoughts– the knowledge she learned from Jihyo came out as this nonsense babbling. The awful look Tzuyu was giving her felt like daggers to her chest, and she felt her heart shatter when she saw the glistening tears in her emerald eyes.

"You don't know anything."

The gentle breeze turned into a swirling strong wind around the willow tree. Mina felt trapped. She shouldn't have said anything. She should have prepared more for this conversation and not dove in headfirst at the first chance like an idiot. Tzuyu had been finally opening up to her, and now she ruined everything.