I balled under the tree for hours, tired out of my mind. Crying was all my body could bring itself to do. 'My only friend died to save me.' All I could do was blame myself. 'Why am I so weak?! If I was stronger I would've been able to save him! What is wrong with me?!' I cried for a few more minutes until I heard a voice. "Why are you crying?" I jumped in shock and looked around, but I couldn't see anything but fog. Then I heard it again. "Up here."
I looked up slowly and saw a fairy lying on the branch of the tree while looking down at me. He was the size of a human and he had blonde hair and sparkling blue eyes. His ears were pointed, and his wings were long, and bright green. He smiled. "What's wrong, cutie?" I was speechless at the sight of him. 'What is a fairy doing here? I've never seen one before. What does he want?' Fairies were known for their mischievous behavior and untrustworthiness, so I just turned away and curled up in a ball.
He was quiet for a moment, then hopped down and kneeled in front of me. "You look like you've been through a lot. Are you lost?" I hesitantly nodded but didn't look up at him. "P-Please leave me alone." He tilted his head but didn't move. After a few seconds, I looked at him and my body tensed. "W-Why are you still here?" He smiled again and got closer to me. "I'm just too curious as to what a pretty girl like you is doing in a haunted forest all alone." I tensed even more in surprise. "H-Haunted forest?"
His smile faded. "Wow, you really are lost, aren't you? I can lead you out of here if you want." I pulled out of my ball and crossed my arms, still skeptical about how nice he was being to me. "No, thank you." He raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure? Because this place is like a labyrinth. Constantly changing, and impossible to leave if you don't have wings."
His words made me nervous, but my pain didn't care and more tears came streaming down my face. His expression immediately turned into guilt and without warning, he hugged me tightly. Stunned by his impulsive hug, I was about to push him away when I realized how much I needed one and remained motionless. He hugged me tighter. "Everything's okay. Please don't cry. I don't know how to deal with things like this." I stayed quiet for a moment, then hugged him back, slowly. "Y-You're doing fine s-so far."
He continued to hold me for a while, then he spoke. "I'm Arine." I hesitated, then decided to answer. "I-I'm Silvera." Suddenly, I heard footsteps in the distance getting closer, and I pushed him away to look behind the tree. I gasped as I saw Dagger looking for me. I quickly turned back around and Arine gave me a confused look. "What's wrong-?" I then slapped his mouth shut and whispered. "Shhh! I have to go!" I got up and started to run again but the pain in my body wouldn't let me, and I stumbled to my hands and knees. "Ah-!"
Arine rushed over to me. He was about to speak when we both heard Dagger call out. "I know you're there. Come out wherever you are." Arine peeked from behind the tree and then quickly looked back at me. "Holy crap! You have a demon chasing after you?!" I got to my feet while continuing to shake and started to walk as fast as I could, stumbling along the way. "Get out of here." I was about to fall again but Arine caught me. "Not a chance."
Then suddenly, Arine faced me toward him, grabbed me by the waist, and quickly flew above the trees, taking me with him. "Ah! Hey! Put me down!" He held on to me tighter. "No. We're friends now and there's nothing you can do about it." His response caught me off guard. "Huh?" His voice stood firm. "Tell me where your home is and I'll take you there." I hesitated. 'Home? I don't know where my home is. I am in love with Sython, but I'm not ready to get married. He also most likely thinks that I ran away from him so he must hate me now. I can't go back there, and I certainly can't go back to Ora.'
I paused, then closed my eyes. "I guess I don't have one..." Guilt came back to Arine's expression for a moment, then he lit up. "Okay. Then, how about you come with me on a quest?" I raised an eyebrow. "Quest? But you don't know anything about me." He smiled.
"A quest is a perfect way to get to know your friends and make new ones along the way. I would prefer not to be alone, but if you really want to, I can drop you off at the next town." I was stunned. 'Alone? I don't want to be alone. Especially after what happened, and I would have no idea what to do if I was.' I looked down. 'I still don't know if I can trust him. But he's all I have.' I sighed. "Okay. I'll go with you on your quest."
He smiled brightly. "Really? Great! It's a good thing I started my search in that forest or that demon would've caught you!" I was still nervous, but being held by such a positive person started to make me feel better. "So, what are we looking for?" He looked ahead. "The Book of Souls. I need to find it and give it to a sorcerer or I'll never see my sister again." I was surprised but he continued to talk. "But first, we should go back to my home and get you cleaned up."
I sighed. "Why are you being so nice to me?" He looked back down at me. "Because you're my new friend, and you are the cutest human I have ever seen." He pinched my cheek, and I moved his hand away. "Don't even think about it. I like someone else."
His smile went away and his eyebrows went up in surprise. "Really? Who?" I turned my head away from him. "No one special." He smirked. "I can believe that. He didn't even come to save you. Sounds to me like he's a total scumbag, and you deserve way better than him." I paused for a second, caught off guard. "Stop doing that."
He laughed and we continued to fly over the trees until we reached a treehouse in the distance behind some vines in a jungle. We entered the house and Arine put me down on the bed. "I have some medicine, and I can give you some new clothes if you want." I smiled a little. "Thank you."
After Arine bandaged me up and gave me warm tea, I started to feel a lot better. Later, he came out of his closet and set some of his clothes on the bed beside me. "They're a bit big for you, but they have to be better than that dirty torn dress you're wearing." I picked up the clothes and held them up in front of me. "I could mend this into something that would fit me if you wouldn't mind." He smiled. "Not at all! I have plenty to spare!" I smiled back at him. 'I can't believe I'm saying this, but I'm glad he forced his friendship on me.'