The light-blue-haired faye dashed down the corridor, greeting every faye he met with a friendly smile. He was on his way to the king's private chamber, where they held the majority of their meetings; he would hand in his report on his last mission today.
Deviro knocked on the oak double-door three times before he pushed it open. The king and queen were casually sitting on a high-back chair, sipping their morning tea. He could smell a faint scent of cinnamon from it. He bowed lightly to the two prominent figures and obediently sat down when the king motioned to the small, cushioned chair in front of them.
"Good morning, your Majesty, your Highness," he said, greeting the king first, then the queen, who was usually in a good mood, in contrast to the king's permanent somber mood.
The queen returned the gesture with a genuine smile on her face. "Here is the report you requested, your Majesty," Deviro said, spreading his right hand in front of him. A sudden gush of water burst from his open hand, the soft ripples moving in a circle, revealing an old parchment sealed with a gold band. Despite the fact that it emerged from the gushing water, the parchment was dry. Deviro's ability comes in handy for missions requiring secrecy.
The light-blue-haired faye extended his arms holding the parchment towards the king, whose expression remained passive. That sort of irked the second commander of the fayes' valiant warriors. If only he had a choice, he would definitely not agree to serve the king. He doubts if the king was really sincere in his words about saving every fayes from this frost.
The king leaned in closer to him as he reached out the parchment on his hand, "Was everything in here?" The king inspected the parchment, took off the band from it and rolled it open. The king silently read the contents of his report, while he remained tight-lipped, waiting for the king to finish reading the report.
The king clicked his tongue. His brows were knitted together; he was implacably troubled by the news he had brought from Thawgardé. "Is it that serious?" The queen's forehead wrinkled in apprehension.
Deviro could only nod at the queen. The room fell into grim silence; he could hear the heavy breathing of the king. Deviro completely understands why the king was behaving erratically. The problem in Thawgardé has unanticipatedly propagated into a tumultuous chaos. The light-blue-haired faye could only think of one solution, but he was in no position to offer his opinions to the Majesty. He fervently hoped that the freshly anointed whisperer would come across the king's thick skull; or else, he had to persuade Elderifrey, as the king would definitely listen to the elder faye.
The king coiled the parchment into a roll, tying the band across its body. Deviro hinted that the king would never admit that they needed Gala's abilities to solve the predicament of Thawgardé; the king was too egotistical to acknowledge a human's capabilities, especially if they far exceeded his.
"You may now go, Deviro. Thank you for your time." The king breathlessly said. The light-blue-haired faye discreetly cast the king a disapproving look. Before he left, he asked for one more request from the king. "Can I show Gala around the kingdom?"
The king nodded impatiently. "As long as it doesn't impede her from fulfilling her duty."
Deviro's lips stretched into a satisfied grin, and he exited happily on his way out.
--
Gala suspiciously peered at the light-blue-haired faye who was skipping happily towards her. She was reading one of the books Elderifrey sent her inside the dining hall. "Gala!", Deviro called her when he was one table away from her.
She inaudibly mouthed a 'what' at the carefree faye warrior. Deviro didn't bother replying; instead, he sat across from her, a dopey smile on his face. Gala decided to ignore the faye who was obviously teasing her and went back to reading. However, Gala could not immerse herself in what she was reading as she could feel Deviro's playful stare on her. Gala put down the book and snapped it closed, then faced the faye with an oblivious expression. "What do you want, Deviro?" she finally asked the light-blue-haired faye.
The light-blue-haired faye dropped the dopey smile after seeing that it was not affecting her. "Do you have something to do this afternoon?" he asked.
Gala looked up at the ceiling, trying to remember if Elderifrey had set a schedule for her. When she couldn't, she smiled at Deviro. "Not much," she said, lifting the book in front of him. "Except for reading," she joked.
"Great!" Deviro excitedly yelled and rose from his seat. "I've already asked the king's permission."
Gala looked around, her brows furrowed. She looked up at Deviro with a baffled expression. "What permission? What do you mean?"
Deviro didn't respond to her question; he instead grabbed her free hand and dragged her out of the dining hall. Gala had no choice but to go along with the light-blue-haired faye whose smile never falters. "Where are you taking me?" she asked him when they were out of the inner gate of the kingdom.
--
The barn was filled with laughter that could be heard even twenty-five meters distance away. Gala was having the time of her life as she spiritedly fed the rabbifreys and chickfreys. She animatedly explained to Deviro how these two creatures actually exist in her world, of course, without the wings, and that the names sounded closely similar.
"So, you're saying that they were actually called chickens and rabbits in the human world?" Deviro asked bemusingly. He was kneeling in front of her, handing her the animal-freys' food. His eyes sparkled with curiosity.
"They are! Chickens can usually be found at people's houses, whereas rabbits are usually in the wilderness; people also raise them as pets at home. " Gala explained to the inquisitive faye.
Deviro nodded enthusiastically, Gala knelt beside Deviro as they both watched the creatures consume their lunch that afternoon. A minute had passed when the light-blue-haired faye asked Gala another question. "So, do you think whose kind came up first with the names? Humans? Or fayes?"
Deviro's question was a thought-provoking one. Both Gala and Deviro fell into silence as they thought, Who could it really be? Who's copying who? Whose kind existed first? What if the same terms and creatures exist in other dimensions other than Aelfrey's and the human world? A question led to another question.
They argued for a minute but decided not to press the issue because neither of them had conclusive answers to Deviro's question. Gala couldn't help but wonder if all the dimensions that exist right now were once a single dimension. Of course, she thought that was absurd.
Deviro stood up and extended his hand to help her stand. "Why don't we go see the Sheefreys?" Deviro suggested, excited to show her another Aelfrey creature, but Gala laughed at the familiar name. Gala eventually concluded that fayes are terrible at naming their creatures. It started with neighfreys, then moved on to oinkfreys, meowfreys, awwfreys, chickfreys, rabbifreys, and now sheefreys. Fayes are so lackadaisical with those shoddy names.
"Let me guess, these creatures have thick wool that can be woven into fabric? Do they have wings like the other animal-freys?" Gala asked, a smug look appeared on her face.
The enthusiastic faye's shoulders dropped in another disappointment. "Don't tell me sheefreys also exist in your world?" he whispered nonchalantly.
Gala's laughter confirmed Deviro's query that made the faye get more upset. "So, do they have wings?" Gala inquired.
Deviro shook his head, which made Gala's eyes stretch in bewilderment. An animal-frey with no wings? That was the first time that she heard about it and that piqued her interest. She wondered if sheefreys looked exactly like sheep back in her world or if there were features that were added.
"Let's go!" she exclaimed, motioning to the now-downcast faye next to her to lead the way to the sheefreys. "Show me the sheefreys, I want to see them," she said again when the faye refused to budge from where he was standing. The faye must have taken her jokes seriously.
"Come on, Deviro." Gala urged the faye again. She approached the faye, tilted her head slightly to the side while wearing an endearing smile, her almond-shaped eyes forming doe-eyed to effectively entice the upset faye. "Please?" She asked, clasping her hands together in front of him.
Deviro couldn't say no to the adorable girl in front of him. A flushed smile broke through his lips. "Fine." He sighed in defeat in the face of Gala's puppy eyes. "As you wish, beloved Aelfrey's whisperer." Deviro exaggeratedly stretched his arms in the direction that made Gala giggle softly.
Gala could not remember how many times Deviro had made her laugh today. Surely, there was never a dull moment with the light-blue-haired faye. They were about to leave when a familiar, thick voice erupted behind them. Gala's smile automatically disappeared when he heard the harsh tone of the chief commander of Aelfrey's valiant warriors.
"Gala, Deviro! You need to come with me; the king has summoned us into his presence immediately." Alvaro, whose face was sullen and perpetually miserable, instructed them. They were not even able to ask him a question when he exited right away after telling them the king's request.
'Ugh, Alvaro and his temper!' Gala grumbled inwardly.