"Sorry, brave knight, we don't have anything to spare since my sister keeps losing her stuff every time she tries to hunt in the forest. Bah!"
Min sardonically mimicked the boy while she dusted the mud off her knees. They could at least lend her a tablecloth! Anything to wear but that annoyingly short cape of hers that didn't even reach down her butt!
Oh well, it's not like a shirt could help her fight against the fairies. And no one was around to see her in the forest, so it wasn't too bad… But they better have a good reward waiting for her when she finishes the quest!
Min tiptoed back to a bush and crouched inside the foliage, grabbing a rope. The trap was set. Truly, this was a ruse worthy of the great military minds from back home, like Napoleon, Yi Sun-sin …or Bugs Bunny.
A small campfire spewed dark smoke high into the forest. If the fairies lost their composure over someone hunting a rabbit, Min wagered they would take no chances of having a wildfire in the middle of their home.
Once they approached, a trail of blood (chicken blood, to be exact) would make them investigate a small hole in the ground next to the campfire.
Inside the hole were the scattered remains of said chicken, AKA last night's leftovers. If a pixie flew into the hole to investigate, Min would pull the rope, snatching away the support from a cleverly disguised wooden box that would fall atop the fairy, trapping her.
It was practically a foolproof plan… unless, you know, the fairy notices the rope, Min, or uses her magic to free herself from the box.
Truth be told, Min didn't have much confidence in her plan. But it's not like she had the resources to try anything else, and she had to try something! She couldn't go back on her word after she promised the huntress for help and ate her last chicken.
But still, fairies are quite smart. Would the trap be enough to fool-"By Titania! What happened here?!" Min looked towards the voice. A blue light was streaking down from the sky towards the campfire.
The little light buzzed around the fire and then noticed the trail of blood, slowing down as it went towards the hole. Huh, the fairy fell for it hook, line, and sinker. "Who did-aah!"
Min had pulled the rope with a chuckle. She grabbed her trusty "fairy containment device" and sprinted to the box, swiftly putting the little shining miscreant inside her prison.
"H-hey, what gives?!" The fairy tapped the sides of the crystal bottle she found herself in. "...I recognize that cape. You are with the knights! You won't get away with this! My sisters won't fall for your trickery!"
~~~~
"Sisters, I got to say, I'm disappointed in you all."
"Oww! Move your leg. You are stepping on me!"
"I can't move because someone's wing is in the way!"
"Mphf! Gt yr hss hf mh fhc!"
Min admired her shining trinket. The bottle was filled to the brim with fae folk, glowing with all the colors of a rainbow, except for green.
"Huh, this was too easy. Not like I wanted to fight a fairy, but… talk about anti-climatic," Min mumbled as she tapped the edge of the crystal.
"S-stop that!"
The bottle shook ever so slightly. The fairies were buzzing like angry wasps and cursing at Min like drunk sailors. They seemed incapable of doing anything else for the time being.
"Now, what do I do with this? Should I take the fairies with me? Hmm, if I somehow meet with an unfortunate end, would you girls fly out of there and revive me?"
"Bite me, human."
"Guess Link was wrong." Min absent-mindedly rocked the bottle back and forth between her fingers. The fairies inside yelled as they got pushed into each other bodies. "Then maybe someone in town would be willing to buy a jar of fairies? I could use the money…"
"If you ask me, that bottle isn't very valuable, especially as the collection there is incomplete."
"No, I think I got them ...all." Min slowly turned around, realizing she wasn't speaking to a human. "Errr, aren't you interested in investigating that fire?"
"I'm more interested in investigating that glowing ball of light you have there," the green fairy replied, sitting atop Min's head. "Who knew my sisters made for such a pretty ornament?"
"Y-y-yes, very p-pretty." Min slowly stood up. "If you'll excuse me, I think I'll go back to-Aah!"
Something slapped Min's behind, a branch magically floating in mid-air…Oh no, just like in the story the huntress told her. But she had something the knights didn't, hostages!
"S-stop!" Min yelled, swatting the fairy out of her messy hair and jumping away from the magical branch. "Give yourself up, or I'll… I'll toss the bottle into the ground!"
"Oh, please do. I'm sure my sisters will be relieved to be finally free of their crystal prison."
The bluff didn't work, now what? If Min couldn't physically harm them, maybe…
"Oh yeah? How about this?!" Min ducked and grabbed a handful of dirt with her free hand. "Eww, there's a worm here… excellent! Give yourself up, or I'll shove this worm into the bottle!"
"She wouldn't dare, would she? She'd have to be crazy!"
"Look at those eyes. She is crazy!"
"Not to mention only a crazy woman would come nude into our forest to pick a fight with us!"
"Oh, Goddess. She is going to shove that worm in here!"
The bottle rocked left and right under Min's fingers as the fairies pushed and trampled over each other to get away from the cloth lid.
"P-please Gladia, do as she says!" a red pixie yelled from the bottle. "I-it's not so bad here, join us!"
The green fairy flew closer to Min, a Cheshire smile running from cheek to cheek.
"S-stay back! I'll do it, I swear!" Min threatened, placing her thumb on the lid and bringing the worm closer.
"Do it."
"I-I will!"
"Then go on!"
"F-fine, you asked for it!"
Min's thumb pushed the lid open, and her other hand was quick to shove the worm, along with a fistful of dirt, into the jar. She quickly sealed the bottle again, but the shrieks and squeals of the fairies echoed around the woods.
"Oh Goddess, it's moving!"
"It's so s-s-s-slimy!"
"Eww, eww, eww!"
"It's touching my foot!"
"Oh, it's touching your foot? Poor baby. ITS COILING AROUND MY FACE!"
"Hahahaha!" The green fairy was floating over the bottle and bent over with laughter. "Oh Sisters, just look how they squirm. I haven't seen Lely scowl like that in ages."
"Gladia, you prick! You did that on purpose. Eeck!"
"Don't make any sounds Lely, or you'll attract the worm!"
"Haha, y-yes, they look ridiculous…" Min awkwardly butted into the conversation. "You know what will be even more fun? Throwing some snow in there. Shame there isn't any in the forest, huh?"
"Well, I'll be, a knight with a sense of humor," the green fairy flew next to Min's face. "I can conjure up a bit of snow if you are willing to keep playing this game."
"Y-yes, just fly near the lid. I'll open it up and you can let loose!"
"Gladia, I swear, if you-"
"Deal!" The green fairy agreed and aimed her arm towards the bottle. "Ok, open it up!"
"Err, can you get a bit closer? I don't want to let the other fairies fly away if I open the lid too wide."
"Like this?" the fairy flew right next to the lid.
"Yes, perfect…" Min did open the lid, but she also pushed the bottle forward to try and capture the green fairy in one swift motion. The green woman seemed ready for the betrayal as she quickly darted upward and tossed a tiny snowball at Min's face.
"Ack!" Min stumbled back.
"Ha, nice try! But if you don't want to play along, I guess we have to start over. " The fairy snapped her fingers, and a mischievous branch began floating towards Min.
"W-wait! How about we try for real this time? I p-promise I won't try to capture you again. Don't you want to keep pranking the other fairies?"
"I do, but I want to prank you more."
"N-no!" Without any other bright ideas rattling in her mind, Min gave in to her most basic instinct and began to flee from the green fairy.
"You can run, but you won't get far…"