2 - Meeting the Pretty Fairy

He turned to look at her strangely. "What makes you think that?"

"I've never seen such pretty hair like yours before."

His eyes rolled down over her look. She was dressed in simple clothes, her brown cotton tunic bound with a small black belt. A short sword was strapped to her left trailing to her black leggings clad knee.

Her red hair was still tied neatly, gold highlights streaming under the bright sun. "I've never seen hair like yours also," he commented to her. "What are you doing all the way out here?"

She stood proudly and puffed her chest out. " I'm going off to be a mercenary!"

She waited for him to say something but he was too busy on collecting flowers. She crouched down close to him as he picked another red flower. "What are you doing?"

"I'm picking flowers."

She looked at the red flowers. They had huge fragile petals and the middle was black that spread some onto the petals. "Oh are these poppies?"

He rolled his eyes at her. "These are not poppies although they are similar. These are my mother's favorite flowers, anemones."

"Oh! That's my name!" She cheered as she clapped her hands joyfully. "My mother named me after her favorite flower."

"Your name is Anemone?"

She nodded and broke off a flower. "I didnt know they look similar to poppies. They are pretty."

He nodded in agreement. "My mother says they are very rare and this is the only place to get them."

She pondered for a bit and then realized something. "Oh no! I'm no where near the exit!" She saw him looked at her with a confused look. "I ran away from home," she answered sheepishly.

"Why did you run away?"

Anemone sighed sadly as she spun the flower in her hand. "My parents told me since I'm a girl, I have to learn to be a lady."

"You're a girl?"

She glared at him. "Yes! Unfortunately! My parents brought me up to take over the title only to deny me now! It's not fair! It's not fair at all!" She felt the hot tears stinging the corner of her eyes again. She was aware he was staring at her so she rubbed her eyes harshly. "You don't understand because you're not a girl!"

They sat close together for a while as she calmed herself down. "I don't understand about being a girl but isn't it just a role we kids are forced to be?" he asked in a soft voice.

She stared at him in shock. He sounded as if he knew from experience. "F-f-fairy..."

"Hey, listen Anemone," he interrupted as he placed a red flower behind her ear. "It may not be what you want to be, but you shouldnt make your family sad by running away. Your mother named you after her favorite flower for a reason right?"

She stared at his riveting blue eyes, a serious kind gaze. "Mother..."

"You do love your mother right?"

She thought about her mother smiling brightly as she hugged her. How terrible it would be if she found out Anemone had ran away? She hated to see her kind mother cry. "Mother... I do love mother a lot. I don't want her to be sad because of me."

He nodded and pinched her cheek. "Go home and don't be bad," he warned her.

"Wha... what about you?"

"I didn't run away from home. I'm bringing my mother pretty flowers!"

"I..." she faltered. "I will bring some for my mother too! So she will greet me with a smile!" She smiled brilliantly at him, happy that she made a good choice.

"Good girl, " he said approvingly as he picked more flowers. She blushed, for the first time happy she was born a girl. They sat picking flowers together and talking about what their mothers are like.