“Ha-ha… A joke. Of course it was.”
Unsteadily, she followed Challe. Right as she was about to step onto the porch, however, Anne suddenly glanced toward the second floor of the west wing of the castle. In one of the windows, she thought she saw a small figure with silvery hair.
“Huh? Was that Mithril Lid Pod? I think I just saw him in one of the hallway windows.”
Anne pointed, and Challe turned around, perplexed.
“Wasn’t he dead-drunk and snoring away in bed?”
“He was, yes. But for a moment…”
Puzzling over this, Anne headed into the castle and went straight up to her room, eager to call it a night.
Exactly as Challe had said, Mithril was there, sleeping in a ball in the center of Anne’s bed. But he wasn’t snoring, as he always did when he was drunk.
Is he pretending to be asleep?
Mithril had indulged in a considerable amount of wine, so he must have been comfortably drunk. If he was still sober and not sleeping after having so much to drink, she figured there must be some special reason for it.
Anne began to worry.
“Mithril Lid Pod?”
She called his name softly but received no answer.
Maybe he really is sleeping. Was it just my imagination after all?
Mithril was curled up in a ball, seemingly unconscious. His body looked a bit smaller than usual, but that was probably her mind playing tricks on her.
The following day, Anne was a bundle of nerves from the moment she opened her eyes. Keith seemed to be the same way, and Anne could sense he was bracing himself beneath his usual smile.
The two of them stood on the front porch of Hollyleaf Castle, waiting for the fairies to arrive.
The small flowering plants that covered the garden seemed to be reaching energetically toward the bright summer sunlight. It was warm enough that Anne would get sweaty if she started moving around in the sun, but while she was under the roof of the porch, the breeze had a pleasant coolness to it.
Just then, Anne felt someone watching her. She looked up and locked gazes with Challe, who was opening a window on the second floor of the west wing.
Mithril was hungover and had not left the bed, so Challe had stayed on the second floor to tend to him.
With a gesture, Anne asked, “How is Mithril doing?” Challe shrugged like he was fed up, then he seemed to notice something and glanced toward the other side of the garden.
Anne followed his lead and turned toward the road heading down the hill from the front garden. She was just able to hear the sounds of wagon wheels creaking and horse hooves beating the ground.
“They’re here?” she asked aloud.
Beside her, Keith turned and nodded. “Yeah. Probably.”
First, a small two-person wagon with Kat at the helm pulled in front of the castle. It was followed closely by another larger wagon, which slowly trundled into the sun-drenched yard. There were quite a few fairies riding in its boxy bed, so it was moving at a leisurely pace.
Kat had gotten up before dawn and headed for the fairy market in Lewiston to fetch the fairies.
As he left, five men who did administrative work at the Silver Sugar Viscount’s castle had arrived at Hollyleaf. They had been dispatched to do all sorts of work, such as assigning the fairies’ living quarters, arranging for cooks to prepare their meals, and performing the various administrative tasks necessary to maintain daily operations.
It won’t be long before Challe and Lulu’s wish starts coming true.
Kat pulled his wagon up next to the porch and jumped down from the driver’s seat. As he hurried up to Anne and Keith, he wore a bitter expression.
“Sorry for the wait. Had a bit of a hard time.”
“A hard time? What happened?” Anne asked.
“You’ll see once they get out,” Kat answered sullenly.
The driver of the large wagon deftly parked the vehicle alongside the porch. Kat went down the steps, walked around to the back of the large wagon, and knocked on the double doors of the cargo hold.
“Everyone, we’re here.”
The doors opened as Kat took a step back, and a single fairy dressed in trousers, a vest, and boots quickly descended.
The fairy put his hands on his hips and threw out his chest, glancing around at his surroundings with an arrogant expression. He was a little shorter than Challe, but he had quite the presence, with his dignified features, robust shoulders, and thick, manly eyebrows.
Anne’s eye was immediately drawn to the fairy’s striking indigo hair. His locks, short but sticking out in all directions, were such a dark shade of blue that they almost looked black. But when the light passed through them, she could see they were actually a deep, glistening navy. The single wing on the fairy’s back was also an intense shade of indigo. Anne had never seen a wing with such a vivid hue. The fairy’s eyes were crimson, which gave them an intimidating quality. His red and blue coloring perfectly complemented his face.
Following him, a stream of fairies left the cargo hold. There were men and women both, of all different sizes. Some were as small as Mithril, while others were as large as an average human.
The fairy with the indigo hair looked at Kat, Anne, and Keith in turn, as if challenging them. The other fairies seemed to follow his lead, assembling loosely behind him. They were obviously on guard.
Anne was sure Kat had told the fairies why he was gathering them, but it was no surprise they were still nervous.
She smiled, trying to reassure them as best she could.
“Hello there. I’m Anne Halford, a candy crafter. I welcome you all to Hollyleaf Castle. For the next seven days, we will make sugar candy here together, so I hope we can get along.”
Next, Keith introduced himself, wearing his usual gentle smile.
“I’m Keith Powell. I’m a candy crafter, too. Nice to meet you.”
However, the fairies just stared at the two of them and didn’t move. Only the fairy with the indigo hair reacted—by snorting dismissively.
I expected it would take some time before we all got along, but…what a dreadful reception.
Her palms began to sweat. She wished Challe was with her. If he was here, the other fairies might lower their guard a bit.
“For now, let’s all go inside. Some people in the castle will show you where you’ll be sleeping.”
Anne stepped aside and dramatically opened the front doors. At that, the fairies finally started walking forward, with the indigo fairy in front. He was the first to climb the stone steps and set foot on the porch. But just as he was about to pass Anne, she remembered something.
“Oh, I almost forgot. Would each of you please tell us your name?” she asked, looking at the indigo fairy.
He came to a halt, raised an eyebrow, and glared at her with contempt. “Aren’t you people going to name us yourselves?” His reply was brusque, but his voice was clear and bright.
“We’re not going to do anything like that here. Please tell us your real names. I told you mine, right? So I’d like it if all of you—”
“Allele Cil May.”
Before Anne had finished speaking, the indigo fairy rattled off his name and slipped through the door. Following his lead, the other fairies also curtly gave their names, many of them sounding frightened or listless, before entering the castle.
Not a single one of them looked at Anne. They were all lacking in spirit. They didn’t seem to even notice the refreshing early summer breeze.
Inside the building, the men Hugh had sent were waiting to show the fairies around and took them to their respective rooms.
Still grimacing, Kat approached Anne and Keith. He stood on the porch and watched as the fairies sluggishly ascended the stairs, then clicked his tongue.
“They’ve been like that ever since we left the market.”
“You explained things to them, right, Mr. Hingley?” Keith asked.
Kat nodded, “At least five times. But no matter how many times I went over it, all they said was, ‘Oh, really?’”
Keith frowned.
Why?
Anxiety welled up in Anne’s mind.
She and the other candy crafters were going to teach the fairies special techniques developed by their own kind. She’d assumed they would approve of this as welcome news and something to be proud of, just as Lulu and Challe had. And yet she didn’t sense the slightest bit of joy from the fairies.
The one with indigo hair, Allele Cil May, had glanced at Anne as he passed and their eyes had met. But a moment later, he’d averted his gaze and continued up the stairs.
I suppose it’s only natural.
Challe watched how the fairies behaved as they entered the castle, then leaned back against the wall next to the window, looked up at the ceiling, and sighed.
This group of humans was asking them to study candy making techniques originally developed by fairies. It only made sense that they would be skeptical at first and suspect that the humans were lying.
The fairies were on guard, certain there must be something underhanded and cruel at play. Considering how he’d felt when he first met Anne, Challe knew it would take time for the fairies to warm up to the idea.
From the lesser hall, the sounds of approaching footsteps echoed in the passageway where Challe was standing. Looking in the direction of the noise, he caught sight of the group of fairies who had just come in. In front was the fairy with indigo hair. Based on his intense coloration, Challe imagined he had a headstrong nature.
As soon as the indigo fairy noticed Challe, a look of surprise came to his face, and he rushed over.
“Hey! Were there any fairies brought here before us?” he asked, raising his hand and speaking casually.
He seemed stubborn but was probably the trustworthy sort, frank and friendly to those of his own kind. His smile was cheerful, and his voice carried well. He was the type whom others naturally gravitated toward.