The Reunion

-Get out of the way! Don’t interfere!” said the man to the knight, who was glaring at him fiercely while brandishing his sword.

Armed with sticks, knives and homemade tools, the people of the town intended to lynch the fairy that the knight had met in the forest a few days earlier. Their furious eyes went from the small creature to the knight, who was still sweating from the long run he had made from the top of the mountain, arriving just in time before the fairy succumbed to the furious crowd.

With the sun behind the mountains already tinting the sky with purplish hues, the fairy remained behind the knight, frightened but with a defiant look toward the crowd; the knight, with his battered armor and brandishing his sharp sword with both hands, remained in position and waited without deciding to attack, hoping the mob would calm down.



Gradually, the men and women who had been shouting insults at the fairy and her knight defender began to calm down, and the commotion subsided, since none of the villagers dared be the first to attack an armed knight willing to give his life for a troubled fairy.

When the knight noticed a certain calmness in the atmosphere, he began to ask for the reason behind the anger that gripped all those people.

One of them stepped forward with a truncheon in hand, shouting at the knight with a fierce voice:

- “She has deceived us!” - he said, trying to sound fierce.
- “Yes! Kill her! I want my money!” - the crowd began to shout.

The knight tried to quiet them with a gesture of his hand and asked for more explanations from that man, who seemed uncomfortable having to give them.

-She asked for money in exchange for forging magical swords! She has deceived us! We want her life and our money!“

Acclamations arose from the crowd, and the fairy perched on the knight’s right shoulder, from where she proclaimed her innocence:

-I spent weeks in the blacksmith’s forge forging the swords and imbuing them with magic! All those who paid received their swords as promised!”

The man stepped forward, pulling something abruptly from his pocket, a silver object resembling a hairpin.

-This wasn’t what I paid for!” the man shouted, extending his hand too far.

The fairy, frightened by the sudden movement, slipped into the space between the metal breastplate and the knight’s chest.

-That one in particular was one of my best works!- she answered from inside, her voice distorted by the echo produced by the metal -Any fairy would pay ten times what I charged for it!-

The gentleman then directed his attention to the strange object the man was holding between his fingers. It was a small silver sword beautifully decorated in gold with a handle wrapped in woven threads of leather forming a fine pattern. A green gem finished the hilt and the guard of the sword had the shape of two maple leaves that detached from the base of the blade. A golden line shaped like a vine and tendrils at the tips extended along the edge of the sword and the blade had a peculiar purple halo that made its magical properties noticeable.

The gentleman scanned the crowd and many were already displaying similar works in beauty… and size.

- How do you expect us to fight the Black Sorceress with this? - the man continued - We want our money to go to the capital and buy real weapons! -

The gentleman straightened up and re-sheathed his sword, the confused people did not dare take a single step forward.

- Please give me a moment - the gentleman suggested and took a few steps toward the corner, turning his back to the crowd.

With two fingers he lightly tapped his breastplate and the fairy peeked her head out of the opening in the collar. Upon seeing that they were facing a wall, she flew out and landed on the extended hand of the gentleman who was speaking among the murmurs.

- Are you a
blacksmith? - Yes, I’m not the best, but I thought among humans I could find some work to finance my search. - They
are very good swords, but I think they are not satisfied.
- But… I can’t carry such heavy things, and none of them offered to help me.
- What about the money?
- They didn’t give me money, they just bought the steel bars for the weapons and gave me a workshop. I only used half a bar for all the swords, but they want me to give them the money they paid for the rest. My pay would come after I delivered the finished swords.

The knight looked around for a moment, the villagers were beginning to lose their patience again.

-A sword like mine… Can you imbue it with magic?- asked the knight. -Yes,
there’s no problem with that, but I couldn’t craft something of that
size- -Very well… now just let me speak to them-

The knight turned around halfway and the fairy flew to land on his head, looking worriedly at the crowd who once again raised their crude weapons toward the knight.

“I think I know how we can reach an agreement,” said the knight aloud.

The crowd fell silent.

“I can’t forge swords as beautiful as hers, but I can forge swords of the appropriate size. My father was a blacksmith and I know quite a bit about weapons, so I can assure you they will be good quality. Also, the fairy will be kind enough to give each of them magical powers… All I need is a workshop, the leftover steel bars, and a couple of weeks to forge them.”

The people remained silent, waiting for someone to speak first. Finally, a very thin young man raised his hand saying:

-You could use the abandoned workshop at the end of the street, it just needs a little
cleaning- -The steel bars are there, next to the hadita workshop-“, said a woman pointing to a pile of steel covered with a leather tarp.

Next to the steel was a wooden box missing one of its walls. Inside, a small forge, an anvil, and some tools formed a perfect miniature reproduction of a blacksmith’s workshop. The knight barely managed to contain his laughter at the thought of the fairy forging small swords in that box.

By the time the sun was approaching noon, with the help of all the villagers, the steel bars were carried to the dirty workshop where the knight and the fairy spent the whole afternoon cleaning, organizing, and oiling the rusted tools.

When night fell, the knight, exhausted, sat at the entrance of the workshop while gazing at the stars. The fairy, whose face was soot-stained and who felt her arms would soon detach after so much work, perched on the window frame, beside the knight’s head. Both of them silently watched the tinkling of the bells that adorned that quiet night.

-Thank you- sighed the fairy

The knight shook his head, keeping his gaze fixed on his faded boots.

-You have nothing to thank me for, I owe you much, and this is the least I can do for you-

Both remained silent for a while longer.

-Can I ask you something?- said the fairy again. -Go
ahead.-
-Your hair smells like salt and your gaze looks calm, almost happy… What has happened to you lately?-”

The knight smiled, looking directly at the fairy. His eyes shone with a unique glow that fascinated the fairy.

-I met a wonderful person,” he replied. “Although she’s very far away, but… I don’t know, just knowing her makes me happy.” -“I’m
glad to hear that,” said the fairy. -“You look much better than last time.”
-“All thanks to you for giving me new hopes.” -“You
know you don’t have to thank me, that’s what friends are for.”

Both smiled halfway through the night and looked at each other for a long time. The knight stood up, looking once again at the stars.

-It’s already late and there’s a lot of work tomorrow- he said.

The fairy nodded and took flight to return to his height. Her wings slightly glimmered in the darkness as she flapped them to fly.

-Where will you sleep?-” asked the gentleman again.
-I’ll be staying at a house nearby… and you, where will you go?” -I’ll
spend the night at the old lighthouse, listening to the music the waves bring with them-

Both smiled again, said their goodbyes, and went their separate ways. The night continued to slowly advance.

A child’s hand opened a window through which the fairy entered a house in the village. The knight sat by the abandoned lighthouse tower to listen to the song of the sea queen, who was already beginning to reach his ears. The stars slowly advanced on their endless journey. These two very different beings sank into dreams, waiting for the arrival of a new day.