[ Daisy's perspective ]

It's early in the morning when Rose and I are flying through the woods again. This time we are heading to the guild ourselves, without Meira's assistance. 

The woods are foggy, barely illuminated by the still rising sun. The smell of healthy pine trees is a welcome one. The night was particularly cold for this season and I feel that I'm somewhat responsible for that. Maybe now is a good time to admit that Rose and I have been experimenting with our snow and wind skills, yesterday afternoon. 

We both seem to be getting the hang of those skills, hers almost causing a storm. I don't think the Elves would be pleased if she had released her wind skills on the forest floor, causing instant autumn.

But we're good....still learning, but haven't caused anything bad....yet.

 

We both have our invisibility skill turned on and are practicing high speed maneuvers while having lots of fun as well. We're zig-zagging through the forest, trying to release healing energy while in flight. So far my idea isn't working out that great, but at least we're having tremendous amounts of fun.

The fun ended however when I crashed at full speed into a pigeon, or rather a "Bloodtalon." 

Contrary to its name, it looks and behaves exactly the same as pigeons from Earth do. Anyway, we crashed down to the forest floor, while it didn't even know what hit it as I was still invisible. Rose helped me back to my feet, happy to see that nothing serious had happened.

But for me the impact wasn't that bad, considering that the bird acted as a feather cushion for me. Well, I still need a bath very soon as its greasy feathers are exactly that....greasy.

I apologized to it and healed it, so no harm done.
You might think that fairies are able to talk to animals...well, guess again. This bird simply kept staring at me......then....simply flew away, like nothing had happened to it at all. It only dawned on me a bit later that I was still invisible. Poor bird. It never even saw or heard me apologize.

 

 

We continued playing tag for a while and finally ended up in front of the Adventurer's Guild.

"Eh...Daisy? Now what do we do? Neither of us can open the door! Look at it....it's just massive!"

Rose pointed at the door and specifically the door handle.
And truer words have never been spoken, we're roughly the same size as the door handle...so that's not going to work.

"Eh....oops. Mmm....Rose, I guess we have to.......quick!"  Someone opened the door and two fairies quickly sneaked inside before the door shut behind us with a bang. Thank god we made it, or we would have been very flat fairies by now. 

We land on the reception desk and see that no one is here at the moment. I touch that statue, just like Meira did yesterday, and hear a bell sound a bit further away.

 

After a minute or so, we heard something slithering our way. Some kind of lizard-human-hybrid-creature-person slowly walks, no, glides over to us. His pointy snake-like tongue seems to be scanning for scents. Creepy...

"Shhh hello? Shhhh...  did...shhhh sshomeone    sssh.. touchshh ze shtatue?"

Okay....I would rather have the cat-kin speak her annoying "nya nya nya" than having to listen to this weird speech. But let's stay polite, the poor guy probably can't help it. Maybe he just has a cold?

"Yes? Good morning. Did you receive a message for us?" I look up at the lizard person and wait for his reply, but he just keeps looking around with a surprised expression on his face.

"Shhhh hello? Anybody shh?"

"Huh? I'm right...here...oops.....sorry, we're still invisible!" 

Both Rose and I quickly become visible again.

"Shhh.....ahh!!!......swoo...failies.........."   The lizard person was startled by our sudden appearance.

I hear Rose snickering behind me. "Failies!..ha ha ha.....that's you, Daisy!"

"Shhh.....please don't comment on my....shhhhh...shpeesh. I need to focussss....difficult. I'm Gatcha."

Rose quickly apologized after which I set the conversation back on track.

"Okay, gotcha. I'm Daisy and that's Rose. Nice to meet you." I said while practicing my best polite smile.  

Rose nods politely and Gatcha looks surprised. "No...I'm Gatcha. You are ze shh Princesshhh?"

Rose whispers in my ear "He's a Redwood Lizard."

"No,.....sssh......I'm a Masshked Lizard." Gatcha seems a bit disappointed by Rose's comment.

Oops....no point in whispering..his hearing is scary too! Let's be extra polite!
"Gatcha....yes, I'm Daisy, a Princess. And it is a great honor to meet a Masked Lizard. Do you have a message for me? For us?"

Gatcha smiles again, "shhh....zank you for your sshhh ... kindnesssh  ... Yes ...let ...me ....get ...ze.....messagessh."

We wait a minute for Gatcha to return and I pass the time listening to Rose's funny comments. Luckily nobody noticed me snickering and giggling as well. Poor guy, he can't help it that he's so funny.

When he finally returned he found two very, very serious looking fairies. Not knowing that they were about to have another laughing fit.

"Shhh....ze...meshhagge..."

"Wow, that envelope is huge! But I'll manage. Thank you very much, Gatcha. See ya!"

"Shh....bye!"   He smiled and now I feel really, really guilty for laughing behind his back. I should be even nicer to him next time.

 

We sat down on a bookshelf above the reception area where I dragged the envelope to, so we wouldn't be disturbed. Rose is sitting next to me, as anxious to read the reply as I am. Both our legs are dangling in the air.

"C'mon, hurry up, Daisy! Just break the seal already."

"Yes, yes, easier said than done. Can you help...yes....thanks."

After using all of my strength to break a simple red wax seal, Rose pulls on the envelope while I pull on the letter inside. After another minute or so, we finally have the unfolded letter ready to be read. 

If anyone would comment on this scenario, they would see two fairies turning their heads from left to right, as if they were viewing a tennis match. 

It reads "Happy you both are safe and sound! Everyone in the Palace is fine! Assassin killed. Seems sent by demons. Be vigilant! STAY with the Elves. Will send a rescue team to your location. Find some money enclosed. Spend it wisely, Daisy. Keep in touch! Your loving family."

Rose wanted to say something, but I simply started crying, accidentally losing grip of the letter, which slowly landed on the desk below. A waitress, who just happened to pass by, noticed that and Rose asked her to get rid of the letter, as neither of us can keep it anyway.

In the meantime I just keep crying here on the shelf. I know they really are my family, but somehow they don't appear like they really are my family. Only Violet. But still, even then, something inside of me feels a deep connection to them. I can't explain it otherwise....their Daisy...the Daisy I used to be....she's still inside of me. They somehow feel like family, so they must be, right? Well, my feelings don't make much sense at the moment, that much is obvious.

Rose surprised me by suddenly embracing me and telling me to just let it all out. It took a few more minutes before I finally got my emotions in check again. Am I just homesick? Am I really their Daisy?

"Are you alright, Daisy?" Rose asks very kindly while releasing the embrace, then fiddles with a rope on her dress. I guess she feels helpless in these kinds of situations. I can hardly blame her, the situation we're in at the moment is anything but normal after all.

I nod, not feeling ready to speak yet.

A cautious smile forms on her lips. "We'll be home in no time. And we're safe here, so...think of it as a holiday, okay?"

I nod quickly multiple times and say "thank you, Rose. I don't know how the old Daisy acted around you...but....I'm happy that I have such a good friend. I don't know what I would do without you." I wiped the last tears away, but one more left my right eye, rolling down my cheek.

Rose pats my back and says "aww...if it makes you feel any better....I like you better the way you are now."

"Really?" I look at her, with still a few tears in my eyes.

"Absolutely, Daisy. You never really showed your true emotions. Always trying to be perfect. Now I know why of course, secretly being a Princess and all. But now.....being dense sometimes really suits you."

"Huh? Am I really that dense?"

"No, of course not, you dummy! I was just teasing you! Did you really believe that? Sheesh...you're such an easy target. No, you are not dense, just....recovering....I think."

I embrace her again and whisper in her ear "Thank you. Thank you very much. You have no idea how weird it is to have lost so many memories."

She returns the whisper "No, you're right, I have no idea. Anyway, back to that letter?"

I nod and release her, and Rose continues. "We..eh...I remember from school that the Demon Lord occasionally sends assassins to his subjects to ensure their loyalty. The assassin sneaks in and kills a child so that the sovereign doesn't forget who's in charge. It's just an assumption, but maybe that's what happened?"

"Are you....serious? And you folks just followed such a...demon?" I mean....who even sends an assassin for a child? Truly demons if you ask me. 

"Yeah, well....if you put it like that, Daisy...we didn't want to. We simply had no choice. If our ancestors hadn't agreed to serve the demons....we wouldn't be talking here right now. We would have been wiped out back then. While we are taught that even discussing this is considered blasphemy, I have changed my mind. Thanks to you that is. I'm just worried that the Demon Lord will find out about us rejecting him. If he does.....we might find a potential extinction on our path once more."

 

 

I wanted to suggest returning home....to the Elves, but the guildmaster suddenly appears before us, looking up at us who are still sitting on a shelf.

"Excuse me....am I interrupting anything?"

Two surprised fairies are looking down for a change.

"Oh, good morning, guildmaster. Nope, not interrupting at all. How can we help you?"
I fly down to him and land on the desk, to make it easier to speak to each other. Rose follows my lead. I try hard to smile, but somehow that's not very easy at the moment.

"Are you two ready to join a team?" His fluffy tail is swaying impatiently and his ears keep twitching from anticipation.

"Huh? Why do you insist on us joining a team?" Did I miss something? I glanced at Rose for a moment. 

"Because it would be a waste of talent not to! Seems like you two are staying here for a while...sooo why not?"

He must somehow have heard about the letter's contents. He's a guildmaster after all, and someone must receive the words and write them down here, where the transmission is received. He might even have written the received transmission himself for all I know.
"I'm sorry, but I know my parents....I think. We barely survived an attack recently, so they don't want us to be in that kind of danger again."

"Alright, I have tried. But I'm also here to inform you that your parents have sent you a considerable amount. Converted to our coins, that would be a bit more than....50 gold."

"Is that much?" Rose asks. 

The guildmaster looks at her when he replies... "well...I personally have to work for five years to get that kind of amount...."

"WHAT? Years???" Rose almost screamed, obviously stunned by the substantial amount my parents seemingly casually transferred to us.

"Ha ha ha, yes, unfortunately that's true. It really is quite the amount. How about parking that amount with the guild for now? You can withdraw as much as you need from any of our branches. I don't think you can carry even a single copper, let alone a gold coin."

I look at Rose and see her nod in approval. "Yes, alright. Please keep it safe here."

"Thank you for your trust in the Adventurer's Guild." The guildmaster bows while grinning. Did I make the right decision? Meh, no choice, better not think too much about this.

I'm forgetting something...what was it again? Oh! "We would like to thank the Elves, so...can you please send them a few gold coins? You're right, we can't carry that but I still want to pay them for the trouble. It might help them restore some damaged parts of their village."

"I see you are a true friend of the Elves. They were wise to give you shelter. Transferring coins to them will be no problem, they have an account with us as well. It just leaves the question....how much? I would suggest....5 gold would be a very, very polite gesture. Even from a Princess."

I'm representing another country here, being cheap won't help me in the long run. And it's just as the guildmaster said, there might be an opportunity for trade here. Who knows? Let's call it gratitude and an investment at the same time. If father should ask, that will at least sound as if I had given it proper thought. And now that I think about it....I really have? Whatever.  "Yes, please see to it. And thank you for helping us."

His grin returns and his tail is rhythmically swaying like a dog about to be treated to a snack.

"Consider it done." He keeps staring at me...a deep, expecting stare. Stare..........stare......stare....

Rose whispers to me a suggestion. 

After a mere second I facepalm. How could I overlook such a basic hint?

I agree with her and tell him "and for your efforts and all future efforts to help us get home, one gold coin will move graciously to your account today."

He bows again...that grin of his....it's just too much, but that's life around here. "Thank you, your majesty. That is most kind of you. I will see to it that you will be treated with the utmost respect."

"And thank you as well, guildmaster. That is most kind of you."  I mirrored his message, he shouldn't forget this. "I have never spent so much on a single day, let me tell you that."

He laughs for a few moments and then adds "but you spent it wisely, if I may say so. We will take care of your rescue team, should they arrive unexpectedly, so don't worry. We can settle any expenses later." 

"Thank you, I accept with gratitude."

Then he seemed lost in thought for a second, but he recovered quickly. Grin and all.  "Oh, and before I forget it. As for the gold we will be keeping safe for you......you and your people will have more than enough for a very, very long time. As long as you eat, drink and sleep in a guild-owned establishment, that is." 

This guy could sell you a second hand car as a new one in a split second. I simply nod and say "I will remember that."

I asked him to send a message back home for us and deduct, the now seemingly insignificant amount of 3 coppers, from our balance.

This is the message I sent back home: "Rose and I will stay safe with Elves as requested. The Guild will care for our rescue team upon arrival. Kindly send them there. Coins are safe with the Guild, thank you very much! Lots of love to you all. Miss you all. Daisy."

After taking our message, ever so politely, the guildmaster wished us well. He kept the door open for us and then we left for the Elves in the best of moods.