Eory never thought he would feel the warmth of the sun on his skin for the rest of the days, but he was wrong. He had been upstanding good for the past twelve years--good to an almost meticulous degree--and his hard work was finally being rewarded. The fairy goddesses had blessed him.

He stepped outside the tower with Kori at his side with teary eyes. He breathed the fresh, cold air and drank in the pale sunlight filtering in through the leaden sky. His eyes adjusted to this change in light that was so different from the candlelight in his room.

Eory looked around at the wide world ahead of him, and just basked in its glory for a moment.

He never thought his ears would be blessed with the sound of rustling leaves ever again, nor his nose be tickled by the scent of fresh greenery after a thorough rain. Mounds of snow were piled up on the road, and he had forgotten just how whtie it truly was. 

Eory became overwhelmed by a sense of pride and euphoria at it, and promised himself he would not let his chance at freedom go to waste.

But perhaps the thing that provided him with the greatest sense of euphoria was the horse-drawn carriage awaiting him, and the entourage of about thirty knights surrounding it, getting ready to saddle up their own horses.

There were people. Real people he could touch, and was nearly tempted to, but he refrained. Kori approached the entourage, introducing them all to Eory, who found that he was too shy to come closer to people he didn’t know. He found himself nervously immovable. 

Kori turned back and waved him forward. “Don’t be shy, Eory! Come over!”

Eory’s cheeks were hot with a mixture of embarrassment and fear, and he came forward cautiously until he came to a stop by Kori’s side, his shoes crunching to a halt in the snow. Kori turned to the tall, armored man she was talking to and said, “As I was saying, this is Eory. Eory, this is Patrick, one of the king’s majors.”

“Nice to meet you, Eory.” Patrick held out a hand, causing Eory to step away, hugging Gershom closer. 

“Eory…” Kori murmured. “Come say hello.”

Patrick chuckled. “No worries, Redeemer. He doesn’t know many people. It’s okay for him to be shy.”

Eory looked down at his boots, feeling disappointed in himself. He managed to come closer and squeak, “I’m Eory. Nice to meet you.”

“What great manners!” Major Patrick exclaimed. “Far more courteous than half the young men I know! I’d say you’ve done your job, Kori.”

Kori shook her head, beaming with pride at how Eory had introduced himself. 

“No.” She said. “Eory did it all by himself.”

__

Eory was daydreaming as he sat in the carriage and it slowly began rolling away from his tower--his old prison. The entourage of thirty knights marched behind the carriage in unison, ready to protect Eory and Kori should anything attack them.

Eory’s dog, who was sitting next to him on the plush seat of the carriage, brought him back to reality with a high-pitched yip!

“Eory,” Kori asked over the sound of the carriage wheels trundling over the gravely pathway. “What are you thinking about?”

Eory went red with embarrassment for a moment, and then he replied, “how wonderful it is to see all this!”

“You’re so quiet! I suppose you’re just drinking in all this wonderment, huh?” Kori said, gazing upon the scenery, too.

Eory nodded, looking to his left and right at the bushy pine trees lining the path.

He had accidentally imagined himself holding Pollyanna’s hands earlier and he felt sick at himself for it. Old women were holy creatures to fairy folk and were not to be touched by them. They were only to be worshipped.

It wasn’t as if he thought that way about every old woman, however…

To be fair, I only know two, though… And one I only know one through stories. Eory thought to himself with his fist pressed against his cheek. He blinked rapidly. But Kori’s not really old at all, she just looks old...

Eory stopped daydreaming and looked around at his surroundings in delight. The stormy sky, the verdant trees, the glistening snow, and the many shiny, rain-stricken rocks which the horses trod over were dazzling.

But Pollyanna began tugging him away from reality yet again.

Eory hung his head in shame and embarrassment. He really wanted to hold her hands. Reality is a nice place to be now! I don’t have to live in a fantasy anymore… I’ll surely be sent to the underworld if I think of an old woman this way.

“Eory! Look! A deer!” Kori whispered and thankfully interrupted his thoughts.

He looked to his right seeing a deer peeking out from the forest. He leaned to his right, looking past Kori. Eory was glad for Kori interrupting his reverie, especially to bring his attention to such a noble creature. 

He had read about deer, but hadn’t ever seen one. He was enthralled by how different it was from both himself and Kori.

“Look at it… Isn’t it pretty?” Kori exclaimed.

Its black eyes seemed bottomless, and held the reflection of the world it saw within them. Its red coat shimmered as it dashed back into the woods. 

Eory smiled ear-to-ear. He whispered, “Pretty…”

“You don’t have to whisper out here, Eory! I want to hear you say it loudly!” Kori encouraged.

Eory shyly pressed his cheek against Gershom’s head, embarrassed. “That’s okay…”