Rachel really wanted to find George again to return the favor and kindness he showed her, but it was already the day that the fairy would return to the academy. There was no more time for Rachel to put off meeting the fairy. It had to be now before she could get caught in another ceremony. While Rachel had not yet determined when, or where the fairy would be in the academy, she was easy to find. Any female student that saw her screeched with excitement, drawing the other students to gather in crowds surrounding the fairy. From the sounds, you could tell the fairy was making her way towards the administrative offices. Perhaps she had an office there, thought Rachel, but remembered not reading her name on the placards outside the rooms.

It could have been within someone else’s office, but Rachel had no time to think about this, she needed to make contact. She got ahead of the crowds and even the fairy hoping the fairy would walk past her, and she could ask for a meeting. But the fairy had already turned to enter the principal’s office, closing the door on all the students. Rachel waited patiently outside the office; she didn’t knock because she was afraid. Reginald already knew her secret and it seemed she was lucky that a trustworthy man discovered it. Rachel didn’t know if the principal or anyone other than the fairy in the office was just as trustworthy. Eventually, she could no longer wait, Rachel knew she had to keep up her appearance as a student, so she fled from the door the fairy had entered to join one of her agricultural classes. If she didn’t get to meet the fairy herself, maybe Reginald would tell her about Rachel or help Rachel set up the meeting.

After class, Rachel tried again to meet the fairy. She didn’t know if she was still in the office, so she listened for screams of excitement and looked for any crowds. There were some screaming and crowds on the Military Arts field. Rachel joined the onlookers to see the students fighting each other. The sight and sound of metal clanking sent chills down Rachel’s spine. She looked for the fairy or Reginald, and they weren’t hard to spot. They were sitting watching the fights from the benches where Rachel was the other day. Rachel, who first made her way on the field from the complete opposite side of the fairy and Reginald, carefully walked around the rambunctious crowd closer and closer to the viewing area. She just wanted to be visible to Reginald to catch his attention, and he would know what to do. As Rachel closed in, she noticed that military students were waiting for their turn to fight on either side of the viewing area and that the crowd was more crazed the closer they were to the fairy.

Trying to get close enough to Reginald proved difficult. The crowd kept Rachel out. She wasn’t exactly heavy enough to keep her balance or push through people. As Rachel kept trying repeatedly, George noticed that someone was trying to get into the crowd but kept getting pushed out. He thought it was funny and that the person was ridiculous for trying to get through. Then he looked closer at them for a minute and instantly knew it was the girl from the infirmary looking for Reginald. George never understood why she seems to always be looking for Reginald. And it looked like she was trying to get his attention again. Since Reginald did seem okay with returning her small book to her, I guess I could go and let him know it looked like she was looking for him, again. So, George quietly approached behind Reginald to let him know that the girl that he returned the small book to was looking for him.

“Ha, Ha, Ha… I knew she couldn’t keep away. Okay, George, bring her to me. And by the way, her name is Rachel, it would be best for you to remember that.” Reginald chuckled.

“Right, away, sir,” George replied. The fairy paid no mind to what Reginald was discussing with his student.

George left at once to bring Rachel. She was still fighting to get into the crowd. When she was pushed out again, George caught her by the shoulders. “Hello again.” He said.

Rachel recognized that voice and a big smile appeared on her face. It seemed like George had saved her again. “Oh, Hello again. Thank you for your help, it seems like you are always saving me.”

George released her and told her, “Sir Reginald wants to see you in the viewing area. I am to take you there.”

Another smile found its way on Rachel’s face. “How does he know I’m here?”

“Oh, I saw you fighting your way in the crowd. I told him, I figured he should know.”

“Really!? You are my savior!” Rachel said, almost jumping for joy.

George had never seen anyone so happy before. “Also, about our date, since we are off tomorrow…”

“Date? You mean my buying you a meal? It’s not a date, I hardly know you. But I am off tomorrow, and I do owe you, probably three meals at this point.”

“Okay, I get it. A meal. Does lunch work? I have practice in the morning and the evening every day so that is the only time I have free for … a meal.”

“Yes, that's perfect. Although I still owe you for what you did, letting Reginald know I was here. That is so much more important for me than returning that small book. I don’t know how I could repay you for that. Anyways, lunch it is, I’ll wait for you in front of the academy.”

“Fine. I’ll take you to Sir Reginald.” George, curious about why Rachel meeting Sir Reginald was so important to her, escorted her to a bench behind the one Reginald and the fairy were sitting at.

“Thank you, George. Go get ready for your fight, now that the fairy is here, we can make the rankings official.” Reginald exclaimed.

The word ‘official’ made Rachel shiver. Reginald took a quick glance at Rachel and nodded to her, when he was sure George was out of sight and no one else was nearby to listen he introduced her to the fairy.

“Ms. Elanor Vaughn, I would like you to meet Rachel. She is a student in the agricultural section and a fairy. I don’t know much about her, but she wanted to meet with you, and this is how it happened I guess.”

The fairy, Elanor, turned in her flowery dress towards Rachel and eyed her up and down. Elanor thought that Rachel didn’t look much like a fairy. Fairies were treated like royalty and dressed intending to draw attention to themselves. Rachel was wearing clothes that stood out, but they didn’t scream ‘I’m important’.

“Hello, Rachel, Reginald tells me that you are a fairy?” Elanor asked.

“Yes, Ma’am. I am”, Rachel replied.

“Have you ever officiated a ceremony before?”

“No, Ma’am. My family never let me.”

“That’s unheard-of. Where are you from?”

“Tetrades,” Rachel replied. Reginald and Elanor exchanged glances.

“Your parents sent you here?” Elanor asked.

“Yes, we have the custom that any of the ceremonies we officiate as young fairies must be done outside of Tetrades to not bring shame to the family.”

“Right, well, there isn’t much to learn per se. I officiated my first ceremony when I was a child. There aren’t many fairies in this country, so I am asked to travel to officiate many different ceremonies. It just happens to you; the magic takes over you and uses you as an instrument to write history with. Your presence is enough. And when there are two or more fairies close enough, the magic randomly flows into one of them. It is also painless and whatever you are wearing is transformed into a more elegant version of itself.”

“I have one more question.”

“Yes?”

“Is there a way to hide my identity when transforming?”

“Yes, if you were to wear a veil or mask. No one could see your face and it would transform with you.”

“I don’t know all the customs here yet, but I am scared to reveal my identity as a fairy. You seem to have freedom here, but I am concerned I would get roped into this town’s or country’s affairs as there are not very many fairies.”

“Yes, I understand your fear.” Elanor sighed. She loved the attention of being a fairy gave her, but if any big events were happening, she wouldn’t be able to choose what she wanted to officiate. The humans would tell her or force her to go, after fighting among themselves for who gets her. “I would suggest that you prepare attire that is easy to slip over if you are ever caught at a ceremony.”

“I will at once. Thank you, Elanor. Thank you, Reginald.” Rachel eagerly thanked the two, before leaving. She knew Reginald wanted to officiate something there, so Rachel decided to distance herself by heading into town to pick out something that would hide her face during a ceremony.

The town shops surrounded the academy. Rachel didn’t stop at her room in the dorm for fear that she would still be too close to the ceremony. But she figured that in the time it took for her to walk out of the academy towards the shops the ceremony would have started and if she was too close, she would have felt her chest burning. And since no such thing happened, she went about looking at the shops for something that could hide her face and clothes that matched the locals' culture. There were very few clothing shops and they were split into male and female clothes, leaving only two female shops to choose from. Rachel had plenty of money to spend on clothes but wanted to make sure she had enough for her special item, so while she did find skirts, dresses, and tops that she wanted, she waited to purchase them.

The two female shops were a bust, so she went ahead and checked the male shops too. One of them offered fancier clothing items which didn’t work unless she wanted to cross-dress, but she knew that they would know she was a girl from her voice. Plus, cross-dressing would take too long to do on the fly. So, she checked the other store. It had regular men’s and boys' clothes, but a hunting section in the back. There Rachel found hooded cloaks and capes. She tried them on, they were big because they were men’s sizes, but the hood hung just to her lips. It was perfect. She knew she didn’t need one of the embroidered ones because the magic would make it look better than the plain cloth it was. And she knew she couldn’t use a heavy one because she would have to carry it with her wherever she went. The cloaks Rachel had seen there weren’t the ones she needed. She asked the store owner for any other simpler cloaks, and they said they didn’t sell those. He suggested that she go to the military weapons store. They offered basic fabrics that could be embroidered if needed, and they were light because you can’t have a cloak that hinders your ability to fight.

Although, reluctantly, Rachel walked to the military weapons store. When she opened the door, she was faced with the sour smell of metal and loud banging noises. A clerk at the front asked what she was looking for, and when she said a cloak, they took her to a quieter section of the store that focuses on clothing. All the undergarments a knight or soldier needed could be found here. Their selection of cloaks also included women’s sizes, but when Rachel tried them on, she could still see her face in the mirror underneath the hood. She asked for the men's sizes and once again she found that with the right size, she couldn’t see her face underneath the cloak. These cloaks were made of light quality fabric but only came in one color, red. Maybe that was good for Rachel or bad, but she had no choice and purchased it. It was her only chance to keep her identity hidden.

With the cloak purchased, Rachel excitedly pranced back to the clothing shops she had just visited. There was still enough money left to purchase the clothing she wanted, and she had already saved some for the lunch she promised to treat George. Her money situation was overwhelming, as her family sent her with too much, planning to send her more every month. But she figured it would come in handy, like it did today, if not for her studies, for her ability to recompense people like George.

Finally, Rachel felt she could relax back into her agricultural studies, while secretly learning the ins and outs of being a fairy.