Spring, the blooming season. A period when the whole world awakens and is colored anew.
Citizens of the kingdom started to organize the festivities the moment the snow began to melt, all to hurry for the rare occasion that happens once in every hundred years; when the last of the snow glaciers start turning into water.
The ancient kings named that special occurrence as “Fairy Dust” because the sky was filled with tiny golden flakes that spread a pleasant golden light.
They attributed good luck properties to it and the year in which this happens, was to be a successful year for each of the inhabitants of the kingdom.
Except for one person or more accurately- one last fairy, for her the fairy dust attested to one thing; the king will send his hunters after her. It was a sign to run and hide, maintain a low profile and under no circumstances use her abilities.

Five years ago when the last of the fairies died, he left her a letter; revealing the truth behind the fairy dust and how their race just vanished from the face of earth. The explanation was simple, the fairies were an energy source and the rare occurrence was a compass pointing to them all. When the kings understood the use of the dust, they decided that it was time to get rid of the power that threatened their throne. And like this for centuries they exterminated the good magic and turned it into something evil.
The letter also explained that thousands of years ago the golden flakes did in fact gave people happiness and good luck, it guided those who needed help and brought spring into their lives, however when the kings started to hunt the fairies, it changed and somehow they managed to collect the flakes and use them against fairy kind- something that wasn't supposed to be possible as they were made of pure magic, you could see them but not touch, especially not collect and use them as a weapon against their own creators.

She kept the letter close to her heart, it was the last thing left of her people. It was her treasure. And despite its great importance she did not like to remember its contents. In particular the last part that seeped fear into her and reminded her of terrible scars from the past.
“More wine!” she urged the waitress who passed by her table. She was at the dark end of the tavern, which was already completely set up for the upcoming spring festivities.
From her corner she saw everyone who came in and went out, she even caught some unimportant conversation of others, "It's good that they don't have any worries" she hiccupped and the waitress placed a bottle of red wine on her table "The boss says it's the last one for today." she chirped and went on to the other tables.
She glanced towards the boss who was standing behind the counter pouring drinks for people. He gave her a look that said exactly what she heard from the waitress. It made her angry, she paid for everything she drank and ate but everytime the boss refused to sell her more than three intoxicating bottles a day. With food there was no problem however for booze he put restrictions even though she offered to pay double. She drank the wine straight from the bottle and finished it quickly, no matter how much she indulged in liquor, it never got her drunk.
She rested her head on her hands and allowed her black hair to flow and spread over the table. She sighed and kept glancing at people, this is how she learned to read their expressions, and the looks of those who tried to court the waitress- entertained her the most, after the fifteen year old told them who her father was. She was sure those men almost wet their pants when they saw the piercing look the boss sent them.
She sat there until the wee hours of the night doing nothing and when the last of the people left, she came out of her dark corner and paid for the food and drinks.
“You here from morning to night, when do you even have time to make money?” He was asking the same every day. She just shrugged and winked at him, she didn’t think it was a good idea to boast about her wealth and how she had enough to live like kings for centuries without needing to lift a finger, thanks to money left to her by the fairies.
“Good night.” she told the girl cleaning the tables and left the tavern into the night.

The weather was lovely, she inhaled the air deeply and enjoyed the smells of the surrounding vegetation. This was one of the reasons why she liked to come to this tavern: a relatively secluded place that is close to the forest.
Most people gathered in the center of the city at this time of year, even so this tavern thrived and was always bustling with life more than those located in crowded areas.
She waddled lazily towards the city center, it was a long walk but she didn’t complain, on the contrary she enjoyed it.
She gazed up at the sky and rejoiced with happiness at the sight of the sparkling stars, from time to time she wondered to herself ‘ do fairies exist there too?’
She yawned and continued on her way "Maybe I should have said that I'm leaving" she mumbled.
It was her last visit to the tavern and the city - she didn't want to leave, it was good and comfortable here and no one had any suspicions about her. Although she spent most of her life in the forest, no one asked unnecessary questions when she moved into the city three years ago. Recently she discovered that living in the forest wasn’t as strange as she perceived, as it turns out there were many families who preferred the tranquility and privacy over the city hustle.

Her mind was filled with thoughts as she nearly bumped into a group of workers on the road “look where you're going” one of them remarked, she rolled her eyes as she moved out of the way.
She was getting close to the city center, barely noticing it took her about forty minutes to get there. The preparations for the celebration were in full swing, the citizens usually worked into the night as they wanted to finish everything swiftly because of a rumor going around that someone from the royal family will come to visit. She knew it wasn't possible that the king would mingle among commoners, he was a paranoid and cruel ruler and only she knew the extent of it, she still retained a sliver of hope that if one of the royalty does appear she could kill them and reveal the truth to everyone. She knew her idea was lousy, fairies never killed nor moved by vengeance. whereas she no longer cared about that - she is the last fairy, So at least she will do what others didn't dare because of their inherent morality.
Her plan was simple; to hide until the fairy dust dimmed by the end of spring festivities, she disliked that part but it was the sole time she had no choice cause getting caught was not an option for her.
Then she will put her other plan into action. and contrary to what she was told to do; run and hide, she wasn't gonna do that.
running was never on her mind even when she was young.

She passed by the half-built stalls. She felt a little agony for all the trees that were cut down for something that eventually will be thrown into an incinerator "such a waste" she snorted.
“Raven!” someone called.
She recognized the voice immediately, it was her neighbor at the inn. The woman waved excitedly as her floral dress fluttered when she skipped her way towards her.
“Mari…”
“An extremely handsome guy arrived at the inn, you gotta see him" she rejoiced and pulled her towards their accommodations before Raven could get another word out.
In the past two years, all Mari tried to do was to introduce guys to her, and no matter what excuse raven told her, she didn't give up. Mari herself was betrothed to a doctor, they were already supposed to live the married life, however her father got ill and the wedding was pushed so mari could help her mother at the inn for a while.
“I am not interested” raven pleaded when they stopped in front of the inn’s tavern doors.
“nonsense! you just haven't met the guy to make you interested” mari replied with a smile, inspecting her from head to toe “you look horrible in all black” she complained “but… no time for makeovers.” pushing raven into the entrance. so with no other choice raven bitterly opened the door, it was better than bumping head first into it.
Despite it being late into the night the inn’s tavern was filled with the people who were still working on the stalls and other preparations. Here, unlike her favorite tavern, there were no waitresses, so whoever came got what they ordered themselves at the counter, with the exception of the elderly of course.

Few meters ahead from the doors, there was a table surrounded with people, they were loudly talking about the spring celebration and about a game of cards.
"He's the one in the red shirt" Mari whispered into her ear and pushed her forward until she was part of the circle that stood around the table, besides the men there were also young gals who were utterly focused on the guy in question.
Raven decided to check the state of the game, she was disappointed to find out that they were playing something she didn't know 'too bad' she thought 'I could’ve joined in'.
She felt Mari's gaze drilling several holes in her head, "come on, look at him!" she urged her "the cards are not why you're here" she giggled quietly. Sometimes Raven couldn't understand how Mari knew where she was looking without seeing her face.
Raven bit the inside of her cheek and deliberated, if she is to appease Mari now, she then can go back to her room, rest and get ready for tomorrow. She really didn't want do to it, however it was the best option to get mari of her back for a while.
She sighed and looked at the guy. ‘Dammit!’ her eyes directly met his. He looked at her with the same piercing gaze as Mari's, and she couldn't shift her eyes off his golden eyes, locking eyes with him made everything feel muted, as if only the two of them were present in the tavern. His beauty certainly caught her attention. Mari did not exaggerate about him; a straight nose, smooth and firm face and cheekbones not too hidden - he was definitely handsome. he smiled at her and two dimples appeared on the sides of his mouth, a momentary thought that maybe he was also a fairy flashed in her mind, all because he looked as if he had been created from pure magic.
She was sure that humans this attractive did not exist.