If someone had asked when you first met Fae, or even just saw her, you wouldn't have known the answer. She just appeared, maybe a year ago, maybe two, maybe she was there all along. You had learned to know when she was there, and you had learned to ignore her.

She really was just a minor annoyance now, balancing on fallen trees next to you while you were trying to air out your head from all your studies.

Sometimes she'd just run off, after a deer or rabbit or butterfly she'd spotted, and sometimes you could've sworn she was able to walk on air. But that was your brain talking after hours of reading.

That one time she actually caught a butterfly, she set it free on your shoulder. You hadn't noticed her sneaking up on you, barefoot as she always was, and when the little red and brown creature took off again, it took a bit of all the struggles with it. They were gone, just like that, and she was giggling behind your back.

Another time you'd found a daisy chain waiting for you where she usually stood – not that you were looking for her, you just happened to find it.

Really, you were ignoring her, because her glances always threw you off, and when you came back home from your walk you could've used another her. You were ignoring her because the freckles on her face seemed to taunt you, always changing positions, not that they could, and not that you noticed.

You were ignoring her, because you really didn't have the time to be in love with the girl in the flowing dresses who was way too perfect to be real, anyways.