27. Fun, the year of the Unicorn   

Dear diary,

As promised, I want to tell you a bit more about me and Van, about the development of our relationship, because let's be honest there was a lot of hostility at first.

Well, a lot of hostility on my side. He wasn't hostile at all, he was just his charming self. No matter how angry I was for having to be saved by him, I couldn't help but notice that he wasn't behaving in a way I expected.

All the stories I heard about him had led me to believe that he was a rude and insensitive guy, but that was not what I saw the day I met him or any other day for that matter. He is self-confident, maybe a bit overconfident, and he has a certain careless demeanor that might be misinterpreted as hostile, but it isn't.

Even before he noticed me, I could see that he was genuinely worried about Clementine, a mare he had never met before. To help out someone like that, you had to have a heart. I knew immediately that he wasn't the heartless guy they were describing, but I also knew he was trouble. The kind of trouble that a respectable fairy shouldn't condone, but I was curious.

He was different from anyone else I had ever met, and that was intriguing enough for me to want to know more. Of course, I didn't admit that to anyone, that would be humiliating. Me, a fairy, to think about an elf in any way, was more embarrassing than I could handle. But I did think about him, and what was hiding behind the tough guy act, even as I stared daggers at his beautiful face.

On the day we first met, nothing much happened besides what I already told you. After the introductions were made, I did my best to go back to my fairy self, mostly because I didn't want him to notice how embarrassed I was.

It took a bit longer than expected since I had no idea how it happened in the first place, but in the end, I managed to shrink back to my regular size. I thought he might make fun of me or say something rude, but surprisingly enough, he was a perfect gentleman.

He told us he was in a hurry and that he had to leave, but that he would love to hang out with us if that was okay. When he said that, my immediate response was: "No way!", but unfortunately for me, Clementine was louder.

"Yes, of course. That would be lovely. Come by any time you like. And once again, thank you so much for saving me." She said.

"You are welcome. My ladies, I bid you farewell. " He said formally, but I couldn't help but notice his eyes lingering on my small form.

I was prepared for some rude fairy comment, but what I got made my heart beat faster and blush. It was a genuine broad smile that made small dimples on his cheeks noticeable, and I couldn't stop staring. It was lucky for me that he couldn't see me. Somehow, I had a feeling that he knew what kind of power his smile held over me, and that made me furious. So I just flew off without saying anything.

As I was leaving, I could hear his voice drifting behind me.

"See you soon, fair one." He said.

Honestly speaking, I was very cross with Clem, which seldom happens. She is always such a sweetheart, and it is difficult to stay mad at her, but at that time, I was very mad.

The reason for my anger was the fact that she agreed to see him again without asking me. Truth be told, I didn't usually mind meeting new people, and that was probably why she didn't ask me about it, but still, that didn't make me any less upset.

I wanted to be able to figure out what I was feeling without him being close enough to influence my thoughts and emotions, with his charming smile and bad boy attitude.

At first, I thought I was fascinated by him because he was so different, his behavior was nothing like the one of a fairy, and he could change his attitude so quickly. It was like a new adventure that I was curious to undertake, but also a bit scared. My mind was in a scrambled mess, and the last thing I needed was his proximity.

I guess now that I think about it, I wasn't angry at Clem or Van, I was angry at myself for even thinking about him.

"So what if we hang out. It doesn't matter, I spend time with a lot of people. Why am I so much against being in his company? Why is he so different from everyone else?" Those were only some questions that I kept asking myself but couldn't answer.

Finally, I decided to just forget about it and to focus on my work, which always made me happy. Even though he said that we would see each other soon, I thought that it didn't mean we would. Soon enough, I found out that was exactly what he meant.

As I was heading to meet Clem, I could see from a distance that she wasn't alone. Van was standing next to her, and they were chatting animatedly, which vexed me.

"Why couldn't she see that he was a bad guy?" I wondered at the time.

Still, I couldn't help but make a detour to the nearby lake to use it as a mirror to check how I looked. My hair tended to become a mess from all the flying around, and I often missed to notice some color splashed on me.

After making sure everything was okay, I started flying towards them. It was slow progress because I was nervous at the prospect of seeing him again.

"That is not true!" I heard him say, as he laughed out loud.

He had such a contagious laugh that I couldn't stop a small smile from spreading across my face.

Strangely enough, he seemed to be able to sense my presence, and he stopped laughing to look in my direction. I was happy that I was too small for him to see my facial expression and my trembling hands. Still, I had a feeling he knew. That knowledge made me feel uncomfortable and rude.

"What's so funny?" I said.

Clem was surprised by my snappish tone, but still, she answered with her usual cheerfulness.

"I just told Van about some rumors that were circulating about him, and he finds them hilarious." She answered.

"Your fairness." He said as a greeting, bowing his head.

Not sure if it was a joke or a provocation, I decided to ignore his words.

"Clem what did you have in mind for today?" I asked, focusing my attention only on her.

"Lyna, I am so sorry, but I just came to tell you that I won't be able to hang out with you today. Something came up. I am so sorry. But don't worry, Van is here. You two can hang out, and you can show him around." She said.

Her words made me so furious that I was seeing red, and I could feel the fire burning in the pit of my stomach. I couldn't understand why she would ask him to do something like that.

"To show him what? I don't know the fields and forests as well as you do, and he is too big for me to show him anything fairy." I said.

Clem was so confused by the venom dripping from my every word, that she didn't respond. I was appalled by my behavior because I never felt or behaved like that before. I wanted to solve the puzzle that was Van, but I didn't trust myself to spend any alone time with him.

"What if I get embarrassed again, and he laughs at me? What if he is just as bad as everyone thought? I don't want to find that out." I thought.

My thoughts were interrupted by Van himself.

"My fair lady, why don't I shrink down to your size, and that way you can show me some fairy spots? We can even have something to eat. What do you say?" He asked.

Looking at Clem, I could see that my outburst made her worried, so with the excuse of making her happy, I decided to agree.

"Fine. Whatever," was all I said.

"Okay then, it's a date," Van said, winking at me.

I had a feeling it would be a long day with a lot of blushing on my part since those words alone made me turn tomato red.

While he was magically transforming his size, I tried to put myself together, not to show him how much he got to me. But he did the transformation so quickly, that I was nowhere near ready to face him when he shrank to my size.

"I have never been this size before, but now that I can see you in your element, I must admit you look amazing." He said matter-of-factly, and I couldn't help but blush profusely.

To hide my embarrassment, I turned to anger.

"Your charms won't work on me," I stated firmly.

"Oh, so you do think I am charming?" He asked smugly.

"No, I don't. I... I just heard a lot of stories about that. Now come on, do you want to see the fairy life or not?" I asked, trying to hide my confusion.

He nodded his head in agreement, and we headed off towards some of my favorite spots.

I could feel his gaze on me as I lead the way, but I didn't dare meet his mesmerizing eyes because I had a feeling that if I did I would lose my composure and started babbling.

Well, I didn't have a lot of composure, but I didn't want to appear like an idiot in front of the elf I... the elf I just met.

Although I was glad he wasn't making any comments that would embarrass me, I was surprisingly disappointed that he didn't say anything. He was taking in the sites, and enjoying our walk.

I didn't feel like walking, especially not strolling, but I thought I might as well be polite since he couldn't fly. He seemed very interested in his surroundings, although I did often catch his gaze fixed on me.

Getting uncomfortable with the silence didn't mean I wanted to break it, so I just kept walking.

Finally, he started talking, and he hasn't stopped talking since then.

At the time, it was tiresome, but now I love it.

Oh, I got caught up in my memories again. I better stop here, but I'll let you in on a little secret, the best part is yet to come.