Chapter 19 – Fairy Visitor

  Olivia

  Olivia liked wine and had decided to store quite a bit of it in her stomach this evening. The results: intoxication, giggle-fits, a faint loneliness. Some daydreaming of swordfights. Maybe a little zoomies later. She draped herself upon her bare mattress in the waxing night, where the braziers outside her window cast their glow. Olivia basked drunkenly, eyes on the pretty ink she’d placed in the far corner.

  A wistful sigh.

  She missed friends. She’d had a lot back in common school! And at fencing, and at ballet too! Even when she tried the adventure, those people were nice. They just – knew what they were doing as much as her, is all. They weren’t from Woodpine, either. She’d come here alone from her family’s home back on the island; so, here she was nicely tipsy all on her onesies!

  Mm. Maybe a tavern? Except – nah, the armor would make people think she actually fought.

  Ugh, the armor! She wanted to get at that spot so badly. It itched so much!

  “Mow!” Olivia let loose a feral cry as she wiggled herself back and forth against the mattress to scratch.

  Seriously, ugh!

  All the frustration welled up into a ball in her chest, pulsing, shaking!

  She had to let it out! Zoomies, go!

  Olivia bolted from her bed, landed on her hand-paws, then flipped herself forward so that her legs careened into the far wall. She planted her feet on the vertical surface, coiled up, then launched herself upward and back; immediately, she tucked her knees to her chest and rotated backward into a backflip that barely brushed the ceiling. Feeling where down was, she uncoiled her feet to plant her landing in the middle of the room.

  She held her arms out for the invisible judges. But, she was not done! A surprise number!

  The cat-folk began twirling, a rapid circle locked in the center of the space. As she’d practiced time and again, she curled her tail around her waist to add a spiraling movement of fur to the spin. Then, she launched another flip with the rotational energy, resulting in a dazzling twirl through the air. At the apex, she meowed forcefully!

  When she landed, her left arm was already outstretched, wielding an invisible blade! She began to thrust at the unseen foe upon her bed! Eingarde! Nobody was prepared for her Lencian sword-play!

  Tappa-tap tap-ta-ta-tap tap-ta!

  The stylish footwork! The grace! Everyone cheered for Olivia Knoh to take out the Dread Pirate Hellfang! She gestured for the crowd!

  Erm!

  Olivia stopped mid-thrust, entirely self-conscious all of a sudden. Really, what was she doing? She’d given it a shot, but when the real thing happened she just froze up. It really wasn’t like the stories, all that stuff was scary. And fencing wasn’t fighting, no matter what mom and dad said! It was just – fencing! She didn’t even have her nice city-forged sword anymore, there wasn’t going to be anything to fight at the guild hall.

  Big stretch. Moderate zoomies. Just okay.

  Damn, what now?

  A new, perhaps wine-induced sense of fortification came over her. Olivia didn’t have to stand for this anymore! That nice gnome had given her a tip. If she could just get all of it off at once, she could sleep in comfort again! She wouldn’t have to face Stephan or Lady Delacroix tomorrow still dressed for battle! All she had to do was ignore the stupid fairy and just keep going!

  Olivia extended her right arm, eyeing her gauntlet’s buckle.

  Alright, Ivy, round two!

  The cat-folk unclasped her gauntlet and pulled the leather binding through, nearly having it all the way off before the sprite’s laughter sounded!

  You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

  “Not this time!” Olivia cried, flinging the loosened gauntlet into the wall.

  “Bad kitten!” the sprite spoke, and when she did, it was with Ivy’s distinctly cunning tones. It brought back embarrassing memories, but Olivia ignored them and the fairy, instead struggling with her other gauntlet.

  The fairy tried to pull against her. Olivia was too fast. Got it! Hee-yah! Olivia chucked it as well.

  “Oh I see,” the sprite wailed in glee. “You want more Ivy!”

  “No, less!” Olivia demanded for less. Deeply desired less Ivy.

  Three more sprites, all different colors, flitted from her chest-piece and divvied themselves up scooping her gauntlets flittering around her head.

  “I said less!” Olivia squealed.

  “No-no-no,” Ivy’s voice cooed. “Keep going! I love it!”

  Olivia flailed her arms around, trying to knock the sprites away, but they flittered away every time she tried. The cat-folk jumped backward, landed her seat, and frantically tugged at the buckles on her right boot. The sprites followed, two of them carrying her gauntlets back to her, the other two homing back in on her boot.

  She pulled at the loosened boot and kicked it free, up into the air! As it soared, two additional sprites flew from it and caught it before it fell. They joined the fairies holding the gauntlets and descended toward Olivia.

  “Please!” Olivia gasped, crawling desperately toward her bed.

  “I’ll give’ya a hint, cutie,” Ivy’s voice came. “This innit it. It’s great, though. Gets me in a certain way.”

  Olivia couldn’t respond, too busy panting and out of breath. She pressed her back up to the mattress and blinked the tears from her eyes, desperately trying to pull her hide trousers off.

  “Please, I want to be free!” Olivia begged. Two sprites were holding her trousers, keeping her from removing them; and now, the ones holding her shed pieces descended on her.

  “Too bad, pussy-cat,” Ivy tsked, “I’m in the mood to play now.”

  The tickling ceased for an ominous moment. Then, sprites latched onto her arms at once and yanked them straight up! The sprites with her gauntlets fluttered down, and they all pulled together to force Olivia’s paws back through them. At her feet, she felt her boot being shuffled back on. The cat-folk’s endurance was shot, all the struggling finally sapping her ability to wiggle free.

  The sprites forced Olivia’s hands and feet together. Then, the belts on her gauntlets and greaves undid themselves and gained length, before wrapping themselves all the way around her wrists and ankles! They clasped tight, binding her hands and feet in a firm hold. Olivia panicked, tugging against them uselessly and squirming around against her bed.

  “Let go!” Olivia cried.

  “Shh, kitten, you’re okay,” Ivy cooed.

  Olivia pulled against the belts until her strength gave, then slumped. She leaned against the side of her mattress, panting in heavy gasps. One by one, the sprites returned to her chest-piece, save for the pink one, which flittered in front of Olivia. It was more obvious now that the sprite’s features resembled Ivy’s, with her piercing green eyes, pink-hued skin, and feminine frame.

  “Us fae aren’t really interested in hurting you Terrans,” Ivy said. “We’re fascinated by you lot.”

  Ivy was pretty. And despite herself, Olivia felt herself latching on to the fae’s softer words.

  “Poor thing, it was a good guess,” Ivy continued. “Highly entertaining.”

  “Mew, this is so embarrassing, please let me go,” Olivia asked, meek.

  “I will, be calm,” Ivy said, the sprite fluttering down to stand on her raised knee. “I think watching you be such a lonely cat is more embarrassing – no, not embarrassing, love. Kinda sad.”

  “I’ll be better at making friends once I’m rid of you!” Olivia whined.

  The sprite put on a hurt expression.

  “I thought we were friends!” Ivy said. “I was there for you on your first day of a new job!”

  “You-” Olivia’s eyes flared. Then, an unwelcome nice feeling. “You’re – watching me?”

  “Us greater fairies can’t come into Terria proper,” the sprite nodded. “It’s rare I get to have such a fun and lovely cat to scry through.”

  That felt like, er, something. Olivia blushed, realized something, and sheepishly asked: “how much do you see?”

  Ivy giggled.

  “Everything, love,” the fairy said with sensation.

  Ulp.

  “So there’s really no need to be shy,” Ivy continued. “Who were you fighting just then, hm?”

  Olivia’s face went redder.

  “It was Hellfang,” Olivia mumbled, “the dread pirate everyone talks about.”

  Ivy smiled with real warmth.

  “Ah, fancy yourself a genuine hero, then?” Ivy asked.

  “I know it’s silly,” Olivia said. “I just like those stories where a sword fighter can save the day, you know?”

  “I don’t think that’s silly,” Ivy replied. “Heroes with swords save the day all the time still.”

  “It’s never like the stories though,” Olivia said. “Everything is a lot more complicated than like a martial ballet!”

  “Well, sometimes though,” Ivy countered, “it is as simple as that. And the heroes should feel like they’re heroes for it.”

  The sprite flittered down between Olivia’s legs, making the cat-folk squirm in nerves! Yet, she was worked up, too. The fairy had lit some spark in her chest.

  “I hate how lonely you’ve been,” Ivy told her. “I’d like to give you a nice evening, if you don’t mind.”

  “Er, is it okay to,” Olivia stammered, “do – this?”

  “I’m fae, Olivia,” Ivy laughed, “this is what we do. Do you want me to?”

  Despite everything, the cat-folk found herself not wanting to spend another night alone.

  “Yes, please,” Olivia murmured, face burning red.

  That night, the greater fairy known as Ivy treated the cat-folk known as Olivia Knoh to the full intimacy of the fae.

  * * *

  The next morning at the guild hall’s service entrance, Stephan stared at her with an expression of disbelief.

  “So, the curse is why I can’t take it off,” Olivia explained.

  “No, I got that,” Stephan groused. “That explains the armor, but.”

  Olivia blinked.

  “But what?” she asked.

  “You’ll want to get the fairy dust out of your fur before Lady Delacroix sees you,” Stephan said.

  The cat-folk’s cheeks went hot. She nodded emphatically.