Chapter 1: Thank you, Annie

As the light disappeared, she looked around. Just as Annie had said, it was the front of a large estate. The tall walls and the large golden gate loomed over her.

"Who are you?" a man said as he came running over.

Looking up, Lily saw a man in armor with a sword at his hip who quickly made his way in front of her.

"I-I I um, I uh, I w-was, I-I mean." Lily couldn't stop stumbling over her own words. Struggling to keep herself together.

"Please calm down, miss. It's okay. You don't look too well. Take as much time as you need," he said with concern in his voice.

Taking a deep breath to collect herself as much as she could, she looked him in the eyes. "I-I was sent by A-Annie Enzlock." She managed to stutter out

This seemed to take the guard aback. "Lady Annie sent you?" he paused for a second before continuing. "Please follow me. I'll lead you to where the boss is."

"The boss?" she thought to herself. She couldn't help but be nervous in her situation. She was scared, so, so scared.

As they walked into the manor, it was beautiful. The bright decor and walls, the pretty flowers arranged on shelves and tables. She couldn't help but look around at everything until they reached a large brown door. The man knocked quickly, waiting for a response.

"Come in," a man spoke from the other side.

The guard opened the door to a large room with shelves filled with books and desks covered in paper.

"Sir, I've brought someone to see you. Lady Annie sent them," the guard said, interrupting the man's work.

The man's attention was immediately captured. He quickly stood up from his desk and rushed over. "Lady Annie?! Where is she? How is she doing?" he asked eagerly.

Lily lowered her head, unable to meet his gaze. Tears streamed down her cheeks, and her knees grew weak as she fell to the floor. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry," she sobbed.

The man could immediately sense what had happened, and his eyes filled with grief. "I see," he said quietly, stumbling over to a chair and slumping into it, burying his face in his hands.

"Hans, please arrange a room for the lady. Give us some privacy," he said, gesturing to the guard.

"Yes, Lord Grey. I'll see to it immediately," Hans said before leaving the room.

The room was silent for a while before Grey spoke. "How did it happen... to Annie?" he asked, his voice trembling.

"She saved me... so I could escape. She sacrificed herself for me," Lily said, her voice trembling with emotion.

"That sounds like Annie, alright," Grey said with a chuckle followed by a dreary sigh.

He leaned his head back and hung off the chair. After a moment, he looked at Lily and collected himself as much as he could. "I apologize. Please get up from the floor. I can't treat someone for whom my dear friend sacrificed herself in such a manner," he said as he stood up and grabbed a simple red armchair, placing it next to Lily.

Lily nodded and sat down in the chair as Grey sat across from her.

"Perhaps I shouldn't keep calling you 'Lady,' haha. What's your name?"

"Oh, yeah, m-my name is Lily. Y-yours is Grey, right?"

"That's right. Feel free to just call me Grey, no need for honorifics. Can I ask you some questions about everything? Sorry if it's a sensitive subject, but I'd like to hear what you're able to tell me about how you knew Annie and what caused her to need to save you."

"O-of cour-" Lily paused and thought for a second, what would happen if she told him she was a fairy that was captured by the imperial family? Would he take her back to the castle? Would she be forced to sit in that cramped lonely place till she died...she couldn't take the chance, she couldn't go through it all again.

"O-of course. I was a slave f-for a very powerful family. I was always mistreated and left locked alone i-in a small room for so long..." Just describing her old situation, Lily began to shake, but she continued to tell him the story while hiding the fact that she was a fairy and the family was the imperial family.

Grey seemed to think for a second before looking at Lily, almost as if he was examining her body. Her clothes were tattered, not suited even for a commoner. Her whole body was dirty, as if she had never been properly cleaned, along with her body itself, which seemed malnourished to an extreme.

"That sounds just like something Annie would do. I apologize you had to suffer through that. Feel free to stay here for as long as you need. We'll have you set up with a new identity while also providing you with clothes and food whenever you need it. Money's not an issue, so use it as you need."

"N-no, I couldn't possibly do that!" Lily blurted out. "H-how could I take advantage of your hospitality? Someone like me deserves no such luxury..."

"You have no need to worry about anything like that. A friend of Annie's is a friend of mine. I couldn't possibly face Annie if I didn't do at least this much for you," Grey said with a softhearted smile.

"T-thank you," Lily said with a smile.

Just as their conversation finished, Hans knocked on the door. "My lord, the room has been fully prepared."

"Thank you, Hans. Well, Lily, it was nice to meet you. I'm sure you are tired, so feel free to rest. I'll send someone to get you for dinner. Hans, lead her to the room, please, then come back to my office."

Hans nodded.

"I-it was nice meeting you too, G-Grey," she said quickly, getting up and following Hans until they reached the entrance to another room.

The room was beautiful and extravagant, a place Lily thought fitting to be labeled as paradise. "S-such a room for myself. I never would have expected a day like this to come," Lily said, lowering her head. Her heart swelled with so many emotions that all she could do was cry.

"Thank you, Hans, for leading me here. I'd like to be alone for a little while, though, if you don't mind," Lily said with a trembling smile as she sat down on the bed.

"Of course," he said as he took his leave, closing the door on the way.

Lily laid back on the large, soft bed, feeling as if she was riding a cloud. The comfort soon overwhelmed her, and she quickly grew drowsy. She stretched her hand into the air as tears rolled down the sides of her face. "Goodnight, Annie. Thank you for freeing me, thank you so much..."