Lena stared with widening eyes. Realizing that she was letting such an expression show openly, she quickly gave a full body shiver as she reoriented herself. She gave the child a warm smile.
The process had been visibly awkward. But with the ti she had spent here, even if it wasn’t much, everyone had co to understand her better. Even those that didn’t still recognize her as the savior of the children.
The woman who had entered a land hostile to her. The one who saved an innocent human from a wrongful execution. The one who had gathered evidence from the most unlikely sources. The one who cleared out the Deer King’s minions, found their hidden dens, and personally escorted a dozen children back.
And more.
It was impossible not to recognize soone like that.
She held out her wrist, and let the child put it on her.
"Thank you." Lena responded. She nodded at her sincerely. "I appreciate your token of gratitude. I will keep it safe."
The fairy child shook her head solemnly. "We’re the ones that should thank you."
A brief silence followed that exchange as Lena observed the bracelet on her wrist. She inspected it from all angles, making sure to show to the kids that she truly appreciated the gift, and held active interest in it.
She then slowly put her arm down, and said with a smile. "Thank you all."
While Lena was receiving her present, Lumi had noticed that at so unknown period, Headmaster Ney had slipped away. After a quick look around, he spotted him on the stairs leading to the second floor, descending now with a box in his hands.
Ney moved through the crowd steadily, making his way to Lena. The crowd naturally parted as he moved, until he was in front of her.
His face was completely serious, with no mirth at all. He was quiet for a mont before he spoke.
"I will be honest with you." His voice carried weight. "I have been prejudiced toward humans for a long ti. We all have. When the children disappeared, my first instinct was to suspect the human present among us."
He glanced briefly at the short man with the scientific equipnt, who t his gaze awkwardly.
Ney looked back to Lena.
"If you had not co, he would have been tortured for information, and likely killed. You have prevented this grave injustice. What I have witnessed over these past days has changed how I see things."
He paused, looking over the various humans gathered here today. "Every human here helped my people. Not because they were asked to by soone with authority over them. Not because there was sothing to be gained. Simply because they saw sothing wrong and chose to address it."
He looked back at her. "I will not discard my caution entirely. That would be foolish, and I am not a fool. But I will no longer approach humans as a category. I will look at them as individuals, and judge accordingly."
He held the box out to her.
It was a large white box. It was thin, but it was at least three feet long. It was pristine white, decorated with light gold. May stood a step behind him, watching with the sa solemn expression Ney wore.
Neither of them said anything further as Lena looked down at it. Under their unblinking eyes, she slowly took the box.
She opened it slowly...
Inside, resting on a small bed of dark fabric, were two thin sheets. Li green, slightly translucent, with a structure that was imdiately recognizable.
Fairy wings.
A gasp rang out throughout the room.
Lena’s eyes went wide. She stared at them.
"No way."
She looked up at Ney. Then at May. She looked back and forth between the two, unbelieving. She looked back down at the wings in the box. "Y-you. No, you..."
Her lip trembled, then she looked up again. "Is this... are these... wings?"
Ney gave a single, slow nod. "You earned them. It was you, more than anyone else, who with your earnest, straightforward, honest, and kind nature, led us out of the abyss and into the light."
"I didn’t..." Lena held the box awkwardly, not knowing how to take the praise.
"You did." Ney spoke firmly. "Not only did you save at least two dozen of our children, you smoothed relations between us and humans, and you preserved our reputation. I crown you a hero among the Fairies of Teth."
Lena took a deep breath. She analyzed the contents of the box.
[Fairy Wings]
[Speed 2]
[Enables flight]
[MP Cost: 1000/minute.]
She looked back up. "How is this possible?"
Ney shook his head. "Don’t ask for the thod. Just know this isn’t possible without the full consent of a fairy on their deathbed."
It wasn’t as if they killed a fairy for the wings. Normally, when a fairy died, their wings stopped working. However, a strong enough fairy could choose to preserve their wings for future generations.
It was a symbolic gesture. Usually. At most, they could be used as prosthetics if a fairy irreversibly lost their wings.
An item that immortalized a life as having been lived certainly wasn’t an object to be given as a gift. Even as headmaster of an academy for decades, this was likely the only one he could possibly give.
Lena stared at the item for several more monts. The entire hall was silent from the gravity of what had just been gifted. No one dared to make a sound.
Lena respectfully covered the box, then put it in her inventory. She gave Ney a bow. "I am honored. I will live up to your expectations."
Ney didn’t speak. He stood back, May following him, and they went back into the crowd.
Only then did the cheering begin once more, entirely from the children who crowded Lena once again.
Once she was able to excuse herself, Lena went off to the side with Lumi, and led him out of the building until they were alone in the grass.
She gave him a smile. "Darling. I’m glad you’re here."
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