Uh Oh!

Rose smirked slightly as she sat cross-legged on the ground by the fire. “I may not be able to see, but I can hear you just fine.”
The silence that greeted her had her smirk turn into a thoughtful frown. She wondered for a moment if the small voices had left the clearing before she heard a soft sound like someone clearing their throat.
An old voice spoke gently, “If you can hear us, then you must have some tie to the eternal beings. Can you explain to us why is it you became so angry at Mistress Sarah’s husband and Mistress Sarah earlier? It has been confusing us since we observed the interaction between you three.”
Rose frowned slightly as she remembered the interchange and sighed deeply. “He made me a promise before he left last time that he would return and take me with him and he forgot and I had to follow him.”
“If that was the case, then why become so angry? If it is true that he is the one who made the forest by your home safe for all beings to live in harmony once more and he is also the one who wed Mistress Sarah, then why become angry about something that could have slipped his mind if it occurred nearly a year ago?”
“Because he shouldn’t have forgotten about me!”
“And why do you feel that way? I sense that there is another reason other than him forgetting about a promise that is at play here.”
Rose sighed softly before allowing her upper body to fall backwards and her legs tent upwards. The skirt of her dress falls down her legs and pools at the ground around her hips, allowing her off-white underwear to be in plain sight should someone come by and see her. The small fairy rested on her knees as he waited for her answer.
“Well, he … he was my first kiss. He … he also promised that when he returned that … it would be me that he married. Then he leaves and when he returns he is married already and when I try to see if he was serious about this marriage by telling him that they would have to be married according to the laws and traditions of our village, he actually goes through with it instead of remembering the promises he made me before he left. It is supposed to be me he shares his bed with, not her. But I can’t step in the way because for the first time in the years I have known him I can tell that he’s happy and he views me as a sibling rather than a lover.”
The fairy shifted slightly on her knees before he began talking, seeing that she was done with her explanation. “So he made a boyhood promise to you, left and became a man and made a man’s promise to someone else and now you are angry because he forgot and failed to follow through with promises he made when he was still a boy? That makes sense I suppose.”
Rose made a scoffing noise in the back of her throat as she shook her head. “And now you make it sound as if I was being childish myself as well as petty and allowing jealousy to rule my decisions rather than common sense.”
“Well, if that is how you feel then maybe that is the way it is and that is the way Mistress Sarah saw it as well.”
Rose sighed softly, the words of the fairy echoing in her mind as she played it over and over again. She could feel his slight weight on her knee and the feel seemed … almost comforting in its own way. So lost in her thoughts that she didn’t seem to hear the crackling of the wood in the bonfire, or hear the hoof beats of the horses that came up the path until she was shocked out of her revere by the sound of a cruel voice.
“Well, well, well, look what we have here boys. A little female, all by herself, with her skirt hiked high and just waiting for someone to pluck her. What do you say; shall we help the little lady out and have some fun with her delectable body?”
Rose frowned as she sat up and pulled her skirt back down over her legs. The fairies seemed to scatter away from her as she looked up towards the voice. “I wouldn’t do that if I were you. In fact, I think you should just go on to the next rest area and leave me in peace before you wind up in pieces.”
A soft chuckle sounded as she heard the soft creaking of leather from the speaker was followed by even more movement as his cohorts dismounted their own horses soon after him. The heavy foot falls of his feet felt like they vibrated deep within the earth and she could feel every one of his steps as she stood to her own feet to face him.
“Now, why would we need to move on when all we have to do is subdue you and take over this here site without the need to hunt up some food, build a shelter or make a fire?”
Rose felt one of the fairies tugging at her hand and she allowed it to be guided behind her and her fingers pulled into an open palm as she looked up at the man who stood in front of her. “The mistress returns with her husband Mother,” came a soft voice in her ear as she then heard some rustling behind her.
“I will give you one more chance. Move on.”
She could hear the fabric of his shirt shifting as he turned to those who stood just behind him. “Why, do you gents hear her? She thinks to intimidate us when she’s just a small girl. Why don’t two of you go into them there woods over there and see if she has a ride of her own while the rest of us deal with her? We’ll make sure she’s nice and sweet to us when you return.”