Thorley was fuming with rage. Up in a little bare room in a quiet village, Mr Hapwood stood in front of him, calmly taking in the bloodied and bruised thief he had employed.
"That was a fairie realm you sent me into." Thorley said, tightly clutching a beautiful black crown in his hand.
"It was." Mr Hapwood said. "And you've done extremely well considering the circumstances. So please, accept your reward." With a slight glance at the crown, Mr Hapwood held out a leather bag that jingled with the familiar sound of coins.
"I didn't know such places even existed." Thorley continued, making no movement to retrieve the bag. Instead, his fingers twitched towards the dagger at his belt. "Those are places of magic. Real magic! So why did I see a small army as I was escaping? Besides which, you never told me I would be up against an absolute brute of fairy."
Mr Hapwood sighed. "I suppose it was too much to hope that you wouldn't see my men at arms. I'll admit that the crown wasn't the main objective. It's a vulgar, magical object. No, it was the guard. He was not only the crown's guardian but also the gate keeper into that particular realm. We needed him distracted."
Thorley frowned, which hurt. A large bruise was forming above his eye. "But why?"
"To invade, of course." Mr Hapwood said. "We can't have hidden realms in this country that are not controlled by the Queen, especially ones that dare to practice magic. These people need to made aware of their true ruler."
He felt disgusted by Mr Hapwood. Usually, Thorley was happy to keep quiet. Needed a job done, no questions asked? He was your man. But this... he had always secretly wanted to learn some magic. Just think how useful it could be! And now he had discovered a whole fairie realm. He couldn't let that opportunity to go waste.
His frown turned into a glare. Mr Hapwood's hand was wavering, about to draw his money back to him. Thorley's foot rocketed up, crashing between Mr Hapwood's legs. Mr Hapwood let out a gasp, dropping the leather bag and falling to his knees. His face a picture of agony as Thorley stormed silently out of the room. And then stormed back in. Picking up the bag of coins, he left again, leaving Mr Hapwood on the floor.
'Now then' he thought, entering into the street. 'How to get back'. Mounting his horse, Maple, he set off down the village street. It was a small, quiet village. No one noticed the rider on his dark bay horse leave towards forest.
They followed a small winding track through the undergrowth. Light sparkled playfully through the trees and birds chirped happily overhead, until they reached the tree. All went silent, and the crown Thorley still had clutched in his hand thrummed with energy. A chill ran through him. He knew now this was the right way. To the onlooker, it was perhaps just an old tree. To the thief who wanted to return the crown he stole, it was the entrance to a fairie realm. No leaves adorned its branches and the bark on its trunk swirled in strange patterns. Behind the tree was another path. Thorley pushed Maple into a trot down this path, the canopy of leaves darkening the further they went. Eventually, they reached a castle. It's towers old and its walls crumbling.
'This isn't right' Thorley thought. 'That castle looked almost new when I was here earlier.' Dismounting Maple at the gate, he rushed inside. Almost immediately, he came upon a man wearing chainmail and a wide brimmed helmet. This was definitely no fairy. Upon seeing Thorley, the man started to draw his sword. Thorley whipped out his dagger and slashed the blade across the man's eyes. The man cried out in pain. Thorley didn't wait around to see the damage he had caused, instead dashing off deeper into the castle. He headed for a set of stairs that looked like they went down. He leaped down them, hoping to find the dungeons. He felt certain that was where they would have put the fairy guard. Shouts sounded from the top of the stairs. Thorley quickened his pace, weaving his way through the maze of corridors. Somehow, he made it to the dungeon. And there, sat despondent behind bars was the fairy guard he had fought with earlier.
"Come back to gloat?" The fairy said, looking up. He wasn't at all how Thorley had imagined a fairy to be. No wings, no claws or paws. He looked just like a man, with the exception of his yellow eyes.
"No, I've come to return this." Thorley said, holding up the crown. "I had no idea it was all part of a bigger plan. I'll help free you if you promise to teach me some magic."
The shouts above were getting louder.
"Deal." the fairy said without hesitation, "Get me out!"
Thorley plucked a couple of tools out his pouch and swiftly picked the lock on the barred door. Just as some armed men came running through the door, the fairy reached out and grabbed Thorley's wrist. Next thing he knew, Thorley and the fairy were in a different room. His head was spinning.
A couple more armed men turned to face them in astonishment. They had been guarding another fairy, one who looked to be a king himself.
Thorley drew his sword as the human guards approached. They lunged at Thorley and the yellow eyed fairy. Thorley parried their blades while the fairy ducked and battered them with his fists.
"My crown!" The fairy king yelled, noticing the dark headpiece being flailed around in Thorley's spare hand.
Thorley flung it in his direction. The King caught it and placed it on his head.
A voice echoed around the walls, magic seeping through the words. Thorley did not understand what was said. All the intruders crumbled into dust. Thorley did not, thankfully, and stood gobsmacked.
