Once upon a time, the Highland Kingdom was a prosperous land for fairies, who loved to live in peace, and also liked to have fun and make beautiful and delicious things.
But 500 years ago, humans decided to attack them and ended up making them servants and slaves to their evil desires.
For Ann’s mother, an artisan confectioner, it was the limited number of fairies that caused their defeat.
Sugar candies were a form of sacred food for fairies, capable of extending their lives and offering good fortune. The method to refine the sweets, belonged to the fairies.
So, as an artist, Ann’s mother teaches her daughter that she should never look down on them or treat them with hatred.
Years later, Ann loses her mother, and the young girl decides to follow her teachings and embarks on a journey to begin her education, and become a recognized confectioner like her.
When saying goodbye to the town that received her mother, she tells one of her neighbors that she intends to enter the Royal Sweet Fair. Jonas is another apprentice in the art of sweets, and he tells her that it’s risky to travel alone and that despite being 15 years old, she still looks like a girl.
Jonas asks her not to risk her life, that he loves her just as she is and asks her to marry him. Anne ignores his words and says goodbye immediately.
But as Jonas warned, the road is treacherous and very long, so Anne must find a warrior to accompany her, and not just any kind of warrior, a fairy.
Arriving in a nearby town, Anne watches as a hunter hurts a little fairy. No one says anything to the hunter, and Anne decides to step up.
To subdue the fairies, their owners keep one of their wings in their hand, and in case they do not obey, they are quickly subdued by squeezing it with the hand.
Anne recovers the fairy’s wing and hands it over to him, immediately fleeing, but telling her that he will never thank a human for such gesture.
The hunter gets up, ready to hit Anne, but eventually the townspeople decide to stop him.
Despite wanting the good of the fairies, Anne must turn to a vendor to find a warrior to keep her safe on her journey.
In the entire village, there is only one fairy available for her, Shalle Fen Shalle, who has long remained a slave to humans.
Anne thinks his wings are beautiful, but before she can say anything, Shalle Fen Shalle tells her that she looks like a scarecrow.
Anne is immediately outraged, and the seller tells her that three hunters lost their lives to capture him. Shalle Fen Shalle calls her a scarecrow again, and orders her to buy it.
The vendor is surprised that Shalle Fen Shalle would react like this to Anne, and the fairy insults him in response. At that moment, the vendor has no mercy and squeezes his wing to control him.
Seeing how he suffers, Anne decides to buy him immediately. The vendor warns her that she must not let her guard down, that he will try to get his wing back and might even kill her.
Anne explains why she needs his services, and that when she arrives at her destination, she promises to return his wing and set him free. But Shalle Fen Shalle can’t believe that such a naive human exists in the world.
She tells him that she doesn’t want to hurt anyone, much less serve her as a slave, that she wishes they could treat each other as friends, but for Shalle Fen Shalle that is impossible.
Anne tells him about the ideals that her mother taught her, and Shalle Fen Shalle doesn’t hesitate to tell her that they are nonsense and that serving a girl as foolish as her will make his life easier.
At night, Anne tries to learn more about Shalle Fen Shalle, but she ends up being reprimanded for trying to touch his wing. Later, the fairy tries to steal the one that Anne has in her possession and when he can’t get it, he again tells her that they can never become friends.
Anne reiterates that as soon as they arrive at her destination, she will keep her promise and release him, regardless of whether or not they are friends.
While she sleeps, Shalle Fen Shalle thinks that there is something peculiar about Anne, that she has a very nostalgic sweet scent.
The next day, they are attacked by bandits, and though Anne has trouble ordering Shalle Fen Shalle to defend her, he agrees to do so, demonstrating some of his strength as a warrior.
The road is just starting, and the dangers will show up.
(シュガーアップル・フェアリーテイル)
