John Price owns a tavern. Those kind of taverns where not only can you have a drink but you can also spend the night there, for any weary and tired travellers it's the perfect place. A place for booze and snooze.

He's a friendly face in the town, well liked and popular. Every evening his tavern is packed full of all sorts of different people; humans, werewolves, witches, etcetera. Good quality alcohol, low prices, and a friendly time.

Sometimes there's even a band or bard there, playing some tunes to make the merry times even merrier. The tavern has seen it's fair share of memories, like that one time there was a terrible storm that hit the village and everyone huddled together in the warm and cozy pub as it is the safest place if the buildings started to collapse. It's built properly, made of rocks and not just wood like the rest of the houses in the village. Thankfully no one's house did blow down in the storm and they'd all had a good time.

The tavern is where the friends gather, where romantic dinners are eaten, where plots are planned and secrets are shared.

John wouldn't change it for the world. He didn't always have this life, this tavern. No. He used to be a knight for the Royal family, a commanding officer in fact. However those days are long behind him, only the skills he's acquired on the way have stayed with him when he left the regiment and went travelling.

Using his skills, he managed to travel alone without any prior experiences of travelling. He fought monsters, made friends with elves, visited town to town. He revelled in the feeling of freedom.

But it didn't last, John knew it wouldn't. He knew he'd have to settle down at some point because he's not experienced in travelling. But that's what he was travelling for. To find the perfect spot to settle down. And when he did? Well, he made the tavern, of course.

Taking after his dad, John already knew enough skills that he needed to handle alcohol and rent out rooms. He doesn't do everything by himself of course, he has some workers that tidy the place up and sort out room service and such, but he does the bulk of the work alone.

And its when he's alone that he sees it. Not every time he's alone, it's more... 75% of the time when he's alone and relaxing that it comes out. A fairy. At least John thinks it's a fairy. It might not be, his eyesight has always played tricks on him, but John is sure he knows what a fairy looks like despite never seeing one not in a book before.

The first time he saw it was when he'd reclined on his armchair in front of the fire in his room in the back of the tavern. He'd just opened a book when something caught his eye and he tried to find out what it was. It's like a fly, you see it for a moment then it flies away and you don't see it for the next five minutes and spend ages trying to find it before giving up and letting it do its own thing.

Then he kept on seeing it, time and time again every time he relaxes. Sitting down at a table with a drink, sitting on his armchair, leaning against a wall when he had a break from cutting trees.

It could always just be fireflies but they don't come out at night so that idea was squashed fast.

John keeps mulling over the idea, wanting to try and figure out why this fairy keeps appearing around him. Is it some bad omen or something?

He spends all day today helping tidy rooms that people have just checked out of. He's closed the actual drinking part of the tavern but has the counter open incase any travellers check in.

After a long day of cleaning, John is completely spent. He shuts the whole place up and goes to his room and pours himself a nice hot bath. He adds a little bubble potion to make it extra bubbly and nice smelling before he gets in.

With a sigh, he leans back and shuts his eyes, feeling the warm water relaxing him and relieving any tension he's holding in his body.

When he opens his eyes again, there's something perched on the rim of the bathtub. It's that fairy, it's back again! He runs a dripping hand over his face.

"You really pick your timing, huh?"