Avery was king of the fairies. The kingdom he ruled was a grand place where fairies lived among the many colourful flowers, green grass and evergreen trees beside a freshwater lake. He was a kind fairy and the other fairies love him as a ruler. He enjoyed the attention most of the time, like a celebrity in the human world; any of his public appearances would draw in crowds. However, sometimes he preferred to have some time to himself. Such times were precious because opportunities for him to be alone were rare.

It was traditional for a king of the fairy kingdom to find himself a queen. Avery was a relatively young fairy, but because he was also the king, he was expected to marry a fairy who would become the queen. He did want to marry, but he wanted to find someone he felt a connection with. Unfortunately, none of the potential partners he met seemed to connect with him. Some of them were pretty, others were clever, the list of good qualities the fairies he met was endless, but Avery still felt there was something missing.

One day Avery managed to find a secluded spot by the lake in a flower underneath the shade of one of the trees. It was a warm, sunny day with no clouds to be seen in the blue sky. While all was peaceful in the fairy kingdom, he could not help but sigh, while thinking about the problem he was having with trying to find a partner to be the queen.

He was still deep in thought when he noticed a swallow fly swiftly nearby. Swallows are bigger than fairies so he was wary of the bird that was flying so speedily around in circles. He noticed that he swallow seemed to be flying awkwardly before he heard it crash into a tree and fall down. Although he was scared of birds due to their size, he couldn't help but fly towards the direction where the swallow fell, out of curiosity. He heard a comforting female's voice say, "Are you hurt anywhere Swallow?"

"No, I'm fine, I just need to rest from flying so far," he heard the swallow's reply.

As he got closer he could see a girl, around his age and size, checking the swallow's wings. He hid among behind the petals of a flower and observed. She looked like a fairy in every way only she didn't have fairy wings. The dress she wore was dirty and was torn in places and her short hair was messy. She also had cuts, scrapes and bruises all over her body. Despite her ragged appearance, Avery could not help but think she was beautiful. The girl seemed genuinely concerned for the swallow's wellbeing and her voice was soothing to listen to even if she was talking to the swallow and not him. He felt his heart beat faster than usual, and he felt a sensation like he had never felt before. He wanted to know more about her, so he emerged from his hiding spot and approached the girl and swallow.

"Hello there," He greeted, feeling unusually nervous, "My name is Avery, I am the king of the fairies, welcome to my kingdom. What is your name?"

The girl turned around and appeared surprised when she saw him, but then she answered, "My name is Thumbelina. I'm travelling with Swallow to find a new home."

"You're more than welcome to stay in the fairy kingdom with me," Avery suggested.

Thumbelina looked back and forth between the swallow and Avery, seemingly unable to make a decision. The swallow nodded its head in approval. "I think you should stay here," the swallow said, "I fly around to many faraway places, if you stick with me I may accidentally injure you."

The girl hugged the swallow, "Thanks for everything Swallow, I'll never forget you," she said.

"Well, I better get going," the swallow said as it spread its wings and took off "I'll come visit you when I can!" the swallow could he heard shouting as it flew away, leaving Thumbelina alone with Avery.

"You know, the name Thumbelina does not suit someone as beautiful as you," Avery said.

"My mother named me because I was the size of her thumb," she replied.

Avery looked at her and asked, "How about we call you Lina from now on?"

She thought about it for a moment before answering, "I could get used to that."

The two of them smiled at each other.

"Allow me to show you around your new home," Avery suggested and he held his hand out.

She grabbed his hand and said, "I'd like that."

Time passed, Avery and Lina got to know each other and not long after their first encounter Avery decided to propose to her and she agreed. The two got married soon after that and they ruled the kingdom of fairies together as king and queen.