Next Stop

It really did seem silly to pack up only to stop again a short while later. The group had considered leaving the soldiers behind to make a day trip to the fairies by themselves, but Hanna knew if they did that then the winged creatures might try to urge them to stay for the whole day. 

The Fate loved the generous nature of most of the fairies, but she did not want to delay their trip by getting roped into some sort of party to welcome them. With the soldiers, the group was big enough that the fairies would not be as able to accommodate everyone. With a little luck, Bolemir would be the one to greet them, and Hanna could be very frank that they needed to move along. 

It seemed luck was on their side. 

As they passed beyond the fairy's border, which no longer had the protective shield dividing them from the elves, the Fate could already see a rotund figure watching them from afar. Growing nearer, Hanna confirmed the identity of the one keeping a close eye on them. She rode ahead of the rest to greet the fairy with the wide gossamer wings. 

"Bolemir, just the one I was hoping to see!" Hanna smiled down at the other creature. 

The fairy bowed. "Fate Hanna. I am glad it was you. We got word of a massive exodus from the elven lands, and I felt I should come investigate it myself." 

Hanna did not ask how the fairy had gotten word. There were many ways to discover such things without magic. "I should have sent word when we arrived yesterday. Forgive me for worrying you." 

"No need for apologies. This was the best possible outcome." Bolemir put two fingers between his lips and whistled twice. 

All of a sudden, the forest seemed to come alive as many fairies-- men, women, and children--fluttered down from the trees. 

The princess and the others neared just as most of them were landing on the ground. "Were you planning to attack us from above?" Mairwen asked amiably. 

"Only if pushed. Otherwise, we probably would have hidden until you passed through. Without our magic, there is not much we can do to defend ourselves. Things have been rather tense, as you may have guessed." Bolemir shot a glance at his kin. "It's alright. They are human friends! They are here to help us. I hope," he added the last part quietly as he looked toward Hanna. She had left with the promise of help, after all. 

"That is the goal, yes," Hanna confirmed. 

Bolemir smiled genuinely. "They you are all most welcome. Please eat with us, and I will call the elders together so we can converse. Oh, and we also have a guest who I am sure is most eager to see you as well."

"A guest?" Mairwen's question was drown out by a happy squeal. Prem surged forward from the crowd and hovered around the princess. 

"Princess Mairwen! My but you do look like your mother. Such gorgeous ladies you both are. You must come and rest while my husband gathers the elders. I want to hear all about how your family is doing!" 

"I will make sure the soldiers are taken care of, Father." A younger fairy said. He had the kind eyes of the lady flying next to Mairwen.

"Thank you, Gede. That would be most helpful." Bolemir nodded his approval.

All together, the fairies, humans, two elves, and Fate made their way into the fairy settlement. The homes here were far more quaint than those in the elven kingdom.

In fact, some melded seamlessly into the landscape except for the doors and windows to betray them. Mairwen loved the homey feel.

Aurora had said how much she loved where the fairies lived. Even without the magic, the princess could see why.

Reaching the center of town, Gede bowed before his father. "I will take my leave with the soldiers."

After a brief discussion, it was decided that Eira and the two elves would accompany him to make sure everything went smoothly. Hanna and Bolemir also went in a different direction, mostly likely to discuss some other private matter. 

As the youthful fairy strode away leading the soldiers, the princess followed his steps idly with her eyes while she dismounted.

"Gede has certainly grown," Mairwen sighed. "Seems like just yesterday we were playing tag in the throne room."

"I am sure he thinks the same about you," Prem smiled, keeping her own thoughts on the matter to herself. 

"What do you mean 'tag in the throne room'?" Renat raised one eyebrow.

Alaron laughed and slapped his brother-in-law on the back. "You think you are the only male to have ever been in the princess's life? She had rows of suitors before you even knew she existed."

Mairwen gave her brother a long-suffering look. "Gede is a childhood friend. Upon my parent's first return from the Land of Magic, we had a party--well now that I think about it, I think it was their wedding reception, but I didn't know that at the time." 

The princess looked to Prem, who was hiding her grin at the girl's realization. The fairy gave a slight nod to confirm Mairwen's words. 

The dark-haired woman continued, "Anyway. Gede was at this party. We ran and played tag around the palace. It was innocent fun, not whatever my brother was trying to insinuate. I may have had a long list of men after me, but Gede was never one of them." 

Renat blinked a couple of times. "When you say a long list...how long do you mean?" 

He had only seen a few men try to push themselves in between him and the princess before Mairwen very politely told them all to back off or else, and now he wondered how many she had shooed away before that. 

"Really? That is what you pulled from this conversation?" Mairwen rolled her eyes playfully. 

"Does it matter? She chose you!" Prem broke in. 

Her sagely words put the matter to rest once and for all. No one could blame the beautiful princess for having a large pool of people pining for her, especially since she had been utterly and unwaveringly faithful to the man whom she had chosen. 

"Shall we?" the matronly fairy pushed a strand of light blonde, almost white hair from her forehead as she motioned toward her home. 

"Of course!" Calling over someone to take their horses, Mairwen fell in line before the fluttering fairy. 

"Pardon me. If I may, Ma'am," Renat cleared his throat politely. 

"Call me Prem, please," The fairy responded. 

"Uh, Prem," Renat struggled to call the motherly figure by her given name and no title. "If it isn't presumptuous to ask, how do you still seem to have so much energy and vitality?" 

Prem turned to the prince and crinkled her nose. "I don't understand your question." 

"What I think he means," Alaron jumped to clarify before Renat offended their hostess. "We have just come from the elves and they seem quite lethargic. All of you here are in much better shape and even flying without any issues. We are trying to make sense of the discrepancy."

"Oh, I see." Prem paused a minute to consider. "The flying part is easy enough to answer. We usually do not use magic to fly: only to portal about. So overall, that part of us is not affected. As for your comparison: when the fairies realized the magic was going, we immediately stopped using our resources and started relying on more mundane means to live our daily lives. We know how to be practical. Even when Hanna told the news of the problem at the Spires, the elves were too proud to change their ways. They have depleted themselves as a result by trying to push through and not live more simply." 

So the elves had run themselves ragged? It made some sense. Some of the elves, like Nath and Lilith, still seemed in decent condition, while others, like the proud Lanassa, had aged many years in only a couple of months. The humans made a note to remind any other magical beings they saw to conserve themselves instead of exerting energy unnecessarily. 

From the house in front of them, an excited fairy burst from the door and came running on foot towards Prem. "Is it safe? Is everything alright?"

"Niko! You were supposed to stay out of sight!" Prem hugged the youth even as she scolded him. "Everything is fine. How is our guest?" 

"Don't worry, he went to find Father," Niko explained. He suddenly became aware of the people with his mother and became shy.

Although he was as tall as his mother, he was much thinner and was able to shield most of his body from view. It was a rather amusing sight to see the sudden change. 

Ignoring Niko's antics, Prem sighed. "That's unfortunate. He really should have just waited. Nothing to be done about it now." The Fairy forced a smile and looked at the three humans. "Excuse my rudeness. Please come inside! I can have tea ready in two shakes of a wyvern's tail."