Grey Folk

Chapter 14

Queen Titania sat at the head of her personal dining table, eating up the delicate beauty of the Eladrin across from her, as well as drops of silver dew from the plate of woven leaves before her.

The polished table stretched between them, pockets of greenery sprouting up from knots in the wood that had not been there at the start of the meal. Queen Titania delighted in these explosions of nature that always seemed to occur when Chevalier was near. She wasn't sure if the life originated from her essence or his; or perhaps simply the combination of the two.

One of the sweet, trailing vines raced across the table to twine around her finger and she smiled, allowing it to pull her attention to the tree at the center of the room. The dining table was tucked into an alcove in the middle tier of her bedroom; the same still pool she used to scry now ran a merry chase in a circle at the base of the tree. The trunk itself split in two, rippling open just enough to allow the tiny, flaming figure of Peacebloom to burst through before snapping shut again.

Peacebloom's hair burst into yellow flames that shimmered around their head, and their tiny chest heaved in and out as they panted. Their elfin face gleamed golden-orange and they flitted through the air to hover before Queen Titania, quite rudely close, Her Majesty noted. When some creatures got to be hundreds of years old, they thought the world owed them a great big, never-ending favor.

"May I speak?" Peacebloom asked, wings quivering in a blur. "In front of... him?"

Sighing, Titania leaned back to give herself a little more space from the overbearing heat emanating off the over-excited fae. "Yes, Peacebloom, report, please."

Chevalier sent her a surprised glance and a lift of his eyebrows in acknowledgment of her favor. She could have asked him to leave, but she saw no reason not to show her cards. The Eladrin had no more hand to play, after all.

"The greyfolk you sent me to fetch was completely belligerent," Peacebloom huffed through their nostrils. "She's landed somewhere called the Island of the Fay, on the Mundane plane, can you believe the absolute nerve? Claims it's not some attempt to recreate the Faewild and have dominion over it, but how could it be otherwise? She had a faun there, one quite belligerent as well, and both of them communicated to me that they were not interested in returning home. Then they threatened me! It's clear any modicum of power will go to these grey folks' heads."

"Threaten you?" Titania narrowed her eyes at that. Midge should know better than to threaten a peaceful ambassador, grey folk or no. "What power could she have that would threaten the great Peacebloom?"

"Well, it was not her, directly. She had a dark elf wench with her." Peacebloom's eyes darted, and the next words emerged as if they were trying to convince themselves, more than anyone. "A grey folk could have no true power alone. They spoke as if it had been some weeks since Midge's escape, not only days. She has had time to build alliances."

Titania did not reply immediately aloud, but inside she found herself questioning Peacebloom's choice of words. 'Escape'? As if the grey folk were held here against their own will? None of them had any will. They didn't care; they didn't want to leave, or they could simply go.

"Well, that could explain some things." Titania said after a moment of thought. She wouldn't hold self-reliance against the creature. She would be delighted if one of the poor things managed to make their way in the world, even if it was not the Faewild.

Chevalier made a little noise and she turned to him, raising her brows in return. "Something to say, darling?"

He chuckled and lifted one fingertip, sprouting a pale purple blossom and sending it dancing across the tabletop to land before Titania, a small gift to shield her from his next words, she was sure.