As I returned to the library, I found them all relaxing in front of the fireplace with idle small talk. I put the various snacks down on the small table next to the chairs. “There we go. Hey Soot, remind me to enchant the new doors to open and close for enchanted objects wanting to pass later, so I can just use magic for this, and cleaning in the future.” He looked up from the bowl of meat he was pecking at. “Will do.”

  I grabbed a handful of nuts and sliced them open with my talons. “Well, now… let’s see. Finished that part then… right.” I cleared my throat and everyone stopped their small talk. “So…”

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  It took a while before we got any further news. Ivy flew back and forth every day to get the latest info, but we heard nothing new for almost a week. Then fresh news started coming in rapid fire. The Geomancers were collaborating with Summoners and Spirit Callers to summon elementals and elemental spirits to help to deal with the volcano safely. It would seem my warnings of the worst-case scenario sent them all into overdrive to deal with it as safely as possible.

  During this time, the tremors were getting stronger, however. One could even be felt and seen in Nekkal when I went to restock on a bunch of essentials. More to the point, however, was that the volcano was getting close to going off if the tremors were anything to go by. But no massive explosion, no pyroclastic flow or lava induced wildfire materialized, and over the course of yet another week, the tremors ebbed away until they stopped entirely.

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  I could see the disappointed expressions of Meleri, Jaira and Miva and heard a rather annoyed clicking of Winter’s beak. “Oh, don’t worry, it’s not over yet. In fact, the mess is just beginning.” The four glanced at each other, then turned to Soot and Midnight, who deliberately focused on their snacks. Once they realized no instant explanation was forthcoming, they resumed their own snacking while as they waited for me to resume the tale.

  “Now, then, where was I? Ah, right…”

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  After two weeks were passed since I gave those Fae a good talking to, there was a knocking on my door. I looked over at Winter and Midnight, but both shrugged. Soot went with Ivy, more out of boredom than anything else, and I wasn’t expecting company. The knocking resumed. I answered the door and to my surprise I found Lily and Nettle hovering outside. “Well, that’s a surprise. To what do I owe the pleasure?”

  The two seemed a bit out of sorts, with Nettle being unusually tense. “We… are not at liberty to say…” Nettle’s voice trailed off. “I… must insist that you come with me and Lily, however.” I noticed Lily glancing towards the distant mountains and took a deep breath. “It’s about the volcano, isn’t it?” The two nodded, and I could already feel the headache coming. “Ugh, fiiiine. Lead the way.”

  Now what was going on? There weren’t any more tremors, and the mountain wasn’t showing any visual signs of volcanic activity. I grabbed the broom. "Midnight, get over here. We’re going on a trip." Midnight looked up from the couch where she was cleaning herself. “Trip, where?” I shrugged.

  Midnight got up, stretched, and padded over to where I was sitting on the broom. Then, with a purr, she hopped into my lap. “Very well. You two wouldn’t get us in trouble, anyway.” She looked at Nettle and Lily as she spoke. The two didn’t reply as we took off, but not towards Nettledale, the direction was off. “Judging by the direction, we’re bypassing Nettledale wholesale, are we going back to the mountain?”

  Lily looked back at us. “We are going to the Court. The Highnesses wished to speak with you there. They are, however, being overly secretive, which is unlike them. That could be very good, or very bad. What I know is that not going would be a terrible, bad idea.” Nettle turned around as she flew and landed on the broom, shortly followed by Lily. “Lily has a point. I don’t think it’s bad, however, as Ilmahir seemed far too giddy, and even Erydhe was being… friendly. She’s only friendly if she’s in a great mood, and otherwise it’s icy disdain or utter indifference all the time. As I am sure you’ve realized.”

  I only encountered the two twice so far, but the first time she was being downright hostile, while the second time she was treating me as if I didn’t matter. The latter being far better, all things considered. Getting on her bad side was… painful. “I take it we are on our way to the local Fae Court, then.” Lilly nodded. “So, how far is it?”

  Lily and Nettle looked at one another before Lily chimed in. “It’s another… twenty minutes, or so, at this pace?” She looked over at Nettle, who seemed thoughtful for a moment, but then nodded. “Sounds about right.” Twenty minutes, eh, might as well have a snack then. I pulled out my pouch and pulled out some fruits and a bit of dried meat for Midnight.

  “Do you two want some?” I offered a bit of both to the two pixies. The two hesitated for a moment, before each taking a piece of apple the size of themselves and ate without reservation. “Mmm, these are tasty. Where did you pick them?” Nettle looked up from her apple piece.

  I finished my piece of fruit. “Apple Ridge farm grows them. I get regular shipments as rent for the land. It’s an arrangement that’s been going on for decades now. And one we’re both happy with.” Nettle looked thoughtful as she eyed the fruit. “If you’d like, I could put the two of you in contact with them to discuss trading.”

  Lilly made a happy trilling noise similar to what Ivy did with her antennae when she was happy, though Lily’s was lower pitched. “That would be great!” The trip continued in relative silence, though soon we were in the foothills of the mountain once again. But this time we were going into the trees rather than flying above. We landed in a large, neatly kempt clearing. In the middle of it was a perfect fairy circle, the entrance to the court, no doubt.

  This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

  I landed and Midnight and I got off. As we did, I heard flapping and something landed on my hat. “There you are, Mistress.” I reached up and Soot hopped on to my hand. “Ah, there you are, Soot. I figured you’d be around. Since you didn’t go with Lily and Nettle.” I handed soot a few bits of dried meat, which he eagerly pecked up since it was around lunchtime.

  “Ivy and I went ahead, since there wasn’t much point in taking an entire round trip.” I looked around. “I don’t see Ivy anywhere.” Soot looked towards the circle. “She went ahead, wanted to mingle with some friends from the summer court, apparently.” That made sense. Ivy was social to the extreme, after all.

  Lily and Nettle flew over to the circle. “Alright, you three, we’ll open the gate. When we do, you go in first, as it will close behind us when we enter.” Without waiting for a reply, Nettle and Lily circled the fairy circle, causing the mushrooms to glow in a pale blue light. With every rotation, the glow became stronger and arcs of energy jumped between the different mushrooms in seemingly random patterns.

  This continued for a minute or two until the arching energy became constant, then with a tearing sound a rift in the air opened up. “Please enter, this is… strenuous.” Nettle’s voice sounded strained, so with Soot on my shoulder and Midnight at my side, we stepped through the rift. Nettle and Lily joined and a few moments later, and I could feel a slight breeze as the rift closed behind them.

  We were in a small antechamber made of what could only be described as living wood. The walls were covered in bark and the roof was leaves. The chamber didn’t have a window, but I could see sunlight through the leaf roof. An archway opened into a hallway that then led to a door flanked by two treekin of some kind. However, since I didn’t have my bestiary with me, so I couldn’t see what they were.

  Lilly and Nettle led the way to the door, and the two treekin opened it without a word. What we saw next was dizzying. We were in another massive clearing. But this one was unmistakingly not near my forest, heck I doubted we were still in the same dimension. The sky was far too vibrant, and the trees as well.

  The clearing itself and the surrounding forest were divided to distinct halves. To the right half, the clearing and forest was lush green as in midsummer. While the left side was covered in snow and as cold as midwinter. At the center of the clearing, side-by-side near the divide, were two massive thrones. Ilmahir and Erydhe were sitting on them, overlooking the surrounding revelry with detached interest.

  As Nettle and Lily led the three of us through the clearing, the revelry and music fell silent. All around me, Fae and Spirits mumbled to one-another as I passed them by. As the five of us reached the thrones, pretty much everyone in the clearing was watching. Ilmahir grinned widely. “Ah, the guest of honor has finally arrived. I hope the trip here wasn’t too strenuous.” Beside him, Erydhe gave me a polite nod, which I returned, before turning my attention back to Ilmahir. “I can’t complain. Although the invitation was also rather… lacking about what the invitation was for.”

  Ilmahir’s smile didn’t falter at all, while I could have sworn Erydhe smiled for just a split second. “Indeed, that was deliberate…” “… The obvious reason was that your advice and knowledge…” "… Allowed us to stop the eruption, as I am sure you already surmised…" “… If all the entrances to our court were destroyed…” "… It would have been…" “… Quite the disaster. You, Ms. Morgana…” “… Have done this court a favor…” “… That cannot be repaid…” “… With mere words…”

  The two rose from their seats and spoke in unison. “And so, We the rulers of this court declare that Morgana the Witch shall be made an honorary member of our courts, and that the forests and swamp south of the mountain shall be her domain to rule as she sees fit, as per her own desire.”

  There was an uproar among the surrounding Fae and Spirits. Some hollering in agreement, others sounding disapproving of the declaration. The two looked at me with expressions that I would later learn were approving, though given Erydhe’s nearly expressionless mask it made it difficult to tell back then. I could see both Lily and Nettle stiffen somewhat as they glanced at me. I could understand why, and honestly, I was not entirely on board with this reward, either. “Your highnesses, while I am honored for this reward, there is one minor detail I wish amended.”

  The two looked at me with great interest, and so did Lily and Nettle. “The Pixie Village of Nettledale has been around since long before I moved to these lands, and I made that declaration before I knew of its existence. I have, as such, no right, nor the knowledge required, to rule over that village.” The surrounding silence was deafening as I paused for a moment, so with no one saying a word, I continued speaking.

  “As such, I wish an amendment to be made. Nettledale’s inhabitants should be free to use the forest as they always have, and their leadership should remain as it has been. As that is obviously what works best for them. Besides, I have friends among its inhabitants, and I would not wish to estrange them to me by suddenly become their ruler out of the blue.” Beside me, I could see Nettle visibly deflate.

  So that’s why she seemed tense until now. Both Erydhe and Ilmahir seemed surprised. But then Ilmahir laughed. It was a good-natured and mirthful laughter. “Well, I dare say we approve…” “… Of your viewpoint, Lady Morgana…” “… We accept your amendment…” Lily and Nettle flew closer to me. “Thank you, Lady Morgana.” They said in unison. I just waved them off. “Think nothing of it. It was the obvious choice. I do not have time, nor, as mentioned, the knowhow of how to actually run a village. I am already busy with my magical endeavors as it is.”

  Just then, something small collided with my neck from behind. “Lady Morgana, thank you so much for not taking our village from us.” I reached behind me and coaxed Ivy into my palm. She looked like she was on the verge of crying. “You guys know better how to govern yourself than I ever will, and I do not have time to supervise your antics day out and day in, so it’s better for everyone involved, really.” I reached into my pouch and pulled out a small cookie, which I handed to Ivy. “Why don’t the three of you share that one? It should help clam your nerves, as you all look like you need it.”

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  Ivy got up from her chair and flew over to my table, where she landed again. “That meeting was so nerve-wracking. Everyone in Nettledale was horrified when the two announced you’d be given rulership of the village. Which was completely against their prior declaration, I might add. We were promised independence back when Nettle joined the courts, so suddenly having that yanked away from us was not exactly fun.”

  I looked up at her. “Knowing those two, giving me rulership of Nettledale was a test of my personality, and I would have the court honors withdrawn if I tried to actually keep Nettledale.” Ivy seemed thoughtful for a moment, while her antennae made small clinging noises as she was clearly thinking hard.“That… actually sounds pretty on par for Ilmahir. He’s far shrewder than his behavior would make you believe. And Erydhe is a massive fan of Nettle, so I thought it weird she would go along with that.”

  Fan? There was obviously a story there. Well, it wasn’t any of my business. “Well, I know it is sudden, but we wound up skipping lunch and…” My voice cut out as Miva’s stomach made loud growling noises. “… It’s almost dinnertime, so why don’t we stop there for now.” I didn’t miss a beat as I finished my sentence. Meleri got up from her chair with some reluctance. “I agree with that, but what should we make?” I got up as well. “Actually, I have some ideas, and I would be delighted if you’d be willing to help me out in that regard.” Meleri looked at me with interest. But I just waved for her to follow me as I led her towards the kitchen.