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.

"I am merely surprised you are willing to entertain the idea of one of your 'poor, wandering little creatures' might be competent after all. You have always seemed set against it, my queen."

"I'm not," Titania replied automatically. Was she? She couldn't deny there was a deep, stirring feeling of resentment at the idea of her helpless little chicks flying the nest at last. That was only natural, though. A mother's resentment that would fade into pride soon enough, as she had noticed whenever one of her new creations left the Faewild to strike out into other realms.

Still, the boldness to threaten the queen's own ambassador was disturbing, and could not go unanswered. As she considered the best response to the situation, her eyes darted over to Chevalier again.

She found those mysterious crystalline eyes gazing right back at her, showing nothing but a little mirth and Titania's own reflection. Something about it made her skin itch, made her want to grab at his hair and kiss him, slap his shoulders and make him react like he did in her bed.

True, this was a matter of business, of her kingdom, and it was too important to allow something like an Eladrin's charms to distract her. However perhaps there was a way she could accomplish both aims; test the theory that was slowly forming in the back of her mind, and at the same time get a rise out of her strange lover.

"If the grey folk wish to prove themselves capable of living in the cruel and mundane world, away from my protective influence, then I shall not be one to stop them," she said airily, turning back to Peacebloom. "But the fact remains that Midge herself has tested my authority and must face my judgment."

"She no longer resides under the realm of your influence," Chevalier protested, a spark of anger finally shifting his expression.

Titania ignored him and fought back her smile, keeping her attention on Peacebloom. "As my ambassadors all know, my influence ranges well beyond the Faewild. Midge shall answer to me before the grey folk may earn their freedom, if that is truly what they desire."

Chevalier's frown grew at the same rate as Peacebloom's grin.

"Your majesty, will you send me back to capture her?" Peacebloom asked, eagerness in every line of their face. "I know my methods will work. I was able to wrap her in one of my chains."

"Chains?" Titania was surprised. Such tactics were painful and only used on dangerous prisoners. "Was the threat to your person so great?"

"Great enough, your majesty, with a dark elf aiming an arrow at my forehead," Peacebloom replied, wings slowing in the air just long enough for them to brush off an imaginary speck of dust.

Yet it wasn't Midge doing the threatening, according to the original story, and Peacebloom had wrapped her in chains, not to mention the little fact that her ambassador escaped unharmed. There were clearly some parts of the story missing, and Titania wasn't going to leave something like this in the hands of someone so unstable as Peacebloom.

No, a task like the one she had in mind was best kept with someone who knew how to strike with incredible precision. A friend of hers, and a deadly assassin who had never failed in all of his career to strike the killing blow.

"No, my ambassador," Titania said, leaning forward and linking her fingers together. She pressed her lips tight for another moment as a giggle threatened to well up in her throat. She could feel the heat of Chevalier's glare beating against the side of her face, and it fueled her. "You have another task. I require you to attend the next round of lessons with Celigune."

"Your majesty!" Peacebloom's voice squeaked and they stared at her, as if expecting her to take back her command. When Titania did nothing of the kind, Peacebloom's shoulders drooped. "Yes, your majesty. Where does the hag now reside?"

"Westwood forest." The hag Celigune, as one of the most well-traveled creatures in the Faewild, was responsible for schooling all of her ambassadors on how to conduct themselves in every situation. It appeared Peacebloom needed a touch-up.

"Yes, your majesty," Peacebloom said, still glum, but resigned. They turned and began fluttering their way out the door, but before they could fully escape, Titania called out.

"Wait." She rose from her small throne and braced her palms on the table, finally sliding another look in Chevalier's direction. Her reward was the sight of his flushed cheeks and agitated lips bitten rosy.

Turning back to Peacebloom, she continued. "Send for the Shadowfae. I have a task for him, too."

"Are you mad?" Chevalier's hair rioted about his shoulders and he panted with fury. "Name your intentions, my queen."

"The Shadowfae," Queen Titania said, watching Peacebloom vanish out the door, "will do as he always does."

"And what is that?" Chevalier wanted her to say the words, though he knew there was only one reason the queen would send for her royal assassin.

She would not give him the satisfaction. "What must be done."