"Place your axe on your back," I ordered. "You don't want to seem threatening to the plants."

I noticed Tom's hesitation as he looked around. "This place is worse than tha village we just left," he muttered.

"Probably," I agreed.

Around us grew tall trees, and flowers just as tall as them. They were of different colours and shapes and looked identical to the smaller versions I was used to in my part of the world. But these had been magically grown to sustain the population of pixies whom much like bees lived off their nectar. Pixies were tiny, quite fierce, but peaceful creatures - if you let them be. But very territorial and protective of their home. The enchanted forest was a calm oasis for all types of different animals and birds, in contrast to its more brutal surroundings. The pixies grew to the size of a sparrow, with wings that looked similar to a dragonfly's and had elven-like bodies similar to my own, but much smaller, and their eyes were big and faceted to observe the world around them. They lived high up in the trees and foraged nectar and fruits to survive. They themselves could not use magic, but the spirits of the trees could. Some called them the ladies of the forest, but they were Nymphs and their calls and songs could lure men to them and they would trap you inside hollow trees to starve to death if you didn't respect their lands.

"We need to state our business here,"I tell Frank, "will you bring them a message from us?" Frank took to the air and seemed excited. "Tell them we only wish to pass through and we won't harm anyone or anything. We won't make fires or cut branches. We won't pluck any fruits and only eat what is offered to us," I told the dragon who seemed excited to be here. I watched him fly off, then walked to sit down in the moss by one of the trees. This place was heavily guarded and I did not want to be challenged by their female protectors.

I watched Tom roll his eyes but eventually he decided to sit down next to me. "So we wait for Frankie's return," he muttered, 'and then?"

"We'll see if they let us pass," I sighed.

He nodded, "and if they say no? We need a plan B."

I sighed again and leaned my head back against the bark. "We have no ill intentions. Our weapons are not used to kill for pleasure or for cutting trees, only for our protection," I said loudly in case someone was listening. "We only wish to pass through."

Tom snickered as he listened to my plea. "Who are ya talking to?"

I shrugged, "anyone who is listening, wondering why we are here."

I watched as Tom picked up his pipe from his pocket, but I instantly placed a warning hand on his arm. But I realised I had to explain myself as he gave me a grumpy starre, "No fires, we promised."

He huffed and put it back in his pocket. "So ya got a map with ya? I want to have a look meself and see what ya have been planning." He gruffed. "I'm tired of always being the tagalong."

I snickered as I pulled out the map from my bag and spread it out on the lush floor in front of us, pointing out where we were. "See, it's only a day's walk if they allow us to use the main path through the forest."

"And plan B, Illon Light Foot, what's your plan B?" he asked, peering at the piece of parchment.

Ignoring his constant flow of new nicknames I tilted my head and examined the map. "We have to walk back into troll territory, walk our way around the mountains."

Tom nodded. "Aye, cus we don't want to anger the sleeping giants now, do we?"

"No, we certainly don't." I sighed to myself and looked around. I felt worried for my small companion, he was only a baby, what if the nymphs thought it was disrespectful of us to send a youngling with our message? My hope was they felt the opposite because dragons were a respected species within most races.

"We should get some rest while we can," Tom said suddenly and moved to lean against the same tree as I was. "If they wanted to hex us they would have already."

"Go ahead," I said encouragingly, "I'm not tired."

As my companion fell asleep my thoughts started to wander. I was a long way from home, but this place reminded me of it. Lush forests with a variety of wild animals thriving in it. My community of elves did not live in trees, but neighbouring families did. I used to visit them as a child. They lived aligned with the forest and its inhabitants and I had some experience with nymphs and pixies from that time, but these were a different kind. Those I met lived far away from here and they were used to my people and our customs. They were more civilised, you could say.

My home was a beautiful place, and I sometimes missed it. My family lived on, continuing the work they had been doing for centuries. A fate I did not want to share with them. I had always longed for adventures so no one was surprised when I decided to leave. But maybe it was time to go back and visit them soon? When the heir was found and this was over, maybe I'd take Frank and let him meet my siblings?

I smiled to myself as I wondered what everyone would say when they saw me accompanied with a dragon. The tiny creature who'd been locked away in a cage at a market until I had decided to rescue him. He was more than grateful and had been following me around ever since, to Tom's great dismay. I had often wondered why he disliked dragons so much, maybe it had to do with them living in mountains, just like his people. Sharing their space was not something dwarves enjoyed, other races were rarely invited to their cities.

I reached for my water bottle and noticed a tiny pair of eyes watching me from the tall grass to my right. I gave the pixie a smile and decided to pour some water into the bottle cap and offer it to them, to show them I'm friendly. As I stretched out my arm towards it, my palm raised with the water at its centre, the tiny figure took a quick leap to fly towards me and landed on my hand. I could barely feel it, it was light as a feather.

It peered at the water for a moment with its huge black eyes, then sniffed at it, but I could see how it wrinkled its nose and gave me a thoughtful look. "I know, it's not as fresh as the water you have here in the springs. We have travelled long and this is all I can offer sadly," I said with a sad smile. The pixie tilted its head as if it was thinking about something, then suddenly it flew off.

"Making new friends?" Tom asked, but there was a hint of hesitation in his voice. The pixies' presence assured us that they all knew our position, so now we had to wait and see what was going to happen next. And Tom hated waiting, especially now when he couldn't use his time to enjoy his pipe.

"Hopefully it won't be long before we get our answer," I whispered.

"If they'd want us to leave they would have made that clear by now," he said and he was right for once, and I took the opportunity to tease him about it.

"Wow Tom, using your brain for once," I chuckled but wasn't quick enough to avoid the punch that landed on my shoulder. We continued our bickering and insults until I saw Frank's red scales reflect the sun rays between the tall trees, and we instantly stopped with what we were doing to sit up straight and await the verdict.

Frank seemed proud of himself when he landed, wearing a string of silver around his neck and a red gem sparkled on his chest. He landed in the palm of my hand and peered into my eyes, as if he was trying to speak telepathically with me. I knew dragons could do this with each other, but his efforts were lost on me.

"I reckon it went well?" Tom asked and Frank turned his head to nod at him.

"So they allow us to pass through the forest?" I asked hesitantly and patted Frank's head gently.

"We do." Both me and Tom rose to our feet, quick as we could, when we heard the female voice.

"Thank you," I answered back and bowed slightly, still wondering where the voice came from. "Do you wish for anything in return?" I asked and hoped for the life of me that she wouldn't ask too much of us.

"Yes," she continued, and suddenly I could see her form taking shape in front of us. A green shimmer, in the shape of a naked woman dressed only in her long wavy hair. "When you find the heir, you must bring him home through this forest to meet with us. If he is the one, we will bless him with our well wishes."

"Of course," I said politely. "That is a small favour for your aid in finding him."

She took a step closer and I could feel her eyes examining me. "He will have a great impact in your life, Illon Dragonsfriend. Are you sure you want to pursue this path?"

I could suddenly feel a shiver going down my spine, and I knew she had seen the future. Nymphs had that ability. I licked my lips and thought about it for a while. "We are not the only ones looking for him," I answered her, there were many who wanted the reward of bringing him back to the castle.

"Perhaps," she said, "but you are the one who will find him. I know it, because I have seen it." She giggled as she began to fade away, "and he accompanies with many changes for you, so prepare yourself."