Allies and Adversaries

Standing, Mairwen hurried over to the boy and knelt by him. She handed him a cloth to stop the rush of tears threatening to run down his face.

"It's all my fault!" Jaymes said quietly to the princess. "She went back to Taran because of me. If I had escaped sooner..."

Mairwen touched his arm to stop him. "You had already escaped. You did your job. Dania went back to save me too. Your sister is a hero. She has been working hard to slow Taran's progress and keep you safe. I am not sure I would have been so strong."

The color in Jaymes's eyes seemed to settle. He nodded slowly as Frode wrapped his arm around the boy's shoulder.

The tutor cleared his throat. "Perhaps you need to rest a while, Jaymes. We have had some grueling months, and all this information will take some time to process. A comfortable bed in a safe place will do wonders for you."

"I don't want to go!" Jaymes whined childishly and crossed his arms. He was neither fully boy nor man, and in his exhaustion it was clear which side was winning.

Mairwen, who was only a few years older than him, smiled gently. It wasn't that long ago that she had had to grow up rather quickly, just as Jaymes was being forced to do right now. The Empress had also been thrust into the responsibilities of adulthood before her time. It was a painful process.

What should have been a natural process was being foisted on him unnaturally by the evil looming over their heads. The things Jaymes had seen--no one should have had to experience.

With great compassion, the blue-eyed princess held out her hand and took one of his. "We are going to make some plans right now. Boring plans. If I had the option of going and resting, I would."

Mairwen meant it. If she thought the world would be fixed, her husband would be returned to normal and that Dania would be rescued while she took a long nap, she gladly would have obliged.

The youth looked at her long and hard before sighing. "You will tell me anything important when I return, right?"

"I promise," Mairwen rose and the boy stood with her.

Under Frode's guidance, the two followed a servant to their sleeping quarters. When the door shut, Mairwen's countenance fell.

"I do wish we had known Jaymes was safe," the dark-haired princess admitted. "I would have been much more willing to fight our way out if he had not been threatened."

"We would have lost our lives trying." Renat pulled at his ill-fitting clothes. "In a way, not knowing may have saved our lives."

"Then that is what we will tell Jaymes if he should ask again. He is very clever, but with that cleverness comes a deep sense of responsibility." Brinn had witnessed the boy's bravery. But like Mairwen, she could see the pain in his eyes that he had been unable to do more.

Lanassa turned aside to Aurora. "Tell me, Your Majesty, why is it that humanity keeps finding itself in such dire straits?"

"What kind of question is that?!" Nanny's quiet indignation reverberated through the room. If not for the sleeping child, she likely would have been much firmer. "You act as if the Empress herself goes around stirring up her people into rebellion."

"If you recall, mother, it was the gnomes who caused the last conflict with the humans. And it seems that in many ways this problem has arisen as a result of that." King Ithel spoke evenly.

He had not said this simply to quiet his mother; the regal elf truly believed it. Without Cafer and the gnome king's plans, Alaron would never have tried to take Aurora's throne. And without the loss of life from that hideous war, Taran and Livie would still have their elder brother, stopping the bulk of their father's anger.

"And one of the leaders said he had elven blood. If he belongs to the exiled elf Brokkr, then I can understand his distaste for our people."

"What does it take to get banished from the elves?" Aurora couldn't help but ask.

"You don't want to know," all four elves in the room answered simultaneously.

"But when I consider these things, I find that magical creatures are to blame as much as, if not more than humans. Which is why," Ithel continued, "I pledge my army to help you defeat Taran and his abominations."

"You cannot!" Lanassa gasped.

"I think you have forgotten who is the king," Ithel warned his mother.

Pressing her lips together, the former queen inhaled sharply. "What I meant to say, my son, is that you must give your actions careful thought."

"I have to side with Queen Lanassa on this," Aurora lamented. "As much as I want the elves' help, there are two problems."

"Just two?" Brinn joked before clearing her throat and going silent.

"Please continue." Ithel held his hands out from his seat, welcoming her advice.

"For one thing, if the abominations are blaming you for their problems, then I think that you coming in to save the day will only reinforce that they are right both in their eyes and the eyes of humanity as a whole." The Empress spoke carefully.

Zan jumped in to help. "While we trust all of you, relying on the elves to solve what was essentially a human problem could weaken Empress Aurora's rule."

"We can look and seem human. And not use our powers. No one would have to know that the elves were even involved." Ithel offered.

The golden skinned race could appear like most any creature that was around their size, even looking like the abominations themselves. Gandr had proven that when he infiltrated Livie's camp. The elven soldiers would be a very valuable asset.

"If only my reputation were at stake, I could bear it. My pride is not worth people's lives. If that were the only problem, I would recover. There is a much bigger issue which I cannot overlook." Aurora looked to Alaron for help.

"You mean what happened to Wai?" The younger Guardian guessed at her meaning.

"And what happened to Hanna. King Ithel, you saw the state of the Fate before she was healed. And you know what happened when she tried to use her powers even after the healing water made her whole. How can I let that happen to any of you when it is not your fight? If even the Fates are hiding because of the effects these abominations have on magical beings, then I do not think bringing you into battle is wise. We could end up spending more of our energy keeping you from dying than we would fighting the enemy. I would not want your blood on my hands when I know how badly it can end. " Aurora sighed.

"It was worse for Wai. She nearly died in my arms." Alaron's eyes flashed as he remembered. "The effect of just a small scratch is truly devastating."

"Let me get this straight, Your Majesty, you are not alright with using magic wielders, but you are more than willing to bring your human soldiers into this bloody battle?" Lanassa arched her brow.

'Whose side are you on?' Aurora wanted to ask the Queen Mother. It seemed whether the Empress used the elven troops or not, the contrary elf was going to be offended.

"Someone has to stop these menaces. We must act or risk being destroyed. Humans may turn into these abominations, but they are not as likely to die from just a scratch. I will only take soldiers into battle who are willing to go, though. I will not force anyone to fight."

"And you cannot stop me from fighting!" Brinn cried.

"Nor I," Alvar piped in alongside his wife.

"I'm too old for this, but I will find a way to help if I can," Reyan said as if it were the greatest favor.

"Fine," Aurora knew better than to argue, "but that is all for the magical folk."

"It is a moot point until you can get the rest of the human army assembled anyway, isn't it, Your Majesty?" Zan hoped to move things forward.

"That is true. You did say when Wai left that she was going to get your father and lead him to the camp, didn't you?" Realizing what she had said, Aurora quickly shifted her gaze from Alaron to Mairwen.

The princess nodded. "That is correct. But I do think it would be better if he were able to come here instead. Assuming the battle in Oblivion is complete, that is."

"There is only one way to find out. Reyan?" The Empress had noticed the fairy was already beginning to stand.

Reyan popped some grapes in his mouth and cracked his back. "One Emperor coming right up. A fairy's job is never done."

The curmudgeon scowled, shrunk to a speck of light, and portaled from the room.