"How can you be allergic to flowers?" Lord Marius looked blankly at Steve.

Steve sneezed again. He resisted the urge to rub his eyes and glared at the elfen lord in front of him. "It's called 'Hay Fever'. People - normal people - sometimes get a reaction to pollen. Some people have a particularly bad reaction to grass pollen which is why it is called 'Hay Fever'. If you had warned me that I was going to be taking a car load of flowers across to Hull I might have realised that it was a good idea to get some antihistamines. You know, the stuff people take when they have a bad reaction to pollen." Steve rubbed his eyes and swore.

"How can anyone react badly to flowers." Lord Marius looked utterly bewildered. "They are merely a collection of petals."

"They are not merely a collection of petals." Steve sneezed again and fumbled in his pockets, shedding tissues. "They are a collection of petals and pollen. What type of plants are these, anyway? I've never been this bad, not even when I spent a week in a flower shop on work experience."

Lord Marius ignored the werewolf grinning behind him. "They are a particular type of plant, normally grown only in certain faerie realms. Try and stop sneezing, you will feel better if you stop sneezing."

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"Bless you," Carl said, handing over a fresh box of tissues.

"Thank you," Steve said with real gratitude. "So I get magical flowers..."

"They are not magical, they are faerie," Lord Marius interrupted. "Your eyes are very red. Are you becoming vampiric?"

"I am not getting vampiric." Steve glared at the faerie lord. "I am getting an allergic reaction to non magical faerie flowers that I have just transported two hundred miles in a closed environment." He sneezed again before he could build on that theme. "For the past one hundred and fifty miles I am not sure I was safe to drive."

"Bless you," Carl said again. The werewolf was trying not to laugh. "Perhaps I can take it from here."

"The lord at Kingston upon Hull has a great desire to meet Steve Adderson, known merchant to the faerie." Lord Marius said tentatively.

"I think a meeting today would not give Lord Wulfric the right impression," Steve said in as cool a tone as he could manage. "However if Carl would be kind enough to take these pollen shedding petals to Lord Wulfric I will certainly give a note to the effect that I will call in next week out of courtesy. I will try not to sneeze on the ..." Steve sneezed again.

"Bless you." Carl picked up the large crate of flowers. "I think I'll manage without the note. Good luck getting the pollen out of the car."

Steve opened his mouth to say something witty and then sagged as his sinuses started to close down. "Thank you."

"Are you sure you are not becoming vampiric?" Lord Marius asked carefully.