The next day we had nothing to do. The lawyers were still working on the contract, something I was happy not to be involved in. I lazily stretched in bed, enjoying a late morning.

“Get up! We have things to do.” Lucy said. She was already fully dressed and stood next to the bed.

“Like what? Breakfast?” I asked.

“We never managed to meet the smith Tyrell. We should do that today.”

She had a point. The whole demon thing got in the way last time. But I was in no hurry. My eyes widened as a blob of water formed above my head. Then it hit me in the face.

“Ok, ok I am getting up.” I said. “Was that necessary? Now the bed is wet.”

Lucy shrugged. “It will dry. And most of the water is on you.” She smirked.

I was not actually that tired. Being an elf, or rather an archfey, meant I needed little sleep. But lying in bed was just cosy. Then again, getting up meant breakfast. And I loved breakfast.

Our accommodation at the palace had great service. We could simply order breakfast whenever we wanted. And dwarves knew their food. And their drink. Although it was too early for that. I feasted on eggs, bacon and bread. Then I had some sort of pancakes to satisfy my craving for sweetness.

When we left to find the smith Lily accompanied us. She also brought Adhira.

“Why is she joining us? Does she have some knowledge about smithing? I asked.

“No, my lady. I think forging armour for a storm sprite might be rather challenging, because she is so small. I think it is a good idea to bring her. You are planning on having her outfitted as well, right?”

“Of course.” I said.

“I am getting maid armour? Yes!” Adhira cheered while flying around in circles. Then she stopped.

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“I mean, thank you kindly my ladies.” She bowed.

“It’s ok. We are not that formal.” Lucy said.

We had not spent a lot of time with our recruits. Mostly it was Iris who was taking care of them. There were not even that many. Just the three girls from the village, Adhira and possibly Nira. Maybe I should talk with them some more.

“How are you enjoying your training?” I asked Adhira.

“It’s great! I always wanted to be in a fey court! We even have a court elemental! Now I can make fun of any other sprites we encounter.” She said.

“Are court elementals so prestigious?” Lucy asked. Personally, I was still uncertain if Shani invented that title or not.

“Well, you do need an elemental lord to create a true elemental knight.” Adhira said. “And they can be rather tricky to convince, at least that is what I have heard. Most are not as nice and amazing as Shani. Being an elemental knight is the dream of most fey.”

“Do you know many elementals, or fey?” Lucy asked.

“Not many. I lack the power to summon an intelligent elemental. And if you are a lone fey it is better to stay away from the stronger ones. Unless you are part of a court, there is nothing protecting you. That is the great thing about humans! They are kind of weak and you can easily convince them to part with their things!”

“You mean, rob them.” I clarified.

“No, no. I only collected donations for protection! That forest was a scary place.” She said while nodding her head.

“And you have stopped collecting donations since you joined us, right?” I asked.

“Of course! Because it would be… wrong?”

Why did that sound like a question? Did all fey have questionable morals? Or was I simply attracting them?

We arrived at the residence of Tyrell after a short walk. It was a nice house but not overly fancy. I knocked at the door and waited patiently. It took some time until it opened.

The dwarf looking at us was bald but he still had a full beard. It was snow white. His skin was bronze and while he had some wrinkles he was still in great shape. Interestingly, his eyes were red. He studied us in silence for a while.

“What do you want?” He asked.

“Are you Tyrell?” I asked.

“Yes, and I am retired. How did you even get my address?” He asked.

“Queen Ingrid gave it to us.” I responded.

“Huh? That brat should know better than to send people to bother me.”

“Did you call the queen a brat?” Lucy asked.

“Yes. You got a problem with that?” He responded.

“No, just curious.” Lucy said with a smile.

“Are you some fancy noble folks? With big titles to impress me?” He asked.

“Indeed, let me introduce…” Lily started but I put up my hand to stop her.

“We do have some titles but I am Amaya and this is Lucy. Then we have our maid knight Lily and maid knight in training Adhira.”

“Maid knight? Is that a new thing? And why would you recruit a sprite as a maid or a knight?” Tyrell asked.

“The magic of sprite compensates for their size.” I answered.

“Lady this ain’t about their size. You know they are tricksters, right? You think any of them is going to follow an elf? That thing is fooling you.”

“How dare you!” Adhira protested. “I am an honourable sprite!”

Tyrell snorted.

“Because Lady Amaya is an archfey and no sprite would dare betray their lady.” Lily said.

Tyrell’s eyes widened. “She is a what now?”

Lily smiled. “Let me introduce Lady Amaya Delphinium, archfey and Lady of Storms, and her lover Lucy Delphinium, a kitsune.”