Fairies can take on different forms and attributes, usually related to the place where they were born. You can find forest fairies, snow fairies, fire fairies, dark fairies, moon fairies and many others.

But one thing remains constant, fairies love suffering, more, they feed on it. They feed on all the strong emotions of living beings, with a preference for negative emotions, and they are not against helping said beings to feel these emotions.

Excerpt from the chapter on Fairies, Creatures of the Forest, Volume IV. Irvanon Library.

While they had decided to speed up, the forest did not have the same desire to hurry as they did. On the contrary, the forest did everything to slow them down. The previous obstacles were the same, but even more numerous. And while they had hoped to arrive at the dryad's house the same day, they had to reluctantly decide to stop for the night.

At least the satyr tracks were visible enough to be followed. They had not taken the time to hide, something they knew how to do. Fortunately for Leila's group. Otherwise, they would have taken even longer to find their way. And if they didn't have a path to follow they would never find the Dryad's Court, as the sharp-eyed Eldar who had told her about it called it.

From what he told her Leila had no desire to come face to face with a Dryad. If she was hunting him it would be different, even if to reach him she would have to get through a horde of forest creatures that would be loyal to her. But here there was no question of stealth. They intended to enter her domain, clearly visible so that the dryad would see them approaching.

This way she would be intrigued, and she would not send her followers to attack them. And once they could meet her, Zarune could use her authority over the Emerald Kingdom.

She seemed confident that she could get her way, but some of the soldiers in their troop were not so convinced, from the looks they were exchanging. Mainly because of the size of the dryad's antlers. This meant that she had significant power, and she would not look kindly on anyone challenging her authority.

Leila preferred a much more direct approach when it came to conflict resolution. She had learned from experience that once boundaries were set with authority it was rare for people to try to overstep them, and if they did she simply ignored them. She didn't like all the power plays that seemed to dominate in the Emerald Kingdom. Her mother often told her that if she didn't want to be bothered with politics she should start her own business because the world of work was a constant power struggle between the different levels of the company. Leila was glad she didn't have to experience that anymore, and now that she had a personal power that gave her much stronger arguments, she would use it.

As much as the situation bothered her, Zarune was in charge, and it was on her that this power struggle would play out. But Leila had a stake in this, and she intended the situation to go her way, she just had to figure out how exactly she could do that.

As the camp, hidden high up in the tree, was quiet, Leila approached her friend, before sitting down next to her, wishing she could make a good fire.

- Why are you so sure the dryad will release Jonah?

Zarune looked doubtfully at the piece of dried meat that had been their daily meal for several days and looked up at her, before offering Leila her piece of meat. Leila, ever the pragmatist, happily accepted it before putting a big bite into the dried meat. She winced as she felt the harshness of her meal. With habit she weaved to strengthen her jaw, chewing the piece of dried meat with ease.

Zarune was amused by her reaction and smiled.

- Dryads respect authority, of course, they'll do anything to usurp that authority for themselves, but they'll never go into a frontal confrontation. Unless, of course, they are sure to win.

Uncertain Leila pouted unless it was the taste of dried meat that was bothering her.

- What's to stop him from attacking us, and burying our corpses in the forest to be forgotten?

- That's why I sent Dereur back with Marie and Aurora. It wasn't just to keep them safe. If the dryad is aware that the Kingdom is aware of her presence and that I was going to meet her, she won't dare to attack. She will probably want to ensure our safety, lest if anything happens to us in the forest she is blamed for our death.

- Will she be blamed if that happens?" Leila asked curiously.

- Yes, even if she had nothing to do with my death and she had proof of it, the Kingdom will still destroy her.

- Isn't that a bit extreme?

- You mustn't show compassion or weakness to Forest Beings, or any kind of Beings. Only power matters with them, if we don't react, then other dryads might think they can attack us and hide their mischief so we don't suspect it's them.

Pensive Leila looked at her hands.

- In fact, this policy is very favourable to us. That's also why we let the Beings gain a domain on our land, they provide security on their land and protect the Eldar there. Of course, some Beings are too dangerous to be left alive, but the dryads are among those who are quite easy to control.

- If a Being is killed and his domain is free then the forest will be like we saw it to get here?

- Yes, and once a domain is free another Being will come to claim it, and we prefer to choose who we want on our land.

- Why haven't we met others then if they are so convenient?

- Not every region is viable for a domain to be created. It must be a place of power. A place where one colour of the Tapestry is particularly strong.

After a few seconds of silence for Leila to assimilate all her information, Zarune gave her friend a mocking look before continuing.

- You should have studied all this in Irvanon, Jonah and Aurora did even Mustapha did, while he spent most of his time snooping around the city.

Leila gave her friend a falsely indignant look.

- If I hadn't been kidnapped by an Eldar to accompany her on a hunting trip almost every spare moment I had, maybe I would have done it.

Zarune gave the little smile, that Leila knows, she does, when her friend was particularly happy.

Sorry to break her good mood Leila resumed.

- So Mat is dead.

Zarune put on her usual inexpressive face and replied.

- Yes, he did. I'm sorry, Leila.

Leila sighed wearily.

- I wasn't particularly close to him, you know. I would say the opposite. There was something about him that bothered me. I didn't think his disappearance would mean anything to me.

Zarune let Leila speak, listening in silence.

- Still... Maybe because we all came here together, and we've always been on top of each other all this time, but I must admit I regret his death.

Zarune will hold his hand.

- I'm sorry, it's our fault you're going through all this.

Zarune's hand was warm, and Leila squeezed it tighter.

- I thought we were past all this.

Zarune remained silent, preferring to watch the canopy, lost in thought, confident that the soldiers would warn them of any danger. Leila did the same. They stayed like that for a long time before deciding to go to bed. They would need all the energy they could muster for tomorrow.

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

At dawn they set off again, by mid-morning Leila realised that it had been almost an hour since they had interrupted their progress in any way. Glancing questioningly at Zarune, she confirmed with a nod. They had arrived at the dryad's domain.

Leila could not see any beasts or monsters, but as they went deeper into the forest one of the scouts returned with a dryad. The creature walked arrogantly, before approaching Zarune, noticing that she was the leader of their group. Leila checked the dryad's antlers, they did not match the description given by Marie.

- Who are you to enter the domain of Almaeris, the Lady of the Forest?

Zarune ignored her, turning to her scout who nodded. Leila followed her friend's lead in showing indifference to the dryad, even if she didn't know what she was getting at, she had assumptions about her behaviour.

As expected their attitude irritated the dryad, as she was about to open her mouth Zarune spoke in a dry and cold tone.

- Take me to Almaeris.

And still, without looking at her she walked forward. Leila, like the rest of the Eldar, followed her. The dryad bulged her chest in outrage, before hesitating, throwing a calculating look at Zarune, and the other Eldar, throwing a puzzled look at Leila's presence, she began to trot forward to pass them, before nodding uncertainly. In a softer tone, she said.

- This way.

The Eldar all gathered behind Zarune like an honour guard, with a slight look her friend made it clear to Leila that she should do the same. Walking a step after her, she holstered her weapon like the other Eldar and tried to look as tough and intimidating, with some success she thought.

Soon after, they approached a throne, all around them monsters were present, all looking at them with evil looks. It was like a contest of who would be the most intimidating between the monsters and the Eldar. Leila would like to think that they had won, but she couldn't convince herself. Some of the monsters were huge, and there were a lot of them.

Zarune, unconcerned, walked to the throne with the haughty bearing she only assumed when performing with Eldar nobility. The dryad on the throne was tall, and her antlers were huge. She looked at them with a wicked look, and she had Jonah's weapon in her hands.

At the foot of the throne, Zarune stopped. One of the soldiers stepped forward, showing the dryad his back, and shouted.

- Behold, Zarune Li'Eldar, Princess of the Broken Empire, Second Heir to the Emerald Throne, Third of House Eldar. Pay homage!

The Eldar voice echoed through the clearing with such force that the air rang. All the while Leila had been watching the dryad, and if she had been furious at the mention of Zarune's titles, she was thrown off balance. If she had been human she would have turned white Leila thought she saw the leaves that served as her hair turn slightly brown. Still, the dryad had been ruling her domain for some time, so she quickly pulled herself together, stood up, bowed and said.

- Princess of the Broken Empire, it is an honour to find you in my domain. May I ask why you are here?

Zarune walked up the steps to the throne, when she was only a meter away from the dryad, she held out her hand towards the Svärdstav, the dryad recoiled but did not dare stop the princess from taking the weapon.

- This belongs to the empire, it is given to those who serve the Emerald throne directly. Am I to understand that you wish to go to Irvanon and serve?

Autumn grew more pronounced on the dryad's skin. Speaking in a flat tone, where all emotion was hidden Almaeris said.

- I would not dare to claim such an honour, Your Highness, I found this blade, I was keeping it until I could find a messenger confident enough to come and deliver it to the empire.

Picking up the Svärdstav, Zarune turned around and looked impassively at the monstrous court at his feet.

- That will not be necessary, the empire has come to you.

- It is an honour, Your Highness," Almaeris repeated.

Remaining silent, the princess eventually resumed.

- I had a strange encounter in the Forest.

- An encounter, Your Highness?

- Yes. A human, who told me she met another human. I happen to be looking for a servant of the empire, a human. We had her escorted to a safer destination and then left in search of answers.

Calmly the dryad spoke.

- A human serving the broken empire, that is strange. However, I happen to know of a human near my land. Perhaps he is the one you seek.

- Perhaps, I will have to meet him to judge.

Gesturing, the dryad called one of her monstrous servants. None obeyed. With a look of anger and bitterness at the assembly, she repeated her gesture with more force than was necessary. A small bird flew towards the throne.

- My servant will accompany you where we have knowledge of his presence.

Zarune nodded, regally.

- The Broken Empire and the Emerald Kingdom will remember the help you gave, Almaeris, Lady of the Forest.

Turning to leave, the Svärdstav in hand, the princess turned at the foot of the throne and bowed slightly.

- May the remains of Heeart smile upon you.

The dryad made a slightly deeper bow.

- May the Forest be with you.

The group of Eldar and the human left, following the small bird that flew quickly ahead of them. Before leaving, Leila took one last look at the dryad, noticing that the dryad's woods were not as large as when they arrived. She also noticed the calculating and vicious looks of some of the monsters in the crowd. They were looking at the Dryad.

Once she was far enough away from the monstrous courtyard she moved closer to Zarune.

- It was a bit... strange.

Glancing at her, Zarune explained.

- It was a matter of asserting our dominance enough that she would believe we were who we said we were, but not humiliating her enough that she would have no choice but to attack us to regain the influence she had lost in her court.

- That's why you didn't directly accuse her of imprisoning Jonah.

- Yes. Now she'll have to focus her attention on the members of her court who will want to use the weakness they perceive in her. This will save us all the trouble she could cause while we're close to her domain.

- You said she wouldn't dare attack us.

- There are still plenty of ways for her to make life difficult for us that wouldn't require a direct attack.

- So it's a success?

- That, we will be soon enough.

- I see, so we have to prepare for trouble.

- When dealing with a Being, even the weakest, always be prepared for trouble.

Taking Zarune's words to heart, Leila continued to check her surroundings. The rest of the Eldar had resumed their positions around the princess.

As they followed the little blue-feathered bird, they could not send one of their own too far away from each other, not knowing the exact direction. This meant that he might stumble into the territory of a dangerous monster. Maybe that's what Zarune meant by the trouble the dryad could still cause them? The little bird could lead them through dangerous or hard to reach passages.

In doubt Leila gave their guide a nasty look, threatening in spirit to rip off those pretty feathers if he dared to do anything like that, it would make a nice gift for Aurora's hat. The bird noticed his gaze and hooted with a slightly nervous, questioning cry.

As he walked for a while Leila came back to Zarune.

- Isn't she supposed to have imprisoned him? Why is he taking us so far?

- Kastrapa?

The Eldar turned to her before focusing.

- We are getting very close to the prism in question, Highness.

Turning to Leila, Zarune added.

- Reassured?

Not answering, Leila remained focused on the path ahead, walking in silence.

Almost an hour later, one of the Eldar a little ahead of them came running back. Leila began to summon an arrow, expecting trouble. Stopping in front of them the Eldar reported.

- We are approaching a monster ant nest. There are signs of battle.

Turning to the bird, Zarune asked.

- Why are you taking us there?

The bird kept chirping insistently as it flew in the direction of the anthill.

- Kastrapa?

- Yes, he is there.

- Get ready." To Leila, she added. "Depending on the age and size of the anthill it can be extremely dangerous.

As they approached their target Leila noticed the signs of battle. Dead ants of various sizes were present, some large enough to reach her height. Some of the ants were visibly burnt, others had been cut or had their shells broken as if they had been hit by a projectile. The further they went, the more she saw corpses with different styles of wounds, even if they started to repeat after a while. It was as if the person who had done this had begun to find the right method to eliminate these monsters.

Kastrapa approached a corpse before saying.

- This looks like the result of a war weave.

Zarune glanced at Leila.

- Jonah?

- Let's move on," Leila said.

The anthill was large, but compared to the trees around it, it was nothing special.

- The anthill isn't that big, there shouldn't be more than two or three champions besides the queen," interjected one of the Eldar.

Nodding, Zarune stepped forward, drawing her sword. Turning to Leila, she said.

- Careful, stay in the middle, with your bow it's not the best weapon to fight in these galleries.

Thinking of getting a sword as soon as she had the chance, in addition to her dagger, Leila stood in the middle of their formation, with Eldar in front and behind her, she would have difficulty shooting with Dune Fallen, but that wouldn't stop her from trying.

The further they went, the more they could see the results of a fierce battle. After going deep into the earth the group stopped. They could hear noise ahead.

- HAHAHA, I told you it wasn't the last one! Next time you'll listen to me!

Forcing the Eldar in front of her to speed up, Leila reached the heart of the anthill, a large space deep underground.

The room was filled with the corpses of ants, in the distance Leila could see a small creature flying in a circle, mocking someone sitting on the largest ant seen so far, almost twice Leila's size.

- JONAH! she screamed, before darting towards him.

Jonah turned to face her, wincing. As she climbed over the corpse of the big ant and got close to him, she could see many wounds on him, his armour almost unusable, torn and full of blood, dirt and whatnot. He had the claws of an ant clutching his stomach, his arm made of the earth was shaped like a spike, which was deeply embedded in the head of the ant that had attacked him.

- Leila! What are you doing here?

Noticing that despite the ant around him he did not appear to be dying, Leila calmed down and asked warily.

- Are you all right?

- This?" he said, pointing to the ant. "Don't worry, I killed it before it could cut me in half, although it was holding me pretty tight. But you didn't answer me, what are you doing here?

- It seems obvious to me." Zarune interjected. "But before I give you any answers, how about we get you out of here?

- Zarune! You're here!" Jonah said in a relieved tone.

Leila frowned, why did she want to help him again?