A/N: This fairy-tale is dedicated to all those who raise children, younger brothers and sisters, nieces and nephews, godsons and goddaughters, puppies, kittens, canary-birds, spiders, gold-fish, snakes or … whatever, as well as flowers, trees and any kind of plant. :D

Elfland.

Child of the pure unclouded brow

And dreaming eyes of wonder!

Though time be fleet, and I and thou

Are half a life asunder,

Thy loving smile will surely hail

The love-gift of a fairy-tale.

– Lewis Carroll.

10. The Queen's Assembly.

Following the humans' trail in the woods, the trio strayed even farther from their campsite. The criminals who had cut and hurt the trees, had dragged the bare trunks some distance; and somewhere there, near the wide clearings of the horses, they had lingered for their own reasons. Garland walked determinedly and Corolla flew up in the air above the boy's head. Only the little Green turned backwards every once in a while, sniffed at the air towards his chosen one, and his heart was filled with longing. But as he had taken the oath to revenge for the fallen trees, he followed the path along with his friends silently.

'This is terrible, terrible!' cawed the crow as he passed by hastily, so no one of them had the chance to speak to him. The dusk fell abruptly over the high treetops and the night followed with its stillness.

'Could you, please, light the way for us, so as not we lose the path?' Corolla the fairy asked the firefly.

'Are you attending the assembly too?' the firefly asked, and tried her best to strengthen the fire she kept in her belly.

'What kind of assembly?' Corolla and Garland asked simultaneously.

'But, the Queen's assembly, of course!' the firefly said.

'The Queen's?' The little Green rubbed his body against the boy's leg. 'Why?'

'Oh dear, haven't you heard?' the firefly being very upset, lost her sparkle for a moment. 'They took him! They found him quenching his thirst at the brook alone, and they tied him, the villains!' Angry flashes of light emerged from the insect's belly. 'Then, they took him.'

'Who…?' Confusion captured the trio, but they didn't even have the time to complete their question because the clang of twelve cloven hooves resounded in the forest. And it was only at the last moment that they managed to step aside, as the big stag, followed by two does pierced the path like arrows.

'They have taken him! They have captured him! And we are late! Run, the Queen is awaiting!' the deers cried, and they disappeared from their sight, as if the shadows of the night had swallowed them.

'Who, who?'

'Come!' the firefly said, as she kept on lighting the path in front of them. 'The wide clearing is near and you will hear all about the bad news from the Queen herself.

The fairy, Garland and the little Dragon hurried after the firefly, as they looked at each other with curiosity, uneasiness starting in their hearts.

The end of the path led them to a wide clearing. The glow of the firefly had faded for some time now because of the glare of the moon, which fell generously from above.

'… and I hid in my burrow again, afraid that I might be spotted ...'

The low sound of the weak voice barely reached their ears.

A loud whinny, full of pain, ripped the air through the clearing and the moon lit up the beautiful, long mane of a mare, as she stood on her hind legs, kicking the air.

'Oh Hvitr, my prince!' the mare lamented. 'Where are you, my beautiful son?'

'She is Istalri,' the firefly said, 'the Queen of the horses!'

Two more mares stood by her side, supporting their Queen in her great grief. Forming a wide circle around them, many other animals stood silently and sorrowfully. One could see tears in most of the eyes, and the salty dew drops shone under the moonlight.

'…well hidden in my burrow, I saw them binding him.'

In the middle of the great circle, a badger stood alone, narrating.

'…and then they built a large cage using the branches of the trees they had previously cut.'

Voices of protest and wails filled the clearing, as Garland, Corolla and the little Green came closer, to hear and see better.

'As he refused to follow them, they imprisoned him in the cage ...' the badger shuddered. He raised his long hackles and his whiskers shone under the light of the moon.

New voices were heard in the clearing, protests, wails, angry shrieks. The badger continued.

'…he kicked and neighed ... but they laughed and shackled him ... they locked him … and … they took him far, far away ... beyond the elven forests, in the lands of the humans.'

So spoke the badger and then he sat aside very sad.

Swallowing her pain, the Queen of the horses came forward to speak to everyone.

'Such a thing would have never happened if our King was here. The humans had no right to be in our territory, they had no right to take our prince!'

'Animals of the forest!' shouted the other two mares who accompanied her. 'Will we permit them to rob us? To bind us? To imprison us?'

'Never!' all the others exclaimed. 'Punishment! Revenge!'

Istalri stretched her proud neck, causing her thick, red mane to wave like a flame.

'That is the reason I have called you here, animals of the forest. To decide what it is to be done.'

Tears of sorrow and despair were shed from the eyes of the beautiful mother. Garland, holding the little Green in his arms, could not bear any more to remain silent.

'Punishment! Revenge!' he cried and stepped in front of the mare with his fist raised. 'You cannot approach the human villages, for you are in danger to be enslaved too. We are young and tiny and we can go unnoticed. We will find the offenders, dear Queen,' the boy said, speaking on behalf of his two friends. 'We will travel far beyond the hill. We will chase them, and we will bring the prince back! If necessary, we will reach up to the human villages.'

'Yes! We will do it!' Corolla the fairy stated, uniting her voice with the boy's and fluttering around the majestic mare. The little, green Dragon expressed his agreement growling angrily, and releasing small puffs of smoke from his nostrils that wandered through the clearing.

'Punishment! Revenge!' all the animals cried, stamping their hooves, paws or claws on the ground.

'If our King was here, the humans would have never dared to abduct our prince,' Istalri complained. 'But since he is away along with the main herd, any help is valuable.' The mare touched her snout on the fairy's brow, then on Garland's and on the little Dragon's. 'Walk carefully up to the land of humans, and bring me back my son. May the stars protect you!' the Queen wished them, and after her all the other attending forest animals.

'Where the wide clearings end and the foot of the hill starts, there is a secret path' the old, gray wolf said. 'It will help you as a shortcut and you will save time. Pass from the dark caves, descend the gloomy crags and in a half-day's course you will meet the land of the humans. The hawk will show you the way.'

'We will go and we will come back along with your son' Garland promised, and as all the animals cheered, the trio came out of the wide clearing, heading towards the adventure and the land of the humans.

A/N: I feel the need to thank Restrained Freedom from the depths of my heart for his constant help and support.

Thank you for reading this fairy-tale.