Helbram reconsidered his recent life choices as King Dahlia stood above him, waiting for an explanation. In all honesty, he didn't know what there was to explain; one glance at the situation must have been enough for the king.

Still, Helbram hadn't expected that King Dahlia would interfere. After all, the Fairy King would have known if actual humans had entered the forest.

Maybe he had felt compelled to answer Primrose's cry for help. Helbram had to grant her that, she was the only one who had kept a cool enough head to do something that would actually have been useful if the situation had been what she had thought. It just didn't help Helbram.

Helbram glanced at Harlequin, who was grabbing his pillow as if it could shield him from the king's displeasure. It was obvious that his friend wanted to be anywhere but here.

The feeling was mutual. The king was even more impressive seen up close, and if his shimmering wings filled Helbram's heart with wonder, feeling his irritation and disappointment–and knowing they were directed towards him–was more than hurtful. Even the small monkey perched on the king's shoulder, which was in fact the second form of King Dahlia's Spirit Spear Darrenheart, looked disappointed.

As the silence stretched and Harlequin gave no sign of wanting to say anything, Helbram realized that it was up to him to try and speak. The whole scheme had been his idea, and besides, he had without the shadow of a doubt the best communication skills.

He took a deep breath and took the plunge.

"We were playing."

It wasn't a lie, as far as he was concerned.

King Dahlia slowly, deliberately tilted his head towards the armor pieces on the ground. "You're calling this a game?"

Helbram was about to confirm when the fairies who had just been pranked decided to share their point of view.

"No, it wasn't!"

"I was so scared!"

"I thought I was going to die!"

"They were so mean!"

Helbram glared at them. They were flying behind the king, clearly unwilling to stay next to Harlequin and Helbram. Only a few of them seemed to commiserate with the two friends–being the focus of the Fairy King's attention in a moment like that was a fate that nobody envied.

"Do you agree that you're the only one here who had fun?" King Dahlia asked.

Helbram was surprised by the formulation. He hadn't been the only one to enjoy tricking these fairies, Harlequin did too. Or did he?

Helbram glanced at his friend. He could only see the upper part of Harlequin's face behind the pillow, with Harlequin's eyes being barely visible behind his hair, but Helbram still didn't miss how his friend avoided meeting his eye.

The cold realization abated Helbram's enthusiasm.

Harlequin hadn't enjoyed it. Helbram really was the only one.

"Yes," he acknowledged, feeling like he was robbed of his victory against the bullies.

"And what about you?" King Dahlia asked Harlequin.

Harlequin swallowed hard and lowered his pillow a bit to answer the king. He also straightened up, which didn't really change his size because he was rather short, but Helbram understood the feeling.

"I… I didn't think…" Harlequin stammered. "We shouldn't have done that. I'm sorry."

Helbram grimaced inwardly. He didn't feel like apologizing to the other fairies, but he couldn't let Harlequin be alone in this.

"Yeah, sorry," he said, hoping that the king wouldn't read in his heart that this sentence didn't exactly reflect how he felt–or that Dahlia would be merciful enough not to hold it against him.

The Fairy King sighed. "This is very disappointing."

Helbram's wings fluttered nervously as he bowed his head. Harlequin's hold on his pillow tightened even more.

King Dahlia pointed at the armor pieces. "Put these back where you found them. When you're done, come find me. If you're feeling so bored that you think such a prank is a good idea, I'll find you something to do. Understood?"

"Yes, Fairy King," Helbram and Harlequin both whispered.

With one last frown, King Dahlia turned around and left, followed by the other fairies–but not before some of them had stuck their tongue out at Harlequin and Helbram.

Harlequin waited until they had disappeared to collapse on his pillow. "I can't believe you got us in trouble with the king," he complained.

Helbram crossed his arms. "And I can't believe that you didn't enjoy the show! With all the efforts I've made!"

"But we were hurting them," Harlequin protested weakly. "I didn't like that."

"They've been hurting you," Helbram reminded him. "We had to do something about it." He slowly flew downwards to pick up the armor pieces like the king had ordered. "I still believe it worked. They'll think twice before picking on you now."

Harlequin lazily followed him. "Your idea was too extreme. Now that vine you swung right to Buttercup's face on our way here? That was funnier."

Helbram raised his head, surprised. "What vine?"

"It wasn't you?" Harlequin looked just as surprised as Helbram. "Never mind, then."

Helbram dropped one of the armor pieces on Harlequin's pillow. "Now come help me. It's not that I want to know what King Dahlia has in store for us, but I don't think it'd be a good idea to lie around."

"Fine," Harlequin grumbled, standing up to join Helbram. "Let's get this over with."

They didn't speak much on their way to the place where they had found the armor pieces. Helbram was wondering where he had gotten it wrong, and Harlequin seemed lost in his thoughts to the point he didn't even try sleeping.

As they reached their destination, Helbram felt Harlequin tense. While he agreed with his friend–this wasn't the most welcoming place in the forest, and he could feel the tension in the atmosphere, as if the violence that had taken place here still lingered–he couldn't help being fascinated by the human remains in front of him.

The designs of their clothes, their armors, and their weaponry were proof of a thriving handicraft that wasn't part of the fairies' culture, and that Helbram longed to discover.

While Harlequin dumped the items he had carried without ceremony, Helbram reluctantly laid them on the ground.

"We're done, let's go," Harlequin gritted out.

"Hmm." Helbram dared to fly closer to one of the bodies. It had been wrapped in a cloak, before, and the fibula that allowed closing it around the neck had a delicacy rivaling that of the most delicate flowers of the Fairy Realm.

"Helbram," Harlequin hissed, grabbing Helbram's sleeve. "Let's. Go."

Helbram blinked. "Oh, yes. Of course." He allowed Harlequin to pull him away, still thinking about humans and their art, and how much he, Helbram, longed to learn to know them in happier circumstances than by looking at the corpses of their mercenaries.

"Hey, Harlequin?" he asked dreamily.

"Yes?"

Harlequin released his grasp, probably thinking that they were far enough from the once human beings. The bird songs were back, but the life thriving around Helbram couldn't completely dissipate his sudden melancholy.

"Have you already wanted to visit a human's village?"

"No," Harlequin immediately answered. "Why would I?"

"You're not curious about them?"

"No."

"It's such a shame." Helbram sighed and turned around so he could fly while looking at the sky going by behind the branches. "We could learn so much from humans."

"I'm not interested." Harlequin sat down on his pillow, arms crossed. "Now we have to go find the Fairy King. I'll remind you that because of your oh so clever scheme, he intends to make us work."

Harlequin's horrified tone left no doubt about his feelings on the matter.

Helbram chuckled. "Don't worry. I'm sure you'll find a way to sleep through it," he joked.

Harlequin had a point, though. Helbram couldn't know what King Dahlia had in mind, but it was without a doubt going to cut down their freedom for a while. And a while for fairies could mean anything from weeks to years.

Helbram had no intention to try avoiding whatever the Fairy King had in store for them, but if these were his last hours of free time for who knew how long, he wanted to enjoy them to the fullest.

The only problem was that Harlequin was probably not going to agree with his new idea, and Helbram needed him to. He didn't want to follow it alone, not that he was afraid–of course not.

He flew every which way around Harlequin until his friend had no choice but to acknowledge him.

"Yes, Helbram?" Harlequin said wryly.

"Oh, Harlequin! I've just had the best idea. While we're here, not that far away from the forest's border, how about…" Helbram gave Harlequin his most convincing smile. "We take a look at it?"

Harlequin hit his face against his pillow. It would have produced more effect if the fluffy item didn't absorb all kinds of impacts.

"Helbram, seriously?"

"Just a look," Helbram pleaded. "We won't leave the forest. Come on, we might not have another opportunity in decades!"

He was pretty sure that King Dahlia didn't intend to punish them for that long, but some emphasis couldn't hurt.

Harlequin crossed his arms. "And then you'll stop obsessing over it?"

"Of course!" Helbram said merrily, hoping that Harlequin was too busy thinking about the recent events to focus on reading his heart.

Harlequin still didn't seem convinced, but after a few excruciating seconds, he nodded. "Fine. Just one look, and then we're going home."

"Thank you, Harlequin." Helbram hugged him briefly. "You're the best."

They were flying just above the top of the trees, in order to have a better view of the landscape. In every direction but the East, the forest extended as far as the eye could see; but right in front of them, the line delimiting the end of the trees was clearly visible.

They would reach it in one hour, tops, but considering that the day was already well advanced, they wouldn't be home before the next day.

Maybe Helbram could convince Harlequin to sleep next to the border, and maybe they could have a second look at it in the morning. Seeing the sun rise on the lands of the humans had to be a worthy sight.

In the meantime, Helbram was starting to feel hungry. It was time to look for some berries.

"Hey, Harlequin! How about we have a snack?"

Harlequin didn't answer. He was levitating on his pillow right behind Helbram, lying on his back with his eyes closed.

Helbram didn't know how his friend could be sleeping. He felt way too excited for that.

"Come on," he insisted, grabbing Harlequin's wrist to pull him along, down and down in the forest's depths. "I'm hungry."

"Let me sleep," Harlequin moaned, trying to free himself from Helbram's grasp.

Helbram wasn't holding him that tight, but Harlequin still failed. Helbram took pity on him. "Alright, I'm picking the berries this time. Just stay here."

"No problem," Harlequin said before going back to sleep.

Helbram left his friend floating on his pillow and went down, looking for the bushes that held the most savory berries at this time of the year. He had barely started his search when he heard the voices.

"This forest is giving me goosebumps," someone was saying.

"You've always been a chicken."

"For once, I agree with him. There is something threatening about these trees."

Helbram's heart raced as he silently came closer to the source of the conversation. First, he wasn't recognizing these voices. They didn't belong to any of the hundreds of fairies he knew, both in the Fairy King's Forest and in the Fairy Realm. Second, no fairy would ever talk about the forest in such derogatory terms.

He gained height and perched on a tree.

At first, he thought that his eyes were playing tricks on him. Below, progressing in single file through the forest, were three humans.

Three living humans.

Helbram rubbed his eyes, but the humans didn't vanish. He managed not to panic and hurried back to Harlequin, who hadn't moved an inch.

"Harlequin!" Helbram whispered in his friend's ear as he shook him gently. "You have to come see this! I've found humans!"

"It's not funny, Helbram," Harlequin said, eyes still closed.

"I'm not kidding!" Helbram insisted, still whispering, as he shook him a little less gently, pillow and all. "They're real humans! Come with me!"

"What?" Harlequin said, now fully awake. "What… What are they doing here?"

"I don't know." Helbram pulled him along to his previous observation point. "Look!"

Harlequin gaped. "They… They're humans," he whispered.

"I told you so."

Helbram knew he was probably grinning like an idiot, but he couldn't help it. This was the very first time he got to see living, breathing humans in his life. They were different from what he had imagined, less gracious as they walked through the forest, but it might have been because the undergrowth was so thick and they couldn't fly.

As he and Harlequin were perched at the top of a very high tree, he couldn't see the details of the humans' clothes very clearly. He started flying downwards, careful to stay hidden behind the branches and their leaves.

"Helbram, what are you doing?" Harlequin whispered urgently.

"I'm taking a closer look."

"Are you crazy? It's too dangerous!"

For someone keeping his voice so low, Harlequin was managing to sound pretty furious. Helbram ignored him and kept silently flying towards the intruders, making sure he was never in their line of sight, branches and leaves or not.

Now that he was almost at their level, he could see their heavy armament and the scars on their faces. No doubt they were seasoned fighters, not that they would stand a chance against King Dahlia.

It saddened Helbram to know that these beautiful humans would soon be nothing more than memories.

Go back, he wanted to tell them. Don't stay in this forest, you're not welcome here. You'll die like all the others if you keep going.

However, and no matter what Harlequin must be thinking at the moment, he wasn't stupid enough to start a conversation with humans whose intentions were anything but pure.

"Why are we even here?" the third human asked. He was wearing a bow and a quiver full of arrows, and was glancing nervously around him.

"You know why," the first human said. He was the tallest and carried the biggest weapon Helbram had ever seen, an ax that he was using to cut through the bushes. "We're looking for the treasure the Chief told us about."

"The Chief drinks too much ale. That treasure map he bought is worth nothing. I'm telling you, there is nothing in this forest but weird trees."

"If you want to go back to the camp and tell the Chief that you stopped the reckon mission because there was something weird with the trees, feel free to do so. I'll say a prayer for your soul once he kills you." The first man laughed, as if the perspective of seeing his friend killed rejoiced him.

But maybe he didn't mean it. Maybe Helbram didn't understand correctly because of the cultural difference.

"Silence," said the second man, a sword-wielder who was talking for the first time. "We're being watched."

Helbram froze. Could they have noticed him? He had been perfectly silent, and the forest was hiding him.

The next second, the second man had unsheathed his sword and was cutting the bush that hid Helbram in two.

Helbram flew up, disoriented.

"I thought I heard something," the man said, showing his yellowish teeth in a smile without warmth.

The other two gasped. Helbram's keen hearing allowed him to hear a third gasp, way above him.

"What's that?"

"It's a fairy? They do exist, then."

Helbram dusted his clothes as he flew out of range of the first two humans and kept an eye on the third and his bow.

"May I say it's an honor to meet you?" he said. "You're my very first humans."

"It talks!" the third man said, throwing an arrow that Helbram easily avoided.

"Wow, you're a nervous one, aren't you?" He decided to fly up a little more, just in case.

It didn't work.

To his surprise and dismay, Helbram started falling like a stone. He desperately tried to move his wings, but they had stopped answering him. In fact, his whole body was paralyzed.

When his fall was abruptly stopped in front of the men and he noticed the second one's posture, he understood.

This man had magic. It explained how he had noticed Helbram.

This wasn't good. Helbram tried to use his own magic, but he couldn't unleash it without being able to move, if only a little.

"Don't kill it yet," the first man said. "Maybe it can tell us whether the treasure truly exists."

The second man waved his hand, and Helbram suddenly felt that he could move his tongue again. He didn't know whether they meant the Fountain of Youth or not, but it wasn't going to change his answer.

"There is no treasure for you here. I suggest you come home," he said calmly, even though his heart was beating too fast.

"You liar," the first man said. "You're going to regret this."

Before Helbram had the time to start panicking, roots suddenly coiled around the humans, and he felt the mage's hold on him break. He glanced upwards, looking for Harlequin.

His friend had levitated dangerously closer, his expression darker than Helbram had ever seen him as he focused on controlling the roots.

"Be careful!" the bowman yelled. "There is another one, and it has magic powers!"

He shot an arrow that pierced Harlequin's pillow and grazed his cheek.

"Harlequin!"

The rage Helbram suddenly felt surprised him. Normally Harlequin would have avoided the arrow better than that, but using his powers to such an extent was bound to slow down his reflexes.

"You shouldn't have done that," Helbram said, sending twirling dead wood at the men. "You shouldn't have hurt my friend."

The wood hit an invisible barrier before it could reach the mercenaries, no doubt the mage's doing. Helbram decided to back Harlequin up with the roots instead.

"Hurt it?" The bowman laughed, a sound that sent shivers down Helbram's spine. "I killed it. My arrows are poisoned."

Helbram coiled a root around the man's neck and squeezed. He was met with magical resistance and tried to focus harder, but he also needed to read the man's heart to know whether it was true.

It was, but his fear receded when he read about the poison's composition.

Harlequin added his own root to Helbram's, flying down until they were side by side.

"How?" the man gasped. "You should be dying!"

Harlequin raised a brow and touched the scratch before licking his fingers. "Aconite. Definitely not my favorite."

The man was watching him, blinking.

"Fairies are immune to the plants' poisons," Helbram said.

"Helbram, stop chatting with the enemy."

Helbram would have continued, if only to tease Harlequin and release the tension a bit, but he had to focus on the roots. It seemed that it was more and more difficult to control them, and although the forest around them was trying to help–sending branches and vines and roots against the intruders–it was being repelled.

Helbram was suddenly punched by an invisible fist, and he hit the trunk of a tree. He let go of the roots as he doubled over in pain.

Harlequin had suffered the same fate, and now the three humans were coming for them. Helbram tried to repel them, but once again, his body had stopped answering him.

"Nice try," the mage said. "It's the first time I see this kind of magic. I would love to study it more, but sadly we're on a mission."

"Took you long enough," the ax wielder said. "Are there any others?"

"I don't think so."

"What should we do with them?" the bowman asked.

"Maybe we could sell them. I'm sure someone would pay gold for one fairy, let alone two."

"Are you sure this one is a fairy? It doesn't have wings."

"No need to be rude," Harlequin grumbled, although Helbram could feel his fear.

Regret pierced Helbram's heart. It was his fault if they had been captured, he was the one who had wanted to see these humans up close. He should have been more careful, but how was he supposed to know that one of them would be a mage?

"You should leave the forest," Helbram said boldly. "Before the Fairy King comes for you."

"How about we kill you first, so you don't go tell him about us?" the first man said, licking his lips.

"I don't think you will," an unmistakable voice said.

Relief washed over Helbram. He couldn't turn his head, but he knew that voice–and he knew that power.

"Darrenheart, first form!"

A bright light flashed in front of Helbram, and before he had realized it, he was free. He looked at the king, feeling the forest murmuring around him. The power of their bond was almost blinding. In his right hand, the king held Darrenheart, his Spirit Spear; it glowed from the Sacred Tree's energy.

Helbram had very rarely seen Darrenheart's spear form, and never in a real fight. He could only watch in awe as the king attacked their enemies.

The three men didn't even have the opportunity to defend themselves before the Spirit Spear pierced them, one after the other. Their bodies collapsed on the ground, quickly disappearing under bushes and vines, as if swallowed by the forest.

King Dahlia turned the spear back into his second form, Guardian. The monkey jumped on his shoulder and stayed here while the king watched the two smaller fairies, no doubt reading their hearts.

"Are you alright?"

Helbram nodded. His heart was still beating faster from the shock and fear. "Thank you," he said in a small voice.

"Thank you, Your Majesty," Harlequin added, his voice trembling.

He was squeezing his pillow, and Helbram noticed that said pillow was whole once more. It wasn't surprising; after all, the forest did repair the fairies' clothes when they happened to tear them. This pillow was dearer to Harlequin than his trousers and shirt, no doubt.

The king nodded. "You're welcome, although you don't have to thank me. It's my duty to protect you and this forest." He tilted his head, focusing on Helbram. "Why would you come close to them? You know humans are dangerous."

Helbram bowed his head. "I was curious," he admitted. "I didn't expect them to notice me."

"They had a mage," Harlequin said. "We tried to fight them, but… we failed."

"It was courageous."

To Helbram's surprise, the king was smiling.

"It's not often that fairies fight back, these days," King Dahlia went on. "You two are something special." His smile vanished, replaced by a frown. "Still, I thought I had been clear. You were supposed to come see me right after you were done putting the armor pieces back where they belong."

Helbram grimaced. "Yes, we were going to, but…" He tried to find a good excuse, but none came to his mind. Exhaustion was making his brain sluggish.

Next to him, Harlequin didn't seem in better shape. He was holding his pillow tightly, more so he couldn't collapse on it in front of the king than because he wanted to use it as a shield.

King Dahlia watched them both and sighed. "You need some rest. Come back with me."

"Now?" Helbram asked, feeling disappointed in spite of everything that he wasn't going to the border this evening.

King Dahlia raised an eyebrow. "Yes. Unless you have something better to do?"

Helbram hesitated.

"Helbram," Harlequin gritted out, glaring at him.

Helbram grimaced. He knew his friend had been pushed to his limits, and anyway he didn't think he had a chance to win a negotiation against the king. "No, Your Majesty," he answered awkwardly. "We're coming."

A slight smile played on the king's lips. "Good." He waved his hand, and suddenly a portal of light appeared on the trunk of a nearby tree.

"Wow," Harlequin and Helbram both said.

The king winked at them. "Let's go."

In his wake, Helbram and Harlequin plunged into the trunk.