It could have been worse.

At least Helbram was trying to convince himself of it as he worked to displace bushes and sprouts. He could use his magic to uproot the plants, even though it was tedious and exhausting.

It didn't help that he had to do it alone.

Helbram wasn't happy at all with the Fairy King's decision to send him and Harlequin to two separate areas of the forest, but he hadn't dared to protest. And of course Harlequin hadn't either; Helbram knew how much his friend hated to be the focus of everyone's attention, and just wanted to be done with this whole situation.

Helbram sighed. Considering the surface of the forest he had to 'clean' and his current speed, as much as the necessary and lengthy breaks he would have to take, he estimated that the task would take him a week, maybe more.

A week should have been nothing for a fairy, and that was what Helbram had thought at first. He had quickly reconsidered it, though. Each second of this work seemed to last a year. It wasn't even midday on the first day and he already had enough.

Fairies really weren't cut out for that kind of work.

To be fair, they weren't cut out for any kind of work. First, they didn't need to; the forest provided them with everything they needed. Second, when they did set up on accomplishing something–like learning to play from an instrument, or helping hurt animals to recover–it was of their own volition.

Helbram was almost starting to regret his prank. Almost.

"Helbram!"

Helbram immediately stopped what he was doing and turned to beam at the newcomers. They were some of the fairies that had enjoyed his stories the most.

"Hi!" Helbram said, delighted to have company.

The fairies flew around him, their wings moving excitedly. "Will you tell us again how you fought the humans?" they chorused.

Helbram pretended to think about it. His decision was already made–it would make his day so much better, and he could even keep working while he talked–but he liked to be coaxed.

"Please, Helbram!" the fairies humored him. "You didn't finish it last time."

He had already told them that particular story dozens of times by now, but it was true that the very last time, they had been interrupted by Harlequin who had just woken up, and seemed less than pleased about Helbram's storytelling skills.

Still, Harlequin had his fair share of responsibility in it. It was because Helbram had wanted to make Elaine feel better that he had first told his tale, with very little twisting. Granted, he might have exaggerated his heroic resistance a bit and minimized the very real fear he had felt, but he had still given the best part to the Fairy King, as was only appropriate. It wasn't his fault if others had heard them, and been legitimately curious; and it wasn't his fault if his brain kept embellishing his memories each time he was asked to share them.

The fact was that Helbram was now enjoying himself immensely.

"Alright," he relented, to his audience's greatest joy.

As he started telling his story, relishing in the absolute attention of the fairies in front of him, he kept uprooting his bushes. Now that he wasn't focusing so hard on his work, it felt way easier.

"And then they attacked us!"

The fairies whispered ooohs and aaaahs, and a few of them gasped when Helbram sent branches of deadwood spinning for effect.

"So we had to defend ourselves," Helbram went on, moving threatening roots in front of the fairies.

They giggled while hiding behind each other.

"Still, the humans were about to win, when suddenly…"

Helbram opened his arms and uprooted three bushes at the same time to mimic the extent of the Fairy King's wings.

"Fairy King Dahlia came to our rescue!"

The enthralled faces of the fairies filled him with pride. The more he thought about it, and the more he believed that the whole ordeal had been worth it.

Maybe he could even convince Harlequin of this.

He had barely finished the last part when a group of other fairies, led by Buttercup, joined them.

Buttercup barely looked at him as he addressed the others. "We're having a party. Are you coming?"

Helbram could say that the fairies were tempted. They were looking between him and Buttercup, not knowing what to do.

Helbram knew that they had been about to ask him to tell the story again, but he understood their hesitation. He loved parties too, and he would gladly have participated in this one if he hadn't been supposed to work to make up for scaring fairies with human puppets.

"There is music, and flowers, and berries," Buttercup added. "The Fairy King is offering them."

This made it for the fairies. Giving Helbram apologetic looks, they flew away.

Helbram briefly considered following them before changing his mind. He didn't want to disappoint King Dahlia by abandoning his task.

He straightened up. There would be other opportunities; fairies had parties all the time.

He was about to go back to work when he realized that he was thirsty. He had talked a lot, and one juicy fruit or two would be most welcome.

Helbram decided that it was time for a break. And while he was at it, he might as well check on Harlequin and share the fruits with him.

Grinning, he started flying in the direction where he had seen King Dahlia take Harlequin after they had dropped Helbram here. He didn't know exactly where Harlequin was, but it couldn't be very far away.

He wondered how much work Harlequin had already done. He had no illusions. His friend was bound to have fallen asleep at some point.

Well, then it was Helbram's duty to help him by waking him up so he could fulfill his task. Maybe he would even help him a little before going back to his own area. Helbram didn't want Harlequin to fall behind him too much, and it would be fun working together.

Besides, as all other fairies were partying, nobody would notice.

Harlequin was floating on his pillow, wondering where he should start.

So far he had made little progress. It wasn't like he hadn't tried; it was just that his pillow was so comfortable that it would have been a shame not to use it. And if sometimes his eyes closed themselves and he didn't will them to reopen, where was the problem?

He had hoped that he would be working with Helbram, but the good side was that he wouldn't have to worry about his friend waking him up in the middle of a well-deserved break.

Harlequin floated just above the ground, watching the undergrowth. The interlacing of new branches and bushes was random, and if sometimes it looked right, at other times it felt like it would hinder the growth of the plants around them.

Harlequin could tell the subtle difference between the two. He understood why King Dahlia had chosen this part of the forest for cleaning; it would be better off with fewer bushes.

Harlequin was most decided to do his part after another short nap.

Smiling to himself, he settled even more comfortably on his pillow. He had always been able to fall asleep anywhere he wanted. He felt safe to do so, as if the forest was watching over him in his sleep.

He closed his eyes.

"Harlequin!"

Harlequin startled awake. He had been deeply asleep, and it took him a few seconds to surface.

Helbram was in front of him, trying to look annoyed even though Harlequin could tell how much his best friend was enjoying himself.

"Harlequin, why are you here? Surely it's not where King Dahlia brought you."

Harlequin blinked. "What?"

Helbram stretched his arms to show their surroundings. "It's obvious that this place doesn't need any cleaning. It looks nothing like the area I've been working on since this morning."

Harlequin watched around him, confused. Helbram was right. The bushes that had been so dense were now more balanced, in a way that allowed the forest to breathe. Still, he was certain that it was the same place. It was like everything he had intended to do before falling asleep had happened during his nap.

"It wasn't like this before," he said.

"No, because you drifted away from the area you were supposed to work on," Helbram said. "In your sleep. Why am I not surprised?" He winked.

Harlequin frowned. "It's the same place."

Helbram watched him with more attention. "Really? Well, then the Fairy King was way more lenient with you, which is really unfair."

"I'm telling you, it wasn't like this before," Harlequin insisted.

Now Helbram looked confused. He had to know that Harlequin wasn't lying, but it didn't make sense to him–not that it did to Harlequin.

"So you've already uprooted all the bushes that were in the way?"

Harlequin cleared his throat. He would have loved to pretend it, but Helbram would have seen right through the lie.

"No," he admitted, defeated. "I, uh, was just starting."

Helbram crossed his arms and shook his head. "And to think I've been working like crazy!"

Harlequin doubted that it was entirely true, but he couldn't deny that his friend had done more work than him.

It wasn't hard when Harlequin had done nothing.

"Well, now you have to help me," Helbram went on. "After we have lunch, of course."

Harlequin yawned. He wanted nothing but to go back to sleep. His last nap hadn't been as refreshing as usual.

"I'm feeling exhausted. Maybe I should rest first."

Helbram put his hands on his hips. "You've just slept for an entire week. How can you be exhausted?"

Harlequin had no good answer to that, so he breathed heavily. "Fine. I'll help you."

"Wonderful!" Helbram put an arm around Harlequin's shoulders. "You'll see, work will be way funnier this way."

Helbram glanced at Harlequin as he set back to uprooting bushes. He was slightly worried about his friend; Harlequin seemed really confused. Helbram knew that he wasn't lying when he said that King Dahlia had led him to the place where Helbram had met with him, but surely the Fairy King wouldn't have gone that easy on him. There was positively nothing left to do there. The place looked perfectly balanced, in a way that Helbram knew a mere fairy would never achieve; you had to have a bond with the forest like the Fairy King's himself to understand it that deeply.

Maybe Harlequin was still under shock. He was certainly taking more time than Helbram to recover from the attack by the humans.

Harlequin for sure was tired. It was weird, considered that he had done nothing but sleep for a week, but he wasn't faking it.

So Helbram didn't protest too much when Harlequin settled on flying after him, lazily spread on his pillow.

Helbram got ready to uproot yet another bush while keeping an eye on his friend when Harlequin stopped him.

"No, not this one."

"Why?" Helbram asked.

"It's perfect as it is. How about you uproot this one instead?" Harlequin pointed at another tangle, a few feet away.

Helbram watched Harlequin to determine whether his friend was teasing him, but Harlequin was dead serious.

"You know, the Fairy King will pass over us in any case," he said.

"It's not a reason," Harlequin stated, as if he was more serious about it than Helbram himself.

Which was ironic, considering how Helbram was doing all the work.

"How can you tell?"

"You mean you can't?" Harlequin seemed genuinely surprised.

Helbram shook his head. "No. They both look the same to me."

"Oh." Harlequin seemed pleased with himself. "Then you know what? I should circle the area and tell you what needs to be done."

This was the last straw for Helbram. He flew in front of his friend, putting his elbows on Harlequin's pillow. "So you get to give me orders while I do all the work?"

Harlequin grinned. "Yes!"

"No," Helbram deadpanned. "Come here."

He tugged at Harlequin's pillow until his friend tumbled down, then pulled him towards the ground.

Harlequin grimaced. "Fine. It was just a suggestion."

The two of them set to work. Helbram was clearly the faster of the two, but Harlequin deigned to participate, which was satisfying enough.

From time to time, Harlequin stopped Helbram before he could interfere with some parts of the undergrowth, and Helbram humored him.

They had made what Helbram considered to be decent progress when the fairies came back. They were still dancing and singing, and they had flowers around their necks and on their heads.

Helbram immediately noticed that Elaine was amongst them. Harlequin had too, and he straightened up and smiled to his sister.

"Brother?" Elaine said, her eyes going from Helbram to Harlequin. "I thought you two weren't supposed to be together?"

"Oh, that's because I'm done with my own area," Harlequin said.

Helbram watched him with interest. His friend seemed absolutely convinced of what he was saying.

There were disbelieving whispers amongst the other fairies, and Helbram noticed from the corner of his eye that a few of them were departing. They belonged to the group that Helbram and Harlequin had pranked, and Helbram wondered whether they were going to denounce them to the king. He doubted that they would dare to disturb King Dahlia for that, but he couldn't be sure.

In any case, Helbram and Harlequin hadn't done anything wrong. Harlequin couldn't be held for responsible if he was confused and didn't remember where he was supposed to go.

Elaine must have believed her brother, because she smiled at him.

"Is it hard?" she asked, looking at the bushes.

"Yes, very hard!" Harlequin said. "But I'm courageously doing the king's will."

Helbram wasn't sure that what Harlequin had been doing qualified as hard work, and he wondered whether he should point it out to Elaine in order to embarrass his best friend.

The unexpected arrival of one of the king's advisers diverted his attention.

He grimaced. So the fairies hadn't fetched the king after all.

"Do you see, Lady Gerheade?" Buttercup said, his voice sounding outraged. "They're not respecting the King's will at all!"

Gerheade watched them, her unique eye unblinking, and Helbram had to repress the urge to dust his clothes.

"Weren't you supposed to work each on your own area?"

"My area is already done," Harlequin said, his voice much smaller and less assured than a few minutes before.

Gerheade tilted her head. "Then I'm sure that you won't mind showing me."

Behind her, Buttercup smirked.

"O-of course," Harlequin said.

Gerheade turned to the other fairies. "Thank you. You can go now."

They disappeared behind the trees, looking clearly disappointed, but Helbram had no doubt that they would spy on them.

He didn't mind. Fairies were that way.

"This way," Harlequin muttered.

Elaine had stayed with them, and she looked at her brother worriedly. Helbram assumed she was confused. After all, why would Harlequin look like he was guilty if he was telling the truth?

And Elaine would know he was telling the truth. She could read her brother's heart as easily as she levitated through the trees.

Helbram gave her a reassuring smile as they followed Harlequin and Gerheade. He wasn't sure what they were missing here, but he had no doubt Gerheade had only their best interests at heart.

After all, it was her job as the king's adviser.

Harlequin couldn't help feeling anxious as he led Gerheade to the place that King Dahlia had assigned to him. Even though he knew that it was the right one, he couldn't explain why it had suddenly changed, and he didn't look forward to telling her that he had been asleep the whole time.

At least she would read his heart and believe him.

Harlequin thought about the fairies that had decided to bring her here. He hadn't missed Buttercup's smirk at seeing him in trouble.

He found out that he didn't care as much as he would have a few days before.

It wasn't the same, now that he had seen the darkness in the humans' hearts. They were ready to kill anything and anyone in their path; they saw no value in a life that wasn't theirs. They didn't even realize the forest was alive.

And humans fought and killed their own kind. Fairies might bicker sometimes, but they would never fall so low.

They were arriving, and Harlequin awkwardly landed to the side.

"It's here, Lady Gerheade."

Gerheade stood in front of him, silent. Harlequin couldn't read her heart at all, and the expression on her face didn't help him to understand what she was thinking. There was surprise, yes, but also something else–something new that Harlequin couldn't pinpoint.

"This is the place that King Dahlia asked me to clean," he insisted, because her silence was making him more and more awkward.

He heard whispers behind the trees, no doubt coming from the fairies who had followed them.

"Lady Gerheade?" Helbram asked, as surprised as Harlequin by her prolonged silence.

"It's a disaster," Harlequin heard her whisper.

He thought that Gerheade was exaggerating. This area felt peaceful and balanced, exactly as it was supposed to be.

The annoyance gave him the courage to talk a bit more.

"It wasn't like this at first," he said. "I don't know what happened. I was, uh…" He cleared his throat, blushing. "Sleeping. When I woke up, it had become this."

Gerheade's eye was piercing him. She had heard his thoughts, no doubt about it.

He repressed the urge to grab his pillow, which was floating right next to him. He had done nothing wrong; surely Gerheade would see that.

He felt relieved when she looked away. It didn't last, relief soon replaced by confusion.

"Oslo!" Gerheade called, and a Black Hound–a big, scary Black Hound–materialized next to her.

Gerheade stroked the scary Black Hound's neck until he shrank.

"Keep an eye on him for me, will you?" she said.

The Black Hound watched Harlequin, who was starting to wonder whether he was, in fact, still asleep.

The scene felt so surreal.

"Uh?" was all he managed to ask.

"His name is Oslo." Gerheade smiled. "He'll watch over you in my absence. I must talk to the Fairy King."

She took her leave, and Harlequin exchanged a baffled look with Helbram. His friend shrugged, obviously as confused as Harlequin.

The other fairies were leaving their hideout, looking just as surprised–which was strangely comforting to Harlequin.

He looked at Oslo, who seemed content to stay where he was. As impressive as the Black Hound was, he wasn't a threat–at least Harlequin hoped so.

Noticing Harlequin's attention, Oslo wagged his tail.

Helbram put a hand on Harlequin's shoulder.

"Looks like you've made a new friend."