Helbram didn't know what to think of that new development. It was very unlike Gerheade to run off and leave them like that. And what was the deal with the Black Hound? As far as he knew, Black Hounds were guardians of the Fairy Realm patrolling the Fairy King's Forest, not pets.

He hadn't known that Gerheade had a favorite one, or that he had a name.

Oslo.

Helbram didn't feel like going near the beast, so he was glad that Gerheade had asked Oslo to watch over Harlequin and not him. Although the reason why she had done so remained a complete mystery. They were fairies in the Fairy King's Forest; they were as safe as one could be.

Helbram watched from a reasonable distance as Harlequin extended a tentative hand towards the wide mouth full of sharp teeth. Oslo licked said hand, and Helbram released the breath he had been holding.

"Uh, hello. Nice to meet you," Harlequin said.

While Harlequin still seemed a little unsure, Helbram could tell that his friend was happy about the encounter. When Oslo licked his cheek, Harlequin's face broke into a grin and he started stroking Oslo's head.

"He looks very cute," Elaine said, coming closer.

The Black Hound wagged his tail with renewed vigor.

Helbram wasn't going to let anyone think he was afraid of a big, scary Black Hound, so he came closer as well. He couldn't help noticing that Oslo wasn't wagging his tail as fast for him as for Harlequin and Elaine, but the Black Hound looked friendly enough that Helbram allowed himself to relax.

"Soooo," he said. "Am I the only one wondering what just happened?"

It was a rhetorical question, considering that the fairies around them still looked puzzled, but it seemed like Harlequin had already forgotten about Gerheade's strange behavior.

Harlequin sobered. "Look, I have no idea what came into Gerheade. Why does she think I need to be watched? You're the one constantly looking for trouble."

"Hey!" Helbram protested. "As I remember it, I wasn't alone last time."

"Only because you refused to listen to the voice of reason."

"Are you supposed to be that voice?" Helbram lay down, his wings flapping lazily. "If so, I'm sorry to say that you lack credibility."

Harlequin glared at him, racking his brain for a witty reply that didn't come. Helbram's smile widened. He turned to Elaine to call her as a witness, only to notice that she wasn't smiling at their banter, too lost in her own thoughts.

"Elaine?" he called.

Her gaze fixed on him. "I felt that Gerheade was upset, but I don't understand why," she said slowly. "She wasn't mad, I'm sure of that."

It was more than Helbram had discerned. Elaine's sensitivity to the feelings of others was truly impressive.

"I guess we'll have to wait and see," he said.

As if to join the conversation, Oslo barked.

"Yes, of course," Harlequin said, as if he had understood what the Black Hound meant.

Which he had, Helbram soon realized. He watched Oslo, trying to guess his thoughts, but all he could see was a friendly Black Hound.

As far as feelings went, it wasn't that bad. He could settle for that.

"What did he say?" he asked his talking-to-scary-Black-Hounds best friend.

"He said that we should trust Gerheade." Harlequin stroked Oslo's neck. "She knows what she's doing."

"It goes without saying." Helbram leaned on his elbow. "In any case, there is no need to stay here."

As much as he wanted to know the whole story, there was no point in brooding over it. Like most fairies, he was patient; answers would come to them in due time.

The other fairies, who had been keeping an eye on them while whispering to themselves, must have agreed with that statement, because they slowly scattered.

"Do you think we should go back to work?" Harlequin seemed less than enthusiastic about this perspective.

Helbram shook his head. "No, I think we should wait for Gerheade's explanation. Until then, why not relax?"

"I, the voice of reason, approve of this." Harlequin leaned on his pillow with a blissful look on his face.

Oslo wagged his tail once, then grabbed the pillow from under Harlequin and ran away.

Helbram and Elaine burst into laughter at seeing Harlequin's baffled expression.

Harlequin quickly recovered from his surprise. "Hey! Come back here!" he said, rushing after Oslo.

Helbram and Elaine hurried to follow them, huge grins on their faces.

Gerheade watched the Fairy King as he let his eyes wander over the undergrowth. She had asked him to come with her, but she hadn't told him why. She didn't want to influence him.

But now that he was taking in the perfectly cleaned area, she had no doubt he was thinking the same as she did.

"You're saying Harlequin did this?" he said, slowly.

"Yes, Fairy King," she answered.

She was certain that Harlequin himself hadn't realized it, but she had no doubt. She took her job as the king's adviser very seriously, and while the other fairies living in the Fairy King's forest may not realize it, she knew each and every one of them–including their magic.

She just hadn't expected Harlequin's one to turn into this.

"An interesting choice," Dahlia whispered.

Gerheade held her wand straight. She could feel the king's faint surprise, far from the upset state she was herself in.

It unsettled her. That the Sacred Tree designated the next king while the Fairy King was still very much alive was unheard of. Granted, she had little experience about it–Dahlia was only the second fairy king, after all.

Gerheade thought about her brother Gloxinia, the first Fairy King. She remembered her grief when he had vanished, and how the Sacred Tree had chosen Dahlia to take his place.

Then, she had known that her brother was truly lost.

She couldn't be sure what had killed him, but she suspected the Ten Commandments of the Demon Clan. After the incident with Rou, Gloxinia was so upset that he probably hadn't been as careful as usual.

She shook her head to clear her thoughts. These events were in the past; she had to focus on the present.

And the present was that Harlequin had just revealed that he held the magic Disaster, the power that the fairy kings used to rule over the forest.

The scene she was witnessing was its result.

Considering what Harlequin had told her and what she had read in his heart, he had been using it in his sleep. Gerheade hadn't known that it was possible.

She remembered her heart accelerating as she had realized what she was watching, and how she had hoped that the other fairies wouldn't understand the cause of her confusion. She had immediately come to the Fairy King to let him know.

She had asked Oslo to watch over Harlequin in the meantime, because you never knew. Just a week ago, he was fighting against humans.

"You don't seem surprised," she told the actual Fairy King.

King Dahlia smiled. "I hoped the Sacred Tree would give me a sign. I asked it to designate my successor."

Gerheade's body tensed in reaction to the news. "What?"

"I wasn't sure it would listen," the Fairy King mused. "I'm glad it did."

"But why would you do this?" Gerheade couldn't believe her ears. "You're well, my king. You can rule for centuries."

"I need to make sure that the forest will be safe in case something happens to me during my absence."

"Your absence? Do you intend to leave the Fairy King's Forest?" Gerheade's heart was sinking more and more. She didn't understand what was going through the Fairy King's head. Dahlia had never left the forest before. He had even refused to get involved in the Holy War, contrary to what Gloxinia had chosen.

"It'll hopefully be brief," Dahlia said. "Don't worry too much, Gerheade."

Gerheade fought to keep her composure. She had been the King's adviser for centuries. She couldn't panic at the first unexpected event. "When will you be leaving?"

"Not any time soon." Dahlia smiled at her. "But I want the chance to teach my successor what he'll need to know. I remember how it was like, succeeding to Gloxinia."

Gerheade bowed her head at the mention of her brother's name.

"When do you want to tell Harlequin?"

"As soon as possible," Dahlia answered. "I have no doubt he's already confused."

"Very well." Gerheade thought about the other fairies. "But maybe we should tell your advisers first."

Dahlia nodded.

Harlequin had managed to retrieve his pillow. It was dripping with saliva and bore Oslo's teeth marks, but he made a point to lie on it as he levitated several feet above Oslo, pouting.

Like Helbram had mercilessly pointed it out, it wasn't exactly because of Harlequin's efforts if the precious item was in his possession once more. It was more because Oslo had gotten tired of playing with it.

Harlequin would never have thought that Black Hounds were that playful. It was true that before today, he hadn't had the opportunity to properly meet one. To him, they had been mysterious beasts, hunting their enemies down with ferocity and guarding the Fairy Realm. Harlequin knew little more about them, except for the fact that they could travel at will between the Fairy Realm and Britannia.

Fairies didn't have this ability. When they wanted to cross the border, they used a portal located into the Sacred Tree, who existed in both worlds. Harlequin rarely did so. It wasn't that he didn't like the Fairy Realm, but he had been born in the Fairy King's Forest and that was the place he called his home.

Below him, Oslo barked plaintively. He didn't understand why Harlequin didn't want to play with him anymore.

The Black Hound was communicating through pictures and feelings more than actual words. It was a bit like trying to read somebody's heart, except it felt easier.

"This is my pillow," Harlequin explained to him. "You could have asked before taking it."

Helbram chuckled. "I agree with Oslo. It's way funnier when you don't."

Harlequin ignored his friend, but condescended to go down a little so he was at Oslo's level. The Black Hound licked his cheek with enthusiasm, and Harlequin smiled.

He was still wiping the saliva from his face when a short fairy approached them.

"The Fairy King wants to see you," he told Harlequin.

Harlequin grimaced. He wasn't eager to know what King Dahlia had to tell him. The more he thought about it and the more his memories of the previous events blurred. Had he drifted in his sleep, like Helbram had thought? Had he disobeyed the king's orders after all?

Feeling his distress, his sister Elaine moved closer to him. "I'm coming with you."

"No need to," Harlequin told her. "I'll be right back."

He didn't want her to witness the upcoming conversation, just in case it was embarrassing.

Elaine looked disappointed, but she didn't discuss his decision. Oslo yelped and licked her hand. On her other side, Helbram patted her shoulder.

"Don't worry, I'll keep an eye on him."

"This goes for you too," Harlequin said, not feeling quite convinced of what he was saying.

Some support would feel nice.

Helbram grinned, no doubt reading through him. "I'm not abandoning my best friend in his hour of need."

Harlequin blushed, half because of Helbram's grandiloquence and half because his friend seemed to believe that Harlequin was in trouble.

Which was unfair, because Harlequin had done nothing wrong.

As they reached the Sacred Tree, though, and one of the king's advisers motioned for Helbram to stay outside, Harlequin started to believe that something really was amiss.

He tightened his hold on his pillow. His most prized possession had mostly dried by now, and Harlequin caught himself thinking that he would rather be outside watching Oslo chew on it than stand here, in front of King Dahlia and all of his advisers.

Said advisers were watching him sternly, and Harlequin swallowed hard. "Am I in trouble? If I've done anything wrong, it was unintentional."

"No, don't worry." King Dahlia smiled, with enough warmth to dissipate some of Harlequin's anxiety. "We just want to talk to you."

Harlequin tilted his head. "About what happened earlier? I don't know what it was, but I didn't cheat. This was the place you told me to clean."

His voice wasn't as assured as he would have wanted to, but his heart would talk for him. He was saying the truth.

"We know that, Harlequin. You did nothing wrong. In fact, it's quite the opposite."

Harlequin frowned. "What do you mean?"

Gerheade flew next to him. "What do you remember about the place before falling asleep?"

Harlequin wondered whether she was reproaching him that nap–not that he would feel ashamed about sleeping, ever–but she didn't seem to. He focused on her question.

"I remember thinking that this place was…unbalanced," he started slowly. "I could see why it needed cleaning. Some of the bushes and vines were getting in the way of the forest growing healthily." He realized what he was saying and glanced nervously at the Fairy King. "No offense meant, Your Majesty."

The Fairy King smiled. "No, you were right. I'm surprised you felt it this acutely, but what you did helped the forest."

Harlequin wasn't sure what he had done–he couldn't remember doing anything, as the people in front of him had to know–but something else was gnawing at him.

"You said it was a disaster," he told Gerheade, his tone as accusatory as he dared to.

To his surprise, Gerheade too smiled. "Not a disaster. Disaster. It's a magical power."

Harlequin watched her. He couldn't say whether or not she was lying, but there was no reason why she would be. So he had a new magical ability? Now that was great news! He couldn't wait to tell Helbram about it. After all the boasting he had endured when Helbram had discovered his own new magical ability, it was only fair that Harlequin got to boast too, and–

"The magical power of the Fairy King, to be precise," King Dahlia added. "It's what selected the bushes that would keep growing, and decomposed the others."

Harlequin blinked.

Dahlia's wide wings spread as he flew towards Harlequin and put his hands on the shorter fairy's shoulders. "Harlequin, the Sacred Tree chose you to be the next Fairy King."

Harlequin's whole body had gone rigid. His mind was blank, his brain failing to process the king's words. These words didn't make sense at all.

Everybody was watching him. Harlequin felt like he had to say something, anything.

"There must be a mistake," he finally uttered.