Helbram started, hitting his head against one of the Sacred Tree's upper branches. He managed to prevent the subsequent cry of pain from escaping his lips. He wasn't supposed to be here, overhearing the King's conversation with Harlequin thanks to a hole in the trunk, but of course he couldn't help himself.
If his hearing hadn't been perfect, he wouldn't have believed what he had just heard.
Harlequin? His best friend Harlequin, chosen to be the next Fairy King?
It would have been a dubious joke coming from anybody else than the Fairy King himself. Even then, it was hard to believe. Imagining Harlequin, his best friend who loved nothing more than sleeping all day, as the Fairy King?
Helbram respected the Sacred Tree, and surely it had its reasons, but still.
He pricked up his ears as he massaged the top of his head. He didn't want to miss Harlequin's reaction.
"There must be a mistake."
His friend's voice sounded small and muffled, and Helbram wasn't sure that it was only because of the sound being deformed through the bark.
He wished that he could fly to his friend and point out that it wasn't the most regal of answers, but of course Harlequin himself had a hard time believing the news.
It was a pity Helbram couldn't see the scene; the hole through the bark was too small for that. He pictured his friend hunched up behind his pillow, within an inch of running away to hide in one of his favorite places and sleep until the world had righted itself.
"There is no mistake," King Dahlia said.
"The Fairy King is chosen by the Sacred Tree, and nobody else," Gerheade added. "No fairy has a say in it–not even you, Harlequin."
"But we already have a King," Harlequin protested, his voice a little louder. Maybe he wasn't hiding behind his pillow after all. "You're our King."
Helbram found himself nodding. Yes, Fairy King Dahlia was reigning, and considering his powers, Helbram didn't believe that he could ever be defeated. Why would the Sacred Tree name the next king now?
But of course, the Sacred Tree's perception of time must be even more warped than the fairies' one, which was notoriously terrible. Maybe it didn't make a difference between a day and one thousand years.
"Of course," Dahlia was saying inside the Sacred Tree. "Don't worry. You won't become king before I disappear, which shouldn't be any time soon."
Helbram couldn't help feeling relieved. He decided to move closer to the Sacred Tree's entrance, in the hope of catching a glance of his friend. Even if he wasn't allowed to enter, he could still let Harlequin know he was here, waiting for him.
As he was flying around the giant trunk, he heard the fluttering of wings trying to stay silent a little above him. His suspicions aroused, he silently came closer to the source of the sound.
Here, his round ear pressed against the trunk and his wings flapping in dismay, was Buttercup, the fairy that had been so eager to make fun of Harlequin.
"And what are you doing? Spying on the King?" Helbram said loudly, as if he hadn't been doing the exact same thing.
Buttercup jumped. Helbram heard the fairy's heart beat faster, until he realized who was talking to him.
"Helbram! It's not what you think," Buttercup started, moving away from the trunk so the people inside wouldn't hear them talk.
"It's not very nice," Helbram rubbed it in, following him to the cover of the nearby trees. "Let's hope nobody denounces you."
"I was just…" Buttercup paused. "Wait a minute. What are you doing here?"
"Taking a flight around my favorite clearing." Helbram extended his arms. "It's such a great day!"
Buttercup frowned, not fooled. "You were spying on them too," he stated.
It would have been useless to deny it, not that Helbram really cared if Buttercup knew.
"Do you believe it?" Buttercup asked, looking lost. "I can't. Surely they made a mistake."
"I don't think so," Helbram retorted, even though he had thought the exact same thing.
"It's obvious that Harlequin isn't cut out to be Fairy King," Buttercup went on. "Come on, he spends his time sleeping! And he… he doesn't even have wings!"
Helbram crossed his arms. "Well, obviously the Sacred Tree thinks differently."
The two fairies glared at each other.
"Luckily Harlequin won't become the Fairy King as long as King Dahlia lives. I hope it lasts forever, or else we're doomed."
"You don't have to be so mean," Helbram said, even though he wasn't far from thinking something very similar.
He was trying to think of a few pertinent arguments about why Harlequin would make a good Fairy King, out of sheer loyalty for his best friend, when the muffled gasps of other fairies made him realize that they weren't alone anymore.
"Harlequin? He's supposed to become the next Fairy King?" someone whispered.
"But King Dahlia is still alive," another fairy said.
"And we all hope for King Dahlia to stay alive," Helbram felt compelled to clarify. "But the Sacred Tree chose Harlequin to succeed the King one day, so you better be nice to my friend."
He flew away, leaving the fairies to their speculations. Whether King Dahlia had intended to make an official statement or not, every fairy in the forest was going to learn the news very soon.
As Helbram headed back for the Sacred Tree, he wondered how much this would change their daily lives.
Hopefully not too much.
Elaine was sitting next to Oslo, her hand stroking the Black Hound's fur, her mind wandering miles away.
She missed spending time with her brother. First he had slept for a week, then he had been working–working! she loved her brother with all her heart, but even she could say that it wasn't Harlequin's strongest suit–and now he was talking to the Fairy King about she didn't know what, and she could only wait for him.
She remembered how terrified she had felt when she had learned that Harlequin had encountered humans. Luckily the Fairy King had been here to protect him and Helbram.
"Elaine!"
Elaine raised her head to see Primrose, a young fairy just like her, land on a nearby mushroom.
"Have you heard the news?"
Primrose seemed both excited and upset, and Elaine didn't wait for her to keep talking before reading her heart. Especially as her brother seemed to find himself in trouble these days, something that was most surprising considering that Harlequin's all-time favorite activity was to sleep peacefully on his beloved pillow.
Primrose's heart was filled with wonder and confusion, and pictures of Fairy King Dahlia with Elaine's brother.
Elaine blinked, for once not sure that she had read correctly.
"Your brother is supposed to become the next Fairy King," Primrose said. "King Dahlia just told him so!"
Elaine remained silent, in shock, until Oslo licked her hand. Wonder filled her heart. Finally, someone else was acknowledging her brother's worth! She had always known he was amazing, of course, but this… This was way over anything she could have hoped for.
Grinning, she took flight towards the Sacred Tree. She couldn't wait to congratulate Harlequin.
"But…" Everything was mixing up in Harlequin's head. Was he even awake? But his dreams were never that weird. "Why would the Sacred Tree choose me now?"
Why would the Sacred Tree choose me at all? he almost added. It wasn't like there weren't hundredth of fairies more qualified than he felt for that task. Like Helbram, who was so good at talking to people and could do awesome magic, and who had wings.
"Who knows?" King Dahlia said.
Harlequin had a feeling that the king was answering both questions at once.
"I can't tell you when it'll be, but one day, I won't be able to protect the Forest anymore. We all have to die; such is the circle of life."
Dahlia wrapped an arm around Harlequin's shoulders. Harlequin could feel his powerful muscles. Fairy King Dahlia was the most athletic of all fairies, while Harlequin…
He wrung his hands. He was nothing like Dahlia, that much was obvious.
Dahlia was still talking, and Harlequin forced his mind to focus on his king's words.
"That day, you'll bond with the Sacred Tree–or more exactly, the Sacred Tree will bond with you." Dahlia paused. When he talked again, his voice seemed to come from far, far away. "Believe me, there will be no mistaking it for anything else."
"If you say so," Harlequin uttered. It was true that he had always felt close to the forest–that sometimes he felt like he was able to communicate with it–but this? This was more than he could handle.
The Fairy King patted his shoulder. "I know this is a lot to take in. How about you think about it and we continue this conversation later? I'll be happy to answer any question you have, if I can."
"Thank you," Harlequin said, relieved. He felt like his head was going to explode. Still, there was one question that he needed to ask right now. "Uh…"
"Yes?" King Dahlia encouraged him.
"Do you… Do you expect anything from me?"
Please don't, his heart begged.
King Dahlia smiled. "I would like you to accompany me from time to time. You won't have to do anything special, just be here. What do you think?"
"I don't know," Harlequin answered honestly. "I don't… I have no idea what I'm thinking."
"You're in shock, it's understandable. Like I said, take the time to digest the news." King Dahlia waved his hand. "We're in no hurry."
"And what about the other fairies?" said one of the king's advisers, an old fairy named Thyme. "How are we going to tell them?"
King Dahlia watched the trunk as if he could see through the bark. "Oh, I think this problem is already solved."
Harlequin thought about this answer as he levitated out of the room, barely looking where he was going. What had King Dahlia meant by that? It didn't bode well. Harlequin couldn't even manage to grasp the news, the last thing he needed was everybody else to learn about it.
He almost bumped into Helbram, who was waiting for him right at the exit.
Seeing his familiar face gave Harlequin some of his energy back. "Helbram! You'll never believe what happened."
Helbram crossed his arms. "Try me."
Harlequin watched his best friend with more attention. Helbram's heart was filled with wonder, and a touch of disbelief.
"You've been overhearing," he stated. He shouldn't have been surprised. After all, he would have done the same if their places had been reversed.
Helbram grinned, not bothering to deny. "You're full of surprises. The next Fairy King, eh?"
Harlequin stroked his hair nervously. He felt more self-conscious than he had ever been. "Look, I don't know why it's happening either."
Helbram must have felt his silent prayer, because he patted his back. "Don't worry. It doesn't change anything to me."
Harlequin breathed in relief as he let himself sink in his pillow. "King Dahlia said that they didn't need to tell the others, that this problem was already solved. Do you know why?"
Helbram grinned again, more sheepishly this time. "Well, I wasn't the only one to overhear. It seems like everybody already knows the news."
Harlequin swallowed hard. "Okay."
He felt the sudden need to see his sister, make sure that she was safe. He started levitating towards the ground, followed by Helbram.
The fairies around them stopped their excited chatter when they saw the pair, and Harlequin felt their inquisitive stares on him. He couldn't make himself look at them or talk to them, so he increased his speed, hoping it didn't look too much like he was running away from them.
Elaine met them in mid-air. She looked ecstatic as she addressed Harlequin.
"Brother! Is it true, what everybody else said? Are you going to be the next Fairy King?"
Her admiration was obvious, and Harlequin managed to smile at her. "That's what King Dahlia said."
"It's amazing!"
Harlequin didn't believe so, but for once Elaine didn't seem to notice his lack of enthusiasm. She threw her arms around his neck.
"It's such an honor," she said excitedly. "You must be proud."
Harlequin wondered whether it was too late to run away and hide in the forest for, let's say, the next one hundred years.
Elaine gave him a concerned glance. "You are proud, aren't you?"
Helbram put a supporting hand on his shoulder. "Of course he's proud. He's just too shocked to feel it now."
Elaine nodded with compassion. "You should rest before the celebration."
"There will be a celebration?" Harlequin moaned.
"Of course!" Elaine grinned once more. "And you'll be the life of the party!"
"Don't tell me you're surprised," Helbram said. "Our people basically celebrates everything."
Harlequin felt himself blush, but he wasn't going to protest when Elaine looked this happy. It warmed his heart to see the faith she had in him; maybe, for her sake, he should believe a little more in himself.
After a well-needed nap, that was.
"Good news is," Helbram said pensively, "I don't think that we'll have to keep cleaning the forest, now that you're the future king and all that."
"That's all you're thinking about?" Harlequin shook his head.
"Hey, I still had a lot of work to do." Helbram laughed. "I'm allowed to rejoice, am I not?"
Harlequin couldn't help smiling at him and Elaine. Their good mood was contagious; he was already feeling lighter than a few minutes before.
With them at his side, maybe he wouldn't need to run away after all.