A/N: Thanks to my reviewers! Puck2Faerie, especially. The point you raised was very good, but I thought it necessary for Aspre to be frightened of him. You may see why, later.

Disclaimer: Do I even need one anymore?

Chapter Six

'Swifter than the moon's sphere….'

Peaseblossom, Moth and I were rather worried.

About fifteen minutes of aimless wandering had brought us to a clearing near the lodge. There were loud, rough voices shouting odd and completely random things at regular intervals. Something about a Ninny's tomb and a cracked wall. I just shrugged quizzically as Moth gave me a perplexed look.

"Perhaps we should go investigate?" Suggested Peaseblossom. "We are Lady Titania's guards tonight, and we have a duty to make sure she's safe. Those don't sound like fairy voices."

Moth twisted her mouth into an exasperated grimace. "Honestly, Peaseblossom, you are SO meddlesome! It's probably just a Ghost Sound set by one of the fairies to spook us."

I personally disagreed. That noise was too real to be an enchantment. "Maybe your brother's right, Moth. It's possible from time to time, you know." I added, at the sight of her disbelieving face. "I agree with him in this instance. I think we should go have a peek. Yes, I do." I said briskly, as Moth was looking terribly upset. Peaseblossom shot me a grateful look, and we started off.

It didn't take long to find the source of the racket. Several humans were apparently rehearsing something. They weren't doing an incredibly good job of it either. It was all Peaseblossom and I could do to stop from laughing. Moth, of course, was being sulky, muttering about how we were going to get into so much trouble. The child was, quite honestly, a bit of a bore sometimes!

Abruptly, we realized that we weren't the only fairies in that area. A faint chuckling nose was coming from a tree stump within five feet of us. I was clearly confused, but Peaseblossom knew exactly what it was, apparently. He crept up to the stump and quickly jabbed the air above the tree stump with two fingers.

I jumped. The air above the stump let out a yelp and turned a smoky grey color. A moment later, a male form emerged from the cloud.

"Hello, Puck," laughed Peaseblossom, maddeningly innocent. "I thought I'd be seeing you."

The trickster pouted. "Go ahead. Spoil all my fun." He was pouting in every way, except for his eyes. They were as jaunty as ever, teasing the young Peaseblossom.

Then they landed on me. Oh, Aphrodite, I can never describe the wave that seemed to crash down on me when his eyes met mine. The teasing sparkle seemed to die, replaced with something deeper and more melancholy. A kind of longing, perhaps. Whatever it was, I was incredibly self-conscious. Heat rose to my face, and I looked away.

Robin Goodfellow was also struggling gamely to get his bearings. Apparently, he was rather disillusioned by my refusal to keep his gaze.

"You'd better be off now." He said, with a bit of a tremble in his voice. "I'm on business for Lord Oberon."

And with that, he promptly faded back into nothingness.

Peaseblossom broke into song as soon as we had left the grove behind.

"Aspre loves Pu-uck

Aspre loooooves Puuuuuck.."

I made a violent sign for him to be silent.

A/N: Keep the reviews coming. I'm rather enjoying your comments!