Izcibal didn't like the way his queen was pacing. His eyes followed her as she walked up and down the length of the tent, expression deep in thought. The deep red of her dress was stark against the soft blue of the tent's canopy behind her.
"It's just a dragon," he offered from where he was sprawled across a low couch. "Not the end of the world."
"But it could be the end of the world," Morgain stressed. "You've read the prophecy, you know the whispers."
Izcibal tipped his head back so that his hair could fall over the arm of the couch, the tips of the snow-white length nearly brushing the floor. "Then talk to the dragon," he suggested to the ceiling. "How bad could they be?"
He didn't need to see Morgain to know she was giving him a stern look.
"Sit up," she snapped. "A royal faery does not lounge."
The groan left his lips before he could stop it.
"Izcibal, do not make me tell you again."
With an internal sigh, he lifted himself up, turning around so that he could sit upright on the couch while his boots sank into the thick rug that had been brought in the other day. Morgain was watching him with her hands on her hips and a thoughtful look in her chartreuse eyes.
"What is it?" he asked warily. Last time he saw that look in her eyes he'd been sent to the regular world to talk to a soothsayer of all people.
"You're right, Izzie. I do need to speak to the dragon-shifter." Izcibal's eyes widened in realization, and he started to rise out of his seat, mouth opening in protest. "You will go get them for me," Morgain continued a little louder. "Fetch them from the regular world and bring them into Faerie so that I may speak with them."
"Morgain -"
"No arguments," she cut him off firmly. "You are the optimum choice. Your powers allow you to open a portal wherever you wish."
"I don't even know who they are!" he protested. "How am I supposed to find them?"
"Myrddin will know."
"Oh hell no." Izcibal shook his head, slumping back into the seat. "I am not going to ask Merlin for help."
Morgain pressed the tips of her fingers against her forehead with a sigh. "You won't need to. If Myrddin knows, then so will Vivian."
"Great," Izcibal muttered. "I'll just go ask Vivian then." Ask the outcast for help instead of the traitor. Splendid. "Anything else you want me to do while I'm there?" he added with as much sarcasm as he could muster.
"Actually, if you could pick up a few bars of chocolate from the grocer's that would be wonderful." Morgain smiled at him as she sank into the comfortable chair opposite his couch. "And sooner rather than later would be good," she added.
Fighting back a snarl and a wave of fury, Izcibal stood.
"My Queen." He swept a quick - and far too shallow - bow to Morgain, then strode from the tent as quickly as he dared. That was one thing he missed about the regular world. Here there were no doors to slam.
The guards on either side of the tent flap snapped to attention as Izcibal stepped out. Without looking at them he waved them at ease and set out into the colourful tents.
From the ground, the tents appeared to be randomly pitched, colours clashing and contrasting brightly with no one the same shape or size. Fae of all kinds lifted their heads as Izcibal passed, moving as quickly as he dared. To a stranger, the camp was a maze of pelts and foliage and people, but to Izcibal it was home. Safety. The map in his head had never failed him.
He cut straight through the camp, ducking under and around the guy lines and tables that faeries had set up. It might have been easier to simply follow one of the spirals that radiated from the Fae Queen's tent in the centre, but this route was quicker and more interesting - regardless of how tightly packed some of the tents were.
Izcibal squeezed between a pair of tents whose sides were practically touching, stumbling out on the other side. A friendly hand caught his shoulder, steadying him, and he gave the horned faery a quick nod before continuing on. He was far enough out from the centre now that he could see the boulders of his destination peeking over the tops of the tents.
"Sivan. Are you there?" he called out mentally. "Gah -"
Izcibal stopped dead just in time for a small child to walk straight into his legs, and flop backwards onto the ground.
"Sh - shining stars, kid, watch where you're going." Izcibal scowled down at the child. They were staring back up at him with big, confused eyes. The little deer ears on either side of their head twitched, and Izcibal felt his heart unwillingly soften.
"Up you get," he said, holding out his hand.
They let him pull them up, and grinned at him when he ruffled their hair. A pair of tiny bumps could be felt under the mess of tawny locks.
"Sorry!" they said quickly, then dashed off in the same direction they'd been going before.
Izcibal rolled his eyes, then carried on through the tents, a little slower this time.
"Izzie?"
He grinned as he heard the familiar voice in his head. "I'm here," he answered. "Coming your way."
"How was the meeting?" Sivan asked. "Did you die of boredom?" He could feel her amusement as she brought up the memory of his complaints last time they'd talked. A flush of embarrassment washed through him, and he stumbled as he stepped over a peg.
"It was terrible," he griped, squeezing between the last two tents between him and his destination. "I nearly fell asleep."
"I bet the dragon woke you up."
Izcibal sighed as he finally stumbled out from the encampment and out into the open space between him and the field of boulders. The massive hunks of rock looked even bigger up close, towering over his head in a way that always reminded him of the multi-storeyed buildings that regulars loved to build - some were nearly as tall as a six-storey apartment block and just as wide.
"Yes," he replied honestly. "It really did."
Dew drops splashed against his trousers as he jogged towards the nearest boulder, dampening the hems and causing them to rub uncomfortably against his ankles. Sivan tugged at his mind, guiding him towards her.
He rounded the boulder, and found Sivan waiting for him on the other side. Her head lifted, dark, intelligent eyes finding him immediately. At her side was a small foal, who stared at Izcibal with massive eyes just as dark as it's mother's. The horn on its head was a small bud compared to its mother's.
"She's forgotten you already," Sivan snorted.
"Aw, how could you forget someone as charming as me, hmm?" Izcibal crouched down, ignoring the brush of the wet grass against his trousers. Sivan nudged the foal, and she stepped nervously forward to sniff Izcibal's outstretched hand.
He smiled at her when she quickly darted back, skittering away to hide behind her mother.
"So why have you come to see me?" Sivan asked, ignoring the foal as it tried to slide under her.
"Can't I just come see your foal?" Izcibal stood again, moving the short distance between him and Sivan.
"You always have more than one reason, young Gentry," she reminded him. "Don't make me draw the truth out of you." She nudged his shoulder with her muzzle, bringing his attention to the spiraling horn that rose from her forehead and was altogether too close to his face.
"Okay, okay!" Izcibal pushed the unicorn's head away from him with a short laugh. "If you must know, Morgain is sending me to the regular world again."
Sivan kicked at the ground with an annoyed snort, sending her foal skittering backwards. "She knows you hate being there!"
"And she knows I know that she knows." Izcibal sighed as he shifted his weight to lean his forehead against Sivan's strong shoulder. "But I've got to go. She wants me to find the dragon-shifter."
"The one that just rose?" Sivan's mental voice turned curious. "Well, that's an interesting assignment."
"Ha. Interesting, sure." Izcibal scowled at the smooth chestnut coat in front of his eyes, seeing Morgain's face instead. "Fucking annoying, more like." He added the last part under his breath, not wanting to risk the foal picking up on it. He would never hear the end of it if Sivan's daughter learnt to swear from him.
"It's an honour, Izzie. To be sent to speak to the dragon-shifter on the Fae Queen's behalf? Some would kill for that chance."
"I'm not exactly speaking to them." Izcibal straightened up, leaving Sivan free to swing her head around and look at him. "Morgain just wants me to find them and bring them to Faerie. Oh, and she wants a bar of chocolate," he added bitterly.
Sivan snorted again, this time with distinct amusement rippling through her mind. "You'd better go then, Izzie. Can't keep the Queen from her chocolate."