Alaina, Cole, and Jophiel were dragged in front of the royal court. The room was impossibly large and filled with noblemen and ladies, all dressed in their finest. The elves gasped and stared as Alaina and her friends were led up the plush red carpet, towards the king and queen. With her antlers, Cole's horns, and Jophiel's wings, Alaina couldn't blame them. She wondered which of them was causing the most astonishment.

As they moved towards the front of the room, Alaina decided to ignore the royal court and their not-so-subtle glances. Instead, she focused on the floor-to-ceiling stained glass windows all along the far wall that cast a multitude of colors across the room. Two large, intricately-carved crystal chandeliers dangled from the ceiling, one near the entrance and one just in front of the king and queen. They stretched almost from one side of the room to the other, chiming softly as the crystals swayed gently in the breeze. Alaina couldn't take her eyes off of them. And once they stopped at the front of the room, she stepped casually to the side, careful to avoid being directly under the one – just in case.

At the front of the room on a raised platform were two overly tall thrones, each with a monarch in them. The queen sat in her seat looking bored, chin resting on a delicate hand. The king was leaning back in his chair, looking incredibly relaxed. It wasn't until he let out a soft snore that Alaina realized he was asleep.

Upon seeing the trio, the queen clasped her hands, looking positively delighted.

"What have we here?" she asked, beaming down at them. The king jerked his head up at the noise.

"I'm here – I'm awake." he announced, sitting straighter. The queen slid her eyes towards her husband in annoyance. "Of course, dear." she murmured before looking back towards the scouts who'd brought Alaina and her friends here. "How did you ever come across such a group?"

The head scout took a small step forward and bowed before addressing the queen. "Initially, we were detaining them for suspicion of being human."

"Really?" The queen sounded amused. "Exactly how did you manage to make a mistake like that?"

"Well, at first glance, both of the men looked human." There was a note of defensiveness in his voice.

"Were you under the impression that wings are a common human trait?" the queen asked him.

"He didn't have them when we first approached."

"Is that so?" The queen leaned forward, looking from Jophiel to Cole. "Show me how you managed to fool some of the best scouts in the kingdom."

Jophiel hesitated, but Cole seemed more than happy to hide his horns. A low murmur rippled through the room, and the guards along the wall looked visibly startled. But no one stepped forward to arrest him. Seeing that, Jophiel tucked his wings away. The gasps only got louder.

"Well, isn't that something?" the king said to himself. "May I ask how you did it?"

Jophiel and Cole exchanged looks and shrugged.

"It's just..." Jophiel trailed off. "It's just something I can do. I'm not really sure how to describe it."

"It's like explaining how to blink." Cole added.

"Turn around. Slowly." the queen ordered, twirling a finger in the air. They did. The queen regarded them thoughtfully for a minute before looking over to a guard who was standing against the wall, a few feet from where she sat. "Clear the room."

Without a word, the guard turned to his right, facing the back of the room. The other guards did the same. In perfect unison, the guards filed out of the room, ushering all of the nobles along with them. Within a few minutes, Alaina and her friends were alone with just the king, queen, and the four scouts who'd escorted them here. The doors shut with an echoing finality, and the queen turned back to Alaina and her friends.

"As you may have gathered from my subjects' excited reactions, we've been expecting you." she said.

"You have, your highness?" Alaina asked, curtseying.

"There's a prophesy that states a powerful druid will come in our time of need." She hesitated a minute before continuing. "Lately, we've been having a... human problem in this kingdom."

"Yes, your highness." Alaina said. She'd gathered that from the scouts. Undeterred, the queen continued.

"There's a band of them operating offshore that we've been unable to infiltrate. You, however—" she pointed first at Cole, then at Jophiel. "You should have no problems infiltrating their inner circle."

Cole started nodding. Then, a look passed across his face, as if he'd just thought of something.

"And what about my... cousin?" he asked, gesturing to Alaina.

"I don't believe she'll be able to blend in quite as well as the two of you." the queen said dismissively.

"I'm sure you have druids here who could help her to blend in."

"Judging by the size of those antlers, your cousin should be more than capable of using her own magic to blend in."

"Well, she's... new." Cole said. "Trying not to get into the habit, you know?"

The queen stared at him, eyes narrowed. Alaina was almost positive that she was contemplating the length of time he was about to be spending in the dungeon.

"What if we make a trade?" Cole asked, undaunted.

"What kind of trade?" The queen tried to look bored, but there was a gleam in her eye that betrayed her interest.

"We give you something that will grant your deepest desire, and you help my friend."

"Friend? I thought she was your cousin."

"...She's both." Cole said.

"How about this," the queen said. "First, you get rid of my little offshore problem. Then, you give me this trinket of yours and we can discuss whatever magic problems your cousin-friend is having."

"Well now, that doesn't sound like a very good trade, does it?" Cole said slowly.

"Or if you'd prefer, I can have you searched for this trinket you claim to have and then thrown in the dungeon."

"...What is it you want us to do?" Cole asked grudgingly.

"Infiltrate the buccaneers that plague our shore and eliminate the threat."

"We'll do it." Jophiel said, taking a step forward.

"Excellent. And don't worry, we'll take good care of your friend." The queen said, smiling somewhat coldly at Alaina.

"She's coming with us." Cole said firmly.

"Oh?" The queen seemed surprised. "I would have thought it would be difficult to infiltrate the smugglers' ring with such an obvious druid."

"We're a package deal." Cole told her.

"Very well." The queen shrugged. "I expect results within a fortnight."

The three were dismissed, and the scouts made a move to lead them out of the room. As she turned, Alaina was almost positive she heard the king whispering to his wife.

"But you didn't tell them about the never-aging child." he said.

"Don't worry, it won't make any difference." the queen told him. "Either they'll succeed or they'll fail. If they succeed, they'll get rid of those pesky humans – and the child. If they fail, we'll be able to send someone to secure whatever mystical item they claim to have. Either way, it's win-win for us."