The next morning, Aurora was refreshed and ready to go, but Zan and Gandr seemed almost more tired than when the Empress had last seen them. They had dark circles under their eyes and glazed over expressions. Something had robbed them of their sleep.

"Gede really knows how to talk," Gandr explained.

"He wanted to know everything about our world, and it felt rude not to tell him," Zan added.

"I can leave you here," Aurora offered. "I am sure Gede and I can manage." But the two men refused her kindness. They would work to keep awake and be useful. "Suit yourself," the Empress agreed after their protests.

Gede walked with them through the wood to a nearby valley. The lush low area was shaded by steep protective walls, making is a perfect safe haven. In the valley were a herd of unicorns were munching quietly on grass. While the elves' unicorns were penned and sheltered, these roamed free.

"Do these unicorns belong to you?" Aurora asked Gede.

The fairy shook his head. "No one can own a unicorn unless the unicorn decides to be owned. A few of them will let me ride them when I need it. That is what I am hoping for today."

Gede walked toward the wild unicorn heard and ran straight into an invisible wall, smashing his nose. He grunted. Unicorns could make small force-field walls to stop an enemy from approaching.

"Very funny!" Gede called. "You know I mean no harm, and these are my friends."

When the wall did not lower, Gede shrunk to a pin prick of light and flew over it. The other three waited patiently while the fairy grew to normal size and approached a large stallion. They spoke for a long time before the male unicorn whinnied to another in the herd. Gede relaxed.

"It is safe now," Gede called.

After taking a few tentative steps, the group was confident that the wall was gone, and they approached the unicorns calmly. The unicorns' opalescent skin was even more impressive up close. Aurora could not help but stroke the closest mare. The unicorn snorted with pleasure and shook her mane.

"You are magnificent," Aurora said to the other female. The horse neighed softly, seeming to appreciate to compliment.

Gede was still speaking in the ancient tongue to the lead stallion. As he has become his his habit, Zan leaned over to translate.

"The fairy is asking for four unicorns to ride. The stallion wants to know why, but Gede is reluctant to explain." Zan raised his eyebrows in question.

"You can tell them what we are doing," Aurora said to Gede. "He is unlikely to help us if we are not honest."

The fairy boy nodded and smiled in relief. Soon the unicorns agreed to help and four were assigned to the travelers. But just as they were preparing to climb on the bare backs of the steeds, a male unicorn, little more than a colt, separated from the herd and stopped in front of the Empress.

He reared back excitedly, causing Zan and Gandr to leap forward and shield Aurora. Fortunately the unicorn stopped short of crushing them. He pushed the two males aside and nuzzled up the dark-haired woman. Aurora could not have been more pleased to feel the steed's affection.

"That is strange," Gede said in human speak. "Unicorns are rarely so friendly with strangers. Do you know this one?"

Aurora looked at the scar on the unicorn's velvety flank above his back leg. The horned horse spoke to Gede and Gandr through neighs and whinnies.

"Your Majesty, did you ever help a foal that was attacked by gnomes?" Gandr asked as he absorbed the unicorn's story. "This guy says he was given medicine by a human man and woman many years ago. They used a salve to help him heal."

Aurora recalled her run-in with a unicorn mother and baby. She had helped treat a wound on the baby's wounded flank that the gnomes had cut. Even though it had been a trap to capture the Empress, Aurora still would have helped is she had to do it again.

"I did meet a mother and baby unicorn last time I was here. I am surprised he remembers me." The dark-haired woman stroked the the soft muzzle of her new friend. What a wonderful surprise!

"His name is Utku. He says that he would like to bond with you," Gede said with a smile. "That is a high honor."

"But magic should not be used on humans…" Aurora furrowed her brow.

"No magic is required, unicorns can choose their permanent rider and he would like to choose you." Gede explained.

"Think of it like a soldier swearing his allegiance to serve," Gandr added.

"I am honored," the Empress hugged the pony. "But maybe you should not be so hasty. Let us see how today goes first."

Utku nodded and without further discussion, the riders and unicorns headed out.

—————-

Wai was enjoying the beauty of the sun and the rush of the water along her body. She had spent the morning sending water serpents on their way and clearing leaf litter in the river. Now she was resting.

Nearby Aurora and the others searched for a water nymph—any water nymph. They had tried looking for the wood nymphs first, but none of them seemed to be in the area. It was time for a new approach.

"Time to churn the water," Gede decided. He dismounted and approached the river.

"What does that mean?" Zan asked.

"It is something mischievous fairy children do to find water nymphs. If you block the water, they will come to clear it and then the kids will practice their seasonal magic on the nymphs before running off."

"Seems like kids can be naughty no matter their race," Aurora sighed.

Although she had not been around children when she was young, she had been able to observe their shenanigans from a distance as an adult. Kids could be cruel. Gede paused, unsure if he should continue with the plan.

Seeing the fairy hesitate, Aurora motioned him forward. "This is a special case. And we will not be using any magic on the nymphs."

"Of course." Gede looked around for something to block the river's flow.

"Allow me," Gandr offered. He located a large rock under the ground and brought it to the surface with his earth magic. All four of the travelers pushed on the rock with all their might and rolled the boulder into the water. The water pushed around the rock but did not stop, instead flowing over the top.

"It is not enough," Aurora observed as she huffed from the exertion.

Gede closed his eyes and caused thick flowers and grass to grow over the rock to cut off the rest of the flow.

"I am a spring fairy," he reminded them.

"Impressive, but won't that mess with the seasons?" Zan wondered.

"The fall fairies will fix it when they come this evening. And it is only a small area. As long as we keep it contained, it is fine." Gede smiled at the clever use of his powers.

They waited as the river pooled and spilled over the banks. The water touched their shoes and made the ground soft and squishy. Where was a nymph? They really could not let the water continue like this for too long without ruining part of the landscape.

Without warning, Gede was lifted in the air by his foot and hung upside down by a watery arm. The beautiful watery face was clearly angry.

The nymph gave a gurgled growl. She began to lecture Gede on his poor behavior in the ancient tongue. Gandr intervened.

"Wai?" He called. The halfling recognized her easily. He used his magic to allow the rock to sink back into the earth and return to it's original place. The water began to flow normally.

Wai looked at Gandr with confusion as she recognized the halfling. Then she set down the fairy and shrank from her normal height to a more human stature.

Aurora curtsied. "My apologies for the trouble we caused, but we needed to get your attention."

The nymph visibly calmed and gurgled a question. She and Gandr launched into a discussion which gave Wai all of the events since she had last seen Devrim, Alaron and Gandr outside Oblivion. The watery maid listened carefully to the tale. Gede was also interested in Gandr's version of events. The young fairy hung on every juicy detail. Only Aurora was out of the loop even with Zan's constant translating. This was partly due to to the fact that Wai's watery accent was very difficult for Zan to understand and translate accurately.

Finally, their conversation concluded. "Will you help us?" Gandr asked in human-speak.

Wai grew still and seemed to be thinking. They did not have to wait long for her answer. The nymph brought up a ball of water and shaped it into the figure of a gnome.

Her translucent face formed into a scowl. Then the floating water-gnome splashed into a thousand droplets, spraying those on the shore. With great effort, Wai formed a single word that all of them could understand, "Cafer."

The nymph was in.