A Kind of Magic

Two

"You'll travel into the World Beyond The Stones and bring her home," Emrys said, grinning at Peregrine. "Why, you know the place, its habits and inhabitants well enough to be of use to Leodh..."

Noticing Peregrine's dark look fall heavily upon Emrys' white head even as his hand rested quite unconsciously on the elabourate hilt of the magnificent broadsword that always hung at his side, Alaric rushed to the old wizard's rescue.

"He didn't mean to offend you, my friend," he said, making the dragon shifter look at him. The ancient feud going on among the Highland Dragons was their business; if they wanted to hunt themselves into extinction, so be it, keeping old legends and traditions alive was important. "You told me yourself that, just like me, you have visited the other world, and I hope to use your knowledge of it to help Leodhais and Gilderoy to find my daughter."

Peregrine nodded, somewhat appeased. If the girl hadn't been the daughter of King Alaric, whom he considered a friend, he wouldn't care about embarking upon this quest at all; the elf and the dwarf could go alone. The two would probably get lost before they reached the standing stones or drowned in the peaty bog surrounding them, but he wouldn't care. However, the girl was Alaric's kid.

"Do we know where to find her?" he asked on a sigh. "Are you sure that this girl is really your daughter?" These were the only things that mattered. The details about how to persuade her to follow them were not important-- Peregrine would kidnap her without a shadow of remorse should she prove unwilling and unreasonable. It would be for the greater good anyway; their kingdom needed an heir. Should the throne remain empty upon King Alaric's demise, the country would precipitate into war within a week after his funeral.

"We can't see many details through Emrys' sphere," Alaric said, shaking his head sadly. "But we know that she lives in the great city not too far from the portal between our worlds. Luckily, I wasn't too adventurous when I used to visit the other side. Otherwise, who knows where we would find her?!" He chuckled, and when no one joined him, continued, "She wears my ring, the ring I gave to her mother. That's all we know." He shrugged in apology.

Peregrine nodded thoughtfully, his wild, midnight-black hair brushing the shoulders of his raven-coloured cloak. The information was barely sufficient, but as long as Alaric gave them one of his other rings, this quest wasn't a mission impossible. The strange, magic-imbued rings recognised each other, and it would help them to find the girl. "We'll need your ring," he said simply, accepting his role in the quest for the king's lost heir.

"But of course... here it is," the king agreed. He removed one of the many rings adorning his hands, a simple, wide band of gold, and passed it to the elf. "To prove that hers is the real one, just throw it into..."

"... fire," Peregrine finished for him.

Alaric nodded happily at hearing that his knowledge of the legends surrounding the throne was really as profound as he had hoped, content that he had decided to call upon him. The court-educated Leodhais and Gilderoy put together didn't know a half of what the streetwise Peregrine did, apparently.

"But... Isn't taking a dragon shifter with us risky, Your Majesty?" Leodhais asked, slipping the ring on one of his fingers.

The bold move surprised Peregrine, who would have expected him to carry it in his pocket... His eyes travelled between the elf and the king who kept exchanging surreptitious smiles and looks of affection before he understood-- the king had already found a husband for his still lost daughter... This should be entertaining. Peregrine knew enough of the humans living in the parallel world to be certain that this decision won't go down well with a twenty-first century girl. He didn't care to woo Alaric's kid, but he promised to himself that he would do his best to complicate Leodhais' courtship when the oh-so-perfect elf continued stubbornly, "Won't his presence attract others of his kind who might follow us to... to... you know... end him?"

"That's unlikely, elf!" Peregrine thundered, his words richocheting off the stone walls making all the people present in the vast chamber jump. "There aren't many of those strong, brave, or reckless enough to want to challenge me left. But should it happen, they won't pose a threat to you, I'll deal with them even before you notice that we're being tracked."

Leodhais and Gilderoy, staring into Peregrine's eyes that assumed the colour of storm clouds in his anger, shuddered in unison. They may not have as much useful knowledge about their kingdom and the other world as Peregrine, but they had heard and read about every gruesome dragon fight and beheading that happened in their lifetime, and even before, the old news becoming legends, and remembered the tales in the most minute details.

"That's settled then!" Alaric called excitedly, looking at each of his chosen questers in turn. "I insist that you spend the night in the castle, Peregrine, so the three of you can get to know each other better. You need to pack too, I want you to ask the servants for anything you need. And send one of them for your horse, Peregrine, I don't think you'd find one as big as that black beast of yours in my stables. Leodhais and Gilderoy can't fly, so you'll have to make the journey to the standing stones on horseback unless you want to carry these two."

Alaric laughed again, and it took all Peregrine's will not to roll his eyes while first Emrys, then the other two joined him. As much as he respected the king, he didn't share his sense of humour.

Peregrine waved at the group of servants huddled in the shadows, summoning one of them, and whispered to him the instructions of where to find his horse, dismissing the man again even as all the other men stood up-- Gilderoy pulling himself off the floor where he had slipped from the high stool with Leodhais' help. The elf and the dwarf then stepped cautiously to the dragon shifter's side as they all shook hands with Alaric and Emrys.

"I can't wait to meet you here again, upon your return with my little girl," the king beamed at them, the tears glittering in the corners of his eyes half hidden under his thick copper curls whispering of the joy the man was feeling at having finally found his one and only child.

Peregrine wondered briefly about how it would feel to have a child, a thing that he, with his dangerous life of an errant knight, a warrior set upon an endless search for those who wanted to end his life, a hunted hunter with no family-worth home to speak of, could never afford. He shook his head, dispersing the gloomy thoughts. No one chose their destiny. They all had to do the best with what they were given by the fates, which, in his case, was eternal life once he remained the only one of his kind...

"Peregrine's chamber is on the same floor as yours," Alaric's words meant for the elf, and the dwarf finally pulled him from his reverie. "I want you to show him around and talk, let him tell you what to bring on the journey. Off you go, enjoy your adventure and bring my girl home."

With that, the king ushered them from the chamber.

"I have never seen such a mismatched and unlikely company," Emrys whispered, hugging the crystal ball to his chest as Peregrine exited the chamber first, Leodhais pausing in the doorway to wait for Gilderoy whose short legs couldn't keep up with the dragon's strides.

"Never mind that, Emrys," Alaric replied, putting his arm over the old wizard's shoulders. "Just let them bring her back."

~~~~~
Word count:
Chapter 1-- 1698, Chapter 2-- 1342
Total: 3040 words.
First milestone reached :)