Elvish Princess

There were more nobles and dignitaries gathered together here since the end of the war. Lord Dagos of the Merfolk, King Thane of the Dwarves, the Matriarch of the Dragons were in attendance along with their immediate families. All the nobles of the lands of Faerie, even some from Unseelie Lands were there as well.

And then there were those Leda was meeting for the first time. The Dryads, Pixies, Kitsune, Nunnehi and Menehune had all sent representatives. And countless others.

Though naturally no Diplomats from the Human realms could be present, the Elven ambassadors to their countries had sent greetings and gifts from them.

"Furachoque of Iguaque!" the herald announced another arrival. A woman in rather elaborate golden attire entered. Her people inhabited a tropical land rich in metallic ore. They traded regularly with the Dwarves, though they were best terms with the Nunnehi and had ancient ties with the Merfolk. Their capital had become known as El Dorado out in the world. She resembled the Elves save for one difference, her feet faced backwards.

[For those invited. The herald is moddable on hand to announce you as you wish.]

( Cut for WestBoro Baptist style signs )

The tour of Europe had been awesome. And the Royal wedding had been adorable. The only problem was that with the paparazzi at the wedding, Leda's hopes of anonymity were dashed. She'd put on a stocking cap and sunglasses to go to the museums yesterday, but even then they'd been recognized a few times.

But nothing had been this bad. The amount of fear and hatred coming from this crowd was palpable. The Elven Ambassador sat stoically across from her and Sai, his face an unreadable mask. She felt the sudden urge to apologize to him for sending him here. For just a moment she wanted to reverse her position, and seal up the borders. Then her determination returned, and her clenched fists relaxed.

She focused her attention instead on the counter protestors. Their signs were supportive, if still woefully ignorant. She could tell which ones had actually been to Bordertown, which ones had only watched the show, and which ones only knew the myths and complete fabrications. Maybe the Diane Sawyer interview tomorrow would help.

There was a madness to their method. Leda and Sai, two girls on their own, backpacking across Europe, and currently lounging on a beach on some remote island in the Mediterranean. For some reason Sai kept humming Abba songs. Leda wished she'd stop. For some reason it was making her miss Anduin.

Their plan was to head north from Greece and see the Carpatian Mountains, then seek out the Black Forest, maybe head up into the Northlands before going down to Wales, over to Ireland, then to Scotland, and finally to England just in time for the wedding.

"You'd think I'd be used to it by now." Leda said absently.

"How's that?"

"The whole time travel thing. I mean, I spend a few months in Faerie, and only a week goes by in Fandom. Now I leave Fandom in May, and find out that on our Earth, it's still winter."

Sai shrugged. "Least we got good weather here."

"You think we should wait till summer to do much more sight seeing?"

"What after the royal wedding? After your face shows up on who knows how many tabloid and magazine covers? Maybe if you could do a glamour on yourself but we all know magic don't work out here in the world."

"There's gotta be other ways to disguise ourselves. All anyone's gonna see is the ears. It's not like Wolfboy's with us."

"I still think he should join us in Romania or Germany."

"Or sooner. Someone to carry all the souvenirs we're gonna be buying for people."

Leda had plans to find an antique gun for Triela, maybe some Swiss chocolates for Karla and German pastries for Momoko. Or possibly the other way around. They'd already gotten a few books for Micky and Goldie.

"What about your Fandom friends?" Sai asked.

"I left handwavey invites for them to join us at any of our points of call. Same with Strider, Wiseguy and Leander."

"God bless Portalocity." After a moment, Sai wondered;

"If you went back to Fandom now, would it be a few days after you graduated? Or would you suddenly be back in the past? Do Visitor's Weekend and...what'd you call it? Weetiny weekend? Over again?"

Leda glared at her. "That's an unfair question to ask someone who doesn't drink. Specially while you're enjoying your sangria."

"Does this mean I don't get to sign your yearbook?"

Leda kicked sand at her.

[Open for calls, texts, or even visitors via portalocity.]

Leda's return to Faery was quiet and discreet, as she'd taken a portal directly to her bed chamber. Then she'd sent a page to inform her friends of her arrival.

( They wasted little time )

( The Council of Nobles )

[NFB for distance, NFI as well, but ooc comments are always appreciated. Thanks go to Francine Mun for the casting of Sai. And I hope Karla Mun is happy with the non-casting of either of her father figures as villains.]

( Flashback )

A curious change happened then. As if it had always been this way, Wiseguy was now Karla. Sai had become Annja. And Just Ron? Well it was hard to say. Did he have an eyepatch? Or was he someone else?

And when had Leda's twin shown up? She had blood smeared all over her neck, and her dead eyes stared accusingly at her.

Leda woke with a start, in a cold sweat, and shaking. She'd heard of an American author claiming that it was easy to quit smoking. He'd done it a hundred times. She'd quit drinking Peca several times. This time she thought it might take because all she had to do now, was not ask for a resupply from Crystaviel. She'd drunk the last after returning from that other world.

But Crystaviel was a considerate friend. She'd sent some along with the latest 'care package'. Now Leda stared at the bottle. Just a sip? Just to take the edge off. The cramps hadn't started yet but she knew they would.

All too soon she knew as well, that her mind would start to...what? Hallucinate? Slip away? Remember? A little Peca kept her sane. More made her drunk and happy. And if she drank herself to sleep, she slept deep, and dreamless.

The bottle stood on her nightstand. Just in case.

[Establishy but open for SP for Roomie, or even visitors. Dialogue in flashback is taken from canon.]