*** Ioelena ***

Why am I useful all of a sudden? Why does Alzi need dust all of a sudden, and a full bag of it! That does answer why I'm useful, but doesn't explain why any of this is happening and so quickly.

Ugh. I should've talked to my parents since marrying Elora. I planned to say something when I was part of the Queen's harem. And now I'm part of a Queen's harem. Not the right one, yet. That is my excuse. Not the right Queen. How picky am I? Is that why I'm not pregnant? Of course not. It's not a good thing to be pregnant out of Elora's wives. It means you messed up somewhere. Messed up badly. We've all messed up.

"My Lady," my maid says, pointing to the little mirror.

"I know, I know," I say. I really have nothing else to stall this meeting. I'm already overdressed. I've eaten. I've sat here thinking about what to say. The only excuse I haven't used is going to the bathroom.

I float a little mana into the mirror and hope they don't pick up.

"Oh, hello, dear," Mother says. "I've missed you dearly. I was hoping to hear about a wedding or at least a letter since the wars. I'm glad to see you healthy."

"Hi, things have been a bit crazy," I say. "Alzi, the Queen of the dragons and my wife, has requested me to help her. She has a need for some fairy and pixie dust. A bag each, actually, for a ritual of hers. For obvious reasons, she asked me to help her with this. I would like to get this done quickly, as this seems urgent. She has a number of princesses working on something right now." Really, it's just Yuki, but she doesn't need to know that.

"Well, we don't have a bag of dust just lying around, you know," Mother says. "This means at least you, hopefully more of your family, will have to come here and help us negotiate. They won't give us a bag without someone more powerful asking. You know they lack trust."

"Can you be ready to host us quickly?" I ask. Does she really want me to come down?

"Ready to host my daughter and some of her family, a Queen no less, of course," Mother says. "Give us a few days to set things up with the fairies and pixies, and you can come right on down. The pixies will be more likely to come out. You know how the fairies get when the pixies run loose. The war has been a problem for them and their fears. They think there's a trap around every tree. This will be good practice for your sister. Wrangling those two groups into a meeting quickly. If possible, I would love for you to have an extended stay, but I understand that things are urgent. It takes a while for things to calm down after a war. I have a summons for a ceremony in the capital. Do you know anything about that?"

"No," I say. Is Alzi going to be crowned a Queen a second time this quickly?

"Ok, well, I won't keep you," Mother says. "Just a few days and you can come down here. We can talk more then. Love you, dear."

"Thank you, Mother," I say. "Love you as well."

The mirror shows my face again, and I relax back into my chair.

"That went well, my Lady," my maid says. "Much better than you made it sound. She is excited to see you. I'll make sure to find some time for you to talk."

"She's just doing that because I'm married to a Queen," I say.

"No, I understand you were shunned a bit during your youth, but I feel that they love you," my maid says. "You know they have a hard job. They did their best, and you turned out well. I hope we can fix the relationship during this visit. I think you both would like that, my Lady."

"I'll let you try," I say. It would be nice to be closer to my Mother. Alzi is so happy around hers. Is that the difference between the nobles and the commoners?