[color=A0A0A0][h2]Fleuri Jodeau[/h2][/color]

This was not what Fleuri expected to hear.  This Moonlit Queen was a fae of immeasurable power within her own plane, and she just had something disappear from beneath her nose.  For anyone, pulling off such a heist- to steal a possession of a fae monarch within the very plane that they control- must be an incredible feat.  Or perhaps it wasn't stolen at all, merely misplaced in an act of fae ficklness that subsequently slipped her mind.

Evidently for whatever power she commanded here, she wasn't all-seeing.

This was a dangerous situation.  An upset fae was a volatile fae, and with the Moonlit Queen having already demonstrated her power against those who even faintly offended her, a misplaced word could cause one to become an outlet to her wrath.  On the other hand, it also presented opportunity- to lend aid in her time of need could also potentially gain her favor.  To be in this situation- in the presence of a powerful fae in a time of need, to have earned her confidence and largely unscathed- it was a once in a lifetime moment.  No doubt some of the knights probably just wanted to get back to the Duke and finish this quest, and not take a detour to another fae quest.  Fleuri felt the same way- but he hadn't gotten as far as he had by passing by opportunities.

Should they take what they had earned and quit while they were ahead, or should they take the path of further risk and further potential reward?  Should they treat this as the Moonlit Queen's just desserts for what she did to the duke, or treat it as a wrong to be righted regardless of the victim's past?  For both of these questions, Fleuri leaned towards the latter answer.  As troublesome as the Moonlit Queen may be, she still didn't deserve to be burglarized.

Gertrude, wasting no time from her audacious and probably unwise proposition to make a contract with the Moonlit Queen, immediately moved to inform on her sister.  Could the younger (but larger) sibling have done it, using the knights as a distraction to steal the object of her desire rather than taking the chance of them losing the wager?