Devrim was conscious when the princess reached him. "Mairwen! Are you ok? Where are Aurora and Alaron? No one will tell me anything." The servants inside the room had precious little information, and the soldiers were busy securing the palace from intrusion.
Mairwen limped to her father and sat next to him on the bed. She still had no shoes, having lost one to throwing it across the ballroom and the other to a stone prison. A servant noticed the need and quietly left to fetch her some soft slippers. Lying on his bed, Devrim was pale but seemed to be gaining strength quickly. His eyes were growing clearer by the minute.
"Calm down, Father. You are still recovering." Mairwen said gently. "You wanted me, and I am here. For the moment, I am afraid I will have to be enough." She pulled her feet up on the bed and winced.
"You are hurt!" Devrim struggled to sit up and inspect her feet.
The princess gave a sad smile. "It is nothing. Cafer just cemented my fee
Aurora felt like she was floating in a sea of darkness. She tried to collect her thoughts, but every time she caught hold of a memory it would dissolve and float away in the watery void around her. It was as if her mind was trying to protect her from some horrible reality, but she could not remember what.Occasionally Aurora would hear voices from the darkness that she could not make sense of. The sounds were both familiar and foreign. Once she even heard a lovely story about a princess which made her cry, but she could not say why. Aurora lay adrift. An eternity passed. All was darkness.Then the darkness lightened and faces around her began to take shape. Aurora knew their names: Devrim, Brinn, Nanny, Zan, Mairwen…They all caused the lady to smile. With them she was safe, wanted and home. But another face formed and the dark-haired woman cried out. The blue eyes staring at her were both forbidding and pleading. As she recalled all that had happened, his name e
Devrim was up early planning and preparing to leave. He had stopped by the Empress's room and found the doctor attending his wife's bedside. "I sent the princess to bed," the physician said.Devrim nodded. He realized that he had been selfish to go to bed and leave his daughter shouldering the responsibility. "Thank you for taking care of her…of all of us.""It is my duty and my privilege. I can think of no higher honor." Because the doctor had been present right after Zephyra gave birth, the news of the twins' parentage came as no shock to him. He knew of Aurora's love and sacrifice. Nothing could sway the doctor from his noble mission to help all of them."Please make sure that you, Spymaster Brinn, Anna, Mairwen or Cheif Zan is by her side at all times until she is fully recovered. I do not ever want her to feel alone." Devrim stroked his wife's cheek and she leaned toward it, but her eyes did not open. "I will come by again before I leave."Now
Into Valiant the trio rode. Devrim took the lead with Junayd second and Gandr third. They traveled by the main road out of town, which allowed them to ride their horses, albeit only single-file. They were dressed as soldiers because then they and the horses would be generally ignored. It worked. No one paid them attention. But even from his height, Devrim could hear the gossip in the street."Do you think the rumors are true? Is Prince Alaron really Empress Aurora's brother?""The Prince seems to think so. He left in a hurry after he realized he would not get her throne.""But the Princess stayed. She must truly love the Emperor and Empress.""And the Empress must love her too. Why else would she keep her siblings alive when they threatened her rule?""The Empress has been a good ruler, but can we trust someone who lied to their own family?""I think...." On and on the conversations went as the three passed through the streets. Devrim held t
"Mairwen!" Devrim shouted in spite of himself. The few night sounds around them suddenly ceased at the intrusion of noise. The girl looked sheepishly up at him with her big blue eyes. The Emperor's heart melted a little, but he tried to keep a stern face. "What are you doing here? You should be at home!"Junayd uncovered the buried embers from their evening fire and placed some dry brush on top. As it caught fire, the sudden light caused all of them to shield their faces.Mairwen tried to back up slowly, but the forbidding gaze of her father stopped her in her tracks. "I am waiting for an answer, young lady." Uh oh. The princess knew she was in trouble. Her father only called her 'young lady' when she was very good or very naughty. Mairwen doubted that her actions qualified her for the first.Her eyes grew watery. "I…I had hoped we would be further along when we finally met. Then you could not send me home."There was movement in the edge of the fi
After a peaceful night with no more visitors, the camp was up bright and early. To make up for her deficiencies the day before, Eira made breakfast as Brinn and Devrim had a quiet discussion away from the others."You were supposed to protect the Empress," Devrim struggled to understand.Brinn nodded, "Part of protecting her means protecting the ones she loves. It was my fault that the princess was able to follow you. I should never have agreed to give you that letter. She managed to sneak out of the palace and wait for you as you entered Valiant. I had no idea what she was planning." The elf was angry at herself. Something important slipped by her. It was unacceptable. She continued, "I did not realize what had happened until mid-afternoon because I was attending Her Majesty. When I knew what happened, I told Aurora."Devrim blew out his cheeks. "I am guessing she did not take the news well.""About as well as a cat being forced into water. It took a sed
When the potion from Cafer wore off, Alaron found himself in an inn far from home. He had travelled with his adoptive parents to many places, but never this far north. "Where are we?"Cafer gave him some food as the boy sat up. "The edge of human civilization." He told him calmly. "When you are ready, we will continue on to my home, the land of magic."The prince's opened his eyes wide. "What about my throne?""We will talk to the gnome king, Baak. He would not support me these past ten years, but now that I have you and a growing list of allies, he may rethink his position. Either way, I have a plan." The gnome gave a mysterious smile.Alaron nodded. Cafer usually knew exactly what to do. The prince was glad he could follow his mentor's lead. As the prince ate, every part of Alaron ached. "I should heal myself," he thought aloud. The boy began to chant a healing spell that he had memorized, but Cafer stopped him."That will do you no good, my boy.
The ladies riding on horseback caught the attention of passerbys, but thankfully no one tried to approach them. While Mairwen gave off a friendly air, the other two held a protective stance around her and stared daggers at any who looked their way. The princess was blissfully unaware, happy to be out in the sunshine.Brinn caught sight of the girl's contented look and could not resist the urge to tease her. "Thinking about finally meeting your boyfriend?"Mairwen's far off gaze snapped to the present. She crinkled her nose and pulled her mouth to one side. "For the thousandth time, Renat is not my boyfriend.""So you knew who I was talking about!" Brinn wiggled her eyebrows up and down."Only because you keep bringing him up." The Princess's voice was steady as she turned facing forward, but her ears were burning red. The girl realized too late that she had fallen into the elf's trap. "Anyway, that boy has not given me a second thought since sending me th
The meeting with General Beadu took precedence, and the ladies were escorted into a large building that was designed for such gatherings. It smelled of musk and dirt, and Mairwen was glad that the windows along the walls were open wide to let in the sun and fresh air. This meeting was not particularly secretive, which would have been held in a more private location. The General wanted to make a good impression.The room held a rectangular table, and the kitchen staff brought in some food and water from its stores to set on it. Brinn and Mairwen were directed to sit while Eira took a place along one wall. She was also offered food and water, but only took the second. Since the princess was merely tagging along on this part of the expedition, Brinn asked all the questions."You received our communication about what happened at the palace four days ago?" The elf raised her eyebrows and unconsciously scratched at her ears. It had been a long while since she had shape-shift