Zan's senses left him for a moment as he tried to comprehend her words. "Wedding? To who? Oh…oh!!" He understood the sight before him. The lovers entwined arms and looked fondly toward one another. "My congratulations and best wishes," Zan blessed them, forgetting his own feeling of gloom and doom.Alvar's face also brightened. "You do not suppose Brinn would consider a double wedding?"The Empress smiled awkwardly as her body tensed. "You can ask, but do not get your hopes up." She knew the she-elf had strong feelings about when and how she would wed.Alvar nodding knowingly. "Perhaps I should wait so she can have her own special day.""That is very thoughtful," Devrim agreed."You can can continue to discuss the wedding, sweet ones, but remember the others are waiting." Hanna reminded them."Oh yes," Aurora chirped. She yanked Devrim, "I need to tell Brinn!"———————-Entering t

The gathering room looked gorgeous with cascades of red roses and wild indigo flowers adorning each tapestry and stone bench. On the podium stood Justum wearing a white robe, and Nurlan and Junayd in a copy of their soldiers' uniforms in crimson. Amid them in the center, Devrim, wearing a royal blue cape, white and gold tunic and blue and gold trousers, waited for his bride. As Aurora strode down the aisle, the Fates attending the ceremony stood.Aurora held tightly to Zan's arm as she walked down the aisle. It all seemed surreal, and she hoped it was not just a fantastic dream. The scent of the bouquet in her arms, which matched those flowers on the wall, comforted her that this was real. When they reached the marriage altar, Devrim descended the platform to meet them. His face was one of pure wonder as he beheld his bride. Zan took the Empress's hand and gave it to the eager young man."Devrim," Zan said sternly to catch the boy's attention. His face was grim and for

Aurora found an extreme pleasure in the wonder that the soldiers expressed when they entered the glow-stone passage. 'This is how Hanna must feel when she reveals something to us,' she thought. She smiled smugly. Unaware of what normal human structures looked like, Brinn and Alvar were eyeing the passage as if it were a normal occurrence, and Zan and Gandr, having already used the tunnels to escape once, were only mildly surprised."I knew it," the Guardian muttered under his breath.Devrim heard him. "Knew what?""When I told you about the secret passages out of the castle, neither you nor Her Majesty even blinked. You have been here before!" Zan lifted his finger to punctuate his revelation."Many times, Zan. One of our hobbies has been to explore all these passages. They go to every room." Devrim put his hand on Zan's shoulder and smiled."What is this? I have been in the Council's meeting room and I have never seen this window." Nurlan gently t

The others waited as Nurlan and Junayd were the last to arrive. To be fair, they had the least idea what they were doing and the furthest to go. Aurora smiled graciously as they joined the small circle. "Sorry Your Majesty," they bowed humbly.She waved off their apology, and they began the exchange of information. "The children are safe," Devrim said gently. "But Cafer has convinced the boy to dissolve the Council. Mairwen was as plucky as ever, but Cafer mostly ignored her.""Just as well," Aurora said. "If he considered her a real threat, he would have tried to kill her too."Zan told of Anna, Ezer and Birger. The Guardian had gone to the other Councilmen's rooms as well, but all of them were conveniently missing. When the Guardian told them of the Blue Guard, Nurlan confirmed that he had seen them. "Nasty looking buggers, and I would not doubt for a second that some of them are gnomes. They are led by some bully human lowlife named Ledford."Devrim an

Away from the Blue Guard, who refused to mingle among the unwashed masses, a brown cloaked woman bumped into someone seemingly by accident. "Oh, excuse me," she said shyly.The gentleman bobbed his head politely, "No need to apologize, I.." the man's face changed to astonishment as the woman's hood fell from her head, revealing her dark hair. The man fell to his knees. "Your Majesty!" he exclaimed with appropriate awe.The woman shushed him, "Rise please. No one can know that I am here." But those around him took notice."That's the Empress!" A man in a black cloak whispered loudly.Another cloaked gentleman nearby also began to spread rumors of the Empress's presence. Before long, the entire courtyard was abuzz. Anna, who was posing as the Empress, was impressed by Gandr's performance. They had not even really needed the men to start the people talking, but Zan and Ezer were currently doing an excellent job fanning the flame."The Empress is so ki