"I pledge my allegiance and devotion to the future Emperor Alaron. May he reign forever! Glory to the Emperor," the servant pressed his face to the floor, obviously trembling.He was one in a long line of castle staff that wanted to protect his life. Cafer had given the captured humans an ultimatum: pledge their undying allegiance to the new Emperor and keep their job or be put into prison. Most chose option one.At first Alaron liked the attention. He was able to look down from his throne and feel superior as each subject begged his favor. It was empowering. 'I could get used to this,' he chuckled inwardly. Over time, though, the task became tedious. Like any teenager, his mind began to drift to other things.Alaron wondered how Mairwen was doing. Had he made the right call in letting her go? Brinn had not given him a lot of choice, but he hoped that the princess would return on her own when she realized what a great ruler he was. 'She cannot stay away forever,' he comforted himself.

Brinn waited until long after everyone was asleep to leave Mairwen's suite. Unwilling to let Renat return to his room in the infirmary, the elf had given him one of the sitting rooms to use for a bedroom.If she could return him to the real princess, Brinn promised herself that she would. In the meantime, she would keep him close.The ladies-in-waiting had been returned to their rooms as well. The girls chatted nervously, afraid of the short men who had taken over the palace. Brinn, disguised as Mairwen, tried to settle their nerves. "It will be fine," the elf assured them. "Mind your own business and stay here as much as possible. We will figure something out.""Your Highness," a girl with long blonde locks said. "Are you alright? You sound different."Brinn gave her a princess's scowl. "This is my assertive voice. Get used to it or I will release you from your duty!""Yes ma'am," the lady responded humbly and curtsied.'Whew,' Brinn gave a silent sigh of relief until another one of

It was hard to tell how much time had passed inside the Storehouse. Based the trio's internal clocks, it had at least been overnight. Fortunately Zan had dried food and water inside his Guardian's cloak, so they were not going to die of hunger or thirst just yet.Every so often they would go down the hall to check and make sure the entrance was still blocked. Gandr had told them that he could not get through that thick of a cave-in. The glowstone was magical and very hard on his body. A thin wall was passable, but the sheer volume of magical stone was impossibly overwhelming.It was the same problem with the passage and the Storehouse. The walls there were carved out by the Fates, and no amount of magic could penetrate them. So they must sit and wait.Just now the halfling, the Guardian, and the Empress sat pensively around one of the Storehouse tables, trying to pass the time. The males knew that they should not touch any of the books or relics. They did not want the Storehouse to a

The Empress and Crown Princess glared at each other for a moment, sizing up one another. Aurora was short but very lovely with her dark hair and mesmerizing eyes.In contrast, Calla was exceptionally tall and as beautiful as a star. Aurora believed that if she stared too long at the elf's radiance, she might actually go blind.Calla's golden skin was offset by her eyes which were the color of purple delphiniums. Her lips were drawn tight in defiance, but still, the lovely, red curve of them was plain to see. Aurora tried hard not to be jealous of the elf's stunning beauty. It seemed like Calla was harboring a different kind of jealousy.The Empress shook off her thoughts and curtsied to the monarchs. "Your Majesties," she spoke humbly. "Forgive this intrusion…""Ha! Intrusion?!" Calla broke in haughtily. "Try invasion!""My companion and I," Aurora snapped as she motioned to Gandr, "hardly constitute an invasion!"The two ladies stopped their bickering under Lanassa's icy glare. King

With a little coaxing from the servants, Aurora was ready for dinner. She changed into a sickly greenish-yellow gown that paled her skin, but the cloth itself was very fine. The Empress wondered if Princess Calla had selected the gown to make her look ill. The she-elf had hand delivered the garment."I will have to watch out for that lady," the Empress mumbled. She took one last look in the mirror and sighed. Aurora would have to put away her vanity for the sake of her Empire. It was a small price.Gandr and Alvar had not yet returned, making Aurora slightly anxious. She hoped they were simply gathering all the information before bringing it to her. She looked down the hall for them one last time before resigning herself to dinner without back up. Ithel might try to defend her if tempers rose, but that seemed like a dangerous option. Aurora would fend for herself.The Empress had not had the pleasure of eating in the banquet hall previously. It was in the same style as the rest of the