After dropping the liquid light into the gnome's mortal wound, Zan waited to see if he had been too late. Gandr's body glowed so brightly that the Chief shielded his eyes. Zan's eyes finally cleared, but the gnome lay unmoving. When the head doctor arrived, the guardian was still unsure of the condition of his prisoner."Do not let anyone in or out of the dungeon!" He ordered the two guards who had returned. "Spread the word that we are looking for an assailant with a knife who is likely covered in blood. Go!" The soldiers obeyed and ran out of the cell."How is he?" Zan looked hopefully at the physician, whose brow was furrowed in concentration."I am not well versed in gnome anatomy, but he is alive. He seems to have lost a lot of blood." The floor was covered, and Zan's hands and clothes were stained. "What happened?" The doctor could no longer see the wound as the liquid from Zan's vial had healed and closed it."He was stabbed. I do not know how or b

As morning dawned, Zan adjusted himself in the sturdy high-backed chair. Unable to sleep, he had come down to the infirmary to keep watch over the gnome. When he looked over, he immediately realized something was different. The gnome's steady, even breathing that he had grown accustomed to had changed. The creature tied to the wooden table was awake."How did you sleep?" The Chief asked casually.The gnome chuckled. "And here I thought maybe I could get the jump on you…I slept well, though I think it has been quite some time.""Nearly two weeks," Zan confirmed. He stood so that Gandr could see his face."Where am I? How am I alive?" The gnome strained against the ropes, but they were taut."Those are the last two questions you will get until you answer mine. You are in the infirmary, and I saved you.""You saved me only to torture me," Gandr despaired."I saved you because you needed help. I hope I made the right call." Zan tap

"Ha! I found you!" Gede said with a laugh. Aurora emerged from behind the chair."You got me," she agreed brightly, tousling the fairy boy's hair."Bet you cannot find me!" Gede gave a lopsided smile."Well, since you can shrink to smaller than my pinky, you are probably right. I would spend the rest of my life looking in every nook and cranny looking for your prick of light."Two specks of light flew into the room and materialized into Prem with Niko on her hip. "Are you two at it again?"The pair giggled. "There is only so much to do in the house, and this is fun. I never knew hiding could be a game!" Aurora's word produced a sad smile on Prem's face. She had caught snatches of what the girl's childhood had been, and it made her determined to love and spoil the girl wholeheartedly while she was there."Very well. When you are done, I made some cookies in the kitchen." Prem wiggled her eyebrows playfully."Yum!!" Both Gede and Aurora

The ground below Aurora gave way before she could react. The earth kept shifting, constantly bringing her downwards and at an angle like the most horrific slide ever created. Were it not for the pocket of air that was being maintained around her body, she would have suffocated from the dirt. As it was, she was slipping into a panic, wishing more than anything to come to a stop. Actually, she wished for anything to happen. Anything but this eternal falling.Finally her descent slowed, and she was able to grab at the dirt and bring herself to a stop as the hole opened up into a wide cavern. Two gnomes, the ones who had been waiting for her to get more than an arm's-length away from her group before abducting her, stood waiting for her at the exit of the tunnel. Regaining her senses, Aurora brushed herself off and called angrily at the little gnomes, "This is how you treat the Empress? You should be ashamed of yourselves!" She hoped that an overt display of dominance might fores

Aurora groped around until she could find the source of the fresh air. A small hole inside the base of the crevice allowed the tantalizing breeze. The Empress got out of the crevice and lay on her side to get a better look. Unlike whatever the gnomes used to light their dwellings, this hole had no such brightness. The pitch black meant that she could not see how far back the hole went, but the fresh air on her face was unmistakable.She pushed her fingers into the hole and pulled at the rocks to widen it. Sediment from the wall broke off into her hands, and she shoveled it out into the cavern. The hole was now bigger than it had been but not nearly large enough. She pulled out her knife from her cloak and dug furiously until the hole was almost wide enough for her body.For once she was glad to be on the smaller side. Her mother had been called statuesque, and Aurora inherited her lean build but not her height. The near ninety degree angle between the wall of the crevi