Pulling herself back together, Aurora knew she would have to go back to the party if she had any hope to salvage the situation. On one hand she was slightly relieved that the secrets were out, but she was mortified by the twisted way the story was presented. She had to admit that Cafer's version seemed more believable than what had actually happened. Aurora hoped that her kindness to her people would keep them from thinking the worst of her.
Anna fanned the Empress gently, unsure what to say. Nurlan was equally at a loss for words. "Anyone who believes that words cannot hurt them has never had a cross thing said to them in their life," Aurora said bitterly to break the silence.
"I am sorry, Your Majesty. That was a cruel trick to play." Anna felt motherly compassion for her mistress.
"Cafer is a master manipulator," Nurlan added angrily. "Warfare on the mind is very effective." The soldier was not good with comfort, but
Mairwen danced to her heart's content. She enjoyed dancing immensely, but after a time she grew weary of countless dance partners always asking the same questions. Aside from a few boys that she knew, everyone asked her about her plans for the future, wondered if she knew how beautiful she looked, and inquired what it was like to have an Empress for a mother. She could only have the same conversation so many times.At last the princess pulled herself away from the crowd of dancers and headed toward the Spring Garden, where Alaron sidled up beside her. "Are you enjoying the party?" He asked. The Prince looked very handsome in his blue and white tunic and pants. A lighter blue, shortened cape was draped loosely across his shoulders like a kingly robe. Alaron had opted to represent the royal colors, and they sat well upon his figure."Oh brother, it has been a wonderful celebration! Dancing with father was certainly the highlight. The music, the excitement: it has been pe
"Is he?" Mairwen couldn't finish the sentence. Her words caught thickly in her throat.Eira was already checking the Emperor. The soldier's hard expression softened. "He is breathing, but barely. They are all alive." Trying to wake the men, Eira shook them but received no response.Mairwen recognized the man next to Devrim. "This is Warin. What is Alaron's personal guard doing here with my father?" The princess recovered form her shock and gave into her more curious nature. Then like both her adoptive and birth mothers, she took charge. "We need help! Is there anything else we can do to wake them?"Eira pinched one of the guards, but the man only groaned. She shook her head. "We need a doctor.""Then get a doctor and alert the guards. We need to find out who did this and fast! I will stay with these men. Hurry!" Mairwen's voice was so forceful that Eira quickly complied. While she was gone, the princ
Mairwen pulled the orange-tinted glasses from her dress. She had been talking with her mother about them when they were getting ready, and she had slipped them in her pocket on a whim. It seemed the Fates were with her. She put the glasses on her face and used the knife to reflect the images of the ballroom. It was distorted, but she could make out four figures on the dais. A bright light was beaming from one of their hands. Feeling braver, the girl moved around Junayd and looked into the room. Unlike the others, she did not instantly become a statue. This was a relief, because she had no back up plan.By the thrones, three men stood gloating and discussing their next move. Mairwen recognized Alaron and the strange general, but the third figure was completely unfamiliar. Now that she had a fuller view of the room, a few people were moving through the crowd, stealing odds and ends off the wealthy mannequins.The man with the shining ball was defending the thieves' actio
"You fool!" Xander snapped as those in the ballroom awoke from their slumber. "No one should touch the pearl but me!" A murmur of confusion rose in the room. Pirates were blocking the exits, and the guests did not have a way to defend themselves.Regaining consciousness, Aurora grabbed her arm and cried out in pain. She tried to move from the platform, but Xander had already caught her by the waist and held a knife at her neck. Nurlan, who had been mid-lunge when he froze, sprawled out on the platform as he fell. "Do not move," Xander warned those around him. Zan and Gandr also had to stop charging the stage when they saw the predicament.On the balcony, the sudden release of tension in Brinn's body threw her forward. She barely missed falling over the balustrade. "Brinn, watch out!" Since the Princess's feet were melded with the floor, the pirate decided that the elf was the bigger threat. He attempted to push her over the edge. Rolling to one side, Brinn avoided him,
Outside the palace, three figures emerged from the ground. Alaron was leaning on his mentor, panting heavily. His face was pale as he limped toward the outskirts of town. "How could she stop us?" he wheezed."Her Majesty has a proclivity for lucky breaks," Xander answered. "You should have let me kill her when I had the chance."The prince did not disagree. He was too weak. "Save your energy, my boy. We have to get out of Valiant before we are captured," Cafer said gently.Xander put his shoulder under the boy's other arm. "What is wrong with him?"The gnome shook his head sadly. "The explosion he used to free me from the cage was very powerful. It took all his energy to perform the feat. Magic can be a costly venture." The gnome almost felt bad for what he had done to the boy. But self-preservation made him glad Alaron knew magic."I am fine," the prince said as he nearly dropped to the ground even with the two others supporting him. "I am strong
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
Alaron told the Empress his story. She was amazed by his words. However, it made his altered appearance make sense. His white hair had been gained by meeting the Maker while visiting the Mystic Spires, and his now silver eyes were earned in answer to his call."A Guardian," the Empress mused. "It is a high honor."The young man lowered his head humbly. "Not an honor I deserve, but one I will try to be worthy of.""But…it has been a year since all this happened." Aurora looked at him with a thousand questions in her eyes.Alaron nodded. "The Fates thought it best if I remained gone for a time. Let the world begin to heal. I spent the last year among the Fates in the Mystic Spires and got to know some of them quite well. But I knew that my time there had come to an end, and before I could return to take my place as a Guardian to help mend the world, I needed to mend our family first. That is, if you will forgive me." He bowed low again. "Will you?"There was a king painful silence. So l
The voice of the figure was one etched deep in Aurora's memory. It was almost as familiar to her as her own. It was the voice of a ghost now, yet the figure before her she was sure was flesh and bone."Clear the throne room," the Empress ordered.Nurlan stood behind her close to the throne with his hand resting lightly on his sword. "Your Majesty?" he asked, uncomprehending."Everyone out except him," she motioned to the cloaked man. "You may stay, Nurlan, if it eases your mind. And see if someone can find Hanna."The general quickly went to work. With the help of the other attending soldiers, every soul was removed from the room except the Empress, Nurlan and the mysterious figure. The man waited patiently, seemingly unconcerned with the flurry of activity his few words had caused.Aurora took a deep breath. While the figure had allowed them to be alone, she was still slightly scared that he might disappear at any time. "What forgiveness do you seek?""I seek the forgiveness of the
"Wake up! Rise and shine, Your Majesty!" Hanna said cheerily as she threw back the thick curtain that blocked the balcony. Light streamed into Aurora's bedchamber, but the woman pulled the covers over her head like a child. "You're back," the Empress groaned in a muffled voice. "I think it is sweet that you think I actually ever leave these days. Now get up!" Hanna yanked the covers back, but Aurora held on tightly. "Go away!" The stubborn woman wouldn't even open her eyes. She would not let the Fate win. "Where are my ladies-in-waiting?" "Anna, Bella and Candela are busy." Hanna answered unapologetically. "And my husband?" "He took over your very important duties and told everyone to let you sleep. It is a good thing I do not answer to him." Hanna fluttered her eyelashes innocently, but of course, Aurora did not see. Sensing the Fate would not give up her chipper attitude, Aurora pulled the only card she had left. It was, in the end, what made her unwilling to get out of bed "
With slow progress, the prisoners and the victorious army headed for Valiant. Since the city was still empty of human citizens, there was no fanfare or grand welcome for them. That was fine; they were all just happy to be one step closer to being home.Only a small skirmish awaited the Imperial Army from those left behind. The palace was easily reclaimed without the catastrophic results of the last battle fought there. The sight of the large human force in the wrong shade of blue made the gnomes flee immediately, and those left of the ill-named New Emperor's Army only put up minimal resistance.The servants on the inside of the palace, seeing their rescuers in sight, freed those in the dungeon and set off a myriad of traps and clever devices that had been left behind by the scientist but never deployed.One such device covered the unlucky recipient in a slimy goo that made them slip and slide, never able to stand in that area again. Renat was thoroughly chastened for it later and force
Brinn hurried to Ithel and her father in the corner of the tent. Out of respect for the king, Zoltan had a curtain hung around him, so it was only natural that Aurora had not spotted him and Ithel earlier."Father, I thought you were dead!" Brinn said a she rounded the partition. Her face went from hopeful to grim."I may yet be," Zoltan answered with a gentle smile. "However, the unicorns think I shall live, even if I am not exactly whole."Zoltan's body from the waist up seemed normal enough, but his lower half and legs looked horribly wrong. His legs and feet twisted awkwardly, and his pelvis was much flatter than it should be. The boulder from the giant had done irreparable damage."Oh Father!" Brinn eyes were wide with fear."It is not as bad as it looks. Well, maybe it is, but I do not feel any pain." The king received a cup of water from a servant. With Ithel's help, he sat up slightly to drink. The elven princess just stared, not knowing what to say or how to comfort her fathe
Brinn used her keen hearing to listen for her husband as she scanned the carnage of the battlefield. Alvar was many things, but quiet was not one of them. She was sure that with enough patience, she would hear the elf she was searching for.Along the ground, some fairies were popping in and gathering up the wounded and taking them to the healers. Other fairies had the more difficult task of collecting the dead. Separately she passed by elves who were still gathering the gnomes in groups to hold them until the peace talks were complete.It was amazing how quickly things had been organized. Brinn realized that these plans must have been made before the battle began because neither the fairies nor elves seemed to need direction or supervision.Even more amazing was the new King of the Gnomes. The timid, mousey gnome that Brinn had witnessed at the palace when she was pretending to be Mairwen was gone. The difference was night and day.Lukoss was walking around and ordering his new subjec
Justum considered her words. "I cannot control how you feel," he answered at last. "But the victory is yours. It is over. We will leave you to your tasks."Aurora stared past him with empty eyes. He was right about one thing. It was over.Turning to his fellow Fate, Justum held out his hand. "Your mission is complete, I assume," he said with an arched brow. "Either way, your banishment is over. Will you be coming back with us?"Hanna smiled demurely, "As welcoming that invitation was…" Her face changed to be one of concern as she looked at Aurora. "Now that I am permitted to see the Empress, I shall stay a while to make sure things run smoothly."Expecting an argument, Aurora was surprised when Justum simply nodded. "I understand."He turned to the fiery-haired woman and bowed respectfully. "Farewell, Your Majesty. May the rest of your reign be a peaceful one.""Thank you," Aurora curtsied, her years of training taking over. She then moved forward toward the Fate holding her son.Just
The entire company of the Fates exited through the celestial portal and filled the sky with their terrifying presence. Their light magic emanating from them was oppressive even to the other magical creatures.As soon as Hanna grabbed the Empress's arm, Aurora blinked and was instantly across the field beside the slowly waking Cafer. The Fate slapped the magic blocking cuffs on the gnome and stepped back as he came to his senses.Cafer grabbed his head, unsure of what had happened. The last thing he remembered was being blasted by a light before everything went dark.He had seen, but been unable to process, the source of the light on the other side of the battlefield. Whatever it was had power beyond anything he had ever seen.As he opened his eyes, he was greeted with a reproachful look from his least favorite Fate. He instinctively tried to use his earth magic to repel Hanna. That is when he noticed the cuffs on his wrists. "What is the meaning of this?" he demanded as he stood to hi
Mairwen and Nurlan had finished dispensing with the leprechauns and were monitoring the capture of the dark blue troops. Minor skirmishes were going on here and there, but overall the New Emperor's army had surrendered."I want to know how Mother and Father are doing," the princess told the general. They both glanced behind them and toward the sea. They could see neither of the battles clearly. However, they could hear the sounds of war wafting over the Beachy plains and see that at least some of the ships were still floating in the sea. The Emperor and Empress still had work to do."A fairy will come and get you once it is safe," Nurlan assured her. "Until then, we will stay put."Mairwen sighed and bit the inside of her cheek. "The waiting is harder than the battling."Not wanting to contradict the princess, Nurlan shrugged. "The time certainly seems to go slower when nothing is happening," he mused.Listening quietly, Eira was glad for the moment of peace. There were far too few of