"What happened back there?" Xanthy stalked after Eldan as he led them through the haze of the Palace corridors that would lead them to a guest room. The Grand Royal insisted against Xanthy's direct refusal. She didn't have the heart to refuse further considering she just narrowly escaped being manderfin food.

Eldan merely shrugged. Xanthy frowned. What kind of answer was that? Nyxis sidled next to Xanthy. She gave him a wide berth by shifting June to her other side. She ignored the growing numbness in her muscles.

"Let me ask," Nyxis dropped his tone. Why did he have to do that anyway? "What happened? I only caught glimpses of it."

Xanthy exhaled. "We almost became manderfin food then the Royal ordered we be educated, then that man said I was his daughter," she jabbed a finger at Eldan's back. "Take your pick in which one will you react first."

Nyxis's gaze flicked back and forth between Xanthy and Eldan. "Did you just find your father?"

"I am not inclined to believe anything," Xanthy glared at Eldan from behind.

Not since the last time. She decided not to add. Still, that sentiment floated in the air between her and Nyxis like a deceased soul that escaped Pidmena's clutches. Nyxis fell silent.

Xanthy grunted as she hefted her other shoulder to fix her grip on June. Her bow started slipping from it. Wait a sec—

Nyxis's hands gripped Xanthy's shoulders to stop her. Then, he took the bow and slung it across his own shoulder, next to his satchel. Xanthy opened her mouth to thank him but he shot her a withering glare.

Xanthy bit her lip and moved to drape June's limp form across her back. Her arms hooked through his legs. She bounced him along to get a steady and comfortable grip. Without a word, she and Nyxis followed Eldan to wherever he might be leading them. To their deaths, maybe?

Branches and leaves made up the corridors leading to the inner workings of the Palace. Xanthy eyed the bowls of water placed atop wooden pedestals that lined the walls like some creepy display.

"What are these bowls for?" Xanthy called Eldan. The nature fairy stopped to face Xanthy and flicked his gaze towards the displays.

"That's water for the plants to drink," Eldan answered before turning back again and continuing their walk.

Xanthy snorted. Plants couldn't move to drink. They should be watered and cared for, not left bowls of water. This was unethical. Ridiculous.

A flash of movement caught her eye somewhere to her left. Her eyes widened as a branch from the wall tore off its place and slithered towards a bowl of water like a worm. Blood drained from Xanthy's face. Okay. Eldan wasn't lying about the walls.

She edged away from them as she followed Eldan deeper into the Palace of living trees. Soon, Eldan stopped in front of a huge arch that formed an alcove. When Xanthy got to Eldan's place, her jaw hung open.

The room was huge. Xanthy looked down and instead of a concrete floor, giant pads of green leaves floating on a pool of water filled the room's expanse. Windows framed by the drinking branches gave way to a view of the bright, Acosan waterfall. Even the sound of water rushing into the bottomless caldera wasn't muffled in any way.

Magnificent.

Xanthy whirled to Eldan to find him grinning. "Do you like it?" he raised an eyebrow at her.

Xanthy pursed her lips and shifted from foot to foot. Thank the gods the floor she's standing on was still solid. "It's...big," she blurted.

Eldan chuckled. "I take you to the best room in the building and that's all you can say?"

"I didn't ask for it, though," Xanthy shrugged, jostling June's head lolling against her shoulder. "I told the Grand Royal that I'm in a hurry and that he shouldn't concern himself with these pleasantries."

Eldan shrugged back. His shoulders were a lot freer than Xanthy's. "It's not everyday the Virtakios walks into Dwanzeig, so understand the pleasantries."

Xanthy frowned. There it was again—her value placed in what was inside her, not for who she was. The twisted lump in her chest began throbbing again. These people would never see her as a person but rather an object—a tool—that could save them.

Eldan didn't appear to have glimpsed Xanthy's feelings from her face. He stepped inside the alcove and spread his arms. "Come."

Xanthy blinked at the imposing green pad then raised her head towards Eldan who stood on the bobbing leaf with his hand clasped behind his back. "Is this safe? Won't we end up in the water even with all this weight?"

Eldan's eyes flicked to June. A series of expressions flashed across his face until it settled into an unreadable mask. He waved his hand in the air. "It should be fine. Come on."

Xanthy sighed and stretched her foot towards a pad at the entrance. The water rippled as she bobbed. Bile coated her tongue as dread gripped her throat. Still, she didn't sink. Nyxis cursed behind her. He must be having the same issues with the floor.

Eldan waved his hand in the air again and woody vines crackled as they coated the whole arch, sealing them in. Those vines probably blended with the living wall as well. Xanthy gaped at this while Nyxis merely dumped his satchel and Xanthy's bow into the first mattress he stumbled upon.

Xanthy was about to snap at him to pick up his things when Eldan appeared behind her. She squeaked when he lifted June off her shoulders. She kept her hold on his legs so they're both stuck in that awkward position with June stretched between them like a lanky cat.

"Where are you taking him?" Xanthy made sure her glare was as scalding as her tone.

Eldan smiled, unfazed. "Any daughter of mine should not be carrying boys twice her weight," he gave a pointed glare in Nyxis's direction. "Let's lay him somewhere comfortable."

Xanthy hadn't had words for that so she loosened her grip on June's legs and let Eldan drag him into a neighboring pad with an identical mattress. She watched as the nature fairy gently laid June like he was a newborn. Eldan was back to where Xanthy was in a few moments.

Awkward silence hung between them.

"So..." Eldan scratched the back of his ear.

Xanthy smiled thinly. "Listen, I'm pretty tired, so..."

Eldan's eyes widened. "Oh, yes. Yes, of course," he nodded his head vigorously. "You will be called to dinner in roughly three hours. Rest for the meantime."

He dipped his head in her direction before turning towards the door. He was out of the room quicker than a whipped dagrine.