Xanthy stood on her tiptoes, craning her neck up while keeping the Grand Royal's green head in her line of sight. Throngs of robed nature fairies trickled out of the hall the moment the Grand Monarch, a spry man not older than the rest of them but probably hundreds of years old, stood up from his seat. Xanthy covered her face when she glimpsed the pink-haired woman talking to Obeia at the far corner of the room on her way out. Did that woman even know that Xanthy was pardoned?

An elbow shot out of nowhere and jostled Xanthy back. Xanthy bit her tongue before she could curse. She'd hate to offend a noble after narrowly escaping being manderfin fodder.

She craned her neck up again as the flow of the crowd directed her towards a roofed path flanked with trees with burnt amber trunks and bright, orange leaves. Blue flowers the size of Xanthy's palm grew in shrubs dotting the flat expanse of land beyond the path. A constant chirping filled the air as thousands, if not, millions of insects with luminous butts glowing in various colors darted past Xanthy or settled on trees.

The Grand Royal's long green hair swished at Xanthy's periphery. There. She ducked her head at the fairies who halted as she tore through the direction perpendicular to them. "Watch it, beansprout!" a high-pitched voice screamed at her at one point. Xanthy shook her head. No matter. She needed to tell the Grand Royal to stop sending tomes and scrolls to her room.

Dark boots and green robes shuffled out of her way as she elbowed people until she came into a different path that led towards another part of the structure where a single door led. "Sir!" Xanthy raised her arm as the Grand Royal reached the tree with a trunk as thick as a house. Oh, come on.

Xanthy reached the tree and knitted her eyebrows. Where's the Grand Royal? She whipped to the opposite direction just as a green vest zipped past her periphery. "Oomp!" Xanthy grunted as her nose exploded in pain. She recoiled and stumbled back only to find a grinning Grand Royal staring at her. Her eyes widened and she swung her upper body to a deep bow. "Sorry about that! Please don't feed me to the manderfin!"

"Jonadrin," a gentle voice bled in Xanthy's ears.

Xanthy raised her head. "What?"

"Call me Jonadrin instead of 'sir'," the Grand Royal hooked two fingers in the air before running a hand down the back of his head. "It's hideous."

Xanthy blinked. "Uh..."

"What do you need, Virtakios?" The Grand Royal chuckled as he turned towards the direction he was going.

"Xanthy," she cleared her throat and tucked her hair behind her ears. "Don't call me 'Virtakios'," she didn't fight the grin that crept to her lips as she met the Grand Royal's purple irises. "It's hideous."

"We're even, then," Jonadrin crossed his arms and cocked his head to one side. "So, to what do I owe the pleasure of having been ambushed on my way to a court meeting?"

"I want to thank you for what you're doing for us," Xanthy rubbed her throbbing nose.

Jonadrin raised an eyebrow. "But...?"

Xanthy sighed. Was the Grand Royal reading her mind? "But," she licked her lips. "I'm afraid I need to forgo the lessons because I have somewhere very important I need to be. It's urgent too."

An amused smile picked at the corners of Jonadrin's lips. "They took to my word, literally," he snorted.

Xanthy knitted her eyebrows. "Um..."

"Walk with me, Xanthy," Jonadrin gestured forward with his hand and jerked his chin in the direction of wherever the court meeting of his would be.

Xanthy shook her head but followed when the Grand Royal already began walking. "Aren't you on the way to your court meeting?" she inclined her head at him. "I'm sure you have other plans rather than walking with me."

"There are unwanted ears in a Palace this big," Jonadrin's eyes flashed in the dim moonslight as he flicked his gaze at the empty air. He folded his hands together. "Besides, I'm just walking. I might as well use this time and season to talk to you. It makes the journey less dull, don't you think?"

Xanthy opened her mouth but closed it again as her words died in her throat. What would she even say to those sets of eloquent words? Like Canelis, it seemed like these royals were bred just to speak formally. Were there separate lessons just for speaking with these royal children?

"Well, shall we?" Jonadrin's voice speared through Xanthy's consciousness.

She blinked and shook her head. "I—yes," she nodded, a little vigorous for her taste. "Let's go."

A fountain with trickling water greeted them as Jonadrin led her past a huge garden. The path boasted a smooth finish after being decorated with small, various-colored stones embedded in it, giving the floor a dappled look.

"Just wondering," Xanthy caught up to Jonadrin and clasped her hands behind her back. "How come you aren't riding animals to get from one place to another? I'm sure there are those who would be willing to let the Grand Royal ride on their backs."

Jonadrin rolled his shoulders. "I like walking."

"In those shoes?" A light chuckle rose in Xanthy's chest.

Jonadrin gave out a light laugh of his own. "Yes."

Then, the Grand Royal tore from the path and made his way towards the fountain. Xanthy shrugged and followed, passing through a wide, open space carpeted with trimmed grass. Racks filled with different kinds of plants littered the expanse, hosting a whole variety of colors, shapes, and sizes.

To Xanthy's right, a set of steps led towards another arched entrance where a set of doors stood. A few of the fairies wearing green robes milled at the courtyard but none glanced at Jonadrin and Xanthy as they moved to sit on the fountain's rim.

"So why are you dressed like that?" Xanthy crossed her legs. Let her hope this wasn't a rude gesture when dealing with royals. A series of expressions passed through Jonadrin's face. Xanthy covered her mouth. "Uh, is that rude? Sorry."

Jonadrin shook his head. "No, it's not rude. City-dwellers often don't understand," he said, crossing his own legs at the ankles. "I dress like this for the same reason you took to wearing trousers and tunics even though you're a woman."

The way he said "woman" drove blood up to Xanthy's cheeks. The Grand Royal leaned back and rested his weight on his palms. "I'm a Nature fairy and a kaviste keiju. Plants are beautiful in their own right without regard to how they are made. They enjoy the liberty fairies want to have, in how they appear, how they grow, even how they flourish," Jonadrin put his hand on his chest. "I try to emulate these creatures' freedom. Plants are good models for living, don't you think so?"

Xanthy scratched her nape. "That's...deep," she glanced at the long green hair that glistened underneath the moonslight. "How do you keep your hair silky?"

Jonadrin leaned closer as if sharing a secret. "It appears that washing it with crimon urine will do the trick," he winked when Xanthy recoiled. Urine?

The Grand Royal snorted. "It's not that bad," he gathered his hair to one shoulder and let it drape over his chest. Xanthy blinked. He looked just like a woman. That's...confusing. "I get that look a lot, you know."

Xanthy rubbed her cheeks, schooling it into a neutral one. Was she even gaping weirdly at the Grand Royal? "What look?"

"The one that says that what I am and how I act is not...appropriate," Jonadrin traced lazy circles on his knee. "Even my own family looks at me like I'm a worm-ridden sprout."

Xanthy tried to imagine her ajilte plants filled with spiky, black larvae common in Cardina. A shiver passed through her arms. "Must have been rough," she rubbed her skin and averted her eyes.

"It is," Jonadrin inclined his head at Xanthy. "But it's liberating at the same time."

Xanthy pursed her lips. If she did what she wanted without thinking of what other people would think of her, even as they expected her to do something for them with her magic, would she feel freed as well?

"So, what are you going to tell me?" Jonadrin asked after a few minutes.

Xanthy's head whipped up from examining the grass licking her boots. "Uh, I'm not going to undergo those lessons," she twined her fingers together. "I need to be somewhere."

The Grand Royal bobbed his head. "Are you going to retrieve the chalice?"

Xanthy whirled to him. "How did you know?"

"It appears that our current situation is connected to that," Jonadrin sighed and leaned forward. A door somewhere to Xanthy's left squeaked open before clacking shut once more. Did the meeting start already?

"Was it with the issue about the Life Rewarder thing wilting?" Xanthy clenched her jaw. She knew where this conversation would be going.

Jonadrin nodded. "It senses a danger, a threat," he said. "Something bad is coming."

"Is that why you removed my sentence?" Xanthy kept her eyes at the rack of plants. A stray breeze whipped through their leaves and shuffled her hair as well.

"Yes, honestly," Jonadrin heaved a sigh with his shoulders slumping. "It's not going to be easy, especially when you have your friend and the chalice to think about. But, I'm asking for your help in whatever is coming our way."

Xanthy's heart sank. For once, she dared to hope that she was saved because she's a person but she was proven wrong yet again. She was saved because of something in her. Because she's the Virtakios.

She wanted to help Dwanzeig because if this territory wasn't lucky, they'd have Cardovia or Synketros marching towards their door. She'd hate to see the beauty of the forests, the animals, and the people. None of it would be left standing once these organizations were done with Dwanzeig.

Guilt weighed on her heart and picked at her gut. She shook her head and clenched her jaw until her temples throbbed. "I'm sorry," she squeezed her hands tighter. "I just...I can't let him die."

"I understand," Jonadrin sighed. "I'm sorry for asking this of you."

Xanthy closed her eyes against the swirling heaviness in her chest. Nyxis's points rushed back to her like the waterfalls surrounding the Palace. Like Rutoria said, Xanthy's actions would dictate the course of this war and if she's trapping herself in that chalice, she has to at least do one final thing that would help people who need it.

Of course, if she gave her soul up to the chalice, it would be easier to protect because it's an object people could lug around. It wouldn't complain, wouldn't have its own opinions. It would be easier for everyone, especially if June was up and fighting in the war.

Xanthy pinched her arm. The Virtakios wasn't here to level up fields and kill off all their enemies. It's mere existence was the one that started this war—this hunt—anyway. It's not like she could control this hideous magic boiling inside her. Moreover, it's not like she could use the Virtakios without losing herself in it.

She's going to be of little help to her friends in this war. Her past excursions were enough proof. Jarvik wouldn't have died if it wasn't for him being acquainted with her. The brownies wouldn't have gotten their shadows and their lives shaken if it wasn't for her letting Jarvik be killed. Peltra wouldn't have gotten destroyed with thousands of families displaced or killed if the Heiress wasn't looking for the Virtakios. Lanteglos would still be standing, the High Queen would be alive and well...and June could have lived free without being the Death Knight without her.

All she's done was to make everything difficult for everyone. Up until this moment.

Xanthy bit her lip and swallowed the scream budding in her throat. In situations like these, which decisions were right and which were wrong?

"The Life Rewarder," Xanthy blurted, breaking the silence thick between her and Jonadrin. "It's Dwanzeig's throne, right?"

"The only Living Throne," the Grand Royal nodded. "If it is uprooted, the whole race dies with it."

"Can you replant it even after it dies?" Xanthy scratched her chin. How would the Heiress get it if it couldn't be moved? She turned to Jonadrin and knitted her eyebrows. "How are thrones made, anyway?"

Jonadrin shrugged. "You'd have to ask the Arbotro about that," he cocked his head to one side. "I'm not willing to risk a test by pulling it out. The stakes are too high."

Xanthy nodded. Then, she frowned when Jonadrin's words sank. "Arbotro?" she asked. "What was that?"

Jonadrin blew a breath and extended his hands. Finger-like branches emerged from the ground and snaked towards each other, weaving until they formed a circle around the space where Xanthy sat. Soon, a dome of branches covered Xanthy's view of the sky and the stars peppering it. Small flowers even glowed blue in the moonslight as they sprouted from a select branches.

Xanthy's jaw loosened as Jonadrin rested his elbow on his thigh. "This shouldn't reach common ears, hence the precaution," he circled a finger in the empty air.

"Why?"

Jonadrin's eyes hardened to dark gems. "Because this may be the very thing Cardovia and the Synketros are after."

Xanthy's saliva almost went back her throat the wrong way. The way Jonadrin said their names implied that he was familiar with it. Too familiar, it seemed. She coughed into her fist. "Okay, back up. Who is this arbotro character?"

"Not 'who', what," Jonadrin wagged a finger in Xanthy's face. "The Arbotro Fentimanis is the being that is responsible for life on the island. It's the one who gives us our synnavaims, who keeps our island safe from outside forces, and it's the one who protects the heart of the island."

Xanthy's gut twinged. "Heart?"

"The source of all magic in Umazure," Jonadrin leveled his gaze on Xanthy. "That might be the very thing these two organizations are after."

"Why would they be after that?" A nervous chuckle tore off Xanthy's lips. Shouldn't these things be considered myth?

"Their motives remain in the shadows," the Grand Royal rubbed his pale chin. Even in the dim moonslight, he looked like he was glowing. "One thing is for sure, though—the Arbotro is their target and they have enough Nature Fairies in their ranks to confirm its existence."

"Does that mean you can feel it?" Xanthy leaned closer to Jonadrin. "Like you can feel nearby roots and stuff?"

Jonadrin swept a hand across his forehead. "Its presence is fuller now, unlike ten or a hundred years ago."

"How old are you, even?"

"Don't you think it's rude to ask a man's age, Xanthy?" Jonadrin raised a curved eyebrow.

Xanthy's reply died in her throat.

"Kidding aside," Jonadrin tapped his boots against the grass. "The Life Rewarder senses that the forest is under a threat. That's why it's wilting. The Arbotro's presence is strong enough that it can be felt by normal Nature fairies. It's only a matter of time before these two organizations make a move towards the heart."

"You sound so sure of this," Xanthy narrowed her eyes. "It's not like the Heiress and the Sovereign already revealed their plan."

Jonadrin grimaced. "By looking at the recent developments and first-hand intelligence from both organizations, I'll say it's the most feasible motive behind this war."

Xanthy's stomach soured. This was deeper than she imagined it would be. A tree and the island's heart? It's ridiculous.

But then again, graspel could be as big as houses and eat flesh and butterflies could be as big as fairies on this island. Was Xanthy really in the right place to ask which was possible and which weren't?

"Do you understand why Dwanzeig needs your help?" Jonadrin shook his head. "Should the Heiress and the Sovereign attack the throne at once, we wouldn't stand a chance. We need the Virtakios to at least neutralize their magic and buy us time."

"It's nice of you to think I can control or direct it," Xanthy crossed her arms and heaved a breath. "Well, the truth is, I can't. It only responds to strong emotions and when it does, it's often with destructive consequences, both to me and to those around."

"So...no," Xanthy pursed her lips. "I'm afraid that this is the time people should remove their faith in me. I can't help you."

A series of expressions flashed across Jonadrin's face before settling to that of a flat stare. "Very well," he said.

"Thank you for all that you've done for us," Xanthy splayed her fingers in his direction. "But I really can't do it."

The dome of branches receded around them as the Grand Royal flicked his hand without a word. Xanthy's heart hammered in her chest. Would Jonadrin get angry? Would he revoke his earlier command and order her to be eaten by the manderfin?

Instead, Jonadrin stood up and when he turned to Xanthy, a smile was bright in his lips. "It's nice talking to you," he ducked his head the same way one would do to royals. Why was he bowing to Xanthy? "I wish you luck."

With that, he turned and walked towards the door beyond the fountain. Xanthy wrenched her jaw shut. No use in coming up with a reply now, was there?

Xanthy chewed on her lip as she started at the rippling pool at the base of the fountain. Why would Jonadrin wish her luck? Was it for her journey or for himself? Was it possible it was for the rest of the island that she'd leave behind?

Who knew?