Nelnifa twiddled her fingers as they sat on a small, rounded table. Xanthy stared at the wooden surface, studying the varying patterns of dark and sand brown swirling around each other.

Xanthy folded her hands together as she glanced at the heir now seated across her. Nelnifa Corledia, the heir to the Desaran throne, found Xanthy and June with their faces planted in the sand at the foot of Pelrise's Lighthouse in Orayta. When prompted with the thought of going to Desara, the bard's tower was the first thing which flashed into Xanthy's mind so here they were.

The lighthouse, standing on a cape giving way to the wild, unforgiving sea, belonged to the historical figure who lived way, way back. Xanthy had been there with Cirasa when she was searching for the chalice, which also happened to be Desara's throne. Her gut twisted at that thought. That seemed long ago now.

A lot has happened since she was last there. June was now alive and healthy. Xanthy had been in and out of the Realm of the Lost. Reeca had seen Narfalk fall and Xanthy thought Nyxis had died. Then, he came back to life by some miracle.

When she asked Nyxis about how he survived his fall, the human gave him a half-shrug and told her it was luck. Xanthy knew better. He lied because he didn't want to talk about it. And when he didn't want to talk about things, it meant he was still processing what happened. Xanthy knew enough to not press him about it.

She had gotten in enough trouble with June when she kept trying to discover his past. Even if June wouldn't admit it, Xanthy knew she scared him from admitting the truth. She was so eager to learn secrets and truths she ended up pushing people away and learning nothing at all.

If there was anything to be learned, any lesson she could have realized, was that the truth would come to her in its own time. Everything would be revealed in time. And in most cases, ignorance would be better.

Xanthy bit the inside of her cheek. It had been a day since they materialized in Desara. June had to carry her on his back since her magic had been emptied to nothing. She had a vague recollection of him scolding her for tapping into her reserves and letting it all out. What followed was a wall of darkness.

She woke up after a few hours of needed sleep to find herself at the back of a tavern made of stitched blade-like leaves for walls and thin but sturdy salvia trunks for the poles supporting the walls. Xanthy eyed the people coming in and out of place, drinking on husked cups and ducking back out. Who among them could be potentially working for Cardovia or Synktetros?

Desara hasn't changed much since Xanthy was last here. The air still contained bits of sand which preferred to poke her in the eye. The seashore still looked as enticing as ever. Curved boats were either parked by the beach or a few distance from the shore, their passengers lowering netted baskets into the light blue water.

Xanthy had spent the last twenty minutes being amused as one boat lifted its designated basket filled to the brim with flopping fishes. The sound of fins slapping the trap's netted walls were audible even from this distance.

Nelnifa had spent the same minutes telling them about her plan.

"W-we would like to help you i-in your war," the heir stuttered, twisting her fingers against each other. Xanthy resolved to never look at Nelnifa in the eye as it seemed to make the heir more flustered. What was even Nelnifa's problem?

Xanthy nodded at the heir's statement. She had no experience in dealing with these kinds of people. Almost everyone she met actually talked in straight sentences or demanded her legacy. "That's amazing, Nelnifa," she said as slowly as she could. June elbowed her from his seat. She turned to glare at him. What was his problem?

"She means that we would appreciate any help you would want to give us," June said in his normal speed. Xanthy knitted her eyebrows. What was this about? "We need you in Penleth as well. That's why we came."

"You need me?" Nelnifa blushed so hard she looked like she resembled an ajilte. Xanthy resisted the urge to roll her eyes. There were really people like this? Ugh.

"Yes, in fact," Xanthy brought her hands together on the table. "We have the chalice back at Penleth and you need to reclaim your throne."

The heir blinked. "My throne?" The red on her face deepened. "N-no throne. Father said it was gone."

"I found it, Nelnifa," Xanthy tapped her fingers on the table as gently as she could. "It's back at the fortress. I need you and the chalice for the plan I've been enacting. Will you concede with it?"

Nelnifa knitted her eyebrows. "What plan is it?" Her twiddling fingers distracted Xanthy from looking at the heir's face longer than a few seconds. All Xanthy knew was that the heir had purple hair tied into a messy bun, a tan complexion, and dull gray eyes. She stood only up to Xanthy's chin and had that nervous energy around her which didn't seem to fade even when they've been together for more than an hour.

Xanthy rolled her shoulders back. "I prefer to tell when all the heirs are in one room," she said. "Saves me the trouble of telling you all one by one. It's safer that way."

Nelnifa looked around, eyeing the water sprites with their colorful hair and loose smocks lounging at tables and talking among themselves. No one gave them as much as a sideways glance. The heir faced Xanthy again. "If you're talking about spies, there is no one here," she said. "I own this tavern and these are the men who will be marching with me if you allow me to aid you."

Well, at least the stutter was gone.

Xanthy cast her eyes around at the men and leaned back against the back of her wooden chair. "Thanks for your help, Nelnifa," she crossed her arms. "How did you get these men considering you're like that—ow!"

That's June kicking her shin from under the table. Above the table, June was all smiles as he faced the heir. "What Xanthy wants to know is the way you determined these men are trustworthy or not."

Nelnifa's smile revealed pearly white teeth. Huh, was that because of the sand? What were they brushing their teeth with in this place? "That's simple," she said. "They're family.".

That stunned June into silence. Xanthy almost choked with her saliva while she was soothing her throbbing leg. Family? Almost fifty people in this room were family?

Nelnifa chuckled as if she sensed Xanthy's bewilderment. It's like a curtain rustling during a windy night. "Water sprite families can be extended as far as we want. Some of the people here are my third or fourth cousins."

"Holy Crintine," June scratched his head. "How did you manage to keep track of all that?"

"I don't know," Nelnifa's fingers had stopped twiddling. Her smile also became more open. "Royals and nobles have that much time in their hands, you know?"

"I'd say," Xanthy snorted. "So, can we trust all of them?"

"I'd be responsible for them if anything happens," Nelnifa said with a nod.

Xanthy leaned against the table. This time, she tried looking straight into the heir's eyes. She found out that Nelnifa's gray eyes have a ring of gold by their dark pupils. "Why are you doing this?" she said as low as she could. "The other heirs were hesitant when they knew the truth of what we're facing here. They tried to rationalize everything and go back to their people. How come you're able to accept things as they are?"

"Because I know what's happening in the island," Nelnifa said, matching Xanthy's flat tone. "I am not some ignorant village girl. I'm an heir destined to rule Desara. I know the reason my territory has been losing resources even when we should be more prosperous than Lanteglos. I know what the Heiress has done to our shores and our produce."

The heir drew away and leaned back against her seat, making the wood creak lightly. "When you told the truth about these people sipping magic from the island's core, I knew that's the only piece I'm missing in order to complete the big picture of the problem at hand."

Xanthy blinked. That's...that was a profound answer. "And you enlisted these people to help because you knew you're going to war eventually?"

"No," Nelnifa's expression deepened into a determined frown. "I did it because the Heiress tried to destroy Orayta a few weeks ago."

"Destroy?" Xanth's gut twisted into knots. "Was she looking for the throne?"

"She knew that the throne was somehow resurrected and thought that we did it. She kept asking us about our trip to Penleth," Nelnifa said. "Of course, we denied it. She stormed out and soon, we were being attacked."

Xanthy clenched her jaw. Another territory being caught up in their mess.

"This has to stop, you know?" Nelnifa's voice was back to quiet once more. This time, though, it contained some sort of steel behind it. "I can't watch anything be destroyed anymore. I'm going to fight. And these people," she gestured at the sprites seated on the tables. "These people share the same goal as me."

It was Xanthy's turn to twiddle her fingers. This...she couldn't possibly get to this level in being determined to save those she could save. "Can I trust you to go to Penleth on your own?" she raised her eyes towards the heir's. Nelnifa's eyes never left Xanthy's face.

Nelnifa inclined her head to one side. "You're not coming with us?"

"I still have to get one more," Xanthy thought of seeing Jonadrin again. She really has to apologize to him for turning his request for help down. She was so focused on finding the chalice and running away she failed to see she could have helped the nature fairies. Instead, she let Jonadrin put his duty of protecting nature and allied Dwanzeig to Cardovia.

This time, she has to save him and his race for real.

Xanthy twisted and plucked an arrow from her quiver. She passed it to Nelnifa. "Show that to the people there. They will know I sent you," she said. "Thank you for all that you've done."

"Of course," Nelnifa's fingers closed around the shaft. The palm that brushed against Xanthy's was rough. The heir stood up. "And Xanthy?"

Xanthy raised her eyes up. "Yes?"

"All of this was never your fault," Nelnifa leveled her gaze at Xanthy. "We're just people born in the wrong place at the wrong time with the wrong circumstance. That's just how life is, right?"

Xanthy pursed her lips and glanced at her hands folded at her lap. A few seconds later, one hand reached up and began twisting a lock of her hair. Now that it's long, it actually took at least seven revolutions around her index finger.

How had Nelnifa known what's been going on in her head for the past few months? It wasn't like Nelnifa had known her for a long time. Perhaps it was written all over her face or perhaps Nelnifa could read minds like a thyminka. Either way, it was what everyone had been telling her before she left Penleth. Her being the Virtakios, the main reason they're all in this mess, was apparently not her fault.

She still has a hard time believing that.

Xanthy forced a smile to her face and as the heir turned to go. "Yeah," she echoed. Her voice sounded hollow and dry. "That's just how life is."