Meanwhile, Mrei was also taken to the palace, although she was taken inside through the front door and instantly met by Tamaris. The woman hugged her fiercely the moment she saw her.

"I was so worried for you, young highness," she murmured to her shoulder. Then she quickly pulled back. "You're freezing! Let's get you into a warm bath and tucked under covers."

Mrei obediently nodded. "Alright." She couldn't do anything right now, but first thing in the morning she'd explain the whole thing to daddy.

Her sleep for the remaining hours of the night was restless. She was worried for Lucas and feeling more than a little guilty over her own cowardice.

The moment she woke up she just tossed her silk robe over her pajamas and rushed out of her room.

"You are not thinking of going to school dressed like that, are you, young highness?"

Mrei froze at Tamaris's voice and, looking back, saw her nurse lean casually on the wall right next to her door.

"Um...Could I just skip school today? I need to talk to daddy."

"I was thinking of letting you stay home and recover, but considering how energetic you are this early, I believe you are well enough to go today. Besides, your make-up geography test is today."

Mrei pouted. Tamaris was just being mean.

Tamaris checked her watch. "Breakfast is already waiting in the dining hall. If you can get dressed and eat in 15 minutes, you'll have another 15 to talk with your father. I'll get the car and wait for you."

Mrei's expression brightened. "Thank you!"

But when she got to the door of her father's bedchamber, she was met by chancellor Varlon, who informed her that the king was not feeling well enough to see anyone.

Mrei looked him up and down once. "Then -you- tell me what you did to Lucas," she said with all the authority she could muster.

"Who?"

"The boy who was with me last night!"

Varlon looked around carefully before lowering his voice. "Please don't shout, young highness. That boy is a criminal."

She didn't like the sound of that. Criminals in stories were always locked away for a very long time. "No, he's not! I met him at the festival and he's really nice."

He hadn't really believed that a kid could just sneak into a room on the third floor of the palace and leave with an unwilling princess completely unnoticed. But admitting that she would have run away with a heathen was much worse. To prevent any ugly rumors about the royal family, one heathen was expendable. Besides, he had some plans of his own for that boy. "Young highness...I'm certain you're just confused after your ordeal..."

"I'm not confused! And if you don't take me to him immediately, I'll tell -everyone- what really happened!"

"Young highness, that is..." Varlon stopped and sighed mentally. This was an argument he couldn't win. 10-year-olds had a logic of completely their own. "Fine, I will take you to see him. But that doesn't change the fact that he's suspected for criminal activity. Also, you have to promise not to say anything about what you see."

"You haven't hurt him, have you?" Mrei asked, an angry frown passing over her features.

"No, of course not. I'll explain everything a little later. Just. Not. Here."

Mrei nodded. Good enough.

~*~*~

She had never known there was a basement like this in the palace. Although, honestly speaking there were many areas in the palace she hadn't been to or wasn't supposed to have been to. Like the kitchen, but she sneaked there anyway sometimes to ask for extra snacks whenever Tamaris decided to be strict about it "for her health and well-being".

"He's being held here," Varlon stated. "People are not supposed to know this place even exists, young highness. I trust you will keep quiet about it - if not for yourself, at least for your father's sake. There are always some things that need to be kept secret. And the events of last night are included in that."

"I understand already. Can I talk with him now?" No, she didn't really understand it, but she was certain that once she got to talk to daddy, he would explain everything.

"Of course." Varlon opened the small hatch used to pass food into the cell on the door.

Mrei peered in and quickly spotted the person she had been hoping to see again since they had been forcibly separated. "Lucas! Are you alright?"

The boy instantly dashed to the small opening. "Mrei! Did you tell them I didn't do anything bad?"

Mrei nodded quickly. "I did. But nobody is believing me."

Then she turned back to the man accompanying her. "Chancellor Varlon! Release him right now!"

"Young highness, only your father can give such an order. The boy will stay here until he is well enough to decide how this matter will be dealt with. As we're talking about an unregistered heathen, I doubt the outcome will be very pleasant."

"What is that supposed to mean?" Mrei asked.

"It means that all citizens in the kingdom should be registered at birth. If someone is not, there is a high chance they or their family are involved in something shady." Suddenly his communicator beeped and he quickly picked up the call. "Excuse me. ... Yes? I see." He switched the device to mute for a tiny moment to explain to Mrei, "This is very urgent. Please wait a moment, young highness. I'll be right back."

So they were branding him a criminal without even asking what had really happened. Mrei didn't know what to do anymore. If she just were an adult, people would listen to her. But she was not.

As the chancellor turned to walk away, she suddenly noticed a key lying abandoned on the floor. It must have fallen when he took his communicator out of his pocket. Trying not to tremble in anticipation, she patiently waited until he passed through a set of sliding doors and they closed between them before scooting to pick the little item up.

It did fit the lock! Quickly she opened the door. "Let's get out of here," she told Lucas, smiling from ear to ear. She would never let her new friend get thrown into prison for good.

Lucas hesitated. "Is that really...alright?"

Kress pushed past him to the hallway. "Even if you're staying, I'm going to try. Any chance is better than being locked up here until you rot."

Mrei grabbed Lucas's wrist, not stopping to ask who this other boy might be. She could ask later. "I'll deal with it. They can't do anything to me since I'm a princess and I can't let you get hurt for what I did. Let's go!"

They made their way to the elevator without problems. But as they entered the ground floor, they ran straight into a single soldier.

"Halt! What are you kids doing here?" he called out and reached for his gun.

"Tsk." Kress grabbed Lucas's free hand and dashed forward. Just that moment the lights went out in the entire corridor.

Lucas and Mrei could only stumble along in the dark, but Kress seemed to know where he was going. Soon enough they cleared the final door and burst outside to bright sunlight.

Kress had to stop to look around. He had never really expected to get outside. That door should have at least been locked. Now he didn't know where to go.

"This way!" Mrei took the lead and started running towards the group of buildings across the lawn and past an elegantly tiled road. As far as she knew, one of them was a garage and since Tamaris had said she's fetch the car, she should be there.

She did find her, already waiting in the car, but the nurse was not happy with the company she was keeping. "Young highness, what are you doing? That boy is a heathen."

"I don't have the time to explain," Mrei hurried to say. "I met him yesterday."

Tamaris's expression darkened. "I heard you were kidnapped by a heathen. Is that him?"

"No! He's my friend."

There were soldiers rushing around near the palace wall. Tamaris looked to their direction, like debating what to do.

"Please, Tamaris! He didn't do anything! I sneaked away to see the festival." There, she had said it.

Her nurse gave her a difficult-to-read look and sighed. "Alright. Get in, all of you, before someone notices. An unmanned cargo carrier is scheduled to leave in half an hour to Ravona. You can catch a lift from there to Skyfall territory."

As all three scampered into the car, she continued to Lucas, "Don't come back here, boy. Everybody has their own place and role to play, and yours definitely isn't in Delavia. Nor near her highness."

"Tamaris!" Mrei huffed. "I said he's my friend."

"I apologize, young highness."

Once the car had left the palace yard and Mrei's heartbeat stopped hammering in her ears, she turned to the two boys accompanying her. "That was awesome! How did you know where to go when everything got so dark? I couldn't see a thing."

"I bet Kress made it go dark," Lucas put in before the other boy could say anything. "I knew he was special!"

Kress remained quiet, his teeth gritted.

"What's wrong?" Lucas asked.

"It's nothing. Just-" He drew in a sharp intake of breath and started coughing violently. "I'm as fine as I can ever be," he finished once the coughing fit stopped.

"Uh...is that blood?" Mrei asked. Now she was worried too.

Kress wiped his hand to the leg of his pants. "...Yeah."

"That isn't contagious, is it?" Tamaris asked, watching them through the rear mirror.

"No," Kress shook his head. "It's only me."

"Shouldn't you go to hospital?" Mrei asked, her concern evident in her voice.

"I've been around doctors for years. It's not curable."

"It looks bad."

Kress snorted. "It's lethal. A year at most, I was told. Probably less."

"I'm sorry to hear that..."

"I'm sure the Sky spirits could cure it," Lucas put in. "They can cure anything."

"I already told you I don't believe in them." And even if he did, why would he believe they'd help? If this power was given by them, so were the fits seizing him every time he used it.

"How can you not after what happened with our pendants? If we can just get all the keys and find the land beyond the clouds, I bet there's a cure there for anything. And...if we get the others first, maybe they'd point the way to the one my mother has."

Kress had a distinct feeling he had had this same argument before. He still wasn't convinced that spirits even existed. But after a second thought there was a remote possibility that the pendants were actually some product of technology designed to form some whole. Whether or not that would open a path to some legendary land was still debatable, but what did he have to lose? The only other option he could think of was to crawl into some hole and wait to die.

"Alright," he nodded. "You win. Let's try to find this land of yours."

~*~*~

About twenty minutes later they were at the carrier stop along the artificial waterway running from Delavia to Ravona, the nearest nexus of transporting goods to and from the borderlands. Constant cargo traffic along the city roads would have eventually bothered those living there, and this was a solution everybody had been happy with.

Tamaris quickly helped Kress and Lucas to the deck, right on time as the mechanical arms started pushing the vessel towards the middle of the lane leading out of the city.

Mrei stood at the dock, watching with some sadness. Lucas had felt like a real friend during the time they had spent at the festival and she hated to lose that.

The carrier was accelerating. Soon, Kress and Lucas would be gone from her life forever...

"Wait for me!" she shouted and dashed toward them. It wasn't far yet. Only 3 or 4 feet from the shore. A well-timed jump and she could certainly reach them.

She didn't even have time to regret her impulsive decision before she was over the water and landed solidly on the deck of the carrier.

"Mrei!" Tamaris called out after her in panic. Locked to the track running at the bottom of the waterway, the carrier was rapidly departing and already out of her reach.

"Don't worry about me!" Mrei hurried to the railing to wave goodbye to her. "I'll be back with something to cure daddy!"

"Great..." Kress muttered to himself. In addition to being fugitives they also had a run-away princess for a tag-along now.