At that moment she realized why it looked so familiar, and her stomach clenched. The smoky darkness stretching up from the field of lavender looked very much like the inky black veins that stretched out over the pale skin of the queen's men. It looked different snaking up into the air like that, but the longer she looked the more undeniable it was. It was the same magic.

"That's her." Her mouth felt dry. Her voice came out in a strained croak. "Her magic?"

"It's her palace," Gwen said grimly. "She's letting it become visible, in case the people weren't already intimidated enough by the soldiers marching through here."

Natalie couldn't seem to take her eyes off the black mist. Part of her wanted to look away, was horrified by the sight of it. Another, much larger part, felt butterflies in her stomach as she watched it. Her mother was in there.

It seemed that none of them could look away, because they stayed there in a group by the window for what seemed like hours as the mist took shape, slowly, so slowly. At first it was nothing but a black, formless shape, and then it stretched up and up, revealing peeks and towers and narrow, slit-like windows. There was a clocktower at the very top, all done in black metal and silver, the gears on the outside, the hands two long, needle-like blades.

Natalie was vaguely aware while she watched, that Sam was standing very close. That he was tall enough that her head only came up a little past his shoulder, that every time he shifted his arm brushed hers. She told herself firmly, that now was not the time to think about such things.

Finally it was there, a black and silver palace, jagged towers stretching up into a cloudless blue sky. It seemed impossible that it should be there, out of place against the idyllic countryside, like a deadly snake in a bed of roses. It made her gut squirm uncomfortably and the hairs on the back of her neck prickle, like some small part of her could sense that the palace was made of magic, and not good magic either.

But her mother was there. Right there in front of her.

Again, Natalie darted a look over at Kira. The princess was studying the palace through the window, and her face was stony. Determined. There was nothing of Sam's caution, his wariness, in the young woman's features. If anyone would help her, it would be Kira.

Dinner was a grim, silent affair. Partly because Edward had pulled Sam aside, into the next room, and asked why Kira was here. If it was meant to be a private conversation then it failed. They could all hear him hiss at Sam, asking why the princess was here, and didn't Sam know she was going to get them killed almost as effectively as "that damn human".

The argument that followed this was conducted in hissing whispers, but they might as well have been shouting. The walls were thin. Sam insisted that they could not "just put Kira out on the street" as the soldiers were looking for them, and Edward said that they were looking for her, that was the point, wasn't it?

Sam seemed to pretty much settle things when he told Edward to go ahead and eject the princess then, he could explain to King Helios that he'd pushed his heir out into the street because she was a risk to them.

Both Natalie and Kira ended up blushing bright red, and Natalie had glared at both of them as they came back into the room. Edward pointedly ignored her, and he made sure to do the same at the dinner table an hour later.

Natalie jabbed a piece of bread bad-temperedly into the wooden bowl, coating the end with the thick chilli. She was about to lift it to her mouth when a thump from the stairs made her drop it back into the bowl. Sam jumped up from the table, snatching up his long blades, which he'd been keeping next to his place-setting throughout the meal. He nodded curtly at Gwen, who moved from her spot at the table and toward the door. She shifted into something else, it seemed, back to those cat-like movements that Natalie had first seen from her at the village in the mountains. She crept toward the door on soft feet, and Sam followed her, his blades up and ready.

There was a second of silence, and then another knock, and someone's voice from the other side. "Oh, right the password. Uh, stalemate. Was that it?"

Another voice grunted in annoyance and then said, "Just let us in, Sam."
Gwen straightened abruptly, her face breaking into a smile. She looked ready to throw herself at the door, but Sam shook his head sternly.

"Second password," he barked.

A weary sigh came through the door. "Uh, alright. What was it. Porkchop?"

Sam took a step back this time, and Gwen flung herself forward, yanking the door open. Natalie had time to think, porkchop? and then there was a flurry of commotion in the doorway as Jewels and Edward both rushed forward, and three newcomers came tumbling into the room.

The girl in front looked very like Jewels. She even sounded a bit like her as she squealed and flung herself forward onto Gwen.

"We heard Sam busted you out but we weren't sure!" She flung her arms around Gwen, and practically lifted her off her feet. She had the same dark curls as Jewels, though the newcomers' hair was cropped much shorter. Sisters maybe, Natalie thought.

The girls behind her were considerably more reserved, though one of them was sporting bright purple hair. They moved into the room and each of them hugged Gwen after the first girl had backed away. "You're okay?" the purple haired girl murmured, and Gwen blushed slightly and nodded.

Sam ducked his head out quickly to look back and forth down the hall.

"You weren't followed, were you?"

"No." The girl that looked like Jewels tore her gaze from Gwen's face, looking up at Sam. "There were plenty of us coming into the village. The performers are allowed a day off before the open-air market starts tomorrow morning."
"Well how good of her," Edward said sarcastically. "She's a real gem, isn't she?"

The girl behind the purple one, a tall, strawberry blond with a muscular build, glanced nervously back at the door, as if she half expected soldiers to come bursting through the door. "Careful, Ed."

"Why, you going to start defending her?" Edward's sneer was back momentarily.

The purple haired girl exchanged a look with Gwen. "I see he's only gotten worse."

Gwen shifted uncomfortably, darting a look at Natalie and Kira, and Natalie was sure there was something to this, that they weren't saying something about Edward and his strange sullenness. He's gotten worse, what did that mean?

"Who are these two?" The purple haired girl asked, and then she did a double take that was almost comical. "Is she a human?" and then a second one, "wait, is that the princess?" her eyes were wide as she regarded both of them. "We're undercover in the palace for like ten months and you adopt a princess and a human?"
Natalie thought she should probably be insulted at this turn-of-phrase, as if she were a puppy or something that the others had taken in. But the way that the purple girl said "human" was not with the same animosity that Edward always did. She seemed merely curiously, her face bright and eager as she looked to Gwen for an explanation.

"Man, I thought we'd have the most exciting news. You explain first."

They retreated to the table, and Natalie and Kira sat at the end. The princess looked about as awkward as she felt.

"This is Natalie and, as you probably guess, her royal highness princess Kira." Gwen gestured at them, "and these are our informants in the palace, which you probably also guessed." She gestured at the one who looked like Jewels. "This is Jesse. And the purple haired freak is Devon." She grinned when Devon pulled a horrible face at her. "This is Casey."

Natalie muttered that it was nice to meet them, though she wasn't really sure how true that was. All she wanted to do was to be able to pull the princess aside and drill her about exactly how hard it would be to get into the castle.

Gwen went on to explain how they had found Natalie in the village in the hills, and to her relief she left out the part about the necklace. By the sympathetic glances they cast her, the newcomers seemed to think she had been in the mines working, which suited her just fine. She let her hand drift to her pocket, fingers brushing over the charm. She wasn't sure why Sam didn't tell the others about the necklace, but the less people that knew the better. And if these people lived in the palace, were palace informers, she didn't want them to have that knowledge, just in case.

"And the princess?" Casey nodded at Kira and smiled. "How did you get stuck with these people?"
Princess Kira looked amused. "They came to me looking for someone. The soldiers came after that."
"Looking for who?" Devon glanced between them. "Anyone we know?"

Natalie's heart skipped a beat in her chest. She'd just realized something and felt stupid now that it had taken so long. These people lived in the palace, they might know about her mother too.

"My mother," Natalie said quickly, before anyone could interrupt. She fished into her pocket, relieved to find that the article was still there, though it was a but crumpled. She pulled it out and smoothed it on the tabletop, pushing it over to Casey, Devon and Jesse across the table. "You live in the palace, do you recognize her? She supposed to be there, but...she's probably locked up." She glanced over at Kira, who nodded, eyes fixed on the others.

Casey frowned down at the article. "I don't know what she looks like, but I do know the queen has one prisoner she keeps separate from the rest."

Natalie felt her chest swell with excitement. "Do you know why? Where do they keep her?"

"In the north tower." Casey shrugged apologetically. "Sorry, I don't know more than that. I don't even know if the prisoner is a he or a she. Just that the queen vanished up there about once a week and the tower is a prison. She keeps it pretty quiet. Kira would know better than me."