"Princess Sienna!" The duchess lowered her head and placed her hand on mine as I was stepping into the carriage. "I apologize once again for your reception here. I was not expecting--- the rumors are spread far and wide about your alleged kidnapping. They say the foreigner who now travels with you was responsible! Pray tell, whatever happened?"

I wanted to slap away her hand and tell her it was none of her business. But that would accomplish nothing. Perhaps I can use her gossip mill to everyone's benefit.

"What an uncreative rumor. The truth is a far more exciting tale. I was set upon by ogres in the early morn whilst in the woods. Our royal inventor just happened to witness the abduction and went after us to rescue me. He also enlisted the assistance of this gnome. We escaped and in doing so uncovered a massive plot and freed the gnome's people. Now we must make haste to inform my father of these developments!"

The Lady's eyes looked as if they would pop out of her sockets. "Good gracious, child! That is quite the tale. I will bid you adieu but, forgive me, but about the events that occurred on my estate...what do you plan to do?"

"You have provided me the service of your carriage and much needed rest. I won't forget that. I will need to deliberate on any further action. After all, my sisters' good names were besmirched by your houseguests. I would say you have cause for immediate reflection upon how you spend your time and who you choose for company." I slammed the carriage door shut and signaled the driver to go.

"Well done," Tallis said from his seat across from me.

"You think? I didn't really know what to say. And I thought you wouldn't like me ordering people around like that."

"Correction. I didn't want you ordering me around like that. She deserved it. And I'm sorry I left you. I thought you would be safe posed as a servant. If I had known what kind of social event the duchess was hosting..."

"It wasn't your fault. I got myself tangled up in trouble again."

"It really wasn't your fault either. Tossing around blame is becoming very habitual of us. Let's change topics. Why did you lie to the duchess just then?"

"I was wondering that, too," Zeph added. "Just like Master Gray, I am more than ready to face the consequences of my actions. I lured you to the ogres. No one is more at fault than I."

Tallis grunted. It must pain him to agree with Zeph even on this.

"And I am more than willing to let my story stand as truth. If you both insist on it, you can tell my father what really happened when we return. But I decide what the rest of the world will hear before my father makes the call."

They both nodded.

"Thank you, Princess. With your permission, I wish to teleport to either the top of this contraption or the driver's seat. It is unnatural to be trapped in a box like this," Zeph asked looking a bit green.

"Oh, are you sure?"

"Oh yes, Your Highness. Excuse me." He blinked away on the road to vomit then onto the top of the carriage.

"Not a moment too soon," Tallis said as he laid down in his seat and stretched his legs as much as he could.

My lack of sleep hit me hard and I fought to keep my eyes open. After almost nodding off a few times, I struck myself across the face hard. Tallis shot up.

"What are you doing?" What is wrong with you is what he really meant to say though.

"I am just trying to stay awake."

"We are still at least a few hours from reaching Highveine. I know it will be hard but try to get some sleep. I'm right here. You're safe."

"I can't..." I thought about the music box. "Could you play--"

The music box was lost to YromėmFoRėvir, his mind confirmed.

"Oh, Tallis. I didn't know. I-I am so---"

"Don't. I can't stand any more apologies. I don't want to think about it which means you can't either."

I bit my lip. Think of something else. Think of something else, anything else.

"I am afraid to sleep."

"You have good reason to be, but you can't just not sleep forever." He sighed and resigned himself to sit up against the side of the carriage figuring he couldn't get sleep if I couldn't.

"Why did you come back?" I asked. He didn't want to talk about this before, but I had to know. Now was as good time as any to push for the truth.

"I don't know."

"How did you find the village?"

"I don't know."

"Why don't you know?"

"I just don't. Why does it matter?"

I started to speak but sucked in my breath instead.

Did he let me in his mind just to save me or are we friends at all?

"Fine. I had started going my own way, but it didn't feel right. Something kept bothering me, tugging at me. So, I doubled back and followed you and Zeph to the menhir. But after you disappeared, I didn't know what I was supposed to do. I camped there. I just couldn't seem to leave. That night, herds of fizzles started gathering around me. And the wind picked up and suddenly I was outside the village."

"It teleported you? How? Why?"

"I don't know. Okay, I have a theory. Fizzles seem to be everywhere. They are the cutest, sure, but they are pests. I am thinking they have a bit of teleportation magic, like gnomes, but less controlled."

"Wow. Fizzles keep saving my life. I swear again that I will treat them right from now on. So you got teleported to the village... but didn't you black out? Why didn't they just kill you?"

"I didn't black out. I hid as soon as I realized what was happening. I took higher ground and your spyglass to access the situation. It didn't take long. You know now that I can understand any tongue even one as old and weird as Old Aisleian."

"That is a wonderful gift to have but quite strange."

"I am well aware."

"Oh, my spyglass!"

"Forgot to give it back to you after we had our fight." Probably one of the reasons I couldn't stop thinking about her. "Sorry, I lost it to the river, too."

"Oh." Sadness filled the air, his and mine. My spyglass and his music box both lost to the magical river. "It's okay... how did you get Zeph to help you?"

Tallis sighed and the memory filled my head.

"How-how did you get here?" Zeph stammered as Tallis held him up high off the ground against a tree. Tallis had been watching him waiting for him to walk out to the woods to relieve himself.

"I think that is the least of your concerns right now." Tallis flexed his wrist and the hidden dagger sprouted out touching Zeph's throat, the same one he will use later to stab Rancor's eyes. "There is only one reason I am not killing you right now. You are going to help me get Princess Sienna out of here."

"I-I can't! They will kill me, my family--"

"No. I will kill you, your family, and every damn gnome I ever find if you don't. And you know I am not lying, right?"

"No... I know you're not. Fine. I will teleport you to her now--"

"Not so fast. If you teleport me anywhere near an ogre, I am not going tell you how to save Gipsy."

"Gipsy? How did you-- what did you do to Gipsy?"

Tallis spun Zeph around, the dagger now to his back. On the ground laid the girl gnome, Zeph's wife, and the one who Sienna had kneed in the face. She was motionless and breathing shallow. Her eyes were open and fixed.

"She is still alive for now. It was pretty easy to capture her. She doesn't have teleportation magic, not many of your clan do."

"What's wrong with her?"

"She has ingested what Maru calls Delilah's Sorrow. It is a poison. Your only hope of knowing how Gipsy is going to get better is through me."

Zeph's fingers snapped, and he was suddenly out of Tallis's grasp. An arrow fired and the Maruvian dodged causing it to merely graze his shoulder. Zeph reached for another arrow only to find his cache empty. He then resorted to teleporting around Tallis trying to land a good blow. Tallis managed to dodge until he was able to subdue the tired gnome under his foot.

He glared down at the gnome feeling all the fresh bruises. Something inside him burned with a quiet rage. "What part of I am going to kill everyone you love did you not understand?"

The gnome stopped struggling. His eyes suddenly held fear as he looked up at Tallis. "What are you?"

"Tallis! You threatened to kill them?!"

"And this is why I didn't want to tell you."

"How could you?"

"I am not proud of it, Sienna. But I don't regret it and I won't apologize for it."

"Is Gipsy okay...?"

"Yes, she's fine. Delilah's Sorrow isn't lethal. Its symptoms mimics near death. Created by vengeful lovers to make unfaithful husbands worry about them. Or something like that. Its effects wear off in a matter of hours. I had to make Zeph think it was going to kill her, without lying, so he would do as I said. I could not trust him. Still don't."

"Still. I don't know how to feel about how you went about this."

"That's the beauty of it, Sienna. You don't have feel any way about it. You're alive and that is all that matters. Zeph was desperate. As was I. And now you are blessed by his chosen God or whatever so the choices he and I made justified the ends. He doesn't like me, and I don't pretend to like him. We're both okay with this. Are you okay with this? Or am I irredeemable in your eyes now?"

A feeling tugged at my mind. His. It was worry, vulnerability. He had a readiness about him. Ready to retreat into that coldness. The image of me holding the warmth of his soul to my chest entered my mind. He opened to me. It was suddenly clear to me that I didn't pry into his life like I initially thought. He had let me in and not just to rescue me. He looked away and it felt so physical.

I lurched forward across the space grabbing onto his hand. "Don't. Please. You're not. We're friends, right?"

"Yes." He squeezed my hand back.

I didn't remember falling asleep. One minute I was staring out the carriage window counting the trees to the rhythmic galloping of horse hooves and the next, I was being gently shaken awake.

"We made it."

Tallis's words took hold slowly. I sat up straight and looked out the window. The sun was covered by a mass of clouds casting a gray hue over the familiar cobblestone streets. Zeph was standing in the carriage peering out the window like a toddler. I suppose he came back inside when we entered the town.

"Do you think your clan made it here before us?" I asked him.

He shook his head. "No. They are most likely six, possibly seven, nights away. And that is assuming there is nothing to delay or upset their course."

"Perhaps we can send a guard escort to meet them halfway?"

"No. Thank you, Princess, but they wouldn't trust any humans. I will just have to hope they keep themselves concealed until they reach Highveine. And hope that we can arrange safe refuge here in the meantime. Are you sure your father would approve of this?"

"Yes. He will find a solution. I'll pray to the Divines that your clan makes the journey safely."

"We don't need so many gods. Just Aislei. But your prayers are appreciated."

Something feels off. I look around to find the source behind Tallis's inner thought. At first, I don't. Then it occurs to me that it is awfully quiet. A glance out the window confirmed a few townspeople were up and about but there was no smiles or friendly greetings exchanged.

As soon as we were admitted through the castle gates, I saw Queen Amelia walking briskly down the steps.

"Let the scolding begin," I sighed.

"She doesn't seem vexed..." Tallis said before jumping out then turning to lend me a hand. He was right. My stepmother looked downright distraught which would have been an amusing sight if it didn't send a shiver down my spine.

"Princess, news of your recovery had just reached my ears and here you are. You don't know how glad I am to see you alive and well." She rushed through the formalities without a hint of sincerity, rubbing her hands together anxiously.

"Same for you. I know I have much to explain---"

"Never mind that. There will be plenty of time for that later. Follow me." She turned and I realized she held a gloved arm curled up to her chest under her dark cloak. Her nose was red and her eyes were puffy as if she had been crying.

"Amelia... what is happening? What is wrong with your arm? Are you injured?"

She started to say something then shook her head. "Do not worry about me. Ruby needs you."

I glanced back at Tallis to make sure he and Zeph were following close behind me. He nodded and I could feel his confusion too over the queen's strange behavior.

We followed Her Majesty through the courtyard and into the gardens. Each step made my heart beat harder in my chest. The same anxious feeling that shook Amelia's eyes started eating at me. As soon as I saw my eldest sister, things seemed to click. The dark clothes and solemn faces, the flags flying at half mast, and the general atmosphere of the castle... we were in mourning.

Ruby was on her knees head bowed low, black dress bellowed about her gracefully in a perfect circle. My feet started carrying me over to her ready to throw my arms around her. Before I could, our stepmother pulled me back.

"No! Do not get too close... no one can get close. We tried." She ungloved her arm to reveal blackened veins branching up her arms turning them purple. At that moment, they spread up to her neck and she winced in pain.

I spun back around and studied Ruby closer. What I thought was her dress was actually dead grass around her as if all the life and color had been sucked away. A heavy magic dampened the air, the same magic that cursed Queen Amelia.

"It is Queen Charna's dark magic..." Zeph said backing away.

Ruby has magic? How? When?

"What happened? Where are my sisters?" I asked, tears gathering in my eyes.

"Sienna... now is not the time to lose your head. Her magic is growing and lashing out. We are all in danger if we can't control it."

"My father..."

Queen Amelia shook her head before looking away, silent tears watering the red blossoms of her cheek as her purple arm began to shake in devastating convulsions.

I spun back to Ruby. "Ruby? Ruby, it is me, Sienna! I-I'm home."

Her tear-stained face did not move. Her dark lashed gaze was fixed on the ground seeing nothing at all. Her eyes were completely absent of white.

I swallowed and wiped away my tears. "Ruby. Please come back. I need you. We all do. You are the only one who can lead us now."

Slowly, the darkness pulled back into Ruby and her eyes cleared.

She blinked. "Sienna? Sienna!" She pulled me towards her in a tight embrace. "You're alive! Thank the Divines you're alive!"

"Father? Is he really..."?

"Gone," she said in a hallow whisper.

The tickling sensation behind my nose, a promise of fresh tears, was all I felt. So suddenly the world was so big and empty. I held Ruby tighter as she pet my hair. Without warning, a frozen rain poured from the sky as the Divines cried with us.