Fin awoke the next morning feeling refreshed and ready to resume his search for the missing Troivackians, but also wanted to try and see Annika before he began.

After passing out in the woods while trying to suppress Sky, he had awoken to the glowing warmth of Annika’s hand in his, her lips pressed against his forehead.

The odd thing was that when he had opened his eyes, she truly had seemed to have a faint golden glow around her, which was odd… but then again it had been some time since he had gone unconscious from overusing his abilities.

The more likely explanation was that it could have been a dream.

Either way, he needed to let her know what had happened. If she hadn’t received word from anyone about his whereabouts, and he had once again stood her up for dinner…

She would be seething mad and picking out the best wood to use for his coffin.

‘Well… the sooner I face that storm the better.’

Rising with a stretch, Fin stepped out into the main room of his cottage to see that his mother had already left for the day.

A note on the kitchen table informed him that she had to attend to the Queen, but that she wanted to speak to him soon.

With a sigh, he admitted to himself that he would have to be a little more forthright with his mother in the near future if he didn’t want to feel like an ass for putting her through so much worry.

*

Fin approached Annika’s estate clutching a bouquet of sunflowers he had picked from a small patch that had grown near the edge of the King’s forest. He knew they weren’t extravagant, but hoped she was the type to like flowers. She had liked the rose he had brought her after all… then again roses were significantly nicer than-

The clatter of hooves and the crunch of gravel coming up the laneway towards where Fin stood made him turn around. He was surprised to see Annika’s carriage drawing up alongside him, where had she gone so early in the day?

The carriage halted beside him, and the door opened. The Troivackian beauty sat on the bench wearing a gauzy light blue dress underneath her cloak, and stared at him with a small frown.

It took Fin a moment to stop gawking at her loveliness, but when she gestured to the opposite bench with her hand, he cleared his throat and handed her the flowers he carried.

She blinked in surprise as he climbed into the carriage and seated himself..

“Everything alright?” Fin asked tentatively as she failed to signal the driver to continue.

Giving her head a small shake, Annika reached out and shut the door then called for the footman to continue on.

“Are you recovered enough to be out and about?” she asked, her gaze roving over him, making the redhead feel incredibly self-conscious over the sweat and grime he had accumulated from walking in the humid morning.

“So it wasn’t a dream that you were in my room,” he muttered, unable to stop himself from blushing.

“No. I happened to be at the castle when I heard you were in an accident. I checked in on you and you woke up briefly while I was there, though you were pretty out of it.”

Fin nodded seriously as the carriage pulled up to the front doors. The witch hastily jumped out, then made sure to hand the Viscountess out.

The two walked up the steps while the serving staff all bowed dutifully to them, and one stepped forward and took her mistress’ cloak.

Once back in the cool building, Annika gestured for Fin to follow her back up the stairs. They passed by several serving members who didn’t dare look him in the eyes, and the redhead somehow knew that there had been a bit of… excitement thanks to him.

Annika didn’t say a word until the door closed behind the redhead in her bedchamber. Setting down the bouquet of sunflowers in a nearby vase, she turned to face him with her arms folded across her chest.

“Why the hell are you always in trouble?! First you're in a brawl, then you're drugged, then you're going to have your legs broken, and then you nearly die from fighting some random witches' match?!” Annika exploded.

Fin winced, knowing that she was entirely within her right to be angry.

“Furthermore! You’ve now made things ridiculously complicated by encouraging Duke Iones’ illegitimate son to inherit the title and lands,” she concluded her former gusto dropping off into defeated tones. Wearily, the Viscountess reached down the front of her dress and procured her flask.

“What has Sir Harris have to do with anything?” Fin questioned slowly, making Annika pause in taking a drink.

Slowly lowering the flask down and screwing the top back on, she fixed him with a somber stare, and Fin then noticed the dark bags under eyes. She hadn’t slept well it seemed.

“Fin, you know how I was set to be married to one of the three suitors?”

“Yes?”

“Well, there was one other Lady that the Zinferan Emperor would’ve accepted becoming betrothed to one of his Lords. A Lady whose hand in marriage meant a title for her husband. However, if say, a secret son were to appear and take that title...”

Realization washed over the redhead’s face. The color then proceeded to drain from every inch of his skin.

“What does this mean now?”

“It means I have three days to figure out a new Godsdamn plan to get out of a forced marriage.”

“What are the options?” Fin demanded, stepping forward as cold dread gripped his heart.

“The crux of the issue is to find a way to appeal to the Zinferan Emperor to sign the treaty even if Lady Marigold doesn’t have a Dukedom to offer.”

The redhead fell quiet.

“I can try to ask Jiho if he has any ideas. The tricky thing is we are trying to convince someone we don’t really know.”

“Oh, I have a pretty good idea the kind of person the Emperor is. A proud man. One who is prone to changing his disposition, and a little bit hedonistic. Unlike our dear Lord Nam however, he is intelligent.”

“You’ve met him?” Fin asked, surprised. It was well known that the Emperor of Zinfera didn’t like to leave his kingdom.

“No. I’ve met his nobility and his subjects though. I know how to read a man from his reputation. Still talk to Jiho however, but instead ask if there is anything questionable about Lord Nam’s title, wealth… anything. If we can find out the Emperor was trying to offer an underhanded deal himself, we have grounds to fight back. He won’t like us, but after some expensive gifts and a few years to recover the Emperor should be fine with Daxaria…”

“I’m not sure how fond I am of blackmailing an Emperor,” Fin informed her uneasily.

“It’s not blackmail, love. It’s politics.” Annika walked up to Fin then, her hands on her hips. “You know, I do believe it has been quite long enough since you kissed me.”

Fin laughed before wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her closer to himself.

“To think I was worried you would be angry with me about missing dinner again.”

“Oh, I’m furious, but I am flexible in how I handle that particular feeling.” Her voice had dropped to a hush as she stood on her toes, and brushed her lips gently against his.

It took another hour or two before the couple left the chamber, but when they did, Annika didn’t recall ever being angry to begin with.

*

“So it’ll be soon then?” Slapping his cards down on the overturned crate, the Troivackian soldier stared up at his superior. The man stood over the small group of men that were in the middle of their third round of games that day.

The group of five hundred soldiers milled about the abandoned building listlessly. All windows and doors boarded firmly shut, and the only source of light being from the various candles around the room. The only glimpse of the outside was a small broken slat in a round window at the back wall of the building.

“Yes. After the Chief of Military leaves, he will send a missive to our King's ship, and once that reaches him, we will begin the siege. Ideally the city of Xava will fall before he arrives. It’d be significantly easier if we aren’t having to worry about counter attacks from the south.”

The men all grinned amongst each other. Everything was going to plan.

“OYY!” One of the men hollered as a large fluffy black kitten landed in his lap.

“Ahh, that beast. Go easy on him Jas, he’s keepin’ the rats at bay for us.” Reaching down, the superior of the Troivackian unit plucked up the kitten and began rubbing his belly, only to have the feline playfully bite at his hand.

“He keeps stealin’ our food.” Another of the men grumbled while taking a deep drink from his bottle of Troivackian moonshine.

Oddly, the kitten’s head swiveled over to stare at the one who had spoken and glared, making the soldier shift uncomfortably.

“Cats are smarter than most people give them credit for.” The superior chuckled as he placed the animal down.

“Whatever you say, Sir. I tell you, I cannot wait to get out of this Godsforsaken land I-”

“FIRE! FIRE! EVERYONE GRAB YOUR BLANKETS!” One of the soldiers shouted from the back of the building, gesturing wildly towards the small room they were using to store their food. Everyone could see the faint glow and the haze of smoke beginning to creep out.

As the men bolted from the table, Kraken gave the abandoned moonshine bottle a quick sniff. Once he confirmed his suspicion, he knocked it over, its contents spilling all over the wooden surface and card game spread out.

Leaping down from the table that was in fact a wooden cart wheel propped up on buckets, he wandered over to the edge. Three lit candles that had dripping wax rolling down their sides sat innocently.

With a sharp jab of his paw, he managed to knock the tallest of the three down, and hastily scampered away as the table exploded into flames.

Clambering up the nearest wooden pillar, Kraken pulled himself up onto the balcony that wrapped around the entire structure. He sauntered past the men’s pallets where the other kittens had successfully emptied a number of waterskins that had in fact been filled with moonshine.

“Come, we must clamber out the window now. We will drop the final candle from atop!” He called out over the rising panic of the soldiers below.

The soldier named Jas coughed as the curling black flames climbed higher and higher around him, the severity of the situation beginning to settle in, when he glanced up and had to blink through the smoke to be sure he was seeing things correctly.

Approximately fifteen kittens were all leaping up, and squeezing through the small round window that had a single broken slat.

He then saw the unmistakable tuft of black fur on the balcony above, only… the cat had a candle in his mouth.

“What the fu-”

Kraken dropped the candle, and the entire balcony burst into flames as if by magic. The feline jumped up and scrambled through the slatted opening, ignoring the cries of the men from inside.

Upon landing on the ground, he could feel the heat from the fire that raged within the building, even though the flames had not yet consumed the outer walls.

“Kraken, sir!” One of the kittens burst out, making the fluffy feline whip his head around quickly, only to find himself staring at a puff of smoke.

“What is it?” He asked while double checking that he saw each of the brave young kittens that had volunteered for the job.

“Your… Your fur is…”

Kraken looked and noted that he was smoking slightly. Dropping onto his back in the dirt, he squirmed around until he was quite certain he was completely put out. A handy tip James Paws had taught him.

“Come kittens, before the fire consumes the building.”

*

Fin was walking up the street towards Sky and Adamma’s house to check and see how the air witch was managing after the previous day, when he saw the black cloud curling up in the east end of the city.

“Oh Gods that is a huge fire,” he marvelled worriedly. “I wonder what happened…”

It was then he felt the faint brush against his trouser leg.

Looking down, Fin broke out into a bright smile at the sight of Kraken gazing intently up at him.

“There you are! I’ve wondered where you’ve been.” The witch chuckled as he reached down and plucked up his familiar.

“I’ve been fine. Would you happen to have any water?” Kraken relaxed comfortably in Fin’s arm as the redhead then resumed walking.

“I don’t, but I’m on my way to see some people that will.”

“Oh good… so. Have you succeeded in making any kittens yet?”

“Kraken!”

“What?! What is it?! I can explain the ash in my fur! I swear I-” The black cat grew a little more rigid in his witch’s arms.

“What about the ash in your fur?” Fin demanded, immediately worried.

“Oh… nothing I… walked too closely to a candle.”

Kraken intended to tell Fin everything eventually, but right then… all the feline wanted to do was to find a nice bowl of water to drink in, and perhaps some cool stone to lay down on and take a nap.

He hated to say it, but his witch was a little sensitive about people being harmed. Kraken doubted his witch would be happy to hear that his familiar had more or less smoked out an entire unit of the Troivackian army. There probably were some that were injured, but… at least he’d hunted down some of the rats that were going to try and attack his family.