It was another week before we heard back from Dabia. Queen Celestea started to follow Kalli around like a lost puppy and I was getting frustrated with not getting any time alone with her.

Nights were a loss too. One of the side effects of hosting a ghost was that Stefanie had full dream access. On the other hand, Kalli loved it. The first thing she did upon seeing Stefanie in our dream was to run to the girl and hug her. “I was sad when you didn’t get to hug all of us when you possessed Melvin.”

Stefanie giggled. “You’re the one who told me to hurry up.”

“Oh yeah,” Kalli admitted, smiling sheepishly. “Sorry about that.”

Stefanie laughed again. Just hearing her laugh took a weight off of my chest that I hadn’t realized I had been carrying. I knew she was dead but the relief of knowing she still existed somewhere meant everything.

I was lost in thoughts of life and death when I noticed the laughter had stopped. I looked up to see both Kalli and Stefanie staring at me. Kalli poked me in the nose and asked, “A copper for your thoughts?”

“Stefanie’s body,” I replied absentmindedly.

“Hey!” Both girls screamed at once.

Realizing what I’d said, I hastily added, “I mean her, um, corpse. I sent it to her parents' house. I’m worried about how they reacted. I wonder if taking Stefanie there will help or hurt.”

“Oh…” Stefanie said, a frown furrowing her brow. “They aren’t going to like that one bit. My parents don’t believe magic is real. They only let me go to The Academy because my grandparents told them it was prestigious.”

“What should we do?” Kalli asked, looking nervous.

Stefanie thought about it for a moment. “I hate to say this but it’s probably best that they don’t see me like this. It will probably traumatize them.”

“Don’t you want to see them?” I asked.

She nodded with a smile that I had only ever seen on her face after she died. “I will. I’ll see them again one day.”

We requested that the meeting with the Dabians take place closer to Dabia. While I was apprehensive to be far away from Celestea and the castle’s protection, it was important to have the army at my back in case anything went wrong.

An army consisting of Trolls, Ogres, Dwarves, Cabbits, Gnolls, Goblins, Gnomes, and of course Humans were already gathered together for the historic meeting.

The business of the King and Queen of Celestea returning from the dead overshadowed the simple matter of my contract. It seemed like half of the Dabian Kingdom turned out for the event.

We planned to teleport into the Thief’s Corridor with a small party from the castle including Kalli, me, the King and Queen, Esha, Wendy, Joe, and Rundell.

Shiviria had wanted to go, but the queen had forbidden it. “Honey, any time two royal houses meet up, anything can happen. In the worst-case scenario, you will be the queen.”

Crypian also insisted that he be present at the meeting, saying, “It’s my fault that this is happening in the first place, what with my prophecy and all.”

When we arrived, the queen and king fell to their knees suffering from what I was starting to call teleportation sickness. Kalli knelt next to them and said, “Just breathe through it. It gets easier after the first couple of times.

The queen collected herself first, looking around at the tents in the underground tunnel. “Where are we?”

“This is called the Thief’s Corridor,” I explained. “It exists under everything. I haven’t explored all of it but it definitely runs from Celestea to Dabia.”

When we arrived topside, I was overwhelmed by the sheer number of people waiting for us. Not only had a large number of Dabians shown up but the size of our army had doubled.

Nolgrit walked over to greet us as we emerged from the cave. “My Lord, we have already made contact with the royal family. They await your arrival.”

Celestea studied the Dwarf. “Who is this?”

I started to introduce him, but he shushed me. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Lady Celestea. My name is Nolgrit, General of the Meltopian Army.”

Celestea’s face darkened at being addressed as Lady. She turned to look at me. “Why did you bring an army?”

“Well, they did kidnap Wendy,” I explained, suddenly worried that the Dabians might be offended. “We originally thought that we might have a tougher time getting her out.”

“Is that so?” Celestea asked, rubbing her chin. “Well, keep your army at bay. Allow me to show you how diplomacy solves problems.”

The rest of us followed in her wake, as The Queen took The King’s arm and made her way toward a tent that was set up in the middle of a field.

Inside the tent was a long table with three people seated at the far end. I recognized Alariel immediately seated next to what must have been the King and Queen. They were both dressed in embroidered marigold robes with oversized crowns on their heads.

In contrast, Alariel just wore a plain sheet of amethyst cloth. It could only be called a dress because a girl was wearing it. Celestea waited patiently for her husband to pull a chair out for her before taking a seat across from the king. Charles sat quietly next to her.

As we stood behind the queen, I noticed that the Dabians also had advisors standing in the corner behind them. Celestea looked behind her and whispered to Kalli. “Take a seat, child. Royalty sits.”

I debated whether or not to sit but decided to let the queen negotiate and see if diplomacy would be enough to get me out of my contract.

Kalli took the offered seat next to her mother directly across from Alariel. Clearing her throat, Celestea addressed the Dabians. “Greetings, Thomas. I trust Dabia is thriving.”

The King smiled and tilted his head ever so slightly. “Indeed it is. It was a welcome surprise to hear of your survival. I am pleased to hear of Celestea’s resurgence as well.”

“Ah, yes. We are back.” The Queen agreed. “Which brings us to our first topic for discussion. Does the Kingdom of Dabia remain our sworn ally?”

“That all depends.” King Thomas replied. “It is unclear who currently has sovereignty in your territory. The upstart empire of Meltopia seems to be mounting a revolt of some sort. Is that not why this army now sits at the foot of my capital?”

Celestea looked up at me and sighed. “The situation is, well, complicated. I can assure you that we are in full control of the Queendom and have every desire to work this out with you diplomatically.”

“I am glad to hear it,” Thomas said, looking at me for the first time. “I take it that you have come to honor the contract then? A union with the boy emperor and a high house would go a long way toward achieving lasting peace.”

There were so many things I wanted to say. That I was spoken for. I didn’t want to marry some princess, even if she was Alariel. Could I explain that I was already bound to Kalli and that breaking my bond would result in my death?

Alariel for her part looked smug. Was she in on it? Had she secretly wanted this outcome all along? My mind swam as the queen replied. “Ah yes. The contract. While I do tend to agree that a diplomatic alliance is most ideal for all parties, in this case, the boy is already sworn to my daughter, Princess Kalliphae.”

King Thomas rubbed his temples. “It has been pointed out to us that this contract predated the relationship between your child and this boy. Therefore…”

Celestea cut him off. “That contract was with my daughter. My daughter the Crown Princess! Not only was she coerced into signing it when she had just awakened but the contract was manipulated in grossly negligent ways.”

“This doesn’t pertain to the princess.” Thomas waved her off. “You are aware of the fact that contracts can be equally applied to any part of a couple who choose to share their bond through magic.”

I was getting tired of being called a boy. Celestea turned her attention to Alariel. “Dearest child. You don’t want to be married to this boy. He only plays at being royal. Surely, you can do better.”

“He didn’t tell you that he is a Manipulator?” Thomas asked, looking smug.

The Queen’s mouth fell open, glancing at me for a second. “What makes you think that he is a Manipulator?”

Thomas continued. “One of their friends told us everything about these visitors from another world. It has been confirmed by the high house. Surely you understand the implications of refusing a high born.”

“Those meddlesome…” Celestea began, pausing to look at Alariel. “Surely there is something we can do?”

Alariel looked straight at me, speaking through group chat so the royalty wouldn’t notice. Relax, Melvin. Kiki has a plan.

I let out a sigh, watching the two royal families continue to negotiate my fate. Kalli and Alariel sat quietly while the adults turned their negotiations toward recognizing what was previously known as The Dark Lands as sovereign territory.

King Thomas chuckled as he said, “I am not sure how to recognize a nation with two forms of government. Who am I to recognize, The Empire or The Queendom?”

“Both.” Queen Celestea insisted. “Meltopia and Celestea serve two different purposes.”

“Explain this to me.” The King shot back. “What reason could there possibly be to have two different governments?”

I had enough, so I leaned against the table and said, “How about you explain a few things to us such as why you built a wall around our nation and called it The Dark Lands. Or perhaps you’d care to explain why you set up a plague tower and tried to kill everyone? I can go on if you’d like.”

The King scoffed. “How dare you? We had nothing to do with that plague and we did all we could to contain it so that the rest of the world was not infected.”

“You mean your Kingdom, right?” I barked. “You couldn’t care less about anyone else. How did you feel when your own daughter broke your quarantine to help the people affected by the plague?”

King Thomas turned to look at Alariel and laughed. “You fool. This is not my daughter. Your future wife is the daughter of one of the esteemed high houses. You have much to learn about Gaia.”

While Alariel had never said anything directly, I always assumed she was the princess. Then it dawned on me. “Wait a second, you’re the daughter of Lady Mardella.”

King Thomas nodded his approval of my revelation. “Ah, yes. You’ve met the Archmage. In Hudholm was it? This makes things easier. She should be here soon.”

“What is your relation to her?” I asked. “Do you realize that she tried to kill Kalli?”

“What are you talking about?” Celestea asked, turning to look at me again.

“That day that she chased you in the rain,” I explained, realizing I wasn’t going to be able to explain how I witnessed the dream. “Her goal was Kalli that day.”

“How do you…?” The Queen began before trailing off. “Wait a second. That was Mardella? Are you positive?”

“Yes!” I exclaimed. “That was also how I knew you were alive and where to find you.”

“Was it you all those years ago?” She asked, rising from her chair to appraise me.

“No!” I stammered, taking a few steps back. “The same person who rescued you showed me the memory and told me where to find you.”

It was as good of a lie as any. The Queen rounded on King Thomas. “This changes everything. The high house tried to eradicate us.”

“That’s a leap.” King Thomas sighed. “You are taking the word of a child who heard a story from someone who cannot be here to corroborate.”

“How did he know where to find us?” Charles asked quietly. “If Melvin says that Lady Mardella is behind the destruction of Celestea then I am wont to believe him.”

As if on queue, the tent flap was pulled back and Raverly strutted in. “Greetings, old friends. I see you’ve started without me.”