Ladet sat cross legged on the floor of Menelt's tent with Princess Estina, Menelt and Weldlan. A young man also sat beside Princess Estina. Gaunt and with dark shadows under his eyes, Ladet guessed it was Princess Estina's twin brother by the way he was still regally and immaculately dressed in a black buttoned coat with gold buttons. Princess Estina might have left her life behind but her brother hadn't.

Ladet was still in shock.

For the most part, he remembered some of what happened ten years earlier. It was from the perspective of a child however, and the memories often came in disjointed and out of sequence images. He remembered the chase through the tents and the climb up the tree. He remembered trying to kill the soldiers who had killed Drean, and forever cemented in his memory, was the impression the mountain men had left on him.

Still, as time had passed, Ladet had often wondered whether his memories of Menelt and his men had been exaggerated in excited childhood fashion. He was pleasantly surprised to see that his memories were true. The mountain men looked as brutish and fearsome as his memories had pictured.

His gaze wandered back and forth between Menelt and Princess Estina. Despite her informal clothes, she still held an elegance and refinement that only royalty could have embedded into her from birth. He wondered at the arrangement between the pair and what had brought them together, and how they were even in Talbec for that matter.

Princess Estina was leading the conversation currently. They were speaking in Keglan, and Ladet was struggling to keep up. It had been so long since he had used his native tongue.

"As soon as I saw they were using Ashkin darts," Princess Estina told Ladet. "I knew it was time to retreat. One dart would be fatal for us."

Ladet nodded in agreement, his longbow across his lap. "Teal has a resilience to the poison that we do not," he explained. "When I first met him, he had three darts in his shoulder that merely knocked him out for a couple of hours."

"That's incredible," Princess Estina said. She repeated Teal's name, testing it in her mouth upon hearing it for the first time. "A Lombock," she said, shaking her head in disbelief. "I could not believe my eyes when he stood directly in front of me."

She pulled her disheveled hair free and quickly tied it into a non-fuss ponytail to get it out of her face. Ladet tried not to stare. With her long black hair, pale skin, high cheekbones and her bright intense hazel eyes, the Princess was a staggering beauty.

"Your Emperor is a brave man to take such company," she continued.

"The Emperor and his other concubines are very fond of Teal," Ladet responded. He was eager to keep the conversation moving. "How long ago did the battle in the field take place?" he asked.

"About two hours ago," Princess Estina confirmed.

Ladet started to rise to his feet, urgency rushing over him. "Forgive me, but too much time has passed. I need to find Teal."

"That would not be wise," Menelt suddenly spoke for the first time, his deep voice resonating around the inside of the tent.

Ladet slowly lowered himself back to the ground. "Why?"

Princess Estina explained, "Not when they are using darts. We do not have soldier armor so the darts will pierce through our clothes. It would be best to find out where they are taking him first. Once they have stopped moving, then we can come up with an effective plan to free him."

"Why are you even helping the Empire?" Ladet asked.

"Your Emperor allowed for me to hide in Talbec with Menelt,” Princess Estina explained. “We are returning to the Keglar Kingdom now to take Old Lake Tehlea Estate as our own. We can also add in a rescue," Princess Estina clarified with a shrug. "It's the least we can do. Prince Yernal has always been an egotistical fool. You are welcome to join us as well to help bring Teal back," she quickly added.

Ladet nodded his head slowly, suddenly overcome with the enormity of what had occurred in just a short space of time. "I need to let the Emperor know what has happened first."

"He doesn't know?!" Princess Estina asked in surprise.

"It's a long story," Ladet said. His stomach suddenly rumbled loudly, and he glanced around in embarrassment. The sun had set long ago and now the night sky was filled with an abundance of brilliant stars. It had been almost eight hours since he had eaten his midday meal.

Princess Estina waved to one of the mountain men standing at the tent’s entrance. "Can we get the evening meal brought here. Our visitors are hungry."

"Do you have the facilities to send a message?" Ladet asked.

"Of course," Princess Estina smiled. "As I said earlier, we have been in constant communication with our contact at your palace."

"Who?" Ladet asked although he knew it was not in his place to ask.

Menelt smiled, a rare act indeed. "He's a good friend of yours and an old friend of mine despite not having seen him in years," Menelt told Ladet. "Our contact is Jale."

Before Ladet could respond, a shout came from outside of Menelt's tent. The small party turned to see a mountain man and another short figure, dressed in a simple men's riding clothes, come through the entrance.

Ladet shot to his feet, somehow managing to keep his hands on his bow.

"Lady Annalei!" he blurted. "What in all the empty hells are you doing here!? HOW did you get here?"

"We found her on the outskirts of the camp," the mountain man told the group.

Looking sheepish, Lady Annalei refused to meet Ladet's gaze.

"I came to help," she said, looking around the tent, taking its contents in with interest. "And I stole some clothes from the palace laundry several weeks ago. I also borrowed a horse," she stated. "He's outside."

"Have you lost your mind?!" Ladet exclaimed. "You must be returned to the palace at once!"

"Who is this?" Princess Estina asked, rising to her feet as well.

"This is one of the Emperor's newly acquired concubines," he told them. To Lady Annalei he fumed, "The Emperor will kill me if he finds out you're here!"

Full of defiance, Lady Annalei met Ladet’s gaze straight on. "You wouldn't even know Teal was missing if wasn't for me."

Princess Estina frowned. "You're a bit young to be a concubine, aren't you?"

Lady Annalei squared her shoulders. "It doesn't matter how old I am. I have made it clear to the Emperor I have no interest in sharing his bed, and since I've entered the palace he has not bothered to spend time with me. I do not even reside in the concubine quarters." She turned her attention back to Ladet. "From the sounds of things, you need help to find Teal. I'm not doing anything but dying of boredom in the palace. I'm sure I can be of assistance."

Ladet crossed his arms. "This is not a child's game! What could you possibly do to help?" he asked angrily.

"I'm sick and tired of having to pretend I'm a lady." Lady Annalei snapped her fingers impatiently in his direction. "Give me your bow," she demanded.

Ladet's face filled with surprise. "My bow?" he admonished. No one ever touched his bow.

"Yes, your bow!"

Ladet scoffed. "The only thing you're doing is getting back on your horse and riding back to the palace. All you've done is wasted my time and now, I will be down a man as I will have to send one back with you."

Before Ladet could continue, Princess Estina stepped forward. "Use mine," she said. She walked across the tent and retrieved a bow off the table.

Lady Annalei eyebrows rose, and a smile pulled on her lips at the unexpected help. She took it into her hands, followed by the quiver that Princess Estina also passed over. Lady Annalei glared at Ladet and then, stalked out of the tent first.

Menelt chuckled at Ladet. "You seem to lack experience with women," he stated before heading towards the tent's entrance to follow after Princess Estina and Lady Annalei.

"How did you even start working with Princess Estina?" Ladet asked Menelt, resigning to the idea he was going to have to follow after her.

"We both wanted revenge and change," Menelt stated.

Ladet didn't know how to respond. For one, he had no idea who Princess Estina wanted to get revenge on or just what kind of change they both wanted.

"I have learnt from Princess Estina," Menelt confessed as he walked.

"Really?" Ladet asked in surprise.

It was dark, but the mountain men had a large fire burning in the middle of all the tents. Lady AnnaLei stalked towards it where several other men sat eating their evening meal.

"She taught me patience," Menelt explained. "She taught me how to wait, how to wait for the perfect time to strike."

Ladet pondered Menelt's words, surprising as they were. They reached the edge of the fire circle where the mountain men had looked up in surprise at the young woman who had unexpectedly interrupted their conversations. Lady Annalei stopped near the flames.

"What do you want me to hit?" She wasn't asking Ladet. She was asking Princess Estina who was now standing at the rim of the clearing with Menelt, Weldlan and Ladet standing behind her. It was only then Ladet realized that Prince Alain had remained in the tent, and he wondered at how weak the Prince really was.

"The tree over there, in the center of its trunk," Princess Estina told Lady Annalei, pointing through the dark to a tree about fifty meters away. "It has a dark mark in the middle. Land your arrow there."

Lady Annalei looked towards where Princess Estina had pointed and turned her body at once, pulling an arrow free from its quiver at the same time. She took a steady slow breath, set it on the arrow ledge and string, and focused her line of sight. Her hold was steady, unwavering and unfaltering, and without any further hesitation, her fingers released the arrow. A few seconds later, it landed squarely in the center of the dark mark of the trunk.

"She stays," Princess Estina told Ladet. "She can be a lookout and hide in the trees to give us extra protection."

"Now, Princess Estina...," Ladet started.

"I was in the exact same position two years ago," Princess Estina cut Ladet off. "I was ordered to spend the rest of my life with someone I did not love. Now look at me and where I am. I control my fate and no one else. The same will be for Lady Annalei. I will speak to Emperor Rathner if he has issues with my decision."

Lady Annalei smiled at Princess Estina, and Ladet shook his head in defeat.

"The only difference is, I will have the Emperor to answer to. He is going to have my head for this," Ladet sighed.

"Let's find you and your men a spare place to sleep," Princess Estina announced. "Lady Annalei, you will sleep in my tent with my lady-in-waiting." Not waiting to hear any more of Ladet's protests, Princess Estina turned away and began talking with Menelt, a conversation that was low with furtive words. It was a conversation that clearly Ladet was not welcome to join.

>>

"I am so sorry to bother you with this news," Rodlet said from his respectful distance from the Empress, kneeling on her hard marble floor. "But I thought you should know."

"Of course, I should know!" Empress Crael snapped uncharacteristically. "You should have told me as soon as you suspected he was missing, before Ladet left! The Emperor entrusted you with looking after the palace." She rose to her feet, slowly, still tender from giving birth, her anger clearly stronger than her physical state.

Delba rushed to Empress Crael's side. "You need to rest," she urged. "Please, sit back down. Your body needs to heal." Viciously, Delba turned back to Rodlet. "How could you have not told us that Teal was missing?"

Rodlet lowered his head, visibly uncomfortable as the Empress slowly lowered back to her seat with Delba's and a lady-in-waiting's aid.

"I'm sorry," he uttered. "It just seemed ludicrous that anyone would be able to get their hands on Teal. We thought he was sleeping in the Purple Jade Palace or attending to some other issue."

"Everyone has their weaknesses," Delba argued back. "As soon as Lady AnnaLei revealed what she had heard, you should have come to the Empress. It was common knowledge that Teal is vulnerable to darts and alcohol. Are you still searching the palace grounds?"

Rodlet nodded emphatically. "Yes, the soldiers are doing a much thorough search. We still don't know if it is certain that Prince Yernal has had any involvement on Teal's whereabouts."

Empress Crael shook her head. "I wouldn't put it past him. Prince Yernal would not hesitate to cause trouble now that he no longer has to fear the wrath of his father," she stated bitterly.

Short rapid knocks suddenly came at the door, and the Empress ordered for the person to enter. A soldier came running in and he bowed deeply before kneeling. He held out a scroll in his hand towards Rodlet. Rodlet strode over and quickly opened it. The colored drained from his face.

"It's from Ladet," he stated, his voice now shaking. "He has confirmed that Prince Yernal has taken Teal. He used Ashkin darts to subdue him. Ladet has met a person called Menelt?" he questioned.

"Menelt?" Delbra breathed. "He is the leader of the mountain clansmen before they were starved out of their mountains. They were at the Arina Pass with us ten years ago, Empress."

Rodlet's head snapped up to look at the Empress. "Princess Estina from the Keglar Kingdom has also offered her assistance in rescuing Teal," Rodlet continued. "Apparently, she is with Menelt."

"Princess Estina has been missing for two years," Empress Crael stated in disbelief. "She's in Talbec?"

"So it would seem," Rodlet nodded.

Empress Crael considered what she had just learnt. After several minutes, she spoke to the room. "I will send a message to the capital in the Keglar Kingdom asking them to order Prince Yernal to release Teal otherwise they will be at risk of instigating war between our two nations. I will message Rathner and Jale myself to let them know. For the time being, we can send extra men to help Ladet."

"I don't think it would be wise to send more men from the palace," Rodlet stated. "We are already down men after they left with the Emperor. I don't want to run the palace on a skeleton crew. There is too much going on at the moment, it would make us too vulnerable in case of an unprecedented and unexpected attack."

"Fine," she sighed. "From where can we gather more men? I don't want them to attack at the border. I just want them to make their presence noted. I will communicate personally with Ladet and determine what they plan. If the Keglar Kingdom refuses to release Teal, Ladet may have to go in himself and use stealth to get him back." She turned to Delba.

"Can we trust Menelt?"

Delba nodded vigorously. "Yes, if they vow to help us, I would trust them with my life after what they did for us at the Pass."

The Empress waved to one of her servants, and ordered, "Ink and some parchments, now."

The servant immediately obeyed, jogging towards a large desk which the Empress used for her writing. Delba assisted the Empress up and towards the chair where she could write what she needed to. "I wonder if Rathner knew that Menelt and Princess Estina were inside the Empire."

"I do not know," Delba responded.

"Rodlet," Empress Crael said as she lowered herself into her seat at her desk. He was still kneeling on the floor, having not been given his leave. "Go back to your duties, but let the pigeon master know that any communications coming into the palace are to come directly to me. I will keep you informed of what is occurring from now on."

Rodlet bowed his head deeply, ashamed of dissatisfying the Empress. He rose to his feet and left the room quickly hoping that he would have time to redeem himself in the near future.

The Empress and Delba did not watch him leave. The Empress was already focused on the words that she was about to put onto the parchment. She picked up her ink stick but stopped at the sound of the babies crying in the next room over. The ink stick remained frozen in the air at the sound of the cries, different from what she had grown accustomed to. This was different from a newborn's wail for milk.

The Empress and Delba shared a concerned glance and then Delba turned and raced across the room to the door. The sound of the cries, were the sound of someone in pain, of babies in pain. She flung the doors open and raced towards the single cot where both babies were lying. Across the other side of the room, crumpled on the floor with their arms over the head, was one of the Empress' lady-in-waitings. Beside the cot, another stood, pinned with her back against the wall, her face white in shock and fear.

"What happened here?" Delba asked, her heart in her throat.

She ran to the cot and gazed inside to find both babies screaming, squirming against the muslin material wrapped around their bodies. Her hands scooped the girl into her arms while she glared at the lady-in-waiting still frozen against the wall.

"What happened here?!" Delba shouted. She pulled at muslin material. There was nothing untoward, no blood, no cuts, only scrunched up red faces that screamed in agony.

Empress Crael reached Delba's side and picked up the boy. "What's wrong with them?" she asked frantically.

"I don't ...," Delba froze as her eyes fell on the inflamed flesh on the inside of the infant's wrist. She knew that symbol, as small as it was on this child's skin. The swirl of ink would never be forgotten. It was the same symbol that was placed on Delba's skin many years before. The same one that was given to all of those who survived at the Pass ten years ago.

Quickly, she lowered the girl back into the cot and turned to the boy in the Empress' arms. With relief, the same swirl of ink was on the baby's skin as well.

"I think they've been placed under protection," Delba said to the Empress. "It's the Talekan Assassins. They've marked them."

Empress Crael looked Delba squarely in the eyes. "Protection from what?" she asked.

Delba shook her head, tears welling up in her eyes. "I don't know," she whispered. "But it can't be good."