“Are you sure, you aren’t a Moon Elf yourself?” Linea asked Tirell as she entered the Flying Sailor Inn and found the girl behind the bar again despite the late hour. She and Sarah frequented the inn every night for the last few weeks to check on Senia and every time she found Tirell still awake.

“I’m pretty sure,” Tirell replied and tipped against her ears. “But I’m happy you’re finally here. I was about to give up and go to bed.”

“You don’t have to stay up so late just because of me,” Linea said as she sat down at the bar. She revealed her face by taking her cape’s hood off after checking the tavern for other guests. “I can get inside either way.”

“I know…” Tirell said and fiddled with the seam of her shirt. “It’s just… I…”

Linea looked her in the eyes in hope to understand what moved the girl, but Tirell avoided her gaze.

“Out with it,” she said. “It’s obvious that something bothers you.”

“I don’t know how to phrase it, but I’m kinda… fascinated? That’s a good word for it.”

“And what fascinates you?” Linea probed and raised an eyebrow.

“You!” Tirell said. “And your sister. Everything about the two of you screams of adventure and I… even though what happened to you is bad and I feel sorry for you…”

“But you wished your life was more exciting?” Sarah asked with a smile.

“Yes!” Tirell exclaimed and then sighed. “I’m sorry if I offend you with that.”

“Don’t worry,” Linea said and chuckled. “I understand what you mean. Believe it or not, there was a time when the thought of me sitting in the palace like a pretty little princess scared the shit out of me.”

“Really?”

“Sure,” Linea replied with a shrug. “Living in a palace all your life is more comfortable than a normal life, but certainly not more exciting. That’s one reason I was so quick to take the first opportunity to leave. But from my personal experience adventures carry the risk of tragedy. It’s a risk you must be willing to take.”

“I think I could handle that… But it’s not like I could just go,” Tirell said and sighed. “Anyway, do you wanna check on your sister?”

“As usual, but I’m also here today, because we have decisions to make,” Linea said and glanced behind her towards the stairs.

“Do those decisions have something to do with me?” Tirell asked with hopeful eyes.

“Not yet,” Linea said and smirked as Tirell’s face fell in disappointment. “However, I would like to met this underworld person you mentioned after I have talked to Senia.”

“I already talked with him, and he wouldn’t be opposed to help you out in trade for your services. But I guess he wouldn’t meet you tonight without advance notice.”

“That’s fine,” Linea said nodding. “I would like to meet him here in one of the coming nights, if that’s fine with him. I can’t promise I’ll show up, because of sudden obligations.”

She tipped against her collar.

“I’ll try to arrange something.”

“Thank you.”

Linea bid the girl a good night and went to Senia’s room.

‘Are you sure, you want to involve her?’ Sarah asked while they walked up the stairs. ‘What she experienced is nothing short of torture. Even I can’t fully comprehend what happened to her. And I have seen some shit back on earth…’

Linea didn’t reply right away. She weighed all the options they had regarding Senia, but concluded that her participation would be inevitable.

‘She doesn’t know everything we plan on doing, but I have the hunch that she won’t sit by idly. Better to incorporate her in our plans and give her something to do before she does something stupid.’

‘Wait,’ Sarah said in amusement. ‘Rational thinking? Where does that come from?’

‘Well, I’m learning from you, you… bint.’

‘Woah! Careful princess. Watch your manners!’ Sarah replied with faked indignation.

‘Ah, shut up,’ Linea said and chuckled.

As they arrived at Senia’s room, Linea knocked and whispered through the door.

“It’s me, can I come in?”

“Sure,” Senia voice sounded on the other side.

Linea opened the door and found her sister sitting on the window sill gazing into the night sky. She grabbed a chair and walked over to Senia to sit down with her.

“Full moon tonight,” she pointed out as she looked up towards the white disk hanging between the clouds.

“I noticed…” Senia replied dispassionate without taking her eyes away from the moon.

The silence that followed was awkward for Linea, but Senia was still in deep thought and as there was no rush, Linea gave her some time.

After a while Senia sighed and looked to Linea.

“When was the last time you prayed to our goddess?” she asked and caught Linea completely off-guard with the question. It was a rather personal topic to talk about your praying habits, but on the other hand, Senia had shared even more private things in the last weeks to Linea. And so, Linea took a deep breath.

“To be honest, I haven’t prayed since the battle of Avandir,” she admitted and felt horrible as the words left her mouth. A few months earlier and she would have called it blasphemy, but right in that moment she couldn’t explain why he hadn’t prayed since then. And it was something she hadn’t even shared with Sarah.

“The last time I prayed was in the first night…” Senia started to explain but she stopped as tears gathered in her eyes. She took a deep breath and rubbed her eyes with her sleeves.

“It was before he violated me for the first time,” Senia whispered and pulled her legs closer to her body.. “I prayed to her for help. I hoped she would send someone to save me. Or any other help…”

Linea came closer to her sister and took her hand as encouragement.

“But nothing happened… When the pain became unbearable and I prayed for mercy, only then I felt the touch of something divine in me. It eased the pain and helped me to retain some kind of sanity in me.”

“And you don’t think it was our goddess?” Linea asked surprised.

“No,” Senia replied and her face hardened at the suggestion. “Don’t ask me how, but I know it was something else. It felt not like our goddess… even though, I’m not sure how I could know the difference. But it was warm and caring. Something I needed back then.”

Linea was silent as she mused about it.

‘Do you believe, the Goddess of Mercy intervened?’ she asked Sarah.

‘Most likely,’ Sarah replied. ‘She begged for mercy and we have some kind of connection to her archangel. I don’t know why, but the Goddess of Mercy seems to have an interest in us. Helping your sister like this would make sense…’

‘This is confusing,’ Linea admitted. ‘There are so many things we don’t know. So many things we should know about.’

‘That’s true, but let’s worry about such things later. We have more pressing problems to get through.’

“Linea?” Senia interrupted them.

“Hm?”

“You spaced out…”

“Sorry… I was talking to Sarah.”

“Oh…”

They both stared silently at each other for a few moments.

“I still can’t wrap my head around it,” Senia broke the silence and gave Linea a wry smile. “I mean it’s not like I don’t believe you, but…”

“It sounds impossible, doesn’t it?” Linea said and smiled as well even though more genuine. “Nora was shocked, but she warmed up to Sarah fast.”

“To be fair, Nora would do anything for you. She is like…”

“A sister?”, Linea broke Senia’s train of thoughts.

Senia eyes filled with tears as the realization hit her.

“I’m sorry,” she said and looked away. “It’s not my place to say something like this…”

“It’s all right,” Linea said and rubbed Senia’s shoulder. “We had our differences, and Nora was there for me, when you weren’t. You had your own stuff to get through. I don’t blame you.”

“But my stuff was… superficial and… egoistical.”

“Yeah, but someone told me girls our age tend to be like that,” Linea said, stood up and placed a tender kiss on Senia’s forehead. “Now, don’t over-think all that. We aren’t the girls we used to be. For the better or the worse.”

“I guess you’re right,” Senia agreed. “And what happens now? I don’t just mean between the two of us, but as a whole? What do we do now? I had time to think about my life and all the decisions I made… and I have no idea where to go from here. The only thing I know is that I do whatever I can to help you. I owe you.”

“First of all, you owe me nothing,” Linea said as she sat down again. “We didn’t save you because some idea of quit pro quo. You’re my sister. My blood and honor.”

“Yet, here I am asking how I can help you,” Senia said with a smile. “You’re a sister I don’t deserve and it is up to me to show you how much I appreciate you. So, let me at your side.”

“And I can’t dissuade you from that?” Linea asked.

“No.”

Linea nodded and opened her senses towards her sister to initiate the link between their minds. Senia was hesitant at first, but she knew that this was a test of her resolve. For the last weeks she had rejected mind-speak, but if she was ready to fight their enemies, she had to trust Linea.

‘I can’t remember if we ever talked in mind-speak…’ Linea mused as the connection formed.

‘We didn’t,’ Senia answered. ‘Apart from that one time before you rescued me…’

‘Well, that doesn’t count,’ Linea stated. ‘That was more out of desperation than trust.’

Senia sighed and and gave Linea a sad look.

‘Is she here as well? Can she hear us?’ She asked with obvious hesitation to change the topic.

‘I’m listening,’ Sarah answered. ‘I always do.’

‘So, you’re real. I didn’t just imagine things?’

‘Yes, I do exist.’

Silence erupted between them and both sides were either reluctant or unwilling to say something.

‘Could we not do that?’

‘What?’ Senia and Sarah answered simultaneously.

‘Wasting time with apprehension,’ Linea said. ‘I understand that it goes against all you think you have known, Senia, but Sarah is a part of me, and she’ll always be. If you trust me, you can trust her.’

Before Senia could answer, Linea continued.

‘And Sarah. I know you like to be in control of everything, but it is not negotiable we include Senia in this.’

‘Fine,’ Sarah said. ‘But I will not hesitate to put your well-being before hers.’

‘That’s fine by me,’ Senia said surprisingly.

‘You do?’ Linea asked surprised.

‘Yes,’ Senia replied. ‘My view on the world has shifted as you can imagine… And when I said I would do anything to help you, I meant that.’

‘Good,’ Sarah said with a sense of accomplishment in her voice. ‘Now that we got that out of the way, let’s get to business.’

When Sarah and Linea returned to the mansion in the morning, they saw a messenger arriving at the same time. He seemed in a rush and talked with the guards at the front gate in a hushed tone. Sarah wanted to find out what was going on, but Linea argued against it, since they were supposed to be in their room getting ready to wake the master. Linea headed for her room, stashed her cape under her bed and switched into the clothing which Levi had given her for housework. She then headed to the kitchen where she retrieved a tray with Brice’s breakfast.

As Linea went to his room, she noticed that the door was already open. She entered and coughed slightly to make her presence known. Brice looked up from a letter and motioned to her to place the tray on the table near him.

“Tell His Imperial Majesty that we will be there in an hour,” he said to the messenger who still waited at the door.

“Yes, sir,” the messenger said and bowed before leaving.

Linea was tempted to ask what was going on, but she suspected that Brice wouldn’t tell her either way.

“Linea, could you search for Levi and Tiva? Tell them to make themselves presentable as we have an official appointment with the emperor.”

“As you wish… master.” Linea replied with slight hesitation. She still had problems referring to Brice as her master, but she couldn’t exactly not call him that.

“Good,” Brice said. “Oh, and perhaps you want to dress a bit more appropriately as well. For a reason that eludes me, the emperor has requested your presence specifically.”

“Why?” Linea asked from impulse.

“Like I said I don’t know the reason,” Brice asked irritated. “Now, go and do what I ordered.”

The ride to the imperial palace was a rather tense affair. Brice was deep in thought while Tiva was shooting daggers at her mother and Linea the whole time. Apparently her altercation with her mother a few weeks ago still wasn’t settled. When they arrived at their destination, Tiva was the first to jump out of the carriage and headed straight towards the entrance, where she was greeted by a man in valuable looking robes. Brice followed her with Levi and Linea behind him.

“Brice, it’s good to see you!”

“Chancellor Sundar, thanks for greeting us,” Brice said and shook hands with the man named Sundar. “I guess he is already waiting for us?”

“He is. There are some good news for all of us,” he said and gave Linea a quick gaze. “Well, most of us.”

That comment made Linea anxious. What was that supposed to mean?

“I guess it has something to do with the guests that arrived yesterday?” Brice asked as they followed Sundar inside.

“You’re as well informed as ever,” he said with a dry laugh. “And here I thought I could tell you something new.”

“Knowing such things is essential for my business,” Brice countered. “Also, it’s not like they arrived in secret. Many people saw them in the harbor as they entered the carriages.”

“I guess you’re right,” Sundar said and knocked on a door. “But you’ll be surprised why they are here. Considering that, I would ask your slave to stay silent and stand still while we’re in there.”

“Do as he says,” Brice said to Linea.

“Yes, master,” Linea said with furrowed brows.

Guards opened the door and their little group entered a large hall which was the throne room. It was much larger than Linea would have expected but there were a large group of nobles standing around at the sides. Linea suspected that so many people wouldn’t have fit in the throne room of her family’s palace in Luna’sindranar.

But the biggest surprise for Linea wasn’t the number of people or the spaciousness of the room, but the group of Moon Elves near the throne. Most of them were nobles from Luna’sindra which Linea had at least seen before, but more importantly her brother Tovandir and Aruna, the priestess. Linea was tempted to rush to them, but Sarah cautioned her to stay as her collar ordered.

“Brice!” The emperor greeted her master. “Thank you for your impromptu appearance on such a short notice.”

“I’m at your command, Your Imperial Majesty,” Brice replied as he came closer. He knelt before Tiberius and his wife and daughter followed suit. Linea refused to do the same without being forced by the collar. She stared right into the eyes of the man on the throne. But Tiberius just had this irritating smirk on his face.

“Then let’s get to business,” the emperor said and addressed the assembled nobility. He started to a monologue about the won war and the history of bad relations between the humans and Moon Elves. Linea didn’t listen to his exaggerated speech but instead studied the Moon Elves who listened to the emperor attentively. Except Aruna. The priestess had a pained look on her face and when their eyes met, Linea noticed tears in her her eyes.

A sense of dread crept through Linea.

“And to end those conflicts in the future, we have to come together to form lasting bonds between humans and elves. Neither of us wants any more violence. Instead we should strive for harmony and peace between our races,” Tiberius proclaimed. The applause of the attending people drowned Linea’s sarcastic snort.

“To achieve that the Moon Elves have elected the Prince Tovandir as their new king.”

“Wha-” Linea was about to explode, but Sarah quickly lifted her block off the collar which resulted in the collar forcing Linea to shut up.

‘What are you doing?’ Linea asked in her mind.

‘Shut up!’ Sarah just said. ‘Your fucking emotions almost destroyed our cover. Get a grip on yourself.’

Before Linea could retort to that, Tiberius went on with his speech.

“To cement this new alliance and this start of a more peaceful future, King Tovandir has accepted that his sisters will stay in Tavaris City as my insurance. In return, I have excepted his proposal that Princess Enia, my youngest sister, will marry him and follow him to Luna’sindra.”

‘They can’t to that…’ Linea said with. ‘How… what…’

‘Take a deep breath,’ Sarah said, even though she was equally confused.

“The marriage will take place here in Tavaris City in a few days and I hope you’ll all enjoy the festivities. Our guests from Luna’sindra shall be treated as such and I would kindly ask you to make some new connections. I think this is a great opportunity for all of us.”

Linea stood frozen and her gaze was fixated on her brother while the nobles converged on the Moon Elves. Most of them seemed to be eager to follow their emperor’s order. Tovandir seemed in a good mood as he talked to the nobles, but he never even looked in Linea’s general direction.

Tiberius however came over to them with a young woman at his side.

“How dare you!” Levi said and slapped her brother rather weakly against the chest. “You’re supposed to talk to me about such things.”

“As I said before, I’m the emperor and I’ll decide whatever is best for my empire,” he said with a harsh voice, but he then became softer. “Besides, it’s not like I forced this on her, didn’t I?”

He looked at the young woman at his side, which Linea suspected to be Enia, the younger sister of Levi and Tiberius.

“No, you didn’t,” Enia said with a bright smile. “Look at him, Levi. When I remember the princes that ask for my hand in marriage, I believe I came out ahead.”

All eyes wandered over to Tovandir, who noticed it and gave his bride a quick and shy smile.

“He’s so handsome,” Enia sighed in contempt.

Levi rolled her eyes and looked at Linea, who looked enraged. Before she could ask however, another person joined them.

“Excuse my intrusion, Lords and Ladies,” Aruna said and bowed slightly. “Would it be possible to have a few words with Princess Linea?”

Brice was about to decline her offer, but Tiberius raised a hand to stop him.

“King Tovandir already informed me that your goddess has sent you here on a mission and that this alliance would be endangered if I would disrespect that mission,” he explained. “But I need your word you don’t plan on stealing her from us. It would weaken our relations quite heavily.”

“You have my word,” Aruna said with a bow. “My king explicitly forbid me to do anything else than I was tasked.”

“Then you shall proceed,” Tiberius said and waved Sundar who then joined them. “Sundar, would you be so kind to escort these two ladies to one of the reception rooms? And give them some privacy.”

Linea looked at Brice and pointed at her throat.

“Ah, yes. You’re allowed to speak,” he said.

A few minutes later, Aruna and Linea stood in front of each other in the reception room. As soon as the door was closed, and they were alone, Aruna flung her arms around Linea’s neck.

“I’m so sorry!” she said and tears dripped from her face on Linea’s back. Linea embraced her as well, at for the first time in a while she let her emotions run free. They sank down on the floor and stayed there for a while until they had no more tears to shed. Linea guessed that Aruna was most likely more devastated by Tarina’s death than Linea’s current situation, but it was a feeling Linea could share, nonetheless.

“Why are you here?” Linea finally asked, when they had calmed down. “I suspect there to be an important reason. As far as I know it’s not that common to string a priestess along with a diplomatic envoy?”

“You’re right…” Aruna said and fumbled around with a poach she had strapped to her belt. “I’m here because of this.”

She pulled out a vial of a white glowing liquid, which Linea immediately identified as Luna’cala.