Invisible, the dirigible flew at full speed and height into the night, the pilot had switched off the position lights. They could see the moons and the stars through the windshield, and some of the stars shined below them. Dwarven cities spread in the mountains.

Alienor was at her third plate of white truffles and foie gras and a bottle of an excellent white ice wine laid empty in the cabin's garbage bin. A sweet melancholic euphoria floated in her veins, her body relaxed by the alcohol; she was not drunk but almost there.

“Goodsnesh, thatsh sho goodf!” she said with her mouth half-full.

“Is food so bad up there?” asked the pilot.

“Aaaawfull. I ate only re… - hic - …cycled garbage, for two years. That’s what the – hic – little red monsters use in their food – hic – fato.., sorry, factories.”

“You seem tired. Why don’t you go to sleep?”

“I can’t sleep, uncle Dharius. Too many worries on my hand. Hic! Sorry, head.”

He offered her some coffee from his cup, which made her a little soberer but less happy. She started crying.

“Common, kid. You’re a tough cookie. Be positive. Look at me. Who would think someone would ever hire me again after that accident? Which, by the way, was the elf's fault. And yet, here I am. Your mother is the nicest person I've ever met.”

He smiled at her with all his face.

“How can you be so – hic - happy? After all, you’ve been through? Losing your hands, prison…”

“How not be? I’m so lucky! I fought with Dora Guerrefido and lived to tell the tale. There is no other person who can say this. Yes, my hands were blown up, but I’m still alive, ain’t I? Your other uncle wasn’t so lucky. I still have nightmares with Rhadou split in half by Dora’s kukri. In a blink of the eye. From the three brothers Patrifoy, I’m the luckiest. Rhadou is dead, Fits in exile on a privy hole planet. Until the blimp accident last spring, I had a nice quiet life and good money, so why complain? More, I got lucky enough to escape with my life a second time, and…”

“You’re – hic – certain that the name of that girl who spared your life was Violentia Guerrefido?”

“Vellantina. Dora’s and Diago’s daughter. Yes, she said her name aloud at the match. See why I consider myself lucky? I saw two Guerrefido’s as close as you are from me, and lived.”

She swallowed a knot.

“The same girl shot at me twice. My charms protected me… but she aimed to kill, not to disable.”

“Can it be an accident?”

“That was not an accident. I felt them – hic - the day before. Dreamt them. They were looking in a strange metal mirror, spying on me, making fun of my mother’s anguish. In my dream, I tried to fight them, but they disappeared. I woke up all in sweat. I didn’t recognize them at first when we met. They looked like monsters in the dream, but I soon realized who they were: a team of assassins sent by the Royals. Maybe it’s their summer school project: go up on that planet and kill that woman. It is… unbelievable. I have – hic – an army half a million strong, and they send five kids.”

“You’ve told me they killed all your guards and put you on the run; that looks quite sufficient, I’d say. What I don’t understand is why the Royals would want you dead. After all, they are dear friends of Ejlsa’s. Could they not know who you are?... But nevermind. Let it go, Alienor. Don’t start a war between you and Ejlsa’s friends. If your Beauhemians return, they can live without a country, as we always did. I can turn the dirigible, and we can go to the Archipelago or one of the Great South's numerous islands. We have enough fuel, food, and not much weight. We can do it.”

She sat quietly for a while. Outside, the moons were paler, dawn was right in front of them, and the sky was now covered in clouds. Her mood commenced to became grey as the clouds, and her sobriety reached her usual level.

I cannot let it be like this… They destroyed my mother, they broke her mind… This is not what friends do…

“Dharius, I’ll let you chose,” she said after gathering her thoughts back. “I’m tired of deciding; I’ve done it too many years. We can go to the islands and be safe, or we can go to the return point, meet our people, and prepare for war. I don’t wish to fight the City if they let us be… but I do not trust them. They are duplicitous and mean. What they did to mother is beyond cruel.”

“Then we’ll go to the islands,” answered Dharius. “You know what happened to the Second Mooners when they wanted to invade the City. No army, no matter how big, can guarantee you victory if you fight the Royals. Only a magician equally strong as the Prince Consort could stand a chance, and you were beaten by a few kids.”

He was trying to move the engine for the turn when she grabbed his shoulder.

“Continue westward. Dharius, you are a genius!”

“Am I?”

“Yes. It would take an equally strong magician to fight the Prince Consort. And an equally strong magician plus an army of galactic warriors could make even the Royals think twice about getting into a fight. We have to heal Ejlsa.”

“I’m sorry to disappoint you, but she’s an artist?”

“Oh, Dharius. You don’t understand. There is tremendous power in art. Have you seen she hasn’t aged a bit?”

“You’re true. She looks more gorgeous every day. Beats me how.”

“She’s the best at pulling energy from the Realm. Better than the Prince. He needs the Queens for that while my mother doesn’t. Energy can be sung or made into a weapon. If I could heal her, whose part will she take?”

“If they attack first, yours. She hates oppressors; you can see how she struggles for Balirbar. But can you heal her?”

“Yes, uncle, I do. You’ll see.”