They couldn’t leave immediately, so they proceeded as per usual until they found something—Alyson, Iztris, and the king went over documents in the morning while Jacob still did schoolwork, and Iztris continued work on his own in the afternoon (he was pretty adamant on Alyson and Jacob not doing anything, which was nice, but still frustrating in a few ways). The documents themselves were sent to the king for review; reports of possible threats and strange occurrences mixed in with requests for the king’s assistance in certain noble matters. Iztris asked them to look for anything that seemed especially out of place or anything concerning foreign affairs, looking over much of those documents himself.

One of their first days looking over things was particularly notable. Iztris didn’t say anything more than necessary—and he was quick to shoot down anything that wasn’t as relevant as Alyson hoped. While he was in the palace, he wore a less fanciful version of his outfit for the party—which made him look more like a servant with a humble master rather than one with a master who was ridiculously rich and wanted everyone to know it.

Alyson spoke with her father while they worked, if only because this was still practice for when she succeeded him. He gave her tips and tricks, whether it be something that his father told him or something he learned on his own, that made the work easier or at least more bearable. At some point, though, her father didn’t have anything to say, so they fell silent.

Iztris spoke next. “I apologize, but can you continue talking? I find it harder to concentrate if there aren’t voices around me.”

“Could’ve fooled me; that scowl is pretty convincing,” the king said jokingly.

“It is a yes or no question,” Iztris replied firmly.

The king frowned for a moment, although any true displeasure was feigned. “Would you mind if you were a part of it?”

“As long as you understand that my responses may be delayed,” Iztris said.

The king nodded and went back to his work. “Did you have any siblings as a mortal?”

“I didn’t expect smalltalk,” Iztris admitted. “But, yes, I had siblings.”

“How many?” Alyson asked curiously.

“One older and two younger, all boys including myself,” Iztris replied. He picked up a different report, apparently finding nothing of interest in the one he had been holding before. “I know the princess has brothers; what of you, King?”

“My sister lives a few days south,” the king said. “You probably saw her around the palace—Alyson looks a lot like her.”

Alyson smiled a little, putting her report in a separate pile and getting another one. “Where did you live before serving the gods?”

It was impressive how easily he seemed to be able to recall it. “The current nation of Letrela, before the name changed,” Iztris said simply. “There was a hunting community in a forest—I do not know if it is still there, however.”

“Have you ever visited?” Alyson asked. “I know there’s a few people with gods as distant relatives—never directly theirs, but still related by siblings.”

There was a bit of a pause before Iztris replied, and glancing over she could see that he looked a little hesitant. “I used to visit,” he finally said, simple and plain. “When the other servant, Elsyn, declared their intentions of killing mortals, the gods decided that they were in danger as well; since then, none of them have come down here in fear that Elsyn would attack them. I was expected to abide by that rule, so I did—although I do suppose that means I’m expendable, as the person they sent.”

There was silence for a few minutes before Miles came in to announce lunch. Alyson and her father left, with Iztris saying that he’ll work on his own until the latter’s return, and they ate. Some guests were still here—a majority of them stayed for the first day or two and left shortly afterwards, while others stayed a bit longer. The ones that stayed longer were usually relatives or close friends, and anyone who lived farther away tended to leave sooner, too. The dining hall still had plenty of chatter as a result, and since most of the remaining guests were family, there was a lot of cross-table banter.

The longest part of any meal was the talking before, after, and during it—otherwise it would only take twenty or thirty minutes, whereas in reality it took close to an hour. The king went back to working afterwards with the queen and Iztris, and Alyson was thus tasked with making sure Miles didn’t get into any trouble.

It was about two weeks before anyone came across something worthwhile. Iztris found a report that he believed could be related, unlike all others that Alyson or her father found; any kind of lead was better than none, so Iztris told the siblings to say their goodbyes for now. Suffice to say, Iztris himself disappeared that afternoon—he was back by that next morning, though, when they were actually ready to leave.

Iztris waited outside the palace gates for Alyson and Jacob, far enough away that he could feign some privacy.

“Don’t let your weapons go too far out of reach,” their father said.

“We won’t,” Jacob replied, patting his quiver of arrows. Alyson likewise nodded, a hand on the hilt of her sword and a quick glance to make sure she had a small dagger as well.

“Be as safe as you can,” their mother added.

“I promise we will,” Alyson said.

Miles laughed. “Come back with stories! Lots of fun stories!”

Jacob smiled. “Without a doubt—they’ll be as awesome as you can imagine.”

“If you can come home at all, you’re free to do so,” their father said kindly. “Try to send letters or messengers if you can—I can try to give you any kind of help I can if I come across something that can be useful.”

Alyson nodded, and with a few more words the siblings waved and left. Iztris greeted them when they left. “A bit quicker than I expected, to be honest,” he admitted. “This will be your last chance to easily leave the conflict to someone else.”

“It might not change how many people die,” Jacob said, “But I’d feel bad if someone else died in my place.”

Iztris looked at Alyson. “And you feel the same?”

“I shouldn’t let others fall so I can remain standing,” Alyson replied firmly, “Whether or not I, myself, am entirely willing to die instead.”

“As close to a ‘yes,’ as I’ll get, I suppose,” Iztris said. “Let’s go, then—it will take a few weeks to get there.”

Both of the others nodded, and they gave quick goodbyes and explanations to whatever friends they saw while they left the capital. It didn’t feel like there was a chance they wouldn’t return, or that they wouldn’t want to return—then again, Alyson felt oddly assured that they would be all right.