That first day after the fire was the day where everything pivoted for my boy, for King Stephano, for Father Garshom, and for many others. By the end of the day, Andray’s place in the world was set if he wanted to be a king or if he wanted to walk away from that role.

Sitting King Stephano down at the table next to Andray and Willam was one of those tiny acts of serendipity that brought an avalanche of rewards. The guild masters of the tailors, mercers, and carters were some of those who visited the command nexus for the rescue effort at the palace and temple. Those three came to offer whatever support they could provide, talking their way through the perimeter of guards to keep the spectators from getting in the way.

Once through the perimeter, they saw their king sitting with both of his sons. After they paid their homage to their king, they met and were able to observe my boy as he used his formidable skills as a mage to find survivors in the ruins of the palace and to guide the rescuers to the right places. They also saw how well Willam and my boy got along, and they observed Willam’s protectiveness and admiration for his older sibling.

It was soon all over the city that the king was alive and well enough to observe the rescue efforts along with both of his sons, who were both actively involved in finding survivors of the fire. Soon after the three guild masters departed, a growing stream of Tammerhof dignitaries found their way to the square to greet their king and meet the missing Crown Prince.

I gained my own appreciation of how Stephano’s presence made a difference. As soon as he sat down, all the guards, temple personnel, and volunteers were catalyzed onto a higher plain of purpose and morale. Their king, who was obviously still not well, was there to bless their efforts with his attendance and attention. He could have stayed in bed but instead, he left his sickroom to encourage them.

By the simple act of sitting in the square that day, everyone knew that their exertions were valued by the highest in the land. No contribution was too small to be ignored by Stephano. I could see that from the smile and the thanks he gave to the little boy who volunteered to carry food and drink to the rescue workers when that child brought the king some water. I observed the approval and appraisal in Cat’s eyes as he absorbed that lesson from his father.

Of the many introductions, the hardest one came in the middle of the afternoon. Countess Estella de Teep arrived with Princess Aricia. The Countess had lost her hearing from the explosion. The healer she saw at the hospital run by the Hands of Matadee assured her that her ears would heal and her hearing would return soon, but for now, she had a pad of paper to write down what they wanted to say to her.

Aricia was clearly attached to the Countess and shyly hid, partially obscured by the countess’s skirts. At 12, she shared the Nordweg family's inclination toward being tall. She was already almost as tall as Cat. I didn't miss Cat's sigh of resignation when he realized his little sister was going to be much taller than he was.

She was shy when greeting her father and she kept stealing glances at this older brother she barely remembered. Her first greeting with Cat was awkward and the conversation stalled immediately about the ritual exchange of “I am well – how are you?”

Then Cat grinned, “Aricia, there’s someone I want you to meet.” That actually got me to sit up.

“Yes,” she said with some worry creeping into her voice. “And what might that be?”

“Get up, lazy cat,” he applied the toe of his boot to my behind where I had laid down for a nap. “Say hello to my sister, Aricia.”

I got up slowly and poked the back of her hand with my wet nose, * Hello, Aricia. I’m Fuzzy.* She gasped and her face went pale.

* I'm quite harmless but I could be dangerous if you neglect to scratch between my ears or under my chin. Blackmail is acceptable so long as I'm the recipient.* I rubbed my nose along her skirts and purred. I made sure to lean.

“You can talk?” the way she put both hands on her cheeks in astonishment was adorable.

“Lady Fuzzy is a spirit beast, Aricia,” King Stephano broke into the conversation, seeing how difficult it was for his daughter. “She goes wherever your brother Andray goes. She’s the first spirit beast to show up in Nordweg in over 500 years.”

“Are you my brother’s pet?” she asked, completely clueless about my dislike of being mistaken for a pet.

* No, Andray is my pet. I found him in the forest one day and took him home with me. * I gave Cat a dubious look. * He takes a lot of work to keep fed and out of trouble. *

“Really?” she gave me a look that said she knew I was trying to trick her.

* Well, I did find him in my forest and I did take him home with me, but it was the Green Elves who offered us some shelter over the winter, and after that, we stayed, especially since they offered to teach your brother and me how to do magic. *

“Magic,” she frowned in disapproval. “I don’t think mages are very good people.”

“Oh dear,” Cat remarked, “that could be a problem since we are both mages. I guess we’ll have to move back in with the elves, Fuzzy, when we’re done here.”

“Wait,” she gave Cat a long disbelieving look, “were you serious about living with elves?”

“Aricia,” Cat looked disappointed at her doubt, “I lived with elves long enough that I even talk like one.”

“So that’s why you talk funny,” she accused.

“Now, I would say that your brother talks like any other elf and you’re the one who talks funny,” Roaming Wren remarked, walking up behind her. Wren looked the part of a Greenwood elf in her elkskin tunic and deer skin hosen. She was two heads taller than Aricia.

“My brother is not an elf and I don’t talk funny,” Aricia bristled a little. “Why are all the elves wearing cat masks?”

“Because of your brother,” Wren smiled. “He’s part of my adventuring group and we decided that because he wears a mask, we would all wear masks while outside of the Greenwood. And your brother is legally an elf. The elf king officially adopted him. That makes him my brother too because I’m the elf king’s youngest daughter.”

“My brother went adventuring with you? Really?" Aricia showed some genuine interest. "That sounds like so much fun, getting to travel for two whole years and go wherever you want. Oh, I'm jealous."

“It is quite dangerous," Wren looked stern. "Most elvish adventuring parties take work as caravan guards or armed escorts. My brother's party all died in an attack, all except for him, and he was left for dead. Our party decided to join the hunting guild because that's where your brother's talents are best aligned. Even so, Fuzzy was badly hurt on our first hunting job, and your brother missed being killed by a wyvern only because your other brother pushed him out of the way in time.

Aricia turned admiring eyes on Willam, who blushed under the scrutiny. “Seconds later,” Willam shifted from one foot to another, “Andray pulled me out of the way of the same wyvern and then killed it.”

Aricia turned now-admiring eyes to Cat, "you killed a wyvern?"

My boy nodded modestly, “yes, it was the second wyvern I killed. I invented a spell that works on wyverns and would probably work on any of the great monsters, but the cost of casting it is prohibitive. I don’t want to cast it ever again.”

“You’ve killed two wyverns?” Stephano’s shock was written all over his face.

“Willam’s ballistae have taken down four,” Cat pointed out to his father.

The rumor that the crippled Crown Prince was a mage and a successful wyvern hunter was all over the city within hours.

“Well, it’s a good thing you’re home now and don’t need to pursue such dangerous endeavors anymore,” Stephano remarked, looking impressed with his oldest son and also relieved.

“Father,” Cat said in a quiet voice, “I want to finish my two years of adventuring with the Black Cat Hunting Party. It’s important to me.”

“I want to go too,” Willam interjected, looking hopeful.

“You can’t, Willam,” Cat apologized. “You’re not legally an elf.”

“Neither of you is going anywhere," King Stephano declared. "We have much to do here, and I will need you both to help out. If you're done with searching for survivors, why don't you start with telling me why there are elves and Zimlakan soldiers in my capital?"

The next two weeks were chaotic. So many things changed. Father Garshom regained his seat as Bishop of Tammerhof. The former bishop, Geralt de Ramnerburg, died of pneumonia on his naked and barefoot walk back to Nordweg. Blue Fox became officially engaged to Sahkeena Aisha but would finish his second year of adventuring with the Black Cat Hunters. The King divorced Queen Griselda and put her under house arrest, but her fate was left up in the air due to diplomatic maneuvering by Osterius. The goblins negotiated a new trade treaty with Nordweg. Zimlakuliku and Nordweg agreed to build a canal together to create a navigable water route between the four kingdoms along the Green River.

Poor Willam discovered that under Elven law, he was legally considered a "far brother" of Wren's since Wren and Cat were siblings by adoption. Despite the lack of a blood tie, he was a close relative of Wren's from an elf's point of view and was barred from ever marrying her.

When all the foreign types returned home and matters calmed down in Tammerhof, Cat and I took a stroll around the square one evening until we came upon the rolled-up flying carpet. I didn't ask Cat why we were out for a walk while he carried his backpack with his hunting gear. After I unrolled the carpet, we were off. It Cat an hour to locate the rest of our hunting group. Cat assured me he left his human father a note.

I did not argue with him over running off to finish his adventure. I believe he needed to do this so he could move on from this portion of his life. Cat did not like to leave things uncompleted. It was against his nature. He always finished what he started. He started his two-year adventure and he would finish it too. He also needed more time to say good bye to his elven family, who saved him when he most needed it.

He would not leave his elven family behind. He now had a flying carpet and could be in Elvenhome in less than two hours to visit. I’m sure that is why Storm Eagle had given Cat the carpet, so he could stay in touch with this boy who became part of his family.

As for me, I was content. I had the three things in life that I needed: good food, a warm dry place to sleep, and my boy to keep me company.