When the potion from Cafer wore off, Alaron found himself in an inn far from home. He had travelled with his adoptive parents to many places, but never this far north. "Where are we?"

Cafer gave him some food as the boy sat up. "The edge of human civilization." He told him calmly. "When you are ready, we will continue on to my home, the land of magic."

The prince's opened his eyes wide. "What about my throne?"

"We will talk to the gnome king, Baak. He would not support me these past ten years, but now that I have you and a growing list of allies, he may rethink his position. Either way, I have a plan." The gnome gave a mysterious smile.

Alaron nodded. Cafer usually knew exactly what to do. The prince was glad he could follow his mentor's lead. As the prince ate, every part of Alaron ached. "I should heal myself," he thought aloud. The boy began to chant a healing spell that he had memorized, but Cafer stopped him.

"That will do you no good, my boy. You would be pulling from yourself to heal yourself. It would be a never-ending cycle of pain. You will have to heal the normal way." Cafer tried to reason with the boy. Alaron's magic was growing quickly, but he did not yet understand his own limitations.

"It is cold in here. Can I at least light a fire?" Alaron did not wait for an answer. With a wave of his hand and a few words, a fire burst forth in the small fireplace of the room. The prince inhaled deeply. It felt good to use his magic again.

"Be careful!" Cafer warned. "You need to conserve your energy."

"You worry too much." The boy waved off his concern. "I am fine now that I have had a little food. We can leave any time." The boy stood and then quickly sat again as he was dizzy from the sudden movement. Sitting in the chair next to the boy, Cafer bid him to remain seated.

"Not just yet. I am expecting a message." Cafer tapped his finger on the side of the chair. He was impatient for news. Alaron blew out his cheeks but waited patiently as he continued to eat the food he was provided.

Suddenly a small creature appeared in the room. He was not to Alaron's waist and wore various shades of green. He had a fiery red beard and only slightly lighter skin. The sight sent a shiver of fear down Alaron's spine. The creature handed a letter to Cafer, who in turn placed a golden coin in the little man's hand. The creature kept his hand outstretched and the gnome produced a second coin. "Greedy little thing, aren't you?" he mumbled in the ancient tongue. Receiving the second coin, the creature was gone as mysteriously as it came.

"Was that a demon?" Alaron's mouth hung open.

The gnome was amused. "Close enough I suppose. That was a leprechaun. They are nasty little creatures, but they will deliver messages or small packages for a hefty price." Cafer opened the letter. "And that nasty little creature brings good news." The gnome's countenance was bordering on pleasant.

"What is it?" the boy peeked at the note.

"The list of your supporters has grown. A few nobles have requested through the darker channels to meet with you. I will have Xander arrange to speak with them." Cafer pulled out a pen and ink and scribbled down some notes. Satisfied, he replaced the pen, ink and paper away. "I wish I had not left my bag behind," he muttered to himself. He had bought new supplies, but none of it was as good as what he had before.

"Where did you leave it?" Alaron tilted his head in curiosity.

Unwilling to admit his mistake, the gnome changed the subject. "You seem well enough to go now. I will pay the innkeeper, and we will be on our way. When I come back we will discuss some changes we need to make."

——————-

After only a day of regaining consciousness, the Empress was restless. The explosion she had experienced had splintered her body, but her mind was sharper and more determined than ever. The fight with Alaron was a wake up call. In her belief that she had thwarted the prophecy, she had grown complacent. It was a grave error. The world could perish because of her negligence.

While Aurora could not use her voice, she was already making plans to mobilize the military. The Empress could only guess how quickly the rumors of her family squabble had traveled, but she would bet that it was faster than a bird could fly. This was no time to be weak.

Against Nanny's wishes, the rest of the Council was escorted into the Empress's bedchamber and seated around her sickbed. Anna stood near the Empress, who had opted to whisper into her lady-in-waiting. Writing had become very cumbersome.

Zan called the meeting to order. "We are glad the Her Majesty could join us." The Council clapped, except for Nanny, who had her arms crossed and expression of someone trying to shoo foxes from a hen house.

Looking at the scowling woman, Zan quickly got to business. He presented a set of papers for each councilman to peruse. "This is a copy of military plans as they are now. Empress Aurora has been very busy while she has been recovering," he added with a smile. "Our southern citadel will be stocked up and reinforced should we need it. We are pulling our resources to fortify the city of Valiant and sending a wide net of scouts to report on any activity from the north.

"Are we sure that there will be an attack?" Birger asked as he looked over the papers.

"No, but it cannot hurt to be prepared. If the Emperor fails to extract Alaron, or if he does and then Cafer retaliates, we need to be ready. And Xander is still an unknown piece. We have no idea if he is still working with the others. Gandr believes they separated before leaving Valiant, but that does not mean that they did not meet later. Spymaster Brinn would normally handle that kind of investigation, but she is currently running a different mission."

"So we are blind?" Ezer asked. He knew how valuable Brinn and her leadership were.

"Our scouts are quite capable. We will have news, if there is any, very soon." Zan reassured them.

Anna cleared her throat, "Her Majesty has requested books on humans using magic from the royal library. She wants to see specifically if there is a way to stop them and heal them of the damage."

"May I help you with that, Your Majesty?" Birger asked. Aurora smiled. She had hoped the bookish councilman would offer his assistance.

"The Empress thanks you," Anna responded. "And when Her Majesty is feeling better, she would like to go into the streets and encourage the people. She hopes to put at least some of the rumors to rest."

"You are not going anywhere until the doctor and I give you a clean bill of health!" Nanny said before adding, "Your Majesty," to soften the blow.

Aurora glared at the woman. She had had a near-death experience and was not about to be told what she could and could not do, but she also knew that the damage in her body from the explosion needed to heal. The Empress had taken the brunt of the blow, shielding the others on the platform and in the audience from the worst of the blast. Still, she was the Empress, and she felt an urgency to put things to right. It was a frustrating dilemma.

Zan and the others began to examine the plans for the military more carefully and the tension in the air shifted to one of collective action. At last, they came to a point where they could think of no more changes. "We will have to run this by the generals and get their input, but this was an excellent idea, Your Majesty," Zan could see that Aurora was getting tired.

Seeing the same, Anna nodded. She and the Empress had a whispered exchange. "Please bring their findings back when you have them, Chief Zan." Anna spoke for her mistress.

"Glory to the Empress!" the Council filed out. Just then, a few of the young pages from the library were admitted with piles of books. Anna tried to direct the boys to put the books on the far side of the room, but Aurora had other ideas. The books were placed with her on the bed.

"But you need to rest, Your Majesty," Anna interjected, looking helplessly at Nanny. The lady-in-waiting watched as Aurora used her good arm to pull the first volume towards her and open it.

In the quietest of voices, Aurora whispered her response, "To quote Brinn, I'll sleep when I am dead."

Having heard her, Nanny responded, "Just don't hasten it, my dear."