Brinn waited until long after everyone was asleep to leave Mairwen's suite. Unwilling to let Renat return to his room in the infirmary, the elf had given him one of the sitting rooms to use for a bedroom.

If she could return him to the real princess, Brinn promised herself that she would. In the meantime, she would keep him close.

The ladies-in-waiting had been returned to their rooms as well. The girls chatted nervously, afraid of the short men who had taken over the palace. Brinn, disguised as Mairwen, tried to settle their nerves. "It will be fine," the elf assured them. "Mind your own business and stay here as much as possible. We will figure something out."

"Your Highness," a girl with long blonde locks said. "Are you alright? You sound different."

Brinn gave her a princess's scowl. "This is my assertive voice. Get used to it or I will release you from your duty!"

"Yes ma'am," the lady responded humbly and curtsied.

'Whew,' Brinn gave a silent sigh of relief until another one of the girl's slowly raised her hand. "What is it?!" the elf snapped.

"Why…why is that scientist here?" She asked as she mentioned Renat.

Brinn's eyes narrowed. "You know how much time I have spent around Renat. You all will let him stay and pretend he is my servant. He is one of the few people that we can trust right now."

The girls all nodded dutifully. They liked the idea of Renat being there for protection. Brinn did not tell them that without his experiments, he could do very little to keep them safe.

"We will keep the secret," they promised.

"Good girls," Brinn said before she realized that this is not how Mairwen would respond. "I mean, thank you ladies. I have confidence in you."

"Shall we help you prepare for bed?" one lady asked.

"No need," Brinn answered quickly. "I will take care of myself this evening." The elf dismissed the girls and sighed with relief. If they had tried to undress her, they would have quickly realized that she was not what she appeared when her clothes transformed as they left her body.

When those in the palace had finally gone to bed, Brinn went out on the balcony and scouted her position. The guards nearest her were looking away from the palace for trouble, ignoring the elf completely. 'Good.'

Edging out onto the decorative overhang, Brinn scooted along the narrow ridge until she reached the next set of rooms. 'That was a piece of cake,' Brinn thought proudly. She slipped into the small window and nearly tripped over something large.

Correction: it was someone. Many of the gnomes, being lazy, had hidden out in this secluded area and had fallen asleep. Brinn would have to tiptoe through the minefield of snoring sleepers before she could taste freedom. 'I jinxed myself,' she lamented.

The going was slow, but the elf was able to quietly pick her way through the mass of bodies. Once a gnome with hair almost as red as Brinn's grabbed the girl's leg as if it were some stuffed toy. With great effort and a little tickling, the elf was able to free her captured limb.

Picking up a couple of folded blankets, Brinn shifted into an average looking servant and walked calmly from the room. The two guards in front of the princess's door noticed the servant but as she was not very pretty, they ignored her.

In a combination of shape shifting and invisibility, Brinn made her way to the dungeon. She was surprised to find it mostly empty.

"Where is everyone?" she wondered. Silently, she backed out of the prison and went exploring.

The large hall for parties, the banquet hall and the front entry were in ruins. Some of the rock had already been cleared, and Brinn could see the stars though the missing roof. She dug through the rocks to find the few of her belongings that she valued. Most of them were damaged, but still usable. She tucked them away.

As she moved along, Brinn found that other parts of the palace were in better shape, and some looked completely untouched by the dragons. It was interesting to see. Using the shadows, Brinn ghosted across the castle without being seen.

As she wondered onto an upper floor, the elf found more than a few guards milling about in the hall. Brinn turned invisible and managed to slip into the door beyond the group.

Inside, the elf found what she was looking for. Within the large room, soldiers, servants and other humans were huddled in small groups sleeping. Scanning the group, Brinn spotted General Nurlan.

She tiptoed over to the burly soldier, who was one of the few people still awake. Nurlan was looking out the window with a stern gaze.

"General, what are you looking at?" Brinn asked innocently.

"I am watching the horizon for signs of hope," he responded philosophically. Then he looked suspiciously at the person who has spoken.

Brinn revealed herself in her true form before turning back into a boring servant. "Did you miss me?" She asked with a toothy grin.

Nurlan pulled her to one side and whispered quickly. "What are you doing here? Do you have news of the royal family?"

"I wanted to see who was captured. The enemy does not know I am here. As for the royal family, I am pretending to be the princess. Mairwen and Emperor Devrim escaped."

"And Her Majesty?" Nurlan held his breath.

"I am not sure. Cafer thinks she has died but the Emperor did not act like it. I will investigate further." Brinn looked around again to make sure that they were not overheard. It seemed like no one was paying them any attention.

"Is this everyone?" Brinn asked.

"These are those who would not join Prince Alaron. We have been threatened with the dungeon in the morning if we do not acknowledge the new Empeor." He paused. "Some of the Council was here, but has been removed."

"I will look for them tomorrow," the elf assured him.

"There is more." Nurlan was not sure what to say.

"What is it?" Brinn could not imagine what else there could be to tell.

"Before they blocked off the door to the next room, I could see other prisoners in there. They are not…human."

Brinn scratched at her rounded ears. "What do you mean?"

"Go look for yourself. I hope to see you again soon. Please let me know any news." The general saluted the spymaster. She returned the motion before leaving the man filled with the hope he had been searching for among the stars.

In the next room, only darkness greeted the spymaster. As she slipped through the window, which was easier to enter than through the guarded door, Brinn wondered if the creatures inside had been moved.

"Is anyone here?" She whispered softly.

A male voice answered her. "Somehow I do not think you are a human or a gnome…"

"Sh! For now I am just a voice in the night. Are you friend or foe?" With her keen hearing, she moved over to the sound.

"I am a foe and prisoner of the gnomes. Does that make me a friend?" There was a slight whinny in his voice as he chuckled softly.

The tiniest light splashed the room in a soft blue. Brinn recognized the type of light immediately, "A winter fairy?" She gasped as she looked in a corner of the room. Many fairies were chained together, and one of them was glowing in her sleep. The others ignored their glowing friend.

"She must be having a bad dream," the male voice responded gently.

The elf had been so startled by the light that she just now examined her new companion. He was large and had the bottom half of a horse. "How in the world did you get up here?" Brinn blurted at the centaur.

He gave an amused grin. "Not easily, but the gnomes and their swords can be very persuasive."

"Second question: why are you here?" the elf saw no good reason for these magical creatures to be in the castle.

"I have wondered that myself," the centaur mused. "King Baak is very twisted in his logic. After we tried to escape ten years ago, he considers us his prizes. Ha! Until a couple weeks ago, he even kept us inside his treasury, the crazy gnome! We are trophies from past victories. So he brought the two of us and his personal kitchen fairies to the palace. I assume his physical treasure will follow shortly."

This was good news, because it meant Baak would not automatically kill everyone who defied him. Brinn's eyes widened. "You said two of you, but you did not mean the fairies. Who else is here?"

"Sh!" the centaur moved his legs and body to reveal a frail sleeping figure behind him. She was once a beautiful elf, but most of the life looked drained from her. She shivered before the centaur moved back to let her use his warmth.

'Why does she look like my mother?' Brinn wondered to herself. "Do you know this elf's name?"

"So you are an elf too? I thought as much," the centaur nodded his understanding. "This elf has likely been missing longer than you have been alive. Her name is Bukuri."

Brinn held in her scream, and it came out a strained whisper. "This is my Aunt Bukuri?! But she is supposed to have run off to the human world before I was born. I had always hoped that I would run into her somewhere."

"And now you have, just not how you thought." The centaur was openly glad that he had found one of Bukuri's family at last. His mission was nearly complete.

Brinn moved behind the centaur to the fragile figure. "Aunt Bukuri? I am your niece, Brinn. I am so glad I found you."

"She doesn't speak." The centaur shook his head.

"Can't or won't?" Brinn queried.

"I am not sure." The large creature shrugged.

The spymaster stroked her aunt's cheek. The other elf smiled slightly. "I have been wanting to meet you for so long. I wanted to ask why you left. I always thought you were like me: very headstrong. I guess you are because you have not given up. You are a brave fighter." Brinn cooed.

The older elf stirred. Her eyes slit to look at the soothing voice. Brinn felt encouraged. The younger elf stepped out on a limb with her next guess.

"I believe you may have a son. A halfling. I have met him. His name is Gandr. Do you know him?"

Bukuri's eyes went wide, but unexpectedly closed. She huddled close to the centaur and made her body small.

"I think that is all for now," the centaur urged.

Brinn nodded, "Of course. I will find you again soon."

"Until next time," the horse-man agreed.

The red-headed elf disappeared into the night, and only the whisper at the window hinted where she had gone.

The centaur nestled down around the elf as he decided to try to sleep. But as he dozed off, he could almost hear Bukuri sigh one name, "Gandr."