Juno entered the tavern when allowed. She had been against the plan to test Gossamer, knowing he was no agent for the Brotherhood. Kelton relented, sensing O'fan's reluctance after he had gathered words from a merchant describing Gossamer's compliance with the Brethren in the north.

All her reservations fled when she saw the embrace between Gossamer and Kelton. There was so much joy in Kelton's eyes. Gossamer's eyes were squeezed shut as if he were attempting to stall them from tearing. She almost didn't want to intrude, yet others were not so reluctant. Many patrons were gathering around them, murmurs of the Answer spoken as if they floated above all they held dear.

"You had the right of it," O'fan said as he moved aside Juno. He was all smiles as he pointed at the two who had yet to separate. "He is true to Kelton."

"You should trust more," Juno said. She desired it to be more of an admonishment. Instead, it was spoken with compassion; Kelton's grip on Gossamer was too endearing to sound foul.

"Aye," O'fan said. He smiled. "Though it is best to be sure with such things. There is only one Answer."

"True," Juno agreed. "If it were any other, I would have been with you." She smiled as well. "All is well, so you are forgiven."

O'fan bowed deeply. "I thank you, my Queen."

Juno snickered. "I am not used to my lady, O'fan. Do not start another..."

"Juno!" Gossamer called. His eyes were open, the moistness apparent, and an odd match for the smile. He waved her over, gathering Kelton's instant agreement. It was strange how the people nearby sensed what was happening and, in unison, cleared a table for Kelton. They gathered around as Juno joined. It would not be a private affair.

"He has returned," Gossamer said as he hugged Juno. An obvious statement, but she allowed him his joy and endured the tight squeeze. "He returned for you." The squeeze tightened.

"Aye, and for you," Juno said, her eyes filling as the idea of it graced her heart again. Gossamer released her and kissed her forehead.

"I am whole," Kelton whispered, not wanting to share the sentiment with the crowd.

"We are whole," Gossamer roared. A cheer went out, yet most surely thought it meant something other than it did. Chairs were pulled out and offered to the trio. They took them gladly, Gossamer on one side of Kelton, Juno on the other.

"You are the Answer," one of the crowd said, half question - half statement.

"I have claimed it," Kelton said. Juno felt her pride swell. It wasn't the words; it was the determination in his voice. Add the acknowledgment from the patrons, and she felt like the queen O'fan had named.

"Change is on the wind," Kelton said as he stood once again. "In time, we will gather and end what is and build what will be." He looked down at Juno and smiled. "It is a mountain we climb, but the valley on the other side will be a wonder to see." His eyes rose again, and his voice deepened to echo off the walls. "A land without Choosings, a land without Cursings. This is my dream, and if you can see it in your mind, then I welcome you." There was a slight pause before he added. "The Goddess welcomes you!"

Kelton's words inflamed the passions of the people and brought forth loud adulations. Juno was surprised by the last part, his boldness at separating the Goddess from the Brethren as if he claimed he was her chosen. It is what many believe, but Juno had never heard him voice his agreement. She knew he found the story a tool at best. His new words would travel the land quickly now, of that she was sure.

"Are you taking my part, sire," Taggert shouted from the door.

"Taggert!" Gossamer rose and traversed the tables, meeting Taggert halfway. They embraced hand to wrist, and then Gossamer pulled him into a bear hug. Kelton used the interruption, and the loss of attention, to sit back down, his arm wrapping about Juno. She leaned into him as Gossamer returned with Taggert.

"Whatever horrors are to come," Kelton whispered to her, "finding you, and now this day, will guide me through it." Juno smiled as he kissed her cheek. Whispers among those surrounding contained the words Cursed and Answer as if they did not belong together. Juno ignored the talk, even when false revelations of her being the-last-of-the-line were bantered about. Her world was sitting next to her, so it was easy to disregard the useless clammer of others.

"Am I the last you have gathered?" Gossamer said with humor in his tone. He had a glow in his eyes, the same Juno saw in Kelton's when happiness ruled his world. Father and son - Gossamer had passed down the best of himself.

"Aye," Kelton replied. "Though the order was of chance's design."

"I will hear this tale," Gossamer said as he sat down again.

"Taggert?" Kelton asked.

Taggert nodded and moved with agility to the platform Gossamer had recently relinquished. The witness's job is to pass on the word of the Answer, and Taggert played the part well. Gossamer chuckled as his protege gathered the tavern's attention with skill and began Kelton's story. Juno knew the tale by heart, yet she too was spellbound by the masterful telling.

Striker moved like a predator, absorbing his surroundings with every step using eyes, ears, and nose as guides. The trees were his true home, a place where he was most comfortable. The rules others lived by were confusing and led to actions he failed to forecast. In the woods, a bear was a bear, and there was little randomness in how it would react. People were the real wild animals, always doing the unexpected.

The sentry was only half attentive, a young man whose stature looked less than proud. The day's fading light showed his eyes intent upon a twig he was twisting in his fingers. Striker assumed the guard's mind was lost in pleasant things, most likely dreaming of breasts as young men were wont to do.

He moved past the man, closer than most would have attempted—an easy task for one at home in the forest. Striker could feel when attention was on him, and when it was not. He found pride in his skill, and it had served him well. Past the guard, he established an air of belonging and strode through the camp toward the central tent, no longer caring who saw.

"Your business?" the guard at the front of the Hold Lord's tent asked as Striker neared.

"The King's business," Striker replied. He let disdain accompany the words to speed entry.

"Let him in," a voice called from inside. The guard did so in a snappy apologetic way.

"Striker," Hold Lord Vanet said. "Your look as if you have wallowed with the beasts." He rubbed his nose. "And smell so as well."

"Hold Lord," Striker replied with a smirk and a nod. He smelled of nature, not the perfumed scent of those with too much coin. There was pride there as well.

"You have news for me?"

"Aye. The King has sent me to find the demon, and I have done so."

"As have I," Vanet said. "He is a day and a half south, and I mean to confront him on the morrow or the next."

"A foolish endeavor," Striker said. It was not difficult to make it sound credible. Haughtiness was an easy to learn skill, as all nobles had proved. "He is baiting you,"

Vanet laughed. "He has but a handful of men, thirty at most. I have amassed three hundred." He shook his head with a chuckle. "And now I have gotten word that women travel with him. They will be slowed, with minds bent to bedding, not fighting."

"Then I shall tell the King that the trap was well set," Striker said.

"Trap? What nonsense is this?"

"Many have answered the demon's call," Striker said, then lowered his voice to a whisper. "The number of King's men who have changed colors has been kept quiet so as not to spread. The handful you know of are backed by many hundreds more that follow in his wake. Many trained, others with a religious zeal that borders on lunacy."

Striker moved closer to the Hold Lord, his face full of concern. "The demon cannot face all the King's men at once, but he can parse them out, taking a chunk at time. You will feed him your numbers and flee in shame. It is best you take time to gather more."

"My scouts have seen nothing of these forces you speak of."

"The same men who allowed me to enter this camp unaccosted?" Striker chuckled. "Though I would welcome them next to me in battle, I have little faith in their guarding and scouting. My guess is they have acquired their tales from commoners - a weak tactic at best. It is my eyes that have seen the truth of it."

The Hold Lord turned away as if he were lost in thought. "A trap, you say."

"You have heard of his skill with swords, have you not?"

"Aye," Vanet replied, turning back.

"I have watched him from afar training others, who again train more." Striker didn't know where the lie came from, but his mind welcomed it. Fear was a good motivator. If he learned anything from the Brethren, it was that, and it fits with the narrative he was constructing. "You will need twice his numbers to engage, and that is if you ignore the beast himself. He moves like the wind and can handle twenty mayhap, thirty himself. He is like a Brother - only with more anger."

"I have heard of his ending of three Brethren," Vanet said, nodding in agreement. "Unseen." A shiver ran through the man.

"Aye, Hold Lord. He is Unseen," Striker said, concern once again on his face.

Vanet took a deep breath and let it out with some disgust. "I had hoped to end this and return to my King, a conqueror. Now you tell me I lack the men." He shook his head. "I dislike your counsel, yet I will heed it and withdraw this day. Mayhap, move west, and merge mine with Lord Belleen's. He has been granted part of the Northern army, a sum far beyond what this demon can gather." He smiled and slapped his fist into his hand. "A shared victory is better than a defeat. I will have this demon's head one way or another."

"A wise strategy, Hold Lord," Striker said, relieved his lies were absorbed as truth. Striker's mission was a difficult one, though one only he could enact. The King asked him to keep the forces separate for as long as he could. The King needed time, and the Prince needed more. "I must return to my duties if you will allow it. Mayhap, I will learn much that will speed your victory the next time we meet."

"Aye, Striker," Vanet said. "Do you desire food or supplies?"

"Nay. I have provisions stashed outside your camp."

"Then be on your way." Vanet stalled a moment in thought. "Send in my captain on your way out. I wish to discuss the ease of your entrance and the ways of my scouts." He smiled as if the coming chastisement pleased him, perhaps some consolation for the lack of the Answer's head.

"As you desire, Hold Lord," Striker said with a bow and left the tent. It had all gone easier than he had expected. The Goddess help him if Vanet, or any of the other lords, discover his lies.

Kelton smiled as Taggert ended his tale. It sounded better than the truth, death being easier to think on than participating in its creation. The story was a sea away from the thoughts he had of himself. He was more bungler than a savior, though he knew no one else could fill his place. Gladly, he would hand someone else the duty and whisk Juno away to House Tarvakian. Alas, he had claimed the task in anger, righteous though it was. And Juno thought it best completed before they sowed their future. So be it.

"O'fan, is it?" Gossamer asked as the small man approached. Gossamer had laughed when Kelton had explained the necessity of playing a Brother.

"Aye, well met, Gossamer," O'fan said with a bow of his head. "My sorrows at the mistrust. Gathered word of you was in error."

"It matters only that Kelton has one such as you," Gossamer said. He joined wrists with O'fan and smiled. "We all must keep him safe until we cannot. I think your ruse wise." He chuckled. "And well done at that. Truly thought my end was at hand."

"You have traveled wide. Mayhap, we can trade words, so I know more of what lies ahead."

"Aye," Gossamer said, releasing O'fan's wrist. "Use me as you see fit, sir. There are many places a teller can go without raising alarm."

"Then we shall be close friends," O'fan said in agreement.

"Good," Kelton said, indicating a chair for O'fan. "Now, it is time for tea. I have some South Alyander that begs for hot water."

"Aye," O'fan said, seemingly glad to take a seat. "But know that we must move by morning. Three have were seen leaving this hamlet, one with speed. News of us will spread."

"Guards out?" Kelton asked.

"Aye, sire," O'fan replied. "Bynard has them well down the roads in pairs."

"It is not the first time I have heard you hailed as sire," Gossamer said.

"They wish me to be king," Kelton said with a shrug. "I am unworthy, but either is the one who claims the title now." He sighed with a smile. "The argument to stop it is unworthy as well."

"He is my king," Juno said, entwining her arm with Kelton's.

"And thus you are queen, my love," Kelton said.

Gossamer's eyebrows rose at Kelton's affection. "You mean to twist words to confer Juno as last-of-the-line."

"Alas," Juno said. "It is not I, and she travels with us."

"She is here?" Gossamer asked.

"Aye. Do you remember that woman I fumbled over so long ago - before I went ill and met Juno?" Kelton asked.

"Serenity?"

"It is her," Juno replied with a nod. Kelton smiled as she leaned into him. There was some needless jealousy in her movements - a wasted emotion, but one he half enjoyed. It was good to feel her need for him, even if it would never match his need for her.

"Most beautiful, if my old thoughts aren't in error," Gossamer said.

"Still a flower," Kelton said. "Though the thorns have grown." Gossamer laughed.

"Many desire her," O'fan added. "Though she is cold to all but our king."

"Cold to him as well, if memory serves," Gossamer added, chuckling at the memory.

"Less so now," Kelton said. "The tale is her guide. It serves her poorly since I have found my days to come, and she is not present in them."

"It is just a story," Gossamer said, this time directed at Juno. "As any teller knows, words shift and sway in the wind. A word means one thing today and another tomorrow. It is an old tale."

"I worry not," Juno said.

"It is Serenity's duty," Kelton said. "I'll not hinder it, though my heart has already found its home. She will have to make do without it." He squeezed Juno's arm, an embrace only she would notice. It was returned in kind.

"It is odd that the old tale has survived at all," Gossamer said, as he leaned back in thought. "I am sure time has warped it, as it does all stories. Could it be that it becomes shaped to fit the day, or does the day shift to fit it?"

Kelton thought back to the library. He had read the verses there, rewritten through time, and unaltered from what he heard in Anagoria. "I think it is unchanged," He said, not fully aware he had spoken aloud. The revelation that it had been preserved well by word of mouth was surprising, now that Gossamer had mentioned it.

"You know this?" Gossamer asked.

"Aye. There is much we must speak on." Kelton altered his mind, returning to the happiness he desired for the night. A night from the trees with Juno at his side, and Gossamer's return. "But that is for the morrow." He rose from his seat. "I mean to acquire hot water and dip some leaf as we have in the past, father. Fresh leaf, not a third straining." Gossamer laughed. A sound that brought back fond memories. Time enough for tomorrow. Tonight, there would be tea, and Juno, and the joy of finding Gossamer again.

"Sanlina has found us a quiet bed," Juno said quietly to Kelton. They had been in the tavern wading deep into memories of the past with Gossamer. The sun had long given up the day if the darkness at the door was any guide.

"Best take it," O'fan said, overhearing her words. "We travel at first light."

Kelton smiled. "It was a good break from things, was it not O'fan?"

"Aye, sire. It is good to hear you are mortal." O'fan smiled at Gossamer, who spent most of the evening reliving Kelton's youth in the woods. Stories of a boy bumbling about and fishing for wisdom that lay just out of his grasp. Juno enjoyed the retellings, more so then when Gossamer had told her in the past. She added a few anecdotes as well, which had Kelton blushing at his past ignorance. He looked good with a shade red in his cheeks.

Juno stood, and Kelton joined her, saying their shared goodnights. She was apprehensive of the offered bed. Not the place she desired it to be, certainly not far enough from her past. A soft smile graced Kelton's face as she took his hand and led him toward the door. He moved as if he heard none of the patrons, who were well into their mugs, shouting their thanks for his existence and wishing him the Goddess' blessings.

"You are worried," Kelton said, his smile fading as they entered the darkness. The central fire was still burning high, creating shadows while they walked.

"Worried?"

"Aye," Kelton said, slowing the pace. He put his arm around her and pulled her close. It helped ward off the coolness that invaded after leaving the heated tavern. "I feel it in you. The way your hand held mine was different - as if it isn't sure it desires it."

"I am only tired," Juno said, wondering if the lie could be parlayed into an excuse. She forced a smile and tucked her arm under his and around his waist.

"It has been a day, has it not?" Kelton said in agreement.

"Aye," Juno replied, her smile struggling to remain.

Kelton looked around, unsure. "And where is this bed."

"At the nighthouse," Juno said, the smile fading from her lips. She pointed ahead at a structure that was a dark blotch against the trees. "The mother there has granted it to us at Sanlina's request."

"Ahh," Kelton said, and slowed to a stop. He turned Juno and himself until they were face to face. His free hand reached up and caressed her cheek, and absently tucked some loose hair behind her ear. "You worry on my desires."

"It is not you I worry on," Juno said. The last thing she wished to do was to slow his love of her.

"It is the place," Kelton said. His hand cradled her neck as if he thought it precious. Bending, he joined his lips to hers. A soft, passionate kiss that stirred her mind. She would surrender to him if it were what he desired, even if it was the wrong bed.

Kelton broke the kiss sooner than she wanted and cradled her face in his hands. "As the nights before this one, I wish you safe in my arms. This is not our place, so only our hearts will join. Someday soon, we will find our place, unsullied by all memories." His smile turned warm, and his eyes glossy, as if remembering a dream. "We will know the right of it when we see it."

Juno pulled his lips back to hers, cherishing the warm desire they held. She squeezed her eyes closed to halt the water swelling in them. He understood as if he saw her thoughts. And it wasn't a dream. If Kelton was the cost of the lashes on her back, then it was coin she would have gladly spent.