That night, Marie-Fey stepped into the shadowed parlour on the main floor and found Constantine still sat where she had left him hours before. The servants had brought him a meal at some point during the evening, but it lay untouched on the side table as he sat gazing out into the night.

She watched him for a long, long moment as the silence of the darkness stretched between them, then walked to her usual chair and took a seat, smoothing her skirts.

"So, what caused you to drag yourself all the way out here?" she asked, her voice needlessly quiet as if any louder would shatter the shadows.

Constantine didn't reply, but he took a slow breath, reanimating himself.

A smile eventually formed as he looked at her out of the corner of his eyes. "Can I not just visit my little sister when the homesickness takes me?"

"Not when it's the first time you've chosen to do so in two years since your little sister moved away," Marie-Fey replied, crossing her legs and resting her cheek on her knuckles. "Something has happened. Something dramatic that you've had to run from. What awful scandal have you caught yourself up in? I hope you haven't fallen in with a royal or something so dramatic even Antoinette can't save you."

Constantine laughed, but it didn't reach his eyes as he looked away.

"Con," she said softly, "What happened?"

"Ivy went missing."

Marie-Fey was still for a moment, then slowly felt ice settle in her stomach as a stillness consumed her, a confusion and a disbelief.

"What?" she breathed.

"Ivy... has vanished," Constantine replied, a stuttering detachment in his tone as his emotions attempted to force their way through.

Marie-Fey just sat there frozen.

Ivy. Sophia's little sister. Constantine's childhood sweetheart who he couldn't have because he had ruined himself so much that he would not risk staining her reputation along with his.

Ivy; recently engaged to another.

"Wh... what?" she asked.

Constantine gave her a hollow laugh. "That is the question," he replied, "She was last seen the night of The Midnight Troop's performance. After the show, everyone's attention was on Sophia and her husband because they were departing so quickly. No one noticed she wasn't there until... well into the next day. At first, everyone pointed the finger at me. They accused me of convincing her to run and hide until I could join her, and we could elope... I wish I had; I don't know where she's gone."

"Could she have run on her own merit?"

"She's... she wouldn't just leave her family. She wasn't forced into that engagement; she has her own mind and will use it. Whatever was between us in the end, she chose that marriage and I was not going to sabotage that choice when I hadn't made the move I should of years before... I cannot understand why or where she would run."

He drew in a shuddering breath and laughed.

"The search goes on but I... just had to get away. What can I do? I don't know where she is. I don't know why she left. What if I'm to blame? Because of how I behaved? What if something worse happened to her and we don't know and can't help? So here I am, away from one drama... only to discover my sister has been hiding another drama from the family all this time."

Marie-Fey looked at him, then looked towards the doors. It was a bizarre concept. Ivy had never been a wild child. She had always been clever and pragmatic. The only foolish thing she'd done in her life was hang her emotions on her fool of a childhood friend – who had always been a wild child.

But to just walk away...?

She would have to write to Sophia right away. There was little she could do but offer comfort, but she would need to reach out.

Surely, whatever the cause, it would be resolved quickly.

"Are you sure you won't come back home with me?"

Marie-Fey glanced up, then shook her head. "I'll be home another day," she said softly.

Constantine closed his eyes, shaking his head. "What's wrong with this family?" he muttered.

"I guess we just have a way about us," Marie-Fey said lightly.

"Why did Beldon have to run off to that castle?" Constantine muttered, dropping his head back, rubbing at his eyes.

"I think it started long before him running off to the castle," Marie-Fey pointed out, "Not to mention he wasn't the one who found the castle in the first place. Besides, we've seen some good come from everything wrong with us."

Constantine just grumbled and Marie-Fey sighed at him.

"Beldon and Marie-Fey finding partners and futures is unlikely the cause of Ivy's disappearance, don't get annoyed at them. I still remember what you said to Beldon the same day you discovered she was engaged."

"Yes, that was not my finest hour," Constantine muttered.

"It was not. Neither is you hightailing it out of the country when Ivy is missing, and you could probably help with the search. But since you're here, you can help me with my plans."

"You are brutal at times," Constantine muttered and dropped his hands. "What are your plans?"

Marie-Fey settled back, explaining the rough outline of the plan, and Constantine just looked at her like she was insane, which probably wasn't inaccurate.

"I don't know how you're going to pull this off without the main palace interfering," he eventually said.

Neither did Marie-Fey and therein lay the problem. She had no fear of the old men of the main palace who had done nothing to know her. Her only real contact was Natheer, her voice within the main palace, and the main palace's voice in her palace came through him.

Following that were her guards. Her inner guards. And she was feeling the loss of her original inner circle again because she needed them now. They had been loyal to her, loyal enough to die for the 'foreign princess'.

The question rolled around in her head throughout the night as she lay in bed, thinking but there were no easy answers.

She wasn't leaving the girls.

She wasn't simply walking them out.

She didn't trust them to handle their own survival out there and to simply tell them all to leave was not an option. She didn't control their imprisonment; she couldn't risk their punishment for fleeing – even if she was the one to send them away.

There was no simple way to handle the issue, not without taking months of preparation and planning. But she didn't have months. Meaning the following morning, she had a vague plan and nothing more, and it was going to have to do.

Her first port of call was to inform the main palace she was bored of the decor of the women's palace. It had grown stagnant and she grew tired of looking at it. It would require an entire overhaul and she would need a caravan organised without delay. Her brother had arrived with more furniture which was being stored at the docks and, as she had now returned, he would be sending a messenger to organise the delivery of the items.

The main palace barely took the slightest interest in her interior design plans and her caravan was promised by the following week.

Marie-Fey threw an almighty tantrum at the delay and the caravan was promised within the following day – and arrive the following day it did. And so began the dismantling of her palace. Room by room, the furniture was loaded up. It was a huge operation. Exhaustingly large to do on whim even when Marie-Fey wasn't doing the heavy lifting. Just managing the entire event the first day was tiresome as she refused to allow anyone else to oversee things.

And it was only when the first set of wagons were ready to depart, did they question where she actually wanted the items sent – if anywhere at all.

By that time, Zaydan had joined her, looking at the proceedings and her in utter confusion.

"Have them stored at Lord Zaydan's Palace," she said simply.

The men leading the operation stared at her, then at him as he stared at her.

"What? You barely seem to use the compound."

Zaydan was quiet for a moment, then shrugged. "As the lady says. I have little need for the palace currently and will store the furniture."

The men nodded and turned to continue final preparations and Zaydan caught her arm and pulled her aside.

"Fey, what are you doing?" he muttered.

"Making a final stand."

Zaydan closed his eyes for a moment, drawing in a breath before looking at her again. "Why?" he asked softly. "You don't need to fight him yet."

"He said he would give me time, but he is already on his way back here. I don't want to know what he intends to do but I want to take a risk even less."

"But you are taking a risk. To yourself."

"I mean— yes I realise that, I mean I don't want to take the risk of one of the girls getting caught in the crossfire. Do you honestly believe he'll give me the time he's promised?"

Zaydan was quiet for a long moment, then shook his head. "No," he said, "I don't."

"Exactly."

"But how does dismantling the palace and sending it to my palace help?"

"What is your brother doing?"

Zaydan fell silent, his attention distant, then he blinked back to the moment. "Talking with his commanding officer. He's not paying attention at this moment."

"Then how would you like a new harem?"

Zaydan looked blankly at her for a moment, then his eyes slowly widened. "Marie-Fey," he started, and she held up her hands.

"Just help me. Help me get the caravan to your palace. Help me ensure that no one is sent back. You need to help me."

"Of course I will help you, but this is insane," he hissed. "Do you have any idea what a breach of conduct this is? Can you possibly imagine the punishment for this? Not just for you but for everyone?"

"Yes, I can imagine. I'm willing to take the risk to have this chance. Are you?"

Zaydan took a step back and she caught his hand.

"If you cannot help me, I need you to at least promise to not get between me and Zahir."

"I will help you," Zaydan muttered, his voice incredibly soft, "but you have to realise—"

"I do, everything you can warn me about, I already realise. I know what I'm doing."

They stared at each other for a long moment and Marie-Fey could see Zaydan seeing the lie in her eyes, but he didn't call her on it, he just shook his head, looking away before nodding.

"Alright," he said, "I'll have my men handle the transfer. We'll handle it."

"Thank you," she said softly, squeezing his hand, "One last thing, leave Zufar al-Saleh."

Zaydan raised an eyebrow. "The boy who participated in your near death?"

"Yes, he owes me still. Leave him, I will have need of him."

Zaydan just shook his head. "I can stay instead."

"No, you should not be any more involved. Have him remain to help and you stay out of harm's way. Please don't argue, Zaydan. Please."

Zaydan just closed his eyes again, drawing in a breath before nodding.

"Thank you for helping me," she said softly, when he didn't say anything more, "Travel with the caravan and make sure it's handled... I'll be here when you come back."

Zaydan didn't believe those words then either. Neither did Marie-Fey really, but they didn't comment on it. He walked away like their conversation was the most normal thing in the world and she let him without a word, watching as his lead commander joined him with a bow before stepping in close so they could converse, walking away without a look back.