Illusion

Aurora saw the glowing mirror as she was getting ready for bed. Her heart skipped a beat as she was aching for news of her daughter and husband. So she was surprised when Brinn was the face she saw in the reflection.

"Sorry Sis, I know what you were hoping for, but your fool scientist had the mirror and did not think to tell me."

"I did not know!" Renat protested in the background of the message.

Despite the disappointment, Aurora could not help but smile at their antics.

"Hush, child!" Brinn told the boy. She looked back into the looking glass. "Anyway, Alvar made it safely. We are forming a plan to get Bukuri to safety, but we must coordinate with my parents. I hope you are with them. I will look out for your response." The mirror went dark.

Aurora was glad that she was still with the elves. She had planned to leave the next day, but this might delay her slightly. However, getting to safety was worth it. She had spent far too much time in captivity with no one even knowing she was missing. It was heartbreaking.

The Empress quickly messaged Brinn back and after a period of waiting with nothing happening, the mirror lit again. It took three more messages in the game of mirror tag for them to decide to make plans in the morning with everyone present.

The next morning in the Negotiation Room, Zoltan was very intrigued by the magical mirrors and even took his hand at communicating with those in Valiant. "It is quite a handy magical object," the king admitted as he weighed the mirror in his palm. "You are truly a Favored of the Fates to have such devices."

Aurora gave a guilty smile. "We actually took these from Cafer. They belong to him."

"The Empress is a thief. I did not see that one coming," Zoltan chuckled.

"I am a woman of many talents," Aurora smirked.

Other than his annoying fascination with protocol and his ruining the life of her Chief Councilman, the king was not altogether terrible. She could understand better where Ithel got his awkwardness, and Aurora had come to get along well with both the elven males. Even Zan had come to something close to friendship with both of them over the past two days.

The group continued their mirror plans with Alvar in Valiant even after Brinn (or rather Mairwen) was called away. In the end, they decided it was safest to move Bukuri south and send elven knights to come and get her. Trying to break through any barrier that the gnomes made in order to move north would be too risky in Bukuri's current condition. There was not enough fighting power to keep her safe if they were attacked.

"Brinn thinks Renat should go with the rest of the group, and I should take his place at the palace," Alvar informed them in his most recent message. "I wanted to make sure that this is acceptable to Gandr. Bukuri will be in good hands, just not mine."

Aurora turned to Gandr, who was in the room listening with the rest. "Alvar is right. She is your mother. What do you think?"

Gandr thought for a moment. "Brinn would never risk someone else's safety for her own selfish gain." The halfling gave a pointed look at the elf king, who wisely averted his gaze. Brinn and Zoltan were like night and day, but if Zoltan got Bukuri into this mess, Gandr thought that Brinn could get her out. "I trust Brinn. But If Bukuri is able, I would like them to seek her permission also."

One of the messages earlier told of Bukuri's improvement, and Gandr had whooped in excitement. If his mother were able to talk, her wishes should be considered too. Aurora handed the mirror to Gandr and let him send the answer in his own words.

"Ask my mother for her blessing on this plan, but I believe Brinn will make the best choice. You have helped my mother as you promised, Alvar. Thank you." Gandr lowered the glass with a tear rolling down his cheek. He hoped that he had made the right call.

"You will see her soon," Lanassa cooed as she rose and gave the halfling a hug. Ithel nearly fell from his chair in astonishment at his mother's softness. While he was clearly his parents' favorite, even he had only received such affection a handful of times. Brinn would never believe her brother when he told her about this miracle.

The mirror lit once more. "I will make sure to speak with Bukuri as you ask. If we go with this plan, then Renat will take the mirror with him when they leave. Gandr will be able to communicate with his mother soon."

It was decided that a meeting point would be established once the group escaped and found a safe place to hide. Too much was unknown to make that call just now.

"Wherever I am, I will get word to you when it is time to act," Aurora assured them.

Lanassa handed Gandr a set of message balls in a bag. "These may help." The halfling took them graciously.

"Thank you for your assistance," Zoltan told the Empress graciously.

"Of course. Anything for Bukuri and Gandr." Aurora responded easily. There was really no other choice in her mind.

"You have given me much to think about." Zoltan said vaguely.

Zan, who had been watching the whole scene silently, nodded. "Perhaps you are realizing that humanity is worth saving, after all?"

The king looked sidelong at the guardian. "Indeed."

—————

The following day, Aurora, Zan and Gandr left the elven city. Aurora declined the assistance of an elven detail of soldiers. The group did not want to seem aggressive to the fairies, which is where she was heading, and there was no way to guarantee that the elves might not do something to Zan. Word had spread of the guardian's love for the queen, and that received mixed responses from those who heard.

With the three now added to the friends of the elves (and Gandr being half-elf), the trio was able to leave the dome barrier without a problem. They found themselves in the vast parts of the land of magic.

"You sure that you can get us to the fairies from here?" Aurora asked.

"You do not seem to have a lot of faith in our navigational skills," Zan responded as he controlled his annoyance.

"Well it has been hundreds of years since you were a famous explorer. Perhaps things have changed." The Empress was not trying to be rude. She just felt like something was not quite right.

"It has been a while since the last time I was here also," Gandr admitted. "But we should be fine." The further they went, however, the less confident he became. They had not reached any of the landmarks in a long time.

Aurora looked at a crooked tree that vaguely resembled a heart. "I think we have been here before."

"We have," Zan confirmed. "I marked on this tree in case we needed to retrace our steps."

"We went in a circle?" Aurora asked.

"No, we have been using the sun as our guide," Zan argued. He was too good a navigator to be tripped up like that.

"I think there may be magic at play…" Gandr surmised. He closed his eyes and sensed the ground. "Stay here," the gnome ordered the other two.

Gandr walked ahead of them until he slipped over the horizon. Zan and Aurora exchanged a glance.

"Should we go after him?" Aurora wondered.

Zan shook his head. "He said to stay here."

The two sat down on the grass and watched for Gandr's return. The land around them was peaceful, and they were even able to watch a jackalope munch on a leafy flower nearby. Zan pulled some dried meat from his cloak and offered half to Aurora. They ate in silence.

"I hope you saved some for me," Gandr complained. The pair realized that the halfling had somehow snuck up behind them.

"How did you…" Zan's mouth hung slightly open.

"There is a permanent portal of some sort here. You can't tell because it matches the trees. It landed me just far enough back there that I could not see you until I came over the ridge. It is very clever actually." Gandr could feel there were trees in the ground ahead of them that he could not see because of the portal. That is what had tipped him off to the mirage.

Now that Aurora looked closely, she could see the line where the ground did not match. It was so subtle. "Amazing!"

A small speck of light caught their eyes. It flew beside them and materialized into a what looked like a crotchety old man with wings. His was short and squatty, with long white hair reaching to the ground. The fairy looked them up and down with his judgmental chestnut eyes and snorted.

"Took you long enough to figure it out. I thought I might die of old age before you stopped going in circles." His thick white eyebrows moved up and down with his criticism. "Now, why are you trying to invade my home?"