No Reason to Worry

"Gone? What do you mean, gone?" Aurora felt her stomach clench. "You don't mean..."

"Oh, sorry! No, Devrim isn't dead." Brinn paused, handing the Fate's chain back to its rightful owner. Then, tucking her hair behind her ear, she sat where Hanna had been a short while before. "I meant to say that lover boy left the palace yesterday."

"Princess Brinn! It is not proper to address a member of the royal family in such a manner!" Lanassa was scandalized. Somehow her indignation took the tension out of the other members of the group as they suppressed their chuckles.

"Please relax, mother," Brinn rolled her eyes. "I am among friends, and they know I call 'His Majesty' that. It was one of the few perks of being a spymaster for the humans for so many years."

"I am sure there were more than a few perks," the Empress arched her brow. "But please do not take offense on my husband's behalf, Queen Lanassa. Devrim has his own nicknames for Princess Brinn as well."

The queen mother pursed her lips with displeasure but let the matter pass. "We are getting off topic," she snipped.

Brinn nodded. She scanned the low table in the middle of the group for any salvageable food and popped a handful of berries in her mouth. "It wasn't my fault, but you are right," the elf said, her words coming out slushy.

"Continue whenever you are ready, Brinn," Aurora said in a motherly tone. She could sense the princess was goading her mother after being scolded.

Brinn took the hint and swallowed her food, opening her mouth wide to show that it was empty. Then she began her tale. "I went to find His Majesty. I passed through all the secret tunnels but could not spot him anywhere. Usually he is the center of any major event at the castle. Yet things were eerily quiet."

"That doesn't mean Devrim left. Perhaps he had merely gone to bed early. Did you check..." The Empress stopped and rubbed her temples. "I know you checked his room. That is probably the first place you looked."

The princess took another bite of food, much to the impatience of the listeners. When Brinn was ready, she continued.

"I say it was quiet, but I should mention there was a little commotion around a lovely woman sitting in a rolling chair with a veil who looked quite similar to my beloved Empress. Are you sure you two were not separated at birth?" Brinn wondered.

"You are enjoying this too much. Get on with it," Aurora could stand it no longer.

Knowing what she had to say was actually quite serious, the elf's playful demeanor melted away. "I got Anna alone, and she gave me a message for you. Around two dozen wolves attacked the palace, and Velia is dead. Before she died, the nursemaid gave the name of who Devrim believes is her half brother and the man behind this plot. His name is Sir Taran."

Aurora's heart stopped. "You mean the same Sir Taran that Mairwen is chasing after? The one that the scientist Dania is with?"

"The same one. With some digging, Councilman Ezer found that Sir Taran's father, or at least his family's seal, was used to recommend Velia for the nursemaid's position. Sir Taran and Velia have been exchanging notes through a proxy ever since." Brinn let the information sink in.

"We need to warn Mairwen. She does not know what she is walking into!" The woman requested the mirror from Nurlan. The Empress had become accustomed to keeping her most important items with her while away from home in case she needed to flee suddenly.

"There's more." Brinn's words made Aurora lower the glass and place it in her lap.

"Please give us the missing piece of the puzzle. The Emperor's discovery doesn't explain why he left," Zan's silver eyes searched for the answer in the elf's face.

"Velia caught wind of your planned trip to Oblivion. She told the wolves of the plan before they killed her. One of the wolves escaped. The Emperor believes that Sir Taran may try a full-frontal attack on Duchess Ashleigh in order to get to you and the prince."

"It is a good thing that we aren't there. I guess it really was wise not to let anyone know where we were going, or those creatures might be heading here. Did Devrim leave to send the Duchess reinforcements?"

"Partially. When I say he left, I don't just mean the palace. He left Valiant. Devrim headed north," Brinn enunciated carefully.

Aurora's brow crinkled. "He was supposed to stay and rule, why would he...OH! Mairwen and the others!" The Empress had told the group to stay out of Oblivion, but if they were anywhere in the area, they could still get caught up if things should erupt into a real battle. And since they were looking for Sir Taran and Daria, the odds of finding trouble increased monumentally.

Brinn nodded. "His Majesty came to the same conclusion you just did. When he did not hear from you, he set out to find them and warn Ashleigh...if he can make it in time. Anna said to please send Junayd a message ball with the princess's location when you have it so that he can send reinforcements to protect her."

"Is that everything? Can I warn the princess now?" Aurora ran her fingers nervously along the edges of the mirror.

"That is all. What are you going to tell Mairwen?" Finally free of all the news, Brinn happily stuffed an entire pastry into her mouth. Lanassa inhaled deeply through her nose.

"I am going to tell her the truth. And tell her to stop looking for Dania. The scientist is no longer like a lost puppy needing to be found. She is either a captive, a willing participant in this evil plot, or oblivious and just got caught up in the wrong thing. No matter what, getting close to Dania means getting close to trouble. Mairwen should go home."

"You better phrase your words as a request..." the elven princess suggested to Aurora with a knowing glance.

"Why is that?" The queen mother did not understand.

The Empress nodded. "Because commanding her as her ruler to stay out of trouble is going to mean a royal punishment when she disobeys me and goes after her friend anyway..."

"What makes you think she will defy you in such a manner?" Lanassa looked hard at the human woman.

"Because," Aurora answered easily, "it is what I would do."

"Stubborn to a fault does seem to run in the family," the queen said icily.

"Theirs or ours?" Brinn slapped her knee lightly. Her mother's condescension was quite amusing when it wasn't aimed at her.

"I don't know what you are talking about. I am not stubborn. I am determined." Lanassa fixed her hair with her dainty fingers.

"Two sides of the same coin, Your Majesty," Aurora smiled. "For better or worse, we are all women with minds of our own."

The Empress lifted the mirror and sent both her warning and her request that the princess go home. Then she lowered the glass with a sigh.

"Will we go and try to meet the princess and Emperor, Your Majesty?" Zan asked, unsure of which answer he wanted.

After an internal debate, Aurora shook her head. "I do not think we would add anything to that situation, and we might actually endanger the operation. After all, they are trying to kill me. No, we will go and find this Abominable creature."

"I'm going with you," Brinn gave a lopsided grin. "You aren't going to have all that fun without me. I might even let my husband come along this time."

The Empress glanced at Lanassa, who gave a demure shrug. "I would order her to stay, but as you pointed out, the messy protocol when she disobeys would not be worth my time."

Aurora smiled slightly. "Of course you will come too, Nurlan. Though the doctor is another matter…"

"What about your little one? Surely you will not bring him on such an uncertain mission." Perhaps it was Aurora's imagination, but the queen mother sounded a little too hopeful.

Happily, the Empress took the cue. "You are quite right, Your Majesty. Might I impose on King Ithel's kindness just a little more and have my son and Nanny stay with you while I go on this journey?"

With a solemn nod, Lanassa hid behind a mask of indifference. "I might be able to put in a positive word on your behalf. If Prince Colvyr stays, would you like me to look in on him from time to time?"

"That would be lovely. You are most gracious." Aurora looked out from under her eyelashes and smiled sweetly. A tacit understanding passed between them.

After a moment had passed Aurora checked the mirror once again. No return message had come. Her face turned sullen.

Seeing this, the Guardian cleared his throat. "It is late, Your Majesty, perhaps they are already sleeping." Zan suggested. "We should probably do the same. I am sure we will hear from them in the morning and be able to send a message ball then."

Reluctantly, Aurora agreed, "You are probably right. There's no reason to worry just yet. I hope."