Somewhere Else in the World

"Maybe if I do three parts water and one part this..." Dania's voice trailed off as she tried to hide her thoughts from listening ears.

Someone was always watching her these days. Usually more than one someone. She was nearly immune to their stares after the past two months of being held in this place—give or take.

She had taken scrupulous notes of time at first to fill up her journals and look like she was working harder than she was. But Taran had caught onto what she was doing and gently warned her to stop wasting time.

All that did was cause Dania to have to be more creative. Each little mishap the woman would blow way out of proportion; every setback was somehow the end of the world.

While she couldn't openly sabotage her own efforts out of fear for her family, the scientist did everything in her power to slow her own progress even as she pretended to be working as quickly as possible.

Just now she was tempted to add too much of the chemical in her hand. Dania was a terrible liar, but she was getting desperate. Her genuine fear could hide the fact that the action was not accidental.

Why hadn't help come? The scientist had warned her sister not to help because she had faith that the princess would come to her aid. Her mood ring eyes shone green as she refused to give up hope. She only needed to hold on a little longer.

With a deep breath, Dania prepared to pour the chemical into the mixture within the beaker. Her hand began to shake violently.

"I'd love to know what you are thinking." Hot breath brushed across Dania's neck, startling her.

She gave into her instincts and bumped the table, spilling both the precious water and her additives all over the ground. She jerked her head around, the thick braid of her hair striking the man behind her across his face.

Taran clicked his tongue dismissively as he stepped back.

"You must stop being so affected by my presence, my love," he scolded her as he brushed a few of the droplets from his tunic.

"You scared me, Taran! You have set me back three days, at least," Dania complained.

"I am sure you will recover much more quickly than you think. I have faith in your genius." Taran's eyes held none of the warmth of his smile.

"I will try," the female scientist gulped.

Taran stroked her cheek. "Very good. I know you will perfect your elixir very soon."

"I do not think it is wise to keep trying, Taran." Dania turned her face away. "The other versions of this elixir pose their own difficulties. It is irresponsible to do this to people..."

"I don't hear them complaining. With the chance for power, the volunteers practically poured in. A few side effects are worth the price for power," Taran's eyes glittered with excitement.

"But we are, we are turning people into monsters!" Dania gasped. She had not been meaning to say the words aloud, though they had been haunting her for far too long.

"Maybe for now. But soon you will fix that little quirk, and it will all be but a memory in the name of science. The faster you fix it, the less people will be affected. Do you have the next batch for our willing army to try?"

"You just saw that I spilled..." Dania felt Taran's firm grasp on her arm. While it did not hurt her, she could tell that his strength would break her if he wanted to. "Yumeto took what I already completed," she answered helplessly.

Taran relaxed and stroked his beard. "I'll have to speak to Yumeto then. Our next batch of troops is due later today."

"Did someone say my name?" A man with a shrewd face and high arching eyebrows wandered in through the tent flap. He shook forearms with Taran, and acknowledged Dania with a slight nod.

"We were talking about the next batch of troops. Dania said you collected the elixir for them." Taran turned his attention away from Dania, much to her relief.

"I have and I reported the progress to you-know-who. I know she will be glad to see we have upped our production." Yumeto looked at the auburn haired woman. "I do hope you will make an elixir that works on me, sweet Dania." The man rubbed at his slightly pointed ears.

"I have a theory that your elven blood interacts differently than those with purely human heritage. I am not sure that it can be overcome," Dania said honestly.

Taran placed his arm around his colleague. "Don't fret, my friend. I do think Dania is having fun at our expense. I have yet to see a problem she cannot solve."

Yumeto relaxed slightly, "That is good to hear. Anyway, I did not come to talk about the water. I came to give you these." The tinker motioned for a servant to come in with an armload of message balls. "You have let them build up, Taran, and it is time you went through them."

Taran shrugged. "I know you go through all of them. If there was something you couldn't handle, then I am sure you would have brought it to my attention." The young nobleman looked at the servant, "Set them by that chair and then help Dania clean up the mess."

"What happened?" Yumeto eyed the various liquids covering the table and ground.

"My love still quivers at my attention, it seems. This time she took the table with her," Sir Taran boasted as he blew a kiss toward the woman. She politely pretended not to notice.

"I will never have that effect on the ladies," Yumeto lamented, clutching his chest with conviction.

"Wait until our plan is complete, then every lady will fall at your feet. They love men with power," Taran chuckled. He had seen himself how women threw themselves at his powerful father even though they knew he wouldn't marry them. Or at least that was his impression of how things went.

"What do you think, Dania?" Yumeto watched as the lovely scientist ducked under the table to grab a beaker. She bumped her head slightly at the mention of her name. It looked accidental, but any hope she had of her experiment working today was now out of the question.

"Me?" she pointed to herself as she set the beaker down. "I think genuine love, attraction and respect are far better markers of what a woman is looking for than power." Dania slid her eyes to Taran, but his back was to her.

"Then it is a good thing we have all that and more, is it not," he commented over his shoulder. The young woman did not respond. Instead, she dropped back to her knees and continued cleaning up the mess.

Ignoring her, the handsome man clicked his tongue. The chair where Taran was going to sit was too low to the ground for his large frame. Alas, he would have to make due. Yumeto, who was far less picky, sat on the dirt floor of the tent next to him and handed him the first ball.

"You could have just brought me the messages..." Taran grumbled softly.

"And let you miss the chance to practice opening my glorious invention. I do not think so! I read the message and put them back inside. Now it is like a gift you get to unwrap!" Yumeto's eyes glistened. He wanted nothing more than to be acknowledged for his genius

Taran reached out and patted the man on the shoulder. "Very well, I shall oblige this once."

In truth, the young nobleman was very good at opening and closing the strange balls, so the practice was not needed. But he knew better than to offend an ally. Rifling through the messages, he found a communication from Collyn reporting the death of his sister and the Empress's movement to Oblivion.

"Hm," Taran scratched at his beard.

"My condolences on the loss of your spy," Yumeto could not read the man's face.

"No, Collyn did as he was ordered. I knew Velia was liability after I did not hear from her. Just a shame to lose an asset." Taran placed the paper to one side. "It seems Her Majesty has moved on to Oblivion, dear Dania. Should we send a welcome party?"

The woman's eyes reflected blue as she heard his words. "You know how I feel about all the bloodshed," she said quietly.

"It was due to this feeling that the Princess and Renat were spared. I do hope I made the right call. If you can convince Mairwen that we have humanity's best interest at heart, we can usher in a new era of human superiority." When Dania did not respond, he addressed Yumeto, "Tell you-know-who and we will send the closest forces to attack Oblivion. I advise that we not hurt the villagers unless they attack, but make sure to take down anyone at the Duchess's manor."

Dania's head snapped toward the handsome nobleman. "Taran! You can't do that!"

"Sacrifices must be made, my dear." Taran brushed away her concern, despite the tears forming in her eyes. "I said to spare the town. You should be thanking me. Those bloodthirsty wolves would love nothing more than to ravage the whole place."

Going back to his work, the handsome man continued through a dozen more messages before reaching the last one. "What is this about?" he asked Yumeto.

"This ball came with something hanging from it." The inventor motioned to a satchel.

"Dania, come here!" Taran whistled lightly, calling her like one of his pups.

She reluctantly walked over and sat on the ground beside him. He handed her the bag.

"It seems your sister had some visitors last night. When they were being chased away, one left this behind. Do you recognize it?"

Dania stared at the bag. While the actual sack was unfamiliar to her, she had seen the soft leather before. When she looked into the pack, she saw a beautiful mirror. Due to the jostling by either the monster or the message ball, it was no longer glowing. However only one person she knew could own such fine things. It had to be Mairwen's!

The scientist hid her excitement. "I have not seen this bag before," she answered honestly. "Did they catch the owner of the pack? If you have a name, I can give you more information."

"Alas, this message does not mention their capture or death, but I am sure the next communication will. Until then, would you like to keep the mirror? I saw how it caught your eye. My future wife deserves extravagances like this." Taran fished out the mirror and handed it to the woman.

She dipped her head and smiled. "Thank you, Taran. I appreciate the kindness."

Dania clutched the mirror to her chest. Her hope was renewed. Help was coming.