The Aftermath

Devrim was conscious when the princess reached him. "Mairwen! Are you ok? Where are Aurora and Alaron? No one will tell me anything." The servants inside the room had precious little information, and the soldiers were busy securing the palace from intrusion.

Mairwen limped to her father and sat next to him on the bed. She still had no shoes, having lost one to throwing it across the ballroom and the other to a stone prison. A servant noticed the need and quietly left to fetch her some soft slippers. Lying on his bed, Devrim was pale but seemed to be gaining strength quickly. His eyes were growing clearer by the minute.

"Calm down, Father. You are still recovering." Mairwen said gently. "You wanted me, and I am here. For the moment, I am afraid I will have to be enough." She pulled her feet up on the bed and winced.

"You are hurt!" Devrim struggled to sit up and inspect her feet.

The princess gave a sad smile. "It is nothing. Cafer just cemented my feet into the floor."

"I will kill him," the Emperor threatened.

"No you will not, at least until you recover."

"Please tell me that we have caught him." The grey-eyed man's hopes were dashed as he looked at his daughter's face.

"The soldiers are still searching, but he seems to have escaped." Mairwen paused, unsure how much she should say. Deciding that honesty was best, the princess went on, "Alaron went with him, and…my brother used magic to help them escape."

Devrim was so still that the princess thought perhaps he did not hear her. Then he spoke, "You do not mean that he used a magical object. You mean he practiced magic himself."

Mairwen nodded, and the Emperor heaved a sigh. "I have to go after him. He is going to kill himself with that nonsense."

"When the doctor says you are fine, we will talk about what to do next," the girl said with great authority.

Devrim could not help but chuckle, "You sound just like your mother. You should ask her what to do about your feet. Cafer pulled the same trick on her ten years ago."

"He needs to work on new material then," Mairwen laughed.

"Where is you mother? Is she trying to bring back order to the chaos?" Devrim was anxious to see his wife.

The princess ran her fingers nervously through her long hair as she chose her words carefully, "I think Cheif Zan, Captain Caleb, and Spymaster Brinn are trying to contain the situation. Mother cannot help them right now."

"Why not?" The Emperor got a sinking feeling.

"Because she was hurt in the fight with Cafer, Alaron and Xander." The girl could not meet his eyes as her own were tearing up.

"Xander! That pirate was here?!" Devrim clenched his fist. He had not met the man personally, but he knew that the buccaneer was a tyrant.

The girl's brow furrowed as she nodded. "Yes, and he cut Mother's arm and neck. Then Alaron used magic to destroy the wooden dais with mother standing on it."

"No!" Devrim screamed, "Is she.."

Holding up her hands, Mairwen stopped his morbid thoughts. "She is alive, but she was badly injured. Brinn went to check on Her Majesty while I came to you."

On cue, Brinn came in the room with a servant and a healer. The servant was carrying fluffy blue slippers and the healer was pushing a chair on wheels. "Did someone call for me?" She said with enough sarcasm that both Mairwen and Devrim felt a glimmer of hope. "I have come to transport two Royals to the Empress's room."

"How is she?" The father and daughter asked in unison.

Brinn's smug demeanor faded slightly. "The Empress is a survivor. But I know that she will be better with you both by her side."

Two servants helped the Emperor out of bed and into the wheeled chair before Brinn stopped them. "The chair is for the princess and her injured feet."

"But His Majesty!" One of the servants objected.

"His Majesty only took a nappy-poo due to what I suspect is some sleeping powder. He should be the most rested of us all." The elf tapped her foot impatiently.

Instead of being offended, Devrim was relieved. He stood and helped his daughter to sit down. "Thank you," he said softly to the spymaster.

She responded in the same quiet tone, "Go on, lover-boy. Let us go see your wife."

When the three made it to the Empress's suite, the sight was somber. Having done all he could to secure the palace, Zan was now stationed silently along one wall. The doctor was bent over Aurora as he monitored her breathing. The dark-haired woman had been changed from her lovely ball gown into a night dress, but the bandages on her arm and neck were clearly visible. The Empress's breath was shallow and her eyes were closed in an unnatural sleep.

The doctor noticed the newcomers and motioned Devrim over to the bedside. He and Mairwen approached cautiously. "I have given the Empress something to help ease her pain. She has suffered a lot of damage." The physician had seen many things over the years including the death of both of Aurora's parents. The hardest part of his job was delivering bad news.

"Will she be alright?" Devrim held his breath. This was the question everyone in the room needed to know.

"I am not sure. We will know soon if her condition worsens." The doctor went back to his ministrations as Mairwen held her mother's hand gently. Devrim walked over to the wall toward Zan and Brinn, who had joined him.

"We never should have let Aurora use herself as bait." The Emperor said bitterly.

"I am not sure you could have stopped her even if you had tried," Zan responded with a sigh. "She was very determined."

"And her plan worked. We were able to capture Cafer in one of those wooden domes." Brinn added.

"Then what happened!?" Devrim felt so behind. How could so much have happened in such a short time?

"We did not account for Xander being here with his Merpearl and the fact that somehow Alaron has learned magic." Zan did not like feeling unprepared.

"Mairwen mentioned those developments. Alaron and magic… I can hardly believe it. And the Merpearl entrances everyone who looks on it. How did you ever escape?" The Emperor had read the reports of what the Merpearl could do. It seemed a formidable object.

"Her Highness did not tell you?" Zan allowed himself a small smile.

"No..."

"The princess saved us, including you. Without her, we would probably all be dead. She is a true heroine." Brinn also smiled as she shared the news.

"Tell me everything." Devrim felt pride in his daughter's bravery.

"Ask Her Highness yourself. And perhaps the Empress would like to hear it too. I am sure she wants to know of Princess Mairwen's adventure." Zan placed a comforting hand on the man's shoulder and nudged him back towards Aurora.

Devrim nodded. "Yes, of course." He walked over to the bed and sat down. He tucked his wife's hair behind her ear gently and kissed her forehead. "Did you hear that, my love? Mairwen saved us. Listen as she tells us how…"