Valiant

*Two days prior*

Brinn arrived in Valiant on the back of her unicorn just as the light was beginning to dawn. Her wind magic and the unicorn's speed brought them swiftly toward their destination: the palace.

Finding a safe place to stow her steed, she used her stealth to approach the fortress unobserved. 'I hope Aurora was right,' she thought as she waited for the palace gates to open for the day.

Brinn's mind wandered back to the morning after arriving at the Beachy Plains where Aurora had shared her concerns with the spymaster.

"If Alaron is as opposed to battle as you say, then there is no way that Cafer will bring him here," the Empress had said.

Brinn considered her words. "You think the gnome will leave him at the palace."

"I would bet on it. Cafer needs a competent leader for the human troops to follow. If he drugs Alaron and tries to bring him along, a lot can go wrong, and his soldiers will lose faith." Aurora reasoned.

"So…let me guess. You want me to fetch the wayward prince and bring him to the battlefield?" The elf could see where the conversation was going. It made some sense. If the New Emperor's army could see they were being duped, they would not want to fight.

Aurora nodded. She handed Brinn a full water-skin. "Yes, bring him back, but first you have to heal him."

Brinn's eyes grew wide then narrowed. "Was it my father, brother or husband that put you up to this in order to keep me away from the battle?"

The fiery haired woman gave a lopsided grin. "All of them, but that is beside the point. It is the best use of your talents and our resources. Surely you see that."

Brinn took the water-skin from her friend's hand with a scowl. "I hope you know that I hate you all for taking me out of the action…but I will not let you down."

And that is what brought the beautiful elf to the Castle Valiant now. She did not have to wait long for something interesting to start happening. In no time the front gate began to creak open.

"Foot soldiers have all the hard jobs," one of the guards complained. "Open the gates. Ready the carts. Check the supplies."

"Don't forget we will have to be the front lines," the second added.

The first guard hit his hand against the wood of the gate. "Who can forget about that? Just once I would like to be one of the big shots who sits his rear on a horse and orders everyone else around."

"Careful you two," a woman soldier piped in. "You are going to get us all in trouble. Anyway, we need to hurry and prepare. We leave in less than an hour." She used the large metal hooks to lock the gate in place and dusted off her hands. Then she and the rest returned through the gate toward the palace grounds, leaving only a couple of guards behind to keep watch.

Brinn weighed her options, trying to decide if she should make a break for the gate. As much as they were on the lookout for elves, the war preparations would likely lead to at least a little confusion. "Hm," she said to herself, moving away from the entrance and along the wall.

Recalling her normal access point along the wall, Brinn figured that it was the safer option. So the spymaster was exceptionally upset to find that the gnomes or humans had neatly plugged up her hand and footholds to breach the fortress.

Even more frustrating was that, on further inspection, the garbage chute was not only locked, but seemed blocked off completely.

"I hate gnomes… back to the front I go." The trek around the palace walls was tiresome, but not useless. Based on the number of guards along the wall, it seemed Cafer was leaving almost none of the troops behind.

'Does not look good for Aurora's theory. Unless Cafer thinks so little of Alaron…' she mused as she waited outside for the perfect moment.

Suddenly the ground thundered as creatures and equipment began their trek toward the Beachy Plains. Pressed up against the wall and in the disguise of a servant, Brinn was virtually invisible from those who exited. Had anyone looked her way, she would have actually disappeared, but it was unnecessary.

Brinn watched in horror as the gnomes and their new allies headed out in rank after rank. 'This could be a serious problem,' she thought as she looked upward. Her heart sank. Part of her wanted to hurry back and warn the Imperial and magical armies of the new threats, but she knew that she must complete her task first. Even if she were able to warn Aurora and the troops, it would not change much. They would still have to fight them head-on in battle.

While the last of the invaders exited the castle, someone tapped on her shoulder and forced a heavy, full-sized shield into her hand. He must have come from the city, because she had not seen the man exit the gate. "Don't think you can hide from your duties, shield bearer!" the angry human lieutenant barked.

"Oh, I am not..." Brinn answered in an airy voice before she was cut off.

"I do not want to hear any more of your arguing. The Emperor is coming, so look alive!" He straightened and saluted as the final part of the processional made it through the gate.

Surrounded by a dozen horsemen, Cafer and the New Emperor rode proudly out of the Castle Valiant. Alaron looked sickly, but he rode proudly on top of a dark black stallion. He nodded at the crowd and waved with an arrogant grin.

"Glory to the Emperor!" the human soldiers chanted.

"Hail King Cafer," the gnomes called.

Brinn was now glad for the large shield. She was able to hide her body behind it and peek her eyes through the small slit. With her close inspection, she was able to see something was amiss with Alaron. His crude manners--he was blowing kisses at some of the female soldiers--and his awkward seat on the horse did not fit the arrogant, yet cultured boy she knew. More than that. Among the group that passed her now, she could smell no humans, only gnomes.

"Score one point for the Empress. She was so very right," Brinn mumbled.

"What did you say, wench?" the lieutenant asked.

The elf gritted her teeth. "I said if you really want to impress, we should shine this for the fight." The lady gave an innocent smile before continuing. "Let me grab some polish. I will only be a minute, sir."

The 'sir' stroked the man's ego. He looked at the servant. She was not half-bad looking. "Fine, but make it quick. We are heading out. War waits for no one."

"Of course, sir. Right away, sir. Thank you, sir." Brinn lifted the shield and began to carry it with her. 'Have fun dying without your shield, sir...' Avoiding the last of the horses as she entered the wide gate, she gave an embarrassed smile to the palace guard. "Forgot something," she apologized as she held up the shield.

Crossing the palace grounds, she avoided eye contact and clutched the large shield like a dutiful servant. With the chaos and relief of the departing horde, no one seemed to be paying her any mind. Because she was carrying such a large instrument for her small frame, the few that noticed her pitied her.

It was not until she had breached far into the castle that she ditched the defensive weapon and picked up a tray instead. She hurried to the imperial ruler's suite of rooms and was met with nasty surprise. A detail of guards completely filled the hall outside. She approached the group with her tray but only made it a few steps before being stopped.

"Don't come any closer, little miss. Set down your tray and turn around," A gnome with a nasty scar down his cheek ordered her.

"But..."

"No one comes any closer to the Emperor's rooms." The scarred gnome said firmly.

"But I would be happy to let you get close to me when I get off shift," another of the soldiers jeered.

Brinn set down the covered tray and backed away slowly. She did not want to arouse their suspicion just now. Backing down the hallway, she tried to think of another way to breach the room. She could not shift into a reasonable looking gnome. Their bodies were too wide for her thin frame to impersonate. It seemed like there was only one good answer, but she didn't like it.

The spymaster would have to wait for dark and enter the Empress's room the old fashioned way: from the window. 'They better not have plugged those holes too,' she thought angrily, 'or I will be denting some new ones with some gnomic heads!'