Dania

Alaron unconsciously held his breath as he shoved open the door and burst into his home. His sword raised menacingly, the blade clashed with another, and the two weapons locked at the hilt.

The figure before him was hooded, but not in a Guardian's cloak. He had blocked Alaron's strike and remained in a defensive position, but that could easily change.

As the clang of metal rang out, there was a gasp to the Guardian's right as a woman rushed forward. "Don't!"

That one word was enough for the prince to lower his guard. He did not need for the woman to remove her hood to know her identity. With a sigh, Alaron dropped his sword to his side before sheathing it and stowing it in his cloak.

The defensive figure lowered his weapon as well and put it away with a relieved sigh. "Quite a welcome! Is this how you greet all your guests?" the man asked.

Alaron lowered his hood with a scowl, though it was not due to his visitors. "Only when a Fate tells me I should be on my guard…Justum!" he yelled, his voice full of frustration.

A tinkle of laughter filled the cabin. "You wanted a chance to be prepared for anything. You are welcome."

Justum's voice faded, but the Fate did not appear. Knowing his efforts would be in vain, the young Guardian gave up his anger and turned to the woman. She lowered her hood gracefully as her dark hair cascaded from its confinement. Alaron's face softened even more.

He gave a courtly bow. "Where are my manners? Welcome to the middle of nowhere."

With shining eyes, Mairwen embraced her brother. Renat revealed his face as well and shook forearms with the Guardian even as his wife hugged her twin.

"How are the newlyweds? Shouldn't you still be on your honeymoon?" Alaron raised his eyebrows up and down a few times.

"Haha, very funny." Mairwen let go of Alaron with a sisterly push and sat in a seat that was offered to her. "It has been four months since we wed. Not even royals can afford that much time away."

Alaron took another chair around the small square table and motioned for Renat to join them. "I see."

The girl gave an unladylike snort. "No, you already knew we were back in Valiant. You just like to tease. You may not have made an official appearance at Colvyr's first birthday party last month, but I could feel that you were there. Do you think I left that slice of cake in the corner behind the arch on accident?"

Alaron chuckled, "I did think it was too convenient at the time." Then the boy blanched. "Does anyone else know I was there?" As Prince Alaron was officially dead, he was hoping his sentimental attendance at his brother's party would not blow his cover. Attending his sister's wedding had already been a huge risk.

"I am pretty sure that Mother and Father know. I doubt you fooled Zan or Hanna, but since they already know that you are alive, I think your secret is safe." Mairwen placed her hand across the table on top her brother's palm. "It is so good to see you. I have been wondering where you lived."

The small cabin was only one room with a bed and an unassuming table. A few cupboards and chests were situated along the walls containing his paltry possessions. It was nothing like the luxury of the palace, yet somehow Alaron looked more at home here than he ever had in his princely suite.

"How did you find me? No one is supposed to know where I am." Alaron asked, pulling Mairwen from her thoughts.

However, Renat answered first. "Just like you are keeping eyes on all of us, Her Majesty has been keeping eyes on you."

"I suppose not even my death has stopped the Empress from mothering me." The silver-eyed man was both frustrated and flattered by his mother's interference. He gave a weary smile. "So mother sent you here to check on me?" He crossed his legs, ready to hear all the details of what was going on at the palace.

"Not exactly…" Mairwen flushed. She had not meant to mislead her brother. "We came on our own."

"The Empress does not know you are here?!" Alaron was surprised. His eyebrows shot upward.

The princess bit her lip. "She does. However she doesn't know the reason…"

"Because if she did, she would have objected," Renat uttered in a tone that suggested an ongoing argument. "Her Majesty already assigned her best men to the case."

Mairwen's voice raised to a higher pitch. "They stopped searching the moment the letter came!"

"The letter was from Dania herself! She told you that she was fine." Renat rubbed his head.

"I know you think this is a waste of time, but I know she needs our help." The princess turned to her brother. "Please help me. Help Dania."

Alaron's heart was moved by the plea, but he was more than a little confused. "I might be able to help, but first, who is Dania?"

Mairwen shot an anxious glance at her husband. Her beautiful eyes always melted his heart, and he sighed. His hand waved through the air in a circular motion. "Well, do not leave His Highness waiting."

Nodding, the princess breathed deeply. "Dania is a scientist and she is missing. Everyone thinks she left on purpose but I know…"

Seeing Alaron's face already looking lost, Renat stopped his wife. "You should probably start from the beginning, my dear," he said gently.

Mairwen tapped her forehead. "Yes, of course. I got ahead of myself. Everything started when we got back from our honeymoon and returned to the University…"

——————

**Three Months Prior**

The princess and her new husband (who was given the honorary title of prince, but preferred not to use it) returned from their honeymoon glowing with the early bloom of marriage. They had moved into an auxiliary wing of the palace as a temporary residence.

Although Aurora wanted them to stay, the couple wanted to make a life of their own, but what that life would look like was still up in the air. As a result, they remained in the palace at present.

Their first act back in an official capacity was opening the new location of the University. As Renat had told the Council, the previous building which housed the scholars was not big enough and was very old.

Empress Zephyra had wanted to keep advanced thought to herself so that no one could overthrow her, but like most things, Aurora swung far the other direction. After seeing what Renat's inventions could do, she wanted knowledge to be cultivated and promoted en masse, so that the best thinkers could bring the world forward.

In this line of thought, the Empress and Council commissioned a new building be built in Valiant to christen the new era of forward thought. After months of work, the main structure was complete, and many of the scholars were finally able to transfer their experiments and research. Only two days after their return, Mairwen and Renat took a tour of the facility.

The high, arched halls were grand and numerous, and each had offshoots to near countless rooms. Though there was still much to be built, the University was already only second in size to the palace in all of Valiant. After a long morning, Renat became deeply engrossed in a conversation about how to best utilize the front foyer with the Chancellor, allowing Mairwen--and her silent shadow Eira--to wander about unhindered.

Peeking into rooms, the dark-haired woman saw every manner of advancement. One man seemed to be working to build wings for humans to glide. Another was tinkering with a special glove that allowed him to hold fire in his hand. Most of the men she saw were researching or taking down notes.

Finally, the princess stumbled upon an unoccupied room that confused her. Although no one was present, many semi-clear glass containers were being suspended by poles over a fire in a fireplace.

The liquids inside the bottles were boiling. But this was not what was strange. The liquid in one of the containers was changing color as it bubbled.

"Do you see that?" Mairwen asked Eira. The personal guard nodded. "How does it do that?" She wandered forward to examine more closely. Only more questions came to Mairwen's mind. "What do you suppose the purpose of it is? And who would leave it unattended like this?"

Eira shrugged and opened her mouth to answer when a someone else entered from the hall. The personal guard swept to one side to assess the danger, however she did not need to worry.

A woman around twenty was peering down at a book as she padded silently across the stone floor. Her long auburn hair was pinned back to keep it out of her face, and her mood-ring eyes did not glance up as she reached the thick raised table that was used for a desk. She copied something down from the book onto a scrap of paper and hummed to herself.

"The water is reacting to some elixirs that were put into it. The purpose of these experiments are to discover the properties that make the water special. As for your third question, I left it unattended, though I assure you that it was perfectly safe."

At last the woman looked up with a small smile.

"Nice to meet you, I'm Dania."