Hours after his son had left, after he had send sent a letter off to Skelion informing the king and queen that they should expect him within the week, after the business of the day had been attended to, King Holden returned to his private chambers. As the heavy oak door boomed shut behind him, he spoke.

"Is it done?" he asked the seemingly empty room, though he knew the answer.

"It is," replied a voice from the heavy black shadows in the corner of the room. If Holden squinted he could just make out the owner of the voice, though he was nothing more than a silhouette, black against deeper black.

"Good," Holden said. "And the king and queen are unaware of my involvement in the princess' disappearance?"

"Of course," replied the voice from the shadows. "There's a reason why my services don't come cheap. The king and queen are none the wiser, not will they ever be."

"Excellent," Holden said. "Then everything is going exactly according to my plan." He was speaking more to himself than to the figure in the corner now.

"If you don't mind my asking," the Ward, for that was who the figure was, said, his voice a lazy drawl. "Why all the subterfuge? Why not simply publicly ask the king and queen to grant their daughter's hand to Prince Leo? Why get me involved at all?"

"Because," Holden replied teresly, "Phillip and Melinda are damnably obstinate. Since the day their daughter came of age, they have flatly refused to marry her to anyone they think unworthy of her. Unfortunately for every monarch in the Kingdoms with a child of marrying age, that's everyone. They do have one exploitable weakness though- they are firm believers in the idea that one good turn deserves another. They stake their honor and their personal integrity on it. Do a good deed for them, and they will pay you back in kind."

"So you think that if Prince Leo returns their daughter to them, they'll grant him her hand?"

"I don't think they will, I know they will. Repaying debts owed is a matter of personal pride to them. Since the day I ascended to the throne of Academie, I have studied the other monarchs in the Kingdoms closely in order to familiarize myself with the weaknesses they posses that I might exploit for the benefit of my kingdom in the future. It is because of these efforts that Academie will one day be the greatest of all the Nine Kingdoms, greater even than Skelion." His rant finished, Holden fell silent.

"And here I thought monarchs had no ambition," the Ward remarked after a moment, amusement coloring his tone.

"We don't all peak when we take the throne," Holden scoffed in reply. "Only a fool sits comfortably in their seat of power." Silence fell once more. Somewhere in the palace grounds, an owl hooted.

"I'll take my leave of you now," the Ward finally said. "There are many hours left in the night, but many servants roam this castle,and it would not do for one of them to find me here." Creeping through the shadows until he reached Holden's window, he hoisted himself onto the sill and paused there for a moment, silhouetted against the bright moonlight streaming in through the window.

"Farewell, Holden the Schemer," he said. "If you ever need another princess kidnapped, you know where to find me." With that, he launched himself out of the window and disappeared into the night.