A small clank dragon with six claws and something very strange about its talons flew past. Before Maxim could register more than that it was followed by the patter of feet and Ognian swung around and grabbed the cheerful ten year old trying to follow it.

'Hallo, Master Gradok,' he said. 'Isn't hyu supposed to be in a cage?'

Gradok squirmed. His breakthrough had lead to dozens of mini flamethrowing wyvern clanks which had taken them a week to get out of the Castle, although Bludtharst was adapting them into bigger versions for use on the battlefield, and nineteen explosions. 'I got bored,' he said.

'Ho, vell, dot is understandable,' said Ognian.

Gradok nodded enthusiastically. 'I was going to be back before anyone noticed, but my lockpicking dragon escaped. Can you get it back for me?'

Maxim heard a clinking sound and glanced up. The lockpicking dragon was hovering just below the ceiling, somehow contriving to look smug. 'Vill it explode?'

Gradok shook his head. Maxim looked around the hallway, noted a couple of useful statues and nodded. 'Hokay.' He jumped onto the arm of one statue and then across the hall to push off the head of the other and dive at the hovering dragon. It moved aside with a flick of its wings and he couldn't turn in midair fast enough to catch it, instead landing easily crouched in the centre of the corridor. 'Iz fast,' he said with some approval. 'Vell made. Ognian?'

'Yah. Hy drive it down dis time.' Both of them were sliding slightly towards hunting mode. They hadn't been doing anything interesting, and now there was prey, even if it wasn't very dangerous (minus the possibility of explosions). Fun.

Ognian used his poleaxe to vault and then, when the dragon dodged, swung around the pole in midair and kicked the dragon hard in the middle. It squawked and tumbled down towards Maxim, who grabbed it around the middle pinning its wings. 'Heh. Eazy.' Its head swung around on its flexible neck, it glared at him with glass eyes that seemed to have something red behind them…he let go and ducked just in time to miss a very narrow jet of flame that partially melted a statue of Hexagonal Heterodyne. The dragon made a 'Hmph' sound and flew back up to the ceiling, looking down with apparent interest in what they would do next.

'Hyu said it vouldn't explode!' Maxim said.

'It doesn't,' said Gradok. 'But if it can't pick the lock it has to have another way of opening it.'

'Ve could grab its mouth?' said Ognian.

'Hyu can try dot if hyu vant. Be like grabbing de hot end of a flamethrower.'

'Ve could use oven gloves?'

'…Dot might vork.'

'We're going to the kitchens?' said Gradok. 'I'm hungry.'

'Somevun has to keep an eye on dot,' Ognian said, pointing at the dragon.

Gradok looked thoughtful. 'It might follow us. I think it's having fun.'

Maxim looked up at it, wondering how something with no expression was still managing to look so smug. 'Ve find out, I guess.'

Gradok was the only one to actually enter the kitchen, on the grounds that little boys were better at being sneaky than Jägermonsters, but he made up for that assessment by returning with enough gingerbread for all three of them as well as the oven gloves. The lockpicking dragon was still hovering above them as they left the kitchen area and wandered back into the largely empty corridors licking crumbs from fingers and claws.

The dragon suddenly swerved from its place above them and darted through a door; they glanced at one another and gave chase, surprised to find themselves in an old storage room full of disassembled clanks. The dragon sped out as suddenly as it had flown in, swung the door shut and, a moment later, there was a decided 'snick'.

'It's not meant to lock me in places,' Gradok protested.

Maxim sighed and folded his arms. 'Oh, great. Now ve is gonna hafta bust down de door, and den ve is gonna get in trouble.'

'Not if dey don't know it vaz uz,' Ognian said, peering through the keyhole. 'Dere is novun about.'

Maxim nodded. 'Tree…two…vun.' They hit the door hard enough to knock it off its hinges. The dragon, still near the ceiling, turned to look down at them with an expression of shock. Ognian vaulted at it before it could recover, kicking it hard enough that it didn't even have time to tumble as it plummeted, and Maxim pulled the oven gloves on just in time to pounce as it hit the floor. He wound up kneeling on its wings and holding its head down with both hands.

'We did it!' said Gradok, delightedly.

'Yah, but now vot?' Maxim asked. 'Vot should ve do vit it?'

'I'll deactivate it for now,' said Gradok. 'Don't worry,' he added to the dragon. 'You work very well and I'll turn you back on later. I just need a screwdriver.'

'How about this one?' said Euphrosynia. They all looked up to see her at the end of the corridor, rummaging in her apron pocket as she walked towards them, and then looked away with the guilty expressions of children and Jägermonsters who have not only done something they shouldn't but been caught doing it.

Gradok took the screwdriver and fiddled about with the dragon until its eyes went dark with something that sounded suspiciously like a yawn. He looked up at his sister with big eyes. 'Are you going to tell Papa?'

'Not if you promise to come back to your cage quietly,' she said. 'And let me look at your dragon.'

'Deal,' he said quickly, before she could change her mind. 'You can keep it until I get out.'

She looked delighted by the prospect. 'Maxim, go and put it in my lab while I take Gradok back,' she said. Then, with an air of remembering something, 'And if you two are bored enough to be helping my brother get up to mischief I'm sure I can find you something useful to do.'

'Ve's sorry,' they chorused.

'Good,' she said absently. 'And that's the lab near my bedroom.'

By the time she and Gradok had reached the end of the corridor he was chattering happily about the possibility of a toolkit dragon.

'She is a fun von,' said Ognian approvingly. 'She neffer even asked about de door.'

'Yah, she is goot,' said Maxim, picking up the now unconscious dragon. 'Anyvay, Hy vill see hyu later.'

There was a clank on the edge of one of the benches in Euphrosynia's lab, the one she and Ogglespoon didn't currently have cogs all over. It was a tiny snake, no longer than Maxim's thumb, bright gold wearing what appeared to be a crown made of a sapphire surrounded by diamonds. The crown was rather bigger than its head, and it had to tilt it back rather a long way to look at Maxim, who was wondering what on earth it was for. It didn't look big enough to do anything, and while it was kind of pretty, if a bit top heavy, it would be a strange sort of ornament. He reached out to prod it experimentally.

'Don't touch that!' Euphrosynia snapped from behind him. He jerked his hand back just the snake clank lunged, revealing tiny silver fangs.

'Sorry,' said Ogglespoon, looking up and addressing the apology to Euphrosynia rather than Maxim. 'The poison was meant to be an anti-theft device, not —'

Euphrosynia waved a hand at him. 'It's fine. Anyone who thinks it's a good idea to poke something in my lab that they don't recognise deserves to be poisoned.' A sentiment she then contradicted somewhat by grabbing Maxim's hand and turning it over to check he hadn't been bitten.

'So vot is it?' he asked, as Euphrosynia discovered for herself the lack of puncture marks and dropped his hand.

'You'll find out tomorrow,' she said.

'Vhy tomorrow?'

'Because the Castle wants it to be a surprise,' said Euphrosynia. 'And I don't mind having some peace for a bit.'

Maxim gave the little clank another look. Apparently it was a clue to something bigger? Tomorrow would be soon enough to find out.

The next day the Doom Bell rang — if rang was really the right word for something that didn't make a sound so much as a space in Maxim's head. As a human the space had always filled with every bad thought and depressing memory, even after he'd learnt to let it roll over him within the few seconds it rang. As a Jäger it was just a space.

Everyone dropped what they were doing and ran to the square in front of the Castle. Either they were being attacked or there was a celebration, and either way gathering was what was called for. Maxim didn't think they were under attack, since Sturmhalten had been built the Storm King's armies hadn't advanced far enough from it to reach Mechanicsburg. Instead the Heterodyne forces were beseiging Sturmhalten. Or rather, since it was in a pass, one side of Sturmhalten. Maxim wasn't the only Jäger to find it embarrassing they were pretending there was actually a point to that.

'Attention, citizens of Mechanicsburg,' said the Castle cheerfully, which told him absolutely nothing because it was exactly as cheerful about attacks as about celebrations. 'I am annoucing the engagement of Euphrosynia Heterodyne and Haralamb Ogglespoon.' The Castle doors swung open to reveal the couple standing inside it, Euphrosynia with her hand on Ogglespoon's arm. She held her other hand up, showing the glint of gems on it, and Maxim realised as he joined in the cheering that the little clank from yesterday must have been the ring.

Either someone had known about the party in advance or more Mechanicsburg bakers had physics-defying ovens than Maxim would have thought, because it was a surprisingly short amount of time before tables laden with food were springing up everywhere. Also laden with alcohol of various types, which added to the general cheer. The general opinion was that this had been inevitable, but everyone was still glad Euphrosynia had got around to it.

It wasn't long after the engagement that news of the conference trickled down. The Storm King was going to negotiate terms with the Heterodynes. There was a lot of speculation about what kind of terms those would be exactly. Would he seriously try to convince Clemethious to become a vassal, or would this just confirm Mechanicsburg as off limits to the Alliance and the Alliance lands as off limits to the Heterodynes? And, a matter of some importance to the Jägers, would any of them be taken along? Would Clemethious stick with human soldiers so as to seem less intimidating? Or would he want to be intimidating?

Those questions were answered for Maxim when he was summoned to Euphrosynia's rooms and told he'd be coming along as her bodyguard. 'My Father will be bringing Ognian,' she added. 'You'll be the only Jägers there.' She gave him a thoughtful look. 'Try to see what the opinion of the Alliance soldiers is on this truce.'

Uncertainty about how to obey that order had Maxim seeking out Ognian. 'Ve is meant to be listening to vat de Storm King's solders is saying,' he said. 'But Hy don't think they vill tok to Jägerkin.'

'Oh, dey vill,' said Ognian. 'Iz eazy.'

Maxim gave him a dubious look. 'Ve is not meant to be scaring dem, either.'

'No, no. Iz a goot thing to know when dealing vit humans — if hyu is fonny they forget hyu is also scary.'

'Dot vorks?'

'Hyu vill see. Ve ken hear all sorts of things.'

'So dot is vhy hyu vos picked.'

The strangest thing about Ognian's plan might have been that it did work. People who started out flinching from them wound up treating them with only a little more wariness than the human Heterodyne troops. Bantering with Ognian was far from new, playing it up to an audience in order to convince them he wasn't about to have them for dinner felt odd. Being around this many humans felt odd, how long had it been since he'd last sought non-Jäger company? When the last few games of cards broke up and soldiers wandered off to bed he found himself still feeling keyed up, and wandered outside instead, to stare up at the stars without really seeing them.

'Hoy,' Ognian said. 'Not tired?'

'Jest thinking,' he answered. 'It's hard to remember being de vun vithout claws.'

Ognian sat down on the grass, leaning back against the leg of a supply wagon. 'Those memories alvays fade.'

'Neffer thot I'd have to learn how to tok to humans.'

'Regrets?' Ognian looked oddly serious, head tilted up and eyes glinting orange in the glow of the lantern coming from under the door of the tent which had been serving as a tavern.

Maxim shook his head. 'Hy is Jägerkin.' He didn't regret it, being part of the pack, being Euphrosynia's, belonging. 'Hy just vasn't expecting…'

'Ve is still a leedle human.' Ognian grinned proudly and stretched back against the wagon. 'I haff my family. Ve all haff something.'

'Hy don't.'

'Hyu vill find something.' Ognian waved a hand, claws catching the light. 'Hyu is still almost human by hyuself right now.'

Maxim glanced at the tent. He suspected the people in there would disagree. On the other hand, to most Jägers he was practically a child, still lacking the experience most of them had. Even Ognian had a couple of decades on him. Maybe it wasn't a bad thing, if right now he didn't want to be either not human or not Jäger, being young enough to still be in between.

'Lord Sturmvoraus,' said Euphrosynia, curtseying. The Lord in question bowed in turn. Behind him was a construct dressed as a page, tufted lynx ears poking from his hair. His gaze was catlike, too, looking through everything rather than at it.

'Lady Euphrosynia. And this must be one of the famous Jägermonsters,' Lord Sturmvoraus replied. Maxim smiled at the adjective, which for some reason caused Lord Sturmvoraus to frown slightly even as he ran his eyes over Maxim with a mixture of curiosity and calculation. A little fear, too, but less than Maxim had expected. 'I must admit, I didn't realise you made any that weren't hideous.'

'Oh, really,' said Euphrosynia, without any noticable inflection. 'I notice you've managed to pick up a pretty construct. Was he a gift?'

'Oh, yes. From Prince Alin in Caracal. I don't suppose you'll be handing out Jägers if you join the alliance?' His voice was jocular, but he wasn't really joking about it. Maxim narrowed his eyes, wanting to protest but obeying his orders not to talk.

Euphrosynia smiled up at Lord Sturmvoraus. 'Well, you never know. But that would be up to my father.' She was lying. The entire point of her coming here was so she could lie to people. Which meant it shouldn't have stung. Maxim twitched his shoulders, shrugging it off, as she and Lord Sturmvoraus parted ways. Just another way of being underestimated.

As they walked to the conference hall almost all of the Lords and Ladies Euphrosynia nodded to had a construct following them. A page, bodyguard or secretary. Usually pretty, dressed in some fancy form of livery or uniform, often one which hightlighted their non-human features, walking a few steps behind their masters with their eyes cast down. Construct soldiers or servants weren't that unusual, but Maxim could see the pattern here and it made him feel like a fashion accessory. As if he'd been chosen less as a bodyguard and more the same way Euphrosynia chose her jewellery. He glanced at her hand automatically at the thought, and realised her ring wasn't there. Had it been earlier? No, she hadn't been wearing it all day. Since it was impossible to lose, it looked like Jägers weren't the only things being implied to be on offer.

Clemethius was already waiting for them in the conference chamber. Ognian wasn't, and Maxim's first thought was a panicky what happened?before realising that it was far more likely Clemethius had simply chosen not to bring an attendant to the meeting. Euphrosynia took her seat beside her father with an oddly demure smile. Ogglespoon glanced up from where he was sitting a little way away and smiled at her but she didn't look around.

'How is it going?' Clemethius murmured.

'Much as expected,' Euphrosynia answered. 'They still remember I'm a Heterodyne, but already find me quite charming.'

The Storm King, Andronicus Valois, was announced and entered wearing a uniform of such sartorial magnificence that it was a moment before Maxim remembered his orders not to stare. Behind him was not a construct, but a clank. A winged woman who took the Alliance's tendency towards pretty clanks to new heights. Her face was blank, a porcelain plate that probably had a limited range of expressions to begin with and wasn't showing any now. There was no body language, either. She carried a sword, but didn't noticeably assess the room for threats or pay attention to her King. She simply stood there, behind him, as if dormant until something was triggered. Which wasn't unusual for a clank, so why was there something unnerving about her apparent emptiness? Did she simply look too human?

Valois looked around the table. His gaze paused on Euphrosynia and for a moment his eyes were wide and stunned, something more than the appreciation of a beatiful girl in them. Then his expression slipped back to pleasantly neutral as he began the formal welcome of everyone there. Euphrosynia leant forward slightly, smelling of excitement and anticipation.

The conference consisted of establishing, at length, that the Heterodynes couldn't take Sturmhalten, the Alliance couldn't take Mechanicsburg and therefore everyone should stop fighting in the middle. There was something strange, though. The various constructs were ignored, but everyone kept looking at Valois' clank, as if she was part of the conference somehow. At times it was almost as if she was in charge of the conference, people in the Alliance would finish their speeches and then glance at her as if hoping for approval. Yet she remained blank and silent, completely deferential. Valois, for his part, ignored the clank but kept looking at Euphrosynia for different reasons.

Afterwards, Euphrosynia walked out of the conference next to her father, Maxim still holding his place behind her. She unexpectedly glanced back at him once they were out of sight of anyone. 'Anything you want to say?'

'Vhere is Ognian?'

Clemethius chuckled. 'Back at the barracks, or in town. How long do you think he'd obey an order to stay silent for?'

Maxim nodded, reassured. 'Vhyfore did everyone treat der klenk like a schoolteacher?'

Euphrosynia smiled delightedly. 'You noticed that, then. She's one of the Muses.'

Maxim had heard of the Muses, of course. Clanks that could see the future, imbued with all the wisdom a King would need. He'd also heard that the Heterodyne army hadn't been able to stop Sturmhalten being built because the Spirit of Europa dwelt under it and that Valois had prophetic dreams. There were always plenty of rumours to go around. 'Huh. So dey is real.'

'Very much so,' said Euphrosynia.

Clemethius dropped his hand onto Euphrosynia's shoulder. 'Valois was too busy looking at you to look to his Muse.'

Euphrosynia smoothed down the front of her dress. 'I think I shall go for a walk. See you later, Father.'

The walk took them outside, into a camp constructed in what appeared to be rings. The conference tent was at the very centre, a vast dome of gold silk. Around it were the tents of various nobles and Sparks, who seemed to be vying to see who could fit most sigils, flags and crests onto them. The Heterodynes were winning. Each of these had a little ring of plain tents around it, containing guards and servants. Ringing the whole thing, at a distance that suggested the main camp was giving them the cold shoulder, were more ramshackle tents. Cobblers, blacksmiths, grocers, tinkers, taverns and even brothels, taking advantage of the large gathering. Euphrosynia, as a lady, was of course remaining inside the camp proper, where even the ground between tents was covered with carpet so the ladies wouldn't soil their slippers.

'Euphrosynia!' The call slowed her and she turned back, to where Ogglespoon was catching up with them. He stopped and bowed to her in the proper courtly fashion as he came level.

'I didn't see you before the conference,' he said, smiling at her, and offering her his arm.

She shook her head, even as she smiled back. 'I was busy. And I still am, I'm afraid. You should come and visit Mechanicsburg again, when this is over.'

'But since we're both here, surely I won't get in the way of whatever you have planned,' he protested. Then he caught sight of her hand and frowned. 'What happened to your ring?'

'In a cage in my room. I think it may be malfunctioning, it's never stopped me setting it aside to work, but it's started trying to follow me even when I haven't called it.'

'Maybe it's worried you weren't planning to pick it up again,' said Ogglespoon.

'Don't be silly. It's only for the conference,' said Euphrosynia.

Ogglespoon grabbed her wrist, not hard enough to hurt her or even really to restrain her. As if he needed to reassure himself she was there. 'So I'm only your fiancé when it's not inconvenient? How will that work when I'm your husband?'

'I expect I'll find you convenient more often than not,' she answered lightly.

Ogglespoon's eyes narrowed, his grip tightening. 'I am not your plaything, Euphrosynia. And I will not be treated like one!'

Someone else was approaching, with the hushed sound of footsteps on carpet. Maxim looked up to see Valois and his Muse, presumably out for a stroll as Euphrosynia had been and touched Euphrosynia's arm to alert her that they were about to be in the way. Her gaze flicked up and suddenly she looked much younger and more vulnerable, wilting inside her finery.

Valois stopped. 'Is this man bothering you?' he asked.

Euphrosynia shot a frightened look at Ogglespoon. 'No, your majesty.'

'My leige,' the Muse began, but was cut off by an upraised hand.

'All the same, perhaps you'd care to walk with me?' said Valois, holding out an arm to Euphrosynia. She latched onto it with evident gratitude. 'I'm surprised your monster didn't defend you.'

'My father's monsters, your majesty, not mine,' she said. She looked at Maxim, and he could see the warm humour in her eyes, inviting him to be a conspirator in a game he neither understood nor liked. 'Please go home.' Her voice was timid, as if she wasn't used to having a monster following her about. 'I'm sure the King's Muse will be protection enough.'

Maxim glanced at the muse automatically as she was mentioned. She was standing more stiffly now than she had been earlier, wings held high, for all the world as if she was repressing strong disapproval. Maxim sympathised. He bowed in acknowledgement of the order, and turned to go, hearing Euphrosynia, Valois and the Muse walking away as well. Then a tiny sound, like a suppressed sob, and he turned back to see Ogglespoon still standing there with his fists clenched.

Maxim hesitated then walked back. 'It vill go beck to normal,' he offered. 'Iz just dis place, making her act veird.'

Ogglespoon let out a brief bark of laughter. 'This place isn't making her do anything. And you're even more naive than I am.'

'She iz a Heterodyne vit a plen, of course pipple is going to get hurt. Hyu just haff to vait for it to blow over, und at least novun is being turned into fish.'

'…Life in Mechanicsburg must be very interesting,' said Ogglespoon. He rubbed his hand across his face. 'Thank you, I suppose.'

With that they went their separate ways.