Planning for the expedition continued on for several hours, until the bright afternoon light shining through the large arching windows in Elena's sitting room began to fade into the soft gold of early evening. Mateo continued feverishly jotting down notes on things he would need to check or find more information about before they embarked on their journey.

Emotions rushed through him as they planned–– ranging from excitement and exhilaration and anticipation of new discoveries to fear to near crippling anxiety that he would miss some important detail and the entire voyage would be a failure–– because of him.

Mateo would have been perfectly content to work through the night, skipping dinner, but Elena, understanding this tendency of his, put a halt to the planning, insisting that everyone get a good meal and plenty of rest.

Once Naomi and Gabe had left, Elena stood, tapping her foot on the plush rug as she watched Mateo poring over his notes. As he didn't seem inclined to join her, she raised an eyebrow and put her hands on her hips before clearing her throat pointedly.

Startled, Mateo looked up, grinning sheepishly when he noticed Elena watching him, a hint of impatience glinting in her eyes.

"Come on!" she said, reaching for his hand, "I know how you get when you are knee deep in a project–– skipping meals and not sleeping, but you need to pace yourself, mi querido ."

Sighing, Mateo took her hand and stood, rubbing the back of his neck as his eyes dropped to the floor. "I know, I'm sorry. It's just that this is so important and I have to get it right. There are just so many details to take care of! And––"

"And they'll be here waiting for you tomorrow," Elena finished patiently. "We have two weeks to plan everything and you've gotten a great start. Naomi will make arrangements with the sea captains and Gabe will make arrangements with the guards. If you don't pace yourself, you are going to burn out. Trust me on this one."

His gaze softened as he gave her a small smile and nodded. "You're right, of course," he paused as a quiet rumble sounded from his stomach. Grinning sheepishly, he said, "Now that you mention it, I'm starving."

Squeezing his hand, Elena laughed lightly as she led him out of her suite and into the hallway. "See? I know how to take care of you, querido. Which is good because it's dinner time and I'm pretty sure our refugee guests are waiting for us in the dining room."

A quick thrill of panic shot through Mateo at her words. His gaze snapped to hers and she could see a hint of fear flickering in his eyes.

"Querido ? What is it?"

Mateo's gaze drifted to the end of the hall where he stared blankly into the distance as they walked. "I– I kind of want– I hope– I–" he started several times but couldn't quite form the words.

"You want to ask Jimena and Antonio if they know Nicolás, but are afraid of what the answer might be."

Exhaling a shaky breath, Mateo glanced sidelong at her, a small crooked grin twitching the corners of his lips, "Sounds kind of silly doesn't it?"

"Not at all, but maybe you'll feel better if you tell me what's going on in that mind of yours."

Mateo sighed, wringing his hands together as he said, "Oh, you know, I'm just so conflicted about Nicolás in general. He was taken ten years ago, I had come to terms with everything and put it out of my mind and today, in the blink of an eye, the pain of that awful night and the months following has reared its ugly head and it hurts all over again. Hearing him say I'm not his son, that I'm nothing, letting them take him, watching my mom suffer–– it's a lot. I– I'm still angry with him. It was easier when I thought he was just gone forever. Now there's hope. And uncertainty. And that anger. And guilt for feeling all of this. And– I–" he trailed off, his eyes downcast as his shoulders slumped.

Elena slid her arm around him as they walked, and gave him a squeeze, taking his hand with hers and kissing his knuckles, saying, "I think I understand. He was your father as far as you knew and you loved him. Your mother loved him. So of course you want him back safely. But you're afraid of getting hurt again. You're afraid of hoping too much. And maybe of betraying yourself if you allowed him back into your heart," she paused, stopping Mateo and turning him to face her as she took his hands in both of hers, "Am I right?" She looked earnestly into those hazel green eyes she loved so much, eyes that hurt her heart to see shadowed with much pain and conflict.

Mateo leaned in, pressing his forehead lightly to hers as he murmured, "You know me too well, mi amor."

Pulling back slightly to look him in the eye, she said lightly, "Well, what kind of 'other half' would I be if I didn't?" and took his hand, leaning in for a kiss.

"Really guys? More kissing in the halls? Don't you remember what Esteban said just last week?"

Elena and Mateo broke apart, heads snapping towards the approaching voice, both smiling as they saw Princess Isabel walking towards them, laughter dancing in her eyes.

Rolling her eyes good naturedly, Elena laughed, "Yes, I believe he lectured us for an hour straight in propriety befitting a royal, exercising discretion and at least making an effort to leave some of our relationship a mystery to the court gossips."

"Yeah, that about sums it up. And I hate to break it to you, but you're doing an awful job of doing any of that."

Mateo felt his cheeks flush as Isa grinned at her sister.

Eyes flicking to Mateo, Isa's gaze softened and she reached out to pat his arm, "Its ok, you know. Everyone, even Esteban, is really happy for you guys. We only pick on you because we love you so much."

The color in Mateo's cheeks deepened and his hand shot to the back of his neck. Smiling crookedly, he said, "Well, thanks Isa. I'm honored–– I think."

Laughing, Elena and Isa exchanged a look before simultaneously throwing their arms around Mateo, squeezing him in a group hug. He couldn't help the laughter that bubbled up from his throat as the burden weighing on his heart lightened for a moment. He realized that even though he had ghosts in his past to deal with, he would soon have a new family full of people who loved him and believed in him. And that was a happy thought, indeed.

Though Elena kept her arms around him, she smiled up at him as Isa released him, gesturing to the door. "We should get in there before Esteban gets grumpy and blames us for his food going cold."

Agreeing with the young princess, they followed her into the dining room where their grandparents and cousin were already seated along with Lady Jimena and Lord Antonio. The quiet chatter ceased as all eyes turned to greet the newcomers.

Antonio smiled pleasantly, nodding to them in greeting, though his attention immediately darted back to his wife when she gasped.

Isa had paused, looking curiously at Lady Jimena who quickly stood, covering her mouth with a hand and stared at the young princess, eyes wide and sparkling with tears.

"Isa?" she whispered, "Isa, is that you?"

"I'm sorry," Isa began her brow furrowing as she cocked her head to one side, as if trying to solve a complex puzzle, "You look awfully familiar, but–– I can't–– who are you?"

Elena and Mateo exchanged a perplexed look, shrugging as they glanced between Isa and Lady Jimena. Elena thought hard, trying to figure out how this woman would know her sister when she gasped, her hand flying to her mouth in shock, "Wait! You–– you can't be–– I remember you now! You are Lord Martín's daughter! Whenever your father was at court, you and Isa were inseparable!"

Isa stared at the woman in surprise, her mouth open in a perfect little "o".

"Jimena?" she whispered, her own eyes filling with tears, "Is it really you?"

Jimena nodded, a tear trickling down her cheek.

Isa laughed as she dashed around the table and threw her arms around the older woman. "I can't believe it's really you! I asked about you after I came out of the painting but no one knew of you and I'd hoped you and your family got away safely, but––"

Jimena fell to her knees, returning the hug as she cried, "No! My family stayed in Avalor with the resistance until about ten years ago when my husband and I here were captured and sent to–– but you! I thought you had died with your sister for the longest time, but heard a rumor about ten years ago that you were in hiding–– I had hoped–– it never occurred to me that you weren't aging," she choked on a sob, swiping one hand at the tears on her cheeks, "I–I'm sorry, this is just such a shock. Seeing you walk through that door looking exactly as you did 42 years ago, it– it was like seeing a ghost!"

Seeing Mateo's confused expression, Elena leaned in, whispering in his ear, "Jimena and Isa were best friends before– well, you know. She was around the palace all the time and the two of them were always together working on their projects."

"Projects?" Mateo questioned.

"Oh, Isa wasn't always the lone inventor around here. I remember Jimena being quite handy with a twisthook at the age of 11. They worked together on most of their projects and talked shop all the time. She even knew what all of the tools were called. Like that six sided pinky ring thingy––"

"You mean a bolt?"

"Yeah, that's it," Elena giggled, "You know I'm hopeless with that stuff."

"Huh," Mateo said thoughtfully, as he watched the younger princess and the older woman hugging as they were overcome with emotion at the unexpected reunion. It was such an odd thought to consider that if they lived in a perfect world where Shuriki never took over Avalor, Isa would be around the same age as this woman who was in her mid fifties–– around the age of his mother.

And Elena would be even older.

He couldn't help but wonder where he would fit in if he lived in that perfect world. He certainly wouldn't be engaged to a crown princess. Would he even know Elena? Would she know him? Would she be the same Elena she was now, only older? Though he wanted to wish for a perfect world for her sake, his stomach clenched painfully as he imagined a life without her love making everything–– making him–– better.

Concern flickered in her eyes as Elena watched his Mateo's expression darken. While everyone's attention was focused on Isa and Jimena's tearful reunion, she took his hand she tugged him over to their place at the table, where he automatically pulled out her chair for her and helped her take her seat before taking his own seat.

"Always the gentleman," Elena murmured, smiling up at him, "See, you already have more going for you than most of the noble boys I've ever met."

Mateo remained quiet, but gave her shoulder little squeeze as he took his seat and returned the smile, though Elena couldn't help but notice that it didn't quite reach his eyes.

Choosing to let it go for the moment, she interlaced her fingers with his and turned her attention back to Isa, who had pulled away from Lady Jimena and was grinning as she wiped tears from her cheeks.

"Did you ever finish that automatic bird feeder for the birdhouse we were building in the palace garden?" Isa asked, "If I remember correctly you were having trouble with getting the timing of the hex––"

" ––the hexagonal rotators and the gears between the feed scoop and the dual swinging doors to work right," Jimena finished, laughter mingling with sorrow in her eyes. "Yes," she continued quietly, "I finished it the very afternoon you–– it––" she paused a moment, choking out a sob as tears shone in her eyes. Her husband stood, and moved closer to her, kneeling beside her to slide a comforting arm around her shoulders. Drawing strength from his touch, Jimena took a tremulous breath before continuing quietly, "The very afternoon Shuriki attacked."

Unsure of how to respond, Isa glanced away, pushing a strand of hair behind her ear, "Aww...Jimena, I–I'm so sorry I wasn't ab–"

A spark flashed in the woman's eye as she said fiercely, "Isabel, don't you ever apologize for anything that witch did! It's not your fault that she swooped in and destroyed everything good and pure in Avalor." Placing her hands on Isa's shoulders, she continued, "No, I'm sorry. Today has been very–– very emotional for me and I wasn't prepared. I wasn't prepared to learn that not only has Shuriki been dethroned and after so many years of misery, my dream of seeing Avalor restored to its former glory has been fulfilled, but my best friend is alive when I thought her dead for over 4 decades. Though," Jimena paused, raising an eyebrow at the young princess, "I'll admit that it's very strange seeing you as a child when I know it's been half a lifetime since I last saw you. In my mind, you should be a middle aged woman like me."

Isa's eyes widened as her brow creased with worry and she wrung her hands before her. "I– I hope we can still be friends even though I'm still just a kid. I want to know everything about you–– what it was like–– when I was gone. And the work you did–– you know, to try and stop her," her voice trailed off uncertainly.

Jimena smiled, nodding. "Of course, even though I thought y–– well, in my mind, you never stopped being my best friend. Besides, if I remember correctly, you were always very mature for your age."

Isa opened her mouth to respond, but the dining room door swung open and the kitchen staff trailed in with that night's meal. The royal chef had outdone himself with the special feast he'd whipped up for their guests with only a few hours notice. The rich, savory aroma wafted through the room from the beautiful seasoned to perfection paella at the centerpiece, surrounded by heaping dishes of pork empanadas, saffron rice and frijoles, fresh steaming corn tortillas, and a large tureen of Luisa's spicy pozole.

Jimena and Antonio exchanged a long, wide eyed look before swallowing hard as they turned their attention back to the food, staring wordlessly.

"Is everything ok?" Luisa asked tentatively, looking concerned for their guests.

"Y–yes! Of course! It's all wonderful," Antonio spoke up quickly, his eyes flicking apologetically to meet Luisa's. "I'm sorry, it's just that it's been 10 years since we've eaten a hot meal."

Esteban looked like he'd just been punched in the stomach at this declaration while Luisa looked like she was going to cry and Elena, Mateo, and Francisco just stared in shock.

"Oh! That is simply awful!" Luisa cried out, "Please, please! Sit! Eat! You must eat!"

"I haven't had paella in over ten years––" Jimena murmured, a nostalgic gleam in her eye. "This smells just the way I remember my abuela's paella smelling."

Antonio took her hand and tugged her back to her seat, pulling the chair out for her. "Come, mi amor , sit.

As the couple sat, Isa followed and took the empty seat beside Jimena. Aside from the quiet clanking of silverware against the plates, the room was quiet as everyone served themselves.

Elena looked at her plate as she moved her food around, not feeling so hungry anymore as she thought of her people still living in such sparse conditions while she lived in such luxury. Glancing at Mateo, she could see that he felt the same.

Looking across the room at their guests, Elena cleared her throat and said, "You will be pleased to know that Mateo and myself have spent the afternoon planning for the journey to bring our people home."

Jimena perked up at that, saying, "That is wonderful news! When do we leave?"

Elena looked at Mateo expectantly. Still feeling strange from being the center of attention on something so important, he cleared his throat and said, "Er–– we have a tentative date set for two weeks from today."

Looking slightly crestfallen, Antonio said, "Two weeks? That seems like such a long time to sit here knowing that we've left our friends and family behind."

Heart sinking at the opposition already against his plan, Mateo looked down at the table, stammering, "I–I'm sorry, my lord, but th–the captains–– the ships––"

Elena placed her hand on his knee and Mateo glanced at her, seeing the words written plainly in her eyes, It's ok, mi amor. You're plan is solid. Just express your sympathy , explain how and why these things take time to do right.

The mild panic receding, Mateo released a breath he hadn't even realized he was holding, turning back to Antonio, he said, "I know it seems like a long time, but these things take time to organize. We have to make arrangements with the ship captains, prepare the ships for a long voyage into uncharted waters which means gathering supplies. Plus we need to reinforce the defenses around the palace and the city before we leave."

Clasping her hands before her, Jimena turned pleading eyes to Mateo, "Please, is there any way we could depart sooner? I don't think you understand––"

"Actually, I think I understand better than you think," Mateo interrupted a little more sharply than he meant to, stopping abruptly as he realized how rude he must sound and what he was saying in front of all these people–– most of whom were staring at him like he'd grown a second head. Taking a steadying breath, he placed his hand on Elena's which was still resting on his knee, and continued in a softer voice, "I– I think my father is a prisoner on one of those islands."

Silence.

"A–and–– er–– well, after 10 years, I'm anxious to find out if he's alive or not. But, this is a big expedition. We have to make sure we get it right, for their sake. It won't do them any good if the passenger ship doesn't have enough space or enough food to provide for them once we rescue them. And it won't help them if we don't have the crew we need or the highly experienced captains required for a journey into uncharted waters."

Resigned, Jimena sighed. "Yes, of course, you are right, but wait––" she looked at Mateo more closely, "Did you say your father was captured 10 years ago? Was he a rebel?"

"What?! No! Of course not! He was a professor of Maruvian studies at the University."

"Hmm…" Antonio said thoughtfully, "It's just interesting that your father happened to be captured around the same time we were. What is his name?"

Swallowing hard, Mateo forced the name out, "Nicolás de Alva."

"That name doesn't sound familiar, but he could be on one of the other islands."

"Though––" Jimena added, "We didn't know everyone in the rebellion, but there were rumors that one of the rebels was a wizard in the higher levels of leadership. I never met him myself, but I saw him from a distance once–– He certainly looked like a wizard what with his dark hooded cloak and his face covered in shadows. Was your father a wizard like you?"

Shaking his head vigorously, Mateo said, "No! No! My mother's father, Alacazar, was the wizard in my family. Like I said, my father was a scholar. We don't know why he was captured. We assumed he'd done something to anger Shuriki–– like whistled in public or something. Others had been taken for lesser offenses."

"That is certainly true," Jimena said thoughtfully, "Well, I hope we find him on one of the other islands."

"Thank you, me too."

The room was quiet as everyone worked on eating their dinner. After a few moments of silence, Isa turned to Jimena and quietly asked her about her childhood under Shuriki's rule. As Mateo listened to the older woman's reminiscing, his thoughts returned to his musing about a perfect world–– a world without Elena in his life.

Noticing the dark shadows in his gaze, Elena murmured quietly, bumping her shoulder gently against his, "Are you ok, mi querido? "

Staring at his plate, a million thoughts raced through Mateo's mind as he replied, "I'm ok."

"A penny for your thoughts?"

Smiling sadly, he poked his food around his plate, "I was just thinking about what a perfect world would look like––"

Of the many possible things she'd expected him to say, this was not it. Raising a confused eyebrow, Elena picked up her goblet and sipped at the icy horchata.

"A perfect world? Really? Those are the thoughts responsible for this sadness?"

Mateo shrugged, saying, "Well, not the perfect world in general, just what a perfect world would mean for us."

"I'm not sure I follow. You are my perfect world, querido, and that makes me anything but sad."

"And you're mine, but––" Mateo stared unseeingly into the distance a moment before turning back to Elena and taking her hand. "It's just, after seeing Isa find her friend from so many years ago, it sort of reminded me that–– that you are supposed to be, what? 59 years old?"

Elena's eyes widened as understanding hit her, unfathomable sadness shining in her eyes. "Aah, I think I understand," she looked down at her lap and said, "If it makes you feel any better, I've had this conversation with myself awhile ago and I chose you."

"You–– what? Are you serious?"

Her gaze snapped to his and Mateo was surprised at the heat burning in her eyes.

"Yes, and I felt incredibly guilty and like the most selfish person in the world for awhile. Even that didn't change my mind. Until I realized that this isn't my fault. No amount of wishing for time to reverse can make it happen. Only one person is to blame and it's Shuriki. I can't go through the rest of my life feeling guilty that I've found a joy to rival what I had with my family so many years ago."

Mateo was speechless at this extraordinary statement and how, once again, the two of them were on the exact same wavelength.

It was incredible, really.

He struggled to find the words, saying, "I–I thought I was so selfish because I've been trying to justify the fact that I couldn't bring myself to earnestly wish for that perfect life for you–– or for me. I mean my–– Nicolás would still be my–– and my mom would be happy. But who would I be? Would I be a wizard in training? If my grandfather had retired, would he have been my mentor? Would my life be different with a father and a grandfather? Would I be different–– if I'd never met you? Would you be different? I can't even imagine a life without you and in that perfect life, you'd be older than my mother. I don't know that we'd even have met. We certainly wouldn't be engaged to be married and–– I don't know where I would fit into the world without you in my life, I––" he ran his hands through his hair in agitation as he tried to keep his voice quiet.

"Mateo, stop," she whispered, pressing her forehead gently to his temple, "You can't do this to yourself. You can't worry about the what-ifs because you know as well as I do that there is no magic to turn back time. Like I said, you can't live with that guilt. You didn't put us in this situation, Shuriki did. And if loving me makes you selfish, then we are selfish together because I love you and I can't imagine choosing a different life."

She was right. He couldn't live in an imaginary past. He was here, now. And he had Elena in his life. It didn't matter what he might have been, it mattered what he was now–– though he was still trying to work out exactly what that was. He felt a bit better–– thankful for his beautiful and kind princess who stood by him and encouraged him even when he was being ridiculous.

The rest of the meal passed in relative calm. Esteban told their guests of how Avalor's economy had improved over the last ten years and of the few noble families that had managed to escape Shuriki who had returned. Francisco pulled out his guitar and entertained them with some Avaloran folk music, which brought tears once again to Jimena's eyes as music was another thing they hadn't had for a decade. Luisa brought out a beautiful tres leches cake she had thrown together that afternoon for dessert.

Once everyone had finished, Jimena and Antonio excused themselves claiming exhaustion but promising to take Esteban up on his offer to tour Avalor City and the via Mercado the following morning.

Elena and Mateo bid the family good evening and walked hand in hand in companionable silence back to Elena's suite. But when Elena steered him past the royal family wing, Mateo looked at Elena, noting the mischief gleaming in her eyes.

"Where are we going?" Mateo asked curiously.

"I know that if I leave you to your own devices, you will take your notes and obsess over them all night. I've decided that I'm not leaving your side. I am going to protect you from yourself."

Staring incredulously, Mateo said, "Wait. What? How is that––"

She had led them to Mateo's door and grinned as she swung his door open and went in, going straight to his wardrobe and rummaging around, snatching up one of his long sleeved, button up white shirts.

"Uh–– Elena? What are you doing?"

Without saying a word, she breezed by him into his washroom, returning a moment later wearing nothing but his white shirt with the sleeves rolled up. Mateo swallowed hard as he tried not to think about how good she looked in that old shirt, the elegant way it was draped over her perfect curves, the hem of which fell to halfway to her knees.

"Go."

"Where? This is my room."

"Change into your pajamas."

"But––"

"Don't argue, just do it."

Shrugging, Mateo left to do as she said and returned in his flannel burgundy pajama top and bottoms. Elena smiled and walked over to him, pulling back the covers of his bed and gesturing for him to lie down. Once he'd complied she crawled into the bed and lay next to him, curling up into his side and resting her head in the little crook between his shoulder and his neck.

"I am going to sleep here tonight. You don't mind do you?"

Truthfully he didn't mind, it certainly wasn't the first time they'd shared a bed, and falling asleep with her in his arms was one of the most comforting things he knew. Though, he smiled wryly as he thought that having her warm body pressed up to his was one of the least restful things he knew.

"So let me get this straight," he started as he slipped his arms around her, pressing his cheek to the top of her head, "You are sleeping here to make sure that I don't go all workaholic and stay up all night?"

"Yup! That's pretty much everything."

"So…are we going to sleep now?"

"Yeah, I suppose, unless––" she propped herself on her elbow and leveled a sultry look at him, saying quietly, "Unless, you had something else in mind."

She winked playfully and laughed when he responded by poking her in the side, saying, "You have no idea how tempting that is. But, you should take your own advice and go to sleep, you little minx."

"I love you Mateo," she said quietly, leaning up again to press slow, lingering kiss to his lips. Pulling back she smiled when he murmured and kissed her again, "I love you too, Elena."

He leaned over and blew out the lamp, settling into his pillow, feeling quite comfortable in his warm bed with his beautiful fiancée next to him.

Though he had to focus hard on not thinking about her incredibly long, bare legs brushed up against him as she wore nothing but his shirt to bed. He focused instead on how amazing she was and how lucky he was to have a lifetime of nights like this with her in his arms to look forward to.

Drawing her closer, he kissed her hair, closing his eyes as he settled in for the night. It had been a long day, but they had gone through it together. And she was right, they both needed their rest for what was to come. He just hoped that he could pull off this expedition. He hoped her faith in him wasn't misplaced.

But those were concerns for the next day.

As these thoughts swirled around, Mateo felt his mind growing foggy. Sleep soon swept in to claim him, and he smiled, content in that moment to have his beloved princess curled up beside him.

Tomorrow, they would face the challenges of the new day–– together.