"No! Mommy! Rosie!" Cecil screamed, pounding his little fists against the door.

He had been fast asleep when he was suddenly woken by the sound of his mother shouting for him. Startled, he'd found himself in the darkened nursery, alone. There were people yelling outside, and Cecil heard his grandfather's voice shout angrily. He was frightened; he didn't understand what was going on and his mother's screaming sounded so desperate that he immediately started crying for her.

No one came to check on him. Not Rosalind, not Talea, not even his grandmother, who occasionally looked after him. Unnerved, he climbed out of his bed and tried to open the door. He could barely reach the handle, but it wouldn't budge. He had been locked in, and the sudden silence on the other side of the door struck fear into his heart.

His frightened screams eventually wore him out, and Cecil huddled on the floor, coughing loudly as he tried to regain his breath.

Grandma, what do I do?!

But for once, Sheila was silent. Cecil coughed again, too distraught to notice the warm, red stain left behind on his shirt sleeve.

Bard arrived at the palace early for a change. There were several documents that needed immediate attention and his sister had been in a particularly foul mood at home. It was just past six in the morning when his carriage drove up to the castle courtyard and dropped him off as usual. As he disembarked, however, his aide hurried up to him at once.

"Lord Bardwin!"

"Notten, what is it?"

The aide matched his pace to Bard's as they walked up the front stairs and launched into his report.

"Sir, last night the Lady Talea was found trying to flee the palace with a handmaid. She's been caught and imprisoned, by her own father, no less."

"What?!" Bard came to a stop and stared at Notten. "Where did you hear this?!"

"It's all the maids are talking about, sir. The scullery girls are completely in their element this morning; I overheard them when I went down to the kitchens."

Talea, running? I never thought she would do something so risky, Bard thought, puzzled. He didn't know much about her, in truth: there was a rather depressing air about her, and Bard didn't particularly care to spend time around people who were always in low spirits. Still, she didn't strike him as the type to take chances, not unless she was cornered.

"Do the maids know why she tried to run?"

"No sir, they're speculating about it. Some think she's unhappy with her lot; Malya, the head maid, says she heard that the girl resents giving birth and wanted to run away from her child."

"That's ridiculous," Bard sniffed. "That girl is one of the most overly doting mothers I've ever seen. Her, abandon her son? Never."

"Yes, that's what I said too, milord, but it seems there's conflicting versions of the story. Some of the servants say she was taking the child with her, but several others say she left him behind."

"Why would they think that?"

"It seems that Lord Dainer is spreading the story. They say he's declared her unfit to look over the boy since she tried to abandon him. He's had her locked up in the dungeons and forbidden the child from seeing her."

"I'd bet my position that it's a lie," Bard muttered angrily. "He's trying to make her sound irresponsible so that he can justify separating her from her son." That poor girl... with a father like that, it's no wonder she tried to run.

"Perhaps so, sir. I only know what I've been told," Notten said, glancing around as if he were afraid to be seen gossiping. "And, there's something else, milord..." he continued, lowering his voice. "There's an odd rumor going around..."

"What, is Dainer telling people that he's my long lost brother or something?" Bard asked flatly.

"Uh, no sir..."

"Spit it out then, you look like you're dying to tell me."

"Well... you know that army that His Majesty headed out to intercept? There's a rumor that the king has been captured by their leaders, sir..."

"What?!"

"That's not all," Notten continued, shaking his head at Bard's incredulous look. "They're saying that that army is being led by a ghost, sir."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?!"

"It means..." the aide gulped and made a quick religious sign over his heart. "They're saying that the army is being commanded by none other than Princess Nike herself, brought back from the dead."

Athene remained asleep for the rest of the day, her fever still raging. Nike was inclined to halt their progress until the princess recovered, but could ill afford it. They were only a day's journey from the outer walls now, and any time wasted loitering on the plains was time that the Earl could use to muster forces for battle. The last thing the army needed was to be beset before Nike could try a diplomatic approach; war was a last resort.

Against her better instincts, she allowed Thena to be loaded up onto one of the army carts so she could rest. Begrudgingly, she asked Lanra and Kara to take turns watching over her as the troops marched on.

"You look worried, Nike."

"Of course I'm worried," she said, giving Livi a sharp look. He rode at her side, as always. "My child is ill, what mother wouldn't worry?"

"Yeah... I understand," he said, and Nike saw his hands tighten slightly around the reins. "But, kids get sick from time to time, she'll be alright..."

"Athene almost never gets sick," Nike said nervously. "The only time I can think of was when she was still a baby; and her fever wasn't this persistent either..."

"If things get worse, Kara and Lanra will let us know," he said gently. She opened her mouth to argue but at the look on his face, she decided to let it go.

He won't admit it, but he's worried too...

Knowing that he was there with her, concerned about Athene, helped her calm down a little. It wasn't just now, either. For years she'd felt an ever-present anxiety that rarely abated, but when Livi was nearby, she was able to take a moment to breathe.

Everything feels so much... easier. I feel like I could do anything, as long as he's here. Heh... It's been a while since I felt like such a romantic.

Livi seemed lost in thought.

"Listen... Nike... There's something I wanted to-"

"Your Majesty! We're coming within ten miles of the wall, milady!" The soldier hardly seemed to notice he had interrupted something. Livi set his teeth and looked straight ahead, his eyes far away.

What did he want to say? But she had too much work to do to dwell on it for long.

"Thank you," she said, pulling back on the reins. "Please relay to the generals that I'd like a word with them."

This is it. Either we negotiate our way in, or we fight. I hope for everyone's sake that we don't need to spill any blood.

Violetta rode hard through the castle gates, coming to a stop just outside the guardhouse. She leaped from her saddle almost immediately, startling the guard on duty.

"Captain!? Where is-"

"There's no time," she snapped at him. She handed over her horse and instructed that he be fed and watered immediately. As soon as she was done she made her way to the castle proper, her temper raging.

Never would I have thought I'd have to warn an enemy of the state that the rightful King and Queen are on their way to take back the city, she thought furiously. I've never been much of a patriot, but Princess Nike and His Majesty deserve better than treason from me. If only that... that OAF hadn't allowed Lilian to be taken!

She almost kicked a door open in fury, though it was luckily opened from the other side by a young butler with yellow hair.

"C-Captain Rootwick!"

"Oh, Sororu," she recognized. The boy had grown a bit since she'd last seen him, but his face was still as rounded as ever.

"What are you doing here, ma'a- I mean, sir?!" he asked, obviously shocked to see her. "They said you're supposed to be engaging an enemy force on the southern border." Violetta noted that he carried a small tray of half eaten food.

What's he doing serving out here? These are the Dainer private rooms, they never eat here. And that doesn't look like much of a meal either...

"That's not important," she said. "Have you seen the Earl?"

"He's in his study," the boy murmured with dislike. Most of the servants in the palace resented the Earl's presence; he treated them imperiously, as though he were the king himself. There was nothing they could do when he was officially His Majesty's guest, however.

"Good." She knew her lip was curled with disgust, but she didn't care. "By the way, who have you been attending to?" she asked, frowning.

"Oh, the young master," Sororu explained, and for some reason, his face fell. "He hasn't been eating much. He's distraught after what happened, sir."

"The young- oh, you mean His Majesty's child?"

"Yes, sir. Haven't you heard?"

"I'm afraid not, I just arrived."

"Ah. The young master's mother has been arrested. They say she tried to flee last night, but she was caught. They're not allowing her to see the young master."

Poor boy...

"It's cruel," Sororu said quietly. "The young master is only two years old, they shouldn't take him away from his mother."

"Yes... but you should keep your thoughts to yourself, Sororu," she warned. "It's dangerous to speak your mind nowadays. But thank you for letting me know."

"Yes, sir." He bowed and excused himself.

Violetta sighed to herself and continued down the hall to Dainer's office.

As far as Grey was concerned, he had been unfairly punished for good service.

What the hell, Uncle?! he thought angrily as he scrawled his signature on a treatise. I caught that stupid girl, prevented her from ruining the plan, and THIS is the thanks I get?!

He tried his best to ignore Cecil's crying as he worked.

At some point that morning, his Uncle Evan had sent for him. Grey expected praise for the quick capture of his cousin, but instead the Earl had foisted Cecil on him.

"Why are you giving him to me?!" Grey had asked, furious. "I have work to do, I don't have time to babysit!"

"Silence!" Lord Dainer had commanded, and even Grey had had to obey. "The child has been screaming all morning for his mother and nursemaid, I've had it up to here," he growled. "I don't trust any maids to look after him now, and my wife dislikes the child. You look after him."

"I'm Head Chamberlain, Uncle! I have a mountain of paperwork to do in His Majesty's absence-"

"Surely you can multitask," Dainer smirked. "I don't trust any other woman to-"

So that's it. This bastard thinks that because I'm technically a woman, I must be able to look after a child.

Grey gritted his teeth. His identity was complicated, even to himself. He'd spent years living as a boy, and an equal amount of time as a girl, especially at school. In all honesty, though he used male pronouns for himself, he didn't mind, or care, what he was. What did upset him, however, was the markedly different treatment he got for being a woman.

As a man, Grey's skills were never questioned. He was praised for being quick on his feet and intelligent in his work. Efficiency and thoroughness were his trademarks. But though he was the same as a woman, there was an astonishingly narrow-minded brand of stupidity among his male peers concerning his abilities.

Hmph. It was always a mystery to them that they could be beaten so soundly by a woman in every subject. What idiots.

Unfortunately, men like his uncle also seemed to share a rather low regard for women, no matter how accomplished. It made Grey all the more motivated to succeed at whatever he tried, and he had a great respect for the women around him who also worked hard to excel, especially with the odds stacked against them by unfair standards.

"Uncle, not all women are gifted at childcare," he said coldly.

"Perhaps not, but you should learn. They're skills you'll need someday." He waved Grey off nonchalantly and returned to his work.

As Grey moodily led the child back to his office, he wished fervently that he didn't owe his uncle as much as he did. He would have loved to slit the man's throat from ear to ear.

At some point, Cecil ran out of tears. His throat felt raw and his face swollen, but no matter how much he wanted to, he couldn't produce a sound.

Mommy... where are you, mommy?!

He sniffled, tired. He wanted to sleep, but he was afraid. He'd been taken to that woman's office, and she was more intimidating than usual. Everything felt scarier without his mother or Rosalind to coddle him. Worse, his grandmother's spirit had become subdued and quiet. Cecil hadn't realized just how prominent and familiar Sheila's presence had become in his thoughts until she was all but gone. He felt lost without her.

"Finally," Erika grumbled from her desk as he fell silent. "This is why I hate kids."

He sat awkwardly on the chaise, afraid to move around. Erika had always frightened him, and even though he had been following her lately on his grandmother's instructions, he was still wary of her. She rarely smiled and there was a cold, calculating look in her eye. He didn't trust her one bit.

Violetta arrived outside Dainer's office just as a bout of shouting began.

"You knew and you didn't tell me?! That's my NEPHEW out there! How could you keep it secret that the king has been captured?!"

"There was no need to-"

"No need?! We should be out there, trying to recover him!"

Violetta recognized Bard's voice and felt a familiar lurch of anger in her stomach. She raised her knuckles to the door.

"I have a guest, you see?" came the angry response. "Quit wasting my time, Bardwin-sama."

"WASTING YOUR TIME?!"

Violetta decided it was as good as any a moment to push the door open.

"Milord. Bard," she acknowledged dully. As usual, the Earl was sitting behind his desk, and Bard was standing in front of it, looking livid. She ignored his confused look.

"Captain Rootwick, I did not expect you until-"

"I'm afraid there's urgent news from the front," Violetta explained, hating herself for every word. "There is... a crisis."

Bard opened his mouth to speak but Dainer silenced him.

"Explain."

"There is an army, amassing from the south. They are nearly here."

"I know that. What I don't know is who they are and what they want," Dainer spat resentfully. "You failed to specify in your report."

"I'm surprised your spy network hasn't paid off," Bard muttered, but he was paid no mind.

"Yes sir... there is... a rumor," Violetta lied. Even I won't give milady away until there's no other choice.

"If it's that bloody rumor about the queen coming back from the dead-"

"Indeed. But it isn't entirely unfounded, sir," she continued, keeping her voice measured. "The army seems to be from the Rain Duchy in origin. As far as I could ascertain, it's being led by the late queen's elder sister and cousin. They captured His Majesty in a duel, I'm afraid, and are marching for Ginitarix as we speak. There was nothing I could do to annul his imprisonment; it was a lawful agreement."

"Another damned Eastern Princess?!" Dainer shouted, slamming his palms on the desk. "What the hell does she want?!"

"I believe they're seeking justice for the Queen's assassination," Violetta recited, closing her eyes.

"Ridiculous! That woman died three years ago! Why do they care all of a sudden?!"

"They've heard about His Majesty's remarriage." Bard stiffened slightly. "It seems they find the circumstances suspicious, and consider it an insult that he is thinking of remarrying just three years after their princess' death."

"Idiots. We'll crush them," Dainer said, reaching for a fresh piece of parchment.

"I wasn't aware that the Duchy had a standing army," Bard said, frowning.

"I don't think they do," Violetta replied mildly. "It seems they have allies; I counted soldiers from the Sand Empire and the Ocean Kingdom among them. They're numbering in the thousands. I'm afraid I know little else; our spies failed to gather any more intelligence."

Not that we sent any. But His Blackguard Eminence doesn't need to know that.

Dainer tapped his fingers on his desk impatiently.

"Anything else, Captain?"

"No sir."

"Go, out of my sight. I'll be putting General Bayreuth in charge of the defense, seeing as you've proven useless on the battlefield," he said coldly.

Violetta bowed slightly and turned to leave.

It wasn't until she was halfway down the hall that she let out a sigh of relief.

I think it'll be okay now. He shouldn't hurt Lilian... it might be best to look for her now that I have the time-

"Wait, Violetta!"

She didn't bother to turn. She pretended she couldn't hear him until he caught up with her.

"What do you want, you useless sack of flesh?" she asked irritably.

"About the army, was that the whole truth?" His voice dropped to a murmur as they passed by a butler.

"If I say it is, then it is."

Bard clicked his tongue.

"So you won't talk, huh... Will you at least tell me which of Nike-chan's sisters is leading the charge?"

"Kara-sama."

He nodded thoughtfully. "She strikes me as the type. It's been a long time since I've seen her."

Violetta rolled her eyes. "Are you done? Hurry up and get away before you infect me with your stupidity."

"As harsh as ever," he winced. "Is Kara-chan why that rumor about Nike-chan being alive is going about?"

She hesitated. I could tell him... I suppose. After he thought the queen had died, he had a terrible time of it. He can be trusted... but...

"Probably. Now if you'll excuse me, I have something important to take care of," she said, turning the corner and leaving him behind.

I'm still having a terrible time. He can wait.

Talea woke up several times during the day, her back aching horribly with every movement she made. There wasn't enough room on the bed for both her and Rosalind, so she allowed the maid to use it while she slept on the floor. It was excruciating on her wounds, even with Lilian's medicine. Still, she was thankful for the girl's help. She had no idea what she looked like, but it was reassuring to hear a friendly voice during the long hours of confinement.

She had never really interacted with a commoner before; it was an interesting experience. Here was a girl who had a very different set of worries than a noblewoman did. Lilian worried about finances at her family inn, and about work. She hadn't been schooled the way noblewomen were. She could read, like most people in the kingdom, but it was a result of being taught at home by her grandfather, not from attending school or having a private tutor. She was good at math because of her job, but otherwise her education was very sparse and the skills she needed were of a completely different type. She wasn't expected to grow up into a model wife or mother, nor was she expected to attend dances and parties and know all the different ranks of her peers.

Instead, she was expected to help support her aging grandfather. True, she could freely fall in love and marry whoever she wanted, but she had no time for romance. She had to wake up early to clean the inn from top to bottom, and sometimes she had to chase away drunkards and unsavory customers with her bare hands (and a broomstick, apparently). She had to go to the market every day, and prepare the meals at the inn herself. On busy nights she got as little as two or three hours of sleep before she had to get up and start all over again. There was always so much to do that even as a girl she rarely had a chance to play with her friends, though her sister always tried to get her to go out and have fun before she took up her post in the castle.

"Wasn't it tiring?" Talea asked, her cheek pressed against her knees.

"'Course it was. Some nights I just wanted to tell all the customers to go to 'ell. I can't count all the times I missed out on festivals and games 'cause they needed me at the inn."

"So why did you do it?"

"My parents died when I was young. They left that inn to me and my sis, and my grandpa's too old to run it by 'imself."

"But didn't you ever just want to... run away and do something different?" she asked, thinking about her failed escape.

"Sure. Don't everybody, from time to time? But you know, miss, it's not so bad, workin' in that inn. There's always people talkin' and messin' around, enjoying themselves. You hear some great stories, too, and meet all kinds of folks. After bein' stuck here so long, I realized I really miss it; an innkeeper isn't cut out to be alone," Lilian said, her voice echoing off the stone walls. It sounded wistful and lonely.

"I see..."

"How 'bout you, miss? You sound like you have somethin' you wanna run away from, if ya ask me."

Talea stretched her legs slightly; they were beginning to cramp.

"I don't even know what I'm trying to run from anymore," she said quietly. "I thought it was from my father... but maybe it's more than that."

"How so?"

"I'm not sure... I just... don't want to be here."

"Well, no one wants to be in prison, miss."

"No, I mean... it doesn't matter where I am. I always feel... trapped."

"I wouldn't know, miss. I can't imagine what it's like to be a noble; to be honest it seems like you have everythin' anyone could ask for."

"Compared to the kind of life you live, I imagine it does seem that way."

"Yeah, but I'm not naive 'nough to think you ain't got your own problems. Maybe ya feel trapped 'cause you are trapped. And I mean more than just in this cell," Lilian said, and Talea heard a loud tap on the wall. "Nobles always seem so stiff and pompous; it's gotta be tiring tryin' to be polite and perfect all the time. Maybe you're tryin' to run from that."

"I suppose that's one way to look at it."

"Maybe you're overthinkin' it."

"Huh?"

"Are you happy, Miss Talea?"

"What?"

"With your life, the way it is. Without all the complicated stuff. I dunno what your father is like, or what kind of pressure you gotta deal with, but if you took all of that stuff away, would you be happy?"

If Father was gone... if none of this had happened, would I be happy?

She thought back to her time in the palace as a courtier. She had been happy then, but...

It wasn't being at court that made me feel that way. It wasn't even Princess Nike, though the gods know I loved her. It's just, compared to life at home, life as a courtier was freeing. I could afford to mess up a little from time to time, or to enjoy a fun conversation or game. But even then, I still had to follow so many rules... and it was such a frivolous existence, it was exhausting in its own way.

I think... I think that's why I loved her. Noble life didn't bind her the way it did me. She had to do the things I did, but she didn't let them consume her. They weren't what made her her. She was more than her position... I... I wanted that. I wanted to be like her, a girl who happened to live a noble's life... not a noble who knows nothing of being a girl.

Talea blinked, and she was surprised to feel something wet trickle down her cheek.

"No. I don't think I would."

"Then, miss... It's okay to want to run away. I'm sure there's somewhere else you ought'a be."

"Depending on how things go now, we may be at war within the hour."

"We have a battle plan for that scenario, I trust?" Kitra asked.

"Yes, sir." Neil pulled a piece of parchment from his satchel and spread it on the ground for them all to see. It was a map of the Outer City, complete with the walls and the Southern Gates. He took a thin stick of charcoal and marked their position with a small mark.

"How are we getting in, then?" Luna asked, peering over the map. "Assuming negotiations go south."

"We're storming the gate," Neil explained. "We have no battering rams, I'm afraid, but we do have a fair bit of gunpowder, courtesy of General Falaha and Prince Irada."

"Hmph, of course. Gunpowder is a necessity during war," Falaha said. Nike thought it best not to say anything about how little experience her friend actually had on the battlefield.

"So we're blowing the gates down, huh..." Livi said, grimacing. "Damn, rebuilding the wall is gonna cost a fortune if it comes down to that."

"That's why it'll be a last resort. Luckily, if we can overcome the forces guarding the gates and wall, it shouldn't be a problem to get into the Outer City itself. There are no settlements for a good mile or so, so we'll have a clear march to the Inner Walls," said Neil, drawing arrows on the map as he spoke. "We'll likely have to camp within the walls for the night, once we get in. From the Outer Wall to the Inner Walls, it's a good half day of travel. As long as we remain vigilant, we shouldn't be ambushed before we reach the Inner City."

"So, we storm the gates and hope for the best, huh..." Nike said thoughtfully.

"Only if we can't convince them, milady."

"Right." You mean if I can't convince them.

She swept her hair from her face and tied it back.

"Who will lead Kara's division?" Kitra asked suddenly. "She's still tending to the princess."

"I'll do it," Fortis volunteered. "I have the experience to command troops; one battalion or two makes no difference."

"Alright. Livi, hands out. We've gotta tie you up," Nike said, gesturing at Falaha, who was holding a thick cord of rope.

She looks like she's enjoying this, Nike thought as she watched the young woman gleefully bind Livi's wrists tightly.

Livi felt rather absurd, like a donkey being pulled by a rope as the small group walked toward the gate.

I'm pretty sure Falaha is thinking that too, he thought as he allowed her to lead him on. There was a smug glint in her eye as she tugged at his wrists, and he was sure she was purposefully pulling on it from time to time to try to trip him up. From behind, Kitra prodded him forward with the tip of his sword. With friends like these, who needs enemies?

Ahead, Nike stood tall and proud, her crown glinting on her brow and her long hair pulled back. In her shirt and trousers, she looked every bit the dashing prince, and Livi wondered if that made him the captive princess.

The gates were shut; clearly the troops stationed on the wall were not about to just let a foreign army enter the imperial capital. He watched as several men trained bows on Nike. It made him nervous, but she showed no sign of fear.

"State your business!" A man with a bushy mustache shouted from atop the wall. He held a crossbow, and Livi could see the arrowhead glinting in the late afternoon light.

Nike stared up at him.

"I am here to take back my city," she said clearly, her voice carrying in the breeze.

Several of the soldiers on the wall leaned forward to take a better look at the woman below, and Livi noticed that many of them began whispering and pointing nervously. They recognize her, even after all these years.

"Your city?! This is Ginitarix, Imperial City of the Sun Kingdom!" the man roared. "We belong to no one but His Majesty the Sun King himself!"

What an idiot, does this man not own a royal portrait? Then again, I suppose they do all think she's dead...

"You mean this Sun King?" Nike asked pointedly, and Falaha brought him forward.

"Why... you! How dare you! Release His Majesty immediately!"

At least he knows who I am, Livi thought.

"I am perfectly within my rights," Nike said. "I have taken Livius I as a captive through an honorable agreement. As long as you grant us permission to pass safely, no harm will come to him."

"You dare threaten to harm His Majesty?! Who do you think you are, woman?!"

Livi saw Nike straighten, and the wind seemed to grow a bit stronger.

"My standard is of clouds and rain, sun and lion," she called, her voice commanding. "My name is Nike Remercier, Queen of the Sun Kingdom, and Princess of the Rain Duchy. I have come to reclaim my husband and my throne."

"Impossible! The Queen of the Rain died three years ago," the man spat incredulously. "How dare you impersonate our beloved queen?!"

"I'm not impersonating anyone," Nike said, and Livi heard her slip back into informal speech. Clearly, she was getting annoyed. "Come down here and you'll see I'm still alive," she challenged.

"Bah," the man said, though he seemed less sure of himself. The soldiers around him looked incredibly uneasy. "Her Majesty would never take the king captive, foolish woman!"

"She would if he'd been unfaithful and left her for dead!" she shouted, and Livi winced at the accusation. Nike, you're losing your temper there...

"Stand down, immediately! We'll fire unless you surrender His Majesty and disband this force!"

"Fine, you leave me no choice!"

The atmosphere suddenly grew heavy with moisture as a powerful voice echoed throughout the plains.

"Oh thank goodness we didn't have to fight anyone," Lanra said relieved. She stoked the fire carefully, keeping her apron away from the flames and soot.

"That guy was a pain. What a disgrace to beards and mustaches everywhere," Nike huffed, drying herself off in the heat. "At least he recognized my voice, if nothing else," she grumbled.

"I think he recognized the lightning and gale, actually," Livi said, shivering slightly. "Did you have to call such a powerful squall?"

"I didn't do it on purpose, I just got kind of..."

"Carried away?" Luna sneezed. Fortis wrapped a blanket around her shoulders.

"Sorry," Nike said sheepishly. "I hope I didn't make anyone sick."

"We'll be fine," Kitra sighed, wringing out his shirt. "Make sure you're fully dry before you go see Thena, though. You don't want her to get worse."

"Mmm." She willed her clothes to dry as quickly as possible; every moment spent away from Athene while she was sick filled her with guilt.

"How was she?" Livi asked Lanra.

"No change, I'm afraid. Her temperature stayed high all day, and I don't think she woke up at all. Perhaps Kara-sama had better luck," she said.

"By the way, Your Highness," Fortis interrupted. "Do you think we'll be forced to fight tomorrow?"

"No, not directly," Livi answered, reaching for a blanket. "If I know Dainer, it's that he's going to try everything to delay us. We'll be making a siege on the Inner City, and that's not a wall we can topple with a few barrels of gunpowder. The entirety of the standing army is quartered in the Inner City, and they have the resources to hold out against a long siege. We'll have to make slow progress if it comes down to a fight."

"Even with a hostage?" Luna piped up.

"Yes... Dainer has hostages too," he said darkly. "I'm not the only one he's got tied down. Violetta, Bard... who knows who else? I won't be able to fight at all as long as Talea and my son are still in the palace."

"Can't we just do what we did today?"

"No, it won't work on Dainer," Livi muttered. "He'll assert it's one of Nike's sisters pretending to be her, or something just as stupid. And we can't use Athene as proof while she's ill. Even if we try to force our way through using Amefurashi, someone can still shoot at the practitioner, or blow us to bits with a canon, and then we'll be wide open. This is going to take a bit more of a traditional battle approach. We may be here for weeks."

"Well, this is what we came for," Falaha shrugged. "Bring it on, I sa-"

"NIKE!"

Everyone jumped at the sudden cry, and Nike turned to see Kara hurrying toward them, her face pale.

"Kara?! What's going-"

"Nike, hurry! Athene is-!" she didn't even finish the sentence before she bolted off again.

Stumbling to her feet, Nike quickly pulled on her cloak and followed, Livi just behind.

It was dark now, and the stars were beginning to come out. Kara hurried through the sea of campfires and tarps, Nike and Livi hot on her heels.

Thena had been moved to a small tent at the center of camp, which is where they found her. The princess was covered in sweat, and her face was a horrible ruddy color. Nike immediately knelt at her daughter's side.

"What's going on?!" she asked, immediately taking her hand. It was burning hot.

"Her temperature suddenly shot up, and look..." Kara swept Thena's long hair away from her face.

Oh gods, don't tell me...

"What is it?!" Livi asked, completely at a loss. The girl was trembling despite being unconscious, and a small bubble of saliva was forming on the corner of her mouth. He pressed a hand to her cheek.

"Her limiters, she's trying to overpower them," Kara said briskly, rolling up her sleeves. "She's using all her power, and the effort will kill her. We have to get the earrings off, now." She pointed at Athene's earlobes, where the skin around the black stones was turning a reddish-brown color.

"Is that... blood?!" Nike asked, her voice strained with panic.

"Heated blood. The earrings are literally burning into her skin. They'll break soon, but if it gets to that point she'll have built up too much power. She's too small to contain that much energy at her age," Kara said grimly. "We have to unseal the limiters, and calm her powers down at the same time. Nike, I'll need you to lead the spell."

"Me?! I don't know anything about this kind of-"

"I can't start it, I'm not powerful enough," Kara said, touching the stones gingerly. She hissed as they seared her fingertips. "Hurry, Nike! Sing!"

"Sing what?!"

"Whatever comes to mind!"

Nike closed her eyes desperately and prayed to the rain for guidance. A second later, she began to sing in Hujan. The air trembled with her voice, the pressure adjusting to the plea of her tone. She clasped her hands together in prayer as she recited an ancient chant, asking the gods to bring rain to a scorched and burning earth.

Recognizing the song, Kara joined in, adjusting the tempo of the circular canon as she wove in her spell.

It was an otherworldly sound. Their interlaced voices changed the air, but it was more than just a shift in humidity. It was nothing like the song she had sung at the wall. The sound wound itself through the tent, a presence of its own, and reached deep into her heart.

Come on, come on, Nike thought wildly, still singing. The spell didn't seem to be working fast enough, and time was running out.

Kara didn't understand why it wasn't working. The spell on the earrings would not break, even though she had been the one to seal them in the first place.

What the hell is going on?!

She kept singing, reworking the spell slightly as she did. Her face was hot and her hair was sticking to her forehead, but she didn't care. Breaking her concentration for even a second would be enough to kill her niece.

Twenty minutes, thirty... time seemed to drag on for an eternity, and all they managed to do was slightly calm Athene's power enough to keep her from spilling over her body's limit.

This child...! She's a monster! She shouldn't be able to use this much power! No human being should! Kara grimaced as another wave of raw energy threatened to break their spell.

Come on, Thena... You can do this, sweetheart! She tried to send the girl some reassurance telepathically, but she only managed to hit a wall.

Kara was weaker than Nike. she could feel her strength ebbing away second by second. In a matter of minutes, she would collapse, and Nike would be the only one keeping little Thena alive. It wouldn't be enough, Kara knew it.

Thena, goddammit! I WON'T LET YOU DIE!

Desperate, she took hold of the scalding hot stones. Ignoring the horrible pain in her fingers as they burned, she willed all her power and energy to her hands and somehow, somehow, she managed to make a dent in the spell and rip the earrings off by force.

She saw Thena's ears bleed copiously for a second before everything went dark.

It was over in a second; the terrible smell of burning flesh filled the tent just as the song broke off and Thena fell still. Shakily, Livi ripped the cuff of his shirt and used the cloth to mop up the blood from her ears. He pressed the back of his hand to the girl's cheek.

It's... the temperature is going down! And she's still breathing... Thank goodness... Thank...

He hadn't realized that he'd been crying, but now he could hardly hold in his sobs. A heavy sense of relief flooded him as he took the child's little hand and kissed it.

I'm so sorry, Thena... I'm sorry I haven't been here for you all these years, but I'm... so glad you're okay...

"Kara!"

He turned to see Nike holding up her sister's limp body.

"What happened?!" he asked, standing up and hurrying over to them.

"She... I think she's fainted," Nike said, taking Kara's pulse with her hand. She sighed with relief as she found it. "She's fine, except..."

She reached out to Kara's hands. The fingers had been burned. The skin was red and shiny, and Livi could actually see steam rising from the little stones in her palms.

"Water," he said. He spotted a basin near the bedding, probably for cooling Thena's fever, and brought it over. He gently placed Kara's hands in the cool water and fell silent for a minute.

He felt drained. His strength seemed to be ebbing away. He had the impression that Nike wasn't much better off.

"Why did this happen?" he asked a moment later. "What's happening to Thena?"

"I... I dunno," Nike said, biting the inside of her cheek. "It's not normal for a child to be able to overpower her limiters like this. Thena is... special... and can ignore them to some extent, but this is different."

"For some reason, it reminds me of when you lost control," Livi said quietly, grimacing at the unpleasant memory. Nike had almost lost herself then, her body pushed to its limits by poison and her own overwhelming power. "It makes me uneasy."

"It's the same principle," Nike sighed. "But I have no idea what's triggered it..."

Livi clenched his teeth.

"Nike... this is bad."

"Maybe Kara will know the reason when she wakes-"

"No, you don't understand. It's more than what just happened. Thena's abilities, all of it," he said. "It's dangerous, in more ways than one. The Sun Priests are already wary of your abilities, and that's only the parts they understand. If we manage to retake control of the city and get rid of Dainer, it doesn't mean that the clergy will just accept us with open arms. They'll have a hard time accepting an heir who's a practitioner of Amefurashi in the first place, but can you imagine how they'll react if they find out just what Thena can do? We can be as careful as we want, we can forbid her from using her powers, or try to hide it, but one mistake and it's over. This is the perfect excuse for them to claim that she's a heretic; they'll strip her of her title, of her rights. They might even persecute her... If she fights back with her powers, she'll only make things worse for herself in the public eye, and we've just seen that she can't even keep control... we can't even keep her under control. The truth is, Nike, I'm scared for her. How are we supposed to protect her from that?"

He reached to stroke Athene's soft hair gently.

"I know I've only known her for a few days... but there's something about her that makes it impossible not to love her. I feel like I've always been her father, and it terrifies me to think that she might be in danger for something we may not even be able to hide."

"I... I never considered it," Nike said, her voice stricken. "I always assumed that she would grow into it, learn to control it... I've been so preoccupied with everything else, I never thought..."

"I don't blame you. You've had so much on your mind already. Perhaps I'm just overthinking it."

"But... what if you're right? What are we supposed to do? It's too late to turn back now..."

Livi thought of Cecil and Talea, still held hostage in the castle.

"I know. It's always too late," he said bitterly.