A boring yet nessessary chapter, but the action part of the chapter was too long for my standards, so I broke one chapter into two. But know that the next chapter is already half written, so look back soon and often! But for know, try to enjoy this crucial-to-the-plot chappie!

Realizations and Explanations

The King stayed pressed against the wall for some minutes after Ichaeruut left. Finally, he let his breath out in a huff, and left the room through the door. The door closed after he left, and the lights went out.

Kel started to emerge from her hiding place, but Neal grabbed her arm. Wait, he mouthed. She nodded. A few seconds later, the King re-entered the room. Kel saw his feet move to the table and pause, as if he had forgotten something. The King muttered to himself and exited the room again. They stayed under the bed for several minutes before they judged it was safe to come out.

The two knights crawled out from their dusty refuge. Neal used his Gift to light the globes. Kel sat heavily on the bed, than jumped up again when she realized where she was sitting.

"Well," said Neal. "That conversation explained a lot."

"So Uusoae is luring all those countries to get rid –" she gulped, "to get rid of Tortall? But I thought Uusoae was imprisoned!"

"No, I know – I mean, I'm sure she still is. But just because she's imprisoned doesn't stop her from working through her minions. And what goes hand in hand with Chaos? Confusion, and that's who she has working on the four countries – which is bad, because that means that this is one of her major priorities."

"But why would she need Alanna gone?"

"Isn't it obvious? The Goddess has her hand on Alanna, and in order to weaken the Gods' hold on the Mortal Realms all the Chosen have to fall. Alanna isn't the only one, I'm sure, and once – if Tortall falls, Uusoae will turn her current alliance against each other and get rid of all the others. I don't know why the Gods haven't picked up on this Ichaeruut and his involvement in this war, though . . ." Neal trailed off, lost in thought.

"Mortals fight all the time. Why should they have any cause to think this any different from normal?" Kel asked.

"Exactly," said Neal. "And that's our problem."

"Yeah, but you're forgetting a bigger problem."

"Being . . ."

"We still haven't found the Fifth."

***

Luckily, no one was in the hall when Kel poked her head out of the Throne Room door. She motioned to Neal, and they dashed out into the hall. If anyone spotted them, they were just two people who got lost on the way back from the washrooms.

Neal joined the banquet, and after she returned to her room and changed into yet another of the dresses Helena had ordered, Kel met him in the banquet hall. No one had noticed their absence. Of course, even if someone had realized they were missing, most people were too busy dealing with monster hangovers to do anything about it.

This night, the banquet extended itself into the beginning of the next day. The darkness of night was fading into the grayness of twilight, and Kel and Neal found themselves alone on the balcony, overlooking the garden and dozens of couples with romantic notions hiding in the bushes.

"We know it has to be some place purple," said Kel suddenly and quietly, as if she was just continuing a conversation.

"I still think it's the Throne Room," said Neal stubbornly.

"Neal, we searched that place from top to bottom. There is nothing there, excepting that hidden room," Kel reminded him. She paused, and then smacked herself on the forehead. "And the Throne Room couldn't be the right place anyway! The poem says that the Fifth is under our feet, and the Throne Room is very much above ground."

"So . . . we're right back where we started. Somewhere covered in purple and under the ground." Neal groaned. "We're getting nowhere."

But something he had just said jarred Kel's memory. A disembodied voice floated up through the depths of her mind, pushing its way to the foreground.

"The Treasury!" she cried, and then clapped a hand over her mouth as a reprimand for speaking too loudly. But she was unable to keep it there, and words bubbled out of her mouth, sometimes so rapidly that she tripped over them.

"The Fifth is in the Treasury! Remember what Edward was talking about? How the King lined his Treasury with amethyst for the guarding properties, and how it was underground and in the middle of the Palace? It has to be the Treasury! I'll bet that the Fifth was just handed down as an heirloom, just lying in the Treasury somewhere, and the King never knowing anything about it! But that has to be where it is!"

Neal was nodding his head excitedly. "You've got it, Kel! All the clues make sense."

"Now all we have to do is figure out how to get to the Treasury." They fell into silence for a few scant minutes, until Neal shrugged.

"Who needs to know where a thing is? We'll just wander around during tomorrow's banquet. If anyone asks what we're doing . . ." he adopted a confused look, "I'm sorry, sir, but milady here is feeling ill, and we can't find the way back to our rooms. Could you help us?" He shrugged again. "No one will think anything is out of place. But for now . . ."

"Let's get back to our rooms," Kel interrupted him. "I'm tired, and I'll feel better when I'm out of this dress."

"Ahh, yes, our Lady Knight's aversion to dresses is foremost on her mind." Neal bowed. "If you would accompany me inside, Lady Madylene?"

"With pleasure, Lord Gabriel." She placed her arm on his and they glided back inside.

Once they were gone, two figures emerged from the shadows on their right. Edward and Helena looked more than a little shocked.

OOOOOH, cliffie! Oh well, couldn't help it! but, as I said, the next chapter is almost done, so be happy! Oh, and please review! I write faster when I get more reviews. Thanks! And if you have the time, please go check out my other stories!