The doors to Bo's office opened and in walked The Queen with Dyak Astadar Henry and Bas Gunther. The staff stood and extended their courtesies, afterwhich Willa and Landon stepped forward.

"Where's The Princess Royal?" The Queen asked. "She was supposed to join me at the Regency Transition Briefing before we departed for the Homelands."

"Your Majesty, The Princess Royal is back on the Human Plane." Dyak Landon answered.

"Why?" The Queen asked.

"She found out this morning the Valkyries remanded County Regent Tamsin for trial. After the ensuing commotion, The Princess Royal felt she needed to take a walk."

"All the way back to the Human Plane?" The Queen replied so quickly it caused some of the staff to giggle to reproved looks from Willa and Landon.

"Where is she exactly on the Human Plane?" The Queen asked.

"Brazenwood, Your Majesty." Willa replied.

"It is my understanding it was the first place she and County Regent Tamsin had bonded." Landon added.

"Open transvortex!" The Queen commanded and a transvortex appeared in front of her.

"Your Majesty? You're going to the Human Plane now?" Henry asked. "What about the meeting with the Nuallan Delegation?"

"Ariella can manage it in my stead." The Queen replied.

"Yes, Your Majesty." Henry said. "I will summon the Regnant Guard to escort you."

"Bas Gunther and I can manage." The Queen replied as she and Bas Gunther moved into the transvortex.

"But Her Majesty and Regent Saladin will become concerned." Henry protested in vain as the transvortex had already closed behind them.


The Queen and Bas Gunther emerged on the other side of the transvortex onto an open, dusty field near a shed next to an open gate.

"This must be the place." The Queen said as she and Bas Gunther looked around. Soon they spotted Bas Kadine standing before an open gate next to a Guard shed. He bowed as The Queen approached.

"Where is Ysabeau?" The Queen asked. Bas Kadine righted himself.

"Further inside, Your Majesty. She asked me to remain here at the gate." Bas Kadine replied. The Queen proceeded to walk through the open gate with Bas Gunther behind her.

"Follow us." Bas Gunther directed to Bas Kadine who readily obeyed.

They walked down the beaten down grass path and saw random small animals running about. The remains of pits of long put out fires, gates bent and torn, and homes that looked sieged. They walked further along to see Bo leaned up against a fence looking outward into the distance.

"Ysabeau?" The Queen called out. Bo turned around and was surprised to see The Queen standing before her.

"Your Majesty? What are you doing here?" Bo asked as they exchanged courtesies.

"I could ask you the same thing." The Queen countered "You were supposed to be at the Regency for the Transition Briefing before we depart for the Homelands." Bo turned and leaned back on the fence and The Queen joined her. "So, this is the Brazenwood you speak about?"

"Here is where I faced my final Dawning challenge." Bo replied. "I had no idea what I would or how I would face it, but Tamsin helped me through it."

"Tamsin is very important to you." The Queen noted.

"In more ways than you could ever know." Bo replied. "She was such an ass when we first met. Hated me. Thought I was a murderer. Wanted nothing more than me dead or in jail at the least, but Brazenwood was our starting point towards understanding one another. Sure, we would still tussle here and there, but this place was the first time Tamsin extended a hand of help. I still have no idea why, but I will always be indebted to her for that." Bo said as she looked down at her feet and then back up. "I feel so helpless I cannot be there for her, and for Dyson who is losing his mind he might lose her forever." Bo and The Queen then stood in silence for several moments looking out into the distance.

"Is there something you wish to ask of me?" The Queen asked breaking the silence. Bo looked down at her feet and then shook her head and then pushed off the gate.

"I could! I could ask you to do so many things!" Bo yelled then slumped her shoulders and exhaled. "But I can't! I can't run to you for everything!"

"You do understand why Tamsin is being held accountable?" The Queen asked.

"I do." Bo replied.

"Then why all the frustration?" The Queen asked.

"Because she did nothing wrong!" Bo yelled.

"Except defy my directive." The Queen said. Bo looked straight at The Queen.

"What even is this relic everyone is dying over, or nearly dying over?" Bo asked.

"I've told you before what it is." The Queen replied.

"Well, that's not good enough!" Bo shot.

"Nevertheless, it will have to do." The Queen replied.

"Well, it doesn't! And not when someone I love and consider family is about to pay the price for whatever that thing really is!" Bo said.

Suddenly, a vortex opened and a contingent of Regnant Guard flowed out. Bas Gunther went up to them.

"Who sent you?" Bas Gunther asked.

"Regent Saladin." The lead guard answered. Bas Gunther quickly nodded his head.

"Set up a perimeter but give them some space." Bas Gunther directed. The lead guard nodded and then went off and further directed the rest of the Guard. The Queen returned her attention to Bo.

"Do not think for one second I do not understand your concern for Tamsin's well-being." The Queen said.

"Well, it doesn't seem like it." Bo pouted.

"Pouting is unbecoming of a future Sovereign, or of anyone for that matter." The Queen admonished. Bo slumped her shoulders again.

"I'm sorry, Ari. It's just…I feel so helpless. Here I am The Princess Royal, the next Queen of the Fae Realm and I can't even walk through a door to help a friend! Sometimes you gotta wonder if this Royal life is what it's cracked up to be." Bo replied.

"Ysabeau, you're learning a hard lesson about being a Sovereign. No matter who or what is part of your life, your word is law, and when that is defied, offenders must answer for their actions no matter their intent. You will face so many, many more such situations as you go on." The Queen said. Bo looked at the ground. The Queen decided to turn the conversation. "Show me more of Brazenwood. I want to learn more about it." Bo straightened up a bit.

"Well, as I said this is where I faced my final Dawning challenge." Bo explained as they walked along. "At the time, we didn't know we were in the midst of my final Dawning challenge. What we thought was to be a simple drinks lunch, that was unfortunately followed by a bar tussle turned out to be a rescue mission lead by a Spriggan named Balzac to spring a Squonk named Hannah from here."

"That's quite the set-up." The Queen commented.

"I know, right? But as you can see the townsfolk have now disappeared, obviously taken against their will, and we don't know where, why or by whom."

"Is this how they truly lived? In these ramshackles?" The Queen asked.

"Yes, but they also chose it. They wanted to live as far away from everyone as possible, including the Fae, Light and Dark Fae rules be damned. This was also the one place where even the Dark Fae thought twice before entering here." Bo replied.

"Sounds like your Dawning selected the right spot for you to face your final challenge. Speaks to your nature." The Queen said. Bo smiled.

"You know, I've never thought about it that way." Bo replied. The Queen quickened her pace and went over to one of tossed shack homes, but Bas Gunther moved faster.

"Your Majesty, allow me." Bas Gunther said and without waiting for a reply, moved into the shack, checked it out for any security threats and then emerged. "Your Majesty." The Queen and Bo moved inside and looked around.

"Do you see anything out of the ordinary?" The Queen asked as Bo rummaged through.

"No. Nothing that I can see." Bo replied. They exited the one home and proceeded to walk through several more. "Atticus would be beyond thrilled you were here personally walking through Brazenwood. Evony, however, not so much." The Queen smiled. They walked further along and found home after home had been torn through.

"A great deal of damage." The Queen said.

"And yet no clues left. None. How odd." Bo replied. The Queen suddenly stopped in her tracks and looked around again.

"Hmp." The Queen let out.

"What is it?"

"They were obviously forcibly taken, right?"

"Clearly."

"If this place was as independent as you say it was then someone left something behind to find." The Queen said as she looked around some more.

"I would be surprised they even thought of that given how much they hated outsiders so much." Bo replied.

"Yet they had enough visitors to warrant a Gate Guard." The Queen said then looked like something dawned on her face. "How did the Gate Guard admit visitors? Did they let them just in?"

"No. We had to give to him some silly fortune cookie." Bo replied. The Queen frowned her eyebrows. "It's a piece of paper that comes out of a cookie that supposedly tells your fortune."

"And people believe that?" The Queen asked.

"Some. Most think it's just fun. Especially when you add 'in bed' after reading each fortune." Bo replied. The Queen looked puzzled. "It's a game thing."

"Oh." The Queen replied. "How are these cookies obtained?"

"Mostly, it's an after-dinner treat. But the ones for this place had to be procured. In my case, it was from a gangster Dark Fae called Fang." Bo replied. The Queen nodded then turned and went back to the open gate, entered the Guard shed, and rummaged around inside, but found nothing.

"See. Told you they found nothing." Bo said.

"This is where the Gate Guard sat?" The Queen asked for reconfirmation.

"Yes. Bo replied. The Queen sat there for a few moments then looked up and started feeling around the nooks and crannies of the shed roof then stopped and pulled her hand down to reveal a piece of paper.

"You found one!" Bo said. The Queen read it aloud.

"It reads: 'Your time to serve is nigh.' Hm. From what you've told me, Brazenwood Fae are anything but servants."

"Do you feel anything else up there?"

"Nothing."

"What made you even think to look in here?"

"This Guard shed was the only place that wasn't torn through. The Gate Guard must have allowed them to pass with this fortune, but soon after the attackers entered, they must have started sacking the place, so he hid it with the hope it would be discovered and traced back to the attackers." The Queen replied.

"Is being a Detective also part of your skill set?" Bo asked. The Queen smiled.

"This is not my first time at investigation." The Queen replied.

"In any case, thank you! Now we know where to backtrack. I will get Tamsin..." Bo started and then her words faltered, and her melancholy returned. The Queen exited the Guard shed and went up to Bo.

"Let us return to the Presidium."

"But Tamsin..."

"You do your friend no good service sulking around here." The Queen replied.

"Cannot serve her any good by being at the Presidium either." Bo retorted.

"On the contrary."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean you would be hard pressed to be an Observer during her trial if you were here." The Queen replied.

"I can't enter the Hall though." Bo said.

"You can. As my Observer." The Queen replied. Bo's demeanor brightened.

"Your Majesty, thank you!" Bo said.

"I must warn you, the passage of time inside the Hall of Valkyries is inconsequential." The Queen replied.

"I know. Tamsin could emerge in seconds, minutes, days, months or…" Bo started.

"Years." The Queen finished. Bo eyes slightly widened. "Same rule would fall to you. Once you enter the Hall, you will also be bound to the Hall and to the Trial, unable to return, until its conclusion. Evony knew the cost of entering the Hall. Do you?"

"Now I do." Bo replied. "And I will still pay it."

"This would include being away from Lauren and your children for the duration. No communication or contact." The Queen stressed. "I ask again. Do you understand the cost?" Bo inhaled and then exhaled.

"Tamsin and Dyson have sacrificed so much for me. For Lauren. For our entire family. So yes, I do." Bo replied.

"Very well then. Let us return to the Presidium." The Queen said then called for a transvortex. "One final thing. Inside the Hall of Valkyries, the Advocate, namely Evony, is the only one with authority to act on Tamsin's behalf. And the Valkyrie Queen is the final authority within the Hall. You will have no authority as The Princess Royal. Is that clear?"

"Crystal." Bo replied. They both stepped into the transvortex. "I don't know how Lauren will take it when I explain this to her before I go, but I have faith that…" but before Bo could finish that sentence she emerged on the other side and into a chamber where 25 Valkyries sat on elevated chairs in circle. Bo twirled around wildly.

"Where am I?" Bo demanded. One Valkryie who sat in a Throne Chair leaned forward.

"Greetings, Your Royal Highness! Welcome to the Hall of Valkyries!"