Author's Note: I apologize for the lack of posts. I have had a very hard time of it lately, and writing was the last thing on my mind. I hope that all of you can forgive me and give me time to get back into the swing of things with my writing.

I will be posting the list of Jewel ranks and Names as soon as I can get the list together, I may end up posting it in next chapter or maybe the next. Thank you for the reviews and I hope that all of you enjoy

Lord Unther watched as the Coach it made it's decent onto the designated landing area, straightening his vest for the third time in the last few minutes. It was hard for him to admit that he was nervous over the arrival of his Lady, a man of his age being so vulnerable when it comes to a female. It did not help that his District hadn't had a decent Queen since the one that ruled before his grandmother was destroyed in the Purge centuries ago.

Stargrove was one of the few Territories that were spared the devastating effects of The Purge due to the resistance of the people to Dorothea's particular passion against the male gender. It was his grandmother's reign that made it possible for the horrors that Dorothea taught her coven to leak into the District. His grandmother took over the District from an aging Queen who died of what everyone knew now as a poison that was slowly fed to her over years that mimicked an illness rather than what it really was: murder. He remembered being a youth, standing in the ballroom of Moonbright Manor with his mother and sister as his grandmother took the oath to rule her people as best as she knew how, and feeling so lucky that he was a member of a ruling family. It took many years till he realized that it wasn't as wonderful as he thought it would be.

He didn't notice anything really wrong till he was older. As a youth, he took the whispers and silence as just adults being adults, not wanting him to know about things that young males shouldn't know about at his age. When he was older, he started to take notice of the wrongness of it all. The males were terrified of going against what his grandmother was saying as well as the male members of the staff suddenly disappearing at exponential rates. Females on the staff were broken, and even some of the young women in his sister's social circles were being broken, "For their own good." His mother assured him. He felt everything was going sideways and he couldn't stop what was coming. It seemed to get worse as he got older, his mother looking at him with barely held hostility, his grandmother being suggestive to him, and his sister getting more and more terrified by his touch or even to speak with him as the years passed. It grew to a head when he came home from his Offering with a dark Opal.

His grandmother seemed proud when she announced to the people that he had such a dark Jewel compared to her Summer-Sky, and even his mother seemed happy for him when he showed her his uncut Jewel. The way his sister trembled when she saw the Jewel in his hand still made him wonder what she thought of him to this day, because he never got to find out. The next week, The Purge came and changed his entire life.

He remembered walking through the halls after the witchstorm roared through the Realm, shaking as he stepped over body after body to get to his grandmother's private solar that he hadn't been allowed in since he was old enough to have facial hair. The image of what was left of his female family members around a tray of implements used to shave a male and the naked sobbing young man from the kitchens tied down to a chair still featured in his nightmares to this day. After the bodies were cleaned up, the community decided that Moonbright be closed off until they, the people, decided that it would be wise to open the estate again. For years, he watched as the gardens his sister so lovingly cultivated grow over with neglect and the walls start to show signs of decay. The home he grew up in was slowly starting to fall to pieces, and there was nothing he could do to stop it.

It was The Matrons who decided that maybe it was time to reopen Moonbright, since it would be easier to keep track of such a young unexperienced Queen if she was the center of the community instead of at the house they set up at the edge of town for the Queens to reside in after they found one willing to rule after The Purge Panic died down. The Matrons not only were willing to let Lady Jolin live in the manor but were also willing to give her a generous salary. Even Unther was shocked at how much of the community's funds that they had been building up for years, but The Matrons insisted that a first time Queen would need considerable funds to get all of the things that she might need. It took a bit to convince The Fathers that it was the right thing to do, but after a particularly politely tense afternoon tea with The Matrons it was agreed by all parties involved that it was the right thing to do. So, the chains on the gate were broken off and the community descended onto the estate to try to get it ready for the Queen in just seven days time. It was that decision that brought some unforeseen turn of events that he hoped would be a good thing for his village, and his Queen.

Unfortunately, the job was more than his community could handle once he walked through the halls and realized that the psychic scents were so strong that not even the most vigorous scrubbing could get it out of the walls. The ballroom couldn't even be opened after one of the Matrons excitedly threw open the doors to see the splendor that she remembered hearing about as a young woman only to have to be carried out after the overwhelming wave of emotions rolled over her. He didn't want to know the horrors that went on in the kitchens when the owner of the local tavern came up to him and asked why there were so many bone saws in the cabinets. The walk through the family wing was done only by him because no one would follow him through the halls where even he could barely stand the emotions coming from the walls himself. Finding his formal dinner suit still laid out on the bed for the dinner his mother had planned that evening "just for the family" was what made him realize that the people of his village couldn't clean the manor. They were tied too closely to what had happened in the home for any of them to try and do what needed to be done.

So, he sent a missive to Prince Grayhaven for him to send them a Black Widow, and possibly some men to help them with the cleaning that desperately needed to be done in such a short period of time. Unther was even willing to pay more than the extremely large fee that was usually charged for a Black Widow from Shalador Nehele since they were some of the best ones in the Realm, and stated so in the letter, several times. However, Prince Grayhaven sent a dozen Black Widows, along with a young Healer and over thirty young males and females with his compliments to a new Queen and no fee. Unther was amazed at how quickly the Black Widows worked, the rooms taking on a fresh new scent thanks to a special type of Web that seem to take away all of remnants of the past emotions away and leave a clean slate for others to make pleasant memories in the walls instead. The young men, much to the Matrons delight, hauled away old furniture and rubbish in an efficient and often shirtless manner.

It turns out that the Black Widows did come with a price after all he soon found out. Kalisa, the youngest Black Widow with a Purple Dusk Jewel and a sharp temper, informed him very politely that she would be taking up residence in the wing he had designated for the Court to live in once all of the contracts had been finalized. When he tried to protest that it wasn't necessary, her lover Lord Theran shook his head as he walked past with arms full of luggage. "Don't try to change her mind," the young man said to him. "Once she is set on something she won't go against it." He didn't have much time to get used to the idea of another young woman being in the house when the curvy dark haired Healer gave him the sweetest smile and told him that the Healing Room was more than adequate, though if she was going to serve in this court she would have to send off to Shalador for more supplies since the ones in the cabinets were nothing more than dust at this point. His head was spinning at the end of the five days, with the addition of not only the two young witches and their lovers, but two dozen young men and women decided they would like to stay behind and offer their services to the new Queen since there weren't enough people in the community that were young enough to do the work required in the manor.

Now, as the coach made a smooth approach to the platform, he wondered how his Lady would react to having a Black Widow wanting to serve her. She was so anti-Black Widow craft he was expecting her to throw the biggest fit when Kalisa presented herself to Jolin. It was so difficult to explain to her that most Black Widows were not out to get everyone since she had been trained in courts that did not trust those types of witches, but that was what he and the other males were hoping to change about her. After all, it wasn't every day a young Queen was willing to go to a town on the edge of a Territory to rule, even with the generous salary that they were offering her.

"She napped most of the way," Warren sighed as he jumped out of the driver's compartment. "It was uneventful unless you count having to go back for one of her trunks when she realized she had left it sitting in her father's sitting room. She wouldn't tell us what was in it, but she insisted that we go back for it. Other than that, she seems in fine spirits today."

"I hope so," Unther sighed while he watched Stephen help Jolin out of the coach. She was wearing one of the gowns that he purchased with his portion of the tithes that he earned as Warlord Prince of Stargrove. It pleased him that she actually liked the gowns that he picked out. The fight she gave when she first saw the design was more like a child throwing a tantrum, which was just fine with him because he knew that particular dance like the back of his hand. Many young Queens came to Stargrove to train because of the amount of money the community made from the gem trade. When they realized that they couldn't just have everything they wanted because the community had the money to pay for it, the girls would scream down the rafters about how unfair it is for them not to have what a Queen deserved. Stargrove soon became the place to send young unruly Queens to learn hard lessons about life. He was just glad Jolin wasn't as bad as some of the first young bitches he was sent. Those bitches were so resilient the excursions to the rogue camps in the mountains weren't enough to faze them. One of the little bitches even had that gall to ask which of the males she was allowed to choose for her new court. That young lady was returned home and he never heard from or about her again.

However, there was a silver lining in it all. Most of the women learned times were hard all over. It was amusing to see them change over the months from spoiled brats to solid Queens. He was hoping that as Jolin was like those ladies, and she would learn what being a real Queen could be. As Jolin placed her hands in his in greeting, he remembered the words of the Black Widow with tangled hair that he chanced upon years ago when visiting Eyota to pay respects to The Rose Queen at her funeral.

"You will find a diamond in the rough Gem Master," the woman with tangled hair said. "Most people will pass this up this gem, seeing it as just a pebble on the dirt with the rest of the ordinary rocks. You, Gem Master, will see what no one else wants or will see in this diamond. There will be many, many flaws that you will see once it is shined and polished, but you will make it shine so bright that other gemstones will want to be mounted next to it, making the finest jewelry that anyone had ever seen, and no one will care about its flaws, even the diamond itself." He remembered those words when Jolin was on the stage and the other men were sneering up at her, saying how they didn't want anything to do with a nobody Queen that had no credentials to speak of or money. She looked so full of herself and like some of the Queens he remembered as a young man, but inside his heart screamed to give her his life. The look in her eyes of distain hid the scared woman he knew was in there, the same fear that most young Queens had when asking if there were any males to serve. He swallowed his disgust at her first reaction to him, and his pride, and made the decision to shape a Queen everyone else looked over so she would shine brighter than anyone could have imagined.

Jolin couldn't help but be excited as the smart buggy with Scelt horses rode onto the main street of town. The way that most people talked about Stargrove wasn't what she was seeing. After Unther left her with Stephen and Warren as the two males to keep an eye on her, she had a bunch of her friends over for tea. Her friends didn't seem as fun anymore, all of the tittering and mean gossip that seemed to be more about trying to outdo one another. However, what the girls told her about Stargrove had her curious about exactly what kind of women told them about the village.

"They have absolutely no place for plays or concerts," one of them told her. "Last I heard, the best they had was some pitiful excuse for an amphitheater that was so small it barely had any seating." If she was talking about the amphitheater that Unther pointed out to her as they passed, than her friend was severely misinformed. It was as big, if not bigger than the concert hall near her home.

"And the Queen's residence is supposedly just some old house on the edge of town," another person told her. "They are apparently against the Queens being anywhere near the town. They don't trust them at all." Which seemed to be true, since Warren pointed out the "old" residence for the past Queens. There was some muddling about exactly where she would be staying, but they passed the old house without a pause. Everything else the girls told her, the state of the shops, the way the homes looked, and even how the people acted towards Queens that came into town were all shown to be falsehoods as the buggy rolled down the road. People were smiling and acknowledging her in the streets as the came out of shops that looked like they carried aristo type merchandise that were well kept up fronts.

"One of the girls in my court said that they had no money to speak of, and only paid half of her contract because they nit picked her terms apart," Yoldanda sniffed. "If I were you I would make sure I took a real good look at your terms before signing the contract to be the Queen there." Jolin took that statement as the opportunity to tell the girls that she really took all the time that she could spare for them and kick them out of her father's house. Fuming, she told Lord Warren she would no longer take audiences with those particular Ladies, and if Yoldanda was on any of the guest lists that she didn't want to go to any party that the White Jeweled bitch would attend. Yoldanda's father may be richer than anyone she spent time with, but Jolin had a sneaky suspicion once she started having more teas like that one in the weeks to come it dawned that her supposed friends were upset she did not ask them to go with her to Stargrove.

"Jolin, my Lady, I want you to know we tried our best to get the residence ready for you in time, but there were some complications and not everything we would have liked is done," Unther told her nervously. "I promise we will do our best to bring it up to your standards in the next few weeks. It will be ready in time for your official Court forming."

"I am sure it is amazing," Jolin replied.

"The gates are in better condition I see," Warren said with a whistle as someone used Craft to swing the gates wide.

"That's not the only thing that is in better condition," Unther told them as he put an arm around Jolin's shoulders and pointed to the large manor beyond an overgrown mess of gardens.

"Mine?" Jolin whispered, taking in the large size of the home.

"For the next year, it is yours once the contracts have been signed," Unther replied. Jolin could barely contain her excitement to see the inside. The gardens were a mess, but surely Unther wouldn't let her move in without having the insides in order.

"The drive around looks good," Stephen told them with snap of the reins.

"The boyos sure do know how to get things done," Unther chuckled.

"Boyos?" Jolin asked.

"We have…well let's just get you inside and it will be easier to explain," Unther said as the buggy wheeled up to the front doors.

"Will the gardens be ready for the gardeners to plant for spring? It would be a shame to see such a lovely entrance to be ruined by all these weeds," Jolin said, spotting what looked to be a fountain beneath the centuries of growth in the middle of the courtyard.

"We will have to see what can be managed," Unther replied as the buggy came to a complete stop. The men all jumped out, and Warren offered his hand to help her down. She took time to admire the horses, cooing at them and telling them what a good job they did before a very attractive male took the team and buggy away. Unther stood at the top of the stairs with an uncertain look on his face. She found it sweet that as old as he was that he was still uncertain about some things. He used Craft to open the door, a smile coming to his lips as he gestured with his hand. "Your new home my Lady," he said.

"This is amazing," Jolin breathed as she walked into the foyer. Stained glass windows sent a multicolor of lights shining onto the marble floors while servants bustled around her to gather the things from the buggy. She took in the large wooden carvings on the walls and the finery of the tapestries and paintings before turning back to Unther with an incredulous look. "This place could hold up to a Third Circle if I wanted one!"

"That was the idea my Lady," Lord Constantine said as he came down the stairs. He was the youngest of the gentlemen to offer their service, and she was sorely disappointed to learn he was married with three offspring all her age since he was such a handsome man and an Opal Prince. "We figured that if you had the ability to offer your Court as a training ground it would help put some younger life in the area."

"That sounds wonderful Constantine," Jolin replied as she ran her hand lightly over the bannister of the grand staircase. The wood was a dark red color that she hadn't seen before, and it was polished so smooth she could probably slide down the entire thing without a problem. A smile played on her lips as she remembered sliding down the one in her parents' home a sunny afternoon when she escaped from the nursery when she was a small child before her brother came along. It was the first afternoon she had a long lecture from her parents about what a Lady should and shouldn't act like.

"We have the contracts drawn up for you to look at," Unther said, gesturing to a door to the left of the staircase. "The Matrons are waiting for you to discuss the terms."

"Didn't my father approve of them?" Jolin huffed. "He told me that things were taken care of before I left."

"Your father told me that you were able to make the decision on your own my Lady," Unther stated with a sniff. "However, if you do have any doubts about the terms I would be more than happy to take the papers to discuss with your father when you are done. The Matrons are waiting." He took her hand and led her to the now open door. Jolin took some shaky breaths as they stepped closer, going over all of the Protocol in her head from training about dealing with the older female members of society, and realized that nothing she learned would be proper for the tea with the Ladies. She wanted to tell Unther she wasn't ready for this, but the next thing she knew she was standing in front of a large group of older regal looking ladies with stern looks on their faces.

"Shall we get started, Lady Jolin?" the woman in a gown that spoke wealth that was sitting in the chair nearest to the low table in front of the fire opposite the only empty chair in the room that she could see. The woman gave her a smile and gestured to the chair. "I rather skip the pleasantries and get right down to the heart of the matter if you don't mind."

"I suppose that is best," Jolin replied, taking the seat and bracing for what she was sure would be the worst afternoon tea of her life.

"Do I want to know why Jared is standing at the door with a furious expression on his face?" Yarek asked Luc when he strolled into the home that Coren was renting while the Elders figured out exactly how they were going to handle her request to purchase a lease on a land that was both in the Landen part of Eyota and the Blood part. It wasn't that the Landens didn't want to have someone as sweet at Coren that wanted to start a home for young girls who needed a place to call a home from family members who were less than honorable, but the strong wall of a Gray Jeweled Warlord Prince that clearly wanted her as more than just a lover seemed to be proving a problem. Allan was not a bad sort as far as Warlord Princes go, but he was barely allowing Coren out of the house for anything other than trips to the market for the children or to meet with Richard at the Coach Station for his brief visits before heading back to the townhouse in Hayll that she still holds a lease on since it would be needed for court business.

"Guess who found out the hard way that you aren't allowed to go to school when she is in her moontime?" Luc chuckled while gesturing to a sullen looking young witch on the sofa near the blazing fireplace.

"Ah," Yarek sighed.

"And Lady Bianca went to go get your mother while Coren sent Jared to the door since he was being difficult and overbearing," Luc told him. "Lady Katherine was most upset to find out there are a lot of rules that she has to follow while being on her moontime."

"I see," Yarek said, reading between the lines. He casually walked over to the couch where the young Queen was bundled up on the couch.

"Go away," she grumbled as she turned away from him.

"Are you hungry?" he asked.

"No."

"Need anything to drink?"

"No."

"Do you-"

"LEAVE ME ALONE!" she screeched as she threw one of the pillows at Yarek without looking at him. Yarek caught the pillow with a sigh and set it on one of the seats before walking back over to where Luc was standing with a smirk.

"Definitely a Queen," Yarek murmured.

"I had no doubts," Luc chuckled. "How is Paulina fairing with Auntie?"

"Oh she is having great fun," Yarek sighed. "Though I thought I should warn you Brother to Brother that Paulina has written a rather long missive to Mirana after my mother spent the evening alone with her in the garden. The giggles I got in bed last night were all I needed to hear to know that my mother had been telling her tales."

"Which means that you and I will both be the subject of giggles for weeks," Luc replied with a rub on the back of his neck.

"How's Jared's mum holding up with the children crowding her?" Yarek asked as Coren came down the stairs with the babe on her hip, Allan close behind her with a look in his eye and a smile on his lips. Yarek knew that smile. He saw it many a time when he caught a glimpse of his reflection after watching Paulina playing with the little one. He wanted children of his own with her, though he could wait while Allan probably could not. Technically, he had been waiting for years, so he couldn't blame the man for thinking about children with Coren so soon.

"Oh, she is having a blast," Luc laughed. "The triplets are a joy when they aren't trying to fool people by switching their hair ribbons. Luckily, Bianca can tell them apart so we aren't totally at a loss. Katherine going into first moontime almost set off Prince Scott for the fourth time this week. Allan being here is a blessing, Thank the Darkness, because Uncle Harold couldn't deal with a Green Jewel without him. Lady Bianca is thriving with your mother. I don't want to even think about what is going to happen when Prince Finbar starts walking on his own."

"Finbar will be fine," Yarek told Luc. The babe was a Prince, not a Warlord as they first thought. It was interesting that so many children were born into a Blood family, since witches generally were unable to conceive but a few times in their lifespan, but it was even more interesting that the woman had triplets. They found the children's mother in a brothel a few days ago, her legs wrapped around a man that wasn't her husband with eyes glazed with alcohol and other substances. Lady Jordyn gave responsibility to Lady Mirana, who in turn gave it to Jared. Jared was enjoying the responsibility more than Yarek thought, but it was all working out better than anyone could dream.

"The contracts are being sent to Mirana this afternoon. I do hope that she receives them in time for the Autumn Dances," Luc said.

"She will get them. I am sure of it," Yarek assured him. What he didn't tell him was that he himself was delivering the contracts since Allan wouldn't go and Alec needed to stay in order to get some of the things at the Queen's Residence taken care of.

"Now, you two stop hovering over the girl and let me give her a proper look," Yarek's mother shooed with Bianca coming behind her. "I know it is useless to tell you I can take care of things on my own so why not go to the kitchen and help Coren take an inventory of the food we have to make for the gathering for Lady Mirana later this month."

"Yes Auntie," Luc meekly responded before backing out of the room. Yarek watched as his mother pulled the one of the seats close to the couch while he walked out of the room. Young witches were vulnerable in so many ways, and a Queen was more vulnerable than most. It was lucky that she basically fell into their lap.

"Oh look how good you are doing," he heard Coren coo from the kitchen. Finbar was bouncing in a chair with his hands out stretched towards the bowl that Coren was stirring some concoction for dinner. "Such a good boy you are. I bet you are going to break all the hearts with those big brown eyes some day." The baby let out a screaming laugh, which made Coren giggle and shake her head. Allan used craft to float flat baking sheets in the air for the hearth witch and Yarek watched as Coren started to place drops of some kind of cookie dough onto them. She started to hum a tune, something that sounded hauntingly familiar as she danced about the baking sheets with abandon. Finbar was watching her with bright eyes and Allan with loving amusement as she added the words to the song, singing in an alto that he never would have guess she had. The words hit his brain, the song making his blood run cold with memories of his Aunt that was stolen from them. The vision of Aunt Karla dancing about the kitchen at his mother's house the same way, singing the same song with her fiery red hair flowing so freely. The same fiery red hair that Coren sported.

"Yarek," Luc whispered beside him, the rage vibrating off of him in waves so strong that Coren dropped the bowl and stopped mid verse.

"Allan, get Coren and the baby outside," Yarek said calmer than he felt as he stepped between Luc and the three people in the kitchen. He heard his mother coming toward the kitchen, and didn't have time to warn her before Luc's rage exploded.

Mirana closed the missive with a sigh and looked up at the night sky. Teral came in with the missive earlier along with her dinner tray. She decided to read it on the balcony in the night air that held a hint of the crisp autumn air soon to come. It had been stressful in the past couple of weeks, and looking up at the night sky usually calmed her. She wished that it would get better, but if the incident at the house was any indication of what she was going to have to do in the next few months then it was certain her stress levels were going to rise.

She thought it was going to go well at first. The party with the family and the first few people of what she hoped would be her Court once everyone arrived to celebrate the reunited lovers went smoothly, if you didn't count the triplets using Craft to vanish the cake till they were promised the first pieces. She toasted to the both of them even though she was still heart sore over the rejection from Luc. After three hours of watching Allan and Coren being loving and affectionate, she made her excuses and almost ran to her suite of rooms to cry. It wasn't until everyone left for Eyota that she left her room. Prince Teral, Talia, Lord Richard, and Prince Prothvar stayed with her to help with the transition. Lord Richard's wife went to help with the children and her father went back home to help her mother with the shop, leaving her to deal with all of her pain on her own.

Of course, she couldn't just hide in her room until the Court was formed. There were calls to be made, afternoons of acting as a hostess, and the whole business of Coren's acquaintances to be taken care of before they closed the house up for the winter. Talia was a wonderful shopping companion, and it did help her feel better when the aristo ladies came to call when the women realized that Talia's former profession was less than honorable in most eyes. The looks of horror and distaste before the women "remembered" they had something to do and made their excuses were always the way that the women left. Although, a couple of the older ladies in Lady Jordyn's First Circle made their particular visit amazing with questions about exactly what being a woman in a Red Moon house entailed and the chortles from them ran throughout the house when Talia would relay stories from her more interesting visitors. After promising to invite them one evening for Winsol, it seemed to make the other visits more bearable. At least, until Coren's acquaintances made everything more complicated from their tea this afternoon.

"I thought you might be out here," Christopf said from behind her. Mirana whirled around with a grin.

"Christopf!" she said, throwing herself into her cousins awaiting arms. "Oh Christopf! I have been waiting for you!"

"Well, my Lady, I had a few things to take care of before I made my appearance," he chuckled. "I couldn't just leave my current contract without giving a valid reason, and luckily a Fourth Circle guard can easily have his contract terminated for a family member who has the Triple Gift as long as I promise an invitation for her to visit during the Winsol season to Eyota."

"Oh Christopf…"

"It is Quintelian for Darkness's sake Mirana," Christopf told her. "Besides, she sends a Queen's Gift of some weapons for the new immigrates you will be having if Prothvar Yaslana is going to be a member of your Court." Mirana snorted and plopped down into a chair near the hearth.

"If I get enough males to form a First Circle," she sighed.

"I am pretty sure you will gather interest from enough males that you will have a First, Second, and maybe even a Third Circle, which you know is almost unheard of with first time Queens."

"With my Jewel power and gifts, did you think it would be any different?" she replied with a shrug.

"Hey, remember?" he said as he tapped his Yellow Jewel. "Different buddies."

"At least you don't lack for offers to serve because you are a lighter Jewel," she replied. It was well known that most new Queens wanted to have a lighter Jewel in their First Circle, so Christopf had a long list of credentials to take to the Queen he really wanted to serve, which at the moment was Mirana. She knew that he wasn't technically one of hers, like the boyos, but as family he was a male she could trust and he considered her his Queen. He might be in her Second or Third Circle, but he would never be a right fit for the males in her First Circle. It hurt her feelings when she realized that he was just a male who served because it was family loyalty and not because she held his leash. He did think that she was the one who held his leash, but after spending a few days around Teral and Prothvar, she could now tell the difference even if he couldn't.

"I will be coming with you till at least after Winsol," he told her. "My offers will be directed to Lord Richard, who has a stack of already carefully worded refusals for them. I am pretty sure that they will not begrudge me making sure that my cousin is served properly and respectfully."

"Respectfully? Yea, you know you brother right?" Mirana snorted.

"He is respectful," Christopf protested. "Just ask any of the Queens that he has served in the past. He is one of the most respectful males they could ever have."

"Uh-huh," Mirana replied.

"I heard what happened in Eyota," Christopf said as he pulled an envelope from his inside coat pocket. "Allan was very descriptive as to what happened and how it came about. Please tell me that you found out something about Coren and who she is."

"I found out how those people got a hold of her, or rather where," Mirana sighed. "I don't know exactly who she is, but I will tell you that when I find where her real mother and father are, I hope that we can make the right reparations for what happened."

"Do I want to know?" Christopf asked with a grimace.

"The man that said he was her father admitted to Prothvar that he took her from a town that was on the edge of the Shalador Nehele Territory. He used to work with some trading company that traveled to Shalador Nehele, and he took the girl because the woman holding her was so mad that she wouldn't miss a child that his wife could love better," Mirana told him with a grimace. "Of course, when I opened his memories and saw what was really there, it was clear the woman was broken, not mad. He also forgot to mention that wailing and searches of the cargo before they left port. He placed Coren in a space so far away from everything that no one even heard the baby's cries."

"Mother Night," Christopf said. "So, Coren really is from Shalador Nehele."

"Oh, it is much worse than that," Mirana said. "The woman had red hair like Coren's in the man's memory, but she also wore an hourglass pendant on her neck. Even a broken Black Widow can sometimes be dangerous, so when one of our chaste is broken we still wear the pendant as a reminder of what we once were."

"Which means what?" Christopf asked. She saw his hand tremble as he reached for the tray of nibbles that seemed to always be in her room since the boyos seemed to think that she never ate enough.

"Which means that if we do confirm that the woman that Coren was taken from is a broken Black Widow, then Prince Sadi will have to relinquish his rights to the Black Widow Council at Briarwood," Mirana said softly.

"Which you are on," Christopf said.

"And if I have any say, then the family will be used as a training ground for the journeymaid Black Widows," Mirana told him. She saw Christopf's face turn white. She didn't blame his fear, because she knew exactly what kind of things that happen to people like them. It also made her sorry to have to tell him what she had to tell him next. "Also, the woman that called herself her sister was found guilty by the Black Widow Council of assault on an innocent for her part in this whole charade. Since she is a family member of the soul, they left the decision up to me as to what her punishment was to be."

"I think…I think I…" Christopf's face was completely white as he looked at Mirana.

"I have a two things I need you to do," Mirana said with a small smile, giving him the out he desperately needed. "You can stay here as long as possible to rest, but I need you to take a missive to the Keep for the High Lord. Then, you will go to Eyota and wait for me there."

"Mirana…"

"Chris, just don't," she told him with her best Queenly stare. He stared at her for a moment before standing and giving her a kiss on the forehead.

"Try to sleep, if not for me but for Teral," Christopf said to her.

"I will try," she replied. She waited until he walked out before she once again went out to the balcony and looked up at the night sky. It was good that Christopf didn't push the issue of what happened to the woman pretending to be Coren's sister. The Council had specific instructions on what to do when something like this happened. After the witch was broken, she would be delivered to the choice of the victim's choosing. Coren told Mirana that it was up to her where the witch would go since she didn't want her personal feelings getting in the way of what could be the correct punishment. Mirana sent the missive back to Eyota with her uncle as a courtesy from a Queen to the member of her Court what the woman's punishment came to be, and it was up to Coren if she wanted to tell the others or not. After all, leaving someone in the golden spiders' wasn't something that should be common knowledge.

*Feast well Lady* Mirana sent to the mind she knew so well. The faint brush of thanks was the entire message she needed to let her know that the woman would never walk the Realms again.

Jolin lay in her bed, staring up at the rich velvet tapestries, and didn't care that she was grinning like a fool. The afternoon tea was much easier than she thought, and better than anything she could have imagined. The Matrons carefully went over the terms with her, exactly how much her stipend would be over the next year, and what kind of stipend the rest of the Court would receive down to the last Circle. Of course, if she did have more Circles then her stipend would be cut to pay for the other Circles, so she doubted she would have more than just the First Circle. Even if she had up to a Fourth Circle, the stipend would be more generous than she ever heard of a first time Queen receiving. With the kinds of funds that she now would have access to, why she could have some of the finest clothing she had ever seen.

The only damper on the whole day was meeting the people from Eyota. The young men were fine to look at to be sure, but the women were going to be a problem. The Healer was a very pleasant surprise. She had no problems with the young woman, who insisted that she meet with Jolin after breakfast the next morning to go over the exact amount she was allowed to spend for the healing supplies. Jolin already knew that as a good Queen she would need to let her spend as much as Lady Solye wanted to restock and prepare for the influx of people that were likely to come to visit for parties. However, when it came to Lady Kalisa…

Jolin frowned and rolled off the bed to pace. She gnawed on her thumb and thought over what she could possibly do to get Lady Kalisa to leave and not come back. The woman was determined to serve in her Court. Jolin did not get the wrongness that she felt around some of the other Black Widows that she had been around since she started serving in courts, but having her around wasn't a risk that she wanted to have. She absentmindedly stroked the trunk at the foot of her bed on one of her passes, the one she almost forgot because she hadn't thought about the contents in so long, and the reason why she needed to get rid of the Black Widow as soon as she could. The reason why she never wanted around them at all.