"No, Dante, I'm sure they went this way," Miguel said, as the two trudged through the forest. "No one is stupid enough to actually go through the geyser swamp, so they must have gone around."

Dante tugged on Miguel's arm to get his attention then signed, Why don't we just go home?

"Because," Miguel answered as he pressed on, "we need to make sure Héctor and that lady are alright."

But why?

"Because, I think Héctor might be my brother."

Dante stopped and stared at Miguel, mouth agape. How do you know?

"There's something I never told you," Miguel admitted with a heavy sigh. "I'm not just any runaway. Originally, I'm from Santa Cecelia." He wandered to a nearby rock and sank down sas h told his story. "My parents were Lord and Lady of the Southlands. I always knew I had an older brother too, but I never met him. My parents told me he was hiding from someone bad and they'd explain when I was older. When the lady with the Chihuahua face attacked, I thought she was who he was hiding from, so I ran away and went into hiding too. Then, earlier today, when I was fighting the lady in black, she said Héctor was Lord of the Southlands."

So, that makes him your brother?

"Exactly and maybe he can tell me who the Chihuahua lady was and why she killed our parents. Even if he can't, he's the last family I have and he seemed really nice. Maybe, with him around, I'll finally be able to go home."

Dante gave Miguel a warm smile and put his arm around the boy's shoulders. Miguel smiled back and moved to give Dante a hug. However, they were interrupted by the sound of hoof beats coming their way. "It might be the Prince," Miguel whispered.

He and Dante ducked into some bushes as three riders passed. The two men on the sides looked like royal guards, but Miguel recognized the woman in the center. He would never forget that face. His hand moved to his sword, but Dante stopped him with a hand on his shoulder. Then Dante pointed toward the horse the Woman with the Chihuahua Face rode on. Draped over the back was the Lady in Black, unmasked.

Dante held Miguel back until the riders were out of sight. Once they were gone, Dante let go and Miguel leapt out of the bushes. "We have to follow them," he declared, starting off.

Dante grabbed him by the arm to stop him. Too dangerous, he signed.

"What? What do you mean too dangerous?"

Royal Guards. Something's not right.

"That's exactly why we need to follow," Miguel argued. "That lady was obviously trying to rescue Héctor, and the Prince had her arrested." He grabbed Dante's arm and began running after the guards. "There's something weird going on here and we need to find out what."

[-]

Imelda's head throbbed as she woke up. Her cheek laid against cold stone. The air smelled of earth and trees. Her brain was moving too slow to put together what this could mean.

She opened her eyes, expecting to find herself still in the forest. Instead, the first thing she saw was a row of metal bars. "Where am I?" she grumbled and she sat up, holding her head.

"Oh good, you're awake."

Imelda looked between the bars to see the Woman with the Chihuahua Face tinkering with some strange mechanical device. "Who are you?"

"You may call me Doña."

"And what, exactly, is going on here, Doña?"

"Not much anymore," Doña answered with a hand wave. "The Prince's royal companion was kidnapped, he was rescued, and now they're on their way back to the palace."

"I know all that. I was the one who rescued him."

"And I'm sure the Prince is grateful for that."

Imelda glanced around at her tiny cell. Strange way to show gratitude. "Then what am I doing in here?"

"The royal companion's first priority must be the Prince, of course," Doña answered, leaving her machine and striding up to the cell. "Anything that may distract him from his duties must be done away with and I'm afraid your Héctor is easily distracted."

"What do you mean?"

The woman smiled like a crocodile as she looked down at her captive. "Well, sometimes he gets a little too chummy with a servant, or another noble tries to befriend him, or maybe a lady flirts with him too often at a party. It's all very distracting." The grin grew wider. "There even used to be this little shoemaker family down in the Southlands."

Imelda jumped up and gripped the bars. She tried to ignore her swimming head and spotty vision as she stared the other woman down.

Doña let out a light chuckle and continued. "He wrote letters to them constantly. It took time away from his duties. Luckily for them, he stopped writing on his own, but there was one person," Doña leaned in and stroked Imelda's cheek, "a dead peasant girl who always occupied his mind."

Imelda shook the hand off without breaking her glare.

"She was by far the most distracting," Doña continued, "but she was already dead. There was nothing to be done about it. Now you're back; his lost lover risen from the dead. As you can imagine, that will be very, very distracting."

"What are you planning?"

Doña turned away and paced back to her machine. "When someone becomes a distraction for Lord Héctor, the Prince lets me use them for my experiments. At the moment, I'm looking at the effects of tortuous noise on the mind and what sorts of noises bring the most pain. Could be useful in extracting information in the future. Blood can be so messy. This way would be cleaner."

"You would know about that, wouldn't you?" Imelda sneered. "I imagine you have plenty of experience spilling blood."

Doña nodded and smiled smugly to herself as she turned on her machine.

Imelda was determined to wipe that smirk off her face. "I can think of a few major distractions you didn't get to experiment on." Doña's face fell and Imelda continued. "Héctor's parents, Lord Enrique and Lady Louisa of the Southlands. You're the assassin who killed them, aren't you? But there was another, a little boy who managed to escape. I wonder, does the Prince know? What would happen if he found out you couldn't finish the job?"

Doña's expression darkened as she looked back up at Imelda. "Let's begin, shall we?" She put a pair of mufflers over her ears and placed a black disc on the machine. "Do try to stay conscious. I don't want you to miss a thing."

[-]

Miguel and Dante spent days staking out the seemingly innocuous tree in the middle of the woods. It was quite clever, really. The tree had no special markings or tells that might give it away. There was absolutely no reason anyone should fixate on it so intensely. Miguel and Dante might have passed it by without a second thought if they hadn't seen its mysteries for themselves.

During their initial pursuit, they saw the Chihuahua-faced lady stop in front of the tree. She took the Lady in Black off her horse, dismissed the guards, and disappeared behind the tree. Miguel and Dante must have circled the tree a dozen times, but they couldn't figure out where the lady had gone.

On the third day, while Miguel and Dante were again searching for a secret entrance, they heard hoof beats coming their way and hid in the foliage. The Prince rode into the clearing on horseback and stopped at the tree. Once again, the Chihuahua-Faced lady stepped out from behind the tree, but this time Miguel and Dante were able to see the secret door she went through.

"Ah, Doña," the Prince said, dismounting his horse. "How are your experiments going?"

Experiments? Miguel wondered as his mind turned to a dark place. By the grave expression on Dante's face, he could tell his friend was thinking the same thing.

"Very well, actually," Doña answered conversationally, as if she were talking about a new exercise regimen and not human experimentation. "She's much tougher than the other subjects you've given me, which is good. I need to test my methods on someone strong."

The Prince nodded. "Do you have what I came for?" he asked, clearly through with the pleasantries. "The King of Santa Anthony will be here tomorrow night. I need it now."

"Of course." Doña reached into her pocket and took out a small glass vial. "It's the last of my supply, though, so it'll cost you."

"This little vial will put my name in the history books forever," he said as he tossed her a coin purse. "Whatever the price, it's worth it."

"Any chance Lord Héctor will be a hindrance?"

"We don't need to worry about him," Ernesto dismissed, pocketing the bottle. "Getting him out of the way is part of the plan."

"After all that trouble we went through to get him back?"

"It's an unfortunate, but necessary sacrifice. I can't have my name attached to a murder, now can I?"

"I'm sure the people of Santa Anthony would never forget," Doña said, her smile twisting into something sinister, "not after what we do to their king."

"Good. Let them remember what happens when they cross Santa Cecelia."

[-]

Héctor took a breath to calm his nerves and knocked on the door of the Prince's chambers. Ernesto called him in. The Prince sat at a cluttered desk, completing a letter. It'll be alright, Héctor reminded himself. It's not like I'm asking for anything outrageous, just a trip home. Most people wouldn't think twice about it, but the Prince wasn't most people and Héctor lived with him long enough to know that anything could be perceived as a slight.

I have to do it. It's for Imelda. Héctor swallowed his fears one last time and began. "Ernesto, I know the summons with the King of Santa Anthony is tomorrow night, but I need to leave the next day."

Ernesto looked up from his writing and gave him a quizzical look. "Héctor, the King is coming specifically to apologize to you. He'll be here for 3 days. You can't leave."

"I know, but I have urgent business to take care of in the Southlands and…"

"Hmm…"

"What?"

"It's just strange," the Prince commented, twisting the quill in his fingers. "I know you don't have any dignitaries from foreign countries to receive, there are no grievances with the lesser lords that I know about, and tax season isn't until next spring. So what, exactly could be this urgent business." Ernesto smiled then. Héctor knew that smile. You're not telling me something, it said. The more you lie, the more trouble you'll be in. The Prince must have sensed his unease, because he then added, "Héctor, we're friends, aren't we? If there's something you need to tell me, just say it."

Héctor let out a defeated sigh. "I asked Imelda to marry me."

"When?"

"In the geyser swamp."

Ernesto's lips quirked into a playful smirk. "Hardly romantic."

"It was hardly my first choice, but I did and she accepted," Héctor started to relax. This felt almost normal, like a casual conversation between friends. Maybe he will accept the truth after all. "I told her to sail her ship back to the Southlands and I'd meet her at my estate. I need to be there when she arrives so that they know to let her in."

"So you were planning to elope without telling me." The Prince continued to smile, but there were daggers in it now.

"No, no that wasn't the plan at all," he backpedaled. "I just wanted to make sure she was safe before I told anyone. I spent so long believing she was dead and…" Héctor suddenly stopped when the Prince placed his hands on his shoulders.

"Héctor, you don't need to be so worried," the Prince said. "I understand. I know this girl means the world to you. Go to her. Stay for the welcoming feast, let the King know there are no hard feelings, and you can leave for home first thing in the morning. I'll smooth things over for you if need be."

Relief hit him like a fresh summer breeze. "Thank you, Ernesto. You have no idea what this means to me."

"Of course. Anything for you."

A servant then appeared at the doorway with a small knock. "Excuse me, my Prince, but there are a few last-minute details about the summons that need your attention."

"Yes, I'll take care of them now."

The Prince left the room and Héctor finally breathed properly again. He couldn't believe his luck. Had he caught Ernesto in a good mood? Or was Ernesto really learning something about friendship? Whatever the reason, Héctor was grateful for it. Telling the Prince about the wedding was only the first hurtle. Before, he dreaded Ernesto's reaction to the actual marriage, but now, perhaps things would be okay after all.

His eyes fell to a tiny glass vial on the desk and his heart dropped into his stomach. It was identical to the vial Imelda used to trick Chich into believing she had a deadly poison. Perhaps it was the same vial and Ernesto had simply found it during his search. However, on closer inspection, he saw that it was full and the wax seal at the cap was unbroken. The only reason to use a wax seal was if the substance inside was too dangerous or expensive to let leak. If Héctor's suspicions were correct, the clear liquid inside was both.

He wasn't sure what possessed his hand, but he found himself swiping the vial off the desk and tucking it into his pocket.

[-]

"There must be some way to open it," Miguel grumbled, feeling around the bark of the tree. Doña left her lair for the day hours ago and they'd been searching for an entrance ever since. Now that he knew where to look, he could almost see the cracks of the hidden door. However, what they couldn't find was a way to open it.

Maybe it only opens from the inside, Dante suggested.

"No, she was able to get in from the outside before. There must be a way. We just haven't seen it yet."

So what do we do if we can't get in?

"I don't know! There's gonna be an assassination attempt on a king, the Prince is probably going to frame my maybe-brother for it, and they're doing weird experiments on some lady who probably knows him. This is turning out to be way more that I signed up for and all I know is, if we're going to stop any of it, we're going to need her help. But we can't get her help unless we find some way to open this stupid tree!" Miguel smacked the tree on a knot and the hidden door flew open.

He and Dante blinked at it, then rushed inside. They ran down the set of spiral stairs and found Doña's small, underground lab. Earsplitting music emitted from a strange machine in the center of the room.

"Gah! What is that?" Miguel shouted over the noise as he covered his ears.

Dante swatted him on the arm and pointed to the cell built into one of the walls. The Woman in Black laid on the floor of her cell. Miguel grabbed a ring of keys off the wall while Dante switched off the machine, mercifully silencing it.

Miguel tried each key until the cell door opened. "She doesn't' look good," Miguel said as he pulled the woman out. "We need to get her some help, but where?"

The wizard, Dante signed before taking the woman in his arms.

"What wizard? What are you talking about?"

Dante raised his eyebrow and gently adjusted his grip to demonstrate that his hands were full at the moment.

"Oh, the magician?"

Dante nodded in reply.

"Chich told me about him once. He's supposed to live in these woods. They say he can be in two places at once. If he can do that, I'm sure he can wake her up."

Without wasting any more time, Miguel and Dante hurried out of the underground lair and went off in search of the magician.

[-]

Héctor's racing heart contested with his slow gait as he fought to look nonchalant. The little vial he had tucked away didn't help. If he had what he thought he had, he was carrying something highly lethal indeed. Sure, Ernesto hunted with poison tipped arrows, but he never used something this rare and powerful and it was usually stored in the armory with the arrows, not in his chambers. How long would it take Ernesto to notice it was gone? And what explanation could he possibly give for taking it?

But he was getting ahead of himself. He hadn't even been caught yet. He could worry about that if and when it happened. Besides, it might not even be the deadly poison he thought it was anyway. First, he had to test it. Once he knew what it was for sure… well he didn't know what he'd do then. Still, he had to confirm his own suspicions.

It felt like an eternity, but he finally made his way down to the stables. There were always rats down here, picking up whatever stray bits of the horse feed they could find. It wasn't hard for him to find one sniffing around a corner.

Héctor took a bit of carrot and placed it on the floor. He then took the vial out of his pocket and tapped a few drops of the clear liquid onto the carrot. The rat scurried up to it, gave it a few sniffs, then nibbled at it.

The seconds ticked by without a reaction and Héctor began to think he was mistaken. Maybe this was medicine or some sort of cosmetic and the similarity between the vials was a coincidence. The rat finished the carrot and started scurrying away when it suddenly stopped and fell on its side. It looked up at him with blank, glassy eyes. Héctor gave it a little nudge, but it didn't move. He held his finger below the rat's nose and tried to feel its tiny puffs of breath. Dead.

"Experimenting?"

Héctor's blood went cold when he heard the Prince's voice behind him. "Yes," he answered, his voice even colder.

"And what did you find?"

Héctor stood up to his full height and turned to face the Prince. "Odorless, probably tasteless, and one of the most deadly poisons known to man," he said, presenting the vial.

Ernesto smirked with a sinister glint in his eye. "Why would I have something like that?"

"You're planning on poisoning the King of Santa Anthony at the summons."

The Prince's smirk turned into a low chuckle. "Is that what you think?"

"Why else would you have this?" Héctor shot back. "Why are you doing this? For me? I never wanted-"

"I'm not doing it for you," Ernesto cut in, his voice like ice. "You want to tell the king my plans? Go on, tell him. See if he'll believe you over his own son."

Héctor looked down at the vial in his hand. This poison was dangerous for certain, but it was also rare. Ernesto's other poisons had a strong smell to them and would be too noticeable to use. The feast is tomorrow night. There's no way he'll be able to get another in time.

Héctor raised his arm, ready to smash the vial into the ground. Ernesto caught his wrist before he could bring it down and pinned him against the wall. "Don't you dare," he hissed, digging his arm into Héctor's throat.

"You won't get away with this," Héctor managed to choke out. "I'll make sure-"

"You won't speak a word of this to anyone," Ernesto warned, wrestling the vial out of Héctor's hands, "not if you care about your precious peasant's safety."

"Imelda?" Héctor's heart slammed inn his chest and struggled harder to pull away from Ernesto's grasp. "What have you done? Ernesto, where is she?"

The Prince smirked and slowly backed off as he tucked the vial of poison in his pocket. "I'm keeping her alive, for now…"

His words stunned Héctor frozen. Alive, he said. Alive, but not unharmed.

Ernesto relieved the pressure on Héctor's throat and backed away, grin widening as he took in the terror on his supposed friend's face. "She'll stay that way, so long as you do what I say."

Fueled by rage, Héctor launched off the wall and threw himself into Ernesto, taking them both to the ground. He could hardly tell what he was doing. Ernesto had always been bigger and stronger, but that didn't seem to matter now. Somehow, he'd gained the upper hand. He tried for a blow at the Prince's smug face, but the Prince caught his hand. "If you hurt her, I swear I'll-"

"Guards!" The Prince shouted.

Within seconds, strong hands grabbed Héctor's arms and pulled him up.

"Take him to his room and make sure he doesn't get out," Ernesto demanded, brushing himself off. He wore a look of fake concern, but Héctor could see the malice in his eyes. "I'm afraid his experience has left him traumatized. I'll be sure to get him the help he needs."

[-]

Héctor grinned and snapped the book shut. "That's all for tonight."

"Papaaaaaaaa" Coco groaned, flopping back on the bed. "You can't just end it there."

"I can on a school night."

Coco sat back on her pillows, arms folded, and gave him her best pout.

"Cheer up, Coco. We're almost at the end. We'll finish soon."

"Tomorrow night?"

"We'll see," he said, getting up and turning out the light. "Sweet dreams."