Lynde held on tightly as they arrived at the city of Aberon. They went straight to King Orrin's palace, flying over the massive city below. She was worried though; worried about Artsanna.

Artsanna wasn't used to flying this many people at once for so long, so she tired quickly. She had slept every night when they stopped, which Rose had noted was slightly unusual for a Dragon to do. Lynde hoped that Artsanna wouldn't have to go anywhere once they landed, as she needed a rest badly.

They couldn't make it to the palace, crashing down only a few yards from the large doors. Once they had stopped, Lynde dismounted and went to Artsanna's head. Her eyes were closed, as if asleep. She tried to awaken her and was pleasantly met with, Lynde, let me sleep. I shall awaken sometime… later. Lynde certainly hoped that she had nodded off, not anything more serious.

Apparently those in the palace had noticed them, and several guards and servants went out to meet them. Chief among them was a lanky man in his forties or fifties with a carefully groomed beard and pale skin. He wore fancy robes, and bowed when he saw Lynde. "I assume you are the Rider woman, Lynde of Cathalorn," the man said.

"Yes, I am," Lynde replied.

Suddenly, her father came from behind in not the best mood. "And I'm her father, you pasty faced…"

"And I'm Rose," Lynde's Elven companion interrupted. She was somewhat glad for that, really. "Who are you?"

The man smiled—something that sent a chill up her spine, but she didn't know why. "I am Caolán, King Orrin's majordomo, and I welcome you to Borromeo Castle." He gestured to the palace, and Lynde looked at it. She was impressed, but she had seen better. "I have been instructed by King Orrin to bring you to him upon your arrival." He turned and beckoned to them. "Follow me."

"Artsanna is tired," Lynde said. "She cannot go anywhere until she has had a chance to rest."

"It is hardly my concern what happens to your Dragon, but I must bring you three to Master Orrin as soon as possible," he said callously. "Someone will take care of your mount soon enough." Lynde was infuriated with how he was treating Artsanna like a horse or beast of burden. She wasn't those things, at least not to Lynde, and if she were awake she wouldn't take his words lightly.

Before Lynde could say anything, Rose spoke. "We shall follow you to the king, but be warned what he will say if Artsanna is not with us."

He shook his head, amused. "He shall care as I do; of this I have no doubt."

Her father scoffed and began grumbling words that Lynde thought were just awful. "…smug, yellow bellied, son of a sheep…"

Caolán led them through Borromeo Castle. The stone walls inside the palace were a brownish gold, and there carpets of various colors on the floor. Everywhere there was the flag of Surda hanging from the walls, which seemed—if she remembered the word correctly—patriotic to her. It was all very interesting to her, but after a long time of walking, it started to blend together.

As she began to wonder when they'd get to the throne room, they got there. Dual doors opened to let them in, and Lynde was awestruck by the sight of it. Golden walls, huge banners, and a dais with a throne of white stone with gems of many colors set in it. But he who would sit in there was nowhere to be seen.

It was then that a man came into the room. He was followed by two other men who looked like servants. The first man removed a leather apron from himself, tossing it to one servant while another put a purple and gold over-robe on him. As the first man tied off the robe he said, "Good, now let Caolán and the others in."

"Milord," Caolán said, surprising the man.

The man then looked very annoyed for a moment and then looked to Lynde. "Ah, you're here. Good, good." He then walked over to them and said, "I am Orrin of the House of Langfield, King of Surda, and enemy to the Brodding Empire."

Lynde tried not to smile. She had no idea what "Brodding" meant, but it sounded like a word for cussing. Obviously no one else thought so, so she tried to hide her amusement.

As she looked over Orrin, he was looked as much a king as she expected. He was handsome, thirty years of age—give or take a year—, muscle bound, and had an intelligent look in his eyes. She wondered if he had a younger brother, but she quickly pushed those thoughts out of her head.

Orrin smiled and said, "Welcome to Aberon and Borromeo Castle. If there is anything you require, ask Caolán or whoever he gives you instead of him and you'll get it. Now, I can guess who you are: Lynde the Rogue Rider, Rose the archer who pierced a Shade's heart, and Arlen the master swordsman. I must say, you look nothing like your posters."

Her father was very annoyed at this. "I'm Herbst, Lynde's father."

"Oh," Orrin said, dismayed. "My apologies. But then, where is Arlen? And for that matter, where is Artsanna?"

Lynde was saddened by the reminder of him. "Arlen parted ways with us when we left Feinster. He decided to go home and we decided to come here."

Orrin had a sympathetic look and said, "If he is gone, then we must be glad he followed his own path, as you are following yours." Lynde nodded gratefully at his compassion.

She then added, "Artsanna was tired from her trip, and Caolán has said that she will be taken care of soon enough."

Orrin frowned. "Caolán, while I may have told you that I wanted them here when they arrived, I had assumed Artsanna would be well enough to meet."

Caolán scoffed. "But it is just a beast, milord; a mount for a rider."

The king shook his head. "Not to the Rider," he said. "I would ask you to remember that Dragons are not normal animals, if they can even be called animals. Remember that next time you think you can leave one out of a conversation."

Caolán looked annoyed and bowed. "Of course, my king."

Orrin then said to Lynde and the others, "Caolán will escort you to your rooms. While I had not accounted for the lack of Arlen, I did not know of your father Herbst. I suppose he can take Arlen's room.

"Your rooms will be next to each other and near the livery where Artsanna will be staying. You must understand that while I do respect a Dragon as an individual, there is no other place that she can stay."

Lynde nodded. "Of course, milord."

Orrin smiled. "Lynde, you need not stand on such formalities. We are equals, you and I, in this rebellion against the Brodding Empire." She had to keep herself from giggling again. "You may call me Orrin."

"Very well then, Orrin," she replied.

Orrin nodded, and motion to Caolán to led them to their rooms. As they left he said, "I hope that you and I will get along well, Lynde." She wondered if that meant anything beyond the obvious, but she figured that it probably didn't.

They were brought to their room, and Lynde was amazed at what she found. The room was massive, perhaps bigger than some of the houses in Cathalorn, and had much furniture and artwork in it. She noticed two doors going off to the side, and she discovered that one led to a room that seemed to have the sole purpose of washing up in, while the other had a bed that put the one she had in Cathalorn or even Feinster to shame. She hadn't expected her room to be so fancy, but it was, and she was beyond impressed with this.

She looked outside through one of the massive windows and saw the open air livery. There were mostly stables with horses in them, but she saw Artsanna amble into it and lie down. She contacted Artsanna, saying, Well look who got up today.

Artsanna was in no mood for games. I am only here because they were quite cross with my sleeping at the doors. Besides, it is much better to lie here than out there. Looking around, the horses were quite scared of Artsanna. She seemed to be enjoying it, inhaling deeply and saying, Ah, the smell of fear.

Lynde shook her head and walked away from the window as Artsanna began to fall asleep. Though Lynde said one last thing to her before she could begin to properly sleep. Thank you for bringing us here.

Artsanna seemed gratified. You are very welcome.