Rose sat cross legged on top of one of the towers of Borromeo Castle. The wind battered against her, blowing her hair up and drowning out all other sounds. She began to meditate, drawing her consciousness out of her and sending it to the wind. Without eyes or ears she drifted aimlessly until she found another mind along with a body to see through. While the body she now controlled belonged to a fly, it at least had a good view of King Orrin's war meeting.

It was a method to spy on their host that Rose had used many times, and not just here. It was simple and left little trace. While it did take some getting used to—seeing through the eyes of a fly and hearing through what might as well have been its ears—it was easier than trying to pierce through the spells that were there to prevent magical eavesdropping. Of course, occasionally she got strange cravings when doing this, but she could control them.

In the weeks since coming here she had learned much about King Orrin's war effort. While several magicians were former prisoners from Dras-Blöthr, many others had been hidden by King Orrin for this war. Another thing was that he had apparently saved several former enemies of the Empire from execution, all of whom had consequently sworn their allegiances to him. It made her think he had been planning this since the end of the last war, perhaps even during it.

As Rose listened to their conversation she learned much. "Tharos has managed to hold Teirm, and so Governor Risthart has joined our cause," one of King Orrin's generals said. It was a gravel voiced man called Lord Flaithrí, and he attended most if not all of King Orrin's war meetings. "The Imperial Fleet is nothing compared to ours, and they are having trouble moving their army through the Spine. The coast is ours."

"Good, good," Orrin said. "Lady Alarice, where are the Empire's negotiations with the other races?"

"Poor," the woman known as Lady Alarice said. "Despite them being such good friends in the past, the Elves, Dwarves, and Urgals have all refused the Empire's call for aid. They see it as the Empire being the aggressor, since all we did was leave and fortify. The Empire did us a grand favor for striking first."

"Yes they did," King Orrin replied. "And the Riders see it that way too; not a single Dragon other than our silvery friend has been across the border in weeks, at the request of High Queen Nasuada." King Orrin laughed. "Soon she will only be able to call herself Queen, not High Queen, when my kingdom is my own again."

While it was difficult to tell through a fly's eye, Rose thought Lady Alarice was frowning. "I have told you many times that Alaric wants to see you, and every time you refuse. You do know that his reputation isn't for patience."

"Alaric is nothing if not Eragon's mace," King Orrin said, "and Kaesdir, his negotiator, is too weak to do anything. The Riders can do nothing to stop us."

"They are still a force to be reckoned with," Flaithrí said, "even if they won't use it against us."

"No, they wouldn't risk showing favoritism," King Orrin said. "Surda was a free and independent country before Nasuada and the others bullied us into joining the Empire. Perhaps they're all rethinking their mistake."

After a while of some not very interesting news the meeting was dismissed and Rose retreated back into her own body. She then began to stretch, as doing this always left her stiff. While she could do it elsewhere, she had to be capable of doing most anything anywhere. When she was done she started climbing down the tower by the vines.

As she was about halfway down she noticed a rider approaching the castle. She was curious so she spoke a spell of concealment and made her way onto the outer wall. As long as the guards focused on the rider she might be able to slip by them without her shadow—which was the only thing visible beyond a slight distortion—being noticed. She spied the rider and was interested to see a familiar face, albeit covered in dirt and mud. It was Arlen on the approach, though she wondered where he got the horse.

"Ho there," Arlen called out.

"Ho there, traveler," a guard said. "Who goes there?"

"Arlen of Cathalorn here to see Lynde of Cathalorn and Artsanna," Arlen shouted.

"How do we know it's you?" the guard asked, obviously recognizing the name.

After a pause Arlen said, "Lynde can tell it's me, or Artsanna. Ask any who arrived with Lynde and Artsanna and they will tell you that I am Arlen."

"You could be an assassin who would try to kill them the moment they laid eyes on you," the guard said.

"Then bring Rose or Artsanna; they can't be killed so easily," Arlen replied.

"Alright."

Rose decided that she would be the first to "greet" Arlen and jumped off the wall, releasing her concealment spell soon after. She then called out to the guards, "Hey! What's going on up there?"

"Ma'am, we have a situation up here," a guard said. "Someone claiming to be Arlen of Cathalorn wishes your presence up here."

"Alright," Rose said. Guards escorted her up and she looked over. It was still Arlen over there. "It's him," she told the guards. "It's Arlen of Cathalorn."

At her word the guards let Arlen in, and she went to him to talk. He looked even muddier than he had from the wall, with layers of mud caked on him from many different places. She was almost surprised that she had recognized him from under the mud, but he did have a different way of carrying himself than most. "Well hello there, Arlen," Rose said.

"Hello, Rose," he replied. "How are things of late?"

"Good," she said. He looked to his mount. "Where'd you get the horse?"

"It was lent to me by Jerrell, the trader marrying my sister," he explained. "He thought it would make my trip here a little faster."

After Arlen handed his horse off to a servant, Rose led him inside. She led him to a hallway that was off to the side and didn't have anyone going through it, nor would anyone any time soon. She then turned to him, grabbed him by the collar, and pinned him against the wall. She also grabbed his sword arm, pinned his other arm down with her elbow, and placed set her leg against his so that he couldn't make any moves against her. In Arlen's panic she asked a simple question, "Why did you come back?"

Arlen was caught off guard for the second time in the last few seconds, but he did manage to say something. "I came back to protect Lynde."

Rose scoffed. "Why the sudden change of heart?"

"The Empire wants to kill her," he said. Strange considering that she was bonded to a Dragon and an act like that could dampen relations between them and the Dragon Riders. "I don't know who in the Empire wants it, but someone does and there are already assassins on the way."

"Who told you this?" she asked.

He hesitated, but it wasn't the sort of hesitation to think of a lie. He was hesitant to reveal his source; she could tell. When he finally did speak she accepted it with grace. "It was Kaesdir; he told me."

Rose let him go and said this: "Fine, but know this: if you are a good enough liar to deceive me, I will make your life feel so much like death that you will beg for it."

Arlen, a little shaken by the threat, said, "If you ever need reference on what death feels like, I can help you with that."

Rose laughed. It was a poor excuse for a threat, especially one delivered by a Human. But at the same time he'd killed Elves, so it was best not to underestimate him. "I suppose you will want to see Lynde right away?"

"If you're not going to keep me from her, then yes," Arlen said. Rose nodded and began leading him to Lynde's rooms.

As they walked she wondered what kind of threat the Empire might pose to Lynde that he should think that he's needed to protect her. It wasn't as if she and Artsanna couldn't protect her, and while she wasn't about to turn away another sword, she wondered why Arlen thought the Empire so powerful that he was necessary. The sheer fact he was here with this news meant that she had to keep an eye out, because while they had their differences, Fayre would have wanted her to look out for Lynde and that was just what she was going to do.