Azkadellia closed the large doors with a simple gesture, allowing her magic to do the work, and then hurried to the uppermost tower window to watch the Royal Family leave. Aloud, she said, "Of course Mother is right. There is nothing here for a child." Her stomach roiled, and she felt a certain hot pressure behind her eyes, but ignored it to keep watching, hoping that she was not falling ill. It was cold enough in the mountains that being ill was a serious problem.
Something flashed behind her, but she did not turn. Instead she said, "You're not supposed to be here either. Go away." A fluid creature apparently consisting of swirls of blue and white light moved forward, shifting from an homunculus shape to something approaching a cat that wrapped itself around her legs soundlessly. It looked as if it should have been purring, although it made no sound at all.
Azkadellia ignored it until the last horse had disappeared from view, and then she dropped a hand to caress its head, without looking down. Speaking out to the window, she said, "I did not mean to create you again. Go away."
There was no force to her words, and the cat moved away, shifting form to become a dancing ball of light, hanging in mid air. It pulsed, grabbing her attention, and then started to move. In spite of herself, she smiled slightly, although her smile quickly disappeared, and she began to follow.
The will'o the wisp floated down to the library, and hovered in front of a map hung up on one wall. It pulsed a few more times, and then sank to the floor, disappearing into a corner. Azkadellia looked at the map, but she already understood what her magical servant was trying to say. The time was now for action. She would prove her worthiness as a member of the Royal Family.
She quickly adopted a new routine. Her correspondence with DG was now less frequent, perhaps once a week, but she still made sure to provide her sister with as much information as possible about the places and people she visited. In return, DG often wrote about her comings and goings, and the family. Azkadellia devoured every crumb of information about Esmeralda.
The time left vacant by this was now filled with longer journeys outside the palace, surveying the area, often using magic to travel faster than her feet would permit. There were few inhabitants in this region, and the closest real settlement was the town of Northwood, a half day's ride away on the road. At first, she patrolled the area close to the palace, helping out animals and plants that needed it, trying to encourage things to grow in the wilderness. Later, she started to frequent the area around Northwood. At first she just watched, silently, hidden by a cloak of magic, but as she grew confident in her understanding of what was needed, she would do her best to fill their needs: protecting a crop from frost here, adding a little magical spice to a cup of tea to bolster the drinker against pneumonia.
Once, she encountered a wyvern, in the low mountains to the north of the palace. It had been just as surprised as she, but then it had dashed forward to attack, slashing her with its poisoned tail before she could escape. She made it back to the palace but she needed her homunculus to bandage it properly. The little magical creature was delighted, and took an obscene pleasure in making dinner as well. Azkadellia was too tired that day to protest.
The Royal Family returned a year later, again with a limited number of hangers-on, and stayed for a week. Just like Ambrose, Cain was now considered a close advisor and personal friend, and was treated as one of the family. The Queen has tasked him during this visit with keeping a particular eye on Esmeralda, who was quite the adorable little baby. She had been a little overwhelmed by the ice palace on arrival, especially the large entrance hall, but had rapidly started crawling around fearlessly.
At her re-introduction to her 'sister' Azkadellia, she had been a little apprehensive about this new person. Azkadellia had stepped forward eagerly to pick the child up, but Esmeralda had flinched back and started to cry. Cain saw the former Sorceress' brow crease, but her face was hidden. She had quickly put Esmeralda back down, and continued welcoming the rest of the guests.
Esmeralda soon became used to this new face, and, after the Queen gave permission, Azkadellia would take the little child with her on walks nearby when the weather permitted, and if Esmeralda was suitably wrapped up.
To Cain's surprise, the week in the frozen north was passable. The area was pleasant enough, and there were fewer storms this time round. On the fifth day, he headed out for a stroll with Ahamo. They found a small brook cutting through the snow in a wooded copse, and sat down pretending to fish over lunch. To his surprise, over the past two years, Cain had taken a liking to the Othersider, especially considering how they had first met. As usual on their little outings, they caught no fish, and started to walk back to the castle before it started getting dark.
As they neared the edge of the small forest, they caught up with Azkadellia, pushing Esmeralda in a rather elaborate pram. Cain could hear her talking seriously to the infant, apparently able to understand Esmeralda's customary babble. Ahamo looked at Cain and put a finger to his lips, before creeping up behind his daughter. He clapped his gloved hands down on her shoulders, whispering, "Boo." Abruptly he was flying backwards through the air to land in a heap at the bottom of a tree.
Azkadellia whirled round, her long black braid whipping through the air. She quickly took in the scene, and lifted her hand to her mouth in horror. "Daddy … I'm so sorry. I, er, I didn't know it was you."
Ahamo sat up and brushed off his sleeves ostentatiously, before flashing a bright smile at his daughter and laughing heartily. "No harm done, dear. My fault for trying to sneak up on you." He moved too quickly, picking up a handful of snow and forming a snowball. Azkadellia moved too slowly and was caught directly in the stomach. She looked down in surprise, and then gave a genuine smile, which transformed her face. She moved as if to pick up some snow, but instead pointed a finger at the branch just above Ahamo. It shook and tipped snow all over the Othersider. The situation quickly degenerated, until even Cain was dragged into the battle.
Eventually, the sky darkened appreciably. Ahamo shook his head ruefully and held up his hands in surrender. "Alright, you win, Azkadellia. We'd better get back, or your Mom will go spare." Azkadellia agreed immediately and set a fast pace back to the ice palace.
The next visit was a year later. Esmeralda was now a tot who had great fun racing round the great expanses of the ice palace. Cain was quite fond of her, although he did not see her too often as there had been unrest in the western part of the kingdom that had eaten up a lot of his time. Ahamo had told him that she was a lot like DG had been as a child, which made him smile. He had not seen too much of DG lately either; she was spending a lot of time at the court in Central City, which was as large now as it had ever been.
There weren't any snowball fights this time around, although he and Ahamo managed to get a couple of fishing trips fitted in. Both times, they walked back with Azkadellia and Esmeralda, who seemed to be enjoying each other's company. On the last day, he headed out alone, as Ahamo had promised to make an ice sculpture for DG. He and Azkadellia were walking back silently when Esmeralda dashed off. They both reacted immediately, but the little two-year old tripped over a rock hidden just below the snow. She fell and started bawling. Azkadellia picked her up, and tried to comfort her, whilst checking for injuries. There were no apparent injuries; the child was just upset.
Back at the castle, when they entered the family room, Esmeralda started to struggle, and Azkadellia rapidly put her down.
Esmeralda ran over to the Queen, crying, "Mommy. Mommy."
The Queen looked down and picked up the child in a warm hug. "Oh, Esmeralda, don't cry. Don't worry; everything is fine."
She looked over at Cain and Azkadellia questioningly. Cain turned to let Azkadellia answer, and for a moment thought he saw a look of naked longing on her face. It disappeared quickly enough that Cain questioned whether it had really been there, and she said calmly, "Oh, she just tripped on a rock, Mother. There might be bruise, but nothing serious."