They used the waystones to return, and healed themselves at the crystal before leaving the Stillshrine. Ashe seemed almost to be glowing with an inner light, buoyed up by her dreams of the future. Noah wanted only to sleep, and dreaded the climb back up the paramina rift before they reached shelter. The clean scent of snow near the entrance wiped away the rot of the stillshrine as they stepped out into the light.

There was practically a wall of men in armour standing outside. They were led by a man in fancier armour which appeared to have horns. A Judge Magistre.

'I am Judge Ghis of the eighth regiment. You are all under arrest, hand over your weapons and you will be treated mercifully.'

'May I know what crime I have commited?' asked Ashe. Even this did not destroy her new-found confidence.

She was ignored, one of the imperials grasping her roughly while another twisted her weapon from her grasp. Noah's eyes narrowed, and when one attempted to take his weapon he was ready.

'You want my sword? Then have it.' He thrust the point at the neck join in the armour and was rewarded by a spurt of blood.

The imperials swarmed him and he went down. He kept stabbing up at them even while on his knees, dodging their blades as best he could. Finally one caught him a blow to the head and he went down.

He woke in a small room that was, by the thrumming under the floor, on an airship. Moving hurt, but he forced himself into a sitting position all the same. Ashe was sitting against the wall with Vossler near her, while Al-Cid sprawled in a corner. None of them looked to have more than scratches.

'We have no potions,' said Ashe, apologetically.

'No matter,' said Noah. 'Am I the only one that was hurt?'

'Yes,' said Al-Cid. 'And you know why? Because you do not give up when a situation is hopeless. Discretion is the better part of valour, along with not being too injured to be useful. There is no shame in giving in to that which you cannot defeat.'

Noah stiffened. 'What would you know of shame, thief?'

Al-Cid looked at the ceiling. 'I do only what I must.'

'And that includes taking the property of others. Would it also include betrayal?' demanded Noah. He leant over to Al-Cid threateningly, blood boiling at the man's arrogance.

'Do not insult me. I have told you that I wish only for peace,' said Al-Cid, sitting straighter himself.

'Which says nothing about where your loyalties lie,' said Noah.

'Stop this,' said Ashe. 'Noah, please, he has returned the Dusk Shard.'

Al-Cid held up a hand, looking past Noah to Ashe. 'Say nothing of that here. They did not take it, and so they do not know. Do not tempt fate.'

Noah grabbed Al-Cid's shoulder. 'Listen to me. Who do you side with? Or are we the counters in a game you play?'

He had not truly suspected Al-Cid of betrayal, suggesting it had been an insult in return for the insult of Al-Cid lecturing him. But having said it he found his suspicions growing. Al-Cid was not truly on the side of Dalmasca, but of Rozaria, and as he said he wanted peace. Would he be willing to sell them for that peace? Peace between two empires with no thought for the smaller lands crushed between them.

'To be entirely honest, everyone is a gamepiece to a skilled diplomat. But you will be no poorer for my plans, I promise you. Archadia wants war, selling your princess out to them would gain me nothing,' said Al-Cid.

'A reasonable answer,' said Vossler. 'We cannot trust him, so we keep an eye on him. We can gain nothing by brawling in a prison cell.'

'I agree,' said Ashe. 'We should try to sleep, there is no point to being deathly tired when we arrive.'

Noah hesitated, but it would not further the plans of Al-Cid or Archadia to murder them in their sleep. He lay down, too tired to let worry keep him awake. These days he seemed to be knocked unconscious more often than he slept, but for now he could rest.

The change in the noise of the ship's engine woke Noah shortly before they landed. He sat up quickly, wincing as it re-opened cuts from the day before. Probably the day before, he had no idea how long he had slept. Ashe was still asleep, her head resting on Vossler's shoulder. Al-Cid looked better rested than he really should have, even managing to look jaunty as he leaned against the wall. Noah glared at him before turning to Vossler.

'Do you know where they have taken us?' he asked.

It was Al-Cid that answered. 'We are most likely in the imperial city of Archades.'

There was a brief jolt and then the engines cut out. Ashe lifted her head and rubbed sleep out of her eyes, she opened her mouth to speak but stopped as footsteps were heard outside their room. The door opened, revealing not only Judge Ghis and a retinue of imperials, but also a man who was not in armour at all. He was wearing a red brocade coat with a high starched collar and had a look in his eyes that was more than a little worrying. He walked around their cell, stopping in front of Ashe who was still leaning against Vossler. Vossler's eyes narrowed and he shifted subtly closer to Ashe.

'This is the one, isn't she, Venat?' said the man, apparently talking to thin air. 'Let me see what she has got for us.'

His hand plunged towards Ashe's pouch and, before Vossler could stop him, he was holding up the dusk shard. His eyes shone too brightly even for reflecting that bright stone.

'Ah. Deifacted nethicite, so much more powerful than our manufactured sort, yet in the end nothing but a trap.' He turned suddenly to Judge Ghis. 'Tell Vayne Solidor I have the Dusk Shard and have taken it to Draklor Laboratory. I must study this.'

'As you say, Dr Cid,' replied Judge Ghis.

Noah watched the doctor leave, once again talking to his imaginary companion. Surely Archadia did not entrust the study of nethicite to a lunatic? Although he had known where the dusk shard was when the imperials had missed it, perhaps he was less mad than he seemed. Could it be a ghost that he was talking with? Or something else?

'Bring the prisoners,' said Judge Ghis to the imperials.

'Yes, sir,' said one. He turned to the prisoners. 'On your feet. And no funny stuff.'

They stood up, Noah had nothing left he could have tried. He held out some hope that Al-Cid would use magic, or Ashe her strange starlight technique. But as they were marched across the grounds and into the palace it became clear that nobody would try anything. Finally they were left in another cell, no bigger than the one on the airship and worse kept.

'I suppose you do not know a lock-picking spell,' said Ashe to Al-Cid.

'I regret that I do not,' he said. 'Once again we have nothing to do but wait.'

#

To their surprise a potion was pushed through with their food. Noah used it without complaint, he hated to admit it but Al-Cid had had a point about him being too injured to be useful. He leant back against the wall, and wondered how Basch was doing back in Rabanastre. Undoubtedly better than they were, since with the sword taken they had failed in their mission. And now Ashe was a prisoner in Archadian hands.

'Are they holding me for ransom?' asked Ashe, quietly.

'Who knows?' said Al-Cid. 'Would your husband cede your country for you, do you suppose?'

'I would hope not,' said Ashe. 'We cannot trade over the lives of our subjects for our own wishes. That is what it means to be royalty.'

'What of you, Lord Al-Cid?' asked Vossler. 'What would your country trade for you?'

'Nothing. My usefulness as a diplomat lies as much in being expendable as persuasive. I have elder brothers, they will mourn me, but my loss will not hurt the country overmuch. The same cannot really be said of you, my Lady Ashe.'

Ashe inclined her head. 'Rasler, too, is of Raithwall's line. If I were dead and he married again his line may be able to rule Dalmasca still. The people already took to him as one of their own.'

'Lady Ashe, do not talk as if you will die here,' said Noah. 'It is too early yet to give up hope.'

The sound of something banging against the door made them all turn. They had heard no footsteps. Hands appeared between the bars in their cell's grating, and then eyes. The person outside was barely tall enough to see in.

'Al-Cid, are you in there?' the boy asked.

'Larsa! My little princeling, how good to see you even under such circumstances as this,' said Al-Cid. He went to the grating and leaned down, as close to eye to eye as was possible.

'What were you doing, Al-Cid? My brother says you intended to destroy us,' said the boy. Noah could not judge his age, he was so tiny yet spoke with an adult inflection.

'A misunderstanding. You know that I have always sought peace, do you not?'

'But there is no peace any more. Our countries are at war with one another,' said Larsa. He sounded almost regretful.

'Larsa, listen to me. Even now it is peace I seek. Your brother wants this war for what he sees as good reason, but he does not see those crushed by war, homeless and starving or simply dead. This, above all, is what I wish to prevent.'

Noah had not suspected the Rozarian of being capable of such conviction. This, then, was what was underneath the airs and affectations. Perhaps Al-Cid was not a bad sort after all. Especially to think of such things when he must have been raised so far away from all the consequences of war.

'I do not wish for those things either,' said Larsa. 'And I do not believe my brother does. He would not cause such things.'

'War causes such things,' said Al-Cid.

'Dalmasca started this war.'

'That is not true,' said Ashe. She stood up and moved over to the grating where Larsa could see her. 'Archadia took Nalbina and tried to take Dalmasca. My father would have treated with Archadia, but he was killed by them before he could do so. Dalmasca are not the ones that want this war.'

'Neither is my brother. If Dalmasca had given in to us than you would be under our protection instead of being our enemies. You need not have fought.' Larsa sounded infuriatingly certain of what he was saying. Noah had to remind himself this was a child, likely he knew no better.

'If some great power asked you to give up Archadia, would you do so?' Noah asked.

There was silence from the other side of the door for a moment. 'No,' said Larsa. 'Perhaps you are right. I must talk with my brother about these things. I do not believe he would intend to do wrong.'

'Intentions are a great thing, but they sometimes have little to do with effect,' said Al-Cid, his voice sounding a little strained. 'Larsa, will you trust that this needs to be done now and we have no time to parley with Lord Vayne.'

'I believe you. Will you swear that you are not here to do my brother harm?' asked Larsa.

'I swear on my honour as a Margrace,' said Al-Cid.

Larsa's eyes disappeared from the grating and there was the sound of a key turning in the lock. The door swung open to show a boy of about ten. He looked solemn and was standing straight as if that would make him taller, but there was a hint of mischief about his smile. Doing this on his own initiative clearly appealed to him. He was wearing a sword that really wasn't much more than a long dagger, but surprising all the same to see one so young trusted with a valuable weapon. Al-Cid ruffled Larsa's hair and had his hand pushed away indignantly.

'So you intended to let us out all along,' Al-Cid said.

'Yes,' said Larsa. 'But intentions may have little to do with effect.'

Al-Cid laughed. 'A true Archadian child.'

Larsa turned and bowed slightly to Ashe. 'Lady Ashe, welcome to Archades. I regret that you have been detained mistakenly, and beg that you do not think worse of us for that.'

Noah and Vossler exchanged looks. How were children raised in Archadia to turn out one like this? Ashe bowed in return.

'I thank you for your welcome, and wish that I need not ask more of you. But could you tell us where those things taken from us are kept?'

'I do not know,' said Larsa. 'Dr Cid took a stone and one of the swords to Draklor, but for the rest I cannot say.'

'Thank you,' said Ashe. 'Farewell, Larsa.'

'Farewell,' said Al-Cid. 'I regret there is little chance we will meet again soon.'

'Wait,' said Noah. There would be guards on the way to Draklor, ones who surely would recognise their Emperor's son and not detain him. 'Larsa, perhaps you would like to accompany us? And see for yourself that we do no harm.'

Larsa smiled at him, happy to be taken seriously or to get to continue this adventure. 'Of course I will come,' he said.

As they set off Al-Cid shot Noah a look that could have been reproach.