I hid in my room for the next few hours. I was glad to have the excuse of my very grown-up and important conversation with Gunter. The world of the castle was a little much for me. Funny. I was perfectly at home on a battlefield, surrounded by hundreds if not thousands of soldiers, the screams of the dying and the stink of blood. Surrounded by courtiers, though, I felt quite lost. I could never stomach Mother's parties and she never made me go. I almost wished now that I had, if only for the sake of some practice facing lords and ladies of power and influence who played games far more complex than those of warfare.

I wanted plans of my own. Helping Gunter would be an honor and a delight, but if I deserved his trust, I'd bring ideas as well as obedience. Geiganhuber wasn't one of the ten, but his family was as wealthy and had as much clout as many of them. If I could, by some miracle, sway him to our side, all well and good.

But as powerful as Geiganhuber might be, he commanded only such influence as he managed to maneuver his way into, whereas his betters were secure in their positions. The Ten Aristocrats would demand more attention, and not to court their favor would be to invite even more contempt. Uncle was right in that half the great families were on our side, but those odds were too even. I'd have to quiz Gunter about the others. And, if I could swallow my pride, Anissina. She was more at court than I was.

Grantz, Wincott, Rochefort, Gyllenhaal, and Radford. Who was really against Mother? Who was dangerous? I couldn't even match a face to every name. Lord Von Grantz had been a friend of my father's, but that alone guaranteed nothing. Father was a distant memory, away at court or war ten months of twelve even before he'd died. I didn't know if I was a son he would have been proud of. He might have complained bitterly about me to his friends, for all I knew.

The Wincotts had a reputation of being wily and secretive with a lot more and a lot stranger maryoku than one ought to have. Gunter was probably better suited to deal with them.

The Rocheforts were almost certainly dead set against us. They'd produced the last three of Shinou's chosen, and that the new maou wasn't one of their own was the root of our problem. Coming off a few generations of near-absolute power, even with that political clout officially stripped, they were in a pretty unassailable position we could only envy. Enemies to be feared.

Lady Ermtraud Von Gyllenhaal I knew. She'd baked me cookies when I was presented at court. Her son sat on the council, and, I gathered, was entirely in her pocket. But was she an ally or did she make cookies for everyone? I didn't know if she even remembered me.

The Radfords held the smallest province of the Ten Aristocrats, but if I remembered from geography it was all ore, much of it precious metal. They pretty literally minted their own treasury and controlled most of Shin Makoku's iron. Their resources must be truly vast. Or their political leanings I knew nothing.

So after all my puzzling and assessment of the little information I had access to, I determined I really wasn't any use after all. I went to dinner sulking a little with Wolfram on my shoulders. He'd turned up about an hour before, bored with his room. It hadn't been set up with a child in mind. I'd have to try and see about some toys for him.

Fortunately, Mother hadn't decided to hold a banquet for the world, and we ate in a fairly small dining room that seated our family, the Bielefelds, Gunter, Giesela, and Anissina with little room to spare. There were extra chairs pulled up to the table and it was very airless. The heat hadn't abated a bit over the whole course of the day. I'd try to primp while mulling things over, but it hadn't helped. I was still bedraggled and wilted.

Dinner was shockingly sumptuous. That the cooks would put in a lot of effort for the soon to be crowned Maou wasn't surprising, but I hadn't guessed at the scope. This was the sort of meal one should really only have on feast days. A whole haunch of venison, quail eggs, sweet wine, horseradish-roasted vegetables, goose, potato dumplings, pastries, gingerbread… The table looked ready to collapse under the weight of the food, and it all struck me as very heavy and unappetizing. In weather that felt like the world had become a sauna, eating at all was a chore. Eating a dinner from some huge winter festival was punishment.

The children, at least, enjoyed it, getting treats they wouldn't have expected for half a year. Even Conrart, who normally spent a great deal of his time letting everyone know how mature he was, buried himself in a goose drumstick with blissful relish. Evert and Stoffel were too busy congratulating themselves on their newfound status to care much about what they were eating beyond its ostentation. Anissina seemed determined to make the dumplings conduct maryoku somehow.

I felt ill just looking at my plate and picked at it glumly. Gunter was sitting at a rather inconvenient distance, so I couldn't have spoken much to him even if I'd had something to say. I could steal a few glances, and those helped my mood a little. He was happily listening to Giesela and Wolfram tell each other dreadful lies about toys they owned and adventures they'd had the way small children will.

With three quarter of my plate untouched, I got up when Mother did. She tsk-tsked at me a bit for not eating and for being gloomy and then went on with the paroxysms of giddy joy that had been the main business of her day. Stoffel and Evert invited me along to the smoking room, apparently still not having noticed I wasn't a fan of the filthy habit. I ducked out, hoping just to escape.

A moment after I made it out, Gunter ducked into the hall looking similarly hunted. He caught my eye and grimaced. "Not to your tastes, either?"

"No." His daughter wasn't along. "Did you leave Giesela with Wolfram?"

"They're playing nicely. It'll be good for her to have a friend her own age. She spends too much time with me."

Too much time with Gunter. We all should be so lucky. "Same for Wolfram. There are no children anywhere near his age at Mother's. He's usually very shy."

"Well, good. They ought to have fun. I'd like another word with you if you don't mind." I didn't. "Alright. Can you meet me out in the courtyard in about ten minutes?"

I didn't know why we wouldn't just walk that way now, but I nodded and immediately headed there to wait for him. I got a bit lost, so I needed every second. Fortunately there's ultimately only one direction a courtyard can be—inward. So even a hopelessly provincial newcomer couldn't be that lost.

He was waiting for me with a pitcher of lemonade. "I thought this might be more to your taste?"

Only about my favorite drink. I nodded with every ounce of polite appreciation I could. "Much better, thank you." I sat across from him at the little table, trying to ignore the guards and milling nobles walking across the yard. He let me finish a glass and poured me another.

"For this weather, there's nothing better." He smiled as a woman in a flouncy green dress strolled past and then leaned in toward me. "Have you thought about what I said earlier?"

"Yes." I'd done my homework, at least. "And I have a lot of questions. I know next to nothing about almost all the other great families."

"No doubt. I'll fill you in all I can. Which I'm afraid won't be much. I don't like this place much more than you do." His expression darkened. "All the glorious history, ancient wisdom, and grandiose treasure packed up in this glorious palace and all it manages to produce is empty warfare and petulant infighting."

I wished I knew more about him. He'd clearly suffered during his military days, and far before that. But how did one ask for a life story? Maybe I should try getting the information from Mother, but that was underhanded and more than a little creepy. "I can see that." Or at least I was more than willing to believe it.

"Right." Gunter sighed. "I'm trying not to fret, but it's difficult. The more I think about our situation, the more danger I see. I tend to believe the worst in people. You might have noticed."

"So do I."

"Oh, hardly, Gwendal. You're really very sweet." He took a long, calm sip from his lemonade while I tried not to blush and attempted to ignore my rapid heartbeat. He had really just called me… Oh… "The way I see it, we have at least something of a shot at converting everyone but the Rocheforts to your mother's cause if we're very lucky. I think. Frankly, the only ones among them I'm at all friendly with are the Wincotts. The head of the family is a reasonable man. Have you met Lord Emil Von Wincott?"

"No. Though his daughter was staying here during my presentation. She's a nice enough girl. Very young, though." She was only in her sixties. And being very nice probably wouldn't last, as I understood she spent a lot of time hanging around Anissina.

"She is. In any case, I think we'll be able to win them. I'll see if I can handle that and let you know if I need your help."

"I think I can talk to Lord Von Grantz." I was rather thoroughly intimidated by the mere thought, but I had to do something.

"Good." He nodded. "But just recruiting is treating the symptoms and not the cause. We're just tipping the scales on internal division."

I thought Gunter was being a little impractical on this count. "Is there some panacea that'll make Lord Von Rocheforte forget he was all but guaranteed to be next in line for maou?"

"I suppose not." Another sigh, deep and drawn out. His eyes were distant. "All this squabbling leads to power plays among aristocrats, and the ones who suffer are never the ones who stand to gain." He looked right at me. I immediately forgot to breathe, eyes locked on his. "I sent so many young soldiers off to die. Saved as many as I could, but I had my orders. For a righteous cause? No, for conquest that made the Twenty-Fifth Maou look better and quieted his opposition."

"Oh." I couldn't look at him after a moment. I'd been so excited about my command I hadn't thought much about that. And if I had, I'd have assumed the cause sufficiently just and the soldiery patriotic enough that it didn't matter. It would have been an honor to die for Shin Makoku. That said, I was rather glad I hadn't.

Gunter might call me sweet, but his was a far gentler spirit than mine. I remembered the wounds he'd suffered much too vividly. Probably taken protecting some inexperienced footsoldier.

"I want peace for this country and safety for its people." He suddenly looked uncomfortable. "Not that I'm advocating any foolishly pacifistic policy, of course. Humans are always going to be hostile and we must always be equipped to defend ourselves. But I do want what's best for us all." He looked at me alsost pleadingly, as if afraid I'd accuse him of cowardice.

"Of course. That's what I want, too." I hadn't given it any thought before, perhaps, but it seemed like a good idea.

Gunter smiled, apparently reassured. My heart fluttered just a little. "Celi as Maou is… well, what's chosen by Shinou is fine with me." Not the most gracious compliment Mother had ever received, but it summed up my own feelings as well. "But what I really see here is a chance to secure something better than the corruption and rivalry that's come to define what should be the noblest and greatest country on the globe."

He was heroic in his ambitions. Gunter wanted to change the world. My own intentions were certainly far more modest. I wanted my family safe and to be left alone. If at all possible, to gain just a little fraction of the respect my father had once commanded. And, in dreams, to know the taste of Gunter's lips. But to be included in his grand dream… Maybe on my own I'd achieve at best mediocrity, but if anyone could make a just and idyllic reality, it had to be him.

I was swept up in the intensity of his dream for the moment and didn't think to question. "I'll do whatever I can."

"Thank you, Gwendal." He smiled and stood. "I'd better collect my daughter. Have a good evening. See what you can get from Von Grantz. The sooner the better. I'll talk to you tomorrow." He turned.

I wanted to say something. Anything, but hopefully something appropriate to the beautiful dream he'd just let me glimpse. I didn't even manage a stammer, though, beyond, "Goodbye." I watched him walk back inside, his hair catching the light breeze under a lamp to create a cascade of silver fire.

I dreamed of him that night. And it wasn't one of those innocent, sweet dreams where I happily gloried in his magnificence and my pure love, either. It was one that left me blushing and mortifyingly… sticky when I woke. I could still feel him. And I didn't exactly feel rested. More shaky and hot. And filthy. My aspirations on my idol were too shameful to entertain awake, but my desires made themselves known when I let my guard down in sleep. I didn't know how to stop it. And honestly… I didn't want to.

I sat up and tried to ground myself in something approaching reality, rubbing my temples and berating myself. A glance out the window told me it was early, barely past dawn, but I didn't dare go back to sleep. It'd just start again. I put an extra blanket down on the bed. It'd seem strange in this weather, but if Mother walked in and noticed stains, she'd never let me hear the end of it. Hopefully the maids were circumspect.

I stared accusingly at myself in the mirror. Mornings were never my best time, and between the withering heat and my less than rejuvenating night I was quite bedraggled. I really had gotten taller and less gawky, but at the moment I didn't look like anything but a scruffy kid wilting in the summer heat. And the sun wasn't even up properly.

Hardly the right deputy for Gunter's crusade to save Shin Makoku. But I'd do what I could. I snuck down to the baths, getting lost a few times and hoping no one would see me. I was half convinced anyone who looked could see my shame, though I also knew, rationally speaking, that I just looked sleepy and sweaty.

The baths were very rejuvenating. I suspected the water of infusion with mild healing energy, which would have seemed a wasteful indulgence any time but now. At the moment, a godsend. I cleaned away grime I hadn't been able to scrub off. When I got out of the bath I no longer felt the dust of the road and all the sweat of the hated summer clinging to me. I even felt less horrible about dreaming Gunter into my bed.

Though if I thought about that one more than a moment I'd be going right back down the road to indecent perversion. So I forced the image from my mind. I braided my hair to keep it off my neck and even managed to dress tidily.

It was too early to try to track down Lord Von Grantz. I checked on Wolfram, who was still asleep. Taking him for a walk would have been a good excuse to go exploring. I'd make my own, then. I couldn't live in a place I didn't know inside and out.

The day had broken. Breakfast would be served soon. This was about when I usually got up. I wasn't as crazy as some (Conrart) who'd rise before the sun just to prove they could, but I liked to get a start on the day. Apparently that opinion wasn't shared by the assorted gentry assembled at Covenant Castle.

There were mostly servants around. I walked by the stable and felt my mood lift a little. I loved horses as much as a little girl, and it was one thing I wasn't too proud to admit. Such graceful, beautiful animals, brimming with loyalty and intelligence. You could befriend a horse like you never could a person. I ducked inside, deciding to forgo my explorations for a few minutes to visit the riding stock.

I found Miss Giesela standing on a box on tiptoe to peek over a stall at a wiry chestnut mare with a white star and bright eyes. "You have excellent taste in horses, Lady Von Christ."

"Hi, Gwen." Normally I'd have bristled. I did not care for nicknames. Even from my mother. But she was so cute. And, more insidiously speaking, being friends with her got me closer to her father. "But she's Papa's, not mine. I'm just visiting her because she gets lonely."

I'd taken this mare for a resident of the palace. She was a very fine horse. And I could just picture Gunter riding her, hair and cloak in the wind, eyes locked on some distant point where all would be right with the world if his heroic vision got there in time… Alright, I was being silly. "I see. She does look glad to see you."

"I didn't get to bring my horse because there's not enough room. Mine is black and he's kind of little. His name is Alabaster."

"Funny name for a black horse." What a picture the two would make together. I envied her a bit. Mazoku-bred horses can live thirty years or more, but eventually they ride into their last pasture. I'd just lost Nightwing and hadn't had the heart to replace him. I wondered if I could go riding with Gunter when I found a new mount I liked. Giesela could come. I didn't mind her.

"Yeah, a little. I named him after the prince in a book Papa read me." Giesela smiled. "Do you have a horse?" I told her about Nightwing and she patted my hand with a gentle smile. I felt much more comforted than I suppose I had any right to. The same calming goodwill that suffused the very air around Gunter came from her as well.

After a minute I suggested breakfast. This was prompted by my stomach growling rather loudly and a giggle from her. We early risers headed back toward the castle together. There was no sit-down breakfast, just an array of bread and fruit and hot drinks and so on. I poured Giesela juice and got her a blueberry muffin, then sat down to tea and toast for myself.

Mother turned up a few minutes before I'd finished and could have excused myself easily. She sat beside me, beaming. She really was happy, and I was glad to see that, but she was even flightier than usual. I hadn't guessed this was possible.

"Gwen, did you know there's going to be a ball tonight? Just to meet everyone before the coronation tomorrow. Of course, I know just about everyone who's here, but it'll be good for you boys!" She patted my shoulder. "You ought to get used to parties, too, so don't give me that scowl."

I didn't know which scowl I was giving her. I did have an array. "Isn't there going to be something after the actual coronation?"

"Well, that, too." She blinked at me in mild confusion, as though this were eminently obvious.

Damn it all. I just nodded. She was right, much of a blow to my pride as that was. I wasn't going to be able to live in seclusion anymore. As the heir to my equally cranky father I might have been able to get away with it, but not as the maou's son. Not as Gunter's right hand. I'd learn to cope with rooms full of loud people.

Mother was many things. And one of those things was undoubtedly insincere. But she seemed honestly pleased when she kissed my forehead, causing a bit of a blush I didn't even try to hide. (For one thing, my audience consisted of Giesela, a housemaid, and a cat.) "It's lucky I already ordered formal clothes for you! Come by my room this afternoon and we'll make sure they fit."

"I have formal clothes."

"…You have your father's old ones, Gwen. You've gotten much too big for them." Ah, well, that could happen if one didn't go to a formal event for a few decades. Though that I could possibly have grown out of my father's hand-me-downs was hard to swallow. "And the livery was getting faded. The new ones, well, you can actually tell they're green."

Mother continued to chatter. In the end I was grateful. She filled up all the time I might otherwise have spent talking myself out of talking to Von Grantz with inane observations about the palace and quite a few more pieces of fashion advice. I excused myself from the now rather crowded table and went to find my prospective ally.

I was admitted to Karsten Von Grantz's room by a pretty maid. He was sitting with his son, reading letters. I decided not to pay any special attention to Von Grantz the younger. We were introduced and I nodded politely, noting he was built roughly along the lines of a large bear and was about ten or fifteen years older than I, but beyond that I didn't have much to say to him. Mother really was going to have to help me learn the art of small talk.

"So, Florian's son." Grantz sized me up for a moment. His was a steady gaze. No hostility, no real interest, just a cool assessment. He'd been a soldier from the moment of his sixteenth birthday, I knew. He probably approached every new factor with the same calm scrutiny, but I still felt like a bug under Anissina's magnifying glass. "Making a name for yourself these last few years, I see?"

"To some small degree." The maid poured me a cup of coffee. Ah, nectar of the gods. I felt my nerves smooth a bit just smelling it. "I don't believe a handful of victories toward the end of a long war is anything but a beginning." I didn't want to be too self-effacing, but three successful battles could easily be luck.

"Sound just like your father." He set down his papers, which I took to mean I'd earned at least a little of his attention. "You look exactly like him, too. It's more than a little unnerving."

"So I've heard." And got pretty tired of hearing. I certainly didn't take after Mother. Where else would I get my looks? "When did you reach Covenant Castle?"

"Yesterday morning sometime. Before the worst of the rush, though the Radfords and Rocheforts were here before me." He smiled rather blandly. "Both interesting company."

I nodded. "Considering the circumstances, they would have to be. As I understand it, Lord Von Rochefort is more than a little disappointed in Shinou's choice."

"He isn't the only one surprised at our great progenitor's decision." Von Grantz set his coffee down. His expression was still unreadable. "I'm sure you'll take no offense?"

"My mother is a very strange choice." No one harbored any illusions. "I've given it a lot of thought. Shinou's decisions may have led Shin Makoku into Difficult situations, but what happens when his decrees aren't followed is worse." The country had had some dark times, but I believed they'd have been darker if Shinou's will had been contested. Sometimes there were no better candidates to rule. Sometimes circumstances called for the unorthodox.

But aside from blind trust in an ancient warrior, the fate of anyone who disobeyed was grisly and the nation always suffered, so his right to authority was pretty well proved. Frankly, I didn't trust anyone that much, even the venerated Shinou.

"Thinking of the twenty-first maou?"

"The thirteenth, but yes, her as well." As I understood it, Lysanne Von Wincott was still waiting to die, and I preferred not to think about the rebellious queen. At least in the case of the Thirteenth Maou, Oswald Von Bielefeld had passed into legend. He didn't remain alive in anyone's memory anymore, and you were safe from envisioning a flesh-and-blood person undergoing such torments.

"Interesting." There was a long pause. I set my coffee cup down, refusing to freeze while I waited for his reaction. The little clinking sound managed to ring in my ears. "You're a cautious man, Lord Von Voltaire. Much more so than Florian. I wouldn't have expected it from that hotblood's son."

That was no answer at all. "There's plenty of impetuosity around me with two younger brothers. Someone has to keep a cool head."

"Hmm, and I suppose you had the benefits of learning from your uncle and stepfather…"

"Lord Von Grantz…" I was used to being the youngest lord in the room and being talked down to a bit. One reason I detested functions like this. "While everyone you've mentioned was no doubt a strong influence, I'm not a child. I'm speaking for an as myself." I didn't really have much of a temper. It took a lot to provoke me. But no one could be even-keeled forever, and I felt just a bit of a twitch in my left eye. Maybe Gunter's respect was inflating my opinion of myself.

Grantz sighed. "Well, I hope not. Someone with a bit of sense has to look out for your Mother's administration. I don't really trust her husband or brother overmuch."

Oh. Alright, maybe my temper was quicker than it should be. "I… thank you."

We chatted amicably for a few minutes. I even had a very brief conversation with Adelbert, though about what I couldn't say. Now that I was at least sure of his attention and probably his support, I really just would have preferred to leave. Just the short talk was a little much for me.

It was only midmorning. I was determined to explore more, and to try to find Gunter and report my success. I managed the former, but only because I looked through most of the castle and didn't find him. I had to be content with trying to learn at least the layout and the locations of principle rooms. I wandered until lunch, after which I took Wolfram to practice riding and then was dragged away by mother to try on new clothes. I was very glad of my early morning triumph. Otherwise it would have been a hopelessly banal day.

Parties, in my experience, didn't really begin until an hour after whatever was printed on the invitation. Everyone was always fashionably late. But this was the soon-to-be maou's first public event, and when we all walked in the room was already packed. Mother was resplendent in her first black dress. Lord Bielefeld complemented her well. Uncle Stoffeld and Raven moved as their usual stately single unit. I busied myself with Wolfram and Conrart to avoid having to assess any more of the crowd.

That tactic didn't last long. Conrart and Wolfram's half brothers and a few more of the adolescents dragged to the party by parents ran off to sit in a corner being mature and bragging. Wolfram found Giesela almost immediately. I was glad they both had a chance at better friends now than Stoffel's isolated old seat allowed, but it robbed me of my excuse for isolation. Wolfram was getting too old to be my perpetual excuse, it seemed.

I turned around to find a corner to slink into, hopefully not the one occupied by the twenty year-old pests, and almost walked into Gunter. He had a way of turning up behind one. He was very formally dressed, his hair up and his lilac robes edged with silver braided into deep purple silk. There was a young woman on his arm. She was very young, not much more than a child. Old enough, and very lovely. I still felt a pang of jealousy.

"Gwendal, this is Lady Suzanna Julia Von Wincott." She held out her hand and I kissed it. She held it at a funny angle, and when I stood I realized her eyes were too blank and still, not following me or the movement in the room in a normal fashion.

"Pleased to meet you." Her voice was incredibly calming. From a girl that age I expected either squeaks or raucous proclamations. I really only had Anissina to base that off of, after all. I felt myself soften a little.

"You as well." It remembered my manners. "Are you enjoying the party?" We were only about twenty minutes in, but the inanity was all I could think of.

"I'm afraid I won't be able to stay long. Father worries so much about me at functions like this. I don't know what he thinks will happen, but He always needs to protect his little blind Julia." She smiled tolerantly. Discerning for her age indeed. I could see why Gunter was courting her good opinion. I just hoped very strenuously indeed he wasn't courting it for reasons other than Mother's security. The girl was barely marriageable, but she was lovely and wise all the same. She'd suit him.

I bowed slightly. "Then enjoy what time you do have." I heard a few strains of music beginning.

Gunter smiled at me, then at her. "Might I have this dance?"

"If you like."

They walked onto the dance floor together. As with Giesela, Lady Wincott made a perfect picture with him, pale and delicate and graceful alongside. I forgot all my diplomacy for a moment, all my restraint, and glared.

"Gwnedal!"

Rich magenta gloves clamped onto my shoulders. The hands they encased had the kind of strength that comes of handling a socket wrench. "Wow, do you look sour. Who's your boyfriend's girlfriend?" Anissina let go of my shoulders and swung around in front of me to stare after them.

"Gunter is dancing with Lady Suzanna Julia Von Wincott." It didn't help to even dignify her jibes with responses.

Anissina cocked an eyebrow at me. I was surprised to find her in a proper dress with a full skirt. The sort of thing she never wore, because it might trip her or get caught in some gear or other. It looked completely strange. "Gwendal, you're being ridiculous again."

"Oh, be quiet." I was such an adult.

"Shut up and dance with me." She grabbed my arm and dragged me out in front of various couples before I could escape. In full view of the assembled crowd I couldn't twist away. Damn. "Now try not to crush my toes."

"I'm not that bad at dancing." If she was going to make me do something so very ignoble, she didn't have t make fun of me as well.

"Then prove it. Because every time I've seen you dance it's for half a song before you make an excuse to go stand by the wall."

"Fine!" Issuing a challenge, was she? I had plenty of pent-up frustration to get rid of. I might be indifferent at most gentlemanly pursuits, but I could dance, for heaven's sake. I stopped trying to hold her at maximum distance and gripped her waist and hand properly. The song was Paracelsus, a slow, solemn song with long, smooth notes and drawn out movements. It suited me well enough to make competent dancing look better, or maybe I was just trying that much harder than usual. Anissina kept up with me without difficulty. I almost had fun.

I was a little dazed when the music ended. Having spent fifteen minutes with Anissina not exchanging threats and insults was strange and it was even stranger to have relaxed so completely around so many people. I took a moment to pause and pant. The musicians left a long gap between songs for people to find partners and catch their breath.

As I straightened up I heard someone clap a few times, slowly. I expected sarcasm and turned, ready to glower. It was Gunter. Lady Von Wincott was standing beside him and smiling, looking off into space.

Anissina ducked around me to greet the younger girl. It looked like they'd met before. I ignored them, feeling more than a little sheepish.

"I'm surprised. From what I remember of your footwork I wouldn't expect you to be so light on your feet." Gunter was teasing a bit, but I didn't mind. His smile was as simple and honest as ever. And he hadn't tried to ascribe my dancing to either parent, which was refreshing after a day like this one.

"It's something of a hobby." And I'd gotten better with the sword, too, though I'd never show him. "I spoke to Lord Von Grantz today. I believe he… is prepared to agree with us."

"Excellent." He smiled more warmly this time. "Well done. But try to relax for the evening, can't you?"

Well, I could try. I was about to say as much when the music began again at a much faster tempo, a high, tinkling tune interwoven with complex harmonies. I considered asking Anissina to dance again, or even Julia. Just to have something to do. I turned to ask one of them.

Anissina grabbed my shoulder and shoved me away. "The ladies are talking about interesting things, Gwen. You'll have to dance with Gunter."

I hated, hated, hated that horrible harpy. There was nothing I could do at the suggestion but go pale and try desperately to find a way off the dance floor and into a dark alcove with a glass of strong wine and paralyzing humiliation for company. My eyes darted to the side, looking for any such alcove, any out.

"Oh, if you'd like to." Gunter nodded pleasantly enough to me. "It seems we may have lost the girls."

My mouth had gone dry and my pulse was racing, but somewhere I found it in me to nod stiffly. For a moment his arm was halfway around my waist when he paused and laughed. His laugh sounded like spring rain and soft waves to the tune of silver handbells. "You're taller. I suppose you'd better lead."

That made sense. Trying to keep my hands from trembling, I slid my arm around him. How many dreams had shown me just this picture as a tantalizing, hopeless delusion? His fingers twined with mine. I was glad we were both wearing gloves, because I knew my palms were sweating. My heart was pounding in my ears.

This would most likely never happen again. I stopped quivering to make myself take in everything. The way he felt against me was incredible. No dream could do more than suggest what being pressed to the one I loved would be like. Even through the thick cloth of his robes and my gloves I could feel his slim body, muscle and even, faintly, the ribs underneath. I knew he was stronger than he looked, but I'd never been able to feel it. One of his hands settled on my shoulder, the other lifting his robe delicately. He had long, slim fingers and a firm grip. He'd be wonderful at massage.

That was one step too far. If I let my imagination go anywhere while we were still pressed together… Well, the consequences would be nightmarish. I was already feeling a bit warmer than I should have been.

When I took the first step of the dance he moved with me. His coordination, unsurprisingly, was perfect. He was the most graceful creature I'd ever seen, but I'd only been able to admire that movement from without, looking in greedily. Now I could feel his movements, gauge every little shift in stance and balance. With one energetic twirl his hair was blown into my face. He apologized, but I was almost too delighted to answer. His hair smelled divine, and was soft as silk. My cheek felt blessed for the contact all the rest of the dance.

The song was over much too quickly. With Anissina, I'd enjoyed myself but been perfectly happy to let go. Now I could have clung forever. When would I get a chance again to hold his hand and his waist and smell the herby, fresh scent that was always with him? I wanted to kiss him so badly. The last strains of the song disappeared with me carefully restraining myself.

"You've improved. We might make a swordsman of you yet." Some of my distress must have shown despite my best attempts. Gunter patted my hand as I stepped away. "I'm teasing, of course. I know you don't especially care for it."

"I don't dislike swordplay, but one of my younger brothers would benefit much more than I." I bowed rigidly. Anissina and Suzanna had gone off, so I couldn't begin another conversation. "I'll see you later in the evening?"

"Oh. Certainly. I suppose I should make some more rounds. Half the guests I haven't seen in decades." He shrugged and turned away. He was still smiling, but it wasn't for me anymore, but for the benefit of a pair of pretty, dark-haired women waiting to be asked to dance.

I went to find a window seat to collapse on. Giesela and Wolfram were running back and forth nearby, playing some game improvised from chunks that had fallen off the ice sculptures that consisted mainly of flinging the stingy little missiles at each other. I was glad when they moved away a little.

I had danced with Gunter. The devil take the rest of this day, banality and victory both. I'd danced with the love of my life. I knew what it felt like to hold his hand and to clutch him to me, even if only in the tamest sense. Tonight's dreams would surely take care of that. And I wouldn't mind. I'd welcome it. Let my imagination do what it could now. It could hardly improve on ecstasy.

If I'd been a good son to the future maou I'd have done some more schmoozing. I'd do it later. Now I had a beautiful, precious memory to dwell on, to cement in my mind forever. Oh, I was still going to kill Anissina. But I'd thank her first.

I closed my eyes and just let myself float for a moment, trying to recreate every sensation, not letting a moment slip away.

Then I heard a massive crash, the telltale rush of too much fire in too little space finding its only available route, and a series of screams.

Damn it! I jumped up from my seat and looked around quickly. Bombs had gone off in three places. No, four. The last went off as I looked, which blinded me for a few seconds. There wasn't much shrapnel, not even that much damage. I didn't think the walls would fail. But each bomb had been places near flowing curtains and lots of furniture. In the summer heat, even with the humidity, everything was ready to go up in a flash. The smoke was already filling the room.

A few people were shouting loudly, trying to direct the flow of fleeing guests. Most guests ignored them. People were streaming out the doors and the windows. I saw a handful of smallish shapes hop out a picture window. Conrart and his cohort were fine then.

But what about the smaller children? They'd easily get trampled in this melee or left behind if they stayed clear of it. Close to the ground they'd have less trouble with smoke, but they were just kids. They'd panic.

"Wolfram!" Where had I last seen them? "Wolfram! Giesela!" I doubted I'd be heard above the uproar. Though the flames were making more noise than the people now. Most of the courtiers were outside.

It was getting hard to breathe. My sleeve caught fire and I burned my hand nastily putting it out. I kept shouting despite the acid sensation in my throat as the hot, impossibly dry air streamed in. I didn't get an answer, but the fire in one corner was behaving very strangely, swirling in a rough cylinder.

That was my Wolfram. I jumped over a burning chair to reach him. Wolfram might be able to keep the fire off for a little while, but he'd collapse the roof on them if he kept deflecting it up and out. "Wolf!"

"Gwen!" He sounded anguished.

I had no choice but to force my way into his haven within the inferno. That scorched a bit. Giesela was standing over him. She was a bit taller, and was trying to shield him from falling ash. Wolfram's eyes were huge and his arms shook as he held them out.

If he dropped that spell we were all dead. I was reeling already from all the fumes I was breathing. There wasn't room within Wolfram's cylinder for me crawl or even crouch, and if I stood up I'd take the brunt of anything that fell on us. "Wolfram, can you walk? If you go straight left there's a window we can get out of."

"I… think so." He was crying. I didn't blame him. He wouldn't make it. A prodigy he might be, but this was too much. His little body couldn't hold that much power. Giesela, I realized, was healing burns as soon as he got them, but they'd both run out of juice soon. I added a barrier of my own to Wolfram's maryoku, but the fire wasn't magic in origin. That made it harder to fight directly.

Giesela steered him. She was coughing. I pulled off a glove and gave it to her to hold to her mouth, then the other to hold over Wolfram's. "Just keep moving. You're doing wonderfully, Wolfram. Walk slowly. Don't rush."

There was a loud crash as the corner we'd just escaped fell in. Giesela jumped and pushed Wolfram forward. He wanted to freeze.

"Wolfram, go on." I fell to coughing before I could say anything more. The hot ash and fumes and air so hot it burned my lungs on its own were all making me dizzy. A small candle sconce fell off the wall and bashed me in the skull. My barrier almost fell. Wolfram shrieked as he felt the fire press harder. He hadn't summoned it himself. He'd lose control in a moment if I faltered.

I was probably going to faint. But if I at least got the children to the window. I forced the barrier back up and pressed on, whispering to Wolfram to hurry. A whisper was all I could do. My throat burned and my whole body twitched, wanting to cough until all heated, poisonous foreign debris was gone, and probably several chunks of my lungs as well.

I could see the window through the flames trying to lick at us. It was on fire. There was no way they'd avoid a burn or two, but I could minimize damage. "Wolfram, when I tell you, drop your guard."

"But—"

"Do it!" The fire hadn't spread far outside. There were already plenty of people fighting it. If I'd been able to hear a thing above the roar of the fire I'd probably have caught a summoned rain and water from all the wells and fountains rushing into the ballroom.

We were close. But the window was about to fall in. And the wall would probably go with it. This room was a nightmare, really, the walls too thin and poorly constructed to take any beating at all, built only to be pretty.

I couldn't let it fall. Not before we were clear. "Now, Wolfram!"

He sobbed but let his power go. In the same moment I picked them both up. Two such little weights should have been nothing, but in my current state I almost fell to the floor. It'd probably have killed all of us. I had to jump over that same chair again and then out the window. I landed in a heap outside with both children on top of me. The fire was licking at my boots, but now that I was on the ground I didn't think I could get up again. At least the little ones were clear.

Giesela was shouting for Gunter. Sensible girl. I hoped she got his attention. I just… needed to be unconscious for a while. Just a little while. I tried to shove Wolfram further from the fire, but I missed. My arm wasn't where I thought it was. Funny.

Mother was yelling both our names, and Conrart pulled Wolfram into a tight hug the little one didn't even try to fight. I'd have smiled to see my brothers getting along so well if I hadn't suddenly convulsed with the strength of my coughing. The fit subsided well after I'd coughed blood onto the grass.

I was barely aware when cool, long-fingered hands settled on both my cheeks, letting enough power in to put me peacefully to sleep.