"Absolutely not," said the captain of the guards as he paced the length of the barracks. "We've no idea where von Karma has gone, and—"
"He's gone north," Phoenix insisted.
The captain stared at him for a long enough beat that Phoenix grew uncomfortable. "And where, exactly, would you suggest that we focus our forces in 'the north?'" the man asked after that stretch. "There are two major ranges and bitter ice beyond. No one knows where von Karma's base is, and I refuse to commit our troops on a wild goose chase when our best solution is to wait for Mage Fey's return. With her powers, we have a much better chance of setting off in the right direction."
"North!" Phoenix said. "Aren't you listening? I saw it: straight north! At least send scouts, Sir! We let the king die; our only job now is to rescue the—"
"Do you think I don't know what my job is?" the captain asked softly. He'd flinched at the mention of the king and pain filled his eyes. "You're as green as summer, boy. You've never been up to the ice. If I send a regiment, they might be a hundred miles off. If I send scouts, they'll probably never come back. Either way, we'd be down good men when Fey tells us where to go. Things would be all the harder then." His voice raised. "No man under my command heads after the prince until we've received direction from Mage Fey. Understood?"
"Yes, sir!" shouted his men. Spear handles thumped against paving stones.
"Yes, sir," Phoenix echoed mournfully.
"That was creepy," Larry said as he trailed after Phoenix, out of the training yard and toward the royal hall. "We were just sleeping away, and then snap! Ice everywhere. I didn't know von Karma could do something like that."
"He was threatening to freeze Deele's capital, Larry," Phoenix said, only halfway paying attention to his friend. His eyes rested on the spot where, days earlier, he'd put a sword to von Karma's neck. If only I'd taken that blow. The prince had smiled at him after that; was he even alive now to smile again? Helpless, he looked around the hall for any clue, any piece of anything that might tell him where von Karma had gone, or at least persuade the captain to let him begin the hunt.
"Yeah," Larry said, "but that was them. He froze us."
Phoenix didn't bother responding as he continued his search. The sound of conversation drew him toward one wall, and then toward an antechamber's door. He held up a finger for Larry to stay quiet as he listened to what sounded like an important conversation.
"You must try harder, Mage Fey," insisted a chancellor.
Mage Fey? Phoenix thought with delight. She was back already? If Mia Fey was in the capital, the search could begin immediately. He risked peering around the doorframe and his shoulders sagged. That wasn't Mia Fey they were talking to, but her rather less impressive little sister, Maya. She grew flustered while her sister always kept her head and was still deep in her training exercises. Mia lived up to her surname, and Phoenix knew from palace gossip that the Feys were such a noble family that their honored eldest daughter was assumed to be the prince's eventual match. Mia already looked like a queen of ten years; Maya looked like the village girls back home.
"I am trying," Maya said. She sounded close to tears. "I am, I am, I..." Light flared and the chancellors gasped, then leaned in closer. Phoenix squinted at the glowing orb that had sprung up in the center of the table. Behind it, Maya shook with the effort of whatever she was doing.
"Is something wrong?" asked Mia's wavering, glowing face in the orb. "You all look a fright." Her expression fell as she heard of the previous night's assault, and even more when they shared what Phoenix had found in the royal chambers. "The king is dead?" she whispered. "And the prince is..." She looked away. Her eyes were filled with resolve when she turned back to them. "We're already on our fourth day of marching, but I'll turn the army around immediately. When they hear what's happened, we might make it back in three. As soon as I have access to the scrying crystals in my chamber again, I will find the prince, gentlemen. I promise you."
"Hurry," said the chancellor. "But be wary, von Karma has—" The portal snapped off and, with an irritated click of his tongue, he turned to Maya. "I was not done, young mage."
"Sorry," she panted.
"At least Fey is on her way," said the minister. "She'll know what to do. If anyone can take on von Karma, it's her."
Phoenix froze as he heard them walking toward him, then took a rigid stance to make it look like he'd been assigned to guard that span of wall. They walked past him without notice.
"Take on von Karma. Mmm. If that's even possible."
"Let sleeping dogs lie, you mean?"
"He spoke of freezing Deele solid. What if he still has that capability? And for us to launch a full assault so far north..."
"I hate to raise this point, gentlemen, but... the Feys are clearly next in line for the throne."
"Indeed. At least we're not faced with a succession struggle, I suppose. Small favors."
"We should order a regiment down the road to meet Fey's army, just in case... we certainly can't afford to lose her, as well..."
Phoenix gaped after them as they left. They were sending soldiers south? To protect Mia Fey? They've given up on him, Phoenix thought with shock. It didn't even sound like palace scheming; those men had dutifully shifted their allegiance to the Fey line without any power grabs of their own. Helpless, he stared around the royal hall. It looked the same as ever, but empty and silent. The summer sun had melted most of the ice outside, and though flowers had succumbed to shock, the trees were still green and strong as the last frost dripped free of their leaves. It was a beautiful day, ripe with birdsong, and everyone from the captain of the guards to the royal chancellor was ready to bury a man who might yet be alive.
No man under my command heads after the prince, Phoenix heard in his head.
Right, then.
He reached to where a badge held his half-cloak in place and let it fall to the ground with a metallic clatter. The guard's cloak puddled on top of it as Phoenix walked into the antechamber, slammed his hands on the desk, and leaned close to Maya Fey. "Can you use your sister's scrying crystals?"
She looked up. "Um. Who are you?"
"Not a guard. Phoenix Wright. That's not important. I need your help."
Maya blinked owlishly at him. "Could you pick one answer, maybe?"
He hissed in irritation and began to explain, only to be interrupted with a clearing throat. Phoenix sighed. "Larry, now is not the time."
"He is a guard," Larry insisted, and held his abandoned cloak out to him with a smile. "You dropped this, Nick."
"I didn't drop it," Phoenix said as he bundled the material and threw it to a far corner of the room. "I'm leaving the guards. You should probably go back to the barracks and pretend you never heard this, because I don't want you to get in trouble. Mage Fey, I need your help to find the prince. I heard that..." He took a deep breath as the reality of the situation struck him. The only two people in the world who might be able to help him were Mia and Maya Fey, and they were the exact two people who would be instantly raised from nobility to royalty if Miles Edgeworth never returned. Could he trust them? Trust her? It seemed impossible.
"Heard what?" asked Maya. Her youthful face pulled into a frown.
He couldn't think of any answer but the truth. All Phoenix could hope was that their loyalty was stronger to the crown than to opportunism. "I heard that nearly everyone in this palace is willing to let the prince die, because no one's going to chase after him soon enough to make any difference. So. Can you use your sister's scrying crystals?"
"What?" Maya asked in disbelief. "They're going to let him..." Her jaw set and she stood. "Come on, Not Important Phoenix Wright. We have to save the prince!"
Relief made Phoenix grin, and it grew when Maya took off for the mages' tower at a full run. He hurried after her but grimaced when he heard armor clanking behind him. "Go back, Larry!" he shouted over his shoulder. "I don't want you to get into trouble!"
"But that's what I do!" Larry shouted back, sounding genuinely confused at the idea of doing the logical, proper thing. He dutifully tagged along with Maya and Phoenix to the Feys' chambers, no matter how many times Phoenix ordered him back. "You're talking about going north, Nick. North! To take on von Karma! It's the stupidest idea I've ever heard of in my life, and so I've gotta go with you."
"Wait." Phoenix blinked. "What? No, you're going back to the barracks."
Larry threw his cloak away with an impish smile. "We're in this together, right? We left home together and I'm not about to let you go off alone. Especially not with this cutie! Gimmee a chance, Nick! You can't hog all the girls!"
"What? Girls? Huh? What cutie?" Phoenix spun on his heel and yelped. "Mage Fey, no!"
"Call me Maya," the girl said with determination as she packed a rucksack. "If he's in trouble, then I'm not going to stay here and have the ministers yell at me while they're not even trying to save the prince! Besides, Mia wants to focus on her magical work, not get forced into totally taking over as queen. And I don't want to be a princess, either. I've seen all the royal meetings the prince has to go to and they're boring."
"All I need you to do," Phoenix said patiently, "is to use that scrying crystal and tell me where to go. Me, not me and Larry."
"Well," Maya said and hefted her rucksack over one shoulder, "I can't use them as well as Mia can. She could look and see exactly where von Karma is hiding, but all I'll be able to do is use them as a compass on the road. So you'd better take me along. Besides, I can request horses while you'd have to steal some from the guards' stable. Since you quit, and all."
"You should listen to the cutie," Larry said.
What was even happening? Phoenix sighed, but there was no time to waste. The image of King Gregory's corpse on that bed lurked every time he closed his eyes, and if the prince had been taken instead of also killed, whatever was being done to him must be worse. "We'll need nine horses," he eventually said. "Three to ride, and then two replacements apiece. We'll be riding hard, okay? Dress warm and pack food. It sounds like it'll be pretty rough up north."
"With two extra horses apiece, we could bring a lot of food," Maya mused.
"Don't overload them! We'll want them to be fresh when we need to change." Oh, hell. I really have accepted that they're coming along, haven't I? Well, if they were going to be traveling companions, they should all get along. "Thank you for your help, Mage Fey. Maya, I mean. And... thanks, Larry." I guess.
"Stop wasting time, Nick!" Larry said as he disappeared down the stairs.
"Yeah, Nick!" Maya echoed as she followed him.
After one last beat to wonder what had just taken place, Phoenix focused, ran down the stairs, and soon met Maya at the north gate. They set off at a run, past the bonfires set by wary farmers, and kept the mountains straight ahead. The two ranges met at a knife-sharp angle. When Phoenix tried to picture where the Guidestar had stood over that bridge of snow, he remembered that it hung above that pass between them. "I think we'll go—"
"There," Maya said as she stared into her crystal, and flung her arm out ahead. Her finger pointed at the mountain pass.
Dust rose under their horses' hooves and the warm scent of drying grass filled Phoenix's lungs. The world around them smelled of life and summer. But far ahead, unnatural clouds rose over the pass and snow capped the peaks that framed it. From one churning cloud, lightning flared.
He hurried his mount onward.