AN: Okay , sorry this took so long, but if you check out the note at the end you'll see why. Also, YAY! we finally made it to Valdemar! Also, btw I sadly own neither Valdemar nor Kyo Kara Maoh. I know, it's tragic, isn't it. Well, I hope you all enjoy! PS. for give any typos. I did check this over twice, honest. But it's 2am and I haven't slept. I got up early today... er... yesterday... It's been a while since I've slept. :P

AN Part 2: Okay the revised and complete version of chapter two. I know, y'all thought it was done and out, but surprise! Not so much. Thank you all for being patient with me. Now, the first half of this is the same, except with a few grammatical errors corrected, but the entire last half of this is new, so do please read and enjoy!

Lost

Chapter Two

The ambassadors from Seejay signaled the King's Own Herald to join them in their small corner of the Great Hall. With a quick but timely jest, he left his current group of courtiers and approached the quietly whispering group. "Did you need me for something?" He asked them pleasantly.

The woman, Lady Mirius, smiled reassuringly. "Truzfully, ve are zinkink zat ve may be of help to you." She said in her thickly accented Valdemaran. "Ve haf been considerink ze problem of your false envoys."

"And what have you come up with?" He asked curiously.

"Ve vere very intrigued zat you say zey move strangely." One of the men chimed in. "You see, you are not ze first people to tell us of assassins and spies zat seem more zan human."

Nikolas stilled. ::Rolan, is Kiril getting this?::

::Every word.:: The grove born affirmed.

"If I may ask, who was the first to tell you of these 'superhuman' spies." He asked calmly.

"Ze are allies from across ze souzern seas." The lady answered. "Ve haf only been allies for a few years, but zey are tellink us of a kingdom of powerful varriors who are more zan human. Ve voundered if your imposters are comink from zere."

::What do you think?::

Rolan was quiet for a few minutes before he replied. ::I think it is possible.:: He answered slowly. ::And what's more, Kiril thinks it's possible. He wants to talk to you and the ambassadors about meeting these allies of theirs.::

"The thought does bare some looking into." Nikolas nodded. "I wonder if tomorrow morning we could meet to discuss these allies of yours with the King and council?"

"Ve vould be at your disposal." The Seejayan woman smiled. "It wound be a good zing to haf all of our allies in alliance viz each ozer as vell as wiz us."

"Well then, my lady, my lords, I shall see you all bright and early." They bowed and curtsied as the King's own departed. ::Well Rolan, it looks like we have another early morning.::

The companion sent apple flavored amusement flowing through their bond. ::You're the one who said morning. Kiril was hoping for an afternoon session.::

Nikolas sighed in exasperation. ::You could have mentioned that about five minutes ago.::

§

Nikolas and Kiril listened as the Seejayan ambassadors explained to the council about the allies that they wished to bring into Valdemar. So far, no one had raised any major objections; most of them were just hopeful that this new foreigner could shed some light on the matter of the spies who had been thwarted, for the most part, by sheer dumb luck.

"Are you sure this woman can be trusted?" Master Soren asked cautiously. "And how can we be sure that the woman who arrives in Valdemar will be the woman you send for?"

"Ze Lady Beatrice is known to us." Lady Mirius said simply. "If anozer comes ve vill tell you 'Zis is not ze voman ve are sendink for. And if ve couldn't trust her and her people, our King vould never haf signed a treaty viz her people."

"There is that." The Seneschal's Herald said wryly. "Tell us, where exactly is this Lady Beatrice from?"

"Across ze souzern sea." The man, Lord Aron, answered gruffly. "She is from ze Kingdom call Cavalcade, and her people go by ze same name. Ve can varn her not to brink any mages viz her." He added as an afterthought.

"Do you think she will be willing to come?" Sedric asked softly. "After all, Valdemar has no oceans or seas for them to cross; we haven't got any ports for their ships to sail to."

"You are a very strong ally." Lord Aron shrugged. "You haf power and untouched markets for zeir goods."

"She vill come." Lady Mirius said confidently. "Lady Beatrice is searchink for somezink' searchink desperately. She has not found it in Seejay, so, I zink she vill come here if only to know it is not here eizer."

"What is she looking for?" Nikolas asked, a frown on his lips.

The three envoys exchanged a dark look before Mirius answered. "A child. A child zat visdom says is dead, but she hopes is alive."

"Ze child and his parents vere lost at sea." Aron explained. "Ze parents bodies vere recovered, but ze child remains lost." He shrugged. "As you haf said, Valdemar is hafink no seas or oceans. She vill not be finding ze boy here, but she vill be vanting to look."

"How old is the child she's searching for?" Calen asked slowly.

"He vould be young." Mirius replied. "Not yet a man. He vas an infant ven ze ship vent down fourteen years ago. Zere is no vay he could haf survived."

::Calen wants to know if Mags could possibly be the boy she's searching for.:: Kiril's companion told him silently.

::I don't think so. Mags' parents were killed in a fight with bandits, not at sea. Still though, the situation is odd.:: He pursed his lips. ::It's an odd coincidence that yet another foreigner is looking for a boy the same age as our Mags. And you know how I feel about coindidences.::

::Rolan says that Nikolas is suggesting that perhaps Mags could earn his whites spying down in Haven while our newest guest is here. It wouldn't be a guarantee, but it would keep him out of her sight.::

::And we could tell her he's out of the palace earning his whites and it wouldn't be a lie. Is there anyone besides Nik that could go down there with him. I don't want him on his own with only Dallen available for help if these bastards slip past us again.::

:: I'll pass it through the Companions that you're looking for volunteers. After the last few years, you'll have heralds jumping all over each other to go hide in the slums with him.::

::Is Mags even up to this?" He asked his companion.

He felt the snort echo through the bond. ::After the kidnapping last month he'll be fine. You may have to tie him up to keep him from seeking out this woman. He's determined to dig up his past so it won't catch us by surprise again.::

::Is Rolan passing this on to Nik?::

:: Yes.::

::Good.:: he said, nodding to Nikolas to tell him to set the plan in motion. "Bring her." He told the Seejayans aloud. "If she knows our false envoys and these foreign spies then she can answer our questions. If not," he shrugged, "at least we get a potential ally out of this."

Sedric nodded. "At the very worst, she'll be one of them, and then we'll have one of their people under our thumb."

Master Soren nodded. "I don't think we're putting this to a vote, but if we are, my vote goes with his Majesty."

"As does mine." Dean Calen agreed. "The Heraldic Circle wants to get to the bottom of this as quickly as possible. If this woman will come I say bring her quickly."

Nikolas nodded his own wordless assent even as the other heralds voiced their own agreement. The king laughed grimly. "There it is." He told the visiting envoys. "These imposters have riled up our heralds and now they will have to answer for their actions."

"Ve vill send vord immediately." Lady Mirius smiled. "Ze Lady Beatrice vill be here as soon as possible."

Soon after, the council session completed as the ambassadors and guild masters filed out of the room leaving only the heralds, and strangely Master Soren. When the door closed, the guild master spoke softly. "Bringing this woman could endanger our young trainees all over again." He said pointedly. "Before this Lady Beatrice gets within a hundred leagues of our borders, perhaps it would be best if we devised a way to protect them?"

Kiril eyed Soren speculatively. "You could have spoken to the entire council."

"And offend our guests?" The old man said with a small smile. "No. Besides, these men are after Trainee Mags, and they're damned good. They've gotten into the guard, the Bards and the Healers. I'm sure you all agree, the Heralds are the one thing they could never infiltrate."

Prince Sedric nodded. "I don't think they even understand exactly what our Companions are. But don't worry Master Soren, I believe Father and Nikolas have a plan to protect Trainee Mags, and I assure you, the Companions are in on it. Mags has proven to valuable a person to let these bastards get hold of him again."

Nikolas sighed. "Not to mention Dallen would play Kirball with our heads if anything else happened to his Chosen."

§

Lady Beatrice blinked at the formal invitation to the Valdemaran court. Then she glanced back to the tall man that had given it to her. His tall, lean form was clad entirely in white, from his soft linen tunic to his thin doe skin boots. His name was Ryse - Herald Ryse of Valdemar. Slowly, she reread the invitation again, judging her reply carefully. "I'm honored, truly." She said cautiously. "But, I don't understand. Cavalcade is an ocean-bound kingdom, and your Valdemar is landlocked. How could we benefit from an alliance?"

Herald Ryse smiled easily. "So far Seejay is the only country on this side of the world that has a trade agreement with your people." He said in the lilting accent of his own kingdom. "Seejay traders drive hard bargains, and we'd rather not go through their merchants to obtain your goods." He said with a shrug. "That, and like Seejay, you'll find Valdemar to be a more friendly neighbor than Karse."

"I see." She said softly. "It is true, I've heard disturbing stories of Karsite hospitality, but I'm sure that they have chilling tales of your hospitality. Perhaps they would not be so hostile to impartial diplomats." She countered.

The tall herald shook his head. "The Karsites as a race are religious fanatics. If they do ally with you, it will be with the intent to subjugate and convert your people." He said grimly. "We won't stop you from joining with them, but fair warning, you're going to hear 'I told you so' a lot."

Beatrice nodded. "Off the record Ryse," she said, moving away from him, "why does King Kiril want me in his kingdom? This invitation is for Cavalcade, but I've been raised in politics. I can read between the lines. If I don't personally make an appearance there's no point in anyone going."

Ryse frowned. "The Seejay envoys in Valdemar have spoken very highly of you, my lady."

"That doesn't answer my question." Beatrice said sternly. "Why me?"

The Valdemaran sighed. "Someone is trying to kill our king. From what we can gather, they were caught in Karse while on an errand of their own, and hired to create an upheaval on our side of the border."

"I'm sorry." She shook her head. "I sympathize, truly, but I still don't see what any of this has to do with me."

"Lady Mirius is the envoy who told us that you might be able to help. The people Karse hired are, well, different."

"Different how?" Beatrice asked with amusement.

"They are stronger than any human being has a right to be." He said softly. "And the way they move is unlike anything I've ever seen or heard of. But, Lady Mirius told our heralds that you had confided in her that there are people in your homeland that move and act like our unwelcome guests."

"No one like that calls Cavalcade home." She hedged.

"But you know of people like this?" Ryse pursued. "Please, my lady. These people have already attempted murder in the palace. They have attacked our Companions, and stolen children to use for blackmail."

Beatrice didn't know much about the Valdemaran Companions, but she did know from watching the Valdemaran envoys in general, and Ryse in particular, the Companions were as dear to these people as Morgif was to her own allies. Luckily, Morgif was much harder to hurt. And to harm a child? "The Mazoku would never commit such crimes." She defended. "They are good people!"

"So you do know of a race that can do what these people have done?" He pressed.

"I don't know what your invaders can do. I only know what you've hinted at." She said firmly. "I know of a race that has different magic than humans, that are a bit stronger, but I don't know that they can compare with your 'unwelcome guests.' But I do know that your visitors can't be Mazoku! The Mazoku rarely leave their homeland, and their king would never condone the actions you've accused them of!"

Herald Ryse was still for several moments before he moved to sink into one of the lounging benches in Lady Beatrice suite. "As I see it, we have one of two problems." He said on a thick sigh. "Either we are dealing with your Mazoku and we've done something to anger them past reason, or there is a second race out there that can rival your Mazoku in strength and power. Either way, Valdemar will desire a treaty with your people. If, as you say, these people are from another race, we may need you to find out if the Mazoku can help us or tell us how to help ourselves. And, if it is as my king fears, and these are the people you told Lady Mirius about, we need you to help us come to an understanding with them. Either way, Valdemar will seek a treaty with Cavalcade."

Beatrice turned away from the herald, pacing towards the large open windows of the suite. "The Mazoku's Maoh is very dear to me." She finally replied. "I've known him since I was a young girl. In all that time, he has never shown himself to be anything less than the kind, loving, gentle man that saved me from pirates the night we met. He is powerful with a strong sense of justice and fair play. That is how I know he is not behind your recent troubles. He would never condone the harm of a child under any circumstance. He is the greatest king the Mazoku have had in more than a thousand years, and they love him dearly." She turned back to face Herald Ryse. "I will go, but only because the Maoh would be disappointed in me if he discovered that you had told me someone had endangered a child and I had not acted."

Okay, Beatrice really didn't want to go to Valdemar. Yuri no problem. I've written the part where he arrives at least twenty times and each time is more awesome than the last. But little miss Beatrice- nope, not gonna happen. However, you will note that since this chapter is written and so is the next one, I won. I may have had to frog march her little butt to Valdemar, but I get her there! So, in other words I blame Beatrice that this chapter took so long. Also, again, sorry for the weird delay in posting the latter half of this. As always, let me know what you think!