So I finally got my view tracker back, and finally decided I definitely need to slow this down. For now, I'm posting what I was already going to this week, and then I'll think this over.

Once again, a number of things happened at once. The chief incident came as Hector entered Mel's chamber, just as two Olive Men pushed the box out the door. "The Feast is almost ready to start," he said. "The Lord and Lady are invited to sing."

"I have already offered that honor to Morrie," Ajax said. "We will be there by the time he plays. Ah, is Naam to be there?"

"Yes," an Attendant answered. "He withdrew for a private audience. It is reported that he was to speak with Lady Lemmia and her mother, the Empress of Savai."

"I see," Ajax said. "Tell the Attendants to wait for Naam and Pruna to return before commencing the Feast. If the guests grow restless, serve the appetizers."

Even as he spoke, there was another knock. He turned and froze. Pruna stood at the door, accompanied by the two Elite Guards. "My Lord, King Ajax," said one of the Guards, "Empress Pruna requests a private audience."

"Go ahead," Mel said. "I need to change into something more… me."

He looked to Hector. "I'll go help the Olive Men," his brother said. "Maybe give you a little privacy, eh?"

"We will speak on the balcony," Ajax said, pointing outside.

The balcony was really a raised deck that extended over the water. It joined with a causeway that ran to the pier. Ajax glimpsed the Olive Men at the far end, still pushing Aeacus' box. He overheard the orchestra playing James Horner's "Ride of the Fire Mares". He gazed out at the sea. "So," he said, "you are truly with child."

"Yes," Pruna said. "It is not far along."

"My Lady," Ajax said. He gripped the railing. "There are so many things I have wanted to ask. Many of them would have been unkind. It does not matter now." He finally looked at her. She did not withdraw as he put a hand to her cheek. "You are happy. Truly happy. Do you think you were ever so happy with me?"

"Of course," she said, taking his hand. "You made me happier than any other man. But it was me as I was then. I was not ready for the journey to come. You were not the one to take it with me." She gently removed his hand. "But I am not here to tell you about me. I have feared for you, Alex. I thought you might renounce love because of me. Or, worse, take another and make her fill my place. I asked my Emperor to accept a meeting with his former consort, so that I might ask you… Are you happy with the one you have chosen?"

"Of course," the King said. "I suppose as happy as you made me, not more. But, as you say, I am happy as the man I am now."

They began to talk. He told her of his meeting, their adventures and misadventures, and even of the Wishing Mirror. "Yes, I used it once," she said. "I wanted to see it with you."

"It would not have changed things," Ajax said. "I knew we were not meant to be. I only did not want to believe that Naam would be the one you would choose over me."

"How do you think I have felt?" Pruna said with a smile. "All those Maidens you teased and then let go. I already knew your ways. Say one thing, do another, and tell yourself you are being kind."

"I know, I know," Ajax said. "But it was not just for them, it was for their fathers and their Houses and the peace of the Realm… Now it is done, of course. The Houses are not happy, but they know the price if they do not honor my choice… What is it?"

Pruna was smiling. "I was thinking," she said, "that you are acting like the man who rescued me. I thought he might be dead, or departed forever. Is this what she has brought out in you?"

Ajax smiled in turn. "I cannot say," he said. "My Queen is not like you. In many ways, she is not like me. But she set her mind on having me, and I suppose I had no power to oppose her. I only worry that she may still realize I was not worth it."

"Now that is more like what you had become," Pruna said. "It does not become you."

Ajax glanced at his watch. "Well, it is really time to be going," he said. "We might be late if- My Lady!" He made his exclamation as he turned, ready to protest his innocence to Meliboia. But it was Nopalina in the open doorway, wielding a Fire Plant.

Angelo and Manny conferred in the courtyard where the guests were gathering for the banquet. Morrie was already practicing on a semi-improvised stage. "The guests are happy, for now," Angelo said. "The real headache will be getting Naam in here…"

"Don't worry," Manny said. "This is a happy occasion. Everyone is here for a good time."

Angelo snorted. "With 12 Monarchs in one place?" he said. "The only reason they're all here is so none of them can try anything out of the others' sight. And they're the ones who are supposed to be on the same side." He turned as one of the Palace Guards ran up.

"Captain!" the Guardsman said. "I just entered Naam's quarters. They are empty, and there are signs of struggle. The Emperor of the Lindorms has been taken!"

Angelo gaped. "But how-?" He was still gaping as he flopped to the floor.

Manny held up a mace. "This was unfortunate," he said. He raised a pistol in the other hand. "I only needed to put him out of commission. How about you?"

"I can wait," said the Guard. As he spoke, there was the sound of engines roaring to life.

Mel emerged onto the balcony, still in her wedding dress. She beheld Nopalina, with her Plant raised. Pruna was pressed against the railing, with Ajax in front of her. "Get out of the way, Alexander," the Maiden said. "They don't care about you, not any more."

"What is this, Nopalina?" Mel said. Her compact pistol was drawn.

"You stay out of this," the Maiden said with a sidelong glance. "Don't get involved, and you don't get hurt. He made that a condition." She looked back at Ajax. "You know something? At the start, I felt sorry for you. We all did. I still thought she was the reason you are the way you are. Now I can see, things ended the way they did with her because you were the same then as you are now. Now, get out of the way, or I'll burn you the same as her."

"Don't do it," Mel said.

"I am not moving," Ajax said. "If you would kill me, you would have done it."

"Shut up!" Nopalina shrieked. She turned back to Mel. "It's too late. This was my last chance. They said there would be another if I didn't get it done."

"We can help you," Mel said.

"No," the Maiden said. "But I can give you a shot."

Mel followed her gaze high and to the left, to another overlooking balcony. When Ajax looked intently, he saw an oddly hazy figure, a shape that his eyes and his mind seemed to struggle not to see. The Maiden and his warrior queen fired simultaneously. The spot where they aimed seemed to shimmer in the flame. Mel emptied her clip, and the Plant sputtered and sagged. The form finally dropped into the water, throwing up a cloud of steam. Nopalina dived over the railing, to pop up in her bathing suit, already swimming with steady and forceful strokes. Mel slammed in an extended magazine. Ajax assumed it was a precaution, but she was already taking aim at a disturbance in the water. "What is it?" he asked.

"Short answer, a Pyroderm," Mel said. "Long answer, very, very, very bad." She fired half the new clip as something breached the surface. There was the distinct sound of a ricochet. "Run to the Clipper, both of you!"

There was a distinctive sticky sound as long fingers gripped the railing. The red skin shaded toward purple. "Darmim," Mel said through clenched teeth. "I had to get the one who lives up to the hype…" Suddenly, one of the Elite Guards was at her side, a sickle in each hand.

"Run, your Majesty," he said. "Get our Empress to safety!" As she turned, he hurled a sickle. Simultaneously, tendrils shot out from the assassin's fingertips, weaving one way and then another. The sickle split the attacker's helmet, just before the tendrils struck home, each homing in on a gap in the armor. The Guard collapsed, writhing in agony yet unable to cry out.

"My brother!" shouted a second Guard. He lunged forward, slashing the air. The Pyroderm withdrew its tendrils and cast aside its shattered helmet, revealing red eyes. They slammed together, and then crashed right through the railing, to sink straight into the water.

"Damn!" Mel said as she caught up with Ajax. "They might have taken him out! But we still have to go!"

They came up beside the Clipper, to find the Hector, the crew and the Attendants still loading the box. "Start the engines!" Ajax shouted to the Captain. There was confusion but no hesitation. The engines thrummed to life. Hector extended a hand and pulled up Pruna.

"What is happening?" Hector said. "If there is an emergency, I must go back to my subjects!"

"Someone sent a top-tier assassin after Empress Pruna in broad daylight," Mel said. "Trust me, nobody is going back there."

"But… my children, my Queen," Hector said. He grabbed Ajax by the shoulders. "Daffy! Is she okay?" He pondered. "She… she said she was going to talk to Aeacus. Robert was with her." He looked at Mel. "What is happening? Why are your people really here?"

"You think I'm not thinking about it?" Mel said. "Look on the bright side, if Lady Daffodil ran into Aeacus, she's not dead. Probably." She examined the volley gun battery on the deck. Suddenly, she shouted, "Get down!" They all dived to the deck as the Ataraxes swooped low overhead.

And as the roar passed, Morrie set down his guitar. Biaku and Empress Hama took the stage on either side. "I have an announcement to make," he said. The guests quieted somewhat. "As I speak, certain forces have taken captive Emperor Naam of the Lindorms. I am declaring my support for a new regime, whose leader shall be determined shortly. I am also making known an alliance between my Realm and the Empires of Biarmaland and of Hama of Savai." His audience looked either puzzled or bored, until he unlimbered an automatic crossbow. "Now, all of you are my prisoners!"

Ajax put an arm around his brother. "Fear not, brother," he said. "We have rescued our women before. We can do it again."

"What do you mean we?" Hector said. "You always did the rescuing! You rescued my Princess when I wasn't even along!"

"Yes, but I was barely around when you beat Zog," Ajax said. "Many have told me of the battle. I might have failed, easily."

Ajax turned to Mel. "Aeacus asked us to open his gift in his presence," he said. "That was a distraction, perhaps planned from the beginning. The real objective was not to do with us, perhaps not even with Pruna."

"No," Mel said. "I mean, it's not his plan. He believes in the Myrmidon code. Women are usually protected, children and mothers, always. He would never have taken part in a scheme that involved murdering a woman with child, at least not if he had to send our people do it. So, there's someone bigger."

"But who?" Hector said, his voice drained of emotion.

"That's easy," Pruna said. "I should have known when she came."

"You mean Lemmia?" Ajax asked. "I still would not believe it, if I had a choice. She helped me and my Queen greatly…"

"Not her, her mother," Pruna said. "When she became Naam's consort, she believed that any child she bore would take the throne and add his empire to her own. She did not count on Naam or Lemmia. But she does not give up a plot easily. She would still put her daughter on the throne if she could, even against her will."

"Yes," Ajax said. "In the Mirror World, Cerasa spoke of a war between Lemmia and her mother's empire."

The Clipper had risen from the water and was making good speed. The King looked back. There were no signs of pursuit. In fact, there was gunfire being exchanged between several of the ships in the docks. Still, there were other ships moving to take to the air. He saw a navigator on the sky ship of the Indigo Realm point after them.

The Captain came to Ajax and bowed. "My Lord," he said, "we are aloft at full speed. But where shall we go?"

Ajax stared ahead. Mel stepped to his side and slipped her hand into his. "To the world's end," he said. "And beyond."