Hey guys! I finally finished the final chapter yesterday! I can't wait to get this posted for you guys. I had a thought, should I post twice a week instead of once a week? I'm not sure, let me know you're thoughts.

-owl

Rollan was woken up by a knock on the door. Drowsily he got out of the bed and ambled over to the door. Opening it he found Lucette, already dressed, and Bryer by her side. They both looked tense.

"How quickly can you be ready?" she asked without preamble.

Rollan shrugged. "I only need a few minutes to change. Are we going to talk to Tarik and Nicolai first, then go talk to General Teng?"

Lucette nodded and retreated from Rollan's door, letting him close it.

Five minutes later the pair was being led through the estate by a servant. Rollan noted, as they traversed the building, that everywhere was just as ornate as the halls that had led to the guest rooms where Rollan and Lucette were placed.

"You have half an hour," the servant said as he gestured to the door to the dungeons. "Then General Teng will see you."

"Thank you," Lucette responded with a small smile.

Rollan nodded to the servant as he followed Lucette into the dungeons. Once inside, the heavy door was slammed shut, cutting off the warm light and sending a gust of air past Rollan and Lucette, making their cloaks curl around them.

Lucette led the way down the aisle of cells. Most of them were empty. Scratch that— all of them were empty, up until the cell that housed Tarik and Nicolai. It wasn't huge, but neither was it tiny. Two of the walls were stone bricks, the other two iron bars, facing out into the aisle and into the neighboring cell. Nicolai was snoring, laying on the single bench, while Tarik sat, meditating or something, with his back against the stone wall. Neither Diata or Lumeo were in sight.

"Dare I even ask what Nicolai did to get you two in trouble?" Lucette asked, coming to a stop in front of the cell.

Tarik's eyes opened and a thin smile crossed his face. Nicolai made no movement or indication that he had heard.

"Hello, Lucette, Rollan," Tarik greeted them. "I have yet to get the full story out of him but so far I know that he made an unwanted advance to one of the wives of the visiting generals."

Lucette looked resigned. "Why doesn't that surprise me? Wake him up please?"

Tarik nodded and stood, crossing over to where Nicolai's head lay. He nudged the other man, and, when that didn't wake him, Nicolai was pushed from the bench and onto the stone floor.

"You didn't need to push him off the bench," Lucette protested.

Nicolai, meanwhile, had woken up once pushed from his resting place. He blinked a few times, groggy from sleep and scanned the cell. His gaze stopped on Lucette, at which point he stood up and crossed the cell to stand in front of her, the bars in between them.

"What are you doing here?" he asked, worry prevalent in his voice.

She gave him a dry look. "Getting your ass out of the dungeon you've found yourself in. When Olvan got your message he sent me here to get your two out." Nicolai nor Tarik had anything to say to that, and as such, Lucette continued talking. "Now, is there anything you can tell me that might help me make your case? What happened anyway?"

Nicolai sighed before speaking. "I complimented one of the generals' wives. I meant nothing by it, but her husband overheard and convinced General Teng that I needed to be thrown down here. Tarik was only thrown here by guilt of association."

"And what was it that you said to the woman?"

Nicolai cast a glance over to Rollan, then looked back to Lucette.

"Rollan?" she asked, "could you please go down the aisle a little ways?"

Nodding, Rollan did as asked. Only when he was at least three cell spaces away did Nicolai lean towards his sister and whisper something. In response, Lucette looked like she was ready to slap her brother, though she refrained from doing so.

"Alright, then," she said finally, in a clipped tone. "I will go and plead your case. You owe me."

With that she marched back down the hall towards the door that they had come through in the first place, Rollan following behind her once she passed him.

Once the servant had led the pair to General Teng's meeting room and had left, Lucette turned to Rollan. "I don't want you in this meeting. Maybe you can join us for the meeting about why Nicolai and Tarik were sent here, but for now, explore and see what you can find. I'll find you before lunch."

Though Rollan was annoyed that he would not get to be in the meeting that would decide the fate of Tarik and Nicolai, he accepted it without question and wandered from the meeting room into the estate.

Eventually he found his way out to the gardens. The rich greens of the various different plants was still odd to Rollan, compared to the dirty, gray, city of Concorba, or even the silvery gray walls of Greenhaven. The different flowers growing among the greenery and along the paths were also pretty.

He had been in the gardens for almost an hour, having gotten lost at some point and unable to find his way back to the estate. All the paths around him would eventually bring him back to a center clearing, which would be good, one would think, but only if that was the place that they were trying to go.

He was about to give up and try to call for Essix (who he had not seen since she had flown out of his window when he woke up), when he turned onto another path and heard something. It wasn't the noises of the garden; leaves rustling, birds chirping, insects buzzing. Rather it was the sound of a stick being swung through the air, making a 'swoosh' as it did so.

When he got close enough and peered through the bushes, he saw a young girl, maybe about his age, facing away from him, holding a quarterstaff and practicing her swing. She was wearing training clothes, which was odd for Rollan to see, as he had never seen a Zhongese noble girl in anything but a rather uncomfortable looking dress and heavy make up.

And Rollan had no doubt that this girl was a noble. The way she held herself as she moved was a clear indicator. Rollan didn't get the chance to pluck up the courage to speak to her because just as he was about to slip out of the bushes, a tall man approached the girl.

"Meilin!" the man snapped. "You know you should not be out here training, where anyone can see you! The other generals are here."

The girl, Meilin, stopped her movement and turned to the man. "I'm well aware. That's why I'm out here. If I were inside, they would be more likely to come across me."

The man shook his head and grabbed Meilin's arm, dragging her towards the house. Or, at least, that's what Rollan hoped as he began to follow them.