Alfred entered the meeting room, quickly scouted the place and nodded in approval. No side doors to this room, no windows, and no discreet corners meant that no spies from the Unseelie Court could snoop on them this time around. He approached the large table at the centre of the room, where Katerina and Ivan were already seated to one side while Lovino stood by a chair across from them.
"Are we just waiting on Feliciano and Erika then?" Alfred asked as he approached Lovino's side of the table
"Feliciano went to check on her," Lovino answered, "She might have to miss this meeting."
"The poor girl," Katerina pitied, "You're certain that nothing can be done to help her?"
"We genuinely don't know how to help," Lovino explained as Alfred went around him, "Antonio's description of the spell indicated that Erika had to accomplish something in this realm. Her failure to do so in a timely manner is making it painful to remain human."
"Perhaps we could ask Tolys about it," Ivan offered.
"We already have him busy enough at the moment," Alfred reminded as he sat down in the chair to Lovino's right, "He's helping Erzsébet this morning, right?"
"Yes, preparing the potion and setting wards around the cottage," Katerina relayed, "As soon as they are done, Erzsébet will ride here while he takes the potion to Tivalon. She said it would likely take until nightfall to finish brewing it."
"Speaking of Tivalon, I suppose I should summon Arthur," Alfred said as he took the gemstone out of his pocket.
"No harm in doing that now, Feliciano should be down at any moment."
As Lovino spoke, Alfred rubbed the gemstone with his finger and sent Arthur a message.
We're ready for you in the meeting room.
Alfred pocketed the gemstone once again, just as Feliciano entered the room and shut the doors behind him.
"Erika is not coming," Feliciano declared, "She still can't step out of her bed without immediately collapsing."
As Feliciano sat down between Ivan and Lovino, Arthur appeared and was quickly followed by another fae with light brown hair and wings and red eyes.
"Good morning everyone," Arthur greeted, "May I introduce my old friend and colleague, Vladimir."
"Hello everyone," Vladimir addressed, "If I may guess, the lady here is the sister, and beside her the brother?"
"Yes, we are Natalya's siblings," Ivan confirmed.
"Which would make you other three the Princes of Solyra and Aegaimore," Vladimir deduced, "I am pleased to meet you, Your Highnesses."
"I am Prince Lovino, my brother is Feliciano," Lovino introduced, "We appreciate any assistance you can provide us."
"And that would make you Prince Alfred, Your Highness?" Vladimir figured out, "Arthur tells me you're the true love of the young lady we need to rescue?"
"That is all correct," Alfred verified, "Please do have a seat."
The two fae sat in the remaining chairs, Arthur directly beside Alfred and Vladimir between Arthur and Katerina.
"I already informed Vladimir of the situation and what we intend to do," Arthur brought up to speed, "Natalya has been taken captive by the Unseelie King, and we need to rescue her from Tivalon before she can be turned fae."
"Arthur told me about the intended use of a faerie ring," Vladimir added on, "A party of humans could pass into Yuvalon, search the realm for Natalya, and return safely to the human realm after with her tagging along."
"He told us that too," Ivan directed, "Is it possible, and if so, what do we need in order to make it happen?"
"I have personally seen it done before," Vladimir detailed, "For centuries, my family has straddled the line of neutrality between the Seelie and Unseelie Courts, so we've seen previous rescue attempts. Some were successful, others were not, and the occasional one turned out disastrously. In terms of a faerie ring allowing more humans to return to the human realm than the number that entered, there are certain variables that affect the success rate."
"What are these variables?" Feliciano
"First is the magic that creates the portal in the first place," Vladimir described, "One fae is sufficient for a basic faerie ring, but having a fae on each side - the human realm and the fae realm - guarantees the destination of the portal on each side. For the number of humans we want to have passing through each way, we'll need an additional fae on the Yuvalon side of the ring, to maintain the portal. This will help keep its magic tolerable and strong when the humans leave the realm with the extra person."
"There's you and I, of course," Arthur identified, "Tolys has some magic too, he's descended from human witches, so he should be able to assist."
"We'll discuss the matter with him then," Vladimir accepted, "He may be suitable as the second fae in Yuvalon. You and I can split up, one in Yuvalon with Tolys and the other here in the human realm."
"We have time to make sure his magic is proficient enough," Arthur outlined, "If not, I can reach out in my network for further volunteers."
"The second variable is the number of people passing through the faerie ring," Vladimir continued, "On the one hand, having a fae among the humans who take the portal into Yuvalon opens the spot for the return trip if the fae stays behind."
"So we need yet another fae," Lovino mumbled.
"Tolys has a bunch of friends helping him this evening with delivering Erzsébet's potion," Katerina suggested, "Perhaps one of them will help with the rest of this."
"Feliks probably would," Ivan amended, "Tolys has brought him to meet us before."
"We'll talk to them on the matter," Arthur approved, "Provided their plans for tonight do not result in imprisonment, of course."
"The other part to the group is the number of humans travelling," Vladimir advanced, "Having more people go through the portal into Yuvalon in the first place diminishes the odds of the portal closing on the extra person at the end. Though we'll try to have the extra spot filled by a fae on the way over, a bigger group of humans spreads the odds better as well."
"How many people are we thinking?" Feliciano inquired, "You're not suggesting a whole legion of humans, right?"
"A party of six would be ideal," Vladimir specified, "Five humans entering and leaving, as well as a fae that can stay behind after. While a bigger team would make the faerie ring easier to manage, a smaller team would be far more tactical in this case, considering the last variable for this faerie ring."
"What's the last variable?" Alfred prodded.
"Location in Tivalon," Vladimir brought up, "You intend to rescue someone being held directly by the Unseelie King. This would require the two fae making the ring from the Yuvalon side to somehow get into the Unseelie Palace first, ideally in the same part of the castle that she is. That's the one part I do not know how to arrange for you. I do not have any connections in the Unseelie Court that would have close enough access to the King, let alone dare to go against him."
"I do not have close connections either," Arthur denied, "And Tolys is from the woodlands, so I'd be surprised if he knew anyone. To be completely fair, Vladimir, if any of us involved were to have connections, you'd be the closest."
"So what happens if we can't find someone to get us in?" Lovino grilled, "I assume, by the way you're wording this, that a group of humans sneaking through the backdoor of the castle would be difficult?"
"Nearly impossible," Arthur shot down, "Both the Seelie and Unseelie are very protective of their royal families, the strongholds are kept under heavy guard and patrol."
"Perhaps Tolys will have some ideas," Katerina advised, "To deliver the potion, he'll have to observe the castle closely and find the safest way in to get to Natalya."
"I don't suppose flying is an option, is it?" Alfred proposed, "Having a couple fae whisk Natalya from her balcony? You did lift me from the ocean two weeks ago, Arthur, surely there's a hint of a chance of that working."
"I only had to lift you for about a minute there, and that was already pushing my limits," Arthur refused, "For a flight rescue, our fae would have to be both strong enough to carry Natalya and fast enough to evade the Unseelie guards who will try to stop them. That will not work, we're better off sneaking into the castle."
"It sounds like we should wait to hear from Tolys then," Ivan upheld, "At least the potion gives us time to come up with a plan on how to get inside."
"Returning to the variables we can address," Vladimir diverted, "Who all is intending to travel to Yuvalon on this rescue mission?"
"I definitely am," Alfred answered first.
"So am I," Ivan replied next.
"And me too," Katerina volunteered, prompting a shocked look from her brother, "This is our baby sister, Ivan, you're not leaving me behind."
"I will go as well," Lovino offered, "Which means Feliciano has to stay behind."
"Lovi, you can't be serious," Feliciano whined, "Why can't I come along to Yuvalon?"
"One of us needs to keep the Solyran throne secure," Lovino justified, "If something happens to me, you're my backup."
"You should at least take someone from Niba with you then," Feliciano insisted, "One of our guards, maybe, just to have your back so the worst doesn't happen."
"Good thought," Lovino allowed, "I'll talk to Lars about it."
"You won't be the only one that has to stay behind, Feliciano," Alfred added on, "Madeline has always wanted to see Yuvalon, but she is my backup for Aegaimore. Speaking of which, Arthur, should we have Madeline open the Treasury for this rescue mission?"
"The Treasury?" Ivan asked.
"The Royal Family of Aegaimore has heirlooms from the Kirkland side of the family," Arthur explained, "Specialized fae weapons enchanted with additional magical properties, gifted to King Matthew at the birth of his son by his own Seelie father. They have not yet been used in these ten generations, but it was a security measure in case other fae parties ever attempted to harm the fae-blessed Royal Family. Iron already burns faeries, so any iron daggers and swords would be suitable for our mission. However, there is a set of daggers in the Treasury that are also glamoured, so that fae cannot see them."
"That would certainly work for protection," Vladimir approved, "Ideally our rescue party would sneak in and out without any detection, but having enchanted daggers as a last line of defense would be wise."
"Madeline's ship will be ready to depart tomorrow morning," Arthur reported, "I can visit her after this meeting to request she bring the daggers."
"In that case, we'll be waiting a few days before the rescue attempt?" Feliciano checked, "We need Madeline to bring the daggers, and we need a way into Tivalon."
"Erzsébet will be joining us at that time too," Ivan included, "Perhaps her witchcraft may also be of use."
"In that case, we know what we must do," Vladimir confirmed, "As long as the potion is successfully delivered tonight, we'll have time to prepare."