In the split second it took to form the haze of scarlet red magic around him, Mikkel nearly felt the influence of that Seelie fae interfering with the teleportation spell. If contact had been made, the teleportation would have been stopped, and Mikkel would've been caught red-handed with the enchanted compass in his thieving hands.

Luckily for him, he was gone before that could happen.

The haze faded away, slower than it had appeared, to reveal a parlour in the Unseelie Court palace decorated in the colour blue. The King and Prince were seated at a wooden table, upon which was an assortment of fruits and a glass pitcher filled with faewine. Lukas and Yao were seated nearby on their own wooden chairs, while Berwald stood a bit further away from everyone. They all turned to observe that he returned, and Mikkel said nothing as he took a couple steps forward towards the table. Once close enough, he waved the compass before tossing it at the King, who managed to raise his hand from his lap in time to swiftly catch it.

"Ah, you succeeded," Gilbert addressed as he observed the compass.

"It was far too easy, really," Mikkel boasted, "I just had to wait for her to pull it out of her pocket, then I swooped in and plucked it straight from her hand. Got out of there in the nick of time too, was almost prevented from teleporting."

"Well done," Gilbert praised as he tossed it to Lukas, "That's three done, and one to go."

"I was able to get some information too," Mikkel offered, "The humans have plans you might want to know about."

"What can you tell us?" Ludwig asked.

"That human who rode in just as we were leaving the faerie ring was Prince Alfred of Aegaimore," Mikkel began, "His two companions were Natalya's long-lost elder siblings, a sister named Katerina and a brother named Ivan. It was Katerina that I stole the compass from."

"Small world," Berwald noted.

"It gets smaller," Mikkel continued, "Apparently Prince Alfred is Natalya's true love, but having her here in Yuvalon is diminishing the likelihood that their fate of being together will happen. The Solyran Princes told the newcomers what Antonio told them about her betrothal to Gilbert, much to their shock and horror."

"The Prince of Aegaimore is her true love?" Gilbert repeated, "Ludwig, didn't you say -"

"He is Madeline's brother," Ludwig verified, "She will not be pleased to hear about this development."

"We'll have to reason with her then," Gilbert determined, "Is there more, Mikkel?"

"Plenty more," Mikkel carried on, "The humans want to rescue Natalya and bring her back to the human realm. The two Seelie fae that were there noted that making a new faerie ring would be the move to make, but there would be complications to address."

"There are two major complications to such a plan," Yao explained, "First, they will need the assistance of some powerful fae to make the ring strong enough, so they can have more humans leave Yuvalon than the number that entered. Secondly, the arrival point of the ring in Yuvalon will need to be as close to Natalya as possible."

"Which means they'll need to break into the palace," Gilbert deliberated, "We'll need to reinforce the guards and patrols, particularly around the royal suites and Natalya's room in the guest wing. Any visitors will have to be carefully screened for their intentions, we might not know who would be affiliated with these Seelie fae in question."

"We are also only six days away now from the time for the ritual," Lukas pointed out, "We need additional protection for that too, should they attempt a rescue at that time."

"They have a secondary plan, in case it takes too long to prepare a rescue," Mikkel indicated, "Natalya's siblings and their Seelie fae friend have a human witch on their side. They have a recipe for a potion that would halt Natalya's hunger and thirst while she is in Yuvalon."

"So they'd make the potion, sneak into the castle somehow, and have Natalya drink it?" Berwald realized.

"In the unlikely event that they succeed, it only buys them time," Lukas countered, "Such potions only last a month at most, we'll just have to keep her here long enough for it to wear off."

"Same protocols as before then," Gilbert stood firm, "We ramp up the guards and the patrolling to prevent such a measure."

"The potion might not even be necessary," Yao contemplated, "If we complete the ritual in six days time, that will allow human food back into Yuvalon without rotting. In the aftermath, we can bring her human food and drink, and there will be no need for her to starve or thirst. Then it's just a matter of you convincing her to turn fae and marry you, Your Majesty."

"Good point, I will keep that in mind," Gilbert approved, "If she behaves herself, human food and water can be a reward."

"Last thing I have to report on is Francis," Mikkel redirected, "Nobody took too kindly to him helping you whisk Natalya away like that, so the Princes had him locked up in Niba's dungeon to await future punishment."

"He can stay there a few days," Gilbert dismissed, "We have what we need from him for the ritual anyways, so no sense raising suspicions by trying to rescue him."

"What about the protection you offered him?" Ludwig charged, "In exchange for Natalya?"

"It was specifically from the rest of the Unseelie fae that I promised him protection, not other humans," Gilbert corrected, "Still, bringing him here to Tivalon as soon as the ritual is complete will be easier if we know where he is. As long as the humans don't kill him first, but I doubt they'd do that for simply assisting in Natalya's abduction."

"That's everything I had to report on," Mikkel finished, "Now we just need those iron ring prototypes."

"They will be ready for collection tomorrow," Ludwig elaborated, "Both ringmakers will be doing their final quality checks on the golden rings, Madeline and I specifically requested that the iron rings be handed over with the gold when they are complete."

"You'll have to watch what you say around Madeline," Gilbert warned, "It might be for the best that we keep Madeline unaware of Natalya's presence in Yuvalon for the time being."

"It will likely be tomorrow night that I go to visit her again," Ludwig planned, "I've already been in the human realm a lot these last two days."

"Yes, you have all been very busy," Gilbert considered, "We have six days to work with, so all of you should take it easy tonight and get some rest."

"So you're saying we're off duty for the night?" Mikkel prodded.

"I did not say that," Gilbert amended, "I'm just making it an easy shift for you."

"Oh come on," Mikkel pleaded, "Call it a night already. The palace is secure, and there's other guards on duty who can patrol the quarters."

"He's not wrong, you know," Berwald supported.

"Ugh, fine," Gilbert groaned, "You're all dismissed."