On the second floor of the library, tucked into the darkest corner, Berwald stood perfectly still as he eavesdropped on the humans. It had been easy enough to follow them back to Niba, the tricky part had been using his glamour to sneak into the castle. Once the Princes and the ladies had made it into the library, Berwald found the perfect hiding spot to listen in on their conversation.
And what a conversation it was. Even after an already busy day and night, this was certainly worth the extended stay in the human realm.
The humans made their closing remarks, and wished each other good sleep for the rest of the night, as they rose from their chairs and left the library. Knowing there would be nothing else, Berwald pulled a gemstone out of his pocket and sent a message.
Is everyone still awake? I have a report to make.
He waited patiently in the quiet dark of the library a moment longer, contemplating where in Tivalon he should teleport to, before receiving a message from Mikkel.
We're all still awake, you can join us.
Berwald nodded, before focusing on the gemstone's magic to pinpoint the location of the other gemstone the message came from. He started up the teleportation spell, a magical haze of icy blue magic surrounding him to obscure the human realm, before fading away to reveal a familiar red parlour. His fellow guard stood close by, while Lukas and Yao were across the room leaning against a table. On the couch sat the King and Prince, who had both changed into more comfortable clothes in preparation to turn in for the night. The King laid back comfortably on the cushions while the Prince sat straight and upright.
"Well?"
"The mute mermaid was our undoing, Your Majesty," Berwald reported, "The young lady who nearly stepped into the faerie ring instead of Natalya is the same mermaid Antonio told us about."
"So it was the mermaid after all," Ludwig noted.
"She heard her voice luring Natalya out of the castle," Berwald continued, "She roused the princes and staff to catch up to Natalya and stop her, just short of the clearing where we set up the faerie ring. Prince Feliciano figured out very easily that we were trying to abduct her."
"The siren song was thwarted by the siren herself," Gilbert summarized, "That's not a twist of fate you hear about every day."
"They intend to return to the clearing tomorrow," Berwald finished, "Prince Feliciano realized he failed to step on a mushroom and close the faerie ring permanently, so they want to investigate in the daylight and complete that task."
"That will be our next opportunity then," Gilbert declared, "Provided no other wandering beings enter the clearing before then to break the ring on us."
"We left Francis nearby in the forest for the night," Ludwig suggested, "We'll need someone to return one last time and ask him to stand guard by the faerie ring. That way, when they arrive during the day, he can also alert us to their presence."
"That will work," Gilbert agreed, "Let's just hope Natalya has the ribbon on her when she does reappear, otherwise we'll have to sneak into the castle to find it after."
"If I may ask, Your Majesty," Berwald requested, "How does a hair ribbon fit into the ritual?"
"The ribbon was enchanted by Francis to grow Natalya's hair long," Lukas explained, "It also tied her hair together, so it would not sway so wildly in the wind when hanging outside the tower. It is the second elemental trinket we need, it represents air."
"And we already have a seashell with a siren's voice for water," Mikkel added, "What else do we need then?"
"There was a compass and a pair of rings," Gilbert recalled, "We haven't looked closely at them yet, Yao, perhaps you can now?"
Yao raised his hand to the air and summoned magic to create a red vision circle, the haze inside spinning at the direction of his fingers.
"We need the compass that was enchanted by a human witch for incredible accuracy across unfamiliar terrain," Yao described, "The wielder will never lose their way as they cross the lands, which connects the compass to earth. It is the most precious possession of a young woman who has a very close relationship to the witch, she is currently on her way to Niba."
"That makes sense," Mikkel commented, "Looks like we're returning to Niba for more than just Natalya."
"And that would mean the rings represent fire?" Gilbert guessed.
"Yes, and that will be the last item we collect," Yao outlined as he swirled the magic again, "Not only does the iron burn the fae, but the rings represent the flames of forbidden - Oh."
"Oh?" Gilbert echoed.
Yao's black wings turned opaque while he glanced around the room, rather like a child caught in a candy jar, before looking directly at Prince Ludwig.
"I think you should come take a look at this, Your Highness," Yao hesitantly suggested, "Before I tell everyone what it is."
"What is it?" Ludwig asked as he rose from his seat and walked over, his own yellow wings turning opaque on alert.
Yao did not speak, but he moved the circle and made it larger as Ludwig walked to his side. The soothsayer also added a haze to the other side, so that nobody else could see what exactly he and the Prince were looking at.
"Oh," Ludwig finally muttered, his face blushing an intense red as his wings stiffened a little more.
"Perhaps you would prefer to explain it yourself, Your Highness?" Yao recommended.
"Explain what?" Gilbert grilled as his own silver wings started turning opaque, "Ludwig?"
Ludwig opened his mouth to speak, only to shut it again as he considered what to say.
"I will be right back," Ludwig simply said before vanishing from mid-air.
Everyone in the room stayed quiet for a minute, they all seemed uncertain how to break the awkward silence Ludwig had left them in.
"Yao, what did you just show my little brother?" Gilbert finally demanded.
"Let's give him a moment, Your Majesty," Yao insisted, "I doubt he's running away from the truth."
"The truth?" Mikkel chuckled with a big smile on his face, "Is he hiding something?"
Before anyone could answer Mikkel, Ludwig reappeared in the room, standing directly before his brother. In his hand, he held out a piece of thick red fabric upon which a small metal object rested. Gilbert sat up properly, keeping his eyes sternly fixed on the object.
"Is that -"
"One of the two iron rings you need for the ritual," Ludwig finished for his brother, "Do not touch it, I'm lucky I haven't yet."
"Why do you have an iron ring in Yuvalon?" Gilbert questioned, "And where is the other?"
"The two rings are design prototypes, they are being remade properly in gold," Ludwig detailed, "This one is being remade by our royal jewellers, they will outfit the golden band with a Yuvalon gem. The other iron ring is in the human realm, where the royal jeweller in Thagia is preparing that simpler golden band."
"What are these golden rings for?" Gilbert pried, "And for who?"
"They are wedding rings," Ludwig revealed, "This one in Yuvalon is being made for Princess Madeline of Aegaimore, and the one in Thagia is being made for me."
Berwald blinked in stunned silence, and was not at all surprised to see Gilbert's jaw drop while his eyes shot wide open.
"For you?" Gilbert finally repeated.
Ludwig silently nodded.
"You intend to marry a human?"
"You're already doing so, why can't I?" Ludwig defended, "Mother's death prophecy did not specify that only one of us would marry a human. You can marry Natalya as you've arranged, while I can marry Madeline."
"But why are you marrying a human?" Gilbert sneered.
"Because I fell in love with her," Ludwig justified, "And for the record, she fully supports our plans to conduct the ritual. Once it's complete, she and I will be able to cross the realms freely as we please, she won't have to leave the human realm permanently to marry me."
"Does she not want to join the fae, Your Highness?" Berwald inquired.
"She is willing to do so if necessary," Ludwig answered, "I've convinced her to wait and see what happens first. If the ritual is completed successfully, she might not need to become fae after all."
"At least you have a reason to see the ritual succeed," Gilbert judged, "And she's already a princess in Aegaimore?"
"Yes she is," Ludwig confirmed, "Her brother Alfred is expected to take the throne someday as the next king, provided he can find a queen."
"You said the second iron ring is still in Thagia?" Lukas checked, "As the design prototype for your golden ring?"
"That is correct," Ludwig verified, "Madeline estimated that the golden ring could be ready in time for the ritual, so we can marry as soon as possible after."
"So we just need your princess to recover that iron prototype from her jeweller," Mikkel determined, "And we also need to make sure this one is well taken care of."
"The jeweller here only needs a couple more days to complete Madeline's golden ring," Ludwig reported, "He will need this iron ring for the design quality check, but I can instruct him to return it to me when complete instead of discarding it. I will send word for Madeline to make the same arrangements."
"And in the meantime, we can focus on the remaining items for the ritual," Gilbert decided, "The compass, the ribbon, and my own bride-to-be."