[KINDLE'S PoV]

I could count on one hand the number of things I truly hated. One of those things was seeing Faye cry. And when I relayed the results of Blondie's tea with Lydia, Faye sobbed.

I comforted her to the best of my ability, but my ability was limited and it didn't achieve much. Carlyle floated at my side. He had always been better at the comforting thing, but Faye obviously couldn't hear him now. I tried not to think how much easier this all would be if he were still alive.

"Poor Magpie, all alone in the forest—the Wildlands." Faye shuddered, wringing her hands and sniffling. "It won't be long before a shifter finds her, you know that's why Lydia sent her out there."

I nodded, my jaw clenching reflexively.

Carlyle cleared his throat. "...Maggie had goodbye messages... She wanted to thank Faye for all she's done, and how kind she's been."

"Maggie said to thank you for everything you've done for her, and how kind you were while she was here," I echoed for Faye to hear, then added, "Inari told me."

There was only silence from Faye, until she whirled on me with a furious glint in her eyes. She reached up and crushed the collar of my shirt into her fists, dragging my face to eye level. "You need to go get her. Now."

"Faye." I carefully loosened her fingers and squeezed her hands in mine as I straightened. "We can't bring her back here, you know that. And it's been hours, who knows where she is now?"

"...Maggie had a message for you too, Kindle. She said 'it was nice'..."

"Emrys would know, just ask her." Faye's eyes were pleading. "And you don't have to bring Magpie back here, Carmen's been needing an assistant, and at least in Loftwood I can visit her."

"...And you can keep the sketch..."

I swallowed the lump that rose in my throat and sighed. "Alright, you win," I said to both of them.

It took me longer than I expected to find Emrys, but at least when I happened upon her she was alone. Inari wasn't the biggest fan of Blondie to begin with, and I doubted she would be happy with me roping her girlfriend into a plot to bring her back.

Emrys was tending to her garden just outside the manor, and seemed to be deep in conversation with a patch of blue flowers. Dryads were an interesting bunch, to say the least.

"Em, could I get your help with something?"

She glanced up from where she knelt in the mud. "Oh, good afternoon Kindle. What do you need?"

"Can you um," I paused, searching for the right words. "Can you speak to the trees or whatever it is you do and find out if they saw a blonde human girl recently? I need to know what direction she went."

"You're looking for a human?" Emrys echoed, her voice barely more than a gentle murmur. Her mossy freckles darkened slightly against her bark brown skin as she smiled. "My friend, you are quite odd."

I rolled my eyes, fighting a growl. "Yeah, and I know you'll tell Nar, and I'll never hear the end of it, but can you help? I'll, I don't know, help you kill some weeds ore something."

"Thank you for the offer, but there is no need. The weeds can be rude at times, but generally they mind their own business." Emrys rose to her feet. She didn't bother wiping the mud from her legs, but then again what was a little mud going to do to someone who was essentially a living, girl-shaped tree. She walked barefoot into the forest at a leisurely pace, gesturing for me to follow her.

I pulled my hood further over my head. The rain from this morning had ended, thank the gods, but the air was still damp and I wanted to keep as much moisture off my skin as possible. Fire and rain did not mix.

Emrys stopped in front of a massive oak tree and pressed her hand to its base. Tiny little vines wriggled out from her fingertips and spread across the bark. I watched from a distance as she closed her eyes and tipped her head back. She remained perfectly still for several breaths before murmuring a quiet thank you and releasing her grip on the tree.

She pointed North. "The blonde human ran that way, tripped three times, and then was intercepted."

My blood cooled. "By?"

"The oak wasn't sure, he could only hear the horses, but the aspen says she was stopped by Luminous soldiers. They were patrolling the area, looking for us."

Humans, not shifters. I wasn't sure if I should be relieved. Surely humans were less danger to Blondie than the magical beings that live in the Wildlands, but Blondie wasn't a usual human. Lumina has never taken kindly to those who are different. "What happened?"

"She got on one of their horses. They're taking her East, to the human village, Eirwen." Emrys curled her toes in the mud and rocked ever so slightly in place. "That is all the information I was able to gather, is it sufficient?"

"Yeah, thanks Em."

She smiled before strolling off to talk to more flowers in some other part of the forest.

I flexed my fingers at my side, considering if I really wanted to do this. Stepping foot in Eirwen, dark skinned and fire-eyed as I am, was suicide. Though perhaps in this case the more appropriate terminology would be murder by mermaid.

I pushed the creeping fear from my mind and retrieved a horse from the stable. It was a two hour ride from the manor to the gates of Eirwen, and by the time I arrived the sun was already was beginning its descent. Parlahk, the pale moon, was barely visible in the twilight. It was still too early to see the smaller purple crescent, Movalissa. I never cared to look for her, anyway.

I tied my horse's reins to a tree out of sight from Eirwen's gate—a gate I cursed myself for forgetting about. There were always Luminous knights stationed at the entrance, and it looked like today they'd been doubled. Of course, it was just my luck.

I kept my distance as I circled tall stone wall that guarded Eirwen, looking for a place to climb. "Suicide," I muttered. "Complete and total idiocy."

The back corner of the wall was slightly eroded, and the stones jutted out in a way that I could easily scale. I waited until the sun had fallen further, in hopes that my cloak would blend in with the darkening sky. I made it up and over the wall in seconds, it may have been the fastest I'd climbed anything in my life.

As my feet touched down on the dirt in the shadows behind a shop of some sort, I let out a relieved breath—

Only to suck it right back in as the cool, sharp blade of a sword pressed to the nape of my neck. A shudder ran down my spine at the icy temperature of the steel, my hood had fallen during the climb.

"Turn. Slowly." The knight—I assumed she was a knight, anyway—spoke with a clear, cold voice.

My palms itched to be set ablaze, but that would only seal my fate sooner. Under my cloak I brushed my fingers against the hilt of my dagger. I did as I was told and met the woman's eyes.

They were brown, human, as expected, and they widened noticeably as we locked gazes. I knew what she saw of course. Firestone. A color that was all but extinguished in nature, one that unmistakably marked me as what I was.

Well, if she was a knight she was unlike any I'd encountered before. Though she looked to be my age she was at least a head shorter, and she wore no armor. But she did wield a sword with the ease of someone who'd had years of training, and she had the stance of a strong fighter.

We were both silent, her eyes went from wide with shock to calculating slits. I didn't know what she was thinking, but I could guess— should she kill me now, or take me before King Jareth himself? He'd wiped out the rest of my people almost singlehandedly, it was only right that he get to finish the job.

But then she backed up, sheathed her sword. "The tavern," she said. "Wait until they light the lanterns."

She left me alone in the alley, deeply confused by whatever had just transpired.

Slowly, the sky grew darker, and every so often I would check to see if the lanterns that lined the cobbled streets had been lit yet. After what must have been an hour of waiting, the lanterns were finally given flame and I emerged from the alley.

I was careful to keep my face under the shadow of my hood, but walked as casually as I could manage toward the tavern. I didn't know why I listened to the knight, she could have easily had a trap waiting for me. Why would she help me?

At the door of the tavern, a familiar blonde braid shone gold in the lantern light. "I'll be damned," I muttered.

I should have wondered how the knight knew who I was here for, but in the moment I was relieved to see Blondie unharmed. I sped up and lifted my hand to catch her attention, but froze when a figure in armor bearing the Luminous royal crest joined her.

The tall, armored boy bowed clumsily. "W-well, Lady Jacintha, it was a meet you to pleasure." He shot upright, his light brown skin going beet red. "I s-seem to keep making a fool of myself. I b-beg your pardon, most radiant miss."

Blondie stifled a laugh and blushed as well, which wasn't surprising, seeing as blushing came as natural to her as breathing. "It was a pleasure to meet you too, Cas. I hope you have a safe trip."

Cas? I studied the tall boy more intently, noting the dark red curls and freckled complexion. I had only seen Prince Casimir Lousvar of Lumina a handful of times, more than a decade ago, but it was indeed him standing with Blondie at that moment.

My hand closed around my dagger. It would take me only a second to close the distance and slit his throat. There were no guards around, and no one close enough to stop me. I could kill him, grab Blondie, and get away in a matter of moments. It would be a fitting exchange between Lumina's king and I— blood for blood.

My chance evaporated as two knights emerged from the tavern. One, I recognized as the woman who'd caught me in the alley. She was in full armor now, with her black hair braided back into a tight bun. She met my eyes and gave me a curt nod before pulling her helmet into place and closing the visor.

"Highness, please." The other knight, a tired looking man with a scar across his face, sighed, "it's growing late, you've already spent all day talking the maiden's ear off."

"Very sorry Julian, you're correct." Casimir bowed his head to the knight, then turned back to Blondie. "H-have I annoyed you terribly?"

Blondie shook her head fiercely. "Of course not! I think you're charming, I wish we could talk more."

Casimir took her hand in both of his. "W-we could, if you'd consider accepting invitation—the invitation. You will, won't you? I would very, very much like to s-see you again."

"Perhaps." Blondie nodded, then hugged Casimir. The prince, in turn, looked as though he might collapse.

The scarred knight, Julian, rolled his eyes and muttered something under his breath before putting his helmet on.

"Goodbye to you too, Juju," Blondie teased as she released Casimir.

Julian grunted, and took the reins of a stallion the female knight handed off to him.

"Juju... I may have to steal that nickname," Casimir said with a smile as he accepted the reigns to his own horse. He gave Blondie one last pleading glance. "I do hope you'll come. I'll wait for you the whole night—if, ah, if that doesn't sound too f-forward...?"

Blondie shrugged. "I mean, you've called me 'the most beautiful creature you've laid eyes on' at least five times today, is being forward even a concern?" At Casimir's horrified expression, she laughed and apologized. "I'm only teasing. It's fine, like I said— you're a regular prince charming."

Casimir smiled again, shuffled in place, waved, then lead his horse and the rest of his entourage in the direction of the gate and waved again. All of this seemed to have been done as awkwardly as physically possible. I almost felt bad for the guy.

"Do you think she'll come, Julian?" He asked quietly as he and his party passed me.

"I certainly hope not, you'll somehow manage to trip over a candelabra and set all of Réalta ablaze."

"Well I don't know about you, but I think that was the funniest thing I've ever seen," the confusing female knight added. "You know I will never let you live that down right? I'm beautiful because you're so nervous!"

Casimir sighed, "I missed you too, dear Lion."

"I know you did."

I waited in the shadow of a building until they were a safe distance away and unlikely to turn back for another round of awkward goodbyes, then I approached Blondie.

She tensed, until I pulled my hood back enough for her to see my face. "Kindle? What are you doing here?" She gaped.

"I'm not here of my own accord, Faye sent me. But I think if anyone has something to explain it would be you... Lady Jacintha, was it?" I arched an eyebrow.

Blondie blushed and waved a dismissive hand. "I panicked and told Cas my name was Jackie, then one of the knights asked me if that was short for Jacintha so I just went with it."

I shook my head in amazement. "How did you manage to get on first name basis with the prince of Lumina in one day?"

"It's kind of a weird story? But um..." She glanced around. Even at night the village was bustling. "It's definitely not safe for you here, right? We should talk somewhere else."

"I have a horse waiting outside the gate. You can explain on the way back to the manor." I said, and started walking.

"Wait, wait, wait," Blondie grabbed my arm. "I'm not going back."

"What?"

"I'm not going back there. Lydia said if I came back, she'd hurt Faye."

"You don't have to stay in the manor, Faye wants you to stay with her friend Carmen in Loftwood. But if you have a connection to the prince, that's something that can be used to the Order's advantage. You need to speak to Seraphim." I tried to move forward again, but she continued to hold me in place.

"Only if you promise to take me to Loftwood immediately after. And promise that I'll be safe—or at the very least that this won't reflect back on Faye."

This wasn't a promise I could make. In the end, Blondie's safety was up to Seraphim. It would be right for me to tell her that, to give her the choice to not return to the manor at all. But a tie to the prince, a way inside the palace of Lumina, was the opportunity we'd been waiting for for years.

"I promise."

~*~

On the ride back to the manor, Blondie regaled me with the tale of her chance encounter with Prince Casimir, and how he seemed to have short-circuited upon meeting her.

For the entire ride I barely spoke, except once to ask her about the female knight— there hadn't been a female knight, Blondie said. At least not that she'd noticed. I told her how a knight had intercepted me, but let me go. And told me where to find her.

Blondie shrugged it off, and continued on with some oh so hilarious thing Casimir had said in the tavern.

Ten minutes from the manor, Blondie stopped her story and released her hold around my torso to tap me on the shoulder.

"What?" I asked, turning my head slightly.

"Just making sure you're okay. You're shoulders are like, super rigid right now," she noted.

I shrugged. "I'm just a not as impressed with your prince charming as you seem to be."

Blondie snorted and returned her hold to my waist as the horse jostled. "If I didn't know you better, I'd say you're jealous."

"You don't know me," I answered, a bit too quickly. I winced as the harshness of my own words registered.

"I mean..." Blondie recoiled and loosened her grip. "Sorry."

We stayed silent the rest of the ride. I wanted to apologize, but I didn't want to go into the minutia of why discussing the prince irked me. It wasn't Blondie's fault, this was a hatred based on years of war.

When we reached the stables I helped Blondie down, then got some fresh hay and water for the horse. "We'll go in this way." I gestured to a door at the other end of the stables. "It's a more direct route to the throne room, that way we won't have to go through the most populated part of the manor."

"Gotcha." Blondie twisted her fingers into the end of her braid and waited for me to finish removing the horse's saddle.

We didn't run into anyone else on the way to the throne room, and when we reached the central hall it was eerily silent. Perhaps everyone was in the dining room.

I reached up to knock on the throne room door, but paused and glanced over my shoulder at Blondie. "Seraphim is... difficult to deal with at times. Just keep quiet until instructed and don't say anything about Lydia. Or Faye."

"What is it with all these rules— can't talk about you to Lydia, can't talk about Lydia to her husband? And what does Faye have to do with any of this?" Blondie asked, her nose and brows crinkling.

"The Order has been together for over a decade now. There's a lot of history," I sighed. History, yeah. We were the realm's most dysfunctional family.

I took a breath to brace myself for whatever version of Seraphim waited on the other side of the door, then knocked.

"...Enter." Tired, calm. Not angry, not in pain—meaning he'd already been dosed with venom for the day. He would be somewhat easier to deal with in this state, but far more difficult to reason with. Talking strategy was completely out of the question.

Another deep breath, and I pushed open the door.

Seraphim, praises to the gods, was alone on his throne, flipping through a book with a scowl. Lydia's throne was empty. I released the breath and let myself relax a bit.

I walked into the center of the room, listening for the indication that Blondie had followed me. Seraphim continued to flip through the book, page after page, not stopping to read the words. When he didn't acknowledge my presence, I cleared my throat.

He looked up, his icy blue eyes bewildered. "Why didn't you knock?"

I pursed my lips and bowed low from my waist. "Sincerest apologies for my rudeness, Your Majesty."

"Yes, well, I'm busy..." He flipped through a few more pages in the book, then flipped back. He looked up again. "What do you want?"

I cleared my throat. "This human, Maggie." I moved aside and urged her to step in front of me, which she did hesitantly. "She's received an invitation to the royal palace from Prince Casimir Lousvar himself. I believe this can be used to our advantage."

Seraphim was silent for several breaths, and I wondered if he forgot we were there. But then he closed his book and sat straighter. Deep under the fog, I could see his former brilliance and calculation as he studied Blondie. "Why would a human help us?"

"Because I want to go home," Blondie answered with more bravery than I expected. "I'm not from here. I have no ties to the humans you want revenge against, so if aiding you means you'll help me find a way back to my world then I can do whatever you need."

Seraphim narrowed his eyes and leaned forward in his throne. "Home," he echoed. "Where is home, for you?"

Blondie shifted in place. "I'm... not really sure how to explain it, but I'm from somewhere else entirely. Somewhere with only one moon, with no magic."

There was another long stretch of silence. Seraphim leaned back in his throne. "A different realm. A sky with a single moon... I feel as though I've heard talk of such a place, long ago..."

Blondie stepped forward, her eagerness getting the better of her. "Really? Well, what do you remember? Have people from here travelled there? Is there a way I can—"

"Beloved, who are you speaking to?" The door to Seraphim's bed chambers creaked open and Lydia emerged, draped in a violet sleeping robe with her silver spirals loose.

I tensed.

Blondie stumbled back, her fingers trembling as she reflexively took hold of my arm.

Lydia's eyes fell on me first, before they swept to Blondie. I watched her hone in on Blondie's tightening grip on my forearm. Her expression morphed into one of carefully contained rage.

"You."