What should have been a peaceful return after their stay at court, proved to be almost more of a hazard then dealing with Ariane.

The moment Vara and Iason arrived, Joseph their steward, came out to greet them and informed them about the riders from Tirèze that had come to ask for aid.

"I am sorry, my lady," Joseph apologized, "I know you must be weary and you are still grieving, but they are persistent."

Vara sighed and looked at Iason. "I suppose we should meet with them as soon as possible." She turned to Joseph. "Tell them we will meet with them in our main room in an hour. We need to wash up and get changed first."

Joseph nodded. "It will be done. I will have food prepared and sent to your room."

"Thank you, Joseph," Vara smiled gratefully. She waited for him to leave before turning to Iason. "Balor is becoming bolder. It worried me."

"Hmm hmm," Iason nodded, "the attacks are more frequent. We have noticed this as well. Do you think it is possible they have allied with Volton or Till?"

Vara bit her lip. "I do not know. If they have, it will not be a good thing. Volton is quite large, even if the population is spread out widely. I do not know much about them. They usually don't interfere with skirmishes outside their own borders, I do know they trade with Lavos at times, especially the border towns."

"Lavos allied with Tirèze though," Iason mused.

Vara nodded. "I'm not so concerned about Till," she said, "the land is not much more than an ice plane."

"Perhaps we will hear more when we speak with these riders," Iason said, "though I wonder why they came here instead of seeking audience with the king."

"I don't know," Vara said, "I suppose we will find out."

...

Zara smirked content as she watched her newfound ally walk away. It had taken months of preparation to find someone that was not as loyal to the house Tirzé as he pretended. That on its own did not mean he would be willing to conspire with her, Zara knew this. Treason, after all, was still punishable by death. And everyone knew she was out of favor. She had to tread carefully.

Now, after much persuasion, and flirtation, the first seeds had been planted. She would start out with small requests, food she preferred, small trinkets. Then she could move on to bigger errands, delivering a letter perhaps. Until finally she would succeed in getting her revenge. Darius would pay for the way he had treated her.

Zara's eyes narrowed as they rested on Darius' beloved new wife. The child would be born soon, but Zara would make sure it wouldn't live for long. There would be no heir for Darius Tirzé. His line would end with him.

"Someone is in a good mood."

Zara looked up at the musical voice. It was that same pesky girl that had mocked her before. Even now she was watching Zara with amusement. "Mind your own business," Zara growled at her.

The girl merely snorted and turned her back on Zara, continuing what she had been doing before.

Zara scoffed and turned her gaze back to the gardens. Another woman that looked like Darius' new wife had joined the scene. Probably a sister, Zara mused. There had been a delegation from Lavos in the palace.

Zara watched as the two women softly conversed and laughed with one another. Zara sneered and laughed to herself. 'Yes', she thought, 'laugh while you can. Soon enough there will be crying, like you've never cried before. And then it will be my turn.' She would have her revenge.

And she would enjoy every second of it.

...

Washed up and in clean clothes, Vara and Iason now sat across the riders from Tirèze in the large, cozy main room.

The riders had barely acknowledged Vara and had directed their entire speech towards Iason. Vara had decided to let it slide for now, though she could tell it irritated Iason.

When they had finished their request, Vara cleared her throat. "We will honor your request for aid, not only because Zeir and Tirèze are allied, but also because king Darius is my kin through his sister's marriage with prince Cyrus. Please give us some time to make arrangements. If you wish, you may use one of the messenger birds to bring word to your king."

The men looked at Iason. "Why does your wife speak for you? In Tirèze, women do not interfere in men's business."

"You are not in Tirèze," Iason said firmly, "in Zeir, women have authority too. This property belongs to my wife. I'd appreciate if you treat her with respect."

The men exchanged glances. Kaveh was the one to answer. "With respect," he glanced at Vara, "what does a woman know of warfare?"

Vara lifted her chin and stared at him coldly. "Are you saying only men suffer from war? Who do you think defends home and hearth while men fight at the border?"

They had the decency to look flustered.

Zahir narrowed his eyes and regarded her with a cold look. "Then what does the lady suggest?"

"As I am sure you have noticed, your garrison is small," Vara said, "still, we will send two of our soldiers with you to the nearby regiment near the border. I will write a missive that you can select a number of men, as I will indicate, to take with you to Salvire. I expect them to be treated with the same respect we show your soldiers, as well as a copy of the reports sent to your king."

The men blinked and looked at Iason for confirmation.

"My wife has spoken," Iason said calmly, "I will accompany you to the border. You are welcome to stay another night as we make arrangements. We will leave in the morning." He stood up and offered Vara his hand. She smiled and accepted it, allowing him to help her to her feet. She looked at the three riders. "You are welcome to join us at dinner tonight. Please excuse me while I go make arrangements." She nodded at them and headed towards the study. She would make sure to send word to Auros as well. Perhaps the king would know about any rumors regarding an alliance of Balor and Volton. She hoped it wasn't true. They had enough to worry about with just Balor.

...

Ariane glanced at her husband from the corner of her eye while gently rocking Loukios in his crib. Things had become strained between them since lord Caius had died. It was like it had been in the beginning when she had first arrived here.

Ever since Vara and Iason had returned to Boncini, Cyrus had ben restless. Ariane was afraid to bring up the subject again. Last time he had walked out on her. And Vara had been the one to bring him back.

Ariane bit her lip. It didn't make sense to her. When she looked at Vara and Iason, they appeared to be happy together. But Iason must know about his wife and Cyrus. She had seen it when they had arrived at court to pay their respects. Did it not bother him at all? Or perhaps he was just glad to have married so well. How often did a soldier rise to almost a prince?

But they seemed happy.

She sighed. Perhaps she should just be glad that Vara was so far away. Having her around only made things awkward. She didn't even know how to look at Vara anymore.

She sighed again.

"What is it?" Cyrus voice sounded stiff and tired. He had been sitting at his desk, studying documents.

"Nothing," Ariane said softly and she looked down. "Forgive me for disturbing you." She had hoped he would let it go, but no such luck.

"Obviously there is something bothering you," he said, "or you wouldn't be sighing."

Ariane bit her lip nervously. "It is nothing I should bother you with."

Now Cyrus put down the scrolls he had been reading and looked at her. "You are my wife. If something is the matter, then you should speak up. Is it Lucius? Is he not well?" he glanced at the crib worriedly.

"He is well," Ariane said, "please don't trouble yourself with me. It is nothing."

Cyrus narrowed his eyes. "Why will you not answer my question?"

Ariane gritted her teeth. "Because I do not with for us to fight again, my lord," she forced herself to remain calm. Already she felt tears form in his eyes. She swallowed the lump in her throat.

Cyrus scowled. "So this is about Vara again then." Her silence was answer enough. "I don't understand your problem," he told her stiffly, "you are my wife and she is not here. We have had this discussion before. There is no reason for you to be upset."

The tears she had fought back now ran freely down her cheeks and she cried soundlessly. She knew she should not let it bother her. Many husbands had affairs. She had known it would be a possibility when she married him, still she couldn't help but wonder if something had happened between the two of them, if they were mocking her behind her back.

Cyrus sighed and rubbed his temple. He didn't understand her problem. He was married to Ariane, and Vara had refused him. Why was she still upset? "What now?" he asked when he saw her tears. He could feel himself lose his patience. "I told you, you have nothing to worry about when it comes to Vara."

Ariane looked down and bit her lip. "I... I can't help it," she said hoarsely, "when I think of you with her... I can't help but wonder..."

"Wonder what exactly?" Cyrus growled, "how many times I've slept with her? You wish to know?"

Ariane paled and closed her eyes. She shook her head in denial, but Cyrus ignored it.

"None," he growled at her, "not once. You know why?! Because she refused me! She knew we couldn't be together! She did not want to get her heart broken and she did not want to break yours! She wanted to leave this place so she would not be tempted! She chose the wellbeing of the kingdom over her own wishes! She is good like that! So stop crying! She's done nothing to you!" He took a deep breath to regain his calm. He pinched the bridge of his nose and closed his eyes in frustration. "She's done you no harm," he continued in a calmer tome, "and she is not a threat to you. Do not bring it up again."

Ariane stared at him blankly. She was not sure how to respond. She felt like such a child. "Forgive me," she whispered.

Cyrus sighed. "Can we leave this behind us now? It's been a long day."

She nodded meekly. "I will pour you some wine."

...

Darius looked up when there was a knock on his door. He had been preparing to go to bed. The day had been long and he was tired. What could be so important that they felt the need to disturb him this late? Was something wrong with Elora? Or the child? The past few days had been difficult for her. "Enter," he called.

A soldier stepped into the room and bowed respectfully. "My king," he said, "a message from Boncini in Zeir. It arrived just now by means of a bird."

Darius motioned for the man to hand over the paper. Request honored, it read, men sent out to Salvire. One less thing to worry about, though it had taken a while.

Darius gritted his teeth and tried to stay calm. He should be reasonable. Organizing troops took time. He didn't know what his men had faced on their way to Boncini. Perhaps they had been held up. He had to focus on the important things. Aid would come.

He placed the note in the drawer of his desk. Tomorrow he would speak to Byron to tell him the news.

Darius took a deep breath. His mind wandered towards his wife and the child she was carrying. A child! His heir if it was a son. Every day Elora's belly seemed to grow bigger. Such a strange concept.

Darius shook the thought from his head and looked out of the window. Such a vast kingdom he had been given to rule. His father's legacy. One day it would belong to his son. It would be good to have his kingdom still intact by that time, without having it destroyed by the greedy hands of Balor.

This war had to come to an end. And it had to be soon.