"I am sorry about that, young master." Diddero handed the horses' reins to a brown-clad man and walked to Raja. "He must have expended great strength to speak to you, your Lukas. I will work with my wife to make him a special hole in the barrier." Diddero rubbed his smooth chin and looked to the sky as if seeing something. Natalia followed the petite man's gaze and thought she saw an unnatural shimmer near the edge of her sight.

"Diddero is one of the best barrier builders I have ever met. His wife is a shield Master; together, they have kept the Vale safe for many years," Paulo declared as he clapped his hand over Diddero's shoulder and squeezed him companionably. Diddero smiled, then frowned.

"Oh, my wife!" Diddero cried as he looked towards the cottage. The placid man's frown tightened, and he bounced on his feet nervously. "You should go in; she is preparing dinner. We must not be late." The Master laughed at Diddero's urgent tone, but they walked quickly towards the deceptively small main door.

Natalia wondered at the size of the Master's home. She had expected a castle or at least a fortress, not a tiny cottage. Natalia wasn't sure how it would accommodate all of them. "There must be more to this space." She thought absently as the door opened. Raja turned to her and winked. The playfulness of the gesture surprised her.

"Just wait," Raja recommended. She could feel his excitement, so she tried to hide her frustration. Natalia was not yet comfortable with how easily Raja could read her thoughts. She had not yet learned how to block the bond this much. Wonder replaced unease as Natalia caught her first glimpses inside the cottage.

"How?" The house was much larger than it appeared on the outside. She could feel Raja's excitement rise as they walked into the fantastic space.

"He has used the Elements to create an illusion that can stand without manipulating the mindspace. I have not seen this magic since I was a child."

"This hall is as large as the grand entrance of the Earth Temple." Natalia allowed herself the pleasure of looking at the magical space.

Light streamed into the circular hall from an enormous crystal dome at the far end. The rainbows of light then showered down on an ornate wooden staircase that curved beneath and around it. Its circuitous path stopped twice, once at a large glass door at the first landing and then to a dark archway. The polished wooden underside of the second section of stairs was visible, but this only enhanced the beauty. The wooden walls of the ground floor blended into the staircase, and scattered throughout were the hints of several more doors.

Though the sunlight lighted the entire space, Natalia noted ornate sconces were holding lighted torches scattered liberally along the walls of the whole atrium. The wood of the walls contrasted the polished blue stone of the floor that led from the entryway to a small water fountain resting underneath the dome and then faded into the back wall. The stone and wood should have clashed but blended like a cliff along the ocean's edge.

With that thought, Natalia realized that the entire room flowed like water. Each curve hinted at a ripple or wave. This awareness allowed her to finally understand what had pushed against her mind since they walked into the space.

"I feel all the Elements," Natalia proclaimed and felt Raja touch the sensations in her mind, trying to perceive what she could. The Elements were alive in this hall as much as they were in the Elemental Temples, or more so. Air was rushing through the windows, Fire burning in the torches, Earth lying beneath their feet, and everywhere there was Water.

"Min! You have grown so tall!" Paulo's declaration interrupted her thoughts as a spindly young man appeared in front of them. Paulo smiled at the man and ruffled his curly black hair affectionately.

"This is Minho. He can take you to your rooms," Paulo explained. "He has lived here most of his life and can answer most questions about the building. We have things to attend to." Paulo gave both a shallow bow and looked expectantly at Diddero, who looked torn.

"Should I call the head servant?" Diddero asked.

Paulo frowned. "Do I have so many additional servants now that she is free to be a tour guide?"

"No, you are right." Diddero glared at the young man and then moved to follow the Master. After two steps, he paused, turned back to the young man, and spoke in a low, demanding tone. "Behave."

With his instructions given, Diddero followed the Master out of the room. Minho relaxed only after the small man left. Then the teenager smiled at the couple and grabbed Natalia's bare hand before she could stop him.

Natalia stilled, then laughed as he pulled her towards the stairs. "He is well shielded. I have never experienced this before. I cannot enter his mind, even with effort."

"Handy trick, I'll have to learn it someday," Raja teased.

"As will I!" she responded. Natalia was again amazed. Who was this young man? Remembering the words from Diddero to the boy, she thought they must be related. Minho was fairer than the dark man, but there was a resemblance.

"Father says you will meet the others at dinner or later. Some are away. We weren't sure exactly when you would arrive." Minho's voice was light and crisp. He pulled Natalia lightly towards their destination. "Mother felt the portal open, so she started the preparations. The servants have been in a tizzy getting everything cleaned and prepared in time."

He chatted happily as they climbed the grand staircase to the dark archway. Beyond the archway, only visible once they arrived at the top, lay a long wide hallway lined with portraits of men and women of various ages and ethnicities. They walked forward at the boy's urging, and he stopped them when they passed the first door.

"The Master's chambers." His young voice echoed through the hallway. He pointed to the four symbols on the door, Fire, Air, Earth, and Water, with the Master's mark overlying them. "We don't go in there." He spoke as if he might have gone in there before and learned why he was not to. The couple nodded at him, then continued to follow past several more doors. Some had symbols; others did not. Finally, he stopped at one of the blank entrances.

"Your Suite." Minho opened the door and revealed a large common room with multiple exits painted different colors. "One study to share and four rooms with en suite bathrooms. You will get a practice room elsewhere, so don't practice in your rooms." Minho pulled Natalia towards a red door. "The young mistress is in this room. It has the largest bathroom. The young Master can choose any of the remaining three. This is what my mother said. Except for yours, the rooms' keys hang next to the doors. My sister, Soyun, has yours because she is prepping your room. She should have prepared your bath and will bring you your robes," Minho continued, unperturbed by her lack of response. As if conjured by his calling her name, a young girl opened the entrance to Natalia's room carrying a robe.

"The bath is ready; I knew you would want one after that long trip. Travel baths are the worst!" The bubbly girl led Natalia towards the bath chambers and scowled back at her brother.

He had the grace not to respond to his younger sister's glare and remembered to bow to Natalia before closing the door.

"I will settle you in; then I have to go help mother finish dinner. She is already upset that you came today, just a day before the mistress will be back with more supplies. Mother is trying to prepare the best meal she can." The girl continued to chat as she led Natalia to the ornate bathroom. Natalia tried not to be overwhelmed by the chatty girl as she took in her surroundings. The room was made of blue stone, similar to the floors in the atrium, but this blue had more green, giving a sense of warmth. A large bath sat in the middle of the room, with steaming already rising from its depths.

"She doesn't cook much now, but she was a chef in our homeland. Well, in her homeland, I've never been there. She was famous, or something like that, there. Anyway, she found her shield power late and..." Soyun's voice trailed off as she realized that Natalia had stopped following her.

"Oh, right. I will go now. Enjoy your bath," Sojun said abruptly and sped out of the bathroom, closing the curtain separating the rooms behind her.

Natalia realized she had not said one word to either of the bubbly youth. Their enthusiasm had been stunning.

Finally alone, Natalia basked in the silence. She smiled at the bath the young woman had prepared. Soyun was right, travel baths were the worst, and this luxurious tub was even larger than the one on the Prince's yacht. This might become her favorite room in the cottage.

===========================

Til frowned as he stared at the Oborgor Mountains through the window.

Following the tips of various merchants and contacts, Til and Bizar had followed Raja's trail to this village at the base of the Oborgor Mountain range, the furthest northern reaches of the Kingdom. Their contact claimed no traveling merchants had been through this village in the past month, meaning Raja and his party must have circumvented this village. Perhaps they had camped in one of the Merchant Caves that dotted the outer foothills.

Finding no clear word of the wagon carrying their query, the partners readied themselves to leave until their contact brought them word of another spy in the village. When they arrived at the safe house, the man spoke nonsense. Had Bizar not recognized the babbling idiot, Til would not have believed his identity.

"Why is he this way?" Bizar whispered after he joined Til at the window with their contact at his side. Bizar had listened to more of the former spy's incomprehensible ragings. When Til left, the man had been yelling about moving mountains and the mountain's pressure on his chest. Til rubbed his chest with the thought of it.

"Earth madness," their contact answered. Til had suspected but wasn't sure. "The magic of the Oborgors is why the Kingdom stops at its foothills. Only those with Earth magic can dare cross them, or someone resistant to the pull of magic altogether."

"Then how do we proceed?" Bizar asked after the contact had left them.

"We have to dispose of him," Til nodded back to the room. "He could expose everything."

"I have already given him the elixir," Bizar murmured. Til was surprised but grateful.

"Well done." Til grabbed his partner's arm and walked with him out of the house. "We must go to the borders and see how it affects you. If you show signs of madness, you cannot follow the path any further."

"And you?" Bizar queried. "How do you know you will be safe?"

"Because I have enough Earth magic to protect me, my sister is a priestess, and she confirmed this." Til checked his saddlebags to make sure everything was intact. Satisfied, he grabbed the reins and mounted the fine beast.

"Then why are you not an assassin or priest?" Bizar finished securing the last of their belongings to his horse.

"Because I am a better spy." Til frowned at the thought of the restrictions of the priesthood and the horrors of being an assassin. It was weak magic and would never have brought him to the upper ranks of those vocations. But as a spy, it gave him an advantage.

"It makes sense now," Bizar climbed into his saddle with practiced ease.

"What makes sense?"

"So much!" Bizar teased and slapped his horse forward.

With a sigh and a shrug, Til followed. He wasn't sure if the other man had any real meaning behind his words, so he didn't press any further. He felt a pang of regret in his throat as they rode further into the mountains. They would likely have to part soon, and Til realized he had grown to like his partner.

============================

Lukas felt Tian's concern as his mind returned from the Vale. In his haste to find Raja, he had not waited for her to be distracted. The loss of the bond Lukas had worked so hard to protect panicked him. It had taken an immense amount of his power to follow the shadow bond to the Vale. Though the healing had improved his reserves, the amount he had used in his search had exhausted him again.

Tian stood next to his bed with an anxious look on her face when he finally opened his eyes.

"Good, you are awake." Tian's face released some of its tension before putting more power into the strong barrier she had thrown around him. "I found a small imperfection in the net around your powers. I am unsure exactly where it is, but I tried to widen the gap."

"Destan mentioned it to me. Will he report it to the Queen?" Lukas noticed her grimace as she shifted position but did not inquire about it. Instead, he searched where she indicated she had felt the window.

"No, though he is the Queen's brother, he does not speak to her or her agents; she does not acknowledge him. It is how she keeps him alive, her small grace. He is useful to her." Tian looked thoughtful for a moment. "He is my friend, as much as anyone can be in this place. He has no love for the Queen or the Queendom."

"They share a father?" The Queendom's monarch never married, though she could have many consorts. Lukas had not heard of the old Queen having a son. Tian's proclamation made him even more curious about the priest. It was uncommon for anyone in the Queen's castle to claim friendship.

"No, he is the former Queen's son. Had he been a woman, he would have been her rival." As they spoke, he sent small pinprick shocks at her; this would be the fastest way to find the hole she had discovered again. "Some say that the old Queen changed him before his birth, changing him from a woman to a man when he was still developing. To prevent a succession conflict."

"Is that possible?"

"I don't know. It is a popular story among the Court, likely because of how womanly Destan has always been." She sighed. "But that could be the Water God's influence; the Lady has held him since he was very young. Ow!" She stood in surprise from the chair at his bedside, then smiled.

Lukas focused on the area he had just showered with pins and narrowed the field.

"Ah, there, you have it there." She put her hand on her temple and grimaced.

"It is time!" Lukas announced excitedly as he began unraveling the cage around him and weaving a false one in its place.

Tian nodded and limped towards the door. She must have been beaten for letting the Punisher have his way with me. She stopped him in time, but barely. It is hard to trust a spy, especially one who almost let him die.

Lukas laid back down and feigned sleep. He felt his body fighting to make the fiction real until he heard Tian's voice in his head again.

"Destan? Will you spare him?" Lukas opened his eyes to see Tian looking at him from the door.

"I can not promise anything, but I will try. Perhaps he can leave the castle?" Lukas did not want to harm the man, but excluding any innocent from his revenge would be difficult. The good would die with the bad.

"I do not think he can leave, but I will let him know. He will be well shielded but try to spare him if you can."

"Go now. I can give you a day if she does nothing to provoke me." He could almost see Tian raise an eyebrow, but she left after calling her replacement. Lukas did not listen to what she said to the man. He instead concentrated on finishing his task before his body succumbed to exhaustion.

"Soon," he thought but did not project through the bond. He would wait to tell them only once it was done. "Soon, I will be with you again."

WC2762

Last Edit 1/2/2023