It took a few hours for Destrim to be healed enough to talk properly. During that time, Elesen looked around in the place they were at. It was small, but wide enough for a child to lay down horizontally and sleep, and had a locked door on one end and one that wouldn't open on the other. The latter, he knew, was more than likely blocked by some other part of the tower that had fallen during the fire. Elesen was trying to open the locked door when Destrim stood up, leaning against the wall like it was another limb. His hand clutched his side. "Boy," he said, voice raspy, "how did you find me?"

Elesen looked up, then turned around and went over to him. "Luisita told me to check on thou," he said.

"Art you the prince then?"

Elesen nodded, running a hand behind his head.

"Doth that make your journey over? Where is she?" he asked, then looked about. He didn't look surprised in the slightest to see where they were.

He sighed, "Nay, I am sad to say that our journey was a failure. Luisita was attacked by an assassin, and I barely made it in time to find her near dead. He claimed to be going to Gardelle to kill you as well, so I rode her back from the Sydeni port so that my mother could heal her and I might check upon you. Was he here?"

"No assassin that I know of has been here. Naught be so-this fire was started by the oracle, treacherous as she be. She started the fire than summoned herself to Partrall to join up with them there, leaving me to die," he said. Destrim coughed, his voice cracking, "If it were not for you I surely would have died in there. Thanks to you, my boy."

"Do not than me, wizard, for now we art stuck inside a passageway with no entry nor exit."

"Oh? Where might we be stuck?"

"In...in this room, cannot you-" Elesen stopped, throwing his hands up into his face to hide it. With a groan he asked, "Thou knowledgeable in how to get out, aren't you?"

"Ah, my boy, you have much to learn." Destrim moved away from the wall a step, before falling back onto it with a series of coughing fits. "Damn this air," he said, "I cannot hardly breathe! Here, reach into my pocket, Prince..."

Elesen moved over towards him, uncertain but doing as he was asked. Inside Destrim's pocket was a bunch of torn up fabric pieces, some links of chain, powered stuff, and a small piece of metal with several notches cut into it. A key! He pulled it out quickly, the chain links following one end of it. "Ah, so you made this place intentionally, yes? Locked it away so none might find it? Is this the secret that mine parents had spoken of so desperately?"

"Yes, if you are to truly know. These tunnels extend all the way into Partrall, and they contain the rest of my library down here."
"So it was not all ruined by the fire?"

"Oh, not even close, Prince." Destrim once again coughed, this time less serious, though. He gave the younger man a smile, "Your mother has taught you well in magic, I can tell. Do you aspire to learn more?"

"Yes, sir."

"Your mother hath promised to get rid of the law on magic, and if so, you make your way here. The Tower can always be rebuilt. In this meantime, while we art here, I shall teach you some simple spells so that we may not be harmed," he said. Then he coughed again, "First, I want to know how much you know of a healing spell."

***
"Rofeulla osteri Lem esint," a gentle voice whispered, "abagu istrea demis chargen este rofeulla osteri esint en abagu ticke istrea." Each enchanted word rolled off her tongue like a ballad from a bard. Three girls stood around the queen, each clothed in simple white lace gowns. On their heads were lace crowns that were delicately weaved into their braided hair. They sat down, with eyes closed and legs crossed, and let the queen draw magic from inside of them as well. Rohesia touched each one as she depleted their magic, letting it flow into the body that lay before them. The woman was stripped of the clothes she had worn before, and had been washed and cleansed. Her hair was combed and set in a side braid to keep it out of the way while they healed her. On her body they had covered her breasts and legs with white wild rose petals.

The candles were getting low again, and soon they would all have to take a break and continue later. Rohesia's own strength was sapping slowly, even with the help of her maidens. With a sigh, she dropped her hands off the girl closest next to her and off of the woman on the ground. Her shoulders slumped and she breathed in and out deeply before speaking. "Mine energy be too little to continue...Seisha, please bring in my daughter."

The smallest girl, who had sat nearest to the door, nodded and stood with grace. She left the room without making a single sound, not even her feet against the concrete floor made noise. Rohesia watched after she had left, her eyes too tired to stop staring at the door. It was a well made door, large and slim, and made of cherry wood that was sanded and sleek. The doorknob was one of her favorites in the entire castle. Metal, with glass infused into it, and with several bumps and carvings of letters, it was surely a prize to hold. While her castle was small when put up next to others, and mostly made for protection, everything inside of it was made as close to perfection as possible.

For half an hour she was like that, just watching and waiting, unable to pull away her eyes in fear of falling asleep if she were to. The door opened back up with a bang, Seisha bowing as she entered the room again. A young girl, hardly sixteen, followed her. She walked with her back strait, her head held high, and her hands clasped in front of her. On her was only the finest-a silk dress that was the color of the silvery mountains of Calleuse and that hung about her body as if it were made of the icy winds that blew through there.

She gave her mother a polite curtsey, as servants weren't allowed to do, and smiled. "Mother, thou requests mine services?"

Rohesia nodded and rose. "Yes, mine energy has been sapped. Please watch over her while I rest. Soon I am to meet with your father at the camps, and while I am gone you shall be in charge over the castle. Do not let anyone in, is that clear?"

"Yes, Mother."

Crossing the space that divided them, Rohesia placed a hand on her daughters cheek, a fond smile on her face. "Amelia, thanks be to you. You hath made thine mother proud. Elesen is the only one you art to let in if he comes back, but he hath left once more to retrieve the orb. Keep him in your prayers, lest God take us as fools and take him away from our lives for good."

She nodded, placing her own hand on top of her mothers, "Of course. Keep safe yourself. What am I to do if Partrall decides to attack?"

"Your father and I shall take care of that. Do not fret-you are protected as long as you stay inside the castle."

"Yes, Mother."

"Good," she said. Rohesia kissed her daughters forehead and left the room.

Amelia waited by the woman obediently, healing her in short bursts over the next two days. Four times a day her servants would come in to feed her and bring her water, and three times a day she would leave the room to take care of herself before returning. Each time she returned the woman was still asleep, and she often found herself waking up next to her. All her life, Amelia had been surrounded by beautiful woman and men, people with bodies that were bred to be attractive. She'd seen a few with scars, but none like the ones upon the woman on the ground. Luistia, as was her name, was built much like a man, with large muscles on her arms and legs, but her stomach wasn't flat and her chest wasn't large. She had ugly purple and white scars that were common on her stomach, arms, and calves.

It wasn't until the morning of the third day, when the rains had finally stopped outside and the clouds had begun to leave, that Luistia was to awake.
"Rofeulla osteri Lem," Amelia had begun, only to hear a soft moan. She opened an eye to peek down, and opened both with a smile when she saw the woman rubbing her eyes. "You're awake," she whispers. "I was beginning to think that you were not going to."

Her voice was muddled, "Where am I?"

"You are safe, strong one." Amelia rubbed at her eyes and suppressed a yawn, "You have survived a poison so deadly that only three in all of time have ever lived through it."

"Elesen...what happened ta him?"

"He hath left to retrieve the orb-"

Luistia sat up quick, only to fall back to the ground as her head spun and her limbs failed to support her. "He," she paused, breathing heavily, "he be stupid...foolish boy, he cannot go alone...they surely will kill him."

Amelia giggled, quiet and kind. "My brother will be fine, if anything is to happen to him he will come home. He be too afraid to get himself into trouble, see. That be what be wrong with him, for otherwise he is a smart and wise boy."

"No, ya do not understand..." Luistia couldn't hardly think, everything was weighted down and foggy. Each time she started to talk again her words were too muddle for even her to understand what she was saying. Slowly she began to sleep again, her eyes closing and her breath becoming even.

Amelia pet Luistia's hair gently, watching as she fell asleep. The roses had been disturbed. "Seisha, please bring her clothing out so that she may be more comfortable when she next awakens."

The servant bowed and left.

When Luistia opened her eyes again she was wearing her clothes from before, which had been washed and pressed until clean. In the corner of the room was a large firepit, in which broth hung in a large bowl. Amelia went and poured some of it out into a cup, letting her drink it before Luistia tried to say anything. Her throat was parched and her body was as strong as a noodle, but the broth was tasty and went down easily.

"There, there..." Amelia told her, "you shall be okay."

"Why..."

"Why?"

Luistia drank more before trying to speak again, "Why a princess be spending her time helping out a commoner?"

Amelia just smiled at her and fetched more broth, filling the cup to the brim again and letting her drink until it was down to halfway again. Then she pushed back a few strands of hair that had fallen from her face, knowing that she'd have to have her servants re-braid her hair once Luistia was strong enough to get about on her own. After minutes of silence, she responded, "Because you do not understand, I shall try and make sense for you. As a princess, one day I shall become a queen. Need not I know not only to care for myself, but my kingdom as well? It be my duty to care for others more so than myself, as I am but a vessel for a land to live through."

When she spoke, it was as if Elesen was back again, only as a girl this time. Luista blinked several times, trying to understand. "Is not Elesen going ta become king?"

"He will. I am..." Amelia giggled again, "betrothed to the prince of Bevulla. Once Elesen has become King, then our marriage is to take place within the next year, after the Season's festival."

"Congratulations," Luistia told her. She took the cup from her and drank the rest of it, feeling stronger as more of it entered her system. "What be this made of?"

"It is homemade lemosta."

She started coughing, then looked up at Amelia as if she'd just grown talons and wings. "Lemosta does not...how could it taste this good? This be broth from some meat, it it not?"

The girl shrugged, smiling slightly, "It tastes as one likes it to taste, as it hath been charmed to do so. Only the crude versions of lemosta taste bad, and mine mother has always prided herself upon making the best tasting lemosta around."

Amelia took the cup back and filled it once more, allowing Luistia to drink until she could sit up properly and move without getting dizzy. "Thank ya, my princess."

"For?"

"Saving mine life."

"Mother did more than I did, give your thanks to her the next time you see her."

"I owe her more than anything, and forever am I indebted ta the two of ya." Luistia lowered her head to her knees, then looked back up at her. "Whatever ya ever shall need, ya only need ask and it shall be done. But I mustn't say here, my lady...it be my duty ta protect ya brother, and he's already gone away. If I cannot catch up ta him soon...he may put himself into real danger."

Amelia giggled again, "He will not. Mine brother is too shy and too scared to get himself in any real trouble, he shall be fine."

"Ya did not see him as I had seen him...he fought an assassin and won, ta save mine life," she told her, "and he did not run away when we were attacked by kitear. Ya brother may have been shy before, but now he has gotten himself all folly-hearted and feather-headed with courage. He be not strong enough ta go alone, though."

"Then you must be getting well soon," Amelia told her. She beckoned for Seisha to come closer and spoke to her, "Quick, fetch me the Estarii orb." Seisha bowed and left for it. "Seisha is the only servant allowed to touch the orbs, as she is the most faithful. The orb should bring you back energy, but you must be wary."

"Why so?"

"The energy shall come and go randomly, and could leave you dizzy or take away your sight. But if what you say is true, than my brother could be in more trouble than mine mother had thought. Assassins are known to be mean-spirited, and could easily come back to kill him off while he be alone. And during war as so, it is not safe-"

Upstairs, there was a loud scream. It was followed by several shouts and someone began to storm down the stairs, footsteps heavy. Seisha ran back in, her black hair swirling about in the air around her. In her hands was the orb, which she stuck inside of her gown before locking the door behind her. "Gardelle has been invaded!" she told them, her voice high pitched, "the castle is being raided upstairs. It is longer safe for us to stay here, my lady."

Amelia stood up, eyes wide in surprise, "How shall we get away? Through the servants chambers?"

The girl shook her head, tears in her eyes, "We cannot, my lady...it be too dangerous.

Luistia reached into her pocket, fumbling around with her fingers until she found what she was looking for. It was a simple key, one that Destrim had given to her in private before she'd left. On the map, she remembered, was a passage that led to the castle. It was said to be on the lowest floor, two below them. "We must go down," she told them.

"Down?"

"Under the castle there is a passage."

Amelia nodded, "You lived with the wizard, I had forgotten. No one hath been able to break through that door, art you sure that your key shall open it for us?"

She coughed, then stood up, legs shaking as and knees wobbling. "There is no other way, my lady. We must try. Where be my sword?"
The princess went over to where a table stood on the other side of the room, and took off her sword and case. "Here, it hath been cleansed and sharpened by the blacksmiths whilst you were asleep."

"Thank ya, my lady. Let us leave, quick, 'fore they are ta find us."

The three of them rushed out and down the stairs, Luistia leaning heavily on Seisha. She used her sword as a makeshift cane, keeping herself upright only through their help. The first few steps felt like a dream, and the rest were a horrible nightmare. Her stomach was sandpaper scratching at her insides, and her feet were numb and legs unstable. Every few feet she'd stumble, almost falling sevearl times. The screaming and shouting from earlier was on in full swing, but luckily they seemed to be keeping it farther up and not going down just yet. Soon, she knew, they'd make their way there. It just all felt too soon, as she thought she would have more time before Gardelle was attacked. War hadn't happened in years, the last time being when she was but a babe.

"Foken dull pinn es lossen lossen," a harsh voice shouted on the stairs behind them. Luistia shivered at the odd words-the man sounded deranged, and she could only hope that they would reach the end soon. The quicker they were to escape the better, lest the princess be hurt.

"Quickly now, faster," Amelia told them, running ahead. She held the key tightly in her hands, knowing that Luistia would be too weak to open it herself. A door was coming into view, and she opened it and ran inside without hesitation, throwing herself across the floor until finally she reached a bookshelf. The books were heavy and of great importance, but she didn't care, she threw them all down and used every ounce of her strength to push it out of the way. Luistia and Seisha were close behind her, both watching at the door they had came in. One strange, pale skinned man entered, more behind him. They wore sadistic grins on their faces and were coated with blood.

They shouted things in a language that Luistia could not understand, let alone try to translate. It was all in Parese and she didn't speak that any.

"The door?" Luistia asked, raising up her sword. It didn't do much good, as her arms were still wobbling.

"Getting there! The key is stuck-"

"Quick, they're coming this way...I do not think that I can hold them off for long, princess."

***
Destrim moved along the wall as they walked, tracing patterns in it with his fingers. His beard was unkempt, and his hair was burnt as well as his clothes in places. "No, no, you be saying that wrong, child. Say it with more enthusiasm. Be strong in your spell casting, lest you art to lose your grasp and have the spell control you. If you are not careful, the spell will overpower you and take you down into a place you never want to find yourself."

Elesen nodded, hardly able to hold back his grin. He had never learned so much better, and never in such a small amount of time as they'd been together. His mother was always too busy, so his learning was mostly through books and the slim chance she'd have an hour or two to spare for him. In all his life, he'd never dreamed that an elder wizard would be teaching him the finer points of light spell casting. Doing as Destrim instructed, he said the spell again, this time in joy as a ball of light sprung up in his hands. It wasn't big, and it wasn't all that bright, but it was more than he'd ever been able to do before. All he'd ever known was healing spells. Now, he had a world of knowledge before him.

"Good," Destrim told him. He coughed again, and took a drink out of a pouch from his coat. The water was brown and stale, but it was some of the best water in all of Gardelle. "Now, make it brighter, so that we might see more of where we be going without wasting my torches."

He said the spell again and again, until finally the ball of light was bright enough to outshine the torch, which Destrim then put out. Along the way there were several other places where torches and matches to light them were, and the old man explained that in his younger years he'd placed them there for safekeeping. That way, if something were to happen, people could hide down there for weeks on end. Bags of supplies and dried food were kept down there, but Destrim said he hadn't been down there in years so they were probably no good.

"If we keep going east, we should reach the castle soon."

Elesen sighed, "I can go on my own without Luistia."

"This was her journey, not yours. Remember that. Besides, do you really expect her ta leave you by yourself?" He chuckled heartily, giving the boy a shove. "Nay, Luis be a strong girl. She would come after you like bugs to fire, as she be driven by a need ta finish everything she hath started. I have never seen her give something half of herself."

Elesen started to say something else when the ground started to shake. The unmistakable sound of people running towards them was there, and he drew out his sword uneasily. "Destrim, who else knows of these passageways?"

"No one who could be using them," he said, standing on edge. His fists were balled up, thumbs outside, and he quickly drew up a stance. "Be weary boy, there be strange things that happen in these tunnels. They more than likely know magic, and will try to kill us. Fight strong, and remember-"

Destrim quit talking as they came into view. Three girls, two dressed up in royal clothing and one common, were there. They stopped as they too saw them there, and the common-dressed one lifted up her sword in greeting. Both her and the sword were coated with blood, and when she spoke Destrim wasn't sure whether to run to her or cry. "Gardelle has been overtaken," she said, "and we could not lock the door behind us. They might find us any moment, but I killed off all that I could-"

"Luis."