Left on Mirianette's bed was a message that read: "If thou wants the child back, Tower Gardelle must be given to Partrall. If this is not done within a month the child shall die." It was signed with the crest of Partrall, the King's symbol. Luistia grit her teeth as she stood before the Queen with the message. She hadn't even bothered to clean herself or fix her hair when she found the note--she immediately informed Destrim and ran to the castle gates. From there, she was taken in to see the Queen.

"This is not something to be decided lightly," the Queen said. She wore a solid gown that was light blue in color and fit her nicely. Since she was sitting she was no longer the tallest in the room, but even sitting Luistia was in awe of her. "The Wizard and you have both pledged to me that Tower Gardelle shall not be given to them, so this message doth pose a problem. Who is said child that has gone missing?"

Luistia could not look Rohesia in the eye when she answered. "My younger sister, my Queen. She is but twelve winters and is no stronger than a child of eight. Master Destrim says that she's strong magic inside her, and that for her ta die is for ta Tower ta be lost forever." She ran her fingers over one another, hands wrung together tight.

Rohesia tilted her head to the left, her lips pursed as she thought. Even though it was early in the morning, she wore rogue on her cheeks and her lips were painted a light shade of pink. Even her hair was done up in curls, pinned atop her head alongside her crown. "This is a peculiar problem. One, I believe, that runs hand in hand with your journey. Tonight you are to leave, and when thou gets to Partrall you art to find thy sister waiting. Whilst you go to retrieve my stolen object."

"My Queen, if I might ask, what is it that has been taken from you?"

With a sigh, the Queen stood up from her chair. Her eyes fell upon the stone table before her, and when she spoke her voice sounded of the loss of something dear to her heart. "Years ago, when my mother was but a babe, her mother's mother had been a magician. She was the strongest magician in the land, and during her time she crafted a magic orb. This orb contained power of the greatest magnitude, and she constantly fed it more and more. When she died my mother's mother continued on the tradition, and my mother after her. All of them died from the strenuous use of the orb and by feeding it all the magic that resided within them.

"Now, magic is banned for the same reasons. The orb was named, 'Lentiusta Orb of Els', and was locked away in the highest tower of my castle. I had it protected by thirty armed guards at all times, the best in Gardelle. Three nights ago, this was stolen. Partrall means to use it to destroy Gardelle in one fell swoop, and if they have it in their possession for too long we all are doomed," she said. Rohesia placed a hand upon her throat. "By that means, you must rescue the orb for me. Lest everyone in the kingdom is to die, this is what thou must do for me."

Luistia swallowed hard. A magical orb to rescue, her sister missing, and Partrall planning to destroy Gardelle? It was all too much for her. "You shall save my sister?"

"Yes. No citizen of Gardelle shall die by Partrall hands as long as I be Queen. This is my land. Long as I rule she shall be protected. As it stands, Partrall is now considered an enemy of Gardelle and our ties of neutral towards one another no longer lie. Partrall and Gardelle shall be at war within the week," she said. Then, louder, she spoke again, "This journey has become treacherous for thou, but do not fret-my child shall accompany thou on this journey, and they be wise in the art of magic and swordsmanship."

"My Queen," Luistia began, her voice uncertain, "I might not be able to protect the boy."

She looked down at Luistia, who was standing same as she now, and chuckled fairly. "Between the two of you there should be no trouble. Now, go back to the Wizard, prepare for tonight. At midnight we shall meet up at the stables on the outskirts of Forestina's Garden. Do not be late."

"Yes, my Queen."

She nodded, then walked out of the room, her head held high. Luistia bit her tongue as the Queen had to duck her head under the door of the room. It was a smaller meeting room than the one she'd first laid eyes on her in, but had all of the grandeur. Besides the door, which, while big enough for a normal person, was a tad too small for the tall lady to fit through.

Luistia left after her, giving a curtsy to the royalty she passed as she made her way out of the castle. This time, she stopped every once in awhile to gaze at the beauty of the place. The drapes that covered the walls were large, well made, and colored purple and red. There were small white dots mixed in with the colors, like stars appearing in the sky during the most brilliant sunset she'd ever laid eyes on. The ceilings of the castle were much larger than anything she'd ever seen, and ended in a mixture of domes and points. The floors had mosaics carved into it, images depicting Gardelle throughout the ages. As she walked down the grand staircase, which ran all the way up to the highest floor of the castle, Luistia marveled at the stairs. They were carved perfectly, and the banister was polished wood mixed with emerald and ruby gems that were placed into the wood every other inch. She felt ashamed, almost, to be walking down the same steps as royals. As those who had worked to gain their fortune, and those that inherited it. It was hard to earn a fortune, but even harder to keep it.

With that in mind she started to hurry, wanting to get home to the wizard before too long. He wanted to teach her more before she was to leave, and there was so much she was lacking in her knowledge. The more she thought the more she began to dread her journey, though she knew that if not her, it would have to be Destrim. And he was far too old and too weak to do anything like that.

Destrim was outside the Tower, talking to the Oracle, when she finally got back. It had yet to rain, but thunder still haunted the sky. The Oracle, Cyliaria, gave her a look as she approached. The older lady had the skin of leather, the eyes of a hawk, and the hair of a wild animal. She wore and old, tattered looking mystical dress that she would use to make herself look enchanting to visitors to her shop. Cyaliaria shook her head at Luistia, "What be you up to, child? Do not bother us!"

"There is need not for shouting, Cyliaria," Destrim said, motioning for Luistia to come closer. "This be my assistant, as you well know. She be taking my place on a hard journey tonight, and I have called you here to keep. Not only does she need to learn to protect herself from Partrall magicians...I will also need you to help me watch over the Tower while she is away. What news of Mirianette did you gain?"

"The Queen is sending her guards ta retrieve her, but ta Tower shall not be given away," Luistia said. "I am ta leave at midnight on ta journey."

Cyliaria frowned, then sighed. Her voice was hard and ragged as she spoke. "If that be so, I shalt help. What journey do you go on, child?"

Luistia bit her cheek, then replied, "I go ta retrieve something ta Queen has lost. Partrall hath stolen it."

"What hath they stole?"

Destrim set his hand on her shoulder, "Now be not the time for nosiness. Teach her quick, for the day is passing and we do not have long before the storm resumes. Show her how to craft a simple protection spell." He walked off, leaving the two to settle their differences for the time being. Once she is able to do that, it will be hard for anyone to attack her while she rests or is walking. While Luistia tried to keep up with Cyliaria's fast pace, Destrim was walking out into the Marketplace. He passed by the stands of people trying to sell what they had, most of them rain related now, and past the Oracle's house. He walked north towards the tavern, which was a good deal of land in front of him.

As the hour passed he returned from the tavern's, now with two canisters of hard liquids and an empty container for water. Luistia and Cyliaria were still outside where he had left them, Cyliaria watching while Luistia tried her hardest to cast a protection spell. No matter how many times she repeated what the Oracle had told her, the spell refused to last for more than a handful of seconds against the woman's magic.

"This is worthless," Luistia said to him, "let me go and ready myself some other way. This spell shan't help me no more than a bow in the hands of a dagger wielder."

He laughed heartily, "You are crafting a spell against a very old magician with more power than you could learn in your entire lifetime. The fact that you have lasted that long is enough. Against low-skilled wizards and assassins with limited knowledge of magic you should do fine."

"The Queen is sending her son with me as well," Luistia told him. "He is knowledgeable in the art of magic far more than I."

"Good. But you can never trust royalty to protect you," he said, "for they are wise to keep themselves alive at the expense of others. He shall be king one day, you shall only become old and die."

Cyliaria pulled her hair back away from her face with a strand of ribbon. Her nails were long and pointed at the tips, with some sort of purplish stain on them. "She be weak in magic, and looks like a male. What be wrong with her, Destrim?"

Luistia did not say a word, she only turned and went inside the Tower.

"Well?"

Destrim took a deep breath of air in, then slowly blew it out. "That, Cyliaria, be how bad manners destroy kingdoms. The child be perhaps the best keep I have had around this tower since I was but a babe. True, she is weak of magic, but she is strong of arms and has made the clock once more tick."

"That is common knowledge."

"Then why do you not cease to insult my assistant? Go now, I need you to fetch me some items while she prepares herself. It is my fault that she is to go on this, so it be up to mine self to give her the means to prevail," he told her. He gave her a list of items and went back inside the Tower to find Luistia.

The girl was inside her room beside the kitchen, neatly folding her blanket into a square shape so she could pack it away. He watched from the doorway as she packed away two nicer, long shirts, and a pair of good working trousers. On her mat of straw, she sat down, sighing into her hands. The room was bare, and now with most of her items stowed away in the bag, it was more so. For the first time in years, the older wizard wondered how happy she really was. Girl looks like she's going to a funeral, not on a journey. Will she survive this? Perhaps it would be best if I do go...

Without Mirianette Luistia didn't even bother to try to smile. His foot went to take a step into the room and his back cried out in pain, and he put it back down as it slowly subsided. But how could I even begin a journey such as that? Nay, it seems to be that she must do this.

Destrim coughed into his sleeve and she looked up at him. He pulled out the canisters and set them into her bag above her clothes. "In the kitchen there is two bags of dried meat in the third left cabinet. This should suffice in the chance you are robbed or lose your items in a flood or the rain. They are charmed and shan't ruin by means of fire or water. Only use them if you must."

"Yes, Master," she said, her voice quiet.

"Come with me," he commanded, then walked out of the room. I shall give her something to protect her. He walked up the stairs faster than he's ever seen her move before, so she followed him easily. He took her up past the floors he normally went to. He passed by the floors the clock was held on and continued to go up, until they reached the top of the tower. There, he paused for a moment before opening up an old door and going onto the outside portion of Tower Gardelle. Luistia walked out beside him, taking in all of Gardelle as she did so. From where they stood, she could see even the tops of the castle. "Do you see the fog that's wrapped around the city?" he asked.

Luistia squinted her eyes, "Yes, I do. Though I mostly see the thick storm clouds." Out there, the clouds reached far beyond what she could see. Everywhere the sky was gray and dark.

Destrim didn't bother with that. Instead, he whispered under his breath, holding out his hands as if he were about to receive a gift. She watched with wide eyes as the fog and mist that hung about the city drew close to them until it was in his very hands. The magic swirled in the air, white and gray sparks touching her skin and tingling. It was a cold magic and hefty magic. Finally, he stopped whispering, and the fog that was there before had transformed into a silver hooded cape that glistened like dew in the light.

He handed it to her, and she took the cape in her hands as if it were a baby. Destrim breathed in and out deeply until he had regained his breath, as the magic had taken a lot out of him. "That is to keep you safe," he said.

Lusitia didn't know what to say. Holding the cape in her hands, it felt like a kitten's fur, soft and yet almost like glass. It flowed freely, and she nodded her head, tears threatening to fall. "Thank ya," she told him, her voice soft, "for everything."

"Aye, no getting sentimental on me now," he joked. Then, he drew her in for a quick hug. "There are a few things in the tower that need to be fixed, if you are willing to do so before you leave tonight. If you were to fix them, Cyliaria and I could go about getting some items you shall surely need."

"What needs fixin'?" she asked, stealing another glance at the city.

"There are secret doors within the castle," he told her, "that have lost their hinges and threaten to be no use of escape if the tower is ambushed." She nodded, keeping her tongue quiet with the fact that she already had found the doors before hand. In her room, in the only chest she had, were the tools needed to fix the hinges. "How long might it take you to complete this task?"

"A few hours, perhaps. Let me look at them and I shall fix those that I can," she told him.

He led her back into the castle, and down the stairways until they came upon the first secret door. It was only three floors up, and was hidden inside the wall, big enough for a cart to go through and just tall enough that she could get in it without bumping her head. Through there, he led her into the hallway inside the staircase to another door, this one with two broken latches on the inside of it.

"There are eight other doors past this, all broken. Before you leave I shall place a map of these secret doors and hallways, for they lead far beyond the tower and as far as under the West Leaf Sea towards Partrall," Destrim explained. "Partrall has been after this tunnel system for years, so memorize what you can of the map and burn it before you get too far from the city. For it to fall into anyone's hands is for the tower to be lost and Gardelle to burn before the morrow."

Luistia gave him a small smile, "It shall be done. I shall protect the secret with my life."

"And I shall hope it does not come to that," he told her.

By the time night had rolled around all the doors but one were fixed. Luistia had emerged from the secret hallway covered with dust and soot from the hallways. Through a hard-pressed, stoic goodbye, she had left Destrim with Cyliaria and started her way to Forestina's Garden. It was outside of the city, just southeast of the castle, which was on the south-east corner of the city itself. She had made it there an hour before midnight, her pack tied off and hanging on her back. Inside, she had her things and what Destrim had given her, including the map. Though she had yet to look at it she knew that she would before they were a day into the journey.

At the edge of Forestina's Garden lie a barren field where the Queen, her guards, the Prince, a carriage, and several horses stood. She curtsied as she approached, only to have the Queen laugh and tell her to stand.

"Tonight we meet as equals, for the first, and perhaps not the last, time," she said. As always, each word she spoke fell upon Luistia's ears like a spell. "Quickly, for we haven't time to spare. I have set out supplies for thou, and my son has already packed what he be taking."

"Yes, my Queen," she said. Then, she rummaged through what was set out. There were four swords for her to choose from, not three, and she held each in her hands before deciding on the second largest one. She set it into its case and tied that to her belt. It wasn't too heavy, nothing she couldn't handle, but hung close to her ankles. Then, she picked out a amber colored horse that seemed people friendly, two extra blankets for the trip, and a dagger to hide in her boots.

The Queen raised her eyes, but didn't question anything that she choose. "Is that all?" she asked finally, then smiled. "If so, then the two of you shall be off. Elesen has a map of Partrall, and he has an eyewitness account of the spies hold. Find the orb quickly, before war is to happen. Once you are away, I will send twelve of my personal guards out to rescue your sister."

"Thank you, my Queen," Luistia said, giving her a final curtsy despite what the Queen had said earlier. She climbed onto the horse, mindful of the saddle as she sat. "We shall leave now, if that be okay with your son."

Rohesia looked to her son, who nodded twice. When he spoke, his voice was deep and heavy, "We shall ride."

At that, the two began their journey.