I was surprised to find a carriage waiting just outside our camp to take me and Selice to the palace. It was beautifully made and painted white with azure and gold trim, the colors of the Kingdom of Kalidar. Two of the men got onto the driver’s bench while Olain, the King’s Steward, gallantly offered both me and Selice a hand into the carriage before joining us inside. The inside had a pair of benches facing one another with well-padded backs and seats upholstered in soft, dark blue velvet and there were curtains on the windows that could be closed to maintain our privacy if we so wished.

Between the seats was a small chest of sorts but there was still plenty of space for us to stretch out our legs and relax as I sat Kalara between me and Selice on one of the benches. Before taking the seat across from us, the King’s Steward opened the chest between the benches. I could sense magic coming from it and that was explained when I saw the frosted bottles inside. Was it a cold box, like we used in our wagons to keep certain foods fresh? Part of the magic did feel cold to my magic sense.

“Would any of you care for a cold drink?” Olain asked. “There are bottles of fresh milk, cider, and fruit juices.”

My eyes shot upward at that. Glass making was an art and, even with the Artisan’s Guild regulating prices, good bottles and other glassware were very expensive, usually reserved for enchanters, alchemists, wineries, and the very wealthy. These bottles were not like the large wine bottles that some of the more expensive wineries used either, these were smaller, sized for one-serving portions. Taking him up on his kind offer, Selice requested a bottle of cider while I asked for the bottles filled with bright green caraberry juice for me and Kalara.

I had tried the juice once before, while we were taking a break from busking to browse the marketplace and found myself liking the taste. Caraberries are a staple of Kalidar, they have a cool minty taste and are sweet with a hint of citrusy tartness. Once Olain had uncorked our chosen beverages and handed them to us, I was surprised not only by how nice and cold the bottles were but also that the magic was coming from them, not the chest.

“Such unusual bottles,” I said once I had taken a sip of my refreshingly cold drink. Kalara sipped at hers as well, after eyeing it warily for a moment, only doing so after I had done so myself. I was not sure whether she thought the drink itself was dubious because of the unusual green hue, or because she was still wary of humans. Likely, it was a little bit of both. Her eyes widened as the taste hit her though and began to drink more eagerly, bringing a smile to my lips.

“The bottles are part of a larger set, a gift from Lady Arinelle to Their Majesties,” the steward offered in response to my comment. “She said that she got them from a friend on Sundries Street. She personally enchanted them to not break, keep the contents cold and fresh when filled, and to self-clean once emptied so they can be easily reused.”

I exchanged a quick look with Selice and found her wearing a grin matching my own, one that I attempted to cover by taking a sip of my cold juice. We were definitely going to talk to our fellow ambassador about getting something like these bottles. They would be so convenient and make our life on the road so much easier.

Once we were all settled, Olain called out to the driver to say that we were ready to embark and, a moment later, the wagon began to move. Much of our ride was spent quietly as we sipped at our drinks and occasionally Olain would gesture to something through one of the carriage’s windows, telling us about historic landmarks or other areas of interest that we were passing by. Eventually, we made it to the palace though and the steward preceded us outside to offer us a hand out of the carriage.

The palace was massive, a maze of a building that made me glad that we had the King’s Steward guiding us to where we would be having our meeting. Constructed of thick, white stone, the castle certainly was secure even on the inside, but the rooms and halls that were most commonly used were adorned with brightly colored rugs, warmly decorated, and relied on bright white mage lamps for lighting rather than torches. I could only think, “I do not envy the cleaning staff here,” as I followed Olain with Kalara in my arms. I would hate for her to get distracted by something, wander off, and get lost somewhere.

-Aye,- Sharai agreed in my mind. -There is a warm and welcoming atmosphere here though, despite the cold stone stone surrounding us. They will need to be on their guard from now on though. Kalidar is a key asset when it comes to war, it borders the city-state of Zhahimel, the very gateway to Nightglade Forest, and would put the Demons within striking distance of our homeland. They have already made an attempt once; they will try to take this country and its capital again, and they already hold sway over Evalis, which has one of the largest armies on the continent.-

I nodded grimly as I sent my thoughts on the matter back to her. “Aye, I will have to recommend to the King that they ready themselves for war. What are your thoughts on that, Sharai?”

-These people must be wary, but at least the palace is secure. The cliffs that it rests atop are nigh impossible to scale, meaning the only way for a conventional army to attack would be an assault on the front gates, and they would have to take the city first. This place was a grand fortress once, the portcullis we saw when we entered looked secure and well-maintained, with two more in case the first is breached to entrap enemies and create a choke point, but they will need archers at the ready to man those murder holes,- she replied thoughtfully. -Still, while those are all assets against a standard army, the Demons will have powerful magic users and possibly Tainted on their side.-

“Yes, that is going to be a problem, they could have fliers available, or creatures that could scale those walls and cliffs,” I agreed. I did not like the sound of one of the biggest armies in Esmere working alongside Demon mages and nightmarish creatures like that Tainted that had destroyed the menagerie caravan or the Darkling that I had fought and purified to get my armor in the dark zone. “Do you really think that they could control those things?”

Sharai hummed thoughtfully in my mind before responding. -Control? No, not likely. Tainted are too feral. Darklings are more intelligent and aware but hate and resent the living too much to allow it. They could aim them though, if they can cage or bind them. Then they would only need to release them in important areas, or they could create some nearby if given time to complete the demonic rituals that created the dark zones. That was one of their primary tactics in the Great War, or so I have heard. Those rituals took many Demons and days to complete though, so they could be interrupted. Taking the possibility of Tainted and Darklings into account, I would recommend adding ballistae to the castle walls and having war mages and archers with those dwarven wheel bows on the walls if an assault does happen.-

My inner conversation with my spirit guide ended as we approached a door in one of the hallways on one of the upper floors. At least, I was fairly sure that it was one of the upper floors with how many stairs we had gone up. I had been expecting us to be taken to the throne room or perhaps a sitting room for our talk with the royals, but to my surprise, Olain informed us, “This is the door to the royal chambers, Their Majesties and Ambassador Arinelle await you within.” Then he lightly rapped on the door before opening it and waving us through.

The steward did not accompany us inside as Selice and I stepped through the opened door and into a large chamber with plush rugs covering the floor, a low table with a pair of soft-looking couches and armchairs surrounding it, and three doors that I believed must lead to bedrooms and perhaps a privy. There were no windows, possibly for security reasons or just its position inside the palace, but the room was well-lit with the same type of mage lights that I had seen in the hallways. Seated on one of the couches were King Vergun and Queen Isante, while perched in one of the chairs was Arinelle. On the table was a tea set and a tray of assorted pastries.

Off in one corner of the room, I could see a little girl close to Kalara’s age playing with some dolls and some wooden blocks. It looked like she was making a little castle for her dolls. She had her mother’s dark brown hair, but it was hard to make out more of her features since she seemed absorbed in what she was doing as I placed Kalara back on her feet on the floor and we approached the trio of adults with Selice. “Your Majesties, Arinelle, I hope that you are all well,” I offered with a slight bow that Selice quickly mimicked.

The King’s expression darkened ever so slightly, but he tried to smile for us as he replied, “As well as can be expected, given recent events, Lady Kaelyn. Please, we are in private here, feel free to call me Vergun.”

“And you can call me Isa,” his wife quickly added. “It’s what my friends call me, and after last night, the pair of you have earned our friendship. Though I am afraid it may take some time for me to tell the two of you apart without instruments. You truly are identical, especially when dressed the same.”

“Aye,” Vergun agreed morosely. “You are truly friends to the throne. If you were citizens of Kalidar, I would knight the pair of you for the service you have done for us. If not for your help…” He trailed off, apparently not wanting to finish that thought aloud with a child close enough to hear.

“Thank you, I insist that you drop the ‘Lady’ then, at the very least when we are in private,” I replied as courteously as I could before giving Isa (and everyone else) a hint as to which of us was which. “Perhaps I should have brought my fiddle then since my twin did her best to make it difficult to tell us apart. This is my daughter, Kalara.”

“She’s very pretty, though she looks a little shy,” the Queen commented with a smile as my daughter tried to hide behind my leg. “Perhaps she’ll be more comfortable away from all of the strange adults for a while.”

“That’s a good idea,” Selice concurred with a glance down at the nervous little elf girl who was fidgeting with her illusory Faerie wings.

“Let’s go introduce her to Saera then. They can play together while we talk about adult matters,” Isa suggested as she smiled, rose from the couch, and then led the way over to the young princess. “Saera, there’s someone I’d like you to meet.”

I followed her toward the little girl in the corner, who turned around at her mother’s call. Saera certainly did take after her mother in looks and looked a little older than Kalara, maybe between three and four years old. She gave us a curious look, especially our wings, as we approached, Kalara’s hand gripping my fingers tightly as she walked beside me. Kalara seemed to be the focus of the girl’s attention though since she was close to her age and likely not as intimidating in size.

“Saera, honey, this is Kaelyn, and her daughter, Kalara,” Isa explained to her little one. “They’re Fae, like your Auntie Arinelle. Just like Arinelle, Kaelyn and her sister, Selice, are very good people and friends of your father and me. Kalara seems nervous around all the adults, so would you mind playing with her for a time while we talk?”

The princess looked over my daughter, peeking out from behind my leg, and smiled. “Uh-huh, Momma.” Then she peeked around my leg and asked Kalara, “Wanna play dollies?”

Kalara looked up at me uncertainly, so I gave her an encouraging smile and a nod. “It will be fine, sweetie. She seems very nice, so play with her and have some fun. Maybe the two of you can become friends.”

My daughter still looked reluctant, but it seemed that Saera’s smile and being close to her size won her over. Though it could be the sweets I had promised earlier that made her willing to give this a try. Still, my little girl took a deep breath, nodded, and said, “Okay, Maera.” She came out from behind me, allowing the princess to guide her to her toys, and a moment later Saera was explaining all about what she had been doing with the blocks while Kalara listened with rapt attention.

Isa and I headed back to join the other adults, and she quickly assured me, “Don’t worry, Kaelyn, in a few minutes they’ll probably be playing together like old friends. Saera plays with some of the servants’ children, she’s very good with other kids her age.”

I let out a breath I did not realize I had been holding as I watched the two interacting over my shoulder. “Thank you, Isa, that is such a relief. I am hoping that her making a human friend her age from outside the troupe will help her to be less scared of humans. She has gotten used to the people in the troupe since we found her, but she took to me right away and seems to prefer me and my sister, and the other non-humans, and she is still scared of humans outside of the troupe. I had to bribe her with sweets and explain that not all humans are bad to get her to come with me.”

“Found her?” Vergun asked, hearing my explanation as we arrived at the table and his wife got comfortable on the couch with him once again.

I sat on the opposite couch along with Selice, who answered for me. “Aye, Kaelyn found her in the ruins of a menagerie caravan on the road from Loden, along with an Undine who we’ve brought into the troupe as well. There were Tainted there, and they destroyed most of the caravan, leaving only the two girls as survivors. Kalara took to Kaelyn right away and has barely let my sister out of her sight since without getting upset. She’s getting better, but it looked like she was being treated like an animal by those people in the menagerie, probably for as long as she can remember. The people running the menagerie were human.”

“That explains why she seems so shy and skittish,” Isa said with a frown.

Vergun looked thoughtful for a moment before his expression blossomed with realization and then immediately darkened. “Aye, I received a report on that incident. It said that the menagerie arrived in port here before moving westward, apparently bound for Evalis. I’ve sent troops to check out the area your troupe indicated on the map for any other Tainted, and I have people investigating how the caravan was allowed off the boat they came on in the first place. Menageries are a despicable practice, and they aren’t legal here in Kalidar.”

I glanced over at the pair of children, and it seemed like Isa was right. Kalara was listening intently to the other girl as she explained their game and handed my daughter one of her dolls. When I turned back, Isa was pouring tea for everyone. There were little pots containing cream and ground sweetroot and the Queen said, “Please, help yourselves to pastries and whatever you prefer for your tea. We have much to talk about, and even if we won’t enjoy the topics, we can at least enjoy this.”

““Thank you, Isa,”” Selice and I said at the same time, prompting a giggle from Arinelle who was already adding sweetroot to her cup.

I added both sweetroot and a bit of cream to mine and Selice did the same, and I let my ‘twin’ choose between pastries first. She chose an apple pastry with a flaky crust, dusted with a mix of powdered sweetroot and cinnamon. It looked delicious, so I took one of those for myself as well. They were as tasty as they looked and I enjoyed both my treat and the tea, but unfortunately, it was time for us to get down to business, and the first topic of conversation was Demons.