Voludor - Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Jaketa felt like her head was going to burst. Numeh had been showing her around the castle and explaining things to her about her job, and after a few hours of this it was all she could do to keep it all in memory. Truthfully, she was mostly worried that she was going to lose herself in the many halls of the palace. Hopefully, though, she'd memorize its structure sooner rather than later. Despite everything that she needed to learn, however, Jaketa couldn't help but have her mind wander to Basil. What was he doing right now? The whole reason she had decided to take a job here was because it would give her the opportunity to possibly spend more time with him.

So, when a moment arose where she could best give an off topic question, she asked, "Numeh? I know this is a bit of a random question but I can't help but ask; do you know Basil?"

Jaketa didn't doubt that she'd met him, after all they both worked here, but she wanted to know how well acquainted the two were with one another. The other faerie blinked.

"Do I know Basil? Of course!" she exclaimed. "He's Prince Safron's personal servant and perhaps his best friend. It's a pity he's so shy though; I keep trying to get him to make more friends, but everyone makes it so hard on him, since he's a gray faerie and all. It must be hard for him to not have any magic when everyone else around him wields it, don't you think? I know I would have a hard time if I couldn't use half of the abilities I have..."

At that point, Numeh's speach became completely unintelligible, her words slewing together into one long string of syllables. Her head spinning, Jaketa nodded, trying to act like she understood more than half of what Numeh had just said.

"He's a very good friend of mine, you see. That's why I had asked. It's unfortunate that people treat him different on account of being a gray faerie, isn't it?"

Again, she felt relieved. It sounded like Numeh saw a fairly good amount of Basil around, which meant that she should be able to see him, too! She was afraid that her job would keep her too busy to talk to him, and that would certainly defeat the purpose of getting a job in the palace.

Numeh's ears perked up when she mentioned she was his friend.

"Oh? You're friends?" she asked, practically bouncing. "Let's go see him then! I know exactly where he'll be right now. Come on!"

"Really, are you sure?" Jaketa asked, unable to help but looked excited. She wanted to see him more than anything right now, but there was still the issue of work.

"I mean, don't you still have things you need to show me?"

"Oh posh! You'll have plenty of time to learn all you need to! You don't even have your uniform yet, so let's go take a break and see how he's doing!"

Numeh skipped down the hallway, waiting for Jaketa to follow.

"Ah... okay." Jaketa replied a bit nervously, hurrying to catch up with her. Sure, she wasn't completely sure about this, but she did want to see Basil, and if Numeh was sure that it was fine, then Jaketa would trust her.

The pink faerie bounded along down the hallways like a little child, skipping until she reached to door she was looking for. She was about to knock when it opened, Basil nearly walking right into her as he was exiting.

"Numeh!" he exclaimed, startled that she was there. "Goodness! What are you doing here? Have you seen Safron? I can't find him anywhere and if his mother finds out I lost him again..."

The gray faerie stopped when he noticed Jaketa. He blinked in confusion.

"What are you doing here, Jaki?"

Jaketa beamed, glad to see her friend.

"I got a job as a chambermaid!" she explained. "It's all very exciting!"

And really, although some might not consider the job of a chambermaid exciting, Jaketa certainly did. But then again, not being from the city, she wasn't very much like a majority of the residents.

Basil stared for a minute before he nodded.

"That's wonderful, and many congratulations, but I have to find the prince now or the queen will have my head."

"Where did you last see him?" Numeh asked, trying to be helpful.

"He was in his room, but he asked to have some time alone; so I waited outside the door until he asked me back in, but he never did. I went in to check on him and he was gone!"

The pink faerie couldn't help but giggled as she rubbed Basil's shoulder.

"You know he likes to do that sometimes. He's probably somewhere on the grounds he really shouldn't be."

"I wish he'd at least warn me though..."

Jaketa paused, listening silently to the conversation Numeh and Basil had, mostly focusing on what the pink faerie had said about the prince being somewhere on the grounds that he really shouldn't be. Then she remembered Kloud. If she recalled correctly, the blonde fae had been hiding from the guards, naturally meaning he wasn't supposed to be there, and had run off on his own. Putting two and two together, she asked, "By any chance is Prince Safron friends with a faerie named Kloud?"

The two servants exchanged glances, Basil sighing and shaking his head.

"Yeah, for as long as I can remember," he told her, almost sounding relieved. "Kloud was ejected from the palace before I was old enough to remember, but he still sneaks up here to see Safron and give him fencing lessons. It's become a bit of a game with him and the guards, because if he was ever caught..."

"Well, if he's up here," Numeh cut him off. "Then we know where Safron is. To the training grounds!"

She was already off and on her way before anyone could object. Basil laughed, turning to Jaketa.

"Should I tell her she's going the long way or let her run around on her own? If Kloud is here, then I know how Safron left his room without my notice."

Jaketa laughed with Basil, also relieved to hear that Safron meeting up with Kloud wasn't an extremely bad thing. It had also been explained how Kloud had gotten hold of his key. Watching as Numeh darted off, she replied to Basil with, "Well, she really seems determined... it wouldn't seem right to break her spirit."

She had to admit, she was also curious to know how exactly Safron had managed to escape. Basil nodded and walked back into the room, gesturing for her to follow. It was a simple, yet incredibly elegant space with a balcony overlooking the kingdom below. This must have been the prince's bedchamber, but Jaketa didn't have much time to look it over as Basil revealed the hidden panel Safron had used to sneak out.

"He's supposed to warn me when he's going on these little excursions," the gray faerie explained. "So I can cover for him in case someone else comes looking for him. Like his mother."

"I wonder why he didn't tell you..." Jaketa mused aloud. It didn't sound like Basil disapproved of Safron sneaking out... he must have just been eager to get out. As the two entered the secret passage, Jaketa asked, "But why doesn't the queen approve of Safron practicing fencing?"

"I honestly wish I knew," Basil said. "You'd think she'd want him to be able to protect himself... maybe it's so that he can't go anywhere without an escort. He needs protection, and all that nonsense. If he could protect himself, it wouldn't be necessary."

The gray faerie shrugged as the reached the end of the passageway.

"Maybe she's just paranoid."

"Maybe..." Jaketa agreed, not really able to see the sense in her logic in not letting him defend himself either. Coming out into the grounds, she looked around, a little glad to be out in the fresh air once more. Jaketa really had been getting a little overwhelmed in the immensity of the palace.

Basil pushed open a panel and gave Jaketa a hand while stepping out into the open courtyard. Not far ahead of them was Kloud, laughing and shaking his head.

"Ah guhte," he said through his laughter. "How is it you plan on protecting yourself when you can't even best me while I use my off-hand? You haven't been practicing."

"You know that isn't the easiest thing for me to do, Kloud."

Standing across from the air faerie was a younger (albeit taller) healing fae. The prince looked down at his feet, rubbing his hands anxiously.

"Mother caught me the last time I tried to practice with one of the guards. She had him fired."

From her position next to Basil, Jaketa watched the scene unfold between Kloud and the prince. Speaking of Safron, he really was quite princely. Not like she was surprised; after meeting the queen she had been expecting some air of elegance about him. Needless to say he didn't share the same hostility, of course. Now, Jaketa wasn't quite sure what they were supposed to do. Not really knowing the prince she figured Basil would address him for sneaking out without warning. After all, that had been the whole reason that they came down here in the first place. She did wonder if she should curtsy to him and act humble as she had with his mother, though. Jaketa had a terrible feeling this might be a little awkward.

Kloud noticed them out of the corner of his eye, and turned to wave.

"Looks like we have an audience now."

Basil sighed, shaking his head as he walked up to them, standing beside the prince.

"Sire, you're supposed to let me know when you decide to go practice," he said. "How am I supposed to cover for you if I don't know you've gone?"

Safron shifted, bowing his head.

"I'm sorry, Basil. I... kind of forgot."

"Oh, don't be so rough on him," Kloud teased, folding his arms. "You're too young to be acting like his father!"

The gray faerie gave him a half smile before turning back to Safron. The prince looked up, shrugging his shoulders and giving him a gentle smile of his own.

"Will 'I'm sorry' do?"

Basil laughed and nodded eagerly.

"Yes, yes. So long as we make sure your mother doesn't know."

He then turned back to Jaketa and gestured for her to come forward.

"Safron, I'd like you to meet a close friend of mine. This is Jaketa; she just moved here from the country and just got employed here."

The prince tucked away the zehwelt he had been practicing with and bowed politely.

"It is a pleasure to meet you, miss."

Jaketa came forward, and hesitated, stunned, when the prince bowed to her. Naturally, she gave a curtsy in return, responding with, "It's a pleasure to meet you too, your highness!"

She certainly was pleasantly surprised at how courteous the prince was; she had figured he was nice enough by what Basil had told her, but hadn't expected him to bow to her. After meeting the queen, though, Jaketa was probably just a little intimidated.

"Please," he said shaking his head, a few loose strands of lilac hair falling into his face. "As long as Mother isn't around, feel free to just call me Safron. Basil surely does.."

"I was trying to be formal about this, you know," Basil scolded, even though it was obvious he was only joking. Kloud, however, was getting tired of the chatter.

"Well, while they're here, let's show them what you've learned! You're getting much better, even if you're still a long way from perfect."

Jaketa smiled and nodded.

"Alright," she agreed, glad to discover how friendly the prince really was. Looking over at Kloud when he spoke, Jaketa seemed to agree with that plan.

"Oh! I'd certainly like to watch; it sounds exciting!"

With that, Basil and Jaketa backed up to give the other two room for their demonstration. Kloud drew his weapon and held it before him, nodding for the prince to do the same.

"Well, come on," he prompted. "After this, we'll call it a day."

Safron nodded, drawing his zehwelt again and holding it to the side so that the magical blade could materialize. He seemed a little nervous with Basil and Jaketa watching, but readied his weapon for the duel, giving Kloud one more nod to let him know he was ready.

"Alright then! Aem kaelt!"

The air faerie made the first strike, materializing his weapon right as he swung at the prince. Safron deftly blocked the blow, sidestepping to attempt his first attack. Kloud dodged this... and so the duel began!

And Jaketa watched wide eyed, absorbed in the battle as well as on the edge. She'd never seen such a duel before... in fact the first time she had seen a zehwelt had been earlier that day! From what she had heard, she had a suspicion Kloud would emerge the victor, however she couldn't help but be impressed with both of them, considering she had about the fighting abilities of a newborn.

It only lasted about half a minute, with Kloud catching Safron across the face with the tip of his weapon. The prince cried, "Hold," letting him know the fight was over. He carefully raised his hand up to his cheek to close the wound.

"Lest Mother find out," he mumbled more or less to himself, as if he needed to explain why he was healing himself. Kloud put his hilt away and leaned against a wall while he waited for the prince to finish.

"You've done enough for today," the shorter faerie said with an approving nod. "I'll be back next week to see if you've gotten to practice again, or whether I need to give you another refresher course..."

"And for now," Basil cut in. "We better get you back to your room, sire. I heard the guards were already out on the grounds looking for something suspicious. I can only assume they're searching for Kloud again, and we don't all want to get into trouble."

Safron sighed, but nodded in understanding.

"Agreed."

Even if the duel had been short, Jaketa was thrilled by it, and didn't fully come down from that excitement. Of course, she also had a rather one track mind, so that probably helped. Waving goodbye to Kloud before they started heading back, the trio had nearly finished traversing the secret passage when a realization hit her.

"Oh my... I completely forgot about Numeh!"

The poor faerie was sure to be confused when she arrived at the training grounds and nobody was there. Basil chuckled, but Safron was the one who took the initiative to explain.

"She's probably forgotten where she was going to in the first place. She tends to do that. Quite frequently, unfortunately."

"Really?"

Jaketa thought about this for a moment before she laughed a little.

"Well now I understand why she showed me the same hallway a few times without seeming to lose any enthusiasm... I wasn't sure if she was doing it on purpose or not at first..."

"She probably forgot what she had shown you already," Basil agreed. "Now I hate to sound mean, but you really should leave, Jaki. Don't want the queen to catch you here. If Numeh doesn't find you before your shift ends, I'll be sure to let her know you went home, alright?"

By now, Safron had wandered off towards his balcony and was lazily gazing outside, more or less ignoring the two friends.

Jaketa hesitated, but smiled, understanding. Nodding, she agreed, "Alright, I'll go. Thanks, Basil."

Making a step for the door, she paused when she realized she still didn't really know much about the layout of the place and asked, "Um... is there any place that might be good to look for her?"

If worse came to worse she could always just hope to run into the pink-haired faerie by chance, but she was afraid of getting into trouble for getting separated from the one who was supposed to be teaching her about the place. Maybe they shouldn't have let Numeh off on her own, after all.

"Try the servants' quarters: that building just outside the palace connected by the tunnel," he suggested. "Numeh is one of the few of us (like myself) who live on the grounds rather than outside in her own home."

Jaketa beamed.

"Alright, thank you, Basil! I'll see you later."

Starting toward the door, she paused again to look toward the prince and pleasantly saying, "Again, it was very nice to meet you, Safron," before, with a final wave to her friend, leaving the room and heading on her merry way toward the building that had been suggested by Basil. Jaki could remember seeing the servant's quarters, and so was fairly confident that she'd be able to make it there without losing herself.

And fortunately, willing her mind to stay on task, she soon found herself having arrived at the desired building. Tentatively, she opened the door and entered. Originally, she was going to knock, but then shook her head, deciding that since she was a servant as well, it couldn't be too wrong of her to go inside without permission.

There were only a few other faeries there, and most of them waved when she entered.

"You must be the new girl," one young man – an earth faerie with leafy green locks – said. "Welcome to the most dangerous job in Central City!"

"Oh hush, Patchouli!" one of the older servants scolded. "Working for the queen isn't all bad, otherwise you wouldn't still be here!"

She grinned at Jaketa, the wrinkles on her face extending the smile all the way up to her eyes.

"Don't mind the boy much; he was scared horribly on his first day here. You look lost, dear. What is it you're looking for?"

Jaketa smiled back at them, easing up a little at the friendly disposition of the other servants.

"Ah... I'm looking for Numeh. She's supposed to be showing me around but we kind of got separated..." she answered to the older servant, sounding a bit embarrassed at her helplessness. But the old woman chuckled pleasantly.

"Oh, then you've come to the right place. She wandered in just a few minutes ago, deciding to take a nap. Looked a little lost herself, actually. We were guessing that she had forgotten what she had been working on again."

Again, the faerie laughed.

"I can wake her for you, if it's important."

"Oh! Well if she's sleeping... I wouldn't want to wake her up..."

Honestly, Jaketa would just feel bad about disturbing Numeh from her sleep.

"It's not extremely important or anything, anyway. She can show me around again, later."

Pausing, she admitted, "But I don't really know what to do with myself, now... I hadn't expected her to have fallen asleep."

"Do you have any assignments for the day?" Patchouli asked, yawning himself. "If not, you may as well go home until tomorrow. The queen won't expect you to be here until after breakfast anyway, unless you live here, that it."

Jaketa shook her head.

"No, I don't believe I do... and I don't live here, either, so I guess I'll go home, then."

Pausing, she smiled at them again and said, "Thanks for the help... I really appreciate it, both of you."

So then, after a brief exchange of words, Jaketa, in better spirits now that she basically knew what she was doing, turned and left, now on course to head back to her new home. Thinking about it, a nap didn't sound like all that bad of an idea.

"Jaki! Wait!"

She had almost reached the main gates of the castle when Basil came flying after her. Landing right in front of her path, his wings folded back as he held out something towards her.

"You almost forgot your lift key."

Jaketa jumped, startled by the sudden noise, but quickly recovered, blinking at what Basil held out to her as he explained what it was.

"Oh! Goodness! Thank you so much! I can't believe I forgot."

She looked embarrassed as she accepted it, criticizing herself, "That would have quickly become a problem... I'm so forgetful..."

"Don't worry too much," Basil said with a small laugh. "It happens to everyone."

He started back towards the palace.

"See you around!"

With a final wave, Basil was gone.

Wow! What an eventful afternoon!

Watching Basil until he was out of sight, Jaketa continued on her way, toying with the key in her hands until she reached the lift, and, mimicking how she had seen the lift being worked previously, she got it to lurch to life and carry her back to the forty-second level. By now, Jaketa was seriously considering that nap, just to recover from her experience at the castle. Spending hours with Numeh could really exhaust you...

So, as soon as she was home, the first thing she did was get nice and comfy in bed. It didn't take her long to drift into a peaceful slumber...

A sharp tapping on her window interrupted Jaketa's pleasant sleep. Kloud practically had his face squished up against the glass, trying to get her attention.

Jaketa nearly rolled out of bed, delirious with sleep when the noise roused her from her slumber. Stumbling over to the window, her purple curls a bit of a mess, she opened the window, trying to get her eyes to focus more.

"Kloud...?" she thought aloud, asking. "What are you doing here?"

Kloud grabbed her wrist, nearly pulling her out the window.

"We need healers down in the town center, quickly!" he exclaimed. "Ember sent me up to get you."

Jaketa went wide-eyed, instantly awake.

"Oh my goodness!" she gasped, partially because of what he said and partially from his tone of voice and action.

"Go around to the front, I'll meet you there," she told him in a hurried voice, being affected by the sense of urgency, not caring about her tousled curls as she basically bolted to the front door and then outside, barely bothering to shut the it behind her.

"What's going on?" she demanded as she met up with Kloud once more and they immediately started toward the town center.

"Wunkrazi breached the city barriers," he explained as he flew ahead of her. "It's the third time this month, and a lot of people were injured before we were able to send them back."

Stopping beside the lift, Kloud grabbed onto her wrist again.

"Quickest way down is to free fall most of the way. Come on!"

"What are the Wunk–" she started, cutting off as Kloud grabbed her and soon they were over the edge, falling down to their destination. She couldn't help but give a small surprised squeal of alarm, but quickly gathered her thoughts, reminding herself that they had wings and could slow down their fall before hitting the ground. Which, naturally, they did at the appropriate time, their feet hitting the ground lightly before they sprung to life again, approaching the injured in need of help. Jaketa figured that it would be more appropriate to ask questions later, after the injured had been treated.

A handful of guards were blocking off curious onlookers while healing fae were pulled from the crowd to help heal the numerous wounded. There was little damage to the surrounding buildings, but at least twenty faeries were seriously injured, dozens more with minor wounds and scratches.

As Kloud landed, Jaketa could see that there was a slight hobble to his stride, but he sent her off towards more injured individuals, sitting down on the edge of the fountain to wait for the next available healer.

As she went about healing the wounds of the faeries in serious need of treatment, Jaketa was able to pick up facts about the Wunkrazi. She heard from the various chatter that they were malicious, evil creatures with the ability to shapeshift. Apparently they could be compared to wingless faeries who stole the abilities from faeries, using that against them. The thought sent a shiver through her spine, knowing that if a faerie was stripped of all its magic, it meant death.

"Even the gray faeries aren't immune," Kloud sighed as he sat down beside Jaketa. Now that the most severely injured had been taken care of, it was his turn to be healed. He'd made so little of the wound in his leg, but it was a bit more serious than he had let on.

Jaketa frowned sadly as she went to work on his leg, a little confused at his statement.

"They aren't?" she questioned. "But if they don't have magic, then how can it be drained out of them?"

"I don't know," the air faerie admitted. "But according to Ember, it isn't that the gray faeries don't have magic; it's that they aren't able to channel it. She reckons this is why gray faeries (like all faeries) can hide their wings when they sleep or change clothing, or any other time the wish to keep them out of the way."

A cluster of townsfolk watching the scene began to snicker and whisper amongst themselves, pointing at Jaketa and Kloud with scornful sneers.

"That does make sense..." Jaketa mused as she finished healing Kloud's wound. It was around that time that she noticed the small crowd and glanced over at them, the corners of her lips turning down in a frown.

"What's their problem?" she wondered aloud. It wasn't like she was doing anything strange; all she had done was heal his wound. Kloud looked up and saw them, and shook his head.

"It's me, not you. They do that every time I speak with a woman."

He removed his pierce nez.

"A rather unfortunate result of a highly negative (and incorrect) rumor: everyone in Zamzahdu seems to believe the only thing on my mind is getting in bed with every woman I can."

At this information, Jaketa looked horrified.

"That's terrible!" she exclaimed, shaking her head. "Why would they think such a thing?"

Pausing, she mentally smacked herself. He probably didn't want to recall whatever memory it was that had created the suspicions against him, so she quickly added, "You probably don't want to talk about it though, do you? I really am sorry that a rumor like that has spread about you..."

She wished there was something about it she could do, but Jaketa knew that widespread rumors were kind of hard to erase. The healing fae felt horrible for Kloud. He seemed nice enough; he didn't deserve to be treated that way.

Kloud put his glasses back on and tipped his hat to her as he stood.

"Ask Ember about it," he said flatly. "I need to be off."

And with that, he walked away down the street.

"Bye..." she called after him, standing as well. For a moment, she just stood there, thinking over what he said before turning and heading in the direction of Ember's shop. She was really curious to know, now, and it wasn't like she had anything else to do at the moment. She figured she might as well go and ask. Jaketa just hoped that Ember would actually be there when she arrived.

The sign read "Closed" when she got there, but the door was open. Ember was reorganizing a shelf that had been toppled over during the Wunkrazi attack.

"Oh, hello Jaketa," she greeted, balancing a stack of books. "Would you mind giving me a hand with these?"

"Sure thing!" Jaketa exclaimed, hurrying forward to grab a good portion of the books. As they were putting them back into order, she asked her question.

"Ember? Could you... tell me about Kloud? I heard about that awful rumor about him not long ago, and he told me to ask you..."

Even now she was trying to wrap her head around why everyone would think something so terrible about him. Ember nearly snorted.

"You need to be more specific than that. There are a lot of rumors floating around his head. Granted, most of them aren't completely true, but I need to know which one you're referring to if I'm going to elaborate."

"Really?"

Jaketa sounded shocked as she heard that bit of information, and frowned a little, but nevertheless answered her question.

"The one about it being a goal of his to sleep with every woman in the city."

This time, Ember did snort.

"Oh, that one. He sent you to ask me about it, didn't he?"

The fire faerie folded her arms across her chest and shook her head.

"Not that I would blame him; that's probably one of the worst rumors. You may want to sit down. Better you hear it from me than through the gossip about town."

Jaketa nodded, and as she had been asked, sat down in the same chair she had sat in earlier that day when she had first met Ember. If she was advised to sit down for this, than she expected it was either a long story or a shocking one. Ember sat across from her, folding her hands in her lap as she began her story.

"Kloud used to work in the palace as the Master Swordsman. This title has ceased to exist since his expulsion, but when it was still in use, the position was considered one of the most prestigious in the court. Only someone with great skill with a sword or zehwelt (as well as an appropriate social status) could earn this title."

Jaketa's eyes widened. She could believe his skill in the sword (she had seen it firsthand), but as for the second part...

"Appropriate social status?" she repeated, asking, "Kloud was of a high status?"

"Oh yes," Ember confirmed. "He comes from a very long line of wealthy noblemen. Admittedly, he moved here from another kingdom, but prior to his expulsion, he had a high enough standing to afford living on level eighty-one."

"Eighty-one?!" Jaketa echoed. "Wow! That's impressive... but what happened that got him thrown out of the palace?"

The other faerie sighed, leaning back in her chair with a small frown.

"That's where the story gets fuzzy. According to one rumor, he and Queen Juhruna had a love affair, and when he was caught, King Pamo (may his soul rest in peace) had him ejected from the palace, but not the city since he was too good of a fighter not to have around. The other – and unfortunately more prevalent – rumor is that he tried to force himself on the queen, despite the fact that he was married and his wife was pregnant. That's where the rumor about him wanting to bed every woman comes from."

"But which one is true?" she wondered aloud, thinking about it. The second one was definitely the more negative, but even though the first rumor was less suspicious sounding, it still seemed as if an element was missing from it. Then, another question formed from the story and Jaketa couldn't help but ask, "What happened to his wife and child?"

Ember sighed, looking out the window.

"His wife was exiled for the attempted murder of Prince Safron. I don't know what happened to her child, and neither does Kloud. He assumes they were exiled together, as he has never seen the baby."

She looked back at the healing fae.

"And as for which rumor is true, it's neither of them, at least according to Kloud. The so called love affair was devised by the queen herself, because she'd taken a liking to him. His wife knew, and they both begrudgingly agreed to let the affair go on until they found out she was pregnant. When Kloud called off the affair, the queen told her husband he had assaulted her. Thankfully, the king was no fool and didn't completely believe his wife's story, and so gave Kloud an arguably light sentence. The rumors are what ruined him."

"I see..." Jaketa looked sad; if she hadn't felt bad for Kloud before, she certainly did now! He had lost his status and his family as well as had his reputation dirtied, probably beyond repair, and it didn't sound as if any of it was actually his fault!

"Poor Kloud... no wonder he didn't want to talk about it..."

Giving a sigh, she shook her head and looked up at Ember, suddenly wishing for a change in subject. She had gotten the story, and couldn't think of anymore questions to ask pertaining to it, so instead inquired, "Is there anything else I could help you with?"

"No, I'm just about done. It looks like everything is here, but I'll have to do a full inventory check tomorrow. I was just about to go home to fix something for dinner. Seeing as you already stayed for lunch, would you care to join me for another meal?"

Jaketa smiled.

"Really? Oh, that would be wonderful! Thank you, Ember; it's very nice of you to invite me."

This was really only her second encounter with the fire fae, but Jaketa was very pleased that they already had a rather friendly relationship. She hadn't thought she would be able to make any good relationships so soon, and it was a nice surprise. It definitely made the transition from the country to the city easier on her.

"Right this way, then," Ember said with a smile and a gesture towards the back. "We'll take the stairs in my shop. Really no reason to use the lift when you're only the next level up, right?"

"Sure," Jaketa agreed, following behind her happily. She actually didn't mind; it felt good to not have to depend on the lifts for everything. She still was a little intimidated of them, she had to admit.

Ember smiled and led the way towards the stairs in the back. Stepping lightly towards the top, she pulled out a small key to unlock the door there.

"Make yourself comfortable," the fire faerie said as she held open the door for her. "I'll go and start cooking. A merchant came through town yesterday with meat he'd gotten from a human market. I can't wait to taste it!"

"That sounds wonderful!" Jaketa commented as she started to look around the small home curiously. The place was very well furnished, suggesting how rich she really must have been, just as Kloud had told her. It was also very warm and cozy... the kind of place you just felt quickly at home in. Of course, compared to Jaketa's still bare new living space, everything seemed rather cozy. Well... maybe with the exception of the palace. That place was just extravagant and intimidating.

"Your home is very lovely..." Jaketa called to Ember as she hesitantly took a seat in a vacant chair.

"Thank you!" Ember called from the kitchen. "Most of the furniture was my mother's before she passed away. There's a painting of her, my sister, and myself on the wall above the mantel. Would you like some tea with your supper?"

Jaketa's host was already bringing a tray out before she answered.

"Maybe once you've gotten settled, you can invite me over for dinner."

"Oh, tea would be nice," the healing faerie responded with a smile as she added, "Oh! Yes! Of course I'll invite you over once I've settled in. You've been so hospitable, it's the least I could do to return the favor..."

As she said this, Jaketa's lilac eyes wandered over to the painting above the mantel, curious to see what Ember's family looked like.

The painting was quite lovely, featuring the three ladies who made up Ember's family: the fire faerie was easiest to spot amongst them, though much younger than she was now. Beside her was who had to be her sister, a slightly older dark faerie with a pale, but smooth complexion. Between the two girls was their mother, a contented older woman with deep blue hair: a water fae.

Jaketa smiled lightly as she examined the piece. After a moment, she called to Ember, "Your mother and sister are both quite lovely!"

"Thank you," Ember said as she set the tea tray on the coffee table in front of her. "I'm sure they would both have loved to hear you say that."

As she registered this statement, Jaketa's eyes first widened before sadness crossed her features.

"You mean...your sister, too...?" she gasped, suddenly feeling bad for bringing up such a grim subject. Ember smiled slightly as she poured them each a cup of tea.

"I honestly can't say whether or not Minea is still alive, but I haven't seen her in... gosh, nearly twelve seasons."

She sat down for a moment, rubbing her hands a bit uncomfortably.

"She was... she was Kloud's wife."

Yet again, Jaketa's eyes went wide.

"Really?!" Catching herself, she asked, in a softer voice, "So then... she was the one that was exiled? How sad..."

Quite honestly, she was starting to feel a little depressed. Nothing extremely disheartening had ever happened in her family, and all of sudden, here she was, having met two people in one day with less than inspiring pasts.

Anyway, she noticed that Ember seemed a little uncomfortable with the current situation and quickly apologized.

"I'm sorry... I probably shouldn't have brought it up..."

"No, it's alright," the fire faerie assured her as she rose to tend to dinner. "Better I tell you now than wait until later. Needless to say, I'm not particularly fond of the queen. I seriously doubt that my sister would have tried to kill the prince, under any circumstances. Unfortunately, her majesty Queen Juhruna seems to believe that being a dark faerie makes you predisposed to being evil."

Ember snorted.

"I can't wait until Safron takes the throne."

Jaketa nodded in agreement. "He definitely seems much, much nicer than Queen Juhruna..."

Soon, the meal had finished cooking and the women enjoyed it happily, keeping more pleasant conversation throughout it. Jaketa stayed for a little while longer to continue talking to Ember, but eventually, she had to return to her home to get some rest. After all, she'd have a busy day learning more about the palace tomorrow.

As the healing faerie was soon to discover, she was getting the hang of the palace a lot easier than she originally thought she would. For the next few days Numeh helped her learn her job (Jaketa subtly helping the easily distracted pink fae stay on task), and slowly, she began to get more comfortable around the palace and around the entire city. Jaketa was getting used to the lifts, had gotten settled into her new home, and was happier than ever, being able to see Basil as often as she could.

The festival that Kloud had mentioned on her first day was also drawing near. Jaketa, curious and interested, found herself at the fair grounds, watching as faeries set up for the event. Her shift at the palace was done for the day, so she didn't really have anywhere else to be, anyway.

"Interesting, isn't it?"

Basil walked up beside Jaketa as other servants set up poles for lanterns. He couldn't help but laugh and shake his head at the whole thing. Jaketa smiled as Basil approached her and nodded.

"It is," she agreed, pausing as she listened to the rest of what the gray faerie had to say.

"For the last five seasons," he continued. "The queen has held this festival, and for the last five seasons, Safron has refused to choose a bride. I can't say I blame him, really. I mean, honestly, there are only so many women of appropriate age and status in Zamzahdu, and does she really think it will change that much from one season to the next?"

"It is a little silly, throwing this festival so often when Safron continues to show such indifference... but I have to wonder why the queen is so determined to have him married. I mean... would it really hurt her to slow it down a little?"

From the way she saw it, pushing Safron so hard for him to be married was just making him unhappy. She knew she'd be unhappy in that situation, anyway.

"Well, next season, married or not, he inherits the throne," Basil explained. "He and I are the same age, which makes next season his twenty-fourth. I guess the queen is old fashioned and wants him to have a wife before then."

"Ah, I see... well that does make sense, but still..." Jaketa sighed, going silent after she said this. Taking a moment to just watch the preparations for a moment, she asked, "So what exactly happens on these festivals?"

"You mean aside from the prince being excessively bored?" Basil asked back, starting back towards the market. "Usually a lot of dancing and a lot of gossip. Sometimes, if no one is paying too close attention, Safron and I switch places just to see if anyone notices."

Following him, Jaketa's face lit up at the mention of dancing. She opened her mouth, about to ask if he wouldn't mind dancing with her during the festival, when what he said about switching places with the prince really sank in. Confused, she asked him, "Switch places? But... but how? You're a gray faerie and he's a healing faerie... there's a good amount of physical differences between you two..."

"Not really," Basil said with a shrug. "We're about the same height, and the only major difference is hair, eye, and wing color. That's easily fixed with a couple of potions from the apothecary. Color changing tonics have become very popular over the past few seasons. Besides, I can mimic Safron's voice perfectly, and as long as he doesn't talk, the switch works pretty well."

He lowered his voice slightly, leaning in towards her.

"That's why he usually tells me when he's gone off to practice with Kloud: so I can imitate his voice should anyone come looking for him."

"Oh! A potion from the apothecary... that makes more sense, then..."

Trailing off, she realized that he was right: other than their hair, eye, and wing color, Basil and Safron did look fairly similar. However, now that that question had been answered, she couldn't help but have her thoughts turn back to the question she would have originally asked.

"Basil?" Jaketa asked eagerly. "Do you think we could dance during the festival? It sounds like it would be fun!"

A wide smile spread across his face.

"Of course! I'd be delighted to!"

About to voice her excitement, Jaketa stopped, her attention caught by a rather odd spectacle nearby on the streets. Judging from the sound of clapping from the small crowd around a young man taking a bow, he must have been giving some sort of performance. His back was to them, but by the looks of his pale (almost white) hair color and wing color, it could be assumed he was a light faerie.

"Ah, thank you, thank you! You're too kind!" he responded to the praise, his voice loud, cheerful, and almost on the verge of singsongy. Straightening, he then declared, "Now, for my next act!"

Throwing his hands in the air dramatically, he sprang to life, spinning himself backwards as if to prepare for some grand acrobatic trick – and a look of shock crossing his face as he did so when he caught sight of Jaketa and Basil, too close for him to maneuver himself out of the way of.

Tumbling clumsily right into the couple, he twirled once, got one foot caught behind the other, and fell flat on the ground, face first.

"Gracious!" Jaketa breathed, eyes wide as she tried to recover from what exactly had just happened. Already, the strange light faerie had sprung nimbly back to his feet, waving his hands enthusiastically in front of him as if to assure a wild beast that he had meant no harm.

"Begging your pardon!" he exclaimed, bowing his head to them in apology. "I'm terribly sorry! I hadn't seen you standing there!"

"No harm," Basil assured him. "I must say, other than us walking right into the middle of your stage, you put on a wonderful show."

A brilliant ear-to-ear smile erupted across his face at the compliment.

"Ah!" he exclaimed. "Then you saw! I'm glad to hear you enjoyed my performance! I'll be putting on another show at the festival... one I can only wish will be a more graceful one..."

Trailing off, a sudden look of disgust crossed his face for a brief second before he jumped back a little, giving him room to give another low bow.

"Forgive me! It seems I have failed to introduce myself! I am Zaiden; Zaiden the Magnificent: Acrobat Extraordinaire! It is, without a doubt, a pleasure to make your acquaintances..."

Trailing off yet again, Zaiden brought up his pale blue eyes to glance at Jaketa and Basil expectantly, waiting for their names.

Jaketa was, in truth, still a little startled by Zaiden's enthusiasm, but at the same time she just couldn't help but smile at his antics, and happily gave her name.

"I'm Jaketa! It really is nice to meet you."

"Basil," the gray faerie offered with a polite bow of his own. "I was wondering what sort of entertainment would be hired for this season's waste of the prince's time. At least there will be something to look forward to now."

Zaiden straightened, eyes going wide at Basil's words.

"Waste of time?" he echoed, sounding shocked, almost hurt. "How can that be? It is a festival, is it not? Festivals are a time of joy and celebration! He should eat, drink, dance, sing, and most importantly be merry! Does he not eat, drink, dance, sing, and be merry?"

The light faerie looked more and more aghast with every word of his revelation that someone truly might not enjoy themselves at a festivity. You'd think that Zaiden had never seen an unhappy faerie in all his life. But, then again, he did seem to be a rather abnormally joyful fellow, so that probably had something to do with it.

Basil rolled his eyes, laughing a little.

"How is he able to when all his mother wants him to do is find a wife? He's only twenty-three."

The horror continued to grow on Zaiden's face.

"But... but marriage is a commitment that must be made out of love and devotion! It can take time to find your match! Love must not be rushed or forced!"

Shaking his head with a small scoff, he added, "Why, I thought these sacred fundamentals were common knowledge!"

Jaketa sighed.

"It is rather sad, but the queen really only seems to care about him getting married before he takes over the throne in a season. I don't think she'd give a second thought as to whether or not he loved his bride..."

It was a little harsh, but after meeting the queen and hearing all that Basil had to say, Jaketa doubted she was making rash assumptions on Queen Juhruna. Zaiden shook his head again.

"That's... that's..."

It was quite clear that the performer wasn't sure what emotions to settle on in this situation or how to properly react. On one hand, he could be outraged and frustrated by her majesty's disregard toward her son and toward love. On the other, he could be depressed and disheartened that such beliefs existed in the world. And then, there was also a part of him that could stand tall and determined, making it a mission to help the prince find his love before it was too late. A loveless marriage was too horrible of a prospect to let slip by unattended!

"Ridiculous?" Basil suggested as the completion to the other faerie's sentence. "Foolish? Harsh? Unreasonably strict? I can keep going if you need more adjectives to describe how absolutely absurd the notion that Prince Safron is going to find his one true love during a festival that only lasts a couple of days is."

"Hmmm..."

Zaiden put a hand to his chin and tapped his foot, his eyes closing and brow furrowing in concentration. Suddenly, in the blink of an eye, he was down on one knee, one hand on his hip and the other straight up in the air. It was the epitome of over dramatic poses.

"Never fear! In times of crisis, love shines through in the end in all its brilliant splendor!"

Jaketa blinked, once again startled, but this time was unable to give a proper reaction, for Zaiden was on his feet once more, and clapped one hand on Basil's shoulder and the other on Jaketa's shoulder in a determined fashion.

"That is to say... I'm sure love will triumph over evil! Even in the face of these grim, hopeless possibilities! All is not lost!"

Basil exchanged bewildered glances with Jaketa before carefully removing the light faerie's hand from his shoulder.

"You remind me a lot of an acquaintance of mine: another servant in the palace. I can only imagine how you and Numeh would get along together..."

He took a deep breath.

"So, are you being paid before or after the festival?"

"Afterward," Zaiden answered, not seeming to notice or care how the other two faeries had reacted to his less than common antics, and putting his hands on his hips. "So I'll be staying here in the city a few days after the festival is over. Then, once more, I shall take to the roads!"

He grinned, giving a bit of a laugh. Basil couldn't help but laugh with him, his good humor quite infectious.

"Well then, I wish you the best of luck. If you're staying in town a few days, I highly encourage going to speak with our local bookseller, Ember. She can give you an overview of the city and recommendations as to where it would be best to stay."

The gray faerie turned back towards Jaketa.

"I really must go now. Safron, I'm sure, will be in need of my assistance at any time now."

"I'll see you later then, Basil!" Jaketa called merrily after her friend as Zaiden mused over the suggestion. Turning back to the performer, the healing fae suggested, "Why don't I show you to Ember's shop? I don't really have much to do, so taking you over there wouldn't be too much of a problem."

"Ah! Thank you, my lady! Your services would be very much appreciated!" Zaiden answered, smiling brilliantly at the purple faerie, who just laughed and started on her way.

"Alright then, follow me."

After the past few days, Jaketa could really say that she and Ember had become friends. She had been visiting the bookshop, of course. Not only did she enjoy the fire faerie's company, but she still couldn't help but feel more comfortable in the peaceful quiet of the shop.

It wasn't long before the two arrived, and Jaki had to remind Zaiden to keep his voice down. The entire walk there he had been talking about something or another (and had been doing so quite loudly and enthusiastically, at that).

Ember was standing in the open doorway long before they were in front of her shop, leaning against the frame with her arms crossed.

"I could hear you when you were still at the fountain," she said, eyes narrowed in agitation despite the small smile on her lips. "What sort of riffraff have you brought me?"

Jaketa smiled in apology, starting, "This is..."

"The Outstanding Zaiden: Acrobat Extraordinaire! At your service!" Zaiden interjected, bowing humbly to Ember.

"He's... a little energetic," the healing faerie explained. "He's staying in town for the festival, and Basil suggested he come here to ask you the best place for him to stay. I offered to show him the way..."

"I see..."

Ember rolled her eyes and unfolded her arms, gesturing inside.

"Well, if he can sit still for a few minutes, I'd be very happy to tell him. I'm almost finished going over my inventory."

She led them both into the shop.

"I can't believe it has taken me so long to get through it all, but those Wunkrazi really made quite a mess..."

As he was told, Zaiden clamped his mouth shut, following behind Jaketa and holding his hands behind his back. He had the sudden urge to whistle, but remembered he was trying to be quiet and sit still and held himself back.

"I hope they don't attack again anytime soon..." Jaketa sighed, shaking her head. "It would be a shame to have to clean up all over again. And then all those faeries who get injured..."

She could still remember when Kloud had woken her from her sleep to tell her about the attack. It had been the first time she had really seen so many people injured at one time.

"Well," Ember called from the back. "It's been an unfortunately frequent occurrence lately, although the last time it was a group of merchants leaving Zamzahdu that were attacked. That was only two weeks earlier, I'm afraid."

"Two Wunkrazi attacks in a month?" Zaiden repeated, alarmed. "Gracious! I've never heard of such a..."

Trailing off, he ran a hand through his disorderly hair, giving a laugh.

"Ah! Forgive me! I'm supposed to be quiet, aren't I?"

But Jaketa looked just as troubled.

"Really? Two attacks so close together? I didn't realize that Zamzahdu was so unsafe..."

Well, maybe unsafe wasn't the correct wording, but it certainly sounded as if the city was specifically being targeted. It was odd; she figured that it would be risky to attack the capital city, thus discouraging violence.

"The Wunkrazi have been growing bolder for the past thirty seasons," Ember sighed. "And the queen..."

She abruptly became silently, but after a few seconds...

"Those little, horrible, wicked... ARGH! Of all the books they could have taken...!"

Jaketa and Zaiden both jumped in surprise to Ember's sudden outburst.

"What is it?" Jaketa asked, brow furrowing. "What book is gone?"

She had to wonder exactly what book was so special that had gotten the fire faerie so worked up.

Ember stepped out from the back, hands balled into fists and cheeks as bright red as her hair, her eyes already bloodshot from crying.

"My newest acquisition: an old text written in Rungweh titled Zaftazuhm. I hadn't even gotten to open it yet! It cost me half a season's income just to find it, and I was so looking forward to translating it into Common..."

The fire faerie couldn't hold herself back anymore and collapsed into sobs on the floor.

"Why would they take such a thing?"

Jaketa gasped, going down on her knees and wrapping an arm around Ember to comfort her. Truthfully, she really didn't understand all too much about the book, but could see how obviously upset her friend was, and didn't want to see her like that.

"That's terrible! I'm so sorry, Ember... I wish there was something I could do..."

Why exactly would they be so interested in a book? It did strike Jaketa as a little odd. Wiping her eyes with the cuff of her sleeve, Ember began to calm down.

"It's just so frustrating. Ever since King Pamo (may his soul rest in peace) married that pidj of a woman Lady Juhruna, things have gone sour! More faeries have been exiled than ever before in the history of our city, and now all these attacks..."

Zaiden couldn't help but whistle softly at the insult toward the queen.

"Wow... she that bad, huh?" he wondered aloud as Jaketa looked even more concerned.

"You don't think she has something to do with the attacks, do you?" she asked Ember, seeing where the fire faerie was going. After all, as cruel as Juhruna was, it couldn't just be her personality that brought the Wunkrazi.

"I have a very strong suspicion," Ember informed them, slowly rising. "But to admit so in public would do more harm than good. All it would do is get me added to the list of exiled fae. I'm afraid I'm not as bold as my sister when it comes to the queen."

She walked over to her counter to put her inventory list away, shaking her head the whole time.

"Now, what was it you wanted me to tell you? Sorry, I forgot when I got so worked up there..."

Jaketa rose with her, her eyes following her friend even as Zaiden spoke.

"Ah, no need to apologize! Your forgetfulness was understandable. I was simply hoping for a recommendation as to where I could stay while I'm here. I'm only going to stay until a few days after the festival concludes, after all..."

"Then your best bet is the Blue Dagger Tavern and Inn," Ember told him. "It's fairly clean and the rooms are a bit overpriced, but the owner is nice and the food is excellent. Be sure to try the house special if you get the chance."

She turned back to them both and smiled.

"And if you would, please don't mention anything about what we said here. Rumors spread like wildfire through a tavern."

Zaiden smiled widely at Ember as if nothing had happened concerning her lost book.

"Thank you kindly, Missus!" he declared, promising, "And don't you worry! I won't speak even a word about this!"

Giving both the ladies a final bow, he practically spun as he turned toward the door, onto his next destination.

Jaketa stared after him, seeming just as puzzled by the strange, spontaneous performer as she had when she had first met him with Basil. Ember sighed, rubbing her forehead.

"Do me a favors, Jaks, and follow him. I somehow get the feeling he's going to get himself into trouble if he isn't watched."

Although Jaketa looked a little weary of having to stay with the eccentric man, she nodded with a smile.

"Sure," she laughed. "I don't really doubt that suspicion. See you later, Ember."

Waving, she turned and left to follow after the light faerie, calling, "Zaiden! Why don't I show you the way to the Inn?"

"Hm?"

Zaiden paused mid step, looking over his shoulder at her.

"Ah! That would be splendid! Thank you, Missus!"

"Wouldn't want you to get lost, after all..." she explained cheerfully, catching up to him and leading the way. Jaketa was glad she was already getting used to the layout of the city. Otherwise, this would have been a little awkward. Well, more than it already was, anyway.

The Blue Dagger was easy enough to find with its signage posted boldly over the front door. Several patrons were exiting as the pair arrived, giving them a peek at the merriment inside: joyful music, plenty of laughter, and the sounds of general drunkenness all floated out the doors briefly before they swung gently shut.

Zaiden thanked Jaketa for her services when they arrived, but she told him she'd like to make sure he situated himself before leaving him. He seemed flattered by her concern, and she followed him into the Blue Dagger. Immediately, the light faerie located and approached the innkeeper.

"Excuse me, but I'd like to request a room if one is available," he said politely, smiling cheerily all the while.

The faerie behind the counter held her hand up to let him know she had heard him, but continued mixing up a drink for the customer she was already working with. It was hard to tell what sort of fae she was, given that she had covered herself up pretty well and was out of sight before the two of them could get a good look, but when she came back to them they could see her green eyes and knew at once she was an earth faerie. Really, her eyes were the only part of her face they could see; her hair was wrapped up in one scarf and her mouth covered by another. She bowed her head politely towards them.

"I only have small rooms available," she said softly. "If that is alright. Will both of you need your own space?"

"Oh! No, I don't need a room, thank you. I'm just here with him until he gets set up..." Jaketa explained.

"Just me," Zaiden confirmed, adding, "A small room would be perfectly fine!"

The owner nodded, bowing her head again as she made her way around the counter.

"Then follow me this way, please. I will show you what I have available."