Duchess Ravenna ducked into the dark alley with two of her more burly servants by her side. She looked sideways to make sure she had not been followed. When the coast was clear, she entered a back door of an abandoned dwelling. The room was dank, and Ravenna turned up her nose at the smell but said nothing.

Her fluffy blue hair sat like a crown on her head as she made herself comfortable on a less than sturdy chair. The man sitting opposite her was grimy even by commoner standards. His teeth were black and his hair looked infested. Ravenna unconsciously leaned back in her seat.

"You are not the Prince, Cafer, or even Xander," she snorted as she pulled out a handkerchief to cover her nose.

"Quite perceptive." The man smiled and his teeth made the woman wrinkle her nose in disgust.

"Where is your boss?" The Duchess demanded to know. She tapped her foot impatiently.

The large dirty man sneered. "All in good time. I need to find out your intentions first."

"You got my letter, I assume. What else do you need?" Ravenna glared at him. This man was already becoming tiring. He should be groveling at her feet, and instead he was demanding information.

The man leaned forward and his hand brushed the edge of the duchess's dress. She quickly pulled her skirt from his reach. The man sneered at her obvious distaste and then shrugged. "I need you to tell me what you want and how far you are willing to go to get it."

Ravenna relaxed slightly. "Well, that is easy to answer. I want to overthrow the Empress, and I will do anything to achieve that." The duchess smirked.

"Anything?" The man's gaze looked her up and down. Ravenna fought the urge to gag.

"Anything," she affirmed.

"What do you have to offer?" The man's gravely voice grated on her nerves.

"I have fifty men ready to join with your forces to attack the garrison, just like you asked. I have another hundred or so that I can call from their farms when the time comes. You will have access to my fortune and my vast resources. As you may know, I am very well connected. You need me." Ravenna's eyes flashed with power. She knew her worth.

The man pulled at his chin and nodded. "I see you have made your decision. You must really hate the Empress…"

"I do. You do not have to worry about me. I will keep my word," the thin woman promised. The deep lines on her face were drawn tight with her anger.

The bulky man leaned back in his chair and sighed. His hunched back became tall as his true height was revealed. "I think we have all we need, don't you?" He said, his voice much clearer than it had been just a moment ago.

"More than enough, I am afraid." From the half-covered doorway to another part of the building, a figure in a dark cloak emerged. When he removed his hood, the Guardian's silver eyes could be clearly seen. Behind him a smaller figure looked quietly at the duchess, her blue-flecked eyes a mix of pity and anger.

"Chief Zan! Your Majesty!" Ravenna rose quickly. Zan clapped and soldiers flooded the building and took the servants and Duchess into custody. Seeing her situation, the thin old woman quickly changed her tune. "There has been some mistake. This man was trying to secure me to rebel against you, but I would never…"

The dirty man pulled out a pristine handkerchief and began wiping the smut off his face and teeth. He pulled off his long matted wig to reveal a close cropped haircut underneath. "What do you say, General Nurlan? Were you inciting this woman to rebel?" Zan asked.

Nurlan furrowed his brow. "All I did was ask her intentions. The Duchess did all the rebelling herself."

Ravenna was dumbstruck. She had been careful. Yet the man before her was a general, not a pirate, and the Empress herself had witnessed the duchess's treachery. The question escaped her lips, "How?"

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——————

That morning, the Empress was resting quietly. Nanny had spent another night by her bedside, and she was snoring quietly in a chair by the bed. Aurora rolled to one side when she felt a fly buzzing by her ear. Swatting at it with her good arm, she made the irritating sound cease for a moment. But then it came back full force, and the Empress could feel the wind from its wings against her cheek.

Opening her eyes tentatively, Aurora squealed as a small metal ball hovered with tiny wings right beside her head. Instantly, Nanny awoke from her dream and snatched the message ball from the air out of reflex. Hearing the outcry, guards hurried into the room within seconds, and Nanny stuffed the ball under one of the pillows to hide it from their view.

"Everything is fine, gentleman. The Empress had a bad dream." Nanny told them calmly. They filed back out of the room as quickly as they came without question.

"Where is it?" Aurora asked when they were gone. Her voice was audible but strained. The scab on her neck was healing, but not gone. At the Empress's request, Nanny produced the ball, and Aurora activated the message. Her eyes grew big as she heard her husband's voice.

"I hope this works," the message began. "Before you worry, Aurora, we are fine. We have come across an interesting development. It seems Duchess Ravenna has betrayed you. She is meeting or has met with someone to discuss her plans. The Duchess's personal troops are here in the grasslands north of Valiant. We believe they mean to attack the garrison to the southwest of our location. Please warn General Beadu. We will take care of the men here, but I suspect that others may be waiting for them closer to the fort…"

"Be careful, my love," Aurora whispered.

As if Devrim could hear her, his message continued, "Do not worry, I will be careful. After we take care of this problem, we will continue to Alaron and bring him home. I will see you soon. I love you."

Soft tears rolled down the Empress's face. "I love you too." She clutched the ball as if it held the most precious thing in the world. Pushing herself out of bed, Aurora moved toward the wardrobe. She rang a bell, which had been recently installed, and Anna appeared to help her dress.

"You should be in bed," Nanny commented half-heartedly. She could tell by the determination in the woman's blue-flecked eyes that this was not a battle that Nanny could win. Within minutes, Aurora was ready and called the Council, Captain Caleb, General Nurlan and others to the Council's meeting room. She replayed the message for them, blushing only slightly at her husband's loving words.

"Find out where Duchess Ravenna is currently and put a tail on her. Find out if she has already made contact with Xander, Cafer or Alaron. If not, we will change the meeting point…" Aurora trailed off. It was the most she had spoken in days and she was winded.

Zan took up where she left off. "Do we have any extra troops nearby who can reinforce the garrison?"

Nurlan pulled at his chin. "We can send a division out in a couple days from here and a call up those further south of the garrison as well."

With a nod from Aurora, the plan was set. Spies searched the city and found the Duchess very conspicuously lounging on a balcony of one of her fellow nobles. It did not take them long to piece together her actions and intercept her communications. By the afternoon, the Empress had Ravenna's meeting location and time moved to one of her choosing. After nabbing the pirate who was actually meeting her, they only had to lie and wait with Nurlan posing as the brigand.

—————-

Ravenna's question hung in the air, "How?"

With disdain, Zan spoke as he looked down at the woman. "Ravenna, you are charged with treason. As you have admitted your crime before the Empress, the Cheif of the Council and General Nurlan, you have negated the need for a formal trial. As for your sentence: you are stripped of your title, your land is forfeit, your army will be taken into custody and is herewith disbanded. All your possessions will be donated to the poor. You will be transported to the palace dungeon for questioning." The Guardian's eyes flashed with such anger that the former duchess flinched.

The thin woman sunk into her chair, but soldiers again forced Ravenna to her feet. "How?!" she asked again, no other words coming to her mind.

Aurora stepped forward and looked the old woman straight in the eye. "I have a better question. Why? What have I ever done to you?"

The former duchess paled with fury. "My son, Lord Turpilius, died by your hand. You were afraid that he would try and take your throne so you got him drunk and killed him." Ravenna spat the words like poison from her mouth.

The Empress was almost too shocked for words. She placed her hands on her hips. Aurora recalled that night very clearly. Lord Turpilius had drunk too much and tried to defame her. He had been turned out from the castle and found dead in the morning. "That is the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard. Your son was a trouble-maker and a carouser. I did not get him drunk; I was ten-years-old! And I certainly did not kill him. Your deranged fantasy has brought you here. I pity you."

With the flick of Aurora's wrist, Ravenna was escorted roughly from the dingy room. Her blue hair went sideways and then fell from her head as her scraggly grey strands underneath went wild. When the room was emptied, Aurora leaned onto Zan. "Time to get you home, Your Majesty," he told her gently. The Chief and Nurlan supported the Empress back toward the palace, using a shawl to hide her face. "Do not worry. We will get Ravenna to tell us who else she is working with…" the Guardian assured her.

"I know…" Aurora nodded. Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted a floating wisp. It reminded her of those summer flowers that bloom yellow and then seed a fluffy white. Freeing herself from Nurlan's support, she reached up and allowed the white fluff to land on her hand. The Empress could feel it pulse in her palm. "My husband, Emperor Devrim, is on his way to the land of magic. If you see him, please tell him thank you." Aurora blew gently and allowed the puff to float back into the air.

"What was that?" asked Nurlan.

"Unless I am mistaken, It is a summer fairy." The Empress said. They watched as it moved contrary to the wind and over the buildings. Aurora smiled. "Thank you, my love," she said into the air. "Thank you for everything."

The other two nodded. As they headed down the street, Nurlan's countenance darkened. "What is it?" Zan asked, worried of some new danger.

"It was a wig all the time," he said bitterly, speaking of the Duchess's hair. "I made a bet with Junayd a while back, and now I owe him a gold coin. I was sure no one would do that to their hair on purpose…"

Aurora laughed quietly. "Junayd told the Emperor that he accidentally walked in on the Duchess once as she was adjusting her coiffure. She tried to have him dismissed because he knew her secret."

"He never told me!" Nurlan was incensed.

"That is a hairy situation," Zan replied. The Empress and soldier stared at Zan, slack jawed. "What?" he asked. "That was funny!"

"Jokes are not your thing," Aurora told him gently. "Stick to being Chief of the Council."

"Yes, Your Majesty." The guardian responded. "But you have to admit. That was a bit of a hair-raising adventure."

"….just stop…"

Zan nodded, returning to his normal demeanor. "Sorry, you are right. It sounded better in my head."

Nurlan shook his head. 'You may need to have your head examined," he thought.