The princess was summoned to the makeshift dining hall for breakfast the next morning. Brinn was glad that elves did not need much sleep, because she had only gotten a little rest after her nighttime excursion.

"Alaron has a lot of nerve ordering me around!" Brinn grumbled as she kicked angrily at the air in Mairwen's bedroom. "Who does he think he is?!"

Renat sat on the chair at the large vanity. He furrowed his brow at her tantrum. "I am pretty sure he thinks he is the new Emperor. If you do not want to get caught, you should probably do what he orders."

"Mairwen would never take orders from her brother!" Brinn insisted.

"The princess is clever. She would play along and gather information, just as you usually do. I would guess that the prince is the problem, not the mission." Renat crossed his arms. After his arm-sling was ruined by slime, the boy discovered his range of movement was good enough to do away with the bandage.

The elf glared at Renat but knew he was right. She had worked under far more despicable criminals to gain information and ruin their plans. It was the fact that Alaron knew her identity and had all the power that bothered her.

Brinn blew out her cheeks. "Fine. I will get dressed and go. But you are coming with me."

Renat now wished he had not been the one to deliver the news of breakfast. The boy should have let one of the ladies come into the princess's bedchamber--somewhere he should never be found--but he had been too eager to talk about plans.

"Why must I come?" he asked with wide eyes.

"Because you are about the only person who is not imprisoned that I can trust. I need a second set of eyes and ears as much as possible." The elf would not back down. Brinn put on Mairwen's face and sprayed the princess's perfume to complete the effect. She did not want Cafer to suspect anything. Renat turned beet red. He was in a forbidden place with someone who looked and smelled like his love. With a smirk, Brinn thumped the boy on the side of the head. "Stop looking so uncomfortable and embarrassed. We have work to do."

-----------------

At the table, Alaron, Cafer, King Baak and Ravenna joined the fake princess for breakfast. Brinn got the impression that this was less of a breakfast and more of a sizing up of how 'Princess Mairwen' would act in the new regime.

"Your brother did not tell me that you were so beautiful," Baak said in a honeyed tone. His large eyes looked carefully at her.

Brinn fought her urge to vomit. "Future Emperor Alaron would not call me beautiful even if his life were at stake. Brothers do not see their sisters in that way."

"I would not know," Baak responded, ending the conversation abruptly.

Cafer picked up where he left off, "How do you feel about your brother being the Future Emperor?" He tried to sound casual, but the question was clearly a test.

The spymaster knew that the servants were listening as well as those at the table. Anything she said would be accredited to Mairwen, so she needed to be careful. "I cannot do anything about the current situation. There seems to be only one course of action. I only hope my brother will be the best Emperor possible."

"I will try," Alaron asserted.

"That's very generous of you," Ravenna commented. "Most people would be more upset." Her new mint green hair was hard to look at even though it was piled neatly on top of her head. Brinn wondered what the lady was thinking when she had chosen that color.

Before Brinn could answer, there was a disturbance in the hall. "I have waited long enough," a gruff voice called.

This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

Cafer motioned to one of the servants along the wall. "Let Xander enter," he paused. "If it pleases Your Majesty," the gnome added as an afterthought.

"It pleases me," both Alaron and Baak answered. They gave each other an annoyed look, but let the matter pass.

The pirate stormed in with thunder in his eyes. "It is about time!" He bellowed. "They would not let me see any of you when I arrived last night. Said you couldn't be disturbed. What a lot of nonsense!"

With a permissive nod from those at the table, Cafer graciously took the reigns. "Captain Xander, how kind of you to join us. Please take a seat. We have just started eating."

A place was quickly set for the pirate as he was introduced to those at the table.

"You remember the Future Emperor Alaron." Cafer indicated the boy at the head of the table. "May I present King Baak, Princess Mairwen, and Ravenna." Each member inclined their head.

Being given the proper amount of respect, Xander allowed his anger to lessen. He gave a formal bow and took his seat at the table. The food was delicious and he heaped it onto his plate greedily.

"Did you want to give us a report?" Cafer prodded. "Yesterday I believe you chased those who escaped through the wall."

Brinn choked on her food and dropped her spoon onto the table, but she was so quiet that no one except Renat noticed. The elf held up her hand and stopped her new servant from approaching.

Xander banged on the table angrily at the question. "I chased them alright. Those, those fugitives!" The pirate had been searching for a stronger word, so he added a myriad of curses onto the end before continuing. "They stole my ship and crashed it in the Great River. Then three more of my ships were wrecked into the first."

Cafer tapped his chin with his finger. "How did they manage such a thing? Did you not use your pearl?"

The Captain clenched his fist. The gnome was sneaky. If Cafer knew the weakness of the pearl, he might try to exploit it also. "I did, but one of the noblemen got it out of my grasp and tried to steal it. I only barely recovered the Merpearl before they took my ship."

"A nobleman, you say?" King Baak interrupted. "How could one man defeat an army of pirates?"

"He was quite crafty. He tricked us and then ordered his archers to keep shooting to hold us back. One of his female archers was the best I have ever seen." The pirate reluctantly gave the woman a compliment.

It was quite clear to Brinn and Alaron that the two people Xander had mentioned were Mairwen and Devrim. What was unclear was the two royals' fate. "Did everyone die when the ship crashed?" the fake princess asked demurely.

Xander whipped his gaze to the beautiful woman and a memory pricked him. The archer, though dirty, looked remarkably like the princess before him. But that was crazy. He must be imagining things. "No, all of them jumped off the ship before the boat slammed into a large rock. A few of my men are tracking them as we speak."

Brinn's hands, which were clenched below the table, relaxed as she took a deep breath. For now, the Emperor and Princess had escaped. Though he tried to hide it, Alaron also looked relieved, and Renat appeared so happy he might fly.

"I am sure we will catch the palace rabble very soon," Alaron declared to hide his emotions.

The pirate narrowed his eyes. He had almost forgotten why he had come. "You owe me four new ships, Your Majesty," Xander asserted. "I will not lift another finger until the task is complete."

The blue-eyed boy bristled and his jaw tightened. "I will not be threatened."

Cafer could see the problem that was about to explode. "Your Majesty, the Captain means no disrespect. We will surely be hospitable while Xander and his crew rebuild their missing ships. Do not forget all of the treasure you now possess, Captain. We will be delighted to host you until your work on the vessels is complete."

This seemed good to everyone. The gnome king applauded. "This is why you are so good at negotiation, Cafer. You make no one happy and yet everyone happy," Baak laughed as food dripped from his mouth.

"Thank you," Cafer knew better than to argue. He resumed eating with the rest in silence before another servant entered.

"The soldier you requested is outside," the man said timidly.

Cafer nodded. "I took the liberty of requesting one of those cleaning up by the sky bridge to give us a report. Unless an update would be too painful just now..." The advisor could see Alaron blanche. Perhaps it was not a good time.

Alaron swallowed his food and gave a weak smile. "No, of course we want an update. Please send him in."

A gnome with no hair came in covered in dirt and stone. It made the humans cringe, but the gnome, being made partially of stone, felt at home in his extra layer of filth. "Report!" Cafer ordered.

The bald gnome would not meet their eyes. "We cleared the debris of the bridge."

"And?" King Baak was becoming impatient. He wanted the news of their victory to be complete.

"...and we found no body. The Empress was not there like you thought." The gnome's shiny head was drenched in sweat.

"WHAT?!" every member of the table exclaimed for various reasons.

"Perhaps she is under one of the fallen towers."

"Are you sure you cleared all the debris?"

"Did you check everywhere?"

Question after question pummeled the poor gnome. Finally the room went silent. The bald gnome continued, "I do not think we will find the Empress's body. There were rumors of four ghosts in the tunnels yesterday, but I think that it was the Empress and her friends. They disappeared by the Council's meeting room. We think she went in an even more secret tunnel that we cannot enter."

Cafer's face was so red that it looked on fire. "Why did no one tell me this sooner?!"

"We were afraid," the gnome responded honestly. He fled the room as a large goblet was flung at his head. It seemed his fear was justified.

"How can this be?" Baak asked. "You saw Aurora fall."

"She must've had some magical help," Cafer mused. "That would explain why there were four creatures when only three fell."

"Do you know where Aurora has gone?" Ravenna asked. Somehow she seemed very calm, but Brinn got the impression that she was just very good at hiding her emotions.

"There is a hidden chamber to which only Aurora has the key," Cafer announced, with a smirk. "But there is good news. She has no other way out." The advisor turned to one of the gnomic guards. "Clear out the tunnel near the meeting room and place a detail of guards. If Aurora does not want to die of starvation, she will have to come out sometime." Cafer's smirk turned into a wicked grin. He would finally see the look on that smug woman's face when she was defeated.

He did not see Brinn shake her head slightly in relief. Aurora was alive. And hope was too.