Ingrid brought no soldiers and made no display of her station on her second visit to the Emperor's lodge in the Heylin Empire. Emperor Artem Maryy was once again dressed as a hunter when he received them. He asked after Vaska's health but otherwise said little as they made the trek through the two rings of trees to the great doors of the lodge. Once inside the dim room he led them to a conservatory with three chairs arranged around a small table. There was a larger table nearby featuring glasses of water, bubbly white wine, cheeses, dates, meats, and sliced bread. Ingrid greedily gathered some onto a small plate before she sat at the smaller table.

The servants were sent away and the conservatory was sealed. Ingrid's eyes wandered around the ornate glass structure. The various plants were all denoted with small plaques describing the species and origin. Some of the plants were from the Federation of Kanti.

The Emperor took a sip of his wine and regarded Vaska. "Daughter," he said, "what is this about?"

Vaska remained silent for a few moments, most likely trying to find the right words. "I wish to discuss some important family business," she finally said. "I, well we, have some questions."

"I have my own questions as well," he said. "Answer my question first and then I will consider answering yours."

"Perhaps," Vaska replied.

"How did you find out about my black site with the new soul flares?"

"Oh that," Vaska said. "I have friends in the FIA."

"That's a lie," the Emperor said. "The Matron of the Light Crystal interviewed everyone in the FIA who knew anything. Also Kuzma and his daughter Glenice. None of them were involved. Try again daughter."

Vaska sighed. "I have a spy plane."

"An airplane? That is also a lie. The ocular demons at the sites would report seeing it."

"It flies at seventy-thousand feet," Vaska said.

The Emperor whistled. "You designed it yourself?" he asked.

"I did. I constructed it using Metal Elementals summoned with some of Ingrid's crystals. There is a painter in a chamber behind the pilot, he uses a high-magnification telescope to make small watercolor paintings of suspicious structures."

"I believe you. I am going to tell the FIA about this and they are going to take over your project. Give me the schematics and any documentation you have. Also, I forbid you from sidestepping FIA like this ever again."

"Yes father," Vaska said.

"So what is your question?"

"Actually, my Emperor," Ingrid said with a slight bow, "I have a question myself."

"Out with it."

"My Light Elemental. Did you... have you ever given it any instructions or orders?"

"Obviously," the Emperor replied. "The Queen of Light contacted me when the first portal opened in Ayaru. I actually had to visit the Queen herself in person. All the way at the top of the Golden Tower! Can you believe that? That creature bothers me."

The Emperor actually shuttered.

"When the Queen created your crystal I demanded that I have priority. Otherwise, you could have just walked into my cabin and murdered my entire family with that thing."

"Thank you," Ingrid said.

"Why did you omit that information during our last visit?" Vaska asked.

"She did not ask during your last visit. As much as you like to tout your personal code of ethics Vaska," he said, "you have just demonstrated the truth to your little girlfriend here. See Ingrid? She does lie, even to her own father. She does tell half-truths. She does withhold all sorts of important information."

Vaska's face went red. Ingrid looked at her, but she looked away, refusing to make eye contact.

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"Father that was uncalled for."

"Titania!" the Emperor said. Paranoid materialized at his side, a golden woman in heavy armor, glowing like a saint. "Titania do you have any information about Ingrid that I should know about?"

"Yes Artem," Paranoid, or rather Titania replied. "Mother spoke to me. This mortal named Ingrid has become bonded to one of the High Daughters of the Queen of Fire. Also the Queen of Water as well. Without contracts."

"Bonded without contracts?" the Emperor asked. "Like how Vaska bonded that Dark Elemental?"

"Father!" Vaska exclaimed. "Do not talk about that in front of Ingrid. That is very private family business."

"I was under the impression that the exact purpose of this meeting... was to discuss private family business!" the Emperor said.

"I'm sorry," Ingrid said. "If you wish, I can leave."

"No, you stay right where you are," the Emperor said. "Vaska, what is it that you wanted to ask about?"

"Did you know, father, that there is an entire civilization in each of the Elemental Planes, filled with religious fanatics that waste away sacrificing themselves so that we can use our crystals to summon Elementals?"

"So that's how that works," the Emperor said. "I did not know that information, and thank you very much for informing me. I assume that the framers of the contracts did not want us to know about that. Perhaps they felt that future generations may experience certain... shifts in morality and ethics that could place the contracts at risk."

The Emperor consumed his entire glass of bubbly wine and stood up to grab a second.

"I hope," the Emperor said to Ingrid, "that you understand just how foolish it would be to summon your Fire Elemental here in my cabin and attempt to take my life. With Titania here, the best you could manage is some property damage and maybe some torched servants."

"I would never do that," Ingrid said. She split a date open and plucked out the pit. "So what do you plan to do about all those people trapped in the Elemental Planes?"

"What would I do?" he asked.

"Save them maybe? Liberate them, tell them the truth about their situation. Give them a fair chance at life. Something. Anything really!"

"And why would I want to do that?" the Emperor asked. "The central bank issues krismarks that are pegged to those contracts. Being able to summon crystals back to the bank vault is one of the central assumptions of our entire economy. It would be stupid to give up that power."

"Does the Queen of Light know about it?" Ingrid asked.

The Emperor shrugged. "Hell if I know. I don't know exactly how the crystals work and I don't need to. I think that is the entire point. My ancestors saw a vision of a future where House Maryy dominated our rivals with the power that they gave us. They designed the system and then made it difficult to change."

"What if..." Ingrid began. "What if we could isolate the sacrifices that serve the enemy banks? We could damage their economy if we rescued just those people, even at a distance."

"I have no idea if that is even possible," he replied. "And I do not think that this line of conversation is worth my time."

"Are you saying that there are no criticisms of our current system?" Vaska asked. "No dissenters in the central bank?"

"Well there is the issue of deflationary spirals," the Emperor replied. "There are those in the bank who believe that our economy could be improved with a completely fiat currency. But their number is small and they are generally not respected."

He stood up.

"This conversation is over. Vaska, I am expecting you to send me the documentation for your new airplane immediately. Ingrid, please enjoy your evening."

As Vaska led Ingrid through the dim hallways of the second floor of the cabin, they encountered a woman standing in a windowed turret overlooking the snowclad landscape. From behind, she looked almost exactly like Vaska against the darkening red sky. The woman turned around as they approached.

"Oh Vaska!" she said. "I did not expect to see you smiling."

"Hello Natasha," Vaska said. "Ingrid, this is my sister Natasha."

"Ingrid is it?" Natasha asked. "Ingrid, I have known Vaska her entire life and she is just so grumpy all the time. Vaska, happy? Impossible. Whatever you are doing to my sister, it is working so don't you dare stop."

"It's my curse," Vaska muttered. "Why I'm grumpy, I mean."

"Oh that silly curse again. For an engineer, you certainly are superstitious. Ingrid, it is a pleasure to meet you."

"I once saw you," Ingrid said. "In my hometown in Taisia, at the military parade. You were flying in a fighter jet. It was... why I wanted to join the Air Navy in the first place."

"You poor thing," Natasha said. "Now, I didn't know about this at the time, but Lieutenant Cole always intended to sacrifice all the recruits he found during his little parades. Nothing in Taisia happens without the top brass knowing about it. I believe the orders came from the very top, the Minister of the Military even. I apologize for my part in it. As I said I did not know."

"It's not your fault," Ingrid said. "Do you know what happened to him? Lieutenant Cole?"

"Killed in action himself I'm afraid," Natasha said. "After the portal opened nobody came back alive. Such a shame really. Well it is getting late, don't let me keep you standing in the hallway forever." She gave them a little wave with her immaculate fingers.

Inside their bedroom, Vaska stripped down completely naked and flopped down on the bed. Ingrid stripped down as well, but she was busy putting on a thin evening gown when Vaska stopped her. She reached up and whispered in Ingrid's ear: "My sister is right you know."

"About what?"

"About you making me happy."

Ingrid glanced up and down at Vaska's body. It was dark in the room but her pale skin stood out even in the darkness. "Vaska."

"Glenice told me all the details about the one time that she... fooled around with another woman. She said, you see, that it was quite enjoyable. A worthy hypothesis, however we need to design an experiment that can be used to disconfirm the hypothesis. I will require your participation as we perform this experiment."

Ingrid was speechless at the outburst.

"Kiss me," Vaska said.