Daniel followed the Stablemaster down a dimly lit passage. It seemed like they were traveling deeper into the Stable.

As Servant Branch, he found it a different experience being in the Stable than before. It pulled on him, like the air gained heaviness.

As Lordling Elswith, he would enter the Stable from the main entrance and he'd find a hallway that almost always led him to the Griffin stables. When he came for other business, he'd find that hallway as well. He had to intentionally interact with the Stable delve deeper into its secret places.

But as he had discovered earlier, the Stable seemed to view him differently. He was a worker here now, so that made sense. Surely, it was no more than that.

But he did not enjoy how it felt like it focused on him.

"Fae child," the Tolsen spoke again. "You seem like you've seen a phantom."

Daniel returned his attention to the Tolsen. "Not recently."

"Why'd you come from the other side?"

Daniel paused, hand touching a crumbling plaster wall, to hide his expression from the prying Stablemaster "What do you mean?"

"When you arrived to begin your shift. You came from the north hallway. No reason for that, unless you were already inside the Stable."

Daniel smiled. "This humble servant arrived on time, did he not?"

"Aye."

"At 6 o'clock, on the dot, on the double, the Servant Branch was here no trouble."

"What were ye doing beforehand, I wonder?"

"Ah, you are asking what I did in my personal time between 5 o'clock and 6 o'clock?"

The Tolsen nodded.

Daniel smiled innocently, finger stroking his chin "That is my business. If you wish to know, it will cost you."

The Tolsen huffed. "Never mind. We better hurry to ye main duty." His spindly legs sped up and he plunged deeper into the Stable.

Daniel looked through a passing window. He could vaguely see the blue light reflecting from the Aquatic pond from across the open-air atrium. Now how was that there?

What he had been doing...

He had been preparing to win the Day.

No matter what. His mind went back to that time, not long ago. Actually, it was one hour ago. One very long hour.

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

One hour ago...

Across paver-stones and moss drive, near the Bricklin Court and the Stone Cutter's Alliance, Daniel hurried to the Stable. The Citadel was bathed in golden light, but the residents, both Lords and Servants, were inside their domains, preparing for when the real business would take place, during the night. The next street Daniel took was cobblestone, and after a shortcut over the sunken portion of the Citadel, he was nearly there. Even now, ahead of him, Daniel beheld the structure looming long and tall, a rectangle that seemed too plain, too stationary, too gentile, to ever belong in the Seelie Court's Citadel.

Wrong on every count, of course.

The Grand Stable, an original and unmoving structure in this shifting cacophony of rolling hills and territories and estates and buildings and roads that moved about day by day, night by night. It didn't move position in the Citadel.

Daniel forsook eating, revenge, or evening thinking and hurried ahead.

He knew he needed more, and somehow he had ended up with time by himself. This hour was the first time that he was not handled by another. He was foolish for wasting his time with the servants. Nothing positive would come from them. They preyed upon him because they thought they could. After all, the opportunity to tear down one of privilege, especially a former Lordling, did not come often.

No, he should have known the food was no good.

He looked at the clock. He had 40 minutes left before he had to report to his shift. He had wasted time. Foolish, foolish little lordling, he chided himself. Letting his stomach get in the way. Letting hope of companionship sway him. Believing that playing by the rules would protect him. Allowing what seemed to be kindness blind him.

What kindness existed in the world?

None.

The Mothkin girl seemed innocent. But that was probably a trap. She would use her sweetness to make him lower his guard. She did look very suspicious. With her darkly sparkling innocent eyes and soft little wings. Add the fact that the Mothkin were known to be generally honest, and it was a perfect cover. Or she was truly honest and had been used by another party?

Elswith had been used before, for another Lord's agenda. It hadn't been pleasant to discover an innocent action had been used to harm his own Steward.

He pushed away all thoughts for a while. He did not want to act against the gentle washing girl.

But four was the number of Mischief and trials. This was the opening day. Many of the High Fae were watching him today, watching his actions as clearly as if they had been standing before him. Not just greed for success, but a desperate need for survival gnawed at him. He knew he could still lose, but so far he had succeeded in two out of three ventures. If he completed the Stable well, when he ended the evening after the Servant Name of Branch was cleared, then he could showcase his abilities.

Even if she was innocent, no doubt she was kind and earnest because that was always rewarded.

This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.

Daniel reached the Stable. But instead of going to the main entrance, a huge stately opening with stone carvings and awnings, where the important people would enter, he continued north, on the west side of the building. He did not lope to one of the servants' entrances, where things like grain and supplies were constantly unloaded.

He was looking for the tunnels.

The Stable was home to most of the mounts in the Citadel. Servants would fetch mounts and bring them to their Lords, for the benefits of housing a creature in the Stable far exceeded the inconvenience of the distance from the Stable to one's domain. And the Stable housed mounts of all natures.

Including aquatic.

But unlike the other entrances, the tunnels were rarely used. The Sea Kingdom had fallen and had become a vassal state at this point. The myriads of ambassadors and dignitaries had been barred when there was no more prestige to be gained by admitting them. Once, the Sea Kingdom had been very powerful. So powerful, as a show of respect, hundreds of watery tunnels were added to the Citadel so the Aquatic races could roam in the utmost comfort.

Hundreds of tunnels now were primarily abandoned. Including tunnels that led into the Stable.

Daniel found what he was looking for, a grate on the west side, in a secluded and private green space near the Stable. He pried it open along one side and grimaced when he saw that the tunnels still had water flowing.

If this worked, he could utilize this again. He was a strong swimmer, and the flow of water was gentle, the magic that governed it stable and unchanging. Furthermore, since no purely aquatic visitors roamed the Citadel, the tunnels were forgotten and lost. If not for Hollis, Daniel would never have realized what lay here.

Hollis, the Heir apparent of the defunct Sea Kingdom, had his own share of troubles. Which was why Daniel trusted him.

Hollis, of all his former Circle, had no reason to betray Elswith. He would never be trusted in the Seelie Court fully. He would never be accepted fully, not when his great-grandparents had once been enemies and rivals of the Seelie Court. Not when his mer family had lost power generation by generation to the Fae. Hollis was the child of a union between the two worlds and had come out the worst for it. His lungs were poor on land, and his ability to breathe underwater was even worse. Hollis had too much potential to be thrown away, but not enough to be truly be used by the Fae Courts.

Too weak to thrive in what remained of the Sea Kingdom, too intelligent to be a lapdog of the fae, Hollis had nothing to gain and nothing to lose.

He was like a riptide. Calm on the surface, with deep currents ready to drag one out to sea raging just below the surface.

Hollis had shown Daniel this place.

And if someone knew to intercept Daniel here, it would also inform him that Hollis was against him.

It was risky, but if the tunnel could convey him safely and undetected inside the Grant Stable, it would be worth the peril. He would be inside the Stable early, without his minders finding him. Early enough to acquire certain items that would assist him for the conclusion of the first day. Including Esra's order of lightning in a bottle.

The only downside: Daniel would lose his opportunity to search for food.

And he would get wet.

Another bath.

The tunnels wormed around and through many sections of the Citadel. There were many access points, but not always air. There would be air pockets every so often, but that stemmed more from mistakes in engineering than any intention. But what mattered was that he could make it into the Stable quickly. All he had to do was swim and follow the tunnel toward the stable.

He had done this before. He could do it again.

Of course, before he had been Lordling Elswith, Heirling of the Red Sword, imbued with Authority, Influence, and Favor as befitting a fae of his rank.

But Daniel had realized that while his strength had decreased, he was not weak. He could do this.

Just hold his breath.

Daniel removed his clothes, his boots, his sock, and the spell of spiders pretending to be a sock, placed everything in the bag his O'Tells uniform had been in, and jumped into the tunnel, allowing the grate to close over him.

It was brighter than he had thought. The water was cool but gentle. The tunnel was eight-sided, with glowing etched carvings, the script of the Sea. He could see different branches banking off to different locations.

He checked his 'borrowed' bag again and strapped it over his shoulder; the seal was holding well.

He took a final breath of air and dove. He swam, destination firmly in mind. The water rushed about him, the blue lighting flickering. Barely a minute had passed and his lungs still felt strong as he recognized another grate overhead. Not the one he wanted. He considered coming up for air but dove deeper when he heard the muffled conversation.

There were people on the other side. It seemed like a coincidence, but fear touched his heart.

The first grate was near the teapot, he remembered. People lingered in that area for refreshments.

It was just a coincidence.

Sometimes, you just need to keep swimming, he told himself. Just keep swimming.

While the stable was ever-changing, it was at least consistent with a few hard and fast rules. Like-kind creatures would always share connections and doorways. To go from the fire creatures to the water creatures would require one to return to the main hallway, but freshwater creatures and saltwater creatures' chambers would share some sneaky corridors. Now, while there were hundreds of aquatic beast kinds here, each kind having unique chambers to suit their needs, there were also some places that didn’t move. Or moved together. The Eels were always the second chamber after the minatoal turtles, and no one knew why.

So when a certain grate was pushed open, and a very wet former Lording fell out, only the minatoal turtles made small turtle sounds of protest.

He inhaled, feeling grateful to be alive.

That felt longer than he remembered.

He quickly pulled on his clothes, as the turtles calmed down. His hair was short now, so it would dry quickly.

Time to begin taking what he needed.

The Law of Fae bristled as Daniel thought of liberating what did not belong to him.

"I know there are several key items that need a new, friendly, and welcoming home that I am selflessly willing to provide."

It was an unstable position, the Law of Fae seemed doubtful, but like the Turtles, seemed watchful but not forbidding.

After finding the correct chamber, he waited until another worker moved out of sight before he entered the room. The dry ground of the chamber was a small entry landing and a sandy berm that led over a deep, sunken tank of water. The electric eels were swarming and casting bright purple globes of electricity.

When he entered the room, the eels stopped and all turned toward him.

He pulled out the crystal goblet and a long pair of gloves he had taken earlier.

The eels looked at him, inquisitive and defiant.

“Let’s do this.” He said.

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

Daniel accomplished very much in what time remained. He remained in the same section, taking careful pains to avoid any passageways that led beyond the exterior rooms that had an actual outdoor window. He was not confident to roam inside the deep places of the Stable. There were stories. Many stories. Some of them even true.

Regardless of his approach to stay in the shallow places of the Stable, he was able to acquire several items that would allow for interesting events that evening. He had even managed to go back to the teapot for some tea. There were no biscuits, but it was a good brew.

Then the Servant Branch took himself to the place he was to meet the Stablemaster who would be over him, just in time.

Once there, he found some actual, baking cookies that were moments away from being pulled from an oven. But before he could...liberate some and carry them to safety in his stomach...the Tolsen had arrived.

The Tolsen had begun immediately, and informed him that they should start their tour; someone else would tend to the cookies. A tour that led them away from all sources of feed for the animals, including grain, vegetables, and meat for the carnivores. Some of it was even cooked fresh for some of the more...picky residents.

Daniel kept his resentment from boiling over, but it felt strained. He tried to remain positive: Books said that water was more important in a survival situation. His stomach had never read a book, however, and disagreed with this principle. The Tolsen had interfered but had not been cruel. If anything, the Tolsen was probably under severe instructions and limitations as well.

Daniel turned his mind back to the present, as a familiar sound reached his ears.

He felt forgiveness enter his heart for the Tolsen.

That was the sound of something he loved.

That was the sound of Griffins.