Nela had never given much thought to royalty before. She'd always had more immediate things to focus on. Working under her grandfather, serving in the army, keeping Ronny alive and unhurt, it hardly mattered whether or not there was king in some city somewhere she was supposed to be loyal to. The here and now was what counted, and the king of Hyarch - whatever kind of person he was - was neither.

Well, the here and now had her walking next to a princess's secret daughter.

If it had been just Kalvarel's word, Nela wouldn't have believed it, but...well, she knew her grandfather. If it had been false, he would have just said so, and they'd have moved on. Instead, he'd given away that Kalvarel, for once, had been onto something. The old man really should have known better.

She was equally annoyed at Edeline. Nela knew she ought to be madder still, with Edeline having denied Ronny was family. But today had been terrible, and Nela herself was partly to blame. Also, she'd seen that Edeline was not the most graceful at handling rough days. Which was fair, because Nela had to admit that she wasn't either.

Besides, it wasn't like she could just tell Ronny's sister off in the middle of the street. That would just make everything a lot worse, with what had to be said.

As it was, Ronny and Hamond had taken up positions right in front and behind Edeline, making it all but impossible for anyone to get a close look with both her ears in view. From one side, she would appear just as much an Elefae as Nela was, and from the other side, not. It wasn't perfect, but they didn't have a cloak available. Wearing one would probably just draw more attention to Edeline anyway, even if it hid what had happened.

Back to Edeline's home they headed, all silent and gloomy. Nela wished she could say something to lighten the mood, but nothing came to mind. They'd stopped Kalvarel, preventing him from ruining the Elefae completely.

And yet, looking at the others' faces, it seemed like they were the ones who had lost.

"What the..." Ronny spoke up. Looking ahead, Nela could see they were coming up on Lord Hallowscroft's house. However, it was more likely the pair of people standing in front of it that he had noticed. One of them was that one guard, Filip. The other...some older man Nela did not recognize, wearing a long fancy robe. Someone official, probably.

While they were still a little too far away to hear them over the sounds of the town, Nela could easily see Filip saying something while gesturing excitedly in their direction. Great. More attention was the last thing they needed right now.

The older man trotted up to them. belly bouncing under the robe. "By Aether, it is you," he said, looking Ronny over. "You're actually safe...uh, my lord."

Ronny stopped, staring at the man in brief confusion. "Right...oh, Joskin. Sorry. It has been a rather strange past few days."

"Indeed, it has. And it's a relief to see you well. We were worried when you and the Lady Edeline both went missing." He paused, looking concerned. "Do you know where she might be?"

After a moment, Ronny stepped to the side, revealing Edeline to the man, ear and all. "There were complications," he said.

Joskin gasped immediately, face pale. "My lady...what in Aether's name happened to you?"

Filip came up. "I figured there had to be something else I could do, so I went to find one of the aldermen. That way they-" Finally catching on to what had happened to Edeline, he went silent.

Despite good intentions, it was clear to Nela that Filip was as dense as a stone.

"So who could have...it was one of those elves, wasn't it? Those accursed elves-"

"Excuse me?" Nela said, cutting the alderman off. Great, one of those sort of people. She should have known this was going to get worse.

Joskin looked over at her, as if he hadn't realized who or what she was. "My apologies," he replied, "My tongue sometimes gets ahead of my thoughts."

Alright, at least he aplogized. Could be better, but Nela wasn't about to complain. Far better than having to listen to her mother and father treat her like she was total scum in front of the rest of their family.

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"Regardless, it is good to confirm you are safe, "the alderman continued, "With the crisis going on, your leadership is needed more than ever."

Wait, what crisis? They'd dealt with Kalvarel. That was over...right?

"What is going on?" Ronny moved back in front of Edeline, who was looking pale. Hamond, keeping quiet, had also stepped forward.

Joskin glanced around the street, checking for something. Whatever it was, he didn't see it, and instead leaned closer to Ronny. "Some men have taken your father, the Lord Hallowscroft, hostage."

"What men? Where?" Ronny asked.

"They've taken over the summer house, it would seem. As for what they want, I think ransom...the messenger they sent said something about the coin they were due."

"But who could-" Ronny began to say.

"The men," Nela blurted out. Of course, it was the one thing they'd all forgotten in the mess of dealing with Kalvarel.

"What men?" the alderman said, turning to her. "What do you know about this?"

"Probably some of the men mustered for the king's army," Nela explained, shooting a look at Ronny. "They were waiting for their pay, remember? With...with him missing, they must have decided to get their money another way. The hard and fast way."

"You didn't pay those men?" Joskin looked completely confused.

"I was briefly being held captive." Ronny was apparently giving the simple story of what had happened. Good, since they didn't have time for the full version. "Dealing with the one who held me took priority. It has only been a few days."

"But where were you all? I spoke with one of the watch captains, and they said they could not locate you. They had searched all over the town."

"I'm afraid to tell you at least two of the watch captains were in on the scheme." Nela wasn't sure Ronny ought to be leaving out how they'd been controlled, but the man might not believe the truth. "And we had no way to tell who else we could trust. We would have contacted you sooner otherwise."

"Aether." The man ran a hand through his thin hair. "And I had told Captain Golding about it too when I met with him. It was a good thing then I sent a messenger of my own to Kelshir, to alert the lord there of what was happening, and to send some knights if he could spare them."

Nela held back from telling the man off. If men from Kelshir came here, looked into what had happened, the trail would lead them right back to her grandfather, to the Elefae. Great work, Kalvarel, she noted. The shit he was trying to stop, and he ended up pushing things to make it even more likely.

"It's a delicate matter, and we need to keep the goodwill of the Elefae. I'd think the presence of the knights would cause more harm than anything, given what I've heard of the situation in Kelshir." At least Ronny saw the problem too.

"Perhaps, but you need to understand." The alderman's face was grave. "I had to assume the worst had befallen the two of you. We need to maintain order, and that would take extra manpower, and quickly."

They actually thought Ronny and Edeline might be dead? That was...hard to argue with. Alright, maybe sending for help wasn't the worst decision. Still, for it to be men from Kelshir...her grandfather was going to feel even more miserable if or when he found out.

"Where are they holding him?" Edeline spoke up, sounding tired.

"He just told us they're at the summer house," Ronny said gently. Nela wasn't sure Edeline would listen, but she was definitely going to insist on Ronny's sister getting some rest in a little while.

"Right...sorry." Edeline closed her eyes. "I have had a rough day."

"I can imagine," Joskin said. His eyes briefly wandered to her ear, then he snapped his gaze away. Probably hoped no one saw it, but Nela almost never missed that sort of thing.

"As much as I would prefer to rush to my father's aid," Ronny said, "There is little chance any of us could reach there before night fell, and as you can see, we are already tired. We will have to go deal with these men tomorrow."

"Do you plan to negotiate, or..." Joskin's voice trailed off. Nela could tell what he meant.

"That will depend on the situation when we get there," Ronny answered, "Especially given that they took the servants there hostage as well. At least, I hope they did."

And of course this whole thing had put other people at risk too. Hopefully other nobles didn't get into situations like this regularly, because at that point Nela figured they'd have big problems finding anyone to work under them. Why would any sane man or woman want to put their life on the line just to cook food for some man with more money than thoughts?

"Then I will meet you tomorrow morning," the alderman declared.

"Excuse me?" Ronny was clearly confused. "Do you mean to accompany us?"

"Of course. We aldermen have been cut off from what's happening for too long as it is. We need to verify Lord Hallowscroft's safety directly, so one of us must go." The man paused, flexing an arm. "Besides, I served as a man-at-arms. I'm tougher than I look."

"Right..." Nela muttered, looking the older man over.

"I know you mean well, but it will not be safe." Edeline told the man.

"Given what you said, is anywhere in Hallowscroft safe?" Joskin fired back.

Nela didn't really have a good answer. Going by the silence, none of them apparently did.

"Tomorrow morning it is, then," the alderman said, and turned to leave.

Great. How much more could they ask of Ronny? A stupid question, Nela realized the moment she thought it. He wouldn't stop until all of his family, everyone he wanted to protect, were safe. Completely foolish, and if she had her way...

"Admit it."

No. Nela shut out Kalvarel's words. He was wrong. She was no coward, and if this was Ronny's fight, it was her fight too.

"Guess that crossbow's going to get some more work," she said quietly.

"Let's just get inside," Ronny said. Nela couldn't tell if he'd heard her or not. Not that it mattered, since they had to get some rest regardless. They had a lord to save, and not nearly the energy to do it with.