“Ah, perfect, you’re back.” His mother greeted them as Julian escorted Gerda, arm in arm, into a lounge just off of the main ballroom.

The music of the masquerade could be heard a short distance away. The dancing and merriment in full swing and undisturbed by their absence.

“Mother.”

Gerda nudged him with her elbow and addressed the grand duchess. “You called for us, Your Grace?”

“I did.” His mother was standing in the middle of the room, all of the furniture pushed aside. She was interacting with her abilities, her hands up in the air and her eyes darting back and forth at an unseen interface while magic swirled around her. “I trust you are both well?”

“Yes, no need to worry.” Julian reassured her, despite the fact that he had been unalive less than half an hour ago.

It wasn’t his first revive potion, so it didn't phase him much. That was the life of a dungeon delver and a border guard.

“I always worry, son,” Her simple honesty left him uncomfortable. She followed it up with, “But perhaps less so now that you have Miss Gerda at your side.”

“It isn’t–” Julian started.

“He doesn’t–” Gerda said at the same time. The two of them paused and then disentangled themselves. She’d still had her arm wrapped in his, and the absence of her touch felt wrong.

“I’m afraid we’ve had a bit of trouble since you left.” Calisto spoke, her eyes never leaving her notification tabs. “Our Keeper of Fate took a little walk tonight.”

“From your dimensional dungeon? How?” Gerda didn’t seem surprised, merely intrigued.

Julian shot her a look. For the barest second, he suspected her of knowing this was going to happen. She’d already made it clear that she wasn’t going to share all of the details of her foretellings. But his heart told him that the troll wouldn’t have let the celestial escape if she could prevent it… and she would have told him. Too, logically, she wouldn't want Chloe to escape because the celestial is actively out to get Gerda. His fear was irrational, and he knew that.

“Someone let her out.” Calisto pinched her thumb and index finger together and then opened them wide in quick succession three times on her interface.

Julian pulled the key out of his storage.

Gerda noticed and asked, “Is there more than one key?”

“I have one.” Calisto replied. “And Knight Commander Karl. He’s the one who let me know that she’d escaped.”

Karl was an honourable and trustworthy half-elf, but Julian knew the full weight of Alice’s powers. “Did he let her out himself?”

“No.” Calisto said, simply. “He was elsewhere when an invisible mage by-passed the guard and opened the door. Miss Alice walked out and the pair teleported away.”

“Where?” Julian asked, knowing that the teleport restrictions were especially layered in that area of the coral palace.

“She went to the stairwell lobby, then appeared in the servants hall, then I’m assuming into a private room, and then to the east wing sky bridge, the herb garden, the wall, and then into the city.” His mother explained, unhappy. Her time spent reviewing her perks having shown her the answer to his question. "It's the how that frustrates me."

“The masquerade is crawling with Rogues, any one of them could have let her go.” Gerda offered.”

“Few are so powerful that they can break into a dimensional space - let alone my dimensional space.” Calisto said, and for the first time her eyes flickered from her task, briefly landing on his bridge troll. “It’s fortunate that you were accounted for all evening, Miss Gerda.”

“It is.” Gerda nodded, unintimidated. “So do you know who let her out, and how, and where she is now?”

Julian added, “And when, exactly, she escaped? Was it Master Thomas?”

The Mage was insufferable.

“She was let out when we did the unmasking, by someone powerful enough to unravel my spells.” Calisto sighed and closed her character sheets, waving them away with a soft gesture of her hand. She looked calm and collected, but his mother’s voice belayed her aggravation. “Which is just lovely, as I now have until tomorrow to figure out how it was done so I can inform the Continental Council how I lost her.”

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“It couldn’t be Master Thomas.” Gerda said.

“Why not? he's been missing all night.” Which means she couldn’t have seen him either. Julian gripped his fists at his side in some unspoken frustration.

“Thomas is…um, busy. With important magical matters.” Gerda sidestepped the question. This after he’d just convinced himself she wasn’t hiding anything important from him.

He was a fool.

“I’ll need more than that.” Julian demanded, his voice harder than he wanted it to be. Gerda could turn on him in an instant for overstepping, and the thought twisted a knot in his stomach.

Her eyes snapped to his and he knew regret. She looked like she was trying to hide her frustration with him; and failing. To his surprise, she grumbled a response. “If you must know, he’s off saving the world. Or preparing to, at least.”

“The world needs saving… and you trust Master Thomas to save it?” He couldn't believe that.

“Valaria always needs saving.” Gerda scoffed. “From pirate attacks to dungeon breaks to political uprisings - why do you think I started Madame Potts’ Casts? My skills let me know who’s the best for the job and I poke them - which is I’m leaving the world ending disasters to the mage. Unless you know a better master elemental high-tier magic circle user?”

“Miss Gerda,” Calisto spoke quietly, cutting off the pair. They both turned to face her. “You cannot tell us that there will be a continental catastrophe and expect me not to inform the Continental Council.”

The bridge troll’s shoulders tensed, “That is why I didn’t want to say anything.”

“Why did you?” The words escaped him.

She looked at him with exasperation, “Because you asked.”

Something was definitely wrong with him, because that was all it took for the feelings warring inside him to settle.

His mother insisted. “Miss Gerda, I am speaking to you with all due respect and consideration when I ask, as the Grand Duchess of North Sumbria and a representative of the Continental Council tasked with keeping safe and secure all of Valaria– what is your official report on Master Thomas and his current course of action?”

“Master Thomas must be left alone to complete his current work, or a great calamity will befall Valaria.” Gerda stated firmly, invoking her fortune-telling Madame Potts’ voice. She said in her normal voice, “He really didn’t do well with others in his space or interfering with his work - even when that interference was trying to help. That route had a bad ending in season one. Has your Mistborn Wand been stolen?”

At the sudden change in topic, Julian looked to his mother for the answer. Calisto frowned, “Was that Young Master Thomas?”

“See, you’ve already helped him.” Gerda tried to make light of the theft. “If he managed to steal Mistborn without Henrietta’s help, he’s well on his way to completing his master spell circle and we really should just leave him alone.”

“Until his task is complete.” His mother smiled in such a way that made Julian want to run. He didn’t though, of course, he wasn’t ten years old anymore. “And then there is nothing stopping me from having a long, polite chat with the young man. Someone should inform the mage about what is expected of him as a standing member of the Continental Council. Thoroughly.”

“Can you chastise him after Feliwyn wakes up?” Gerda asked.

His mother considered the troll, and then nodded. “I can.”

“Thank you.” Miss Gerda said, her eyes softened and she smiled softly. “By then, everything should be complete. I haven’t been paying much attention to Servalt since the rains were going strong but that is as it should be; I hate walking in the rain.”

Julian asked after something she'd said earlier. “Are your visions of the future limited to the seasons of the year?”

“Sort of.” The troll said. “I am shown things about certain people, and upcoming world changing events. Since I’m not in the storyline myself, I can try to force a different path.”

“But you are in Fate’s story.” Julian countered. Gerda looked at him as he tapped a finger to his chest. “You foretold that I would be shot - and I was, redirecting the arrow from your own heart.”

Gerda’s casual demeanor cracked, her eyes locking on his chest in uncertainty and confusion. And a touch of fear. Julian wanted to reach out - but resisted. It was only a moment, and then she was deep in thought. Her fist rose and pressed against her lips.

"I guess I went too far..." She sounded nervous and unsure. She wasn't looking at them, but had turned her mind away.

Julian felt a twist in his stomach. Since she'd be outed as Madame Potts helping his family, and that was going to change everything for the troll. It might be too late to go back now, but he would be here to assist her in any way he could.

He told himself it was because he still owed Gerda for everything she'd done for them.. but he knew it was just an excuse.

And Julian wanted any excuse.