The two young men from Lyn complied. They had that look common to Lucia's men: dark brown hair and bright green eyes. They both wore overalls and thin jackets in drab colors. Commoners, obviously, probably brothers, and most likely loyal to their princess and willing to work. Indeed, the two boys sauntered off to search for the bloody teeth, while Zachary continued up the hill to Kiera's tent.

When they arrived at the tent, Old King Sullivan's men dragged the unconscious form of Maxius the Younger, by his chains, up onto Kiera's operating table. Lucia's men dashed in and set the bloody teeth on the table, before vanishing as silent as master servants. Kiera glanced at them with some curiosity, but then dutifully began healing Maxius in the usual way.

"You did this to him," Kiera observed.

"I did," Zachary admitted.

If she had wanted to chastise him, she refrained from doing so. It only took a few seconds before life was restored to the ravaged Heritor on the table. When he opened his eyes and saw Kiera he started laughing.

"Kiera, is that you?" Maxius asked. "You always did have a kind heart."

Two plump nurses rushed in to fetch the patient. "Get him cleaned up," Zachary said. "Cut off his robes and dress him in furs. Shave all the hair off his head."

"I have rights!" Maxius insisted.

"Do not follow his instructions," Zachary continued. "Do not believe his claims. You are free to gag him if he makes too much noise."

"Yes Sir Zachary," one of the nurses said. They both curtsied and then plucked the Heritor off the operating table amidst a litany of protests and complaints. Two of Kiera's haulers sprinted into the room and dumped another screaming victim on the table.

"I'll leave you to your work," Zachary said. Then he left.

He summoned a horse and rode to the east toward Castle Noxus. Kiera's hauler teams served as brief and silent companions on his journey. The front lines were unchanged when he arrived, bathed in the light of a blue sky but otherwise ominous because of the blood and broken bodies. Old King Sullivan's men, gleaming blue under navy banners, were holding the line against the Noxus family soldiers in dark green uniforms. The Noxus soldiers were still attempting to siege the castle, but King Sullivan himself had smashed the siege and was busy setting up an encampment just outside the castle gates. The local garrison was missing from the walls, most likely to avoid the ample rifle fire that filled the air.

King Sullivan looked resplendent in his immaculate military uniform, firm and defiant in spite of his advanced age. He was flanked by his top general officers. Lucia Aden sulked nearby under layers and layers of red robes. The Eyes of Empire, wearing hooded black robes with purple epaulets, loomed over the gathering atop her fine mare. Zachary's own horse became ornery upon seeing the mare, so he turned the beast over into the care of the nearby soldiers and stalked into the gathering on foot.

"Sir Zachary," King Sullivan said. "Did you find him?"

"Yes sir," Zachary reported. "I found Maxius the Younger hiding among the Noxus soldiers to the south of the castle."

"Was he able to use ethermancy?" the King asked.

"He did not possess an aura," Zachary replied. "Like our own ethermancers, the Noxus family ethermancers were unable to use their abilities. Either that or I killed them too quickly."

"Where is he?" Lucia demanded.

She removed the layers of red hood to reveal her face. Lucia Aden was, in Zachary's estimation, a somewhat ugly young woman. Her face was too narrow. Her front teeth were too large, and when she spoke or smiled she gave the impression of being somewhat stupid. Like all the Heritors of House Aden, her hair was the color of midnight, tinged with a blueish sheen in the correct light.

Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

"I took him to Princess Kiera's tent. Her nurses are cleaning him up right now."

"I'll geld him," Lucia announced. "I'll get Kiera to heal him and then I'll geld him again."

"You will do no such thing," the Eyes of Empire said. "Petty quarrels between Heritors are not forbidden, however sustained, punitive torture violates the Heritor Precepts."

While Lucia continued her argument with the Eyes of Empire, the castle gates creaked open and a small group of mounted castle soldiers poured through. The representatives of the castle garrison, mostly high-ranking officers, were obviously intimidated by the small gaggle of Heritors that awaited them. They were led by an old man in shining plate armor, who Zachary did not doubt was a proper knight. The round of introductions was mercifully short.

Feeling belligerent, Zachary asked: "What caused you to betray your own lord? How do we know you won't betray us?"

"We swore oaths to protect the people," the old knight replied. "I knew that Good King Sullivan here would extract proper vengeance on the people of Castle Noxus when the gates fell. Therefore, in order to protect them, I approached the Blue Wolf with terms of surrender."

"He is mostly telling the truth," the Eyes of Empire reported.

With the Eyes of Empire as witness, the castle guards denounced all forms of treachery, which satisfied King Sullivan. This was the opening act of what would soon become a heated negotiation. The fool woman had promised all the officers land and cottages in the Empire, a fact which the oculomancer reported as being completely truthful and factual. To his credit, King Sullivan was a shrewd negotiator, and he was able to haggle the size and value of the properties down to a more reasonable level. Once everyone was in agreement, they set off toward the gates of Castle Noxus, riding fresh mares in the wake of the local garrison.

When they reached the throne room, they found Imperial Princess Alyesha Varelion, the Blue Wolf of Nydia, lounging on the lord's throne sipping cherry wine. The fireplace was ablaze, so her burned coral hair seemed to glow gold at the fringes. Nearby, Lord Noxus was dressed in motley and chained to the stone wall above a pool of his own urine.

"Sasha," Zachary said with a slight bow. "My beloved niece. You have been very busy."

"The castle guard saw the way the wind was blowing," Sasha replied absently.

Lucia Aden continued across the room without speaking and, responding to an inviting gesture, plopped down into Sasha's waiting embrace. They immediately began whispering. Plotting, Zachary knew, a method of negotiating the logistics of forbidden love.

Blane family soldiers arrived dragging Maxius the Younger by his chains. Somebody had gagged him at some point, and the nurses had done a poor job of shaving because his head was still covered in a very thin layer of stiff green stubble.

"Heritor Maxius," Sasha said gravely. "Did you order my kidnapping?"

"Don't answer that," the Eyes of Empire said. She marched forward to stand between Sasha and Maxius. "Heritor Alyesha, I have just received a message from Spire Annatiki, sent through emergency channels. Heritor Maxius is not to be questioned, by any means, and for any purpose. This order comes from the Elder Saint herself."

"Why the hell not?"

"Because," the oculomancer replied calmly, "he obviously knows something that nobody else in this room is qualified to know."

"Including you?" Sasha asked.

"Including me," the oculomancer agreed.

Zachary let out a low whistle. Sasha waved her hand dismissively and said: "Everyone please leave. I shall retire to my quarters to enjoy the company of Heritor Lucia. Under no circumstances am I to be disturbed." Her eyes drifted to Zachary, and in a single flash of emotion, a private message between niece and uncle, he knew that he had not been dismissed like the others.

King Sullivan left, accompanied by Maxius the Younger and the Eyes of Empire. Zachary lingered until Sasha and Lucia had left, then he followed them through the oppressive halls of the castle to the lord's private quarters. The door to the lord's chamber was open, and both women were seated at a small table by the door. A manservant stood at the ready, holding a platter of glass flutes filled with cherry wine. Zachary snatched a glass and sucked down the blood-colored contents before dismissing the servant. It was horribly sweet.

Once the door to the chamber had been sealed, the Blue Wolf said: "Sir Zachary, I invite you to kneel."

Zachary dropped to one knee and bowed his head. "My princess," he said. "I am yours to command."

"Sir Zachary," she began, "on behalf of my brother Corrin Varelion, the Emperor of Nydia, I hereby order you to investigate the method Maxius the Younger used to kidnap me. I want to know how he was able to sneak past the oculomancers."

"I will find out how," Zachary promised.

"Sir Zachary, nothing is forbidden to you. You have full access to all imperial resources. You are above the law."

"I understand."

"Now go."

And he went.