The city of Allusia was massive. Xiaomei had seen only a fraction of it and she was already getting lost. Keeping Hyun close by with a hand gripping his sleeve, the pair continued weaving through the increasingly dense crowd.

Xiaomei was reminded of home with each dodged foot, though that nostalgia was quickly tempered when she saw that sometimes the person she dodged was more fantastical than she had ever seen. For the first two days, Xiaomei had avoided the majaal that she saw but today she was seeking one out.

Spotting the familiar purple glint of his strange, gem-like skin, Xiaomei was full of specific intent as she dragged Hyun Soon along behind her to her new favourite place in the whole world. If she was being bold and hyperbolic, she might have said that the trials and tribulations of the labyrinth were all worth it for having met Yudai and their incredible confectionery stall.

The majaal in charge of this stall stood at a squat four feet or so, with incredible hair which raised their height to easily six foot. The strange biology of the majaal made them all very unique, but Yudai’s hair was an oddity even then. As though they were deep underwater, Yudai’s hair flowed upwards against the pull of gravity. Xiaomei was enraptured from the second she saw the spectacle of Yudai’s existence.

Xiaomei liked the idea that one could live while enjoying the spotlight upon themselves. It was not an idea that she had considered before but in the chaos that was Allusia, standing out seemed more tantalising than it had in the Guan lands.

“Ah! The little thing returns. With a big one this time! Fantastic, fantastic!” Yudai flew into action, rising from the ground with their own excitement. Xiaomei knew that Hyun would love this and when she looked at the sparkle in his eyes, it made her feel warm. “Would we like a couple’s treat today, oh Lady Guan?” Xiaomei giggled, though the first few times Yudai had called her that she had bristled. The majaal could not know that to Xiaomei, the Lady Guan would be Fa Lian - someone she was not willing to have on her mind right now.

“We’re not a couple,” Xiaomei corrected, making a show of rolling her eyes at Hyun Soon, “all your cones are great… could we get two orange ones?” Orange had been the first colour that Xiaomei had tried, not knowing what to expect. The sweet, juicy flavour of the ice was still the best one she had tried in her opinion. Yudai nodded their head, their hair waving wildly as they did. From seemingly nowhere, Yudai produced two cones made of flour and sugar and the show began.

The purple majaal placed the cones on a tray before them and began singing. The song was a jolly, lilting thing that Yudai told Xiaomei translated to essentially be a call to children to enjoy sweets. As they sang, they moved their long fingers rhythmically and bobbed on the spot. In the short time that they sang, the area around Xiaomei got cold. She huddled into Hyun Soon as the magic finally cast.

Two streams of cold slush fell from a space above the cones, filling them and making a small mound of ice. With another quick hummed rhyme, Yudai pulsed a little more magic and the ice became a lovely deep orange colour. Xiaomei couldn’t put her finger on what she liked so much about the shade but as Hyun Soon and herself started enjoying the cones of flavoured ice, she stopped worrying about it.

“Thank you, Mei.” Hyun Soon’s voice was nearly lost over the sound of the market around them but Xiaomei beamed at him all the same. She was glad to share something magical with him that wasn’t also trying to kill them. Allusia was a confusing place and the labyrinth which surrounded it even more so. Having the chance to simple stop and enjoy a treat with Hyun Soon was something that she hadn’t realised she’d needed until she had seen the wonderful stall and its eccentric owner.

Handing the majaal four copper pieces, she and Hyun Soon left. Xiaomei was hoping to arrive at the barracks before her ice melted, so they did not make any other stops. Hyun Soon himself had taken to staying in the accommodation they were given by Shade but his presence was needed today. Making the stop to the ice cone shop had cheered him up and Xiaomei was glad to see him finally smile. It was nice to see proof that his smile didn’t disappear with Guan Ah Dan.

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They still did not know where Ah Dan was. After they arrived in Allusia, things had moved quickly and a little chaotically. Dan had been taken to another location, somewhere Shade said he would be looked after.

However, she couldn’t trust Shade. Not fully. Hyun didn’t either, she thought, but they had not really broached the subject. Instead they opted for a calm quiet, taking the time available to relax while they could. Xiaomei could feel it each morning, her muscles healing after being pushed past the brink. Hyun Soon had been the same, recovering in his small room just as she did.

So they dipped, weaved and continued making their way through the packed streets to the only place they would find answers. The large, austere building was made of a salad grey stone, reminiscent of the labyrinth itself. The other buildings around it almost seemed designed as a taunt to the grey expanse surrounding Allusia, a rainbow of colour filled every corner of the city from its people to its buildings.

Not so with “The Barracks.”

The name was more of a colloquialism than an actual description. No soldiers worked these halls, though the regimented structure of the policing force in Allusia meant that you could easily make the mistake. Xiaomei finished her cone, enjoying the taste of fruit that had seeped into the dough. She and Hyun Soon made their way inside, unfortunately not seeing Shade nor Calliope when they did.

The guard that met them at the entrance was named Garaux, a large and scruffy looking man. A human, he was so strict in his role as doorman that he would not let them in without “proper authorisation”.

“We came here yesterday, Garaux. You brought us a drink!” Hyun was jovial, despite the hassle. The cone had done the job and brought him out of his funk slightly. “If we were allowed in then, why wouldn’t we be allowed now?”

“I don’t know all of the goings on, now do I?” The man’s waxy moustache bounced with every spittle filled word he spouted. Xiaomei stood slightly to the side, using Hyun’s larger form as cover from Garaux’s assault. “What was approved one minute might be a crime the next!”

Hyun sighed and was about to reply when the now familiar sound of Shade’s thick boots approaching started sounding through the halls, towards them. Garaux turned to see his superior approaching. He smoothed out his uniform, a dark green jacket with black pants, and straightened his hat. Shade didn’t pay him a second glance.

“With me, you two.” He said, a casual commanding aura about himself. Without waiting, he kept moving forward. Xiaomei and Hyun moved past Garaux, sparing him a pitying look before trailing after the marshall. Shade seemed more tense than yesterday, which was a triumph considering he was as highly strung as an ribbon Xiaomei could possibly make.

He ushered them into a room with three large sofas, a holding room for very important people. There was a table with a jug of water placed on it, four cups surrounding the jug. Calliope lounged uncomfortably against the wall, seeming unsure of where to place her weight.

“Where’s Ah Dan? Has he still not woken up?” Xiaomei suddenly wished she had discussed her worries more clearly with Hyun. She could see the muscles in Shade’s jaw tighten, a slight twitch in his right eye as he thought about his answer. Watching people like this was Dan’s trick but Xiaomei was learning how valuable keeping a close eye could be. Xiaomei saw as Shade analysed Hyun Soon’s question quickly, saw him decide that he wasn’t being interrogated and watched the forced smile appear on the man’s shadowy face.

“No, still sleeping. That boy seems to really like dreaming.” Shade answered. He couldn’t be more wrong but how could he know that? Xiaomei could hear the deception in the answer right there and Calliope’s presence started to feel more threat than comfort. Originally she had felt like a familiar face but Xiaomei was now thinking about how the woman had worked with Shazaar and the Ashes. “He means a lot to you?”

“Of course!” The statement was posed as a question and Hyun Soon jumped on it. Xiaomei closed her mouth, opened to interject but was spoken over by the deeper voice of her companion. Biting her tongue, she just hoped that he wouldn’t say anything she wouldn’t. “We wouldn’t be here without his abilities.”

Xiaomei had to contain her eye roll. This was going quickly out of their control. She might have continued to hold her tongue, were it not for the look of pity and understanding she saw on Calliope’s face. “What Dan can do isn’t important. Where is he? When are you releasing Fa Lian?”

Fa Lian had been the cause of the danger in the halls of the labyrinth but her fire had also pushed back the Ashes for long enough that rescue arrived in the form of Calliope and Shade. She had awoken on the way to Allusia but had been speaking strange, scratchy sounding gibberish, as though she had a fever the whole time. She had finally released the dragon bo and Xiaomei had taken temporary ownership of the potent artefact. It had remained cold the whole way to Allusia.

“She,” Calliope decided it was now her turn to speak, “is a different case. I promise she’s safe and okay.” There was no lie in these words to pull apart, or if there was, Xiaomei didn’t have the nuance to spot it, but it was another answer that told her nothing. “And you’re wrong, I’m afraid.”

“What am I wrong about?” Xiaomei snapped.

“Dan’s abilities are important.” Shade finally spoke to Xiaomei directly, looking her in the eyes with his hard purple. “Now, we have been patient and let you rest but the situation is far too serious for us to treat you like the children that you are. So I will make it plain. War is coming and I cannot stop it. Try as I might, it seems there will be no recourse. So, I need to know everything that will help me. Now tell me. Tell me everything you know about Guan Ah Dan.”