Camellia tucked her arms close to her chest and walked along downtown Presereme’s sidewalk. She could hear her footsteps, but since she wore soft shoes, those footsteps produced more of a shuffle than a clomp. She was alone, and evening threatened to fall early, with rain clouds hovering where the sun should be.

The AAH headquarters waited ahead, rising between two buildings. It reached higher than either. The grey stone of the street, blended with the grey stone of the buildings, and all of it looked grey against the current stormy weather.

Camellia had always loved the grey of Groaza, along with its black and white. She knew Groaza looked gloomy to people from Tagtrum and just about anywhere else on Iruedim. Groaza even looked gloomy to the eyes of the plant-loving Scaldin. That thought was enough to bring a smile to Camellia’s lips. The grey people didn’t love the aesthetic of her homeland’s grey cities. But, it had always suited her mood.

Camellia just needed to walk a single block, and she would return to the AAH. She raised her eyes skyward, and the building beckoned.

Florian waited there; he worked in his office, and though he’d been reluctant to send her walking, he’d let her go. Camellia felt an almost even mix of enjoyment and annoyance when it came to his protectiveness. The more she considered the situation, the more she thought she leaned towards enjoyment, especially as the weeks passed.

Camellia sighed.

The next day, they would have a final test for Pen Pal, although Rooks and the Scaldin navy didn’t think they needed his promises anymore. They thought they had the Volanter beat.

“Gruesome morning.” A man tipped his hat as he passed.

Camellia stopped and turned. “It could have been worse.”

“I suppose, but I heard we lost ships. They were so close, I saw some firelight in the sky.” He pointed up to the clouds above. “It wasn’t so cloudy then.”

Camellia smiled. “I wouldn’t know. I slept through it.”

“Lucky you.” The Groazan man tipped his hat again. “Better get inside. Storm’s coming.”

Camellia waved her goodbye. It had been a long time since someone stopped her on the street and just wanted to talk.

She supposed it was a side-effect of the battle. She and Florian slept through it and missed the anxiety that hung as thick as the clouds. They woke only to hear their com ringing, and it was Meladee, calling to make sure they’d lived through it.

Nothing breached the planetary defenses, but Meladee felt the need to call just the same. It touched Camellia. It felt like family.

A chill wind brushed past her collar and attempted to penetrate her hair. It failed. Camellia’s wavy hair, normally thick, was thicker still, thanks to her son. Winter would struggle to make Camellia uncomfortable, so long as her extra hair lasted.

Camellia grabbed the rail and ascended the stairs to the AAH. Though the sun hid behind clouds, she didn’t have a spring in her step. Slow was best, and hopping was out of the question.

Camellia pulled the heavy door open and slipped inside. She looked up and among the usual murals, she saw Pan and the dragon.

Camellia stopped and stared. It was a long moment before she realized her mouth was open. “What are you doing here?” Camellia approached.

“Waiting for you. I had a hell of a time finding this place. I located Groaza easily, but then, I had to determine which city was Presereme. I must have landed in six cities before I found it. I thought I would miss you.” Pan slouched by her dragon.

The dragon hunched, keeping to a small space. It watched Camellia with narrow, red eyes, and its tail swished back and forth.

“Have you tested the Pen Pal yet?” Pan straightened as Camellia came closer.

“No.” Camellia worked at the buttons of her coat. “I wasn’t going to do that till tomorrow. And, Rooks thinks we might not even need to test him.”

“I need you to test him.” Pan glanced up and down the hall. “Is there somewhere we can go that no one will listen in?”

Camellia nodded slow. “We’ll go to the basement. Is this about the test that Sotir wanted?”

“Yes.”

Camellia gestured to the dragon. “I don’t think it’ll fit.”

Pan patted its snout. “You’d be surprised where this beast fits, but I’ll send it away. Wouldn’t want to break anything.” Pan ruffled some feathery fur and said softly, “You won’t be gone long.”

The dragon turned to smoke. Its shape hung in the air and gradually lost cohesion.

Camellia shrugged off her coat and draped it over her arm. She curled her finger, asking Pan to come hither. Then, Camellia led Pan into the basement. Both their shoes made soft sounds, devoid of hard soles. The door to the stairwell swoshed louder than their movements combined.

Camellia didn’t take Pan straight to the communication device. Instead, she led Pan into a quiet restoration room, where a painting waited upon a large easel. Grey woods, grey only because the pigments had faded, waited to be restored to its full color. A sample corner showed what was to come, and everything glowed in greens and golds.

“I like it better this way.” Pan nodded at the work.

“It has its charms either way,” Camellia agreed. “Though, it will probably last longer if we restore it. But, there will come a time when it’s grey again.”

Camellia watched Pan. Ask her. Ask her to summon up his ghost for you.

Pan stared at the painting still. “Your Pen Pal can heal a mind.”

Camellia startled.

“I need it to heal Aria.”

Camellia felt her brow furrow. “Why?”

She asked why, but she knew. Aria was the only one to wake from the Obsidian dream without help. She’d gone deep, and she’d had more after effects than the others. Camellia knew what bugged Aria. It was the same thing that troubled Camellia for years.

Pan drew a shaky breath. “She…she probably wouldn’t like me spreading her business into the cosmos, but I don’t know what else to do.” Pan bowed her head. “She can’t have children or it seems like it might take her a while. Something is wrong with her, and she has a long wait till she’s better.”

Camellia stiffened. She couldn’t help with half of that problem. “You want me to ask Pen Pal to heal her mind?”

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“Heal her…mind.” Pan nodded. “I almost wish it could do more.”

Camellia didn’t know what she would do if she found herself sub-fertile. At first, she probably wouldn’t have noticed. Things happened so fast for her, almost too fast. But, as the months went by, and possibly a year, Camellia would begin to sink. That was where Aria was now.

“I can ask the Pen Pal for healing,” Camellia promised. “But, it’s not enough.”

Pan raised her hands; then let them fall to her side. “It has to be.”

Camellia frowned. Some idea waited in the foggy edges of her mind. She couldn’t reach it. For the time being, she would make other conversation, “May I have details? In case I need them.”

Pan took a deep breath. She looked at the picture. “I’ve said enough.”

Camellia walked to the workbench and sat. “You don’t mind?”

Pan shook her head.

Camellia shifted on the worn wood. “Pen Pal will perform better and faster if we give him context. He needs little things. Ideas, events, places…symbols. Stuff that will mean something to Aria.” Camellia picked a rag off the bench and tossed it, over her shoulder, onto the table. She got a whiff of some chemical and halted her breath, till it passed. “Just tell me…tell me a little of what’s happened, especially about her emotional state. Anything you want to volunteer.”

Slowly, Pan faced Camellia; then set her eyes on the floor. “If Aria had a choice, she would no longer be among the living.”

Camellia drew a sharp breath.

“I found her first in the woods by her house – her body and her ghost.” Pan exhaled, almost too soft to hear. “I time messaged that ending away, and I took her with me. To help fight the Volanter.” Pan shrugged. “It hasn’t been distraction enough. The second time I found her in her quarters aboard the Ischyros. The third time…” Pan shook her head. “She keeps trying, and I reset it. It seems like no matter what I do, she’ll… If you need a symbol, how about this? Aria’s white, glowing ghost in the middle of the forest. Surround it with all the people that would miss her. Gavain, Sotir, Irini, her family, our mentors. Me.”

“What did she say?” Camellia asked softly.

Pan’s brow furrowed. “Say?”

“What did she say when you found her ghost?”

Pan gave a small shake of her head. “What they usually say – nothing.”

Camellia frowned. “But, you were a ghost seer. It was your job to pass messages-”

Pan held up a hand. “Let me stop you right there. It was not my job to pass messages. There were no heartfelt sentiments and sweet goodbyes – I made them all up. And, I said them on behalf of the ghosts because it was what their families and friends wanted to hear.” Pan spread her hands. “I gave them what they wanted.”

Camellia felt a lump in her throat. Would Cernunnos have nothing to say to her now? She averted her gaze.

“Alright. I’ll work with what I have. She has more conviction than I ever did.” Camellia’s vision glazed, and she ceased to really see the surroundings. She saw memory instead – the lake and her immediate regret.

“She has conviction,” Pan agreed. She gestured to the door. “Just ask Pen Pal to heal her. We might never free him. Rooks and the other commanders might leave him to rot, but I’ll get this from him.”

Camellia twiddled her fingers. “I’d better do that tonight then. I doubt you want me to have an audience.”

Pan nodded and turned away. “I have to go back to the Ischyros. I hope she’s still there.”

Camellia raised her hand. “Wait.”

Pan stopped. “What?”

“Go to see Eva,” Camellia said.

She thought of the nanites and the experiments that Eva ran with them; well, more so Sten. If the nanites could repair Wheelian, Eva, Tiny Tin, and all the robots and androids in between, could they be used on a person?

Pan shook her head. “Any deals with your friend Eva are off. I failed to get a computer, and I wouldn’t be able to get her anything top secret anyway. There’s no point in going to see Eva.”

Camellia frowned. “Deals?” She waved her hand. “Just never mind that. You need to see her. Ask her for nanites. Say you need them to heal your friend. If not Eva, ask Sten. He won’t say no.”

Camellia wondered about this deal with a computer, but she would save her questions for later.

Pan’s heart beat a little faster, thumping for Camellia’s ears. Slowly, Pan stepped away and nodded. “I’ll go see Eva and Sten, but I need to hurry. I need to get back.”

Camellia waved Pan off. “Go.”

I’m sorry to get down to business so quick, but I need your help. Camellia’s hand rested on the pad.

I’m here. I’m listening. Will this be my third test?

Yes. I need you to heal a mind.

The voice came clear and strong. Finally, a normal request. Tell me what you’re thinking. I can let you know how much I’m able to do.

Camellia shared her images of Aria and her location of Aria. She shared what she thought Aria’s pain must be like as well as Aria’s trouble with her body. Most importantly, she shared the symbol that Pan offered.

Pen Pals’ voice was heavy with sympathy. Oh, that is a painful situation. I can’t heal her body. That’s out of reach. Her mind is difficult too. But, you know that. Your father has probably contacted you by now and isn’t exactly cured himself.

He has written to me, and I noticed his attitude wasn’t exactly what I wanted. I haven’t written back. I’ve been thinking of all the work it will take to finish what you started. Camellia let her head hang low.

Yes, the work. A mind is not such an easy thing to change. A pause followed. After I give you this assistance, will you send help for me?

Camellia stiffened. I want to, but our leaders are arguing that we had a good battle and that I might not need to even speak to you again.

A sigh seemed to cross the com device. I may need to talk to one of them.

Camellia flinched. Inadequate. That’s what she’d been to him. She didn’t send the thought but kept it to herself. To him, she said, Tell me where you are at the very least, and I will talk to them. Just hold on. I will send you help.

If you can.

Will you still do the test?

I will do the test, but not as a test. I’ll do it because I want to.

Camellia waited with her hands in her lap. She sat at the console, in the chair that Florian placed for her needs. She wanted to wait until the healing was done, but Pen Pal’s promise to heal Aria’s mind would be a task of dreams. He would work through the night, and they would not speak again, until another day.

During the pause in their communication, Pen Pal asked Camellia to hold the knowledge of his imprisonment. She took it and kept it. She had a set of numbers, and she repeated them over and over. She had a set of runes – the ones that would fit into their wormhole spell and take someone to Pen Pal’s aid. Camellia guarded them in her memory.

Finally, she placed her hands on the console’s edge and rose. She shot a final glance at the guardian of women. Stacks of boxes blocked the chained statue from the rest of the room, especially since Florian had shifted the entire storage pile further from the door. Camellia walked the clearer path and stepped into the basement hall. She closed the door behind her.

“Talking to Pen Pal?”

Camellia jumped. Florian stood before her, his face obscured in shadow.

“I…I gave him the last test.” Camellia’s eyes felt wide.

Night approached, and clouds blocked much of the sun. Her senses enjoyed some enhancement but not enough to read Florian’s expression. That was okay because she didn’t need to read it. She already knew he was mad.

“And what test would that be?” Florian crossed his arms.

Camellia opened her mouth to answer.

Florian didn’t give her the chance. “You once told me that you would keep yourself and this child safe, but I’m starting to think you don’t understand what that means. How much have you talked to this thing behind my back? Really?” Florian gestured to the door. “I’m starting to see your father’s point of view here. No wonder he was so worried about you.” Florian advanced and grabbed her wrist. He stressed every word. “Volanter devices are not toys.”

Camellia could finally see his expression. She had brought him to the end of his patience. She wanted to show him confidence on her own face because she knew that she was in the right when it came to helping Aria. Instead, Camellia knew she showed him fear. She could feel the expression shape her eyes and mouth.

“I need you to make a promise and stick to it,” Florian said. “You shouldn’t be doing this alone.”

Camellia worried there was a chance he regretted their marriage. “When I got back from my walk, Pan waited at the AAH. She wants Pen Pal to help Aria. I can’t say exactly how.” Camellia looked askance. “Aria…Aria has been touched by the mirror, and she won’t make it without some help.” Camellia looked at the floor. “I gave Pen Pal a request to heal Aria’s mind. I just couldn’t say no.”

Florian loosened his grip on her wrist. “Oh.”

“I think it was the right thing to do. And, I couldn’t have anyone else there because then you’d know all of Aria’s secrets.”

Florian seemed at a loss for words. He said nothing.

Camellia continued, “In any case, Pen Pal agreed, and he gave me his location. I don’t need to use the com device anymore. I’ll pass on the location, and someone else can rescue him.” Camellia reminded herself of the runes needed to send a wormhole to Pen Pal. She reminded herself of the coordinates needed, once someone got to the other side. “I should probably write it down at some point. But, I am so so tired.”

Camellia felt her walk had been too much, coupled with her use of the com device. Her heart fluttered strangely, off and on. She did not feel hardy, and her blood pumped sluggishly, as if the whole arrangement of vessels and veins had grown loose.

Camellia’s legs went out from beneath her. She thought she might have been standing too long, or maybe the com device was just too much. Florian was right. It wasn’t a toy. Maybe, something lurked in Camellia’s brain and suddenly popped, same as what had happened to Cernunnos.

Whatever will be…