The next day our breakfast was interrupted again. Once more Elnora entered and approached us while we were eating. I just raised an eyebrow as she approached.

“Good morning Amaya and Lucy.” She even inclined her head a little. It seemed that she was giving us more respect after yesterday's revelation.

“Morning Elnora.” I said. Lucy was busy chewing and just nodded as a greeting.

“Queen Loriel invites you to join her at the duke’s palace. She is staying in a guest suite during the summit and would like you to be there as well.”

“Sounds good. We shall go there after we have eaten. Do you want to join us for breakfast?” I asked.

“No thank you.” Elnora said and left.

Lucy watched her leave. “She has become a bit more respectful but she is way too tense. Maybe we should invite her to join us in a hot bath with a drink.”

I imagined the scenario and laughed. “I don’t think she would accept the invitation. The idea that we have a powerful patron made her evaluate us I think. Instead of some powerful people with a shady past she now sees us more like foreign dignitaries.”

“Uhhh I should totally tell her that she has actually met my patron! I would like to see her face then.”

“Don’t torture the poor girl Lucy.”

“Awww spoilsport.” Lucy pouted.

We might tell Loriel and Elnora the truth at some point. But first we needed to know them a lot better.

After our meal we made our way to the palace. We were not even stopped, the guards actually saluted us as we entered. I suppose they kind of adopted us at this point. Still, especially with the summit so close the security was somewhat lacking. Inside we were greeted by a butler.

“My ladies.” He said bowing. “We have been expecting you. If you will follow me I shall escort you to queen Loriel.”

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He led us to the guest wing on the east side of the palace. I wondered if all diplomats were housed here, or if the Dominion received special treatment because of us. We ended up in front of a white double door decorated with gold. Two wood elves stood guard. They had bronze skin and green hair. I was surprised at first but there was no reason for Loriel to only have night elves with her. She was representing the whole Dominion.

Thinking about it, the Dominion did not seem to have any strife between the three kinds of elves. I wondered if there were any hybrids. What would a child between two kinds of elves look like? Continuing that train of thought, what would a child between a human and an elf look like? Were half-elves a thing?

From a biology standpoint two species having children would be unlikely. Mules did exist though. They were a hybrid of a donkey and a horse. But in a magical universe biology might be a bit more complicated. Magic could do many things after all. Then again, a human and an elf having a child might just result in either a full human or a full elf.

My musings were interrupted when the guards opened the doors and let us enter. The butler left and we stood alone in a big room. We were on the first floor and there was a huge glass door to a balcony overlooking the courtyard. The room also contained four plush chairs and a coffee table. There was a cabinet with bottles of liquor on top. The walls were decorated with paintings.

We were exploring the room when a door on the right side opened and Loriel came in. “Amaya, Lucy thanks for coming!” She said, “Please have a seat!”

“Greetings queen Loriel” Lucy said.

“Morning,” was my simple greeting.

After we all sat down Loriel started talking. “I contacted Maeve. While she would like to know more about your patron she has no objections to working with you. So I can now officially enlist your help. I would like you to stay here in this suite with me. It helps appearances and it will increase my safety.”

That was a lot of trust. We did help the Dominion quite a bit I suppose. And I had no idea what precautions, if any, they had. Maybe it was also a test? Or maybe I was overthinking this.

“It’s a lot nicer than our hotel room.” Lucy said. “I think we should stay here Amaya.”

“I agree. Now, what do you want us to do Loriel? And what do you offer?”

“Aside from the summit I want you to help us unravel the mystery of the Empire’s plan. We need to find out who or what they are working with and put a stop to it. Hopefully this will not lead to an open war, but it might.”

“You want us to disguise ourselves and infiltrate the Empire?” I asked.

“No. I am actually hoping that we will be invited to visit.”

“Why would they do that?” Lucy asked.

“This summit will go poorly for the Empire. They are not ready to face the entire continent. I am sure there will be an invitation from the Emperor where he tries to calm everything. They might even prepare a nice scapegoat.”

Now I understood. “So you believe the emperor will invite everyone from the summit?”

“Precisely. He will send someone here to apologise and invite everyone so he can explain in person. It will delay any decision here and give them more time to create a cover story. It will also allow us to visit the capital and look around.”

“Or they could ambush the delegates and kill everyone.” I pointed out.

“That would lead to a war. While I can not rule out the possibility I think it’s very unlikely. And I would have you to help keep me safe.”

I was not that trusting. It would be an opportunity though. And we were rather powerful. Combined with Loriel, her guards and other delegates it would take a lot of resources to defeat us.