Oh dear, it is late.

Darkness had already fallen by the time Mia, Bernardo, and Anne began their approach to Castle Lycos, which was a pretty intimidating place during the daytime. At night, with its stone walls and spike-lined battlements only lit by torchlight, it was downright ominous. And, it really fit Mia's mood as well. It was only yesterday that Mia abruptly left a special dinner prepared in her honor, and now she was late for a second dinner with the King. There is no way this is a good thing. Maybe we can just sneak in and nobody will notice we are late...

Mia's silent hope was dashed as a night guard with a booming voice announced, "Princess Mia Luna Tearmoon of the Tearmoon Empire, Sir Bernardo, and The Lady Anne have returned, lower the drawbridge!"

The announcement was so loud that dogs began barking throughout the capital and babies began to cry, having been awakened from their night's slumber.

Mia was even more embarrassed than the princess who had tried to sneak in late to class at Saint Noel, only to trip and fall at her professor's feet—with her secret stash of cookies quietly rolling underneath her classmates' desks. There's no point in identifying who that princess was, but it is sufficient to say that Mia was feeling much worse at this moment.

And, the over-the-top announcement was no accident. Claudia gave the castle guards a talking-to after omitting the Princess's name the previous day, so now they were doing their best to atone for the previous slight.

With the drawbridge lowered, Mia tried to console herself.

It wasn't that loud, maybe nobody heard.

Just as Mia's hopeful delusion bubbled from her brain, the second night guard, with an even louder voice, called out, "Princess Mia Luna Tearmoon of the Tearmoon Empire, Sir Bernardo, and The Lady Anne have returned, raise the gate!"

Mia would have brought her hands to her face to cover the shame, but her hands were busy covering her sensitive princess ears.

As Mia mentally prepared for her walk of shame into the royal dining room, she said her goodbye to Bernardo, "Thank you for the escort Sir Bernardo, you have a lovely family."

"Thank you, Princess Mia, though I must apologize for returning you two so late."

"Oh, it's fine. There is much more to your farm than I imagined. And, we really did enjoy ourselves. Though I am not sure that I lived up to your girls' expectations—it's a good thing I brought The Lady Anne."

Anne blushed at her friend's teasing.

The joke was lost on the Adamantine Spear, who was afraid that the Princess's feelings may have been hurt from the disproportionate attention that went Anne's way. "Oh, the girls were impressed with you as well, Your Highness! I am sure that the girls will never forget either of you!"

"Farewell Sir Bernardo!"

Bernardo turned and left into the darkness, as Mia and Anne returned the horses to the waiting guards.

When Mia and Anne finally arrived in the dining room, they found the queen, princess, and both Princes waiting at the table.

Mia immediately bowed humbly, "Oh dear! We are so late. I am so sorry. I hope we didn't have you worried."

"Abel laughed, "You were with the Adamantine Spear, you couldn't have been any safer anywhere in the Kingdom."

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An impatient Gain grumbled, "We accept your apology, would you care to sit down, now?"

Mia noticed the empty plates, "Oh please eat!"

Gain immediately started placing food on his plate while the other Remno's present waited for Anne and Mia to be seated.

Claudia looked towards Mia, "I apologize for His Majesty's absence —he's not used to waiting. But, he sincerely hopes that you can dine with him tomorrow."

"Oh yes, I will definitely be on time tomorrow—I hope he wasn't too upset."

"Oh, no. His Majesty wasn't upset at all."

This comment resulted in the queen receiving a bevy of dubious looks from her children.

They had been there as the King waited and waited, and waited. They knew he had wanted to scream and smash tables. He had wanted to punch the face of every person in the room. He had wanted to eat! And, he would have done all those things, save for the fact that his Kingdom needed wheat to survive, and Tearmoon had wheat. He could not afford to offend the Princess, so he had refused to act out, and he had refused to leave, not until just five minutes before Mia's arrival.

"Oh, I am so happy he was not upset! But, really you shouldn't have waited."

Claudia just smiled and nodded. She dare not speak, lest she disappear into a fountain of laughter. She had thought that observing the King waiting was the pinnacle of entertainment, but that was before she had watched the King being stood up by the Tearmoon Princess.

With everyone seated, and their plates full, Abel was the first to speak.

"Mia, We found him. We found Muzic."

"That's wonderful! Where? At his home?"

"No, to the east. He's heading towards a small village towards the border. I think that between the change in temperature and the famine, folks are having to move around a lot more for food."

"Great! Let's go meet him!"

"It's a half a day's ride, we will have to miss tomorrow's dinner with my parents."

Mia noticed that this elicited a smile from Claudia for some reason. Oh, she must just be happy that we found Muzic. But missing another dinner with the King...

"Oh, no! We can't do that. I can't miss another dinner with your Father!"

"But, if we don't leave, we may miss Muzic. Let's go."

"You just want to miss dinner with your Father."

That is when Anne spoke up, "I will go. I will be your arms and legs."

Abel responded, "Anne, you can't go alone. I will find a kni—"

Claudia interrupted, "Gain could escort her"

"What? He can't..." Abel's words stumbled out of his mouth.

Mia smiled, "I think it's a splendid idea. If it's okay with Gain and Anne."

Mia thought that Anne would be safer with Gain than most any random knight, and, for all his rough edges, she personally knew that he would behave like a gentleman around a vulnerable young woman. And, for the most part, Mia was right. Yes, he was emotionally stunted, and a little crude, but he also had a sense of honor of sorts, and he would do everything he could to protect Anne

"It's fine. I trust him." Anne replied in a quiet monotone.

Did she trust him? Well, she no longer believed he was a homicidal maniac, and Mia had Anne convinced that he would not take advantage of a woman, so the only thing left to be worried about was his machinations as an evil mastermind—the most recent example of which took the form of a forged love letter, supposedly authored by a horse—which was an embarrassment to horses everywhere. So, she was feeling pretty safe from Gain.

"Great! Then, it's settled. Anne and Gain will meet with Muzic, while Abel and I have dinner with His Majesty and the queen. We will catch up with you two later."

Gain and Anne decided that they would leave first thing in the morning, and the four started making preparations. Claudia just smiled at the two couples (hey, a mother can hope), and retired for the night.

After about an hour of discussing Gain and Anne's travel preparations, Mia stretched out her arms and let out an exaggerated yawn.

Anne gave Mia a concerned look, "Mia, there is no reason for you to stay up. Just go to bed."

"I am sorry Anne, it's just been a long day."

"Mia, I can walk you to your room." Abel casually volunteered.

Mia really wasn't that tired, but she really just wanted to be alone with Abel—not for a soft hug and a kiss on the cheek—though they both were on her itinerary—but to apologize for not fully listening to his warnings about Remno. She still wasn't sure if the King's recent changes were reforms or not, but Remno obviously had some serious problems with regards to women—and she should have listened to Abel.

Abel, for his part, wanted to make his own confession to Mia. Abel had concluded that Gain was probably not quite the monster that he believed him to be. He was thankful that Mia insisted that he talk to his brother. It just wasn't the act of beginning to understand Gain—Abel actually had explored a bit about his own doubts and resentments —and somehow that made him feel a little bit closer to his brother— and a little bit more confident about his feelings towards Mia.

So, Abel and Mia left the dining room, arm in arm, each looking forward to making a confession of sorts.