Lorelei P.O.V

Dolion and I had taken refuge in the kitchen, The place smells mouldy and is empty except for the fireplace that is built into the wall. Dolion uses his foot to move some mouse droppings on the floor, before placing his bag down. I wonder what happened here. Empty homes in the city are rare to come by.

"I could feel the magic in your voice. It's weak, but it's there. How did you go this long without knowing about it?" Dolion is leaning up against the wall, his face hidden under the hood. "I think I have noticed. It has always been easy to get some coins by singing in the street, I always assumed it was because I have a nice voice, but it must have been the magic. " It has to be that, I've seen singers with much more charming voices, struggle to make people throw money at them.

"This magic you hold is extraordinary. You have a gift. It comes from somewhere. Someplace within your blood. Most likely you inherited it from one of your parents. I wonder if you are part Alkonost or Cughtagh, maybe even Patupaiarehe" He says those words as if I am supposed to understand what they mean. Even though I have some understanding of fae folk, it is limited to the ones we deal with here.

"You know very well I am an orphan, I know nothing about them, their names, their faces-"My voice had been loud, angry. But before saying the next sentence, I felt a knot in my throat and tears prickling my eyes. "It is all gone. They are gone." Dolion removes his hood, revealing his burned face, the bright blue horns and his white hair that swirls around his shoulders. "You don't know that, they could be alive somewhere." My cheeks began to burn and I started shouting at him. "Should that be better? That they left me? Open to any fate. No! my parents are dead." My eyes burn from trying to fight back tears.

I stood glaring at him, silent. "Why did you come back? To the city I mean. If it wasn't to find your parents?" He speaks softly and slowly. How can he be so calm, when being screamed at?

"You may find us naive for risking our lives for a piece of information. But when you have nothing, a small thing can mean everything. I wanted to know where I came from. Neary and Narin wanted to know what had happened to them. We laid a plan, we calculated all risks. If it hadn't been for you, we would have been far gone. Instead, we are caught in this mess."

We should have followed the plan. We didn't need his potion before and don't need it now. If we had just left for a faraway place, where no one knows what our mark means, it would never have mattered. Neary, Narin what are they doing to you now? How long do they have? "I need to save the twins. It can not wait." Dolion had been silent as I ranted. But as I stopped he inquired "Do you believe they know you took the prince?" Believe? I am certain they do. After all. "The princess saw me, I am sure they know."

"Which princess was it, Zora or Malika?"

"The girl with him at the inn was different. Younger, thiner. I think that was Zora. Which means that it was Malika at the brothel."

"Malika-" He says the name softly, "A shame she got away, I would rather she was here than him."

I shudder at the implication in that sentence. "Disgusting." Dolion's eyes widen and he raises his eyebrow. "I did not mean it like that. I was hired to stop the wedding, no bride, no wedding-" He tried to defend himself. "But the prince will have to do."

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"You get what you want, a ruined wedding and the twins get the punishment." I groaned. "You could always offer to exchange the prince for them," noted Dolion. "That is actually, a good idea. Would you agree to do to that?" I ask. "If we devise a good plan. And it won't lead back to me." I am honestly shocked that he is agreeing with the idea. He doesn't care about Neary or Narin. I shouldn't trust him, but I don't have the option to doubt whether he actually wants to help.

"Well, a plan...a plan. It has to be something good and feasible. They most likely already suspect I took him. So there is no point in hiding who is behind." I stated.

"Even then you can not contact them directly. It might be advisable to send the King a letter outlining your demands."

A letter to the King could take forever to reach him. If he even receives it. "The King will not accept a letter from just anyone, especially not one without a seal."

"Then how do you propose we contact them??"

"We should send the letter to Captain Basin, he will ensure that King Alfonso reads it."

"If you think your foster father can get it to him, that is what we will do."

I tilt my head "How did you know Basin is my..." I can't even say it, as much as I'd like to, the guards aren't permitted to use the title of father. He was my caretaker, nothing more. "I did some research before contacting you. I prefer to know who I work with." Dolion says. I should have known that he knew, after all, he knew who we were and what we were doing here. "What more did you find out?" I ask curious to know what else he knows. "Nothing much," he says with no discernable emotion behind it, but also no wiggle room for any further discussion on the matter. For the time being, I'll leave the conversation.

"Regarding the letter, how do we find out if they want to comply with our demands?" questions Dolion. It has to be simple, something we can see without getting noticed. Like the silk ribbons. "It is customary to place a silk ribbon on the port's flag mast to notify the public of significant events. For example, Purple the Queen is expecting." I disclosed.

"Interesting, but won't the people be confused if the dead Queen is pregnant?" Dolion queried. "That is just one colour. If it is black, someone in the royal family has died. I think that white would be the most subtle one, it signifies that someone is greatly ill. They can always claim they recovered after."

"Appear as we have a plan.-" Dolion moves to get something in his bag. Vellum, ink, and a quill pen. "What shall I write?" My breath is rapid. What am I doing? This is a horrible idea, what we are doing is high treason. Why am I hesitating? Taking a deep breath, I am already a traitor this will not change my punishment if I am caught.

After we have discussed what to write, and when the letter is drafted. I thank Dolion for helping me save the twins. "This is not how I planned any of this. But in my business, you must be prepared for plan adjustments."

Outside, the sun has begun to rise. The light is peeking in through the small windows. "I will make sure the letter is delivered this morning. You should get some sleep while I am gone." Dolion picks up his bag to put the letter in it. and pulls something else out. Seeing the shaft of the dagger. Makes me take a defensive position, getting ready for the potential danger.

But Dolion offers the dagger to me "You might need this." After taking the dagger I study it, it's simple. It appears dull, and there are some rost areas on the blade. "You need to take better care of your weapons," I note. At a young age, I learned that you need to respect and take care of your weapons, or els they are gonna turn against you in a fight.

"If you do not want it I can take it back." I tucked the blade behind my back. "No. It is mine now." I can not let go of the only protection I have. Dolion does not respond. Instead, he turn to the door and covers his head with the hood. "I will be back in a few hours. While I am gone can you be a dear, and give our guest another cup of tea? "