It was beautiful. Well, what we'd seen of it was beautiful. The port where the ships docked was free of all the warehouses and other administration buildings that normally cluttered a port. There was one large building that greeted you, but other than that the landscape had been left alone.

There were push carts and porters on duty to load up your bags as soon as you stepped off the ship. The porters first instructed us not to disturb the flora. Then they stacked up a few people's belongings onto their carts and then we followed along behind them as they made their way to the casino. Since most of the bags looked the same, I made certain I knew which porter had our stuff. ID tags or not I didn't want things to go missing.

Brightly colored flora was everywhere and they lightly scented the salty air. It was a combination of salt, damp earth, and floral scents. I had to stop myself from picking a large bouquet of the over-large flowers. Mom was scooting around with her walker trying to smell as many as she could along the path. I was tempted to do the same but I really needed to keep an eye on which porter was ours on our walk up the path.

It was a walk. The port was situated on the south side of the Island. The casino was on the south side but further inland. We followed along with the long trail of people. Porters with empty carts passed us going the other direction. We had a fifteen-minute walk along a crushed seashell path before we got to a huge clearing with the biggest building I had ever seen.

"Gods above," my mother hissed. She'd been keeping up a stream of inconsequential chatter on the walk but she'd finally been left speechless at the site of the building.

I'd never been to the capital but it looked like what I'd imagined the palace would look like, tall and white. It was created with some sort of white stone I was unfamiliar with but it shone glossy in the sunlight. You had to crane your neck all the way back just to grasp the enormity of the building. It was so large you couldn't see the entire front of it even from a distance. There was a rainbow in the air from a vast fountain that shot streams of water up into the sky in the front courtyard.

The entryway was large enough to fit an entire temple. Mosaic flooring in blues and white were placed in abstract designs. At least I thought it was abstract. There was the possibility that it created a giant picture but you could only see it from one of the floors above.

People lined up in front of tables and were given room directions from employees in white. As per our Ids, I took our bags, double checked they were ours and stood in line with my mother. I looked at the grand staircase leading up to the second floor, then the third. I knew there were more floors but where the stairs for those floors were hidden I didn't know.

How my mother was going to use the stairs was another problem. Could we request a room on the first floor? Were there rooms on the first floor at all? Anxiety began to form a knot in my stomach. Mom had been looking forward to this trip but she wouldn't be able to enjoy it if she couldn't get to and from her room with ease.

My stomach sank even more when I was given the key to room 423. Fourth floor. The man behind the desk handed me a piece of paper. It had tonight's schedule of events on it. We had a few hours to get dressed and ready for the event, but could mom make it up and down those stairs that many times tonight?

"Um, do you think we can get a room on the first floor?" I asked the man hesitantly then shot my eyes to my mother when he gave me a questioning look.

"Oh, you can take our service lift if the stairs are too much for you." The man stood up and waved over a waiting female attendant. "Please show these ladies to the service lift," he instructed her.

She nodded and gave us a huge smile.

"Please follow me. We plan to install a lift just for guest use in the future but we weren't able to get the magic cores installed in time. Until then I hope you don't mind using our service lift. It's very utilitarian but it gets you from point A to point B easily enough."

"Um, if you don't mind my asking," I interjected, "but what is a lift?" Was I being very provincial right now? Maybe. Maybe, they had these lift things all over the capital. I'd never heard of them before but from her talk, they were planning on putting in more of them.

"Well, they are little bathroom sized boxes that have pullies attached to them. By using magic we can make these pullies move the room up and down. We can make stops on every floor."

"So it's a moving room?" My mother asked in amazement.

"Essentially yes, but it just moves up and down. It's an invention Mr. Rience came up with a few years ago."

"Mr. Rience?" Was he someone important?

"He's in charge of this island. He doesn't get involved much with the running of the casino or hotel. He has other people do that. He stays on the north side of The Island for the most part. In the research area. The north side of The Island is off limits to guests by the way." The girl looked at us as if we were going to sprint off to try and find this Mr. Rience on the north side of The Island at just that second.

"If you don't mind my asking why are we not allowed on the north side?" Mom asked her.

"There are research labs up there and a lot of sensitive equipment. The area still has a significant monster population as well. There will be announcements tonight explaining it further. Not even casino staff is allowed over on that end of The Island.

"For good reason too. Some idiot employees thought it was a great idea to wander over there to check it out about three months ago. They disappeared. They can only guess that they were attacked by one of the more nastier monsters."

"Are the monsters really that bad here? I was under the impression that you only had low-level monsters." I was a bit alarmed.

"On the south side, yes. We have a dedicated crew that maintains the area. There isn't any risk of anything worse than a Goblin Crab showing up. As long as you stay on the south side. The north side is kept wild for research purposes.

"Oh, here we are. This is our service lift." The girl walked up and stood behind a line of elderly men and women also waiting for this lift. There was a metal grate in front of a hole in the wall.

There was the sound of metal crunching and a box lowered itself down into that hole. There was a man inside and with a ding of a bell the box came to a stop. He went to work opening the metal gate to allow the people at the front inside the box.

"Is it safe?" Mom asked the woman before she could leave us.

"We've been using it for months and it's perfectly safe. I will admit I was a bit afraid the first time I used it but after I got over that I found it a lot of fun." She waved us goodbye and left us to wait in our line.

The gate was shut again and the people in the lift disappeared into the floor above. It really was remarkable but if it allowed my mother to come and go as she pleased then no matter how alarming it was, we had to at least try it.

"Come along, Harold," a very large woman in a very poofy dress yelled back to a man carrying four bags. He was followed by another porter with a wagon stacked with trunks. She waddled up to the front of the line and as soon as the lift descended and the gate opened she stepped in.

The guy who was working in the lift exchanged looks with the porter who had been pulling the wagon with the trunks. I could only see the back of the porter's head but something must have been silently exchanged. The guy in the lift took a deep breath as if preparing himself.

"Ma'am you will need to stand in line." He moved his arm barring the old guy with the bags from entering. The porter didn't even try to move. He knew what was going to happen.

"Nonsense, come on Harold." The woman motioned to the man to go around the arm barrier.

"I must insist ma'am," the guy said not moving his arm.

The woman frowned. Then she did it. What we'd all been expecting.

"Do you know who I am? I am a VIP guest. I will have you reported to management." The woman grabbed the man's arm and pushed it down. The man lifted his arm again when the man with the bags tried to enter. The woman pushed his arm back down.

"No ma'am, this lift will not be going anywhere until you go to the back of the line."

"I will not wait in line like some common person," the woman huffed. "I demand to speak with your supervisor at once.

"You there," she turned to the porter, "go fetch this man's supervisor."

"Not my job ma'am," the porter answered. Our porter had been very friendly but something told me that this man had already been dealing with this woman for far longer than he wanted. "In fact, this isn't my job either." He waved to the wagon with the trunks. Then he glanced at the guy in the lift again. The guy in the lift smiled at what he saw on the porter's face.

"I have delivered your luggage to the main hall. That is the extent of my duty. Everything else is just courtesy. With everyone else still departing the other ships I really am needed elsewhere." With that, he began to pull the top trunk off the stack. He placed it on the floor.

The woman had a fit. She started screaming at the porter. She rushed out of the lift and began to fight the man over the second trunk on the stack. He tried to pull it off and she would pull from the other direction.

In the meantime, the guy in the lift began to direct the people in the front of the line to board. An elderly couple nodded and tottered inside. They looked so frail and delicate that the wind could pick them up and blow them away. It must have been hard on them on the boat. The woman was using a cane and holding the small of her back as she crept forward. The man guided her along by the elbow.

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The large entitled woman lost her fight over the second truck and turned to find people getting into her lift. She rushed forward and actually pushed the old man out of the way.

"GODS ABOVE!" I shouted and ran forward to catch the man. Anger, annoyance, and adrenaline made me move faster than I thought I could. I got to him just before he hit the floor. Hell, if he had fallen he'd probably have broken a hip.

I wasn't strong enough to pick the man up entirely but I was able to control his fall to the ground so he didn't hurt himself. The porter and the lift guy ran forward to help.

The large woman stood in the lift berating them for being common and taking her spot.

"SHUT UP YOU FAT COW!" I screamed at her standing up. I was pissed. Mom was slowly clapping. Glad to know I had parental approval.

"How DARE you talk to me like that you common strumpet!" The woman yelled back. Then she charged at me and slapped me hard in the face. I didn't think, I acted.

I fisted my good hand and punched her. I'd been aiming for her nose but I glanced off it and hit her squarely on the lower part of her eye. It was enough to land her on her ass.

Oh shit! What had I done?

Applause broke out from behind me. Everyone in line was giving their approval. The lift guy and the porter were getting the elderly man to his feet. Each of them had an arm. The elderly lady was fussing over him but once she determined her husband was sound she turned to face me.

"Thank you, dear." She reached out her hand and placed it over mine. Then she reached up and touched my stinging cheek. Healing magic was activated and the stinging went away.

"You," the elderly woman pointed her cane at the woman screaming and crying assault. "Shut up. You are in some serious trouble."

"I will have you all jailed!" The woman on the floor screamed back.

"I am Lady Margot Kingsman. The man you just assaulted is my husband Prince Ayman Kingsman Duke of Elderbourgh, the King's own great uncle."

"Gods Above," I whispered. I didn't know who the fat woman was but there was very little higher up in the hierarchy than a prince, elderly or not.

I wasn't the only one who gasped. The porter nearly dropped the man in his shock. Assaulting the King's great-uncle would be a death sentence for normal folk. Depending on her rank the woman was at least looking at a while in prison.

The shock of the encounter certainly shut her up. The enormity of the situation had finally dawned on her, or so I thought.

"Lier! I am Lady..."

"Lady Sarah Awther, daughter of Earl Awther of Wren Haven," someone interrupted coming around the corner, "and a notable pain in the ass."

"I demand that the guards be called!" The woman shouted trying to lever herself off the floor but was having problems navigating her bundles of skirts.

The man who had interrupted her was pale white, had a long beard, short black hair, and wore what looked like white healer's robes but they weren't. Healers didn't have skulls with crowns embroidered along the hems of their robes. He was also carrying a large clipboard with a stack of papers he was peering at through half-moon glasses. My skin broke out in goosebumps. I was certain that this man was not human. Not one doubt in my mind but what was he? Who was he?

"Mr. Rience!" Both the liftman and the porter tried to stand at attention while holding the prince propped between them.

"Oh, Rience, nice to see you again old boy. You don't look like you've aged a day since last I saw you." The elderly prince croaked out in a raspy voice.

"Good afternoon Your Highness," Rience offered a low bow. "I apologize for my late arrival. I had meant to meet you in the hall."

"It's alright, my boy, but we seem to have had a bit of a kerfuffle."

"I see that. I've already summoned security. They will be here shortly to place these ladies under arrest."

Ladies, plural. Shit.

My mom gave a squeaking protesting sound.

"No, no, my boy. The young lady there saved me from quite the nasty fall when I was shoved by the other one. Then she was slapped for her efforts. She just so happens to hit harder. In my opinion, it was purely called for given the circumstances. She'd been defending me and later herself from a purely unwarranted attack after all."

The crowd and Lady Margot gave agreeing noises.

"Excuse me?" The old man that was the fat lady's husband finally spoke up.

"Yes?" Mr. Rience answered.

The old man looked around him. Looked at the woman then at the bags he was still holding.

"Would you be so kind as to tell me where I am? I seem to be a bit turned around." He looked at the man in charge with some confusion written all over his face.

"Oh, poor dear," Mom whispered.

"Oh, can it Harold," the fat lady yelled from the floor finally managing to lever herself up by scooting herself to the wall.

The man seemed to deflate and what life he had shown in those few moments suddenly left him. He went back to staring into space.

He was probably senile. It happened a lot with elderly people. They started to forget things, then people, and finally at the end of their years who they were. Oddly enough they did have moments of perfect clarity of their past. Memory was a funny thing.

"I see," Mr. Rience muttered as he glanced over his clipboard.

"You see no such thing! I demand this common street thug be placed under arrest immediately!" The fat lady turned and pointed a sausage sized finger in my direction. "I demand to speak to the person in charge. This is an outrage. AN OUTRAGE! Those people should be placed under arrest too. It's illegal to pass yourself off as nobility and I can tell there is nothing noble about them." She smiled maliciously at us all. "It's a death sentence."

"Are you as daft as your husband?" Lady Margot asked her leaning on her cane.

"Why, I never. You impertinent foul-mouthed cretin." The fat lady began to march in Lady Margot's direction her hand raised for another slap. Not learning my lesson the first time I moved to stand in front of Lady Margot, this time though I was prepared for the slap. I was able to deflect most of it with my arm but I still got hit upside the head.

To my surprise, Lady Margot picked up her cane used my shoulder as balance and began to wield her cane like a weapon. She began to beat the fat lady about the head and shoulders. I was practically holding Lady Margot back at one point while the fat lady tried attacking. I got stuck right in the middle of a noble woman's catfight.

"That's my Maggie! Go get 'er, Firecracker!" The prince shouted giving an imitation one-two punch that left him off balance and had the lift guy and the porter supporting him again.

"Enough!" Mr. Rience stepped in and did some sort of magic on the fat woman. She froze in place. She didn't even seem to be able to talk. I caught Lady Margot's cane before it descended again on the frozen fat lady.

"She can't move now, my lady," I said to her dropping the end of the cane nearly immediately.

"Oh dear, what you must think of us..." Lady Margot leaned heavily on me and was breathing hard. I led her over to the trunk that the porter had placed on the ground and had her take a seat on top of it. I could practically feel the animosity and daggers being sent my way as someone dared to sit on the fat lady's luggage.

"I think I'm going to like you," my mother said scooting up to us with her walker and smiling at Lady Margot. Then she laughed. Lady Margot gave a half smile then watching my mom having a full on giggle fit she broke out into a grin.

"I didn't marry no proper lady. I married the best adventuress at the Guild. My little Firecracker." The prince had gained his composure and had bent down to sit beside his wife. He gave her a loving kiss on the forehead. Then he turned to me. "Thank you, young lady, for stepping in even when you thought we were just two ancient geezers."

"Um, I thought she'd hurt you," I shifted from foot to foot embarrassed. Was I supposed to bow?

"I know how we look. Frail and weak. I probably would have injured myself in a fall, but Maggie here is a fighter. I'm surprised she kept as calm as she did for so long." He glanced at his wife again and she smiled back at him with loving adoration.

"Excuse me? Would you be so kind as to tell me where I am?" The old man Harold had wandered up to the porter and asked. Then spotted his wife and squinted in her direction. "Lady Awther a pleasure meeting you here. How is your lovely daughter? We had such a fine time at the ball last month."

Was he confusing his wife for her mother? That sort of thing did happen. I wondered what had possessed the fat lady into dragging her ailing husband out on a three week trip to an island in the middle of nowhere. I couldn't think of any pleasant reasons.

Four men wearing all black appeared around the corner.

"Sir," one of the men saluted Rience. Then they all stood at parade rest waiting for orders.

"Just Lady Awther but perhaps have this gentleman here seen by one of our medical staff," Mr. Rience simply ordered.

He did something that allowed the fat lady to move and talk again. As soon as the first man in black tried to lead her away she began hitting him and screaming. Two of the men had to forcefully tie her hands behind her back. Then she refused to walk so it took all four men to carry her away. It left her husband at a loss. He was still very confused and was becoming more and more distressed.

I wanted badly to ask what was going to happen to the woman, but I didn't want to draw more attention to myself or distress her husband further. If I knew people, word would get around the casino in a matter of hours. Gossip wasn't the best source of information but if you knew how to listen you could sort out the sensationalism from the fact and get a general idea of the truth.

The porter stepped up and volunteered to take the man to the healers. Mr. Rience nodded in acceptance. Then frowned hard at his clipboard flipping through the pages.

"Miss, may I ask if you are Lady Janette Duphare?" Asked Mr. Rience glancing at me.

"No, I'm Rille. I'm here with my mother, Maple," I answered him.

"Ah, here you are," he flipped a few pages and found me on his list.

"Right, I would like to personally thank you for getting involved when you did. However, considering your social status it was really a very stupid thing to do. Stupid, but brave. Try not to get into any more trouble while on this trip." He flipped all the pages back flat on the clipboard and smacked it against his leg.

"Your Highness, may I escort you and your Lady to your room?" He turned to the elderly couple and bowed.

The lift guy took that as his cue to get back to his job. He stepped into the lift and resumed his duties. Mr. Rience led the prince into the lift. Lady Margot gave me a bit more healing before she too followed into the lift. We probably could have fit into the lift with them, but it didn't seem right. We would wait until the next one.

I touched my face where I'd been slapped. Considering I'd just been burned it didn't feel tender at all. Then I caught a glimpse of my hand as I brought it down from my face. Huh? Had Lady Margot done something for my burn? It looked practically healed. The healers at the temple had done a good job, but what I was looking at now was beyond what I thought was possible for a burn. My skin was still a bit shiny but it was the shiny your skin got after you shed your old skin. My burn was nearly 90% gone and healed.

She didn't have to do that. It spoke volumes about her character that she did it unasked and to someone of a much lower status. I was so grateful that tears pricked my eyes. Sometimes kindness came from the most unlikely of places.

Our room was small but cozy. It had one large wide window that faced east. Two small beds but the mattresses were nice and bouncy. A desk and chair faced the window and complimentary stationery and postage were provided. I placed my dress in the closet. It was narrow but more than large enough to fit my dress and my mother's. I unpacked the rest of our belongings into the twin dressers.

Each room had its own bathroom. The water wasn't just from water cores either. There were taps you turned and either hot or cold water poured out. I wondered how much a system like that cost. I'd love to be able to have hot water without having to hand pump it into the basin and then boiling it. I knew we were lucky having the hand pump in our home. Most people still had to lug water from the local wells for water. Still, it was a luxury I really wanted to splurge on if the price was within reason.

Mom had already taken over the bathroom and was busy bathing for the ball that night. When she was done I'd bathe too. It would be nice to wash away the smells that had accumulated while on the boat.

I decided that a little nap wouldn't hurt. Mom would wake me when she was finished. I stretched out on the bed and curled up on my side.

How should I do my hair? Maize had gotten a headband so she'd probably wear her hair down. My hair was long but it hadn't been trimmed in a while. Perhaps up was the best option. I didn't trust my mother to give me a last minute hair cut. She'd been known to be a little chop happy.

A simple twist might be best. It was easy to do and I had the hairpins to do it.

My body relaxed into the bed. I was so comfortable. For once my body didn't really hurt. It should hurt after what I'd just put it through. Had whatever healing Lady Margot performed helped? Maybe, but it's not like I'd get the opportunity to ask or even thank her properly.