Everyone listened intently while Corvina laid out the plan.

“Wait, so we’re not kidnapping the prince after all?” asked Belle, after Corvina had finished.

“Well, as far as anyone knows it will have been the elven army that kidnapped the prince,” said Corvina. “But we’re doing the majority of the work.”

“Can’t we just tell Sebastian what we’re doing ahead of time?” asked Anne. “I feel like he’d go along with it.”

“Possibly,” said Corvina. “But we can’t risk the possibility that he’d leak any part of the plan to the Emperor, even accidentally. The fewer people who know about this ahead of time, the better.”

“I for one don’t really see how this actually helps anything,” said Collette. “Won’t this just put Sebby in more danger and give the Emperor even more reason to try to destroy the forest?”

“Yes and no,” said Corvina. “Ironically, putting his precious heir in apparent danger might be the only thing in the world that could actually incentivize the Emperor to take a step back from his dreams of conquest. And it may seem counterintuitive, but as long as we have the cooperation of the elves, then there’s no safer place for the prince to be than in the middle of the elven army. No assassin is going to be able to touch him there. ”

“Then the entire plan depends on getting the elves’ cooperation,” said Nia. ”Without the elvish leadership on board, nothing will come of this."

Everyone turned to look at Anne.

“I don’t, uh…” said Anne, rubbing the back of her head sheepishly. “I don’t actually really know the elvish leadership that well… or at all, really. Not personally. Except Agis, I guess. I can ask him if he thinks the other elves will go for it, if you want.”

Corvina nodded. “Please do.”

“What’s the leadership structure of the elves like, anyway?” asked Belle. “Do we just need to talk to get the King on our side?”

“From what I understand, the King and Queen mainly stay in their palace and handle domestic affairs,” said Corvina. “The army is controlled by the first two princes. The first prince, Zaos, is a famous swordsman and war hero. He controls all the forward troops, those who have clashed most directly with Wyernwolf forces in straightforward battles. The second prince, Elyon, is in charge of the Royal Guard. The Royal Guard used to stay in the palace and guard the King, but Elyon has turned them into a roaming independent force focused on defense and the use of guerrilla tactics. In the past they’ve disrupted Wyernwolf supply lines and generally been a thorn in the side of the imperial army, but they've never engaged in a direct battle.”

They all looked at Anne again, as if looking for confirmation. Anne shrugged. “Sure, that sounds right.”

The older elf princes were only mentioned a few times in The Foundling’s Wings, so Anne really didn’t know much about them. Other than that they were both destined to die if the original plot had played out the way it was supposed to.

“The eldest prince, Zaos, is said to have a short temper and a deep hatred for humans,” said Corvina. “I don’t think it’s likely that he’ll agree to cooperate with us on his own. But the second prince, Elyon, may be able to persuade him. Elyon has a reputation for being level-headed, rational, and even a bit of a reformer. I think he’s the most likely person among the elven leadership to be able to see the benefit of this plan and agree to an alliance.”

“Okay,” said Anne. “I’ll ask Agis if we can contact Elyon somehow and ask him.”

“Thank you,” said Corvina, granting Anne a brief smile. “That will be a big help.”

“It doesn’t seem like this plan really requires any help from us,” said Belle, gesturing to herself, Nia and Collette.

“No, but I’ll need to be out of the city for an extended period of time,” said Corvina. “There are things I need you all to do for me here in the capital while I’m away. I’ll give you more detailed instructions individually at a later time.”

Collette downed the rest of her champagne and set her glass down on the table. “Well then, that seems to be that for now. It’s getting late that even the servants’ after-party is bound to be winding down. Also, I’m sleepy, so… everyone get out of my house.”

Nia smiled wryly. “You’re always so kind and polite when asking people to do things.”

Collette winked at Nia and blew her a kiss.

Leaving Collette behind, the rest of the group moved downstairs, pausing by the front doors.

“Do you want a ride, Nia?” asked Belle, stretching and yawning. “I know you don’t usually bother hiring a carriage for these things, and we’re going in the same direction anyways.”

“I’d be glad to accept your kind offer,” said Nia, with a small bow.

“I’d better to go find Agis,” said Anne.

“I’ll come with you,” said Corvina. “I need to find Helen as well.”

Anne and Corvina said their goodbyes to Nia and Belle and began to explore the first floor rooms. It seemed most people had left already, leaving the detritus of a wild party behind them.

In one side room they found the head maid and the butler arguing. The head maid was sweeping up while the butler followed her around trying to take the broom away. Both of them were clearly very drunk.

“Stop your incessant cleaning, woman,” said the butler. “You know the mistress won’t mind if we leave it till morning.”

“I’ll mind,” said the head maid. “If we don’t get this done now it will be worse for us later. But you you can do what you want. I’ll take care of this myself.”

“Oh don’t be such a martyr.”

“How about you don’t be such a lazy lout? Whoops.” The head maid dropped the broom and the butler fell over trying to grab it.

Corvina and Anne carefully navigated past them and left them to their argument.

They finally found Helen and Agis sitting on a wooden bench in the corner of the kitchen. Helen was humming to herself while reading a small book, and Agis had apparently fallen asleep leaning on her shoulder.

Looking up and seeing Corvina, Helen put the book down. “My lady! Is it time to go?”

Corvina nodded. Helen gently shook Agis awake.

“Hmm, what?” said Agis, blearily rubbing his eyes.

“Your sister’s here to get you,” said Helen.

“We gotta go, Agis,” said Anne. “Eva’s gonna be really mad if she can’t find us.”

“Oh Goddess,” said Agis, jumping to his feet. “She’s gonna kill us. Let’s go!”

A short time later they were all out in front of Countess Collette’s townhouse, about to get into their respective carriages.

“Thank you for spending your time with me at the party,” said Helen, smiling at Agis.

“Oh, yeah, sure,” said Agis. “It was fun.”

Helen reached over and kissed Agis on the cheek. “Don’t be a stranger!” she said, before climbing into her carriage.

Agis hand flew up to the cheek Helen had just kissed. He looked stunned.

Corvina watched this whole exchange with a strangely serious look on her face.

“Um, I’ll be sure to ask Agis about the other elf princes soon,” said Anne to the distracted Corvina. “I’ll see if we can get a message to Prince Elyon.”

Corvina nodded, turning her attention back to Anne. “Alright.”

“I don’t know if I’ll be able to leave the cathedral for a while after this,” said Anne. “I’m supposed to be laying low for a while after the whole… miracle debacle. Eva’s not likely to let me out of her sight again anytime soon.”

“Then I’ll come visit you at the cathedral soon,” said Corvina. “To further discuss the plan, of course.”

“Sounds good,” said Anne.

Corvina leaned down to kiss Anne on the cheek. “Thank you for that dance,” she said. “I’ll see you soon.”

Now it was Anne’s turn to hold her cheek and look stunned.

On the carriage ride back, Agis asked Anne in a distracted tone. “So… what does it mean when a girl kisses you on the cheek?”

“I don’t know,” said Anne, equally distracted. “Maybe it’s a normal human thing? Like, a common thing for people to do here? Like just an expected polite way to say goodbye that doesn't mean anything at all?”

In the other carriage, Helen was grinning knowingly at Corvina while Corvina stared out the window blushing furiously.

----------------------------------------

Across town, Nia was entering her own small townhouse. Her family wasn’t important or rich enough to own a real mansion, or even a townhouse as fancy as Collette’s, but it was a nice enough place, and they were able to keep a few servants. After all, it wouldn’t do if an important diplomat was seen to be living too modestly.

Nia’s butler, a young man of Quellinian descent, was waiting for her at the door.

“My lady,” he said, with a bow. “I’m afraid she’s refusing to sleep and has been asking after you.”

Nia sighed. “I suppose it was too much to hope for a quiet night,” she said. “Thank you for watching over her while I was gone, anyway. I’ll go to her now. You should get some sleep.”

The butler bowed and took his leave, while Nia began climbing up the stairs, making her way through the dark house towards a room at the end of a long hallway. A room with a small amount of candle-light visible around the cracks.

Nia opened the door and immediately ducked as a vase went flying over her head. It smashed into the hallway wall behind her.

The vase had been thrown by a woman sitting on the bed in the room. She was an older woman, with warm brown skin just staring to wrinkle, and long dark hair that fell wildly down her back. She wore a simple night gown, and she had a desperate look in her eyes.

“Nia! Where have you been!?” shouted the woman, leaping up from the bed to cling to Nia. “I thought you were that horrid butler again.”

“Hello, Mother,” said Nia, calmly patting the woman on the head. “Nice to see you, too.”