A princess, a king, and an assassin are sitting in a tower. I am pretty sure there is a joke somewhere in there, except that we are not laughing. The room is dead quiet except for the occasional chewing sounds from the king.

I explained to the king, my father, the note I received and the various bits of intelligence I have on Duke Qual. There is not much there. Whispering Village is probably the most “dark” thing the Duke does. Compared to the other Dukes, he is like a 5 year-old sneaking an additional cookie after lunch. The only reason I don’t think he is an idiot, is because he formed this craftsman paradise without any of his peers knowing. The subtly involved is truly impressive.

The current issue is that we have a possible kingdom ending entity on the fringe of the kingdom and we don’t know more than that.

“So, we need more information and the information we do have…well, we weren’t suppose to have it to begin with. If we wait, the whole kingdom can fall. We will be nothing more than dust. If we don’t wait, we could incite the kingdom ending event, and we are dust again. Maybe with the last choice we can save a small segment of the kingdom, but we will become vassals in one of the other kingdoms…assuming they are not leveled. The Duke has suspended transports to his ducal region for 6 hours. We can assume this is so he can move people around to address this problem. But…he has yet to inform the Seat of the issue. This could imply that there is something unique going on here or that he wants to keep us out of his little village for as long as possible.”

In restating the situation for the tenth time, I am hoping that it will trigger some sort of epiphany, and we can move forward.

“You are right little pigeon, we need more information.” His voice at the end peaks a little…sarcasm. He has an idea.

“So, you have an idea retiree Carter?” That should get under his skin a little.

“Speak plainly Carter, this could be the end of my kingdom, I really don’t want to decode your statements today.”

“Ah, yes sire. I suggest a small trip to the border, with our favorite youngest royal. Since she is young, we can send a small detachment of elite guards…and transport into the wilds outside of Whispering Village…maybe 20-30mins outside the village, on a hilltop. If the village isn’t dust, she can visit and get a feel for the situation, and report back.”

“An untethered transport is expensive…the individual connecting the spaces will have to have a pretty good idea where to put them down…and the power involved…you want Derby to do this?” I can’t help but feel a little anxious at this suggestion. It is a good suggestion. A small team, sent for information gathering. If their transport people are not super busy they will see the transport come in…it still might cause issues. And then there is Derby. He is not as young as he once was, this will put a lot of stress on him…but I don’t think I can trust anyone else with my sister.

Stolen novel; please report.

“This is Derby’s forte. Has he been to that area before, it will make it easier if so.” Well, father is on board. I can see the light in his eyes. We just need to get the young princess moving…and that will be an issue.

Writing down a series of orders on my paper slips, I whistle to Swan. The small bird appears on my shoulder as if he was always there. I roll each message into a small cylinder and then seal each message with purple wax…this is a King’s order, not to be argued, or delayed.

Taking each not cylinder, three total cylinders, with 7 total messages, I give each to Swan. He picks up two with is feet and one in his beak.

Pointing to each cylinder, I tell him, “This goes to the Royal Elites. This goes to Caretaker Wendy. This goes to Derby. No replies. Go.” Faster than I can close my mouth after the last command, he is gone.

“How many did you send, daughter?”

“Only enough to get the princess in and out quickly. We only need information. One of the younger space Parities, with untethered experience. I am hoping they won’t be necessary, and he can just use the pads in the village once the situation settles down. Three air Parities, one with dual essence affinities. One scout. One weak, with intelligence gathering. I think he is dual air and water. One of the Parities is bonded with a bird like mine…so we should be able to use him to gather information from a distance, if necessary. And of course, my sister and her two supports…assuming they are still talking.” The last thought pops out of my mouth before I can pull it back in.

“Talking? What’s going on little pigeon?” Dam, I knew I shouldn’t have said anything. Too late for regrets.

“My sister has decided that she is now old enough to forego having support staff…which is code for, they didn’t keep her secrets, secret. So, she wants them out. They are in a bad position, but the little twit doesn’t seem to realize they saved her life.” And what’s worse, is I don’t have someone who can replace either of them.

“Hmmm, I think I will have a chat with the young miss. What is your opinion your majesty?”

“I think we may need to bring Duke Qual closer to the Seat.” I just look at my father with a dumb struck expression. What is going through his mind?

“Ah, why is that father?”

“The man is obviously competent. His handling of the situation, without whining about it to me, the formation of the village. It’s all really impressive. I am about to lose three Dukes. I need someone with that level of intelligence to step in and prevent those areas from becoming wild again. This whole situation, even if the village gets leveled, can be turned to the nobles as a great success and deserving of taking over of the three Dukes lands. This could work.”

Not sure I can argue with those points. It is good to look ahead, but I have to wonder if he is getting ahead of himself.

“Assuming he lives, your majesty.” That’s it Carter, bring him back to ground.

“Yes, yes. I know. There is not much we can do. What is the timeline to getting our “Princess on vacation” group out in the field?”

“An hour minimum, father. We have to pack food, assemble, etc.”

“Ok, let’s meet back here in three hours. That should be enough time for information to get back to us. Until then, I have to work the details on killing the Dukes. Carter, can we get some spice cookies for afternoon tea…I think some sweet spices will settle my stomach.”

“Yes, your majesty.”