Anna sat in Sol’s office on her own, practicing magic. He’d shown her several nets, and she was getting the hang of a few of them. Others though, especially the spell for autonomous movement, still seemed beyond her. He’d left a little wooden mannequin with a crystal planted in its face walking around the room. But as many times as she examined it with her own magic, she couldn’t find a way to mimic the spell.

And she couldn’t ask Sol for advice, either. He was not there. She wasn’t quite sure where he’d gone off too. She only knew that he and Andrew kept disappearing, trying to think of some trap they could devise for the spy. When she’d managed to corner Andrew and ask him about it the other day, his shoulders slumped. “Nothing so far,” he’d said.

“Nothing?”

“The only thing we really know is that the spy was here when we were in Prohr. We don’t know if he’s still here. We don’t really know what the Wisp Steelers are after.”

“Wisp Steelers?” Anna asked.

Andrew shrugged. “We need to call them something.”

“Other than ‘that mysterious organization that’s steeling Wisps and selling them to the highest bidder,” Peter had added. “Though, I still think it sounds a bit close Wisp Seekers,” he’d added.

Andrew had sighed. “Sol and I are trying to think what we can use as bait. But, aside from ourselves, we can’t think of anything.”

“Well, that isn’t going to work any time soon,” Anna muttered. Sol and Daniel managed to talk Lady Thalia out of giving the Wisp Seekers a harsh punishment. But she’d insisted on a probationary period for them.

“They cannot be allowed to go wherever they want, whenever they want,” she’d said. “They must be under strict orders.”

“What about the book?” Anna had asked.

Daniel had shrugged. “Well, there’s no real reason you have to take it to Vulcuo yourselves,” he’d said. “So it might be better to have you on hand to deal with issues with the Wisps as they arrive.”

Sol had only offered them an apologetic shrug. Lady Thalia huffed. “Your personal interests do not take priority over the missions we give you. It is past time you understood that.”

So, as Andrew desperately tried to think of how they could lure the spy out, Anna practiced using her magic in Sol’s study. She reexamined the little mannequin again. It might be easier to understand the spell if she were to try pulling it apart, but Sol had forbidden it, saying even if it was more than luck, it was a riskier move than he’d like taking place in his office. Anna considered taking the little toy outside to practice, but thought that might still be going against Sol’s orders.

Of course, she knew Sol had a point. He’d watched her undo several spells as part of her training the other day. Her success rate was high. Much higher than Sol had even suspected. But she stumbled on some of the more complicated spells, to disastrous consequences. Sol assured her he would take full responsibility for the crater in the court yard, but Anna was certain Lady Thalia would treat this as more ammunition against the Wisp Seekers.

“I still don’t see how I can use any of these spells to defend us if we have to fight another mage,” Anna said. There was no one else in the room, save the Wisps, all residing within her bracelet. Since finding the book, she hadn’t been able to prompt more communication from them, but it seemed right to keep trying. Halcyon would always respond, if only with just a little brush of calm.

She was still practicing when the door opened and Peter stuck his head in. “Sounds like we’ve got another job,” he said.

Anna jumped up, felt the practice spell she’d been working on flicker, and she had to try hard to get it under control and make it fade away, instead of explode on her. “What is it?” she asked.

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“Peter shrugged. “Don’t know. Come on.”

Anna followed Peter out of Sol’s study. Andrew and Sol were both with him in the library proper, along with a young soldier who was presumably their escort to the throne room. She turned to the Archmage. “Do you know what’s going on?” She asked.

Sol shrugged. “I’m afraid I’m just as out of the loop,” he said. “Shall we?”

They made their way to the throne room, where they found the king and queen waiting for them along with Daniel and Lady Thalia. The throne seemed unable to contain King Henry as he watched them come in. All memories of decorum seemed to have vanished as he bounced in his chair, unable to sit still. Queen Emily, on the other hand, looked worried. Lady Thalia’s expression conveyed nothing but her usual distaste for the group, while Daniel was more focused on the report he was holding.

They stopped, and all bowed to the King and Queen. “What can we do for you? Your Majesty? Your Grace?” Andrew asked, turning from the king to the queen in turn.

“It’s very concerning,” Queen Emily began, but her brother cut her off.

“Oh, they handled the pirates, they can handle this!” he said. “Daniel, read them the report.” The Chamberlain nodded. “We’ll skip the greetings for you. The real report only begins after a paragraph or two, anyway. Let’s see… here: ‘our towns have been requesting help, and I am at a loss for what to do. Bandits have been crossing the border to raid our farms and hamlets. They burn the buildings they enter and kill any who cross them. Even now, I do not know the full extent of the damage. If that were not enough, reliable men of the town watch—that is of the watches of several towns—say that the leaders of these bands are accompanied by Wisps. Even if this is just fancy (and I’ve heard similar rumors from around the country that disincline me to such a view) this is far beyond the usual raids we’ve dealt with from time to time. I haven’t the faintest idea what’s spawned these hostilities, and I humbly request aid from the capitol.”

“Bandits?” Andrew said in alarm. “You want us to deal with bandits?”

“Why not?” Lady Thalia said. “As his Majesty pointed out, you successfully defeated a fleet of pirate ships. And this does seem to involve your particular specialty.”

“From over the border,” Anna said. “Which border? Selasem or Ryukyuu?”

“The city state, Nuidia,” Daniel replied. He chuckled. “If it were one of the larger nations, we’d be worried about war. But Nuidia… well, they do very little to control the ruffians that live in and around the city.”

“So these bandits probably are just more bold now that they have Wisps?” Peter asked.

“That’s what we’re thinking,” King Henry said.

“We know a lot more about these bandits than we did the pirates,” Queen Emily said. “Not everything. With new Wisps, they may have a new mage. We can’t know. But this isn’t a reconnaissance mission.”

“What do you mean?” Andrew asked.

“Your mission is to fly to the border and help the soldiers subdue these bandits,” Daniel said. “We want you to protect them from the Wisps’ influence when they attack, and assist them in the fighting. Of course, if you can retrieve the Wisps, that would also be preferable.”

“Right,” Anna said, who was hoping their new restrictions wouldn’t have them trying to stop Halcyon from gathering the other Wisps.

“This may be a bit much for you,” Queen Emily said. “I know you’ve fought before, but this isn’t—”

“Are you kidding? They’ll do great!” King Henry said. “They’re heroes in Prohr, and they’ve fought mottled!”

“And it’s not like it’s the three of them alone. They will have the help of Lord Justin and his men,” Lady Thalia said, her tone more reassuring than Anna had ever heard it before. “I’m sure they will be happy to serve in this way to win back our favor.” The young queen still looked concerned.

“Still,” she said. “We cannot simply order them. They offered to help us, but as civilians, and we can’t demand they risk their lives.” The little girl drew herself up in the chair. “This mission is a request. Not an order.”

“Emily,” Lady Thalia began. Her daughter’s head snapped to face her.

“I will not overstep what is right,” the girl said. “Father taught us that’s even more important for kings and queens, remember? However mad we are at them, we still give them this choice! Right, your Majesty?” she added to her brother.

King Henry nodded, looking a little deflated. Lady Thalia’s face grew stony. She stood up straight and nodded to her daughter, saying nothing. Anna found herself wishing it had been an order. At least then they wouldn’t be tools for the young rulers to establish independence from their mother.

After a moment of silence, King Henry drew himself up again. “Well, what’s your answer? Will you accept?” he asked.

Anna considered only for a moment. “Of course.”