The youngest princess of the Kingdom of Embers lounged on the slanted roof of her parents’ castle, reading a newspaper from one of the cities she didn’t care enough to remember the name of. But as her eyes scanned the page, she slowly rethought that notion.

“Huh,” she muttered to herself. Apparently, the new World Walker—and his World Walker daughter—just held their own in court with the Guilds.

As Stell Metus of the Sneerhome Chronicle explained, “The World Walker will return to his amusement park with his head held high! After a long, four-hour deliberation, the Guilds returned with a not-guilty verdict in the case of stolen runic designs. But that’s not all. Reportedly, the Guilds and the World Walker are entering a partnership that may either spell trouble for both parties or perhaps be a revolutionary bonding discussed in the history books.

Yes, you read that right: revolutionary. As our dedicated readers understand, here at the Chronicle, we are not ones to stretch the facts and/or undermine our sources' integrity, but something is changing, even the gods say so. While it is not fully understood how or why, our ears in the Guilds say upper management is shaking things up with a new understanding of what magic can be.

What will this mean for World Walker Park? We will just have to wait and see.”

The article went on to give some speculation, but Princess Alexandria—Alex for short—huffed and tossed the newspaper from the roof. She watched the wind pick it up, carrying it down in a flutter of ruffles. Then, when she heard the gardener curse in shock, Alex quietly laughed to herself and clambered down.

She entered her room from the balcony, ignored her awaiting breakfast on the table, and headed to her wardrobe. She opened it and studied each article.

If she were going to visit the park, she’d need something less conspicuous to wear.

***

“They’re just gone?” Crime Lord Lanni asked, cutting into a bloody stake.

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“Yes, sir. Their hideout is dusty, and none of the other crews know what happened to ‘em.”

Lanni eyed the underboss slowly. If the man were lying, he’d know. But, after a minute of direct staring, the man didn’t break. “Find out what happened to them. If the guards took them, heads would roll.”

The underboss paused. “I don’t think it was the guards. There was talk of an elderly orc, someone the crew leader, Batty Barns, knew before his time in Sneerhome.”

Lanni chewed his stake slowly, cutting off and chewing another. Seconds rolled into minutes as he continued to eat. Then, with a sip of wine, he said, “You don’t think.”

“What’s that?” the underboss asked.

“You said ‘I don’t think.’” He twirled the knife between his fingers, stabbing it into the table. “I don’t pay you to ‘think.’ I pay you to know.”

The underling bowed his head. “Of course, sir. I’ll journey to Sneerhome in the morning to find out personally.”

Lanni thought for a moment. “Isn’t Sneerhome right by that new World Walker’s… thing?”

“That’s right, sir.”

The crime lord stood, dabbed his lip with his napkin, and said, “No. You stay here. I haven’t stretched my legs in a while. I’ll go.”

***

Elven Consort Jear swayed with the wind like a loose leaf. She sat atop the World Tree, breathing the thin air and reveling in the closeness of the sun. She listened to the birds chirp and sing, she heard the ants march day and night, and she felt the life energy of her single-tree grove. She’d had her eyes closed for nearly a decade, but slowly opened them when the winds changed.

“Truly?” she asked the open air.

A fallen leaf graced her outstretched hands.

“It has been some time since I took a sabbatical. Are you sure you’ll be fine without me here?”

Another leaf fell into her hands.

“Well, if you insist.”

Another leaf.

“I get it.”

Another leaf.

“I said I get it.”

Leaf.

“Look, I know. I said—”

Leaf.

“You’re really passive-aggressive sometimes, you know that?”

A pause. Then another leaf fell.

“Apology accepted.” Jear got to her feet. “Shall I take a seed? The Kingdom of Embers is rather far, maybe it’d grow well there.”

Instead of a leaf, an acorn fell. It landed perfectly in her hand.