"No meeting lasts forever. Where there is a meeting, there will be separation." - Old folk saying.

"So you all plan to return next summer?" asked the emperor as they dined with him that night. Unlike the first time Aideen was at the capital, where they dined in the great hall with all the ministers and other important people, only the emperor, his granddaughter, Artair's whole family, the prime minister and his ever present aide, as well as Mimia and Éirynn were present on the table.

It was a rather private dinner, all considered. Probably as private as it gets for an emperor like Khaer Ul Tessarii. The "souvenirs" the family had brought for Artair's father had been cooked by the palace chefs and presented grandly on the table before them, for them all to enjoy.

"Master had not given us an exact timeframe for the visit we're supposed to have," replied Mimia politely after she took a sip of wine from her glass. Nobody had mentioned how she was speaking to the emperor as if she was his equal, as everyone in the room knew of the emperor's past, and his status in Ptolodecca.

Well, the children had not known that, but they were placed further away down the table for a reason, and besides were too busy enjoying their food and drinks to take note. Besides, Mimia had kept her voice low so it had not traveled far.

"Even then, a year is probably about as long as we can consider," added Aideen to the sentence. During her trip so far she had seen quite a bit of the empire, even if most of it had been at the Veros duchy. Mimia and Éirynn had also taken their own trips around the central region during that time.

"I suppose the Bone Lord would be expecting you back before too long then," replied the emperor with a bit of a disappointed sigh, though he did not push the point. He took a bite of his meal and chewed before he said his next words. "Have you all considered which route you'd be taking on the way home? We will help accommodate it as much as we can."

"I was thinking of lending them my family ship," replied Erstgertsog Illyvich Veros from his seat. Unlike what most expected from an imperial dinner, the therians were never heavy on table manners. Instead, the dinner had a relaxed, family-like atmosphere to it, and the one they had in the great hall before was even rather rowdy. "They would be able to take the sea route to return faster, and the Bone Lord's disciples can take the river barge to meet them at Danevos to go together."

"Most kind of you, lord Veros. We thank you for the generosity," replied Éirynn from her seat across the table with a polite bow. Éirynn and Mimia had worn contrasting dresses that night, with Mimia dressed in black to accentuate her silver hair, and Éirynn in white to contrast her raven-black hair. The effect was quite striking, Aideen thought, especially when the two sat next to each other like this. "Would that not be too much trouble?"

"Nah, it's not like my family uses the ship that often anyway," said Artair's father with a dismissive wave of his hand and a smile on his face. Mimia and Éirynn were used to Artair's presence and interpreted the smile as what it was, unlike most who would have thought it a display of aggression. "Might as well make use of them when there's a reason to rather than let them rust in inactivity, won't you agree?"

The rest of the dinner passed as everyone made friendly conversation. The deals that the delegates had ironed out between the two nations meant that they had begun to trade with one another, which Aideen already noticed from how some of the utensils on the table were made from finely carved ivory of a style she recognized from back home.

Similarly, Port Erbe would be opened for trade from the empire, which made passage from the empire to there less of an issue. None of them talked of serious matters, and confined the conversation to happier topics instead on that night.

Aideen spent the next day catching up with her niece and Mimia, while Artair spent some time together with his father and the rest of his family. She couldn't help but smile a melancholic smile when she saw the younger children frolic in the courtyard's gardens, and Mimia gave her a sympathetic hand on the shoulder.

In a way, they share a common point there, that neither of them would have children of their own. One because of what she has become, while the other because of what she chose for herself. Even so, neither of them regretted it, even if the sight of children playing happily still brought some pangs to them at times.

They shook their minds off the issue, and discussed in low voices what they saw of the empire so far. Both of them concluded that Khaer Ul's desire to build a better nation was genuine, and that the emperor himself seems trustworthy enough.

Even so, the damage from the civil war would take at least years to completely recover, if not decades. They just silently hoped that the empire would hold steady for that time, at the very least.

They themselves would be returning home to Ptolodecca soon, as the trip gave them quite a few things to think about. It also gave them the glimpse into the lives of the people of the current empire as the Bone Lord asked for, and for Mimia at least, some better understanding of the hard lives of the common people.

Aideen and Éirynn had grown up in Vitalica and saw many hardships, but Mimia spent most of her life seeing only people that had lived lives of plenty. Even her few years in Vitalica had not changed that much, as she had spent those years mostly in the capital city, under the care of Aideen's family.