"You cannot seriously believe the Fates exist!" Cafer mocked in yet another Council meeting. Zan glared at him, and Cafer averted his gaze. The councilman needed to tread carefully. "And even if they did exist and you could somehow visit them, how would you find them?" This was a valid question.

"Oh, I have an idea," Aurora smirked.

—————

Earlier that morning Aurora had gone to see Nanny. "Do you remember that song you sang for me once?" Aurora asked.

Nanny gave her a baleful look. "You will have to be more specific, dear."

"The one about going to find a white palace. The words were strange."

Nanny's eyes widened slightly. "I remember it, Your Majesty." She sang the song. Again the tune filled the Empress's soul. The lifting melody gave Aurora a sense of flight.

"That's the one! What does it mean again?" Aurora needed to know.

"Beyond the land of ice and snow, you'll find a land of green. There make your home in palace white above the hill and trees."

"I think this is the key to finding the Fates." Aurora said to Nanny and Devrim, who had been listening quietly.

"Of course it is!" Nanny had no doubt. "The song was passed down for a reason. It was meant to help Fey Folk find the Fates when they needed them."

"Fey Folk?" Aurora was unfamiliar with the term.

"Magical beings. They call themselves the Fey Folk," Nanny insisted.

"How would you know?" Devrim asked.

Nanny's face broke out in a conspiratorial grin, "I have the tiniest drop of fairy blood in me." Nanny squeezed her thumb and forefinger together so close that only a little light was let through.

The Empress and Emperor Consort exchanged a glance. 'What? A fairy?!' Nanny looked at them and laughed. "It's true. Ever wonder how I have weathered every catastrophe that has come to the palace while practically everyone else was replaced? Fairies are lucky like that."

Aurora pinched the bridge of her nose. This was too much. "I'm going to need you to repeat all this to the Council. They'll never believe me."

——————

The Council shifted their gaze to the door as Nanny was admitted. She curtsied and smiled at them warmly.

"Please tell them about the song, Nanny."

Nanny sang the song and the room filled with a music that made the councilmen homesick. The melody was ancient and rich. Nanny provided the translation, which was met with a laugh of derision from Cafer. Aurora had had enough.

"You may mock me at every turn, Councilman Cafer, but you will respect this woman!" Nanny was far more like a mother or grandmother to the Empress than a servant. Anyone who insulted her was crossing an invisible line and headed for danger.

Nanny held up her hand and Aurora quieted. The Council gasped. No one was allowed to silence the Empress. "Thank you, Your Majesty, but I can defend myself." Nanny folded her hands and gave a contented smile to the Council. To be under so much scrutiny and yet be so calm was unheard of. "Before old Nanny was a nursemaid, I served in the palace in various positions. I remember when MOST of you were chosen for the Council. She looked at Zan and Cafer, who both refused to meet her eye. "I know your secrets, even the ones you think are hidden well."

The air in the room grew heavy. Nanny, who had previously seemed crazy to the Council, now was regarded with a reverence that their own mothers could not have garnered.

Nanny stood straight and continued, "and as much as I know where your skeletons are hidden, I am even more sure that this song contains the key to finding the Fates."

"I believe there is more…?" Zan prompted the Empress.

Aurora nodded, "Thank you, Chief. Nanny's song may be the key, but I have the map." She pulled out the map that she retrieved from the vault and laid it on the table. The Council looked on in awe. This was indeed something special.

"This is unlike anything I have ever seen!" Birger marveled.

"I suppose another 'friend' gave you this?" Cafer glared at Zan who shrugged and shook his head to convey that he knew nothing about it.

"If you go, how will you explain your absence?" Birger asked, ignoring Cafer. He was always concerned about logistics.

"Excellent question!" Aurora was happy to move from theory to an actual plan. "I am due to take a tour of the Empire. Anna will take my place shaking hands and waving to the crowds. She can make herself look enough like me to be easily passable, as we saw at the ball. Most people don't know what I look like anyway. If anyone does approach her, we will have a story ready about how Anna is a decoy since there was a threat on my life. It's not exactly a lie. I was thinking you could go with Anna, Councilman Ezer." Ezer and Anna had grown close over the years. It was rumored that they were actually a couple in secret.

"Who will go with you?" Ezer asked the Empress.

"I will," Devrim said with conviction.

"You cannot," Aurora was quick to disagree. "Who will run the world if both of us are gone? The Valiant Empire needs to keep running smoothly in my absence." If she had realized her friend was going to volunteer, she would have had this conversation in private. As it was, their argument would be witnessed by the Council and Nanny.

"Chief Zan and the Council are more than capable to run the day to day activities for a while. And the world is currently at peace, so there are no wars that need to be fought. I will not let you go unprotected." Devrim insisted.

"I will not go unprotected. I will bring a couple body guards. The smaller the party, the faster we can travel." The Empress felt like she was doing what was best for everyone.

Zan raised his hand. "I personally would feel better if the Emperor Consort went with you. I promise that you would be leaving things in good hands."

"WHOSE SIDE ARE YOU ON?!" Aurora's face was terrifying to the Chief. She appeared like a raging monster of old, ready to swallow him whole. It took everything in him not to run.

Devrim also unconsciously leaned away from her in his chair. "Do not blame the Chief," he said, regaining his courage. "I am going. I can be as stubborn as you, and I will be."

"I would not say that the Empress is stubborn…" Ezer said barely above a whisper.

"STAY OUT OF THIS!" Both Devrim and Aurora silenced him. Whereas the two were usually dignified in all their speech, just now they were typical teenagers in the throes of an argument. The Council sunk in their chairs. None of them wanted to be yelled at next.

Devrim took a deep breath. "I would never forgive myself if anything happened to you. I am expendable. You, Your Majesty, are not. My job is to protect you."

Aurora's heart softened. "You are not expendable. You never have been." She blushed at his words.

"I am coming." Devrim told her gently.

"I know." She agreed.

Everyone was quiet for a moment, afraid to ruin the sweet moment between the Empress and the grey-eyed man. "Whew," Nanny said with a whistle, "I am glad that is settled. I was worried that I might have to take you both outside and knock some sense into you."

"Nanny!" Aurora cried.

Knowing the limit, Nanny bowed humbly and spread her arms wide. "I am sorry, Your Majesty. I was merely trying to lighten the mood. Forgive me for making a joke at your expense. You know that I was only kidding."

'I am not so sure you were…' Aurora thought. She blushed again, this time from embarrassment. For the first time in a long time, she did not feel like the most powerful person in the room.

"Yes, well….on to the next order of business…"