Zoltan tried to form his thoughts. He had happily buried all those memories, but the time had come to dig them up.

"I wanted to protect you," the king repeated to his wife. "I knew the explorer would never stay. He would leave you as soon as he got bored. It is what explorers do. They are constantly on the move. I tried to stall the wedding so he would show his true colors, but I could not stall it long enough."

"You were the reason for all the problems with the wedding?" Zan shook his head. That is why nothing was ever ready on time.

The king turned an angry glare of the man. "You would have left her, admit it! I still maintain that human love is not reliable. It is the real fairy tale here." Zoltan turned pleading eyes on the queen. "If Zan had left you after you were married, he would have ruined you."

"So you decided that I should never have the chance to make that choice for myself?" Lanassa asked, realizing quickly what had occurred. She leaned away from her husband, disgusted.

Zoltan was quick to defend himself. "I always wanted to marry you. How could I let you be shamed in such a way?!"

"You were supposed to marry Bukuri!" Both Zan and Lanassa argued.

"Bukuri?" Gandr interjected with wide eyes.

While the rest ignored him, Alvar leaned forward and whispered to the halfling, "Bukuri is the sister of Queen Lanassa."

"Is that a common name?" Gandr whispered back.

"No, why?" Alvar wondered.

Aurora shushed them as she tried to focus on the elven monarchs and Zan. Shocking secrets were coming out, and the Empress did not want to miss anything that would point to the truth.

Zoltan was adamantly denying their claims. "Bukuri and I were never secretly engaged. I let the rumor spread because it kept other girls away from me while I tried to catch Lanassa's attention. But she never looked my way. When Zan came along, Bukuri liked him very much. She hoped the man would pick her, and was saddened when Lanassa was his choice. Bukuri and I spent so much time together because we both suffered from the same problem."

"Wanting something you could not have..." Aurora finished the thought.

Zoltan nodded. He saw no reason to deny it. "I told my parents my desire, but they were far more concerned with cultivating human creativity and would not listen to my plea. When I told my friends, we came up with a plan."

Zan narrowed his gaze as he pointed an accusing finger. "The elves who abducted me were not Lanassa's friends, they were yours!"

"They were supposed to scare you into leaving. I never told them to hurt you." The king spoke so sincerely that Zan was forced to believe him.

"If you knew that you forced Zan to leave, why did you claim he ran away with Bukuri?" Aurora cocked her head to one side. Something still was not right.

Zoltan hung his head. "I said it because I believed it was true. Bukuri found me on the day of the wedding. She told me that my friends had taken Zan. I assured her that they meant no harm. I told her this was our chance. She could be with Zan and explore the world, and I could be with Lanassa. Bukuri told me that she would take care of it. When she disappeared, I assumed that she had followed through with my plan and run off to explore."

The Guardian shook his head sadly. "The last time I saw Bukuri, she said she was going to get me help. She was far too loyal to Lanassa to ever betray her sister like you suggested." Zan knew Bukuri regarded him highly. But after a long talk a few days before the wedding, Bukuri had realized it was the adventure she wanted and not Zan.

Lanassa pinched the bridge of her nose as she tried not to yell at her husband. "All this time I believed you did me a favor by marrying me, but really it was all a trick! You have played me for a fool, Zoltan."

"Forgive me, my dear. I only wanted what was best for you…" Zoltan fell to his knees before his wife. This was an action he had not ever done before. Even though he was a man ruled by calculation, he still felt affection for the queen. The action would have defied logic, except that he believed it was the only way to save himself.

Lanassa sneered at him. "You turned me into a monster. I had such distain for the world for what it did to me. Because of you, I treated others by their value to me only. You have done a great wrong."

"I know," Zoltan admitted. "I could justify my actions when I thought Zan and Bukuri were happy, but I see that it was not true." The King turned and looked at Zan while still on his knees. "I was wrong."

Zan had been ready for an all-out war with the King. But somehow, even with all that Zoltan had done to ruin his life, the Guardian could not be angry. He gave a small smile, glad to have the air finally cleared. "I forgive you."

Lanassa shook her head vigorously, "Zan, how can you be so calm?!"

"Did he give you a good life, Lanassa? Other than separate us, has he ever hurt you?" the Guardian asked.

Lanassa wavered as she weighed her answer. "Zoltan treated me well. I do not think he would ever intentionally do me harm."

Zan continued, "My Queen, you have two wonderful children, a kingdom and everything you deserve. Up until I appeared yesterday, I would like to think you were happy in that life. Although painful for me, a life with Zoltan was probably better for you. That is enough for me to forgive the king."

"That is foolishness," Lanassa responded to the silver-eyed man. "I may have been happy, but you were miserable."

Aurora could not help but interrupt, "That is part of love. Wanting what is best for someone else even if it is not what seems best for you."

"Love is foolishness then..." Lanassa's chest heaved as she tried not to cry.

"Then be glad you do not have any," Aurora said simply. "And be glad you married a logical king."

The Queen pulled her husband back into the chair beside her. "The king bends his knee to no one," Lanassa chided as she tried to regain her composure. "You will make amends to the Guardian for your wrongdoing. Justice is long overdue."

Zoltan was relieved that is did not seem like his wife would leave him. He nodded eagerly at her words. "What can the elven kingdom do to repay you for what I have done?"

Back in his more natural element, Zan was quick to reply, "The Empress and I have come looking for allies against the gnomes. Would you pledge your army to help?"

The king had expected such a reply and was already shaking his head. "I cannot commit my forces against the gnomes when they have done nothing against us."

"I doubt the gnomes will be solely satisfied with the human world. They will eventually come for you. By then, it may be too late to save your kingdom," Zan argued.

"You cannot convince me on speculation alone. They have made no aggression against us in the past." Zoltan was used to peace in the land of magic. Their wall of protection kept out the the gnomes, so they had never been a problem.

"So you will not help us even though your daughter may be their prisoner?" The Empress hoped that this would sway them.

"You have no proof that this is so. And even if you did, I highly doubt our daughter would want us riding in to save her." Despite his cold answer, Zoltan cared for his daughter. He thought she could save herself if the need arose. "We will not lend you military aid," the king added to punctuate his point.

"Then we will move along to search for allies somewhere else," Aurora responded dejectedly. "I only hope that when the gnomes move against you, we are still able to give you the help that you have denied us. The gnomes must be stopped."

"I have no doubt you will do it without us," Zoltan spoke calmly. "You are very resourceful. I wish you good luck. But as far as my kingdom is concerned, there is not a logical reason for the elves to pick a side when we have not been provoked."

Zan's voice was a razor's edge. "While you may be logically correct, you are morally bankrupt, King Zoltan. If not for your wife and children's sakes, we would be having a very different conversation right now. As it is, I want none of your justice, or your amends."

"Be careful with your next words, Guardian," Zoltan warned. The tension in the room was suddenly stretched tighter than a bowstring. Just when it was possible that war might break out between the humans and elves, Gandr's glassy expression cleared.

"WAIT!" The halfling yelled as he came out of his stupor. "If I can prove that the gnomes have acted against the elves, will you join us?"

"You have no such proof," Zoltan responded, refusing to answer the question directly.

Gandr raised a finger to make his point. "Oh, but I do. If Bukuri did not run away with Zan, what do you think happened to her?"

The room fell silent. In their rush to get to the truth, they had not given the matter as much thought as they should. "What do you know?" Lanassa asked barely above a whisper.

"I know the story of how an elf, lost and searching for a human was abducted by the gnomes. She was used and abused until she lost the will to live, but not before she bore a halfling son." Gandr told the tale as he overheard it from the other gnomes. They had used the story to torture him, but now it seemed to have a purpose.

"What happened to my sister?" Lanassa held her hand on her heart as she braced herself for the news.

"She died," Gandr told her.

"And…and her son?" The queen pressed.

There was a disturbance outside the meeting room. Ithel and Calla called loudly to be admitted. Impatiently, the King allowed Alvar to open the door.

"I have a message from Brinn!" Alvar held up a message ball. "She is at the Castle Valiant pretending to be Princess Mairwen in order to fool the gnomes. But that is not the crazy part. She claims Aunt Bukuri is alive and being held as a prisoner of King Baak!"

They played the message ball. Aurora was glad to hear her friend's voice and know that her family was safe. Devrim and Mairwen escaped, and Alaron was on the throne. The rest of the news about the castle and those inside was hard to hear. When the message was completed, a thought struck the Empress.

"Wait, was Bukuri the elf I saw in King Baak's dungeon?" Aurora asked Gandr.

"I thought that elf was a different elf..." Gandr was no longer sure.

"You saw an elf in the gnome dungeon?" Lanassa was stunned. "What did she look like?"

Before Aurora could answer, Gandr transformed into the likeness of the elf with long white-blond hair and purple eyes. The queen and king gasped. Even Zan, who had only seen the captive's back before, was astonished.

"That is my sister! And you are her son!" Lanassa realized when she saw the halfling shift. It was something gnomes could not do. Beyond that, Gandr had her sister's kind eyes, even if they were a different color.

Gandr shifted back into his natural form. "Yes, I am. I hope you do not think me an abomination now that you know."

"What am I missing?" Ithel moved a chair for himself and Calla to sit next to Alvar. The elven lord quickly filled them in on what was happening. Calla's gaze fell on the king as his jealousy was exposed. Her eyes were opened to what happens when envy goes unchecked.

Beside them, the queen was comforting the halfling. "None of the past is your fault, Gandr," Lanassa said gently. "And anyone who calls my nephew an abomination will answer to me." The ferocity in her second statement was a threat to stranger and the rest of her family alike.

"Gandr is living proof of gnomes' aggression against the elves, and now you have proof from your own daughter that they have been holding a member of the queen's family captive for years. I know they would do it again if given the chance."

Ithel, who had caught up on all the events, stood in righteous indignation. "The Empress is right. Something must be done. I pledge my help in stopping King Baak and the gnomes!"