As the final touches of magic were cast and ribbons placed upon the walls of the Grand Hall, Willem and Lia sat back and enjoyed the view.

The hard work of the major families had come to fruition and created a Grand Hall worthy of a King, in Willem's honor. The balcony overlooking the entire area was specially placed for Willem to deliver a speech from.

Even Willem had no problem admitting that if he had done it alone, such a beautiful design would not have been possible. There were some things he just was not good at, and aesthetics was one of them.

Lia sat on Willem's lap and held her spirit wolf pup gently in her arms, and for a moment it seemed as if she was about to doze off. The young pup had already fallen fast asleep after drinking all the milk in his bowl. The tranquility of the room and the magical power emitting from Willem could be felt by all whom were present, giving off a sense of calm that was seldom felt in the outside world.

With the final touches to the Grand Hall completed, Willem went to Kinsey's new resting area and woke her up gently.

"Mmmm..." Kinsey's face slightly shook as she was nudged awake.

"Kinsey... Awaken, I have something for you." Willem showed no emotion as he prodded her awake.

Kinsey's eyes slowly fluttered open as she gazed lovingly at Willem.

"Good morning, Master." Kinsey moved as she had done so many times before, but found her strength to be alot weaker than it used to be.

Willem caught her in his arms as she struggled with maintaining an upright posture.

"I have you, we can go slowly." Willem partially held her on one side as one of the attendants held her on the other.

"Go? Where to, Master?" Kinsey had been sleeping all night and most of the day, and was therefore not privy to the hustling and quieted hushes that typically had filled the halls of the Private Sanctum.

"It is a surprise, just trust me. Lia is already asleep in her bed." Willem had entrusted Lia to the Lovejoy family head, and given her his magical signature to allow her passage to the upper level.

As Willem gently guided Kinsey toward the Grand Hall, the major and minor families all kneeled down on one knee as if in worship.

Having never been idolized to this degree, Kinsey was unsure of how to react and held onto Willem a little bit harder.

After a short walk, Willem and Kinsey arrived to the doors of the Grand Hall.

"I have never seen this room before?" Kinsey could not help but remark as she searched her memory briefly.

"You are right, my darling. Come inside." Willem traced the magical signature on the door and they slowly opened to near deafening applause.

Major and minor families alike applauded Kinsey as she made her way inside, forcing herself to walk alone as if a testament to her own strength. Willem hung around in the backdrop, making sure he would be ready and able to catch her if she faltered.

However, such an event never occurred, as she greeted each family head personally and gave her thanks for the celebrations. The families parted as she made her way to the balcony overlooking the Grand Hall and gave a short speech to honor those in attendance.

"Esteemed guests, allow me to give my profound thanks for making this event. Truly this is a night to celebrate, and celebrate we shall. I will never forget this honor you have bestowed upon me." Kinsey gave a curtsy and an eloquent chair befitting a Queen was placed behind her to sit on.

Kinsey sat down gently as the Major families one by one presented the gifts to her. Since the Lovejoy family head was preoccupied, the Grand Elder instead placed the gift of the Lovejoy family, the finest silks the Bastion of Hope had to offer.

The Smith family was next and presented a uniquely ornamented dagger encrusted with jewels and gold lining. The Warden family brought forth some of the finest delicacies the Bastion of Hope had to offer, including exotic foods that could only be purchased with promises instead of gold.

The Wight family brought forth what they deemed most important, knowledge. Hundreds of books, personally written by the family head himself or his best scribes.

Finally, the Curo family head brought forth a small, ornate wooden box.

Curious, Kinsey accepted the gift and slowly opened it to find a small ring that perfectly fit Kinsey's fourth finger. The ring boasted a rather sizable red diamond, one of the rarest gems that could be found in the Bastion of Hope.

The minor families also gave their offerings of food, clothing, baby clothes, toys and services in the name of the unborn child.

Once all the gifts had been conferred, Willem stood at the front of the balcony and cleared his throat. The jovial talk immediately died down and all attention was now on him.

"Thank you once again for the gifts you have bestowed on this day. Soon the time will come when your families will thrive above all others, and on that day I hope you do not forget who you are at your core. For a truly prosperous world, we must all work together. Soon, I shall lead an assault on Blood City with the intention of wiping out the dark elves that have plagued us. When we have expelled the Magical Beasts, I wish for each family here to send a branch of their family to take residence in this new place. Take what you need in order to survive." Willem finished his speech nicely and bowed slightly in acknowledgment.

The families began to discuss the implications of this offensive to themselves as the major families began preparing writ missives.

The Grand Elder of the Lovejoy family sought out Willem's council, waiting until the other guests had finished greeting him and then requesting a private audience.

"Grand Mage, might I have a moment of your time in private. It is to do with the assault on Blood City." The Grand Elder kept his voice as low as possible as to not concern any of those near them.

"Of course, by all means please follow me." Willem nodded as he looked back to Kinsey. "Just a bit of business to take care of, I will return. Do not forget this is all for you."

Kinsey smiled and waved him away casually, displaying a beautiful but daring grin.

Willem and the Grand Elder left the Grand Hall and made their way to his study room. The door, curiously, was open and unlocked. Willem was sure he had properly closed it when he left, but attributed it to the family head of the Lovejoy family getting lost on the upper level when delivering Lia to her bed.

"We can talk without fear of being overheard in here." Willem motioned for the Grand Elder to sit in the chair across his desk, as he quietly closed the door behind them.

"As you very well already know, I sat on the war council during the discussion of the attack on Blood City. Most of the men there understood that it was not the will of The One True King to go to war, but only a few know who truly wishes for it." The Grand Elder sat upright in his chair at full attention.

Willem sat at his desk and looked through the papyrus that had been splayed out. Five thousand soldiers, ready to give their lives for the Bastion of Hope. Hundreds of Mages, eager to serve the Grand Mage. Formations, attack patterns, the roaming path of the Stinging Blood Tortoise.

"As you may already be aware, The One True King has hidden his children away. If you were to ask me how I know of this... It is because I was the one to hide them at his behest." A crooked grin appeared on the Grand Elder's face. "If you request it of me, I will gladly give you their location."

Willem thumbed through his notes, but his expression did not change.

"What would you have me do with two nobody's who cannot change their own fate." Willem did not lift his gaze from the papers in front of him.

"Clearly the Prince and Princess are the weak spot of The One True King. If we use them we can strike him down." The Grand Elder had lost his grin, but his speech remained vicious and cold.

"So long as this knowledge remains in this room alone, I will allow you to understand something." Willem finally looked up from his paper, staring the Grand Elder dead in the eyes.

"Of course, Grand Mage." The Grand Elder had never felt such pressure in his life, even from The One True King.

"Very well... Regardless of what movements we make against his kin, The One True King is destined to die, and the Bastion of Hope burns with him. All you need to do is make sure you do not stand beside him when it happens." Willem released the pressure of his gaze and magically pulled a book from his small library.

"The Bastion of Hope... Burns?... I... I see this has already been well handled, I shall bother you no further." The Grand Elder hurriedly stood up and made ready to leave.

"Hold on a moment, I wish to impart with you something from my own collection. This book contains the families I have documented as not being particularly loyal to the crown. If you go to them as my envoy, and lead them to this Private Sanctum, with their understanding of my intention to take Blood City and expand, then you shall be the leader of Blood City when the dark elves have fallen." Willem gently floated the book into the hands of the Grand Elder.

"I solemnly swear to the best of my ability to carry out this duty given to me, Grand Mage." The Grand Elder bowed and scurried along, slightly concerned that the Grand Mage may yet change his mind.

As the door closed behind him, Willem looked down at the drawer to his side. The lock had been tampered with and the paper inside was not in the same order he had put them in.

"I guess it was only a matter of time before something like this would happen." Willem traced the distinct smell with his magic and followed it back to the Lovejoy family head.

As the Lovejoy family head was in the upper level.

To do as the Grand Mage asked was considered a great honor among any major family, so when Willem went to the Lovejoy family head and asked her to deliver the small child he carried in his arms to her bed on the upper level, she had no intention of saying no.

With that notion, the Grand Mage traced something along the Lovejoy family head's shoulder that allowed her safe passage to the upper level, which had a magical barrier deterring anyone not allowed entry.

More than a few times, the family head had gotten lost as she had only been to the upper level once, when the families first arrived. Before the kitchen was placed on the middle level, it had been an off-shoot of the study room and sleeping quarters. When she finally found the child's bedroom, she gently placed the sleeping girl and her spirit wolf pup on the small quilted bed and wrapped the blankets around them.

For a brief moment, the family head recalled something that had been in the back of her mind for a long time. Once, in what seemed like a long time ago, she too was with child and it had been the most important time of her life. However, complications arised and she had lost the baby in childbirth. If she had given birth to the healthy baby, it would be about the same age as this little girl in front of her. Perhaps in another life her child would have grown up together with this little girl as friends, or lovers, and she would have grandchildren to play with and spoil.

However, fate was well and truly a cruel mistress.