In the darkness of night, Brinn took her usual path to Aurora's old room. When she had first come to the palace, she had seldom felt like using the appropriate entrance. It was a habit she found hard to break.

The path was familiar, and even in the moonless night, Brinn had no problem picking her way up the wall. Her muscles remembered the way even when her eye could not see. 'This is much easier to do without Alvar,' she mused.

Pulling herself onto the wooden bannister, Brinn held her breath. She closed her eyes, listening intently to hear if anyone was within.

She could only hear and smell one occupant, and it was a human. Placing a tentative foot on the polished stone floor, Brinn tiptoed toward the pulled curtains that led into the bedchamber.

She stopped short of entering as her fingers brushed the velvety fabric. Something did not seem right. The curtains were pulled very tight--too tight. Running her finger along where the two curtains met, she could feel needles pinning together the folds.

She pricked the tip of her forefinger on one of the pins and jerked her hand back in shock. Her entire hand went numb. She pinched her palm with the other hand, but felt nothing.

'Those needles are either poisoned or magic. Either way, I cannot risk another prick,' she realized. She moved to where the curtain met the wall. There were no needles there, but a trip wire was placed near the bottom. There was another wire at the height of her knee, but the gap between the two was more than enough for her to slip between.

'Amateurs!' Brinn dropped to her knees and moved between the wires, wall, and curtain with the precision of a surgical knife. Once inside the room, she stood and mentally patted herself on the back. 'Piece of cake!'

Stepping forward, a sudden snapping sound caught her feet her up in the air and pulled her body into a tight ball. Much like the needles, the strings of the net were razor sharp and pressing into her skin. It was only by pure luck that the water-skin, which had been at her side, was now pinned between her chest and legs, or it easily would have burst.

The soft whoosh of the secret passage caught Brinn's attention, as a mousey looking gnome entered with a candle in his hand.

"They made fun of me, but I knew the net was a good idea," Lukoss said quietly. "Do not move, madam. It will only cut you deeper."

"I hate gnomes!" Brinn hissed. "Nets are for fish, not me."

"Yet here you are. But who are you?" The gnome circled the net and tried to size up his captive.

"None of your business. Now let me down, and we can settle this properly." The spymaster moved her shoulders and felt the searing pain. It took everything not to cry out.

Lukoss clicked his tongue. "You should be nicer to me. If I had called the guards, you would already be dead. For we are supposed to kill elves on sight and only an elf can have so much arrogance as you."

"And only a gnome could be so underhanded as you. Gandr was right…" the last part was mumbled, but Lukoss perked up at her words.

He stepped closer with his candle to the elf. "You know the halfling Gandr? How?"

Brinn noticed that he was still whispering. She followed suit. "He is my cousin. Why?"

"I know he is the one who freed so many of the gnomes' prisoners a decade ago. I caught him once but did not have the nerve to turn him in." Confusion washed over the gnome's face. "I always wondered why he bothered…until I met her."

Brinn wondered why the Lukoss was pouring out his heart to her. It was an odd time to do such a thing with the sleeping prince so close by and an elf prisoner, but the spymaster felt like his words had a purpose.

"You met someone that you wanted to set free?" The elf tried not to act surprised, but the thought of gnomes having anything but greed in their hearts was strange to her.

"I did. She is was a fairy in Baak's kitchen and now is in Cafer's. I just want her to be able to go home." Lukoss stared at the elf trying to decide if he should say more.

"Why are you telling me this? You want me to set her free?" Brinn guessed. "Why can't you?"

"I have tried, but she is worried what will happen to the other fairies if she leaves." The mousey gnome winced.

"So, if I am hearing you correctly, you want me to free all the fairies just so your lady will come?" If Brinn could have moved, she would have rubbed her forehead.

"Can you do that?" Lukoss asked with hope in his eyes.

"Tell you what. You free me and let me complete my mission, and I promise I will help you free your pretty fairy and her friends. Deal?" Brinn was in enough pain that she would have promised most anything, but she tried to keep her mind clear.

"Why should I trust you?" Lukoss furrowed his brow.

"You shouldn't, but it is far too late for that. I am your only option."

"Have you come to harm the prince?" The gnome's questions were becoming too much for Brinn, and she nearly wished that he would just kill her.

"I have come to heal and rescue him. Like you with your fairy, I care what happens to the boy."

"Fine. Finish your mission and save the fairies. Deal?" Lukoss awaited her answer.

"Deal!" Brinn groaned, struggling to stay still.

The gnome cut the guide line and the net released Brinn to the ground. She silently gasped for breath and checked the cuts all over her arms and legs. None of them were serious. She looked at the prince, who was still resting quietly on his bed.

"How much of the drugs did you give him this time?" She accused the mousey gnome with her fist.

Lukoss pulled his chin into the collar of his shirt like a turtle. His words were muffled by the cloth. "This was not a sedative! Cafer gave him something to limit his magic use, but the Emperor fought against it. It drained all his energy. This is legitimate exhaustion."

The spymaster approached the sleeping boy and shook him slightly. "Go away," he groaned, proving that what what Lukoss said was true.

Brinn grunted and smacked the boy lightly on the head. "Ugh, teenagers! Get up, you idiot. This is a rescue not naptime."

Alaron's eyes popped open, but he spotted the gnome first and tried to use magic on him. He screamed in pain as the medicine, which was a stronger dose than before, felt like fire in his veins.

"What's going on?" a voice called through the door.

"The Emperor is having another episode," Lukoss called back. "It looks like it will be a long one. Tell the outer guards to make a wider perimeter. We do not want anyone to hear him."

The guard outside went quiet, and Brinn assumed he had gone to complete the task. Whether because he was still in pain or because he was playing the part, Alaron screamed again before going still and staring groggily at the gnome and elf.

"Brinn?" he asked, his eyes unfocused.

"Yes, it is me. I brought you some healing water, you dope." Brinn answered gently.

Alaron sat up. "The Empress, she is alive? And she succeeded? Is she with Mairwen?" After so long of trying not to care, the blue-eyed boy was eager to hear news.

"I will answer all your questions after you drink and we get out of here." Brinn silenced him. "You look like death will knock you out any moment."

Alaron ignored her warning. "Maybe we should leave first. I remember that process being painful last time, and it wasn't even full-strength."

Brinn had hoped to do it with the doctor nearby in case anything went wrong, but if even if it did, she was unsure what the physician would do. "Very well. Let me think of a way to get you out of here in your useless condition."

"I am not useless," Alaron began to argue.

"Can you both hush!? We can carry him out the tunnels, if you you both can stop bickering long enough to do it." Lukoss gave them both a stern look.

The two were visibly chastened. "Wait, you are coming with us?" the spymaster asked.

"I cannot stay here. Baak was insufferable and wicked, but he was lazy. I knew what to expect from him. Cafer is crafty. Now that he has tasted power, his quest for more will never end. As soon as he finds out what I have done, that breath will be my last." Lukoss gave a lopsided grin. "Besides, I need to make sure you follow through on our deal. I do not plan to let you out of my sight before it is complete."

Brinn grunted and held up a warning finger. "I am only agreeing to your assistance because I need your help to get this lazy bones outside."

Alaron knew better than to argue and with the elf and gnome supporting him, he moved into the tunnel silently. The refurbished part of the tunnel lacked the glowstone, and Brinn was glad for Lukoss's candle. With everyone already heading west to the Beachy Plains, the passages were largely empty. 'If I had known these were fixed, this would have been much easier,' Brinn thought. But then she spotted a few of the deadly traps that Lukoss helped them avoid, and she changed her mind.

Out in the open air, Brinn found her unicorn and they headed into the wilderness beyond Valiant. Alaron had used up most of his strength to climb aboard the steed and hold on as Brinn ran beside him with her wind and Lukoss tunneled beside them underground.

As they entered a thickly wooded area, Alaron fell off the unicorn's back, unable to hold on any longer. Realizing what had occurred, Brinn stopped and ran to the boy.

"Are you ok?" she asked. Alaron fluttered his eyes at her in a daze but made no audible reply.

Lukoss, who had sensed they had stopped, came back and examined the fallen Emperor. "He is not well."

"Obviously..." Brinn glared at the gnome and cried out in frustration. "Forget this! we cannot wait any longer. Drink up, boy!"

The elf pulled the water-skin from her side and pressed it to Alaron's lips. He choked and sputtered, but swallowed as much as he could until the container was empty. The droplets that landed on Brinn soothed her deep cuts, and she rubbed the water into them until the cuts disappeared.

"Healing water indeed," she said softly.

Once he was done drinking, Alaron laid still. Lukoss scratched his head. "Did it work? I kind of expected something to happen..." he paused, watching the spectacle as it began.

-----------------------

From the Beachy Plains, the Emperor and Empress sat around a dim fire quietly discussing all the things to come. They had been unable to sleep. As they huddled close together, a beacon beyond the horizon shot up into the sky and spread in a brilliant flash of pure light. For a moment, the sky was lit like day before tendrils of light were quickly sucked back into their source and disappeared from view.

"What was that?" Devrim asked, his eyes trained to the last point where he had seen the beam.

Aurora closed her eyes for a moment, when she opened them, the blue flecks were glowing. "If what I am feeling is right," she said as she put her hand on her heart, "it was a miracle."