“I can’t believe you’re doing this,” Senar told her as they rode through Algoma City to the castle.

“Neither can I,” she admitted.

The mid-afternoon sun was warm as they rode through the gates to the castle. Two guards were resting near the wall.

“Excuse me,” Vell called to them.

One looked up at them. “How might I help you?”

“I’m looking for Arin Sesto,” she replied politely.

“I see,” he replied. “What would be your name?”

“Vell,” she answered. “He’ll remember me.”

“Well, wait here,” the guard told her. “I’ll ask if he’ll see you.”

“Thank you,” she replied.

Vell and Senar both dismounted, nodding to the other guard. Sparkra nuzzled Vell’s hair and she realized how nervous she was. It wasn’t long until the guard returned with a man and woman. Immediately Vell recognized the man as Arin. He was tall with red hair and even from a distance she could see his red eyes.

“It took you two years to think of a way I could repay you?” Arin asked when he came up to them.

Vell smiled. “Hello to you, too.”

“By the way,” he added, smiling, “this is Lien.”

The woman was about Vell’s height with brown hair and hazel eyes. Lien smiled at her. “Don’t worry, he only just now told me who you were.”

“Sorry,” Vell replied. “I’m sure he’s told you about me, though.”

She nodded. “I heard the whole story.”

“And this is Senar,” Vell said suddenly and motioned to him. “He’s my...”

“Traveling companion,” he supplied.

She nodded. There was no way she was going to attempt to explain the Bond. She glanced to be sure the guards had given them plenty of space. They had. “Do the queen and king still want to know about me?” she asked quietly.

“They only ask almost everyday,” Arin replied with a grin and Lien nodded in agreement.

Vell took a deep breath. “I need to tell them. Now.”

Both Arin and Lien looked at her, serious expressions on their faces. Senar shook his head.

After a moment Arin nodded. “I’ll go find them.”

“Meet us in the nursery,” Lien told him. “So that we’re already there when Cyra wants her to meet Jai.”

“I’ll find Ryo first,” Arin said with a smile. “He’d be angry if I didn’t have him look after your horses.”

“I’m sure he would be,” Vell replied. “Thank you.”

The sorcerer nodded and went off to look for everyone. Lien asked the guards to watch the horses until Ryo came and led Vell and Senar towards the stone castle. They walked through the halls, turning corners and passing others. Vell hoped someone would lead them out otherwise they might be lost in here for years. They finally stopped in front of a door. Lien put a finger to her lips and both Vell and Senar nodded. When they walked in there was an older woman sitting in a chair sewing. Two cradles were beside her.

“They’re both sleeping,” the woman whispered to them.“Thank you, Lesia,” Lien whispered. “You may go rest for a while. I’ll find you when we’re done.”

The older woman nodded and left.

Lien went over to the cradles and motioned for them to join her. She nodded to the cradle where a toddler was sleeping. His hair was blond and curling already.

“That’s the prince,” Lien explained in a whisper, “Jaimathan.”

Vell shook her head in amazement. If she hadn’t done what she did this little prince would be dead by now.

Senar squeezed her shoulder. “You saved him,” he murmured.

She nodded, fighting emotion.

Lien smiled sympathetically at her. “Come,” she whispered.

They moved to the other cradle. Inside slept a younger child with a hint of red hair.

Lien smiled again. “This one’s Braith. He’s Arin’s and mine.”

Vell looked at him and covered her mouth when she realized that she’d saved the man responsible for the tiny child’s existence. Senar hugged her around the shoulders. “Thank you,” she whispered to him, feeling more control over her emotions. He nodded and let her go as they suddenly heard voices from the hallway.

“I told you she’ll tell you who she is.”

“We order you to tell us.”

“That’s a ridiculous order that I refuse to obey. Now, shish.”

The door opened and Arin led two other people in. The man was tall with curly brown hair and bright royal blue eyes. He was dressed more nobly than the rest of them, but not as well as most kings would be dressed.

The woman was almost as tall as him with blond hair and light brown eyes. She was dressed the same way as her husband, no fancy dress that most would think she’d wear.

Arin nodded to Vell for her to begin.

She took a deep breath. “Your Majesties,” she began quietly with a curtsy. “You must excuse me, I’ve never met royalty before.”

“It’s all right,” Queen Cyra told her gently.

“Thank you.” She continued, “My name is Vell Nir.” She motioned to Senar. “This is my traveling companion, Senar...” Suddenly she realized that they’d known each other only by their Blessed names.

“Tresh,” he finished and bowed.

“We are here for a reason,” Vell went on. “There is something I need to tell you, if you won’t tell anyone else.”

The king and queen both nodded. Vell could see the curiosity on their faces and she tried to swallow her nervousness.

As she pulled her Ties from beneath her dress top she continued. “The larger pendant on this Ties me to the Spiritesses. I’m a Spirit Speakeress, meaning I can communicate with all the Spiritesses, though I rarely talk with the High Spiritess.” She took a deep breath. “Two years ago I was the one that Arin and Ryo took to Jatin. I was the one who asked the Spirits to help end the Witch problem. I was the one who convinced them all to agree to take the evil from Witches.”

The looks on the king and queen’s faces was enough to bring Vell almost to tears. They looked so relieved and thankful. Cyra suddenly burst out in tears and stepped up to her. Vell hadn’t been expecting the queen to hug her, but she did. Vell momentarily forgot she was the queen and hugged her in return.

“Thank you,” Cyra whispered again and again. “You saved my son and my husband.”

Vell felt the tears welling in her own eyes. “You’re welcome.”

Cyra let her go after a while, drying her eyes. She smiled and stepped back.

Vell suddenly found herself in the king’s arms. As he hugged her she realized that he was crying as well.

“Thank you,” he whispered. “You saved my life.”

“You’re welcome,” she replied, returning the hug.

When Asward let her go Arin hugged her. “You saved me, too,” he reminded her.

“I know,” she said through her tears.

Lien was crying when she hugged Vell. “Thank you,” she said quietly.

“You\'re welcome,” Vell replied.

She didn’t know when Ryo had joined them, but he was there, and he hugged her next.

“I’m thankful you stopped Arin from killing me,” he told her.

Vell had to laugh. “You’re welcome.”

He smiled. “Nice mare, by the way.”

She laughed again. “I’ll have to tell you that story.”

“I’ll be expecting it,” he said as he released her

“I didn’t save your life,” she told Senar when he hugged her.

“Yet,” he said and brushed away her tears. “Did you honestly think I’d be the only one not to hug you?”

She smiled. “Of course not.”

He let her go and Vell was glad he hadn’t kissed her in front of everyone.

“Hold,” said a little voice.

They looked to see the prince standing in his cradle, holding his arms out to Vell. She looked at the queen, wanting to pick him up, but not knowing if she was allowed.

Cyra nodded. “Go ahead.”

“Hold,” Jaimathan repeated.

Vell smiled and walked over to him. As she picked him up, she looked at his face. His eyes were blue, but not as brilliant as his father’s. When she held him he put his arms around her neck. Vell could feel the tears stinging at her eyes again. He brought his face close to her cheek and for a moment she thought he would bite her. She felt his mouth against her cheek, but not his teeth.

“I kiss,” he told her, looking at her face. “Nice.”

“Yes,” she said quietly, “very nice.”

Jai hugged her again.

“How old is he?” she asked, not taking her eyes from him.

“He’ll be two years old in two months,” Asward replied.

As the prince reached for his mother Vell looked around the small room. Everyone was smiling. Cyra and Lien were still tearful. A whine from the other cradle made Vell look there. The other boy was awake now and holding his arms out to her. Vell looked at Lien, who nodded.

Braith was lighter and apparently younger than Jai. His big hazel eyes looked at Vell in happiness. He hugged her the way Jai had and rested against her shoulder.

“He’s five months younger than Jai,” Lien told her.

After a moment Vell handed him over to Lien and went over to Senar. He smiled at her. “Senar,” she began, “Will you-”

“No, I won’t help you have one,” he said with a teasing smile.

“Very funny,” she said, grinning slightly. “As I was saying, will you give me the letter, please?”

“That I can do.” He smiled and handed it to her.

Vell took it from him, dried her eyes, and looked back at the queen. “That was only part of the reason we are here. This is the other.” She handed the envelope to Asward since Cyra had her hands full.

The king read the letter and showed it to Cyra. As she took the paper Asward took the toddler. “Why does the Temple want you to learn fighting skills?” he asked curiously.

“Something was stolen from the High Brother and High Sister,” Vell explained. “Their wedding rings, actually.”

“It’s a rather long story,” Senar said, “but to make it short, if they don’t have those rings, the Temple literally falls apart.”

“Senar and I are both Speakers,” she added, “so we have a stronger connection to the Spirits. We might be the only ones who can find the rings. The Spirits can’t always help us, though. That’s why we need to learn here.”

“We’ve waited so long to thank you,” Cyra said quietly.

“We all have,” Ryo added.

Arin and Lien nodded in agreement.

“I want to teach you myself,” the queen told Vell. “You and your companion.”

Vell exchanged a questioning look with Senar. Should they make her do that?

“And I will help,” Asward added.

“It is the least we can do to thank you,” Cyra persuaded.

Senar gave Vell a tiny nod. She looked back at the king and queen. “Thank you.”

“No, we thank you,” the queen told her firmly.

“How long will it take?” Senar asked.

“The letter asks for as much training as you can manage in fourteen days,” Asward answered.

It was a few minutes later when Cyra and Asward showed Vell and Senar to their rooms. The two rooms adjoined with a door along one wall. Vell was happy about this; they could talk without leaving.

“Make yourselves comfortable,” Cyra told them. “We’d like you to join us for dinner.”

They nodded.

“If you wish to go back outside,” Asward instructed, “go left down to the end of the hall, right and down the stairs. Then your first right and second left. Don’t worry, it won’t take too long to find another door if you end up lost.”

Vell nodded and hoped they’d remember all of that. They thanked them and watched as they left.

“I still can’t believe you told them,” Senar stated, shaking his head.

“I can’t either,” she said frankly. “I’ve never been that nervous in my life.”

“I could tell,” he admitted. “You were a bit shaky at first. I’m sorry I wasn’t very comforting. I knew this was something you had to do yourself and I wasn’t sure if we wanted everyone to know how close we are.”

“It’s all right,” she reassured him honestly. “Don’t be sorry. Just having you there made me feel better. They’ll figure out that we’re more than companions with time.” She smiled as he put his arms around her. “And I’m sure that baby comment of yours has them wondering.”

“I was trying to be funny,” he said with a smile.

She grinned. “It was kind of funny.” She put her arms around his shoulders.

“Sorry that I have a poor sense of humor,” he told her sarcastically.

Vell didn’t say anything. She just looked deep into his midnight eyes. When they were this close she could always feel her heart pounding. As they kissed gently Vell knew that together they’d be able to find the rings. Just as always, his kiss left her breathless.

“How long until your birthday?” he asked quietly.

“Four days,” she said, finding her voice.

He nodded. “Which room do you want?”

“Whichever one you don’t want,” she replied with a smile.

“It doesn’t matter to me,” he told her. “You can take this room and I’ll stay in the other.”

Vell nodded. “That’s fine with me.”

They both let go of each other, but they didn’t move away. Senar gently touched her cheek. “I love you, Peridot.”

Though she already knew it, hearing it from him himself made her heart warm. She smiled and rested her hand on his. “I love you, too, Diamond.” The words sounded strange and wonderful at the same time.

He smiled and she let him take his hand away as he backed up. “I’ll go take a look at my room,” he told her quietly.

She nodded. “I’ll be over here.”

Senar left, entering the other room. Vell looked around hers. She walked over to the window and looked out over the castle yard. People and animals were everywhere. After a moment she turned back to her room. A plain dressing screen was set in one corner. The bed was along one wall with a good-sized chest at it’s foot. A few torches hung along the stone walls and a couple candles sat on the bedside table. Looking to the door she saw their packs sitting on the floor. Vell groaned inwardly, wondering who had brought them and when. She sighed and decided to ignore it, wondering if whoever it was would say anything to others.

It took her a few moments to find out which packs were hers and which were Senar’s. She picked his up and walked over to the adjoining door. Senar had left it open so she peeked through and found him staring out the window. She called to him and he jumped.

“Sorry,” she said. “Here are your packs.”

“Oh,” he said, walking over to her. “Thanks.” He took them from her and tossed them onto the bed.

“You’re welcome,” she replied with a smile. “I’m going to organize myself over here if you need me.”

He smiled. “Good idea.”

As she started unpacking and putting her things in the chest, one of the Spiritesses spoke to her.

“It’s a good thing you told them what you had done.”

“Thank you, Eovfi.” Vell would recognize the Spiritess of Dawn’s voice anywhere since they had communicated the most. “I just wish Senar would tell them that he stopped that fire three years ago, the one that was sent to destroy Algoma.” She kept her voice at a whisper.

“It’s not my place to give my opinion on such issues.”

“He did save everyone before I did though.”

“He knows that as well as you do. I came for a reason Vell, and it wasn’t chatting this time. I’m telling you that you need to wear your gown everyday now.”

“Everyday?” she repeated. She didn’t like wearing the dress too often since it tended to bother her.

“Yes. That way all you will need to take with you is food, what the queen will give you as a weapon, your mare, and bandages; you may be Blessed, but you’re not immortal. Also keep in mind that you will most likely be traveling for a few months. Now go change.”

“You’re as bad as my mother,” Vell muttered. When the Spiritess didn’t respond she sighed and reluctantly went to change.

She had just finished unpacking when Senar came in wearing his blue robe again. “I see we’ve both been ordered to wear these.”

Vell nodded. “I just wish this dress was more comfortable.”

“We shouldn’t complain though,” he replied. “It could be worse.”

She smiled. “I’m thankful it’s not.”

“I don’t suppose you remember how to leave?” he asked curiously.

She cringed and shook her head. “No.”

“That must mean we’re stuck here until someone comes for us.” He looked out the window. “It should be soon. The sun’s setting.”

There was a knock on the door at that moment. “The queen sent me to get you for supper,” Lien called in to them.

Vell looked at Senar. “So The Diamond can predict the future.”

He smiled. “On occasion.”