{-Kaylin-}

  It was, actually, quite hard to imagine that the kid on the throne was only a year younger than her. It was not because of childishness—he sat perfectly in that ill-fitted throne, with the outfit and expression of one much older. He just seemed so… small. Maybe it was his height, or maybe it was the sheer size of everything else around him.

  But all it did was accentuate the fact that there was a need for someone so young to hold the throne in the first place.

  Dain didn’t notice them enter at first, too busy mumbling something to someone who looked to be an advisor. In fact, it was the advisor that seemed to make him acknowledge them.

  “Oh, you’re here!” Dain forced a smile and gestured them a bit closer. “Rennyn, Kaylin, Seldir, Lyrei, and last but not least, Lord Noa. I’m glad you were able to come on such short notice.” He then glanced at the advisor. “Could you get everyone to leave us alone for a little bit? I’m capable of explaining things on my own, and they might feel a bit more comfortable talking to just one person.”

  The advisor nodded. “As you wish. I will wait for your call to return.”

  “No need. Just start getting a meal set up for them?”

  “Of course.”

  With one last bow, the advisor left, gesturing for the knight by the door to join him. Dain seemed to wait just a moment longer before saying anything.

  “Now, I know you’re probably all a little confused. It’s been… a rough past couple of weeks—from what I hear, it’s been the same for you, for possibly related reasons. Sorry I was only able to contact you now. I wanted to help sooner, but there were other obligations that kind of kept that from happening…”

  “Well, we’re all here now,” Rennyn remarked. “Things might’ve been a little easier if this had happened sooner, sure. But that’s not going to change anything now. I’m guessing it’s safe to assume, though, that one of the reasons we’re here has to do with what kept you busy before?”

  Dain nodded. “We’ve had… a bit of a monster problem. It’s something that we’ve been able to handle for the time being—most of the hard part was making sure that no one really noticed. We don’t need people worrying over something. The monsters… it’s best just to let the trained knights handle it, and let everyone else think that there’s not a problem at all. The reports don’t exactly make them look pleasant. So between managing all of that and making sure that Empress Shaerra was aware of what was going on, I didn’t have time to contact you. Or the resources to help, when I realized that you ran into your own set of problems…”

  “Can’t change the past. Do you want us to do something about the monsters? Are they still a problem? If they’re from Dhymos, I should—”

  Kaylin quickly interrupted him to say, “You’re not going out there to fight monsters. I thought I was finally getting some sense talked into you, but apparently not…”

  “We’re still one of the only ones capable of doing something permanent. The knights don’t know enough to make that kind of an impact,” he pointed out, though he lowered his voice for it.

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  “I wasn’t going to ask you to deal with the monsters—for the most part, the knights have been able to handle it. For now.” Dain hesitated a bit, though, when he continued, “There were a couple of other things I wanted to talk to you about before then. According to the letter I got from Lady Mira in Astiri, you’re here for the goddess’s armor, right..? I… have a couple of concerns I want addressed before I’m comfortable giving it away…”

  He shook his head before there was a chance to reply. “But that can wait for later. Would you like something to eat? Then we can discuss the ball, as well. I know it probably isn’t the… most comfortable break, given the environment of nobles, though I felt it would be a good one nonetheless. I think we could all use a more peaceful evening.”

  Kaylin got the impression that he knew that only one of them really even thought it might be “peaceful.” But no one mentioned it—not the events that had led up to it, nor the foreign noble and commoners that would be attending it. It seemed like they were just… going to ignore those facts entirely. And maybe he purposely did it to make them more comfortable, but it had the opposite effect. There was never quite a good time to mention it, though, and the general feeling only got worse.

  One would think that being treated to a large and varied meal after a while of whatever the “meal of the day” at the inn was would be more filling—comforting, even. And that having one of the best tailors of the nation—Dain’s words, not any personal connection—come give them clothes for the ball for free would make them excited. None of it did, though.

  Perhaps the most relieving part was when they were all ready to leave, and Dain glanced between Rennyn and Kaylin.

  “May I speak with the two of you?” he prompted. “If what I’ve been hearing, and what I’m seeing, is correct, then you’re the ones who have experienced this before. I wanted to talk with you. Privately. Someone can show the other three of their rooms and prepare for the ball.”

  Noa let out a nervous laugh. “Fine by me. I’m quickly starting to realize I’ve got a lot of work to do if I’m going to make sure these two don’t embarrass everyone around them…”

  “Hey!” Lyrei reached over the table to whack him. “I’m not that bad! And this is the first time it’s come up, even after all of the nobles that we’ve talked with since!”

  “And I didn’t think there was anything wrong with walking away from annoying nobles, yet here we are.” Seldir stood up, and looked at Rennyn and Kaylin. “We’ll go ahead and let you talk. I’m guessing it’s something important, but remember not to worry about it all on your own. You both deserve some rest, too.”

  Then the three of them left, alongside one of the servants, leaving Dain, Rennyn, and Kaylin remaining.

  “What is it?” Rennyn asked. “I don’t know if you realize, but separating us isn’t exactly something I’m going to take as a good thing.”

  “I understand that, with your experience, you’re probably expecting something terrible. But I assure you, I’m only doing it this way because I felt like you might like it better. I know that you’ll probably want to keep conversations like this away from your allies.” Dain hesitated for a minute, before shaking his head and continuing—maybe he remembered that he was already too far to backtrack. “And that’s… one of the main reasons we’re even having this conversation. Along with, of course, what happened when you first came to the capital.”

  Neither of them asked any questions, though they both made it clear that they were listening. It was the only thing they could do, really. No point in arguing something that hasn’t been said yet, even though there probably wasn’t anything to argue over in the first place.

  “I need you to tell me what happened—from your point of view. I can’t, in good conscience, give you the goddess’s armor if things turned out how I thought they did. If I’m going to entrust the entire fate of my nation—of every nation—then I need to know you’re not going to falter. And please, don’t try to hide anything, or think it’s too unimportant to mention. I may be young for a king, but that doesn’t make me weak.”