The assassins probably would have preferred it if Storm or Blade had taken care of them. Instead, they got muffined by Soral and dragged like spare luggage all the way back to Altea. The last act of mercy Ruena gave them was leaving them at the guard house rather than personally punishing them at the Alodan estate. Everything fell into place surprisingly quickly after that. It was amazing how quickly the Alodan estate started to feel like home.

  Word spread quickly about her new status as the Weaponsmaster, as well as Velcorna relinquishing her place as duchess. On top of that, there was the constant pestering about her wedding to the hero. Soral must have done something again, but it might also just be the rumors of his connection to Mr. Mischief and Mr. Dehd Lee that had gotten out. Ruena was about to be crushed under the weight of all of the work Velcorna had left behind when Soral dropped yet another bombshell on her.

  "Ruena, how would you feel if I adopted some children?" he asked, then quickly explained, "Just two. I was thinking of rescuing them from the gray tower but I can't just send children that old man has been keeping anywhere. I can have one of my cousins raise them if you want-"

  "It's fine," Ruena interrupted before his rambling could go too far, "As long as you are certain you can pull it off. Densooth won't retaliate against you for this, will he?"

  Soral hesitated, a dark expression coming over his face for a moment. "He doesn't have the right to stop me this time," he finally replied, "I promised her I would come back and save her. I haven't forgotten for a moment since the day I left her behind in that place."

  "I'm fine with it," Ruena agreed, "but it isn't good for us to adopt children before we get married. Can you wait until I set things up?"

  "I have that covered!" Soral announced with far too much confidence, "I just have to make them my siblings. I don't have a family of my own, after all."

  Ruena was speechless for a moment. Then a thought came to her. "Soral, how old are these children?"

  Soral hesitated again. That couldn't be good. "Well, about that..."

  "You don't know," Ruena surmised, "When did you find them?"

  "I met the older sister the day we were kicked out of the old castle," Soral explained, "I don't know how long they have been there, but they are in some kind of ageless sleep prison."

  Sleeping prisons reminded Ruena immediately of Bastion. If these children were kept in the Gray Tower in a state of endless sleep there was no way they could be ordinary. It was just like Soral to become attached to dangerous individuals like that. Storm, Blade, Xandus, and even Jazz were all people that had benefited Ruena in the end. It could even be argued that her connections to the Belleas Company were thanks to him.

  "If you are going to rescue them, do it right," Ruena ordered, “You can’t just rescue them and pawn them off on someone else like you did with Blade and Storm. This is even more the case if you are planning to adopt them. Your family will be my family once we marry.”

  Stolen story; please report.

  “Family,” Soral repeated with wide eyes, before breaking into a beaming smile, “Then why don’t you come with me? You can’t enter the tower, but you can wait just outside.”

  It was impossible to forget what Soral was like when he came back from the tower that day. Ruena had no interest in picking up a curse of her own for momentary curiosity. Then again, if she was waiting for him outside the tower there was a higher chance Soral wouldn't cause any unnecessary trouble.

  "Alright," Ruena agreed, "But I will be waiting on the grounds. I won't be going anywhere near that doorway, or even an open window."

  "Perfect. Should we go now?" Soral asked.

  As always, Soral was ready to jump straight into action. Whether it was excessive eagerness or a lack of patience it was hard to stop him once he got an idea in his head. It wasn't like there was much she could prepare even if she did insist he wait, and if they would be his siblings, it would be better to adopt them before the wedding.

  “Have they agreed to this?” Ruena asked as a thought suddenly came to her.

  “How can I ask them if they are sleeping?” Soral pointed out.

  Of course. “Make sure to make them an offer, and wait until they agree to process any adoptions,” Ruena warned, already able to see just how bad this could go.

  Just like that, Ruena found herself standing uneasily at the base of the Gray Tower as Soral happily pranced inside to rescue the prisoners. She could only hope that Densooth really wouldn’t be able to do anything to stop him this time. To her surprise, Densooth stepped into place beside her.

  “So it is today,” he commented, “I knew it was only a matter of time before he came for them. He is the only fortune those two have left in their futures.”

  “Is that why he claimed you wouldn’t be able to stop him?” Ruena asked.

  “Why would I stop him from fulfilling prophecy?” Densooth asked, as if the mere idea was bizarre, “This was always meant to happen.”

  “Are there any more prophecies I need to be worried about?” Ruena demanded.

  “For you? No. You have reached the level you must be at according to the prophecies. Should I congratulate you on your newfound freedom?” Densooth replied, his tone patronizing, and his gaze never once leaving the top of the tower.

  “What about Soral?” Ruena pressed.

  “That man can’t stay out of prophecies, but there is no longer any need for me to get involved,” Densooth assured, sounding ever more like he was talking to a child, “His meddlesome personality will take care of the rest for me. I will be far too busy taking care of the truly important prophecies to bother with either of you for quite some time.”

  Even though he never expressly said it, Ruena could hear the hidden warning not to get in his way. It would be nearly impossible to get in his way if she didn’t even know what he was up to, but that was probably where Soral came in. Densooth probably intended to have her convince Soral to back off. Unfortunately for him, Ruena had no intention of following his orders anymore.

  “Really? Then I suppose I will have to take it upon myself to bother you instead,” she proclaimed, “The more I find out about those precious prophecies of yours, the less I believe they are worth.”

  Densooth smiled as if her words were exactly what he had been expecting. He stepped through a portal without another word just in time for Soral to exit the tower with a young boy and girl. The boy seemed frightened and clung to Soral, but the girl looked practically emotionless as she silently followed behind them. Neither child looked out of the ordinary, but they couldn’t be normal if they had been kept prisoner there.

  Just who were they?