Come Again?

Seeing the joy on Jaymes' face at being reunited with one of his siblings brought warmth to the Empress's heart. It also strengthened her resolve to see the third sibling added to their number as soon as possible.

Aurora greeted the woman with a polite nod. "I am glad you are here, Eliana. I can see that Jaymes is as well."

"The honor is mine, Your Majesty," Eliana curtsied. "And I do hope I will be of some use to you as you strategize how to stop Taran and save Dania."

Aurora smiled warmly. "I heard you were most helpful in Oblivion. We will need every bit of ingenuity to defeat the abominations."

"You are very kind, Your Majesty. Jaymes tells me of your bravery. Thank you for rescuing him without even knowing who he was." Eliana's eyes seemed to sparkle with a blue so deep that it was almost purple.

The problem-solver had heard that the Empress was a kind ruler, but seeing her put her life on the line to help someone she didn't know made Eliana even more determined to help Aurora if she could.

"I am glad you are not mad that I brought her here," Devrim let out a breath he was not even aware that he was holding.

"How could I be mad? There is no safer place to keep her away from Taran than with the elves. You did well," Aurora admitted to her husband. She patted his armor only to see him wince.

His breath had hitched a few times while they were kissing before, but Aurora had assumed it was passion. Now she realized he had been breathing erratically because he was fighting against pain.

"Take off your armor!" Aurora ordered.

"Here?!" Devrim paled.

"Just your breastplate then. I want to see your side." The Empress corrected his thinking.

Devrim looked apologetically at the sibling pair as he stood. "My wife's word is law, you know…"

Eliana and Jaymes turned away as the Emperor reluctantly obliged and took off his metal armor. Lifting his shirt, Devrim refused to look down at his discolored skin.

"You are hurt!" Aurora lamented.

"Bruised and battered, but not scratched at least." Devrim quickly pulled his clothing back into place.

"I will take you to the healers at once. You shall not suffer when we have the palace doctor, the elves and all the healing water we need at our disposal…" Aurora lifted from the couch and took her husband's arm.

He evaded her grasp. "I'm fine," he assured her. Really, he did not like the idea of healing himself when his own men did not have that luxury. His wounds were unpleasant but not fatal. He would heal.

"We are about to enter yet another war for humanity. I will not have you feeling less than perfect if I can help it. You are the leader of our military!" The Empress took hold of his arm once more.

"She's right, you know. Other people's safety depends on you being at your best," Alaron said when his father still resisted.

"Whose side are you on?" Devrim shot the Guardian a warning look. But just like when he was a child, it did not do much good.

"I am on the side that wants as few people to die as possible." The young man answered evenly.

Aurora pursed her lips. "There, you see? I will walk you there myself right now. Mairwen, will you wait for Colvyr to return so he doesn't think we abandoned him? You boys make Eliana feel comfortable and show her around. If there is time, maybe see if the four of you can come up with any good solution to our abomination problem. We will convene later."

As the others stood and bowed or curtsied, Aurora dragged the aching Emperor from the nursery. He whined as he awkwardly passed the elven servants in the hall.

"Can we at least walk side by side?" He pulled back his wife and hooked her arm into his elbow.

"If you go willingly, I'll let you be the one leading me." Aurora teased him. But seeing how the man was struggling, she slowed her pace. Devrim was usually so strong; it was difficult to see him looking even a little frail.

"Thank you, my love," the Emperor patted the delicate hand draped across his arm. "I still don't think there is any need to..."

"Lover boy!" Brinn appeared from nowhere and slapped the Emperor firmly on the back. "When I saw Reyan in the elven kitchen feasting on cookies, I knew you must be here somewhere! Welcome!"

Devrim fell to his knees. "I had forgotten how strong you are, princess," he answered through gritted teeth. Glad to be here."

Aurora helped him to his feet.

"I barely tapped you!" Brinn defended herself. "Why are you acting like I gave you a sucker punch?"

"Willing to admit it now?" Aurora raised her eyebrows at her husband. "He was injured during the battle for Oblivion. But he was just telling me how he wasn't badly hurt."

Devrim admitted defeat. "I'll go to the healers quietly, my love."

"What is it that you humans say? Grown men make the worst patients?" Brinn smirked.

Aurora laughed softly. "I was a pretty terrible patient when Alaron nearly killed me, so I cannot judge my husband too harshly. But I will make sure he gets the care he needs, just like he did for me."

Brinn looped Devrim's free arm over her shoulder. "Listen to your wife. she knows what she is talking about."

"I know. I will." Devrim agreed, submitting to the ladies' lead.

"We have to get you fit for action, Lover Boy. Though what action that is will be entirely up to you," Brinn winked.

"Brinn!" Aurora gasped.

"What?" the elf was unapologetic. "All I am saying is it would be nice to have another baby prince or princess running around. Who knows? My mother might even move to the palace to help take care of the new little one. Wouldn't that be something!"

"Brinn..." Aurora shook her head.

Eyes sparkling, the elven princess ignored her friend. "Come on...we need to get him fixed up right away!"

"..."

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

After Colvyr returned, Mairwen decided to stay with her baby brother while Renat was called away to attend to Gela. With nothing else to do, the other three took a tour of the elven palace. Alaron was not a very good guide for the sibling pair. He was not very familiar with the halls himself.

"And this stone pillar seems to be made of all the same white stone as, uh, well, all the ones before it. And this room probably has a special name, but I have no clue what it is. And this ancient tapestry is...ancient...and depicts an elf in an epic battle with a dog-looking creature with three heads." The Guardian stumbled along as they walked.

"I see," Eliana answered politely.

"Why don't we go the gardens? I am sure Ellie would love to see the flowers there." Jaymes suggested as he scratched his head.

"I know even less about flowers than the palace..." Alaron lowered his head humbly.

"Good," Eliana smiled. "Then perhaps you can spend time telling us about your encounter with Dania. Jaymes said you almost managed to get her out of Taran's reach."

The Guardian was most relieved to not have to make up palace facts, but he was trading that relief for having to relive his own failure. He turned the trio towards the closest gardened courtyard. "We did get her away from Taran, but we could not keep her out of his reach for long."

Alaron retold the events of the botched rescue, giving even more detail than he had with the larger group. He felt the pair deserved every bit of information about their captive sister, even if that meant some of his embarrassing moments came to light.

"Thank you for all you did to try and save Dania," Eliana said when he had finished. "I know it was not easy to leave her behind, but you did the right thing."

"It all makes me so mad. Taran is just the worst!" Jaymes plopped down on a bench. The other two joined him on either side of the stone seat.

Alaron nodded slowly. "Agreed."

"Dania would never want to marry someone like him. He should just go... jump in a lake!"

"Jaymes!" Eliana pretended to be horrified, but really she was amused by his childish threat.

"I am sorry, Ellie, but someone needed to say it!" Jaymes looked at her seriously. "Taran kidnapped all three of us and is making a plan to take over the world. He is the worst person anyone could marry. Dania should wed literally anyone else."

"Calm yourself, Jaymes," Eliana wrapped her arms around her brother and hugged him. "We will get Dania back before she can marry Taran."

"Good. Then I can find her someone worthy of marrying her. Someone who would give their life to save her and care for her." Jaymes turned to the Guardian. "What about you? Would you marry Dania?"

Alaron blinked at him. "Wha-...Come again?"