The distant sounds of arms filled the tense silence as Irithal stared across the heavy wooden table, its polished surface feeling like an impassable chasm; the air heavy as the two met each other’s eyes in a silent plea for the other to speak first.

  Yet as Irithal opened her mouth to speak, the words refused to leave; the apologies dying in her throat as she looked into Taaffeites steely eyes. Those assessing eyes, unwavering as they scrutinized Irithal across the sparse few feet that separated them.

  For the first time in her entire life Irithal felt she was being judged and found wanting as Taaffeite crossed her arms, the silence between them now feeling like a challenge; a dare for Irithal to speak.

  So, Irithal sat. Pinned by that powerful gaze as she took in the woman across from her. Taaffeite was imposing, tall with an impeccable posture that made her seem just that little bit bigger when she sat. But there was something… different about her now. She was still imposing, her features stern as she sat with her shoulders squared; but the air around her was… off.

  It was subtle, so subtle it took Irithal a moment to see it. Her once tanned skin now looked almost pale, as if she hadn’t been outside in months; her fair complexion reasserting itself since Irithal had st seen her.

  It was surprising, Irithal had thought Taaffeite’s skin was naturally that rich color; but now she could see that the other woman actually had fair light skin that only highlighted the faint bags under her eyes.

  Has she not been sleeping well either? Irithal thought as her eyes traced the contours of Taaffeite's face, avoiding meeting her grey eyes as much as she could while she thought. Then she saw the muscles in Taaffeite’s neck move, her jaw tensing as she silently swallowed. Is she just as nervous about this as I am?

  Irithal wanted to reach out, to touch the other woman’s mind with her magic just as she had done countless times before. To feel that open honesty she had always felt from Taaffeite… but she couldn’t bring herself to even try. Would Taaffeite welcome her as she used to? To let Irithal roam her thoughts, skimming them like a familiar book?

  Or would she rebuff her, repelling her magic with the ease Irithal always knew she was capable of?

  And if she did let her in, what would she find now? The warm welcome that used to ease her mind, like a familiar greeting of a trusted friend; or the cold calcuting machinations that Irithal was used to seeing in others.

  The thought terrified her… her, the renowned Queen of Crown who never falters was… scared of the woman across from her. Terrified that she had pushed her away by doing the one thing Irithal had always swore to herself she would never do.

  Irithal didn’t know how someone could wear a crown without the abilities she possessed; her family’s bloodline ability that compelled honesty in their presence along with her soul magic that allowed her to peer into the minds of others was a blessing in her position… a blessing that carried a heavy weight, one she had learned at a very young age. People are corrupt.

  Ever since she was a child, Irithal has been surrounded by people who wanted to use her, to manipute her for their own gain; even now half her court conspires behind her back to undermine her position.

  They speak nothing but lies coated with honeyed words to try and grab onto the power she holds; as if they think themselves so smart, so cunning that she would never see them moving amongst the shadows. But they all forget that she holds a candle; her magic allowing her to peel back the honeyed words to see the truth behind their schemes.

  She could see the corrupt disgusting truth underneath the gilded masks they all wore. And she had vowed never to be like them, had spent a lifetime rooting people like that out of her court… and then she did exactly that.

  When she had met Taaffeite all those years ago, Irithal had mistakenly thought she would be like every other noble in her nds; that she would arrive in her court and try to use the achievement of sying a dragon to empower her household, to cw for more influence… and she had done exactly that, but there was one big difference that set her aside from the others.

  Taaffeite was honest. From the moment she arrived she was unabashedly open about her intentions and did not care one bit what anyone around her thought as she demanded their respect. She didn’t scheme or manipute those around her; no Taaffeite strode into her court, looked the Queen of the nation dead in the eyes and essentially said “pay me” without even blinking.

  There was the small spat with Alistar who had tried to brush off the rewards, he was the one to gain the title after all; but there had been nothing but open honest intentions between them. It had been so… refreshing.

  Here was a beautiful woman with the intelligence and power to move the world around her and she simply didn’t want to.

  Some people mistakenly think Taaffeite cks drive, not using her position and achievements to leverage for more power in the court, but that was so far from the truth. Taaffeite simply wanted to live a peaceful life, to turn her territory into a safe pce to raise her family. And she had done exactly that over the years; turning their territory into one of the safest pces in the entire empire, second only to the capital itself.

  It was this open and honest conviction that drew Irithal to Taaffeite; the reason that Irithal to this day can’t help but ask her to stand beside her in the court. She didn’t mince words or spin them about in webs for some convoluted game; Taaffeite simply moved forward for her goals and her goals alone.

  And here she sat; the most honest woman Irithal had ever met. The woman Irithal had fallen for the moment she had seen her, been invited into her mind to see the honest truth behind every word she spoke.

  And I betrayed her. The truth sat heavy in Irithal’s gut.

  The words rang in her mind, the memory that haunted her dreams surfacing as Taaffeite’s anguished voice filled her ears. “You knew”. The accusation was like venom in her veins as she stared down at the once unshakable woman while she wept over a crater left by Irithal’s lies, lies that tore her children from her.

  First her son, sent across the world to an enemy nation as a spy; vilinized him in his homend as a traitor for years in a plot to undermine Aligimar.

  Then her daughters, spirited away and dumped on an isnd while battling summoned heroes; caught up in a scheme to corner Aligimar in a convoluted attempt to buy time before a war everyone knew was coming. That was all it was, trying to leverage for a better position before decring war that had backfired and Taaffeite had paid the price for her mistakes.

  Irithal’s crown suddenly felt heavy on her head. The weight of it all, years of pandering to the nobility and trying to keep her nation together felt like a physical weight on her as she realized the sad truth.

  She had betrayed the only other person she truly trusted, proved herself no better than those she banished from her court. She had used Taaffeites' trust and embroiled her family in political machinations she wanted no part of. Taaffeite had repeatedly made it clear she wanted nothing to do with the court or running the nation, and Irithal had selfishly taken that choice from her.

  “Taaffeite.” Irithal’s voice was weak, the name falling from her lips like a plea as she bowed her head. Her hands trembled as she lifted the crown from her head, the very crown made by one of Taaffeite’s children, the intricately carved metal gleaming in her hands and she set it on the table in front of her. The ptinum metal nding on the hard wood with a dull thump that reverberated through the room as Irithal finally spoke. “I would give you the crown off my head if I thought for one second that was what you wanted.” And it was the honest truth, spoken in a wavering voice as she felt tears brimming in her eyes.

  Irithal loved her nation, her people… she wanted nothing more than to protect her people. She had spent her entire life trying to tailor peace in her nds, it was her very reason for living; and she would give it all up for the woman across from her if she thought it would mend this hollow feeling in her chest.

  “But we both know that isn’t what you want.” Her chest hurt as she looked up at the woman across from her, Taaffeite’s eyes were wide as she stared at Irithal. “I am so sorry.” It felt cheap, a hollow apology that did nothing to fill the hole she had left in her wake, but the words were all she could give.

  Taaffeite wanted to scream as she sat across from Irithal, to y into the other woman for everything; unload months of frustration and anger. But she knew it wouldn’t accomplish anything, so she sat in this suffocating silence; trapped by her own husband’s game to make her face Irithal.

  She loved Alistar, she really did. He was an amazing husband and father, always supportive and willing to do anything for his family… but she wished he had just kept out of this. His acceptance of her retionship with Irithal was endearing, sure, but did he have to lock her in a room with the woman?

  She watched as Irithal struggled to form words, the unfppable queen looking like a lost child for a moment as her mouth opened before closing again with a faint pop; clearly thinking better of whatever she was about to say. Which was fine with her.

  She knew Irithal wouldn’t grovel for forgiveness, she was the Queen after all; but that didn’t mean Taaffeite had to act as if everything was alright between them. Some day she would probably forgive her, but she doubted that it would be today as the two stared at each other.

  Logically she knew it wasn’t Irithal’s fault her children were gone; Jasper was a grown man who had left home years ago to join the royal guard.

  He was more than capable of making his own decisions and could have just as easily told her the truth over all those years as Irithal could have. And Irithal had apologized for that, telling her that it had been Jasper’s pn all along; she was just respecting his wishes… and she could understand that to a point.

  And the twins. They were pnning on leaving less than a week after the day they vanished. It wasn’t ideal that they had been teleported away, but in reality, it hadn’t actually affected their pns at all. If anything it sped them up a lot, their travel time had been effectively cut in half if one considers the fact, they are in Flennor now.

  Even Alexa spends more time in the capital than home, having only been back for a week or so since the twins left. Fulfilling her duty as a protector of the Crown while working at the royal academy.

  It was part of being a parent, her children would grow and eventually move on into their own lives. She had been prepared for that… or she thought she was at least.

  But now, every night as she sat down at a quiet dinner table with her husband her heart ached. Her home that had once been filled with the noise of life now felt so empty and despite knowing it was how things were… she bmed Irithal for that.

  Jasper’s decisions, the twin’s disappearance, even Alexa’s work… none of it was Irithal’s fault really, but… I should have had more time.

  A few more days with the twins to help them pn, go over the plotted course and see them off. To know they were as safe as she could make them instead of them being ripped away unprepared.

  Years with her son as he navigated becoming the man, no, the king, he was growing into. Instead of being with his family he spent the first years of what should have been a joyous time in his life being shunned by the nation as whole while being isoted behind enemy lines.

  It shouldn’t have been this way; none of it had pyed out the way she had always thought it would. Her children would grow, find love and move on. Alexa would succeed her as head of their family while Jasper would likely marry Ares, Taaffeite wasn’t blind after all. The princess had always been enamored with him and he had taken to protecting her like second nature; before his “mission” she had expected to speak with Irithal about that very subject when she arrived in the capital.

  And the twin’s would likely return to their territory and do… well Amethyst would run her church while helping people, and Hecatolite would… be Hecatolite. She always talked about trying to open an enchantment shop…

  The thought gave her pause. In reality… none of that had changed. Alexa will still take over their territory one day and is broadening her horizons in the capital for that exact reason. The twins will come home, there was no doubt in her mind that they would return, and likely go on living their lives completely unfazed.

  Hecatolite had even managed to get a second wife in the time she was gone, something she still needed to talk to her youngest daughter about. Spouses weren’t collectables, she needed to spend more time strengthening her bond with Saffron before jumping into new retionships.

  Hecatolite’s promiscuous nature aside. If she was being completely honest, Jasper was the only one of her children she was truly worried about… that was only because she hadn’t been part of his pn.

  She had faith in her children, if for no other reason than they all inherited their father’s thick skull.

  Irithal had once told her that her family represented the best of Crown; and Taaffeite agreed. They were powerful, not just because of their magic either. Every one of her children is brilliant, even Hecatolite with her shattered mind was amazingly capable when it came down to it. She had raised them to be the best people she could… Yet, it still hurts.

  A rge part of herself couldn’t forgive the Queen. Bming her for it all, for hiding the truth about Jasper from her, for setting up the situation with the Heroes… not that anyone could have anticipated Hecatolite’s reaction to the elven woman. Again, she wondered just who Eryl was and why Hecatolite had reacted so strongly to her. But that was a worry for ter, maybe when she could finally get Hecatolite to reply to her messages she can ask.

  But thinking about it all… Irithal had… what? Hidden Japers cndestine mission from her? It was a foolishly dangerous mission, but it by nature required as few people as possible to know of it. Did she approve of not being told? No, of course not, but logically she understood.

  Alexa would be the only one she would trust with the information, and even that had its own risks. She might have told the others to console them after a while.

  Alistar isn’t a subtle man, and he is honest to his very core. He couldn’t lie if his life depended on it, and one of his favorite pastimes was boasting about his children to anyone who would listen. She had to issue a gag order on the guard because he wouldn’t stop telling them about his new daughter-in-w. Telling Hans to correct anyone speaking of it and inform them that Jasper is being considered for engagement to the princess once he returns; the st thing anyone needs right now is for Algimar to think the next King of crown is currently sneaking through their nation.

  Amethyst had unfortunately inherited her father’s poker face, as well as his easily excitable nature… and, Hecatolite would likely spill any secret she remembered. It was a tossup between her forgetting any information completely or forgetting she wasn’t supposed to tell anyone…

  Not to mention that Hecatolite is a soul mage. A magic that’s main skill is reading people's minds; not that Hecatolite has ever shown any ability in doing so. She likely could, and has, but just not told anyone… or forgot she can. Even if she couldn’t, she was sharing a body with Amethyst at the time, and anything one of them knew the other would find out in short order.

  It was honestly… likely safer for Jasper for them not to know, after all, it was her family that had kicked off this war with their grudge against the church. Her territory has been swarming with spies and informants since this all-started years ago. Sure, they captured a few but she wasn’t stupid enough to think they could weed them all out. Some would inevitably slip through the cracks… In fact Jasper acting as the sage was the most likely reason it wasn’t assassins flooding her streets.

  In the end she had to remind herself. None of this is actually Irithal’s fault. Her arms tightened around her chest, snapping her mind to the present. When had she crossed her arms, and why was Irithal staring down at the table?

  She watched the other woman for a tense moment, wondering if she should be the one to break this silence when Irithal spoke. Her voice barely a whisper in the silence as it shook.

  “Taaffeite.” Her slender hands slowly rose to her head, her long fingers gently prying the crown off; freeing her long curly hair that fell around her face like a curtain. With slow deliberate movements she set the crown before her, the metal hitting the table with a faint tap that seemed to fill the air as Irithal ran a single finger along its surface almost reverently. “I would give you the crown off my head if I thought for one second that was what you wanted.”

  Taaffeite’s eyes widened at her words. She knew Irithal, not just as a Queen but as a person. Irithal entire life has been devoted to being “the Queen”, it dictated nearly everything she did. Even having a child was a duty to her; not saying Irithal didn’t love her daughter, but if not for the need to produce an heir Taaffeite doubted she ever would have bore a child. Her… personal tastes didn’t really lead to such things.

  For her to say that… was this really happening? Was Tari… going to beg her?

  As Irithal… no, this wasn’t the unshakable Queen of crown looking back at her. This was Tari, raw and more vulnerable than Taaffeite had ever seen her.

  Tari slowly lifted her head to look up at her. Milky eyes brimming with tears that tugged at Taaffeite’s heart. “But we both know that isn’t what you want.” A single tear ran down Tari’s cheek, streaking the makeup under her eyes across her olive skin and the world seemed to freeze around them as she spoke. “I am so sorry.” Her voice shook as more tears fell, the streaks carving themselves into Taaffeite’s mind like sshes from a sword and her entire chest clenched.

  Taaffeite’s entire world spun. Here she was, sitting across from the Queen who was… groveling. Tari was groveling for her forgiveness… “Tari.”…

  If not for the fact she had married Alistar before meeting the Tari, Taaffeite likely would have taken up the Queen’s offer to become an advisor in the capital. It was a decision she never regretted making, and they had managed to cultivate a retionship over the years despite it.

  One that most would scoff at as being unconventional, having more than one uppity noble attempt to use Taaffeite’s alleged infidelity against her… but she didn’t care, she loved her husband… and she loved Tari. She Always has…

  It was then that she realized why the silence was so suffocating, it was the first time in years the two had sat together and Irithal hadn’t touched her mind. The missing connection was a twisting knife in her mind as she rexed her shoulders, letting her arms fall to her sides. “You’re right,” She replied quietly as she rose from her chair. “I don’t want your crown.”

  She stepped around the long table, crossing the distance between them as she gingerly lifted the surprisingly heavy crown from the table. The metal was still warm from Tari’s skin as she inspected it.

  “I… don’t have anything that would…” Tari couldn’t look up at her as Taaffeite stood over her, the ptinum crown held delicately in her long fingers. “I should have told you. I never should have put you in that position and I am so sorry I betrayed your trust...”

  The apologies flooded from Tari as Taaffeite closed her eyes, taking a deep breath as every word hit her like a physical blow. Tari’s words struck her in the heart as tears rolled down her cheeks, “Enough.” She finally stopped the other woman, her own voice shaking with emotion as she spoke. “A Queen should never beg, Tari.” With a single hand she pushed Tari’s hair back, the wild curls wrapping around her fingers as she gently brushed them aside. “I… I forgive you.” She said gently pcing the crown back on the Queen's head. “I don’t agree with what you did, but I understand why you did it; and I forgive you.” She said again, leaning down and pcing a tender kiss on top of Tair’s head.

  Tari looked up at her with tear-streaked cheeks, blinking rapidly as she said. “You're crying…”

  Tentatively Taaffeite touched her own cheek to find it was damp. When did that happen? “So much for trying to act composed…” She couldn’t help but say, and Irithal ughed. The sound was rich and filled Taaffeite with warmth as she stared down at her.

  Sniffling Tari said, “I always thought you looked so composed, even crying you look cool.” She said wiping her eyes with the palms of her hands, “I… probably look like a mess.”

  Taaffeite chuckled as she shook her head, wiping her own eyes as she composed herself. It still hurt to think of everything, and a small part of her still wanted to bme Tari. But seeing the most powerful woman in the nation break down into tears as she offered her very crown as an apology… “We really should get cleaned up, my Queen. You have a very important meeting ter.”

  Tari nodded, “you’re right.” She said standing from her chair, adjusting her robes as she did. “T… Taffy.” She said tentatively as Taaffeite felt it, the brush of magic against her as if questioning.

  Taaffeite nodded slowly as she rexed, feeling the familiar presence wash over her mind. The link was hesitant, just a light brush at first as they moved towards the door. It wasn’t the open-willed link they normally shared to begin with, but as they walked it grew.

  By the time Alistar had finished running the guards around the entire city and returned to the castle, thoughts were easily flying between Taaffeite and Tari; both sharing openly with the other.

  A bond that allowed the two to easily work together; moving past one another with ease as Taaffeite shared her mind with the queen, and Tari in turn shared hers. It was a simple thing that no one ever thinks about, thinking only a soul mage can read someone’s thoughts. But in reality, it was a doorway that worked in both directions if one knew what to look for. And Taaffeite was well used to this all too familiar doorway, having missed it as Tari’s voice entered her thoughts.

  Can I convince you to stay after the meeting? Tari asked as she looked over a paper on her desk before passing it off.

  We have a lot to discuss. Taaffeite replied from her own pce at the table, her own pile of papers beside her. I can make time for you. She said tossing the paper into an overflowing trash bin beside her, You need to stop letting anyone submit these. Half of these are pointless compints… She gred at the pile before shoving the entire thing in the bin as she stood up, a nearby servant covered their mouth in an attempt not to ugh as a noble man gred at her. Tari protested in her mind. If they are important, they’ll resubmit them. Besides, it's nearly time for the meeting.

  Tari rose from her seat in the office, “You're right. we have more important matters to deal with.” she said as her and Taaffeite strode out of the office on their way to what they both knew was going to be an… interesting meeting with Felnnor.

  Tibbit