The Seeker
Zan walked into the Empress's personal garden. "There you are, Your Majesty!" he said with a deep bow. "The entire Palace is looking for you."
Aurora, Brinn and Mairwen were surprised by his sudden entry. His skills as a Guardian made him unnervingly undetectable. "Is something wrong?" The Empress asked with her brow furrowed.
Zan did not answer right away. He ghosted away to call off the search. The three ladies exchanged glances. They had told Nurlan and Eira that they did not want to be found. It seemed that the two had done too good a job of 'losing' them. "My apologies," Zan said as he materialized once more. "It occurs to me that I am disturbing you."
Aurora waved her hand to call him near. "You are most welcome, Cheif Zan. What have you come to say?"
"Two things, Your Majesty. The first being that we have rounded up the last of the names that Duchess Ravenna was persuaded to give us." The Chief shifted uncomfortably.
"Unfortunately for every traitor we catch, two more seem to spring up in their place," Brinn lamented. She had been reading all the reports. "They pop up, burn a fort or military camp and fade back into the background."
"It is like a real life game of whack-a-gopher…" Aurora mused. The other three looked at her quizzically. "You know, that carnival game where you take the mallet and try to knock the puppets on springs back through the holes, but they keep coming back..."
Zan raised his eyebrows, "I know what it is. I am just surprised that you do. It is not exactly like Your Majesty frequents those places."
Aurora became shy. "Devrim and I used to sneak out as kids when the carnival came to town. Whack-a-gopher was my favorite, but not anymore."
"Awwww," the princess went starry-eyed. "You and father! That is so sweet!"
Brinn brought her back, "Stop daydreaming, Your Highness. We need to think."
Zan's curiosity was piqued, "What are you thinking about?"
The ladies were quiet for a moment. "We are going to try to figure out how to use the Seeker," Aurora said.
"The Princess's necklace?" Zan had been allowed to listen to the message ball also.
"Yes, we have been thinking for days how best to try it out. We finally decided to find a secluded spot for discussion." Mairwen offered.
Now the Chief understood why they were alone together. "Please forgive me for my intrusion."
"Please stay and tell us: what would you ask?" Aurora inquired of the Guardian.
Before the Guardian could answer, Brinn butted in. "I told the Princess she should wish to know her true love."
Mairwen blushed and Aurora gave her a scowl. Aurora began to lecture, "And we rejected that idea because it goes against the warning that the fairy Bolemir gave us. He said that we should be careful, because the journey is just as important as the destination."
"So?" Brinn crossed her arms.
"What if by knowing who her true love is in advance, she somehow interrupts the process of getting to know him. Mairwen could lose him before he ever comes." Aurora reached out and patted the girl's hand.
"Very well. So we will not ask a question that will unintentionally ruin Mairwen's life. Got it." Brinn stuck out her tongue.
"It needs to be a question we do not already know the answer to, but can find it out." Mairwen mused.
"We could wish what we knew what was for dinner," Aurora suggested.
"And have the seeker flit off through the halls for everyone to see?" Brinn pointed out. "Or if it is too shy to show itself to humans, then it might not answer at all."
"Very well. I have got it! We can put out four objects and have the Empress select one and write it down. Then Mairwen can ask the necklace which one was chosen." Brinn's eyes lit with excitement. Finally she had a decent idea.
They found four items: a flower, a hairpin, a leaf, and a dagger from Zan's black cloak. Only Mairwen gave the Guardian a curious look. She had seen it appear from nothing. The other two were unfazed and finding a slip of paper for Aurora to write on. "Ok, we are all set." Brinn's announced.
"Wait! Everyone but Mairwen turn around in case we are not supposed to see it," Aurora ordered.
The princess closed her eyes and focused. "I wish I knew what my mother selected," Mariwen said while rubbing the silvery chain. When she looked, the fairy was standing on the flower. She gasped. "It worked!"
The others turned, but the fairy was already back in place. "Which one did the fairy pick?" Brinn wanted to know.
"The flower," Mairwen told them confidently.
Aurora smiled and handed them the paper. The Empress had drawn a rough sketch of the flower on it. "Now you just have to be careful what you wish for," Aurora reminded her daughter. "At least what you wish for out loud."
"I will try," the princess agreed.
Zan cleared his throat. "Is there something else you want to ask it? Now that you know it works, I mean. The ladies stared at him blankly. "Wish to know if His Majesty is well. We will hopefully hear news from him any day, but this will set your mind at ease."
It seemed like a good idea, so with the others' backs turned, Mairwen tried again. "I wish I knew if the Emperor were safe." She kept her eyes open this time as the little fairy lifted. It smiled warmly at her and then brought the princess's hand to her heart.
"Well?" Brinn asked impatiently.
"Father is fine," Mairwen informed them with a smile. The silver fairy bowed and returned to its chain.
Aurora inhaled sharply and wiped her eyes before turning around. She had been hopeful for and yet fearful of the answer which would come. The Empress hugged her daughter. "If only we had proof of what the little pixie says," she wished with a sigh.
Brinn noticed the mischievous grin on Zan as he turned around. "Wait!" she called out to him. "Did you not say you had two piece of news? You only told us one." The heads of the other two ladies swiveled toward him with accusing gazes.
The Guardian produced a small rolled up paper. "Think of it as a second test for the Seeker. I have received a communication from His Majesty as he passed by the northern outpost--the one we put in place a few years ago just in case we needed it. Two birds from there arrived just this morning. His Majesty is well and he believes that he is closing in on the prince. They picked up his trail and he is indeed heading to the gnomes. The second message is for you, Empress Aurora." He held out the paper.
"You sneaky Councilman! I cannot believe you hid this from me!" Aurora snatched the paper from his hands.
"May I remind you that you hid first, Your Majesty," he teased, but she was too engrossed in her message to hear him.
Aurora's cheeks flushed bright red. Whatever was in the message was affecting her. "Did you read this?" she asked Zan.
"As soon as we saw it was for you, we did not break the seal," Zan promised.
"Why?" Brinn tried to peek over the Empress's shoulder. "What does it say?"
Aurora hid the paper in her gown. She clamped her mouth shut. "I can tell you what is says," the Guardian said with a smile. "It says: Hold on to hope. I will come back to you no matter what. I love you."
The Empress blanched. "I thought you did not read it!"
Zan bowed his head. "And indeed I did not. But it is what I would say to the lady I loved if I knew she loved me too."