“Leave?” Velcorna asked, “Dear, this is my home too. I may not have Alodan blood in my veins but I am a member of this house.”

  The hurt in her tone stabbed at Ruena like a knife of guilt. Despite all of the effort she had gone through to forsake the woman before her having any relation, she was still her mother. Perhaps that was why she suddenly found it difficult to speak the words she knew she must say.

  "This? Your home?" She managed, though her tone came out harsher than she intended. She focused her mind on the facts and tried to shut down her emotions. "We both know that's not true. You only return here for important occasions. As for where you really live, I am more than happy to give the villa to you as a parting gift."

  Velcorna frowned for a moment, letting Ruena feel a small thrill of victory, before a smug smirk bloomed on her face.

  "You still have much to learn, my child," she told her, "You may be the heir but until you take the title, I am the Duchess of Alodan. It is I who will give you your childhood home and a chance to prove yourself. I will look forward to seeing if you can handle the responsibility of noble life or if you will run away once more."

  To Ruena's dismay, the crowd laughed and urged Velcorna on. This was hardly turning out to be the spectacle Densooth had told her. Unfortunately everything she had said was true, so she couldn't argue against her words. She also couldn't carelessly throw accusations she couldn't prove.

  "I will take that challenge," Ruena announced instead, "And when I show you all how much stronger I have become, you will have no choice but to accept me as the Duchess of Alodan."

  “I am proud that my daughter is confident in her strength, but this will test your skills in other areas,” Velcorna warned, “I will leave you with the Alodan Estate immediately, as you request. I look forward to seeing how you do as a hostess for such a prestigious event.”

  She did not wait a moment after her words to pass by Ruena, unhindered by even the overwhelming display of portals that Soral had held open for them this entire time. Were they not as taboo or threatening as Ruena had thought? Even though she had gotten exactly what she wanted, Ruena still felt like she lost.

  Soral stepped up now to do his duty as the active commander of the Alodan Warriors. “At ease,” he ordered loud enough to carry throughout the manor so all could hear him. He then proceeded to close each portal in quick succession one by one. This brought some applause from the audience as if this was all part of some amusing show.

  Moments later, the pair was swarmed by the various guests eager to introduce themselves. Some were supportive and others mocking. There were also those with thinly veiled motives. It was a lot of hostility to take in at once, especially since it was the kind of hostility she could do very little about. Ruena liked even less that a great deal of the hostility was directed at Soral, claiming he was too familiar for a mere guard dog.

  She needed to focus on finding allies. It was painful to admit that her most likely alliance would be Lady Trelys, a woman she had never forgotten and the last noble she met before she ran away from home.

  “It is a pleasure to see you again,” Ruena greeted.

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  “Likewise,” Lady Trelys replied, “Though I see you have made no progress since we last met.”

  “I was hoping you could help me with that,” Ruena told her, “I have reconsidered my future, and I find myself utterly unprepared.”

  Lady Trelys smiled. “You seem to be improving already. I shall pay you a visit soon, once the festivities are over.”

  Luckily the feast was all arranged, but the ball ran quite late. Ruena had no idea how to tell a mansion full of opulent nobles to get out of her house without causing any lasting problems. She had thought her plan was perfect, but the end was nothing but a disaster. At least she knew how to dance so she wasn’t embarrassed further in front of her potential allies and enemies.

  With the ball over, she had no choice but to part ways with Soral. Lady Trelys and the servants had made it perfectly clear that it was unacceptable for a lady of her status to let a man of unknown origins stay the night.

  ==========

  Soral opened his eyes after turning time, already slightly discouraged by the mission gone awry. Velcorna was a far more intimidating opponent than they had realized. Now that he looked around, something was different. He had left in a hallway, but now he was in one of the empty rooms with the door shut tight. No matter how tired he was, he had never messed up teleportation before.

  “Time magic? What a rare treat,” an all too familiar voice mused. So it was him. The Blacksmith must have interfered somehow. But how did he know that Soral would come back?

  “I’m just visiting,” Soral told him, “No need for concern.”

  The Blacksmith was sitting directly behind where he had opened his eyes, which explained why he had been late to notice him. “I will concern myself with whatever I wish,” the Blacksmith told him, “I see you met my greatest work. My first and only successful Blade. I would love to grant you the same power. You have the makings of a fine weapon.”

  “No thank you,” Soral refused immediately, “I have no intention of enabling your evil ways, nor would I obey any of your commands.”

  “A pity,” the Blacksmith said, rising from his seat, “In that case, enjoy your stay, and I shall speak to you later.”

  He brushed past and left the room, in a manner all too similar to the way that Velcorna had left earlier in his other instance. This time, though, he had no reason to fake decorum and stand still this time. He jumped forward and slipped out the open door ahead of the Blacksmith with a suspicious lack of resistance.

  As he slipped past, he felt a small sting in his arm, and the Blacksmith’s thoughts filled his mind clearly. It was a trap from the start. The Blacksmith had intended to collect a sample from the beginning, since he had known containing Soral was likely impossible. The moment he got it, the Blacksmith made sure to vanish from the scene. He was more masterful in escaping than Soral was.

  Should he follow him? No, he might be walking into a more dangerous trap. Instead, he wanted to check on the boy again. He would do whatever it took to make sure the Blacksmith lost his hold on his mind. If he could free the only living weapon the Blacksmith approved of, that would at least be a start.

  It didn’t take him long to find the cage he had seen before, but the boy wasn’t there. In his stead was a wispy form that seemed to be made out of darkness itself save for its glowing slitted eyes. The being resembled a cloaked form of similar size to the boy from earlier, and it definitely noticed Soral’s approach.

  “You’ve returned,” it noted in a voice somewhere between the boy’s and a nightmarish abyss, “You won’t find him here. That man moved him.”

  “Why are you here?” Soral asked.

  “I was waiting for you,” the being replied, “I believe we can help each other with our mutual goal.”

  “And what is that?” Soral asked, a bit warily. He could not hear the thoughts of this thing which made him feel blind in a way.

  “The permanent disappearance of the Blacksmith.”