"…and for that reason, I was wondering if there was some way that you might be able to help Arthur," Isabella finished, looking between Abigail and Allison. "I know they might be asking a lot, but—"

"You're not asking a lot at all," Allison interrupted, shaking her head. "Trying to save someone's life is noble." She took Abigail's hand. "We'd be happy to help, right?"

Abigail nodded. "I used to think that me and my sister had the most unordinary lives. Even after all this time, I'm still trying to wrap my head around the ability that you and your father possess." She squeezed her sister's hand, then grabbed the teacup in front of her. "I haven't seen the signs of death lingering near Arthur. If he is to die, it might not be soon," she said.

"That was what I was worried about. What if he doesn't die, but becomes paralyzed or something of the sort?" Isabella thumbed her palm. "I've heard that's not entirely uncommon in people that have massive damage to their soul."

"We'll have to find out, won't we? My power is much weaker and infinitely more unpredictable than my sister's," Allison explained. "But the more time I spend with him, the more time I'll have to find out a lifepath for him that's long and happy. I'll be honest. I can't offer any guarantees," she said earnestly, her typical optimistic voice gone. "Death is certain. But life? Life is highly contingent, and often born of death."

Isabella nodded in understanding. "Regardless, if there's anything that can be done… I want to do it. He's done the same for me." She stood up. "If it's not too much trouble, I'd like you to start accompanying him immediately. If I'm right, he's going to travel alongside us to meet the Eagaliteh member that Archduke Felix has scouted out."

"Sure!" Allison agreed with a smile. "Now that dad is back, I have a lot of free time. He tends to want to do everything himself."

"Until then, we have to set some things in motion for the king," Isabella said. "Laying the groundwork for his downfall."

***

Isabella stood beside a map of the kingdom with all of her most trusted confidants: Arthur, Valerio, Gaspar, and now Archduke Felix.

"I have no doubt that Edgar will be endlessly paranoid now that you've slipped free from his grasp," Arthur said. "The one thing that concerned him was when people knew about his secret. From what I know, he'll start each new day with a torture session for those closest to him before resetting. It's to verify their loyalty."

Felix looked aghast upon hearing this, but Isabella stared at the map with arms crossed. "So, it won't be possible to slip an agent into his inner circle."

"Plenty of people can't be broken by torture," Valerio said.

"Is that a risk we need to take?" Gaspar asked. "We should consider planting a spy by him a dead issue. As for sneaking in undetected, I can attest personally that the paladins guarding him are among the most proficient in the world." He shook his head, and then paced around. "Not even the best thief would have a chance at taking a crack at him."

"And we need to capture him alive, not kill him," Isabella reminded them. She leaned over the map, staring at the city of Dovhain. "To tell you the truth, I don't have the faintest idea where we should begin. He sounds beyond paranoid."

"The visit with the Eagaliteh member might be our best opportunity," Valerio said thoughtfully, scratching his chin. Arthur looked at him in annoyance, and Valerio continued, "Don't look at me like that. You thought that nothing could be done to circumvent the wasting illness, but who do you see standing loud and proud before you?"

Arthur conceded the point with a shrug and raise of his brows. "My mother told me that the people that delve too deep into magic are all irredeemable monsters. At a certain point, you can't help but abandon your humanity If you want a step into further realms. And once you've taken that step, you're not stopping at one. That's if they're even real. Frankly, I have my doubts," Arthur said with a shake of his head.

"Still, a monster sounds like precisely the sort of person that might be able to help us out with our own monster," Valerio said hopefully.

"I have to agree with Arthur. It may not be real," Felix argued. "The rumor is thin. Enough to follow up on, but… I find these things tend to end as disappointments."

"Still," Isabella said. "Unless we intend to try some desperate scheme with little chance of success, there's no certainty." She tapped the map for a few moments. "I'd like to think things through further. Still, I have something I'd like to discuss with each of you, if you could make some time later."

All of them nodded.

***

"You really have to ask me? You know who I am," Valerio said, carving up the meat for their lunch. Meat was plentiful in the north, where crops didn't take especially well. "Bernadetta hurt you. She deserves to die."

"You said yourself that revenge didn't make you feel satisfied," Isabella pointed out.

"Not for long, I said. There was some satisfaction," Valerio corrected, then paused to eat. Once he was done chewing, he added, "Think of it like a treat. A meal."

"I'm not fond of violence. I'm speaking of practicality," Isabella continued.

"Invert the problem, then," Valerio said. "What's lost from killing her? What's gained from keeping her alive?"

"Her mind is lost," Isabella said. "Her talents. Her connections."

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"That's neutral, at best," Valerio argued. "When her talents are used against you, you won't be so optimistic. And what's gained?"

Isabella inhaled. "We have her. We can use her," she insisted.

"Would you trust anything she sets for you?" Valerio pointed out.

Isabella nodded. "She has no reason to hurt us. She's under our control. One wrongly considered move, all of the blowback ends up on her."

"Historically, no one's controlled her," Valerio pointed out. "Not Edgar, not the sages, not anyone. You might never have this chance again."

"No one's understood how potent Bernadetta is, either. We do," Isabella reminded him. As she thought on it more, she knew there was another she should ask.

***

"It's not the worst idea. Bernadetta can help turn the tides so long as it advantages her." Arthur sat on a chair, his legs crossed. The two of them sat on a balcony overlooking the river—Isabella sat behind curtains in a heavy fur cloak, so that none beyond could spy them even if they tried. "I worked with her. It turned out fine."

"Besides the fact that you're dying," Isabella reminded him.

"That was my own doing." Arthur stood. "She's nothing like Edgar. There's no cruelty for cruelty's sake. She's no worse than your lover in terms of morality, frankly. He's killed people that haven't necessarily deserved it for his selfish aims. That's what being a pirate is, no?"

Isabella blinked. That put things into perspective.

"Besides, I'm just as guilty as she is in killing you," Arthur reminded her.

"But you knew it wasn't the end," Isabella pointed out.

"True." Arthur conjured fire, and it danced through his hands as he rubbed them together for warmth. "And the person you're talking to in that dungeon also didn't kill you. She's innocent… of that, at least."

Isabella leaned in. "Do you think she wouldn't?"

"Just saying she didn't."

Isabella sighed. "So… you're for sparing her life?"

Arthur looked over, then nodded. "We know what she's capable of. Everyone else underestimated her. She was never this powerful being—always someone that survived by being useful. Why can't we use that? String her along, wring her dry of her talent. That's the smart thing to do. We just have to be wary of her, that's all."

Isabella fell back into the chair, watching her breath mist up into the air.

***

Isabella walked with a cowl over her head through the palace of the archduke side-by-side with Knight-Commander Gaspar.

"I know how you feel," Gaspar said. "Every second that Pius spent in that cell… I can't deny a little bit of concern. When I learned that Claude was actively talking with him, it felt inevitable that his escape would follow." He looked at her. "But he's dead, now. Edgar took care of him."

"Pius still managed to do plenty of damage."

"Because the one receiving his advice was King Claude. I daresay that you're slightly sharper than he was," Gaspar said dryly.

"I don't think that's true," Isabella said just as seriously. "His problem was character, not intelligence. Even if that is true, it's a bad mindset to have."

Gaspar stopped. "I'm getting the sense that this is about more than practicality alone."

"I can't deny I feel some sympathy for her. To do anything necessary to survive… if I were her, would I have killed me?" Isabella questioned. "I can't quickly answer 'no.' I asked why she never left, and she suggested it was by choice… but I have my doubts about that."

"You said she told you mercy was worthless," Gaspar said. "Why not believe what she says when she says it right to your face?"

Isabella paused, then couldn't help but smile. "Do you have any idea what it's like to have a helping hand extended to you in your hour of need? When you're adrift, nearly dead, asking why you even bother going onward… and someone does you a kindness without expecting anything in return?"

Valerio was on her mind. He had done that for her—taking that chance.

"What good is retribution?" Isabella continued to muse. "Isn't mercy always preferable? Can showing mercy ever be 'wrong?' You give them a chance for peace. Even if they tell you they're to spit on your mercy, shouldn't you still give it? Isn't the chance of peace better than the certainty of violence?"

"That is what the faith says," Gaspar concurred.

"But you and I have both learned that what the faith says may not matter when it comes to ruling properly," Isabella pointed out. "And Edgar… someone like that… I couldn't show him mercy. It's simply not possible."

They made it to the end of the hall, and Gaspar stopped. "I don't have the answers."

Isabella sighed. As she looked, she spotted something white. Her eyes widened when she spotted a tremendously white wolf. "Gaspar, there's…!" she began.

Gaspar turned his head, and then drew his sword immediately. The wolf watched him, and Isabella recalled what Valerio had taught her to conjure fire. Gaspar stepped forward, but as Isabella realized what it was, she grabbed his arm.

"That's someone's familiar," Isabella said.

Gaspar wrenched his arm free. "It could be one of the spies from the king."

The wolf stayed sitting. It leaned down, placing a scroll in its mouth upon the floor. "The owner of this palace delivered a message to me on your behalf," it said, with a rich and deep woman's voice. "Here is my reply. You may visit with me if you please. I dislike conversing with large groups, so I will allow only one of you to see me. Read this scroll for guidance to my home."

The wolf faded away instantly, and Gaspar ran into the location where it'd been. Isabella watched with wonder. That familiar certainly wasn't ordinary. Indeed, nothing that she had ever seen compared to it. In fact, she didn't sense the presence of magic at all. Odd.

"If that was a spy, we can't stay here," Gaspar insisted.

Isabella walked forward and picked up the paper. Moments later, Arthur stormed into the corridor, carried by winds.

"Don't open it! That has dangerous magic," he shouted. He looked beyond panicked. He snatched the scroll from her hand.

"What was that?" Gaspar demanded. "Did someone break past your barriers, Arthur?"

"It… I don't know what it was," he defended, clearly still shocked.

Isabella looked at the paper in intrigue more than concern. "I believe… that was the member of the Eagaliteh that Felix contacted." She looked at him. "It would appear they're real. Real enough to appear right next to me without the highest security imaginable noticing."

All of their eyes fell to that paper.

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