They left immediately. With the Queen's Men guiding them, the caravan crossed the remainder of the Great Prairie and entered a much more heavily-populated land, full of farms and villages. The villages, which grew larger and larger as they made their way west, reminded Arai of the villages he had seen in eastern Addis -- these were smart, orderly settlements, well-plotted, with straight roads, and the people seemed relatively prosperous.

  Everyone was excited about this improbable caravan from the east. The word spread quickly, from one village to the next, and they were greeted by mobs of people wherever they went. Some of Lady Melei's merchants wanted to begin selling their merchandise to these eager folks, but the Queen's Men advised against it -- it was an old Elentish tradition that the queen be given the first opportunity to purchase trade goods from the east. Lady Melei was fine with this; she was looking forward to meeting the queen in any case.

  Queen Alfaze was still the reigning monarch, according to the Queen's Men, and was reportedly in good health. Arai also learned that Balbaroy had declared war on Arl's Trust, and that there had been a major fire in Holybell over a year ago. Unfortunately the men knew nothing about the current state of Velon; in fact only one of the Queen's Men had even heard of the place. And as far as he knew, that unfortunate little kingdom was still ruled by the Night Queen.

  It was frustrating. Arai was desperate to know what was going on in Velon -- had Lord Pierce been defeated? Had the Steelmen returned to the Holy Empire? Had the government completely collapsed? Had the Al'mud taken advantage of the situation? But no one he spoke to knew anything. It wasn't really surprising -- Velon was a small and rather unimportant kingdom, and for the last hundred years it had been closed to outsiders -- but it was frustrating.

  The great city of Palais soon appeared on the horizon. This was an enormous city, the largest in Elent, full of tall towers and huge domed edifices called echolai; it was in these huge, sound-conducting domes that the Elentish people worshipped their gods. Arai had never been inside an echolai, but he had heard stories about them from his father -- apparently the Elentish believed that their gods spoke to them through echoes and whispers, and they designed the echolai to amplify these sounds.

  The city was situated on the shores of the Elent Sea, a huge freshwater lake. The lake was full of boats, and in the hazy distance Arai could just make out a large island -- Rook Island, he supposed, the sacred island upon whose shores the queens of Elent were formally crowned. Seagulls and pelicans soared in the skies above. It was an impressive sight.

  They were two or three miles outside of the city when a band of soldiers -- at least, they appeared to be soldiers; two or three of them wore the colors of the Queen's Men -- suddenly came riding up to them. They were heavily armed, equipped with lances, swords, and shields. And when they got close, Arai -- who was piloting one of the wagons -- saw that their leader was a woman.

  She was perhaps forty years old. Her hair was black, streaked with silver, and tied up in a bun; her eyes were also dark, and she was dressed in dark colors -- a midnight-blue shawl thrown over a dark dress. She wore an elaborate necklace made of lapus lazuli around her neck. She was obviously a person of some importance.

  The first thing she said to Lady Melei, who rode ahead to greet her, was, "Where is she?"

  "I beg your pardon?"

  "The woman, the assassin, the one who killed my sister. Bring her before me."

  Lady Melei was unruffled. "To whom do I have the honor of speaking?" she asked, calmly and politely.

  The woman narrowed her eyes. "I am Yasmin, the Crown Princess of Elent, the Orb-Bearer, the Princess of Rook and Sceptre."

  "It is my great honor to meet you, Princess," Melei said, inclining her head. "My name is Melei. I am the leader of this expedition."

  "Yes, yes," she said impatiently. "Where is she?"

  "I assume you're speaking of Nessa, the woman we captured in the Riven Mountains. What do you want with her?"

  "I want you to hand her over to me."

  Lady Melei frowned. "What are you going to do with her?"

  "That's none of your concern. Hand her over to me at once, or I'll have you all arrested."

  Melei's frown deepened. "This is Elentish hospitality?" She called forward one of the Queen's Men who had accompanied them from Rose Town. "Is this woman really Princess Yasmin?"

  "Ah, yes, I believe so, my lady," he answered nervously.

  "I was instructed to turn Nessa over to Queen Alfaze," she went on. "Does the princess have jurisdiction in this matter?"

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  "Possibly," he admitted, still sounding rather nervous. "Prisoners are usually handled by the Queen's Men or the Officers of Parliament, but we're dealing with a very special prisoner here, after all -- the assassin who murdered Princess Nattali. I wouldn't be surprised to learn that an exception had been made."

  "Very well." She nodded to Sir Pallas and Sir Remnick, who returned a moment later with the blonde-haired prisoner, who was bound hand and foot. Nessa said nothing, but gave them all icy looks.

  "Take her," Yasmin ordered her men, and they complied, putting Nessa on a horse with one of the Queen's Men. And without so much as a parting nod, the princess and her men rode off, back to the city.

  "That was not a promising beginning," Lady Melei muttered. "And first impressions are very important."

  "What do you suppose that was about?" Lillandra asked Arai.

  "I don't know. At least we're finally rid of her, though. The woman is dangerous."

  "You don't have to tell me."

  They continued on, and just as they were about to enter the city they were approached by another contingent of Queen's Men -- a much larger contingent, of thirty or forty men, all of whom were wearing clean dress uniforms. At first Arai thought they were in trouble, but one of the men quickly explained the situation -- Queen Alfaze had sent them to serve as the caravan's honor guard, as they made their way through the city; they were to be immediately escorted to the Akane Palace for a meeting with the queen herself. Lady Melei, worried about the impression she had made on Princess Yasmin, was delighted to hear it.

  By the time they made it to the White Road -- a wide boulevard which ran right to the Palace's front doors -- they were surrounded by cheering crowds. Hundreds of people had gathered along the sides of the road to watch the procession; some of them even threw flower petals at their feet. "Now this is more like it," Arai heard Lady Melei say at one point. She waved to the crowds.

  After the wagons entered the palace grounds, the gates were closed behind them, and the expedition's leaders were invited to meet with Queen Alfaze. Lady Melei chose Sir Estil, Sir Farrow, the alchemist Hiero, her sorcerer Damon, and Arai to accompany her, the latter because he was the only one of them who had some understanding of the customs and history of Elent. Arai wanted Lillandra to join them as well, but Damon thought it unwise; he was afraid that Lillandra's sorcerous strength -- which she could not fully disguise -- might alarm them. "It's all right," Lillandra said. "I understand. I had no particular interest in meeting the queen anyway."

  Arai shrugged and followed the others into the Palace -- a huge, opulent construction of mirror and crystal. They were led through the doors and into a long, carpeted hallway, and finally into what Arai took to be the throne room. The walls were covered in amber and gold, and there were windows built into the ceiling which allowed the sun to shine inside. It was so bright that Arai had to blink.

  Sitting upon an elaborate throne, dressed in regal robes and wearing a silver crown, and surrounded by couriers, was Queen Alfaze. She was an older woman, in her sixties, with silver hair and dark, penetrating eyes -- it took Arai a moment to spot it, but he eventually found the resemblance to Princess Yasmin. She gave the travelers an ingratiating smile when they entered the room, but did not speak.

  Lady Melei introduced herself, with as much grace and charm as she could muster. "I am Melei," she greeted, giving the queen a deep bow. "The daughter of Lord Jaymes of Tax Trium, and a cousin of King Arthorius of Galleus. I am the leader of this expedition, and I extend to you our warmest greetings, Queen Alfaze."

  The queen blinked at her, surprised. "I did not expect you to speak Elentish."

  "One of our party cast a certain spell on me, which gave me command of your language."

  "Curious." She smiled again. "I bid you welcome to the Queendom of Elent, Lady Melei, and I would like to offer my sincere congratulations for having successfully crossed the Scarred Lands. It could not have been easy. Yours is the first trading expedition to have crossed the desert in many, many years."

  "Thank you."

  "I look forward to seeing what you have for sale," she continued, "and I look forward to learning more about your country. We are not entirely ignorant of Galleus, but it has been a long time since we have received any reliable news from the east."

  "I would be happy to tell you everything I know."

  "Excellent. In the meantime, you and your people are our honored guests. We will prepare rooms for you here in the palace. If there's anything you require, please let us know. Minister D'mai?"

  One of the queen's couriers, a very proper-looking gentleman wearing a blue frock coat, stepped forward. He had slicked-back hair and wore a pair of spectacles on his nose. "Yes, your Majesty?"

  "You will make the arrangements?"

  "Of course. Let's get you settled in. This way, please."

  They were shown to their rooms. Arai, as part of Lady Melei's entourage, was given a room and a bed of his own, which felt strange; he hadn't slept in a proper bed in months. It also made him feel guilty, staying in these fine accommodations while Lillandra, Shell, and the rest of Melei's knights and merchants were stuck with the wagons. "But I suppose it would be rude to say anything about it now," he muttered to Sir Estil.

  Lady Melei had a private meeting with Queen Alfaze that evening, while Minister D'mai gave the others a tour of Akane Palace. D'mai, who was Queen Alfaze's chief advisor, was a friendly, charming man, and he patiently answered all of their questions. Because he seemed especially knowledgeable about foreign affairs, Arai asked him if he knew anything about the political situation in Velon.

  "Velon?" He frowned. "As far as I know the sorceress still rules there -- the Night Queen, they call her. But I have no direct knowledge of that country, I'm afraid. The Queendom used to send ships there, many, many years ago, but since the Night Queen took over we've given up on trade, and the states of the Holy Empire would prefer that we stay away; I suppose they're afraid of us finding allies in the far north. Why do you ask? What is Velon to you?"

  "Home," he said quietly.

  While they were speaking, a messenger of some kind suddenly ran up to D'mai and whispered something in his ear. "Are you sure?" D'mai asked, his eyes widening. "Damn it. I was afraid something like this might happen. Put the guards on double shifts, and make sure the City Watch seals the gates tonight. I don't want anyone getting in or out."

  "What's happened?" Arai asked.

  "Your prisoner," he muttered. "It seems she's escaped."