The next morning Will and Ilicia awoke to find a messenger waiting for them. With the help of her lady’s maids Ilicia dressed quickly and stepped out of the room and into step with Will who now wore the black form-fitted leather of his armor. Agrana fell in behind them.
"What do you think it might be?" Ilicia asked, placing her hand in the crook of Will's right arm.
"I don't know, but the fact the messenger was sent to both of us, tells me it's probably from your father. Maybe he has another mission for us." Will said.
They walked in silence, until they got to the audience hall at the front of the home. There waited Got'Ro and Yilan with a man wearing livery of the Kolt Kingdom. When the messenger laid eyes on the princess, he dropped to one knee.
"Princess Ilicia, it is good to see you well. I will be happy to tell your father as much." The messenger said.
"Is my father well?" Ilicia asked. "You may rise."
"Thank you Princess." The messenger stood. "When I departed, yes the King and Queen both were well. Prince Kale also asked to wish you well. But this is all in addition to the reason why I was dispatched. The King has requested that the two of you return with all haste. There have been several attacks on the kingdom, and with the capture of several of the enemy, new information on Viltar has come to light."
The entire room suddenly felt icy as Will's gaze happened to a blade’s edge and he stared at the man with a frightening intensity. "What exactly was said."
Even Ilicia felt a shiver run up her spine as Will spoke those words. She could only guess how the messenger was feeling.
"Umm, well, the King told me to tell you there had been a development, and that he now has some solid information regarding Viltar's possible location. Otherwise he said very little to me. Sorry..." The young man was almost cowering as he finished.
Will's gaze held the man for a few more moments before he took a deep breath and closed his eyes. Will opened his eyes once more and patted the messenger on the shoulder. "Thank you, I am sorry for how I reacted."
"No problem." The messenger said as he recomposed himself. "I am to accompany you back to the kingdom if you are ready to depart."
Will turned to Ilicia. "Well Ilicia, it’s up to you, my training is complete. If you wish to remain for a while, I will do my best to let you take your time, but I cannot promise that I won't pressure you to head out." Will said all of this very bluntly. "If, however, you are ready to head out, I will take us via the elf stones, and we can be back in the kingdom in three days."
The messenger's mouth fell open. "Three days! Wha...." His voice faded to silence as he remembered who he was in the company of.
Ilicia thought for a moment, then nodded. "I am ready, I believe I have learned all that I can. The remainder is just practice and I can do that anywhere."
"Thank you." Will said, the relief in his tone betraying how much he wanted to be off after Viltar. Will turned to his grandparents. "Ye-Wa, Grandfather, we will be departing."
"Tomorrow." Yilan interjected, "You must pack and give Agrana time to get her things together, and I need some time with Ilicia. So you will leave tomorrow."
"I..." Will began to object but a look from both his grandparents took the wind from his sails. "Very well. Tomorrow."
The day was spent in hurried preparations. Will went to each of the Gob'Ran's best smiths and got their finest weapons, and then spent the remainder of the day talking with his grandfather as he packed. Ilicia packed first, leaving out traveling clothes for the journey tomorrow, and then was summoned to Yilan's library.
When Ilicia sat across from Yilan with Agrana standing outside the door to prevent anyone else from entering, she suddenly felt her stomach doing flips.
Yilan smiled at her and then asked a simple question that Ilicia would have given anything to not answer. "Ilicia, I hear that you spent a fair amount of time chatting with Trina in her kitchen the other day, what did she tell you?"
Ilicia felt bile rising in her throat as she quickly told Yilan what had transpired between the goddes and herself. She looked up at Yilan with tears in her eyes. "I swear I won't hurt him, please don't do anything to make me leave him."
If there was one thing Ilicia had learned in her time here at the collective, it was the simple fact that Yilan Valdesh did not trifle with the protection of her family or her people. So her response surprised Ilicia. Ilicia felt Yilan's arms wrap around her. "Oh child, I would not do such a thing. I know how you feel. You would not have come here to be beaten up for weeks simply for the experience. I also know that, unfortunately, Trina is right more often than not. So in return, I offer you this."
The object Yilan placed in Ilicia's hands was familiar enough, a key ring with several keys. However, as she looked closer, she realized each key was made from a bone. Yilan smiled at the stunned look on Ilicia's face as she explained what the keys were.
"They are called wish keys, each is carved from the rib of a Gilsheribrum by another Gilsheribrum. The magical power that is stored in each key is enough to open a portal from this plane to the next. If the need should ever arise, use these keys to summon demons. They will obey you for about an hour before they return to the plane of fire."
"Yilan, I could never accept these, they are..."
"Oh, nonsense. This is the best possible use for them. Bone magic goes to waste if it is not utilized out of some sense of propriety," Yilan said with a smile, closing Ilicia's hand around the keyring. "Take these keys and use them to protect yourself, your family, and Will."
"Thank you, Yilan." Ilicia said, tucking the keys away in a small pocket on her dress.
"You are welcome! Now, about the real reason I wanted time with you..." Yilan said, her grin turning mischievous, as several handmaids entered the room with boxes and bags.
After a long and very revealing conversation with Yilan, Ilicia felt as if nothing could surprise her as she walked from the library to the hall where a small feast had been prepared in honor of her and Will's departure. She was however wrong when Will seemed to step out of the shadows next to a door, and fell into step next to her.
"So how did the conversation with my grandmother go?" Will asked.
Ilicia's face turned so red, Will worried another demon had come for him as he laughed quietly to himself. "It was...educational?"
"That is fair." Will said, choosing not to press the issue further as Ilicia desperately tried to relax. "Let's eat and have fun tonight then tomorrow we will worry about everything else. Deal?"
"Sure." Ilicia said with a smile.
"Good, now either get a room or walk faster. I am hungry." Agrana said from behind them, eliciting a chuckle from Will who began walking faster.
...
The next morning, the handmaids helped Ilicia dress and then gave her a tearful goodbye as they left her at the entrance to where she was meeting everyone for breakfast. She ate and then moved with Will and Agrana to the Elf Stones where she quickly swore the messenger to secrecy as to what was about to happen.
The party that was departing was larger than Ilicia had thought. Will was standing on the outside of the stones waiting for the others to be ready. Inside the stones Agrana, Ilicia, the messenger, three Ogdesh and their cumulative twelve students, and three members of the shadow guard. All of this was discussed last night at dinner and was expected.
"What are we waiting for?" The messenger asked.
"That." Ilicia said, nodding toward Will as he entered and the illusions around him were stripped away.
"Gods above." The messenger said, his mouth falling open.
"You need to remember one thing," Ilicia said as the black sand began to rise up their legs. "Breathe. Don't forget to breathe."
The messenger screamed as the sand rose over his head.
What felt like moments later, but Ilicia knew to be closer to a day, she felt the sand begin to draw down from her head. When it cleared her head, she looked to the side where the messenger was standing and saw him still staring at Will.
"Remember, you swore to secrecy." Ilicia said to the awestruck messenger.
"Oh, I remember princess." He said as he watched the sand carry Will to the edge of the stones, and then the illusions rebuild themselves. "Wouldn't matter if I did talk anyway, no one would believe me."
The remainder of the day was spent traveling back to the castle. By the time they got there, it was just past sundown. Had the princess not been part of the party, Will doubted the guards would have opened the gate.
After they got settled, Sir Balefor came to get them. "Princess, Will, it is good to see you both safe and sound."
"You as well, Sir Balefor." Ilicia said and Will clapped him on the shoulder.
"I wish it were under different circumstances. We should go. I am sure the King will want to explain to you both what is going on." Sir Balefor turned and walked quickly toward the King's reception hall.
As they walked Will’s brow furrowed and his eyes seemed as if there was a storm brewing behind them. Illicia decided something in that moment, and took his hand to give it a slight squeeze, before placing her hand in the crook of his arm as was propper.
"I'm going with him," Ilicia said to herself, "I'm going with him no matter what anyone says."
They composed themselves and walked into the room where the rest of the royal family waited.
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