So when she opened the door to this gentle looking young man, she wasn't surprised, thought she never had a clue show up on her doorstep like this before. Tristan always came searching for the next direction. This was different, this boy, a boy who must be connected to the girl she was after, came directly to her.

She jerked her head out of the house upon hearing a cry from the woods. She didn't expect the Hedge Riders to return, ever. Her deepest fear at the moment was that she hadn't properly protected her cottage with incantations. The King's Legion was after her.

She had murdered the king, after all.

She wasn't safe now, and wouldn't be safe again. She forfeited her dream of living her days in the Hedge the moment she showered the king with her potion, rendering him void of a soul. Void of life.

Rendering him dead.

The boy called back toward the scream, "Emel! What is it? I'm getting us help!"

Tamsin swallowed, it was a girl. Not the king's men. She was safe. For now.

"Come in child. Come in and have supper." Tamsin spoke gently, longing to understand the connection between the boy and the Princess.

"Henri, it's not safe here. We must go. Now!" The girl was now on the path to Tamsin's cottage, and she grabbed the boy's hand trying to drag him away with her.

Tamsin eyed her quickly, and realized she was a Boheme girl. Instantly she felt a heat pass between them. This girl was divine. A devins-guerisseur much like her, but so different.

She was of the old world. From pure magic. Magic not able to conjure other realms. Invoking darkness was beyond her abilities.

Tamsin knew this girl sensed the dark magic. Which is why she cried, warning the boy. Warning the boy against her. Tamsin was now firmly planted on the dark side, even if all she wanted was to be pure. She shriveled inside at the realization that she had become the enemy. She was the threat.

"It's alright, I swear unto you. We want the same thing."

The girl tugged at the boy's arm, who stood motionless, confused at her cries.

"What is it, Emel? She offered us dinner and we need directions. Are you wary of people unlike you?" He spoke softly, with care.

"No. I'm not wary of people who are different than me. I am wary of her. She's bad. She's a dark magic-maker. We shouldn't be here."

"Are you sure?" He didn't appear to take the girls claim seriously. He cocked his head to the side with a raised brow, giving Tamsin the opening she was looking for.

"It's true; I make magic. I'm a healer, but I'm good soul. Many bad forces lurk in the woods, but not I, surely you know that, my dear." Tamsin tried to dismiss Emel's claims.

She wouldn't take the bait.

"No. Henri, I saw it in my crystal ball." The girl urged her friend in a near whisper. Tamsin leaned forward to catch each word. "I swear it."

Henri looked at Emel, clearly not taking heed to her warnings.

"Emel, now is not the time to try and impress me. I didn't mean to mock your abilities earlier. I believe you will be greater than Miora one day, but for now, let us allow this woman to help us." Henri beamed sweetly, albeit a tad condescending for Tamsin's taste.

"You don't understand," Emel's eyes filled with watery tears and Tamsin watched nervously as the two strangers stood debating her merits on her own front porch.

"Just allow me one meal here, then we can go on our merry way," Henri said with a satisfying smile.

"I feel like I don't know you at all, Henri," the girl said.

"You don't."

He didn't say it rudely, but it felt, to Tamsin, that a thread they didn't entirely understand connected these two. That perhaps neither was as the other imagined.

The girl nodded, not begrudging the boy for disagreeing.

"So you will stay for dinner, then?" Tamsin asked, opening the door wide for them to both enter.

Remy snored loudly on the couch, a result of Tamsin's strong antidote for his cough. She'd perfected it and he no longer coughed blood or shards of stone. He was improving.

Of course, their screaming argument after the king's death helped wear him out as well.

All the windows were swung open to let the summer air in the house. Tamsin summoned the good ambiances at her fingertips. Tension in the house rose high enough to fill the king's vault.

"Supper, then? I have a beet salad, roasted chicken...." Tamsin ticked off the list as the two guests walked nervously into the house, absorbing the newness of the space.

"Sorry, I should have introduced myself. I'm Tamsin and that gentleman, over there snoring, is Remy. This is my tiny cottage in the woods. I rarely get any visitors so this is quite a surprise." Tamsin wiped her hands anxiously on her apron.

"I'm Henri," the boy moved toward her, extending his hand to shake hers. "And this is Emel."

"Pleased to meet you."

"Likewise," Henri said, looking at Emel, who bit her lip with darting eyes, clearly uncomfortable in this space she deemed unsanctioned by her crystal ball. "We're lost. We were in the Vallee, trying to make it to the North Montagne ... but we became a bit turned upside down. It would be grand if you helped us right ourselves up a bit."

He had bright eyes, clearly an easygoing fellow. Tamsin thought he'd drive Tristan crazy with his optimism.

"Of course I will help you." Tamsin began dishing plates of food for her guests and set them on her small table, "Sit, and eat, please, and tell me what two young folk like yourself are doing so far from home?"

Remy stirred from the couch and Tamsin turned from the table to put on the teakettle to make him another elixir. She tried not to appear desperate to understand the connection with Henri and busied herself instead.

"Oh, well we have a friend in the North. We wanted to go visit her," Henri said. Tamsin saw Emel kick him from under the table. A grimace shot across his face as he scowled at the girl.

"Well, that's lovely. It is a good time of year to travel. The roads are good. Clear at least. The winters can be so dreadful up this high." She poured the tea for Remy. "I'm giving this tea to my friend, but keep eating, I'll be back."

Tamsin carried the mug to Remy, leaving the children to eat. The girl bent over the table quickly and began whispering to the boy. Shaking her worries off, Tamsin leaned over Remy, propping his back with a pillow. "Here's another tea for you."

With Remy propped up on the couch, and Tamsin's back turned from the table, there was a brief moment where they spoke without listening ears.

Remy looked wearily at the guests. "Tamsin, what are you doing now? What if they're spies?"

"I don't know what they are, but I know they aren't spies. I have a feeling, Remy. They're connected to the girl. The one who was with Tristan."

Remy closed his eyes, her words obviously made him unhappy.

"Tamsin, I can't get into this with you again. I'm here because I can't leave. I am an accomplice to the king's murder." His voice was quiet, but the anger still pierced through. "And whatever magie noire you've done, you must stop meddling. You think you made a mistake by following the king's orders seventeen years ago? What else could you have done that night? Stop punishing yourself. Let the idea of saving the girl go."

It was the same fight they'd had earlier, after the Hedge Riders left to lay to rest the man and beast slayed by the king's orders. Remy wanted to understand, and Tamsin had to give him credit for trying.

The part that destroyed her was knowing the reason he stayed was because he couldn't leave. If he tried to go, the King's Legion would find him and charge him with treason. Order him to die. Tamsin blamed herself that he was mixed up with this at all. It hadn't been his choice yet he was forced to remain a prisoner in the cottage.

"Tristan will come back here; I know he will." Tamsin tried to convince them both. Things would be different if I hadn't ruined everything with the Hedge."

She should have sacrificed her life years ago, avoided all of this. Refused to help the king. If only everything had been different.

They heard the chairs screech against the hardwood floor, and Tamsin stood with a fake smile plastered on her face. She looked at Remy as the two children walked in the room.

"I will stay with you, Tamsin, do not worry about that." Remy took her hand in his. She shook her head, not able to believe his tender words. Words that changed everything for her.

Her secrets were laid out for him, the reason she had spent so many years in this forest alone.

Still, he stayed.

They shook themselves out of their momentary reverie, as the chairs in the kitchen scratched against the hard wood floor.

"'Scuse us, the meal was wonderful," Henri interrupted, but Tamsin could hardly focus. Her eyes filled with tears as she gripped Remy's hand tighter. "It was hearty ... and unique...." Henri continued, awkward in the silence. "Also, the night is falling fast, perhaps...."

Remy pushed himself up from the couch, the elixir apparently having worked as Tamsin hoped.

He spoke, "Alright, boy, we have some talking to do. It's no coincidence you are here. We were brought together, all of us. It's time we talked truthfully."

Tamsin sat in her chair, relieved at Remy's ability to take control of the situation. She didn't know where to begin with this boy. Didn't know how to begin wading from the murk that swallowed her.

Remy did.

"Who is this friend in the North you are looking for?" Remy asked.

Tamsin smiled, he had heard more than he let on when he slept on the couch. He heard her worry, her unspoken fears. He heard her trepidation when she skirted out of the kitchen.

He heard her.

"Uhh, we were looking for a friend...." Henri stammered and shot daggers at Emel who stood there clearly unhappy with this situation, and had probably made him promise to not speak to her.

"Emel, can I ask you something?" Tamsin began. The girl nodded her head yes. "Is your crystal ball in the wagon?"

Emel nodded her head again.

"Can you bring it in here?"

Emel took a deep breath, "My people are not like you. The woman who taught me the divination I know, taught me that those who deal with other realms are not to be trusted. That is you." She swallowed. "I'm not trying to be mean, or rude, or anything, and your home doesn't look like the scary sorciere grottos I heard as a little girl. Still, it feels like a betrayal of Miora to help you."

Tamsin nodded, understanding what Emel spoke. Still, she knew they could find the Princess if Emel helped search the country with her crystal ball if their cunning eyes worked together.

"Look," Remy began again. "We can't skirt the issue any longer. Tamsin's being too gentle. We're looking for the same girl. Your girl is also our girl; at least we are pretty sure."

"That's impossible," Henri began. "Sophie has never come to this part of the country before. She's in the North and you don't know her!"

"It is possible though. I sensed you coming before you arrived. Her name is Sophie?" Tamsin asked, wringing her hands together. She had to find her.

"Do you know her mother?" Tamsin asked him.

"Of course," he guffawed, taking it as insult. "I was with her mother Francesca this morning."

"You're sure it is her true mother?" Tamsin pressed.

Henri's eyes darted to hers the moment the question was in the air. Tamsin saw it written on his face ... Sophie didn't know her biological parents.

"How do you...? Are you her...?" His voice cracked.

"No, I'm not her mother, but I know who is. Her mother is the Queen of Gemmes."

The words were bold, but they were also true. Henri's eyes widened and he sat on the settee next to Remy, speechless.

Emel stiffened and set her lips together, firmly.

"I think it's time I go and get my crystal ball," she announced.

Queen Cozette Palace Royale, eclat, Gemmes She stood in the center of the room, breathtaking in her regality, addressing them. Her twelve most trusted advisors, including Drake and Nicolette, listened closely.

"We must go forward with the ceremony. The riots will continue, whether we do or not."

"I don't mean to disagree with you, Your Highness, but we can't leave the Palace. This is a bit of a hostage situation."

Cozette heard what Drake said; words repeated in various ways for the past few hours. Marcus's funeral procession was meant to begin in an hour, yet it proved an impossible task.

Gemmes was on the verge of chaos. She could never predicted their reaction to her husband's death. Sure, she knew miners were sick, struggling to live with the Coffre au Tresor. Overworked and under paid. She had spent several days recently listening to the representatives expressing the things they needed.

She had heard their requests for necessities such as clothing, education, and healthcare. Of course then she had seen it all through rose-colored glasses. Peasants had asked the queen to fulfill their needs. She'd sat upon her gilded throne, sweetly answering them.

She hadn't looked closely enough to see the pain in their eyes, she hadn't heard their children at home crying of hunger, or seen the tears spilled over the death of their papas. Her naivety blinded her from the truth.

Now she saw Marcus's recklessness for what it was. His greed impoverished them all. Marcus suggested a ball, per Drakes suggestion when what the country actually needed was an overhaul of the very way they supported themselves. Firstly, paying fair wages and researching new medicine before all the men they needed to mine died. What then? Cozette was broke over the absurdity of their planning.

It was juvenile and shortsighted.

Cozette had spent seventeen years never fully owning her role as queen. A strength in her long forgotten began to surface. She knew what needed to be done, and she would do it.

"Then we will have the ceremony here, in the Palace walls, under the pavilion. Thank the Hedge the weather is good and that the walls are high. Rioters won't be able to scale them."

"I am so sorry, Your Majesty," began Drake. "If we'd had known the Provinces were in such upheaval we never would have...."

"Never have what, Drake?" she implored him to answer, her brow creased as she attempted to see. She wanted to understand when things had grown so corrupt. "The people would have rioted regardless. Marcus's death was the thing to put them over the edge. It wasn't your fault." Her words to him were sincere, but she couldn't help look at Drake differently. Why had he not advised more wisely?

"We never would have let things get so out of hand if we'd known."

"That in itself is the exact problem, don't you see?" Cozette shook her head, frustrated with her husband's oldest friend. "You want change if it serves you. What about the people? The people of Gemmes?"

Cozette heard the crowds outside the Palace, chanting and screaming, wanting to tear down the monarchy that had failed them. Cozette didn't blame them for a moment.

The doors to the waiting room swung open and Scarlet ran in, passing the typical decorum with urgency that required haste.