Seeing his daughter’s distress, a crafty gleam came to the duke’s beady rat-like eyes. He had no scruples about using his daughter's distraught state to further his own goals. In an incredibly cold fashion, he replied,

“If you want my help finding them, you must swear to marry a man of my choosing,” he replied.

“F-father you cannot be serious. Two of the servants in your household are missing! Aside from the fact that Baine has been loyal to you for years, it will make you look awful when people find out you did nothing to find them!” Marie exclaimed stuttering slightly from shock.

Seeing the malicious glint in her father's eyes, she slowly backed away from him.

“Oh, but I most certainly am Marie. And they are just servants no one will truly miss them.”

He said waving his hand in an unconcerned manner. Unable to stand any more of his self-centeredness, Marie turned and fled, tears still making silvery tracks on her cheeks. She paused only long enough in her room to change into a brown and green tunic and pants of the same color, and then she snuck out past the guard.

Once she was safely within the shelter of the forest, and sure that she was not being followed she headed to what she thought of as her thinking spot. It wasn’t much, just a small bit of flat grassy ground by a clear babbling brook with an old oak tree in the center, but to Marie, the peace and solitude it provided her was more valuable than any of her father’s treasure. Despite her distress, she remembered to check her surroundings once more before sitting down in the knee-high green grass. Shifting around on the ground till she felt comfortable, Marie assumed a crossed-legged meditative pose.

She smiled weakly for a moment as a little blue bird landed in the oak tree in front of her. A few moments later it flew away and she felt more tears threatening to spill as she remembered her father's callous behavior. Marie closed her eyes and breathed in and out deeply, trying to calm herself. Once she was centered, she reluctantly made her way back to the duke’s home, sneaking in through a dank, rarely-used servant’s passage. It smelled of mildew and mold but Maire had never minded in the slightest. On the contrary, she was grateful to have found the little passage as it allowed her to sneak out for the occasional nighttime training session with Carline.

When she reached the end of the passageway her nimble fingers easily found the small lever that opened the hidden door. Opening the door a fraction Marie peered out of the opening thin opening carefully. Seeing that no one, she opened the door a bit further and shut it as soon as she was outside. Marie managed to slip quietly into her room, half surprised that her father had not posted a guard there after her earlier outburst. She picked a few leaves off of her tunic, happy that her reckless dash through the woods had not done any irreparable damage to it. However, after picking off another couple of leaves she frowned. In the left leg of her pants was a small tear.

"I will have to stitch that up before I use these again or the hole will just get bigger."

Marie grimaced in distaste, sewing was one of her least favorite activities. A few minutes after her discovery, there was a brisk knock on the door.

“Come in Carline,” Marie said, recognizing her mentor's knock.

Carline wasted no time coming in and once she was inside, she bolted the door. Feeling slightly anxious Marie asked,

“Carline is everything okay?”

" You’re asking ME if everything is, okay?” Carline shouted.

Taken by surprise at her vehement tone Marie flinched. Carline, however, was not done.

“First you decide to go running out of the Duke’s receiving chamber! Then you disappear for over an hour! Do you have any idea how worried I was!?” Carline continued, her voice breaking on the last sentence.

Marie’s mouth hung open in shock. She had known Carline since she was only 4 years old. Carline had been a close friend of Marie’s mother, and when she died, a brokenhearted ten-year-old Marie sought out comfort from Carline, causing the two to grow even closer. Despite this, the usually stony countenanced Carline had never hinted that her feelings had grown so strong for her young charge.

“I-” Marie stuttered unable to come up with a response.

She threw her arms around the woman who had been her mentor and the closest thing she had had to a mother, and Carline held her close, her anger forgotten. Stroking Marie’s hair softly, in a maternal gesture that surprised both of them, Carline led Marie to her bed. Then seeing the clothes she was in, Carline deftly picked up the nightgown Marie had thrown on the floor that morning and helped her into after she had gotten out of her tunic and pants. Deciding that she had pampered her student enough, Carline said,

“You had better get some sleep Marie, after all, you’ll have a loooooong day tomorrow.”

Marie's face contorted into a pained expression and Carline chucked lightly as Marie groaned,

“Please don’t remind me, I am not looking forward to all of these stupid one on one's at all.”

She flopped onto her back, staring at the ceiling as though staring at it long enough would fix all of her problems.

In a more serious but soothing tone, Carline added,

“And don’t worry too much about Baine and Nadasia Marie, one way or another we’ll find them.”

“Good night Carline.”

“Good dreams Marie,” Carline replied.

She was quiet for a moment, seeming to be thinking deeply if the creases in her brow were any indication. She said nothing, however, and tapped Marie's light crystal gently. Then she slipped out the door and headed for her own quarters. Only seconds after Carline left, Marie was fast asleep.