Positioned one level below the king in terms of powers, some argue that the sagehand’s importance rivals that of the king, for a poor sagehand can bring a kingdom to ruin as easily as a tyrannical dictator can. However, others contend that removing a sagehand from power is comparatively easier than dethroning a king.

- The Governments of the Three Kingdoms

“Stop fiddling,” the sagehand muttered in disapproval to Nia as they silently made their way to the stable early in the morning. It was so early that the sun was just rising over the horizon with its bleak rays softening the starry sky.

It was the morning after Nia returned to the capital and met up with the sagehand, and they were preparing to infiltrate into the palace to save Roshana.

Nia was wearing a palace servant’s garb that the old sagehand had given her. Beside her, Khiran wore an identical outfit, his white hair hidden under a cowl.

Nia scowled back at the old sagehand, her eyes still sporting shadows due to a night of bad sleep. “I didn’t exactly leave on happy terms the last time I was here.” She shuddered at the memories. “Maybe this isn’t a good idea…”

Khiran shook his head. “It’s too late to change your mind.”

Nia glared at him but didn’t bother with a rebuttal. With the exception of being kidnapped and nearly sold into slavery a couple of days ago, Nia couldn’t recall the last time she was heading into such a dire situation.

The old sagehand sighed and tugged at his beard. “If you can’t do it, then it’s best to stop now before you make a blunder of things.”

Nia’s eyes widened in surprise before she steeled her courage once more.

“No, I can do this. I have to do this.” She insisted, trying to convince herself as much as she was trying to convince them.

“Fine, go hide underneath the carriage then.” The old sagehand gestured to an opening to a small compartment under his favorite carriage. “Don’t let anyone see you two. I don’t want to be implicated in your crimes when the crown princess disappears later.”

“Assuming nobody saw you invite two children into your manor last night and connect the dots.” Nia snarked back as she carefully crouched down to crawl under the carriage. The small compartment underneath the carriage was just big enough to hide two small teenagers like Nia and Khiran.

“I will explain that you are survivors of a human trafficking ring and bring up the issue of the Underworld in court today. As for my servants, they are loyal and won’t leak any crucial information. It was a good thing you looked nothing like a princess yesterday.”

Had that comment been directed at any other noble girl, it would have stung, but Nia simply rolled her eyes and flashed him a proud smirk from under the carriage. She had never been the one to care about appearances.

“Hey, old geezer, one question,” Nia called out as she settled comfortably. “Why does your carriage have a false bottom?”

Khiran grunted as he settled in the small compartment beside her. “Isn’t it obvious? Political reasons. Smuggling in assassins or secret documents.”

The sagehand laughed at his words. “It’s only a place to store my belongings when I go traveling. I don’t usually use a separate carriage to carry my things. Alright now, I have to wait to board the carriage in front of my manor, as usual, so no one gets suspicious.”

After he left, Khiran whispered to Nia, “I’m not convinced that this compartment is for storing clothes. It’s too spacious.”

Nia snorted as she made herself comfortable in the narrow space.

It was a long wait. The old sagehand had woken Nia and Khiran up just before the crack of dawn so that the two could hide in the carriage without being discovered by servants. This means they had to wait for a few more hours before the servants prepared the carriage and hitched it up to a pair of camels and pulled it up to the front of the manor.

By then, the exhaustion and sleep deprivation had gotten to Nia and she fell asleep within an hour. Khiran had to shake Nia awake in the middle of the ride.

“Huh?” Nia murmured as she jerked awake and promptly hit the top of her head on the ceiling of the hidden compartment. “Ow!”

“Quiet!” the sagehand’s voice seeped through the thick barrier separating the two.

Nia rubbed her aching head. “Where are we?”

“Close.”

“Don’t your servants check the secret compartment before hitching up the carriage?” Nia rolled over in the small compartment. “You know, in case of an assassin hiding in here or something.”

“Normally, yes, but not today. I had a loyal servant prepare the carriage today. Discreetly, of course.”

“Of course.” Nia parroted back with a sigh. The carriage jostled and lurched softly the whole ride so that while it wasn’t too uncomfortable for the old sagehand, poor Nia and Khiran had their heads knocked against the bottom of the compartment the whole ride. Nia was impressed that she managed to sleep as long as she did under such terrible conditions.

After a quarter of an hour, the carriage rolled through the gates of the palace walls. Although Nia couldn’t see anything from her sealed compartments, she could feel the familiar turns and she immediately tensed up as an avalanche of memories bombarded her mind.

A moment ago, it had felt like months since she was last home. Now, it felt like she barely left.

Khiran, who had been mostly silent except when he had something important to stay, turned to her in concern. “Are you alright?”

Nia gave him a tight smile and lied through her teeth, “Perfectly so.”

Khiran reached out and awkwardly rubbed her shoulders in comfort, his action taking her by surprise.

“Don’t look at me like that.” He shrugged. “I’m not good at comforting people, but before my mother died, she used to rub my shoulders whenever I’m upset.”

Nia continued to gape at him. He rarely opened up like that, talking about his past. Apparently, the stress must be getting to him too.

The rare moment was broken by a thumping from the old sagehand. “Quiet, I can hear you two flirting.”

Nia briefly wondered if it was worth it to kick the ceiling in response. It might be the closest she ever got to kicking the old sagehand’s butt. The thought made her smile a little.

In a few short minutes, she could feel the carriage slowing down as it carefully approached its destination. It took a few more minutes before the carriage rolled to a gentle stop in front of the palace doors and dropped off the old sagehand before moving toward the stables.

After they were sure that all the servants had left the stable, Nia and Khiran crawled out from the compartment.

“Now, we need to get into the palace.” Nia glanced at her former home through the doorway. “We need to act inconspicuous.”

Khiran rolled his shoulders to loosen them a little as they were stiff from the ride. “Will anyone catch onto us?”

“Not if we’re careful.” Nia straightened and smoothed down the wrinkles on her disguise, “And act like we’re busy. No one wants to get in the way of a busy servant.”

“And don’t forget to uphold your side of the bargain. Direct me to the treasury while you go find your sister.”

Nia had to hold back the desire to remind him that he barely helped her the whole time. She was the one who ultimately got in touch with the stagehand, and she practically planned everything herself. Instead, she took a deep breath to calm herself down before speaking.

“In the main hallway of the left wing, there is a painting of a man riding a griffin into battle. You know, the very famous one? The opening to the treasury is hidden behind the painting. It’s locked, but I’m sure you can pick it somehow. It’s best if you go there alone, since you have the stealth of a demon and all, and I have a sister to kidnap. I’ll only drag you down if we go together.”

“Deal.”

“Is anyone watching us?” Nia asked.

Khiran scanned his eyes across every opening in the palace. “Ridiculously, no. Your palace might need better security, but in this case, it is good news. Nobody will notice two extra servants leaving the stables.”

They left the stables and made their way toward one of the side entrances of the palace that servants use. Nia’s hands formed tight fists at her sides as she fought to force herself to calm down. She didn’t relax, even after they entered the palace. Rather, she tensed up even more as she recalled the memories from that night.

“You need to calm down.” Khiran awkwardly rubbed her shoulders again. “You’re going to see your sister again, and in a few hours from now, you’ll be safe. Listen, you got everything under control. Calm down.”

“All right, I’m feeling better.” Nia released a shaky breath as they reached the kitchen. It was full of busy servants preparing meals. No one noticed their presence, or if they did, chose to ignore it so they could focus on their tasks at hand.

“We need to split up now,” Khiran whispered to her, low enough that only she could hear him.

“What?” Nia turned to him sharply.

“The left wing is this way while you will be heading that way. We have to split up now.”

As much as she hates to admit it, she was much more skittish without Khiran by her side. However, she would rather stab herself with a knife than to admit that to his face.

“Alright. Don’t forget to meet up in the kitchen as soon as possible, or I might leave you behind in here.” She huffed softly so that only he could hear it.

Khiran waved his hand dismissively at her. “That doesn’t concern me. I’ve been through worse.”

In a flash, he slipped away and disappeared around the corner.

Nia smiled weakly, trying to summon the remaining scraps of courage from yesterday. It was fine. In a few short hours, she and her sister will be safe.

She floundered for a moment, looking around, trying to find an excuse that will allow her to meet her sister.

Suddenly, she spied a maid carrying a vase of flowers. Not just any flowers, but blue zephyra blossoms, which were her sister’s favorites. Nia hid a knowing grin as an idea came to her.

Reaching for a pitcher of water, Nia picked it up and casually stroll past the maid while sticking out her foot ever so slightly. The maid was so focused on carefully handling the vase that she accidentally tripped over Nia’s foot.

“Ah!” The maid cried as she pitched forward, the vase slipping out of her arms. In a split second, Nia dropped the pitcher and snatched the vase out of the air before it could shatter on the ground and spill water and petals everywhere. That would have been an unfortunate disaster.

The pitcher, however, hit the ground with a loud clang and the water sloshed outward and dangled in a sparkling arc in midair for the briefest moment before falling back to the ground and all over the maid’s clothes. Nia had already moved back to a safe distance after catching the vase.

“I’m so sorry!” The maid fretted anxiously as she stumbled back onto her feet. “I wasn’t looking where I was going. Thank goodness you caught the vase! That was for Princess Roshana- uh, Crown Princess Roshana.”

A wave of guilt swelled in Nia’s heart as the maid profusely apologized and stammered anxiously, unaware that Nia was to blame for her accident. Another part of her wanted to flaunt the fact that she was right about who the flowers were for. Her older sister was very predictable indeed.

“I’m alright,” Nia reassured, trying not to make direct eye contact lest her eye color gave her away. “Your dress is wet though. Why don’t I take this vase to the crown princess instead while you go change?”

“Really? Oh, thank you!” the maid smiled in relief. “I’ll clean up the spilled water, too.”

Nia adjusted her grip on the vase and fixed the flowers so they look less messy and more presentable before making her way to her sister. Dread and anxiety pooled in her stomach with every step that she took.

Roshana, I’m coming.