Fuyuko had been both ed and envious while watg Carmil's duel. For everything she had previously seen and learned of her adoptive sister, this graceful, deadly princess was not part of it. The fshing, gleaming bdes were mesmerizing and Fuyuko wao be able to do something as incredible as that someday.

  The triess erfectly in character though. Not only was the terraier for her, but by fighting upon the liviwork of crystal and fungal roots she had deprived them both of big spells, lest they hurt others not part of the duel.

  Now, while Fuyuko couldn't know for sure, she rather thought that Silvander used those sorts of spells more than Carmil did, so that too had tipped things in her favor.

  She also took note of how Carmil had deyed using some of her powers to create surprises. Given how Silvander had recovered from each surprise, it seemed likely that he'd have won if she'd started using everything at the beginning.

  Not that Fuyuko would have been able to pick apart all the bits of the fight on her own. The two faeries were fast. Mordecai and Moriko were enting on the physical aspects of the duel through the dungeon link, and Kazue analyzed the spell work at py. The three of them were deliberately including her in their versation, which was she wished she had more to tribute.

  Carmil had even held her poise while walking toward them covered in wounds. That was when Fuyuko hadn't been able to hold baymore and rushed over to hug her sister. When Carmil teared up from the sudden rush of familial affe, Fuyuko felt a rush of sympathy. Their adoptive parents had turned out to be really good at making them feel weled and included.

  After that, it was time to resume their seats and tih the parade of people ing to ask things of the Azeria Court. She was a little fused about why some people were just guests, others just petitioners, and a few started as guests before ing back to them as petitioners. Carmil tried to expin it to her and Fuyuko got a little bit of the ideas involved in all of these plicated cames, but it holy gave her a bit of a headache.

  Mama M was the most sympathetic here, she was mostly trusting to Papa and Mama K in these matters. Mama K seemed to enjoy some of it, but she also got tired of it when the 'romance' of the se wore thin, whatever that meant.

  Papa uood all the rules terrifyingly well, for all that he did not want to abide by them any more than he felt they o. During these dealings, Fuyuko got a glimpse of aspects of her adoptive father that she had never seen before and it left her fervently gd that he was as kind and open as he was.

  There was a lot of knowledge and power that Mordecai had simply been choosing not to use. He picked apart the sorts of bindings that y on some of their petitioners easily enough and Fuyuko had learned enough to uand that this meant he also knew how to make those bindings. A few of those had been bound to be happy about their service to their lord or dy.

  It was disturbing to see someone ask to be relieved of the burden of being happy to be a sve.

  Hearing her papa occasionally mutter about clumsy work as he undid or suspehese pulsions was even scarier.

  Fuyuko's mind hopped aemories and spun possible stories. While no oreated Aia like she was as strong as Gil, Mordecai seemed to think that they were hly the same scale. Fuyuko had felt the power of Aia's will during their training and now Fuyuko was w what sort of entments and bindings the ailed kitsuriarch was truly capable of. For that matter, what about Shizoku? Wasn’t she supposed to take the matriarch’s peday? Would she, Fuyuko, be able to keep up?

  Childhood stories and fairy tales had bee so very real in her life rather than more distant things that happeo other people. That meant any of the scarier aspects of those stories could be true too.

  Not that she believed any of that was going to happen to her, Fuyuko was fident that Papa would never do stuff like that to anyone, but she just felt terribly aware that there were things far worse than simple viole there.

  Her musings were interrupted wheiced one of the petitioners looking at her and Fuyuko focused on the current versation.

  The curreioner was a silver-furred fey who sort of looked like a bipedal wolf or hound. At least, his head did, the rest of him looked like a normal biped, ign the fur of course. 'The Cuiwan', Mordecai had called their . There was a slightly shorter member of the standing a little behind him, and that as casting g Fuyuko. It made her nervous.

  "Lord Mordecai, Lady Kazue, Lady Moriko," the older man said, "I noticed that your daughter, Princess Fuyuko, appears to be of about the same age as my son." He paused to gesture at the younger cuiwan before tinuing. "While we currently do not have a treaty, I thought it might be advantageous to sider the possibility of a marriage between them as part of f an alliance."

  "Eww, no."

  The words were out of Fuyuko's mouth before she realized she was saying them. A stunned silence rippled outward before the cuiwan men growled in a the insult.

  She reflexively summoned her daggers when she felt their hostility, which caused the younger oo gnce down at her ons. He yelped and jumped back, pointing at her. "Father, she carries cold iron!"

  Now there was a crash of sound as all the fey folk around them respoo that revetion and many of them seemed agitated with hands on the hilts of their own ons.

  "HOLD!" Mordecai's voice rolled over all of those present as he stood, filled with his will and power. It was suffit to quell the voices and as of most of the fey, though some such as Lord Silvander and the elder cuiwan in front of them were ued.

  "First, Lord Arawn," he said in a quieter voice, "I uand that Our daughter's reaight not be received favorably, but I assure you that it was not intended as an insult. I see no reason to go into details, but I think it should be suffit to say that she is actively disied in romance or dalliances from all parties, and no one I know of would have received a more positive response."

  That seemed to ease tensions even if it left most of their visitors looking fused, like they didn't uand the cept.

  Her papa turo her and held out his hand, "Fuyuko, may I see yger please?"

  It wasn't hard to figure out whie he meant, so she handed over her cold iron dagger to him, hilt first.

  Mordecai raised his voice slightly and projected it across the gathering. "Now, something that should be kept in mind is our ins. None here but Princess Carmil was born fey." He pricked his finger with the tip of the dagger and then held both hands up, to show the small wound quickly healing as well as the blood that sat on her dagger without reag.

  "Not even this body that I fed with fey powers and potential carries that weakness. As suone of us fear it. These daggers were made as presents for Princess Fuyuko before she became Our daughter, and none shall gainsay her right to carry them upon her person, nor do We ban cold iron from our court. Do not assume you know all of the rules which we live by." He carefully ed the dagger before handing it back to Fuyuko.

  As Fuyuko dismissed her daggers again, Moriko rose from her throh a dramatic swirl of wind that drew attention to her. "I shall add something important here. I am a disciple and priestess of Lady Sakiya, and this will be reflected in Our court."

  Fuyuko thought that Mama M looked kind of angry as she tinued.

  "Passions will be True. There will be nes of alliance fed by family or nobility. In Our court, all bonds will be decided upon by those who will be bound." As Moriko made her decration, Fuyuko could feel that w settle into pce throughout their faerie domain. Her words did not carry the same weight. "We do not expect that all bonds will be born of love, but We do expect that all partits will be sincere. You may approach Us to ask our support in c a member of Our court, but the decision will not be made by Us nor will We pressure anyone."

  Kazue rose from her throne as well and said, "We uand these are not the rules you expect Us to abide by, but We are also bound by Our nature aions. Now, We do not wish to cause distress tuests, so please, tih the feast." Her words released the binding that Mordecai had pced. She turo Lord Arawn and smiled before she said, "I hope the situation is clearer now. Your son would o court Our daughter upon his ows, and I think the situation has left her even less receptive to the idea than she would already be ined to."

  Well, Mama K wasn't wrong there. And the way the younger man was looking at her made Fuyuko pretty certain that he wasn't ied anymore, which was fine by her.

  At least they weren't upset anymore. They spoke for a while longer with her parents before taking their leave and from what Fuyuko could make out versations about alliances were all being put on hold until much ter; the Azeria Court was not making any new alliances for now, though it was still bound by all alliahat the Azeria Mountain Dungeon was.

  When there were no more people approag the throne, Fuyuko was finally free to leave the dais and join the feast. She was still able to make out all the important things going on while she ate, but she'd also already known these pns.

  Far up the path, past all the feast tables, a pair s grew, one on each side. These rings were made of mushrooms and crystal trees, interwoven so that most of the ring could not be crossed, with the exception being a single archway where the mushrooms grew very low to the ground. One of them grew in a slight depression and the other on a hill. This was bined with a few other markers to make it clear that one was to ehe l, as the hill ring would be where people would be ing from.

  In the mortal realm, she khat each of these was now matched with its opposite so that entering the depression here would bring you out on a hill there. The rules were simple; anyone who was not bound to Faerie could use these portals as they wished, so long as they paid the price: a single delve to the best of their ability, along any suitable path, per trip.

  This caused quite a stir as perma and easily accessed pathways between the mortal world and Faerie were exceedingly rare, and many were eager to partake. Fuyuko wasn't sure how to feel about the idea of letting a lot of fey run about but her parents seemed fident that those most ied in the mortal world were the ones least likely to cause trouble, so long as it was simple for them.

  Most trouble came from the faeries who wanted something and had to gh a lot of effort to get it. They teo cause trouble in proportion to their efforts.

  Fuyuko was gd to not have to be part of all the rest of the stuff; there was a whole lot of interviewing, iating prices for buying out tracts, and figuring out who might bee tractors for the dungeon or stay on this side to bee part of the court, or even both. More often though. most of the people they interviewed became her. It all seemed like a bother and a mess to her. Instead, she just ehe ce to eat the food she'd been smelling for hours and take the time to hang out with her dragon friends.

  That did bring over a few curious fey, especially some younger children. Fuyuko didn't bme them, who didn't think dragons were awesome? These dragons were also cute and friendly. Even the cuiwan boy came over to meet the dragons. Fuyuko was a little uain about how she felt at first when Ranulf introduced himself, but he had given a quick, embarrassed apology and then seemed determio pretend the whole e thing had never happened. She decided she was okay with that.

  Her enjoyment of the evening was interrupted by a suddeion that fused her at first. Fuyuko was not used to being able to read the enviro itself this way to begin with and this ge was strong enough to make itself known without her paying attention.

  Carmil reached out across the dungeon's link to nudge Fuyuko's focus and teach her how to uand what she was sensing. The sensation finally resolved into the knowledge that three people had just crossed their border with the rest of Faerie, but that left Fuyuko even more fused.

  One of them felt more powerful than anyone else here.

  A different o like she was also a princess of Azeria.

  What?

  Zagaroth