Silindrin:
--listen, beloved. Do his steps grow near?The Princess:
Nay, it is but the echoes of the Crowned as they go about their chores. My heart of hearts… must we deceive him so? Silindrin:
It is the only way. You know what he is planning. But do not fear; he will not mourn your absence. Even weak as I am, this glamour we have worked is strong. So long as he holds what he believes to be my true Cauldron, he thinks he holds me here. And when we send him this mortal woman, he will see what he wishes to see. Out of his love for you, he will place a crown on her, and she will stay by his side for all eternity. Perhaps this fiction will placate him, and his sickness will finally know rest. The Princess:
Do you truly believe it?Silindrin:
I know not, but there is nothing more we can do. Madness now rules the king. His discontent will grow, and he will continue to seek foes where there are none. He is far too unpredictable now - his moods are too strong, his fugues too dangerous. He is of Elder Fae blood. His shape now changes with his emotions.The Princess:
I carry that same old Sidhe blood in me, and it is this same royal blood that you ask me to betray. To leave the palace, to break this prison he has made - it circumvents his spells and goes against his sovereign decree…Silindrin:
You have seen what he has become! You know what he has done. You are the only thing he still cherishes… all he has left. His paranoia knows no bounds, even among those he loves. Look what happened to the courtiers, and the hosts, and my fellow lords. And then, even your…The Princess:
No! I pray thee, stop! I cannot hear you pronounce it. We do not know that this was truly his doing. Surely it was some other! Perhaps there truly is an interloper in the palace as he claims. Or it's the influence of the creeping Red Spite. Or an evil curse is upon him! Silindrin:
It is no mere curse. It is simply in his eternal nature. He is formless. Mutable. His fear… his denial… his shame – it defines him... recreates him. He may be your father, and my liege, but he is beyond my counsel now. I will not raise a hand against him, but I also will not allow him to condemn you to such a sad, pointless fate. The Princess:
You speak true, my love. We cannot continue hiding whenever he succumbs to his… distemper. I know that we must not remain here. But your wound… even after all this time, it has not healed. Silindrin:
It matters not. Thanks to you, I am strong enough to make this journey. But are you certain you can open The Eye?The Princess:
I have my token… the symbol of my lineage. By my royal birthright, I can open any door in this palace. And there are other apertures to the outside here, known only to my family. The Eye is one such. But what awaits us beyond are the Moonless Plains, with its many dangers. We will still need to cross the vastness of the Quiet Sea.Silindrin:
We must and we shall. We will find the Manse of the Howling Khan. And if the tales are true, his Winter Gate will be our one chance to leave this haunted place. The Princess:
I am sorrow, my love. This has been my home. And now, what world awaits us?Silindrin:
The page must turn. All days eventually end. Twilight must fall even upon our kind… but what follows after need not be silence--