"Umm," The elementalist began to notice some of the servants looking in with frowns on their faces, "Serna, you need to stop now. We are guests here and I'd rather enjoy sleeping in a nice soft bed over sleeping in a dungeon cell."

"Okay," Serna ended her last jump by landing flat on her bottom. Turning to the Elven servants, the Shield Maiden asked with a warm smile, "Hello! I'm Serna the Shield Maiden. Who are you two? And, if you don't mind my asking, did you ever jump up and down on your beds when you were my age?"

The older one raised an eye brow at the human girl standing before them, while one of the younger servant with golden hair, and green eyes stepped forward, "I am Arlhenwe. No, we were discouraged from doing unruly acts within the palace here. Manners and etiquette were taught here. Frolicking in the fields or the woods, young one, and that was a very long time ago. Probably when your elders were children."

Serna leaped from the bed, walked over to Arlhenwe, took her hands into her own and stared into her eyes with a mischievous grin, "Come on! You have NEVER done a single mischievous thing in your life?! Not even one act of pure mischief?! It's just us girls here. And I won't tell anyone, I promise. Surely you did at least one mischievous thing in your life. Didn't you?"

Arlhenwe sighed, "I am not a child anymore, Serna. I haven't been one in over a hundred years, I'm sorry. Besides, your friend over there has a point, you are a guest here, please be mindful of those who reside within the Mallorn Palace."

"I will, I will," The Shield Maiden held up her hands, "In the last place I visited I was labelled a 'Disturber of the Peace'. Well I'm not doing that anymore. Not now, not here and not ever again."

The elementalist came over just behind the shield maiden and bowed to the two elven women, "Maybe they both did once upon a time, Serna but they're adults now not children."

"I know, I know," Serna smiled, "But we were all children once upon a time, weren't we? And you don't have to answer my question, Arlhenwe, your sigh is the only answer I need."

"If you're really insistent to meet other elven children, you will find them in the gardens where they are allowed to 'play' as you call it," The older chamber maid told the shield maiden.

"Great! Do you mind if I go see them, Alyson?" Serna beamed before she turned to the older chamber maid, "And what is your name? Since we're getting to know each other."

Arlhenwe offered her hand to Serna, "She is my mother, Idrial."

After she took a short bow, the Shield Maiden took the Servant's hand, "It's a pleasure to meet you, Idrial."

"No. Caliaphy will go with you as well," Alyson snapped her fingers and the kurori showed up in a flash of light, "Did you get lost?"

Caliaphy blushed, "A little...umm...I did. This place is cool!"

"How did you do that?" Serna asked with wild-eyed bemusement, "How did you just snap your fingers and make her appear? Can I do that?"

The elementalist raised an eye brow, "Copy cat."

Arlhenwe and her mother were startled by the kurori's appearance at first and then relaxed, "Come. I will show you and the fairy to the gardens, Serna."

"Thank you," The Shield Maiden replied as she was led out of the room, "Can I summon you too by snapping my fingers, Caliaphy?"

********

Irzen opened his eyes and extended his hand in friendship to Lazheros, "What do you say? Truce?"

"Very well, swordsman," Lazheros extended his hand, "I accept."

"Good!" The Swordsman shook the Cleric's hand, "Now that we have that out of the way. Are you hungry? I know I am."

"I am but we should wait for the ranger to return and give us an update. Two, the royal guardsman said he would return in a few minutes." The bronze man walked over to his backpack and took inventory on his belongings.

"Do you think you're missing something?" Irzen took note of Lazheros' actions, "These Elves may be many things but they do not strike me as thieves."

"Missing, no but thieves are thieves regardless of who they are and and where they come from. Old habits die hard and should some of the items go missing, the individual will be in for a shock of their life so to speak." Lazheros closed up the backpack again and set it aside. He looked around again wondering, "Hmm, what has become of Prince Willow?"

"If I was a betting man, then I would say that he is spending some quality time with his sister-in-law," Irzen walked over to a chair near his bed and sat down, "He's been gone for at least fifty years and I suspect that they have a lot of catching up to do."

The Swordsman held up his hands, "Don't get me wrong, I don't think he desires his brother's wife or anything like that. But I do think he likes her and respects her and enjoys her company. That's all."

"I agree with you in that regard. They do favor each other's company with the ranger having been in exile and traveling the Realm, and with the princess being a scholar and keeper of Elven lore in general. I am curious about something though, how did you and the ranger meet?" The bronze man inquired again.

"Wait a minute!" The Swordsman interjected, "It's my turn to ask the questions. You've interrogated me about my love life--or lack thereof--long enough. So how about you? How does if feel to be a Dragon? To live as long as you do? And was there someone special in your life before Alyson? A wife perhaps?

"I merely wished to hear your side of the story, of your story, Swordsman nothing more but if you insist," Lazheros reached into a sleeve of his traveling robe and pulled out a canteen and drank from it. "That I am a legendary creature of magic, that I once had a mate who was slain by a young man she had wronged and it took me a very long time to move on until I heard the calling from Bahamut. I was once a lover of women and learned many ways to love and to understand how the 'lesser' races lived within the northern domain of The Fire Sea that I choose to protect."

"Who was she? This woman that you loved?" The Swordsman asked, "And what wrong did she commit that would have compelled someone to kill her?"

Irzen scratched his head, "And here is another question that has long vexed me. Why do you protect Asylum? True, Bahamut charges his followers with protecting the weak. But protecting an entire city for centuries is quite a feat of loyalty and dedication. What is so special about Asylum that it needs such a stalwart protector? Why not offer the same protection to Cormyr? Or Stormhaven? Or any other city in the Realm?"