"I meant it when I said that he is alive only out of convenience," Adaniar said. "All options were carefully weighed. Were it not for the turmoil that transitioning to a new ruler in a time of war would cause, he would be dead already. When he ceases to be cooperative, he will cease to be alive. We have run out of time for political games."

It suddenly occurred to Kjan that this was Adaniar's idea of a diplomatic solution. Not killing the opposing side yet. It wasn't that he was entirely against the idea of the Regent being assassinated - they'd entertained the possibility many times and had been stopped only by lack of resources. But compared to most other elves he had met (all ten of them), Adaniar had seemed remarkably nonviolent. He was an ambassador, a politician. A member of the notoriously most composed and diplomatic class in any race. Yet here he was, discussing the assassination of the monarch as though it were an ordinary part of negotiations. Uneasily, Kjan realized just how deadly Adaniar truly was.

And he was the peaceful one.

Even more impatient than before, Kjan stood up, willing the Regent to send word soon.

As if on cue, there was a knock at the door.

The Phantom bounded up to fling open the door with all the nervous energy that had been simmering in his stomach since morning. The chamberlain, who was starched nearly as stiff as the Phantom, blinked once.

"His highness consents to see you now," he said, nose a fraction away from being stuck too high in the air, and turned on his heel.

Not 'his highness requests your presence'. Not 'his highness is ready to receive you'. No, they must be content with a summons that reeked of priggish noble arrogance. The Phantom gave one last mighty tug on his shirt collar. Convenience. Dark gods, the Regent had better be pretty damn convenient.

The little train of rebels, decked out in their ill-fitting finery, made a fine sight down the hallways of the palace. The reflection of the rich golden afternoon sun dripped like honey off the burnished gold and silver of every antique suit of armor, and caught at the tiny thread-of-gold stitches in the Phantom's brocade coat. He scowled down at his sleeve.

When the chamberlain, rebels in tow, rapped an officious knock on the double doors of the audience chamber, the Phantom recalled last time he'd been in here. It had certainly not been by choice; in fact, the process had involved manacles and had ended in a brief sojourn in jail.

It did not lend his attitude, upon reentering, a great amount of zest.

The Regent was reclining on the low dais at the end of the room, a tray with tea and an assortment of baking laid out before him. He glanced up as they entered, mask of dispassion not shifting an inch. "Ah," he said. "You."

"Yes, us," responded the Phantom testily. He went to stand opposite the Regent, on the other side of his tea-table, arms folded.

He was appraised. The Regent jerked his head at the empty gathering of chairs that stood a little way off. "Sit down."

_________________

Kjan surveyed the room as they complied. He'd only been in here once many years ago, when one of his tutors had decided that Kjan needed to witness the magnificent workings of their fine government in person. The room was just as regal and impersonal as it had been then, and ostensibly hadn't changed at all, apart from a table and chairs that he suspected had been brought in for this specific purpose.

"Thank you for making time in your schedule to meet with us," Silvryn said dryly, eyeing the spread of food. The cost of the tray's contents likely could have fed an average family for several days. "You clearly have been busy."

"Exceedingly so," the Regent replied, still not bothering to get up and join them. "There has hardly been a moment's peace, with half the town demanding that I release the dangerous outlaws immediately and the other half demanding to know why they haven't yet hung. My staff, however, assures me that you have made yourselves quite at home."

Silvryn only barely stopped herself from commenting that this was her home, far more than it had ever been the Regent's. Technically, that was no longer true - it was Jate's, if anyone's. But regardless of the technicalities, she had spent most of her life in this palace. The only family she'd known had lived here. It would always be her home.

There was a period of silence as the Regent continued to blatantly disregard the impatience of the rebels. It was a show of power, nothing else. He could make them wait, and so he would.

Finally, there was another knock at the chamber's doors and seven older men were shown in. They had the obvious air of politicians - advisors, no doubt. Behind the advisors came an equal number of guards, who promptly took up positions around the perimeter of the room. Clearly the Regent didn't care to be as outnumbered as he had been the night before.

The monarch at last deigned to join them at the head of the table, with the advisors spread on either side of him. "Now. I believe the first order of business would be to determine the gravity of this alleged threat to Kytana."

"Determine the gravity," Jate repeated flatly. "Alleged. I suppose you failed to notice the elf in your room who could have easily killed you." He finally felt on the level, despite the Regent's show of making them wait, thanks to his bath and change of clothes. He'd manage to catch a servant, a gawky gangling youth, in the hallway. A show of his ring with the Ralkaien crest was enough to get him his own clothes. His own comfortable, fine clothes. And the Regent's apparent disdain for the safety of his country made him indignant.

"My. I'm so sorry that you had to spend all day on this dilemma of explanations. Just think, you could have been working on reinforcing your soldiers, patrolling cities, that sort of thing. Get your mind off the *beep* coffers and what you're bloody eating for tea and start thinking of your country!" Frustration combined with sarcasm to give his voice an edge. "Lord Raen is out there ready to strike at any moment. We need to be ready to meet him."

_________________
going on a journey through my old claims

Heads swiveled in tandom. One of the door guards was taken by a coughing fit. The Phantom felt his gaze drawn magnetically to the Regent's face.

Two seconds passed. Then four.

"And who might you be?" said the Regent, expression stony. His eyes darted once to Adaniar.

The Phantom felt his fingers close on thin air and realized that in his fit of pique, he'd left his greatsword upstairs. Where, of course, it did no one any good. He coughed. Once more, heads swiveled. "I present to you, my lords, Jateyani Ralkaien."

The hue of the Regent's face altered subtly. The Phantom felt suddenly gleeful. He must be aware that in his efforts to usurp the throne, he'd missed an heir. "Jate," he said, "I'm sure everyone present would greatly appreciate a detailing of your family tree."

_________________

He felt a smile come to his face when he looked at the Regent. "My father was Prince Geoffrey, younger brother of King Aris. My mother was the Princess Lesia." He looked smugly around the room. "As such, I am the rightful person to rule Kytana."

_________________
going on a journey through my old claims

Well, this was turning out far better than he'd imagined. The Phantom settled into his seat, observing the Regent from the corners of his vision. The man did not look pleased.

"Provided that your claim is valid, perhaps a compromise can be reached in our agreement," he said, monotone. "However, in the event that you take on any manner of political position, boy, you will find it necessary to sever ties with those having committed sedition against the crown."

The Phantom opened his mouth, a hundred hot arguments to the contrary springing to the tip of his tongue, but the Regent had already turned to look directly at him.

"In fact, if you have any respect for the unity of Kytana at all, you will refrain from appearing to the public," he said, and the Phantom did not like that a strain of self-satisfaction was creeping over his face. "The citizens have been informed that Phantom Grey, in an attempt to escape, has been killed. Regrettably also deceased is one of his hangers-on, who goes by the name of Kjan Armadur."

Eledhe seized the back of his cursed jacket before the Phantom could leap to his feet. It threw him off-balance. He stubbed his toe painfully on one leg of the table. "You had no bloody right," he hissed, slamming a fist down onto the solid wood and wishing for his greatsword more than ever. Seven levels! The sheer arrogance of it! "I am not dead. They will see for themselves."

"Should you wish to divide Kytana and perpetuate the civil war you condemn, by all means show them," was the infuriatingly calm response. "You waste my time. Are we or are we not here to negotiate a treaty? Or would you prefer to brawl in my audience hall as though it is a tavern?"

_________________

Silvryn briefly rested a placating hand on the Phantom's forearm. The Regent had gone too far, yes, but there was little point in contesting it now. It would only turn into another power struggle - one that the Regent was still better equipped to win at the moment, regardless of what claims Jate made. They would deal with it later.

"Assuming that you have complied with the terms of our agreement last night, the treaty is already mostly negotiated," she said, maintaining a carefully neutral tone. "We want a permanent cessation of hostilities, immunity from prosecution for past offenses, and the release of any arrested solely for following Phantom Grey. But you have already seen to the last condition, yes?"

"They did not hang. That should be sufficient for you."

"Wasting away in prison is no better," Silvryn countered. "You agreed to their release."

"I will not simply turn upward of forty convicted criminals loose to roam the streets as they please," the Regent said flatly. "When you have a better place for them, they are free to leave. I have no intention playing host to your entire force."

"No need to," interjected Kjan. "You already had half of them murdered."

The Regent glanced at him briefly before apparently deciding not to dignify the comment with a response. "You have neglected to mention your greatest condition: You are asking that I, despite a significant lack of evidence, implicitly trust the very individuals who have sought for years to dethrone me and enter into an alliance with them against a foe who, to date, has not proven to be of any danger to Kytana or myself."

Several people opened their mouths to respond, but he cut them off. "No, do not lecture me again about the grave dangers posed by elven kind. Lord Adaniar has more than sufficiently demonstrated that elves are deadly foes. I do not question that. But thus far, the only elf who has made any manner of attempt on my life has been your ally. Given that you are known enemies of the crown, I am not so certain that I should trust you regarding who is or is not a threat. How am I to know that your opponents would not, in fact, prove to be valuable allies?"

"Propose that to our current opponent," said the Phantom flatly. He stood up. "Tell me how long you live afterward."

The advisers in attendance were already wearing a look that told him his credibility was sinking, with the momentum of a sizable boulder, to the bottom of the ocean. The Phantom let his eyes travel around the table. Elven dignitaries, one of whom was the heir. Human dignitaries, along with a human heir. Human monarch. And lastly, gaggle of humans whose usefulness might well be fluttering like a banner behind the sinking boulder as it descended to the ocean floor.

He rested his fists on the table. Diplomacy had never been one of his strengths. "If you do not release any prisoners related to our rebellion by sundown, I will cause more havoc in the streets of Y'rydha than you have ever seen," he said. The late afternoon sunlight glinted on the Regent's circlet of gold. "When your head is no longer attached to your body, let it be proof that you sought an ally in the wrong place."

He kicked his chair backward and strode out through the double doors without a backward glance. The guards let him go.

Somewhere, the elusive Phantom Grey donned a dark cloak and whisked off to plot rebellion; but Phaerin Grey was trapped in uncomfortable clothes and inconsequential influence, set loose without mooring in a country that was rapidly losing any use for him.

"Safe passage to the bloody underworld," he added under his breath, feet taking him somewhere where no one watched. He leaned his forehead on cool stone and then moved to rest his forearms on the broad sill of a window and look out over Y'rydha.

Phantom Grey twiddled his thumbs, and Phaerin Grey wondered what a rebel leader did without his rebellion.

_________________

A tense silence filled the audience hall as everyone stared after the Phantom. Kjan was sure he wasn't the only one slightly bemused by the outburst. The Regent was being infuriatingly difficult, yes, but they'd never expected it to be easy. They'd been doing everything in their power to oppose the man for over half a decade, and it was understandably difficult to believe that they now wanted an alliance all of a sudden. It'd be more suspicious if he were readily agreeing with everything they said.

At length, Silvryn murmured, "Kjan, go see..."

Kjan didn't have to be told. He was out of the room before she could complete the thought. Politics annoyed him anyway.

Sighing quietly, Silvryn turned back to the Regent. She wanted nothing less at the moment than to be diplomatic, but there needed to be at least some effort made to salvage the negotiations. "Lord Raen is not an enemy of the rebellion - if anything he wants us to continue fighting. He is already engaged in one war against far worthier foes. He would no doubt like nothing more than for Kytana to destroy herself from the inside out and save him the trouble."

"Your ideals of unity are much belated." What she wouldn't do to wipe that arrogant look off his face... "I've no desire to align myself with those who have perpetual thorn in my side for the past seven years."

"And I've no desire to align myself with someone who would hire an assassin to eliminate a sixteen-year-old girl," Silvryn shot back. "I assure you, Lord Regent, any distate that you have for myself or my companions is mutual. We have no more reason to trust you than you have to trust us. Do you suppose we wanted to abandon the cause for which so many have already died, swallow our pride enough to come here and ask for your aid? Far from it. But there is an enemy waiting to reach out and strike Kytana, and when he does so, personal grievances will be the least of your concerns."

<center>------------------------------</center>

There was no sign of the Phantom anywhere by the time Kjan started looking, making his job a bit difficult. As long as the man wasn't planning anything too foolish right at this moment, Kjan wasn't too concerned, but he'd prefer to find him sooner than later. Finally, after several minutes of randomly selecting corridors to explore and asking anyone he happened to encounter if they'd seen a dark, brooding figure pass that way, he found the Phantom in a secluded alcove.

Folding his arms, he leaned against the wall and waited.

He felt like an idiot. All the stuck-up noble dignitaries were probably down there snickering behind their hands. He could see the smile spreading across the Regent's face. The Phantom dropped his head into his hands, removing the panorama of Y'rydha from his line of vision. Of a sudden, he felt weary. What could he do? Walk back in there? No point.

Catching a glimpse of Kjan out the corner of his eye, he raised his head again. Spires glinted in the late afternoon sun. "I'm an idiot."

When Kjan didn't disagree, the Phantom looked at him. "My father probably wouldn't take me back."

---

"And still you have no proof." The Regent leaned back, resting beringed hands on the arms of his chair. He made a gesture to Adaniar, who thus far had been silent. "And you, Lord? Have you anything to say past the princess' feeble attempts?"

_________________

Kjan wasn't sure how he was expected to respond to that. "The funeral was a bit indicative of that, yes," he said at length, joining the Phantom at the window. The capital really was quite beautiful, in its own way. He wasn't accustomed to being in the city and not having to focus on avoiding capture. And speaking of that...

"You're not planning anything stupid, right? I think I'm expected to dissuade you if you are, and I'm really not in the mood for that, so I'd rather you weren't."

----------

"I do not," Adaniar said evenly, standing up to leave. "I am the leader of an army, Lord Regent - the very army that has been protecting your borders all of these years. I did not leave them so that I might engage in pointless banter with you. When you have decided to be reasonable, you may contact us. Good evening."

"You admit defeat rather early for someone who claims to care so passionately about your cause," the Regent commented before anyone could depart. "I have not yet refused to cooperate. I merely observed that you hardly make a compelling case. We will consider, provided that you will likewise consider my conditions."

"What are your conditions?"

"I want a written agreement that you will fully comply with the laws of Kytana. If you wish to work with the government, you must respect it. In addition, I expect full cooperation and the understanding that I, as the ruler of Kytana, have the final word in all decisions. And finally, I will retain my right to the throne. If this boy wished to claim it, he should have come ten years ago."

Silvryn hesitated briefly before nodding. "We will consider."

"Then get out. And see to it that your hot-tempered companion does not make me regret my hospitality."

"There's nothing to plan," said the Phantom. He could see the gallows, their hooked shadow steeply cast by the glow of the sinking sun, from his vantage point. They were empty. Perhaps his last rescue had been his own.

---

Still clinging to the sides they represented, the two factions kept apart that evening. The Regent closeted himself in his quarters, attended by advisers, as Eledhe reported after casual reconnaissance. She had been disappointed to find that they had warded the chambers against eavesdropping, and thus could supply no more information.

However, the mercenary was absent from their little gathering. The Phantom, from his place in one of the window seats, idly noted that she was not there. He turned to look out and down at the spread of quiet, dark garden below their windows. Here and there, a solitary ornamental lantern dotted the expanse of twilight-shrouded foliage. Behind him, the lights from their suite filtered out to hint at the beginning of a meandering path.

He turned back, noting that most of his companions were either finishing their dinner or occupied with something to pass the time until the Regent made up his mind. Whenever that would be.

Getting to his feet, the Phantom shoved his hands in his pockets - he'd made a point of hunting up some more comfortable breeches - and wandered over to Silvryn's chair.

He touched her shoulder. "Walk with me? The gardens are empty."

_________________

Silvryn felt Adaniar's gaze and pointedly didn't look in his direction as she nodded her assent and rose to join the Phantom. She did not need his permission to go on a walk.

They had surprisingly little difficulty getting out, and soon they were following the winding path through the dimly lit garden. It looked more or less as it had before she'd left, as far as she could tell in this light, though a bit less carefully tended. She could recall spending many an afternoon out here, reading until the last light faded, or even just thinking.

"This way," she said suddenly, indicating that he should follow.

They went deeper into the gardens, around a corner and out of sight of the suite's windows. The path was dark, but she still easily knew her way. At last, they came to a massive tree with low, sprawling branches. One of the branches actually dug back into the ground to form a natural ramp, and the placement of the nearby limbs made it easy to climb even in her dress. She situated herself on an especially broad branch some five feet off the ground, leaning against the trunk.

"This was my tree, when I was a girl," she explained. "I would spend hours here whenever I had spare time."

The Phantom raised his eyes to where the canopy of branches cast shadow over them, but for the faintest dapples of moonlight on the ground. Then he looked at Silvryn where she sat, dwarfed by the girth of the tree and looking smaller than she was, cradled in the place where limb met trunk.

He went to lean against the limb beside the place she sat. It was comfortably at shoulder-level. "Will you - did you - miss...this?" He indicated the palace in general with a gesture.

_________________

Silvryn looked back toward the palace contemplatively. "It will always be home in my mind, I think," she said slowly, after a long pause. "I grew up here, lived here for sixteen years. My entire life was centered around this palace. I cannot simply stop thinking of it that way."

She closed her eyes briefly. "I missed this garden, while we were in the Keep. I do not enjoy being surrounded by rock on all sides. But Adaniar assures me that the elven palace has many gardens as well. I do not think I will miss it as sorely as I have."

Another short pause. "And you? Surely the Keep was not quite what you were accustomed to either."