"Action is eloquence."
--William Shakespeare, Coriolanus
Aiden missed breakfast, off in an audience with the King. The Princess told them they were discussing dimensional theory and were using words and terms she did not understand. Over breakfast the Princess told them what she knew of dimensions, telling them of the woman—the Majestrix—that had recently died. Apparently, she had been a link to a central dimension, a liaison between their world and an ominous faction she referred to as the "Council." The assignation of a new liaison was still in the works and dimensional travelers were few—none had ever come from their world that they knew of. The Princess listened avidly to their tales of their own world. Matt impressed her by drawing pictures of things like cars and radios.
"Technology," the Princess said brightly, "is said to be magic's opposite—mechanical means of reaching an end as opposed to the forcing of will." She frowned. "Though magic has yet to come up with anything as interesting as your cars and radios."
"In our world we can't light a candle with a thought," Annie pointed out.
"We don't have any magic," Jess agreed. "But your world has some technology."
"Its way behind ours, though," Matt said. "A medieval world."
"How did these other travelers come to this world?" Cruz wondered.
"The usual way, I suppose," the Princess replied. "Either they did something to cross the barriers or come through where the barriers are weak." She tapped her lips with a slim finger thoughtfully. "I do not know the rituals required to cross dimensional barriers, nor I suspect does our court wizard. But there are some who might."
"Who?" Jess asked eagerly.
"There are a faction of witches in the North Country who are said to have come from another world. But I do not know how reliable they may be or that they can even be reached. People who go to them never return."
"What about where the barriers are weak?"
"Weak spots move through the threads so they may appear anywhere. But they are weakest at the ends of the world."
"The ends of the world?" Cruz said wonderingly. "The world has ends?"
"Of course. Does yours not?"
"Our world is round," Matt explained drawing a sphere. The Princess frowned down at it.
"How curious," she said. "How does one know where things begin or end?" No one knew how to answer her question and they all looked at one another. "A round world."
"At these ends where the barriers are weak," Jess asked her, "what's on the other side?"
"Other worlds," she answered simply. "Yours, perhaps."
"The Bermuda Triangle," Jess said brightly. "I was reading this book—it's where people disappear and weird things happen there. Maybe it's where the dimension barriers are thin. Are the ends of this world on the ocean?"
"Yes, on all sides save the north."
"What's to the north?" Tom asked her.
"Mountains. Impenetrable mountains." She shook her head. "The end there is unreachable."
"So we must have crossed a weak area in the forest at home," Matt mused. "It must have moved."
"From where I was," Annie said. "I was heading toward the Reservation when the land... went funny."
"Where did you end up in the forest? Not the same place we were."
"A few miles from where I caught up with you, in some fields." She looked up suddenly. "Does that mean that there's still a weak point in the forest? It just moved?"
"Maybe," Jess said. "But it would be impossible to find. We don't have that kind of time, especially if we don't find Jason." They all knew Aiden was already suffering ill effects from his lack of insulin—he had agreed to talk to the King because he hadn't felt up to eating breakfast. The only thing anyone had seen him ingest since yesterday morning was copious amounts of water. And Tom said his breath smelled like he had been drinking wine all night. Not a good sign at all. Of them all, Jess was most familiar with his symptoms. He needed insulin.
As for Jason, the Royal Guard was out combing the hillsides around Berelain, looking for him. Berelain, they supposed, would be the first place he would head for. So far, no luck. And he obviously still had Aiden's backpack as no sign of it had been found, either. As much as they were prepared to leave Jason to rot, they hoped they found him soon.
"We'll see what Aiden has to say," Jess told them.
"I don't trust witches," he said after listening to what they had learned. He had had an almost identical conversation with the King. "And besides, I heard some stories about looking for them from the King. And as for searching the forest, that'd be like looking for a needle in a haystack."
"Then that leaves finding the ends of the world," Matt said nodding in agreement.
"How far is it?" Cruz asked the raven-haired girl across from him. Marya consulted the map on the table in front of her.
"A week, perhaps," she said eventually. Aiden winced visibly as Jess sighed.
"If it turns out to be nothing, that's two weeks wasted, here and back," Jess said. "How long?" he asked his brother.
"Could be any time," Aiden admitted. "Two weeks…"
"If it turned out to be nothing…" Cruz muttered.
"We can set sail tomorrow," the Princess assured them.
"Not me," Aiden said. "I'll have to stay here." There was a sudden outburst of protest from all of them, speaking at once. "Think about it," he told them, raising his voice. "If Jason gets found I'll get the insulin I need. Two weeks on a boat—I don't know—that's pushing it. And here, I might be able to find an herb or something to stall the effects. The King said he sent out word to local healers—looking for some kind of cure, but I ain't very hopeful. I might be able to survive by staying here… and you guys might bring some insulin back if it's good. I'll promise to hang on for two weeks. Hopefully, it won't even take that long." He grinned to try and dispel the serious nature of their talk.
"I'm staying, too," Annie said nodding her head. "He'll need someone to look after him."
"Anybody else wants to stay, say so," Jess said crossing his arms. "I'll bring back some insulin."
"I'm going," Matt said standing up.
"Me too," Tom said, echoing his brother.
"I'll go," Cruz said after a pause.
"I'll commission a ship," the Princess said happily. "Adventure on the high seas! Oh, Daddy had better let me go." She jumped up and quickly exited. Marya shook her head until the Princess returned a minute later. "I—I don't know where to begin," she said sheepishly. Marya grinned.
"Captain Baines is in Berelain with the Strider," Marya told her. "That's the fastest ship in the Royal Fleet. He's probably in the castle re-outfitting his ship." The Princess pulled her out of her chair and they left in a flurry.
"Separating got us in trouble last time," Cruz said watching them go.
"No choice this time," Aiden said with a shrug. "You think I want to miss out on a place called 'the end of the world?' I wish I was going."
"Two weeks," Jess muttered. "That's a long time."
"I bet we find Jason in two or three days. Then we'll hop on the fastest ship to where you guys are." He snorted. "Besides, who's going to lead you bunch of idiots?"
"You aren't the leader," Matt said dryly.
"But I am the oldest," he pointed out. "You'll be the oldest this time," he said to Matt with a scowl. "I expect you to be careful and don't do anything stupid." He looked at Jess. "Don't let him do anything stupid."
"Same for you," Matt said with a scowl of his own. "Don't get married while we're gone."
"What is THAT supposed to mean?" Annie said angrily. "Because I'm staying here?" Matt's scowl turned to surprise, clearly not expecting her reaction. "I would think you guys would be thankful somebody is staying here with him so you can all go on your little adventure. That's why I'm staying behind—because maybe he needs a friend close by."
"I AM thankful," Jess assured her. "I would stay if I was sure anyone else could bring back insulin. So I'm thankful you decided to stay behind."
"Nobody needs to stay behind," Aiden growled. "I can take care of myself." Annie ignored him and glared at Matt. Finally, he looked away.
"I was just joking," he said quietly. "I didn't mean anything." Annie sniffed dismissively, still glaring at him. The others tried not to grin. For all his toughness, Matt was being cowed by a girl, and that was extraordinarily amusing. Annie ended it a moment later by turning diffidently away from him.
"Anyway," she said confidently, "I'm staying." Aiden didn't argue with her, nodding his head. He didn't mind at all if a pretty girl wanted to stay with him. He just wished he didn't feel so ill.
"I hope this works," he said.
"If it doesn't," Cruz asked, "what are you going to do?"
"There's herbs and stuff I can try. The King says diabetes is not unknown, but it is a fatal disease." He frowned thoughtfully. "The same as in our world. But, there are some ways to fight the worst of the effects until we find some insulin."
"Just stay alive until we can get some," Jess told him.
"Of course," he replied. "I was sick for months. I'll be alive. For months, at least." He grinned. "No worries."
"If it doesn't work…"
"Then we try something else. It's all we can do. C'mon—let's go see if the Princess got a ship yet."