At dinner that evening, Emira did not once mention the duel. She seemed willing to talk about almost anything else.
Even the strange intruder.
"It is not the first person who has tried to come over the wall. Probably just some fanatic with an ideal or agenda." Emira took a bite of food without a hint of emotion.
"Does that happen often?" Noble stared at the other woman curiously.
"I've lost count of the number of attempts on my life over the past century," the monarch laughed dryly. "It comes with being in charge."
Noble could not quite fathom how Emira thought this was normal.
But in the history of the waking world, plenty of kings and other leaders were assassinated by a group or individual who disagreed. Instead of words, they had used weapons.
Frowning, Noble corrected the queen's thinking. "I do not think the man was after you. I have seen him once before."
"Oh. You have an 'admirer' of your own, do you? Perhaps you did inherit the family trait, after all…" Emira mused idly.
"A family trait of people wanting to kill us?" Noble could hardly believe her ears.
Emira clicked her tongue dismissively.
"Don't be so somber, niece. Captain Theo says you gave him a good description, and he is confident that we will find the culprit." The monarch waved her hands for the next course.
A half dozen servants immediately cleared the plates. Why were six servants needed to clear the food for two people?
There was always far too much food on the table. What happened to the leftovers? Hopefully, the palace staff got to feast as well. Or perhaps the poor of the city?
"Captain Theo seems quite capable," Noble said, pushing aside her fleeting thought of how many people were currently starving in the NQSC.
"He is," Her Majesty agreed easily, "Which is why I am making him my next general."
Nearly choking on a sip of water, Noble set down her cup with a cough. "So soon?"
Hadn't her General Regel just been slain on the battlefield? Was there even a funeral in his honor?
"I should have already named one." Emira allowed a plate of warm cake to be placed in front of her. "It is not good to leave that position vacant for long. It gives people like our unwanted visitor ideas. And Theo will need to be comfortable in the role before the next attack from the mountains."
As much as Noble hated to admit it, it made sense. Although the person could never be replaced, the role needed to be filled. Noble only hoped that Theo would be better at staying alive than poor Regel had been.
"I will congratulate General Theo next time I see him." Noble smiled and dug into the cloudlike cake before her. Whatever had been used to make it, the dessert melted in her mouth like butter.
At that moment Noble was sure of only one thing. None of the palace staff would be having any of her dessert tonight.
------
Days passed and Noble quickly fell into a rhythm. After a morning of reading, she would train in the afternoon with Counsel. In the evening she would dine alone with Emira before an evening either by herself or with Counsel and her personal servants.
The newness wore off and the routine became mundane. There were times when Noble nearly forgot about her life in the NQSC. With each morning in the palace, the brunette felt a little more at home in the kingdom ruled by her aunt.
With such easy days, it was hard to remember that she was indeed in a Nightmare.
Just now in the library, Noble's mind had drifted from her book to what dress she was going to wear to the feast that accompanied the queen's centennial ceremony. Her servant Lenore had talked of little else for days.
'Green is a very good color, but I am not sure all the frills are necessary...' Noble stopped midthought and slowly exhaled.
Floating over her chair, she forced her foot against the ground for three whole seconds.
'My name is Noble. I am a professor at the Awakened Academy. My husband is Fort. We have three, no four beautiful children: Rain, Brock, and Blaze…and Seb! I am not Lady Brenna. This is my second Nightmare and I want to go HOME!'
Noble nearly screamed the last word as she pulled her foot suddenly from the floor. Instead, she whimpered.
"Did you find something?" Counsel looked up from across the table and then saw her pale face. "Are you alright?!"
"I'm fine," Noble responded. "I just got a little distracted."
"I can understand why," Counsel shut the cover on the pages before him. "All these books say the same thing. The heart is from the Lord of the Mountain and is buried somewhere below the earth. We will never get anywhere if this is all there is. Are you sure Her Majesty will not let you in her private collection?"
"I am sure." Noble had hinted at that very thing the night before, and part of her food had ended up burned from the heat of Emira's anger. "We will have to get her to agree with my plan without that information."
"And if she doesn't?" Counsel raised an eyebrow at her.
"She will..." Noble answered vaguely. The studious professor did not want to think about the choice she would have to make if things did not go the way she hoped.
"Destroying that menacing Lord would mean freedom for our kingdom. It is what your parents wanted most in the world." A strange cloud fell over Counsel's emotions every time he mentioned Brenna's parents.
Whatever had happened in the mountains had followed him home in his soul. He was tormented by it.
"Do you want something different?" Noble tipped her mouth up slightly.
Counsel blinked away his gloom and nodded. "I want more than just freedom. I want our kingdom to be strong enough to conquer anything. I am tired of simply having to defend ourselves."
"Then we will find a way to finish what my parents started."
'What Brenna's parents started...' Noble mentally corrected herself.
Both Noble's and Brenna's parents had fought a war for humanity's freedom. Lena and Lance had just fought it in the waking world. Even now, Lena was still fighting to make sure people were taken care of.
This was one of the many reasons Noble needed to fight to get home. Her family--her real family--needed her.
"I look forward to our glorious victory." Counsel smiled. "How is the plan coming along?"
"Well, since we cannot go into the mountains, the key to this is obviously the heart. I am sure it exists. But as you pointed out, we have no more information on that front. Until I can find it, or find more information about how to find it, I am stuck."
The two carried on until they had searched every book that the librarian's assistant had placed on the table. It was near lunchtime, but Noble wanted to take a closer look at something she had seen the day before.
Leaving Kosi and Counsel to stack up their reading materials, Noble went and sought out the man in charge. Drune was carrying a large pile almost directly into a wall when he paused.
Placing his hand on the wall, the white stone glistened before giving way to another room.
"Excuse me!" Noble called before he could disappear from view.
"Lady Brenna!" The man turned, losing a few books in his pile as he did so. He hastily gathered them. "I did not see you coming. Is there something I can help you with?"
"What is in there?" Noble tried to peek but the man quickly blocked her view.
"This is the Queen's private area. I am just returning her most recent reading," the librarian explained quickly.
"Oh," Noble pulled her lips to one side.
She could push past the man easily enough, but in the end that would place her on the wrong side of the Queen.
Noble warred with herself for a moment before lowering her eyes in defeat. She would not enter just now.
"I was looking for a book you gave me yesterday."
"Give me a moment and I will be right back to help you." The man hurried into the forbidden space, and the door sealed like it had never been there.
'At least I know where it is now…' Noble mused. 'Just not how he opened it!'
Bending down, Noble examined the floor to look for any kind of seam. But her eyes caught a very different sight.
One of the fallen books from the man's pile had been left behind. Picking it up, Noble's eyes opened wide. She smirked.
"Well, hello there."