"Kyle! Kyle! Send me back!" Annan shouted as he pushed open the library door. "The Royal Capital is terrifying! I don't want to—"
Annan's cry stopped short at the sight of an "outsider" in the library—or perhaps Annan was the outsider.
A quiet Girl in a billowing black lace dress sat by the window. Her eyes, a color much like Princess Sails's, settled on Annan.
"You are not allowed to call me that!" the Legendary Mage snapped, a book in his hands.
"But you said I couldn't call you 'Khaelberos'..."
"Neither!" Khaelberos had none of the chill he had shown when they first met. Now he was almost one percent as irritable as Agawar. "Annan, you should show a Legendary Mage some respect."
"Respect is something you feel, not something you say."
The Girl studied Annan closely at that.
"Your Highness, please wait a moment." Khaelberos spoke to the Girl, who nodded, then took Annan out into the corridor.
"You met the Grand Duke?"
"Mm. He told me to come find you after I called you Khael." Grand Duke Babatod had become much warmer toward Annan, too.
Khaelberos began to regret agreeing to visit Star-Moon Bay for the Grand Duke. That was how this fellow had latched onto him. "You don't want to what?"
Just then, the carved wooden door, left nearly shut, opened a crack. The Girl appeared behind it and gestured for Annan to keep quiet.
Annan understood. "I don't want to stay here any longer. Send me back."
"Don't you have a scroll that can take you back?"
"That's for emergencies, and I'm perfectly safe right now." Annan laid on the flattery. "You're a Legendary Mage. Whether it's the Snow Mountains or the deep sea, Middle Earth or the Void, all you need to reach it is