The charade in Lohrin repeats anew in Querin. I am brought inside a significantly more extravagant palace. While ascending, I wave away my escort. A split second of hesitation is all I get before the order is followed. The handle to Sovereign Rak'Na's chambers is gripped, and the door is opened.

A disheveled beastfolk loudly shouts, "Khi'Na!" There are bags starting to show under her glassy eyes. The crackling electricity around her intensifies for a moment, but then disperses.

"Try again."

Rak'Na hesitantly asks, "Who are you?" I shift back to my normal shell, eliciting no response.

"You don't seem surprised."

"Where is my daughter?"

With a snap of my fingers, a warp portal materializes into existence.

A voice is heard from the other side. Khi mumbles begrudgingly, "You've been—" Then she whips her head to the materialized anomaly. The princess produces a high-pitched shout, "Mother!"

Rak'Na softly says, "You saved her..."

"Lucius! What are you doing!" Khi shouts again.

"'Save' is an exaggeration. She can hold her own," I say.

Rak'Na stumbles over to the perfect tunnel in space. She passes through and appears inside Elisa's house. I follow after her. Khi stands up and waits for her mother with a touch of something showing. Fear? Anticipation? A combination of both?

Whatever she was expecting does not come to pass. Rak'Na simply walks over to Khi, embraces her, and starts to subduedly cry. The princess is utterly befuddled, her tail standing on end and the fur bristling. The sovereign's shaking sobs rock her daughter's limp body.

After a long moment of emotions being displayed in full, a petrified Khi is lifted up and slowly carried back to the portal. Elisa and I can only watch as the strange happening unfolds.

Khi asks with confusion, "Mother?" Rak'Na looks to be ignoring her. Khi tries to break the vice-like hold but is entirely unsuccessful. With physical options gone, she turns to psychological. "Are you embarrassed?"

Rak'Na shudders imperceptibly and sets her precious cargo gently on the floor. The regality in the sovereign's husky voice is boosted to critical levels, "Preposterous. We are imposing. I was trying to bring us back home, as it is only proper. There are many affairs that need our attention."

Khi most likely deliberates running away to space and becoming a roguish ship's captain but then lets the attractive idea disperse with a shake of her head and a swish of her tail.

The princess turns to me. When she receives an apologetic smile, her fantasy turns to the darker side. Another dispersing shake and she says, "Let's, uh, have a seat and figure this out. Specifically—what the fuck is going on?"

Rak'Na humphs. Her still damp and reddened eyes do not contribute well to the confident act. "Isn't it obvious, dear? You've once more made me out to be the villain, when all I've ever done was what is in your best interests." As she is saying that, the sovereign moves to where Khi was previously sitting, both to study the confusing contraption and to gain some time to calm down.

Khi reels back from the proclamation, blinking a few times and then switching her questioning gaze to me.

"As I suspected, Sovereign Rak'Na was not involved in the plot to kidnap you, Khi."

"See? Obvious," Rak'Na adds, moving the mouse around and observing the changes on the display. Clicking one of the buttons produces an unexpected result. I send her an actual target. Another click produces another result, and an inconspicuous smile on her face. She deigns the display with a couple more moments and then spins around to face us again. The beastfolk addresses Elisa, "Lead the way."

We walk out of the not so recently converted gaming room and to the kitchen, sitting around the dining table. Each one of us has taken a different side, with Khi facing her mother, and Elisa facing me. The elf levitates over some refreshments of the alcoholic variety, much to the sovereign's unvoiced appreciation. A glowing yellow liquid is lethargically poured into three wide glasses. And a mug of chilled stout for me. Mmm, nutty.

Khi is looking at her mother with narrowed eyes and a lot of scrutiny. "You're sure she had nothing to do with it?"

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Rak'Na adopts a mock offended tone. "Please don't talk like I'm not here."

"Yes," I answer the princess' question. "Without my involvement, Kor'To's deluded beliefs would have been anything but." I turn to the sovereign. She meets my eyes. I catch but a glimpse of the bloodlust that was hidden beneath, now slowly fading away.

Elisa takes a sip out of her amply-filled glass, appearing to be enjoying the moment, if at the expense of the elder beastfolk. The downright scalding messages I am receiving reinforce that hypothesis.

Khi turns to her mother again. The look in the princess' eyes changes, the way she gazes at her parent also undergoes a change, slight as it is. "Could have fooled me," she says. Very slight.

After that, no one says anything. As the silence drags on, I deliberate on an approach. A pleading message is sent to Elisa.

The elf immediately speaks up, "Khi thought you were conducting another test while simultaneously securing a more favorable position in the fight for Ruler. We thought you wouldn't go that far, and that you were vehemently against putting Khi in any direct harm. We were right."

With a devilish grin on her lips, Rak'Na turns to Elisa and says, "Your relationship is a lot more equal than you previously presented it as." Khi gains a number one.

I didn't want to do this, but you've left me no choice. With a wave of my hand, a bowl of prawn crackers appears in the middle of the table. "Snacks, anyone?" I ask and digitally cross my fingers.

Rak'Na reaches over and grabs a cracker. While examining it, she says, "You don't have to be so nervous. I let slip your confidential information. You kept my daughter from me. I think we are even at this time." She then pops the treat in her mouth, crunching it down with a bit too much force.

Khi addresses me, "If you knew that she was not involved, why didn't you tell me?"

"I wasn't fully sure, so I did not want to deny your claims outright. Even if the chance was slim, there was a possibility of you being correct." Khi somewhat acquiesces at my explanation. Rak'Na, on the other hand...

"A hurtful sentiment to hear from a potential ally," the sovereign says with barely hidden enjoyment. "You'd think me heartless enough to throw my own flesh and blood to the wolves?" I wonder if Khi and Elisa would like a third crewmate? Would I count as an engineer or the ship itself?

Elisa answers my speculations verbally, "Both."

Khi asks in confusion, "What?"

Rak'Na contributes to her bewildered state, "Either you are a great actor, or you can communicate over large distances."

Elisa repeats herself, "Both."

The sovereign gives her another smile, this one containing a lot more emotions I can't quite decipher. Then she turns to me. "How did you do it?"

"Due to my unique nature, I have certain abilities that are not yet reproducible by organic beings."

"An interesting answer," Rak'Na says. "What do you want from me?"

I pass it right back. "What do you want?"

The smile on her face gets wider, now showing her sharp canines. "And I thought you were interesting before." Some of the playfulness takes a step back for a pertinent question. "Is Princess Mi'Min alright?"

"Physically—she is perfectly fine." I make a slight pause, supplementing my next words. "Children are... sometimes stronger than we think."

Rak'Na nods in response, contemplating for a moment. Khi shrinks a bit in her seat. Is she partially blaming herself? Could she have prevented the little beastfolk from being taken if she was able to prod a touch deeper into the mind of her deceitful protector? Could I have prevented it?

The sovereign pulls me out of my brief spiral into countless possibilities, "Why don't we start with the simplest. Who are you?"

I flash her a smile. "That question is on the other end."

Rak'Na receives the now well-practiced lecture. To my disappointment, she does not produce any exaggerated reactions. On the contrary, she looks to be enjoying the influx of novel information, crunching happily on the self-refilling crackers together with Khi.

When I finish, the sovereign points her first query in a wildly different direction than I expected. "If you disapproved of my methods so much, Lucius, why didn't you intervene sooner?"

"I'm not really qualified to offer parenting advice," I respond.

Rak'Na waits for a moment and then says, "Oh, you're done. There's generally a 'but' following statements of that nature." I just shrug. "Have my teachings and lessons ever failed you, Daughter?" Rak'Na asks her progeny. "You missed that one important detail only because I've been too lenient on you."

Khi's voice is flat and even. "Lenient?" A crackle of electricity jumps between her fingers. "Nothing has ever been good enough for you. I have never been good enough for you."

Rak'Na raises her voice. "There is no 'good enough'. You either overcome, or you die. What would have happened without him? Do you even know?" Rak'Na waits for an answer, but Khi does not supply it. The sovereign glances at me, quickly returning to staring down her daughter.

I answer for the princess, "The combined forces that had amassed in Vey'Chak'Pir would have most likely defeated the assault forces of Querin. With the significant possibility of both of you being part of the many casualties."

"What assault?" Khi asks, scrunching up her face.

Rak'Na mockingly repeats her question, "'What assault'? What assault do you think? I would die for you, Khi'Na. The only reason I didn't rain down my wrath upon those fools was because you would have been caught in it."

I supplement her explanation, "Having to extract a target would have severely diminished the sovereign's capabilities. Thus the unfavorable projections."

Khi mumbles dejectedly, "That doesn't make you right, Mother."

Rak'Na scoffs. "Found someone else that will take you in, then? Good riddance."

Khi figuratively explodes, the electricity arcing from her form and to every surface around her shifting it dangerously close to the literal. "What the fuck are you talking about!" She leaps up from her chair and teleports next to Rak'Na. The princess' hands grasp the sovereign's shoulders and spin her so they face each other. Rak'Na looks up just as a tear escapes from Khi's eye. Quickly followed by another and another, now flowing freely. "Do you really think I'd leave you just because you think it's safer? I will never abandon you. I love you." After a sniff, she adds, "Even if you are far from perfect."

Rak'Na stares at her in shock, only for her own tears to make their way out again. Khi quickly finds herself in another unbreakable embrace.

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