After another long, exhausting day searching the mountains for the princess' mysterious fire, Henry and Eleanor had returned to the Mehis Castle and were now quietly dining together. Zolun, the captain of the Fifth Princess's entourage, stood a short distance behind them, his posture straight, hands clasped behind his back like a statue.
Oben, the coachman who had once attacked Henry's soldiers, remained far from his sight ever since their conflict. Though still present whenever they climbed the mountains, responsible for guiding the carriage, he kept to the edges, out of sight and out of mind.
Unlike when they first arrived, Eleanor's condition had started to mysteriously improve. Her face no longer looked pale and drained, and the terrible coughing fits, once triggered every twenty minutes when she stepped outside and walked in the cold air, had now slowed to once an hour. It was an enormous improvement.
