Quitetly, Quiggly stepped into the darkness as he stealthily approached and steeled himself for what he was about to do. "My master, good sir," Quiggly said, sounding oddly formal, as if he were not supposed to be there. "It grieves me to inform you that Lady Arridela has just died." Rath shook his head to clear it. "What are you saying, boy?" "I said, 'Lady Arridela is dead.' There is no mistake about it." "Lady Arridela is dead?" Rath said. "You're saying Arridela has died?" "That's correct, sir. And this time I'm not a liar. I saw her myself. Right at this very minute I was standing in her chamber, a little while ago, when a terrible smell coming out of her bedroom gave me quite a turn. I ran up to her and she was blue in the face, breathing in real fast and her chest was making sounds I never heard before. Right then I knew she was dead, sir." "What did you do?" Rath said, aghast. "I knew I had to come see you right away," Quiggly said, as if he could read Rath's mind. "I mean, I knew you had the knowledge you needed to save Lady Arridela, but you were not here. I knew that we might already be too late. That's why I came." Rath's mind was spinning. He struggled to work out what was happening, and had this boy not already come to him, Rath's mind would have been a complete blank. He put out his hands and shook the boy by his arms. "You must believe me, sir," Quiggly said, still sounding rather formal, "I didn't come to watch Lady Arridela die." "Let's get back to the house, quickly," Rath said, fearing for the boy's safety. It was late morning when they returned to the manor, and they found the house in turmoil. The news of Arridela's death had spread faster than a lightning bolt and word had spread through the village and up to Lord Silden's home in a matter of moments. Already people were arriving, wailing and praying at the death of the only child of Lord Charming's dukedom. Their Lord had left that morning to get a jump on matters and Rath had been informed that Lord Charming had been asked to stay, both by Arridela and the priest in the village. He was standing on the landing when she came in the door. "My lord, your lady mother is dead. You should come down and pay your respects." Morgana looked surprised, and Rath stepped forward before she said anything more. "We were at the manor, Morgana," Rath said, "we were just leaving." "How did she die?" Morgana asked. "I don't really know," Rath said. "I suppose she had a long illness, but it all happened so fast we weren't really prepared for it. You should come in, Morgana, if you wish." She nodded, and took Rath's arm. "Of course I wish," she said, and looked concerned as they stepped away from the landing. The servants' entrance for the house was located at the side of the home, and had been opened since the arrival of the wounded man and his wife. A half dozen of the more useful servants were sitting in the back garden, on an assortment of wicker chairs and benches, having the time of their lives gossiping about the woman who had suddenly been taken from them. Her death gave all sorts of rumors a new life and the room broke into laughter at some inopportune times. They were quiet now, and for the first time since they were seated, they looked up to see Rath and Morgana arrive. The crowd stirred as Rath and Morgana walked in, and they all stood as the two of them came into the garden. There were a couple of women in the room, but nobody cried. "You're late, Lord Morgan." "Very wise words, my lord," Morgana said. "Did the Lady Arridela suffer much?" "Her death was painful, I'm sure," Morgana said. "But her passing has been peaceful. We have seen to her. Now we must work to comfort those who knew her." "Have you heard what happened, my lord?" the man who was sitting next to her asked. "It must have been awful, all alone here. How long ago was she taken?" Rath didn't answer him. He was staring at Arridela's open chamber door. The room had been emptied by now, and there was nothing left but the floor. Rath glanced around at Morgana and saw a shadow in her eyes, but then she must have understood what he had been thinking. "We should make our way back," Morgana said. "There's nothing to be done right now." Rath stepped back, his back to the crowd as they began filing out. Morgana followed him. "You'll have to make your own way back," Rath said. "I need to be here." Morgana stepped forward and took his hand. "Rath, we should let her be. Lord Charming has left, and I know we'll have you to ourselves very soon. Arridela's not going anywhere, is she?" Rath shook his head. "No, but something isn't right." "What's not right?" she asked. "Did you find out why the disease didn't affect you?" Rath shook his head. "Not yet. I think the disease made me well, for her. Maybe it's true what Quiggly says. There is a poison in her, and somehow it didn't affect me. Now I have no choice but to go and find out what it is." "Of course," Morgana said. "We'll let you be alone here, when we're ready, and if we need anything, we'll ask the servants or Lord Charming." "It's not necessary," Rath said. "You don't need to go back there. I'll be fine." "It's not your business if you're fine," Morgana said. "We are the ones left in the house. You'll understand that if something happens to me, you'll have to take charge of things. I'm sure you know what you have to do." "I'm sure that everything will work out just fine," Rath said, but the tone of his voice suggested a tone of uncertainty. "Right," Morgana said. "I'll be back as soon as I can. We should leave now." Rath watched as she put her fingers into her mouth and whistled. They waited until a maid from the upper rooms stepped down the stairs to see if anyone needed any assistance. Morgana called out the maid's name and the maid disappeared back into the house. "Good day," Morgana said to the room. "Yes," the man replied. Morgana whistled again. A minute later the man who had been eating from a bowl of fruit he had brought with him walked down to join them. "She's gone," Morgana said, "back home." The man nodded and Rath stepped forward, taking Morgana's hand. "Thank you for coming." The man shook his head. "I didn't realize that my life was in such danger. My wife is right; my whole life is in ruins." Rath reached out and took his hand. "Come with me," he said. "This is your home, my lord, and your wife needs you. I wish to go back to my family." "I know," Rath said. "Now come with me." The man stepped away from him and nodded. "Yes, my lord." Rath had never told anyone, not even Morgana, about his connection to the dead witch, his mother. Now he needed to reach the one who had left him here, and he needed to show her his face. He was still standing by the door to her room, the woman's chamber, when Rath had come back from the village, had stepped outside, then back in again. He saw Morgana standing in the corridor looking at him, and he started. "I went looking for her. Do you think the Witch would like to see me?" Morgana looked at him and shook her head. "Your mother is not there," she said. "She's not in the house. You were speaking to your daughter. She's right next door." "How can you tell?" "I'm your family now," Morgana said, "and I can tell you things, Rath, things you can't see. You know she's my daughter, don't you?" He nodded. "Where is she?" "She's not here. She's in the fields, where she is growing a tree." "A tree?" "Yes," Morgana said. "I've learned not to question her. There is