“Narticani,” a voice called out sharply. Lanni whirled around, her gaze falling upon Prince-General Azlos. The stern face shimmered in the magical reflection on a silver tray hanging in the noisy kitchen filled with clattering and steam. With a frown etching her face, she addressed the shimmering image. “General, that is not my name. Do not call me that. I am Lanni here.” The name ‘Narticani’ was a vestige of her past, a name bestowed upon her during her years as an apprentice. This title clung to her like an unwanted shadow. She hated it with a passion. Since she was no longer an apprentice, she shouldn’t have been called by it, but people still did when upset with her. “I was reviewing Trema’s scheduling request,” Azlos spoke with a sense of official purpose. “And you believe this concerns me how, exactly?” “It bears a remarkable resemblance to the proposal you submitted previously. The very same suggestion.” “And your point is?” Azlos leveled his gaze, an accusation poised on his lips. “So I figure you pushed him to get your way.” Lanni straightened up, her voice steady but firm, schooling the Prince-General with the weight of her extensive experience. “Azlos, I was in command of my first army when I was eleven. I was princess-general for fifty years. I’ve spent over a hundred years as a soldier with twenty-five of that in my current position. In all that time, I’ve learned a few things and come up with a few good ideas. “I don’t expect you to follow all my advice. You need to have your own ideas, too. But please remember, if I can figure something out, so can others. Trema did not consult me on this. He is a good captain, capable of seeing these things too. There’s a reason he’s up here. Please remember that.” Recognizing the gravity of Lanni’s words, Azlos offered a nod of concession. “I think it’s a good idea too. I wanted him to figure it out, to see if he could. I wanted him to be able to make the argument on his own.” “I didn’t help him. If I had pushed him, it would have led to questions we don’t want to be asked,” Lanni stated, her tone signaling the end of the matter. “Good. I’ll contact Trema later to let him know it’s approved. Is he currently on the night shift or day shift?” “He’s filling in for someone on the night shift today,” Lanni replied, imparting the necessary information. “Very well. My thanks to you.” And with those parting words, Prince-General Azlos dissolved the magic of his scrying spell, his image fading from the silver tray, leaving Lanni alone amid the bustle of the kitchen After finishing the chores, Lanni took meticulous care of her hands by applying lotion to prevent the skin from becoming dry and chapped. With that task completed, she de-cided to seek out Jahree, knowing it was his night off. Upon finding him, she was greeted with a warm, affectionate smile, reflecting their deep bond. “You are the prettiest woman in all the hidden lands or its holdings,” Jahree expressed with heartfelt sincerity. His statement carried more than just superficial flattery; it was a testament to a fate that seemed woven by the hands of destiny. “I sometimes wonder why my parents brought me to this place, but now, I’m convinced it was fate guiding me to your side.” With those words, he leaned in for a gentle, loving kiss. Nearby, Marn scoffed, his cynicism showing through. “If she’s falling for lines like that, no wonder she hit me.” His remark, a mixture of humor and slight envy, cut through the romantic atmosphere. Jahree, unamused by the commentary, suggested, “Don’t you need to report for du-ty?” It was a nudge for Marn to move on and not intrude on the couple’s intimate mo-ment. Playfully engaging in the banter, Lanni added, “I could suspend him upside down from the ceiling, you know.” She mentioned this with a twinkle in her eye. Perplexed by Lanni’s proposition, Marn raised an eyebrow in confusion. “Do what?” The concept of being levitated as a form of disciplinary action was foreign to him. Jahree explained, “It’s a dragon form of discipline. They levitate the offender upside down, near the ceiling, similar to how a child might be placed in the corner for a time-out.” “That might actually be effective,” Marn considered, reflecting on his own childhood experiences. “Certainly a better approach than what my mom’s husband resorted to.” Both Jahree and Lanni shared sympathetic frowns. “Yeah, my adoptive parents did that too,” Jahree said. “My parents didn’t. That was my brother,” Lanni revealed. “How much older was he than you?” Marn asked. “Four years,” she responded, indicating that despite the seemingly small gap, her brother had been a considerable presence during her upbringing. “Only four years? He couldn’t have done much,” Marn mused, not fully comprehend-ing the gravity of her statement. “Do you remember how big my Uncle Tercala was? My brother was that big by the time he was fourteen,” Lanni told them, creating a visual with her hands to emphasize her point. “Oh, never mind. Sorry,” Marn muttered, an apology tinged with an awkward recog-nition of the rather imposing size comparison. Lanni shrugged off the sentiment. “It helped prepare me for Lerjao,” she said with an air of nonchalance, dismissing the imposing memory as nothing more than a childhood challenge. “Yeah, okay. You have us both beat,” Marn admitted with a resigned nod. Jahree’s frown deepened. “Thanks for ruining the romantic mood,” he grumbled. “My parents brought me here so I can meet you,” Marn mocked in a playfully sarcas-tic tone, pretending to swoon. “Real romantic,” he said, rolling his eyes dramatically. “Better than ‘someone who knows how to treat an experienced woman,” Lanni laughed, recollecting a clumsily worded compliment. Jahree couldn’t help but join in the laughter. “You said that?” he asked Marn, aston-ished at his friend’s audacious phrasing. Marn grinned sheepishly. “That was pretty bad,” he admitted, accepting the friendly ridicule gracefully. “All kidding aside, Marn, go away. We’re supposed to be angry with each other. It won’t do for them to see us joking together,” Lanni said, her tone serious now as she re-turned her focus to the importance of maintaining appearances. “Okay. I need to relieve Zan anyhow.” Marn nodded, accepting the change in mood as his cue to leave. Once Marn had left, Jahree kissed Lanni again. She purred in response. “My room or yours?” she asked, the tingling sensation of temptation evident in her voice. “Neither bed is all that big,” Jahree pondered aloud, considering the practical aspects of their tryst. “We could go down to Sen-gan and use my bed down there,” Lanni suggested, her voice lowering to a conspiratorial whisper. “I should stay here in case there’s a problem,” Jahree reasoned, his sense of duty peek-ing through the desire. “Okay, my room here then. Less chance of getting walked in on. Tell may think to knock, but I have a lock,” Lanni said with a wink, leading the way to her quarters with the promise of privacy and intimacy just a lock away. #fantasy #magic #dragons #hiddenlands