[Susan Delgado]

Sultir watched in horrified fascination as Nuhrive joined in the Fool's act. She was obviously enjoying herself, but was too engrossed in her fun to observe the expressions on her parents' and some of the older Elves present. Sultir wasn't. He loved Nuhrive like the sister he'd never had, but right then, he was glad he was up here and not down there.

Presently, the act ended and Nuhrive realised her danger. It was too late to escape it now, though, and Sultir watched from hiding as her parents deposited her in her room and said some things he was too far away to hear. As soon as her parents had disappeared back down the corridor, he slunk through the hidden passages until he came to the one that opened into her closet. She was not particularly surprised to see him appear in her room. She turned to him with a sigh.

"What am I going to do now?"

"What did they say?"

"They told me I was not allowed out of my room until further notice. They're tired of finding me in places I'm not supposed to be, etc. You know how they are."

Sultir supressed a smile. He did, indeed, know how parents were, and he only had one to deal with! "You're not actually going to stay here, are you? How boring! Come on, they won't be back for hours."

"But-"

"They'll never know."

Convinced by this impeccable logic, Nuhrive nodded and they snuck through the palace (utilizing the secret passages when discovery by some adult seemed imminent) until they were outside again.