Adon and his passengers flew the whole night long and kept going through the sunrise. The three arthropods returned to the palace by mid-morning.

The butterfly was not particularly conscious of the need for speed as he flew.

Rather, flight was a joy that largely washed away any lingering regrets he might have still felt about the bear. His speed arose from the sheer joy of motion through the sky.

And the overwhelming sense of power that he had felt after eating the bear seemed not to have been an illusion after all. His enthusiasm for the air never flagged. His energy appeared boundless.

Thus, the arthropods arrived at the palace in mid-morning without having stopped for a rest anywhere.

Then Adon fluttered around the roof and walls for a few minutes, looking for an open door or window unsuccessfully.

It seemed the palace had not expected the butterfly and his friends to return quite yet. They had given the royal household no reason to anticipate that, but it felt a little absurd to be temporarily stymied in their reentrance into the palace by closed doors.

At last, a gardener opened the side door from the garden, and Adon darted down toward the opening before it could be closed behind the man.

The gardener's eyes widened as the giant butterfly and the two large spiders on his back shot into view, and his hand tightened on the lock stile of the door as if he intended to prevent the monstrous bugs from gaining access to the interior.

Adon slowed down, planning to simply explain who he and the spiders were.

Then he stopped completely, flapping his wings in midair to hold himself in place as he processed what he was seeing. The gardener had shifted his position completely. He had stepped away from the opening and was pulling the door open wider.

Far from trying to keep the arthropods out, the man was unambiguously welcoming them in.

Right, Adon thought. I guess the gardeners and some of the other staff know about us now. But we're sort of a national security secret, right? How does that work out, exactly? Rosslyn was worried about leaks before, right? Do you need a security clearance to be a gardener? He chuckled internally. The next thing you know, you'll have beekeepers who are secret government assassins…

"Welcome, noble butterfly and mystic companions," the gardener said as Adon fluttered to within grasping range. "I will alert the Princess to your return." He bowed his head after he finished the sentence.

This is so weird, Adon sent to Goldie and Samson only.

Reply to him, Adon, Samson snapped back instantly, slightly indignant.

Right, Adon sent, chuckling sheepishly in his return transmission.

Thank you, kind gardener, Adon sent to the man standing in the doorway. I—er, we—appreciate you informing the Princess of our return. Please let her know that we will be waiting for her in the room that the palace previously prepared for us.

"It shall be done as you say," the gardener replied solemnly.

Adon flapped his wings and floated past the gardener, still thinking how strange it was to be addressed as if he was the master of the palace or some distinguished noble, when he was in fact a creature from the garden.

Bro, you have to act like you're somebody important when the palace thinks you're somebody important, Samson sent once they were a ways past the gardener. You're planning to save the Kingdom, or at least help with its salvation, and from what I've seen, you actually have the power to be useful. You might not be as strong as the Princess, but maybe you're like a strong knight or something. And you're still getting stronger. Honestly, your talent makes me jealous.

Um, thanks, man, Adon replied.

But you can't act like you don't think you belong here! Samson added, clearly annoyed. If you do, you just give people a reason to doubt you. Which is inappropriate, since you're the real deal.

Got it, Adon sent, mildly chastened.

Be nice, Sammy, Goldie sent. She sounded slightly distracted.

The way she spoke reminded Adon a little of his own mother and the way she used to address Adon and Samson.

"Why don't you stand up for yourself, Adon?" she used to say when she and her firstborn son were alone after a similarly annoying interaction.

It was a question he never had an answer for.

The only answer is to actually do it, Adon thought. He had made all the progress he could have wished for in terms of physical courage and physical power in this life, but he was still leagues behind where he should be in the social sense.

I'm not used to being someone important, Samson, Adon sent, choosing his words carefully. You're probably right that I should act the part, but I also don't think the impression the gardener has of me is going to change anything. I was mostly just surprised he knew we were mystic beasts at all. I probably shouldn't have been, but there you go.

Not exactly defending himself, but it seemed to have the desired result.

Fair enough, and I don't mean to be too critical, Samson sent. It's just that, now that we're back, I'm reminded that there's a war coming up pretty soon. They're really going to need you. I hope they appreciate you.

Adon found the emphasis on the word "you" in the penultimate sentence a little strange, but he didn't question it too hard. He let his brother's words sit and allowed peaceful silence to reign for a few minutes as they neared their room.

It was only in that silence that Adon picked up the quiet thought, If I were Adon, I would be taking advantage of just how much they need him.

The butterfly cast a subtle glance at his brother up on his back, but Samson was not looking at him as if they were still talking. The spider was actually facing backward, looking down the hall as he mused about his brother's situation.

This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

So, that thought definitely wasn't meant for my ears, then, Adon thought.

His ability to overhear other people's innermost thoughts even when they did not want him to had only continued to grow, it seemed. Adon suspected the bear had contributed a little to the further development of this strange and somewhat unwelcome power.

Fortunately, they arrived in their room before Adon could overhear any further ideas that might be revealing of Samson's hidden feelings and beliefs.

Adon and the spiders settled in their customary places, although everything seemed a lot smaller to Adon. He had to shrink his wings slightly to perch on the bedpost without smacking them against the ceiling and wall nearby.

The spiders said a hearty hello to their smaller, less evolved kin—Samson's younger siblings—while Adon just relaxed and allowed himself to reflect further on what had happened.

He had only been settled there for a couple of minutes when the humans arrived.

"Adon, you are back!" Rosslyn exclaimed, approaching him with a broad smile on her face.

She stopped a foot away from where he stood, and Adon took in the details of her appearance. She was dressed in armor, as if she was about to go into battle. Her smile seemed a little nervous. And her face was a bit pale, as if she had been through some harrowing emotional experience recently.

Then the two Dessian brothers came following after her. Both were dressed in armor as well.

Adon felt a distinct sense of energy radiating off of them. The butterfly observed that he could sense a hint of their emotions now, without any effort, as much as he could hear explicit thoughts. The feelings were like a cloud hanging in the air. Both brothers were excited, though with different reasons behind their feelings.

"Welcome back, Adon," William said, sporting a cocky grin that Adon instantly decided he disliked.

"It is, of course, a pleasure to see you again, Adon," said Frederick. But his eyes fell on Goldie as he spoke, and he quickly added, "And your noble friends."

Adon sensed some moderately unwholesome intentions from Frederick, but they were not unfriendly. He was interested in Goldie now. Apparently he'd had some time to reconsider his feelings about human-mystic beast connections while they had been away.

I should be happy for her, Adon thought. Frederick seemed a bit disagreeable, but on some level, he was a little more straightforward than William at least. That made him more trustworthy in Adon's eyes. Maybe I should let him know that she just came out of a relationship that ended tragically. If he decides to court Goldie, it's important that he takes it slow.

I am surprised that everyone came out to meet me, Adon sent, thinking carefully as he communicated to separate his private musings from his message. And you're all so dressed up…

Already, in response to his prompting, he heard echoes of the reason why the brothers had accompanied Rosslyn to meet him, though the two were not thinking about that subject exactly. The reason for their action was more of a dim recollection that lay beneath their surface thoughts.

Still, Frederick's next words only confirmed what Adon already knew.

"Rosslyn and William are going to fight a duel," Frederick explained. "Then we intend to go and crush a dungeon that emerged near Wayn." He sounded almost contemptuous of the challenge; it would be easy. Telepathy told Adon that the sentiment was sincere. The butterfly was not even trying to overhear Frederick's thought, but his mental stream-of-consciousness mirrored the verbal one.

These interactions confirm it, Adon thought. His Telepathy had grown more powerful again. Probably, Goldie and Samson were beginning to experience improvements in their Telepathy as well, and that was why Adon had not experienced as much leakage of their thoughts and feelings into his awareness on the return journey as he was of the humans' thoughts now.

"The Dessians have graciously agreed to join us, along with the members of the Branden Guard who accompanied them here," Rosslyn said. "Exterminating the dungeon is likely to be dangerous, and we are rather shorthanded here at the moment."

Why have a duel? Goldie sent, sounding slightly alarmed. It sounds like a good way to wear yourselves out before you go into the dungeon. Adon could tell that she was trying to calm herself as she spoke during the second transmission.

Are you fighting for the honor of who leads the expedition? Samson asked.

"No important reason," Rosslyn lied. She looked slightly uncomfortable.

"Rosslyn had already dueled a few people over the last couple of months," William said lightly. "I wanted to try my hand and see how I compare."

But Adon sensed a slightly darker reason in the emotional clouds wafting off of the Dessian. The butterfly probed lightly into William's thoughts and confirmed his suspicion.

Even if she is still unsure of her feelings, she will at least respect my strength after this, William thought.

Adon recalled that Rosslyn had made it a requirement that anyone courting her be capable of defeating her in single combat, and he felt the beginnings of anger boiling up within him.

Did William make it a requirement to duel him, before he would join Rosslyn in the dungeon? Adon wondered. He thought for a few seconds and decided, No. No, Rosslyn is very confident in her own strength. She wouldn't agree to that. He felt a little rush of relief before he reminded himself that he had no particular reason to be relieved.

"We were on our way to the training room for the duel when we stopped here," Frederick said. "We heard you three were back from a hunting trip. And I see the journey was not wasted time." His appraising eye looked over the arthropods carefully, and Adon had the surreal experience of both being watched and completely understanding what Frederick thought as he observed them.

Now this is more along the lines of what I would have expected from mystic beasts, Frederick thought. They are visibly larger and practically overflowing with vitality compared with any other animal species. The pipsqueak is still small and probably weak, but that has to be viewed in context. He multiplied his size. The rate of improvement these three show is astounding.

No, the journey was definitely not wasted time, Adon sent, carefully replying only to the spoken words. We killed a mystic beast, actually. Goldie contributed the most to the fight. He knew Frederick would value that. It was a bear.

Adon had expected the humans to be impressed when he told them that, but the effect was more than he had imagined. Everyone's eyes widened at the announcement.

A mystic bear?! was the thought on all their minds.

Adon received, not specific and fully formed thoughts, but impressions, layered on top of that.

From Rosslyn: Had they not gone extinct?

William thought, Impossible.

Frederick smiled and seemed to be impressed.

Before Adon could ask if the mystic bear had any particular meaning to them, he was interrupted by his brother, who had not read the room as well as Adon—who was probably, in fairness, not capable of simply reading everyone's minds as Adon was.

Will you three be wanting additional company in the dungeon? Samson sent. The eagerness in his voice made it obvious that he hoped the answer would be yes.

Rosslyn opened her mouth to speak, but her expression and general emotional aura spelled hesitation to Adon. He got a bad feeling, perhaps a premonition of doom. She would say that it would be best if they stay behind, and then she would go alone into the dungeon—well, not alone, but with the Dessian brothers, which was in some way worse in his mind—and something terrible might happen.

The bad feeling was nothing more than that—a feeling, insubstantial and perhaps unjustified—but it was powerful. Adon's mind worked quickly to solve a problem that he was perhaps only inventing in his head.

Before you answer that, I would love to have a few minutes alone with Rosslyn, Adon sent impulsively. I just want to ask her about—about something we discussed before my departure. You remember, Rosslyn?

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.