Rosa trembled as she recognized Calandiel's voice, or rather that new voice. She tried to speak, but her mouth was still gagged.

- You sure? I saw your wound, don't you think it's better for you to rest? - refuted the jailer ignoring the queen's noises.

- It looked worse than it was. Just a superficial cut.

- HA! Even so! You're a damn woman - said Norori, turning to Rosa - I've never seen anyone come close to the Minstrel's face.

"The Minstrel?"

The queen swallowed hard. "... they say he wears a long and dark cape, has black hair and a voice capable of bewitching anyone.", that was what Gabriel had told her days before the trip and which she took as a joke. Never, in all that mess, despite all the clues, had she imagined that Calandiel would be that man. She was beginning to doubt whether she had really seen her, when the Minstrel spoke again:

- I have things to discuss with the prisoner. It will be better to seize this opportunity, before we get back on the road.

- Of course, of course. Then I'm going to take a nap - the dwarf replied stretching.

- Make sure I'm not interrupted.

- Leave it to me. I hope you guys have a great... conversation. - With that said he left the room laughing.

The makeshift cell was nothing more than some general's former quarters. Rosa had been tied to an iron ball and was sitting on the old, moldy bed that surprisingly was still intact. In addition to the bed, some furniture and decorations permeated the stone room. The only new things in it were a table and a couple of chairs that had been brought up from the floors below.

Norori was barely gone when Rosa tried to speak again. The Minstrel walked calmly towards her and bent down to untie the gag. Seeing her face so close, even by candlelight, the doubts vanished from the queen's mind.

- Cali, I can't believe it! It is you! - Rose said through tears - I thought you had died - the queen tried to hug Calandiel, but the ropes prevented her.

- Why did you follow me? - Calandiel asked.

- What do you mean, why? - because of her tiredness and the way she was being treated, but mainly because of Cali's indifference, Rosa's joy began to turn to anger. - I haven't seen you for over 10 years!

- Yes, and if I remember correctly, that was your choice.

- I didn't tell you to run away, I thought you would go back to Celegorm.

- YOU BETTER THAN ANYONE SHOULD KNOW THAT I WOULDN'T GO BACK TO THAT HELLHOLE!

Calandiel began to breathe fast, leaving Rosa unresponsive. Trying to calm down, the elf ran a hand through her black hair and walked away.

The queen watched quietly as Calandiel went to the table where Norori had left food, water and wine, and took a long drink from the alcohol. She had changed a lot. Starting with the dyed hair, followed by the evidently stronger arms that could be seen under the cloak as she upended the canteen. Her skin, once so white, was sunburnt and, in the little she could see, had scars. Her way of moving and speaking was the complete opposite of a young princess, and the change in her voice… undeniable! She could easily pass for a thin man with her clothing hiding the curves of her feminine body, were it not for the delicacy of her facial features. That's probably why the Minstrel wore masks. Calandiel lowered the canteen. She tried to distract herself from the anger she was feeling towards Rosa, she had to be objective.

She took the canteen to the queen.

- Here, it's water.

- I'd rather have a nice drink of wine, thank you very much.

The Minstrel looked at Rosa seriously.

- You're very calm for someone who was kidnapped.

“You don't know how scared I am of you right now” Rosa thought.

- You'll gain more if I am alive. And… - The queen looked at her carefully. - the Calandiel I knew would never hurt me.

The Minstrel frowned, which apparently caused her a lot of pain.

- Are you okay? - Asked Rosa.

- No, thanks to you.

- I-I didn't know it was you!

- It doesn't matter now - She took a deep breath and pulled a chair, sitting across from the queen. - I heard that Celegorm opened the borders, have they finally forgotten that poor princess?

- You don't look very well, that bandage is starting to turn red, Cali...

- THAT 'S ENOUGH!

The Minstrel's deep, commanding voice made Rosa shiver. More than that, she felt something similar to when she had passed out earlier. A strange vibration through her body silenced her.

- It seems that you did not understand your position here.

Rosa felt she could speak again, pushing past her fear, summoned up all her confidence and anger to speak what she had been thinking for the past hour.

- Oh! I understood it quite alright! From what I've heard from your cronies, you had no idea what you were dealing with when you assaulted my carriage. The kidnapping was an accident. As I ran after you, it was obvious that I recognized you, if you left me behind I could tell your father that you were still alive. Or even come after you and screw up whatever plan you had prepared for after that. And since you mentioned Celegorm just now, it only became clearer that you will head in that direction. Sunstone is the quickest and most unguarded way to get to the forest, but it's also the hardest to get into. By assaulting the entourage on the border with Hyra, you would be drawing attention to the mountains, which would increase security in that region and reduce where you least expect an invasion of bandits, since the kingdom of Celegorm is allied, well protected and had closed all its borders with your disappearance.

Calandiel whistled in amazement, then let out a sad smile that Rosa had never seen before.

- Looks like you haven't changed much. So this is your card? Expose my identity?

- I didn't want to get to that point...

- You ruined my plan, nearly blinded me and now you think you can threaten me? Do you really think you're going to get out of here alive? - An expression unknown to Rosa was seen in Calandiel's face.

The queen felt goosebumps again. This was definitely not the Cali she had known. But she didn't let herself down, the years traveling through the kingdoms taught her that self-confidence opened many doors and disarmed many people.

-“The Minstrel doesn't kill…”-she managed to say in a low voice.

- What?

- In the red wave, when the bandits started to turn themselves in, countless messages like this were spread across the continent. - she resumed with more vivacity. - "The Minstrel does not kill, does not rape and does not torture".

- “But make no mistake. He will punish those who defy the order.” It was the rest of the message, if you don't remember. The Minstrel killed those who used his name to commit atrocities and condemned those who still might have some redemption. I never wanted my name to be synonymous with anarchy but with revolution.

- If this saying is really about you, where do I fit that description? I never did anything wrong, my people adore me. If you kill me, won't you be going against your word?

With her good eye, Calandiel looked at Rosa. The palest of her blue eye reflected a pain and strength the queen had never seen in her former lover's eyes.

- Well - said the elf getting up - let's be civilized then.

She drew a dagger so fast, Rosa barely saw the glint of the blade. She didn't know whether to scream or close her eyes, but before she had time to decide, the steel had already passed through the ropes that bound her.

- You took me by surprise in that carriage, - continued the Minstrel - don't think you'll get out of here easily. - And, putting away the dagger, she indicated the table where the bread and water were.

- I wouldn't dare try -  Rosa replied, smiling.