Shunati roamed the halls of the palace. Tonight, unlike most mages, he wasn’t bothered by the shades. His addiction was healing, and he had been using low levels of his healing abilities for almost two weeks straight. Instead, Vaila, his son kept him up. Vaila didn’t like the shades. The few children who were sensitive to them often didn’t. Vaila was only two weeks old. Two weeks ago, Shunati and his wife, Sinta, had lost the battle of keeping the baby from being born too early. Neither the mother nor the child could handle what it took to keep the baby from being born any longer. Now, they fought the battle to keep the child alive. Fortunately, Shunati had foreseen this and had encouraged all of the baby’s organs to develop fully, but he was tiny, prone to getting chilled and infections. So Shunati kept the child with him as much as possible, holding him close to his chest in a sling. Using his healing abilities, he kept his own body temperature warm enough to help the baby. He also used his abilities to ward off infections and illnesses and to monitor Vaila’s development. It wasn’t difficult and it didn’t interfere with most of his duties. Most human illnesses elves couldn’t get. Mila, the other palace healer dealt with the contagions that might cause Vaila harm. Vaila was currently distracted by the flora and fauna floating through the palace. It wasn’t real. Someone was creating magical images as a way to deal with the effects of the shades. He wondered if Ann was back. This was something she’d do. She had done something similar during the last shades, but then she turned the place into Lerjao, the capital of the troll lands. He decided to go check on her. He lived on the third floor, the same one as Pt’this, but in a different wing. He was close to the connecting door so he decided to use the stairs in Pt’this’s wing as they were closer. He noticed somebody out on the balcony for dragons to land on. “Shall we see who it is?” He asked Vaila. Once on the balcony, he let out a low whistle. Nim was feverishly drawing on the walls of the palace. There were several sheets of parchment on the floor, all with drawings, and most of the walls were covered with charcoal. “Nim? Are you okay?” He hadn’t seen the dragon this way since Joanne had been abducted. Nim jumped. “Shunati, hi.” He looked around. “Shades. Did I do all that?” At that time, King Emeton came out and looked around. “Remind me to talk with you the next time we need a portrait done,” he said. Nim noticed he was carrying a large potion bottle and was sipping out of it like you would a drink. “I can’t paint, your majesty,” Nim said. “I’m sorry, your majesty, I guess I was a bit mesmerized by the shades. It washes off.” “It’s okay Nim. You must not have seen the garden someone created inside.” Nim looked through the doors. “Ann?” He guessed. “She’s back?” Emeton asked. Nim nodded. “They got back just after the shades started. She transported them back. I would have thought she’d have let you know she was here.” “I would’ve hoped, but the shades may have distracted her. I take it she and Bremul are okay?” Nim nodded. “She said they were.” He was still looking around at what he had done to the walls. “Have you been out here all night?” Emeton asked. “I guess so. I don’t remember. I came out here to scry Jo so I could show her the shades. Ann and the others returned just after it started. They left, and Jo and I talked for a while. I remember saying goodbye and ending the spell. I don’t remember getting my drawing stuff. I think I had just planned to watch the shades a while longer. The next thing I know Shunati is here asking me if I was okay. I’m really sorry, Sir. The shades affect me more than most because of, well, you know. And the effect is stronger here than in Baj-tisk.” “It’s okay Nim. It washes off.” “Would you like me to try to contact Ann?” The dragon offered. “Please.” Emeton nodded. Nim turned red a moment later. “She said she’s had enough parents pestering her for grandkids and that she isn’t talking to anyone until morning. I’m sorry, sir. That’s what she said.” “It’s okay. The shades affect us all. I imagine she’s having a difficult time finding relief.” He gestured to the flowers in the hall. “They say these are the benign ones,” Shunati said. “I can’t imagine what the other shades are like.” “Did your old mentor ever mention them?” Emeton asked Nim. He looked like he was starting to become dazed again. Nim shook his head to clear it. “All she ever said was to avoid them. She said if I did that, I wouldn’t need to know what they were like.” Emeton nodded and looked around. Nim was having trouble focusing. The images went all the way to the edge of the balcony. He worried the dragon might fall off and not change in time. “Nim, how about we get you a stack of parchment and we go down to the garden and you can draw there.” He suggested. Nim nodded and followed the king back inside.