The Wandering Palace was the same as ever. It was dark, cold, and unwelcoming to all, and yet to Cate, this was home. The only home she had managed to scrape together in thousands of years. Mary was completely silent. She answered the few questions that Cate had managed to ask, but Mary did so with one-word answers.
Cate was facing the silent treatment, and she was sure that this was only the beginning of the break in their relationship. They would either come out the other end of this conflict with a stronger relationship, or everything would fall apart and they would end up going their separate ways. They could even end up as enemies if the stars aligned against them.
The moment Cate reached outside the Wandering Palace, she showed the palace to Mary. This was the first time Cate saw emotion on Mary's face since Cate told her everything, almost everything. As Mary wondered about the greatness and dark beauty of the Wandering Palace, Cate was welcomed back to the Wandering Palace by a group of servants and Ion, the man who was the caretaker of the Wandering Palace.
Ion was a powerful undead being. He was thin and tall with sparse black hair and sunken red eyes. He wore a black uniform similar to the uniforms of the other servants who worked in the palace. He was very tall, to the point that most people needed to tilt their necks to take in his full stature. "Joyous returns to the Wandering Mistress," Ion said.
This was the first time Mary heard a sound like this. It grated on her senses and made her blood go cold. She was pulled out of her stupor. This was the moment to refuse Cate's invitation. It was her first chance to separate from Cate. If Mary refused to enter the Wandering Palace, it would make her position clear, and the two would go their separate ways.
Mary understood that this was her chance, and yet she found herself not taking it. When Cate grabbed Mary by the hand, Mary did not pull away from the familiar warmth. She wanted to never let go, and yet her anger over the lies still sat in her heart. Mary walked into the palace, and just like that, she found herself in a new world. The reception hall alone was large enough to hold thousands of people. Mary looked around the place with her eyes shining with excitement and fear.
Cate saw the look in Mary's eyes, and she felt some hope for the future. Cate led Mary to her quarters. Cate hoped that if Mary rested long enough, she would perhaps forgive and forget. Cate went to her quarter as well and lay on her large bed, gazing at the ceiling without doing anything else. Her mind was filled with thoughts of despair and loneliness. She feared that this was the end for her and Mary.
She hoped, and for the first time in a long time, the thought to pray to a higher power for intervention crossed her mind. The thought was crushed instantly, but the fact that it had been birthed showed how terribly desperate Cate was. Cate had come back to the Wandering Palace to deal with something very important, and yet here she was, wasting time on matters as unattainable as true love.
Cate was still a living being, and unfortunately, even after centuries of life and a betrayal that had once led her into losing everything, including her head, Cate still wanted to find love. It was the nature of all conscious living things. Cate stayed still throughout the night.
The following day, Ion entered the room, followed by three female maids that helped Cate to bathe and dress. She just wore a simple blue dress, but this was more than enough to show her great beauty. Cate was confident that she was beautiful enough to steal the heart of any woman or man, but in this moment, she was not sure that this would be enough to stop Mary from leaving.
Cate met Mary in the dining hall. Mary sat at one end of the table filled with everything from bread to bacon. The real Catherine Staranse was also seated at the table with her maid, who had become something of a mother after Catherine was sent away from the Staranse clan for being a bastard. Before Cate entered the place, Catherine and Mary had been chatting animatedly. The place went quiet the moment Cate entered the place. Still, Cate was happy that Mary was at least speaking.
"Good morning," Cate said in a polite and perhaps subdued manner that caught Catherine and her maid off guard. They had never seen Cate this humble. Cate sat down and looked around the place as though she did not know what to do. Cate felt that the situation was becoming a little awkward, and so she decided to begin eating. A servant came forward and served a plate for Cate. It was just a cup of black coffee and bacon. Cate focused on her breakfast, with her eyes on the plate as though it were the most interesting thing in the world.
"Are you two fucking?" Catherine said. Cate almost coughed up the food in her mouth. She caught herself and looked at Catherine with burning eyes. Catherine felt as though a hole would be blown through her chest. "I can always return you to the dungeons," Cate said in a whisper.
"Since she is the real Catherine Staranse, I need you to tell me everything about who you truly are," Mary said. These words were filled with hope since they gave Cate the chance to explain.
"I am Katherine Dănescu. I am the current master of the Dănescu Sorcerous Bloodline." Cate began telling Mary everything about herself. Some of this information was a repetition, but Cate was so happy at the chance to explain that she did not mind repeating everything. Catherine already knew most of what Cate was saying. She had learned this information from the servants in the palace and even from Ion, who had, for some reason, grown to like Catherine.
The explanation went on for about an hour, and when Cate was done, Catherine and her maid/mother were both shaken by how Cate had infiltrated Avalon and even become a team leader with a bright future in the organization. When she was done, Cate held her breath and waited for Mary to forgive her. She held onto this hope in her heart and waited. It was only a few seconds, but it felt like a thousand years.