"Okay." Ardara picked a scale at random and pulled it loose. She settled it in her palm, looking at it for a moment.

The scale remained silvery-gold in her palm.

*It requires your blood to become what you need it to become,* Lorn reminded her gently.

"Right, I was working on that," Ardara muttered. She squeezed the scale, which had a sharp enough edge to cut her palm, and she grimaced briefly but let her blood settle into the scale. Which was not a scale anymore but a gem. A Jewel.

Lorn nodded in satisfaction. Good, it had bonded to her without a problem.

When Ardara stepped back, Alana moved forward. She saw what Ardara did, and she'd heard Lorn loud and clear.

Lorn watched her approach and made sure she knew what to do. One had bonded without a problem, now to see if the second did as well.

Reaching out, Alana pulled a scale loose and cradled it in her hand. It was lighter than she thought it would be. Before she could second-guess herself, she closed her hand around it so that it broke the skin and her blood came into contact with it. It seemed to grow heavier in her hand, and when she opened her fingers again, a deep blue Jewel was there instead of the silvery-gold scale.

Lorn was quite pleased with that. Two new Queens. Later, he would ask Jaenelle where they had come from. For now, they probably needed some rest.

*Jaenelle,* he prompted gently.

Jaenelle nodded and gently nudged the girls.

"Come on," she said. "You both need some time to rest and adjust." She guided them back towards the spiraling stairs.

Ardara followed her back up, holding her Jewel the whole time. For some reason, she was unwilling to let go of it.

Alana had her Jewel in her hand as well, holding it tight. Somehow, she could feel a new sort of energy singing through her veins, and she had no idea how, but she knew that it was related to the stone in her hand. It wasn't a jittery sort of energy, either; instead, it was comforting and steadying, somehow.

Ardara felt more steady as they reached the top of the stairs since she had... back at the museum, when she had felt the itch to find the first Jewel. The realization startled her, but after a moment she decided that was okay.

Jaenelle took them to the Hall, where she was sure there were rooms prepared for them. She knew that they would want a day or two to adjust to their new power, and another day or so to figure out how things tended to work when it came to the people around them.

It didn't take long for her to get them to the Hall, and she personally led them to their rooms to settle in.

"Thanks," Ardara murmured, glancing around her new room. It was a lot to take in, so she was kind of looking forward to the quiet time to get used to things.

"My pleasure," Jaenelle said. "Meals are typically in the main dining room, but I'll have someone bring meals to you here for the next couple of days while you get settled." She grinned a bit. "Let the servants do their jobs, it will be easier in the long run."

Ardara blinked at that but nodded. "Okay," she agreed. "I'll keep that in mind." She smiled a little, trying to relax.

Alana gave a bit of a wobbly smile, too, and just looked down at the Jewel in her hand once Jaenelle left them to their own devices. The Jewel shimmered faintly, just the barest hint of a glow.

"This is incredible," she said to Ardara. "I don't even really know what just happened, but I know it's incredible."

"That... pretty much sums it up," Ardara agreed. "I have no idea what's really going on, still, but it's really fascinating and I can't wait to see where it goes."

"I feel kind of different," Alana added after a moment. "Better. Like something was missing before and now it's not."

"Right. Like I'm more of me, if that makes sense." Ardara was quick to agree, glancing down at her Jewel. "It makes no sense, and yet..."

"It makes perfect sense at the same time," Alana agreed, nodding. "I totally get it."

"Yeah." Ardara smiled. "It's so crazy but it feels perfectly natural." She paused for a moment. "We're going to cause so much trouble, you realize."

"No kidding," Alana said. She slipped her Jewel into her pocket, because she didn't want to let go of it at all yet, and tentatively sat down on the bed and then sighed. "Oh. Oh this bed is nice, Ardara, come sit on this."

Elsewhere, Jaenelle knocked on the door of Saetan's study.

"Papa?" she said as she opened the door a bit.

Ardara joined her on the bed, grinning. "Oh this is nice," she agreed, getting comfortable. "I am not upset about this."

"Come in, witch-child," Saetan said, glancing over at her with a faint smile.

"I might go explore the next room and see if it's a bathroom," Alana said, flopping back on the bed. "If the bathroom is anything like the bedroom, the tub must be magnificent."

"Did Lucivar come and tell you what was going on?" Jaenelle asked as she went into the study.

"Oh a hot bath... Oh that sounds lovely." Ardara smiled. "In a few minutes."

"He told me we have two new guests, and that you were taking care of them for the moment." Saetan raised one eyebrow at her.