Selvina was shown to her proper room, which was nearly as large as her entire home back in Canada. Standing in the doorway and looking left was a huge fireplace big enough to ride a horse through and one side of it was a mirror that took up half the wall and on the other side was a hall that led to a walk-in closet expansive enough to hold a banquet. Across the room from the mirror was a massive four-poster bed with thick, violet sheets, and gold-trimmed pillows of goose down. The bed rested against a partition and beyond that was a room that housed a huge, oaken table with four matching chairs, and walls bearing detailed and majestic paintings and tapestries as well as tall, fully stocked bookshelves. In one corner was an exquisitely ornate suit of armour that shone a dazzling silver and gold in the light. Supplying the light were two partly draped windows on the wall opposite the doorway, one beside the bed and the other across from the table.

Selvina stepped inside, wide-eyed, and glanced to the right, where she noticed a hall leading into some other room beyond the one with the table. Shaking her head in disbelief at the grandeur of it all, she walked to the window near the bed and parted the burgundy drapes.

Somehow, she wasn't surprised to find out that the window opened up to a wide stone balcony with its own set of expensive table and chairs. Beyond the balcony lay the vast city of Corbeau—a grand display all on its own—and in the distance were the green hills and valleys of Noyr. Gazing right she saw tall, jagged, grey mountains, their peaks shrouded in mist. Selvina noticed that a great expanse of water spanned out to the left. Struggling to remember the few times she had looked at a map of Faeryum, she guessed that she was staring south. If so, then beyond those hills and valleys, somewhere, was New Avalon.

There was a slight shuffle behind her as the empress quietly stepped in. As if reading her thoughts, she said, "Journey south beyond those hills and you will come to Red Lake, where long ago there was a battle so great that the spilled blood forever tainted the waters red, so the legends go. South of that are the farmlands and woods of my province of Nottunhim. Venture past that and you enter the very forest I met you in, and, eventually, the border to New Avalon."

"Sherwood Forest," Selvina muttered, recalling all that had transpired there and feeling an ache arise in her throat. "You swear to me that if I ask you, you'll take me back."

"I so do swear," replied the empress. There was moment of silence before she asked, "Does this room suit you? I could ready one of the larger ones if you'd like."

Selvina turned around, her worries scattering aside, and raised an eyebrow. "Larger? God, this room isn't big enough already? It will do just fine, actually."

Rhiannon nodded slightly. "I apologize once more for placing you into such a dismally small hole in the wall as your previous room."

Selvina shrugged as she ran a hand down one of the finely crafted bed posts. "I needed to get used to the elevation and all that."

"Well," Rhiannon said, walking closer, "I also worried you'd panic and choose to flee if I had immediately placed you in a room such as this. I wanted to ensure you that you are no prisoner and are free to go about this palace as you please."

Selvina furrowed her brow, still confused as to why the empress was being so nice to her. "So I can go anywhere?"

"I would avoid the dungeons as they are in need of a rather good cleaning but yes, Caer Gobiyth is fully open to you."

"Care Gobith?"

"Caer Gobiyth," Rhiannon repeated. "It means Castle of Hope, in old Dwarven."

"Dwarven? Like, dwarves dwarven? There are dwarves in Faeryum?"

"Why, yes, Selvina, of course there are. The fellow who delivered your food was a dwarf. Had you no idea that they existed?"

"Well, I heard about the elves and I think I might have even seen some in Tortug but no one's ever said anything about dwarves." She thought of Snow White and smiled. Somewhere in this world her seven dwarves were waiting for her. Selvina glanced up at the tall ceiling, marveling at its construction. "For shorter people they sure like to make things really big."

Rhiannon moved to the bed and sat on its edge, smiling lightly. "Dwarves are indeed a proud people. They do love to showcase their talents to the world. There is also a more practical reason for everything being so...enormous." She waited until Selvina sat down at the foot of the bed before going on. "Caer Gobiyth is large enough to be its own city but that is the ingenuity of the dwarves. They build their keeps of such size so they can last through sieges that can go on for many years. There are tales of dwarven fortresses besieged for so long that those within actually forget they are at war. In most cases, the besiegers simply leave for destroying a dwarven fortress is nigh impossible and outlasting the besieged ones before their supplies run out is often even more difficult."

"So is that why you live here?" Selvina asked. "If the whole world went to war against you you could just sit back and wait it all out?"

"To an extent." Rhiannon stood up and glided to the window, sliding it open and stepping onto the balcony. The storm had stopped a few minutes ago, leaving the sky dark and the air smelling fresh and clean. Selvina, feeling awkward all alone on the bed, walked onto the balcony as well, keeping a safe distance from the empress. She didn't appear threatening but Selvina would play it safe for a while, she promised herself.

Rhiannon inhaled deeply and smiled. "This high up, you can almost ignore the stench of the city below. The freshly fallen rain helps as well."

Selvina found herself sniffing loudly and blushed when Rhiannon glanced at her. "It does smell rather nice, I guess." She walked up to the stone railing and rested her arms on it, looking down at the hundreds of tiny buildings below. Like ants, the inhabitants of Corbeau went about their daily business, oblivious to who was watching them. Selvina's breath was somewhat shallow and her head was light but the view made the uncomfortable sensations worth it.

Questions that had nagged at her from the moment she had woken up in the small room began to resurface. The view outside her room was indeed beautiful, as was the room itself, but why? Why all this? What purpose did the empress have in giving and showing her all of this? Why did she seem so interested in what she thought?

"I understand your lingering confusion, Selvina," Rhiannon said.

Selvina frowned, feeling violated. Ok, can she seriously read minds or something?

The empress went on. "You must be wondering why I seem to be treating you like royalty, especially since you are indeed no princess or noble." She eyed Selvina directly. "You stepped into this world with everyone telling you I am wicked and evil and downright terrible. I will not deny that I have indeed committed cruelties and that my wars of conquest have claimed many innocent lives but I am not alone with that guilt. Every ruler who sent his kingdom to war is just as guilty as I am.

"It is also no lie that because of my actions the balance of magic is awry. I know this, and plan on remedying it promptly. I am far from guiltless, Selvina, and giving me the title of tyrant may not be undeserved, but when I met you on that road I knew that something would come of it. I knew then that you and I were destined to work together in putting an end to The Writer. You were unhappy in New Avalon and I wished to do what I could do give you that happiness that you richly deserved. If this is all too overwhelming and you want to return to the rather spartan appeal of King Arthur's camp I will bring you there. I have assured you this many times."

Selvina inhaled deeply, reflecting on what the empress had said. She spoke after a few silent moments had passed. "I know that and I believe you when you say you'll bring me back too. It's just that...well, it's all so much and...so soon. Like, I always knew that I'd have to come here to talk to you about The Writer but now that I'm here, I'm not sure what to think anymore. You're an enemy to all my friends and yet when I stand here and talk to you, I...well, it doesn't feel like you are. It scares me a little, really. I'm worried you're just..."

"False?" Rhiannon finished. "You keep waiting for the evil scheme or diabolical plot to come spurting out from my lips? I know what the world thinks of me, Selvina. I am well aware and, like I mentioned, I am not undeserving of that judgment. I have an empire to run and sometimes that means making difficult decisions and sometimes they are the wrong ones. I am not immune to making mistakes, despite my centuries of existence."

Selvina struggled to find the right words but after a while just said what was on her mind. "Why does everyone see you as evil, though? All rulers have to make difficult decisions but no matter what, no one but you is seen as evil. Why is that? How can I trust you and believe that you wish me no harm when everyone I've ever known here calls you an enemy? Like, you started a war because you didn't like how your face looked on a statue! Who does that?"

Rhiannon met Selvina's gaze and held it firmly, her golden eyes glinting. The younger woman froze on the spot, knowing that she had gone too far and said too much.

Well, she thought, at least I didn't have to wait too long for her to show her true self.

"Do you believe that, Selvina? Do you believe that I would start a war for such a petty and ridiculous reason?"

Selvina gulped, not knowing what to say, her heart beating hard in her chest.

"Come with me," Rhiannon said through clenched teeth, turning and heading out of the room without waiting.

Selvina debated whether she should follow but decided to anyway. The empress, as upset as she was now, would only be more so if she had to repeat herself.

Rhiannon led Selvina into wide passages, down a few staircases, across intersecting halls and through vast rooms whose sole purpose seemed to be to look pretty and take up space. Selvina's legs were heating up and she was losing her breath by the time they turned the corner and stepped foot into a circular room with a skylight. A golden statue stood in the center of the room and tapestries hung on the walls depicting violent battle scenes. Selvina's breath caught in her throat when she gazed at one of the tapestries and recognized King Midas's golden castle. The tapestry even depicted the garden she had walked through on her way to the castle and the same guarded gate where she had to trick the guards into letting her pass. In several of the tapestries was a woman in black, sometimes wielding weapons, sometimes blasting black flames from her hands. The woman's golden eyes betrayed who she was. Selvina gazed at the empress, taking a cautious step back.

Rhiannon met her gaze and nodded her head to the statue. "Inspect the face, Selvina."

The girl hesitated at first but slowly, eventually, did as she was told. Stepping closer to the tall statue of gold, she peered up at its face. The statue itself was of Rhiannon, her face tilted upward, as if gazing up at the sky, and her arms spread wide. Instead of the elegant and beautiful face of the empress, however, was a poor representation of an ugly, tusked troll. Selvina thought it a resembled more of a pig than a troll, which she guessed may be the point.

"King Midas did this?" she asked, finding it difficult to believe. He had seemed so kind to her.

Rhiannon nodded. "He did. Naturally, I wasn't impressed, but I never started the war because of that."

"Then why did you?" Selvina asked, surprised at her courage.

"The envoy that came with the statue held the terms of trade and non aggression with him. When I brought him to a room, along with my most trusted military leader, he refused to make business. I asked him why and he replied in saying that he would not deal with such sensitive issues while an elf stood in the room."

"An elf?"

"You will meet him soon, Selvina," Rhiannon said, a hint of warmth coming to her creamy face. "His name is Accolon and he has been my most faithful and loyal friend. He is, indeed, an elf."

Selvina furrowed her brow, remembering what Robin Hood had told her about the elves and how far they had fallen from their past glory. She also took note of how Rhiannon had called Accolon a friend and not simply an ally. "I was told elves were mostly just beggars these days."

"Most are, but not here, not in my empire. I offer them the same freedoms any other race can attain. It has created some fissures of discontent along some of my less tolerant subjects but it is my empire and I will see no one race held above the others."

Selvina, her mind struggling to see the empress as the evil witch everyone else saw, asked, "What happened with the envoy?"

"He refused to deal and left the room, giving Legatus Accolon a great glower as he departed. Later that night, there was an assassination attempt on Accolon. The assassin, who failed, was captured and found to be Midaen. Needless to say, all talks of trade and peace between Midae and Noyr vanished, replaced by a declaration of war."

Selvina had watched Rhiannon closely as she spoke. There was something in her expression that suggested there was more than simple loyalty and trust between her and Accolon. Could they be more? Could the so-called evil witch of Noyr love someone? Had the Gold War started because someone had tried to kill Rhiannon's lover? Would the mighty empress of Noyr, the most powerful being in all of Faeryum, start a war for love?"

Rhiannon noticed that Selvina was watching her and cleared her throat, regaining her cool and calm disposition. "The assassination attempt was covered up by the other nations and their leaders chose to believe that I started the war due to a materialistic insult. Frenis and Sauradia, at the time, wanted nothing more than a reason to invade Noyr and they did so quickly. Once King Arthur arrived with his army they rapidly reached my capital and besieged it. Sauradia's golems broke through the walls and after the troops stormed the keep Accolon fought King Arthur in single combat but was defeated, only just surviving his wounds. When he, Lancelot, and Queen Marian's father battled me, I knew it was over. Had I fled to regroup, Accolon would have been killed and thus I surrendered."

Selvina, taking a chance, said softly, "You love him, don't you?"

To her surprise, Rhiannon's face shaded red ever so slightly.

Had she just made the empress blush? Selvina wondered in shock.

Rhiannon's eyes fixed on Selvina's and she smiled lightly. Replying as softly as Selvina had asked, she said, "He is dear to me." With a swish of her black dress, she then turned and left the circular room. She glanced back at Selvina, her expression content. "Are you coming?"

Selvina had one final glance at the grotesque statue, disappointed in King Midas for lowering himself by committing such a childish act. It was becoming rapidly obvious that the empress was not the same person everyone thought she was. Curious to discover how wrong the world truly was, Selvina hurried to follow her.