"We're here, Sir Edward. Welcome to the Royal Village," Ella said dreamily, gesturing towards the crowded village that they had arrived at. Its inhabitants seemed to be very busy, hurrying around and stopping at markets and other businesses. They all seemed to be dressed in clothing similar to Ella's, although maybe slightly more elegant and clean.

Billy looked around him. The villagers didn't seem to take much notice of his arrival. Where was the big celebration that Ella had told him would be taking place here?

Then, all of a sudden, as if a wish granted, a villager had taken notice of them from a line of shoppers behind a marketplace selling what looked to be fresh produce.

"Hey! Isn't that Ella, that peasant from the River Village?" There was almost laughter in his voice. Ella stiffened. All the villagers that had heard him turned around to face Ella and Billy.

"Why, yes it is! That silly peasant that the Queen sent!" Another villager snickered.

"How was your trip from the River Village? I hope you didn't get your clothes too dirty in the Mucky River...oh wait! That's right, your clothes are already dirty to begin with!" The villager laughed. All the others around her had broke out into laughter as well. Billy looked over at Ella, giving her a surprised and sympathetic look. He was a bit confused over why she was receiving such harsh treatment from the other villagers. He hadn't expected anything like that in the slightest. The only thing he had been expecting was a big celebration planned for him, but so far nobody had taken any notice of his arrival.

"Um, guys? I heard that there was going to be a celebration for me," Billy spoke up, looking at the villagers in bemusement.

The laughter from the villagers' ceased to quiet. They hadn't heard Billy's statement at all.

"GUYS!" Billy shouted in the loudest voice he could possibly muster.

The villagers still did not quiet down. They were all laughing and joking with each other while pointing at Ella, who looked embarrassed and ashamed more than anything else.

"VILLAGERS! ENOUGH!" A booming voice had made itself known throughout the village in a matter of seconds. With that, the villagers finally stopped laughing and joking. Billy had been startled by the sudden noise, and turned to face the direction from which it had came. It sounded like it was a women's voice.

And it was. A beautiful woman had emerged from a cluster of marketplaces, surrounded by what looked to be a group of guards. Billy was stunned that she had been the one to produce such a loud and frightening call. All the villagers bowed and curtsied as she passed.

Ella elbowed Billy and then curtsied. Billy immediately bowed.

"Look at yourselves," The beautiful woman frowned. "The disrespect."

The villagers nodded in shame. Billy almost was amused. These villagers were going to get what they deserved for mocking Ella in such a way. Although Billy had barely cared about her when they had met and only allowed her to accompany him for the better of things, he never liked to see someone get bullied like she had.

"The disrespect. The discourtesy. The rudeness!" The woman continued to speak.

The villagers murmured expressions of apology, the shameful looks never leaving their faces.

The woman stopped pacing when she was just a few feet away from both Ella and Billy. She looked at Billy directly. He gulped, all of a sudden becoming very nervous being in the presence of this strict woman.

"The brave knight, Sir Edward The Third, who has once saved me from the Trolls of the North so many years ago...he is here today. He has made his anticipated arrival for his great celebration. He has returned to us to save me once again. This time, not my body, but my heart," She said solemnly, using her hands majestically as she spoke.

"And all of you? You haven't taken any notice of him! You give all your attention to the one most undeserving of it. The peasant from the River Village," She shook her head and pointed at Ella. The villagers all looked at her with a slight glare, but didn't utter any more words of mockery.

Billy was disappointed when he had heard the woman say that. He had thought that she would be supportive of Ella, but really, she was just upset with the villagers for not paying any attention to his arrival. But he was still confused. What was it about Ella that made the villagers hate her so much?

But then, Billy thought more about what the woman had said. She had stated that Billy had come to save her again, like he had done before in the past. That could only mean that the woman speaking was in fact, the Queen. No wonder everyone was expected to listen to her, and bow and curtsy as she made her way through the village. Billy was even more nervous than he had been before, knowing this woman's status and that he was in her line of vision.

"So, I expect all of you, to treat Sir Edward with respect. Allow him to have the greatest pastries of the bakeries. Allow him to be first in line at every marketplace. Do what you must to make this revered gentleman feel welcome, for tomorrow is when he embarks on his great quest," She said firmly, but calmly.

"Yes, Your Majesty!" The entire village chimed.

"Sir Edward...Come forth, please." The Queen looked at Billy once again. He looked down nervously and slowly walked towards the Queen. He didn't know what else to do but bow and show the respect she may be expecting from him, so that was exactly what he did.

"You and I must meet this evening at sundown. Come to my palace, just a little further up North. We will discuss your quest in detail," She instructed solemnly.

"Yes, your Majesty," Billy replied politely.

"Very well. And you, Ella, peasant of the River Village. Your work here is done," The Queen turned towards Ella, who was looking down at her shoes nervously.

"Um...yes, Your Majesty."

"I expect you to return to your village by tomorrow. I will not be needing you anymore. That is all," The Queen then turned around and walked regally back towards her palace, surrounded by guards.

Billy turned towards Ella in confusion. He had so many questions for her, about why she was being treated the way she was and why her work was supposedly done. Hadn't she promised to accompany him on his quest? It didn't sound like her work was done. However, before any questions could be asked, a group of villagers carrying pastries and baskets of goods had approached him.

"Good afternoon, Sir Edward. We are all delighted to see that you have finally arrived to the Royal Village. We do hope that you didn't encounter too much trouble on your way here," One of the villagers had said with a smile, handing him a basket of goods, which Billy awkwardly accepted.

"Thank you," he said slowly. He looked into the basket and saw that it was full of an assortment of fruits. Apples, oranges, grapes, and pears.

"We expect that your journey will be long and treacherous. You will need good, healthy foods to replenish you," Another villager nodded at the fruit basket.

"Um, thank you. Thank you very much."

"And here. The best pastry of my bakery, made especially for you." A villager wearing a chef's hat and an apron handed Billy a plate with a delicious, and rather tall, cake. Billy was struggling to hold it with only his one free hand.

"Thank you," he grunted, almost dropping it.

The chef wiped a falling tear from his eye and sniffled, "I hate to see it go."

Billy looked around him awkwardly. The villagers seemed to have so much praise and gifts for him, all for the simple act of arriving to his quest. He wasn't sure how much more he could take from them. He decided that he would excuse himself so that he could leave and have some time alone before meeting the Queen.

"Um...all of these gifts are really nice, but I have to go and do some...planning!" Billy excused.

"Oh, well yes, of course! It would be beyond rude to deprive the most revered knight of the land of the ability to think his treacherous quest through!" A villager said, and then shooed the rest away.

"Come all, let us get back to work. Sir Edward needs some time to think."

The villagers all nodded furiously, seeming to have no problem in leaving as they all hurried back to their markets to work.

Billy sighed in relief as the crowd of people had cleared. He looked around, realizing that Ella was not around anymore and had gone off somewhere in the middle of all the commotion. He hoped to find her, and was a bit annoyed that she had left when he had so many questions for her. Didn't she remember how confused he had been when they had first met? How dare she leave him after he had received even more confusing information from the village and the Queen?

"Ella!" He called out, but she had not returned to him. Billy looked up at the sky. It was almost sundown, it looked like, close to the time when the Queen would be expecting him at her palace. He remembered her telling him that it was further up North. The walk up there would probably last until sundown, so he decided that he would start heading to the palace now. Not sure what to do with the cake and fruit basket he was holding, he reluctantly decided to take them both with him. Grunting in frustration, he began the walk up to the Queen's palace.