The Queen's palace was just as beautiful as The Queen herself. It was blue, its magnificent structure sparkling with the dying light of the setting sun. Billy was almost captivated by its beauty. But, he remembered that this was all just a story. A book he was trapped in, and he couldn't waste time staring at its illustrations when he knew that he had to get this quest over with as soon as possible.

Two men dressed in armor stood guard of the palace, but Billy didn't even have to say a word for them to allow him inside. They bowed their heads respectably towards him, and Billy nodded in return. He couldn't say that it wasn't at least a little fun being the most revered knight of all the land.

The Queen sat in her throne like a regal swan, looking at Billy as he arrived in the main room of her castle. Billy felt butterflies in his stomach as he approached her, her high status and manner intimidating him.

He bowed in front of her when he was a few feet away from her throne and then looked up at her, afraid to meet her directly in the eye.

"Your Majesty, I...um...it's sundown, and I heard that you would be expecting me at this time."

"Yes. It is time that we discuss your quest in detail. Please, have a seat," She gestured towards the seat next to her, not quite as decorated and high as her throne, but still one of the nicest chairs Billy had ever seen in his life.

As soon as Billy had sat down, the Queen began to speak, slowly and softly with a hint of sorrow.

"As you know, my daughter, Claria, is in great danger. She disappeared while traveling North and never did return."

Billy's eyes had lit up when he heard the name. Claria...that name was familiar. He had remembered when his mother was reading the book to him, she had mentioned the name "Princess Claria", and that he, Sir Edward The Third, was to embark on a great adventure to save her. This was what his quest entailed. He was going on an adventure through the North to save the Queen's daughter.

The quest sounded easy enough. Now that Billy knew the whole gist of what he was supposed to do and was about to hear the details, he wasn't sure if he really needed Ella to accompany him anymore. Yes, he did feel guilty about it, knowing how she had been treated, but she was just a book character. He didn't need anyone to hold him back on his journey out of this book. Right now, the only thing that mattered was getting home.

"She is a beautiful girl, my sweet Claria. I hate to know that she is out there, all alone. If I could have sent you out immediately to search for her, I would have. But I knew that you needed this time to rest and gather food for your journey, and a tired knight is about just as effective as a peasant!" The Queen sighed, throwing her hands up.

Billy almost felt sorry for her. The way she had talked and the sorrow in her voice sounded so familiar to him. His mother. The Queen talked with the same level of sorrow as his mother had when she had told him about the passing of his grandfather. Billy had wanted to treat the Queen as if she were just another book character, but her resemblance to someone he cared about so deeply had prevented him from doing so.

"I'm sorry that this happened to your daughter, Your Majesty. I'm going to try my best to make sure that she gets home safe."

"Oh, you are so kind, good Sir. Your bravery and determination is to be admired," She smiled, a new light shining in her saddened eyes.

Just then, a servant walked politely up to the Queen's throne and bowed, handing her a scroll, which the Queen accepted, picking it up as delicately as if it were made of sugar.

"Thank you, Gertrude," The Queen nodded at the servant, and then looked over to Billy, unveiling the scroll to display what looked to be a map of the land outside of her palace.

"This, Sir Edward, is everything North of my palace. This is where I expect you to search tomorrow. You must first make it past a major obstacle, that stumped the guards I initially sent out for my daughter. Knowing you, I'm sure you can handle it..." She pointed to what Billy identified as a bridge that traveled over a wide gap in the land.

"A bridge?" He questioned, somewhat confused over how the guards the Queen had originally sent out were stumped by what seemed to be a simple bridge.

"Why, yes. The Goblin Bridge," The Queen said gravely, looking at Billy with a serious gaze. He gulped. Now he had a good picture in his mind of why the guards were stumped after all when reaching the bridge.

"Those goblins have been there for years, haven't they? My hopes that the guards could convince them to let them pass were in vain. They're simply too stubborn...and intimidating, at that. No passerby would want to argue with a pack of goblins just to cross a bridge," The Queen sighed. "But my dear Claria is in danger. That is why I must ask of you to face these goblins with bravery and perseverance, as to cross the bridge where they stand guard."

Billy nodded, growing nervous as he imagined what that would look like. He knew that this was just a story, having to remind himself of that constantly whenever he became too scared. But he wondered if any of the situations in this book posed a threat to his life. He hoped that he wouldn't have to find out anytime soon.

"After you cross the bridge, a towering mountain lies in wait. You must climb it and you must never look down. Only the brave have scaled such heights." The Queen pointed to a looming cliff just a short distance away from the bridge. Billy nodded slowly, growing even more nervous than he was before. Maybe this wasn't an adventure that he could complete alone after all. He started to think about whether or not he was right to think of denying Ella's help.

"After you climb the cliff, I must beg you to be wary of your surroundings. This is the suspected territory of the Northern Trolls. A lot of caves are nestled there, and sadly, this is where we also suspect that dear Claria might be," the Queen said sorrowfully.

Billy gave her a sympathetic look. He had been afraid of the obstacles that the Queen had mentioned to him so far, but now here was, feeling sorry for her again. It was this pity that he felt that motivated him to save Princess Claria.

"I was very lucky that they didn't take me so far...but I might not be able to say the same for Claria if those thieving trolls did decide to take her away from me..." the Queen mourned.

"Don't worry, Your Majesty..." Billy said softly, then cringed at what he had said, wondering if saying it was even helpful at all. He didn't know what it was like to grieve and mourn, let alone mourn your own child. He didn't know what words would comfort the poor Queen, if words could comfort at all. Suddenly, he became filled with a fiery determination that temporarily masked his fear. The only way to truly help the Queen was to embark on the quest that could potentially save her daughter. No, not potentially. He was going to save her daughter. For certain.

"And that is the quest in detail," the Queen confirmed, rolling the map back into a scroll before handing it to Billy. "You will need this, along with your armor. It is stored safely in the chamber. I will have a servant lead you there." She then added, "Do you have any questions regarding your quest?"

Billy thought for a minute, before realizing that he did have a question for her. The idea of the entire quest, although with heroic intention, sounded very difficult for just one person. Yes, Billy knew who he was in this story. Sir Edward The Third, the most revered knight of all the land. But he wasn't sure if just knowing who he was and what his accomplishments were would help him. Although hearing of how he had once saved the Queen from the Northern trolls did sound interesting, he didn't know if he could actually do the amazing things that his character had done. In his mind, deep down, he was still Billy. Scared, frightened little Billy with broken legs and a fear of riding in the car. How on earth was he going to face goblins, climb a mountain, and look out for the threat of trolls? He couldn't do this alone. It was crazy to think so.

"Is it okay if I have someone come with me on my quest? To um, accompany, me?" Billy inquired, almost sheepishly. He didn't know how the Queen would react to the most revered knight of the land asking for help on his quest.

The Queen raised an eyebrow at him and squinted her eyes, confused.

"Well, it's just something I was thinking about," Billy said quickly, his face turning hot with embarrassment. "I just didn't know if...you know..."

"Help from who? Who do you think would be brave enough to accompany you on such a dangerous quest?" the Queen questioned curiously.

"Um, well..." Billy was almost nervous to admit who had asked to help him. As guilty as he was about it, he was slightly embarrassed to admit that the peasant Ella had been the one. He didn't dare lie to the Queen, however. "Ella. From the um...River Village?"

The Queen's eyes widened with shock at the mention of the name. "Ella? The peasant Ella? You've most certainly gone mad! I know that she was sent out to retrieve you, but that by no means makes her brave enough to accompany you. The work that Ella has completed is no better than that of the work done in a marketplace, or a bakery!"

Billy grew even more embarrassed at the Queen's reaction to what he had suggested. He quickly said, "Oh, no, that's not it at all...she um...she asked me. Yes, she asked me if she could accompany me, and I was too worried that I would let her down if I didn't let her come with me!" Billy gave a sheepish smile.

The Queen paused after he had said those words. To Billy's surprise, her brows furrowed, and she almost looked angry. For a second Billy was worried that she was angry at him, but learned different when she had said sternly, "Oh, Sir Edward, I am so appalled that she even had the audacity to ask you if she could help with your quest. I thought that I reminded her not to meddle with matters that don't concern peasants like her. I am deeply sorry on her behalf!"

Billy was silent, not knowing what to say to that. He hadn't meant to give the Queen a reason to be angry at Ella. Ella had it hard enough already!

"Your Majesty..." He started to say, but he was cut off by a sudden loud order made by the otherwise soft and delicate woman the Queen was.

"Gertrude! My servant, I order you to retrieve the peasant Ella! She must have a talk with me immediately!"

Gertrude nodded furiously from a distance and hurried out the palace doors to attend to her mission.

The Queen sighed as if letting out all of her steam, and then looked over at Billy and huffed, "Again, I do apologize. I shall organize a punishment for Ella as soon as she arrives."

Before Billy could say another word, a servant grabbed him by the hand and said, "Come. I must show lead you to the chamber where your armor is safely stored."

Billy nodded, a bit caught off guard, as he was forced to follow. He looked over his shoulder to see the Queen still sitting in her throne, fuming. He gulped, worried for Ella. No, he shouldn't be worried! Ella was just a book character, like all the others!

But he couldn't help but feel sorry. He didn't know why, and he felt that he shouldn't. But as the servant lead him away from the place where Ella was soon to be punished, Billy couldn't help but feel that the decision he had made was a betrayal to the girl who had helped in a time of confusion and fear. He sighed heavily. He could only hope that whatever punishment the Queen would choose for Ella, it wouldn't be too harsh. Her life seemed hard enough already.