It wasn't long before they finally reached the kingdom's sandstone wall. It stood taller than it had seemed from further away, which Elora never thought was possible. The music was louder now, and, through the gates, she could see a tremendous building with several towers. The building reached so high, a fog gathered around much of it and it nearly touched the clouds.

"What is that?" Elora asked Kiaro.

"What is what?"

She pointed to the building through the arched gateway as they approached. The black double doors were made of a marble-like material and the closer they got, they bigger it seemed. A bridge Elora hadn't noticed before crossed over a moat which surrounded the kingdom as far as she could see.

"It's the palace. Elora, luv, you're not from here, are you?"

"Sure, I am," she replied as joyously as she could.

That was lame, she thought. Kiaro seemed not to notice, though, so she decided to go along with it.

Palace? She was in a kingdom, right? So why shouldn't it have a palace? And werewolves and kings and queens and —

Don't drive yourself to hysteria, she commanded.

"You seem rather pale."

Elora stared at Kiaro, eyes wide.

You think?

"Uh — no, no, I'm fine. I'll be alright."

Though Kiaro didn't give a reply, she knew he didn't believe her.

She watched as her black boots pressed gentle footprints into the dark soil, wondering where autumn had gone. Her feet carried her on as her mind wandered far off, thinking miscellaneous thoughts. She was pondering over the flourishing grass when they'd finally reached the gates.

"Hey, uh, Kiaro?" Elora asked.

Kiaro looked at her with a curious, expectant expression.

"What were you doing out there anyway? I mean, when I woke up, you said I was out cold so you just waited for me. But —"

"I was coming back from a small errand. I had traveled to another kingdom."

"Oh." Elora grew silent again. His response wasn't exactly invitation to dig deeper.

"What about you?"

"Hmm?"

"What about you?" His green eyes sparkling mysteriously as they reflected the sunlight.

"Um," she said in a rather high-pitched voice, causing it to slip slightly into a voice crack. She had been going for casual. "You know, travel and . . . stuff."

Kiaro stared at her. "Ah," he finally said.

"You don't believe me, do you?"

"Absolutely not." He smiled at her expectantly.

Elora laughed. "It's an unplanned vacation, but it's a vacation nonetheless."

"Luv," he said, tone suddenly quiet as his perspicacious eyes scanned the bridge. There were four men — or women, Elora couldn't quite tell — clad in metal, standing on each side of the wide wooden pathway. The bridge itself looked rather soaked with its wood dark, and its planks creaking. The bridge was filled with busy people going one way or another, out to the east where another kingdom seemed to prosper in the distance, or south, which was behind them, towards the forest. To her left, seemingly west, since the sun was dipping lower into the sky, mountains rose tall, with several kingdoms crowding them.

"Yeah?" she whispered.

"Do you see those men?"

Elora watched the people with the supposedly metal clothes. "Yeah."

"Those are guards."

"Huh," she said. Now that he said it, it seemed rather obvious. "Yeah, I never would've found that out without you, Kiaro, you've solved my life's purpose."

Kiaro turned and surveyed her expression. She tried to keep it blank but a smirk struggled itself onto her face.

His lips pulled slightly upwards, not enough for it to be a smile, but still amused. "As I was trying to inform you before you intervened to comment with such politeness, they aren't just there to watch citizens go in and out. If they see anything out of the ordinary . . . that wouldn't be good."

"Okay," Elora said. She'd had enough of people saying these kind of things to her. "I know I supposedly look like a piece of crap that got slashed to bits and run over like a car, but I'm not the ugliest person in the entire city!"

Kiaro stared at her. His eyes had grown wider with every word she spoke and now he looked like a tarsier. "What?" he finally said incredulously.

"What?"

"I don't know what 'crap' is, and I certainly don't know what a 'car' is, but I never called you ugly, now, did I?"

"Out of the ordinary?" she prompted.

"Honestly," Kiaro said, rather frustrated, "luv, you're one of the most beautiful people I've ever met!"

Elora stared at him. She blinked. And continued to stare. Kiaro ducked under his hat slightly as she noticed his face tinge pink.

As if you mean it, Elora caught herself thinking. Shut up. Take the compliment, it's the only one you'll get.

It was true, though she wasn't about to say it aloud. Kiaro looked like a child actor whose features would get him at least a billion fans. If he's ever looked in the mirror, he clearly didn't mean what he said.

"I mean," he said, regaining his composure, "you aren't ugly. Not in the slightest. The guards would notice you because of your accent."

"I have an accent?"

"It's rather obvious, luv," he said sympathetically.

"So," Elora said, drawing out the word, "you want me to shut up."

A moment of silence radiated between the two of them before he said, "You're impossible."

"I am?"

Kiaro sighed patiently. "Can you try to get rid of your accent — just for the time being? And no, before you say anything, I don't hate your voice."

"You mean," she said, speaking in a portentous British accent, "like this?"

"It'll have to do."

Elora grinned as they continued towards the bridge only a few meters away.

"Would you like some tea?" she said in Kiaro's accent, unable to help it. She giggled, "Tea and biscuit!"

-|~|-

Kiaro, being the kind boy he was, could do nothing to stop Elora's relentless teasing. She wasn't about to let her greatest opportunity to not be on the other side of the taunting. She knew she should probably feel guilty and stop, but she couldn't until they were well past the bridge. The sun had dropped low enough for long shadows to appear.

The city inside was more beautiful than she'd thought. Beyond the square, sparkling buildings reached for the sky, misty clouds surrounding them here and there. The streets slowly brightened under the shadows as a lantern was lit and hung outside each and every extravagant building, every small shop, every cozy little house. Each little lantern were colored differently. Some were blue, some were red, some in colors she'd never seen before.

"Are there even candles in those lanterns?" Elora asked.

"Candles?" Kiaro said, though he looked rather relieved she'd stopped her mocking. "Why would we use candles?"

"To light them up," she replied. I'm fairly certain that's obvious.

"No, we use —" he started but Elora quickly interrupted.

"Wow! How big is that wall? Does it really fit all these buildings? What are they made of, anyway? Where do all these people come from? Is that a river running through this place? What are those?"

Kiaro, clearly amused by her sudden outbursts of questions, paused to look at her astounded, wonder-struck expression as she pointed to the animals playing near the bank of the river.

The river itself gleamed a dark, indeterminate color from the lanterns' light, with no end to its depth. It looked as regular as any river would be in the middle of the woods or a forest. No walls held the water in, no 'caution' signs decorated the sandy dirt around it.

Alone with citizens and children, the animals — whatever they were — took up most of the space near the river. They ranged in size from as small as a baby kitten to as large as a big dog, perhaps even a bit larger. They looked like dragons, with their sharp teeth, onyx-black claws, and scaled of which color differed for every creature. Some scrambled about on four feet, some staggered comically on two. Every one of them had a tail the size of their bodies, splitting into two halfway between. Little glowing flames adorned each one.

Two of them wrestled against each other, and as one flipped away, Elora noticed its furry underside was a bright blue color. Another had gray, another pink.

"Those are Ekodurs," Kiaro informed her. "Playful little creatures."

"Why are their tails glowing?" Elora immediately asked. "How come they have fur? Is no one scared of them? Are they dangerous? What do they eat? Do they —"

The boy next to her laughed. "I can't answer all of those at once, luv. But no, they aren't dangerous. They're quite fun, actually."

Elora tilted her head, forcing herself to keep her mouth shut. But even she didn't have that much willpower. She found herself whispering, "Are they like pets or something?"

"They're like friends."

"Oh." Elora opened her lips again, but upon seeing Kiaro's raised eyebrows, she clapped her hand over her mouth. "Sorry," she said, her apology muffled.

The green-eyed boy's lips quirked up, but he didn't say more. He led her on past the buildings crawling with shadows, the stalls lit up like Christmas Eve, and the busy families buying and selling, walking and talking, smiling and laughing.

Elora's gaze lifted to the sky. The stars had started to peek out, she noticed, along with a round, milky white moon, just barely visible above the tips of tall towers.

"Do you like it?" Kiaro asked.

Elora tore her gaze away from the sky and looked at him.

"Do you like it?" he repeated softly. He watched her with sweet, shy eyes. He held his lute close to him, his fingers gently playing an absent-minded tune. His hat had tipped slightly on his head without him noticing. It seemed to suit him.

"Like what?"

"The city. My home."

"Well," she thought, glancing around at the cheerful citizens, the soaring buildings, the Ekodurs, and gently music that still played in the distance.

Everyone's happy, she thought. Everyone feels safe and at home.

"Why wouldn't I?" she replied.

"That's not really an answer," Kiaro pointed out. He pushed his hair aside, tipping his hat so precariously, she had a strange urge to reach out and flick it off.

"It's beautiful," she said in his British accent. "I've fallen in love with it, really."

Elora laughed, gently nudging his shoulder.

Kiaro groaned. "Leave me alone, won't you?"

Hey, people! I'm really proud of this chapter for some reason. Any constructive criticism is still welcome. Is it wrong that I love Kiaro and feel really bad now because I know what will happen to him?

Please vote if you liked it!