Mauve tumbled out of the portal, hitting the ground hard. Her brother narrowly avoided falling on top of her, landing in a heap beside her. She twisted to look behind them as the portal shimmered for a few seconds before dissolving.

She picked herself up and dusted down her skirts. They seemed to have fallen into some type of ruined castle. The archway that held the portal was attached to one of the few remaining walls. No doubt some of the portal's magic had stopped it collapsing like the others.

Bottles and colourful wrappers littered the ground, which made Mauve angry. Their careless regard for such an important magical place was so typically human. She knew they didn't understand magic as the Fae did, but she couldn't understand the pleasure they seemed to take in littering their world.

"You okay?" Carrick asked, also looking around with a stiff expression.

Mauve was going to answer him when thoughts of their father entered her mind. There hadn't even been time to say a proper goodbye.

She couldn't stop the tears cascading down her cheeks, even though she knew she had to be brave.

"Hey, come on. It'll be okay." Carrick awkwardly tried to console her.

"What if we never see Father again?" The thought was burning her up inside.

Carrick looked away from his sister, trying to master his own emotions. "We just have to hope we will. What else can we do?" He wasn't sure whether they would ever see Lania again, never mind their father, but now would not be the right time to point that out.

"How can you just stand there? Why aren't you upset?" Mauve accused him, her cheeks flushed from crying and her sudden anger.

Carrick sighed. The truth was, he was just as scared and upset as his sister, but he was choosing to focus on their mission. He wasn't sure why it was so important to deliver the letter, but he didn't doubt his father's words. If he said it was Lania's only chance, then Carrick would not question it.

"Auntie gave us a job, something that could free Lania from Lorcan's forces. We need to focus on that." Anything to distract them from what was happening to their father back home.

Mauve regarded him with a stony expression, before it morphed into one of despair. "Do you think they'll be okay?" Her timid voice conveyed her deepest fears. They'd already lost their mother, she couldn't bear to lose their father.

Carrick kept his expression as void of fear as possible, not wanting to add to his sister's distress. "Lorcan will want to question them first, especially when he realises we're missing. After that he'll want to make an example out of them so he'll need them alive. There will be time to save them." He wished his words to be true. Unwilling to voice his fears and scare Mauve further.

Mauve nodded her head, comforted, though Carrick felt far from relaxed.

His words seemed to set a burning need inside them to begin their mission. A small flicker of hope that they could cling to.

"Pass us those maps." Carrick held out his hands as Mauve rummaged in her knapsack, withdrawing the two bits of paper.

They unfolded both of them and held them out, quickly discarding the one that showed their realm, Adiocion. Instead, they focused on the one that showed the human realm. There were two portals still active in the United Kingdom.

"This is ours." Carrick pointed to the one who's name they'd spoken as part of the spell to awaken the portal. "And you've still got the letter?" His gaze flickered over to Mauve as she rummaged in her pockets and withdrew the envelope.

"Good. Then I say we find the nearest town and see how far we are away from that address." He pointed to the envelope before folding up the map and tucking it into his own knapsack.

Seeing as it was the most sensible plan they had, they began walking. Stumbling along paths worn down by other people through the waist length weeds. Mauve had to tread carefully as her skirts caught on brambles crossing their path. More than once Carrick had to hold the creeping branches back until she'd passed.

Eventually they made it to a road and agreed on which direction to go, which was hopefully the right one, since there were no signs to direct them.

A few cars passed them, which made them nervous. Not just because of the curious glances they were getting from the humans. But also because they'd never gotten this close to the human's mechanical riding equipment.

They'd observed the machines from afar before, but never up close. Every time one passed them, they nervously skittered into the hedge and tried to act inconspicuous.

Half an hour later they heard the welcome ding of a bell as they pushed open the door to the first shop they'd found. The smell of sugar and freshly baked bread made their mouths water. They could almost pretend they were back in Lania, tucking into the carefully crafted meals provided by Cook.

"Well, look at you two. Those costumes are just fantastic, but isn't it a week early for the renaissance fair?" A plumb woman appeared behind the counter with a gentle smile.

The siblings looked at each other. "Ahh... yes... we got the days wrong." Carrick improvised poorly, but the woman didn't seem to notice as she moved various pastries around.

"Oh, that's too bad, dears. I'm sure those costumes would have gone down an absolute storm. Now what can I get you?" She waited as they both inched forward to see what was behind the glass.

"Umm, can I try that one?" Mauve pointed to a huge chocolate covered cake, her eyes wide. Chocolate was scarce in Lania, and she'd never seen so much on a desert before.

"Of course you can, honey. And what about you, love?"

"I'll have the same." Carrick quickly decided, hoping their father had given them enough money for these treats. They also ordered two waters, surprised when they came in their own bottle.

"Why don't they just serve the water in a glass?" Mauve asked after the woman handed them over, fiddling with the cap until it popped open.

"I don't know, just sit down," Carrick murmured, too low for the woman to hear.

Mauve huffed but did as she was told, taking both their plates and the two bottles.

"Okay, my lovely, that's £7.50."

Carrick dove into his knapsack and pulled out his coin purse, again gratefully his father had taught him something about human money. He pulled out a note which had a little ten in the corner, and handed it over, taking the change back quickly.

Mauve was already halfway through her piece of cake when Carrick joined her, a layer of chocolate smeared around her face.

"This is so good." She managed to say around a huge mouthful of cake.

Just as Carrick had taken his first bite, the woman came back and began wiping down the tables next to them. Though as there was no one else in the shop he wasn't sure why.

"So what are you two going to do now? Wallingford doesn't have much going on this time of year. All the tourists have left, now it's getting closer to winter."

The siblings looked at each other whilst Carrick manfully swallowed his mouthful, choking a little as he forced the cake down so he could answer.

"Well, our Father gave us this letter to deliver but we don't know where we've got to go," Carrick explained, whilst Mauve held the letter up for the woman to see.

"You kids are in luck. Bury St Edmunds is only two hours away by car. Your Dad could take you there." She said as if that was the most helpful thing in the world.

"Our Father sort of had to go away, and he said we really need to get this letter to that address. Is there another way we could get there?" Carrick silently pleaded that there was another option, whilst the cafe owner thought about it.

"Give me a sec. I might have an idea." The owner disappeared from view.

"You sure this is a good idea? Can we trust her?" Mauve whispered, turning her head to listen to the woman speaking to herself in the back.

"May, we haven't got a choice," Carrick reasoned, but quickly shut up when the owner returned to their table.

"You're in luck. Tom next door restores pottery and he just so happens to be going to Cambridge where you'll be able to catch a bus. All you gotta do is hold some of his more delicate pieces and the ride is free. But you'll have to be quick. He leaves in ten minutes."

The siblings quickly agreed, finishing their cakes in records time. The owner allowed them time to change into the clothes their father had packed for them, and then they were crammed into a small car laden down by pottery.

Thankfully, Tom was a quiet man and seemed content to play the radio and leave Carrick and Mauve to themselves. Still, when Tom dropped them off at the bus station, they were grateful to be by themselves. It was harder than they were expecting to seem human. Adiocion and the human realm were too different and the more they saw, the more they were amazed.

One bus change and almost an hour later, they arrived at the small town of Bury St Edmunds.

They passed a number of people who explained that the address belonged to a flower shop on the main street, but they were unsure whether it would still be open. Mauve and Carrick tried to be positive as they dashed through the emptying streets, their heads swivelled around trying to spot the store.

"How do humans wear these?" Mauve complained, pulling at her jeans irritably.

It had been hours since they'd eaten and the lack of food was making them both snappy. Their previous life in the palace had not equipped them to deal with this type of predicament. They were hungry, tired, and their feet were aching from all the walking.

Carrick was trying to keep their spirits up, but even he was having difficulty from feeling defeated. The more shops they passed, the more he'd noticed how dark it was getting. Almost all the shops by now were already closed and his weak resolve diminished with every 'closed' sign they saw.

"Hey, you kids, okay?" A man was walking towards them, a concerned look on his face. He was tall for a human, with a kind face and vivid blue eyes.

"Actually, we're looking for an address." Carrick said whilst Mauve repeated the address. After having to repeat it multiple times, she had it memorised.

The man's eyebrows rose a fraction before he cleared his throat. "I'm sorry, but I just closed up. I suppose if it's important I could open the shop back up for you?" He offered.

The siblings looked at each other in sudden excitement.

Mauve pulled out the envelope and practically shoved it into the man's face. "You're saying this is your address?"

The man pulled a pair of glasses from his shirt pocket and peered at the letter. He took it from Mauve with confused fingers, turning it over till he saw the seal pressed into the paper. His eyes widened at the sight and his cheeks flushed in sudden excitement.

He looked back at the two kids still staring at him, peering at them in sudden understanding.

"Carrick and Mauve?" He asked tentatively, watching as their mouths hung open in shock.

"You know us?" Mauve said in awe, but she quickly snapped her mouth shut at her brother's hard glare.

"Who are you? How do you know who we are?" Carrick asked in a not too friendly tone, though the man didn't seem to notice, he was too busy staring lovingly at the seal.

"What's happened in Lania? The only reason you would be here was if something happened. Otherwise, Orlaigh would be here."

Both Carrick and Mauve jumped as the stranger used their Queen's first name.

The man looked up at their stunned faces, for the first time noticing their weariness. "I'm sorry, you're tired and have probably travelled a long way to bring me this letter. Please allow me to extend hospitality to two travellers in need."

The words were something of an unwritten law in Lania. Hospitality was always given to those who needed it, and the fact this stranger seemed to know that eased some of Carrick and Mauve's fears.

Listening less with their heads and more with their rumbling stomachs, they accepted his offer.

Once again, they found themselves crammed into a car with a driver who was more keen on listening to the radio than talking. The only difference between this car ride and the last was the increase in plants and the lack of pottery.

The car pulled up outside a sprawling country house, the only light in the otherwise dark countryside.

"Come on, you two. You can explain why you're here after you've had some decent food and a rest. By the way, my name is Ken." His kind smile convinced Carrick and Mauve to get out of the car. He didn't seem to mean them any harm, but they remained cautious.

They followed Ken into the house, taking their example from him to remove their shoes. He led them through a living room stuffed with furniture, the smell of food growing stronger as they neared what they assumed to be the kitchen.

"Hey Dad, why are you home so late?" A young voice called out, making both Carrick and Mauve uneasy. They hadn't been aware there was another person in the house.

Ken turned to them and motioned them forward. "It's okay, it's just my daughter, Valda." Then called out a little louder. "Ran into some friends so I hope you made enough for four."

There was the sound of some banging and swearing, which didn't ease the siblings' worry.

"Really, Dad? You couldn't have called to give me a little heads up?" Came the voice again, only now sounding extremely disgruntled.

As Carrick and Mauve rounded the corner, the owner of the voice was revealed. It was a girl about their age, with wiry black hair, which she kept tucked under a bandana. Her back was facing away from them, but then she suddenly turned and caught sight of them, stopping dead.

Her coffee coloured skin and heart-shaped face was so familiar it took their breath away. Her piercing blue eyes roamed over them in speculation.

"Who are they Dad? Why are they here?" Valda asked, setting down two extra plates at the table.

"This is Carrick and Mauve." Ken explained, pointing out each one. "They have news from your mother," He said solemnly.

Valda's head snapped up to look at her father, shock covering her features. "What? But Mom's gone?" She looked so vulnerable instantly Carrick and Mauve understood the truth.

Valda was the spitting image of Queen Orlaigh, and she was now the sole heir to Lania's throne. The only problem was she had no idea who she was.