The horses stood ready just outside the stable as the first beam of sunlight snuck into the darkness, casting an orangey-pink hue on the overcast clouds. Derric forwent sleep after Maria left, his mind tumbling over different ideas and possibilities. Few things were solid in the murky bog of magical intrigue they floundered in. Derric pulled out parchment and quill and spent the wee hours of the morning chronicling the important points:

1. Moth- Gilda Harver cursed Maria.

2. Gilda bound Maria to me Derric in order to ruin her chances at breaking the curse (so she could gain access to the throne?).

3. Maria is turning into a swan, but it seems faulty and inconsistent.

4. My mistake has nothing to do with any of this.

Blushing, Derric crossed off the final point and drew a line in order to make a list of the things he didn't understand.

1. Maria doesn't stay a swan—what is causing her to change back and forth?

2. What was Gilda's motivation? She wasn't ever the malicious type.

3. WHY does Gilda want Derric to be bound to Maria?

4. Where is Gilda Harver?

Derric sighed and folded the note, slipping it in snug with the maps in his bag. A sound behind him turned his attention to Maria, Sarah, and Humphrey—only the latter looking wide awake and ready to ride.

"So, which way are we going?" Humphrey asked, keeping his voice low.

"You're asking me?" Derric turned to Sarah and Maria. Both of them were watching Derric in eager anticipation.

"Of course!" Humphrey's grin broadened. "You're the brains of this operation. You're the one who can...what did you say it was, Sarah? 'Follow the magical footprints'?"

"Right," Derric said, falling into thought. Where should they begin? Quiet conversation continued behind him as he moved to his bag and removed the maps his mother gave him so many years ago.

Edleton was the royal city of Opea. Opea sat at the center of four countries, with Dellsby to the south and east, Braskey to the north, and Kyleria to the west. Dellsby, though the largest and the easiest to hide in, already had a royal sorcerers and many more throughout the villages. Braskey wasn't accessible, blocked by the Tranchet Mountains.

She wouldn't go to Braskey. The thought sprang forward as soon as he entertained the idea. Dellsby is too friendly with Opea. She's in Kyleria.

A chill ran down his spine and he shuddered. For nearly a century, Kyleria and Opea had balanced on the brink of war, teetering like a boulder on a cliff's edge—waiting for one tiny push to knock it over. Thirty years of strained peace lay between them now, a silence honored on both sides. The princess of Opea and a prince from Dellsby wouldn't be welcome in those lands.

But that's where she'd go—somewhere no one from Opea would follow. This thought tingled with magic, and Derric knew it showed him the way. To enter Kyleria, they would have to be stealthy, and the path wouldn't be easy. After all, one of the reasons the two countries never went to war was the treacherous terrain between them.

"...all of the time."

"How long before he comes back?"

Derric blinked and looked up. His three companions watched him. Sarah shook her head with a smile and moved to her horse. "Okay, he's back. Let's go."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa." Derric moved to block her path. "I told you—you aren't coming. You're fourteen and this might be dangerous."

"You're eighteen and you can't tell me what to do."

Derric gripped her shoulders. "I'm serious. You can't come. Father will be furious if he finds out I let you—"

"Like you care what Father thinks. You don't even like him." Sarah pulled away from Derric's grip. "Besides, I'm not afraid."

"You should be."

"A woman can do anything a man can do." Sarah straightened, her chin in the air.

"You sound like your mother."

"No." She stared straight up at him, a fierce glint in her eyes as she whispered. "I sound like yours."

He gaped at her, realizing she was right. Sarah never aimed to be like her own mother, often feeling as detached from her as he felt from their father.

"Daniel, I need Sarah." Maria moved up to his sister's side. "I want her along."

He grimaced, but gave a curt nod. A little thrill shot through his heart at the thought of having her along—they never had enough time together. Sarah gave a triumphant grin and stepped past Derric to her horse. It occurred to him he'd gotten four horses ready—not three.

Maria and Humphrey still stared at him, Humphrey's head cocked to the side. Blushing, Derric moved to Thumper and pulled up onto the workhorse's saddle. Humphrey, once mounted, rode up beside him.

"Where to?"

"West."

Humphrey's eyebrows arched and he gave a soft nod of his head. "West." He cast a final glance over his shoulder, and when Derric followed his gaze, he saw nothing but the castle pond, glinting in the first rays of sunlight.

###

They rode for eight hours without conflict, engaging in casual conversation and laughter. Sarah teased Derric while Humphrey remarked on the different sights of Opea he wished he could have enjoyed. Maria remained silent, casting a shrewd gaze at the countryside as they passed through two separate villages. Stomachs rumbled just before they exited the second town, and they stopped to buy food at an inn.

"You can't go in," Sarah told the royals. "You'll be spotted."

"What's wrong with being spotted?" Humphrey asked. "We left notes last minute saying Maria was going to show me about and not to expect us until late. All very clever, if I do say so myself."

"Perhaps, but if anyone comes here to ask questions, it would be best if there weren't any locals who could say which way you went. Ride on to the grassy outskirts of town, and we'll meet you with the food."

Derric stifled a laugh when he heard Humphrey mutter, "She's rather bossy" as he took his leave.

"I don't see why we couldn't have just used the food we brought." Sarah flipped her caramel braided hair behind her. "Isn't that the reason you had me bring all that food from the kitchens?"

"That's for when we're in the middle of nowhere without a town to camp in. While there's food to be bought and royals with moneybags as large as you are tall, we'll buy our meals."

Twenty minutes later they sat amongst a pleasant picnic in the grassy hills of the western countryside.

"We're going west." Maria didn't ask, but stated, as her gaze narrowed at Derric.

"Yes, that's true."

"Why?" Maria's tone wasn't welcoming or curious, but hard as steel.

Derric glanced at Humphrey, whose eyes widened. He shook his head, declining to offer any help as he bit off a large bite of his chicken leg and gestured to his loaded mouth as an excuse not to speak.

"The magic leads us west," Derric said, opting for short honesty rather than drawn out explanations.

"West as in western Opea? Because there are very few villages left between here and the border, so our journey will be a quick one." She pursed her lips in challenge and Derric sighed.

"Your Highness—"

"Maria."

"Maria, we're headed to Kyleria."

Silence fell heavy upon them as Sarah and Maria processed what Humphrey and Derric had already come to terms with.

"But," Sarah began, "isn't that dangerous? It's hardly a place to take our princess—something horrible could happen!"

"This journey never claimed to be an easy or safe one," Humphrey reminded her, having swallowed his food. "Anything worth having is worth struggling to achieve."

"Maybe for my brother, or even for a prince, but this is the future queen I'm sworn to serve! We can't go traipsing about dangerous forests, bogs, and swamps! Let alone gallivanting into foreign and hostile territory and asking for an inn to stay the night, 'And oh, by the way, we're looking for the sorceress who fled here after ruining the princess of Opea's life. Have you seen her?'"

"Fine." Humphrey gestured to the horses. "Go back. Daniel and I will continue on and, assuming we find the sorceress, we'll just have to figure out a way to capture her or convince her to return with us, since she'll need to be in Maria's presence to remove the curse."

"How can you allow this?" Sarah turned to Derric. "She's your princess, too. How can you expect her to put her life at such risk? Or any of us for that matter?"

"I told you not to come! Did you think it would all be a picnic?" Derric shot back. "You're all for women doing everything men do, little sister, but as soon as that thought is tested you turn tail and run."

"That's not what I meant—"

"We're going with them."

All attention turned to Maria. She didn't look at any of them, but picked at the hem of her simple day dress.

"Maria," Sarah began, but Maria shook her head.

"It seems fitting my enemy would be in enemy territory," she said, a rueful smile playing on her lips. "It wouldn't be right for me to remain at home and let others fight my battle. Daniel is right. I believe in order for a woman to be taken seriously—especially a woman who is destined to become queen—she must first be willing to cross whatever bridge she needs to. No one in Kyleria knows what Humphrey or I look like, so we won't be in danger of being recognized. No, the danger we'll face will happen long before we cross into a Kylerian town."

Her grin widened as she raised her head to look at them. "I, for one, have been dying for a bit of adventure."

Humphrey straightened where he sat, beaming at her like a proud father. Sarah stared at the princess in open awe and veneration. Derric, on the other hand, nodded to Maria, approval flitting across his face.

"To Kyleria," he said, raising his drink. The other three raised theirs in response.

"ToKyleria."

The Sorceress officially has a name! What do you think of Gilda Harver? She may have cursed Maria, but does that mean she had to be a bad mother?

Heading off to dangerous lands? Just another day in the life of our little team of adventurers.

What do you think of Maria and Sarah's opinions on going west? As always, hit that pretty little star to let me know you enjoyed!