Suddenly, the scroll started to flare red hot.

"Ow!" I exclaimed.

I fished it out and read:

Rhianna, no time for formalities. I need your help. Quernam is under att

The scroll stopped displaying further words, meaning that Devan had stopped writing.

King Terran's plan had come into effect. But what could I do? I was stuck in the Gremlin Peaks with only three other people.

Fey.

The Fey! They could fly us to Quernam, and if we were lucky, bring some of their troops along. If we were lucky.

Which meant we had to hurry. Before the rest of the Seven Kingdoms Alliance was attacked too.

I told Tara, Ryan and Sir Frederick what had happened, and we raced up the mountain.

And came to a grinding stop.

The wraith stood in front of us, its chains rattling and its rags flowing.

"Hellooo, traveeeeeellers. I haven't seeeeeen thooooose in a looong tiiiiime. Yooooou coooome to paaaaaass? I thiiiiiink nooooot!" it drawled.

Shaking slightly, I stepped forward. "We come to offer you a hope, a fear, and a past if you let us pass. We do not wish to hurt you."

It laughed---a chilling, hollow sound like the howling wind in winter. "Yoooou wiiiiill noooot beeee able toooo defeeeeeeeeeat meeee."

"Which is why we're not trying," I answered with my knees knocking a bit.

A hope. I touched the wraith, and coldness seeped up my bones. I almost wrenched my hand away, but physical contact transmits thought easier, Pallassa once said.

I forced a hope into the top surface of my mind. I hope I get my kingdom back.

The wraith chortled. "IIIIIII dooooooon't waaaaaant thaaaaat hoooooope. IIIIII waaant your greeeaaateeest hope."

Greatest hope?

I hope to unlock the secret of my sword.

The wraith snorted.

I hope to restore my kingdom.

The wraith gave me an 'are you even trying' look.

I hope...

Suddenly, the answer came to me, and the words tumbled out of my mouth.

I hope that Mother is still alive.

Instantly, an ice cold touch ran down my arm and into the wraith, which sighed happily and became noticeably smaller.

The wraith wasn't scary. It was kind of cute, really. It's a shame people never try to talk with it and instead fight (a fight that they will lose).

A past. That was easier. All my life, up until the last two years, I've been hiding in my room, practicing swordplay secretly, learning about history and language and etiquette and music from my tutor, attending balls, dressing up in gowns, visiting the sick and poor... every day a mundane routine, repeating over and over and over.

I transferred the memories to the wraith. This time, it felt warm, instead of cold, and as I reached the last two years, my fingers burned from the effort. But I pressed on, and the wraith drunk in my past greedily, growing smaller and smaller with each passing second, until all my memories had been transferred and it was the size of my fist.

A fear.

What was my greatest fear?

Seeing that I was having trouble, Sir Frederick stepped forward to help.

"I am the girl's guardian, and I will take her place," he announced.

"Sir Frederick, no. It is my responsibility as a queen to do this," I said.

A fear. What in the Seven Kingdoms do I fear?

Snakes? High places? Enclosed rooms?

The wraith hissed. "Huuuumaaaan, huuuryyy uuup!"

"I... I'm... scared of..."

Then the answer flowed out of my mouth, as easily as a river flows from the mountain.

"I'm scared of losing my friends."

As soon as I said this, the wraith shrunk down until it disappeared.

Fantastic! We were past the first obstacle.

Unfortunately, the Fey being... well, the Fey... they would have much, much more.

And we were running out of time to help Prince Devan and Quernam.