Chapter Nineteen
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I glanced at my leather book beside me. It didn't seem like much, but this book was priceless among humans. I picked it up and leafed through my research. I had put it in sections: trolls, merrow, elves, stiria, faeries, and other creatures. With the watercolors the merrow had given me, the pages were colorful and interesting. I wished my scribbled handwriting was better.

The carriage lurched, and I hit my head on the other side. The velvet was soft, but I still rubbed my head. Then, I looked out the window. I was awed by the beauty and majesty of Velia, the capital. The castle loomed on a hill above the city. A narrow cobblestone path led through the villages and to the castle. Too many people crowded the streets. 

"I can't take you any further, miss," the driver said. "I'll 'ave to let you off 'ere."

I paid the man and hopped off the carriage, grabbing my luggage before the driver rode off. The town was more lively than anything. After my time in the Forbidden Lands, the noise and boisterousness was welcome.

I meandered through people and past carts. Castle Velia was beautiful. It was high on a mountain, and the city surrounding it was the safest in Krialle. In order to get to the castle, one had to go across an escalating stone bridge from a hill to Velia Mountain. I followed the main road to the stone bridge. Below, a rocky ridge loomed, with a trickle of a river far below. If I fell off, I'd surely die. With that happy thought, I ran across the bridge to Velia.

The main road led me to the surrounding wall of the castle. The guards opened the gates for me once I showed my family's coat of arms, which was displayed on my satchel. I felt a thrill of excitement once inside the castle walls. I asked the guards for audience with the king. They denied me. Twice.

"Please," I begged. "I've met the royal family before. They would like to see me."

"No," the guard in charge said, the same way he said it the two times before.

"I'm from the Fendway family," I said.

A man walked past and saw me. He pushed through the guards. "Miss E. Fendway!" he said. "Do you remember me?"

I blushed. "Yes, Your Highness." It was the prince!

"Call me Prince Artair. Or just Artair. All my friends do."

I bit back a smile. He considered me a friend! "Yes," I said, then bit my lip nervously. "Artair," I tried it out, and loved his name on my lips.

He smiled again. "Exactly!" He turned around and frowned at the guards, hands on hips. "Why did you not allow Miss Fendway in? She is a dear family friend! Her brother is a war hero!"

I looked smugly at the guards as Artair led me past them. They glowered.

"Artair?" I said. He turned and looked at me, nodding for me to go on. "I need to see your father on an important matter." I clutched the handle on my bag, where I'd put my book.

He tipped his head to the side a bit. "Why don't you just tell me?"

"It's extremely important. You can be there when I tell your father. In fact, it would be a great to have the support."

He frowned. "Very well. You can probably meet with him tomorrow morning. I'll talk to him. But right now, would you like to take a walk in the gardens?"

I looked down at my luggage. My arms were getting tired. Artair understood. "You are tired, I see. I'll find you a room to rest in. Tomorrow, early, we'll go riding together, yes?"

I nodded enthusiastically. "I'd like that."

Artair took my luggage from me. His hand brushed mine and I blushed. I followed him down different hallways and up staircases, until we arrived in front of a door. He set down my bag and opened the door. "You can stay here."

"Thank you, Your Highness," I said.

He gave me a pointed look, and I corrected myself. "Artair, I mean."

"I hope you're comfortable here," Artair said. "It is so nice to see you." He held out his hand to shake mine. I immediately put my hand to shake his, but he kissed my hand instead. I blushed once more. "Sleep well, Lady Evelin." He closed the door and left.

I was still frozen in shock. The prince of Krialle had kissed my hand. The future king. I blinked three times, and let out a little squeal. He liked me! The future king of Krialle liked plain, ordinary me. I took a deep breath and turned around. My jaw dropped. The room was beautiful. My room in the Fendway Manor had been nice, but this was the picture of elegance.

It had a silver and white canopy bed with a mahogany chest at the end of it. A white vanity sat in the corner. A chandelier hung from the high ceilings with dark, wooden, criss-crossing beams. A wardrobe sat beside a desk, and a large tapestry with depictions of fictional fairies hung on the wall. I smiled at it, because I knew what real faeries looked like.

There was a door on the east wall. I opened it and gasped. It was a balcony. I could see a picturesque view of the village, castle grounds, and the lands below Velia Mountain. Naturally, I ran inside my room to grab some parchment and a quill to sketch the view. With the setting sun casting golden rays on the mountain, hills and sparkling river below, the view was absolutely breathtaking. I began to yawn, so I decided to go to sleep. After all, I was meeting with the king tomorrow. I took my sketch inside and closed the door behind me.

A maid was dusting the wardrobe inside. She turned to see me. "Oh, thank goodness, you are back! Now, miss, I need to adjust a dress for you to wear tomorrow. You are meeting with the king tomorrow, correct?"

I nodded. I would need a dress, I thought. I still wore the one the elves gave me. It had been beautiful once, not any longer. I winced at the thought that the prince had seen me in these rags. The maid opened the wardrobe and pulled out an aqua blue dress with a slit from the waist down the middle, revealing a petticoat of silvery-black. Black detailing patterned the bodice, and silver criss-cross laces tied across the chest. Long blue sleeves draped to nearly the hem of the dress. It was beautiful.

The maid tried it on me and declared it needed to be taken in. I new that would happen, but it hurt a little when she said she needed to hem the skirt so it didn't drag.

"It will be ready in the morn," she said. "Now get some sleep. I'll arrive in the morning to help you draw a bath and get dressed. Would you like me to also bring you breakfast?"

"Yes, thank you."

She left, and I laid down on the silky covers of the silvery-white canopy bed. The top was made from deep blue silk, and little stars had been embroidered on it. I stared at those stars, counting each one and wondering how long it took to make, until I fell asleep.

I woke up with the sun, and ate my morning meal on the balcony, admiring the peachy color of sunrise. I missed the paints I'd had at Fallbrooke. I wished I could mix the perfect color of the pale orange sky. The maid drew a bath for me, and pulled half of my hair back in a braid.

"How do you manage this?" she asked, pulling a brush through my hair.

"I don't." My curly hair had grown longer now, past my shoulders and completely unmanageable.

She braided it as best she could, and placed a silver circlet on my head, making me feel regal and confident. But as I looked in the mirror, I still saw the skinny, short little girl with a plain face. I was nothing special to look at.

I turned away and got lost in a hallway. My dress was awfully hot, making me sweaty and sticky. Lacking some cold air, I went outside, remembering Artair's offer to go riding. He was waiting there with a book in his hands. He looked into it intensely, the skin between his brows furrowed up in concentration. I smiled.

"Prince Artair," I said quietly. He looked up.

"You look lovely today, Lady Evelin."

I scoffed in disbelief.

"Really," he said. "You do."

With a disbelieving shake of my head, I followed him into the stables. He asked if I'd ridden before.

"Yes," I said, "but I'm not very good."

"We'll go slow then," he said, displaying one of his famous, straight-toothed smiles.

I couldn't help but smile back.

We rode through the gardens. He spoke of the distress in the north, occasionally trying to get me to spill some information about my reason for requiring the king's presence.

"I cannot tell," I said mysteriously. "But you'll see anyway."

He gave me a tight smile.

"What's Lucia up to lately?" I asked.

"She's visiting our cousins. We need to keep her safe from the battles in the north."

"Have you heard from my brother?"

Artair frowned. "I have, yes."

When we finished our ride, we walked side by side in the rose garden. I noticed a beautiful pink-and-white one, and touched its silky petals. Artair stood behind me.

"You truly have grown out of your wildness, Lady Evelin, haven't you?" he said admiringly.

I whipped around and looked at him. Had I? Surely I'd grown more mature, but my wildness wasn't gone. That was who I was. The wild, artistic Fendway. "I have not," I told him fiercely. I would not be a copy of my sister. I would be my own person. I ran away from him, which was probably horrid etiquette, but I didn't care. I ran into the castle, breathlessly.

I smoothed my dress and circlet, and continued to walk, as usual, and I prepared myself mentally for my audience with King Davi.

He did not see me until after noon. I supposed being king meant countless responsibilities, but I became impatient. My research was too important to wait. At last, when the guards let me in the throne room, I took a deep breath and faced the royals. The guards, the councillors. The king, the queen. Artair.

"Your Majesties," I began, "I have made discoveries that will change life in Kialle as we know it." I pulled out my book and placed it in front of the king. "This is my research. I have visited the Forbidden Lands."

Audible gasps were uttered by the councillors and usually stone-faced guards. Artair was frowning at me.

I continued. "Yes, it is true. I survived there for more than a month. It is much different than legends say."

"How do we know the girl isn't lying?" a councilor called out. I noticed the king hadn't made a sound.

"I'm not," I said. "I can prove it." I pulled out my Aquweed left from the merrow, my dried samples of unfamiliar plants, and my receptacle of wind from the faeries.

Before I could say anything more, the king roared out. "Leave! Everyone leaves except my son and the girl." They left, despite my protests.

"Your Majesty," I began, but he interrupted.

"Lady Evelin Fendway," the king said, "entering the Forbidden Lands is . . . forbidden. You are sentenced to ten years in prison for disobeying the law."

"Father!" Artair called out.

"This girl is clearly delusional. Did you look at her book? Hallucinations, perhaps. Whatever it is, time in the dungeons will serve her well."

"No, Your Majesty," I protested. "I actually did see these--"

"Guards!" the king called. "Take this girl to the dungeons."

"But the races need our help!" I looked to Artair desperately.

"I wish you would've trusted me with this knowledge," he said sadly, shaking his head and looking down at his hands. "I could have helped you."

The guards took me by the shoulders. I kicked them both, and they lost hold on me for a moment. Using the opportunity, I raced toward the king and grabbed my things back from him, shoving them in my satchel. The king reached out to grab me, but I was too fast. Artair continued to look down. I climbed up a pillar, to a window ledge high on the wall. I opened the window and climbed onto the castle roof. I usually wasn't scared of heights, but the drop was extremely far and deadly. I took a deep breath. I could hear the king's shouts and the guards approaching footsteps.

I took the sample of Aquweed back out of my satchel and popped it in my mouth. I took out the receptacle of wind, remembering the faerie's words when she'd given it to me.

"Only use this in a time of mortal peril. It can only be used once."

This counted as mortal peril, right? I removed the lid and felt a pocket of air surround me. I put on my tattered, red elf cloak. In case I died, I wanted it to look tragic. I clutched my satchel tightly and jumped. Off the castle ledge, off the mountain, off of Velia. Down, down down.

I heard the guard say, "She's dead for sure."

The drop was long, making me more and more frightened. If I didn't have the wind, I'd hit the rocks and die. If I didn't have the Aquweed, I'd drown from the rivers strong current.

The pocket of air broke my fall, and I fell into the river. It's current was known for being faster than a running horse. It sliced through me, and I went under. My hair came out of it's braid, and my elvin cloak ripped off.  Eventually, I became unconscious.
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