Amneris Topanga, future Queen of Lyriumia, was lazing on the soft grass in the late afternoon sun. It was the first nice day in what felt like ages. The rain had just kept on coming for days upon days. While she knew it was good for the world, she swore she'd forgotten what the sun felt like on her skin. Today was a good reminder. Amneris sighed. She couldn't imagine being anywhere else. She was quite happy to stay in place.

A shadow crossed over her face. Amneris opened her eyes, expecting to see a cloud covering the sun. She shot upright. "Father!" she exclaimed. "Um, hi. What are you doing here?"

Her father, Lvaane, current King of Lyriumia, sat beside her on the grass. "Looking for you." He ruffled her hair. "Don't you have classes now?"

"Do I have to?" Amneris groaned. "It's too nice a day to be stuck inside."

"I thought you liked spending time with your friends."

"Spending time with my friends? Yes. Being stuck in a room where we are forced to learn? Not so much."

"It's important for you to learn, Helia," he said. "Your power was activated at such a young age."

Helia. Amneris couldn't help but smile at the name. It meant 'Princess' in the Old Language. Her father had always called her that.

"I know it was," she said.

A Lyriumian's power wasn't supposed to activate until they were at least two hundred. Amneris' power had activated a few years ago when she was seven. Now she was almost thirteen. Her power only got stronger with each day.

Amneris sighed reluctantly at her father's expectant gaze. "Okay. Okay. I'll go to class."

"Good girl."

She looked over him as they stood. Lvaane wasn't her real father, of course. He was the one who took her in after her mother's banishment a little over six years ago. She'd never met her real father and, in all honesty, it had never bothered her.

Amneris folded her sunset-coloured membrane Fae wings behind her as they reached the edge of the cliff. It was the tallest one in the area surrounding the coastal city of Lapide. The cream-coloured city looked tiny from so high. She could see the main squares, the city centre, all the roads, and the many town houses. Amneris could barely make out the shapes of ships bobbing on the sea in the distance. They were easier to see at night anyway.

Lvaane pressed on a rock. A small screen opened up inside it. He pushed a few buttons and the bit of grass they were standing on lowered at a steady but fast pace down the cliff. Amneris hung her arms over the barrier that had appeared, smiling as the wind whistled around her. Oh, how she loved this world. Her world. Lyriumia was a large planet and there was so much to see, but Lapide was her city. Although Kiloqua, the city in the mountains on the other end of the Continent, was a close second.

They reached the bottom of the cliff and stepped off the platform. The illusion of a full cliff-face returned. Technomagic really was amazing that way, Amneris thought. She spun back to her father, running to catch up with him again.

They followed the path to the Palace which wasn't too far from the platform. Amneris loved the Palace. It was built into the cliff they had been on top of mere minutes ago. From the outside, it looked amazing. Windows, balconies, and the large doors which made up the entrance were carved from the stone and painted a mix of white, silver, and pale blue. The Palace went further than three-quarters up the way of the cliff and was dug back even further than one would guess, but it didn't quite reach the top. Safety reasons or something. It had been in one of her history classes but Amneris rarely paid attention to those. She preferred living in the moment.

While there was an entire island school off the coast of Lapide, Amneris and her group of friends were educated within the Palace. All of them had power which was considered unnaturally strong for their ages, especially Amneris, and one wasn't allowed into the Academy until they were at least two hundred years of age. Well, that varied between species but two hundred was the largest age group.

The guards outside the Palace entrance bowed as they approached, greeting Amneris and her father as they entered. They returned the gesture. Inside, they were greeted by some of the Palace staff waiting in the cream-painted hallway. Not many people worked in the Palace. For the most part, the people who lived there looked after themselves. The few people that did work there were very well paid for. The only time large amounts of staff could be seen was during formal events when people were hired. They too were well paid for and were always treated well.

"Your Highness," one of the women said, bowing to Amneris. She turned to her father, bowing again. "Your Majesty."

"Luna," Lvaane said, addressing the pale-skinned dark-haired woman. "Anything to report?"

The woman lowered her hazel eyes to the clear screen in her hand. It came to life. She begun scrolling. "The Dreama Ambassador is waiting in your office – she arrived only moments before yourself – and your meeting with the Ambassadors of the United Fae Worlds has been moved to next week as one of their ranks has suddenly fallen ill and they need time to find a replacement."

Lvaane sighed. "Very well." He turned his gaze to Amneris. "Don't you have somewhere you need to be, Helia?"

Amneris blinked then blinked again. Her violet-gold eyes widened. "Oh! Right! Class! That's a thing."

Her father shook his head with a smile. "You are already late, Helia."

"I'm going. I'm going." She kissed her father's cheek. "See you at dinner."

Amneris dashed down the hallway, taking the stairs to the third level where the training room was located. Aside from her bedroom and the ballroom, this was by far her favourite. It was one of the larger rooms in the Palace and had several adjoining sections. From the door, there was a small balcony with a flight of marble stairs going down on both sides. Several sparring rings were lined up next to each other near the stairs. Wooden racks and make-shift walls housed weapons, as did the small locked cupboard. On the other side of the room was a fully furnished gym filled with more pieces of equipment than Amneris could name. A door to the left led to the pool. The door to the right led to the showers. There was a fourth door right at the back of the room, but no one knew what was in it. It was off-limits. Amneris had tried breaking into it once, along with her friends, and all had been grounded for a week.

Two of the training rings were currently in use.

In the first were Tayla Fox and Ethan Young, the pair using fake wooden swords. Ethan made a low sweep with his weapon. Tayla jumped over it, twisting to strike him. Ethan caught the blow, pushing her back. She stumbled, tossed her long midnight blue hair over a shoulder, and attacked once again. Tayla feigned left, bringing her foot up to kick Ethan in the side. He fell to the ground. Tayla looked up, once again pushing her hair from her fair violet skin. She saw Amneris and waved. Amneris returned the gesture.

In the second ring, Ray Cross was facing off against Zane Wells in a battle of magic. Black mist wreathed Zane's hands, making it look like he was holding a black hole. Light was drawn into it. More specifically, Ray's light was drawn into it. It was a strange sight. Ray was one of the strongest within their group. It was clear when she released the situation, releasing a wave of her power toward Zane. It faded into his darkness, but not fast enough. By the time it was clear, Ray was right in front of him. She held up a hand. A flash of light made Zane jump back, rubbing at his eyes with a groan. Ray took the opportunity to take one of his arms and toss him to the floor. She grinned triumphantly.

"Feeling lucky, Amnsy?" Ethan called from below.

Amneris hung her arms over the railing with a sly smile. "You just had your butt handed to you by a Water-Weaver. Should you really be asking me to fight you?"

Tayla burst into laughter at his offended look.

"Two on one, then!" he tried. "Me and Ray against you."

Ray made an annoyed noise. "I like being alive, thanks," she said, crossing her very fair freckled arms. "If you want go two on one, do it with Zane."

Zane shot her a shocked look. "Do I get a say in this?"

Before he could reply, Amneris jumped from the balcony, wings slowing her fall. "Say, where's teach?" she asked upon landing.

Her four friends looked at each other, then back to her. They all shrugged,

"Wow," Amneris said. "You guys are so helpful."

"She kind of came in, said "have at it, I'll be back in an hour" then left," Tayla answered. "It was weird."

Zane nodded. "Weird is being nice."

Ethan, naturally, wasn't paying attention to the conversation. He grabbed Amneris' hand and dragged her into the ring. Tayla jumped out, joining Ray and Zane in the other to watch.

"You sure about this?" Amneris asked.

"What could go wrong?" Ethan said.

She sighed. "Everything, now you've said that."

"Scared?" he cooed. "Afraid I'll beat you?"

"Oh, never." . . .