Attending that supper proved to be a fruitful event, for the next day I was given a message by way of Odel, who knew where I was doing my routine rounds.

   The queen requested my presence with her and her daughter for a private lunch in the lady's room which was located in the restricted wing.

   "When does she wish to arrange this luncheon?" I asked keenly.

   "Today."

   "Today!?" I said, baffled. "I haven't enough time to prepare."

   He gave me a reassuring smile, placing a hand on my shoulder that was welcomed. "You need not worry about that. If you haven't already realized it, my mother adores you and Amalone is eager to learn more about you as well. Merely be as you were last night, as you are every day."

   Though his smile was often apt to spread to me, I couldn't seem to fix the slight frown on my face. Finally, he tilted my head up with the gentle guidance of his finger under my chin until my eyes gazed into his.

   "Be you, Aelita; that's who impressed them last night, that's who entertained them. I haven't seen my father so intrigued by anyone but my mother in so long I couldn't begin to say the last time he was."

   Though I still held onto a few reservations, I simply nodded, agreeing to attend. He advised me to be prompt then ventured off down the corridor, leaving me alone for a brief moment before I quickly hurried back to the quarters to seek out Swethyna to tell her the news and to organize myself.

   Swethyna happened to be absent- quite unlike her- so I hurried to clean myself up, though there was nothing new to wear but the dress I arrived in- it would be better than attending in servant's garb.

    The lady's room was a dainty, tranquil place with charming views of the soaring mountains in the distance and the valley below. I'd begun to believe I was too early upon arriving to an empty room, but only seconds later did the queen come fluttering with a retinue of other women. The queen was a sight that drew eyes, almost like the peace in the eye of a flustered, overwhelming mess. Behind the handful of women was Amalone, whose face lit up upon setting her eyes on me. She bounded over to my side on the plush, velvet couch I was sitting on, startling me when she immediately embraced me as though I was a long-lost friend or family member.

    "Aelita! Did I say your name properly? I'm awful at remembering names and mother wants me to improve in that field." Her brown eyes were full of zest.

    "Yes, you are correct."

    "Excellent!" She took my hands into hers, setting them in her lap as though we were sisters. "You are sixteen and come from the province of Alay- no- Abathien, right?"

    "Yes."

    Secretly, I was already feeling overwhelmed with the situation around me. The ladies that swarmed the queen gave off a very excessive and skittish aurora, and I wasn't prepared for Amalone and her onslaught of questions, but I kept my mask of indifference on, remaining poised.

   "They're very noisy, aren't they?" She asked finally, indicating to the retinue surrounding her mother.

   "Yes, extremely so."

   "They follow her around everywhere, the chief ladies. They're supposed to give mother advice but they end up giving her a headache most days."

    I frowned at the group. I couldn't begin to fathom the responsibilities needed for running a kingdom as vast as Edalirwen with so many distractions- it seemed daunting.

    Amalone pulled me from my thoughts when she took my hand again.

   "Want to go someplace?"

    Hesitation was present on my face as she said this. I glanced over at the queen with a weary look.

    "It would be rude to miss lunch-"

    "Oh, we wouldn't miss a thing," She was already pulling me from my seat. "By the time they finish discussing their endeavor we'll be back before the first dish is served."

    Though I was still a bit apprehensive, I had little choice since I was being pulled along out of the room. She kept her grip on my hand as we hurried, like children, through the corridors. I didn't bother troubling myself to ask her where she was leading me, I simply allowed her to guide us to wherever she thought best.

    Eventually, we stopped in front of a small wooden door made out of a different wood than the other doors in the halls. I was doubtful when she told me to follow her through the door for the door was quite small and even though she could fit through without much of a struggle, I was older, therefore bigger than she was. Still, the girl seemed eager for me to follow, so I made myself as small as I could and pushed through the doorframe until I entered. The small space inside was much relief as quarters were tight, preventing me from standing erect. Amalone, who was already ascending a spiral staircase, called down for me to watch my step on the way up and keep my balance for there was no railing to hold onto. I began up the wobbly wooden stairs in a cautious manner, pressing myself as close to the wall as I could the further up I went. The stairs seemed to spiral up to heaven, there was no end in sight until finally, I arrived at a dusty old door which was as cramped as the door before. Pushing aside the cobwebs blocking my path, I squeezed into the door, entering into a brighter, more open space which allowed me to stand straight again.

    My eyes readjusted to the light in the room. Surveying the space, I spotted numerous shelves of various size lined against the wall, filled from top to bottom with volumes. There was a desk in the middle of the room, piled on with loose papers and open books and other diverse objects. The floor, too, was strewn about with papers and books along with other materials. The room, in theory, was actually quite cramped but in a more homely manner which felt pleasantly quaint and secure. In the corner, where Amalone laid, was an old, dusty chaise; she set her feet down to make room for me to sit. My eyes still roamed the room even as she spake.

    "Do you like it?"

    I looked at her. "What is this place?"

    "My secret room. Now you can't tell anyone else about this place or else it wouldn't be a secret anymore."

    She got up and hurried to the lone window in the room which let in the light, revealing the particles lazing through the air. On the window sill, she repositioned a flower basking in the sun, then after another second, she opened the window some, returning to the chaise and plopping herself down upon it causing a flurry of dust to spring up.

    "You're very quiet," She commented. "Is it because I'm the princess?"

    Her questions always left me wordless for brief periods of time.

    "No, it's not that. I'm just...I don't know, I simply don't talk too much. Nothing to say, I suppose."

    Toying with her dress, she stared down at her lap as she talked, which I'm sure she hadn't been raised up to do.

    "There's always something to say. Say whatever you can think of."

    "I've been thought to mind my tongue. It's something my teacher taught me."

    "You had a teacher?" She looked up at me. "I thought you came from a poorer province."

    "I do, but my teacher- she was a wise woman. I don't wish to talk about her at this moment, though."

    "Oh, okay, then we don't have to."

    We sat in silence for a minute before she got up from her seat once again and went to the clustered desk, digging around. Amalone always seemed to move with a kind of jittery energy that was common in young children. Though she was still considered a child, being the age of fourteen, it was unusual, to me at least, that she acted so young for her age, especially approaching the threshold of womanhood.

     After a bit, she pulled out a thin journal and returned to the chaise, opening it up for me to view its contents.

     "I come here to write all the time. It clears my mind and gets me away from the noise downstairs. Up here, I can be anything I want to be."

     "You mean you don't enjoy being a princess?"

     She sighed wearily, momentarily aging her beyond her years.

     "I do, sometimes, but everyone wants to do something different at one point or another. No one likes being a weaver all their life. They might love what they do, but doing it every day grows tiresome- same lies true for me. So whenever I grow tired of being a princess, I run here and be whatever I wish, then when I grow bored of that I return to being what I truly am."

     That sounded logical and actually helpful, but to me, if I was burden with the task of running a kingdom I would make it my chief goal to remain a leader, not waste time imagining what else I could be- that wouldn't be fair to the people I would lead into destruction that way. Perhaps a yeoman or weaver could indulge in such fantasies, but a leader never could. I didn't express my opinion to Amalone about this, seeing how I genuinely wanted her to like me, but the thought sat in my mind.

    She set the book in my lap for me to further inspect and in her antsy nature, she got up again and paced the creaky floorboards until pulling out a new book from the shelves.

    "You mentioned your father read to you as a child. Do you still enjoy stories?"

    "Yes, I love hearing them."

    "Good," She sat close to me. "Because I have a lot of stories to tell. You want to hear them, right?"

    I thought about the queen and our scheduled luncheon and the fact she valued promptness, causing me to shift in my seat, reluctant to answer affirmatively.

    "Yes, but only one or two. Your mother may be wondering about our absence."

    She was unconcerned about her mother and merely grinned at the fact I wished to hear a story from her.

   "I wrote this when I was a novice writer so please don't criticize it too harshly." I promised I wouldn't so she began. "Once there was a raven who worked hard every day to provide for himself. This raven had seen the troubles life held and knew if he wanted a better life he would have to work tirelessly to obtain that life. So over the months and years, he sacrificed his time, his energy, his hope all into making a better life for himself. Eventually, the bird reached this haven he desired so badly. All his hard work paid off, but he knew he had to keep his wits about him because as fast as he built this life, it could be swept away even faster.

   "Then one day a certain crow came by. The crow saw the wonderful life the raven had made for himself and wanted that as well- the crow wanted the raven to show him how to build a life like his. The raven had an open heart, so every day he would teach the young crow his ways, trusting him more and more.

   "One day, the raven left for a long voyage and left the crow in charge of his possessions; he trusted the crow and had no worries. A few weeks passed and the bird returned, but he was met with nothing to come home to. All his possessions he had stored up throughout the years were all vanished; nothing was left. Shocked and confused, the raven went to his trusted friend, the crow, to discover what had happened. When he asked the crow where all his treasures were, the crow said, 'Your treasures I have not for they are all gone.' The raven could not believe what he was hearing; his trusted friend had betrayed him, selling all his possessions just to obtain a better life for himself- the easy way. That day the raven flew away sorrowful, now knowing that his faith had been misplaced."

    Upon finishing her fable, she looked at me with eyes that shone with eagerness to hear my opinion. I could sense my opinion, for whatever reason, meant a great deal to her so I smiled warmly and nodded my head reassuringly.

   "That was wonderful. What was the motivation for it?"

   My words of encouragement brightened her even more. "I'm not sure. I simply write what comes to mind. I enjoy teaching morals."

   "Well, you're excellent at telling them."

    I could tell she wanted to proceed into another one, but I told her we had better be returning for lunch. She was deflated by this, but I promised her we could visit here whenever she'd liked and read any story she wished. That made her exceedingly glad and her energy returned, so we hurried carefully down the stairs out the door and through the corridors back to the lady's room where the advising women were filing out, allowing us into the tranquil room.

    The queen welcomed us back in her usual, warm way, questioning where we ran off to. Amalone fibbed and told her we were taking a brief walk around the palace until her business was done. The queen, believing her, instructed the lunch to commence.

    The food was promising to the eyes and tasteful to the mouth. We talked and laughed for what felt like an eternity, but I enjoyed their company and it was clear they took pleasure in mine. In an odd sense, it felt as though I was conversing among family rather than rulers. The queen had such a maternal demeanor to her that I once nearly called her maman without thought. Amalone, too, felt like a younger sister I had known for ages. It struck me later that night that she was of the same age Erinna would have been had she'd been alive.

    It could have simply been the absence of my true family that made me more prone to lean towards the royal family as my own, but it felt as if it was the first time since settling into the palace that I belonged.