After Grielle returned to report on the condition of her brother, she sent Benedikt to her cabin to monitor Ludvig's progress. He arrived to find Reyn beside the bed, dabbing the gash on Ludvig's head with a damp cloth. They had all sustained cuts and scrapes here and there, but Ludvig seemed to have caught the worst blow. Benedikt took a seat beside Reyn and watched her press the cloth against Ludvig's still forehead.

"I think he'll be okay," Reyn said, her voice calm and measured.

"He looks bad, but I think you're right," Benedikt replied.

"He'll have a wicked scar though." Reyn laughed faintly. "He'll be so upset; he's terribly vain."

A few hours later Yorick entered the stateroom and assessed Ludvig's condition. He applied something earthy smelling to the injury, then went to get some rest of his own. Benedikt had barely slept since they were taken hostage and his entire body ached for it. He eventually sank into a dreamless sleep in the chair of Grielle's drafting desk and didn't awake until nightfall. The fresh breeze through the stateroom door ruffled his hair, bringing him back from his heavy slumber. He obliged his rumbling stomach and wandered to the galley.

The dinner hour had come and gone while he slept, but Moose had left a hunk of bread, a wedge of cheese, and an apple on a scrap of parchment with his name written in flowing script. Benedikt shook his head in amusement at the mountainous man who grumbled over a lack of cooking spices and also had a knack for fine penmanship. He sated his hunger then returned to his room.

With nothing but the open sea around them, he lay in his own bed, and drifted back to sleep.

~

A gull's harsh squawk woke Benedikt with a start. He squinted at the bright daylight coming in through the stateroom windows, then he heard the sound of voices in the room next door. He slipped from his bed and padded out his door.

Grielle stood outside her own room. She gave him a feeble smile before she entered and crossed over to the bed. Benedikt moved into the doorway but didn't go all the way in. This felt like a private moment.

Ludvig seemed to stir now. Grielle took a knee beside Reyn and grasped Ludvig's hand. "How are you?" she whispered. A soft grin spread on her lips.

"My head is killing me." Even flat on his back, Ludvig wore a casual and yet still dashing smile.

"Yeah, he's fine." Reyn rolled her eyes toward Grielle.

"Good, because we are set to arrive in Andor in several hours," Grielle said.

Ludvig's eyes filled with concern as he watched Grielle. He gave her a look that meant something Benedikt didn't understand, but the silent interchange hadn't escaped his notice.

Grielle caught Benedikt's gaze and cleared her throat. She stood and abruptly quitted the room. Even Ludvig and Reyn seemed surprised.

"Captain?" Benedikt stood as she breezed past him. He followed her out into the morning air.

She stopped at the bow of the schooner, her eyes fixed onto the horizon ahead of them. Kai joined her. Perched on the railing, nipping at the pouch on her belt for a treat.

Benedikt kept a step behind, his mind racing as he tried to understand what was happening. "What is going on?" he asked, his frustration building. "One minute everything seems fine, and the next you can barely look at me. You don't have to like me, but I am part of your crew for the time being, which means you can't let me in only to shut me back out again. We've got a long way to go until we reach Bleakwood."

He touched a gentle hand to Grielle's elbow, which seemed to snap her out of her trance. She spun around to face him. Benedikt half expected a fight, but instead, she sighed and rubbed her forehead with the back of her hand in defeat.

"I'm sorry. This has probably been very confusing." She pressed her lips into a frown. "I have a past. I let my guard down around someone once, and I got hurt. My team got hurt. You just remind me of him—in appearance, mostly. You will have to forgive me for keeping up my guard until I can truly know your character."

Benedikt resisted the urge to hug his stoic captain. After their night in the eries, he didn't want her to return to the cold detachment she'd presented him with at the start of their journey. "I promise I won't hurt you," he managed to say. "I'm your ally."

Grielle's frown turned into a weak smile. "Thanks. I would say a friend too."

"Very well, then." Benedikt was pleased that she'd settled on her opinion of his character.

They both lapsed into silence, each alone with their thoughts. Benedikt hadn't traveled to Andor, but he'd read that the city had once been a small port that had grown into the largest shipping bay in Floryndal — in great part due to the famed shipbuilders of Andor. They had eventually run out of room in the bay for docks and had cut a vast system of canals into the coastline to make room for more dry docks further inland. The end result was a city with more boats than horses.

It was just before noon when the ship passed through a narrow strait and entered the port of Andor. The towering spires of the palace in the distance loomed above the red-tiled roofs of the city in an impressive show of wealth and prosperity. Grielle took control of the ship from her boatswain and they prepared to dock. A group of guards awaited at the port and Grielle disembarked first to meet with them.

"Welcome to the Kingdom of Andor. State your business," the head of the guards demanded.

"We are passing through, but we will need to trade for supplies. Our ship won't stay long either except to restock." Grielle replied, handing the guard a small amount of gold coins for the docking fee.

Kai watched the guard from her shoulder, his eyes pinpricks.

"You are welcome to trade, but the king requests all visiting dignitaries" — he nodded towards Benedikt — "pay their respects to His Majesty."

Grielle bristled visibly at the guard's words. "We are on a tight schedule and wouldn't like to spend more time here than is absolutely necessary. Is this a request or command?"

The guard gave Grielle a cold stare. "It's more of a command."

She sighed and then motioned for her crew to follow her. They bid the rest of the Stalvart crew goodbye, and then the Liberators and Benedikt headed in the direction of the palace.

"You go hunt," Grielle said. "Find us when you're done."

Kai hopped from her shoulder to her arm and took off to the sky.

The streets and canals of Andor bustled with all manner of people. Something stirred in Benedikt's chest as he beheld the elaborate city. The mismatched buildings of brick and white stucco. Vendors at their pushcarts for the day, peddling everything from pixie dust to dragon repellant. He took in each new scene with a growing hunger. A couple of well-dressed ladies in gowns of fine embroidered silk giggled as he stumbled into them. He apologized profusely which only made them laugh all the more.

"Quit dawdling, Benedikt," Grielle called from the front of their pack.

Benedikt jogged up to her side. "How did the guards know I was a dignitary, or prince, or whatever."

"You reek of importance," she replied tersely before turning abruptly down a narrow side street.

Benedikt tripped a little over the uneven cobblestones as he tried to keep up with Grielle's quick stride. She seemed wary of an unplanned visit to the king.

"I'm going to take that as a compliment," he replied, trying to defuse some of the tension. He couldn't see Grielle's face ahead of him, but he could easily assume she'd rolled her eyes at him.

Grielle navigated them through the maze-like city. Once Benedikt was absolutely sure she'd gotten them lost, they came to the towering palace walls. The bright midday sun painted the city in a luxurious glow as it leaped off the ripples of the water in the canals. The Kingdom of Stalvart was undoubtedly impressive, made more so by the mountainside it occupied, but the palace of Andor put Stalvart to shame in terms of style. Benedikt felt a familiar sense of uneasiness creep over his skin as he beheld the massive iron gates before him. Grielle gave him an encouraging push toward them, an action that made her seem a bit anxious to be done with this place.

A guard appeared on the other side. "Name and business." He didn't seem thrilled to be on gate duty in such pleasant weather.

Grielle nudged Benedikt. "Prince Benedikt of Stalvart to see the king," he answered.

"Proceed," the guard replied in an incurious tone. He unlatched the tall gates of twisted metal and they swung wide to give them access.

As they entered the palace grounds, Moose and Ludvig carried on their incessant dialogue of everything they enjoyed about the kingdom of Andor, touting the superiority of everything from its food to its art. Reyn, Yorick, and Berne all looked uncomfortable in the city and didn't bother to contribute to the rhapsodizing of Andor's delights. Benedikt pegged the latter three as more of the wilderness types.

The lawns of the palace grounds were small but well groomed, with rows of slender cypress trees wreathing the castle keep like an emerald necklace. It appeared every consideration had been given to the layout of the perfectly square palace in the center of the grounds. Windows between arched columns encircled the entire palace with extreme measure and precision.

They passed through a series of columns and archways and entered a long hallway with towering ceilings. Benedikt couldn't help but be awestruck by their height and the elaborate tile mosaics on the walls. Grielle seemed utterly unfazed, and he wondered if perhaps she had been to the palace before. She certainly knew her way around the city.

Their footsteps echoed off the stone walls, but few of the people who milled about the hall turned to look at them. At the very end of the hall, they reached a set of guarded doors. Grielle pushed Benedikt to the front again and he gave his name to the guards.

"Just go in and compliment the king on his wonderful kingdom and we will be on our way," she instructed Benedikt as she helped him straighten the collar of his shirt.

Her hands briefly brushed his neck. Benedikt wasn't sure why he noticed that. "You're not coming in with me?" His voice rose in panic.

"I'm not the important one."

The doors opened before he could reply and guards ushered him into the next room. At the front of the chamber sat a man on an ornate throne. He talked quietly with someone in a long, flowing white robe. Benedikt walked hesitantly to the front of the room, unsure whether he might be interrupting a private meeting — as he was the only other person in the room. He cleared his throat and drew his shoulders back to give himself a regal air. The men stopped their whispering and took in the intruder. The man on the throne immediately jumped to his feet.

"Prince Benedikt of Stalvart?" the man asked.

Benedikt nodded. The robed man slinked out one of the side doors while the other descended the steps from his throne and extended a hand to Benedikt along with a toothy smile. "King Henrik of Andor. My guards alerted me to your arrival at the docks."

Benedikt shook his hand. "It's truly a pleasure." King Henrik appeared to only be a few years older than himself, much to Benedikt's surprise. His skin was pale with a rosy tinge and he was rather tall. His shock of dark hair and icy blue eyes were quite striking against his pale blue doublet.

King Henrik gestured to a small table and pair of chairs that sat in a large swath of sunlight from the room's towering windows. They took seats opposite each other.

"What brings you to Andor, Prince Benedikt?" Henrik waved over a steward and ordered wine to be brought.

"Just passing through." Benedikt didn't want to give too much away to a total stranger.

King Henrik nodded his head but ran a hand along his sturdy jaw as if he pondered a difficult situation. "I've heard of your...situation. How you have quested to awake a sleeping maiden with True Love's Kiss without success. It's a bit of an old-fashioned tradition, but it does seem to have made you famous among the maidens of Floryndal."

Benedikt's stomach sank to find out that news of his failed quests had traveled so far. "It's how my parents met, and our laws state that I must find my True Love by magical means," he replied, hoping to make a good case in his own defense.

"Ah, Stalvarts and their traditions. It seems that all the ladies in the realm hope that they will be the first to awake to your kiss. Lucky for you, it seems that every princess has fallen under a sleeping curse these days so it is likely that you are bound to eventually wake one of them."

Benedikt laughed. "I think you have more confidence in me than I do."

A servant arrived with wine and they each took a goblet for themselves. "Tell me, are you on a quest now?"

Benedikt affirmed that he was indeed headed to awaken a maiden asleep in the forest of Bleakwood.

"Bleakwood?" Henrik's brows rose in concern. "You aren't traveling alone, are you? My men told me your countrymen left as soon as you disembarked with some other travelers. I must warn you, the elves of Rosenfjell have grown increasingly hostile towards intruders in their lands of late."

"So we've heard. My father hired some mercenaries to serve as my guide and protection. Well... I guess they don't like to be called mercenaries, or thieves for that matter," Benedikt said innocently.

Henrik choked on a mouthful of wine and fell into a coughing fit. "These wouldn't happen to be Captain Grielle and her Liberators, would they?"

Benedikt's stomach knotted as he felt he'd revealed too much already.

"Are they here with you now?" the king asked, his eyes darting towards the door.

Benedikt cursed himself for his loose tongue. Perhaps they were wanted here as well, and he had just unwittingly turned them in to the king himself. "I think I should really be going; we didn't intend to stay very long." He stood and motioned toward the door.

"Wait! Wait!" Henrik exclaimed as he cleared the rest of the wine from his lungs. "Captain Grielle and I go way back. Please, I must see her."

Something told Benedikt not to trust King Henrik, even with his smiles and gentlemanly kindness. Maybe Grielle was rubbing off on him, but instinct said to keep his wits about him until he could know the king's true intentions.

"They are waiting outside in your hall."

King Henrik blew past Benedikt and headed for the doors. Benedikt hurried after him, hoping to the gods he'd played his cards right. The guards opened the double doors and Henrik strode into the hall with an excited bounce in his step.

"Captain Grielle." Henrik's deep voice silenced every being in the hall.

The Liberators turned in shock to see the man who addressed their leader. Benedikt watched as Ludvig's hand came to rest on the handle of his rapier. All the others seemed to stiffen instinctively. Grielle's jaw clenched, but she held a look of determined indifference in her eyes. She stepped away from the Liberators and met the king where he stood.

"Prince Henrik." She spat out his name.

Henrik watched her with a puckish smirk. "It's actually King Henrik now."

* * *

Thank you all so much for reading! Let me know, have you read the original version or is this your first time reading this story! I'm curious!