I sat at the table with an untouched lunch plate in front of me. Arian sat at my side with a worried expression on her face.

“You haven’t eaten all day,” she commented.

I smiled at her. “I guess I’m just nervous. I can’t stop wondering what happened yesterday when the prince talked to the king.”

Arian bowed her head and sighed. “Yes. We have heard no news from him.”

“That doesn’t sound like things went right, does it?” I commented.

She shook her head. “I fear not.”

I sighed and pushed my plate toward her. “How about you eat that and I’ll go out and study my magic. Maybe it’ll come to me on an empty stomach.”

She offered me a frail smile. “Perhaps.”

I stood and strolled out into the warm sun. The unending light made me miss those bright stars which were such strangers to this strange land. Perhaps they were as foreign as I was.

I plopped myself down on the grass as usual but I didn’t begin my training. My thoughts wandered back to the day of my escape and the incident with the tea. I lifted my hands and studied the palms. Had I really performed magic or had it all been some trick of the light?

“Help!”

The shout made me jerk my head up. The noise had come from the archway.

“Someone help me!”

“Arian!” I yelled as I scrambled to my feet and raced toward the entrance to the compound.

I reached the arch and grasped the curve of the stone as I looked out. The street was empty but for a small lad of six with shocking red hair. He wore the robes of the realm and lay on the ground with his hands behind him. His face was a picture of terror at what stood before him.

That thing was a monster.

The creature was a massive beast of muscle and sinew wrapped underneath a layer of black stretched flesh. Its body was hairless but for a few wisps underneath its long snout. The thing bore a faint resemblance to a wolf in shape and in the amount of teeth it bared at the young boy.

I made to race forward but my foot hesitated at the border. Yushir had warned me not to step foot outside or I would be in a worse spot than home imprisonment. I would also be revealing my escape to the boy.

“Help!” the lad screamed as he scrambled back. The creature snapped its jaws and stalked toward him. Its red eyes stared hungrily at the boy. His end would come at the tip of those sharp teeth.

He needed my help, the consequences be damned.

I steeled myself and rushed forward out into the open street. The creature caught sight of me and growled before it lunged in my direction. It covered ten feet in a single bound and I had to dive out of the way to avoid its snapping jaws. I rolled across the ground and landed on my knees. A terrible growl behind me warned me I didn’t have much time, if any.

I dashed across the distance between the boy and me and scooped him up in my arms. He latched onto me like a drowning sailor to a life raft. I pressed him close against my chest and spun around to face our foe. The creature curled its lips back in a hideous snarl as it stalked toward us, its flaming eyes intent on murder. A column of smoke streamed out from either side of its mouth as it stomped forward.

My heart pounded in my chest but strangely I couldn’t feel the young boy’s thumper against mine. He lay so still, however, that I guessed he was frozen with fear. That was for the best as I backed away from the ferocious beast. The ground around us was open and there was little hope I could dodge the thing now that I had the boy’s weight against me.

A horrible idea popped into my head. I stepped back and whispered a few words into the boy’s ear. “When I tell you to run, you run, okay?” The boy didn’t lift his head but nodded.

I slowly rent a part of my garment, keeping one eye on the beast. The creature growled and leaped at us again with its mouth wide open. I threw the piece of cloth in the creature’s face at the last moment. The thing was temporarily blinded and I was able to slip past it and toward the archway. My distraction wasn’t long, as I expected, and the thing tore the cloth off with one sharp claw and spun around to face us.

I set the boy on the ground and gave his back a hard push toward the archway. “Run!” I shouted before I spun around to face the monster.

The thing lunged again and I threw up my arms as it descended on top of me. The thing shoved me to the ground and pinned me there with its paws on top of my arms. I thrashed in its hold as it bent its head low and bared its teeth in my face. I shut my eyes and turned my face away waiting for the inevitable.

A clapping sound came before the end. Funny, I always imagined it would be bells or harps. Maybe even an accordion. There had been that one library book I’d never returned.

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I felt the weight of the beast lift from me and risked opening one eye. The creature backed up and sat down on its haunches a few feet away from me. Its tongue flopped out and I sat up on my arms and blinked at the thing.

The clapping noise continued and came from behind me. I twisted around to find Yushir standing beside the young lad who, I now saw, had a very impassive expression on his face.

“Excellent!” Yushir complimented me as he clasped his hands together against his front. “I would not have thought you capable of so great a sacrifice, but you have certainly outdone yourself.”

I turned around to sit on my knees and blinked at him. A most dignified answer came out of me. “Huh?”

Movement to my left made me look in that direction and I watched the air shimmer before a magic ruse was dropped. The king and other members of the council including Pampir were revealed to me. The latter didn’t look pleased at all.

His Majesty stepped over to me and panic set in. I was outside the compound. There was no denying I’d broken my promise. I bowed my head and shut my eyes to keep the tears in. My whole body quaked as his shadow fell over me.

His Majesty’s voice was surprisingly soft. “You have done well, Lady Roberts.”

I whipped my head back and blinked at him. My dry mouth wouldn’t loosen the words that bubbled up within me.

“This was a test crafted to prove your moral standing among the heavenly hosts,” Yushir explained as he strolled up to me. “And might I say you passed with high marks.”

My lips moved together like a fish breathing in water before I shook off my shock. “Then. . .I’m not. . .I’m not in trouble?”

Yushir’s eyes twinkled as he shook his head. “Not in the least.”

“But the monster-” I turned my head and watched a young man with dark hair stroll up to the beast’s side. He scratched the creature behind its ear and the beast purred like a cat before rubbing its head eagerly against the man’s hand.

“Merely a pet trained in the art of appearing fierce,” Yushir assured me.

“And the kid?” I asked him as my attention fell on the boy.

My eyes bulged out of my head as red sparkles sprang out of the boy and he grew into the handsome figure of Lord Eastwei.

Yushir chuckled. “Merely my friend here assisting us in testing your moral fortitude.”

Relief and exhaustion flooded over me and I slumped to the ground in a puddle of shaking ooze.

“Lady Roberts!” Yushir cried out as he rushed to my side.

“My Lady!” Arian joined in as she hurried to kneel at my other arm. She grasped my limb and glared up at Yushir. “Must you have been so fierce with her? You nearly frightened her to death!”

Yushir’s reply came in a hushed whisper. “It was quite necessary, I assure you, otherwise His Majesty would not have believed her sincerity.” The prince turned and faced his king. “After such a show of courage, does she have your permission to venture out into the rest of your realm, Your Majesty?”

The king smiled down at me. “She does and she will now be considered an honored guest among us.” He half-turned to the displeased crowd at his back. “I expect everyone to treat her with the dignity she has so bravely earned.”

Pampir pursed his lips but bowed his head, along with the others. “Of course, Your Majesty.”

The king returned his attention to me. “Good day, Lady Roberts.”

I clumsily bowed my head. “Um, good day, Your Majesty.”

The king strolled past me and in the direction of the council hall. His entourage quickly followed him including the animal and its tamer, though Pampir lingered. He cast a sharp look in Yushir and my direction before he left with the others.

I breathed out the breath I hadn’t known I’d been holding. Arian looked me over with concern. “Are you well? Did the creature harm you?”

I looked up at her with confused eyes. “You knew this was going to happen?”

She shook her head. “Only just now when Prince Yushir stopped me from helping you against the creature.”

Yushir bowed his head. “My sincerest apologies. I hope the outcome makes up for my ruse.”

I managed a shaky smile. “I suppose it does.” My gaze invariably rested on Lord Eastwei. “You. . .you were the kid all along?”

“Yes,” came the bland response.

Yushir grinned at his companion. “Lord Eastwei has quite a talent for transformations. Even I was almost fooled by him.”

I bowed my head to the lord. “Thank you for helping me.” He slightly inclined his head before he moved off.

Arian wrapped her arms around one of mine. “Let me help you to your bed.”

“Indeed, she will need the rest for tomorrow,” Yushir mused as he swept an arm over my hall. The air flickered as the ward spell faded. “A new world will open to you.”

A new world, and new troubles.