The king and queen entered the princess’s room solemnly, then knelt by their daughter’s bedside. Hailey wanted to stay in the hallway and let them have a moment of piece, but it was her job to be here. The soldiers and Aaron stood outside. The room was a disaster. Chunks of stone and plaster littered the floor. A massive piece of stone hung from the ceiling looking like it might fall at any moment. The beautiful room was covered in dust.

They had to step over part of the wall just to make it to the princess’s bedside. Hailey opened the curtains to the morning light. She blinked. Her eyes felt gritty as if they were filled with sand. She probably looked a sight with dried blood and dust covering her. Her dress was torn, but at the moment none of it mattered.

They knelt by their daughter’s bedside. “You know, I worried that I would never see her again,” the king said. “Thank you for this,” he told her. Then he bent to place a kiss on his daughter’s forehead.

“No!” Hailey screamed, probably louder than necessary.

The guards and Aaron stepped into the room, swords drawn.

“I’m sorry,” she said. “If you touch her, you will be put to sleep as well. The magic is still in her skin.”

“But the curse is no longer there?” the queen asked. She sounded frustrated. Had Hailey just yelled at the king of Taivalon?

“I’m sorry,” she said again. “The spell that holds her asleep is still there, stopping her from aging and keeping her asleep. It’s what protected her from the curse, and I will do everything I can to free her from that spell, too, but things have changed with the spell. It was tied to the curse and I’m not sure what would happen if you came into contact with it. Just don’t touch her until I figure that out.”

The queen began to cry. Her husband wrapped an arm around her shoulders and Hailey gave them a moment, stepping out of the room. They spoke in hushed voices over their daughter. It must be so hard for them to see her like this, Hailey thought. After fifteen years of not being able to see your only child and then you can see her but she’s asleep and you can’t touch her. She thought about how lucky the princess was to have a family, people who cared so much for her that they would do almost anything just to see her. She had always wished for a family, to know who she belonged to and where she had come from.

Aaron took her hand. “I can’t believe you just yelled at the king,” he said.

Hailey cringed. “I know. It just could have been really bad. The power of the heir might not transfer to his daughter if she’s still trapped. No one knows what would happen but Barinon thought the it wouldn’t transfer to her. If they both ended up asleep under the same spell, I don’t know what would happen.”

“Still, you yelled at the king of Taivalon. You could end up in the dungeon or something.”

She shook her head, refusing to be baited.

It was a long time before they rose. Finally, the royal couple rose and made their way carefully out of their daughter’s room. “Thank you for this,” the king told her.

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“I just wish I could have woken her.”

The king cut her off. “Me too, but this is enough for now. Just to see her and to know that she’s alive.” He shook his head. “I don’t think you can really understand unless you have children.”

The queen’s eyes were still red rimmed but when she spoke, her voice as under control. “We will do our best to find mages from other realms to help you learn what Barinon had intended to teach you.”

Hailey hadn’t thought of that, hadn’t thought farther ahead than dealing with the dragon. “I would appreciate that.” Her job would have been difficult enough with Barinon by her side, but trying to fill his shoes without further training would be difficult.

“We are returning to the manor. I fear it will take some time to have this place put back together. Would you like to come with us?”

“No,” Hailey said. “I think I will stay a little bit longer.”

They nodded and the soldiers accompanied them to their carriage.

----------------------------------------

“Why didn’t you go?” Aaron asked her. “You need rest.”

Hailey shrugged. “It’s the last time the castle will be like this. I used to have this place all to myself and even though I feel like I’m ready to move on, it’s hard letting go. Once everyone returns, it will all change.”

He reached up to touch crystalized scales of the dragon. “How do you think they will manage to get this thing out of here?”

“I don’t know. Maybe there’s a spell for that.”

They walked down the steps hand in hand. “Your mage library is going to require some fixing.”

“And I don’t even know how to put the spell back that protected it from magic. I have no idea how much was lost when the dragon broke through the wall.” Books were strewn everywhere and burned pages littered the ground.

He took her in his arms and held her close. “It’s going to be drafty in there.”

“I’ve slept under the stars before. I think I can manage. It’s the books that will have to be protected.”

The ladder hung askew, having been knocked from its tracks. She hoped that there was enough there for her to learn from. She shoved those thoughts aside and let herself feel warm and protected in Aaron’s arms. “I feel like I have been trapped here, unable to grow up,” she whispered against his chest.

She felt him shrug. “I’m sure that’s true. You should be much older than I am.”

They stood in silence among the rubble of the castle. She loved the way he made her feel lately. It was like something had woken inside her and along with those feelings came the realization of all the things he had been willing to do for her, all the time he had spent waiting for her to understand.

She turned her head to look up at him and he smiled down at her. “I sometimes forget how much of a giant you are.”

“Hello?” It was a woman’s voice that echoed off the walls.

Aaron sighed and let go of her.

Hailey had forgotten about the crowd of people outside the castle. She didn’t know what they should do. Certainly the king and queen wouldn’t want them inside a castle that had taken so much damage. She paused for a moment, unsure of what to do and then she saw the squad of soldiers riding up the main entryway. A little man was with them. He was glancing around in horror.

Before Hailey could say anything to the woman, she saw the soldiers and ran away.

Derrick saw them. “Soldier,” he shouted to Aaron. “Return to the manor and get some sleep. Mage, I don’t care where you do it, but you sleep too. We have some men back at the manor who need your attention as soon as you are functional.”

She nodded to him, too tired to do anything else. Aaron squeezed her hand and took one of the horses that was offered to him and rode back to the manor. She sighed and slipped into the little room that she had shared with Esmerelda and Margaret all those years ago and closed the shutters. It would probably be the last time she slept in here.