Ceris stared blankly as Anya wrote. In all honesty, the only thing she wanted to do at the moment was leave. However, she couldn't very well leave now. Rau was staring daggers at the elf. For a tiny fairy the size of her palm, the successor of the Starry Tribe's chief certainly emitted a frightening pressure. The queen had gifted Rau a shimmering black gown that drew attention to her even during the night, and in addition to this, Rau was proudly wearing a cape with the Starry Tribe's crest. Her clothing added to her proud demeanor, even though Anya would not perceive the hyperactive little chatterbox as someone of a particularly high status.

  At some point, Ceris realized that Anya was waiting for her to react.

  Although she managed to stop herself from sighing too exaggeratedly, Ceris could not help but release a soft sigh and feigned interest as she remarked, "So your aunt kept you in the storage shed, huh? That sounds like it must have been tough."

  Anya nodded in agreement. "It was tough! They only gave me food that they would not eat themselves, and it was only every few days, and when I could stand and walk, they would have me do chores that they did not want to bother with. My aunt did the bare minimum tailoring to outfit me in burlap potato sacks."

  At this moment, Anya grinned slightly. "It wasn't all bad though. My aunt's son, my cousin, was about five years older than me. He did not tell them to treat me better, but sometimes, when he could, he would give his food to me. I mean, it was not very often, because the village was too poor to keep everyone fed through the winter, but I think I was able to live because of him."

  Suddenly, Anya seemed downcast. Her eyes lost the slight light they'd had. "But this past winter, he got sick, and my aunt and uncle decided to take him to the city for treatment, but they left me behind. They left me in the care of my uncle's father, but when the three of them got attacked on the way to the city and died, he decided that he would not take care of me. He brought me to the forest while I was sleeping and left me there."

  Rau stomped angrily and shouted, "You just point me in his direction and I will teach that human what it means to be afraid for his life! I ought to kill him for what he did to you! How could he leave a defenseless child in the forest like that!?"

  Anya shook her head. "I don't blame him though. He is old, and he could barely take care of himself with the bit of help he was getting from his children. He could afford to keep me alive with the money they left him with for me, for the few months he was supposed to take care of me, but he would never have been able to afford it without their pay, and I would just be a burden. I appreciate you getting mad for me, Rau, but don't be mad at him for leaving me in the forest, because that is what led me to meet you, and Queen Kiridian, and Arn and Kyran, and Ceris too! I have never felt the warmth of the affection that all of you give me, and that would never have happened if he didn't leave me in the forest here."

A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

  Ceris rolled her eyes. "You must be incredibly slow if you think that I have been showing you any affection."

  Rau glared at the elf, who shook her head.

  "I am serious! Do you really believe that I have shown you any real kindness since we met one another? It is one thing to be naive, but it is another to deny reality! Does being pure of heart mean that you disregard the things in this world that you find unfavorable? Fairy guardian, I have been as respectful as I must be towards this adopted daughter of your queen, but you cannot- and more importantly, should not- keep her shielded from everything! You fairies! I cannot understand what goes through your heads! Is there really a method to your madness? We look up to you, but what sort of message are we to learn from this? That we should forgive the murder of our patriarch? You ask too much of us! Why does it feel like the elves are more offended over that than you are, when it was your king who died?" 

  Ceris sighed and put her fingers to her temples, massaging the headache that had been slowly growing from the moment she had arrived here. 

  Rau's face twisted in anger. "How dare you! Anya is-"

  "She is the daughter of the queen, yes. We have very clearly established that. Does that, though, mean that no one can speak the truth to her? Do not let this young mind become corrupted by falsities of your own making."

  "Enough." Anya tapped Rau to get her to calm down. The fairy turned around in surprise and started to protest. 

  "Anya, she was being disrespectful to you!"

  "What of it? Have I done anything to earn that respect?"

  "You are Queen Kiridian's daughter! Earning the affection of our queen is already enough to earn the respect of all fairies and elves!"

  "Queen Kiridian may be caring for me and mentoring me, but I am just a human, or... an elf now, I suppose... The point is that I do not deserve her affection! I have not actively done anything to deserve this kindness!"

  "It's good that you know your place," Ceris remarked. 

  "You should leave, King Ceris." Rau crossed her arms and tapped her fingers in frustration.

  "But I wanted to talk to her," Anya complained. 

  As this argument was heating up, a pair of voices resounded throughout the courtyard and they all stopped. 

  "That is enough!"

  "Everyone return to their rooms now!"

  The palace guards, Kyran of the Molten Lake and Arn of the Midnight Sky had arrived, sending everyone back inside without any further room for argument or discussion.