Her maid had stopped her recital of one of the poems from the tale of Beluria the Old. The poem was meant to put her to sleep, but Felicia, everyone knew how she was. One poem made her lay on the bed, another made her drowsy, and the third finally put her to sleep. The maid had only completed one and would have gone on to the next if she had not heard a knock on the door.

As the maid rushed towards the wooden frame of the mammoth door that kept the Greentree Princess inside, Felicia stretched her hands and adjusted her nightdress -- a lilac blue gown that covered her modestly. Gradually, she awoke from her bed, cozy and crimson-cushioned, and walked cautiously behind her maid.

The door opened revealing a slender man with hair as black as night, with sharp green eyes that made him look like a sorcerer -- which she knew he was not. She heard her maid's voice rise and grill him about his choice of time to visit the Princess. Ungentlemanly, she heard her maid call him.

'Let him in, Maryse,' she said, making sure for one last time she had dressed right. She did not want to give any man the satisfaction of looking at her skin, fair and without blemish.

'But, my Lady,' the maid complained. 'It is an ungodly hour that this man chooses to visit. Surely, he could wait until the morning.' Her tone was gruff. Turning towards him, she said, 'Come back in the morning. The Princess is tired after a long day and desires to sleep.'

His lips curled into a smile. 'But the Princess bade me in, Maryse,' he said, his tone as if taunting.

Maryse scowled. 'The Princess knows not what she wants, Argo. Go now and come in the morning. Whatever you have to say, say at first light.'

'But...' he tried to convince.

Maryse raised her hand. 'Argo, listen to me. Go now and come back at dawn. This is no good hour that a man should visit a woman thus, unless it is your wife, your sister, or your family. If you enter, people shall speak.'

Felicia sighed. 'Maryse,' she yelled. 'Let him in.'

For a moment, her maid fell quiet, stared at her as if she was going to lecture her, and then, deciding better of it, she walked out of the room in a huff.

Felicia knew she would hear a lot of choice words the moment she came back. She could not blame her. Maryse had looked after her well-being ever since her mother had died and had become protective of her.

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Argo walked in and looked with wonder at her bedchambers.

'Now, Argo,' she said, 'this better be good. I have risked much inviting Maryse's wrath. By tomorrow night, I could write a book with Maryse's choice words. So whatever you want to tell me, it better hold my attention, or I would have my guards feed you to the dogs.'

The man winced. 'I intend nothing, my lady. I wouldn't have come at such an hour unless time was of the essence. Earlier we make the preparations the better Galacor will have a chance to survive.'

She frowned. 'Speak plainly, man. What preparations? What have you learned?'

'I'm not sure what to report, Princess,' he said, brows creased. 'Only signs I think evil.'

'Signs?' she asked. 'What signs?'

'Ravens flying in huge numbers as if scouting the lands. Puddles of water in the desert turn dark like crimson blood. Smoke arises from the center of the cursed lands. And men with warts on their faces. They scare me, Princess.'

'The curse is intact, then, but weakening,' she groaned. 'Ravens are creatures of the dark ones and if they have been seen back this far south, it won't be long before the shadow returns back to its old haunts.'

'That's what I fear, Princess,' said Argo, terrified. 'The desert has begun to swallow the green lands beyond the borders of the cursed lands on either side. I saw parched trees where I swear there were green ones when I visited last.'

She sat back on the bed, her shoulders slumped. These were the signs of the return of The Shadow. If it were allowed to set its roots in the cursed lands again, never again could it be thrust back. She wondered if The Council had taken note of this and would do anything about it. Or would they stick to minding the affairs of men, settling the skirmishes that arose out of petty egos. Would Galacor be reunited and march with its armies eastward? Most importantly, what would her father do? A bowmaster such as he could do great deeds in the east.

'I owe you a great thanks, Argo. But perhaps if you had told it to me at dawn, I would have seen a glimpse of hope. But now, the night sends darkness and shadows to assail me. I see not what can be done about the menace that brings our doom nigh. If we sit quiet, The Shadow will consume us all.'

The man nodded and bowed his head.

'Collect from Maryse tomorrow what money you are owed. Tell her to add some extra coin as bonus.'

Argo beamed with joy. Excitedly bowing and crying out her praise, he scurried out of her bedchambers. Heaving a deep sigh, she went back to lay on her bed when Maryse tumbled into the room again, fuming.

'Now, Princess, it looks like we still have to teach you some manners.'

Felicia smiled.

'Letting a man into your chambers at such an hour...' The maid went on, not noticing that Felicia's eyes had drooped to a close, the curl of her lips still lingering.

***