The members of the little group around Lord Entoris had very different reactions to his question. Lord Koran looked excited, Lord Leon smug. The ranger glared (though that seemed to be just his natural face), and Maug looked utterly terrified. Del took it all in and pressed her lips together in irritation.

“Didn’t the rangers tell you why I was here?”

Entoris looked to the stern-faced ranger. “They said a woman of the Aurelian came claiming the Wranbanise name and put forth the Ring of Orves. When I saw you, I assumed you had interpreted my messages correctly and came as asked.”

Del looked at the dark ranger in frustration. The corners of his mouth turned up in the wisp of a grin, or maybe a snarl.

“I entered the forest borders only to escape a gorval. I intended to leave quickly, but the gorval crossed the border. Wait…what message?”

“A gorval,” Koran blanched, “and it crossed the border!” The ranger only nodded. “But this is unheard of. The magic…”

The high lord waved him down without looking away from Del, “We know the magic is weakening. It is not unexpected that our borders would as well. The dream, Evandella…I thought you heard. I thought you remembered.” The disappointment in his voice made Del ashamed, and her shame made her feel like a child again. A knobby-kneed pale child with dirt in her hair and a way of always falling just short of what was expected of her.

“I came across the border because it was that or be eaten, and even then it was a difficult choice,” she spat. “I didn’t understand your message and I haven’t suddenly decided I want to be your queen. What I want is to leave and if your ridiculous ranger hadn’t threatened to shoot us, you never would have known I was here.”

The hurt in Entoris’ eyes and the sneer from Leon only fanned the flames of her rage. She turned to leave and nearly ran over Maug, who was looking at her like a stranger.

“Maug…I’m…”

“Should I bow or something?” He asked.

It was the exact wrong thing to say. She felt the hot tears sting her eyes. She turned and, without another word, walked away from them all.

Walking through the forests of Bellon felt like coming home and being very lost in equal measures. The trees were older and more wild here than anywhere else in Orvesa. The elves were a small drop in an ocean of forest even at their height, so they’d never done much damage. Their habit of spreading scary stories about themselves kept everyone else out as well. The underbrush was thick and everything smelled of wet decay and dirt. It was comforting and lonely.

She’d spent a large part of her childhood here, in these woods, always trying to be away from the feeling of being different. Entoris had been good to her and his advisers and sycophants had shown her grudging respect most of the time, for his sake. But titles and rings made no difference to children. The wrong ears and skin did.

Leaving Bellon and all the weight it carried had been the scariest thing she had ever done, but she’d always thought she did it for the right reasons. And, she came to realize over time, Maugrian Bilkan had been the only real friend she had ever had. Pain twisted in her chest. The only real friend she’d ever known, and she’d spent their entire friendship lying to him. Not little lies either. She’d put him in genuine danger because she was selfish and lonely. She deserved the hate he probably felt toward her now. Thinking about Maug hating her made the pain spread from her heart to her head.

A sudden noise brought Del out of her thoughts and she realized it was Tafa, still parched on her shoulder. Her deep blue crest was laid flat and her wing stubs held tightly to her sides, like she was trying to make herself smaller. The noise she was making was high and sad. Del followed her gaze and saw a group of five or six komarak sitting in a nearby tree, staring at them. Their wide, flat heads turned from side to side as they listened to Tafa, then, as a group, they spread their iridescent blue wings and glided to another tree farther into the forest.

Tafa hooted half-heartedly and pulled her little body closer to Del’s neck.

“Now, none of that,” Del said, gently lifting Tafa from her shoulder before sitting down in the bowl of nearby tree roots. “You are different, Tafa, but different doesn’t mean wrong. I’d take you over them any day.” She laid the creature on her chest and stroked the soft spot under her chin until she hummed contentedly.

Del didn’t remember falling asleep, but she woke to something poking at her side. Still tired and confused, she swatted at whatever it was and tried to roll over. A large tree root stopped her. The race through the forest came back to her in a rush and she sat up, rubbing her eyes. Maug was standing over her, holding a sleeping Tafa in one hand and a stick in the other.

“Did you just poke me with that stick?” She asked. He looked down at it and shrugged.

“Maybe.”

“Not the kindest way to wake someone, you know?”

“Well, honestly, I wasn’t sure you were alive,” he said, sitting down cross-legged across from her and pulling open a large brown bag. “I said your name like a dozen times before I resorted to the stick.”

Del snorted, “Where’d you get that?” She asked, pointing to the rough brown bag. She recognized it as one the Velli made out of a local plant.

“Entoris,” Maug answered. “He thought you might be hungry and asked me to find you. I didn’t want to wander the scary death forest, but he kinda makes a favor seem like a demand, you know?”

Del nodded. He hadn’t wanted to come talk to her. She expected it, but it still hurt. She took the still-warm flatbread and jars of vegetable paste and fruit mash from him. For Tafa, he unwrapped an entire fish and tossed it to her. It was short and fat with a deep green color. Del raised an eyebrow as Tafa trilled loudly and sunk her teeth and all four feet into the fish.

“Entoris said it was just for her,” he shrugged, putting the wrap back in the bag and pulling out more bread for himself. She tried to hand him the jars, but he waved them off. “I already ate more than my fair share.”

“How long have I been asleep?”

He squinted up at the canopy of trees. It was sometimes hard to tell twilight from dawn in the thick forest.

“Not sure, really,” he answered. “I slept too, for a while. That angry guy with the bow, Albaran I think, made it clear I wasn’t going anywhere, so I figured why not catch a few winks?” He shrugged lightly. “Entoris woke me up and gave me food and told me where to look for you.”

Del sighed and watched Tafa noisily tearing away strips of meat from the fish. She tried not to look at Maug. She was too afraid of seeing something different in his eyes; hate, fear, pity.

“I used to catch fish for her from the river. We spent nearly every warm day down there. Drove Kroan mad I would waste food like that. I, of course, did it more because of that. I had forgotten how much she liked them…” Del trailed off, aware that she was rambling. Talking to be talking. She wanted to say a great many things, but she did not know where to start.

“Maug, listen…,” she began at the same time he said, “Del, I wanted…” They both hesitated, but when Del started to speak again, he raised a hand to stop her.

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“Del, before you go, I need to say I’m sorry.”

“Maug, I … you’re sorry?”

“Yes. That stupid quip I made about bowing was, well, stupid. I’m sorry. Coming here,” he gestured broadly to the surrounding woods, “it couldn’t have been easy for you. And you did it, in part, to save my hide. I was being an ass.”

She stared at him for a long moment, tears stinging her eyes, and then laughed. She laughed so hard the tears did come.

“As far as apologies go, I didn’t think it was that bad,” Maug said. He sounded a little hurt.

“No,” Del said, wiping her face and trying to catch her breath. She placed a hand on his arm and gave it a little squeeze. “No, Maug. That was more of an apology than I deserve. I am the one who owes apologies here. I’m so sorry I never told you who I was, what I was. And I’m sorry I led you to this awful place with these awful people and then abandoned you with them when my feelings got hurt. You have been a better friend than I could have ever hoped for, and I have paid that back poorly. Honestly, I never told you because I was afraid to lose you.”

“Well,” he said a little gruffly, “after that, my apology really does sound that bad.” He put his hand over hers and the warmth of it seeped into her. “Although, to be completely honest, I’m still not clear on the who and what part.”

“Right. Suppose a better apology would be to explain.” She smiled. “Better get out some more of that bread.”

Once they had settled into the roots of the tree, Del began.

“The long and short of it is I am Evandella Wranbanise, the last of the Wranbanise family, illegitimate daughter of King Emindel, and his mistress Meris. And, as such, heir to the throne of Orvesa.”

“That explains a lot and a little at the same time,” Maug said. He had his long legs stretched out in front of him and his hands behind his head, pushing his hat up on his forehead. His relaxation in the face of everything comforted her.

“True, but it’s best to get the big stuff out first,” she said. “My father provided for my mother and me, but kept us far away from the capital. I grew up near here on the border of Bellon, in a little cabin with my mother and a couple of serving ladies. It was lonely, but safe and peaceful for a while. I was eight when my father. Mother was always sure someone was after us, even before he died. But after, her paranoia got much worse.”

“A few months after the king's death, we left and went into Bellon. I was so happy at first, new people, kids my age. My mother had long talks with the elves and for a while, everything was good. Then, one day, she was gone. Entoris took me into his house and told me I was the true heir to the throne and would need to be raised as such, and my mother had tasked him with doing just that.” She smiled sadly at the memory. “I didn’t take the news very well.”

“Eventually I came to love Entoris. He was certainly a better father than my real father ever was,” she said bitterly. “But I never accepted the royalty part. I didn’t want the throne or the training for it. That caused all sorts of problems for everyone. Endless fights and arguments. When I finally came of age, I figured the best thing for everyone was my leaving. Took me quite a while to work up the nerve to walk away, though.”

Maug watched her for a few minutes before speaking. He looked both amused and confused, as if he couldn’t decide what emotion to go with.

“If you are the only heir, who’s the guy sitting on the throne now?”

“Don’t know about now, but after my father, it was a distant cousin. Related, but barely. I don’t know much about him except that Entoris really didn’t like him. And from what little I’ve heard, he wasn’t too popular outside Bellon either. Then his son, who wasn’t any better. But he died not long ago without having an heir.”

“Yeah, I remember hearing about that. Maybe the new guy is another illegitimate kid? One the elves didn’t know about?”

“I wish. Whoever he is, he has the name, but not the blood.” Maug looked confused. “When the Wranbanises banded with the Velli elves to drive back the invaders in the Miotan War, they formed some sort of magic bond with them. They can recognize a true Wranbanise.”

“How,” Maug asked.

“Not a clue, really. Entoris says a lot of the old ways have been lost over the years. Some things they have just forgotten how to do,” she laughed. “But he never says it very loud or where Leon can hear him. But he would accept someone of the blood, even if he didn’t like it. If they are looking to put me on the throne, it’s because the guy sitting on it doesn’t belong there. There’s also the ring.” She pulled the ring from under her shirt and held it up. “This is the Ring of Orves or Ring of Proving. It’ll kill anyone without Wranbanise blood.”

“So…not stolen then?”

“Yes, and no. They gave it to me because they wanted me to be the heir. I took it when I left because I knew it would help me survive.”

“Yes and no,” he nodded.

“So…that’s about it, I guess. My sorted tale of woe and all.” She looked at him sheepishly. “Still wanna be friends?” Her tone was light, but the question held more feeling than she wanted him to know. The answer was important to her.

“Are you kidding?” He spread his arms dramatically. “You just got so much more interesting.” He smiled, one of his rare genuine smiles. “Two things, though,” he said. “First, why don’t you want to be queen?”

She started to answer, but nothing came. She closed her mouth and wrinkled her nose. It was a much bigger question than she thought.

“I don’t…,” she hesitated. “I don’t like any of them.” She shook her head in frustration at his confused look. “It’s like the Velli here. They think they are special and that magic belongs to them. They think people should die for daring to cross their borders or not being born with the right blood. And they don’t think those things because they are special or because magic does belong to them. Maybe it did once upon a time, but not anymore. No, they think that because their Lords tell them it’s true.” She ran her hands through her hair and winced. She had forgotten the beads. “It’s the same with the Aurelians. They think they are better than everyone. They think they deserve to rule. And maybe, once, they did. But not anymore. They think it because their kings and queens tell them it’s true. The rest of the world believes it because they believe it. I can’t keep up that lie,” she shook her head sadly. “Because I don’t believe it. I never have. But what happens when everyone stops believing the richest assholes on the continent aren’t really that powerful? War. War happens. So I guess the actual answer is, I don’t want to be queen because my dislike of everything and everyone would start a war.”

She couldn’t help but laugh. It sounded silly. Del had always known she didn’t want to follow her father, but she’d never tried to put the reasons into words. With Entoris, when she was younger, it had just been a yes and no battle. She also felt like there was more. Some piece of it she was failing to explain.

“Nah, it sounds reasonable as hell to me,” Maug shrugged. “You know how much I hate what my people are. I’ve always wished I could change them, make them see how ridiculous they are.” He sighed, “but I never really considered what that would do to them. I think that probably means you’d make a good queen…except for the war thing and all.”

“I’m selfish.” The words startled her a little, but she knew it was true. “That’s a part of it too. I don’t want to be queen because I don't want the responsibility. I don’t want to be told what I can do, where I can go, or how I should act. Who does, really?”

“Oh, I think there are a few people that would trade freedom for a title,” Maug said.

“Would you?”

“Oh, hells no!” He laughed.

Tafa, now finished with her fish, waddled over to Del and curled up next to her bag. Del stroked her back and flat nose for a while as they sat in companionable silence. After the stress, hunger, and fatigue of the last few days, sitting in silence felt luxurious.

“You said two things,” Del said sleepily. Her mind had been wandering, and she’d almost fallen asleep again.

“What?”

“Earlier, you said you had two things to ask. You only asked one.”

“Ah, yeah,” Maug nodded and stood up, gathering the various jars and wraps and pulling them back into the brown bag. When he was done, he turned to her, looking a little guilty. “Come back to the town with me?” He pointed over his shoulder toward Castle Avolire.

“I was planning on leaving. I figured you’d come with. If we head a bit west, we can hit Sarona. Not the greatest of places I know, but still better than here.”

“Yeah,” he rubbed the back of his neck uncomfortably. “I sort of promised Entoris I would bring you back.”

“Why would you do that?”

“Well, he is a Lord, and he is very intimidating and, honestly, I wanted to do what he asked. It seemed like such a small thing that I kind of agreed to it without realizing it. I think he used magic or something.”

“No, not magic,” she leaned over and picked up her bag, and a now sleeping Tafa. “He’s just like that. Why do you think it took me so long to leave?”

“He’s still better than that other one, though, the mean-face one,” Maug scowled. “He gives me the creeps.”

“Oh, Leon. Yeah, he is about the worst person I’ve ever met,” she grinned at him. “And I’m Aurelian.” They walked back to town together.