"Do you have trees in Aeceria?"

"I would hope so considering our land's element."

"How is metal made?"

"Are you looking for the specifics, or...?"

"Oh! What is death like?"

"Excuse me?!" Gwyneth stood up from the chair she was sitting on, a comb hanging out of her hair. Fern, the girl she had met earlier was quite keen on styling her hair, claiming she could make it more "practical." Throughout this endeavor, she had spouted questions nonstop that Gwyneth wasn't sure she actually heard her responses.

"Humans die all the time, right?" Fern cocked her head to the side like her question wasn't nearly as unusual as Gwyneth made it out to be.

Gwyneth never thought she would have such a casual discussion about death. "I haven't experienced it personally as I am sure you are aware, but if you mean experiencing someone else's death... It's sad and lonely knowing you won't get to see them again until the afterlife. Ah, you believe in an afterlife too, don't you?" Gwyneth paused as Fern nodded. "I guess it's an even longer separation for you..."

Fern nodded. "When a Fae passes away it's a huge deal. All of Losufea gathers to send them off. Then we hold a huge feast! Every family is to bring one dish." So, like a potluck, Gwyneth thought. "And a wedding usually follows shortly after." How morbid.

"Losufea?" Gwyneth asked.

"The name of our city. You humans usually call it the Forlorn Forest, right? How dreadful." To them, the city of the Fae was dreadful.

"Hey, the name of our city is sacred! Don't go spouting it to humans," Cedar said from where he was reading his book. Since Gwyneth arrived, these two made her room their home.

Fern rolled her eyes. "She's the princess of her kingdom, I'm sure it'll be fine. Aaaaanyway, what was I going to say? Oh yes. At least you get the chance to see the dead on their way up-"

Cedar slammed his book closed. "I believe we have overstayed our welcome, Fern."

"Whaaaaat?! But I haven't finished her hair yet!"

"Well, that's life! Not everyone is going to have as short of hair as yours."

"I don't think you understand, Cedar. Her hair is so long that she could trip and hurt herself!"

"My hair is just as long, and you see me manage. Also, her hair isn't nearly so long that it's a tripping hazard."

"But I was going to bedazzle it!"

"You never bedazzle my hair. Anyway, bedazzle it later! Just. Get. Going." Cedar gritted his teeth as he pushed the erratic Fae out the door.

Gwyneth sighed not knowing if it was out of relief or frustration. She really didn't know what to make of those two, but she was never really the type to enjoy solitude. Even as a child, she was always bugging Isla and Elric for company. Not Aston, though.

She decided to take this time to look around her room now that the two weren't occupying it. The walls were light blue and the floors light wood. The bed was smaller than what she was used to at home, yet far softer. The sheets were lilac, and a dark purple canopy draped over the headboard. The two chairs, table, wardrobe, and vanity were made from light wood and nearly blended in with the floor. It was simple yet fancier than what the average person in Aeceria would own. She imagined it wasn't the norm here either.

She sat on one of the chairs, picking up the book that Cedar had been reading. Attack of the Titan. What a peculiar name. And just what is a titan? She opened it and quickly realized it was written in the old language. Thinking about it, when had the Fae — and for that matter, the rest of the world — come to abandon the language? Was it so old that the switch had been lost to time?

This room truly was worse than the cell she had been in earlier. At least then she had her friends; now all she had was a mysterious book to taunt her. Curse her love of reading. She would have her revenge.

Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author's consent. Report any sightings.

She opened the door and dragged her chair to the doorway. The rules stated she could not leave the room by herself, so she would simply watch from within.

And silently glared at all who passed by.

She grinned when she had successfully scared one of the servants witless. Little did she know it had more to do with her hair than her poor attempt at a menacing glare. She was going to practice other faces when she noticed Aston walk by, completely unaware of her idling presence.

"Aston!" she shouted, grabbing his attention and causing him to do a double take.

"Gwyneth, is that you?" He raised an eyebrow.

"Of course, it's me! Who else would it be?" She crossed her arms.

Aston's lips twitched into a smirk before full-on laughing. She rolled her eyes at him. "What happened to your hair?" He asked.

Gwyneth shot up like lightning as she darted to the mirror. Her hair was styled into a tall messy beehive, a style she had never liked. Curse Fern for distracting her with her twenty questions! So much for a tripping hazard — how would she fit through doorways now? She quickly pulled the pins out of her hair, wincing when they didn't come out with ease.

Aston grew bored of watching her struggle with the pins, listening to a quick "ouch, ouch!" every once in a while, and started walking out the door.

"Wait! They let you walk around as you please?" Gwyneth ran to the door, her fingers attempting to comb through the beehive. She let it be, deciding that freedom was more important than the tangled mess she had unintentionally created.

"Yeah...?" Aston raised an eyebrow.

"Then they won't have a problem if I join you." She laced her arm around his before he pulled away. She tried to reach for it again before he shoved her aside, causing her to shove him to the side in retaliation. Though neither would admit it, they were both still children in many ways.

Gwyneth ignored the many stares from the staff around the castle. She was far more confident with messy hair than with that hideous do Fern gave her. "So," she began, turning to Aston as they walked. "What have you been learning?"

"Not much." He shrugged. It was true. "Basically, everything I already know. Except Florian wants me to focus on concentrating, which is impossible when he's pushing me around. Seriously, don't tell me to concentrate and then distract me!"

"Could it be that he wants you to focus on concentrating when there are distractions?"

"W-Well, there's a difference between normal distractions like someone running around and someone bumping into you!"

Gwyneth held in a sigh. She was glad Aston wouldn't be her problem. "I wonder how the others are doing."

"Probably fine. They've trained their whole lives or whatever."

"You two! You're the Aecerians!" A feminine voice caught Gwyneth and Aston off guard. To their right was a girl with long pink hair and a very poofy pink and white dress. "Come with me." She beckoned.

Aston and Gwyneth followed the peculiar girl to an elaborate set of pink doors. She opened them to what appeared to be a bedroom.

At least that was the general consensus.

There was a bed, so that had to make it a bedroom, right? There were also three desks pushed together with a couple of chairs. Was that a dresser over there? Who could tell! Clothes, fabrics, and flowers were strewn about the room, causing both Aston and Gwyneth to trip and fall.

"Don't your servants ever clean?!' Aston shouted. For once, Gwyneth had to agree with his outburst. This place was a mess, and it didn't help that it was very dark. Clothes were hanging over the windows acting as curtains.

"Why would they clean my room?" The stranger with pink hair raised an eyebrow.

"Aren't you the princess?" Gwyneth asked.

"Yes, but that doesn't answer my question- Aha! I remember now. I once read a book about how egotistical Aecerian royalty is that they think they're above cleaning! Good breeze."

"I-It's not that we're egotistical, it's just that we're busy running a kingdom." Gwyneth defended. It was as if all Fae saw humans as lowly. She couldn't complain, humans viewed Fae much the same.

"Really? What's so important that you don't have time to clean?"

"What's your excuse?!" Aston motioned to the mess.

"I'm glad you asked!" The princess beamed, running over to the desk and kicking a scarf into Aston's face in the process. "I've been working on this design for quite a while now! What do you think?" She held up a parchment with a sketch of a dress. It was quite detailed and well-drawn, Gwyneth had to admit.

"Oh, that's quite nice- Wait, why are you making clothes?" Gwyneth asked.

"I make all my clothes! And Avel's, but he never wears them. Neither does Cedar." She huffed. "Oh! But Fern does! I tried to get some of the other servants to wear them, but they keep saying fashion is a human concept." She huffed again.

"If it's a human concept, why are you so interested in it?"

"Ever since I was a child, I was always fascinated by the story of Cinderclara! I'm not quite sure how a human children's book got mixed in with scholarly records, but the king used to read it to me every night before I went to sleep! That is until he burned it. That's the only time in my life I've seen him use fire magic." She placed her chin on her hand quizzically.

Aston chortled. The king had only ever used the banned element once — to destroy his daughter's favorite book after it influenced her love of fashion?

"That sounds a bit extreme..." Gwyneth winced.

The princess nodded. "Oh, I never did properly introduce myself, did I? Princess Camellia of Losufea." She bowed.

"Princess Gwyneth of Aeceria." Gwyneth curtsied in return.

"I would love to talk with both of you more, but I do believe Fern and Cedar are looking for you."

Gwyneth raised an eyebrow before swimming through the pile of fabric to get to the door. She opened it, and sure enough Fern and Cedar were frantically calling her name down the hall. They weren't exactly discreet, were they?

Camellia thankfully explained to the two that she had summoned Aston and Gwyneth. That still didn't save Gwyneth from the earful she received from Cedar.