Gwyneth spent several more days observing Aston's training. Even though he made much improvement, she still managed to doze off every once in a while. Waking up was always worse. At least she was completely dry when she dozed off.

She began to miss the others who were confined in training. She supposed she and Aston were given special treatment considering their status. She had picked up information on the Fae from her walks with Aston (she was still prevented from leaving on her own) that made her worry about her friends. Many of the guards would forego eating in favor of the mysterious pills the four had been given during their confinement. While safe for short-term use, it was not supposed to be used to replace food altogether. That didn't stop most guards, though.

Most evenings were spent with Fern and Cedar or the princess. She had even allowed Fern to braid her hair, so long as she followed her very strict instructions. Part of her wouldn't mind a style like Camellia had — part up part down. The top part of her hair formed a bow that Gwyneth found very cute. It must have been Fern's idea. Cedar had brought some books from the library for Gwyneth to read. Gwyneth sighed when she realized most of them were children's stories.

Gwyneth had taken it upon herself to tidy Camellia's room when she wasn't looking. Eventually, she did catch on but didn't do much more than sigh. Hopefully, she wouldn't realize Aston had torched half of her supplies...

"I don't understand why I have to watch this one practice magic I can never hope to understand." Gwyneth huffed as she crossed her arms, plopping down at the edge of the bed that was no longer littered with clothes. She briefly admired her hard work; the room had begun to look like a proper bedroom rather than a storage closet.

"What, would you rather be stuck in your room all day?" Aston asked. Gwyneth rolled her eyes. That wasn't the point.

"Can you fight?" Camellia asked from her chair, snipping away at the cloth in her hand.

"Not really, no," Gwyneth answered.

"Interpret the old language?"

"No?"

"Then you are of little use to the others, correct? And therefore, of little use here."

Gwyneth sharply inhaled as Aston not so discreetly giggled. That had always been her greatest fear, yes. "I may not be able to fight or translate old texts, but I am more knowledgeable when it comes to Halcyone than the others," she said proudly.

"Then you mean to provide your knowledge? I think you've answered your own question."

Gwyneth sputtered, trying to make sense of the other princess' words.

Camellia rolled her eyes dramatically, though her smile never faltered. "If Aston forgets something, you'll be there to remember, won't you? Someone needs to look out for him."

The Aecerian princess pursed her lips. She was right.

"I'm capable of looking after myself." Aston pouted. "In what scenario am I going to forget how to use magic of all things?"

"You would be surprised..." Camellia trailed off.

But another thought occurred to Gwyneth. "Prince Avel said I was favored by Earth. What does that mean?"

Camellia paused, the look on her face indicating she knew the answer yet seemed reluctant to speak. "The Elemental Spirits are capable of blessing humans with their magic. You're Aecerian royalty, it wouldn't be all that surprising if the Elemental Spirit of Earth favored you."

"What?" Gwyneth's stared, her jaw hanging slightly open. "Why have I never heard of this before?"

"I suppose the information has just been lost to Aecerians." Camellia shrugged.

No, there was something she wasn't saying. As fond as the princess may be of her acquaintances, they were still technically enemies.

"She could be lying," Aston suggested nonchalantly.

Gwyneth shook her head and sighed. "Fae don't lie, they just twist the truth."

"What? You don't believe me?" Camellia frowned; her voice oddly playful.

"It would explain why I could hear the voice of the sword," Gwyneth thought.

"Ha!" Camellia laughed. "That sword can be heard by those who possess magic or those who are worthy, according to legend. Any shmuck with a pure heart is "worthy"; doesn't have to be hero-boy over here. What? You thought you were special?"

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Gwyneth shrugged off her backhanded comment. "Perhaps we should retrieve the sword then-"

"No." Camellia snapped, her voice becoming oddly cold and serious. "Many Fae have attempted to destroy that sword to no avail. You have no idea how dangerous it truly is. If you and yours value your lives, you will leave the sword where it is."

Gwyneth paled. It was as if the Fae princess became a completely different person. Clearly, the Fae were hiding something about the sword, but what? And how had they known about its existence, to begin with?

"Anyway!" Camellia was back to her playful cheerfulness. "Don't take my word for it. Why not ask your ancestors?"

"Ancestors?"

---

"Everyone has a role in society. I believe in Aecerian they would call them jobs, yes?" Camellia noted. "My true role is to guard the knowledge of our people. Avel's is to protect the dead as well as foster relationships with them."

"Relationships?" Gwyneth raised an eyebrow.

"The dead?" Aston paled. "We're going to see ghosts?"

"Well, duh! The dead don't exactly reincarnate." Fern shook her head. Camellia coughed. "What? They're Aecerians!"

"Remind me again why Fern and Cedar are coming with..." Gwyneth bit her lip.

"We were on our way to the library anyway, so we thought we'd tag along!"

"I think I should stay behind." Aston balled his fists stopping in place. "I've already had one encounter with them, I don't need another."

"Already?" Camellia questioned, her eyebrows raising in curiosity. Somehow, the one simple line sounded rehearsed.

"Yeah. I'm going back." Aston stormed off back the way they came. He had explored every nook and cranny he was (and wasn't allowed) in the palace. He had become something of an expert at its layout. The color-coded doors definitely helped; the servants, not so much. Though, he couldn't help but smile any time he crept into a forbidden room.

"Aston! Wait!" Gwyneth called out, but it was too late; he had already teleported away.

"Leave him, it matters not." Camellia shook her head, starting her pace again.

Aeceria Castle's library couldn't even begin to compare. The room was easily the size of the ballroom back home, if not larger. Shelves upon shelves lined the walls and created aisles in between reaching all the way to the ceiling that was several meters above. Just looking up made Gwyneth dizzy. She had always prided herself on reading every book in her castle's library (even if she had only read a page or two of half the books) yet she wouldn't know where to begin here. She suddenly found herself feeling very small indeed.

Passing through the aisles, she noticed some of them had elements painted on the side of the shelves. Must be books from the other kingdoms, she thought. How she longed to spend the rest of her days in this kingdom reading the ancient knowledge of the Fae. Yet, pointed glances from Camellia and Cedar told her she would not return.

At the back of the library were purple double doors laced with streaks of gold. Odd color choice, Gwyneth thought. Come to think of it, she didn't recall any other doors being purple. Fern and Cedar had since left, seemingly taking an odd interest in children's books. Strange.

Camellia placed a hand on the door, and a lock clicking open could be heard. Behind the doors was the most peculiar sight Gwyneth had ever beheld. A circular stone path surrounded by grass and lilies led up a hill to a tall tree. They were clearly not outside, yet the dome room's walls and ceilings were painted like the night sky with hundreds of stars. Brown wood shelves and stairs were connected to the hill protruding out and up from the sides. Why would there be a need for books here?

And then she saw it. Spirits, flickering in and out of existence. They took the shape of balls of light, barely bigger than her palm. Far unlike the white veiled spirits they had encountered in the forest. These spirits did not emit a chill in the air but ignited warmth and serenity.

"There are so many..." Gwyneth breathed.

"There were more." A cold familiar voice could be heard.

Avel.

"What happened?" Gwyneth asked, drawing her attention away from the spirit that had landed in her palm.

Avel shook his head. "What are you doing here?"

"I brought her here to gain some clarity." Camellia bounced back and forth between her heels and toes; arms folded behind her.

Avel nodded, seemingly understanding. "You must have some questions, yes? What is this place? What do we do here?" Why were they being so generous today? Did they finally respect her as their equal?

"Camellia told me a little," Gwyneth began. "But I have to ask — why keep the spirits here? I mean, isn't there an incantation to send them off?"

As if on cue, all of the little light spirits faded out, though Gwyneth could still feel their presence.

"And just how do you know of this incantation?" Avel asked, crossing his arms and tapping his elbow rhythmically. His expression was more intrigued than angry, the latter of which she had expected.

Still, she had to choose her next words carefully. "What does it matter where I learned it?"

"You must promise me to never use it. The spirits that reside in this world remain here by choice. To send them away before they are ready is to deprive them of their chance to resolve their unfinished business."

Gwyneth paled.

"Aston mentioned encountering ghosts earlier," Camellia began. "We can infer that the spirits' disappearance is correlated."

"Who was it that spoke the incantation?" Avel's eyes darkened; his voice deadly serious.

But Gwyneth wouldn't throw Isla to the wolves, or in this case, Fae. It was her own fault she had given away this information so easily, so she would pay the price. "It was me."

"Tra ot cuong. O tantad rah cogrs wosron rah dehkan," Camellia spoke.

"Et of O liycd nis tanta os mutacf, daeh totsah." Avel rolled his eyes before adjusting his glance back to Gwyneth. "You're lying. Who was it? Was it Aston?"

Gwyneth's jaw dropped slightly. As far as she knew, the Fae didn't have a way to determine whether or not someone was lying. Between his tone of voice and the knowledge the Fae had, she didn't believe this was merely a bluff. "I will not say."

"This is a crime punishable by death. If you will not say, all four of you will be executed."

Gwyneth winced. While she would gladly take Isla's place, she couldn't risk sacrificing the hero of their world. And though she was sure Elric would be glad to make the same sacrifice, she couldn't lie. She averted her gaze.

"It was Isla."