Abigail walked into the garden, not knowing which direction she should head in. She walked and yet found no comfort. She knew her parents had trouble communicating with her and often found herself silent in their presence. She struggled to gain their attention in the past, and now that she had it, she felt inadequate. 

She knew she could not solve her problem and decided it would be best to retire to her bedroom for the evening. She had hoped to see Micheal, but it was probably for the best because she doubted she could explain the complexity of the power struggle occurring within the palace between herself and her parents. 

She passed her old bedroom and found Alice and her new maid, Naima, waiting in the hallway. Abigail asked the maids to draw her a bath and to inform her when the bath was ready. The maids left, and Alice continued her path to her new bedroom.  She turned around when she realized she needed to ask Alice if the seamstress had sent a new catalog, and as she turned around, she saw a shadow near the doorway of her former bedroom. She peeked into her former bedroom and saw the shadow through a small crack in the door. 

The shadow was inside her, moving around and sitting at the desk, moving incredibly fast to the corner.  Then, it stood in the middle of the room and began to dance. A dance she had been practicing earlier this week. She slowly retreated from the doorway. 

Once she reached her new bedroom, she collapsed into the bed. Abigail clutched her chest and felt the rapid beats of her heart. Cosmo approached her, leaped on top of her, and began purring. Abigail petted Cosmo and fell into a tranquil sleep. 

She was woken up by Alice, who came in to tell her that the bath was ready. Abigail slipped into the bath and thought about her earlier experience. She knew she could not tell anyone about the shadows. She will keep it a secret for her well-being. 

Abigail left the bath and sat in front of her vanity desk, containing her jewelry and beauty products. The collection contained her grandmother’s jewelry and jewelry she had purchased or had received as gifts. The jewelry from her great-grandmother and other ancestors was in a collection inside her Father’s palace. The room that contained the jewelry was enormous. A magician born as the second son of the royal family centuries ago had created that space.  The space was designed to contain every valuable artifact from the royal family, and the items in the vault were indestructible. Also, the mage had created a spell that would ensure that the item would not age when it was located inside the vault, and when the item was removed from the vault, it just needed to be returned within twenty-four hours to be restored. The mage’s skill and forward thinking safeguarded the family’s history since many items dated back to the Aztlan Empire. 

Abigail De La Rosa and her family were descendants of the original family that ruled the Aztlan Empire. The empire may have fallen, but many of its descendants still rule over several countries. Many of the rulers and nobles of the neighboring kingdoms were distant cousins.   Patilum, however, did not get involved in international politics. Her grandfather and Father had decided it was best for the kingdom to isolate itself and avoid significant relationships with the other kingdoms. They still participated in international trade but only out of necessity. 

As Abigail combed her hair, she saw a faint glow from her jewelry box. As she reached to open it, the green glow stopped. She opened the box and realized it was the emerald from the cave. It was still in good condition, but she thought she should be stored inside her father’s palace out of precaution. She held the green emerald in her hand, but the emerald did not glow until Alice entered the room. 

The emerald glowed a bright green, and Abigail heard a slight humming noise from the stone. As Alice came closer, the stone became brighter. In a hurry, Alice grabbed the stone from Abigail to prevent any injuries. The stone glowed once again and rose in mid-air. Then the stone transformed into a ring and landed in Alice’s hand. 

“What was that?” said Princess Abigail.

“Princess, are you okay?” said Alice. 

“The emerald transformed,” said Abigail. 

Alice stared at Princess Abigail and handed the ring back to Princess Abigail. Once it touched Abigail’s hand, the ring became a rock. 

“Alice, are you a mage?” said Princess Abigail.

 “No, I’m just a regular person. I’m not sure why the rock transformed your highness” said Alice.

“I think you should keep it” said Princess Abigail. She was just about to hand the rock back to Alice when Alice held up her hands.

“Please, Princess Abigail, I cannot keep that rock. How could I maid explain that she has a emerald in her closet” said Alice.

“Alice, I’m not sure what happen. But this may belong to you. I found it in the caves. We may be related even in a small way. Some of the objects in the palace have been known to reach a certain way with people who carry the royal bloodline even if it is small” said Princess Abigail.

“Princess only the nobles have received these type of objects. Please, reconsider. I cannot keep that item due to my own safety” said Alice with a determine look on her face. 

Princess Abigail realized that Alice would not change her mind and decided to accept her decision.  Alice was correct in her assertion that only nobles had been gifted these magical objects.  The truth was that a majority of the noble families had direct ties with the royal family. Except for the Arama, Sunni, Lomalet, Gaires, and Serbo who originated from other neighboring kingdoms. The objects often reacted to people outside of the royal family because they were often crafted by an distant ancestor of that person. She wonder how Alice was related to the royal family but Alice had only known her mother. She was an orphan by the age of four and could not remember anything about her family besides a few scattered memories of her mother. The Orphanage Director had informed Clara and herself that Alice could not even remember her last name. She only knew that her name was Alice. For many of the orphans, that was normal. A few orphans remembered their last names because out of desperation and thoughtfulness some of the families had tattooed the names of the children onto them. Others had simply carved initials using a knife into the children to identify the bodies later. That was what the war’s consequence on the children of  Alice’s generation and hers. 

Princess Abigail wanted to soothe Alice and said, “ “I understand now. I will be moving the emerald to my father’s palace. I wish you would have accepted it but perhaps you are correct in your decision” said Princess Abigail. Abigail gently placed the emerald back into the jewelry box. The emerald continue to shine whenever Alice approached the vanity table. 

Alice left the room for several minutes and brought in Naima to train her Princess Abigail’s nightly routine. As Abigail notice the conversation between Naima and Alice she realized the amount of attention that Alice gave to her routine. Naima would ask questions and somehow relate the answers to baking.  The two of them gather a few outfits for Princess Abigail for tomorrow and for her to select the perfect outfit for tomorrow. 

Naima brought a unique selection of red embroidered dresses while Alice brought three pastel dresses and the additional accessories. It seemed that Alice was testing Naima. Abigail decided to play along since Alice was the one in charge of training the staff. 

“Princess, we have prepared a few dresses for tomorrow” said Naima. 

“Naima, can you please show me the red and white dress you are holding?” asked Princess Abigail.

Naima showed Princess Abigail the dress. 

“The dress is lovely, what shoes will I be wearing the dress with?” said Princess Abigail.

“The usual shoes you wear, your highness” said Naima. 

“Naima, Princess Abigail’s closet contain over 200 pairs of shoes. Usually, Princess Abigail purchases shoes that match the dress. However, this particular dress does not have a designated pair since it was a gift. We would need to select at least three shoes that match the shade of the dress or compliment the embroidered. If we cannot find any, we would need to purchase new shoes and wait until they arrive before Princess Abigail can wear the dress” said Alice.

They both left the room and went to the closet to see what they could find. This time they came with three complete outfits including the shoes and accessories.