I took slow bites alone without much thought of how tough the meat was today. The princess, quite late, finally skipped inside. My eyes kept low to the table. 

She waved a paper in my face. “I finished my letter. Please have it sent right away.”

I sighed, still refusing to look at her. “Give it to me. First, I have to read it.”

“Wait…you…read my letter? Why would you do that! Ever heard of privacy?”

“For obvious reasons. You could be planning a way to escape with them. So, hand it here.”

My hand reached out, but she kept the letter to herself. When I finally looked up at her, I saw her face nearly growing red. 

“I uh…well…in that case…I will give it to you later then…I need to…ya know…check for spelling.”

Her clearly wanting to write a whole new letter should have made me suspicious, but I swore the look on her face was more of embarrassment rather than scheming. What could she possibly have written that she didn’t want me to see? 

Suppressing a chuckle, I turned back to my food. “Very well. Sit and eat.” How was it that I couldn’t stay vexed towards her very long? 

That was until she grabbed a loaf of bread and ran off again. 

“I’ll meet you in the garden later,” she quickly yelled before disappearing. 

Would her precious gnomes always be more important than anything else? 

Suddenly not very hungry, I left as well. But not to the gardens. 

I found a guard at the library doors. “The princess is writing a letter, when she is finished, bring it to me.” 

With the guard gone, I entered the library and located the gnomic book. My hesitant hands held it a moment. Part of me wanted nothing to do with the gnomes, but if there was a secret history, I needed to know about it. 

Sitting beside the lesson paper I had written for the princess, I set to work on translating it on a blank book. First, I put the title: Year of the Young Dragons. 

Strange. Was there such a thing? 

The work was tedious but after much longer than expected, I overlooked the first paragraph. 

It is the year of the young dragons. But my old bones aren’t what they used to be. My knees grow weak, and my coughing grows long. So listen close to these important words, for these may be my last words. 

Could it really be that important? Had I stumbled over some great secret? Sitting even closer to the table, I worked on the next line but suddenly stopped. 

The one in rule is King Fariok. 

I threw the book shut. There was never a king Fariok. This wasn’t history, but only fiction. And I had only wasted my time. 

Before having time to scold my stupidity, the guard arrived back. “Sir, the letter you asked for.”

I waved him off and opened it. With a sigh I started translating once again. Perhaps it hadn’t been a waste, for my previous practice made it a little faster this time. 

To all my beloved gnomes of the forest, 

Do not fear, it is me, Ellia. I am fine and well. I was stolen by the human kingdom because they believed me to be the missing princess. I suppose they are probably right since they knew I had been with the fairies. So do not worry for me. They have wonderful food here and a large garden and even horses. I miss you all more than I can say. But don’t fret. When I am queen I will make sure we will all see each other again. 

With much love, Ellia.     

I couldn’t help but sigh. Did she even realize that the only way for her to become queen was to marry me? Did she finally accept that? Or did she forget about that part entirely? Did she really think she was going to rule her own kingdom and invite the gnomes over for tea? 

She hadn’t even mentioned me at all. Her other letter had looked much longer. What had she left out? 

Either way, it sounded like she had accepted her life here; that could only be a good thing. The question was, did she truly accept it or only knew she didn’t have a choice? 

I handed the letter back to the guard. “I need this delivered to the gnomes.”

“The gnomes, Sir? I don’t believe we have a way to.”

“Just tell a knight to ride into the forest and hand deliver it to any gnome he happens to see.” 

The guard gave a strange look but nodded. 

Whether the letter actually got there or not wasn’t my concern. At least I could tell her I kept my word and sent it. 

Back in the library, I sat and watched a candle slowly dwindle to its death. The sky outside the windows also left little light. 

A sound behind me disturbed my brooding thoughts. 

“I found you!”

As I turned, there was just enough light for me to see a smiling princess. 

“I wasn’t hiding.”

She frowned. “Really? I thought we were going to meet in the garden.”

Taking a step closer, my tall body towered over hers. “You needed to give me your letter, but I got it and now is being delivered. Goodnight, Princess.” 

I walked past her but stopped when something tugged at the back of my sleeve. Turning, I saw she had grabbed my clothes. 

Her head was down a moment, but finally looked up and right at me. “Thank you.”

I couldn’t help but stare back at her face that was incredibly full of gentle gratitude. 

Even in my bed that night, my closed eyes could still see hers. What was she doing to me? 

~*~

“Sir! The princess has gone mad! She is running through the halls like a wild animal.”

It took a moment to fully awaken and process what the guard was saying to me. 

“Why did you not stop her?”

“We didn’t know what to do, and no one wants to go near her. Do you think it’s rabies from the forest?”

I rubbed a hand over my tired face. “It’s probably just a case of Ellia.”

“Excuse me, Sir?”

“Nothing. Leave it to me.”

When I got to the hallway near the princess’ room, I saw what they called the “wild animal with rabies”. 

Still in her night clothes and stockings, the princess ran then slid down the hall, giggling with joy the entire time. 

She spotted me and waved. “This is so much fun, you have to try it!” 

Charging once again, she slid in my direction. 

Catching her, I held both of her arms firmly. “Don’t be so ridiculous! You are even scaring all the servants! It’s time to stop acting like a child!”

The look she gave back almost scared me. It was nothing like last night when she had looked so thankful. Or the look of excitement when I found her in the closet, or joy when riding on horseback with me. 

This time, it was as if all the life had been stolen from her, and there was nothing left but an empty soul. It wasn’t a look I ever wanted to see again. But how else would she ever learn? 

I let go of her arms. “Get dressed and come to breakfast.”

When I walked away, it was surprising that she said nothing back. That almost worried me more. 

At breakfast, she showed up as if unfazed, but her stiff demeanor told me she was upset. We ate in silence. Many times I wanted to say something, but there was simply nothing to be said. 

When she stood to leave, I finally forced out words. “You will have more lessons today at the library.”

For the first time, she looked at me. Her glare hardened as if a warning. 

“I have a surprise for you,” I added quickly. 

She kept staring at me in silence as coldness and curiosity fought over her face. 

I walked past her with a grin. “Let’s go.”

Though it took a moment, she slowly followed me to the library. 

Standing next to the desk, I had her sit. “Copy this page ten times. Then you get your surprise.”

The first page she did was written so fast, it ended up mostly scribbles. 

“Princess, slow down. I can’t even read this.” 

She huffed, but then tipped her head up in a snobbish way and elegantly holding the quill, wrote slower than might have almost been possible. Once finished, she handed me the paper with a smug grin. 

I set it down. “Acceptable. Nine more.”

As she continued, so did the crawling speed. After the first few pages, I expected her to stop the act, but each time almost felt slower than the last. 

Though my feet started to get sore, I refused to sit. I knew what she was doing, and I wouldn’t let her win. Though we each refused to show it, I’m sure we both were glad when page ten was finished. 

Getting the gnomic book, I handed it to her. “As promised. Here is your surprise.”

Her eyes brightened when seeing gnomic writing on the front. Immediately, she opened it and started looking through its pages. “A whole book written in gnomic? Who wrote it?”

“To be honest, I’m not sure. I found it the other day. It will be your new assignment. Read it if you like and then translate it into the proper language.”  

Excitement quickly grew on her face. “Do you think a gnome used to live in the castle?”

“I really doubt that.”

“I’m going to go read this now.”

My head lowered with no answer. 

She seemed to study me a moment. “Aren’t you coming?”

I looked up from the books I was pretending to be busy with. “To where?”

“The garden.”

“You said you were going to read.”

“I am. In the gardens. You never met me there the other day so you owe me.”

“I don’t owe you anything.”

With a smirk, she walked on. After a sigh, I found myself following though unsure what game she was playing this time. 

Once there, she set the book down and looked up at the sky. “Why don’t you read to me.”

“Why such a silly request? You know how to read gnomic.”

“It’s more fun that way. And that way I can watch the clouds at the same time.”

Was she testing if I actually knew how to read gnomic? Though, she seemed completely serious, and this wasn’t the first time she asked me to read for her.  

She waited for an answer, but none came. “Fine, if you won’t read then at least watch the clouds with me.”

“Why do you care what I do?”

“Because it’s more fun that way. And if you don’t have enough fun, then you will be a bad king.”

“Seriously, Princess, you are very confused on what makes good rulership.”

She stuck her tongue out at me. Suddenly, I feared the direction things were headed. I didn’t need her upset again so soon. 

Letting out a defeated breath, I laid on the grass next to her. “There, are you happy now?” I turned my head to see her face was much closer than expected. 

She said nothing, but her amused smile said it all. Though I couldn’t help but admit that her eyes were beautiful, I quickly turned my head back to the sky. As silly as I felt, I forced myself to stay.

The princess finally broke the silence. 

“If there is no king and queen then who has been ruling my kingdom?”

“We are watching the clouds, and you want to talk about serious matters?”

“Watching clouds is the best time to talk about anything. Your deepest fears or biggest dreams. Would you care to share?” 

She turned her head to me again. For a moment I was tempted to look into her eyes again but didn’t.

“Politics, Princess. Don’t forget about your first question. There are the elders that vote to make decisions on how to rule when there is no king or queen. But with such disagreement between them, it has only led to pure chaos.”

“So then my kingdom needs me? To make it better?”

Though she still seemed to think that she would actually rule one day, I felt it better to not bring up our marriage again.

“Having one strong leader with a single vision is always better for a kingdom. Too many conflicting ideas leads to disaster.”

“When can I become queen?”

Again, I tried to doge the real answer. “Not now. You still need much training.”

“What kind of training?”

“How to act properly, correct manners, etiquette. The list is quite long.”

“Oh, you mean act like a royal snob? That’s easy.”

I looked over to her with scrutiny. “You don’t even know how to eat with a fork.”

“Just because I don’t eat with one doesn't mean I don’t know how.”  

Sitting up, I looked down at her. “Well then, if you think it’s so easy, why don’t we have a little ball. We will have a test ball with some knights, and we will see how good you actually do.”

She scowled back. “By your smug look, you seem to believe I would fail. But sorry for you, you are quite wrong. What do I get if I pass the test?”

I thought for a moment. “I will take you to the ocean.”

“The ocean!?” Her eyes widened in excitement. 

I watched her smile to the sky as we settled back to silence. After a while, she noticed me looking at her. My eyes darted away. 

She seemed to study me for a moment. “What about my second question?”

“What?”

“What are your greatest fears and dreams?”

“That’s silly. I am a king. I do what needs to be done. There is nothing more to it.”

She sat up with me. “Everyone has dreams and fears.”

“What are yours then?”

“My fear is that my dream won’t come true.”

When she didn’t say more, I found myself prodding. “Which is?”

Her face turned deathly stoic and her voice into a morbid whisper. “That…I’ll never get to have…mushroom soup again.”

Quickly turning my face, I tried to hide that I ever looked concerned. Why did she tease at such a time? 

“Then you are out of luck, Princess. We don’t eat mushrooms in Auden.”

“Truly? That’s horrible.”

I looked back at her to see a pout, but I showed no sympathy. Had I actually been a little disappointed she hadn’t given me her real answer? But we weren’t close at all. Why would she tell me such things? 

“What kind of trouble is my kingdom in?”

Her question startled me once again. 

“A lot of poverty. Bad trade routes and lack of supplies. The people don’t trust the elders leading and a lot don’t pay taxes, causing a lack of funds. Their army isn’t very big and troll attacks are common.”  

She seemed to ponder it over but said nothing. 

Soon, she stood and grabbed the book. “I’ll go to my room to read now.”

Standing, I called out before she left. “Do you actually care about helping your kingdom?”

Her brows furrowed in contemplation. “When the gnomes needed help, I wish someone had been there. And the gnomes helped me even though they had no reason to. I might not know anything about the human kingdoms, but we are all people. So yes, of course I care.”

I stood and watched her walk away till out of sight. Honestly, it was baffling. She had been taken from her home, forced to be in a place she didn’t want to be, and do things she didn’t want to do, be a person she didn’t ask to be, and yet…she was somehow thinking about others. 

Perhaps, she was more mature than I once thought.