On the day of the Prince’s coronation, try as he might, searching the crowds, he could not find his love. How would he announce his bride to be if she was not there? So he rather kept it secret, even from his family.

Three days passed since then, and he still had no leeway to escape to the forest to go see his love, so that night he decided he would go search for Cetcily. Reaching the clearing, he was disappointed when he could not find her, of course! It wasn’t as if she lived in this clearing!

Searching for any signs she might have waited for him there earlier, he soon noticed a rolled up parchment gently laid out upon a piece of silk clothing hidden by a tree. Taking it out, he read it slowly, at first it made no sense to him!

Then realization dawned on him. If she was not as him a human as she stated then she had to be of Fair Folk! Perhaps a Fairy! Or Sprite as the Easterners called them; that would explained her silvery blue eyes and fragile complexion! But Fairies where small creatures and shy! They used their natural talent for Wind Magic to hide.

Perhaps she would be a Mermaid, that would explain the salty, misty and morning dew fragrances he so often took pleasure in when he was near enough to her to it all take in. But no, Mermaids could not leave the waters of this world, they would dry out and die, their Water Magic unable to safe them, only delay the unavoidable! And They were days away from the sea!

Perhaps she could be a Nymph? It would certainly explain her earthiness and love for the it, it would perhaps also be way she could hated the city, Nymphs could only live near and in nature and also why she was such a terrible liar, as Nymphs are famous for their truthfulness. But alas she could not be, Nymphs hadn’t a solid form and even if they used their Earthen Magic to give them an actual form they then wouldn’t appear as human as she had.

Perhaps she was a Harpy… No not possible… Harpies were fiery creatures, if he had made love with her and she was a Harpy she would have literally ignited him and he would have burned to ashes, as the heat they felt, radiating off each other, surely would have made a Harpy drunk; filled her with ecstasy and she would not have been able to keep her Fire under control!

No he knew what she was, but was too afraid to accept it, how could he? He had learned to love her before he knew to hate her! After all Humans and Elves were age old enemies! All the Prince could feel was sorrow, he still loved Cetcily, and he would always…

Even when his hate for her would blossom and twist his kind heart, he’d still love her! He knew then that she wasn’t from the East rather west; far, far west and traveling east… No she would head south, but it no longer mattered - he’d let her free, let her go, let her run, he’d even let her fly if she could…

Too tired to think he didn’t bother to sneak back into the castle, instead when the guards saw him enter through the gates, they thinking he had gone for a stroll through the market as he often did as a prince, didn’t question his antics. Though his father and advisor would have plenty to say when he found out. Standing before the hearth, the wood crackling under the heat of the flames he threw the letter in.

“It is best I keep nothing of you in remembrance…” He whispered the chant of his heart to the fire; and as if the flames was listening, licked at the note burning it to ashes sparing not second to waver.