Author's Note:

This is my new story featuring Princess Elena and Gabe Nuñez. Please read and review. I respect all writers and their stories, regardless of who they ship. Please accord the same respect to me and my stories.

If you have read my first story The Cost of a Lie, I changed the name of the chief of the armed forces. General Luna is a big hero in our country and I do not want to use his name again out of respect and reverence.

Ordinary Day

It was the start of a new day in the Kingdom of Avalor. Avalor. The name filled Queen Elena with so much pride. It was the land of the ancient and mysterious Maruvians, the people who came before the Avalorans. They were a race of people whom Elena always regarded with awe and reverence. They were a magical race. They built the Kingdom of Maru and protected it with their magic using powerful artifacts. Until they were attacked by Shadow Spirits. The Maruvians defended themselves, using their most powerful jewel but it also sent all of them to the spirit world. Nothing was heard from or about them again until Elena met Amalay. Over the years, the Kingdom of Avalor rose above its ruins.

Avalor had also been through its own nightmare. The royal family was attacked by the evil witch Shuriki. The sorceress from the Northern Isles sought the power for herself and was set on ending the Castillos. Why did she choose Avalor? Was she somehow connected to the kingdom or to Maru? No one had the answer. Elena only knew that Shuriki killed her parents. The witch was the reason she was trapped in the amulet; the reason why her sister and abuelos were in the magical painting.

But all of those things happened 44 years ago. Fortunately for Avalor and Elena's family, Princess Sofia of Enchancia rescued them with the help of Alacazar's grandson, Mateo. Elena's first years as Crown Princess had been mostly spent rehabilitating the kingdom and undoing what damage Shuriki had done. And things got better. Life was good in Avalor once again.

Queen Elena stretched and considered sleeping in. It was more than a year ago that she was crowned queen but she was still getting used to it. She couldn't wait to be crowned queen at first but she realized she still had a lot to learn. So with the help of her Grand Council, they worked hard and effected changes that they knew Avalor needed the most. They renewed relationships with their allies, signed trade agreements and strengthened the military. Elena also had been training with their Royal Wizard Mateo de Alva. She had to be prepared for when she faced Shuriki again and end her once and for all. She knew she should have done that the first time around. But there's no going back now for that. She just had to work hard and be ready. There were attempts in the past to overthrow her by Shuriki's minions but she thwarted them. And it had been quiet for the last few years. Elena took this lull to her advantage and trained hard. That was not to say that she had mastered the Scepter of Light yet. She found new and wonderful ways to use it but it still drained her.

Elena got up and prepared herself for the day. Today was her free day but she did not want to remain idle. There were fun things to do when you were still very young like go sailing with her Royal Advisor and best friend Naomi Turner. Or she could have sister time with Princess Isabel, her younger sister and heir presumptive. Or spend time with her abuela Luisa in the kitchen, learning new recipes or new insights in life. Or with her abuelo Francisco and play music. Or with her other Royal Advisor and cousin Esteban and catch up on some reading. But she didn't feel like doing all of those. Naomi was helping her father at the docks. Isabel was at school. Her abuelos were spending their quiet time together. Now that they were retired, they were spending more and more time enjoying each other's company, perhaps reminiscing about the time when they were still young and in love. They were still in love after all these years. Esteban's lectures would just have to wait. She wanted to do something physical and competitive so she knew she wanted to spend the day with Gabe, the Captain of the Royal Guard. She smiled a little excited.

She showered and put on her pants and a loose blouse. Elena always dressed down on her days off and as she was intending to do some physical but enjoyable training, she wanted something comfortable. Elena opened her door and was a little disappointed when she saw that Gabe was not the guard at her door. It was Andres Sousa, one of his lieutenants.

"Lieutenant Sousa," Elena greeted the young guard. He was young but was older than both Gabe and Elena. His credentials were impeccable, at par with Rico Villalobos, also one of the lieutenants. Andres Sousa was one of the candidates for captain. Elena couldn't help but look past him to Gabe's bedroom and wondered where he could be.

"Yes, your majesty," answered the guard.

"Where is Gabe?" Elena said trying to mask her disappointment at not seeing Gabe first thing in the morning. She blushed slightly at the thought. She could only hope Andres didn't notice.

"Captain Nuñez is making his rounds right now. He will also be inspecting the cadets and then take over training since Lieutenant Villalobos is on leave."

Andres escorted her to breakfast. Elena couldn't help but shake her head. As captain, Gabe was very hands on. He drilled his cadets and guards like there's no tomorrow. He personally designed and redesigned all the security measures for the palace. He worked closely with General Alberto Rivas, the Chief of the Avaloran Armed Forces. She knew Gabe was overworking himself and a bit paranoid, but it also touched her that he was doing all of this to ensure her safety.

She shared a jovial breakfast with her family. Elena was planning to look for Gabe and convince him to spend the day with her. She changed her mind about training. She knew he too needed a break and if it meant not playing Olaball or do some fencing, that would be fine. They could just relax and eat ice cream. Or ride the jaquins. Or anything as long as it was as far from working as possible.

Whatever she did today, Elena was determined to take advantage of this very ordinary day.