Chapter 1
The streets were nearly silent as the night grew. Sadness lingered at every corner. Most of the soldiers were off fighting a war no one wanted. Every now and then, a figure would cross between the building, but no one dared to stay out for any longer.
In one building, a group gathered at a table. People of all walks of life sat, listening to one girl hum a tune.
The girl was youthful, in her mid twenties. Her eyes were silver like the moon and her hair reflected auburn in the candle light. She dressed similarly to the three girls that stood behind her, all wearing dark greens. A group of gypsies sat to one side of her and a pair of nuns leaned in on her other side. A trio of men in three different military uniforms were across the table alongside a lone fisherman who had his eyes closed as he swayed. It was so quiet that the others had to lean in to hear the girl's beautiful song. Not that they needed to. They all knew it by heart.
She was interrupted as a young boy burst into the room.
"The Princess has given birth to a baby girl."
Smiles were shared around the room. Even in all the darkness, there was still some light.
"That means Annabeth will soon return to us. She has given me her word." The girl stood, several others standing with her.
"Artemis. What are we going to do?" The girl next to her asked as the room began to come alive.
"We will do anything to help the Princess save this kingdom."
"Malcolm. Please don't leave. I need you here." The sobbing of his wife broke Malcolm's heart. He didn't want to leave, but if it meant ending the war, he had to.
"Kayla. You know I have to go. Frederick finally agreed to some sort of treaty. I need to go sign it for us."
"Malcolm." The blonde wept as she held tightly to his hand. The Prince gripped just as tightly as the couple ate their dinner. They no longer had dinner in the dining hall. Nearly the entire palace had been converted for the war. The North hall was for the soldiers coming in and out of the city. The Southern and Western wings were filled with refugees.
That left the East wing for the royal family and noble visitors.
Malcolm and Kayla had resorted to eating most of their meals in their room together. It was their only time to be alone because every other time was spent working with everyone else in the palace.
"I wish we could have avoided this war. It has brought terror on this kingdom and this family. My father..." Kayla choked up and couldn't continue on. Malcolm frowned. Apollo, as youthful as he was, had gotten sick when the war started. And he didn't seem to be getting better. Kayla and her brothers were beyond upset. The King barely left his room. Malcolm and the other Princes had taken his duties in hope that he would rest and shake off that awful cough.
The day before, Malcolm had been summoned up to Apollo's chambers.
"I know you need to go to Francisco," The King had said. "It is important that you negotiate the end of this war, but I need you to wait a bit."
The Prince had been confused. Why would he need to wait? More people died everyday.
"Prince Triton has been missing for a month now and your sister should be recovered from childbirth now."
"Annabeth had a baby?!" Malcolm was shocked to learn that his sister had been pregnant at all.
"Yes. She will probably return to Francisco. There are stirrings that they want her as Queen."
"But if Triton is missing, who will ascend the Atlantian throne?"
"That is a problem we will leave for another day. Until then, we will wait for news from Atlantis about where they stand on this negotiation."
Welcome to Dream Fearlessly! This is the last of a trilogy. To catch up on the rest of the story, go back to Sounds Lovely and then Listen Carefully.