"Lord Van, are you sure you have to do this?" Merle asked, concerned.
"This country has been too long without a leader," Van had informed, "it's time Fanelia had a king again."
"Everything'll be fine," Adrina comforted her little sister, "Have a little faith."
"Yeah," Van said, "Have a little faith." He playfully flicked Merle's ear. She swung at him but missed.
"Children," Adrina teased, "let's try to get along."
"Yes sister," they said in unison. At that moment, Balgus walked into the room.
"Are you ready to do battle, Prince?" he asked.
"Yes Balgus," Van answered, "I am ready."
"I know you will succeed Prince Van," Balgus encouraged, "Keep your brother's failure far from you mind."
"That's enough Balgus!" Van exclaimed. Adrina gasped at Balgus' words. How could he say that? Van was nervous enough as it was, he didn't need to be reminded of Folken.
Van turned and hurried out of the room and Adrina and Merle followed him.
"Lord Van!" Adrina called and ran up to him, with Merle right behind her. Van turned around. "Van, don't get upset," she coached, "stay focused and you'll be fine."
"Thanks, Adrina," Van smiled. Adrina sighed. At least he was calm. If he got upset, he wouldn't be able to concentrate, just like Folken. NO! She shook her head fiercely to drive away these evil thoughts. Queen Varie had told her repeatedly that it wasn't her fault Folken didn't come back. But still, she believed it was her fault.
"Adrina, are you okay?" Merle asked.
"Huh?" Adrina was torn from her thoughts, "Oh yeah. I'm fine."
Balgus emerged from the room a second later. "It's time to go."
The party of four slowly made their way out to the gate to the forest. They stopped just inside the gate.
"Good luck," Adrina said and hugged Van.
"Please be careful," Merle pleaded, close to tears. Van hugged her and promised he would be. Balgus spouted some encouragements and then Van was off.
"I'll wait for you by the tree!" Adrina called after him. Van turned and waved, then disappeared into the forest. Balgus made his way back to the castle, claiming he had some business to attend to and Adrina and Merle went and sat under the giant tree by the gate. Adrina pulled out the fairytale book Folken had read to them his last day under the tree and began to read it, despite the fact that she knew it by heart.
About an hour or so later, she closed the book and leaned up against the tree. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Merle stand up.
"Where are you going?" Adrina asked her.
"I'm going to get something to drink," Merle told her, "do you want anything?"
"No," Adrina said, "but hurry back. We promised Van we'd be waiting for him when he came back."
"It's not Van your waiting for though," Merle stated, "is it?"
"What are you talking about?"
"You know exactly what I'm talking about," Merle said matter-of-factly and walked off.
Adrina sighed. Merle was right, she knew exactly what Merle was talking about. Everyday for the past ten years, Adrina had come to sit under the tree. She knew it was stupid and childish, but somewhere deep in her heart, she believed Folken would return someday and everything would be alright again. Adrina began to stroke the feather on her necklace. Folken had made her the necklace out of a feather from his wings.
Adrina had seen Folken's wings only once, right before her sixth birthday. Folken had been busy with something and couldn't go outside and play with them. To Van, this meant there was no one to watch them, so they could do whatever they wanted. Van decided they were going to climb trees. Adrina tried to talk him out of it, but she was outnumbered because Merle always supported Van, no matter what.
They had walked around for awhile until Van found the perfect tree to climb. Unfortunately, the perfect tree also happened to be the tallest tree in the courtyard. They waited until no one was around, then Van stated up the tree. When he got almost to the top, he froze and started to cry, claiming he couldn't climb back down. Adrina had started up the tree after him. She was scared to death that they would get caught, so she climbed as fast as she could. She was about two feet from Van when she heard someone call her name. She had turned around to see who it was and had accidently leanded on a thin branch. The branch broke under her weight and she had fallen out of the tree. She was caught in mid-air by Folken. He then got Van out of the tree and took them down to the ground. After she was firmly on the ground, all she could do was stare at the magnificent wings spread out behind Folken. "They're beautiful." she had breathed, then she had fainted.
Adrina smiled at the memory. She loved thinking of her childhood. The years before Folken had disappeared were the happiest times of her life. She was so deep in thought that she didn't hear Merle approaching.
"BOO!" Merle yelled. Adrina jumped and screamed.
"Don't do that to me!" she exclaimed.
"Sorry," Merle laughed, "What were you thinking about?"
"Nothing," Adrina answered quickly. She knew that if she told Merle, she would just look at her strangely and change the subject.
"Fine," Merle fumed, "don't tell me." She climbed the tree behind Adrina and curled up on a branch. Adrina leaned back against the tree and before she knew it, she was asleep.
"Adrina, wake up!" Adrina opened her eyes an saw Merle standing over her. The sky was dark behind Merle's head.
"Oh no, it's dark!" Adrina proclaimed, "Did Van come back?" Merle shook her head slowly. "Oh Merle." Adrina hugged her. "Don't worry," she consoled, "it got dark before he could make it home. He'll be here tomorrow morning."
"Are you sure?" Merle questioned.
"Of course," Adrina comforted. Oh please, she thought, let me be right.
