BETA'S NOTE: The long delay in posting the following chapters is entirely my fault. I was occupied elsewhere, and Katherine was kind enough to wait for me rather than seek another beta...

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Harper stood at his room's window, dressed in a pair of white pants and a white button-down shirt. Trance had left to talk to her father after telling Harper to stay in his rooms - as if he *wanted* to run around a castle full of people that wanted to kill him.

As he looked out the window, he was amazed by at the beauty of this fantasy kingdom - he could see tall mountains, rolling hills, and a large green forest. Hanging out of the window a bit, he could also see a small village in the valley below.


He was still halfway out the window when Trance walked in. "Harper, it would be a shame if you fell."


Harper did nearly fall then, but quickly pulled himself back from the window and turned to look at Trance. "Well?"


Trance smirked at him. "Well what?"


Harper looked at her and smiled. "What did he say?"

Trance smiled again, teasing. "Who?"

Harper stared at her, suddenly serious. "Trance...."

Trance laughed. "Oh... Father said you can meet her. She's in the garden - let's go."

Harper quickly walked up to her - he could see easily that she was scared, for all her joking. "Don't worry - it'll be okay."

She smiled faintly. "I know..."

As they walked down the endless halls, Harper found himself wondering. What did their daughter look like? Did she know about him? Would she like him?

These thoughts kept running through his head, but before he could ask Trance anything, they were outside in a large garden - so big he couldn't see the other side. Trance continued on and rounded a corner, and as Harper followed, he stopped dead, staring at the girl sitting on a bench with a young man.

She was a spitting image of them both, a perfect blend of her parents - dark blond hair in long waves along her back, lavender skin, and ice blue eyes that looked up at him hard when she spotted him.

She looked quickly back at the boy, who simply smiled, then she stood up and walked over to Harper.

"Hello." Her voice was sweet and soft, like her mother's.

Harper smiled. "Hey."

Trance walked up from behind him and smiled brightly. "Well, we got the hellos out of the way, at least. And who might this be?" she added, spotting the boy.

The girl smiled. "Oh! Forgive me, Mother - this is Rowling."

The boy stood up and sketched a bow, the picture of politeness. "Hello, Your Highness."

Trance's smiled faded a bit as she became serious. "Well, why don't we all sit and get acquainted?"

They all sat on the bench , Trance next to Harper and the girl next to Rowling.

"So...." Harper began, but then stopped abruptly. He didn't know her name - how in the hell could he not know her *name*?!

As if reading his mind, the girl laughed. "It's Shaylena - my name's Shaylena."

Harper smiled, then looked at Trance as she nodded at him with a grin.

Shaylena laughed again "Yes - I was named after you."