Disclaimer: I am not Gail Carson Levine nor do I own Ella Enchanted. Anything you recognize does not belong to me. The rest are just products of my overly active imagination.

A/N: Hey! I'm so sorry I haven't reviewed for the longest time. It was fully my intention to update a whole bunch during this summer. It will never happen again...I hope not (sobs like a mad thing) Anyways, enjoy! REMINDER: PLEASE REVIEW!

Thanks to:

Lady Emma: Yes, actually I did read The Seer and the Sword, and I thought it was a great book. I loved the name Kareed and it fit the character I was trying to create for Alex's father, so I decided to borrow it. Please don't sue me! As I said in the disclaimer, anything you recognize does not belong to me.

Lady-of –the-Dragon-Flame- Yeah, it is kinda Zorro-ish. You'll probably like it when Rose and Alex meet, because its going to be very interesting, even if I do say so myself. Thanks for the review and keep reading!

Chapter 3

Alex grinned widely, feeling the wind blow through his dark hair. He closed his eyes and let it caress his upturned face. The sea spray splashed him and he laughed in delight. Opening his eyes once more, he stared at the sight before him. In front lay miles of seemingly endless ocean, sparkling blue and dancing in the early morning light, except for the speck in the horizon that was gradually getting bigger. Alex loved this, he loved the feeling of incredible freedom he felt when sailing, but their journey on sea would be drawing to a close soon.

"Captain!" a voice called behind him.

"Yes, Skyes?" He replied turning around.

"Land, ahoy!" came the reply. Alex was almost disappointed. He enjoyed sailing immensely, but he was looking forward to the upcoming mission he had. Alex nodded to Skyes in acknowledgment and pulled out his telescope. He could see the shores of Ayortha ahead. They would reach land by the afternoon.

"Put up the sail!" He yelled, turning to face his law breaking crew. Justin was leaning against the railing a couple of feet away. Together they watched the giant, billowing white sail raise up.

"Ready, Justin?" Alex questioned his mentor with a hint of boyish excitement in his voice.

"As ready as two days of preparation can bring," Justin replied dryly. Still, he was glad to see Alex so excited. Alex was much too serious. For him, childhood had abruptly come to an end the day his father had died. He grinned and laughed, but in his eyes were shadows that never left. Justin just hoped this little trip would be good for him.

"So, do you think your friend got your letter? And you never did tell me his name, who is it?" Alex continued his questioning.

"You are just going to have to wait and see," Justin replied with a grin.

This was unusual, Justin never withheld information like that. Something was obviously up, and Alex was more than determined to find out.

What was it that Justin was hiding? This was a mystery and he loved mysteries.

"Come on, men!" Alex shouted, "One more trunk to go!"

He grabbed hold of one end of the last trunk on the ship and together he and Daryl heaved it into the dinghy waiting below. They hopped in lithely and waited while Hugh, James, and Jerrold tumbled in after them. Jerrold took hold of the oars and began rowing them to the white sandy shore that was littered with more trunks. Justin sat in the shade of the overhanging rocks, protected from the midday sun that was beating down. It would have been easier to take a nap now, and rest from the heat, but they were already behind schedule. Justin and Alex needed to somehow get to the castle by the evening.

Alex jumped out of the boat. As they approached the shore. The cool water reached his knees and gave him relief as he helped pull the dinghy to shore.

The men collapsed on the shore, breathing hard. "Thanks," Alex panted to them, washing of the beads of sweat that had gathered over his face. Justin, however was as cool and calm as ever. He was staring at the opening in the rocks, the opening where Skyes would appear with the carriage from Justin's mysterious connections.

"Alex!" Justin exclaimed, exasperated, turning his attention to the young man. "If you want to get to the castle by this evening, you have to be ready! Skyes is going to be here any minute now and you're not even dressed!"

"Gosh, Justin, you're beginning to sound more and more like my mother!" Alex told him with a grin as he stripped of his shirt.

He got a sour look in return as Justin pointed to the trunk with his clothes and the bucket of fresh water he was supposed to wash with.

Just then came the rumbling of wheels, and a second later six horses appeared effortlessly pulling a behind them a carriage. Skyes sat atop waving at them.

Whoa! Alex thought to himself. Pretty impressive. Justin's friends must be pretty well off. Probably some kind of royalty. He dismissed the guessing game he was playing. He had more important things to do at the moment. Quickly, he washed up and dressed as the carriage was being loaded.

It was almost sunset when they saw the twinkling lights of the castle in the distance. At first Justin and Alex had sat together in the carriage and Jeremy had driven, but that didn't last too long. For one, they began to get restless, and, secondly, even with the six horses, they couldn't go very fast with a loaded carriage and the bumpy country roads. So, needless to say, it wasn't long before they had stopped the carriage and unhitched two horses to ride ahead. Jeremy was to follow behind with the rest of the stuff. Up ahead they could make out the outline of the palace gates. Now that they were so close, Alex found that he was edgy. Mentally, he shook himself. He was fearless, he reminded himself. What cause was there for him to be anxious, worried, and so terribly nervous? After all it wasn't as though his whole life was going to change or something. This was just a little trip into the Ayorthain royal castle, that was it. Right?