Chapter 2

Mother and Father beamed at us as we walked in. We sat on either side of them.

"El, that dress," Mother started, but I cut her off.

"I'm going riding! I can't go in a gown."

"I suppose you're right..." she replied, but not before shooting a glance at Father. He cleared his throat loudly.

"Yes Father?" I answered lamely.

"Well-erm..." he started. After many moments of hesitation, he finally spoke.

"We'vedecidedthatyouwillaccompanyyourbrothertoAyortha." He said in a rush.

"Am I staying with nobles?" I whined. I knew I sounded childish but they were so boring.

"No," Mother intervened. "You will stay with Areida. It's only for six months."

This gladdened me. I hadn't seen her for years.

"Excellent," I said. "When do we leave?"

My parents were obviously not prepared for this reaction. I assumed they half expected me to throw a tantrum (which happened frequently when I was five, I think they naturally kept their guard up since then.).

"Mother, Father, you expect me to say no? I have lived here for 15 years, never even journeying two miles from the castle. You think I'd pass up this chance?" I asked incredulously. "Besides, I haven't seen Aunt Areida in ages."

Mother and Father were delighted (and relieved). They told me I was to leave in two weeks. That gave me just enough time to visit all my favorite places before I left.

The menagerie was my favorite. Full of exotic animals. Apple, my family's centaur, cantered over to greet me. I threw him a treat while admiring his shiny coat. I remembered a vow I had made when I was younger. I would ride him. Maybe when I came back from Ayortha. I sighed and walked on.

I meandered around the castle grounds, riding, fencing, visiting apple, and practicing my languages. They were the only subjects that I figured were worthy of me learning. Knowing the number of victims a dragon devoured would be categorized as useless when surrounded by bandits.

I headed to Apple's paddock. He cantered over again, grinning widely. He had taken a special liking to me. Of course, that may be because my presence often suggested food.

"Sorry Ap," My nickname for him was Ap, which was even worse than Apple for such a beautiful creature. I often pondered why father even considered the name. "No treat this visit."

"Here," I heard a voice behind me. A boy, maybe a year older than me, tossed me an apple. He threw his own apple to the centaur.

He turned to me. "What's your name?"

"El," I said. His eyes widened and he bowed.

"Forgive me!" his eyes full of fear. "I did not mean..."

"No! No, it's quite alright," I said quickly, "Please don't use my title."

He slowly rose from his bow. He had dark red hair and was quite tall, with an enormous amount of freckles.

"And what's your name?"

"Tom, just Tom," he replied. I could tell he felt awkward.

"Do you want to see the birds with me?" I asked. He looked hesitant. "Oh relax. Just because I'm royal doesn't mean I bite. Well, my brother Chris might, if you get him really angry. I'm missing a finger because of an argument we had over this dog we saw. See, I said it had..." but I trailed off.

Tom was laughing.

A/N : Thanx so much to Jessica Elaine for her review. i have all intentions of finishing this story! like i said, it's already done, so i'm just adding a chappie per day. Adios amigos and R&R pleeze