A/N: hi! you're all gonna hate me for what happens in the next chapter. enjoy! (if you dare...muahahaha)

Chapter 21

It was nearly three in the morning, but I couldn't sleep at all. Not that I wasn't tired; I fell asleep on Mandy's lap as she tried to stop my crying. Now though, she was nowhere in sight.

I tossed and turned for a while, then stood up. I left my room and walked through the stone corridors. They were so creepy at night. The stone was dead cold under my feet and there was a chill in the air. During the day servants were bustling around everywhere and the smell of Mandy's cooking magically (and now I understood that it was magic) floated through the castle.

I slipped into my riding boots and walked outside through the kitchen. The air was somehow warmer outside, and I walked drowsily through the forest. I walked for what seemed like hours, mulling over all the new information I'd taken in that night. Mandy was a fairy, and Jem's grave was as good as dug. No, I thought to myself. He's not going to die. You're going to do something about that.

But if he did die...I'd never see him again. Never speak to him again. He was my friend. More than a friend. A brother. More than a brother.

More than a brother? Do I love him?

I stopped dead and stared at my boots in the dark. I imagined the letter I would get from the Ayorthan royal family. I could see the royal crest stamped formally on the parchment as clearly as if I were already holding it, coldly staring up at me. I shuddered and continued to walk.

I picked my way silently through the trees and into the heart of the forest.

A clearing. I'd never noticed it before. I stepped cautiously through the trees and into the center.

A high pitched cackle rang through the clean night air. Before I knew what was happening I was knocked flat to the ground with my face in the dirt.

Footsteps. So light and so soft that I barely heard them. They circled me slowly; their owner was sizing me up. I tried to push myself upright, but my hands were somehow strapped to the ground.

"Well, well," a female voice sneered. "The princess has graced us with her presence."

I violently struggled against the bonds tying me to the ground. She laughed evilly.

"Don't even try it. That charm could hold a wild horse down."

How could I have been so stupid? This was exactly what she wanted. Me, away from the castle walls, Mother, and especially Mandy.

"You really shouldn't stray from home, there are bad people in this world," she poked me in the back with a blade. "And we wouldn't want you hurt."

"Now, your friend, Jem, his birthday is in...March? Yes, that must be it. Seventeen, wow, he's growing up." She clapped her hands in glee. "Much older than since I last saw him."

I continued to struggle, but I knew it was useless.

"Just a tiny baby he was then. So adorable. With that mop of red hair..."

He was going to die. I was bait in her plan to kill Jem. If I had only stayed in the castle!

I felt Jem's arms around me protectively when we were caught by ogres. His cry of delight when flying down the stair rail rang through my ears. I saw his red hair gleaming in the sunlight as we rode our horses across the fields.

She would never have him.

I stood up in one swift movement. I broke the spell!

A tall woman with white blonde hair cropped short to her scalp was standing only a few feet away from me with a giant raven perched on her shoulder. I saw something flash behind her eyes before they became chips of ice once more. Was it fear?

She smiled evilly. So this was Augusta.

"You are strong, little princess..." she stopped, and her face suddenly contorted with anger. She grabbed my jaw and twisted my head to get a good look at the wound on my face.