Disclaimer: Characters and places that you recognize from Ella Enchanted are Gail Carson Levine's. The rest are mine!

Chapter 1: Invasion

"The sky's looking somewhat dreary."

Prince Arion turned around on his horse to look at his fellow knight and friend, Sir Garec, who had stopped in the middle of the path to gaze up at the sky. The prince followed his stare and looked up too.

The sky had gotten much darker in the past hour since they'd crossed the border shared by Kyrria and Lascar. It's as though the sky knows how bad of a state this kingdom is in too, Arion thought grimly to himself as he and his other two companions, Sir Garec and Sir James resumed their canter down the path of the forest.

"Why don't we go another mile and build camp for the day? No use getting drowned in rain," suggested Sir James.

Arion and Garec agreed. The prince of Kyrria had been sent by his father, King Charmont to patrol the border between Kyrria and Lascar. Now you'll get the adventure you've complained about having, the king had said.

Arion scowled, thinking back. What kind of adventure could he have on the border right next to Kyrria? It wasn't as though fighting was going to take place here. The most that Arion would get to see, if he was lucky, was a wild rabbit munching grass. He thought enviously of his two older brothers, who were currently deep in Lascar, battling the invading army from Pruse. They got to see real fighting. They had the chance to become heroes.

As Arion pushed back brown hair that fell into his green eyes, he thought again of how it stank being the middle child of the family.


"Five more stalks," Caelys told her little sister, watching as Vivy carried the large wooden jug to a plant nearby.

"Five!" Vivy groaned, dropping to the ground. "I thought you said we were done!"

"Almost," Caelys corrected. "But after this one, you can go and play. I'll do the rest."

With no apparent argument to that, Vivy tipped the pitcher forward and watched as the light teal liquid flowed out and onto the dirt, spreading across the surface before slowly being absorbed into the ground.

It was a secret family recipe for the plants, her mother liked to say. Caelys and Vivy were given the chore everyday to give the plants the "secret" nutrients that made the Callista family grow the best crops every year. The girls had been skeptical when they'd gotten the chore at first, and one year, they'd only watered half the plants with the liquid. It had resulted in an unhappy set of parents when harvest time came.

"Alright, you can go now. I'll finish the rest." Caelys smiled as Vivy gave her a hug and skipped down the field towards the house. "Don't have too much fun! I just might need your help again."

The sky rumbled quietly, and Caelys looked up at the gray clouds that hinted at an approaching storm. But no matter, the rain would be welcomed after the several dry days Rochelle had had.

Alone, Caelys slowly worked at the task at hand at her own pace, her mind occupied by thoughts of the Mid-Equinox Festival that was taking place next week in the village. Rochelle was a small, tightly knit farming village on the outskirts of the kingdom of Lascar, which shared a boundary with Kyrria. The village was somewhat unknown—Rochelle kept to itself, and no intruders ever bothered them. It was quite a big affair when any visitors did come, even the occasional bard.

Caelys smiled as her thoughts drifted to Vance. Vance. The messy blonde-haired, green-eyed, life-long friend who'd suddenly become much more in the past year. Funny, intelligent, and boyishly cute, he understood her better than anyone else she knew. Underneath the playful demeanor the two had with one another, there was love, and the whole village knew it. Rochelle was certain Vance and Caelys would be married someday.

Someday. More like in a long, long time. Even though Caelys was sixteen, she didn't feel ready anytime soon to grow up. She still acted like a child, and was certain she would always be a child.

Caelys' thoughts were interrupted by a scream. Or was it? She frowned when she paused in her work and heard only silence. She held still for a moment longer, before resuming her work of stirring a cup of the family recipe into the pitcher of water.

Caelys suddenly heard voices again. This time, she was sure of it. There was a scream, followed by loud voices and yelling. Curious and worried as to what was going on, Caelys got up from her position on the ground and walked to the edge of the field, before running down the center aisle towards the house.

"Vivy? Lane? Mother?" Caelys called, opening the back door and stepping into the house. It was too quiet—her brothers always made enough noise to last a whole lifetime. The screams and yelling had faded as quickly as they had come, and it seemed as though the whole village was still.

"Father?" Caelys' voice was oddly loud in the silence. She pushed open the door that separated the back of the house from the front room and gasped, horrified at what she saw.

An upturned chair lay next to her Father's desk, stray parchment littering the floor. A jar of ink had been knocked over on the desk, and the black liquid slowly dripped onto the ground. Caelys' brothers' toys lay scattered in the middle of the room, and a lone toy cart, one wheel still revolving slowly lay wedged between the doorstep and the front door that was slightly open. She bit her lip when she saw her beloved mandolin broken on the floor.

Her heart threatening to jump out of her chest, Caelys was about to step into the room when she suddenly heard faint voices outside that were quickly getting louder.

Hurriedly, Caelys stepped out of the front room of the house and into the back, opening the door of the pantry and quickly hiding behind one of the large barrels in the corner. Something was telling her that she couldn't let herself be found.

"You said you heard something around here?" Caelys heard the owner of a gruff voice step into the house.

A high, wheezy voice answered. "I think so. But it might just have been the sounds of the dying boy outside." The voice snickered before erupting in a fit of coughs.

Dying boy. Caelys could feel her hands go clammy as she clutched desperately to her skirt. Who were these people? She squeezed her eyes shut as she heard the pantry door swing open and breathed a silent sigh of relief as it quickly closed again.

The voices faded into the distance, but Caelys waited for safety. Her mind raced as she waited for what seemed like eternity. What had happened to her family? The village?

Finally, with legs trembling, Caelys let herself cautiously out of the pantry. Frightened, and with a hand clutching her chest where her heart beat frantically, she walked outside, an ominous feeling in the pit of her stomach.

She somehow already knew who the dying boy was.


A/N: SOB! Tell me what you guys think! And I'd like to thank Annie, because she came up with the awesome name, Arion. It was going to be Orion, but we decided Arion looked better (but it's pronounced the same). :)