Author's note: I'm sorry it's been so long since I've updated this story. I've been without the internet for a VERY long time. I'm going to try and get it finished within the next few months. Please do review - I have a feeling my author's voice has changed a bit. Enjoy.

Part 4: Isolation

Fionnlugh looked about the highest room of the tallest tower. He had commissioned this castle, in the middle of a volcano, after inspiration had suddenly struck him. He had put a few bits of furniture in the room, a dresser, a bed, a nightstand, a bookshelf. His daughter wouldn't be able to leave for quite some time. He brought his senses back to the present. "Uaine, dear, are you all right?"

His wife was frantically folding clothes. The top drawer of the dresser had been filled with attire that would fit her now, and each drawer down was filled with slightly larger ones. They would not be able to give Fiona anything else until the dragon was slain. Uaine was down to the last few garments, kneeling before the bottom drawer, and her tears were now fairly obvious to everyone in the room. "I'm fine, just fine," she said shakily. She picked up a green velvet dress and gently shook it out, but her quivering fingers couldn't hold on and it fell to the floor.

Uaine fell as well and sobbed once, and Fionn came forward to pick up the dress, handing it to her. "It's all right, Uaine, the dress is fine. Look." He held it out to her.

"Oh, I'm not upset about the dress, Fionn!" she exclaimed, wiping her eyes angrily. "We're not going to see our daughter again for several years. We may even never see her again! How can you not be upset?"

An abiding faith that we're doing the right thing," he said. He kissed her cheek and wiped her tears from her eyes with his thumb. "Trust me, dearest."

Standing, he walked over the to the cloaked figure in the corner. She was still, eerily so, her face hidden by the darkness of her hood. "Where will the food appear?"

She pointed to the table by the bed, her voice soothing yet powerful. "Three times a day, my lord, just as you asked."

"And if she is ever in danger, you will know and alert me?"

"Of course, Your Majesty." She bowed slightly.

"Lovely." He turned and surveyed the room. "Everything looks to be in order, then. Come, let us say goodbye to Fiona."

Uaine stood and looked at the floor, composing herself. The cloaked woman waved her hand slightly, and Uaine suddenly became much more herself, her tears nearly evaporating from her skin. "Of course," she said, and together they walked out.

Fiona was waiting at the bottom of the tower, and she looked up expectantly when her parents exited. She had matured much in the two years since her father had commissioned this project. She was worried about how she would get on by herself in a single room for the rest of her adolescence, and yet she trusted her parents. They would only do what was for her highest good.

Uaine took her hand. "Your room is all ready, Fiona. Would you like to see it?"

"Yes."

They led her up the stairs, and her first impression of the room was that it was terribly small. She supposed it wasn't any smaller than her room at her parents castle, but it was the only place she would be for a long time. "All your favorite books are here, Fiona," said her father, "and paper and pens in the nightstand."

"And Cassandra will be able to send you anything you need while you are here," Uaine added. She embraced her daughter. "We'll miss you."

"I love you, Mom."

"I love you too." Uaine released her and smiled. "It won't seem like so long a time, darling."

""I love you, Fiona," said Fionn, also hugging her. "We'll send you letters and keep your room just the way it is now."

She nodded, a lump growing in her throat. She wasn't sure she could do this…

Fiona stared at the canopy above her bed, unable to sleep. It was always hard for her to get to sleep in a new place. She wondered if her parents were missing her yet. She was missing them. She was missing everyone.

She suddenly realized that the woman named Cassandra was standing next to her bed. "Hello!" she exclaimed, happy to see anyone.

Cassandra raised her arms high, and an eerie glow surrounded Fiona. "By night one way, by day another…this shall be the norm…"

Fiona's eyes widened and she cried out, feeling her body change. "Stop! STOP!" she yelled, staring at Cassandra in terror.

"…Until you find true love's first kiss. Then take love's true form."

As soon as she'd said the final words, she was gone, leaving Fiona in the room alone. She picked up her bedside mirror and stared into it, aghast at what she saw.

It was easier to get to sleep once she'd exhausted herself with crying.

--To be Continued…