"So, let's say it is for us, but what does it mean?" Raoul asked, to no one in particular. "Is the clue in how they're spelled, or that they're two misspelled words, or can someone just not spell?"
Aleia could see Josh smirking at the last idea, as he sat on the table top in Aleia's old quarters.
Aleia looked at the paper. She picked out the letters that shouldn't be there. Y—e—o—o—z. It didn't come to anything recognizable. Two misspelled words. She repeated it over and over in her head. Two misspelled words. Two misspelled—spelled! "Maybe it has something to do with two spells," she said.
Raoul looked up at her and Josh jumped off the table to look at the paper better.
"What?" Josh said.
"Well, then what two spells? It could be anything," Raoul said.
Aleia shrugged. "I don't know. It was just an idea. But I don't think we're going to get anything else out of the message."
Raoul sighed. "Probably not. So what are we going to do then? The duke's a dead end. There was nothing else the slightest bit suspicious in his rooms."
"What about the sorcerer-assassin, then?" Josh asked.
Aleia looked at him. "We could go into the city, ask if anyone has seen anything strange lately."
Raoul nodded. "I doubt it will turn up much, but it's worth a try. When?" he asked to Aleia.
"The duke's leaving tomorrow, I'll be expected to dine with him and bid him farewell, the next day, though, would work. I'll say I'm visiting an old friend," she said. Then she got a mischievous look on her face. "We'll need disguises, so no one knows I'm the princess. I want to dress like a man."
Josh laughed loudly. "You don't look like a man, Aleia. Not at all."
Aleia playfully smacked his shoulder. "I could pass for one. Couldn't I, Raoul?"
"Uh...no. A peasant girl will have to work for you, Aleia."
She frowned in mock anger. "Hmph! See if I ever talk to either of you again!"
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Aleia stood in the garden, watching the red leaves fall to the ground. She was waiting to be summoned to bid the duke farewell. He seemed to be taking longer than he needed.
"I thought I would say goodbye to you in private."
Aleia spun around. The duke was coming into the entrance to the garden. "Why?" she asked him.
"Why not?"
"You hinted to me that you were going to kill my father when I died and take over my country and you humiliated me at the ball. We weren't exactly friends. And don't think I don't know about your little friend your working with to take over," she answered.
For a moment, she thought she saw fear in his eyes, but it soon passed and he just laughed. "Oh? Then who am I working with?"
Aleia pursed her lips and said nothing.
"See? You don't know anything."
"I will find out what you're up to, Kevar," Aleia said.
"Didn't I tell you to call me Conrad?" the duke grinned.
"Didn't you realize that I don't take orders from the likes of you?"
"Alright then, I understand you're determined to wage war against me," the duke stated. "It's really too bad, though, you are such a pretty creature." His eyes roamed over her, as they had before the procession.
"Sir, I really wish you would not stare at me so," Aleia said.
"Fine," he said his voice barely above a whisper. "But believe me, this won't be the last you see or hear of me."
Aleia frowned. "Well, you are coming for the winter holidays."
The duke smiled slightly. "That's not what I meant. Anyway, I'm leaving now, so you'd best come and bid me goodbye with the king and queen."
Aleia followed him to the castle gates where her parents were already waiting. She stood next to her mother.
"Well, it is regretful that I must be leaving you all so soon," the duke said, "but it shan't be long until I'm back for the winter holidays, and I am most grateful for your invitation to come early, Sir," he nodded at the king.
"Yes, we will be awaiting your return," the king said.
The duke turned to the queen and Aleia. "Until then, ladies."
Aleia coldly made a short bow. The duke went to his waiting carriage and soon pulled out the drive.
"Well, I'm glad he's gone," the queen said to Aleia, who smiled in return.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Aleia walked out of the castle with satisfaction. It hadn't been easy to get away for today. The king was against, but the queen talked him into allowing her to go. She felt bad lying to her mother, though. Raoul and Josh joined her outside the gate.
"Well, how did you get out?" Josh asked. " The king didn't sound like he would ever let you come."
Aleia smiled. "Well, Mother is quite convinced that I'm going to visit an old friend who lives in the country who would be quite appalled if I showed up in a fancy gown and nice carriage, so she talked Father into letting me come like this," Aleia gestured at her simple blue peasant gown and hair braided down the sides of her head.
"Well, I like your new pretty, peasant look," Josh said. "It comes off much better than you trying to be a man would."
Aleia laughed. "I still think I should have dressed like a man. It would have been so much more fun!"
Raoul was smiling from in front of them. "The common cliché of girls dressing like men does not really work so well as you would think."
Aleia skipped up from him, leaving Josh lagging behind. She felt rather happy today, though she didn't really know why. "Well, do you think I look pretty like this? Josh at least thinks I look pretty, so I decided I might as well forgive him for being mean to me yesterday."
Raoul glanced at her. "Yes, you look—beautiful."
Nobody said anything. Aleia stopped walking, but started again in time to be at Josh's pace again.
Josh was grinning. "See, I told you. The one day. When you caught the sorcerer-assassin."
Aleia blushed furiously and shook her head.
The walk to the busy part of the city was short. They got slightly separated at the marketplace. Raoul asked a few people questions, while Josh and Aleia just walked around looking at what people were selling, and not finding any information.
"I used to steal apples from there," Aleia pointed to one of the stands.
Josh laughed. "Really? I'd just go to the big orchards where they were picking them and eat them off of the trees. It was much easier. I only got caught once."
"Oh, look at that chocolate! I want some!" Aleia said.
Josh frowned at her. "You're the one with your huge castle and professional cook that makes all your fancy food and your pining over some marketplace chocolate?"
Aleia shrugged. "I love chocolate," she said defensively.
Raoul soon came to find them, interrupting their debate. "Guys, lets do what we're supposed to be doing," he said.
Aleia smiled.
"Oh, alright," Josh said. "Where are we going?"
"The inn. We'll talk to the innkeeper, he's probably seen the most people around and heard the most gossip."
They found the inn—The Red Arrow—soon enough. They went inside. There were lots of people sitting inside and it smelled of ale. Raoul and Josh went directly to the innkeeper, while Aleia stood to the side, because she was just a girl and not a man.
"What can I do ya for?" the man asked cheerfully.
"We'd like to ask you a few questions," Josh said.
"Well—sure."
"Have you seen a man with dark hair, dark eyes, about 5'8''? He was wearing dark clothes, had a sword and knives and some rope?"
The man thought. "Uh—can't say that I have, no."
Raoul leaned over the counter. "Well, have you seen or heard anything the least bit suspicious lately?"
The innkeeper frowned and chewed his cheek. "Well," he said quietly, "I haven't seen or heard anything myself, but there's been whispers goin' round that Morwenna's back. Though nobody talks about it, we still remember the princess' birth and with the princess back, Morwenna's bound to come and make sure her spell happens."
Raoul glanced at Aleia. He could immediately tell she had heard. Written across her face was a mix of curiosity, anger, and fear.
He turned back to the innkeeper. "Anything else?"
"No, not that I can think of."
"Thank you for your cooperation." Raoul gestured to Aleia and they all walked out of the inn, back to the streets.
"Morwenna's back? We should try to find her, make her take back the curse, or something!" Aleia said.
"She's a fairy, Aleia, there's no possible way we could find her," Raoul answered.
"How do you know?"
"Everybody knows."
"I don't," Aleia said, feistily.
"I know you want to find her and make her take back the curse, I want to as well, but there's no possible way we could even begin to look for her. We can ask people if they've seen anything strange, but that's it."
Josh smiled sympathetically at her.
She frowned.
They walked around and asked a few more people questions, but it turned up nothing. Eventually, they went back to the castle.
Aleia was determined to find some way to be able to find Morwenna. She went to one of the giant library's and searched for books on fairies. She found a couple and skimmed through them. She found out that there were a ridiculous amount of kinds of fairies. There were wood fairies, flower fairies, water fairies, small fairies, large fairies, shape-shifting fairies, house fairies, wishing fairies, etc.
Aleia had no idea which kind Morwenna was. She concluded that maybe Raoul was right about not being able to find Morwenna, but she still wished he had at least let her try for a while.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I just realized that I'm halfwayish done with story, maybe more, maybe less, but the point is I still have the better part of a year to write about. I don't know how I'm going to fill it all in, so I guess, after this chapter the stuff they do will be spaced out more like one chapter maybe every month or two, I don't really know, how many more chapters do you guys want? Anyway...just thought I would let you all know...reviews please!
