Laren looked in Mel's doorway and smiled at her daughter's sleeping form. The girl was curled up on top of her covers. One hand was curled into a fist, and the other rested lightly on top of the covers. Her chest rose and fell slightly with each breath, and a lock of hair over her nose fluttered.

Laren wondered how to tell her that she had made arrangements for Mel to go to Selium the following week. The girl had seemed so against the idea, but it was what was best for her, right? Mel would be safe at Selium. The events of the summer had scared Laren more than she let on. If Mel had been hurt… But it did no good to go down that path.

There were other reasons for Mel to go away too. She would be free of the politics and machinations of the court. She would have a chance to find herself, find out who she was when she wasn't the girl who wants to be a rider. Still mulling over whether it was the best thing to do, Laren shut the door softly and went to her office to go over reports.

Mel awoke to a sharp pain in her hand. She had been clutching the shard of moonstone so tightly it had left an imprint on her hand. It was a strange gift for Karigan to give her, but she appreciated what it meant. It was a piece of Eletia, a symbol of light and truth. It might be broken, but it still carried that power. She knew she would carry it with her wherever she went.

Not that she was going anywhere. There was no way she would allow herself to be pushed away like that. The palace was her home, and it was the place she meant to stay. Her whole life was here. What would she have if she left?

Mel had to tell the captain. She had to make it clear that there was no way she was leaving the palace to go anywhere, even to a place that sounded as nice as Selium, so she got up from her bed and left the room without even bothering to clean herself up. Her clothes were still dusty from the corridors under the palace and her short hair was a mess from sleep, but she was focused on her mission.

She ran to the captain's office and stopped in the doorway. The captain looked up, bemused.

"I just want you to know that I'm going to stay at the palace until the day I die and nothing you do will change that," the words tumbled out of Mel. She saw the captain open her mouth to respond, but ran away before she heard the words. She had duties to get to after all! There was no way the captain would send her away now.

Mel flew through the rest of the day without worry. Her earlier distress over Karigan leaving remained, but only as a ghost in the back of her mind. It had been overshadowed momentarily by the threat of going to Selium, but now that she had set things straight, both worries were banished from her mind. She was happy to stay where she was.

A week later, Mel stood on the boat that was taking her to Selium. The wind sent her stumbling across the deck to the edge, where she looked down into the murky water. She heard the captain come up beside her and turned her face away. The captain let out a sigh.

"Mel, you can't stay mad at me forever. I know you don't see it this way right now, but going to Selium is the best thing for you. Imagine a life where your only friends are at the palace, your only education coming from the books that librarians lend you."

"It's worked pretty well for me so far," Mel muttered darkly into her coat.

"This is an opportunity for you, a chance to better yourself in this world. Trust me, Mel, good things come to those seize chances like this." The captain heard herself slip into a pleading tone, and immediately shut up. Parenting was so much harder than organizing her Riders! She switched to a more direct tone.

"Mel, you can choose to be happy about it or not, but you can't change the fact that you are going to Selium!" The last words were a shout as Mel ran across to the other side of the deck, dodging sailors and workers. Laren shook her head and went below decks to her cabin. She had a feeling that if they ever managed to set sail, it was going to be pretty bumpy. She didn't want to be standing up for that.

Mel stared into the silty water below her. All around her she heard the whistling of the wind and the shouts of sailors as they prepared to set sail. They all knew who they were. Every one of those sailors had a place in life that was entirely theirs. They were part of something, necessary to keep the ship sailing. Would she ever find her niche, her place in life? She had thought it was with the Riders, but maybe she should loosen her hold on that dream and catch another. Maybe going to Selium wouldn't be such a bad thing after all. Maybe she would find herself there, among the books and music that she was sure permeated every facet of student life. Maybe she would be satisfied, finally.

Here it is, finally! I'm so sorry it took that long. There is no excuse that can make up for it. All I can do is ask for your forgiveness and promise to be better in the future. And I will be better. I'm on a schedule now, so I no longer have any excuse not to write. I'm going to try updating once or twice a week for a while. It will probably be on Sunday, but don't hold me to that. One reason I didn't update is that I didn't really know here this story was going to go. I spent a lot of that time thinking about the story and what was going to happen, I just didn't write anything down. Now that I have my outline all written out, I can really get down to writing.

I'm exited for this! I hope you are too.

Even when I'm not writing, I love to receive reviews! All feedback helps.

Replies:

spatsypatty: Thanks for you review! I'm excited to write more. :)