Fiera led the way back to Elmswell wordlessly. It seemed to Odette that she too had a lot on her mind. Somewhere along the way, Derek had taken Odette's hand, and she regretted not noticing. It was just hard to take everything in, as kind as everyone – except Leda – was being.

When they reached the castle, Fiera turned around and smiled at Odette and Derek, who had to grind their feet to a halt when Fiera stopped short. "Sorry you didn't get the chance to look around," Fiera apologized, "but I thought you might want to hear about your mother and how everything ties into you before you came here. That being said, I think it's time you see where you were born."

Outside, the castle was the classic white stone that Odette had seen all day. Still, it amazed her just how pristine and gorgeous it was. The castle had several towers, all of them round. Most were about the same size, but there was one that stood in the back that was absolutely the highest tower Odette had ever seen. It was awesome to behold. The balcony overlooked the entire front of the castle, giving whoever stood on it a doubtlessly breathtaking vantage point over all of Elmwell's activities.

"This is my home," Odette whispered in awe.

"It's only what you want it to be," Angel replied.

"You can choose that, if you like," Fiera added. "But this place will always welcome you."

Fiera led the group to the main entrance. Two guards stood at the doors, but upon seeing Fiera and Odette, they immediately opened them, allowing them to enter a huge reception room. Again, the floors were beautiful mosaics. The room was lit by six golden chandeliers hanging from a bright white ceiling. There was a huge staircase that split from a walkway that wrapped the room from the second story.

The halls on either side and in the center led into different wings, some of which also had branches that led to more rooms. Fiera started with the one on the right. It wasn't long at all, and Odette could hear the clattering of dished and the footsteps of busy cooks and helpers. The smells of dinner wafted about the hallway, making Odette hungry although it was only mid afternoon. The corridor led into a large dining hall, different from the one they had been in earlier. In this one, there was no communal table. Everything here was placed and ready for the food to be brought out.

At the far end of the room, there was a table set parallel to the wall. Fiera brought them to it and pointed at the chair in the center and began to explain the seating arrangements. "Odette, this is your spot, of course. And Derek, you're to the right of her. I sit to the left, with Angel next to me. When we have guests, a round table is set up in the center of the room, but that doesn't happen often."

Running in front of their table were two tables that were perpendicular to it. Both of them were about the length of the room. "That's were everyone else sits," Fiera said, an air of unimportance and boredom touching her voice. "Come on; let's go to the practice field."

Fiera led the way back down the hall and through the reception room. This time, she took them down the hall to the left, which did not carry the same audible activity as the first. This time, the end of the hall was two doors, decorated with a sword on one, and a shield on the other. When Angel, who had taken the lead somewhere along the way, opened the door, bright sunlight poured into the hall.

Beyond the two doors was a large field of flawless grass. It was dotted with sparring Guardians, some of them just going over the basics, some of them locked in exciting battles. Fiera smiled. "I love it here," she admitted. "I love the sights and the sounds. I hate fighting, but I love the way everyone here has one common goal; keep the peace."

A pair of Guardians who had just finished training passed by and bowed down to Fiera and Odette. "Captain," they acknowledged respectfully. However, their greetings turned a little awkward when they went to speak to Odette. She was princess, but only by blood, not acceptance. They weren't sure what to call her. "Friend," one of them said finally, bowing his head in apology. Odette smiled and returned the inclination, feeling bad that she had made them feel awkward.

"Okay," Fiera announced when they walked away. "Now to your rooms. And surprise, surprise, it's going to be back through the reception room." She once again took the lead and brought them.

When they arrived, she led them down the center hall and into the room at the very end. The room was large and full of guards. There were two halls that connected to the room, both of which were closed off by oak double doors with a gold design. On the left hall doors was a decoration of a shield. On the right doors was a picture of a sword. Fiera pointed to one on the left.

"That's where the First and Second Captain stay," she explained. "If you need anything, Angel and I are either there, or on the training field." She then proceeded to lead them down the corridor to the right. It was a short hallway that abruptly led upstairs. Fiera led them up, not winded as Derek and Odette were by the amount of stairs after such a long day. Finally, they reached the top of what Odette was sure was the tallest tower in the castle. There were two doors facing each other, again with gold decoration.

Fiera hitched her thumb to the one on the left. "This is your room, Derek and Odette. And this one" – she pointed to the right – "is the royal nursery, in case you're wondering. Nothing in there but well, nursery stuff. Anyway, you'll find clothes in the wardrobes, and if you need anything, again, my room is down the other hall and in the other tower. And don't worry," she grinned jokingly, knowing Odette and Derek were tired from climbing all the stairs. "The tower on that side is shorter. I'm going to let you get settled, I know it's been one long day for you."

"Yes," Derek agreed.

"It's a lot to take in at once," Odette added.

"I know. I'm sorry for everything being so abrupt, but there is a danger associated with going too slow with these things. Anyway, I'll arrange for dinner to be brought to you, so don't worry about it."

"Thank you," Odette said gratefully. She was so tired. She had never imagined her mother being in a place like this. It was just so strange. Amazing, yet still strange.

At that, Fiera and Angel left, leaving Derek and Odette alone.

"Well, might as well see what's inside," Derek suggested as he began to open the door.

Odette abruptly gasped. The room was absolutely huge – even bigger than the one at Swan Lake. The bed was to the right of the door, set along the wall. It was quite large, and had midnight blue and silver bedding. To the left were two wardrobes, both quite large and made of polished wood. Along the wall was a desk, complete with writing utensils and paper. Adjacent to the desk was a large bookshelf, which contained mostly reference volumes, Derek noticed as he ran his fingers along the spines of the books.

The back wall was actually the first thing they saw, but before they reached it, they were sidetracked by all the other things in the expansive room. The back wall was not made of stone. Instead, it was glass, allowing the afternoon sunlight to blaze into the room. in the center of the glass was a door, which Odette and Derek filed out of, wanting to see from the balcony what Elmswell looked like.

As expected, the view was spectacular. Odette and Derek couldn't believe how beautiful everything was. They could see billows of grey smoke reaching into the sky, which was fast growing dark. Below them, the castle's gardens could be seen. Odette made a mental note to try and find them. In saving time, Fiera had neglected to show her down. Beyond the wall, the forest reached into the horizon, like a sea of green leaves.

It took a minute or two for Derek and Odette to realize that the balcony reached further than just along the glass wall of their new room. Odette was the first to wander along the glass until it switched to stone. She kept walking and the balcony kept wrapping around the tower. Soon, she came to a second glass wall. Guided by her curiosity, she wandered along to the door, which was placed similarly to their bedroom.

Odette thoughtlessly tried the door, slowly opening the door, feeling as if she was in some sort of nostalgic dream. She stepped halfway into the room and paused, but was then encouraged by a warm hand in hers, Derek's hand. She smiled tentatively at him and continued.

She felt a strange chill as she walked through the door and into the room. She felt like she'd been there before, which she found silly. Of course she'd been there, when she lived in Elmswell all those years ago. She wandered around the room, intrigued by it. She strolled over to the cradle, which was cleaned and prepared for the next royal child to occupy it.

Odette felt like she was totally lost within the room. It was like she never wanted to leave. However, at the same time, she felt like she shouldn't have been there.

"I feel like we're intruding," she mentioned to Derek.

He shrugged. "With the way everyone acts around here, you're free to do what you want. Beside that, this was your room."

She smiled at him, amused by his logic, roundabout and generalized though it may be. They walked back to their room, where they found dinner had been left on the desk for them. Attached to the tray was a note from Fiera that read:

"Hope you enjoy your first night in Elmswell. Again, I am always available, should you need assistance.- Fiera"

After dinner, which was excellent, made better by the fact that dinner the night before had been so plain, Odette and Derek decided to spend some time together for a while.

"Have you decided what you want to do?" Derek asked, interested in what she was thinking. He felt as if he had hardly gotten the chance to speak with her all day. Now that they were together, they could talk in peace.

"I've been trying," Odette replied. "But it's hard to know what everyone expects of me, considering how great everyone thought my mother was. But it was good to hear about her. I've never gotten the chance before. What do you think I should do?"

"Whatever you want," he answered simply. "Odette, I'm with you, whatever you choose. Just make sure it's what you want."

There was a profound silence as Derek let that hang in the air. There was a lot of meaning to what he said, yet how could it be that simple? How could Odette bring herself to just make a decision? Everything was rushing at her. She'd never had to process so much information at once before, not that she was unintelligent or unable to handle it. It was just that things seemed so black and white compared to everything that was going on now.

"I'm going for a walk," she resolved, walking toward the door.

Derek strode over and kissed her, feeling like this was the first time he'd had real contact with her for days. "Don't be too long," he whispered.

"I won't. I just need to clear my head…"