Somehow, getting involved in almost every social activity, no one would ever suspect that in fact, she sought peace in solitude_ not until the day a stranger arrived at the palace pleading for the king to place him among his guards in duty of loyal service. Jason made him one of his own and provided him with a place to stay right after he witnessed his undeniable strength and skills of swordsmanship. He possessed no wealth to make a living, let alone a land to call home. Anyhow, his presence was soon noted by one and all. Every corner of the palace was now laden with talks about a young, capable man who despite his slight rudeness, which seemed to be a part of his nature, would generously spread his kindness and simplicity everywhere he set foot on. True, he was from a common family, but he had a way with royal minds. His tendency to seek fame was also one of his notable traits and of course the cause of absorbing our princess’ attention in time.

Based on a general obligation, every royalty was urged to choose an activity that would support his or her future, if for any particular reason she or he had to leave the palace to live a common life. Since Amaryllis had chosen horse training, she had to leave for far off farms to work on newborn colts. Also, she studied medical plants whenever she had time to spare.

Summer days were all the same to her, for every day, numerous lessons had to be learned and after that, there was much to be done in nearby villages. That day was no different from any other; except that it was unspeakably hotter. Even the birds feared to come out in the sunlight.

Taking some rest before leaving for another village,  Amary_ as her friends called her_ lay on her bed and stared at the ceiling for a couple of minutes, listening to the voices in her head and those which came from downstairs.  She remembered the priest who would pay her a secret visit every Monday and tried to think of what he had said during his last visitation. She wasn’t certain if  his words helped her overcome her fears, nor did she understood why she no longer wanted to hear any of them. To her, there was nothing more important than the visible pains of the world that burnt in famine and misery .Her soul wept bitter tears when seeing eagles hiding in the holes in the mountains when they were born to conquer the heart of the sky. Or when wild horses no longer raced the whirlwinds across the endless green of grasslands. She felt the pain in her heart, but how could she make a change when eagles had forgotten how to fly, and horses feared to cleave the solitude of the plains?

Slowly the sun left the sky and the air began to get cooler.The wind swept across the room from the windows and made a mess of Amary’s hair. She sat up, suddenly hearing a ghostly voice moaning from the depth of the palace garden. She moved to the window with her bare feet feeling the cold of the floor and took a look out at the garden trees. From her window, only the tops could be seen in the evening light.
“Alright!”She turned, a little scared.”I have to get dressed first. But no . . . who needs to get dressed?”
While trying not to get so excited about the rave of her sudden courage, she ran downstairs, passed the corridors and from one of the back doors, stepped in the garden.

The grass felt wet and to the princess, walking on the lush garden floor at the moment was really pleasant. So far, no clues were found. Tired and feeling a little insane, she sat on a bench in the middle of the trees.
“As always, it was just a thought. “She said to herself, leaning backward so hard her hair touched the low bushes behind the bench. That was perhaps a way of meditating for her.

Anyhow, she soon felt robbed of concentration hearing the strange voice again. This time she managed to guess its direction and resumed her search.

 Not so long had passed when she found herself in the center of the garden, where a fountain lay in the middle with a stone statue of a dragon which seemed to be threateningly crawling out of the water. This spectacular carving looked more than real when the shadows of the dusk covered the concavity of its wings.
“Beautiful, is it not?”A voice broke the sound of the water.
Amary looked around, surprised. When she saw a young guard sitting at the fountain with his eyes fixed on the face of the stone dragon, she slightly frowned and in a formal tone replied” It is, indeed.”
“Sometimes it seems quite real to me.” said the guard.
“I see.” Said Amary, eying the further trees.
Then suddenly, she recognized the guard’s voice and said “Are you not the head of the night guards?”
“Yes , my lady. Bennett Archer, at your service. “He said, rising for a gentle bow.
“Please! Don’t ever do that again. I cannot bear to see anyone bowing for me.”
“I thought so.,” said the guard with a kind smile.”Nothing about you truly represents a real princess.”
“Because I’m not. I was born of a woman, I’ve gone through hardships and good times, I need to drink and sleep, what difference is between me and another human?”
“It is true humans are all equal. But indeed it’s the soul that separates us from this equality, the greater the soul, the more the value.”
“Right. But what if this value is almost all the time ignored?”
“If it is not you ignoring yourself, it really doesn’t matter what others think.”
“You speak like no other guard.”
“Well, I’m not what I seem either
“Is your training over yet?”
“Yes. Now I’m in charge of younger guards. I’ve heard you and your brother are sent each day outside the palace to learn things. What sort of things does the outside world teach you?”
“Anything the inside world doesn’t, I guess,”
Bennett laughed and replied, “Seriously, Princess, what do you learn out there?”
“George learns about almost everything. He has to. I mean . . . he’s going to be king one day therefore there’s nothing he can neglect.”
“And you?”
“Well, I can say I’m quite an expert in horse training.”
“Actually, I don’t mean to be rude, but you could have chosen something better. Something that could support your future thoroughly.”
“And how are you so certain that it won’t?”
“No one accepts the work of a female trainer, and if someone does, it won’t be safe.”
“You don’t know anything about it. You’re a guard and the only benefit your skills can possibly have is serving the kings and getting paid. But well-trained horses can be of much help anywhere: in farms, gardens, mines, forests and of course in palaces”
“Maybe so. But you don’t know about us guards as much as you do about horses.”
“Do know anything about horses?”
“You know anything about fighting?”
“Well, yes.”
Bennett drew his sword, threw another which he kept tied to his back at Amary’s feet and stood firm with a low guard.
Amary grinned and seeming unwilling to fight, said, “I see, now you’re trying to prove me wrong.”
“I’m not trying to do anything. I’m putting you in distress just to see how you overcome the danger which threatens your life. “Said Bennett.
Amary looked straight into his eyes sternly for a second or two and then bent down and picked the sword. Wishing this to end soon, she stroke first.
“Ah! One big mistake that could cost you your head. Wait until you opponent has made his first move.”
They twisted their arms and attacked each other, raising their swords quickly one after another to fight back.
“You rely on your right arm too much.”Said Bennett, panting.”Try to fight with both. Your strength is like a stream. Let it flow and give you wings!”
His stroke fell heavily and bruised Amary’s chest. Unlike what he had thought, she was hard and motivated to survive and leave this fight as the victor.
Falling back, he said, “Your feet are strong, Princess. But after you’ve struck your blow, don’t keep them still. It’s like you’re waiting to get beaten.”
Making his next move, his blade flashed in the air to Amary’s neck until it stopped, slightly touching her skin.
“Drop your sword, my lady. I won. “He said, smiling.
Amary laughed and pointing to the crest of her blade, said “What makes you so sure, Mr. Archer?”
Bennett looked downwards and saw the point of her sword fixed against his heart.
He looked at Amary’s merrily proud face and said” And . . . I surrender.”
Their laughter filled the garden, which slowly sank in the dark of the nightfall. And this was the beginning of a long and warm friendship.

 Well, one can never be considered safe from the people’s misjudging. Once or twice, if they witness something at odds with what they have known for so long, talks will begin to rise and worse things may follow.

 Talks about the princess’ affairs with the young, foreign guard were driving all the royal family mad. For they all knew that what truly existed between them was only mere friendship. Anyhow, they were not able to fight the rumors as well as Amary’s disobedience. She could not bear to live as they did, when her goals were much more different from theirs. She was not supposed to settle down in the palace, and perfectly aware of this, the king was always on her side; until one day, his advisers suggested that if Bennett Archer was made commander of the palace guards, he would be suitable enough to marry the young princess and the law would not oppose it, for she was not of the royal blood. They could get married in public to stop the rumoring of the ignorant people. Thinking he was doing his adopted daughter a favor, he arranged for the wedding to be held on a cold December day. Amary felt betrayed and meanwhile scared. None of her pointless conversations with the king had brought her victory. Still there was a possibility to make him reconsider. She could ask Bennett to leave the palace and in return of such kindness, receive as much gold as he wanted. But it was too much to ask now that she knew he loved her. At least she had to try. Because the destiny the king was planning for her, was not what she expected.

For a month she practiced all that she wanted to say to Bennett, hoping her last efforts would come to a contenting result.

There were only two weeks left to the wedding when she heard from her maid that the king’s wisest advisor and best friend, Conrad Blacksmith was returning from his long journey to India. This would make the situation for her even more difficult. Bennett would have much to do, preparing the soldiers and palace guards for the wedding and of course welcoming Commander Blacksmith. Therefore, his mind was busier than ever and had no capacity for more problems.

This whole matter of wedding, now that Amary had apparently accepted to face it like a real woman, only meant to her as did the silly memory of running away from her last-year adoption anniversary  and being  completely lost until the next evening. It began to feel like she had made a wrong decision about her future and life. In fact, her commitment was only confined to educating herself with things that would never be of much use to anyone, carrying the title of a princess and feeling free to leave whenever she wanted to was an idiotic promise she was certain the king would never keep. On the contrary, what Jason was putting her through was much more than that. She soon had to take an oath to stay loyal to a new family she had never asked for. But as time had never stopped and never would, the wedding day came with the princess having done nothing to relieve herself of the burden of being settled.

“Wrong, wrong! Everything I’ve ever done over the past ten years was wrong!”She said, lying on the bed,
“It’s alright Amary. Bennett really wants you and will give anything to make you happy.”Said one of George’s teachers, Delsa.
She was tall, red-haired and wondrously beautiful. To Amary, it seemed like she never grew old, although rumors claimed she was over forty years old.
“No . . . no it’s not right! No good thing comes this easily! “Said Amary.
“You’re saying this just because you’ve got accustomed to take pains for reaching something. You should take things easier, my dear.”Delsa said, and sat on a chair next to her bed.
“I need to go back to my birthplace. My family needs me, I know in my heart it does.”
“You don’t even know if they’re still alive!”
“I do, for if they weren’t, they would tell me.”
“You sometimes scare me Amary. How can a living human hear the dead?”
“I don’t know how. But I’m not lying. There is no time in the other world, no pain, no weight, no distance. I’m sure they’re still alive.”
“And your mother?”
“I don’t know. I’ve been hearing her voice for years.”
“She might have passed away.”
“Maybe. But if this is true, she is trying to tell me something.”
“Like what?”
“How I wish I knew.”Amary sighed and stood up to look out the window.
“Well, it appears to be a good day for a ride. “She said.
“A little cold, but it’s good.” Delsa answered.
“Would you like to join me?”
“I’m so sorry, my dear. I must go back to the library. There are piles of books to be organized.”
“Oh. I see.”
After Delsa left the room, Amary hasted to her closet and slipped on her boots, thinking, “She’s right. I do not think a man by my side would be a bad idea. What is the harm in marriage? We can get stronger together and, maybe . . . one day he would want to leave this island with me.”
She sat on the edge of the chair and grinning, said, “I‘ll take my chances.”
The cornfields were deserted and overgrown in the fall, but it never deducted their beauty. The sun was about to rise and it was still cold. Amary noticed her horse looked ridiculously fatter in the chilly morning air and laughing loudly, said, “I’m sorry, old man I had no clothes your size.”
The horse snorted and swung his tail twice in the air.She rode to the closest field and as she saw a hole in the fence, stopped the horse and dismounted.
“Who do you think did this, Pirate?”She asked the horse.
The old stallion, fixed his big, brown eyes on her and quietly stared.
“Never mind. “She said, mounting on his back.
After  the  ride, she  let  Pirate  wander  freely  in  the  field, then  she  lay down  on  a pile of hay and  stared  at  the  sky. At times  like  this, she  would  think  of  the  near  future, when  she  would have  the  chance  to  look  for  her lost family in the deserts of Persia and in the damp of the Caspian forest. She  would  also  think  of  the  person she  had  in  mind  for  marriage, it was not Bennett of course, but now a limitation was put on her to only think of his presence in her life .She  knew  that  a  woman  in  her  condition  could  never  fall  in  love  with  a  dream. She felt caged more than ever. She closed her eyes and let some light emptiness sooth her mind. The  light  of  the rising sun  lit  up  the  sky   and  landed  on  the  wet  ground.

Amary quickly opened  her  eyes  as  soon  as  she  heard  a  small  bell ringing  from some place far above her. There was an abnormally large pigeon flying swiftly to the king’s window.
‘‘The White Messenger? ‘She thought.'' What is happening?''                    Jumping to her feet, she called her horse and cleaned the dirt stuck to her clothes. Since Pirate knew exactly it was time to get back to the stable, he whinnied and stubbornly trotted out the field.
“Stop, old man! You’ve been out long enough!”The princess yelled, running after him..

She tried to keep pace with the horse, but he turned around, pranced and galloped away.

Confused as she was, Amary tumbled down a hill. Finding herself groveling in the grass with bees circling above her, she felt ashamed of her tragic fall and meanwhile thankful for having no witnesses. A terrible pain in her knees kept her still for a couple of minutes, but suddenly, something rustling in the grass caught her attention. She crouched like a cat in ambush and watched a wolf-like figure pass by. After a minute or two, she began to feel like she was being watched. Soon she saw the creature whose eyes she had felt. It was a white, mountain wolf with eyes as red as fresh blood. They stared at one another as if some sort of mental connection existed between them.

“My lady!”Someone shouted.
“What is it?”Amary angrily shouted back at the guard standing at the top of the hill.
As she looked back, the wolf was gone.
“King, Jason, has commanded you to return to the palace and proceed with the arrangements of your wedding.”Said the guard, neglecting the princess’ anger which glared in her brown eyes.
“I know my duties!”She replied in a loud voice.
“Then I should expect you to come with me, my lady.”
“And of course that I do things at will.” she added, firmly standing up.

All of the sudden the guard’s face went pale as if his whole blood was drained. He pointed to the faraway road through the green hills and seeming to be talking to himself, muttered” Lord Blacksmith!”

And a second after that, he was gone. The princess walked up the hill and took a look at the part of the road that could be seen from where she was standing.

Entirely sick of their long carriage ride, Conrad Blacksmith impatiently opened the window and looked out at the end of the main road.
“Ah, the palace is near. Thank God, we’re not forced to sit in here any longer.”He said to his son, who sat next to him, watching the meadows.
“But then we’ll be forced to sit in the throne room even longer than we have here.”Said Carlos, looking back at his father.
The incredible blue of his eyes spoke a million words.
“My boy, “Said his father, laying his hand on his shoulder.”I know how you feel at the moment, but if you wish to find yourself a future to be proud of, you will have to be more cautious. You are schooled to tell and love the truth and be as honest as you possibly can. But remember that not everyone deserves the truth.”

Carlos did not bother to reply and turned his face to the window. For years he had lived with a torturing secret, and now the only thing he cared about was to see it unveiled.
“Father?”He suddenly broke the silence.
“Yes?”Conrad replied, curiously.
“That adopted princess you talked about. . . . what does she look like?”
“Well, they say she looks like no other girl in Lunarfield. She’s always dressed in dark colors, rides alone across the fields and at nights many have seen her roam in the graveyard.”
“Why would she do that?”
“They say she is cursed to hear the dead.”
“Do you think that being able to hear the dead people is a curse?”
“Of course it is! Imagine how horrid it would be to hear their screams and moans night and day!”
“But then you can learn about things nobody else has.”
“Look, Son, humans are like birds that cannot fly higher than a certain height. If they try to break the rules, they will break themselves.”
“I do not think Princess’ ability was a choice. So if this is somehow a God-given trait, she is destined to make use of it in order to fulfill a special task.”
Conrad sat back and crossing his arms said “Maybe so. Why don’t you ask her?”
Carlos laughed and answered, “I was thinking about it.”
Smiling, Conrad looked out of the window once again and before he could see anything clearly, the carriage stopped by the palace gate.

 Confused by the seductive looks of Commander Blacksmith’s young companion, Amary watched the carriage move away with all the answers it could give her to quench her thirst of curiosity. After a while of lingering, she finally caught  Pirate, climbed  on  his  back  and  headed   for  where  the  tracks  of  the wolf led to.

 Although it was midday, in the forest was too dark. The frightening   view of the shadowy trees had filled Amary’s mind with warnings. Anyhow, she was expected, knowing not by whom.

To Conrad the palace had changed much since the last time he had seen it. Everything was rather new, yet something seemed to be missing. This unexpected feeling got stronger when they entered the throne room.

Jason stood up quickly and welcoming the Blacksmiths with open arms, ordered the servants to set the table for lunch. Then he seated Conrad next to himself and Carlos by his father. For a long time, they spoke of everything they had gone through in the past ten years.

So far Carlos had not spoken a single word. He looked pensive, but indeed his mind was eagerly traveling some place far from the hall and its marvel floor and satin curtains.                                                                                                                                   
Suddenly he was robbed of this ecstasy of mind as the king said” You look exactly like your father when he was young. Maybe more good looking than he ever was.”
Jason’s laughter echoed in the hall.
“I’m sorry, old friend.”He said to Conrad in some tone of irony.”You’ve become old and there’s nothing you can do about it.”
Conrad’s smiling lips uncovered his teeth, though it was clear that deep inside, he suffered from an old pain.
“But he was not as silent as you are.”The king added, turning to Carlos. “Well, no wonder you don’t speak a word. What have you got to share with two grumpy, old men? Go my boy and enjoy your day.”
Carlos hastily rose and bowed, but then felt his father’s eyes and stood still.
“Go on my boy!”Said Jason.”You’re excused.”
After young Blacksmith was gone, Jason went to the table, poured himself some wine, and then said “Forgive my meddling, Conrad, but I think you’re too hard on this lad.”
“I have no other choice, Jason. You know better than anyone that half of him is not human. He’s wild, brave and ignorant. He’s kind and soft where he mustn’t be.”
“All these matters can be solved with some patience.”
Conrad sighed, drank a bit from the glass Jason had handed to him and said “He knows.”
“What does he know?”
“All about his mother.”
Jason was surprised; he sat down face to face with Conrad and asked, “How did he find out?”
“How? He’s an elf prince. His mother was the queen of Mitra. He has unfortunately inherited all her extraordinary gifts.”
“I still don’t understand. Elves cannot see the past no matter how powerful they are. Only the dark elves can. Moreover, half of him is still like the rest of us, mortal and ungifted.”
“Elves have this intuition to seek the truth, and once they find it, they will fight for it to the last drop of their blood.”
“Even if the greatest power on earth comes to his aid, he will not be able to return to Mitra. The only key to the gates of that city was lost along with my sister.”
“There is no key, Jason. There never was. Evelyn had found the secret of the gates, and it worries me to think Carlos may someday find it too.”
“He won’t. After my sister, no one passed those gates. They’re sealed with an unbreakable spell.”
“Then how did Evelyn break it?”
“I never knew how, but I knew she was different from the start.”
The king leaned towards his friend and as quietly as he could, said “Conrad, this girl, Amaryllis has got a few things in common with her.”
“Like she can hear the dead?”
“Absolutely. Only the old priest, Edward, and I knew all these years what the cause of her nightmares was.”

Fear took over Conrad’s mind. To his son, this odd princess was the most perilous thing ever.

On the contrary, Carlos had felt nothing but her sheer attraction since he had seen her on the road earlier that day, lonesome and free like a fearless flower growing tall against the cold winds of the meadow. From the time they had entered the palace until now that he was counting his steps to George’s room, all his brightest thoughts had been generally about the princess of Lunarfield.

He knocked twice on the door of prince’s room and looked out at the garden from the windows of the corridor.
“Please come in!”Said a voice from inside.

As he entered, he noticed the walls and the ceiling were painted blue and green like the water of the southern shores by which reefs had grown for miles along the coastline. Ripples showed the current of the wind and from every wave, a finned sea creature leaped out in the air. Turning his eyes from this marvelous painting to the library, Carlos took a glimpse of where his old friend would always sit down and read.

Prince George could not believe his eyes when he saw that it was his best friend standing by his desk again staring at his exhausted face after ten entire years.
“Carlos!”He said, putting his book back on the desk.”You pathetic yellow thing.”
He rose, embraced young Blacksmith and laughed as the memories of their early days came floating in front of his eyes.

 Carlos was no longer the weak, little boy he had known for many years. His face, posture and manners had completely changed and turned him into a capable man any person wished to meet. Anyway, one thing about him had not changed at all: the glow of his exotic yellow hair for which the prince would refer to him as “The yellow thing.”
“Oh my dear friend, it’s been a long time.” said George, holding his shoulders.
“Longer than a lifetime, it seems.”Carlos replied, smiling so hard that all his teeth could be seen.
His eyes wandered around the room and its furniture.
“You must tell me everything from the very first day you left.”
“oh, what can I tell you? I’ve seen more than I can tell. Maybe I should put it all in writing.”
George laughed and kept eyeing his friend who now leaned against the wardrobe.

They both had much to talk about, nevertheless none of the things they had in mind seemed to be so important to cause the breaking of their silence at the moment. Carlos was astounded by the beauty of some painting on the wall, still it was clear that his mind wandered in another time and place.
“Now that you and your father are both back home safe and sound, ready for duties as before, there will be lots of things in and outside the palace for you to get involved in. “Said George.
“I doubt that, my friend.”Said Carlos, strictly.
“What do you mean? You already have plans?”
“George, “Said Carlos, looking the prince right in the eye.”My father knows everything. I did my best to keep my secrets, but . . .”
“You told him? That you knew he’d lied to you all your life?”George exclaimed.
“He’s my father George! I couldn’t hide it from him forever.”
“Brilliant! I bet he will never forgive himself.”
“He already has. He wants me to ignore my instincts and live a life that does not belong to me. And he won’t back down until he has turned me into a complete human. A perfect son he would be proud of.”
“Will that make you happy?”
“I will return to my mother’s kin. That will make me happy.”
“Carlos! He loves you. You’re the only family he has in this world.”
“I’m not human inside. I cannot live in their world where a word can have many meanings. A place where what a man speaks can mean otherwise, and you will never know the truth until you’re hurt or pushed away or left behind.”
“But it is in this world that we can learn to fight for what means the most, what is worth learning. Truth can only mean to us when there are lies told. A world of black and white, light and darkness and sometimes a boundary where they join and make sense more perfectly. You cannot cut yourself from the dark to live in light for the rest of your life when even sometimes you feel the need of darkness.”
“I do not doubt your words. I doubt myself. I can’t live here without a reason.”
“Your father is your reason!”
“Be fair! He owns everything he’s ever asked for. I need to . . .”
“To find the truth! Be careful Carlos, now that even your best friend cannot stop you from leaving, be very careful. Truth can heal and hurt at the same time. Walk in the middle of its road.”

They hugged and in great pain, the prince watched a real friend walk out to his destiny.

“Who knows? Maybe someone will bring back his head, or the news that he’s had it crowned. “He thought, saying goodbye to his friend with a smile.

Next Chapter: New Chapter