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E lowen stole glances at the handsome young man while they wound their way through the city towards the castle. When they drew near to a patrolling guard, he beckoned the man over and spoke quietly to him. Within moments, the group was flanked by four guards, who kept the growing crowd at bay.

The young man was more influential than she’d thought.

He walked with his hands behind his back as if out for a leisurely stroll and stole back as many glances as Elowen threw his way. “I don’t believe I caught your name,” he said.

“Elowen. My name is Elowen of Southling.” She swallowed, wishing for something to wet her dry throat. “And this is my companion, Ash.”

“Vale,” he said with a smile. “Crown Prince of Northling, but I beg you not to hold it against me.”

A jolt of realization shot through Elowen, and she stopped cold. Kennet bumped into her, causing everyone else in line to lose their balance. They helped steady each other, and then they all stared at the prince. The young lady at the end of the line giggled and then clapped her hand over her mouth. Had she known who he was?

“My apologies, Your Highness!” Elowen said, unsure about how to properly address royalty. “I’m so sorry for causing such trouble in your city. I shouldn’t be following you to the castle—your time is valuable.”

“Nonsense.” He waved away her words and urged her forward again with a pointed look at the bystanders.

She obeyed, slowly easing her group back into a walk.

“I overheard part of your story,” Prince Vale said. “Would you fill in the gaps for me as we go?”

Again, she obeyed, blurting out her troubles that had begun with the trolls and the storm, but leaving out the part about Ash being a dragon. Her throat burned by the time she finished, and Ash eyed her with amusement. She’d talked too much, hadn’t she?

“I’m sorry,” she said. “None of this is your problem.”

“Nonsense,” he said again. “This is the best thing that’s happened in forever.”

She stared at him, speechless. Had he not heard the part about Cedar’s kidnapping?

He looked sheepish. “I mean ... it’s usually deadly dull around here. You know, meetings, court appearances, formal dinners ...”

Compared to grumpy fairies who gave confusing gifts, she supposed those things could be considered dull.

“I should be apologizing to you, considering what you’ve been through,” he said. “I’ll do whatever I can to help.”

“But ... why?” Elowen said. He sounded sincere, but he was a prince. Her own king wouldn’t help her, so why would he?

“What can I say?” He grinned. “You’ve caught my eye.”

She blushed but gave him a stern look, not trying to hide her doubt about his motives.

“If you won’t believe that I simply want to help because that’s the kind of man I am, then look behind you. You’ve got a handful of my people attached to you, and I need to see to their well-being.”

Ash had remained silent up until that point. He chuckled, and it came out as barely-audible clucks, but she recognized his amusement.

Of course none of this was about her. “Yes, I understand you have an obligation to your people.”

He seemed surprised by her response. “Yes, well ... don’t underestimate my interest in you in all of this.”

Flustered, she glared at Ash when he chuckle-clucked again.

Some of the crowd had begun to laugh at the sight of them all stuck together and stumbling down the road in the company of the crown prince, escorted by armed guards, and following a travel-stained farm girl holding a golden goose.

If she’d been on the sidelines with Cedar, she likely would be laughing, too.

As Prince Vale guided them uphill through the streets, the houses and buildings grew larger and more luxurious. They passed flower gardens and fountains and finally approached a long avenue of trees dripping with brilliantly yellow blooms. The lush foliage nearly blocked out the sun and sprinkled pink and blue and green pixie glitter on anyone who passed underneath the branches. The guards hung back and blocked the crowd from going any farther.

Elowen stared at the brightly-painted pixie houses hanging from the trees, her heart aching for Alder. What he wouldn’t give to live amid such beauty. She tried to memorize every detail to tell him later.

A pixie trailing yellow glitter landed on Prince Vale’s shoulder. At around six inches tall, she was almost the same size as Elowen’s fairy. “What’s going on here?” she said with laughter in her voice.

“We have a complicated fairy gift to sort out,” Prince Vale said. “Is there anything you can do?”

The pixie stared curiously at Elowen, Ash, and the four people strung out behind them. She bit her lip and then gave in to a fit of giggles. Once she regained her composure, she said, “I wouldn’t interfere with fairy magic, even if my own magic were strong enough. What could she have been thinking?”

“The fairy must have made a mistake,” Elowen said, trying to ignore the pixie’s amusement since she hadn’t heard the whole story.

“I wouldn’t judge her too harshly, yet.” The pixie waved her arms and a whirlwind of delicate petals descended from the trees, surrounding the stumbling procession. “Quite often there’s a trigger and a solution to what seems like a fairy mess. Then again, perhaps the fairy was in a foul mood that day.”

Ash sneezed loudly, stirring the yellow glitter on Elowen’s shoulder.

Grinning at her play on words, the pixie giggled again and flew off.

Prince Vale dusted glitter off his shoulders and shrugged. “It was worth a try.”

They passed through heavily guarded gates that took them to a courtyard in front of the most enormous doors Elowen had ever seen, carved with birds and flowers and woodland creatures. She’d thought the city itself beautiful, and then the avenue of pixie-glittered trees. The castle, though, was beyond anything her imagination could have conjured. Tinkling fountains framed the square courtyard, and rainbow-colored birds fluttered among elegant, wide-leafed trees she’d never seen the likes of. Her mouth hung open as she gawked at the sights, and she didn’t care.

Prince Vale spoke to a guard at the door, his air of command in contrast to the lighthearted way he’d addressed Elowen earlier.

She tiptoed up the front steps with her entourage. The young lady at the end of the line pinched herself repeatedly, her wide-eyed gaze darting between the prince and the opulence of her surroundings. Kennet oohed and aahed openly.

“Mind your manners,” his mother whispered.

Elowen closed her mouth and stopped just inside the threshold, reluctant to enter in her dirty, road-stained condition. As she stared, Prince Vale took her hand.

Ash hissed. “Not again.”

She flinched and tried to pull away. “You’ll be stuck!”

Prince Vale let go, waved at her, and then gripped her hand again. “I’m in this with you, and I’ll make sure you get the help you need. We’re going to see my father. He’ll know what to do.”

He sounded so confident that she let herself feel reassured for a moment, thankful for his presence despite their differences. She shifted Ash to the side and carried him like a child at her hip.

Prince Vale led them down a long hallway that ended in another ornately carved door almost as enormous as the one they had just passed through.

“The throne room?” The young lady said, almost inaudible, her voice tinged with a hint of fear now as well as awe.

A guard threw open the doors and announced them. Vale led them inside and the doors closed behind them with a whisper of sound.

Sunset-colored glass bathed the room in golden hues, setting Ash’s feathers on fire with light. Two dozen or more courtiers, clothed in colors as bright as the birds in the courtyard trees, mingled among carved stone pillars. They all became a blur as Elowen’s eyes focused on the two thrones at the end of the room, set close together upon a low dais. A handsome man, clearly Prince Vale’s father, sat on one throne, while a beautiful woman sat next to him on an identical one.

The queen looked both amused and distant, as if aware of the guests in the room while her thoughts were elsewhere. The king held the queen’s hand where it rested on the arm of her throne. His gaze flicked to Prince Vale’s hand holding Elowen’s. The prince’s eyes were trained on his father.

“You may approach the throne.” The king’s voice held all of the command of his son’s and more. With none of the lightheartedness.

Instead of stepping forward alone, Prince Vale guided them all to within yards of the dais. The king raised an eyebrow but listened attentively as his son explained the situation more concisely than Elowen had. The queen looked around the room as if unaware someone was speaking, a contented smile on her face.

Finally, the king spoke. “Have the apothecary and the alchemist brought to the south drawing room.”

Someone scurried out a side door near the dais, offering a quick bow to the beautiful young woman who entered at the same time. Long, straight hair, as black as that of the prince and the king, was pulled back from a stern face. She stepped up beside the queen and placed a hand on her shoulder.

The young lady at the back of the line bounced on her toes, giddy at the sight of the princess.

The king turned to an adviser and spoke softly, while the courtiers whispered among themselves. Having missed the explanation, the princess watched everyone curiously—and thoroughly. Prince Vale wiggled his eyebrows at his sister, which she acknowledged with a subtle eye roll. Her expression gradually changed into one of confusion. She glanced at the king and queen, and then back at her brother, and a look of wonder entered her eyes.

Elowen couldn’t imagine what was going through the princess’s mind. If life in the castle were as boring as Prince Vale had said, then the strange group before her must certainly be a sight to behold.

Ash sneezed. “Pixie glitter,” he said with a sniff.

The king had stopped talking and focused his attention back on his son. Silence settled over the room.

Ash sneezed violently twice in a row. His wings flapped with the exertion, setting the group wobbling dangerously. He sneezed again. With only one arm holding him, Elowen lost her balance and dropped him.

Prince Vale caught her before she hit the floor. Kennet wrapped his free arm around Ash in an effort to keep him safe.

Boy and goose landed on the floor.

“Oof!”

HWONK!

Both of Kennet’s hands were now stuck, and as an added insult, Ash’s wing had become attached to the boy’s forehead.

Everyone else remained standing, except for Kennet’s mother, who gave up and sat next to her son on the floor. The blacksmith stood close to the young lady at his elbow, who appeared about to faint of embarrassment.

Giggles and whispers from the courtiers surrounded them. Prince Vale snorted and pressed his lips together tightly against a laugh.

Elowen sighed, fighting back a smile of her own. Well aware that Cedar was likely slaving away for trolls at the moment, she couldn’t deny the absurdity of her current situation.

Her fairy had a twisted sense of humor. And a questionable way of showing gratitude.

Above all the commotion, the princess laughed, a sudden burst of noise that sounded more like a dog barking than anything that should come from such a beautiful young woman. She clapped both hands over her mouth, looking scandalized.

“I’d be embarrassed making that noise, too,” Ash mumbled. He seemed to realize what he’d said right away and glanced at Elowen as if daring her to say something about his goose honks.

She exchanged a grin with Prince Vale, who seemed to have no trouble laughing at his sister’s expense.

The queen perked up, looking fully aware of her surroundings for the first time. She laughed, a tinkling, girlish laugh, and patted her husband’s hand. “There you go, dear. She’s finally done it. We’ll have a wedding before the end of the month.” The queen sat back in her throne and looked at the ceiling as if quite satisfied by how things had turned out.

Elowen never realized whispers could be so loud. The courtiers gestured excitedly towards Elowen and her entourage, as well as to the princess.

The king waited for the din to die down while his adviser spoke in his ear. When he finally cleared his throat, everyone settled into silence. He studied the room, meeting each courtier’s eyes one by one, moving on to his daughter and then to his wife. The queen gave him a radiant smile. He sighed almost imperceptibly, squeezed her hand, and turned to Prince Vale.

The prince still had an arm around Elowen after stopping her fall. She tried to move away, but he only loosened his hold without letting her go completely.

The king’s commanding voice boomed through the room. “As the queen has decreed, whoever makes the Princess Briony laugh once again will marry into the royal family within one month’s time.”

Elowen gasped, and Ash stared at the king and queen, beak clicking with unspoken words.

The king glared at his son until the prince released his hold on Elowen. He then addressed her, not unkindly, “You will be escorted to the south drawing room. My family and I will join you to make arrangements.” He escorted his wife and daughter through the side door.

Prince Vale squeezed her hand. “Everything will be all right. I’ll see you soon.” With no attempt at an explanation, he exited the throne room after his family.

“Ash?” Elowen whispered and sank down by his side, afraid to ask.

“Yes?”

“Am I engaged to the prince now?”

“I’m sure it’s a misunderstanding.” He sighed and then spoke more firmly. “It had better be a misunderstanding.”