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E lowen awoke near dawn to a blazing fire. Ash, still in his dragon form, tossed some fresh leaves into the tiny cooking pot she’d brought from home. Someone had thoughtfully packed it among their supplies.

She stretched and yawned. “I haven’t slept so well since leaving home.”

Vale chuckled without smiling. “I’ve never slept so badly in my life. I never realized how noisy the forest can be at night.”

His black hair stuck up all over his head like a disheveled porcupine. Elowen laughed and didn’t even try to stop herself. Rather than being annoyed, he grinned pleasantly and smoothed down his hair. He poured a steaming mug of Ash’s tea and handed it to her. She took it, aware that he was a prince and heir to a throne ... and he’d just waited on her like a common servant.

“We have enough food to last four days,” Ash said. “But hopefully it won’t take that long to reach troll country with me flying at night.”

“The fairy said the gift would only last so long,” Elowen said, “so we have to keep that in mind.”

“I only have a general idea of where to go,” he said.

“A castle shouldn’t be too difficult to spot from the air, right? Even at night.”

“How do we even know Cedar will be in the castle?” Ash asked.

“It’s almost a given,” Vale said. “A handsome human child would be snatched up in a heartbeat by the richest trolls as a status symbol.”

Elowen sipped her tea, appreciating the fresh minty flavor. “We need a plan for getting him out.” She had an idea, but she wanted to hear theirs first. Hers counted on a few golden feathers, but she wasn’t sure if Ash would molt any more in his goose form.

Vale and Ash offered ideas for attacking the castle.

“It’s probably not the best idea,” Ash said. “I won’t use my flame and risk harming their human servants or slaves ... or even innocent trolls.”

“My sword would be useless,” Vale said. “I doubt any of the trolls are properly trained in battle, but we’ll be outnumbered.”

“You’re prince of this kingdom,” Ash said. “Couldn’t you demand Cedar’s release?”

“With no soldiers to back me up and nothing to validate my identity? Not likely.”

Ash turned to Elowen. “Do you have any ideas?”

“Perhaps, but I want to wait until you transform.”

They didn’t question her. They all sat quietly, eating a bit of breakfast and waiting for the sun to rise. Soon enough, Ash stepped away from the fire. Sitting among the trees, they couldn’t see when the sun crested the horizon, but they knew the moment it happened. Ash disappeared in a bright flash of light, and the golden goose stood in his place.

Ash flapped his wings, rustled them back into place, and waddled over to sit beside Elowen. “All right. I’m all ears, so to speak.”

A golden feather had fallen off when he flapped his wings, but neither he nor Vale seemed to have noticed. Elowen let it lay among the leaves while she spoke.

“When I started out in search of Cedar, I was by myself. I had no real plan, or even hope, of freeing him. I only knew I had to go after him. Finding the fairy and being granted a wish was an unexpected gift, as was meeting Ash before that. And then we met Vale.” She sipped her tea, trying to collect her thoughts.

Ash nodded encouragingly.

“I’ve been trying to make sense of everything. I have to believe the fairy knew enough to put us all together for a reason—despite the bad reputation fairies get for giving unreasonable gifts. Could she have given something more clearly useful, like a chestful of gold to trade for Cedar’s release? Perhaps, but how would I have carried that through the forest? It’s no use questioning a fairy’s gift.”

They both looked thoughtful, waiting for her to continue.

“So, I’ve been thinking of how to use what we have: a golden goose, Ash’s ability to produce fire at will, Vale’s status as a prince, and my ... well, I’m not exactly sure what I have to offer other than my determination to rescue my brother.”

“Don’t sell yourself short,” Vale said. “You’re the one the fairy gifted with a golden goose, and that’s no small thing.”

She shrugged off the compliment. “Ash has apparently served his purpose as a goose. I think his feathers are what we need now to buy our way into the castle.”

“That’s impossible,” Ash said. “If they’re not attached to me, they turn to ashes.”

Elowen retrieved the golden feather from the ground and sat back down near the fire. “I found one in the castle, too, just before Ash went for his saddle fitting.”

Vale took the feather from her hand, and they all inspected it.

“The fairy did give you gold,” Vale said.

“She must have meant for it to be used later on,” Elowen said, “rather than squandered on buying supplies or nights at fancy inns or what have you.”

“Easier to carry this way, too,” Ash said. He preened a bit, as if impressed with himself for being so useful ... and expensive. “I never thought fairies could be so clever.”

“Or generous,” Vale added. “So, what’s the rest of your plan?”

“I’ll tell you as we go,” she said. “I don’t want to waste too much time chatting when there’s still ground to cover.”

Elowen carried the pack basket on her back with Ash the goose perched on top. Vale carried the bag that had been strapped behind Ash’s saddle, as well as the saddle itself.

She marveled at the difference a good pair of boots made when trudging through the woods. Once they found a deer trail of sorts, Elowen laid out her plan.

“I think Vale and I should pose as a wealthy couple who are eloping, leaving behind a disapproving family. It would explain why we’re alone with no servants and minimal supplies, and it’s close enough to the truth that the trolls shouldn’t detect any falsehood.”

“We can ask for sanctuary,” Vale said, catching on to her idea. “That would get us inside and give us a chance to look for Cedar.”

“Exactly,” she said. “We’ll give the trolls the golden feather—and more, if we get any—and ... perhaps let the trolls know that the golden goose is somewhere loose in the forest around their castle.”

“What?” Ash honked in alarm.

“Hold on,” Elowen said. She frowned at a small ravine that split the trail. “We’ve got to get around this.”

“Couldn’t we climb down and back up the other side?” Vale asked.

Elowen shook her head, irritated at the increasing difficulty of the landscape. “It’s too steep, and the rocks are loose.”

“I agree with Vale,” Ash said. “This gully could go for miles.”

“We have rope,” Vale said with an annoyingly adventurous gleam in his eyes.

She was outnumbered, although one of the two was a goose who could barely climb over a fallen log. With a sigh, she removed the pack basket, shooed Ash from his perch, and dug out the rope.

“Golden goose-dragon companion first,” she said, intending to lower him with the basket.

“Here goes nothing!” Ash ran straight for the drop off and jumped.

“Wait!” Elowen reached out as if she could snatch him back to safety. Her heart banged against her ribcage and she broke out in a cold sweat, remembering how quickly she’d lost Cedar to the trolls. What was he thinking?

Ash flapped his golden wings furiously, but he didn’t fly. He also didn’t plummet like a rock, as Elowen had feared. Instead, he awkwardly drifted down like the rooster when it fluttered from the roof of the coop to the ground.

Ash landed with a grunt. “Made it,” he said breathlessly.

“Gutsy bird.” Vale nodded, clearly impressed.

“Don’t encourage him.” Elowen tied the rope around the basket, trying to calm her breathing. That could have been a disaster. Clearly, Ash couldn’t fly like a normal goose—he’d already said the feathers were heavier than they should be. Had he forgotten he wasn’t in his dragon form? She lowered the basket over the side and slid it down the embankment too fast to be good for it.

“Elowen?” Ash said.

The basket bumped onto the ground at the bottom. “What?”

“I’m all right,” he said.

She sniffed. “Don’t do that again.”

“I promise.” He picked the knot out of the rope with his beak. “Um ... Elowen?”

She passed the end of the rope to Vale so he could pull it back up. “What now?”

“I think I jumped too soon,” Ash said sheepishly.

Vale laughed, clearly enjoying the moment.

Elowen glared at him and then looked down at Ash. “What do you mean ‘too soon’?”

“Someone needs to untie the rope once you and the prince get down here so we can use it on the other side.”

Vale dropped the neatly coiled rope and put his hands on his hips. “That’s a good point.”

Elowen sucked in her cheeks to hide a grin, able to see the humor in the situation now that her fear had eased. “Well, someone, you’d best get back up here then.”

Ash flapped and fluttered his way back up while Elowen tied the rope to a tree and kept her thoughts to herself. After lowering their remaining supplies, she and Vale climbed down.

Ash peeked over the edge of the ravine. “Elowen?”

She couldn’t see the worry in his tiny eyes, but she could hear it in his voice and knew exactly what was troubling him. He couldn’t keep his promise. She laughed, obviously not intending to hold him to it. “Oh, just get down here, would you?”

He tossed the end of the rope and jumped at the same time, landing awkwardly in the middle of the ravine.

Something clinked against a rock behind Elowen. She picked up a golden feather. “That makes two now,” she said, holding it for the others to see before tucking it away safely. “I’m surprised there aren’t more with all the flapping around you’ve been doing.”

The ravine was almost twice as wide as it was deep, but it was filled with dense underbrush. Vale used his sword to cut a swath so they could walk unhindered to where Ash stood. He then cleared a way to the opposite side, where they all looked into the trees high overhead on the cliff. Vale put his hands on his hips again.

“I’ll take the rope up first,” Elowen said.

“I can’t let you climb that by yourself,” Vale said.

“Yes, you can.” She crossed her arms and stared him down. “It’s less steep than the other side, and there are bushes to hold while climbing. You’re heavier and would pull them up by the roots.”

Ash spoke softly, “I can—”

“I know you can get to the top,” she said. “But you can’t tie a knot with your beak. Besides that, I’m not going to risk letting the heir of Northling break his leg.” The memory of Alder’s broken leg was too fresh, and her goose-dragon companion had only just scared her nearly witless by jumping off a cliff.

“I wouldn’t—” Vale began speaking.

Not waiting for him to finish, she started climbing.