The dining room for the night featured high ceilings, as much of the palace did, with light blue and gold wall detailing. A table large enough to seat ten was stationed in the middle. I could hardly see the dark wood grain as every inch was laden with food. King Heinrich already sat at the head of the table with Queen Luciana to his right. Only one other place setting was free, and it was directly across from Queen Luciana to the left of the king. Remembering Gerard's advice, I gave an awkward curtsy to them before taking my seat.

"Already learning the etiquette of the court," The king said, amused at my attempt at a curtsy. "Did Soren teach you that?"

"Actually, Gerard did, he's been accommodating and gave me history lessons of Erivale and Ithica on our journey here."

"Hmm, well, we were planning on having Soren take the lead on your education, but I'm sure we can consult the Faun on this matter as well." King Heinrich ran a hand through his shortly cropped and immaculate beard.

"We don't need to discuss education right now. We just need to get to know our daughter." Queen Luciana placed a gentle hand on his arm. "But first, let's get some food."

Servants seemed to melt from the shadows, and they silently cut the meat of a large bird that was set on the table before serving us slices. I couldn't even keep up with all that they were putting in front of me until they had melted back into the shadows.

Inspecting my plate, I took note of some kind of bread. It looked normal enough, so I nibbled on it while trying to decipher what else was on my plate. I stared unsure at a soup of some sort that was a deep purple in color with bits of green in it.

"What is this?"

"An Ithican specialty called Pulmenti. It's made with purpura roots, apium, as well as some other seasonings and some dumplings," Queen Luciana supplied.

I took a tentative sip and was surprised at the creamy texture. It was salty in the right way with soft dumplings that held some spice to them.

There was a silence over the table that felt awkward to me as the sound of chewing and silverware on plates filled the air. I decided to break it, this was my chance to get to know them after all and to hopefully make a good impression. "It is delicious. I haven't had much in terms of food native to Erivale, and I'm excited to see what else there is."

"Ah, yes, do you like sweets?" the queen asked.

"Oh, yes."

"Well, then you will love Dulcis as well. It's a dessert common to Ithica. It's always been my favorite."

"Well, we know one thing for certain, you inherited your mother's sweet tooth." King Heinrich chuckled, and Queen Luciana's laugh sounded like a tinkling bell. "Tell us, Amberleigh, what other things do you like?"

I was never much for talking about myself. Anytime I had to partake in "get to know you" games for classes, I always felt my mind go blank – who knew thinking of three facts could be so tricky. I decided to tell them the first thing that came to mind: "I really enjoy art. I'm, or I guess I was, an art major at school."

"Lovely! Our daughter is very talented," The queen mused.

"We shall set you up with art supplies immediately. Soren!" The king called, and Soren appeared to melt from the shadows to come to the king's side. I was startled at his appearance because I thought we had been alone. "Please see that Amberleigh's room is outfitted with the finest art supplies." He then turned back to me. "Does that appease you?"

"I, um, yes." I was taken aback at their generosity. "Thank you very much, this is too kind."

"Shush child, consider this making up for all those birth anniversaries we missed." He gave me a wink and chuckled again.

I was struck with silence once again because I genuinely did not know how to reply to that. Hey, thanks for spending money on me to make up for missing most of my life because I had been kidnapped? No, that didn't seem apt. Silence seemed like the best approach.

The sound of eating and cutlery on plates once again overtook the room, and this time Queen Luciana decided to break the silence: "We never stopped searching for you. I hope you know that. We had no idea how to find you. We even sent out scouts to the human realm to search for you, but alas, apparently an Elven child is harder to differentiate then we first thought."

A stray hand ran up to the scar on my ear, eliminating the sole piece of me that physically denoted me as Elven. "I think I might know why you had such a hard time spotting me." They both paused mid-chew and stared intently bated on my next word. "My ears were cut." I pulled back my hair, revealing the stunted ears, and Queen Luciana gasped.

"You poor thing." Tears immediately welled in her eyes. I felt my heart warm at her show of compassion. The callous distance I felt with my mother back home was not apparent with Queen Luciana. She seemed friendly and welcoming and open to a healthy relationship, which I was excited to explore.

"It's okay. I've never known anything else. My adoptive parents found me with my ears already cut. They don't hurt," I tried to soothe.

"Those rebel scum," The king growled. "Of course, they would harm an innocent baby in their venture to destroy us."

"Destroy you?"

"Yes, the rebels think we are too strict and are choking out the freedom of our subjects to preserve our own power. And that's quoted directly from one of their propaganda messages that we intercepted."

"The rebels are full of lies. Their ranks are filled with criminals and aspiring dark sorcerers that will tear down the Unified Nations and crumble Ithica," Queen Luciana supplied for more information.

"After the attack." King Heinrich reached out to grab Queen Luciana's hand, before looking back to me, "We launched a large-scale initiative to eliminate the resistance. After a few years, they quieted down, and Ithica has been more peaceful than ever, and the sentiments of the subjects' are entirely positive."

"There's really nothing to worry about anymore. The rebels have all disbanded, and many have begun to see reason and now are happy, law-abiding citizens." A sickly-sweet smile graced the queen's ruby red-painted lips, and a small shiver of unease ran down my spine. I don't know exactly what it was that made me uneasy with their claims. Maybe it was the way the queen sounded like propaganda herself, but I'm sure the issue was much larger than they were letting on.

That seemed to be a common theme here, first with Ulric hiding his Dark Elf status and the history of the Dark Elves and now this. I wondered if it's because they thought me too naïve and inexperienced within this land to handle complex societal issues such as these. Or if was because they simply do not want me to see their own darkness. Potentially it was both.

Dinner continued on somewhat regularly after the conversation was quickly steered away from the rebel discussion. Queen Luciana claimed that it was too dark of a topic to be discussed over their "family dinner."

They asked me questions about growing up, mainly what Joanne and Steven were like. At some point, I was able to ask them where Ulric was as I wanted to thank him once again for getting me here safely, but apparently, he had already left. I tried not to feel disappointed about a man I would never see again.

Conversation eventually ended up on the education system of the United States and my experiences with it, such as lunch foods, organized sports, and prom. They were very interested, and we probably talked about it for an hour or so.

"So prom is like a ball?" Queen Luciana tried to piece the event together.

"Sort of. It's not as fancy, mostly a bunch of teenagers jumping to music that is played too loud and sneaking in alcohol."

"Well, that's no fun."

"I didn't like it much. A lot of people make a big deal about prom being their fairytale moment. For girls and some boys, they get to pick out the dress of their dreams and look their fanciest. Then they get a lovely date to dance with them, and you make the best memories of high school. But that really is a fairytale."

"You didn't have your perfect dress?"

"No." I chuckled, "Dream dresses are costly, and I knew I was only going to wear it once, so it wasn't a big deal. No one asked me anyway." I shrugged my shoulders.

"Well then, as it seems this right of passage – both for the daughter and the mother – has been somewhat shot. How about we do a second try for your homecoming ball?"

"My homecoming what?"

"Your homecoming ball. It's in a few days. We are celebrating your return to Ithica. This will be the perfect opportunity for our subjects and the council members to meet you."

"Is that really necessary?" The thought of essentially being put on display and having to meet that many new people was not a high priority of mine. A handful of new people was manageable, maybe. But I have always been somewhat shy. I also had a lovely dash of social anxiety that was currently making me want to run away from this palace and the party.

"Why, of course! A future queen must meet her subjects and make a good impression. You will soon be working with the council members, and they will be pleased to see the new Union leader in her most beautiful wares and acting queenly. Not to mention that social events improve collective resolve and support within the country. Commoners feel more 'connected' to the monarchy when we invite them into the palace to eat and drink with us during fanfare."

"Oh." I was somewhat speechless, this seemed like a lot of pressure. How was I supposed to act queenly for the council when I didn't even know how to properly curtsy?

"Do you not like a ball being held in your honor?" Queen Luciana sounded somewhat hurt. "I thought we could make it a prom. At least for us, I'll help you find your dress."

Shit, there was no getting out of that. The thought was also endearing. "I'm just nervous." I partially lied. "I don't know much about being 'queenly,' and I don't want to mess it up."

"No worries, as I mentioned, you will have lessons spearheaded by Soren and the Faun. Your lessons will begin tomorrow morning. They will make sure you are prepared for the ball." Before King Heinrich could say more, a young Elf, maybe 13, hurried up to him and whispered in his ear. The young Elf was wearing official Ithican colors and appeared to be working at the palace. He must have been some sort of page or messenger. "Well, it seems that I must take leave. Thank you for attending dinner with us, Amberleigh."

At his departure, the queen stood up as well. "Soren, will you take Amberleigh back to her room?" Soren was back? When did he even get back here? That man sure did seem to come out of nowhere.

"Yes, of course, Your Majesty."

"And Amberleigh, thank you for dining with us and sharing your history. We loved learning about you, and I'm sure there is much more to learn. I will see you tomorrow for noon tea with Guinevere."

"It was nice to talk to you both. I'll see you tomorrow."

I was somewhat taken aback when Queen Luciana pulled me into a tight hug. Still, I soon melted into her gentle, motherly touch. I felt a small piece of my heart fill and realized that the comforting touch of a mother, my real mother, had been something I had been missing my entire life.

Soren made some small talk with me on the way back to my room before informing me of my new training and education schedule. It sounded like the next two and a half days leading up to the ball would keep me very busy.

When I made it back to my room, I was somewhat surprised to see that Fenrir was still comfortably lounging about, this time on my bed. I would have thought that with Ulric's leave, Fenrir would have followed. I was unsure of how long Fenrir would be staying with me and even how one cared for a hyper-intelligent, likely magical, wolf.

I requested a large bowl of water and a plate of meat for Fenrir to eat. In reality, I had no idea what a wolf of all creatures needed to survive. The only thing I knew about dogs was from the neighbor's labradoodle, and Fenrir was no labradoodle.

"And I guess I should let him outside in case he needs to relieve himself."

"I will show him to a door he may use to come and go freely, it is far too late to have you wandering the grounds alone or even at all. Your safety is of the utmost importance."

"That will be wonderful, Soren. Thank you."

Having heard us talking about him, Fenrir's head was slightly perked, and his ears were cocked towards us, ready to pick up the slightest whisper. "Fenrir, I shall show you to the doors you can use to come and go as you please. We just ask that you do not bring back the rest of your pack. The staff has been informed of your presence, but they will be uneasy and could turn violent if there are more of your pack underfoot."

Fenrir dipped his head in a slow movement as if he was nodding in understanding to Soren's words. I had seen Fenrir understand Ulric's hand signals, and they appeared to have some sort of silent communication worked out. That made sense to me at the time since it seemed that Fenrir and Ulric were living or at least coexisting with one another for quite some time. But I guess I did not truly understand the depth of Fenrir's understanding of our language and actions.

It was hard to shake the preconception that he was simply just a wolf, but I was sure there was nothing simple about Fenrir.

Fenrir followed Soren out of the room with nothing but the sound of sharp nails clicking on the polished stone floor. Now I had to figure out how to get out of this dress. I turned to walk towards the closet area when I noticed the new additions to my room.

My jaw nearly dropped at the display before me. An easel with a cushioned stool stood next to the desk. On it was a sizeable off-white canvas, and there was a multitude of paints and brushes next to it. I couldn't believe all of this was mine and free to use. I was already itching at the idea of painting the days away. After my lessons of course, I thought bitterly. I was probably going to be so busy that I wouldn't get the chance to use it for quite some time.

A knock on the door and the introduction of Leda interrupted my grumbling thoughts, and I offered her a smile as greeting. A large silver tray was in her small hands, and it carried a bowl bigger than my head, a large ceramic pitcher, and a plate filled with raw meat. Leda set the tray on the floor by the chaise lounger (Fenrir's favorite spot) and filled the bowl with water before placing the pitcher in the bathroom.

"Are you ready for bed, Amberleigh?"

"Yes," A yawn interrupted me, and I chuckled, "It's been a long day." I gave her a wry smile.

Without objection, Leda helped me out of the immaculate dress and provided me with a white satin textured robe to cover myself with in the time being. The dress was put back in the large, extravagant closet before I was sat in front of the vanity, and Leda was carefully taking out the pins within my hair. Leda also brushed out the plait in my hair, and I nearly fell asleep as she ran the natural bristled brush through my locks.

I was roused out of my light sleep to the sound of the door opening. It only offered about a foot of space before a black snout stuck its way through, and I soon recognized the silver-tipped ears of Fenrir. He immediately went to the water to lap it up before chomping his way through the meat.

"Is there anything else you need, Amberleigh?"

"No, that will be all. Thank you so much, Leda."

"Have a good night, Amberleigh."

"You as well." I bid Leda farewell, and soon it was just me alone in the large room, a snuffling snort came to my left, and I looked to the snoozing Fenrir. The giant wolf was here, which made me feel safer, but I was still somewhat alone.

I turned off the lights the way Leda had shown me: by reaching towards the glowing balls and having them move from their place on the wall into my hands. Then I simply tapped them until they dimmed and then darkened entirely. The only light left in the room was from the bright aurora and stars that came through the windows as well as a candle that burned by my bed.

After climbing under the covers and sinking into the luxurious pillows I felt my mind suddenly begin to think. Today felt like the longest day of my life. Just this morning, I was waking up sandwiched between wolves after sleeping on the ground in the company of Ulric and Gerard. Since then, I had traveled to Himmelsk, met my birth parents, met many more citizens of Ithica, Ulric had left, and I was already swiftly being prepared and groomed to be a queen.

This was the first time where I actually felt a genuine pang of sadness for my previous life. While it hadn't been perfect, it was nice and simple, and right now simple was something that I was craving. I hadn't seen any shimmers since I arrived over the cliff now four days ago.

I wondered if I would ever see a shimmer again.

The thought sent a shot of anxiety through me because I suddenly felt somewhat trapped here in Erivale. Anytime I had visited before I had undoubtedly known that I would be leaving within hours and that I would always be able to go back and forth between the human realm and Erivale. But now I don't know if I'll be able to portal into the human realm ever again. This was the longest I had ever been here with no sign of ever being able to leave.