I hardly slept that night. Gerard offered to stay with me for my protection, but I urged him to sleep in his own room. Whoever had come was clearly gone, and the guard detail was right outside my door if I needed anything.

My mind swirled with theories of why the note was left in my room and who could have left it. Guinevere threatened me just the day before, so maybe it was someone trying to warn me against a plot she had against me? That seemed like the most logical explanation, but the same suspicion associated with the palace and the people were lingering. It felt too easy to chalk it down to Guinevere, but what if the danger wasn't from Guinevere and was something else entirely that I didn't even know yet?

As I glanced at the sleeping form of Fenrir I couldn't help but wonder if the note could have been left by Ulric. He did leave me with Fenrir after all. But how could he have possibly left the note if he was no longer at the palace? There were far too many questions swirling through my head. I needed to try to forget most of them because today was a very big day; it was my homecoming ball.

My morning routine began a little differently than usual. Leda arrived with Gerard, who informed me I would have a private breakfast with the king, queen, and Guinevere. The small aching in my heart from feeling forgotten by my parents quickly dissipated. I was excited to be able to spend more time with them. Guinevere, not so much.

Leda quickly got me ready and took extra care to cover the tired circles under my eyes. Poor sleep the last few nights had me looking a little worse for wear.

"Why am I eating with the royal family as opposed to my room today?" I questioned.

"Your entire schedule will be adjusted today to prepare for the ball," Gerard informed me. "You will have another dance lesson for a few hours after breakfast."

I groaned in annoyance, and Leda laughed at me, "Come now, Amberleigh, dancing isn't that bad. Quite freeing actually. It reminds me of my time in the water."

"Not when you're terrible at it and manage to step on everyone's feet."

Leda laughed again. "That will surely be a sight to see tonight."

When Leda was finished making me presentable, I was hurried off to the same dining room I had been in my first night here. It was much brighter with the morning sunshine illuminating the space. The table was laden with mostly unfamiliar food. About the only things I recognized were the small, round orange fruits that I had eaten on my journey, and the bread biscuits I was usually served for breakfast. I was welcomed with a gentle hug from Luciana as I sat next to her.

"Are you ready for the ball tonight?" Heinrich asked me.

"I sure hope so. I feel confident enough in my etiquette lessons, but dancing is another matter."

Heinrich chuckled, "Just like your mother, two left feet."

Luciana sent him a sharp glare. "Speak for yourself."

A smile graced all of our lips, and I relished in the happy family banter. This is what I had always dreamed of when I thought of my birth parents.

Guinevere entered and eyed the seating situation. It was clear that I was sitting where she usually sat, before taking the chair across from us.

"Are you excited about the ball?" Luciana asked her.

"Oh yes, you know how much I love meeting the people."

"Lovely, I'll be so excited to see you two all dolled up together for tonight." Luciana looked happily between us.

Guinevere eyed me with a smug expression, likely at the memory of her destroying my dress. Little did she know of the masterpiece Jae had created for me.

"Amberleigh, I also wanted to inform you that we have found a magic teacher and a combat specialist to teach you the last of your lessons. Soren tells me you have been progressing well in your other lessons, so you will begin these within the week," Heinrich said.

He never mentioned a name, and I was about to ask who it was but was interrupted when someone entered the room. This new someone was a tall, skinny man with a full beard.

"Amberleigh, I'd like you to meet Renatus," Queen Luciana said. "He is the royal sorcerer and has been around serving even when my father was king. He is practically family."

He gave me a bow. "The pleasure is all mine, Amberleigh. It is wonderful to see you again."

Renatus seemed kind enough, but something about him made me uneasy. His presence felt like a tickle at the back of my mind, and I found it unnerving. I shook my head slightly, trying to rid myself of the feeling before it disappeared, and the smile on Renatus's lips slipped for a mere second before he sat down jovially and ruffled Guinevere's hair fondly.

Now all seated together, the servants prepared our plates with a variety of food. When they disappeared, we began to eat, and a comfortable conversation started. I was mostly quiet as they discussed people they would see at the ball – old acquaintances, childhood friends, political allies, and enemies.

When my plate was nearly empty, Renatus offered me some of the pastries that were displayed out before him. I hadn't noticed them before and was confused as to why they hadn't been touched. Usually, when the servants filled our plates, they put one of everything before us, these pastries were not served.

"I'll take one. These pastries are my favorite," Guinevere said happily.

Renatus passed the plate to Guinevere, who placed one on her plate before setting the rest down in front of me. I started to reach for one as well; they did look quite tasty with a frosted glaze on top and fresh fruit, but as I began to reach towards it, I felt the tickling sensation on my fingers this time. Unsure, I pulled my hand back. They seemed reasonable enough, but why did they seem to have a presence?

I watched as Guinevere took a large bite of hers, and almost immediately, a faint glaze settled over her eyes. "Are you not going to have one?" Renatus said, startling me.

"I'm sorry, no. I'm quite full. Next time I will, they look quite delicious."

He seemed displeased by my answer. The conversation continued; this time, they were discussing the magic schools outside of Ithica. Guinevere was now much quieter and strangely complacent. Suddenly the only thing she could say was, "I agree" and "that sounds wonderful" as they discussed restricting the magical texts for these schools to limit the number of spells the students could learn.

"I agree," Guinevere said again.

"What say you, Amberleigh?" Renatus questioned.

"I guess I don't understand the significance of limiting spells. Isn't more knowledge better?"

"Not in the case of magic," Luciana said. "Too much knowledge of magic leads young sorcerers of all kinds to be incredibly unstable and increases their chance of going dark like Samael."

"But in the thousands of years that Erivale has existed, there has only been one incidence of evil sorcery, and that was Samael."

"Don't forget the Dark Elves," King Heinrich added.

"But you don't restrict their magic."

"That is because they are a separate nation, we cannot infringe on their rights. It would be wrong to take that power away from other Elves," Heinrich said.

They claimed magic control was to prevent the evil and improper use of magic but yet also claimed that it was wrong to take that power away from other Elves. Even when they did show improper magical use? And the only people actually facing magical restrictions are non-Elven races. I couldn't understand their logic but didn't want to stumble into something I was unprepared for, so I said, "I'm sorry, I still have much to learn. I don't even know how to use magic; I clearly don't understand the proper ways to regulate magic."

Everyone seemed pleased at my answer, and for the rest of the breakfast, I stayed completely silent. With the conclusion of our time together, Queen Luciana said that she was excited to see me tonight at the ball, and I nodded, distracted, before hurrying off to my dance lesson. My mind was awash with even more worries and tribulations as I thought over the pieces of information that I learned today, such as the stifling of the magic of the other races and whatever the strange reaction Guinevere had to the mysterious pastries.

With my distracted mind, I was even worse at dancing and seemed to regress. "Amberleigh, I can see that you are not ready to participate in dance lessons today. Your mind is elsewhere, would you like to discuss it?" Soren asked.

I opened my mouth and closed it a few times. What could I and what couldn't I say to Soren? He was King Heinrich's right-hand man; he must tell him everything. I couldn't explain my concerns of the day, so instead, I said, "Just the ball. I'm trying to remember everything, and it's quite stressful."

"I understand, but you must clear your mind of all thoughts other than your partner and the music for dance. Keep that in mind when you dance tonight, but I will not force you to keep dancing now. I think taking a small break may be good for you."

"Thank you, Soren."

I quickly left to head back to the privacy of my room with Gerard. I would have to inform him of everything that happened at breakfast.

Once inside, I curled up on the couch next to Fenrir and ran my hands nervously through his fur. "How was breakfast?"

"It was interesting. I have a lot of questions."

"Anything I can help you with?"

"I'd like to think so." I stared into his eyes, unsure of what to say or ask. A small idea sparked in my head. With his position as palace staff, he could likely figure out the mystery of the pastries. "During breakfast, the sorcerer Renatus offered us pastries that I didn't remember being there before, and they felt odd; they gave me a tingling sensation just being near them. Guinevere ate one, and I think it did something to her. Do you know of any odd pastries that the palace cooks make?"

"Odd? Nothing described as odd. What did they look like?"

They were a square treat with a flaky, layered consistency and differently colored frostings – pink, white, yellow, and brown – and were decorated with flowers and fruits. They were frankly quite beautiful."

"I have not seen anything matching that description yet. But I'll see what I can do, maybe ask the chefs if they have a recipe for a dessert by that description."

"Gerard, you're the best." I pulled him into a hug, and he seemed surprised at my touch before hugging me back. He was practically glowing with the praise.

Leda was announced only moments later, and I sighed. Will I ever catch a break? But I still enjoyed Leda's presence. "Leda, you're here early, it's just past high sun."

"I am not early. We will begin your ball preparations immediately."

I widened my eyes at her. "Is almost six hours really necessary?"

"Yes, of course!"

"Gerard, it's girl time." Leda joked, and the Faun gave me a nod goodbye until it was just Leda and me. "Alright, first things first, I'll draw you a bath."

"But I took one just last night."

"Yes, and there is much to do that is best when the hair and skin are wet. Now, up you go, change into your robe, and I'll get the bath started."

Following Leda's instructions, I changed into the robe. I wandered back into the bathroom, where she was filling the large bathtub and pouring in salts and soaps that made the room aromatic and created frothy bubbles on the surface of the water.

Carefully stepping into the large tub began the long process of preparing me for the ball. Every inch of me was scrubbed and groomed to perfection. I was exfoliated, waxed, I received a manicure and a pedicure, my hair was even trimmed and laden in soaps and oils to make it shine and bounce unlike it ever had before. My face was covered in products as well – no part of me was spared.

Leda worked her magic with the makeup and styling my hair as well. I watched as she smoothed out my skin with foundation creams before applying powdered pigments to my cheeks and eyelids. Soft brown and gentle gold were used to enhance the brown of my eyes, and a nude lip paint was added. I appreciated the simplicity that Leda chose with this look.

The next hour was dedicated to hair in which it was expertly crafted into a bun with strategic pieces falling before my face. Small jewels and flowers were intricately placed amongst braids and the large bun at the nape of my neck. With hair complete, we had about an hour left until I had to be escorted to the ball. Guests were already arriving, and the festivities would be underway in half an hour. Apparently, they had staged a grand entrance for me, which is why I was coming thirty minutes into the party.

Leda carefully helped me into the dress, so I didn't mess up the makeup, hair, or clothing. There were a lot of variables I could screw up at the last second. As she slid the dress up my arms and over my shoulders and began lacing it up, I felt the nerves really start to set in. I was really doing this. There was indeed no going back after I was revealed to the world. As of now, I've been kept in the shadows, not many knew who I was or what I was, but today would change it all. Today I would well and truly become Crown Princess Amberleigh of Erivale.

The higher Leda laced the dress, the more I felt it constricting, and the anxiety began to take hold. My mind was racing, my hands were shaking, and my chest was tight. I was hot and cold at the same time, and my breathing was increasing until I was nearly hyperventilating.

"Amberleigh, are you okay?"

"I-I, I don't know. I'm freaking out. This is really happening. They are announcing me to the world of who I am. It's really happening," I trailed off.

Leda appeared concerned and helped me to sit down before leaving briefly and then coming back to my side, "I've called for Gerard. He should be here shortly."

Sensing my distress, Fenrir sat on the floor next to me and nudged my hand as if asking if I was okay. I ran my hand over his head and through his fur methodically while my mind ran. I tried to focus on my breathing and calm down, but it wasn't working. What was I doing here? I'm a 20-year-old college student. I shouldn't be here.

"Amberleigh, are you okay?" Gerard's voice suddenly broke through my thoughts. "I need you to calm down. Tell me what is distressing you."

"Gerard, there's no way I can do this. I'm not ready, I don't even know if I want to do this."

"You do, that is why you've been working so diligently."

All my life, I had never been a huge fan of change. I like the comfort of what I knew, what was routine. Going to the ball tonight would be throwing away my old life. Absolutely everything was going to change. "Tonight marks a new life, and I'm scared. I can no longer return to my old life, the responsibility of this world will be in my hands, and everyone will be watching my every move."

"I'm sure you could still find a way to portal back to the human realm occasionally if you wanted to. Nothing is quite as black and white as it seems. Our days will continue on here in the palace similarly, with lessons. You may have more events and diplomats in the future, but the next few months are aimed at educating you and preparing you for your future. We are here to help you through this transition. It will all be okay."

I let out a deep breath, Gerard has eased my anxiety enough for my chest to loosen up and for me to breathe more normally. "I can't do this alone," I whispered. Fenrir licked the hand I had been petting him with while Gerard took my other hand, and Leda grabbed my shoulder.

"You are not alone, Amberleigh. We, and many more, are here to support you. You can do this," Gerard said with conviction.

"There is no one else I'd rather become our future queen." Leda smiled at me, and I blinked away the pinpricks of tears in my eyes. A feeling of love and compassion filled the room, and I wanted to sink into it. To stay here surrounded by my friends, but I had a job to do.

Taking a deep breath, I nodded my head. "Okay, let's do this."