A SMALL COLLECTION of tan tents had been set up right outside the main entrance of the city. Eoin politely held Ravenna's hand, leading her through the overwhelming amount of soldiers that lingered outside the tents. He didn't quite tell her where they were going, but she trusted him.

Near the back of the camp, she spotted a flimsy looking tent. It was pitched against a tree —frayed ropes tied the top of the tent to several branches, keeping it upright. Eoin walked toward it. He lifted a piece of tarp that concealed the entrance and shifted to the side, allowing Ravenna to enter first.

The inside of the tent was much larger than she expected. Even Eoin was able to stand fully, without having to duck his head, and he was almost a head taller than her.

It was much brighter than expected as well. Witchlights were scattered across the tarp covered floor, illuminating the space with a soft, white glow.

A flimsy wooden table was situated just opposite from the entrance, a scroll unraveled on top of it. The corners of the scroll were held down by various objects —including a tiny cauldron like-pot that bubbled with a weird light blue goo. Tendrils of smoke danced through the air above the goo, filling the tent with a sweet, almost candy like smell.

A man stood behind the table. There was a blood red cape fastened to his body armor. His gaze flickered back and forth between Ravenna and Eoin, his expression curious. "Good morning, your highness," the man said. His voice was soft and calming.

It sounded almost...familiar.

"Good morning," Eoin chirped. He placed a hand on Ravenna's back. "This is Ravenna. I had the pleasure of meeting her a few towns back."

"Ah," the man said. He moved out from behind the wooden table, his dark eyes fixated on Ravenna. He lowered into a bow in front of her. "It is a pleasure to meet you. I have heard quite a bit about you."

Ravenna smiled and brushed a strand of her hair behind her ears. "It is nice to meet you," she said.

"I am Mylo, the residential wizard for the Blood Knights," he introduced himself. He gestured toward the table behind him. "You will have to pardon the mess. It's quite hard to maintain a potions shop while traveling."

She arched an eyebrow. "You sell potions?" she inquired. Her gaze darted back toward the table, examining its occupants closely. The scroll was hard to read from where she stood, but she could just begin to make out the shapes of a few charcoal sketches. There was a jar of sandy looking clouds sitting opposite from the cauldron, used as a paperweight to hold the corner of the scroll down. A small pile of witchlight stones were lumped together near the cauldron, glowing brightly with light.

"Not quite," Mylo answered. He smiled at her and folded his arms across his chest. "Not to normal humans, at least. My potions are only available to the Blood Knights."

"Speaking of which," Eoin interjected, a sheepish grin on his face. "I need a potion that will take us to the Capitol for a day."

Mylo blinked at him. "Is that all?"

"That is all," Eoin chirped. "I want to show her around a bit."

Ravenna watched Mylo's expression carefully. He eyed her for a moment, his emotion unreadable, and then turned his attention toward the table. He snapped his fingers.

A pearl of white light appeared, hovering in the air beside his hand. It stretched and morphed, growing into a relatively large circular shape. Mylo reached his hand inside it and pulled out several small vials.

He turned to his cauldron. He wiggled his fingers and the blue goo inside it began to swirl. It lifted into the air, a liquid tornado of magic. The moment the last drop of goo left the cauldron, the magic formed a bubbling ball that hovered in the air, out of the way.

Ravenna watched as Mylo instantly started to work. His hands worked quick as he poured the contents of the vials into the cauldron. A wooden spoon appeared, mixing the various ingredients together, forming a soupy lilac substance.

Mylo reached into the sphere of bright light again. His hand retracted, producing a weird looking weed pinched between his fingertips. It had plum colored leaves. He held the weed over the cauldron and then dropped it.

A sharp shriek escaped the weed as it fell. The lilac soup leapt into the air, catching the weed and engulfing it whole. The tiny screams faded away as the mixture began to boil.

Two wooden cups appeared on the table. Mylo poured a small amount of the potion into each one. "All you will need is a single sip. This potion will transport you to the Capitol and it will bring you back at sunset."

"Thank you, Mylo," Eoin said as he was passed a cup. "I really appreciate this."

"Here you are," Mylo murmured. His dark eyes didn't quite meet her eyes as he handed Ravenna the other cup.

It was somewhat warm in her hands. She lifted the cup to her lips, blowing at the potion. Wisps of steam danced across its rippling lilac surface.

"All you need is a sip," Mylo reminded them. He waved his hand and the hovering ball of blue goo returned to its spot within the cauldron.

She took a sip, the potion bitter and hot against her tongue. As the liquid trickled down the back of her throat, its warmth spread throughout her body. A fuzziness entered the corners of her vision. She blinked and opened her mouth, a quiet, "Oh no," escaping her.

She blinked again and the world vanished. The inside of Mylo's tent transformed into an abyss of pure white. Movement teasingly danced within her peripheral vision, no matter how she turned her head.

She blinked again. Shadows grew within the whiteness, forming odd structures around her. Her hands lifted, her fingers rubbing at her eyes.

When she opened her eyes again, Ravenna found herself standing in the center of a bridge. The bridge itself was made of stones —stones that Ravenna had never seen before. Stones that glittered with rainbows in the sunlight.

A balustrade stretched along each side of the bridge, made from the same shimmering stone. Ornate sculptures were carved into each short pillar, depicting various scenes from history. One, she recognized as a tribute to Seraphyna —the first (and only) female to fully lead the kingdom as Queen, with no King by her side. As a child, Ravenna heard all sorts of heroic stories concerning Seraphyna and her adventures.

"There is a tribute to each great ruler from our history," Eoin said from behind her. Ravenna turned toward him and he smiled. "Each pillar is meant to regal viewers of our story. At the start of the bridge, the pillars feature the Originals. Then as you progress across it, you will see more Kings that are more recent."

"One day, you will have your own pillar, then?" Ravenna asked.

He nodded. "One day. Hopefully soon," he said wistfully.

Ravenna hummed in response, her attention turning toward the other end of the bridge. Her heart jumped inside her chest.

The Capitol was much larger than she expected.

hello friends!

I hope that everyone is having an awesome week so far! Things have been absolutely crazy on my end. I am in the process of trying to buy a car (literally spent all weekend test driving different cars that I was interested in) and I'm trying to prepare for the holidays. This will be the first Christmas without my grandpa, which is indescribably weird to me. It's just...a lot. 

What are y'all doing for the holidays? I hope that you all have a safe and magical holiday, no matter what you are celebrating! I appreciate you all so much!