I had not been alone for even a minute before the door burst open and two servants entered. They were rather odd-looking. One of them had red skin and scales and red eyes, the other had green skin and violet eyes that matched the color of her hair.

It did not take long before they had undressed me and were dressing me in riding leathers. The leathers were soft and supple against my skin and they fit well, though I do not know how they had my size. One of them slid my feet into a pair of riding boots. I had not worn shoes for the two years I had been here, so it felt almost foreign to me.

"My clothes—" I began, but was cut off by the green-skinned one.

"Do not worry, dear. We will burn them." She answered, smiling.

I nodded reluctantly and let her take my clothes and leave with them. The red-skinned servant stayed to finish. She made sure the leathers were tight so they would not chafe on the journey, and she tied back my hair, as well.

"You are to go to stables now. Do you need an escort?" Her voice was softer than I expected, sweeter.

I nodded. "I do not know how to get there."

She turned and led me out of the room. We walked down the labyrinth of corridors and hallways, and I was glad I'd asked her to come, for I never would have found it on my own. We went out the servants' entrance in the kitchen and around back to the stables. When I took my first steps outside, I was surprised by how bright it was. I blinked against the sunlight, shielding my eyes. The air smelled sweeter than I remembered, like flowers. I couldn't help the smile that spread across my face. I was one step closer to freedom.

Rylan was already at the stables, preparing to leave, along with the rest of his court. He saw me approach and led a large grey gelding over to me. He handed me the reigns.

"This will be your horse for the journey." He said.

I nodded and stared at the stirrup. It was much too high up for me to climb into the saddle from. Standing beside the horse, my head was several inches below the saddle. How was I supposed to climb up?

"What's the problem?" Rylan asked, a little impatiently.

"There's no problem," I answered, still looking at the saddle.

"Do you need help?" He raised an eyebrow.

"No," I answered sharply. I tugged on the reigns of my horse and led him away so Rylan could not see me struggle to get into the saddle that felt unbelievably high up.

I did not want to ask anyone for help, though. I could do this on my own. I looked for a place to step onto so I could get a boost. There were no stools or step ladders that I could see. I sighed, frustrated, and tried to put my foot in the stirrup. But I could not reach it. This horse was massive.

"Do you need help?" I heard a voice from right behind me.

Surprised, I spun around to face a rather attractive man with smiling, pale blue eyes, and fair hair. He looked friendly enough.

"No," I replied stiffly. "I can do it. Thank you."

He laughed softly. "That horse is rather large. I would probably need help getting on that beast."

I knew he was only trying to make me feel better about receiving help, but I really did not want help. I wanted to do this.

Though, looking back at the horse, I knew I couldn't do it by myself. I sighed, defeated. "Alright, yes, please. I would like your help."

He grinned and wrapped his arms around me waist. It was all I could do to keep from flinching at his touch. He was gentle, but I felt like he was going to hurt me any anyway. He lifted me as though I were nothing more than a sack of feathers and sat me in the saddle before releasing me.

"Thank you," I said.

He nodded and walked off. I gripped the reigns of my horse tightly. I'd never been very good with horses. My sister, Melisande, had always been amazing with horses. She'd even tried to teach me once, but I was never good with them like she was.

When everyone had finished saddling their mounts and were ready to go, we began the long journey toward Lithanium. We passed through the gates and I turned to look at Mariana's palace, my prison, one last time. And I was almost giddy at the thought that I would never set foot in that place again. My heart was pounding loudly in my chest. Freedom. I was free. Well, relatively speaking, I thought bitterly as I glanced at Rylan. I found that he had been watching me.

Feeling suddenly self-conscious, I returned my eyes to the road before me. Though, I could still feel his eyes on me after I'd looked away.

Once we were away from Mariana and off of her lands, we started at a gallop. I gasped and wrapped my arms around my horse's neck to keep from falling off. I bounced out of the saddle with each jolt as the gelding galloped along with the others. And it did nothing to ease the pain I was feeling after yesterday's lashing.

I heard laughter from beside me and turned to find the man that had helped me onto my horse. He was laughing at me.

I glared at him.

"You do not look like you're enjoying yourself." He commented.

"Really? If you couldn't tell, I'm having a fantastic time." I spat at him.

I felt an odd sort of tingling sensation. And then, suddenly, I was not bouncing out of the saddle, barely hanging on for dear life. I was sitting down firmly in the saddle and my feet were planted in the stirrups.

I looked at him. "What did you do?" I asked, not that I wasn't grateful.

He shrugged. "Well, you won't be able to dismount until we stop tonight, but count that as a blessing." He winked and then pulled ahead, next to Rylan.

I blinked at him, staring at his back. Magic? Must be.

We rode until the sun had set and the moon was high in the sky. We stopped at a small clearing with a stream running right through the middle of it.

I slid off of my horse and tied him with the others. I unsaddled him and brushed him out, running my hand along his sweat-soaked neck. I was already feeling the day of riding: my legs ached, as did my back. I went and sat beside the stream and cupped my hands. I dipped them into the cool water and brought them to my mouth and drank.

I felt someone standing next to me and I looked up to find Rylan. He handed me a small pouch. When I opened it, I found some jerky and hard cheese. Though it was not an ideal dinner, it was better than the stale bread I'd been fed in Mariana's dungeons.

Rylan sat next to me and did not say anything as he ate.

Neither of us spoke for several long minutes. I was the one to break the silence. "How far away is Lithanium?" I asked, looking out at the trees beyond the clearing.

"Three more days," was his brief response.

I sighed and finished off the crumbs of the bread.

He finished off his own meal and set his pouch down. "We are leaving early tomorrow. Get some sleep." He stood, and I watched as he walked away, his confident stride never faltering.

⟡⟡⟡⟡⟡

"Lyra, wake up." Rylan said, rather loudly.

I blinked, rubbing my eyes blearily. I stared up at the sky. The sun hadn't even risen yet, and stars still shone brightly. I glared at Rylan and sat up.

"Are we leaving already?" I asked groggily.

He nodded. "Soon. Mount up." He turned back to his black stallion.

I went over to where I'd tied my gelding to find that he'd already been saddled. I'd unknowingly tied my horse beside a tree with low branches. This made it easier to climb into the saddle. I climbed up onto one of the lower branches and swung my leg over the horse's back and sat down in the saddle. I couldn't help but be a bit proud that I'd mounted the beast on my own.

Just as Rylan had said, the journey lasted three more days. We traveled until after dark and rose before the sun to continue. Each night, I was exhausted, and, each morning, I was still exhausted. It hurt to walk and even move. Each step sent waves of pain through me, causing me to wince.

At long last, we'd made it to Lithanium. The sky was a crystalline blue, dotted with large white clouds. The grass was a bright green color, as were the leaves on the trees. It was warm out, most likely early summer.

We traveled through villages, where lower fey bowed as we passed and we were offered places to stay for the evening, but we continued on.

The sun was sinking below the mountains when we finally made it to Rylan's estate. It was huge. The palace seemingly rose out of the ground as we neared. The large metal gates opened and let us pass. We rode to the stables and dismounted our horses. Stable hands ran toward us to take the horses from us. I handed my reigns to a small stable boy, who couldn't be older than twelve. He was small and looked completely human, except that he had pointed ears.

I thanked him and followed Rylan into the palace, trying not to grimace as I limped. I was so sore. The doors to the palace were opened for us by fey guards and we walked into a large foyer.

The door was shut behind us and it echoed with a loud bang. A moment later, a girl entered the room. She was tall and thin, with black hair and dark blue eyes—the same as Rylan's. She was beautiful. She wore a pale pink gown with white lace trimmings. Though the dress itself was a bit . . . garish . . . she managed to make it look less so.

She smiled. "Rylan!" She wrapped her arms around him in a tight hug.

He returned her embrace, smiling.

"I heard you'd be back today. You're later than I expected." She narrowed her eyes slightly.

He snorted, shaking his head. "You can't predict everything, Al."

"Well, I can try." She answered with a haughty smile. Then her eyes found mine and they narrowed slightly.

"Are you the Pardoned girl?" She asked.

I nodded. "Yes, I am."

She glanced at Rylan. "A Halfbreed?"

I blinked at her and looked at Rylan.

He shrugged, completely disregarding her comment. "Lyra, this is my sister, Althea. Althea, this is the Pardoned girl, Lyra."

"Pleasure." Althea said dismissively.

Uncertain about how exactly to greet her, I only nodded my head slightly by way of greeting.

She wrinkled her nose. "You need a bath."

I turned to her, my cheeks heating up, but I bit back the retort on the tip of my tongue.

I looked down at my wrists, where the burns from the invisible shackles were still healing. I'd noticed that they had not shackled me for the journey. Though I did not know why. Part of me expected that they were still going to take me down to the dungeons to live out the rest of my short life, but they hadn't treated me like a prisoner thus far.

"Well," Althea said, sighing. "I have things to do. I'll be at dinner, Rylan." She turned and left, so that Rylan and I were alone once again.

He turned to me, his mouth pressed into a thin line. "So, as of today, you belong to me." At this statement, my stomach turned leaden. What was he going to do to me, now that I was his? But then he continued. "However, you will be treated as a guest. You are allowed to go anywhere in the palace, out to the gardens or to the forest if you wish. Though, you are not allowed to cross the Bridge. Consider this place your home from this moment on. The servants will get you whatever you wish, and they can be trusted."

I nodded my head, listening without interruption.

"There is one rule, though, that you must follow. This will be one of the only rules you will have at my palace. Other than this—and that one about crossing the bridge—you are free to do as you wish." He paused, seemingly for effect. "You must not, under any circumstances, go outside at night. The faeries do not control what happens at night, so anything can happen. I cannot guarantee your safety if you do not listen to my warning, Lyra. There is a chance you'd be dead before you even took that first step outside."

I swallowed hard, suddenly nervous. He looked so intense, so serious, that I knew that I would have to listen to him. I would not be going outside at night. Ever. It took me a moment to realize that he was waiting for me to answer. I nodded quickly. "I understand." I said.

"Very good. I will show you to your room." Rylan said kindly.

He exited the foyer, and I took that as my cue to follow. Past the foyer, the rest of the house was massive. There were two sets of stairs, one on either side of the hall. He took me up the left staircase and down another corridor and through the maze of his house. I dreaded having to find my way back downstairs at any time. I would get so lost.

At the end of a hall stood a set of double doors. He opened them and stepped aside so that I could enter. "This is your room. Azula will be in momentarily. If you need anything, let me know."

But I was hardly listening. I stared at my room with wide eyes. I'd never even seen a bedroom this big. A large bed that could have fit my entire family stood against one wall, there was a desk, and bookshelves, a large fireplace and a sitting area. An expensive-looking rug sat in the middle of the room over an ornate white marble floor with gold designs etched into the surface. Next to the bedroom, there was a private dining room, and through another door, there was a large bathing chamber.

I turned to him, my eyes wide. "This is my room?" I asked in a hushed voice.

He nodded, his eyes sparkling with amusement. "Yes. I have things to do. You will be escorted to the dining room for dinner after you've cleaned up."

With that, he turned and left.

I stepped into the room, still looking around in awe, completely overwhelmed. This was my room.

Footsteps sounded from the hallway and I turned and saw a girl that looked to be about my age hurrying toward me. She had bright blue hair, the color of the ocean and eyes that matched. She was very beautiful. She smiled as she entered; she looked so kind. I liked it.

"Hello, Miss. My name is Azula." She said.

"Hello." I replied quietly.

She wrinkled her nose. "You don't smell very good." She said, not unkindly, before turning and walking to the bathing chamber. I gave her an odd look as I followed after her.

She put her hands over the tile bathing tub and I couldn't help but be curious as she stood there. Suddenly, water shot out of her fingertips and my mouth fell open in surprise.

The bath filled surprisingly fast and I watched the steam rise, curling into the air. It smelled like lilacs.

She turned and smiled. "Magic is neat, isn't it?" She said brightly.

I nodded my head, still watching the bathwater that had shot out of her fingers.

After she helped me undress, I got into the tub and she scrubbed me with soap until my skin was raw. And then she scrubbed me more. She did not let me get out until she had nearly scraped all the skin from my bones in an effort to make me clean. Though she was merciless when it came to washing me, her hands were gentle on my bruised and bloodied back and it was a nice. I could feel her healing the wounds, using her magic to shut them, leaving nothing but silver scars behind.

After my bath, she handed me a plush, white towel that felt soft against my skin. When I looked at myself in the mirror for the first time in two years, I screamed.

I looked awful, and I wanted to cry. I looked sick! My face was deathly pale, my cheekbones jutting out of my face. My eyes were sunken and hollow, showing the pain of my years spent as Mariana's pet. I was all angles. My ribs stuck out against my skin and my arms and legs were stick thin. My elbows and knees were knobby and unbearably noticeable. My collarbone stuck out sharply, as did my shoulder blades.

My dark hair fell past my waste in soft curls—possibly my only feature that didn't make me cringe.

Azula put a comforting hand on my arm. "Do not worry. You'll get better." She smiled, which only made me want to cry more.

But I nodded, and she brought out an array of dresses for me to wear, but I turned them down and asked if I could just wear a tunic and trousers. I had never been one for fancy things, especially not dresses.

She only smiled and nodded. She left with the pile of dresses and returned with another selection of clothes. She helped me dress in a dark blue tunic and black trousers. I did not ask how she knew my size or how she already had clothes in that size. Probably more magic.

Once I was dressed, she turned to the door. "I will lead you down to the dining hall. I know this palace seems rather large now, but, I assure you, you will get used to it in time.

I nodded and followed her through the palace, trying and failing to keep track of where we were. We reached the dining hall and I found Rylan and Althea, as well as the man that had helped me onto the horse days ago, already seated at the table. They all looked up when I entered.

Unsure, I bowed awkwardly and then took a seat besides the man that I had yet to learn the name of. It was the man that had helped me onto the horse in Mariana's stables.

He smiled. "Hello," he greeted me. "Glad you could join us."

"Thank you for allowing me to." I answered softly, staring at my empty plate. There was no food on the table. How were we expected to eat?

As though reading my thoughts, platters suddenly appeared on the table. Startled, I jolted backwards as I watched the table fill with all sorts of foods. There was braised lamb, roasted boar, soft cheeses, fresh loaves of bread, fresh fruit, glazed pastries . . .

My stomach rumbled loudly and the man next to me laughed, as I blushed furiously. How embarrassing.

Althea narrowed her eyes at me in disgust.

Rylan picked up my plate and began filling it with food. I glared at him. "I can serve myself, thank you." I said sharply.

Althea turned to me. "Don't be rude to him. It is an honor to be served food by a fey king. Be grateful." She growled, somehow making it sound elegant.

I stared down at the table, sighing through my nose. "Thank you," I said begrudgingly when he handed me my plate, now heaped with piles of food.

My mouth watered at the sight of it. After everyone had been served, we began to eat. I dug into my food, shoveling everything I could into my mouth. I had never tasted food so delicious in my life. I did not waste any time stuffing myself, as if the food would disappear if I waited too long.

"Good God, you're no better than an animal." Althea said, giving me a disgusted look.

I did not even glance up at her, and only continued to eat. I ate until I could not eat anymore, until I felt like I'd explode. However, I had not even thought about the fact that I'd eaten nothing but stale bread for the last two years.

I could feel the food working its way back up my throat. Oh, God. I was going to be sick. I stood abruptly, pushing my chair back.

Rylan looked up at me with a raised eyebrow. "Something wrong?"

"No, nothing." I said hurriedly. "If you'll excuse me . . ." without waiting for a response, I hurried out of the dining room. As soon as I was out of sight, I sprinted down the hallway, in search of the front door. Unfortunately, I did not make it that far. I fell to my knees and retched into a potted plant. I heaved up everything in my stomach—and then some. The acid burned my throat and made my eyes water.

After I'd finished, I leaned against the wall, gasping, and closed my eyes.

"You probably shouldn't have eaten so much." A voice said from nearby.

I opened my eyes and found Rylan standing before me, looking amused. My cheeks flushed with embarrassment and I wanted to just disappear. I ducked my head, glaring at him. "You're very helpful, thanks," I snapped.

He knelt next to me. "Come, I'll take you back to your room." He said, his voice gentler than I expected, as he pulled me up and let me lean against him.

I pulled away in protest. "I'm fine." I said as I began walking toward the stairs, even though I didn't exactly know where I was going.

He shrugged and walked with me back up the stairs and back to my room.

I stumbled into my room and collapsed on the bed. "Thank you," I mumbled, exhausted.

He nodded. "Goodnight, Lyra," he said softly and shut my door.

I was asleep almost immediately.

⧖⧗⧖⧗⧖⧗⧖⧗

This was the end of Chapter Three of On the Other Side! I really hope you liked it! Let me know what you think, I am always open to feedback! That goes for if you see grammatical errors as well. Another thing: the title is temporary. I don't think it fits that well with my story, so if you have any ideas please tell me! You can message me privately, leave a comment, or post on my page!

Please vote, comment, or follow! Follow me for updates on my new story. I will try to publish regularly, at least once a week. Because I have school, I will most likely publish on the weekend. Thanks for reading!