IVY'S eyes widened. She seemed, like I had been so many times, speechless. "Who are you?" She spit out quickly, the dirt rising a bit as her hands curled into tight fists.

The man, strangely, smiled.

He looked a bit older than her. Where had he got such power from? Elves had the power to manipulate earth. Dirt. Soil. Rock. How had he controlled vines?

He wasn't done.

In one fluid movement, he raised his hand, and the net of vines pushed back the dirt. It splintered and fell to the ground.

Ivy gasped.

Regardless of the situation we were in, I felt some satisfaction at seeing her helpless. Not for long, though. She didn't give up that easily. Not the Queen Ivy I knew.

She raised her hands and swept up another huge wall of rock. The man ran in front of me and thrust his hands up. Leaves rained down on the wall and somehow made it crumble to pieces.

I took a step back.

"Who are you?" Ivy yelled again. The man shook his head, waving his long, light brown hair, as they continued fighting.

It was getting so dark by now that I could hardly see the attacks. But one thing was very clear to me. Whoever he was, the strange man wasn't using the earth, as Ivy was. He was using vines, leaves, even branches and occasionally flowers. I had no idea how he was doing that.

As Ivy kept raising walls of dirt and rock to push at him, he would block them all and attack with — well, with the rest of the Forest.

He made it look effortless, while I could see Ivy tiring.

I snapped to attention as Ivy raised a tall wall of dirt and rock, much taller than she had made it before. Moonlight shined on a bead of sweat trickling down from her brow as she held her hands aloft.

The man likewise raised his hands and captured the wall with his net of vines. Sweat dropped off his face too, as he made a pushing gesture with his hands. The vines pushed against the wall, which swelled against them.

Both of them were straining hard.

Just as the vines snapped, the wall collapsed. On top of Ivy.

The man didn't waste a beat. "Come, Princess!" He yelled, as he took off into the trees. Away from the palace.

Though I didn't care for my mother, I couldn't help but glance back at her. Not one bit of her was visible under a pile of rock and dirt. Why was I worried about her, even after all she had done to me? I tore my eyes away from her, glancing back front. The man was far ahead.

But I wasn't going with any strange man without knowing who he was.

"Who are you?" I yelled, running after him.

Without glancing back, he responded, "A rebel."

I froze.

"W-what?" I managed to stammer finally.

He stopped, realizing I wasn't following him. "Princess, you need to come with me. I'll explain everything as we go."

But a rebel? The same people who had just attacked my castle, and while he had saved me, I had no reason to trust him.

I crossed my arms and stood up taller. "There's no guarantee you won't harm me."

He sighed. "You have my word that no harm will befall you, Princess. I swear on Nalvia."

That didn't bode well, given that I didn't have much trust when elves swore on Nalvia anymore. Ivy probably hadn't died, she was stronger that that.

I considered my options.

Staying at the palace meant certain death. Running away into the Forest, given that I had no idea how to provide for myself or any plan of where to go, was probably death too. Going with this man seemed like the best choice.

"What's your name?" I called.

"Birch. Birch Poplar," he shouted back, "I'm here to save you. Please, come with me, you'll be safe with us."

I nodded finally, and watched as he walked back to me, keeping his hands up. I wasn't relaxed — I'd seen what he could do.

"Just a warning, Princess, but the way I will transport us might make you nauseous."

"What do you mea — "

Before I could finish my sentence, he snapped his fingers and vines grabbed both of us, and I lost sight of him. They pulled me into...well, if I wasn't mistaken, a tree. It was a blur. I caught a sight of woody trunks as I felt myself being flung rapidly by vines. I closed my eyes, getting dizzy.

I was flung one last time, and suddenly felt myself hitting on the hard ground. I groaned as the world spun around me. Once my legs were steady enough for me to stand, I got up.

Birch Poplar was standing in front of me, and beyond him was a row of wood cabins. I could make out some tents and more cabins in the distance.

"What was that? What is this place?" I asked, keeping my eyes on Birch.

"That was a way of transport we use here. And this is a rebel camp — the main rebel camp, actually." He walked up to one of the houses, identical to the others, and tapped on its door before glancing back at me. "You will be staying at my house tonight, Princess."

"At your house? Do I not have my own place?" I asked, wary. Living under a rebel's roof, I would be completely vulnerable. They would be able to do anything to me.

"Not yet," he said, and then I understood. They didn't trust me either. Not fully.

Nodding, I walked up to him, glancing at the door just as it opened.

The house was cozy-looking, with a fireplace burning and sofas arranged around it. I didn't get much time to admire it, though, because someone was at the door.

It was the rebel boy from the palace, the one who'd tried to grab me. And his left cheek was unnaturally red.

The boy dropped a dagger, along with his jaw.

"What is she doing here?"

"I suppose I neglected to inform you. The Princess will be staying with us for the future."

The boy looked at me, warily, and I returned the look. He obviously didn't trust me. I shared the sentiments.

"Princess, if I may introduce you to my son, Aiden. Aiden, this is the Princess," Birch said, glancing between the two of us.

Neither of us said anything, still eyeing each other doubtfully.

Birch cleared his throat, looking pointedly at Aiden, who backed away a bit and allowed Birch and I to come in. "Aiden, go to bed now," Birch said.

Aiden nodded and finally tore his eyes from me, heading down the hall to my right. Birch sighed and turned to me. "Princess, I'll show you your room."

"Wait," I said, as he turned, "I want answers. Why were you at the castle tonight? Who are you? And what do you even want?"

Birch pressed his lips together, and I could see the calculations in his eyes. Was it worth telling me? I kept my hard look, and he finally sighed.

"Very well. As I explained, we are at the main rebel camp. We attacked tonight to try and rescue you, as we knew Ivy would try to kill you tonight. It was risky, but we could spare our soldiers only today, and we knew she would be preoccupied."

Preoccupied. With me.

"As for what we want — we just want the Queen and the Prince to be deposed, and a fair ruler on the throne." He eyed me meaningfully.

I tried not to let my suspicion show. Wouldn't it be much easier for them, if they just let Ivy kill me and then took over? They'd have no ruler and would be able to control the entire Forest.

So why had they risked saving me?

But I couldn't let Birch see my doubts — I didn't know what they'd do to me. I nodded, and he turned and led me down the hall his son had disappeared down. There were three doors, and he led me to the last one, pushing open the door.

"I hope you find it comfortable, Princess."

I nodded, and he left. I shut the door behind myself, taking in the room. It was simple, a neat bed in one corner, a dresser with a mirror in another. There was a window, right across me, a soft breeze making the dark curtains wave gently.

I shut the window, pulling the wood shut. The sudden warmth didn't bother me much, not after all my cold nights. Then I locked the door, shoving the stone bolt into place.

I looked at the bed, the mattress, pillows and sheets seeming foreign. I couldn't remember the last time I'd slept in a bed. Slowly, tentatively, I put a knee onto the pallet. My foot sunk into it, and I pulled the rest of my body onto the bed, yanking the sheets up so they covered me till the neck.

I was so tired. So tired, even though I knew I wasn't truly safe here. Anything could happen, but it was wiser to rest now, under at least temporary protection. I knew the rebels probably wouldn't harm me, not after the pains they'd taken to get me out of the palace.

But why had they done that? What weren't they telling me, what was my role here?

I couldn't mull over the questions in my head for too long, for my eyelids grew heavy, and I turned onto my side, sighing at the comfort. I hadn't taken out my dress, so it tangled around my legs, providing extra warmth as I slowly drifted off.

A bit different from TLP original, right? Still, I hope you like the changes! At least El is out of the palace! Don't forget to:

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