Despite being left to rest, I couldn't force my eyes to close. I could only keep my focus trained on the entrance to the secret passage that lay directly in front of my bed. Though nobody else had used it and I doubted they would again for a long while.

Not too long after the two males had gone to the council room, Auron had returned to keep me company. He told me about how stressed and panicked Trik was at the fact that we both hadn't returned home last night after what had happened at the ball. The blacksmith hadn't even been allowed in to see either of us. Thankfully, Auron had been allowed to leave more or less as soon as he had woken up, putting our father out of his misery and suffering.

We continued to talk of simple things like we used to do before the threat of war loomed over us. The orders that were piling up on the front desk of the blacksmiths, plans for when we would next visit The Lost and Found — simple topics that I didn't realise I had missed dearly.

Auron stayed as long as he could, but he was forced to leave when the High Fae Queen entered with the task of healing me. She didn't appear as if she wanted to be sat in a room with me nor did she even speak to me much, only barking commands as to how I should position myself. There was no thank you for taking the arrow for her, as if she merely expected lives would be sacrificed for her safety.

It made me angry enough that I had to keep myself from talking too, otherwise, I might have bitten her head off. Figuratively and literally.

I would have to ask Kayne to get the information out of her about what she did to Icrodeia. It didn't feel like the right moment to press her for answers while she was healing my wound anyways.

As my mind drifted to the prince, my mind snapped to a realisation. If the queen was here with me and Kayne had gone to speak to his mother, where was he now? What had they spoken of? Had something happened? Perhaps that was why the queen didn't look amused in the slightest.

Once the High Fae Queen had left the room, my wound nearly fully healed, I felt well enough to be able to stand on my own. My head was still heavy, causing my vision to spin, but I made my way to the wall where Mace had appeared and vanished from.

I searched for any sign of an entrance, a hairline in the wallpaper that indicated there was something behind it, but there was nothing. Even as I rummaged around the items on the tables or removed the painting beside it, there was nothing to open the passage with. How did you get in and out? There had to be some way.

After concluding that I wouldn't be able to find a solution at that current moment in time, I decided to make my way back to the blacksmiths to write a note to Mace. It was a place where I knew there would be no prying eyes, no secret halls where anyone could barge in on me at any moment. I didn't have time to waste, especially if I needed to find a way to hang the note in a tree.

When I returned home, I found the blacksmith's empty aside from the door to Auron's workroom closed. Either Trik or Auron had to be in there, and I couldn't let either of them find out what I was doing. From what Mace had pulled at the ball, I didn't know if they'd be hurt if I dragged them into something that was clearly only intended for me.

I made my way to my room, sat down with a sheet of paper in front of me, a pen in my hand, and simply stared at it. What was I supposed to write? Mace had instructed to just write his name, but was that enough? I felt like I needed a way to show my urgency to speak with him. He was just about to tell me what he was after.

I wrote out a sentence, frowned, and then scratched it out again. The cycle continued until I settled on "Mace. We need to talk as soon as possible". Hopefully, that would do. Who knew writing a simple note could be so troublesome? Though, I knew it would pale in comparison to the difficulty of trying to get it in a tree. Did he have to pick a tree of all things?

With a deep sigh and a stretch of my back, being ever so careful not to pull at the healing wound too much, I made my way back down the stairs to the entrance of the blacksmith's to head over to the stables. However, before I could leave, I noticed Trik standing behind the counter.

He looked at me, a wobbly smile faltering over his lips, and didn't say a word as he pulled me into his arms. His embrace was tight, enough to send a jolt of pain through me.

I tapped his shoulder, silently asking him to let me go before he squeezed me to death.

"How are you better already?" Trik took a step back to examine me, nothing but worry and concern on his face. "Auron mentioned you got shot with an arrow and I haven't been allowed back into the castle to see you."

"The queen healed me," I explained. "She used her magic to speed up the natural process that would have had to take place."

The blacksmith let out a shaky breath. "I'm glad you're okay. I should have been with you last night, I should have stayed to protect you." He shook his head, telling himself there was nothing he could do about that now. "Where were you going? Even though you were healed, you should still be resting."

"I'm... going to see someone." It was the best I could pull from my mind without hesitating too much.

"Is it your lover?" He teased, leaning against the stone countertop.

I couldn't stop the heat rising to my cheeks. "Maybe." After what had happened at the ball, I had no idea what was happening with the engagement. There was no point in telling him Kayne and I weren't ever actually together just yet.

"I won't stop you then. Just remember to take it easy, alright?" Trik crossed his arms, as if he knew that his reminder wouldn't do much to keep me out of trouble.

"I will," I replied, knowing that I was about to ride a horse and climb a tree. Taking it easy indeed.

"I've already contacted a client about the Sephirans who is very good at finding people, especially in Icrodeia as he lives there," he began before I could leave again. "It hopefully shouldn't be too long until we know something about them."

"Thank you." I gave him a warm smile in return, hoping to get the note sitting in my pocket in a tree as soon as possible, but I could tell there was something bothering him.

His fingers tapped restlessly against the stone and he frequently shifted his weight from one foot to another. All signs that pointed to him wanting to ask something outside of his usual comfort.

"Is everything okay?" I nudged gently, as if poking a bear with a stick.

"You won't- you won't leave us if they really are your parents, right? You won't leave me and Auron behind?"

"I would never dream of it." I pulled Trik into a hug of my own, a quick squeeze of reassurance. "You're my family, I would never leave you. I'm just curious as to who they are, how I managed to get captured and sold in the first place." I couldn't have imagined that he felt that way. Did Auron have similar feelings?

The blacksmith hugged me back and placed a kiss on my hairline. "Alright, I won't make you stay any longer. Go have fun with your prince."

"Thank you, I will," I softly laughed as I waved, bidding him farewell.

The walk to the stables was much longer than I remembered, my body aching with each step I took and exhaustion beginning to settle through me. Everyone I had spoken to was right — I needed rest. It would have to wait until this note was delivered though.

It felt as if it was burning a hole through my pocket, weighing me down. The sooner I got rid of it and saw Mace again to get the answers I needed from him, the better.

Every time Cirrus trotted along the path towards the exit of the castle, pain jolted through my back, reminding me of what had happened. I had to grit my teeth in order to push myself through the journey to the forest. Would I even be able to climb a tree in this state?

When I deemed myself far enough from the castle and not too far from the main path, I dismounted my horse and began to size up the trunk before me. I had climbed a tree before when I was younger without fail, what was the difference now? All I could do was pray I didn't fall. Perhaps the spirit of the forest would protect me.

I reached my arms up as far as they could go, grabbing a hold of the lowest branches and pulling myself up, digging my boots into the bark to act as a decent foothold. Continuing upwards, cursing occasionally under my breath, I made sure to test the strength of each branch before using it until I made it as far as I could go.

Taking a deep breath and peering out below me, I concluded it was far enough. A fall from this height would result in a lot of broken bones, maybe even something worse. I clung to the trunk of the tree a little tighter.

Retrieving the note from my pocket, I stuck it through a thin twig, trying to keep my thudding heart calm. This was all I had to do, right? Leave it up in a tree for him to find. Mace said he would find it, but there was a doubt in my mind that told me I had chosen a difficult place.

Just as I was debating whether or not to climb a different tree, one closer to the path that people travelled along, a branch next to me dipped under the weight of a little girl, causing me to scream and cling to the trunk for my life.

The girl only looked at me regretfully, bowing her head in an apology. Her eyes were the first thing that caught my attention, a piercing gold that now meant more bad than good. The next thing I noticed was the cloak around her shoulders matching the ones from Mace's group last night. Her hood was down, not attempting to hide her appearance at all. She couldn't have been more than ten.

"Who are you?" My voice shook. Even if I wanted to, I didn't think I could remove my arms from the tree.

The girl smiled sorrowfully in answer, pointing towards the note I had attached to the branch. Could she not talk? She didn't hold onto anything, using her own balance to act as the safety net to her life.

"You want the note?" I asked, not knowing if I would be able to reach out and grab it again out of fear.

She nodded eagerly, stepping closer to me so I wouldn't have as far to move to hand it over. How had someone so young ended up working for someone like Mace? And how long had he made her wait up here for a note from me? He would have had no idea when I would decide to ask to see him again. That was nothing but cruel.

"Are you going to hand it straight to Mace?" I questioned cautiously, though my hesitation served no purpose. It was clear that she was tight under his control.

The girl nodded again, her smile growing. There was a sneaking suspicion growing in me that her lack of speech was something to do with the escaped prisoner.

With a deep breath, I swiftly reached over to the note, snatched it from where it sat, and held it towards the girl. She took it as quickly as she could, allowing me to secure my safety once more.

Taking a bow in what I assumed was her way of thanking me, she nimbly hopped from branch to branch through the treetops, disappearing from my sight. I envied that ability because all I had to do now was find a way out of the tree unscathed.