The morning sun spilled into the room as I started to wake, blinding me for a moment as I sat up in bed. I clutched my comforter to my chest with one hand while I rubbed my eyes with the other. And when I shifted around until my feet hung from the edge a flash of memory rushed through me and I was jolted, now fully awake. Slowly, I turned to find the other side of my bed empty, with a deep purple iris resting on the pillow and a small note card beneath it. Fragments of last night's events wash my body with a rising heat that wouldn’t leave me, my eyes still glued to the flower and card. Gingerly, I reached out to take it, taking in the flowers delicate fragrance before turning the card over.‘Please forgive me for leaving you, I don’t want to cause you any trouble if I were to be seen leaving your room. I truly don’t know what came over me last night, I swear to you that it was

My blood ran cold, my body numb to all outside influence as Ivy’s words taunted me. I fought against them, not wanting to believe that my brother had been dragged to the Palace Prison. My knees locked and my body soon lost its will to stand, my body tilting to the side as Ivy held me, stopping me from hitting the floor.“I need to see him.” I muttered, brushing past her and towards the doors.She had to pull me back and remind me that I was in nothing but a nightgown, urging me to take deep breaths before I started getting ready. I tried doing what she said, tried to fill my lungs with air as she scampered around the room, pulling out pieces of my outfit. Still in a heavy fog of disbelief, I followed her orders, not really seeing what I was stepping into or what she had done to my hair. But when she was finished I shook the heaviness away from

The next few days passed by in a blur, with Dorian and I meeting up nearly every night and exploring a new piece of the Fafner Palace as well as getting the announcement of the next challenge.On the first night we agreed to meet in front of The All Mothers statue that was at the center of a grand fountain behind the Central Palace. I had gotten there before him and turned to look at the Goddess while I waited. She was in a flowing gown that looked like a river of stone with a crown of flowers and stars in her eyes. On her right shoulder was a small dragon with lavender eyes and its tail wrapped around the All Mothers neck. Another small little dragon with teal eyes was encircling her left ankle. And two little dragons were nestled in her arms in front of her with one nearly standing on its sibling. The one beneath the other had icy blue eyes and the other had red eyes. Each one of the dragons not only rep

*Prince Dorian*After the fighting I became consumed in the investigation, my desk overflowing with paperwork as my father and the Commander joined me in my office.Many files, names and backgrounds were pulled from those that had been arrested, revealing that a small number of the Royal Knights had been involved with the poisonings. Most of the other men looked to be Unbound to any Noble family or had a history of working for mercenaries, which left us at another dead end. This frustrated the Commander who was determined beyond normal means to capture the culprit that corrupted his men.We also found a few letters that had an unknown sender among the belongings of one of the dead men. In these letters there were clear instructions on who to frame at what time, what evidence to plant and who to target with the poiso

A few days passed by after that tense and incredibly embarrassing day and I was once again dressing up for a challenge.Ivy had woken me up early and started getting everything ready for me, rushing around the room as she talked to herself. I bathed in a flower and oil infused tub. Had my arms and legs massaged while I lay in bed with a mask of leaves and oils on my face. My hair was treated and washed twice then combed and styled while I sat in my robe. A full hour was spent going back and forth between dresses and then another thirty minutes choosing accessories.By the time I was all dressed and stepping into my sitting room, I found Queen Avelia already waiting for me.She was sitting on the corner of the room on one of the seats to my dinette with a steaming cup of tea in front of her and breakfast already set