Back in the kingdom of Dunhurst, Lady Loraven was sitting in the gardens of the palace. She was in a daze, staring at the flowers and partially enjoying the sun. Her fingers tapped on the bench where she last sat with Evanna before she left on her journey to steal that gemstone. Today was her daughter's eighteenth birthday, and after their discussion in the dream walk, it was absolute that Evanna has been gifted.

Loraven was an elf and her daughter a half-breed; if the nobles were to find out, then they could very well be executed. She kept a close eye on her throughout her childhood, for it was dangerous for them to be living in the palace. She always hated that Evanna was brought up in such an environment, but there was nowhere else to go; her parents would never take her back even if they knew of their granddaughter.

Loraven was unsure of what Evanna's powers were other than this 'sixth sense'. From how she described it, that was quite a rare power, but then again, so was hers. Each member of her family had a gift to do with the mind.

Her gift was being able to dream walk, her mother could control what people could see, and her younger brother could control people's speech. She wondered, with her daughter being a half-breed, what power she was gifted and if it would be powerful.

But that was the least on her mind right now. Evanna was captured, and now more than ever, she should be as far away as possible from the elven kingdoms. When an elven child/teenager has been bestowed the gift, their body goes through excruciating pain to get used to the surge of power awakening in their body. The pain and length of the feverish 'illness' they go through depends on how strong the gift or gifts are.

If the elves were to find out that she is a half-breed and the state she is in today is due to her gift awakening, then they could very well use it as a torture technique. Loraven would not put it past the Flori. She could only hope that Evanna has not revealed her true self or told anyone that it was her birthday. The last chance of an elf to get their gift would be on their eighteenth birthday. It was extremely rare to be given it any later.

Loraven placed her hand on her chest, vaguely forgetting she gave the family heirloom to Evanna. But the habit still brought her comfort, and comfort was what she needed while thinking of everything her daughter must have been through. She did not know what Evanna had been doing before being captured by the Flori. But the necklace was connected to one of the rings she wore. Anytime the ring glowed, it meant Evanna was injured.

She kept watching the green gem on her ring. It did not glow too much, but it went off like a firework a few times, making her feel faint with worry. If the colour drained from the stone, then it meant Evanna was dead. So, in times when it glowed, she would constantly watch it for two days even after it stopped glowing because she knew soldiers could die of infections or not getting their injuries treated.

Loraven knew too well how lives were lost. It was why she trained so well and taught her daughter to become a master of two blades. If Loraven brought her daughter up in Lyvaria, then she would be knighted as a swords master, no matter if she was a woman.

She sighed before slowly standing up only to grip onto the bench tightly and placing her hand on her head, waiting for the dizziness to subside. The maids rushed forwards with the wooden mobile chair on wheels, and she collapsed heavily into her chair, catching her breath. Loraven put her hands over her eyes to hide from the sunshine and calmed down. She felt useless; her body was slowly giving up on her.

"Where is king Osian?" Loraven asked the maid, pushing the chair on the path leading back to the palace.

"His highness was last seen in his study," The maid replied.

Loraven nodded, "Please take me to him."

His majesty was not found at his desk like usual in the king's study but staring outside his floor-to-ceiling window that overlooked the training grounds. Loraven was wheeled in after he called her in. She observed his strong stature, his broad shoulders shading the bright sunlight piercing through the window.

Osian looked down at the crumpled letter in his hands. This was not the first time he was lost in thought, reading and re-reading the letter Evanna addressed to him. He didn't need to read the words on the page now as it was engraved in his heavy heart. The letter read:

My dearest father,

By now, you will know that I am gone. I did not make this decision lightly, nor have I done this to purposely cause you or mother pain. I discovered a way to help cure mother, and I cannot tell you what it is because it is not entirely legal. It is not something that an army could help with nor something a king should be involved in. But I MUST do this.

I beg of you not to use the kingdom's resources in searching for me. I am highly skilled in sword fighting and have companions to help me with my plan. When I return, I will be sure to tell you of my adventures, but for now, please do not worry. I will return with the cure for mother.

Your loving daughter,

Evanna

**

On the first day, Evanna was missing, and his men came back reporting they had not captured her; he crumbled to the ground in shock. She truly managed to escape. It was well planned and thought out because even with her poster placed out across the kingdom and his best men out searching for her, she was still missing.

Two days ago, her horse Midknight and some other horses arrived at the palace; Sir Hugh was the first to arrive and tell him. It made the situation seem even dire. Was Evanna alive? He felt nauseous and made rash decisions that day, sending a letter to King Horik Hart of the Hatherland kingdom about the princess' disappearance and requesting help. As it were, the king took advantage of the situation and made a deal instead.

Hatherland would not attempt to invade Dunhurst if they arranged a marriage between Evanna and his second eldest son, Prince Conrad Hart. Osian agreed only if the prince and his men found Evanna before them. He knew too well how much Conrad and Evanna disliked each other; they tried many times to make them become childhood friends, but it never happened.

They were already thinking of becoming more vital allies with Hatherland, but when he saw the children fighting, not playfighting but brutally fighting each other, he knew it was never to be. But now, he hoped the prince had turned into someone Evanna could appreciate because if he found her, then they would marry.

Although he asked for help from the neighbouring kingdom, he, of course, was still not satisfied and full of dread. But Lady Loraven comforted him after telling him about her magic ring and how the colour was not drained from it. Still, they would worry over Evanna. It was reckless, irresponsible and.. something exactly his passionate, wild daughter would do. It must be the elf in her.

"Did you make contact with her?" Osian asked while looking back out of the window, the letter crinkling in his tight grasp.

"I did," Loraven replied tiredly. At the sound of her voice, the king spun around and scrutinised her. She was pale and looked exhausted. It was only 11am.

She must have overexerted herself to dream walk to Evanna. Osian felt terrible, but then he remembered how Loraven refused to bring him into the dream with her, forgetting that it took three times the amount of power to connect more than two minds together in the dream state.

"And?" His deep voice reverberated through the cold, stone office. He sat down behind the desk and clasped his hands together, resting his arms on the wooden desk.

"Evanna is.. she is.. safe," Loraven began and continued after seeing the king narrow his eyes at her stuttered words. "It seems her gift is coming through… It is, after all, her birthday."

Osian sighed, "I cannot believe we are not spending her eighteenth with her. I can only be grateful right now that she is alive and well. This gift.. You mentioned it before when she was younger.. Is.. it a painful process?"

Loraven looked down, not meeting his eyes. For such a brutish king, he only showed true love towards the ones that he loved, and he would not be happy with her response.

"It is excruciating."