The Parrot leads us down a really pretty hall with lots of paintings and doors to rooms elsewhere in the Woburn House. As we walk, I notice the faces of the passing Avian Knights. They keep staring at me and Lucy!! Is it because we’re both going to be Monarchs as adults? Everyone wants Mother and King Finn to be friends, so they must be worried that me and Lucy won’t be friends.

“Don’t worry! As the Princess of Ellyntide, I’ll do anything to become friends with Princess Lucy!” …That’s what I wish I could tell them. But as excited as I am, I’m a little worried we won’t become friends. Lucy’s so cool looking and older than me… and she didn’t look happy when she found out we were going to play together. I know I have to become friends with her somehow, but… can I really do it?

We stroll down the hall, passing even more doors leading to other rooms. Finally, after passing like a million doors, we turn into a smaller hallway. A Hawk in fancy clothes is removing some kind of musical instrument with lots of horns and tubes from a closet, which is now almost completely empty. He spots us, and his face becomes really surprised. He snatches the metal instrument, slams the door shut, and leaves behind a trail of down feathers on the carpet as he races past us back to the main hallway.

What a weird Avian!

Finally, the Parrot stops to open a door and leads us into a room. As I step inside, I get really excited!

“Woooooow!” I say. “Look at all these dolls!”

Scattered around the room are Kit-sized tables, little pink couches, and tons of TOYS! At the center of the room are four toy chests that are practically overflowing with toys for girls! I giggle and run over to them, pulling the cover off the closest one to see what’s inside. At the top of the pile is a Fronted Lemur doll in a pretty pink dress!! I pick it up and give it a big hug, just like it was my own Kit!

“She’s so cute!! Her name is ‘Lavender’ because she’s as pretty as a flower!” I spin around and run back to the doorway where Lucy is standing. “Look!”

Instead of being excited, Lucy looks a little annoyed. “Yeah, um. I’m thirteen, Asha. I don’t play with—”

“That’s okay!” I interrupt. “I’ll find something for big kits!”

Before Lucy can say anything more, I whirl around and run back to the toy chests to search for something else. Big Kits still like toys, right? There’s gotta be something in here I can find for Lucy! She’ll become friends with me if I can find a toy she loves. I give toys to all the kits I meet, and everyone always likes it!

But as time goes on, Lucy doesn’t like any of the toys I show her. She’s not interested in dolls, doll houses, or doll clothing! As I sift through the last toy chest, I’m beginning to get scared. What If I can’t find a toy she doesn’t like? Everyone likes me when I share my toys, so why doesn’t she? Ugh, how come this dumb house doesn’t have as many toys as I do at my Palace? The Avian Knights must be poor!

Wait…

…Of course!!

Lucy is a Princess, too! And if she’s anything like me, then she already has—

“Asha,” Lucy calls out from across the room.

Huh? I look up to see a Secretary and a Crow standing around Lucy. It looks like she was talking to them about something important. As she sees me, she raises her arm and waves for me to join them.

“Oh!” I say, scampering across the room.

“Prince Murdoch has summoned us for some reason,” the Secretary says as I look up at him.

The Crow folds her wings and growls, “Something about the Queen’s preferences for tea.”

“They are very specific,” The Secretary’s head plumes droop. “In the meantime, Princess Lucy will be watching you until we return.”

Wait, Mother needs help with something? Isn’t she working with King Finn about peace stuff? Maybe if I came with the Avian Knights, I could ask the King how to become friends with Princess Lucy!

“Um, can I come with you?” I ask.

Lucy shakes her head. “You have to stay here, Asha.”

“Huh? But—“

“She’s right,” The Crow says. “We won’t be gone for long, alright? Just… stay put!”

With that, the Crow and the Secretary adjust their pretty red uniforms to look presentable and exit the room, leaving me and Lucy to ourselves. How come they get to see my Mother, but I can’t? Don’t they know I’m the Princess of Ellyntide? They’re acting just like Mother when she tells me I can’t do something!

“Ugh!” I pout, stamping my feet against the ground. “This isn’t fair! I never get to do anything fun!”

Lucy looks at me but says nothing. She doesn’t seem to care that I don’t get to do anything I want! Why? Does King Finn allow her to do whatever she wants? Maybe she doesn’t like my toys because she’s seen them all! She probably has everything she’s ever wanted in Sarlain and gets to go anywhere and see anyone! That’s so unfair! Why do adults always do this to me?!

Last week, the Groundskeeper told me I should act more… um… assertive! She said that’s when you act confidently and take matters into your own hands! She’s right! If I want to have fun, then I’m going to have to make my own fun!

…

I have an idea.

I walk past Lucy and peer into the hallway, checking to see if any Avians are nearby.

“Um, what are you doing?” Lucy asks.

I turn to face her and smile. “I’m playing hide and seek!”

Lucy looks annoyed. “You’re what?”

“The adults never let me have fun! So, I’m going to have my own fun! You should play with me, too!”

“Asha, I—“

“I’m going to hide in one of the closets! The adults will never guess to look there!”

Lucy takes a step towards me. “Asha, you can’t do that! You’ll get in trouble!”

I fold my arms and frown. “I don’t care!”

“If you get in trouble, then I’ll get in trouble! I’m supposed to be watching you!”

“So?”

“Don’t be such a dumb kit,” Lucy’s tail twitches in irritation. “Do you want everyone to get mad at you?”

“Everyone is always mad at me! My Mother never lets me do anything fun! You’re just a lame adult like she is!”

Lucy scoffs and rolls her eyes. “And you’re just a dumb kit.”

“I am the Princess of Ellyntide, and I’m going to play hide and seek!”

With that, I turn on my feet and march into the hallway. I’m going to hide in the closet, the one I saw the Hawk removing a musical instrument from! Everyone will get really worried and start looking for me, but I’ll be right under their muzzles the whole time! This is going to be so much fun!

From behind me, I hear Lucy run to the door. “Asha?! Asha, wait!! UGH!” she snarls in frustration.

Ignoring the boring adult, I find the closet and open the door wide. Inside is a few small boxes and some other stuff that’s used for playing music, I think. But before I can step inside, Lucy’s grasps my shoulder.

“Asha!” she growls.

“No!” I say. Using all my strength, I grab onto her arm and pull her backward into the closet.

“Hey—!”

“Eep!”

Something catches my leg — a box, maybe? Either way, we fall backward and land against the wall with a loud thud. As we do, the door closes behind us, and everything darkens.

“Asha!!” Lucy growls. By the light shining under the door, I see her bare fangs. “You stupid kit! What are you—“

Noises outside the door interrupt Lucy. Instead of continuing to be mad at me, she stops talking. There are talonsteps approaching the door — the Secretary and Crow knights have returned from talking with Mother! I cover my muzzle with my hands so they can’t hear me squeak in surprise.

“Huh? Where did they go?!” asks the Secretary.

Lucy opens her muzzle to answer back. Oh no, you don’t! I reach up and cover her face, muffling her voice and making it quiet. Surprised I would do such a thing, her eyes bulge.

The crow calls out, “Princess Asha? Lucy?! Where did you go?!”

The Knights quickly search the room before leaving again. As they pass our closet, I keep my hand over Lucy’s face and only release it once the sound of their talons fades down the hall.

“You stupid kit!” Lucy snarls. “Why did you—”

“I don’t care!” I say. “My Mother can punish me all she wants! I am the Princess of Ellyntide, but she never lets me have fun! So, I shall have my own!”

I cross my arms, remembering Mother’s advice about standing up for myself. How funny! I bet she never expected me to stand up to the Princess of Sarlain! But instead of being angry at me for being strong and independent, Lucy seems… happy? She smiles and almost looks delighted that I’m standing up for myself.

”Fun, eh?” she asks. “Okay, Princess. We’ll do it your way. I’ll play hide and seek with you.”

“You will?!”

“Yeah, you and me. Let’s play together. That’s what friends do, right?”

I don’t believe it! Lucy actually wants to play with me now that I stood up for myself! Mother was right; Animals really respect you if you act strong! But before I can tell Lucy how happy I am, I hear talonsteps walking really fast down the hall.

Lucy braces me against the wall with her arm. “Shh! Here they come!”

The Animals outside approach our hallway. The Crow explains, “—They were here just a second ago! They couldn’t have gone far!”

A set of four talons pass by us, again avoiding the closet. Yes!! I know my plan would work! As the Avians return to the toy room and talk about forming a plan, Lucy reaches forward and turns the knob on the door lock. Oh, good idea! I’m glad I have a smart, old Kit with me!

“Start looking around. We have to find them before the first recess!” a new voice commands, older and more angry than the others.

“Yes, ma’am!”

The Avians begin scouring the room, knocking over toys and moving tables. Eventually, a pair of talons enters the hall and begins searching each closet. One by one, he opens the doors and comes closer to ours. With my heart pounding against my chest, the Avian approaches our door and turns the knob. I mean to gasp, but Lucy covers my muzzle just in time. To my relief, the lock remains engaged, and the door stays shut. Upset, the avian tries turning the knob again, but the door stays locked.

“Ugh, where’s that key? God damn it…”

Giving up, she steps away from the door and moves to the next one down the hall. After the last two doors have been checked, the knights reassemble in front of our closet.

“They’re not here,” the older voice says. “Let’s move further down the hall.”

The other three respond in unison, “Yes, Ma’am!”

Muffled talons walk across the carpet, slowly growing quieter until they dispensary again.

Ha ha, that was so close!! Lucy pulls her hand off my muzzle, and I can’t help but laugh! “Tee-hee hee! We were so quiet!! They have no idea we’re here!!”

“Yes,” Lucy says calmly. I’m sure they’ll never think to recheck the closet.”

Ha ha, this is AWESOME! I can’t believe it, I’m friends with the other Princess! And not only that, but I’m playing a fun game with her where we disobey the adults!!

“I wonder if they’ll think we were abducted?” Lucy asks.

“Huh?” Abducted? “What does that mean?”

Lucy takes a step backward and asks, “Haven’t your parents taught you about being safe in public?”

“Well, yeah, but—“

“Some crazy Animal could take us away and never give us back to our parents.” The light creeping in from the hallway shimmers off Lucy’s blue eyes. “Would your Mother blame Sarlain if that happened here?”

“W-why would she blame Sarlain?” I ask hesitantly. “Mother wants to be friends with King Finn. And he’s really nice!”

“Asha,” Lucy says ominously, looming directly over me. “Our Kingdoms fought a war.”

“Um…” Why does Lucy sound really serious all of a sudden? I pull my tail around from the back and run my fingers through it. This is making me scared.

She continues, “Our airships raided your cities, dropped bombs, and killed thousands of Animals. Then, your ships were sent to do the same to my Kingdom. Didn’t your parents teach you that?”

I try to think of something to tell Lucy but come up blank. Why is she telling me this? I thought we were friends…? These aren’t the things friends talk about! Wh… What’s going on?! I don’t want to think about these things!!

But Lucy keeps talking. “Don’t you get it, Asha? Let me spell it out for you: We can’t be friends because our families hate each other. We’re enemies.”

“SHUT UP!”

I stamp my feet and throw down my tail, trying to do something, anything, to get Lucy to stop!! Surprisingly, she does, and instead of being angry, she smiles.

“My Mother taught me about the war!” I say. “I know that Animals got hurt! And some of them DIED!”

Once, Mother sat down with me and told me our Kingdom fought a far. But she never told me who it was against. This is the first time I’ve heard it was Sarlain, and now everything makes sense! The reason why we’re here, and the reason Mother and King Finn are trying to be friends… they want to stop fighting!! They want the war to be over!! But most of all, this is why Lucy says we can’t be friends. Because of some stupid war that happened a long time ago!! Thinking about all of this overwhelms me with emotion — it makes me wish I could open the door and run away from here.

“But I don’t care! I don’t care why the war happened or why our families don’t like each other! That doesn’t mean we can’t be friends!!”

I turn away from Lucy, bury my head into my tail, and start crying softly. I told myself I wasn’t going to act like a kit in front of her, but I can’t help it. I feel awful. Why did she have to tell me that? Why couldn’t we just be nice friends with each other? One day, we’re going to be Monarchs. Doesn’t she want peace? Doesn’t she want our Kingdoms to be friends with each other? If me and Lucy become friends now, then we’ll still be friends as Monarchs!

Outside the closet, another group of Avians rush past the door, squawking orders at one another. They’re really starting to panic about us missing. I pull my face from my tail and look up at Lucy. Her face has softened, and she no longer looks mean or upset.

“Are you scared to become Queen?” I ask softly.

Lucy says nothing and looks away. Then, surprisingly, she nods.

“Yeah,” I say. “I am, too. I don’t understand the war, and I don’t understand being a Monarch… but if I make a lot of friends as a Kit, then maybe they’ll help me out when I become Queen.”

The other day, the groundkeeper asked me if I was scared to become Queen. When I told her I was, she said I should make as many friends as possible as a Kit. Whenever I visit the garden, she’s always very friendly and asks me a lot of interesting questions... I trust her a lot.

“So, I thought becoming friends with another Princess would be the best thing ever. Because you’re the only other Animal who knows what it’s like to be a Princess…”

Lucy stares at me, and her tail lowers a little. “Hm. You’re more mature than you look.”

Outside our darkened closet, another group of Knights rushes past us. Then, I hear Mother’s voice talking to King Finn. They both sound really worried about us.

“I think we should stop hiding,” I whisper.

“Yeah,” Lucy says normally. “I’m bored. Let’s get out of here.”

Lucy reaches over my head, undoes the lock, and flings the door open. After my eyes adjust to the sudden light, I follow Lucy into the hallway. Mother and King Finn are with the Avian knights, standing by the doorway to the toy room. They’re talking to each other and trying to decide where to search next.

Looking annoyed, Lucy steps past me and yells, “We’re right here!”

Everyone whips around in shock. Finn and Mother’s eyes go wide.

“Lucy!!”

“Asha!!”

With the Monarchs leading, the group rushes over to us. Finn looks relieved, but Mother is staring at me with a furious look. I thought I wouldn’t care if she got mad at me for playing hide and seek, but Mother never gets this angry. This is bad!! What if she gets angry at Lucy, too?!

“Lucy, were you hiding in the closet?!” Finn asks franticly.

“Yeah,” she says, still annoyed. “I was teaching Asha a lesson.”

“You were what?!” Mother shrieks.

“I wanted to play hide and seek!!” I say quickly. “Please, don’t be mad at Lucy! It was my fault!”

Lucy continues, “I wanted to teach her she can’t be an annoying kit and just run away whenever she gets bored. But Asha’s actually smarter than that, so it didn’t work.”

Lucy looks at Finn, tilts her eyebrows, and shrugs. For some reason, Finn looks kind of amused by her response. Why isn’t he angry at her?

In contrast, Mother looks furious. She lashes her tail and says, “I don’t believe this!! Your Majesty, this is an—“

Finn cuts her off, “Tell me, Princess Asha. Did you have a fun time?”

Finn stares down at me, looking very old and kind. He seems like such a nice King, but Lucy told me our Kingdoms are enemies! Could it be... he’s acting kind to me on purpose? He isn’t trying to trick me, is he!? Ugh, all this adult stuff is so confusing! I wish I knew what to do!

“Um…” I trail off, wishing I knew what to say. Mother still looks super upset… there’s got to be a reason why she’s upset, right? I think… I trust her more than King Finn. I’m going to be in big trouble later, but I trust Mother and my Kingdom more than him.

“I felt a little scared, b-but I’m okay now!!”

I lied. I wish I could be braver, but Finn is making me uncomfortable, and I don’t know why.

Finn smiles and pats the top of my head. “Well, then. It seems the Princesses’ little adventure caused no harm.”

“Caused no harm?!” Mother echoes. “And what about the Eternals? They nearly assembled the fleet to search the island!!”

“Well, Your Majesty, the fleet wasn’t assembled. And it seems our Princesses had some bonding time together. Isn’t that right?”

“Yeah,” Lucy smiles. “Me and Asha are friends now.”

Ohmygosh!! She said it! She said we’re friends! I beam with joy, so pleased that Princes Lucy and I are friends! Mother still looks upset, but I don’t care! I can’t wait to tell the groundskeeper what happened! She’s going to be so happy to learn I became friends with Lucy!

…Oh! I’ve been saving something just for this moment! I reach into my pocket and pull out a piece of foil-wrapped candy Miss Almandoz gave me. I step in front of Lucy and hold it out in front of her.

“What’s this?” she asks, snatching it from my hand.

“It’s candy!!” I announce. “I give candy to all my friends!”

Lucy examines the candy, and her eyes fall onto me. The tiniest smile flashes across her face.