WARNING: INCLUDES SPOILERS OF DAMSEL BOOK AND MOVIE. DON'T READ IF YOU'RE PLANNING TO READ THE BOOK OR WATCH THE MOVIE. "Vis kir vis. Sanae kir res," Mother repeated, her tone gradually becoming more and more clipped. "Vis kir vis. Sanae kir res," I echoed. "Yes," she said. "You must learn the legacy of your ancestors." I scratched my arm, where my skin was threatening to shift. "Madeleine, where's your brother?" Mother adjusted the crown perched above her head. I shrugged. "Probably causing trouble in the fields." "Well, go fetch him for me, won't you?" As I ran through the crowded streets of Aurea, many of the citizens waved a hello or gave me a polite incline of the chin, and occasionally bowed or curtsied. "Maddy!" I whirled around. "CORA!! How are you back so soon?" Cora, Mother's friend, was an envoy for the kingdom of Aurea, and she loved to travel. It was rare to catch her in the kingdom, since she was always on voyages. "I just returned from Inophe," she said, tugging on my braid playfully. "Your aunt sends her greetings, as well as your grandmother." I smiled at her. "You should come with me to the palace. I'm sure Mother would be overjoyed to see you." "Sure," Cora said. "Where are you going? You seemed to be in a hurry when I saw you." "Mother wanted me to fetch Richard." "Well, he's all the way in the fields. I'll go ahead to the palace and you can fly there." I grinned. My skin was already itching to shift. And it did. Like a domino effect, scales rippled down my body as the transformation began. It felt like I was bursting out of a pond of still water, and before I knew it, I was in the air, stretching my golden wings out wide. No sooner was I up in the sky than I was already touching down in the golden Aurum wheat fields. Richard stood in the middle of the field, flirting with some villager girls. "Fenekri!" I roared. The girls shrieked hellos over the earsplitting flapping of my wings. "Retaza wants you back at the palace!" Richard rolled his eyes, waving goodbye to the girls and transforming as well. He then joined me in the air, and together we flew back to the palace. "Did you know? Cora's back! I can't wait to see what goodies she brought us back from Inophe." Richard rolled his eyes yet again. "What goodies? If you're talking about Inophean shortbread, I'll have to decline." "Oh come on," I teased. "It's not /that/ bad." "Yes it is!!" Richard insisted, and we both burst out laughing. "I've missed mountain carp so much," Cora said as she took another bite of her fish. "May I please be excused?" I asked in my most polite tone, but already pushing away from the dining table. It was nearly one o'clock, much too late to be called lunch! And besides, I had already eaten at least five courses of food! "Yes, you may, Madeleine." Up in my room, I was standing on the balcony and gazing out at the shimmering sea. Cerulean waves lapped against the shore, and that's when I saw it. A huge fleet of ships, with royal flags flapping in the wind. The flags weren't any of those that I had been forced to memorize, and they weren't Aurean ships either. Because of Aurea's geographical isolation and diplomatic aloofness, we didn't usually get visitors. And if we did, Mother would /usually/ tell me and Richard beforehand. So who were these uninvited strangers? "Liora?" I called to my personal maid. "Yes, Your Highness?" "Where are these ships from?" Liora stepped out on the balcony with a skeptical face, and I was sure that she thought it was another one of my jokes. But then her gaze rested on the unfamiliar flags, and all color drained from her face. "Liora? What's wrong?" I was genuinely terrified now. Aurea had been at peace for more than eight centuries, and the kingdom would undoubtedly be unprepared for war. "The queen would've mentioned those ships to all of the staff if they were invited guests," Liora said, slowly backing away from me. "So they can only mean one thing." Before I could ask another question, Liora was already sprinting out of the room in a very unladylike manner. "The soldiers at the guard posts must have seen them too!" I called as I ran after her. "It doesn't matter!' Liora yelled back at me. "The queen still has to be notified!" By the time we got to the dining hall, I was completely out of breath, and there were already soldiers talking to Mother. "Mother? What's going on?" My eyes flicked to Richard, who had a sword by his side. "WHAT THE- Are we going to war?!" "No. Don't be silly." Mother's firm and confident response was enough to make me feel much more calm. She had that effect on everyone, and it was a quite helpful skill for her as queen. "Send an armed group of men on horses to meet them at the dock, and make sure that they don't harm any citizens. They could be pirates. Then once you have acquired their identities, send a messenger back to the palace to alert me at once." The soldiers both nodded and bowed before running off.
"I can go with them if you want," Cora offered, but Mother held up her hand. "No. Their identity is unknown to us, so we must be cautious. No uninvited strangers have ever showed up on the isle of Aurea." Her tone scared me, and I looked back at Richard's sword. "Should I get a sword too?" "That is unnecessary," Mother assured. "If they do happen to be foe, they won't make it even halfway to the palace." After half an hour of waiting, a messenger finally returned. I could feel the pit in my stomach unraveling. "Well?" Mother demanded. "Who are they?" The messenger gulped before speaking. "A man by the name of Prince Henry of Aurea." Mother's face paled, and she nearly toppled over. Luckily, Richard was there to catch her, but the poor messenger's eyes bugged out as if he had killed the queen of Aurea. I was going to faint too, I was sure of it. Prince Henry was the exiled ex-prince of Aurea, who decided not to be executed alongside his parents for their bloody deeds. But he had also sworn to never return. Translation: Vis kir vis = life for life Sanae kir res = blood for fire Fenekri = brother Retaza = mother
