Princess Willowyn's Arc

Chapter 6 of 70

The next morning, Willowyn knelt at her window and watched the courtyard below. The mortal men worked among the elves, hauling timber and coiling rope. One stood apart, dark-haired and steady, lifting a beam alone. Kai, she had heard the guards call him. Her green fox pressed against her knee, its vined fur warm. Aela slipped into the room and leaned beside her. She wore her green tunic, her blonde hair pulled tight in its high bun. She followed Willowyn's gaze and let out a fake cough. "So this is how we spend our morning. Spying on the mortals and your mother." "Shhh." Willowyn laughed and pulled her back from the glass. "The guards say their ship struck our coast in the storm. The hull cracked. They are stranded until it is mended." Aela's smile faded. "And your mother set a watch on them. One wrong step and she throws them out. You know that includes you, Willowyn. If she sees you near that boy, she will blame the mortals and send them off." Willowyn knew it. The Queen had granted refuge on one cold condition: no trouble. A princess whispering with a stranger was trouble. Every guard in the courtyard was a pair of eyes that reported to her mother. "Then I will not whisper," Willowyn said. "I will help. Openly, where they can see." Aela grabbed her wrist. "That is worse." "It is not." Willowyn shook her off gently. "Watch." She went down the winding stair and into the courtyard. The elves froze. The mortals stopped their work. She walked past the timber to the great stone trough by the wall, cracked and dry since the storm. Water for the workers came from there, and it sat empty. Willowyn raised her hands. She drew on her magic. Water rose from the well below in a bright ribbon and curled into the trough. It filled clean and clear. The mortals stared. Kai set down his beam. A guard moved to stop her. Willowyn spoke first, loud and calm. "The workers are thirsty. My mother wishes no trouble. Thirsty men make mistakes." The guard hesitated, then bowed his head and stepped back. Kai came forward and cupped his hands in the water. He drank, then looked at her. "Thank you, Princess." "You are welcome," she said. Just that. Nothing the Queen could punish. That evening a servant summoned her. The Queen stood in the throne room, crown catching the last light. "You went among the mortals," she said. "I gave the workers water," Willowyn answered. "A kindness. In your name." The Queen studied her for a long moment. "A princess may serve her guests," she said at last. "But only in the open. Only with a guard present. Cross that line and they are gone." Willowyn bowed and hid her joy. The door had opened, just a crack. She had found a way to reach the mortals without breaking her mother's rule. Tomorrow she would use it again.