Chapter One

The room was lit with only one candle. The light flickered in the soft breeze that roamed the castle at night, leaving an emptiness in its trail. The candle was set on a small table of oak, between two large velvet armchairs. One chair sat patiently empty, while the other held a small, thin woman, with a head of golden curls. She stared at the tiny candle flame, her gray eyes reflecting the flame as it danced. In her frail hands she held a book. The letters on the front cover were understandable only to her, they were written in an ancient, forgotten language that no one bothered to learn anymore.

The pages of the book were frayed, and the cover was stained with age. The leather had worn away in some places, leaving a forgotten look about it, as if it had sat on a shelf in loneliness for years and years. She caressed the book absentmindedly with her fingers, as if it was some precious treasure she needed to protect and love. She sat rigidly in her chair, never taking her eyes from the flame, waiting for someone to come into the room.

The door opened, and the Empress walked in. She took her place beside the girl. The Empress came dressed in her night robes, her long, black hair twisted into a shining braid that ran down the whole of her body. Her green eyes gleamed with interest when they found the book in the girl's hands. She had been Empress of Elganiel for near twenty years, and had never seen its most precious volume.

“How may I help you?” The Empress asked quietly. The breeze grew colder, and the trees tapped lightly against the windowpanes. The Empress turned to look out of the windows. All was dark and quiet.

“My name is Veromia.” The frail girl began, “I have come with urgent news.”

The Empress Annaleasa waited expectantly.

“The Council has advised me to tell you that the day of arrival is upon us.”

Annaleasa stared. For a few moments, neither of them said a word. Veromia looked at the Empress, the Empress stared at the floor, her eyes reflecting her mind in thought.

“Can you be sure?” The Empress asked.

“I am quite sure. Only I understand the language written in The Book. That is why I work for the Council. They needed me to translate, and just a few days ago, I came upon the exact date of Ivakip Ileana's entrance into our world.” She explained slowly.

“When?” The Empress asked in a whisper.

“In about five days.” Veromia replied. “She will arrive on accident, through the third door.”

The Empress knew that the third door was the third oldest portal into their world. It existed in a place the mortals of the other realm called “England”. Annaleasa had visited it herself, as a young princess in training to rule Elganiel. England was a large, modernized island, full of towns, filthy drunkards and loose women. They had things called “taverns” where men and women would go to waste away and spend their evenings shouting things at each other that were completely irrelevant and without purpose. Annaleasa had never understood why anyone would waste their time in such a world, where men beat women, and children cried constantly. It was a place of poverty, a place where no one could be what they wanted. Since that day, she had never went into the human world. Her home was Elganiel, where the faeries and elves and dwarves and even the goblins and demons somehow found a way to live peacefully. She had found a new appreciation for her kingdom after being revealed to the horrifying aspects of the human realm.

“She arrives so soon,” the Empress muttered, “Will we have time to prepare, I wonder?”

“She will not come directly here, your majesty.” Veromia put in quickly. “It is written that she will be badly injured, and be placed under the care of a man who lives in the Girn Forest.”

“The Girn Forest? What a horrible place to live...although it does contain the town of the warlocks and witches...” She mumbled. “Eercrin, the Sorcerers Village, do you know of it?”

“Of course, your grace. My cousin was a scholar there.”

“We must send word to my personal sorceress, Danae of Oruvia. She will be able to bring the Keeper here.”

“Yes, your majesty, that would be the best plan, I think. Do you have any messenger swift enough?”

“No, not a messenger, but I know a woman who can handle such a task.” The Empress said smiling. “She will be able to get the message across in a day or two.”

“That is a relief. With luck, Ileana will be here in a week, and the kingdom will be prosperous once more.” Veromia said, grinning at the Empress.

Annaleasa smiled. “Yes, with luck.”