The main hall was an enormous gallery of light marble, where the royal throne was located. Tapestries made in Sunstone were hanging on the walls, showing centuries of history of the kingdom. The guards were stationed on both sides of the room, awaiting the arrival of the foreign prince.

“The entourage hasn’t arrived yet.” Rosa thought, relieved, making her way to the princess's throne, next to her mother's. The queen was already accommodated, wearing her gold-tipped crown. She wore a turquoise silk dress and held diamonds around her neck, ears and fingers. Vestures worthy of receiving an ally prince, that did not fail to highlight her power and wealth.

- Where 's your husband? - whispered Rosa while sitting down, noticing the king 's empty throne.

- I ordered him to inspect the northern grape plantations, he left early this morning - she whispered back without almost moving her lips. - Looks like I guessed something would happen today.

Rosa felt her mood lighten a bit, it was common for her stepfather to ruin social meetings. Although it didn't last long, when the trumpet sounded, announcing the arrival of the prince, the princess's anxiety grew as the instrument was being played. 

- His Royal Highness, Prince Calen Galanis, second son of the Great King Evelon of Celegorm! - recited the herald.

The six-meter-high oak door was already open, waiting for the entourage to enter. But only the prince and two guards went up the stairway that led from the outside area to the great hall. As he got closer, Rosa's heart was beating faster, she couldn't take the suspense anymore.

The prince looked exhausted, his beautiful blue eyes, clear as a summer sky, were narrow and framed by dark circles. His pale skin was sunburned and signs of worry tainted his youthful face. His long and pointy ears, characteristic of the elves, were also burned and slightly drooping. His whitish blond hair, which had always been so vividly shiny, was grubby, even though it had been combed. The doublet he was wearing was clean, but it wasn’t exquisite enough to meet a queen. He appeared to have dressed up as well as he could in the midst of an extremely troubled trip. The guards, on the other hand, did not appear to have obtained clean clothes.

Iris and Rosa stood up when the young elf prince approached. Arriving at the foot of the short stairs that led to the thrones of gold and red velvet, Calen knelt, followed by the two guards.

- Greetings Your Majesty, Your Highness, please forgive us for visiting without prior notice - said Calen, with his head turned to the floor in a sign of respect.

- Not at all, prince Calen, - said the queen, returning to her seat. - Your Highness and your entourage are most welcome in our kingdom.

Rosa didn't sit down, she was too nervous, she couldn't take the formalities any more.

- Pardon my rudeness, but what brings Your Highness to our kingdom in such urgency?

Calen looked downhearted. He briefly inspected the sideways, as if he was wondering if this was the best place to break the news he carried. He finally sighed and said:

- Calandiel, she… She disappeared. We do not know what happened. We found a strange message in her room. I do believe that she was kidnapped or threatened by someone and ended up running away.

Rosa's heart felt like it was going to come out of her mouth. She tried to swallow the lump that formed in her throat, but her mouth was dry. The prince continued.

- One of our best horses disappeared as well, and as far as we could trace the tracks, they were coming in Sunstone’s direction. Yet we lost track when we arrived in the kingdom.

Rosa felt the cold sweat run down her spine. She was sure Calandiel would have returned to Celegorm by now, but then again the elf princess would meet her brother on the road back to elven Kingdom. Where was she? Was she okay?

- We would like to know if she has been seen in the surrounding areas. Princess Rosa is a very close friend of my sister, we were hoping to find her here.

- No, I did not see her. - replied Rosa automatically.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw her mother staring at her sternly. Then she recomposed herself and completed.

- I am really sorry to hear this, Prince Calen, I feel even more for not knowing where she is. Calandiel is my dearest friend, I will do everything I can to help you find her.

- Nor did I hear of any girl with the characteristics of Calandiel in the vicinity - the queen said, saving Rosa from further embarrassment. - Surely a noble elf with silver hair would draw the attention of my people. But don't worry, I'll put my best men on patrol and post pictures of her in every corner of my kingdom.

- I have no words to describe how thankful I am, Your Majesties - yet despite what his words, the prince seemed clearly disappointed and even more concerned.

- I will provide rooms for Your Highness and your entourage.

The prince and queen continued to exchange formalities, but Rosa was unable to speak any more. When Calen finally retired to the rooms that Iris had arranged, she turned to her dazed daughter.

- We need to talk. - she whispered in a severe tone.

***

The queen guided Rosa to the library tower, the largest and tallest of the castle. Countless books could be seen on its circular walls that went up stairs decorated with golden handrails. At the base of the tower, before entering, she asked the guards not to be interrupted. The queen and her daughter went up some flights of stairs until they were very high, where no one would hear them.

- Is there something you want to confess? - Questioned Iris in a challenging tone, finally stopping in front of two chairs surrounded by bookshelves.

- I… uh… What do you mean? - stammered Rosa, leaning on one of the shelves.

- You know exactly what I’m talking about! - the queen raged. - You were unmistakably nervous with the sudden news of prince Calen! And your reaction, when he asked if you saw his sister! Quite frankly! If he knew you like I do... 

- You really know how to read between the lines - the princess sighed deeply.

- So?

- Yes, I did see her… Almost a week ago.

- ONE WEEK?! Then why didn’t you say so? Where did you meet her?

- I thought she would be home by now. The trip to Celegorm doesn’t last more than five days.

- Oh, you thought she would be home? Rosa! This is serious! You sure know how Evelon treats his daughter! She can't be wandering around alone.

- But she made it here, didn’t she? - replied Rosa, rebelliously. - Calandiel isn’t totally naive! - somehow, even though she knew Iris was right, her mother's accusations bothered her.

- Why did she come here? - asked the queen with hands on her temples.

- She… We…

- Rosa!

- We had a relationship - she said, almost whispering.

The queen looked like she had been slapped. She looked astonished, after the sudden realization, immediately followed by anger.

- You… - spoke in a stern and drawn-out tone, like someone who takes a breath before screaming. - I cannot believe this! Isn't it enough for you, dragging all those girls to your bed ?! YOU REALLY HAD TO INCLUDE THE PRINCESS OF CELEGORM AS WELL??

- It wasn’t like that! - protested Rosa. - She was special...

The queen looked like she was about to scream again, opened her mouth, but restrained herself. She started walking around, with her hands on her lips, murmuring things like: "as I suspected", "years went by without you taking girls to your room", "You were always sighing in the corners", "and here I thought you had finally taken on your responsibilities as a future queen" , “Who would’ve guessed that was your motive..."

 When she calmed down she said:

- Do you have any idea where she might have gone?

- I don’t know. Maybe… We talked about… About going to the land of the fire woman...

The queen looked stunned, but admired Rosa’s audacity.

- You mean that place where female warriors court each other? Does that place really exist? I thought it was one of your made up stories...

- None of my stories are made up! - Rosa felt her pride hurt a twinge. - There are more places like that than you can even imagine.

- If you say so. It was an excellent plan, indeed. No one would even think about looking for both of you in a place like that. - Your Majesty stopped and stared at her daughter. - So you were just going to abandon your responsibilities with the Kingdom? If I had any idea I would let your uncle take over the reign, years ago! It would spare me a lot of trouble.

- No, of course not! It wasn’t a serious commitment…

- Oh, so you lied to her? Or are you lying to me now?

Both options seemed to anger the queen. Rosa chose to tell the truth.

- I... I loved her and had serious intentions of running away... in the beginning - she sighed at the memory. - But when I saw that she didn’t have the same intention, I was feeling more and more distant from her... In the meantime I started to see the importance of being a queen and the duties of the kingdom were entertaining me more than the desire to see her ... And then I gave up, but I couldn't leave her at the same time. Is it weird?

- Your exacerbated egoism? Perfectly normal, it suits you - said Iris, dragging out every word to make her sarcasm obvious.

- And what the hell did you want me to do? - her mother's condescending tone was making Rosa feel less guilty and more angry.

- I wish you had broken this relationship before! Or better, never even started it to begin with!

- There is no going back, it already happened!

Iris stared at her daughter for a moment, with clear disappointment. She sighed and sat down in a nearby chair.

- Has anyone else seen her? - asked the queen, stroking her temples once more.

- Only Bia, that I know of.

- Who?

- One of my maids… blonde, short… - Rosa's voice was breaking as she spoke.

- Right. Explain to me exactly how you and this girl saw Calandiel.

Rosa was embarrassed.

- And don't hide anything from me. - Added Iris, examining her daughter's reaction.

The girl sighed, wondering how she would tell her mother. She already felt judged enough, but nevertheless started telling the story.

- I was sleeping, I didn't see her coming in, I only woke up when she called me. Cali said she was there to run away with me before the wedding occured. But then she saw Bia, who was lying down next to me...

Rosa stopped because the queen looked horrified.

- How did she get in without being seen?!

- I don't know either, it surprised me, but Cali is very smart. She must have hidden the horse on the outskirts of the city and infiltrated the peasants. - She felt a certain pride of her ex-lover.

- That 's absurd! It could very well have been a thief or an assassin! The security of this castle's surroundings needs to be reviewed urgently!

- Mom!

- Well, yes, that doesn’t matter now - said the queen, composing herself and taking the crown from her head, to make herself more comfortable. - Please continue, you were telling me how your partner discovered your lover.

The girl felt her face get hot with embarrassment.

- Needless to say, she got angry... We argued. I told her that my kingdom had become more important to me and that it was better for her to leave. Cali went down the window, leaning on the branches of that tree outside my room. I didn't have the courage to go to the railing to see which direction she went.

- I see ... This is serious. If Evelon finds out that was the reason for his daughter...

- I know! I didn’t think she was serious about it… I thought that after our break up she would go back home! But now I don’t even know if she ran away, if she got lost or was kidnapped...

- Why would she run away?

- She was miserable. Always stuck in that castle.

- I know that Evelon is quite strict when it comes to her, but the life of the commoners doesn’t compare to that of a princess. Do you really think she would trade what she had for uncertainty?

- I don't know... I didn't think so, but now I'm not so sure. I want to believe that she ran away of her own free will, but what if something happened to her? This is all my fault. What should I do, mom? I can't stand still!

Now it was Rosa who paced restlessly. The queen looked at her doubtfully.

- You know what I think - said the queen, at last. - Chasing after love may sound quite romantic, but you have a whole kingdom to take care of. The kingdom your father has entrusted to you!

- I just wanted to make sure if she’s alright...

- The cavalry leaves tomorrow, I would leave the search to them. I doubt that an inexperienced girl like Calandiel can hide for long. And if something happened to her, we'll know soon - Iris stood up as if leaving, putting the crown back on her head. - However, you are already an adult and I cannot stop you from going after her.

Rosa didn’t know what to answer.

- The wedding is soon - Iris spoke, with hands on the handrail of the closest stair. - Gabriel is probably on his way to Sunstone. I think it would be wiser for you to make this decision as soon as possible. But, unlike the latest events, this time I want to know exactly what are your intentions.

The queen went downstairs, leaving her daughter alone with her thoughts.

***