The wind whisked at my face as I flew over the many farms surrounding the Bamarre kingdom. It was here that I have been sent to live in the castle of King Lionel. As an apprentice sorcerer, I am to live 200 years amongst Kings—serving them by controlling weather and so on—and being almost 80 years old; this is not my first time. The last king I served was named King Charles II. He was kind, courteous, and brave. I had enjoyed serving him during the remainder of his life. This new King Lionel, however, I haven't heard many good things about; only that he was a coward. I've heard that Bamarre is full of cowards, so I suppose it is only fitting that their king should be. Needless to say, I was not very excited to live here.

The farms soon turned into small villages. Off in the distance, I could see high towers stretching up towards the sky. So there it is. Bamarre castle. You're going to be living here for a while, Rhys, I told myself, its best just to get used to it now. I sighed as I descended towards the gates. The guard standing there seemed surprised to see me drop out of nowhere.

"The new sorcerer, I assume?" He asked in bored manner.

"Yes," I replied, offering him one of my bows. He opened the gates and said that someone was waiting for me inside. Since I was now around humans, I was supposed to be walking on the ground. However, that always feels so unnatural to me, and I hated it. Instead, I moved my legs as if I were walking; only my feet were just barely above the ground. My teacher, Orne, had chastised me about that many times, but I couldn't help it.

The castle was made of different shades of gray, giving it a gloomy sort of feeling. The inside was no better than the exterior. I have never liked such drab colors. I looked down at my brightly colored clothes and sighed. I guess I won't be fitting in very much.

I had entered into a sort of grand hallway. A woman was standing to the side as I walked in. By the way she was dressed I assumed she was a servant.

"You must be the King's new sorcerer, "she said while smiling.

"Rhys," I corrected her as I bowed. She smiled and curtsied.

"Welcome to Bamarre. The King is busy with his advisors at the present, but I have been instructed to give you a tour of the castle, as well as show you to your chambers. Follow me, if you please." And saying so, she walked towards one of the doors to the right. As we walked, she introduced herself as Marie, one of the head servants. Marie showed me all around the castle; the dining hall, the library, and so on. As we continued, I began to form a map in my head, so I would not get lost later on. I looked at the decorations adorning the gray walls. They were mostly embroideries, some of the best I have ever seen. They depicted many different scenes from Drualt—the epic poems of Bamarre's greatest hero. I've always loved to read these poems, so I was able to pick out each of the stories. There were also many paintings, but there seemed, however, to be little—if not any—of a feminine touch to these decorations. I wondered if there was a queen. I asked Marie.

"There used to be," she explained, "Her name was Daria. She died of the Gray Death about 10 years ago, a couple years before I began serving here." I had forgotten all about the Gray Death—the plague that has been haunting Bamarre for many years. It has been killing many Bamarrians each year, along with the help of the many monsters that still attacked. Bamarre, the land of cowards, could do nothing but hope that they will not be taken by either.

"Before she died," continued Marie, "She left behind two daughters."

"Is that them, there?" I asked. We were walking up a winding staircase to, I assumed, my chamber. We had just walked past a small window that looked out towards a medium sized yard where two girls were.

"Yes, that is Princess Meryl and Princess Adelina."

"Which one is which?"

"Princess Meryl is the blonde one, there." She pointed to a short, blonde haired girl who was pretending to fight with a wooden training sword. She was very graceful in her movements. The other princess, Adelina, was sitting on the grass a few yards away. She seemed to be drawing in a notepad she had on her lap. Her long, curly, brown hair fell gently past her shoulders, blocking her face from my view.

As we continued walking up the steps, I asked to hear more about the princesses. Marie said that Princess Meryl was considered brave. Her goal in life was to fight the monsters of Bamarre. She is only 13 years old at the moment. I thought back to when I was 13 years old and felt a pang of jealousy. I remembered how little I had known then. I have always been so jealous of how quickly humans grow and learn. I asked about Princess Adelina.

"Princess Addie is a lot like her father, in a way. She's shy and afraid of nearly everything. But she is also sweet, like her mother was. She is known for her beautiful artwork, which you can see all along the halls." Marie gestured towards the embroideries I had noticed. "She is only 12 years old. Here we are," she added as we came to a door in a smaller hallway, "You're chamber. Now I must leave you. The King says that he will send for you later this evening. If you need anything at all, please do not hesitate to ask."

"Thank you," I replied, smiling, "You have been very kind." I bowed. She curtsied, and then turned to leave me. My new chamber was medium sized, about the same as my old one. It seemed it bit brighter than the rest of the castle, to which I was thankful for. The lightly colored rug and the sun pouring in from the window really helped the cause. I heard the sound of laughter coming in from the latter, and I flew over to see who it was. My view was facing the west, which is where the small yard with the princesses was. They were both standing, facing each other. Princess Meryl had given Princess Addie a wooden sword and was trying to get her to fight with it. Princess Meryl laughed at the expression on Princess Addie's face, and I found myself laughing as well. She looked so uncertain holding the sword, but she tried for her sister's sake. Now that I could see their faces well, I found them both very beautiful. Princess Addie, however, I found to be more beautiful than her older sister. I couldn't explain why, I just found more pleasure in looking at her face. After a while, Princess Meryl laughed, embraced her sister, and then took the sword back. As I saw her arms wrap around her little sister—though Princess Addie was much taller than Princess Meryl, so she wouldn't exactly be her "little" sister—I involuntarily thought about what it would be like for my arms to be around Princess Addie. Although she seemed quite tall for her age, sorcerers are much taller than humans. I imagined the way she would wrap her long arms around my waist in response. How her head would rest against my chest, just underneath my sorcerer's flame—the spark of fire in me that keeps me alive. The way that I would bury my face into her soft brown hair…

Wait. What on earth was I thinking about? I was angry at myself for letting my imagination run wild. Orne has warned me about these things, about how being attached to someone like that is very dangerous and I would lose my focus as an apprentice. Besides, I have no right to think of her in that way. She's the daughter of the King that I serve. I resolved to think of her no more.

I turned to the window again to close it. Before doing so, I allowed myself one last look. She was standing next to her sister, smiling, her eyes sparkling and hair blowing gently in the breeze. I felt my face grow hot as she looked in my general direction. I slammed the window shut. Walking towards the large, unnecessary bed (seeing as I am incapable of sleep), I began to unpack my bags, thinking of other things. As I walked past a mirror on the wall, I saw that my face was still red, and I didn't know why.