The Light of the North
On that first visit I caught one fleeting glimpse of the young king as he crossed the palace courtyard early one morning. I was standing by the window, breathing in the crisp morning air, when I saw him make his way towards my father’s room. All of a sudden he stopped and looked up at me. For an instant my heart stopped beating and I couldn’t take my eyes from him - he wasn’t handsome, he was beautiful. A hint of a smile pulled at his lips as his clear blue eyes focused on mine. A moment later he bowed, then he was gone. From that moment his image was never far from my thoughts, and for the remainder of my visit I spent almost every waking moment by the window, hoping to see him again. I never did see him of course, and a dark cloud of disappointment followed me home.
The war with Firengard raged on, the fire elves eventually gaining a foothold in the southern hills of my kingdom. As they drove steadily northwards it soon became obvious that I would have to go into hiding, as the fire elves had a particular weakness for females of royal blood. The only plausible course of action was for me to seek refuge in Galathea, so an envoy was hastily despatched to Narial’s palace with my father’s plea for help. His reply was received within a matter of days; I was to leave as soon as possible, travelling by ship to his kingdom’s southernmost point where I would be met by his household guard. From there we would journey on foot over the glaciers to the kingdom’s central stronghold, before continuing on horseback to the palace where I would be met by the king himself.
