The Nymph of Domum de Fae

"There weren't always dragons in the Valley," Ruvyn states with a stiff grunt as he lowers himself to the floor. Once he is on eye-level with the little girl standing just inches before him, Ruvyn shifts all his weight to one knee.

To onlookers, it more than likely appears that the middle-aged man is simply repositioning himself in order to maintain his balance. However, as someone who was raised around the high elf, I was more than familiar with his mannerisms. By kneeling before the royal child, Ruvyn was attempting to make himself appear more personable and trustworthy.

Who would have ever thought that someone so wise and well-respected would go out of their way to lie to a child? "Long before the dragons arrived in Ipheadale, the Valley belonged to the friendliest creatures in all the land," Ruvyn informed the princess, using his study thumb to wipe away the single tear that slowly trickled down her cheek. "Do you know who those creatures are, little one?" the chief advisor inquired in a soothing tone.

With a small sniffle, Princess Lyra shook her head softly. Her ember tresses "The unicorns!" Ruvyn's voice held such mirth and conviction that had I not known any better, I too would have been deceived by his blatant lie.

A few startled gasps slipped past the lips of those watching the gray-haired elf interact with the tiny heiress of Ipheadale and quite frankly, I shared their sentiment.

Unicorns were far from friendly. They were ornery and vicious beings infamous for violent, unprovoked attacks. The mystical equine was known to gouge the hearts of men with their long, sharp horns. It was also fairly common to hear about young children being crushed to death as the result of being trampled by these large, temperamental beasts.

Due to the alarming number of unicorn attacks, the high council deemed it to be in Ipheadale's best interest to create an isolated sanctuary where these ill-tempered beings could continue to roam freely and thrive without endangering anyone. Unfortunately, the ingenious plan was not as successful as the council hoped for it to be. Not only did more fatalities occur as a result of trying to relocate the unicorns, but even after years of armed and armored men and women doing their best to corral and rehome them, many of the unicorns were still wandering free. Therefore, they still posed a threat.

However, Princess Lyra seemed to find comfort in Ruvyn's claim about the unicorns and that made me uneasy. Not only did he shamelessly look the young, impressionable tot directly in her eyes and lie to her; he was setting the royal family up to be injured or much worse.

Nevertheless, as conniving as Ruvyn could be, he was not a malicious man. I knew for a fact that his intentions were not to harm Princess Lyra or subject the royal family to any danger. He was merely trying to comfort the little girl who was visibly disheartened by the news that more than six months had elapsed since the last time anyone in Iphaedale laid eyes on a dragon.

"Do you think that maybe, just maybe we could go see one in person?" Princess Lyra proposed in a small, timid voice while twiddling her stubby, little thumbs. Though it was evident by her tone that the young girl was nervous to make such an inquiry, there was still a glimmer of hope in her voice.

Ruvyn gave Princess Lyra a warm smile, but the smile did not reach his deep sienna eyes that swirled with sadness and guilt. "Princess Lyra, I would love nothing more than to fulfill this request of yours, but-"

"Absolutely not!" a furious voice interjected. While I did not need to see a face in order to know who that foreboding voice belonged to, it was not long before Aed managed to shoulder his way to the front of the crowd.

Frightened by Aed's thunderous tone and enraged expression Princess Lyra turned her back to Ruvyn and scurried back up the steps leading to the royal thrones where her parents sat.

I heard Prince Tully chuckle quietly in response to his youngest sister's skittish actions and my lips involuntarily curled upwards, forming a smile that not even the ruthless high elf's arrival could fade.

"Rise!" Aed bellowed with a growl before reaching down and hastily jerking Ruvyn to his feet. "Have you lost what little is left of your mind?" Aed interrogated with a menacing glare.

With a long, exasperated sigh, Ruvyn turned to face his colleague. "Hello, Aed. How kind of you to finally decide to join us. Considerably late as usual, I see," he retorted, his face void of any sort of emotion.

"Care to explain why you were offering to sacrifice yourself and the royal family to those horned fiends?" Aed angrily rebuffed. Although he chose not to directly respond to Ruvyn's comment about his perpetual tardiness, it was not hard to see that the towering man was still irked by the remark.

"I was not offering to sacrifice myself or anyone else for that matter," Ruvyn replied calmly. "I was merely attempting to comfort Princess Lyra who expressed great distress upon discovering that the dragons have seemingly vanished."

Aed's lips part, ready to argue with Ruvyn. Yet when he unwillingly made direct eye-contact with me, his mouth snapped shut and his jaws tightened. After an unsettling moment of silence, Aed managed to regain his composure. "Amalthea," he uttered my name as though it physically caused him pain. It was as if my name itself tasted like poison on his tongue. "What are you doing here?" the blonde high-elf seethed, looking me over from head to toe in sheer disgust.

Just like the hundreds of other guests in tow, I was there to see the royal family. See, The Mahdavi's did not live in Ipheadale like all of the royal families before them. For one reason or another, they chose to reside in the mortal realm, but made it their business to visit Ipheadale at least once a month in order to see how the royal court and high council were handling things in their absence. Although Prince Sabir had not officially been sworn in as king, many of the elders of Ipheadale claimed he and Princess Haven expressed more genuine concern for the people and the environment than any other ruler before them.

Thus, the main reason I was there. I secretly hoped for a chance to speak in private with Prince Sabir and Princess Haven about the crisis affecting the dragons of Domum de Fae and after witnessing Princess Lyra's reaction upon being told that the dragons had mysteriously disappeared, I felt as though the odds were in my favor; until Aed showed up. Aed would never let me anywhere remotely close to the royal couple. As a hybrid, I was not welcomed in Ipheadale. Even though my father was an elf, I was only allowed to visit the province once every three months and I was strictly forbidden from ever entering the palace or visiting whenever the royal family was about. Yet, there I was, standing in the royal palace in the company of the royal family.

"Almathea," Aed began in a cautionary tone. "I asked you a question, child."

As desperate as I was to give Aed an answer in hopes of avoiding any unnecessary punishment, I was physically unable to respond. My mouth had become dry like cotton and my throat felt as though it was gradually closing shut with every passing second. Why did my body always feel the need to turn against me at the worst possible times?

When Aed took several steps towards me and I frantically took six steps back -- completely unaware that there was now someone standing behind me until their sturdy arms saved me from crashing to the floor after the fabric of my dress became entangled beneath my feet.

Upon regaining my composure, I noticed that many of the guests around us were chattering excitedly amongst themselves while Aed's icy blue eyes stared in my direction, wide with disbelief. Only then, did I discover that my savior was not a fellow attendant.

“Chill old man,” Prince Tully murmured, looking Aed over with contempt as he snaked his arm around my waist. “Thea's with me.”