Lavina looked over at her book for a moment and sighed
"I promise I wont get too wrapped up with him. Once I am free from marrying his brother I will be free to hopefully find someone who loves me. Then maybe father wouldn't worry so much about me"
she looked up at Desharin and smiled


H looked at the skeleton
"What is that thing?"

"I'm not sure." Xia replied, then noticed the piece of paper in the charred hand. She tilted her head slightly, as she took the note and read it. "Fire?!" She said out loud with a puzzled expression on her face. She looked down at the skeleton, and tilted her head slightly to the right. "You want me to set you on fire?" She asked it.

Desharin looked reassured.
"Thank you. You know I'm only trying to look out for you, right?" She looked a little guilty. "I don't want to impose my prejudices on you."

The skeleton twitched a bit, not seeming capable of more movement than that, in response to her question.

An even more puzzled expression formed on her face. Then, she got an idea. She walked over to a table, grabbed a pencil, and simply wrote two letters on the other side of the paper...a 'Y' and an 'N'. She walked back over to the chard body, ripped the paper in half and placed each letter within clear view of their only eye. "Look directly at the letter for your response. 'Y' is 'yes' and 'N' is 'no'." She explained. "Do you want me to 'set' fire to you?" She repeated.

The eye managed to jerk towards the Y.

Xia groaned slightly. "I was really hoping for 'no'." She looked at H. "You may want to step back a bit." She said to her. She pulled up the sleeves of her tight fitting shirt. She turned her palms upwards, as two small-ish balls of fire formed in the palms of her hand. "I really hope you are who I think you are." Xia said, as she tossed the two small-ish balls of fire towards the cared skeleton.

Lavina looked up at Desharin
"I know"
she paused for a moment her eyes moved towards the book
"Do you think I'll ever find someone to love and who loves me?"
she sighed


H did the opposite, she leaned in to watch her form fire out of her palms
"Fire? I dont think ive ever seen anyone make fire like that before"

Desharin smiled.
"You are a beautiful and kind elf, I'm sure once everything has settled down you will have no shortage of suitors. But as a princess, it is your choice and no other's - not your father's, not mine. Do not marry for the people's sake, marry for your own."

The skeleton instantly burst into flames, but something was happening to it.
The flesh was regrowing, veins and ligaments and muscles sprouting, huge deformed gristly limbs growing skin to cover it.
Within forty seconds a huge, slavering hulk of a being was standing in their room, the floor creaking under it's weight. Its muscles were enormous, looking like it could easily punch through a wall. One of it's eyes was the size of a plate, the other was the size of a thimble. It had a mop of brown hair atop its head that looked more like a tuft considering the beast's size. Spikes of bone could be seen poking out of it at odd angles, and long spines of bone could be seen stabbing outwards down its spine. It was also completely naked.
No sooner had the creature completely reformed when it immediately started panting and wheezing, like it was exhausted. Then a sickening series of cracks and crunches filled the air as bone slid back into skin, muscles flattened out, eyes grew and shrank, and in as much time as it takes to butter a slice of toast Riastrad stood before them, completely naked and absolutely drenched, a puddle of water running around his ankles and soaking into the wood.
He coughed up a splash of water, managed to croak "Ta," before falling straight onto his face.

Xia took a step back when the chard skeleton stood up. Though she looked away when she realized that it was a naked Riastrad. "Damn...I guess your clothes burned off..." she commented without expecting any reply. Then sighed slightly, after Riastrad hit the floor...face first. Xia looked at H, "could you help me get him on to the bed?"

Lavina smiled
"I plan to, I want to be happy with my life, as you said a happy queen means happy people"
she stood up and straightened out her clothes, picked up her book and placed it on her bed to continue reading later on
"I think I'm going to take a stroll in the garden, I haven't visited it in a while and I'm sure it needs some tending to"



H looked down at Riastrad with a raised brow
"I think we should probably cover him first then move him."
She walked over to a chair and pulled a blanket off the back of it, walked over to Riastrad and threw it over him before kneeling down to help lift him
"So we are moving him to the bed then?"

Desharin smiled.
"Would you like company, or would you like to be alone?"

Lavina paused at the door as she was heading out
"If you like"
she smiled
"It would be nice to have some company and help tending to the flowers, are you sure father wont need you for anything?"

Xia nodded her head. "Yes." She replied, as she picked up Riastrad, and the two of them carried him over to the other bed. She took a deep breath after Riastrad was on the bed. "I swear he's filled with bricks."

Desharin shook her head shyly.
"Your father... still does not want to see me."

Riastrad's eyelids fluttered, and his mouth opened and closed.

Lavina looked down
"He still acting the way he is?"
she shook her head
"I wish he would just move on, it would be a lot better for him"
she looked up at Desharin and held out her hand
"Well then the garden awaits us, can't let it wait any longer then it already has"
she smiled

H giggled at Xia comment
"He is a bit heavy but not by much"
she walked over and sat back on the chair
"So you can create fire?"

Xia sat on her bed and nodded her head. "I can." She said, noting that Riastrad moved his mouth, as if to protest what she had said. "I earn this ability...it's not exactly something I like to talk about." She added, as she looked over to the now closed window. "It has it's uses."

Desharin nodded.
"Come, let us tend to the flowers. Let their scent soothe our troubled minds. Lead the way, princess."

Lavina smiled and headed out of her room, A few minutes later they were standing outside of the garden. Lavina sighed as the sight of it
"As beautiful as always"
she walked along the garden path holding her arms out she did a little twirl letting out a giggle
"I've always loved coming in here even as a little girl."
she walked over to a trellis that had vines wrapped around it with little buds, she touched the vines and all the flowers bloomed on it
"Beautiful"
she took a step back admiring all the beautiful pastel colors


"I see"
H relaxed in the chair
"Mine was earned as well"
she looked up at the ceiling and she started thinking about some of the things her master said and taught her

Desharin stroked a vine, a wistful smile on her face.
"It is a beautiful gift, the one you were born with. Use it wisely."

Lavina looked at Desharin
"Use it wisely?"
she looked at the flowers and touched them gently smiling at them as she does so
"I only use it to restore them, especially when they have been neglected, not cared for or damaged."
she looked back at Desharin
"The only time I did to much at once was when I restored the wall and the damage done when we were attacked"
she looked back at the flowers
"All those poor elves and all those plants"

"It can cause great damage, your power, when used in wrath."
She paused, her hand in the middle of falling.
"As, I suppose, can all things."

Lavina shook her head
"I would never use my ability out of wrath"
she looked over at Desharin and tilted her head slightly
"Did something happen?"

Desharin looked at Lavina with shrouded eyes.
"In the past, the rulers of our land have had to defend their throne. Those who used their powers to do so... changed."

"Changed?"
Lavina walked over to a swing that was nearby and sat on it, keeping her feet on the ground she moved the swing back and forth.
"How did they change?"

"They became darker, colder... they would stop seeing the plants around us as living creatures. Instead they would only see weapons of war, tools for killing and assassination."
She shuddered, remembering days before Lavina's time. "Imagine as an elf not being able to trust implicitly any plant you see."