Crystal had packed her bags and was ready for departure, but only in the physical sense of the word. Emotionally? Not so much.

Andy was at her door the next morning. No matter how much she loved Andy, she gave him a death glare. He seemed unfazed by it, probably because it was Crystal Meadows- or Cornel now- giving it to him.

“Can I have a moment?”, she frowned harder.

Andy sighed. “Fine, but only because I know you.”, he gave her a weak smile.

Crystal went back inside and gave Benny a tight hug.

“I'll make sure I come visit the village. Or if that can't happen, that you come instead. This isn't goodbye.”, she promised.

"I'm afraid it is, Crystie.", he smiled thinly.

“Have you met me?”, she rolled her eyes in a last attempt to make this goodbye cheerful. She knew deep inside, that no matter what she did, she wouldn't be seeing Benny again.

“Try to get along with your family.”, he asked her. She furrowed her eyebrows. She had some mean things to say in reply to that, but she didn't like being mean.

“Fine. I promise.”, she sighed eventually.

Andy cleared his throat. “We have to get going, if we're going to arrive there by tomorrow.”, he frowned. “I'm sorry, that's all the time I can give you...”, he sounded sincere.

Crystal gave him a disappointed nod.

“One last thing.”, Benny said. She stared at him and tilted her head in confusion. “I want you to take Ash.”

“What?! Dad, I can't do that!”, she protested. She bit her lip and looked away when she realised she had called him "dad".

“Please. You and Ash have been through a lot together. I think he likes you more than he likes me, anyway.”, he rolled his eyes. “As a last favor. A gift goodbye.”, he frowned. She nodded, again.

It was as if her voice was stuck in her throat, desperate trying to get out, but also clinging on her vocal cords for dear life. No matter how much she tried, she just couldn't bring herself to speak.

It was as if her own words were trying to choke her, so she didn't say anything.

She walked out of the house and followed Benny to the stables. Andy, along with about ten more soldiers (who were there to escort them back to the palace), followed them both closely.

They saddled up Ash and Benny handed Crystal the reigns.

“We really have to go. I'm sorry, Crystal.”, Andy apologised. Crystal glanced at his face, then went back to staring at the ground. She didn't want people to notice she was blinking tears back.

She gave Benny one final hug and mounted Ash.

“Oh, and Benny... I'm coming here for a final quest in a week.”, Andy avoided looking at his friend in the eye. Benny seemed oblivious to that. Crystal was out of earshot.

“You won't be visiting again? Finally getting that promotion, eh?”, he tried to laugh.

"I'll be visiting.", the soldier looked down. Benny cleared his throat and nodded in understanding.

“It's one last cup of coffee, then, I guess.”, Benny sighed and shook his head, sadly.

“Goodbye, old friend. If I were you, I would take that as a warning. Leave this place as fast as you can.”

“I can't leave my home, Andy. Not a second time and not for the same people. You know that.”

“One last cup of coffee it is, then...”, Andy sighed. They gave each other one last nod, and Andy took off with Crystal and the rest of the escorts.

They travelled for a few hours, then stopped at another village for a break. They entered an inn and sat down at a table in the back. Two of the escorts stood outside the door, and two others went to sit at the bar, glaring at everyone.

Crystal grumpily took a seat between two others, as Andy sat opposite her.

“You know? I don't care if the King is my biological father. He's still not my real one.”, she spoke for the first time ever since they left. “Benny was the one that raised me. That's who I consider my father.”

“Not so loud. Anyone could hear you, and that would be bad news.”, Andy warned her.

“Oh, please... We waltzed in here as if we own the place with ten escorts. Really inconspicuous. Not suspicious at all. Nobody looked at us when we came inside.”, she scoffed and rolled her eyes. That wasn't like her, and Andy noticed that. “Sorry...” , she must have noticed too, because she looked ashamed of herself.

“I know you don't like how things are going but--”

“But what, Andy? I wanted to see the world, not be stuck in a palace for the rest of my life! I wanted to travel all over, then return to the village and stay there for the rest of my life. Tell my story. Inspire others to do the same...”, she frowned and dropped her head on the table, over her crossed arms. She frowned again. “Sorry for interrupting you...”

“It's okay. Don't worry about it.”, he sighed. “We'll get going again soon. Do you want anything to eat?”

“No, thanks. I'm not hungry.”, she shook her head, then buried it in her crossed arms, over the table.

That was the end of the conversation. A while later, Crystal noticed a pair of intense gray eyes staring at them from across the room. When he caught her gaze, he looked away, as if that exchange had never happened. She tilted her head in confusion, but didn't say anything.

Andy, eventually, persuaded her to eat something. They would only stop once again before camping out for the night, away from anyone who would suspect anything. They would arrive at the palace the following afternoon, barely giving her enough time to prepare for dinner.

Now, the reason why she had to prepare was a mystery to her, since that was just a dinner, but she concluded that that was just how royalty worked; being fancy was part of the job description. That's how she saw it, anyway.

Less than an hour later they left again, but they didn't notice that someone was following them.

As night fell and they set camp, Crystal found herself worrying about stuff she hadn't thought again throughout the trip. The stress of meeting her biological family was finally weighing in, and it had started to feel like less of a very bad dream, and more like the harsh reality.

Questions she had asked herself before, but to which she didn't have the answer to, started coming back to her. She decided that if someone had answers, it could be Andy. He worked at the palace and for the King. He would know, right?

Not exactly.

“Hey, Andy?”, she called. Andy looked up from the firewood he had been struggling to light. “Why did my mom send me away?”

“Let's talk about this in a while, okay? I really need to light this fire...”, he furrowed his eyebrows. Crystal rolled her eyes.

“Let me. Benny taught me a few years ago.”, she sighed and went over. Soon, fire was cackling and Crystal was demanding answers, yet again.

“Well... After you and your brother were born your mom, supposedly, started feeling really paranoid. Ever since your uncle's kids died during your father's attack, the two kings had been on thin ice.”, he stopped and sighed. "Olivia was reportedly going a little nuts and becoming overprotective, so she gave you to her handmaiden and sent you off. She had hoped to distract Daniel to protect both you, and her other two children.”, Andy took a sip from his flask.

“What happened next?”, Crystal frowned.

“Your father was furious, but he didn't want the people to find out that the Queen was losing it over the feud. She was the ruler; people would lose faith in them if they found out that their Queen was paranoid, so he blamed his brother for kidnapping you. King Daniel, of course had done nothing. He was overcome with grief over his own family to seek revenge. The word never got out of the castle, but the already damaged relationship between the two brothers worsened.”, he took another, longer sip. “Your mother died soon after. Suicide. She probably realised what she had done, but it was too late.”

Crystal frowned harder and turned to look at the fire. All this was happening because of a fight between her father and his brother. A feud no one ever spoke of because no one knew what it was over.

“What about my siblings?”, she changed the subject.

“I haven't spent much time with them. I'm busy running errands and they're busy doing the same. As far as I know, Caroline your older sister, is the responsible one. She's to be queen, so don't expect any fun from her. She's pretty serious and rarely ever smiles, let alone laugh. As for your brother, Tristan... Well, that kid is the exact opposite. Caroline is a little more into logic and thinking. Tristan says the first thing that comes to his mind, before thinking about it any further. He sleeps a lot. Sometimes he's drunk or hungover. Pretty irresponsible.”, Andy shook his head. “He loves playing pranks too... Be on guard with that one.”

“Noted.”, Crystal sighed.

“Don't worry. You'll fit right in.”, he reassured her.

“I don't know... But enough about me. Am I finally going to meet your family, or what?”, she nudged at him with her elbow.

“You probably will. Margaret works in the castle too. So does my daughter, Faith. We live there. We have been working there for many years.”, he smiled, but there was a nostalgic feeling coming off that smile.

“How long has it been since you last saw them?”, Crystal asked.

“A month or so... I'll see them again tomorrow. You ain't the one having a family reunion, kiddo.”, he ruffled her hair.

“I think I got that, uncle Andy...”, she laughed at the way she used to call him when she was younger. “Family isn't always blood... Sometimes is the people that have been there for you the longest and cared for you the most.”, she smiled faintly.

“Yeah... You're right...”, Andy nodded in agreement, but with sadness. Crystal wondered what that was about but didn't ask him, because she got distracted.

As she glanced up from the fire, she caught a glimpse of a pair of gray eyes. She blinked, but when she looked back, there was nothing there.

It must have been her imagination.