The morning came without any further incidents. After the guards had arrived, everyone felt that it was not necessary to remain outside and continue this conversation that was mostly arguing.

Anya always woke up early in the morning, just before the break of dawn. When she woke up today, she was led around and dressed up for the events. She was simply to observe the festivities during the festival this time, though Queen Kiridian had assured her that she would be able to participate in some of the events in due time.

Anya did not know what these events were, but this excited her.

She knew she was not a fairy, but she loved being given so much attention and consideration. Such attention also made her feel insecure. After all, she knew that she had not done much to receive this. What did being pure of heart really mean anyway? And since when had her thoughts become so painfully complex? She worried that she was undeserving, and it was not just because Ceris had commented on it.

But she had nowhere else to go.

In any case, while the fairies were dressing Anya, she was thinking about everything that had happened yesterday.

She was going to ask how the fairies felt about serving a (former) human, but as she lifted her arm to write in the air, but a fairy quickly stopped her.

“Please wait until we’ve finished getting you dressed, Honorable Child,” the fairy respectfully requested.

Anya frowned. This was exactly why she wanted to learn telepathy. She quickly shook away her negative thoughts and nodded.

Anya made her way to the Queen, who was enjoying a cup of tea. She inhaled the aroma for a long, deep breath before she took a sip.

“Good morning, Queen,” Anya greeted her as she entered the room.

“Good morning, dear. Would you like to try some of this tea? The tea leaves were grown with the water from the pond in the garden. It is quite fragrant, and even I am rarely able to indulge in it.” Kiridian gestured to the teapot beside her.

Anya shook her head politely. “No, but thank you for the offer.”

She responded using the etiquette she had been taught. The queen smiled, and motioned for the girl to approach her. When Anya was within arm’s reach, she patted the child’s small head.

“You have been learning quickly. Are all human children so intelligent?” The queen began brushing her fingers through Anya’s hair as she mused.

Anya pursed her mouth, then shook her head and shrugged to indicate that she did not know.

“Today, we will watch the elves demonstrate their skills. They believe these are skills that we fairies bestowed upon them, but the truth is that it is their hard work and dedication that has given them such strength. They do not give themselves enough credit for their own abilities. Such strange creatures, the elves. Ah,” Kiridian suddenly paused as she remembered something. “I was told that you and King Ceris had a conflict last night. She did not hurt you, did she? If that woman was so brazen as to harm an individual for whom I have expressly indicated that I care, then the elves will have to find a new king much sooner than they have anticipated.”

The queen spoke in her calm, silky voice, just as she always did, but the content was something to fear. If an individual as powerful as Queen Kiridian was willing to move for the sake of a single individual, it was far more serious than her relaxed tone suggested.

Anya shook her head. “Ceris- Er, King Ceris did not hurt me last night. She did not say anything that was not true. I think she was just confused because of me.”

For a brief moment, Anya considered telling Kiridian that Ceris had yelled at her, but she figured that would probably cause more trouble than it was worth.

Kiridian nodded. “If that is the case, then I will not pursue the matter any further. Now then, My Child, shall we head to the location of the tournament?”

Anya nodded, remembering that the elves would battle each other, and that the winner of the overall tournament would be able to challenge the King herself.

Queen Kiridian entered the arena as a fairy announced her arrival. She and Anya then walked up the steps, filled with excited and respectful elves that bowed their heads as she passed by them and other fairies that did not do the same. These were not royal elves or guards; these were simply elves that had arrived to celebrate the festival. In addition to the elves and fairies, there were some members of other races, although they were few in number by comparison. The occasional dwarf could be spotted, along with humanoid dragons, beastkin, and demonbloods. Beastkin and demonblood were actually fairly common at this event typically, but this year, there seemed to be more dwarves and dragons than usual, though the small child Anya was unaware of this. She had never seen any of these other races before, as humans did not interact much with other races except in their larger cities.

She was fascinated with the scales on the dragons that appeared as randomly as moles did on humans. The demonbloods’ red eyes were frightening to behold, and startled the young girl, who subconsciously began to walk closer to the queen. The members of the audience were curious about this young child that was following the queen as well, and they watched her with interested gazes. The fairy that had announced the queen’s arrival had announced Anya’s, as well as her identity as the ‘Queen’s Child.’

She felt the pressure of these gazes, and even though she only had to follow the queen, it made the girl feel uncomfortable.

The pair finally reached the highest point of the arena’s seating, the best vantage point in the entire arena. Kiridian sat down leisurely, having Anya sit down on her lap. This surprised the audience, which began chattering noisily until King Ceris arrived, approaching the center of the arena.