Faelyn

I dipped my toes in the cold water and shuddered at the icy water stinging my warm skin. The summer breeze blew my long, brown hair behind my shoulders. The breeze helped me cool down from the sweltering summer heat. I sat down on a rugged rock and put my feet all the way in the deep, crystal clear pool of water. Small droplets of water appeared on my skin from the wind blowing at the waterfall. I sighed and closed my eyes, content as the cool breeze swept over me. I heard soft foot steps behind me, but I ignored them. Only one person would be bold enough to try and sneak up on me. I felt a large hand on my shoulder but I brushed it off.

"No" I said flatly. "I just got here and I am NOT leaving!"

"Princess Faelyn. You know the Assembly is tonight. You need to start getting ready!"

I huffed and grumbled. The Assembly was an annual meeting where all the races of Amaratha gathered to socialize and discuss political matters. I had absolutely no interest in going, whether I was the princess or not.

"No, Eldar. Please. Just a few more minutes. I will go absolutely insane staying in that musty castle."I whined and looked at him pleadingly. He rolled his green eyes at me and walked off. Eldar was my personal bodyguard. He was quite handsome as far as elves go, but I never thought of him more than a brother. I stood up and accidentally scraped my left arm on the jagged rock. "Ouch" I grumbled.

As I headed back to the castle, I bumped into my best friend, Keya. "FAELYN! Where. Have. You. BEEN? I cant believe you're not getting ready!" 

"You know I hate these parties. They are incredibly dull and boring and I'd much rather roam around the forest."

Keya rolled her eyes. "If you think me yelling at you is bad, wait till your mother catches you. She has been looking for you for hours."

"Uh oh" I thought. "Shit she is going to kill me!" I exclaimed.

Since us elves were the hosts of the assembly this year, my mother, the queen, needed everything to be perfect. And me being, well, me was no exception. "Gotta go, bye Keya I love you!"I ran off to my room to start getting ready.

I crept quietly through my bedroom door and whispered "Meara, are you here? I need your help." I looked around frantically. She appeared around the corner, with my dress in hand.

"Cutting it a bit close aren't you, Princess?" 

"You know how I am! Please hurry and help me into this thing, mother is bound to come by any minute." I tossed my outside clothes, unapologetically all male clothes because no woman except me dared to go out in anything but a dress. Don't get me wrong. I occasionally liked to dress up. The dress I was wearing tonight was beautiful. It was floor length, navy blue with gold threading outlining the intricate designs, hand sewn by the royal family's own seamstress. I admired it for a bit more before hopping inside the open back. As Meara carefully threaded the back shut, my mother burst through the door.

"FAELYN! Where on the Goddesses earth have you been!?" She exclaimed.

"Well, I was educating myself on how to ecosystem works."

"Faelyn! How many times do I have to tell you to not go out in the woods alone!?"

I sighed and crossed my arms. "Don't worry. Eldar was there, hovering like the annoying fly he is to protect me." She huffed and walked out the room, probably to yell at someone else about something they were doing wrong.

"Well that went better than I expected." Meara nodded in agreement. She was the sweetest person I knew. She had been my handmaiden for as long as I could remember, always helping me through tough situations. I could tell her things that I could never tell my mother. As she helped me put on makeup, I told her how beautiful the forest was today and how cool and refreshing the waterfall was. I knew she didn't get out much and I think hearing about my adventures brought her a little joy into her mundane life.

I looked at myself in the mirror. The dress was so gorgeous. And well, I do clean up nice. My hair was swept behind my shoulders and I tucked some strands behind my pointed ears as well. I pouted in front of the mirror.

"Meara, why do I have to be so short! Everyone else towers above me and I am sick and tired of staring at people's chests!" She chuckled. 

"Well you will just have to get used to it. I believe elves stop growing at fifteen and well, I think you're a few years past that." I squinted at her. 

"Just because I'm twenty two does not mean I will lose hope! Maybe a witch will grant me a spell that can make me taller!"

She scoffed. "I think instead of thinking about that, you need to focus on finding a husband! You're not getting any younger you know!" As soon as she finished, the horns blew at the front gate.

"Well would you listen to that? Got to go!" I smiled at her and ran out of the room, grabbing my shoes at the door.