《The Book of Fawla》 Book 1: Chapter 1 Wait, was he calling her a princess? Book 1: Chapter 2 "Why are you calling me a princess?" Kate asked. "I''m nobody special. I don''t know how I got here. I don''t even know where ''here'' is." Again the man - wait, an elf- she corrected herself - spoke in his strange language. Kate realized that she only began to understand him when part of the tree was touching him. She willed the tree to reach out to the stranger again. His eyes went wide as he saw the bough lowering towards him, but he remained on his knees. A sigh escaped his lips when it gently touched his shoulder. "Can you understand me know?" Kate asked him. "Yes, my lady," the elf replied. "It is as it was prophesied. You have returned to us." "I don''t understand. Returned? I''ve never been here," she said. "Where is here, anyway? Do you know how I can get back home?" "You are in Fawla, my lady. Near the village Zanor. I know not from where you have come nor how you would return," he answered. "You have been gone for hundreds of years. The prophesies said you would return in our darkest hour. And our darkest hour is indeed now." He shifted under the heavy branch. ¡°My lady, if I may be so bold, I believe there is a better way for us to communicate.¡± ¡°Oh, I¡¯m sorry. I¡¯m so new at this,¡± Kate apologized. ¡°What can I do?¡± ¡°If you pick a blossom from one of the trees, your power will keep it alive. If I wear the flower in my hair, it will do the same thing, so the legends tell us.¡± Kate plucked a purple bloom from a tree that otherwise looked like an oak. ¡°Stay alive,¡± she thought at the flower in her hand. The half open petals extended to their maximum glory and appeared to shine ever so slightly. She took the flower and wove the stem through the elf¡¯s blonde locks. The tree branch returned to its normal position. Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit. ¡°Did that work?¡± ¡°Yes, my lady,¡± he said, standing. ¡°This will work much better.¡± ¡°Stop calling me that, please,¡± she said. ¡°My name is Kate. I¡¯m nobody special.¡± ¡°I am Kreelan. And you are indeed our lost princess.¡± "If your princess has been gone for hundreds of years, how do you know that I''m who you are looking for? You don''t live that long, do you?" "No, we do not, my lady." He shook his head. "My kind rarely live for more than a hundred years. I, myself, am only sixteen. The goblins that threaten us are said to live for over a thousand years, however. But you must be our lost princess, because the legends told of her power to have green plants do her bidding." "I''ve never been able to do that before. I fell through a book and landed here. When I arrived, my cat had grown in size and my eyes and hair had changed color. I don''t know what happened." "Maybe a witch had cursed you to make you think you were another and you just broke her spell," he offered. "I''m pretty sure I lived a normal life of seventeen years. Besides, have you ever seen a cat that looked like that?" She pointed at Trippy who was grooming herself nearby. "We have not cats in this part of the world. I would not know if your companion was unusual or not." Kate was running out of arguments. She still found the idea of her being some lost princess for hundreds of years ago to be ludicrous. But maybe she should just go with it. There could be worse things than being waited on hand and foot until she could figure out how to get back home. Something Kreelan had mentioned earlier tickled at the back of her mind. ¡°Now what was this about your darkest hour?¡± ¡°We have been overrun by goblins,¡± he explained. ¡°They have enslaved my people. We need you to free us from our oppressors.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know anything about goblins,¡± she complained. ¡°How would my control over plants help? They won¡¯t all meet me here in the woods, would they?¡± ¡°Alas, they would not, your majesty. Goblins abhor nature,¡± he answered. ¡°I don¡¯t know what you would need to do. I¡¯m not a fighter or a scribe. I am but a poor hunter trying to feed my family. But come with me. I will introduce you to Regkor, the scribe for my village. He should be able to answer your questions better.¡± Kreelan pointed in a direction away from the water. Trippy bounded off into the woods in the direction he pointed. Kate looked at Kreelan and shrugged. ¡°Well, after you, I guess.¡± Book 1: Chapter 3 Kate followed him in silence. Kreelan''s feet seemed to hardly touch the ground as they danced through the mat of leaves and small branches covering the dirt. Kate always felt somewhat graceful but lumbered in comparison to him. She worried about the goblins. Were they in the forest? Kreelan was nearly silent but she imagined that anyone for miles could hear her. After walking for an hour, the wood opened up to a plain. Small fields dotted the landscape surrounding village of low buildings with thatch roofs. "Welcome to Zanor, my lady," Kreelan said with a sweep of his arm. "We will go directly to Regkor''s home." She nodded. He turned again towards the path. Gone were his careful footfalls. He didn¡¯t seem to be moving faster, but now she had trouble keeping up. Trippy bounded in front of them and would wait for Kate to catch up before leaping ahead again. Inside the village, Kreelan led them to a home near the town¡¯s edge. Open shutters framed glassless windows. The day was warm but smoke drifted form the chimney. Kreelan knocked on the door. A middle-aged elf answered. Unlike Kreelan, he wore glasses. A quill stuck out of his disheveled brown hair behind his ear. ¡°What do you want Kreelan?¡± he asked. ¡°I was in the middle of translating a very promising scroll. Oh, and who is your odd looking companion?¡± ¡°Odd,¡± Kate said. ¡°Me?¡± She pointed at herself. ¡°You¡¯re¡­¡± ¡°Regkor,¡± Kreelan interrupted. ¡°This is Kate, our long lost princess of Fawla.¡± ¡°Oh dear me.¡± Regkor looked down. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, your majesty. I didn¡¯t know. Please don¡¯t kill me.¡± He bowed down until his head touched the ground. ¡°Kill you? Why would you think that?¡± Kate asked. Trippy stepped forward and sniffed at his head. ¡°Trippy, stop that.¡± ¡°Maybe this would be a better conversation for inside,¡± Kreelan said. ¡°Oh, yes, yes.¡± Regkor stood up. ¡°Please, come in. I know it must not be equal to the lifestyle you are used to, but please make use of my humble abode.¡± He led them into his study. Scrolls were piled up on every surface save for a single overstuffed chair. He quickly uncovered two more chairs. He directed Kate to the main chair and then rushed off. ¡°What was all that about me killing him? I¡¯ve never killed anything, let alone a person.¡± Kate looked around the room. A nearby scroll caught her eye. She picked it up. It had the same lettering as her book back home. ¡°I do not know, milady. Regkor knows more about your previous visit. You must have been different then,¡± Kreelan said. Regkor returned with a large platter with a kettle and cups. It shook in his hands. He looked around for a place to set it. Kreelan came to his rescue by offering his wooden seat. ¡°I prefer sitting on the ground anyway.¡± This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. Regkor set the platter on the chair and picked up a glass. It rattled in its saucer. ¡°Please, allow me,¡± Kate said. ¡°Oh, no, your majesty. That would not be proper,¡± he protested. ¡°I insist. And please, none of this your majesty stuff. I¡¯m just an ordinary woman, or at least I was before I came here. Call me Kate.¡± She rose from her chair and gently nudged him away from the tea set before he could break something. As she poured the tea and handed it out, she continued. ¡°That¡¯s why we are here. I know nothing of this prophecy or my powers. A couple of hours ago, I was an ordinary woman in an ordinary world, settling in to try to read a strange book I¡¯d found. I was sucked into it. Literally. Moments later, Kreelan found me.¡± ¡°Hmm, maybe you were bewitched into believing a false life.¡± Regkor scratched his chin. His earlier nerves seemed forgotten with a puzzle to sort out. ¡°Kreelan suggested that. I don¡¯t think so,¡± Kate said. She sat back in her chair. ¡°What makes more sense? I¡¯m thousands of years of old and don¡¯t remember it or that I¡¯m not really the person you think I am?¡± ¡°It would have to have been very powerful magic,¡± Regkor admitted. ¡°And you certainly don¡¯t act like how you are described in the scrolls.¡± ¡°But she has the power,¡± Kreelan protested. He started getting up. ¡°Kreelan, sit down,¡± she admonished. ¡°Yes, my lady.¡± He crumbled to the ground in a resigned heap. ¡°Regkor, do your books ¨C err, scrolls describe what your princess looked like? Was she an elf like you? I¡¯m human.¡± ¡°Human?¡± Regkor gasped, backing away. ¡°A human in my house. Kreelan, why did you bring a dirty human into my home?¡± Kate opened her mouth but Kreelan interrupted her. ¡°She has the power,¡± he shouted, rising to his feet. ¡°She is the princess.¡± ¡°There is no way she can be the princess,¡± Regkor argued. ¡°Humans aren¡¯t smart enough to wield magic.¡± ¡°Hey, guys.¡± Kate waved her hands. ¡°I¡¯m right here.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry, my lady.¡± Kreelan turned to her. ¡°I didn¡¯t expect Regkor to hold such prejudice. He¡¯s never actually met a human before and apparently believes the fairy tales he was told as a child.¡± He spat the last part. Regkor crossed his arms. ¡°Oh, and I suppose you have.¡± ¡°There is one right in front of us. Kate is obviously not the dumb brute we were told about.¡± ¡°I¡­ I need some time to think about this. I need to consult my scrolls. Are you really a human?¡± She lifted her hair that had fallen over her ear. ¡°Look, see. No pointed ears.¡± Kreelan placed his hand on her elbow and guided her towards the door. ¡°Come, my lady. Let us find accommodations that are less prejudiced.¡± As he led her away, Kate heard Regkor. ¡°Unbelievable. Simply unbelievable.¡± She turned to respond, but Kreelan tugged at her arm. ¡°He will come around and find the answers you seek. He just needs time.¡± They reached the door in time to hear a loud knocking. Kreelan looked through the spyhole. ¡°Goblins,¡± he muttered. He turned to Kate. ¡°Cover your ears. If they find out who you are, they will kill you.¡± She did as he instructed and he opened the door. Three men wearing dirty uniforms stood at the doorway. Stringy hair framed their greyish faces. They were short. The tallest only reached Kate¡¯s chin. She realized with a start that they were the goblins. The tall one spoke. His voice was raspy and hissed. There were no plants nearby to translate for her. "Probably for the best," she thought. "Kreelan warned me against doing anything that would let them know who I was." Kreelan frowned. ¡°What do you mean taxes are due? The agreement was once per moon. It hasn¡¯t even been a sevenday.¡± The one on the right waved a torch in Kreelan¡¯s face. He batted it away. The tall one hissed out a response. ¡°Never,¡± Kreelan shouted. The goblin on the left drew his sword and knocked him down. The leader said something else. The torch bearer grinned and threw the torch on the thatched roof. Book 1: Chapter 4 The torch landed on the dry grass of the roof. They all watched as the flames danced above them. Kate silently urged the roof not to light. Either she didn''t have to power to make it fireproof or she had no control over the dead grass. After a minute of hesitation, the flames spread across the roof. Kreelan let out a choked cry. He blinked and seemed to return to his senses. "Regkor, get out. The bastards have lit your house on fire." He raced inside. "Kreelan, no," Kate shouted, grabbing his arm. "You''ll die." He pulled his hand off her arm. "I have to, Kate. If I don''t, Regkor will die and with him, the answers you seek." He took one final look at the fire on the roof and dashed into the house as it began to fill with smoke. The goblins laughed as the fire spread across more of the roof. Kate looked around for something to attack them. There were three of them and one of her. No doubt, they were experienced fighters and could take her easily. A large oak stood across the courtyard; it might just reach them. But it was huge. The smallest branch was easily as large as any of the trees from the glade where Kreelan had found her. She willed the branch to move. It swayed a little, as if in a breeze. She tried harder. A bead of sweat rolled down her forehead. She heard a groaning sound as the branch strained against its own inertia. A little more," she thought. She felt weak. Could this kill her? It didn''t matter. These were the goblins that Kreelan had said they needed her help against. They lit a man''s house on fire because of taxes. She couldn''t let this stand. The goblin captain stared at her. He said something, but she still couldn''t understand it. He turned to the one that been the torch bearer and spoke. The torch holder pulled his sword from his scabbard and advanced. Sweat poured freely from her now. "Crack." The branch snapped forward like a slingshot. The captain and the third goblin went flying across the village. The one approaching Kate was further from the tree. The branch pushed him forward, but otherwise seemed to be okay. He stood back up and glared at her. He dusted his jacket and gripped the sword in both hands. He took another step. Trippy came bounding across the courtyard. She pounced on the goblin and sank her fangs into his arm. Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on. He screamed as blood welled to the skin around Trippy''s teeth. His sword lay inches from his arm. He writhed on the ground until his fingers connected. He swung the sword. The blade waved as he struggled to control it. It connected with Trippy''s hide broadside. The cat fell over. "No," Kate screamed. "Trippy." Trippy huffed. The goblin tried to worm out from underneath the big cat, but his left arm was useless. Kate ran over. She grabbed for the sword. He was stronger, but injured. Kate took another step and dug her heel right into his wound. He screamed and let go. Trippy finally got to her feet. Keeping the sword pointed at the goblin, she rushed over to her cat. There didn''t seem to be any cuts but her companion was in pain. The other two goblins were making their way back. The captain had a gash and seemed to be propped up by the other one. Kate needed ideas. She heard coughing behind her. Regkor and Kreelan stumbled out of the house just as there was a crash and the roof caved in. Their faces were streaked with ash. Once outside, the collapsed. They weren''t going to be able to help. Around the edges of the courtyard, the other villagers watched on. Over the sound of the fire, she couldn''t hear their voices, but their faces showed panic. She grabbed the goblin at her feet and pulled him up. She pointed the sword at his neck. "If you want your friend to live, don''t try to attack." The captain and his helper stopped. Taking her captor with her, she stepped towards them. "Leave now and never return." She threw her captor at their feet. He fell to the ground, knocking the captain over. The remaining goblin glared at her and reached for his sword. She glared back and held the sword over her head in a pose she hoped was menacing. They stood like that for a long moment. Kreelan stumbled over, fumbling with his bow. Trippy limped over as well. The goblin didn''t seem to like three to one odds as much when they were against him and withdrew his hand. He helped the other two to their feet and the three retreated. They reached the gates and Kate dropped her sword. With the goblins gone, the town rushed into action as if just now realizing the fire. Kate pitched in and helped to carry buckets from the well to Regkor''s house. They kept the fire from spreading, but Regkor''s home was a smoldering ruin. Realizing that her hope for returning home had probably gone up in flames with the house, she collapsed to the ground and cried. Regkor approached her. He placed a hand on her shoulder. She flinched at the touch. "I''m sorry about what I said before," he told her. "If it weren''t for you and Kreelan, I''d be dead." "The scroll you were looking for. It''s gone, isn''t it?" She asked. "The scroll I was loo-. Oh, the one about you. Oh no. It''s safe. It is such a rare scroll that I keep it in a fireproof box. It''s just going to take a while to dig it out of that mess." "Well, I guess that''s something I''ll have plenty of, now that those goblins are gone." She wiped the tears from her face with her sleeve. Kreelan joined them. "Oh no. They aren''t gone. There is a whole company of them over the hill. And your stunt means they will come back. This time, they won''t stop with burning down just a single house." Book 1: Chapter 5 The whispers distracted Kate. She strained to hear them speak, but of course, they were in Elvish and not wearing any flowers like the one she had picked for Kreelan. Instead, she pushed them out of her conscious thought and returned to her practice. The leaf in front of her twisted and curled until it formed the shape of a swan. This one almost looked right. One wing was longer than the other and folded at an awkward angle. She sighed and plucked it from the tree. She tossed it with her other failed attempts, a graveyard of grotesque sculptures. Kate scolded herself. The swan had been a distraction. A reward for attempting, and failing, to accomplish much of any use for half an hour. That had been two hours ago. She focused on the branch that was now denuded of its foliage. She willed it to do... something. That was part of her problem. She wasn''t sure exactly what she was trying to do. She could wave the branches to and fro and hit anyone that got too close. But how long would it take for the goblins to figure that trick out and just avoid the trees? If only the trees were closer together like in the wood. Then the goblins wouldn''t be able to avoid them. Could she make the trees grow closer together? She closed her eyes and concentrated. She opened them again. The tree hadn''t moved. Of course it hadn''t. That was a ridiculous thought. It had regrown new leaves, though. There was something off, it took her a minute, but then she realized it. Most of the leaves had grown on the left side of the branch. The side closer to the hedge separating the courtyard from Regkor''s neighbor. She made the bloom in Kreelan''s hair grow, even after she had plucked it. She could make plants grow. But what good would that do against an invading army? She made another swan. For once, the swan actually looked graceful. With an additional thought, she made it flap its wings. It fluttered an inch above her hand and then floated back down. She slid the swan''s stem foot into her hair clip. If she couldn''t do something useful, at least she could look nice while being useless. Maybe she could attack the goblins with miniature swans. The whispering got her attention again. There was something different about it this time. The words she heard this time were in English. She could understand everything now. The plant translators must work both ways, she mused. A couple walked the path behind her. "That freak is going to get us all killed," the man argued. "Keep it down, she could hear you," the wife responded. "She stood up to the goblins. When have you ever done that?" "I¡¯ve never done it, because it would get us all killed." They passed her range of hearing. Kate grimaced. That guy was right. Kreelan was right. She hadn''t helped. She just made the goblins angry. She didn''t even defeat those three. Trippy attacked and knocked the sword loose. "Town meeting tonight. Town meeting tonight," Kreelan called as he walked the streets. His voice got louder as he approached. He didn''t stop. He gave her a small smile as he passed and continued his chant. "Town meeting tonight. To discuss yesterday''s events. Town meeting tonight." He turned the corner and walked out of sight. Kate could still hear his voice in the breeze. "Town meeting tonight." This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. Kate experimented with a sword. She crafted a tiny green dagger. She touched the blade. A drop of blood appeared on her fingertip. "Great," she thought. "I can give them a paper cut." Kate concentrated on the branch in front of her. It bent and folded and took shape. The grip formed, along with a modest hilt. The branch flattened slightly. "Kate, the meeting starts soon." She jumped at the sound of his voice. Her concentration broke and the tree ejected her creation like a person spitting out a bug. "You startled me. I thought the meeting wasn¡¯t until tonight." She bent down to pick up her sword. The sun was low in the sky. "I guess I''ve been out here longer than I thought." "You''ve been busy," Regkor said. Kate looked around at the giant pile of leaf swans and the smaller pile of leaf knives. She kept silent as she showed him the wooden weapon. The blade was still round. "I guess. I''m sure my walking stick will scare them away." She pursed her lips. "You''ll be fine. You just need to believe in yourself. Now come. The meeting is about to start and you''re the guest of honor." The hall was a basic wooden structure with benches arranged in rows. A table stood in the front. Somebody had tried to lighten up the drab interior with a potted fern in the corner, but seemed to have then neglected it. A few drooping fronds remained. Kreelan led Kate to a chair near the front and stood in front of the table. "We all know why we are here today. The goblins are getting bolder. They are now collecting taxes weekly instead of with each moon. We cannot let this stand." "What right do you have to demand this? Want can we do?" someone shouted from the crowd. "I cannot demand anything. I can only ask you. Ask you to follow the long-lost princess of our people, Kate." He swept an arm to point at her. "I, uh." Katye stumbled over her words as she stood. Why had he put her on the spot like this? "The princess has been gone for thousands of years. Why should we believe this is her?" The detractor asked. Kreelan turned to Kate. "Care to give them a demonstration?" Kate shrugged. Being put on display like a prize pig wasn''t how she wanted to spend her evening. If they didn''t believe her, well, too bad for them. She didn''t owe them anything. Except that she did. She had escalated the war. Somehow, she was going to need to defeat the goblins. These weren''t fighters. These were hunters and farmers, peaceful folk who had let the occupation happen rather than fight it. They needed her help, if only because she had made it so they needed her help. She considered her options. She had her swan in her hair, Kreelan''s flower, and Regkor''s boutonniere. A couple others in the crowd were likewise adorned. And there was that poor little fern. All that thing wanted in life was for somebody to give it some love. She knew what she had to do. Without saying a word, she pointed at the fern. The entire room turned to look at the pitiful plant. She closed her eyes and imagined a lush, full plant in its place. For effect, she mimed an expanding ball. Nobody looked in her direction and she felt silly. She dropped her hands back to her sides. Despite her theatrics, the plant did as it was told. The fronds uncurled and expanded. She wanted to wow the crowd, so she pushed harder. Maybe too hard. The plaster pot shattered as the fern expanded beyond its confines. An explosion of green expanded in the corner. Those closest backed away. Kate told the plant to stop. The movement stopped as abruptly as it had started. Gone was the pitiful, neglected fern. In its place, a fern worthy of the dinosaurs filled almost a quarter of the floor at reached the ceiling before curving back. The crowd stood in stunned silence for a moment and began dropping to their knees, facing her. First in ones and twos and then more joined in until the entire room was bowed down except for Kate and a single man. She studied him. It was the one from the park earlier that day. She looked him in the eye, but he simply stared back. "So how does this defeat the goblins?" He asked. "It doesn''t," Kate admitted. The crowd looked up from its obeisance. "But I do have an idea to help. But we are going to need to plant a lot of trees. Book 1: Chapter 6 Kate''s back ached. She stood up and stretched. She looked around at their progress. Roughly three quarters of the perimeter of the village had been planted. There were trees were they could put them, but most of the circumference consisted of bushes and even a few flowers. "Okay, enough of a break," she thought. The sun reached to the trees in the west. They didn''t have much time. The goblins could arrive any day now. She knelt back down and picked up her trowel. She stabbed at the hard clay and scratched a small hole in it. Without her power, none of the plants they were moving today would survive; their roots would never penetrate this soil. Once she had her hole, the plucked a lily from the pile and planted it. Only a thousand more to go. The sun set and torches were brought out. Kate worried about flame so close to her plants. The villagers laughed at her concerns. How else would they have enough light to finish the job? Kate left them to finish planting the wall. She picked a point as far from the gap as she could find and concentrated. She started with the tree. Despite the dark, the lower branches grew and expanded towards the smaller planets around it. She turned her focus on those, and they grew up and out. Soon, the branches touched those of its neighbors and intertwined. One of Kate''s lilies shot up from the ground. She laughed. A ten foot tall lily looked ridiculous. She guessed it was no more ridiculous than believing that she was also a thousands year old elven princess who could talk to plants. She worked her way to the east, urging the plants to grow as the continued. She continued until she neared the gap. It was much smaller than when she had started her current task, but quite a bit remained. After stopping to eat some of the food Kreelan had given her earlier, she made her way back to her starting point and worked her way in the opposite direction. By the time she reached the gap, it was only a few feet wide. The elves had been taking shifts but most of the original volunteers were long gone. Kreelan kneeled in the middle of the gap. He swung a pickaxe and created a small divot. He swung again and again. At last, his hole was large enough to plant the potted fern from the town hall. The wall was complete. She worked her magic and coaxed the plants to finish the wall. When the fronds reached out and connected to the now twenty foot sapling, Kate collapsed to the ground. Kreelan helped her to her feet and back to his home. Hours of physical and mental labor had met their reward. For the first time in its history, the village had a wall to repel invaders. Kate just hoped it would be enough. Kreelan let her sleep in the next morning. When she woke, the sun was already high in the sky. She could feel the happiness of the plants around her as they soaked up the sun''s rays. Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings. Kate inspected her handiwork. The wall had a few holes and weak points and she worked to flesh those out. Kreelan came out with the noon meal but she waved him off until she finished. Convinced there was nothing more she could do to help, she sat down to eat. She was still chewing her first mouthful when she heard trumpets sound. Everyone stopped what they were doing and turned. The trumpets blew again. Kate forgot her food. She stood up and raced back to her wall. Of course she couldn''t see anything but she stood near the now blocked path leading out of the village. The elves gathered around her. Soon, the entire village was clustered near the entrance. They heard faint marching. The trumpets continued to blare every few minutes. The sound got louder and louder until it stopped. This was it. The goblin army was here. The goblin captain shouted over the wall. Kate recognized her voice from their last encounter. This time, of course, she could understand his words. "You protect a woman who attacked us. Give her to us and we will spare some of you." "Never," shouted Kreelan and the rest of the town cheered. "This is your last chance," the goblin threatened. Kreelan opened his mouth but Kate held up her hand. "I am Kate, the woman you seek. You will not harm these people. From now on, this village is free from your tyranny." "You condemn everyone you claim to protect, do you think these trees will stop us?" His voice grew quieter as if he had turned away from them. "Cut down these trees and then kill everyone." The goblin army let out a sound like a cross between a cheer and a growl. The sound of dozens of blades being removed filled the air. The sound of dozens of swords going "thwack" against the leafy greens protecting them followed. Kate pushed healing energy into the wall. The captain hissed, "What sorcery is this? Try harder." The goblins continued to attack the wall. Kate just kept pushing energy into it. The wall not only withstood the attack but grew taller and greener. "Halt," the captain ordered. "Our blades do nothing. We need another plan." There was quiet for a moment and then Kate watched a single flaming arrow fly into the branches above her. "Not again," she breathed. She found the nearest branch and knocked the arrow out of the air. It fell to the earth by their feet and the nearest person kicked dirt on it to kill the flame. Another arrow flew. An entire volley followed it. Kate knocked a few away but more found their target. Why hadn''t she realized that the invaders would try the same attack as they had on Regkor''s house? "If only the plants were fireproof," she said to no one in particular. But that was a preposterous idea. Whoever had heard of fireproof trees? But whoever had heard of trees that could move or grow in the blink of the eye? Kate raced to the wall. She ran her hands over the rough back of the nearest tree. "Don''t burn," she whispered to it. "You can withstand the flame. It cannot hurt you." She held her breath as she watched another arrow land. A few of the arrows had lit their target but those flames seemed to be dying down. None of the newer arrows seemed to have any effect. "It worked," she shouted. "The wall is fireproof. They have no way to enter." A cheer erupted, even louder than the one from before. Kate turned back to the wall. "You are out of tricks. You cannot get in." There was silence from the other side. The goblin captain''s voice was barely audible. "Then we will wait for you to come out." Book 1: Chapter 7 Kreelan woke Kate from her nap. "The South wall needs a little mending, but everything seems to be holding up so far. The goblins don''t seem to be too interested in trying to get in right now. Just waiting for us to give up, I guess." "How low are we on food?" Kate asked. "Turn around, I need to change." He turned around. "A week. Two, tops." Kate pulled off her dirty sweater and grabbed the bowl of water and sponge waiting for her. She cleaned herself as best she could and put on the woven garment one of the women in the village had given her. "Okay, I''m done." Kreelan turned back around. He handed her a tray he had set by the door. "Here''s your meal." He lifted the cover revealing several vegetable dishes. There hadn''t been meat for a week. "I can''t take all this. This is more than my share," she told him. "But you have to keep your strength up. Your power takes a lot out of you." "It''s been getting easier," she lied. The truth was that she was exhausted. She felt like she could sleep for a week, eat herself silly and sleep for two more. But she couldn''t do that. These people depended on her. She grabbed an apple off the tray. Give the rest of this to village." "But--" "No, buts," she said. "Do it. I have work to do." She left the room taking a bite out of the apple. She finished the apple by the time she had left the house and was even sucking the juice from the core as she walked down the street. She saw Regkor turn the corner and quickly chucked her trash. If he realized how hungry she was, he would give her his rations and happily starve himself. "Hi, Regkor. How is the excavation of your home going?" "Slowly, milady, err, Kate," he said. "And getting slower. People are getting hungry and having difficulty working." He lowered his head and shook it. "Cheer up. This siege can''t last forever," she said. "Right, we''ll starve to death or surrender long before then." She took hold of his shoulders and shook him. "No, stay positive. That''s the only way to get through this. Trust in our ability to come up with something. " "Okay, Kate. I trust in you." He clasped her shoulder. "I should get back to the excavating." He left her. Kate watched him go and thought, "Now if only I could trust me, too." She stared at the ground more a minute. The apple core caught her eye. She considered picking it up and seeing if there was any more sustenance left in it, but she wasn''t that hungry yet. Instead, she kicked it under a bush for the squirrels to eat and continued to the south wall. This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it. It looked like the goblins had been busy while she had slept. The wall still stood, but had taken quite a bit of abuse. There wasn''t quite a hole, but a section did let translucent green light shine through. She focused and the rose bush that made up this section branched out and grew thicker than before. The light grew dimmer as the spot filled in. "Goblins," somebody shouted from East. "There are goblins in the camp!" Kate looked towards the commotion and saw a young boy run towards her. "Princess Kate, come quick. They are inside. My father needs your help." She had no clue who the boy was or who his parents were. She still knew only a fraction of the village''s population. But she scooped him up in her arms and said, "Tell me where they are." Kate followed where the boy pointed. She arrived at the East wall to find an elf backed against the wall. A goblin had his sword drawn and was shouting at the crowd that was gathering. "This is what happens to traitors. This is what happens when you don''t obey the law of Lord Zang." "Hey," Kate shouted. ¡°Leave him alone. Why don''t you pick on somebody your own size?" Kate cringed when she heard herself say it. It was a ridiculous thing. The elves were taller than she and were nearly twice the height of the goblins. The goblin turned to her. "Do you want to take their place?" He said. "Maybe I should kill you first and then make an example out of him." He took a step towards her. He raised his sword up and swung for her neck. Kate didn''t act consciously. It happened with pure instinct. The tree branch of the mighty oak that was the cornerstone of this portion of the wall came down and knocked the sword out of his hand. Kate dashed after and picked up the sword. "Who is going to make an example out of whom now?" "Please, spare my life. I was just following orders." Kate stepped up to him. She got within inches of his face. She could feel his breath coming out in short rugged bursts. "People have tried to use that to justify many vile things throughout the history of my people. It didn''t work for them and it won''t work for you." She reached the sword up. His whole body shook he began muttering something under his breath. Did the goblins have a higher power they prayed to? "Go," she breathed. ¡°I will not hurt someone who is unarmed. But you are no longer a part of this war. If you come back. I see you again, I will kill you. She lowered the sword the goblins what does the breath that Kate had realized he was holding. Kate exhaled as well. The mighty oak wrapped a smaller branch around his waist and listed him over the wall the branch pulled back and released the goblin soldier flew off into the trees of the glade where Kate had first come to this world. She examined the hole in the wall. The South wall had been just a diversion while they slowly act through the East wall until they reach the. She could see the goblin Army holding back, unsure of what to do after one of their own had been so forcefully ejected. Kate took a deep breath and started to weave the branches and leaves back together. She stopped. They weren''t defenseless anymore. She had a sword. The only way this was going to end is it they defeated the goblins. The goblins would not back down on her own. She stepped through the hole in the wall. "This ends today." She raised her sword and charged at the nearest goblin. He ¨C wait no -- the breastplate was shaped in a way that made Kate certain this was a female. "Well, score one for equality amongst the goblins, I guess," thought Kate. The she-goblin quickly pulled out her sword and carried Kate thrust. The force knocked Kate¡¯s weapon from her hands not, and it fell to her feet. Her foe swept up the sword and placed her own in her scabbard. She raised Kate weapon against her. "Well, this was probably a bad idea." Book 1: Chapter 8 Kate backed up against the wall. Her defense was now her trap. She grasped the goblin sword. She wished she had figured out how to create armor. The little swan in her hair would not protect her against the goblin seal. The attacker pulled the sword back and readied herself to thrust. Kate closed her eyes. This was it. Her oak tree blocked the blade. She put her hand against the rough bark behind her and whispered thanks. This soldier was able to hold onto her blade. She seemed stunned. Kate guessed that this goblin had not witnessed any of her previous miracles. The look soon changed to determination. The goblin gripped the grip tighter and tensed for her next attack. Kate clenched the bark behind her. "Hey, tree. Not to seem ungrateful, but I need a plan other than you fighting my battles for me. I really need some armor and my own weapon. Anything you can do would be great." She really didn''t expect it to work. Aside from a few reactions the plants only responded to her conscious will and thought. They didn''t act with the will of their own. Of course not, how would a tree think? But apparently this oak did. She felt the bark wrap around her hands. She panicked and tried to pull away. But she was stuck fast against the tree. She watched in horror as the bark climbed up her arms to her shoulders. She pulled as hard as she could away from the tree but it held her fast. Even her attacker stopped. As the bark wrapped around her chest and behind her back she saw branches lower from above. These, too, wrapped around her. Leaves from the branches became origami and pressed into the wood that had ensconced her. The bark continued down her legs and covered her feet. She felt herself yanked up in inch as it continued under her feet. She was now completely wrapped in the tree except for her head. It was the only thing she could move. She looked up and saw another branch coming down, a single acorn at its end. Her eyes grew wide. The acorn started growing as it descended. Soon it was the size of her head. It wobbled and cracked as if a baby bird was coming out of an egg, but the inside was hollow. The branch lowered it onto her head. The acorn fit snugly as if it would had been made just for her. She supposed it had. She heard cracking all around her and she could move again. She pulled her arm free of the oak. The wood surrounding her came with her but moved freely and rippled like leather. Tentative, she tried lifting her foot. It came free of the tree and ground but stayed covered. Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website. Her head turned to a flash of movement at another branch. As this branch lowered, it bent and folded and formed the shape of a broadsword. Stems of leaves formed a fancy lattice around the grip and the hilt. Towards the sword with little rose thorns. Apparently her rosebush from the South wall wanted to help as well. The sword then lowered itself into her hand and she took it. Despite its size and being made entirely from wood, it was remarkably light. The she-goblin stood there with a dumb look on her face. It was time to see if all those fantasy novels she''d read could come in handy. She raised her sword up over her shoulder like a baseball player ready to take a swing. Okay, maybe the fantasy books weren¡¯t going to be much help after all. She stared her opponent in the eye. "Ready to make this fair fight?" The goblin didn''t waste any time. She raised her sword and matched Kate stare. The goblin lunged forward. She was much faster than she had let on previously. Their swords clashed. Kate¡¯s made remarkably metallic sound. They parried and countered. The goblin was a much better fighter, but the armor protected Kate, even if the occasional chunk came flying out of the thick wood.. The goblins formed a half circle around them, watching the fight. When she could, Kate looked towards the hole in her wall and saw elven faces peeking through. The battle seemed to take forever. Despite the armor doing most of the work for her, she was slowing down. The goblin seemed to be faring little better. Kate countered another strike but missed. The goblin sword hit her helmet broadside and knocked it off. Her opponent raised her sword again. Kate blocked but the iron grip between the sword and her wooden gauntlets failed and her weapon clattered to the ground. The she-goblin still had the energy to raise her sword for the next stretch. Kate held her hands up in front of her face and braced herself for the inevitable. She felt rather than heard the arrow go by. Her attacker fell to the ground with an arrow protruding out of her chest and through the leather armor. Kate turned around. Kreelan stood a few feet from the entrance with his bow in hand. He rushed over to Kate. "Are you okay?" "I thought you said that you wouldn¡¯t fight. You could not take a life that wasn''t for food." "That was what I thought too. But I could not stand by and watch you get killed," he said. He took her hand. "I wouldn''t be able to live with myself if you were hurt because I did nothing. My vow to the goddess Thea is broken. Now, I fight." He rose his bow over his head. As if on cue, the villagers streamed through the hole and out to the goblin encampment. Kate watched as they came out with sickles, pitchforks, and knives. This peaceful village that had put up with the goblin invasion for so long rallied around her and Kreelan. The last of them came onto the field. Two old men wielded the largest axes Kate had ever seen. They took their post on either side of the opening with their weapons crossed over their shoulders. The goblins would not reach the children still in the village. Book 1: Chapter 9 The goblins watched the motley crew assemble. Kate''s face reddened as the invaders pointed and laughed. One towards the left turned to his comrade and mimed the pitchfork which the other blocked with his sword. The mock defender then pointed his sword on the other and the first one fell to the ground with his hands over his stomach. The two laughed. The others in the company watched. A few seemed nervous. The goblin commander rode up on a pony and shouted at them. Kate couldn''t make out what was being said, but the two jokers fell back in line and kept their faces grim. The commander rode up to the front of the line and turned toward the elves. "So this is how it ends? If you had continued to pay your taxes, we would have left you alone. But this rebel incites you to violence. Turn her over to us and we will overlook your rebellion. Fail to do so, and you will all die." The elves looked at each other nervously. One of the elders approached her, his eyes down. "Your highness, the goblins say they will spare us if you go with them." "I heard them," Kate said. ¡°But if I go, they will kill me." "If you don''t, they will kill us all." "I will protect you," she insisted. Kreelan strode up to them. "Gralin, you can''t be taking their offer seriously, they will not honor it." He shook his head. Gralin was silent. Kate looked at the two of them. "I am not going with them. You can fight with me or you can stand behind me. Your choice." He examined his feet further. Kreelan pushed. "You came out of the gate. Why do that if you weren''t prepared to defend our home?" Behind the three of them, Kate noticed a sound. She looked up and noticed the elves were chanting. It was soft at first but soon the volume grew. "Kate, Kate, Kate." That was her, she realized. They were chanting her name. Gralin finally looked up, "I guess it is decided. We fight." The three of them walked up to the commander. Gralin spoke up, "You offer is rejected. You will leave us. You may leave in peace, or you may meet your ancestors. The goblin hissed. He kicked his spurs and retreated. When he reached the back of the line, he pulled a horn from his side and blew. The goblins roared and advanced. Kate looked around at the villagers. They eyed the exit but stood their ground. Kate called to them, "This is for your home, for your children. We can defeat them. We fight for Fawla. We fight for Zanor!" The elves cheered and raised their weapons. "Attack." They ran towards the goblins. This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report. The field filled with the sound of clashing metal. The goblins had better weapons and better training, but the elves had superior numbers. The attackers found themselves against two and sometimes three elves. At first, Kate thought that the elves would defeat the goblins. As the goblins¡¯ shock wore off, they fought more effectively and beat the villagers back. Kate tried to focus on her own battle, but the cries of her comrades distracted her. It started with grunts and squeals of pain. Then there was a cry, louder than the others. Kate lowered her guard and look just in time to see a goblin run his sword through a farmer. The ground turned crimson beneath him. Kate was so focused on the death that she never saw the sword hilt as it smashed into her skull. When Kate came to, she was tied up on the ground in the goblin encampment. The goblin commander sat at a desk with his back to her. She tried to move but a jolt of pain washed over her followed by a tinge of nausea. She retched, narrowly avoiding her hands where they were tied to a post. The sound got the commander''s attention. "Ah, good. You join us. You would not be useful if you were dead." "Do what you want with me, as long as you leave the elves alone," Kate said. The taste of bile filled her mouth. She pulled at her bindings and they gave a little. "All of your friends will be put to sword for defying Lord Zang. Then you will help us subdue the others. The riders give us problems and we could use someone of your talents," he said. "I''ll never help you," she shouted. A little more. "Oh, but you will," he replied. "Zang¡¯s rule will be absolute." She tugged again and came free of the post. She leapt at the commander and knocked him down. He struggled against her but she had 50 pounds on the tiny creature. "Guards," he shouted. Kate took the length of rope between her two hands and looped is around his neck. She strained against the bindings and he gasped for breath. He bucked but Kate continued to sit on his chest. He tried to shout again but only a weak gasp came out. She rode his spams. Her wrists burned against the rough fibers of the rope. Then, he was still. Kate unwrapped the rope from his neck and stood. He wasn''t moving. She kicked him to be sure but he just lay there. She looked around the commander''s tent. The fight still raged outside but it didn''t sound like it was going well for the elves. She saw her sword and helmet on a table. It didn''t look like they got the armor off. Kate wasn''t sure she could get the armor off when the time came. She lay down on top of the sword and pressed the rope against the blade. It hurt even more than the choke hold. Blood trickled from her wrists where they had been rubbed raw. It took several minutes, but she broke through a strand of the rope and the knot fell apart. She up and rubbed her wrists. She couldn''t wait any longer. Kate put the helmet on her head and grabbed the sword. She picked it up but dropped it and collapsed. She heaved on the ground and retched again. Her entire body shook. Kate wasn''t going to be of any help like this. For the first time she noticed the smell. On the desk where the commander had been sitting was a half-eaten plate of food. Kate jumped at the plate. She didn''t bother with utensils but tore into hunk of meat. It was bloody and Kate didn''t want to try to guess at the animal it came from. But it was the first thing she had eaten in almost a day. She licked the grease from the plate and gnawed at the bone. Book 1: Chapter 10 Sense seemed to return to her and she dropped the bone, feeling guilty. She stood. Kate still felt a little weak, but wasn''t going to pass out in the battle. She stumbled out of the tent and surveyed the battle. Bodies were everywhere. Both goblin and elf lie on the ground, but there were considerably more elves than goblins. Kreelan was in a tree shooting arrows whenever he could get a clear shot. He had one notched but wasn''t using it. He just pointed it around the field. Kate noticed the problem; his quiver was empty. Kate sucked in her breath and closed her eyes for a moment. When she opened them, a stack of new arrows fell into his lap, complete with fletching made from leaf. His eyes went wide and then saw her at the tent. He nodded and shot his arrow. A goblin harrying a woman with a butcher''s knife fell to the ground. The woman looked at Kreelan, but he pointed at Kate. She bowed her head and Kate gave her a thumbs up. Hopefully, that meant the same thing here. Kate charged at another goblin whose sword was pressed against a pitchfork. She yelled and the goblin turned towards her. The elf used this advantage and knocked the goblin down. The soldier rolled onto his back but the farmer pushed the pitchfork into the goblin''s neck. Another opponent charged at Kate, but she had the grass grow and form a lasso to trip him up. The woman with the knife was on him and another goblin was down. The butcher, the farmer, and Kate formed up and helped the others take down one at a time. The fight was over. Kate and the elves were dirty and bleeding, but for the most part they were alive. Kate led them over to the goblin''s supply wagon and handed out food. She made sure everyone had eaten and went back to the commander''s tent and collapsed into his bed. It was dark when Kate woke up. In the dim light, she saw Kreelan sitting at the commander''s desk. "How long have you been here?" "You¡¯ve been asleep for over a day. You gave us a bit of a scare. After everybody ate, you just disappeared," he said. "It took us hours to find you. I¡¯ve been waiting for you to wake up ever since we found you. "I''m sorry I couldn''t keep my eyes open any longer," she explained. She sat up, something felt different. Kate looked at her arms. "Where is my armor?" "You weren''t wearing it when I found you. You were surrounded however by a handful of acorns. A single rose. I think your armor turned itself back into plants so you can carry it around on scene." ¡°How will I put it back on?" Kate asked. "I guess you have to figure that out on your own. I don''t have instruction manual for you. Although Regkor is still looking for the scroll." "So he''s okay? How many were hurt?" "He is fine. You wouldn''t expect it to look at him but he is apparently deadly with a pair of straw hooks. In total, there are thirty two dead, and a hundred wounded," he said. "I never meant for any of this to happen. I just wanted to help," she cried. Kreelan was okay and at her side faster than she could see him move. He put his hand on hers. "You did help us. Things were only going to get worse with the goblins, not better. Trust me, the village is singing your praises right now." The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. "It is just so hard to believe. Before today, I never killed anybody. I''d never even squashed a bug." "You stepped up to your role and fulfilled your destiny," he said. "Come now, it will be late soon and there is going to be a celebration in your honor." Kreelan stood and offered Kate''s hand. She stood up slowly. She didn''t think I was a single part of her body that wasn''t sure. She caught her reflection in a mirror. "I think I''m going to need a bath before I meet anyone." Kreelan wrinkled his nose. "Yes you smell pretty bad. And your looks will scare the children. But I have a bag for you. The pool I found you near is actually a hot spring with healing properties. Many of us will need to use it in the coming days but the first plot belongs to you." The goblin camp was deserted when they left the tent. Kate just that everybody had gone to their own homes and slept in the bed. She wished that option was open to her. What is she ever going to get home? Kreelan led her to the pond and dropped the bag by the shore. "There are fresh closed in there. The ones you are wearing, we should just bury. I will be on the path just around the next bend." Kate removed the dirty clothing. Kreelan was right, they were nothing but rags at this point. The shirt that Kreelan''s neighbor had given to her was ruined. Kate had a feeling that the woman would refuse any payment for it, but she would have to try. She wondered if there was any way to salvage her bra. One strap was snapped in and the hooks were bent. But if Regkor was to believed it was the only bra in all of Fawla. She crumpled up the dirty clothes next to the bag. She would figure out what to do with them later. She stepped into the water. Kreelan told her it was a hot spring, will all but she wasn''t prepared for how warm it was. The water scolded her. This was going to be nice. She planned to take a long hot bath and stay there for hours. She would look like a prune coming out what it would be worth it. The healing properties of the water had different ideas however. Fifteen minutes later Kate felt like a completely new person and was ready to leave. She dried off and put on the new clothing. It would take some getting used to not having the undergarment that she had worn for so much of her life. She packed up the bag and called to Kreelan. He didn''t answer to she called again. She started to get worried. Had one of the goblins snuck off from the battle and came back to exact his revenge? She followed the trail to the curve that he had pointed at earlier. Just off the trail Kreelan instead of leaf litter. She shook him. When he roused, she said, "You scared me when you didn''t respond." "I''m sorry Kate. All will I didn''t get any sleep last night I was watching you the entire time." "I''m not sure if that is sweet were creepy," she admitted. "It was not my intention to be creepy," he said. "Let''s go back to the village now. Everybody once to thank the woman that saved them." They followed the trail back to the village in silence. Back at the village, her wall still stood with her opening now framed by a simple wooden gate. There were few people on the street. "Where is everyone?" "Everyone who isn''t helping with tonight''s feast is with Regkor trying to find that scroll for you." Sure enough, the majority of the town formed a bucket brigade to remove the rubble from the scribe''s home. Regkor came out with a box clutched under his arm. He saw Kate and ran towards her. He hugged her tightly. But more tightly than she would have expected from the thin man. "Thank you for saving us," he said. "You''re welcome. But Regkor, please let go. I just had a bath." He looked at the ash and dirt that lined his skin. "Oh, sorry. But you will want to see this." He pulled out the box and handed it to her. "What is it?" She asked. "It is the scroll I''ve been looking for. The scroll that tells about you and your powers. And it shows how you can get home." "Yes," Kate shouted. Everybody stopped and looked at her. "Uh, thanks everyone. Carry on." She sat down on the dirt. She didn''t care that her new clothes were getting dirty. Soon, she''d have a washer and dryer to clean them with, instead of a bucket and rocks. Kreelan sat down beside her. "I didn''t want to say this earlier, I wanted you to have a day to relax. But that was just one company of goblins. An entire army lies to the East. And when they find out what happened here, they will burn the entire village to the ground. And every village they reach until they find you. Fawla will be ruins if you leave." Book 2: Chapter 1 "But I''ve been gone for weeks. My family has no clue what happened to me." Kate threw her hands in the air. "I didn''t ask for any of this. I just wanted a good book to read, not get sucked into one." "That may be the case, but we didn''t ask to be invaded either," Kreelan spat back. The crowd started gathering around them. She shook her head and shooed them. "Go away." But, of course, while they deferred to her for anything else, not even elves could resist watching somebody having a meltdown. "What do you want me to do, Kreelan? I don''t know how to fight. I don''t know how to control my power. I got lucky out there. Can I make the armor again? Will it do my fighting for me again?" "I don''t know, princess." He looked down. "Oh, for crying out loud. Don''t go back to calling me that." She shook her head. "My point is, I don''t know either. I can''t keep protecting you. I''ll get myself killed out there." She pointed through the hole in the wall, visible from the wreckage of Regkor''s house. "You will have to train, Kate. We provoked the goblins. If we stand down, how things were before will seem like a pleasant dream compared to the future we will face." "Who will train me?" She shook her hands in front of her, as if choking an invisible foe. Her voice started rising. Kate knew she was getting hysterical, but she didn''t care. Kreelan opened his mouth, but she wouldn''t let him talk. "Well, answer me." "I--" "You? What do you know about fighting? You never fought before yesterday. Somebody else? Who here in Zanor knows how to fight? Who in all of Fawla has been in any kind of battle before?" "Kate." Regkor spoke up from her right. She spun around. "What?" She shouted. He took a step back. He trembled from her outburst. "There is one." He looked down." Kate softened. She hadn''t meant to scare him. She held her hand out and pulled his chin up. Softly, "There is one what?" He looked her in the eye. She curled her lip into a faint smile as a way of apology. "There is one who''s fought. He ran away to go fight in the Darnetan army as a boy but returned last year. Nobody really knows why. He''s been a bit of a recluse. Not terribly popular in peace-loving Fawla. Some say he even knows some magic. If anyone could help you, it would be him." This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. Kate bit her lip. "I don''t know. Regkor what would you do if you found yourself in a strange land and over your head and presented with a chance to go home?" The last traces of fear at Kate''s demeanor vanished. "Why, I''d want to learn everything there is to learn. Read everything there is to read. Know everything there is to know." His smile stretched from ear to ear, showing the incredibly perfect teeth that all the elves seemed to have. Regkor said that the elves had innate healing and nature magic but few knew how to use it anymore. Kate thought their real power was perfect dental health. Kate felt herself smiling more. Aside from his ridiculous grin, he had a point. She''s been reading about worlds like Fawla since she was a little girl. Why should she turn away from the opportunity to explore one with more than just her imagination? "Where is Wanco?" "To the East," Kreelan answered. "About a week''s walk from here. Too far." She made a face. She squinted into the evening sunlight. The sun traveling backwards had been yet another thing to get used to. "You people really need to invent cars. Or at least horseback riding." Kreelan opened his mouth. Kate guessed he would ask her what those things were. Her plant magic translated words but not concepts. Times like that really brought home the fact that they spoke different languages. "What would you have her do, Kreelan?" Regkor took up her defense. "We need her, but we need her trained more." "Then make this fighter come here." Kreelan crossed his arms. This idea made sense to her. The elf would be used to walking. A week''s worth of walking was more than some humans she knew did in their entire life. "From the scrolls I''ve received, I don''t think he''s left his home since returning to Fawla." Kreelan frowned. "It''s just too far. If goblins attacked, we''d be dead before Kate could come back to defend us." The crowd parted as Trippy came forward, licking blood from his chops. He came from the direction of the battlefield, where a few of the elves were still working on burning the dead. Their fallen had been collected but the goblins were being tossed in a mass grave. Kate didn''t want to think about what Trippy had been eating. Trippy head-butted her thigh, nearly knocking her over. Kate still did a double-take whenever she saw her hair or the cat''s size, but he didn''t seem to realize that he was any larger than hse had previously been. Kate looked the feline over. She was almost the size of a pony. Kate wasn''t a particularly large girl. "Hmm." She patted Trippy''s side and she positioned the cat in front of her. As if intuiting what she wanted, the cat crouched down. She swung her leg over Trippy¡¯s back and lowered her weight onto him. She patted the cat¡¯s back and he stood. Kate grabbed onto her fur as she rocked side to side from the motion and her feet lifted off the ground. She would need to fasten some sort of saddle to ride for any length of time, but this could work. Trippy purred between her legs. "How fast would it take if we rode?" Book 2: Chapter 2 "Will your animal carry both of our weights?" Kreelan asked. Kate frowned. Kate was certain that Trippy could carry her on the journey, but two were probably beyond her capacity. "We will build a wagon for her to pull. It won''t be the most comfortable, but it will get us there faster than we could walk." Sensing that the fireworks were over, the crowd starting to disperse. "Hey, not so fast, you guys. I''m going to need a cooper and a carpenter." Building the wagon was the easy part. The elves of Fawla weren''t completely without technology and had wagons of their own, if not for riding. But without any harness animals of their own, it took Kate and the tanner several attempts to build something that Trippy would wear and could be attached to the wagon. At least the big cat seemed more agreeable to direction than Trippy had been as a Bengal. Of course, the wagon wasn''t their only problem. "You''ll be able to travel quickly, Kate, but how will we get word to you if you need to return?" Regkor had scrolls spread over every inch of Kreelan''s study. He''d been obsessed with Kate''s description of a telephone and was trying to teach himself everything the elves knew of electricity in hopes of building his own. "We know so little compared to the humans of your world. It will take me years to build a prototype." "I don''t know. Is there a magic solution?" Kreelan snorted at the suggestions. "Regkor knows as much about magic as he does about your telephones." She elbowed him. "You''re not helping." "I¡¯m sorry, Kate, but he''s right. There is so little magic left amongst our people. Other races have some of their own but I''m afraid the elves are in something akin to the Dark Ages you told me your own people went through. The Riders may know something, but they are even further away." "Well, we will think of something. Always remain positive." She patted him on the back. Kate thought about the problem in bed that night. There was so much technology that she had always taken for granted while escaping into her fantasy stories. Maybe if she had paid more attention to the world around her, she could have helped now that she was in her own fantasy world. Communications, medicine, gunpowder. The list went on. Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. Quantum mechanics flitted into her head as she thought of the list of items from her own world that the elves didn''t have. She dismissed it. Theoretical physics wasn''t going to help them. The thought struck her so suddenly she momentarily forgot to breathe. She jumped out and struggled to light her candle, her hands were shaking so hard the matches kept blowing out. Succeeding in lighting the candle, she ran out of Kreelan''s house to the gardens. Kate didn''t read much science-fiction, but she couldn''t escape Asimov''s famous quote about advanced technology appearing to be magic. Maybe the opposite could be true. Kreelan shook her awake. "What are you doing out here?" Kate rubbed her eyes and squinted at the morning sun. Her back ached as she pushed herself from the dirt. Dew covered her and made her gown cling to her skin. She blushed as she realized how much of the shape of her body was exposed to him. Regkor came out with a towel which Kreelan wrapped her with. "What are you doing out here?" He repeated. "I had an idea." She looked around at the litter of cup shaped leaves looking for the one she had been working on before she fell asleep. She knelt back to the ground, her aches and the chill forgotten. A few were crushed from her body, and she hoped it wasn''t one of those. "Here, it is." She plucked the red one that had fallen by the shrubbery. She held it out to Regkor. "Hold this up to your ear." He did as he was told, and she pulled the rose out of her hair and whispered into it. "I heard you," he shouted. He dropped the rose and bent down to retrieve it. "Of course, you heard here, she is right here. I heard her too." Kreelan shook his head. "No, I heard her in this." Regkor held out the leaf. He turned to Kate. "You made a telephone." "Well sort of. More like a walkie-talkie. But I''m not sure of the range. It may turn out to be completely useless. But if it works over the distance between the two villages, it solves our communication problem." "How does it work?" Kate blinked. She expected the question from Regkor, but Kreelan was usually uninterested in the how or why of things. "Well, I''m not sure. I mean, it''s my magic, I guess. But I was trying to do something called quantum entanglement. Spooky action at a distance. This leaf is now linked to my flower so what happens to one, happens to the other. I talk to one and the other one vibrates." "So you can go anywhere in the world, and we can still talk to you. Kate that is genius." He hugged her. She felt decidedly less cold than a moment ago. He seemed to realize what he was doing and stepped away. Kate felt her cheeks grow warm. His ear tips were rather pink as well. The elves didn''t blush easily, but Kate thought it was kind of cute. Regkor smiled at them. "Shut up," Kreelan told him and marched off. "Pack your stuff. We leave tomorrow." Regkor kept grinning. Kate blushed harder. "Stop that. Help me get this mess picked up and pack your stuff." She crouched down and started pushing her mess into a pile. The smile fell. "Me? But I should stay here to listen for your call over the leaf." "We can get anyone to do that. You said you wanted to see the world, but you''ve never been out of Zanor. This is your chance. You are coming with us." She smiled herself. "Besides, it will be a lot less awkward with you there." Book 2: Chapter 3 They left at first light. Kate wasn''t sure how fast Trippy could actually go, but if Kreelan''s figures for the distance were correct, it would take the better part of a day. And if they had to camp overnight, she wasn''t sure she could convince Kreelan not to turn them back around. Despite stopping for lunch, they still pulled into Wanco as the sky was getting dim. They were spotted long before they reached the town, and it seemed like the entire town was there to greet their strange carriage. Children ran up to them but backed away whenever Trippy turned his head towards them. The adults admonished them but made no attempt to stop them. Kreelan halted the wagon near the stream that ran past the town and approached an officious looking elf with a potbelly and greying hair. Kate pulled the harness off her cat and let her drink in the stream. She gave him a pat and headed towards Kreelan. "You''re just going to let that animal wander free?" The fat elf crossed his arms and glared at her. "I trust him more than I trust you." She mirrored his pose. "Kate, this is Wirte, the mayor of Wanco." He rolled his eyes. "Wirte, this is Princess Kate of Fawla." "Princess? That''s preposterous. Fawla hasn''t had a princess in an age." "Four hundred eighty-three years, to be precise." Regkor came up to him with his arms filled with satchels of the scrolls he felt he might need on the trip. "Since Fawla was annexed by Darneta." "So this woman can''t possibly the princess." "I didn''t believe it either. But I watch this." Kate pointed to the grass on the riverbank and grew it waist high. She made it wave in the still air for good measure. The chatter of the townspeople - towns-elves? - died down. A couple bowed. She smiled and waved at them. Best not to take being royalty out of a forgotten legend too seriously. Wirte stood open mouthed. Kate imagined a fly entering and becoming his next meal. She giggled. Kreelan shot her a look and she closed her mouth, looking down slightly. "We heard you have a warrior who fought in the Darnetan army. We want him to train Kate, so she is more effective against the goblins," Kreelan said. Wirte closed his mouth and frowned. "Well, you''ve wasted your time. Romion doesn''t see anybody." The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings. "We have to try." "Suit yourself." He crossed his arms again. Kate figured his stomach made a nice ledge for them to rest on. "My daughter, Gwelweil, will guide you to his home." A blonde-haired girl about Kate''s age stepped forward from the crowd. She took Kreelan''s hand. Kate frowned when he didn¡¯t object. "Come, let me show you to the traveler''s house. I can try to talk Romion into seeing you in the morning." She chatted as she led them to an unoccupied hut on the opposite side of town. Apparently, most visitors came from the other direction. "Don''t worry about my father. He''s cautious about new people. Good thing he didn''t notice your ears. You would have never let you in town then." Kate scowled and pulled her hair over her ears. "I''ve never been self-conscious about my ears before I came here." Gwelweil laughed. "Covering them with that hair doesn''t draw less attention to you. How did you ever get it that color? It looks real." "Magic," Kate said. "That''s all you need to know." "Okay." Gwelweil frowned. Then she turned to Kreelan and perked up again. "What is Zanor like?" Gwelweil asked. "I''ve never been outside of Wanco." "Smaller," Kreelan said, smiling. "Quieter. We didn''t get much action until I discovered Kate and helped her to become the hero she is now. I suggested that we come here." Kate pushed past him. She couldn''t believe he was flirting with Gwelweil. Didn''t their hug yesterday mean anything? Wait, did their hug yesterday mean anything? Was she reading too much into it? Kate could see how maybe he would want to be with somebody of his own species. The others followed her into a hut. She looked around. "Looks like there''s only one bedroom. I guess you boys get to sleep on the floor out here. She gripped the shoulder strap of her bag tighter and took the three steps needed to cross the room. She crossed the threshold and slammed the rickety door behind her. She set her bag down and sighed. Another straw mat for a bed. She guessed that a real bed just wasn''t going to be in her future until she had defeated the goblins and could go home. There was a knock on the door. "Go away, Kreelan," she shouted. "It''s me," Regkor responded in a quiet voice. He pushed the door open an inch. "Can I come in?" She sighed. "Okay." He entered and closed the door behind him. "I don''t know what got into him. He''s not usually like that." She sat on the bed and crossed her arms. "It''s obvious. She''s very pretty." A scowl crossed her face. She sat down next to her. "There are plenty of pretty girls. Kreelan has never been interested in them. To be honest, some of thought he might be¡­" Regkor paused. "Well, you know." He looked down at the space between him. "But that changed when you arrived. You are all he''s talked about for weeks now." Her face brightened. "Really?" "I shouldn''t be telling you this. Elf before not elf, and all, right?" Kate laughed. "Not elf? That''s the best you''ve got?" He laughed along with her. "Thanks, Regkor. I need that. Now, it''s late and we should be getting some rest. You aren''t going to tell Kreelan about this conversation, will you?" He stood up and headed towards the door. "Don''t worry. Telling him about this ranks up there with facing another goblin on the list of things I never want to do." He smiled. "Goodnight, Kate." Location of future chapters Due to a recent change in policy by Royal Road, I have made the difficult decision to no longer publish chapters on this platform.While most of the page reads this story has received so far have come from this platform, I cannot support the requirement for authors to reveal parts of their individual creation process, especially when the explanation completely misunderstands what that process looks like. You can read up to chapter 13 here. Beyond that, chapters will only be posted on other platforms such as Wattpad, Substack, and Ream. Links to all the places this story is actively being developed at: https://ashrobertsdragoneer.com/the-book-of-fawla/ If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.