Erivale: The Lost Princess

Chapter 16: Part 2

I was still feeling shaky from the intense vision memory as I walked the large halls of the palace. Before the rebel attack these halls would have been silent seldom for the occasional servant. Now the hallways were filled with guards and soldiers. They stood at every door and corner and patrolled the grounds on a constant loop.

It was a safety measure, but I felt uncomfortable being watched twenty-four seven. It's no surprise I'm not a fan of being watched and studied. I prefer anonymity – the freedom to come and go as I please without question or scrutiny. I guess I will have to get over that idea with my new life here. A princess can never be anonymous, and she will never escape scrutiny.

Opening the back door that lead to the rear gardens of the palace I took a deep breath of the cooled air. It was chilly, and the sun shone down upon the snow topped trees and frosted grass. The water around the palace stayed unfrozen and instead gently reflected the mountains collecting it. Small ripples moved across the water from the currents created by the waterfalls continually feeding the lake.

Coming outside always felt like a small escape to my life within the palace. I took longer than usual as I walked to my magic lesson; I wanted to take in the sights and sounds of the outdoors for just a little bit longer.

The pebbled stone path I walked across was slippery and made my every step audible as the stones shifted under my shoes. The usual sound of the soldiers training – the clash of metal, the grunt of a strong blow, and whiny of horses – filled my ears.

Eventually that sound was replaced with Ulric's voice. "You're late," he said. Turning from his spot at the opening of the maze he began walking away and I quickened my pace to catch up to him.

For as many times as we had been in the maze for our lessons I had yet to truly master the twists and turns to find myself to the center or to get myself back out again. Ulric was my lifeline, my guide within the labyrinth.

Once inside the solitude of the heart of the maze Ulric began the lesson.

"Try to remember the sensation of your portals," he instructed.

I groaned in annoyance. "You ask me this every time and it hasn't changed. Going through a portal doesn't feel much different than opening a door and going outside. You can feel the air and temperature change, but nothing else."

"I will keep asking until you can successfully portal. What else happens when you portal?" He began to pace in front of me with his arms crossed over his chest in contemplation.

"I can see them. It's a shimmer in the air like something isn't quite as it seems. But who knows if that's a product of my creation or from the magic way lines Zora would lead me too, or maybe they were Zora to begin with."

"For one, it couldn't be just Zora to begin with since you created them to get into the world. This Zora is not powerful enough to create portals from our world into your world that frequently while also tracking you through the realms." Ulric paused in his walking. "But there is something in common between them all. I don't know why I didn't think of this sooner." He trailed off.

"Think of what?"

"The connection between all of your portals was that you were feeling strong emotion, fear. Either fear to get back or fear to escape what was happening here."

"That still doesn't explain all the time's I portalled her in my sleep."

"It is common for magic users to have 'outbursts' in their sleep. It's a time when the walls in the mind are thin and magic flows more freely."

"Okay, but does any of that really help us now?"

"Yes of course, if you want to tap into your portal energy you need to put yourself in that same mindset. You need to be afraid Amberleigh."