The attack on the princess had left the palace in shambles, mostly because the king was enraged that such an event could take place within the walls of his own home. It had been a month and a half since the attack, and Aelia had only just been allowed out of her quarters a week before.

To be fair, she'd been abed the first month due to a mixture of shock, a concussion, and a bad fever. For a couple of days, her father even feared her death, and the physician had not a shred of hope to give him.

Luckily, Aelia recovered and had eventually been allowed out of her bed. She grew rather dizzy every now and again but, according to the physician, that was normal for someone of her frailty.

Although the king had remained at Aelia's side for the first two weeks, duty called and he'd been forced to leave and take up his role as High King. It wasn't out of the ordinary for him though, as whenever Aelia got hurt or sick he tended to put the kingdom in the back of his mind and focus his attention solely on his heir. Something that Lia absolutely abhorred and encouraged her father not to do.

Unfortunately, it might've been for the best if the king had stayed at Aelia's side for once.

The King was always worried about his dear princess, she was a child produced out of love and even though he cared for his son, he also was very confident that his son could handle himself. Meanwhile, his half-blood princess was weak due to her lack of a tree, and the King often worried about what would happen to her when he was eventually assassinated or dead. That was why he encouraged his dear daughter to find a husband, so she'd have someone that cared for him even when he was gone.

The recent assassination attempt even further pushed this idea in his mind, and the King decided to take matters into his own hands. Something he would heavily regret only a day later.

--

It seemed like Aelia was the last in the entire kingdom to learn about her sudden engagement to Prince Leif Robert Collins. The King sent out messengers to announce the news to the kingdom, but of course the first place it was announced was in the town square of the city surrounding the palace. The announcement went something like this:

"Dear people of Lynsdor, this announcement comes straight from the High King himself. Princess Aelia Ianira Artem is now engaged to Prince Leif Robert Collins from the small kingdom of Fyn. This is cause for celebration, let all rejoice in the union between the happy couple! May our dear princess lead our grand kingdom to victory and honor!"

The people nodded in assent and cheering rang through the town square, no one knew that a much different reaction was occurring within the palace walls.

"You what?" Aelia's voice boomed through the garden, and a few of her handmaidens scurried away at the sound of her anger. "Aelia do not misunderstand me, this is in your best interests. With this engagement there will no longer be so many people coming in and out of the palace looking for your hand in marriage. You'll also be so much safer Aelia, please, he's a nice enough man, and he wants what's best for the kingdom just like you."

Aelia shook her head as her father spoke, pacing back and forth and clutching the necklace that sat at the base of her throat. "I wouldn't have minded marrying him father, I knew I'd have to choose eventually. But you took that choice away from me! It's hard enough being heir to a kingdom that hates me and now I don't even get to choose who rules that kingdom with me. Do you understand how awful this feels? Do you have any idea how much it hurts to know you went behind my back and married me off without even consulting me?"

The man had the sense to stare at the floor as Aelia raged, she did not anger often, but when she did it was awful. "I'm going to my room, and if so much as a handmaiden peeps in there, I will be angry." Aelia stormed off to her room, not waiting for her father to reply, tears slipping down her face as she closed the door behind her.

The morning of Lia's marriage announcement had been like any other. Ava had bundled her jams and bread into her rickety cart - she would need to get it replaced soon, as it was on the last leg of its life - and with Buford and Randy beside her, the young witch set off to the market. She was there simply to sell her goods, and then go back home. Of course, there was always the hope that Lia would show up, but after a month and a half of silence, Ava had nearly given up hope.

Still, it hurt when Lia's marriage was announced. Ava had thought there might have been something there... but alas. Lia was a princess, after all, and very devoted to her kingdom. It was impossible that she would settle for Ava, even if the feelings had been mutual.

Ava's heart was hurting, but she still had to make her living, so she plastered a smile upon her face, and sold her goods. There was nothing else she could do.

Perhaps it was out of petty anger, or maybe the desire to be with someone who would actually listen to Aelia that resulted in Lia immediately running to her closet and pulling a peasant dress out of its hiding spot. Within moments she was fully clothed in the garment she'd bought with Ava. Lucien, her dear rabbit, watched worriedly as she paced around the room, debating on leaving the palace grounds to visit Ava.

It wasn't like she didn't want to, but her state was still unbalanced at the best of times. Once wrong step could result in a bout of dizziness that would result in Lia collapsing onto the floor to find her balance.

Pushing her fears out of her head, Aelia pulled her hood over her head and made her way out of the palace. Taking careful steps and more time than usual.

--

Lia's carefulness resulted in it taking longer to get into town. It also gave her more time to cry everything out. By the time she reached the market, she'd believed that she had entirely calmed down, but upon spotting Ava's face, her tears began to fall freely once again.

Finally, after pushing and shoving her way through the crowd, Aelia popped out in front of Ava's cart. For a moment she reached out her arms to balance herself, combating a sudden wave of dizziness, but then she was rushing over to Ava with tears running down her face. Despair creeping it's way over her face. "A-Ava," Lia peeped before her voice cracked and she began to shake from the force of her sobs.

Randy warned Ava of Lia's arrival moments before the girl actually appeared, "Lia's coming."

"Lia's what? Randy what do you-" Ava cut herself off at the sight of Lia's horrified face, "Lia!"

It was instinct to pull the smaller girl close to her, tucking Lia's frame neatly underneath Ava's chin, "Shh.. shhhh..." she soothed, swaying in a slight rocking motion, "I've got you. I've got you Lia. You are safe. No one is going to hurt you... I promise...."

Ava met Randy's wide gaze with one of her own, silently asking what the hell was going on. Randy had no answers for her, and jumped down from her perch to rub against Lia's ankles in her own form of comfort.

The feeling of Ava's arms wrapping around Lia immediately made her feel a million times better. Unfortunately, she did not feel good enough to stop her body shaking sobs or calm her unsteady breaths that prevented her from forming a coherent sentence.

After a minute or two of Aelia sobbing, tucked away from the world in Ava's arms, she began to try and speak though her voice was muffled and sentences broken. It was so very unlike her normal, eloquent speech. "M-my father he promised- he promised Ava. That he wouldn't- he wouldn't," Lia paused as she took in a few gasping breaths.

"He married me off, like-like my opinion is worthless. I hate him... I hate him." Aelia's voice trailed off as her sobs became overwhelming and she trembled with a mixture of rage and fear for her future. For what was life without someone you loved beside you? To have that chosen for Aelia, the one choice she'd been allowed to make, was a horrendous, traitorous thing.

It hurt just as bad, maybe even more so, than the night she'd almost been murdered.

Ava ran soothing fingers through Lia's hair, pressing feather-light kisses to the top of her head, "Oh sweetheart... I am so sorry..."

While Ava was calm on the outside, she was a storm inside. How dare Lia's father hurt her this way? How could he make her cry? No one should ever make Lia cry.

"I am so sorry..." She repeated sentiment again, hugging Lia closer, giving her a tight squeeze, "Is there any chance that he is a good man, though? It isn't right... but maybe it could still work out? This whole thing isn't at all fair to you..."

Although Ava's comforting words made Aelia feel a little better, it still really, really hurt. There were so few people she'd been able to trust in her life, and now her father had betrayed that trust. He'd left her one less person to talk and tell her troubles to, and that hurt more than anyone would ever know.

The words that were meant to be comforting that Ava spoke next, only filled Aelia with white hot rage. The words that came from her mouth next weren't meant to come out, but they were the steadiest words she'd said yet. "It doesn't matter either way, I don't even like men in the first place!" Lia bursted out, although her voice was still muffled a bit in Ava's shirt and the murmur of the townspeople hid her words as well.

Shock flooded Lia's veins as she pulled away from Ava, her tears much slower but her words still shaky and unstable. "I-I don't know why I said that I'm sorry. I-I.." Aelia trailed off afraid, so terribly afraid, that Ava would hate her for her words.

While Lia's words were surprising, the information wasn't. Sure, it was still a shock - one that left Ava staring at Lia with her mouth agape - but Ava had sort of... figured this was the case. No woman without an attraction to women would blush at Ava calling them sweetheart.

Luckily, Ava recovered quickly, giving Lia a reassuring smile, "J don't like men either, so - I get where you are coming from, don't worry. Your words are safe with me - I promise."

Perhaps Ava did have a chance after all...

Relief flooded Lia's veins as Ava so easily accepted her words. There were no words to describe how wonderful she felt after finally telling someone the secret she'd been keeping for the past year and a half.

Aelia had never experienced the attraction her stepmother told her she should have with men, and had never found a man that she could ever see herself with in the future. The first time she'd caught herself thinking about how pretty one of the princess' was at a ball, she'd believed that it was a normal thing to have such thoughts. As time passed though, Lia had realized that her thoughts weren't normal. So she'd kept silent about her traitorous thoughts and let it all build up until now.

"I-I'm sorry for throwing all of this onto you all that once Ava. You have been my good friend and all I've ever repaid that friendship with is bothering you about my misfortunes. I have not been a very good friend have I?" Aelia took in a deep breath as her tears finally slowed to a complete stop, though her body was still shaking from a combination of shock and weakness.

Ava shrugged casually, and gave Lia what she hoped was a comforting smile, "You've had a lot on your plate. I do not blame you for seeking out comfort."

Suddenly, Ava frowned, peering at Lia with obvious concern on her face, "Gods above, take a seat, please. You look pale - although you always have, now that I think about it. Have you not been getting enough sun?"

Full blooded dryads were tied to a tree, and required the same things a tree did to survive. Half-dryads - which was what Lia was - were not tied to a tree, but they still needed sun and plenty of water, although they could also get nutrients from regular food. Half-dryads are typically stronger than their full blooded brethren, as they had the freedom to travel around, and didn't have their life-force attached to something else.

Still, half-dryads relied heavily on sunlight, and it seemed as if Lia was not getting enough, as seen by her shaky frame and lack of green coloring.