Belena’s parents were waiting for her back at the castle, and they asked her to join them so they could talk in private. Inside the Queen’s bedchamber, Valerie read out the message, which had been delivered by a courier less than an hour past. Belena listened attentively, but afterwards she kept standing still, so surprised was she by what she’d just heard.

“To His Majesty, King Alban of Vandan and Elgon,” the message went. “It is my knowledge that your eldest daughter, the Princess Belena, is soon to come of age, and that she must also soon be wed to a suitable husband of royal blood. My eldest son and heir, the Crown Prince Argo, is as chance would have it not yet betrothed to a bride. Thus it is my wish that the two of them should, for the sake of uniting our realms and forming a new, formidable royal lineage, be joined in marriage. My son is already en route to your palace, and by the time you’ve received this message his arrival should be imminent. Please accord him the hospitality and respect befitting a man of his noble status.” This was followed by a signature which read: “HIH Malmo VI, High Emperor of the Lands of Solis and Rheir.”

“Well then,” said Alban, breaking the uncomfortable silence after Valerie had finished reading. “What have you to say to that, Belena?” He was sitting on Valerie’s shoulder, a few strands of hair tied around his body, as usual.

“I…I don’t know what to say,” his daughter answered, quite taken aback. She sat down on the bed next to her mother and took her by the hands.

“Mother, does this mean…must I really marry this Prince Argo? What if I don’t like him? What if…what if he doesn’t like me? Does he even know that I’m…you know…a giant…”

“I suppose so,” Valerie said, trying to sound reassuring. “Whether or not you’ll like each other, though – I suppose we can but wait and see.”

“Solis is a great maritime empire, far to the west,” said Alban, who had once been there when he was still a teenager. “Its riches and might are legendary, and few are the rulers who would dare to declare war on its armies.”

“But I don’t want that!” Belena cried. “I just want a husband who would love me, the way you love Mom, and who wouldn’t mind being with me, even though he’s only the size of my little finger!” She seemed so upset that Valerie took her and held her tight, cradling her head against her own chest.

“It’s all right, my darling,” Valerie murmured. “You are a young lady now, not a child, and you can make your choices as you wish to make them. Whether or not you marry Argo isn’t important – what matters is that you follow the choice which brings you happiness. Forget about those riches and all those armies your father was talking about, and let’s focus on what’s really important. Your eighteenth birthday, for example.”

“I agree,” Alban added, as he looked down into Belena’s watery eyes. “When Prince Argo arrives, I shall receive him, alone. I shall tell him all about you, and explain to him exactly how you feel about the situation. If he still wishes to marry you, I’ll introduce you. So just calm yourself, sweetie, and think about how you wish to celebrate the most important birthday of your life.”

“I will, Daddy. Please forgive me, I didn’t meant to get so worked up about this. It’s just that…well, I’ve never had to deal with anything like this before, and I don’t know what I’m supposed to do!”

Valerie gave her a kiss on the forehead and reassured her.

“We understand, dear, and we won’t leave you to sort things out on your own, rest assured. But, one day, you will be queen, and you’ll be forced to deal with much harder decisions than whether or not to marry some foreign prince. So consider this a test, to prepare you for the trials of adult life, and an opportunity to learn more about yourself, and what you are capable of. All right?”

Belena nodded, still not completely at ease, but feeling a bit more confident. She left, and the King and Queen exchanged looks.

“Do you think it’s too soon for her?” Valerie asked. “Perhaps we should tell this emperor that she’s not ready to be married off yet. I’m sure he’ll understand…”

“Valerie, she’s a grown woman now, not a little child. If she’s not ready now, when will she ever be? We have to expose her to these kinds of situations, or she’ll never be able to rule after you and I are gone. I know how protective you are of her, but it’s not just her future we should be concerned about – the future of the kingdom is at stake as well.”

“Now you’re being a bit melodramatic – but you’re right, of course. Let’s just wait and see what’ll happen…I’ve got a feeling that our ‘little’ Belena may yet surprise us.”

Valdan sat on the windowsill of the dining room, and watched the sun set behind the distant trees. It had taken him half an hour to climb up here, and he didn’t know how long it would take to get back down, but right now he just wanted to savour the peaceful moment. He turned his gaze eastwards, where he knew the great Cairnaon Mountains lay, beyond the horizon: his destination – or, rather, their destination.

Yes, he would be travelling with his little sister Sylvie, and there was absolutely nothing he could do about it. His mother was adamant about the matter, and Sylvie herself was as eager to get going as he was. The only difference was, she was actually looking forward to spending some ‘alone time’, as she called it, with her ‘teeny-weeny baby brother’, while he was dreading the thought of having to be carried by her, day and night.

They were leaving after Belena’s eighteenth birthday – an event he was actually looking forward to, since he’d agreed to help his older sister plan the event. They would miss her friend Arily’s wedding, though – but then Valdan had never been that close to the girl anyway, and Sylvie, though she would have liked to attend, was just too ecstatic about travelling the wilds, with Valdan in her possession, to really care.

“Daydreaming again?”

The loud voice in Valdan’s ears nearly caused him to fall off the edge of the windowsill. He whirled around, and there was Sylvie, grinning broadly, her long golden hair hanging in an untidy manner, as usual. She knelt down and rested her elbows on either side of him, leaving him no chance of escape.

“What do you want?” he asked, trying to sound commanding. “Shouldn’t you be preparing for the journey?”

“Oh no, I can do that later! There isn’t much to prepare for anyway – all you want to do is go trudging around in some dull mountains! Why can’t we go somewhere nice, like the sea? I’ve never been to the sea…”

“Well, that’s too bad! Dad said I get to decide where we should go – but if you don’t like my choice, then don’t come along! You can stay here and play with your stupid dolls some more!”

“Aww, you are SO cute when you get angry!” she chuckled. “Did you think you could get rid of me that easily, you little baby? If I’m not there to protect you, you’ll get eaten by the first troll you meet. Oh, and you might not know this, but I’ve stopped playing with dolls years ago!”

She darted her hand toward him and he ducked down instinctively, even though he knew it would do no good. There was nothing he could do once she’d grabbed him, and he knew better than to try and fight back. Then she would probably just humiliate him even further.

“Oh, don’t look at me like that!” she implored, as he glared up at her, caught between her finger and thumb like a piece of meat between two chopsticks. “Let me guess – you’re going to tell me I need to grow up, right?”

“Why bother?” he spat back. “You’re NEVER going to grow up!”

“I think you both need to grow up!” a girl’s voice interrupted. They looked down and saw Arily standing right next to Sylvie’s left foot. Still pinching her brother tightly, the young princess reached down and picked her up. She then put Arily and Valdan in the palm of her left hand, and began walking to the kitchen.

“You shouldn’t treat him like this, Sylvie,” Arily said as they walked. She looked over at Valdan, who had an utterly embarrassed and dejected look on his face. “A princess must be kind and courteous to all those around her, no matter what their size is – especially if they’re family.”

Sylvie looked guilty for a moment, but she quickly thought of a way to shift the blame.

“I know…but he’s the one who’s always being rude to me, and bossing me around, like I’m his little slave girl…”

“Shut up!” Valdan yelled. “Stop lying about me! Arily’s right – you’re always the one who’s looking for trouble! I’m glad you’re not the eldest, ‘cause you’d make the worst queen in the history of…hey…hey what are you doing? Sylvie, no! Don’t…”

Without listening to a word he was saying, Sylvie laid her brother on top of her wrist. She then rolled up the sleeve of her dress, wrapping him tightly inside it, all the way up to her elbow. Valdan was now trapped inside a cocoon of fabric, and he could barely be heard. Sylvie looked back at Arily, and her grin disappeared when she saw the look of disapproval on her friend’s face.

“What?” she said innocently. “He was yelling at me. You heard him, didn’t you?”

Arily sighed, glad she didn’t have to accompany these two on their upcoming excursion. She didn’t think she could handle even one day of having to babysit Sylvie.

“Well, I hope you can sort all this out on your trip,” she said at last. “Good luck on your journey, Princess – looks like you two are going to need all the luck you can get just to make it past day one!”

Sylvie sniffed. She knew exactly what Arily meant, but she was determined to prove her wrong.

“I’ll soon teach Valdan to behave himself,” she thought to herself. “By the end of the trip, we’re going to get along just fine.”