I GAZED upon the castle as we approached the entrance. The castle was on the highest mountain in the whole of Kavan. Hundreds of years old were the castle itself. Built originally by royal ancestors who all those years ago, they found this spot.

It was once a cream-colored stone, and now it's rundown. Moss, sleeping comfortably, crawled up the walls. Into our eloping sky, the castle pillars reached high. Underneath, the clouds seemed like they were neatly positioned on purpose.

The road wrapped around the entire castle, allowing me to taken in its alluring beauty.

The carriage came to a halt. The velvet-lined door opened, and the man who steered the horses stood.

"We are here, My lady." He bowed.

I gave him an acceptance sign and went out of the carriage. Before mine, another carriage had stopped. The door opened and Queen Aria walked outside. I let my feet lead me towards her. As I walked past them, I rubbed my hands over the horses' backs.

"Welcome to my home." Queen Aria welcomed.

"Thank you for having me," I responded stopping next to her. She smiled at me and began walking towards the arched front door.

The knights lined the walkway, protecting the gate. Under all of their heated and curious gazes, I straightened my stance. I cannot help but smirk at the surprise that's going to come from them. The doors were opened for us to enter, the wide doors allowing a small wind rush to flow against us.

As we stepped onto the marble floor, footsteps were heard heading our way.

"Mother! Where have you been? You should have told us before you up and left."

As a man descended from the stairs littered with gold linings, the Queen and I turned toward the man on our left side. He was wearing royal clothes and had a sword tied to his hip. He had lovely dark skin and captivating brown eyes that gazed down at us. There was etched on his face a worried look.

Queen Aria waved her hand dismissingly, "Oh, please. You act like I'm not capable of protecting myself."

He shook his head, "You know that's not what I mean, Mother."

She scoffed, "Well it doesn't matter now does it, because I brought reinforcements," She gestured to me, "Evander, meet Aislin. Aislin meets my second son, Evander. He works with our kingdoms archives and studies the maps of our neighboring kingdoms."

Evander recognized my presence for the first time, as I sat unmolested by his sudden glare. His face was hardening, and his gaze turned into a glare. In answer, I simply rolled my eyes. "Lovey to make your acquaintance, Prince Evander." I greeted sarcastically.

He ignored me and turned to his mother, "Who is this and why is she here?"

Queen Aria raised an eyebrow, "She's right next to me. Ask her yourself." I couldn't help the small laugh that escaped my lips.

Evander looked at me with a heavier glare, "Fine. Who are you and why are you here?"

"I strangely find this very amusing," I smirked rocking back and forth on the balls of my feet.

"Who are you and why are you here?" He pressed.

"My name is Aislin, and I am here because apparently, your men are smart enough," I replied. He simply raised an eyebrow.

"She is here to help find your father." Queen Aria stated. Evander's eyes seemed to fall out of his head.

"You're not serious, are you?" He chuckled. I guess he found this amusing, "She's a woman. What could she do that our hundreds of men can't?"

The queen seemed to have quite an unpleasant look on her face, "Never should you underestimate a woman. You'd think I taught you better than to look down on the gender of women. This lady, you know, is better than all of our menu, you'll see."

The queen walked away all of a sudden, leaving Evander flabbergasted. I let out a sound of approval and followed in the Queen's footsteps. We went up the stairs to the marble and down the hallways.

"Thank you." I thanked her.

She simply sent a smile over her shoulder, "It's no problem dear. They should know better than to treat a woman like that, especially you."

"I don't think he knows who I am," I stated. Usually, when I tell someone my name, they react, Some get scared, others are angry and others look at me with awe. Usually, I didn't like the stares and whispers that come after my name is told, but Evander not reacting irked me.

"Oh trust me, he knows, he's just a little slow is all. He just didn't realize, and when he does, you'll know." She said humorlessly as we walked down the hall.

"Where are we going?" I asked.

"The West Wing. This is where you will meet all of your new trainees." I simply nodded and continued to follow her. We reached a large metal door against a dark oak wall. The wall was lined with gold patterns. Two guards stood at either side of the large metal door.

"Here you are." She said gesturing to the door.

I bowed, "Thank you, Your Majesty."

She nodded, "Of course." She winked, "Have fun. Once you're done, tell one of these guards and they will show you to your room."

I nodded, "Okay."

Then the queen walked off, leaving me alone. I took a deep breath and the metal door opened. I was greeted by a long concrete spiral staircase. The man's laughter echoed all over the stairway. At the end of the stairs, a small flicker of light told me people were there.

I walked down the staircase and my heart was pounding with every step, but not with nervousness, oh no, with excitement. In my arms, I could feel the flow of electricity. There was a faint grin tugging at my mouth.

When I got to the bottom of the stairs, all the noise disappeared and all the eyes turned toward me. Around a hundred men were looking about. The place seemed like a bar and a resting room for them. Another spiral staircase was built into the wall to the right, which I figured led to the rest of the rooms in the West Wing. I hear a groan unexpectedly. I glanced at the man who made the noise and made eye contact with them.

Evander, of course. I could help but let my smile turn into a smirk.

A man came upon me unexpectedly. I stared at the person with the most stunning pair of emerald eyes I have ever seen, making eye contact. He had skin and hair snowy white. His face was highly defined and he stood a few inches higher than me. He looked like the kind of 'boy next door. He seemed to be likable, but you can never judge a book by its cover because my opinion of him shifted the moment he opened his mouth.

"Who are you?" He sneered, "Women aren't allowed down here."

"She's the one I told you about. The one my mother brought" Evander scoffed bringing what I assume is alcohol to his lips.

Laughter filled the room. All the men were laughing, even the man in front of me. I took a hard look, remembering every single face that thought that this was funny. All but one man was laughing, instead, he looked at me with a smirk.

He had big hazel eyes and dirty blond hair. He looked around twenty-five. He knew exactly who I was. I sent him a look that he acknowledged.

"Thank you. I needed a good laugh." The man in front of me wheezing.

"What's your name?" I asked, a smirk still playing on my lips.

He immediately straightened out, "Leland. That's Commander Leland to you."

I snorted, "Okay sure."

He scoffed, "Look I don't know who you think you are but who are you to talk to me like that?! I am the Commander of this army."

"I am the one who can show you how a real warrior should look and behave like. Who you are, I don't care. I am your leader, so long as I am here. You're listening to me. And for everyone in this place, that goes." I expostulated.

"You are just a WOMAN. You can't fight in this war, you're weak. It will chew you up and spit you out, you can't keep up with us." The commander scoffed with a low chuckle. A couple of men behind him chuckled as well. Evander's gaze burned into the side of my head, awaiting my reply like everyone else.

"If I can't fight, then why did the Queen herself ask me to take over your job for the time being?" I asked, pulling my dagger out from its sheath, taping on Commander Leland's breastplate with the tip, "Careful who you call weak Commander because you don't know who I am."

He crossed his arms defensively, "Oh yeah? And who are you?"

I leaned forward slightly, "The name's Aislin."

×××××××××××××

Author Note!

I hope you all enjoyed Chapter 3!

Like it? hate it? lmk!

What kind of music do you listen to?

I like most genres of music. They all kind of speak to a different part of me in their own way. BUTTT my favorite kind is rock lol (don't judge me). I am what I like to call a Mellow Metalhead...It basically means, yes I like rock music, but I like more pop rock/ rock I guess.