Ace navigated us out of the forest and made us take a bit of a shortcut through a thick and bushy path, but with a flick of his hand, our path cleared. It was almost sundown when we reached Thalia. Upon our arrival, the guards quickly ran off and announced our return to the others. A few moments later as we approached the castle doors the king and queen came out and paused at the doorway. Obviously shocked and relieved of our arrival.
Dan helped me off of Cloud while I made sure to carry Custard with me. Stable boys came and took our horses while the rest of us made our way to the castle door where the king and queen waited.
"Your highness we-" Ace started to say but the queen immediately cut him off when she came right at his face looking really really mad.
"Who gave you permission to leave the palace grounds? Much less go on an adventure without my consent! What's worse is you brought Rose with you! You know how ignorant she is," The queen carried on scolding Ace while the rest of us stayed silently hidden behind Ace.
"Can't believe I'm saying this but I feel sorry for PRINCE Ace." Nate muttered.
"Hey, Rose. If I were you I would hide that wolf before the queen sees it." Dan whispered to me.
"Yeah. Best throw it away to the bushes over there." Ren pointed to my right.
"Oh shut it you two!" I whispered back and adjusted my hold on Custard. "But where am I to hide him? Under my skirt? That would be too obvious. Ren, can you hide Custard in your coat?"
"Absolutely!" Said Dan.
"Not!" Ren added with a glare at Dan. "No way am I hiding that spirit in my coat."
"Oh don't be such a baby!" I said and shoved Custard to Ren.
"Rose, what am I-"
"What's going on back there?" All of us then displayed perfect behavior when the queen glanced our way. Even Ren who wanted nothing to do with the wolf kept him hidden in his coat in a matter of seconds. Unfortunately, Custard didn't like the new arrangement and kept moving making it hard for Ren to hide him.
"Pfft! Brother, I think the wolf is trying to say that you stink."
"Shut it, Dan." Ren grunted.
"Ren, what do you have there in your coat?" The queen suddenly went to stand in front of Ren. Ren immediately stiffened.
"Nothing, your highness." Said Ren and tried to calm Custard in his coat.
The queen seemed unconvinced and continued to stare at him for a while making Ren take a glance at us for help. As usual, not wanting to be caught up in the queen's wrath, we all looked away and dispersed.
"Prince Ren." The queen says a warning.
Ren gave out a nervous laugh. "Nothing unusual here, your majesty." Custard's nose poked out of Ren's coat, so Ren slapped it back inside while Custard let out a yelp. "See?" He laughed nervously.
"Prince Renevier Rutledge!"
Dan flinched beside me, "Oh! Full name and title. That can't be good."
"But, your majesty, I can-OW!" Ren drew his hand back from the coat only to see that Custard was biting him. "Get off!" Ren yelled and started shaking his hand until Custard released him and went flying towards the queen. The queen caught him.
"A spirit!" The queen yelled and let go of the spirit. Custard managed to land on his feet as he ran back towards me. "Why is a spirit in my castle!?"
"You're majesty let me explain." Said Ace.
The queen looked at Ace and carefully studied him. "Very well."
"The night we disappeared, Rose was lured to the forest by the nymphs. We wanted to return it, but it seems as if the nymphs wanted her to meet up with Prince Fred - at least that was what we initially thought. Throughout our journey, we happen to pass by the ruins of Gija, where Rose claims to have first seen the spirit."
"And you guys thought that I was imagining it." I inserted and earned a scowl from PRINCE Ace.
"From there on," Ace continued. "the spirit has been following us ever since - well Rose to be exact. Then, later on, we finally realize that it was not Fred whom the nymphs wanted to meet, but the spirit wolf right here. They even showed up and disappeared once these two were together."
"And not only that, your majesty, but that spirit bonded with Rose and became this wolf monster that was about to kill me." Dan added.
"Bonded?" The queen looked confused. She looked at the wolf by my feet before looking at me. "How could it....why would it when you are just a human? No offense, Dear."
"None taken." I said.
"That is why we brought the spirit along with us, your majesty. We hope that you would know why this spirit has been acting fondly of Rose. I mean, with all due respect, your sister had been in Gija."
"Maybe because they like pretty girls." I whispered to Nate beside me.
"Then why did it follow you?" He said and started to laugh. I hit him.
I notice the queen staring at Custard. Her face was hard to read. It was as if she was remembering something. Suddenly, the queen let out a gasp. "Nagga." She whispered and carefully approached the little wolf by my feet. She knelt before Custard and reached out her hand to touch him. Custard sniffed her hand for a while as if deciding whether to trust the queen or not.
Finally, he let her pet him.
"No. You are not Nagga." The queen said. Almost sounding a bit disappointed. "Nagga is dead and so is the King. You only look like him. Strange." The queen continued to say. "Why is it that you have the same aura as him?"
"Who's Nigga?"
Ace suddenly came out of nowhere and hit me on the head. "It's Nagga, you dimwit."
"Ow! You don't have to hit me, bastard!"
"Nagga was once the king of Gija's animal spirit." The queen said. "He was a golden brown wolf just like this one. Only bigger and powerful. A rightful partner for a king. His massive jaw can cut an enemy in half. It's speed matches a werewolf and a vampire. Some say Nagga is faster."
"Well what happened to Nig - I mean - Nagga?" I quickly corrected myself when I saw Ace frowning at me.
There was a long pause because the queen said, "He died when the king died. Once a spirit is bonded to a tamer their lifeline will be linked to each other. When one dies so will the other."
"Well, that's.....depressing." Was all I could say at that moment.
"There is only one thing that confuses me though." The queen said as she got up to level her height with mine. "Why did this wolf bonded with you when you are not a Tamer?"
"Beats me." I said.
"Rose, I need to see your blood."
"What for?"
"I want to know why the spirit bonded with you."
"Well, you want to know why it bonded with me while I want to know how to unbond with it. If what you say is true, I don't want to die when Custard dies."
"Oh for goodness sake." Before I could react, the queen grabbed my hand and used the pointed area of her necklace to draw blood on my finger.
"Ow!" As soon as I reacted Custard sprang into action and snapped at the queen's feet. Luckily the queen was able to jump back. The necklace with my blood on it still in her hands.
"Interesting." She said as she looked at the wolf before looking back at my blood. "I'll run a few tests real quick. I'll be informing you of my findings later tonight. For now, I suggest you take a good rest."
Just as the queen was about to leave Dan jinxed us, "For a second there I thought that she would punish us for leaving."
The queen paused at the doorway. She turned and looked at us with a sinister smile on her lips. "That reminds me. I still have to punish you. Thank you for the reminder Prince Daniel."
In that moment everyone turned to glare at Dan. "DAN!!" We all screamed while he gave us a sheepish smile.
"Ren and Dan, you are forbidden to go running outside at night and are required to practice your sword every single day for a week. Nate, you are forbidden to talk/flirt to girls inside and outside the castle. Especially Rose. ESPECIALLY ROSE. This goes on for a week! And PRINCE Ace, you are simply banned from the library for a week. That means you go out and SOCIALIZE with actual people and not fictional ones. And Rose," I suddenly tensed up when the queen called my name.
"You'll wear 3 inch heels for a week. Nothing personal." Then she started to leave while we all called out in protest.
"You're majesty please!! Sword practice everyday? That would kill us!" Said Ren.
"Our sword fighting is just fine!!" Added Dan.
"Your majesty I cannot go for a week without talking to girls! That is.....insane!!! Also, can I talk to Rose if I consider her a boy for a week?"
"DO YOU F&r#$ KNOW HOW HARD IT IS TO WALK IN F#$%^ 1 INCH HEELS? YOU WANT ME TO DIE IN THOSE #$%^& 3 INCHES!?!"
But out of all of us who complained I do believe that Ace had it bad since he just stood there in shock and muttering something like, "books...library...banned..."

I kind of pity him. Kind of.
~*~*~
It was no use reasoning with the queen for grounding us, so we decided to get up to our rooms, clean up and rest.
Well......in my case after Custard and I got to my room I immediately jumped on my bed and fell asleep instantly. When I woke up, Custard was licking my face.
"Gross. Custard, I know I'm smelly and look like I need a bath but please let me clean up on my own." I said. Custard stopped licking and laid his head on my pillow while looking at me. I got up into a sitting position and pulled Custard to my lap. I looked out of the window to see that the sun had already set and it was dark out. Wow, I may have slept till morning if Custard had not woken me.
"I don't get how you turn into beast mode but I like your cute mode better. Who's the cute wittle spirit? Yes, you are!!" I cooed when Custard suddenly licked my face again. "Gah! That's it. I'm taking a bath. And you are staying here. Don't tear anything up alright?" I said and wondered if it understood me since it just wagged its tail. Well, that's good enough.
I headed for the bathroom and started a nice and long relaxing bath. I made sure to scrub all the dirt from my body and washed my hair until I was sure that it smelled nice like my lavender shampoo. After that, I stayed in the tub for who knows how long. I only got out when I heard voices outside.
"Gah! The demon wolf is here! And he ate Rose!!"
"Back! Back you foul demon!"
Just by hearing their voices I immediately know who they are.
I grabbed my bathrobe and wrapped the belt around my waist to secure it before going out of the bathroom. There I saw Custard sitting on my bed while looking at the twins, who were doing some sort of movements like they were trying to exorcise Custard as if he was an evil spirit or something.
"Why are you guys in my room?" I asked and gave them a look. They were both wearing clean clothes now and are looking refreshed and relaxed despite being in Custards’ presence.
Dan let out a wolf whistle as he nudged Ren. Ren tried to look at anywhere but me. Probably in respect. "Um...the queen sent us to get you."
"What for?" I asked.
"Said it was something about your blood."
At that point, I started to get goosebumps. It's just blood right? I mean, everything is normal. Nothing is going to change just because I bonded with Custard. Still, why do I feel so tense?
"Get out and I'll get dressed."
"Sure. I'll leave while Ren stays here to watch."
"Brother!"
"Leave. Both of you. Now." I said.
"Dan will leave while Ren stays." said Dan calmly and even made some hand gestures.
At this point, I was starting to lose patience so I did the only thing I could think of at that moment. "Custard, show them the door." I said. At first, I didn't really expect Custard to follow but then he started to move. He jumped down from the bed and ran towards the twins with his teeth exposed. He snapped at them when they didn't move.
"Alright alright! We'll leave!"
"We know where the door is! Rose, we will wait for you outside. The queen is in the study room." Ren said before Custard chased them out of the room. I couldn't help but laugh after that. Especially when Custard walked back toward me with his tongue out.
"We'll you showed them." I said and headed for the closet to change. I put on a simple white dress, brush my hair and tied it into a ponytail before heading out. Ren and Dan met with me outside and frowned when they saw me carrying Custard but didn't comment on it.
Together we headed for the queen's office. Upon entering we noticed that everyone was already there waiting for us. Ace stood by a corner, Nate sitting on a couch opposite the king, and the queen sitting on a chair. Her eyes looked red and puffy while clutching onto the necklace that she used to draw my blood.
"They're here." Ace announced as soon as the three of us entered. And now everyone was looking at us. Well...more like me.
"Um....'sup?" I said awkwardly not knowing what to do throughout all of this attention.
"Rose." The queen called for me and when I looked at her I noticed that she looked nervous and bewildered. She got up from her seat and walked over to stand in front of me.
"Er....is something wrong?" I asked. Even though I don't know the results yet I could feel that something wasn't right judging by their silence. The queen said nothing as she placed a hand on my shoulder.
"I never imagined such a coincidence to happen since bringing you here." She whispered. "I never could have..." There was a pause.
"Your majesty, what is it?" Nate asked when the silence grew thick.
The queen turned to look at Nate for a second before looking back at me. "Rose, you have a Tamer's blood in you. Very faint that I could not have sensed it since I met you. You staying in this world must have strengthened it somehow that is why this spirit came to you." She said looking at Custard.
"Wait a minute." Ren spoke beside me. "Rose, could not possibly be a Tamer. She came from the human world and the kingdom of Gija has been wiped out hundreds of years ago. It's impossible that someone survived that massacre and came to the human world when the only entrance there is here."
"I hate to say this Ren is right." Nate added. "No one is allowed to come to the human world unauthorized."
The queen nodded at them. Considering their opinions. "Yes, it's true. No one is allowed into the human world unless I ask them too."
"Hang on. You said the kingdom of Gija was wiped out hundreds of years ago. And you speak as if you know the king before. Exactly how old are you?"
Everyone then stared at me for my question.
"Not really the time for that question." Ace muttered and the others agreed.
"Dear, that topic will be discussed another time. Right now we are focusing on you." said the queen.
"Sorry."
"As I was saying, citizens can't simply waltz to the human world without my permission. But when we are talking kings and queens now that is a different story."
"Your highness, you can't mean..."
"The kingdom of Gija's King Varon Lanis and his wife Queen Izani Lanis, my older sister."
"Your sister is-" I started to ask but the queen cut me off.
"Questions later dear." She said, making me shut up as she continued, "King Varon and Queen Izani had a son. He was still a baby when the war broke out. I was there when the enemy attacked. It was a massacre. No one saw the invasion coming so we couldn't even help with the war. When the rogues reached the castle that was when King Varon asked us to escape through a hidden passage to the stables and asked me to keep my sister and their son safe. Adding to that, he specifically asked me to send his family to the human world since he knew then that the rogues won't stop until they are all wiped out. And so, my sister and I made our escape. From Gija we rode to Thalia. And from Thalia I sent my sister and her son to the human world. Not knowing if she and her son would make it, but I was following the king's orders. And ever since I sent her there I couldn't find her. The time difference between our world is unstable. When I sent her off a - a few weeks or maybe a month must have passed the day after I sent her to the human world.
Day after day I came to the human world hoping that maybe I could see her again. If not her then maybe her son. I wanted to see how he grows. The last prince of Gija. I wanted to see him. But as time went by I somehow accepted the fact that maybe I was too late. Time must have taken them away and if prince Carter somehow found a family in the human world I would never know. That is until I met you."
I was listening so intently to the queen's story that I didn't realize that she was talking to me. "Um....what? Me? Why?"
"Rose, not only do you have a Tamer's blood in you, but your blood matches King Varon's. Rose's ancestor is prince Carter."
"Your highness." It was Ace. He somehow moved from his post to move closer towards us. "If Rose here is related to the King and Queen of Gija then that would mean...."
"Yes." The queen said as if she knew what he was about to say. She then looked right back at me. Tears started to well up in her eyes.
"W-What? What did I do?"
"Rose, you are not a pretend princess anymore. Because you are a princess by blood. The last Tamer in this realm and the Princess of Gija."
********************
Dear Readers,
Thank you for reading the novel! See you guys in the sequel.
Book 2: If The Crown Fits
-Kiraran