Nira was already sick of being a servant. It had been two days, and those days were far from perfect. They weren't even close to moderate! All she had done were servant things. She had no time for spying on anyone, or trying to rescue Nali. Technically, she wasn’t supposed to rescue him, just locate him, but they were twins! Just because she teased him most of the time doesn’t mean she didn’t love him. At that moment, she was supposed to be mopping the main entrance. She had already finished and the king had not said what to do when she was done, so she was wandering around the castle, looking for someone who looked important. She heard voices coming down the hall, so she ducked behind a suit of armour and listened. “So, you think that no one is going to rescue you? Even though you are one of the most important people in the Red Kingdom?” a voice sounded like the Prince Fin said. “Yes,” said someone else, but the answer was too brief for Nira to place the speaker. “You said that the queen wouldn’t let you go watch the war, so you had to mean something to her,” said the prince. They sounded closer, but she wasn’t going to risk looking at them. “I’m pretty sure that the only reason she wouldn’t let me go was because she thought I was going to get captured, and I did, so…” It sounded like Nali, but the king wouldn’t let the vampire prince out of the dungeons. But… could it be that the king didn’t know he was the prince? Would Prince Fin keep him in the dark like that? Yes, he would, she thought. He would do that if he had a reason to. It sounded like they had passed her hiding place, so she jumped to the next hiding place she saw; a potted rose bush. The thorns pricked her skin, though she made no noise, as she couldn't risk being caught. “Okay. One more question. Why is the Red Kingdom called a kingdom if it is ruled by a queen?” said Prince Fin. It seemed as if they were playing a twenty questions type game. “Well, my family’s name is King, so instead of a queendom, it is still a kingdom,” Nali’s voice answered. Nira had been wondering the same thing, though she never would have admitted it. “Alright, my turn. I’ve heard about a secret weapon that is in the elves’ possession…” “ Yeah, no. Those rumors are just that- rumors. We don’t have any secret weapon, we are just trying to defend ourselves from the vampires. All they are trying to do is take over Elvendale.” “Don’t blame me. It wasn’t my idea to start a war. Plus, I think you guys are pretty cool. I wouldn’t want you to become like the humans!” Nali laughed. That traitor! The humans ruled the whole world at one point. Then, the two species that now ruled took then down. The humans were now only used for feeding. “Hey, there is someone I would like you to meet. It’s the new servant… Nova,” Prince Fin said. Nira was surprised, and a bit worried that her cover would be blown. She dismissed the idea, since Nali would never betray the kingdom like that. But then again, he said he didn’t want the elves to lose… no. She pushed those thoughts away and sneaked back to the main entrance and acted like she had been there all along. “Nova,” Prince Fin called to her. She acted surprised, though she had been expecting it. “Come with me. I would like to introduce you to someone.” She only nodded and started following him. Nali wasn’t with him, so she assumed she was being taken to wherever he was. They made their way through the castle and to the royal garden. It was a large room filled with plants. The walls and roof were dome shaped and made of glass. The floor was made of neatly trimmed, bright green grass. Nali was sitting underneath a redwood that had to be ancient, since it was enormous. He didn’t bother standing when they walked into view, and Prince Fin sat down in front of him. Nira didn’t know what to do, so she stayed standing. “Okay. Nali, this is Nova. But I’m sure you know her from somewhere else.” Nali’s eyes widened. “Nira?!? What-” he started, but Nira interrupted. “Well, thank you so much! You have blown my cover and given me away to the elf prince! So yeah, thanks!” she said, angrily. “Um… I already know that you were Nira, you just looked so much like Nali,” Prince Fin chimed. “Really? Wow, okay. Mission failed. Bye!” and just like that, she stormed out of the palace and made her way back to the Red Kingdom.