Past grand paintings and carved statues Enid was led until finally, she reached the throne room.
The doors were opened and Enid's eyes immediately fell upon a beautiful Fae Queen, sat atop her throne.
The throne room was empty aside from the guards posted at each of the doorways throughout the room.
It felt like an age before the guards released their grip on her.
Exhausted from struggling against them, Enid crumbled and fell to her knees.
"Where did you find it?"
"Not far from the town square, your grace." One of the guards that had escorted Enid to the castle, replied.
With a single nod of her head and a flourish of her hand, the guards bowed and left the throne room.
She remained silent until the doors were shut behind them when she stood and started to walk down the marble steps.
"What is your name?"
"Enid...your grace." She had never addressed a Queen before but had taken note of the manner in which the guards had spoken to her.
"And you are from Aethelney I take it?"
"Yes, your grace."
"Hmm-" Unhurriedly, she moved around Enid, openly scrutinising her, her lips pursed. "-We have had a lot of trouble with the villagers of Aethelney of late. You came to my realm uninvited, this makes you a trespasser. No?"
Lowering her head, Enid nodded.
How foolish she had been. To enter the land of the Faes without Aneurin. If she had just waited for him to return none of this would have happened.
Did he even realise that she was missing yet? Did her mother?
"Usually, the penalty for trespassing in Elfhame is death. But I can see that you may be useful to me. Perhaps even help to bring peace to our realms. Would you be willing to do this for me?" She asked, eloquent yet detached.
"If that is what your grace would ask of me?"
"What I am asking of you is to bring me information about your village. What the people want in return for us being left alone for good, without this need for wasting good soldiers to patrol our borders." The queen stopped in front of Enid, her hands clasped together in front of her.
"You wish me to be a spy for the Faes?" Enid asked, swallowing hard.
"Yes, if you wish to put a name to the task I am giving you-" The queen returned to prowling around Enid, like a cat stalking its prey. "-though I need to know that I can trust you before I send you back to your family."
Enid's momentary relief soon disappeared.
To gain the Queen's trust Enid would have to stay in Elfhame for much longer than she would like.
Weeks? Months? Maybe even years?
Would she even go back to her mother having realised that she had been missing?
From what Aneurin had told her, time passed more slowly in the Faes realm.
It was constantly twilight - there was no day and night here. Nothing that Enid could use to count the days she had been in Elfhame.
"And, how long will that be, your grace?" For the first time, she dared to look into the Queen's eyes.
They reminded her very much of Aneurin's and her hair was the same silver that none of the other Faes seemed to possess.
Was he related to her?
Butterflies erupted within her, just at the mere thought of him.
Was he worried about her? Did the Fairy tell him what she had done?
"You will remain here under my surveillance as long as it takes for me to trust you. But do not think this will be easy. I can see a liar from a mile away-" The queen leaned in, her eyes hard. "-If you betray me, if you try to escape, even if you so much as dare to utter one lie to me, I will have you executed on the city steps."
The Queen did not shout her threat, she did not need to. All it took was for her to whisper into Enid's ear and chills were sent down her spine.
She turned to the guards closest to her.
"Take her to the cells."
They did as she commanded, lifting Enid up off of the hard floor and pulling her out of the throne room.
Enid glanced over her shoulder to look back at the Queen as she turned to her advisor.
"Where is my son? I have not seen him all day."
"He was last seen leaving early this morning your grace, I believe he went to the human realm."
"Again? He has grown very fond of the humans. Perhaps too fond."
The doors were shut and Enid soon found herself in what the Queen had called 'the cells'.
They were dark and dimly lit by sparse torches on the walls, and as cold and wet as the cave through which Enid had come to this realm.
The guards threw her into her cell and slammed the door shut.
The keys jingling as they walked away.
Through the black bars, Enid just could just make out a girl slumped in the corner of the cell beside hers.
Slowly, Enid crawled closer to the bars, her hands wrapping around the cool metal in an attempt to get as close as possible.
"Hello?"
The girl looked up. Her hair parting to show a grimy yet pretty face hidden behind it.
"Hello."
"I'm Enid. What's your name?" She tried her best to smile encouragingly.
"Joan."
"What are you in here for?" Enid asked, becoming increasingly aware of just how cold and uncomfortable the cobbled stone beneath her was.
"Trespassing. You?"
"Trespassing-" Suddenly, her hopes of getting out became more achievable. If this girl could just give her some advice on how to gain the Queen's trust... "-Have you been here long?"
"Several years at least. I lost count after the first month."
All at once, her hopes came crashing down, like an avalanche of snow coming down from the Brecon Beacons in winter.
"Oh." Enid tried to sound lighthearted, but she could not hide the disappointment in her voice.
She should never have come here. Then she might be at home beside the fire with her mother and grandmother.
Home. It seemed so far away from here.
Joan went back to resting her head on her knees, her long, damp hair falling once more in front of her face.
Enid moved away from the bars to lie down on the stone.
It was far from pleasant, but at least her cell was dry.
She looked up at the vaulted ceiling above her, her thoughts returning to her mother and her home.
Would she ever return there?
Would she ever again sleep in her small bed? Or meet Aneurin beside the waterfall at midnight?
Tears stung her eyes and blurred her vision, sliding down her temple and onto the cobblestones below.
A loud creak sounded further up the hallway leading into the cells, a single torch lit up the cells as a solitary Fae walked towards Enid's cell.
Their footsteps echoing off of the dark walls.
It took a while for Enid's eyes to adjust to the bright light of the torch, but when they did she could just make out the long silver hair.
She sat up, ignoring the dizzy spell that overcame her.
"Enid?"
Never had she been so happy in her life to hear that lovely voice say her name.
It was then that she recognised the outline of the Fae's wings.
There was only one Fae she knew with such wings.
It was Aneurin.