Adventures in the Enchanted Forest

The prince's heart was heavy. Things weren't turning out at all how he'd planned. His princess had stood him up, when he had shown up to collect her from her father's castle, even with his plans all mapped out and if that wasn't enough, the man he had come to know as 'Beardy' was indeed following them on their journey, or so it seemed. Not only did a beautiful gem of a lady, a fast-blossoming relationship slip through his fingers, but he had to be constantly reminded that Khalidah had someone to hold her through the night. He supposed the reason his courtship with Princess Adriana was because it had happened so quickly, but then Khalidah's and Beardy's budding romance wasn't the slow-and-steady type either. To him, it all seemed horribly unfair.

But princess or no princess, he had to push on; he was focused on his purpose, to avenge his father and claim his rightful throne. The entire world thought he was dead, and he intended to keep things that way until he attacked, and at that time, he would reveal his identity in a glorious unveiling of his long-lost name. His plans of how he would retake his castle, win the hearts of the people and otherwise succeed in his endeavors were still hazy to him, but he knew he would figure it out in time.

He rode a short distance away from them, preferring not to get too near to Beardy just then (and he wasn't on great speaking terms with Khalidah, either). They had crossed into Teumnach not long ago, let in by a battle-hardened sidhe, who had fixed Peregrine with a long and hard stare before he had let him through. The prince had not broken eye contact with the fae man the entire time that he had been stared down, but he knew that bridgekeeper wasn't completely stupid. Maybe he shouldn't had cut his hair; he looked too much like his old self with it so neatly-shorn.

Twilight was falling and for the first time since learning that Adriana would not be accompanying them, Peregrine allowed himself to admire the beauty of his surroundings. There wasn't anything quite like Speiling in the summertime and as was soon to discover, Teumnach was especially beautiful. The light around them was fading, the sky a light shade of indigo, small lights (the wee folk he had heard tell of, perhaps?) flitting around them and the forest buzzing with the magic. Directly in front of them, he laid eyes on a patch of what could only be magic mushrooms, which glowed and glittered brightly, their bright colors standing out in the night.