Astara was falling. Tumbling down a seemingly never ending hole.

You'd think after doing this three times in one day it might start to feel a least a tiny bit normal, Astara thought to herself.

A bright light flashed and Astara found herself laying on bright, healthy, grass. Flowers bloomed on the ground next to her and she heard a soft whinny from above. She got up to study her surroundings.

Everything around her was lush and green and absolutely breathtaking. Bright, delicious looking fruit hung off of trees and bushes. Brilliant beautiful unicorns were grazing in a pasture nearby and many other creatures were roaming around. Gnomes were tending to the fruit and gorgeous garden, some looked at her in surprise and panic.

She smiled, she was in Lilingale. It was officially her favorite place in Cornacapia, even more then Castle BlueBay, and that was saying something.

"Excuse me, Miss?" A tiny gnome asked her in a squeaky accented voice.

She bent down to the ground. "Yes?"

"Did you...fall from the sky?" The gnome looked dazed, like she couldn't believe the words coming out of her mouth.

"Why yes, yes I did. It's a REALLY long story that I'm sure you don't want to hear but—"

"I do." The gnome interrupted.

Astara laughed. "I don't think you do. Once you hear it, you'll probably be running away from me."

But instead of walking away, the small gnome smiled. "My dear I'm used to hearing unusual stories, I doubt anything can phase me. My names Greta."

She shook Greta's tiny mossy hand. "I'm Astara, Astara Knight."

"Nice to meet you Astara. Now it looks like you have quite the story to tell and it's a good thing that I'm a good listener." Greta winked.

"Well...here goes nothing."

And so she told Greta everything. From skateboarding to school that morning to knowing the answer to the strange message that got her back to Cornacapia.

But even after all that, the only thing Greta commented on was: "So you're without a home?"

Astara hesitated. "I—I guess I am." She hadn't really thought about that. Now that she was back in Cornacapia, where was she going to stay? If she went back to the castle Mr Daniels would surely send her back. Though she knew that she would have to face him at some point.

"Hmm that won't do at all. Maybe..." The gnome seemed to be talking to herself. Her gaze drifted away from Astara.

"Um maybe what?" Astara asked, reminding her that she was still there.

Greta continued to murmur to herself. "Probably won't work...but it's worth a shot...maybe they could be happy again."

"Who?" Astara asked once again.

Greta's emerald eyes darted back to her. "Wait here Miss Knight, I must do something." And with that she ran towards the small quaint house that was tucked behind the greenery.

Astara stood there awkwardly. Her eyes shifted to the sky and she realized that it was no longer filled with fluffy white clouds but with thousands of shimmering stars. Each one had its own unique look.

They made her think of the strange answer to the confusing message that had activated the portal. How had she known the answer? She almost never knew the answer, she had the test scores to prove it. Then again that was just her pretending not to know, but that was a whole different story.

The real question was, why did the message feel so...familiar. Or maybe not familiar but...it seemed close to her, if that made any sense. She'd have to ask Mr Daniels if she ever worked up the nerve to talk to him. Astara was forced out of her thoughts when Greta came flying out of the small house. And she did not look happy.

"What's wrong?" Astara wondered.

Greta sighed. "My idea didn't go as expected, though I still have hope for it. But don't worry Astara, we will find you a home. And I know just the way of doing that."

"You do? Exactly what is your genius plan?" She asked.

Greta gave a small smile. "It starts by taking you to Castle BlueBay."

***

"This isn't going to end well! The minute Mr—I mean Sorcerer Moon—sees me he's going to freak! Actually that might be kind of funny but still." Astara  exclaimed.

"There is no reason to worry." Greta assured her for what had to be the millionth time. But Astara knew that there were many reasons to worry. Sooooooo many.

Her palms started to sweat as they walked up to the huge golden gates. She scowled, she absolutely hated being afraid. When they reached the guards Greta took her hand. The guards stood in front of the door.

"No one is allowed inside of the castle without permission of the king." The one on the left stated.

"Then ask for his permission. We can wait." Greta responded calmly. Astara had to admire the boldness of her words. For such a tiny gnome Greta sure knew how to be big with her words.

"Wait a minute, aren't you that weird girl who snuck into the castle unauthorized with Mr Wyatt?" The right guard asked her.

"Um didn't anyone ever tell you that calling other people weird is rude? And yes, I'm the girl who was smart enough to sneak past your defenses." She said with a slight smirk.

The guard glared at her for a minute and then turned back to Greta. "We'll ask if you can come in, the girl doesn't have a choice but to wait out here."

She narrowed her eyes at him. "Rude! And to think that I thought we were just getting along!"

He continued to glare at her. "I can assure you that we weren't."

"Not with that attitude we're not." She retorted, crossing her arms.

Greta placed a hand on her wrist. "No reason to worry Astara dear, I'll get you a home. Just wait out here and everything will be alright."

She wanted to believe her, she really did. But when had anything in her life gone alright? With her luck she'd probably end up sleeping under a bridge with The Grumpy Old Troll!

But instead she reluctantly nodded her head. "Fine. I guess I can hang with Righty and Lefty out here." She raised her hand in a high-five but the two guards left her hanging. She thought it was quite rude.

So Greta marched inside of the castle. Lefty followed her while Righty stared at Astara so intensely she thought she might shatter. After about fifteen minutes, she decided to start up some friendly conversation.

"Soooo how's life?" She said awkwardly.

Righty sighed. "It was better when you weren't here."

"Its weird you know? I seem to get that a lot." She told him.

"That doesn't surprise me."

She grinned. "Ooh you got some spunk Righty, I like it. If you ever decide to ditch the uniform, I could show you the magic of rule breaking."

The guard gritted his teeth. "Looks like Mr Wyatt just arrived from Oakbarrel. Maybe he can relieve me of this exhausting task."

Panic rose in her body. "No no, he can't see me! Okay here's the plan, I'm going to hide behind that suit of armor and you're going to pretend like everything's normal, got it?" She didn't wait for an answer. Darting behind the armor just in time, Leo walked up to Righty.

"Night Barry!" He called out, heading toward the doors.

"She's behind the knights armor." Righty, or as Leo had called him, Barry, told him.

"Traitor! I thought I made the plan crystal clear, I hide and you pretend like nothings unusual! Man I wonder how you became a guard!" She shouted at Barry/Righty.

Barry rolled his eyes and Leo looked beyond shocked. "Asta?! How'd you get back here?!"

She huffed. "Wow not even a 'hello' or a 'how are ya'. I'm fine, thanks for asking Wizard Boy."

Barry grinned. "Asta? Wizard Boy? You two have nicknames for each other, how adorable." The guard teased.

Astara glared intensely at him and Leo rolled his eyes. "Please, she's way too annoying and headstrong for my type." He said sounding irritated.

Her glare was for him this time. "Oh I'm annoying?! Take a look in the mirror bud, you're way more annoying than I am, and that's saying something."

They continued arguing for a while, not stopping until the huge wooden doors opened once more. The two of them paused to look into the doorway. Greta stood with the three royals of Castle BlueBay: King Harold, Queen Chrystal, and Princess Breanna. And Breanna did not look happy to see her, probably because Astara still hadn't gotten the chance to apologize for her hurtful comment.

"Astara! How good to see you again! I don't quite understand exactly why you're back but I'm definitely not complaining." King Harold exclaimed joyfully.

"Of course your not." Breanna grumbled under her breath. Astara understood that the princess was mad but she didn't think she was that mad.

Queen Chrystal ran to her and entrapped her with a gentle hug. "We're so happy that you came back! We've been thinking about you a lot lately." Astara felt shocked at the warm gesture. Could a queen actually be hugging her?

Something seemed to flare in Breanna Lynn's eyes and it took Astara a minute to name it: jealousy. What? Why, how, could a princess be jealous of someone like her?

She didn't have time to ponder on it because Greta stepped forward. "I informed the King of your situation and we came to an agreement. At least I think we did...we are still going to keep trying on my idea, aren't we?"

King Harold nodded. "Of course. I know just as well as you do that this is exactly what they need...even if they don't see it themselves."

"Who?" Leo and Astara asked at the same time.

He cleared his throat. "No one important for the time being. Anyway, as Greta was saying, Chrystal and I have agreed to a temporary solution to your problem until we have everything else sorted out."

She tapped her foot impatiently. "And that is..."

Queen Chrystal smiled happily. "You will temporally be staying at Castle BlueBay!"

"What?!" Breanna gasped.

Excitement bloomed inside her chest. She was going to be staying in a castle?! Sure it was only temporary, but that didn't dampen her excitement. Though she wasn't sure who looked more miserable about the news, Breanna Lynn or Barry.

Leo elbowed her. "Looks like you'll be stuck with me for the next few weeks. And don't worry, I'll be sure to be extra irritating." He assured her annoyingly.

She groaned. "You take the fun out of everything, you know that?" She turned to the King and Queen. "Thank you so much for your generosity!"

They both smiled warmly at her. Greta walked over and gave her a bunch of 'I told you so's. Leo teased her, but she was too happy to let it bother her. Everything was great...almost too great.

Hey, where's the part where I get into huge trouble or yelled at or something? She wondered.

A deep gasp put all laughter and smiles to a halt. Everyone turned to the doorway. Inside was a tall, shocked, bronze skinned man with purple robes on.

"How did you...I wonder...that would explain...ASTARA!" Mr Daniels yelled at her.

There it is, there's the part.

Thanks for reading! Sorry for not updating in a while, I've been suffering from SEVERE writers block. But I finally pushed through to give you this chapter. Please vote and comment any feedback you might have!-Vanna✨