A week ?<br/><br/><em>One </em>week ?<br/><br/>"Ahh to man a week can be a lifetime but we are elves - we blink and a week passes! Why can't we all just stay here. Why expand boarders at all ?<br/>The woods about our villages are healthy, our foraging the best we can hope for. Why risk alerting hungry nations of our presence by showing them our crafts ? Elves know the woods is our mother why leave her bossom at all for what must end at some point in war with some king who our nature offends ? It makes no sense !"<br/><br/>Phera was caught between crying and laughing hysterically the result was to any watching her an unsettlingly insane combination of both, as if the ancient one saw humour in her predicament by making it comical, to aid to her emotional distress, a bout of hiccups came forth.<br/><br/><strong>"Im the royal concubine ! The queen even said so"</strong>Phera stiffled a hystercal-crying hic-cup while mumbled to her glass in front of her.<br/><br/><strong>"The herbalists have talked about that speach for years, hoping one day one of us could mention it and have our roles reinstated - and it happened ! against all odds it did ! This was meant to solve everything !"<br/><br/>... another hickup landed - while she tried to down the glass - only just managing to avoid spilling most of its contents over the table top in front of her.<br/><br/>"How can I help the fine team trained for years for such things. I know herbs and can fool willow wisps and run away from anything else. I dream of sharing beds with others that dream the same and celebrate the joy spring's flowers gives me, and take pride in the salves I muster for others ailments. Like most herbalists this is more than enough, but sacred dream on dream what more I could hope was just granted momentarily the queen resolved her decision"</strong><br/><br/>The prince and the princess seemed firm enough, but those two were trained in ways which kept dignity. The lump in Phera's throat was obvious to any listening to her words.<br/><strong><br/>"Oh my gorgeous prince and princess, there is more chance of me being a hindrance than a help. I have no doubt of the expertise your other quest keepers have,the ones that were chosen for their skills and sensibility,  but <em>my </em>nature is not like <em>theirs </em>, chances I would cause <em>them </em>to find themselves in more trouble than the benefits my herbal skills could justify. Are you sure this isn't a jest our Queen is making as a punishment for interrupting the draw ? It certainly is true that none see it as favoritism, a soul-lancing joke on me it must be for I see many sniggering, those two wretched priestesses most of all"<br/></strong><br/><br/>Phera shot the grinning priestess' which were recently reprimanded over their statements concerning Phera a look without any pretense of moderation.<br/><br/>Phera had spoke of the will of the ancient one, and it was honored, what didn't occur to Phera was that royalty could do the same thing to justify meaning of her name being the one drawn, and royaly's take of the will of the ancient one on luck not even priestesses could dispute.<br/><br/>It certainly took the breath from protests against it.<br/><br/><strong>"If it is just a week, could I see alot of you both ? I know asking Bethonia to join us during this risk may be rejected if she wishes to prepare for the journey, but I would adore if she is familiar with some things I would like to talk to her about while riding horses for the long days that cruelly take us further and further away from what I feel is my home"</strong><br/>