"Adria ate as much as she could. She then waited for everyone to finish before she excused herself. She left the dining hall and crossed the entrance hall to the doors out of the castle. But she stood in the entrance hall for several more seconds before she pushed open the doors to the castle.

     After she descended the steps and crossed the town plaza, she made her way to the Adorian’s forge. It was built in the northeastern region of the castle grounds, along with several other forges, which were used by both blacksmiths and craftsmen of Yanarra.

      Adria stepped up to the entrance of the forge and peered inside. It was built of stone and had a blacksmith’s table in its center. On the table was a hammer, tongs, and thick gloves. Adorian’s smelter was a few feet past the table: it was also built of stone and embers glowed in it. Right above the smelter were tools that he used during his crafting.

     She stepped over the threshold and sat on a wood chair. She waited for several minutes for him to return. While she sat, she closed her eyes and prayed.

“O Light…help me to say what I need to say. Help me to accept whatever he decides. Whether he decides to be with me…or not.”

     Adria sniffed and wiped her eyes with the back of her hands.

“Princess Adria?”

     She opened her eyes and stood. Adorian stared at her from the entrance of the forge, dressed in a leather apron. His long blonde hair was tied in a bun at the back of his head. His thick arms were sleeveless from the shoulder to halfway down his arms, which were covered, along with his hands, with leather gloves.

“Adorian,” she said with a small smile.

“What do I owe the pleasure of your company?” Adorian asked with a blush.

“There’s something that I need to talk to you about.”

     Adorian raised his eyebrows and stared at her.

“What about?”

“It’s…about us.”

“Oh…”

     He stepped into the forge and walked up to her. He bit his bottom lip and looked down.

“Adorian, look at me.”

     He lifted his eyes and stared into hers. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and reached up to her robe’s front. She then gently pulled them down.

“Princess Adria. This is highly inappropriate…” Adorian said with a bigger blush.

“It’s not that. Trust me.”

     Adorian nodded but continued to blush. Adria finished pulling the front of her robes down and showed him the mark. He stared at it with wide eyes and his mouth wide open.

“What…in the name of the Light…?” he said.

     Adria pulled her robe’s front back up and sniffed.

“I need to explain something to you. A lot of things, to be honest.”".