“Plus it’s got padded seating, so you’ll be able to sit on your ass after Charlie spanks you too hard,” Kallie cackled.
“I want to try it out right away!” I gushed. They helped me into the chair, and it was super comfortable. I already loved it. I began pressing buttons, doing circles around the room. Oberi’s head went back and forth as she watched me whizz by.
“Let’s see how fast it can go,” I blurted. Kallie opened the door for me to the outside hall, and I pressed the accelerating button down on the wheelchair as hard as I could. I was thrown back as the wheelchair jolted forward, and servants jumped out of the way as I went racing down the hall. I headed directly toward a curved ramp, which led to a lower level of the palace.
“Wee!” I cried. “This is so much fun… oh no!”
The chair had picked up too much speed on the ramp, and I lost control. I tried to correct it, but the chair jerked to the side and I tumbled out of it.
“Ava!” Charlie and Kallie’s hurried footsteps clattered on the stone floor as they raced to catch up with me. I groaned, pushing myself onto my back.
“Are you okay?” Charlie worried, stooping to the ground.
“I’m all right.” I blew a lock of hair out of my eyes. “I need to try thatagain. I think if I slowed down on the turn, I could make it?—”
“No,” Charlie scolded as he helped me back into the chair. “You went too fast.”
“Why’d you put a motor on it if you didn’t want me to race?”
“If you don’t use it nicely, I’ll take it away and get you something else,” Charlie warned.
“No! My shiny toy!”
“Then behave.”
Kallie put the chair back up, and Charlie deposited me into it. Kallie brushed off my dress as she said, “You need to get moving or you’re both going to be late. You’re supposed to have your spiritual initiation today.”
My stomach sank. Right. That. Couldn’t wait.
“I don’t know if I’m ready for this,” I said warily as we proceeded in the direction of the Elvish temple.
“You have to be,” Kallie insisted. “You’re the princess.”
“But I don’t know what they expect me todo.” I’d been filled in on my responsibilities, but I didn’t think I could pull them off.
“I’ll be behind you,” Charlie promised. “This is only the first day. If it goes bad, you always have the next time.”
Sure, if the Elves don’t kick me out.Their goddesses were sacred to them. It’d been stressed to me how important this was, and I was worried about messing it up.
Abigail met us outside the temple doors. My lady-in-waiting gave a kind smile. “Are you ready, princess?”
“Hardly.” I had trouble meeting her eyes. I wasn’t so certain my lady-in-waiting wasn’t the spy we’d been looking for. She was such an obvious choice, and that’s why I hesitated calling her out.
But at the same time, she was the only one I knew of who had a connection with the Warden. She was a Taurus, after all. I was almost certain she was feeding information back to her uncle about us. But if that were true, why didn’t the Warden have the key already?
I wasn’t sure, but I was keeping an eye on her.
“Can we go over what I’m supposed to do again?” I asked warily.
“The ceremony will begin, then once the opening rites are finished, your initiation will start,” Abigail said. “You’ll take your vows and allow the mystics to help you make the transition into a vision from the Elven goddesses.”
“Great,” I said. “Hopefully they’re talkative today.”
“Once your initiation is over, you’ll be expected to participate in temple services at least once a week, helping the mystics hold ceremonies and getting messages from the goddesses,” Abigail informed me. “But don’t worry about all that right now. What’s most important is this ceremony.”
Awesome. If I didn’t burn the temple down by accident during any of these ceremonies, I was golden.
A few guards opened the temple doors to us. We wandered inside, and I looked around in awe.
