Aldreda~

I glide into the room, my dress fanning out behind me. I can feel my eyebrows draw together, my jaw set automatically, and my back straighten. This is no ordinary meeting. This is the secret to all the little shadows of magic left in my kingdom. The throne room is in it's usual large, empty, gloomy state. In their places on the wall, torches flicker tenatively, as if they themselves can feel the tension. I face the door, silent. Suddenly, there is a rustling from behind a decorative curtain that separates the throne room from the ball room (did they have like balls in the dark ages????) I whirl just in time to see a frightened face hide in the folds. Stepping forward to snatch at the spying servant, I hear the door open with a whoosh, and a cloaked stranger appears. I forget the servant, vowing to punish him when my business is completed. 

"The magic!" I command sharply, my voice echoing off the walls. I need to stay in control here. I need to have the upper hand.

"Your Majesty, the key to harnassing the magic that you seek is...time." The stranger's voice is like gleaming silver with a sharp edge.

"I've waited for years for your coming, and you tell me to wait longer? This is unnaceptable!" I storm. Normally, I would flounce out of the room, but I want her secret more than anything else. She knows it. From the folds of her cloak, the stranger produces a square object. A book, and hands it to me. Her hands are cold and smooth.

"Time," she repeats.