^"Castle Warren, dear," the gnome says as he continues to fiddle with his stick.

"But where is Castle Warren? Am I in Ireland or something?"

"Ireland? I've never heard of it. You are in Warren on Endor..."

"Endor? Is this some kind of joke? What is going on here? One minute I'm hiking in Montana, and the next minute I'm being tugged through some kind of light water thing and end up on the floor surrounded by men who look like they came straight out of Lord of the Rings. Is this a Renaissance Faire? Am I drunk?"

"Drunk? No. You went through a portal, traveled through space, and are now on Endor. It's simple really, although I'm the only wizard on Endor who can do the necessary magic to open one." The little man shudders silently in what looks like a full-body laugh without sound. Okay. I've lost my mind. Someone show me to the nearest pharmacist.

"If I'm not drunk and I'm not dreaming, then I must be going crazy. What are you really, some street person? Have I eaten out of a garbage can yet?"

"Why would you do that?" the gnome says, in shock. He puts his hand to his chest like I just said something deeply troubling. I groan and roll my eyes, turning over on the bed.

"Look, gnome man, I want to go home. How do I make that happen?" I say, momentarily giving in to the idea that this might be real.

"You can call me Gizmel," the gnome says.

"Hi," I say weakly.

"I'm afraid you won't be able to go home.”

I turn over and glare at him, rage bubbling up from my chest. He leans away from me as if I've scared him. "No need for that, lady. I will leave you now and let the princes explain." Gizmel hurries up from the bed and scuttles toward the door.

"Wait a minute!" I shout, but the door is already closing behind him. I jump from the bed and sprint to the door, but it remains still. How do you open this thing? I look around for a knob or a button of some kind, but I can't find anything. Clancy is twirling around and whining like nobody's business. I look down at him and pet him.

"Sorry, boy. This is freaking weird. I'm glad you are here."

He licks my hand and follows me as I walk to the bed. My head is still spinning, and I'm dizzy. I get into the huge bed that is covered in gold brocade down blankets and get underneath. If I can't get out of here, I might as well get some rest. I've been sleeping on the lumpy mattress in my RV for way too long, and this bed is the most comfortable thing I've laid on in a long time.

Clancy jumps up on the bed with me and lies beside me as I doze off.

I wake to the sound of the thick wooden door sliding open. I sit up with a start and see a woman in a long A-line dress walk into the room. It must be morning already.

The woman looks like she just walked out of Robin Hood or something and sets a silver tray down beside the bed. I eye the open door and then look down at the food. My stomach rumbles. I haven't had much but Power Bars all day yesterday. The food looks like an assortment of fruit, although I don't recognize any of it.

Beside the tray of fruit is what appears to be a chunk of whole grain French bread. Looking from the door to the food, I let out a long breath and sit up. I want to lunge for the door, but I want to eat more. With how my head feels, I doubt I'll make it to the door before collapsing anyway.

"Hi," I say to the woman, tentatively. She glances up at me, a half smile on her face. I notice that in some ways she looks like the two princes I met earlier, but she isn’t a giant like they are. She has pointed ears, but her eyes don’t glow. She’s also statuesque and slender, unlike me. She has long white hair running down her back and violet-colored eyes.

"Hello, lady, I am glad to see you well," the woman says, her eyes downcast, her posture subordinate. "I hope the food is to your liking. Is there anything else I might get you?"

"Water?"

The woman looks aghast and covers her mouth with her hand as if she's done something terribly wrong. "Of course, I beg your pardon, my lady. I'll be right back with it."

"Thanks," I say, not understanding why she's acting like I'm the evil queen in Alice in Wonderland. Why is she calling me "my lady" like I'm some kind of royalty? I watch her hurry out of the room and the door slides closed behind her. She might be a servant but at least she isn't a prisoner, which I apparently am.

I pick up the fruit and take a bite. Sweetness bursts over my tongue; it looks like a melon and tastes like a strawberry. Yum.

I gobble down the rest of the fruit and start on the bread when the woman comes back into the room. I give her a friendly smile so she won't think I'm going to chop off her head, but it doesn't help. Jeez, how does Trav treat his servants around here? The woman sets the water beside my bed and curtsies, eyes still downcast.

"Is there anything else I can do for you, my lady?"

"Call me Dani," I tell her. "What's your name?"

"My name is Uria, my lady."

"I'm not royalty. I'm lost. And have a bitch of a headache. What am I doing here?"

"The lady is to wed one of the princes," she says, confused. I can tell she thinks I'm either crazy or dumb. "I will call Wizard Gizmel to your chambers to cure your headache, my lady, if you please."

"Sure. That'd be great."

The mouse of a servant nearly sprints out of the room and away from the crazy human, and I watch the door open and close for her again. How does that dang thing work, and why doesn't it work for me? I climb out of bed and walk to the door. I stand in front of it just like she had. Nothing. Putting my hands on my hips and heave a sigh. I want out of here, and I want some answers. More than that, I just want to go home. I turn around and see Clancy licking the crumbs off my plate. I glare at him. "Down," I command and he actually listens for once.

The door whooshes open behind me, and I turn to see Gizmel standing in front of me. He comes up to my waist, but his pointed hat that makes up our difference in height.

"Uria said you have a headache. Let me take care of that for you. Please lie down."

I plod over to the bed and lie down, waiting for him to work his magic. At least if my head stops hurting, I can figure out what the hell is going on.

As Gizmel passes his glowing stick over my head, my headache slowly starts to go away. After a few more passes, it's gone completely. I let out a long breath, sighing in relief. For the first time since I got here, I feel halfway normal. He puts the stick in his pocket and smiles.

I sit up and inspect the room I'm in for the first time. It’s a circular chamber surrounded by raw stone walls. There are lattice-covered windows. The bed I'm in takes up a good portion of the large room, but there are dressers pushed against the walls that fit into the curve of the stone. Long burgundy velvet curtains hang from the high ceiling and half conceal a closet full of clothes.

"Tell me, Gizmel, what am I doing here?"

"You are to wed one of the princes, lady. It is imperative that you decide soon. Going through the choosing ritual might take too much time."

"Choosing Ritual?"

"When a lady is courted by rival princes. It can take anywhere from a week to a year. We might not have that much time."

"Nothing you are saying makes any sense," I say, feeling like my headache is going to come back. 

"Leave us, Gizmel," Trav says from the doorway. Conyac is right beside him. They look like two gigantic linebackers who want to eat me whole. A bead of sweat trickles down my temple. The gnome hurries out of the room. Trav's upper lip curls back, showing his sharp canine teeth. Clancy barks at them hysterically, and I push myself backward in the bed a little farther.

"The wizard speaks true," Conyac says. "If you can choose now, it will save precious time. The Org are gathering strength as we speak. We must decide a king and gather our power if we are to defeat them."

"Look, guys," I say in a soothing voice. "I think you must have me mistaken for someone else. I'm just a failed photojournalist turned nature photographer. I live in an RV. I'm no one's lady, and I'm not going to be able to do whatever it is you seem to want me to do."

"You are Dani Storm. There is no other. We traveled through the portal to find you. Now, choose," Trav barks. His tone startles me and I jump.

"Stop scaring the girl," Conyac says. I calm down a little at his voice of reason.

"You both seem like nice guys, but I'm afraid I'm not ready to marry either of you. If that is what you are asking."

Trav throws up his hands and grunts. "Fine, the Choosing ritual it is then. You will be in my house first, since it was my wizard that brought you here."

"You can keep her for only three days. You’ve already had her for one. She comes to castle Blackwell in two days," Conyac says. "My lady, I will see you in two days’ time. Then I will take you to my lands." He places his hand to his heart and bows before turning to go.

Trav stays standing there, enormous arms crossed, staring at me. With his long black cloak pushed back, I can see he's wearing leather and chain mail armor. A longsword scabbard hangs at his side. His blazing green eyes bore into me, and it makes my heart quake with excitement and dread.

"You could have avoided all of this if you'd just chosen," he grunts.

"Can I go home now, please?"

"Lady, you are the last princess of this land. This is your home. Now do your duty and choose. I assure you I am the stronger prince. My fire is hotter and more deadly than Conyac's ice. I have killed thousands of Orgs in my life, and my family line has ruled these lands going back thousands of years. The upstart Blackwells have no place on the throne. This charade is to appease the massive population of Blackwell who insist their prince is the true king. You would do well to remember that I am in direct line of succession from the previous king."

"Sure thing," I say. Every word out of his mouth makes less sense than the last, but I decide to play along. "So if you're the king, then why are you even doing this whole Choosing thing? Shouldn't everyone know who the rightful king is?"

"You are correct, lady, they should. But they believe Blackwell is the rightful king by the succession of his line. Blackwells ruled two generations back and the people of his land believe the Warrens took the throne without honor."

"I see," I lie.

"You will decide the fate of our kingdom. Mating with the last princess of Endor will give the next king and his queen the power of the monarchs. We will defeat our enemies. Now choose."

"Hold on, bro. I don't know either of you well enough to choose one or the other. What if I don't want either of you?"

"Impossible, princess. You will choose. I will leave you here until you come to your senses."

Trav huffs and turn out the door, leaving me alone again.