One day, when Rina was working in the stables, Unelas came running into the barn screaming. Rina, frightened by Unelas, jumped and screamed. The horses, also frightened by Unelas, kicked and bucked, breaking their harnesses and escaping the stables. The horses ran away from the kingdom as Rina chased after them. She followed the horses out of the kingdom for an hour when she finally gave up. She then had to walk back to the palace to tell the King what had happened.
Rina started to walk towards the palace when she found one of the horses. As she approached the horse, she noticed a note on the saddle of the horse. Rina walked cautiously up to the horse, so she would not scare it away again. Her eyebrows were raised in skepticism as she reached for the note. She grabbed the note and tied to horse to a nearby fence. As she opened the letter she noticed the handwriting. It was from her mother. The letter was written by her mother when she was a child. She opened the letter and it read:
“Dear Rina, this is a letter from your dear mother. When you receive this, Elantris will be uncovered by the ocean. Our ancestors have land there. They owned a little cottage inside the city with fields of clover. It is up to you to claim our land once again. We need you Rina. Love, Mom.”
Rina folded the letter back up and leaned against the fence the white horse was tied to. A million thoughts ran through her head. After several minutes of contemplating the idea of leaving, she had come to a conclusion. I need to go.
[03] A New Look
This is going to be torture.
Alana’s fingers laced through Rina’s long purple hair. Rina tensed up because she does not like people touching her. I’m not a petting zoo. Rina smacked Alana’s hand when she had had enough. She walked towards a little wood stool in the corner of the cottage. The pain from her leg dissipated. Little mice scurried around the floor as Alana poured tea for herself and Rina. “I hate mice,” said Rina. Alana responded with, “I don’t care.” Rina rolled her eyes and grabbed the tea from Alana’s hand. “That’s some long hair you have there,” said Alana. “Thanks, I guess,” Rina responded. Alana stared at her hair for a few minutes. Rina stared back at her with a look of annoyance in her eyes. Her light grey eyes shined as the sun rise broke through the small windows.
Suddenly, Alana stood up and walked to the kitchen. She pulled a knife from a cutting board that had been sitting out. She walked behind Rina with the knife and grabbed her hair. Rina did not even realize what was going on because she was so focused on drinking her tea. Then, Rina felt Alana’s grip get tighter on her hair and she jumped up quickly. She turned around and saw some of her hair on the ground. The piece that was cut started to turn silver. Then, almost magically, her eyes started turning green. Her skin went from a pale white to a light brown shade. Rina didn’t even notice the changes because of her anger that quickly took over her body. “Are you crazy!?” she shouted. Rina ran towards Alana and threw her on the floor. She sat on Alana and pinned her arms down. She grabbed the knife from Alana’s hand started to cut her hair. She only cut a chunk out and then stabbed it back into the cutting board when she stood up. Alana slowly stood up and looked into Rina’s eyes. “What is wrong with you!?” Rina screamed. Alana sat on a bench beside the front door. Rina walked towards the mirror in the living room and looked at her hair. My hair is ruined. What do I do? Alana stood up from her bench and walked behind her. “In order for you to return home, you need to be unrecognizable. I knew you would react this way, so I cut it without asking. We need to cut the rest of your hair,” Alana said as she grazed Rina’s shoulders to calm her. Home? “I’m going home?” Rina asked. Alana took a deep breath and looked at Rina through the mirror. “You need to go home to retrieve an emerald from the palace of Rosada that belongs to Nira. But, if would’ve returned looking like yourself, you would’ve been killed. Your kingdom has made it illegal to go to Elantris because of your cruel king. Your body has changed because this is Nira's picture of you. She sees you like herself,” explained Alana.
She knew she had to do it. I might as well since I’m already unrecognizable. Rina took a deep breath and slowly nodded her head yes. Alana grabbed the knife once again and started to cut. Her hair turned silver the moment the knife hit it. She cried but knew this was for the good. Alana then grabbed a broom and cleaned up the hair. They both planned the trip back home and went to bed. They planned on leaving the next day.
When she woke, Rina put on a blue dress she borrowed from Alana. She ate a piece of bread and sat at the table along with Alana. They went over the plan once more and started to leave the cottage. What if I never return here? What if I’m killed? They walked into the city together. With a steady pace, almost identical, they walked towards the forest. “I’m scared,” Rina said as she twiddled with her now short silver hair. Rina’s new eyes focused on her steps and took a deep breath. “Don’t be,” replied Alana, even though she seemed nervous too. “Just follow this path with me until we reach your home,” Alana said trying to calm Rina.
After several hours of endless walking, Rina started to recognize her surroundings. She used to play there as a child. Her ear perked up as she heard the familiar sounds of children playing the forest. As they approached the gates of the kingdom, her heart started to beat faster. When she finally was close enough to touch the golden rods, she heard someone shout “Stop right there!” What have I done?