SEVENTEEN
A normal princess would have brought a maid, and a whole troop of servants to see to her needs, Anahita reflected as she dug through their things for a bucket. A normal princess wouldn't have to find her own bucket, and use it to fetch water for an unusually arrogant frog.
But Anahita had never been, and would never be, a normal princess. None of her father's other children had her gift of being able to converse with creatures. In fact, aside from herself and Maram, none of the others seemed to have any magical abilities at all. Which was why Maram was destined to be alone, and if it weren't for Haidar and Asad, Anahita would be, too. But the three of them made perfect travel companions, because they knew each other so well, and she would trade a whole palace full of servants
