She had been in the Lapis Kingdom for a week now and had hardly seen the king. While Caleb said it would take him several days to decide if he would help her, she hadn't thought that by several days he meant a full week.
At first, she was bored to death, not knowing what to do. She stumbled around the castle, tried to find some entertainment outside, and took naps under the shadows of the trees in the garden. Sometimes she picked some flowers and braided them into a flower crown, but each crown ended up floating in one of the palace fountains.
On numerous occasions, she had been on the verge of storming into Caleb's room, consumed by a potent mix of impatience and anger. Yet, each time, she managed to rein in her impulses, reminding herself of the importance of patience and timing. The
