Conferment

Beth, is it you?

Lina gasped. A friend of her father?!  A bell rang. Lina and Mattias looked to each other. "They found blue eyes!" Mattias exclaimed. Lina remembered the last ceremony. The queen had recently announced that she would give another her crown. She was selfless and she'd like living with the commoners. Most of the time it was the advisors that ruled. She liked going on adventures. "Come!" Lina ran up to the castle and found her mom. "Mom, look!" I know. I saw that you fainted," she said." do you have any idea what it could mean?"  Lina asked. "No."bell rang again.
"Everyone! Meet our new queen, Beth Mares."

'BETH?! Well, thank goodness she won't get me in trouble for my eyes. She looked up at her. Sure enough, she had ice blue eyes. You could never know what shade you could have. The last queen had sky blue eyes.
Beth had a huge smile on her face. She was  already sitting on a golden throne. With a big, extravagant dress! They placed a blue and red tiara on her head. Somehow, this upset Lina. Here was her best friend, sitting on a throne with a crown. Waving to hundreds of people. With maids! Hopefully she could help her.
                                 👑 👑 👑
After the ceremony, she went up to Beth. "Queen, huh?" She asked. She smiled. "Yeah! What about yours..." she looked in shock. "Gold?! What does that mean?" she asked. "I don't know!" Lina answered. "We learned them all in class! Brown, blue, violet, red!" she threw her hands in the air. "Well-" she suddenly looked angry, but not a straightforward type of angry. You could only see it in her expression. "Don't overthrow my throne," she said. "What? Beth, I wouldn't-"
"I have queen stuff to attend to, " Beth said, cutting her off. "Oh, and since we don't know what gold eyes mean, we don't know if you could overthrow my throne. Sorry, but I have to put you in the dungeon!" said Beth. Guards slowly walked up to her. Lina gasped, and did the only thing she could think of to do. She ran.

After she'd ran for a while, she stopped for a breather. She wasn't sure what she'd do next. Where would she run? She heard shuffling. Someone was there. "Who's there?!" she asked. She wasn't out of Empeth, but she was far from the village. Empeth stretched for a few villages. She caught a glimpse of violet eyes. "I can see you!" Lina exclaimed. "I-I" she realized how defenseless she was. "Please don't hurt me," She pleaded. A boy around her age came out from behind a rock. "No! I won't!" He exclaimed. "Then what are you doing so far away from Mer'e?!" She asked. He looked guiltily. "Um, my dad's one of the guards. I'm supposed to be helping him," he said sheepishly. "Oh, there he is!" He said. Lina amiedietly looked down so he didn't see her eyes. "Hey, Jack!" Said a voice she recongnized. "Matthias?!" She asked. "Don't worry. I was a friend of your father! He was kind..." Matthias's voice trailed off. "I have to go back to the village." He sighed. Jack, who she quessed was the boy, stood by Matthias. "Where will I go?!" Lina asked. "I can't hide forever," Jack looked to his father hopefully. "You can't go back. It's too dangerous," He stroked her hair. "You look just like your father. There's no mistaking the twinkle in those golden eyes," He handed her a bow. "This'll help you. Stay safe," He started running back to the village. Jack looked back, obviously wanting to help, but he followed Matthias.
Lina looked at the bow. She noticed an engraving in the wood. Florian Wells. She traced it with her finger and kept going.
It soon came to night. She'd settled in a meadow just outside for the farthest village. She swatted the flies. "What in Empartha am I going to do?" She asked no one in particular. She looked at the night sky. She began to cry. "I've lost my best friend, I'm wanted, and no one knows what gold means!" It seemed whenever there was something unknown, people were scared of it. Lina didn't understand. She eventually fell asleep.

That morning, she didn't know whether to walk or stay where she was. She wanted to enjoy the meadow, but she was afraid it wasn't safe. She didn't know what to do anymore. She kept going to find some good shelter, and came across a small cave. Not a scary one, just a wet cave. Water. She'd definitely been thirsty. She realized she had no supplies. She wanted to go back and pack, but she was too far. Then she got a idea. I could go to another village. But she would have to shield her eyes. It was worth a shot for water and food. She ran as fast as she could to the nearest village. She went in and went to the water's edge, a small beach. She found a pair of sunglasses left by the shore. She put them on gratefully and knocked on the nearest house with hope. A woman answered. "Hi. Um, I was wondering if you could help me?" She looked confused. "No trouble- can I just have, maybe, some water and food?" She explained. "I guess? Here, come inside. Meet my daughter, Valender," She said. "Thank you!" She rushed inside. Remember, she thought to herself. Don't risk your luck. A girl, maybe a little older than her but by a few days, filled her a glass of water. "I'm Valender. What's your name?" She asked "um, Lina." She said. The woman gave her a muffin. "You can call me Ms Wang," she said. "Are you lost?" "No-not exactly. Don't worry!" Lina exclaimed. "Ok?" Valender smiled. She had bright brown eyes, with long, straight black hair with bangs, and long eyelashes. "So, where are you from?" "Mer'e. Well, thank you for the help. I should get going," Lina said. "Alright. But, I'm truly curious. Why are you here, not at home?" Ms Wang asked. Lina winced. She didn't like lying. "I'm far from home, so I'm stopping here?" She said it like a question. "Ok?" Lina waved goodbye and ran out. That was risky. but worth it.

She left  the village and kept  going. Soon She came to a rocky field. There were more caves, like the one she'd crossed a while ago. " I might as well have a place to rest," She walked in. Her footsteps echoed. As Lina went in, she saw a man. Then a flash of red eyes. Ah!
"Sh!" He said. "It's ok!" He was covering his other eye. "I'll help you. Why are you running?" I can't confess that to a villain! Lina thought. She started to run. The man suddenly gasped and grabbed her hand. "Your eyes..." he said and revealed his other eye. A sparkling shade of golden.
This is impossible! No one else has gold eyes! Except... Lina thought.
He seemed to be thinking the same thing, with the same conclusion. Lina couldn't stop the incoming shock. She didn't think she'd ever meet him. He left her. But he had no choice. But he had a red eye. He couldn't help that. Lina debated with herself. Tears spilled out of her eyes. Then she spoke.
"Dad?"