Chapter One: Ideas

Amber awoke to the sound of birds singing outside, on the branches of a large oak tree, just beneath her window. She was moving a little sluggishly and was struggling to remember why she was here. A bell started ringing somewhere deep within the castle, it was the call to sermons. Where was everyone? Why wasn't her maid Susan there to tend to and dress her. Gently Amber sat up, wincing as her head began to pound and her sight went blurry for a moment. She felt a small lump and a possible scratch on the back of her head. When had that happened?

Suddenly there was a noise in the hall...yelling, and her door opened, splashing light upon the light blue walls of the richly furnished room. Quickly she slid underneath the silky sheets and the down comforter, not very practical but pretty, and pretended to sleep. Amber could feel someone sit on the edge of her bed and then boldly stroke her forehead. Amber hardly resisted the temptation to open her eyes a crack to look at the person.

"Sir, I told you! This is indecent you cannot come into a girl's, well rather a young ladies, room without permission from the father....Who happens to be me! I demand you leave at once! Did you here me Xavier? I said leave!!!" Amber nearly gave herself away; she had almost opened her eyes, but resisted yet again when she had recognized her father's voice.

"Dear Maurice, I just had to make sure that she was alright...After what Diaz has tried to commit upon her I was trying to make sure she was still breathing! I'll leave now so I can end this incessant quarreling with you, if only to make her happy." Amber now understood it was Xavier sitting on the bed, who, at the moment had patted her cheek and gotten off the bed. What is going on? What had happened and who on earth was Diaz?

"See dear fellow? I told you she was alright! Maybe a little sore and unconscious but she will live! Now Xavier if we ever have another problem with the likes of you, I'll have no choice but to make an example of you Xavier, and have you punished." Her father sounded like he was calming down and becoming sensible.

"Oh please daddy," Amber thought. "Please don't hurt Xavier."

"I understand sir, but you must understand also. I love your daughter and I will gladly die for her before I will see her in the arms of someone of the likes of Diaz. And one more thing you must understand...Diaz will be dead by morning...You may punish me later if you wish, kill me even, but you cannot keep me from this task. I will afflict on him that which he has tried to afflict on my dear Amber. And Sir, I shall now be gone."

Amber still hadn't even the slightest clue of what the men were talking about, and she couldn't get past the fact that Xavier had said he loved her. This whole situation seemed completely incomprehensible.

"I need to find out what's going on!" She thought, she heard her father yawn and start down the stairs (shutting the door behind him), "I'll find out what happened in the morning" She told herself. Amber then peacefully drifted back into sleep.

It was dark as Xavier climbed the steps, weary from his battle with Diaz. Diaz, he smirked at the name. Poor fool, he tried to beg mercy after what he'd done to Amber, not an option Xavier was willing to give him. Xavier glanced down at his newly cleaned blade, how menacingly it glinted in the light, "That must have been the most fun I've had in a long while. Diaz didn't stand a chance." He thought wearily. Xavier hated killing but in this particular case he couldn't deny that revenge had indeed been sweet.

Quietly he opened the door, trying to be stealthy but quick, who knew how long it would take someone to discover he had broken out of his room. Quickly he came to Amber's bedside and kissed her lightly on the forehead. Then Xavier started rushing and going about her room, gathering some of the things he thought she might find useful on their journey. He heard a commotion somewhere nearby and barely had the chance to hide behind Amber's bureau before the door burst open. It was Susan, Amber's maid, battling with guards to let her in to see her mistress.

"I told you ye ruffians that the Miss is in my care and if you be having issues with this, you can take it up with Maurice." Quickly she shut the door and came to her Mistress's side. "Dear Amber what have you gotten yourself into this time? Diaz is dead and Xavier is nowhere to be found. You must be a lucky girl indeed to have so many men after you." The maid sighed and started to tend to her duties of, among other things, folding and sewing Amber's clothing.

Swiftly Xavier came out of hiding, came up behind the maid, and slid a cautious hand over her mouth. Breathing in her ear he whispered, "Susan, Susan calm down it's Xavier!" Instantly the maid went limp and stopped struggling. "Susan for Amber's own safety I'm going to take her away from this place and I need your help to do it." Susan spun out of his arms and looked him in the eyes.

"I agree with you that me Mistress needs to be leaving...but I refuse to help unless I can follow with her. She is more then my Mistress, she's my friend, and if you're to be taking her into the wilds then she'll need me to help. Lord knows how she'll survive any traveling without a servant or two about!"

Xavier and Susan raced around the room to finish the packing that Xavier had started Susan tutted at some of his decisions and tossed a few things out of the laundry bag, while adding nearly as much. They packed anything that Amber might want, need, or find useful, and was light enough not to hold them back in case of a chase. They stayed quiet as they could, trying to give their Miss as much time as possible to recover from the events that had happened the preceding day.

When they had finally gathered everything and stuffed it all into a large, rather patched up, laundry bag Xavier sent Susan down the winding heavily guarded staircase on the pretense that she had some more of the Mistress's laundry that needed to be done. Gently Xavier woke Amber and upon seeing him she smiled and began to ask something. Xavier quieted her and told her to be ready to leave in five minutes. With that he went to stand guard outside her door.