"Quinn!" Rachel banged on the door. "Quinn, come on!" It had been weeks since she had seen her best friend. At first, she had believed that Quinn was ill - because she had felt tired and under the weather for quite some time as well - but now she was beginning to think that the blonde was simply ignoring her.

Her fathers had kept her in bed for several days while she suffered from a high fever. By the time she had returned to her daily tasks, the castle gates were closed for the first time in her life. The mood was vastly different in the halls, somber and quiet where there was usually the sound of birds and the busy bustle of the town square beyond the castle walls. Suddenly, her home had begun to feel like a prison in which she was the only child, as her only other companion refused to see her. Rachel could deal with boredom, but now she was growing increasingly concerned and frustrated at this forced solitude.

She had taken to sitting by Quinn's door every night, trying every combination of words and actions she could think of to get her to open up. For the last ten nights, there had been no answer. Her fathers had found her early this morning, curled up into a ball by the princess' room. It would be exceedingly difficult from now on for her to sneak off and see Quinn. She had waited patiently for her fathers to go to bed tonight so that she could make her way here.

"Quinn, please," she said brokenly, "please, tell me what's going on." Yes, she was angry at her friend's unexplained behaviour, but she was also very worried. "I don't know what happened. Was it something I did?"

She heard the floorboards creak on the other side of the door. "Quinn!" Rachel pressed herself against the door, willing it to open. "Quinn, I know you can hear me. Why are you doing this?"

Silence. She slammed her fist against the door again, sobbing in frustration. She felt so cold, so shut out and helpless.

"I don't want to hurt you, Rachel." Quinn sounded small and afraid. "You need to go."

"But this hurts, Quinn." She could feel herself trembling, equal parts excited and angry. "Quinn, just let me come in. We can talk, about whatever I did, or whatever is bothering you. Please, just...let me help."

"You-" Quinn stopped suddenly. When she spoke again, her voice was tight and controlled. "Rachel, you have to stop trying to help me. You can't help me. The best thing you can do is to stay away from me."

"I can't do that, and you know it." Rachel could never abandon her friend. She had been Quinn's closest confidante for as long as she could remember. "Please, Quinn. Don't ask me to do that."

There was silence from the other side of the door. Rachel knew how Quinn's mind worked. While she was completely willing to go with her gut, the princess often needed time alone to think through a situation. She was prepared to wait for as long as Quinn needed. She could match the strength of her friend's stubborn will.

"I'm right here, Quinn," Rachel said gently. She sat down and prepared herself for another cold and uncomfortable night as she leaned back against the door. "And I'll be here waiting until you're ready."

The door swung inward suddenly, revealing the blonde. Rachel gasped at the sight. Quinn looked pale and exhausted, as if she hadn't slept for days. Tears were streaming down her face as she looked down at the servant girl on the floor. On instinct, Rachel was already scrambling to her feet in order to throw her arms around her friend. She felt a chill strike her heart as Quinn pushed her forcefully back down to the floor.

"Wha–" Rachel's temper spiked hot at the indignation. Angry words were at the tip of her tongue, only stopped by the deep guilt evident on Quinn's face. A gloved hand was raised outstretched by her side, as though she couldn't decide whether to run away or to Rachel's side. But Quinn had always had the utmost control of her emotions. In seconds, her face was rigidly composed.

"I wasn't asking, Rachel." The words and tone were biting and cruel. Only Quinn's eyes exposed her inner turmoil. There was a desperation about her, as if she was trying to commit to memory the sight before her. "Go-," her eyes closed as she took a deep breath, "-away." The door slammed shut behind her.

Rachel didn't move from where she had landed. She felt numb, frozen by the pain of such utter and final rejection. She felt angry because Quinn had cut her out, and outraged that she would not explain why. But most of all, she felt empty and alone.

Her father, Leroy, shook her awake from where she had fallen asleep on the floor the next morning. "No more, Rachel." She knew he meant it, and that there would be serious consequences if she were found here again.

It wasn't like it mattered anyway. She told herself that she would never go to Quinn again, partly to respect the princess' wishes, but mostly because she was determined to not be the first to break. She still found herself constantly looking for Quinn, hoping to catch a glimpse of the blonde whenever she could, hoping to see how she was doing. But it seemed that Quinn had been serious about keeping her distance. The princess was never seen outside the confines of her own room.

The rest of the servants noticed Rachel's sudden downcast mood.

The stable hands tried to cheer her up by offering rides on the horses once she finished helping with the feeds. Rachel wished that Quinn were riding beside her.

The cook's wife tried to cheer her up by braiding her hair. Rachel couldn't push away the memory of tying Quinn's hair into pigtails.

The queen's maidservants tried to cheer her up by dressing her up in ball gowns that were no longer in use. It was then, as she stood in front of the mirror, that Rachel noticed the single grey lock of hair that hung just above her brow.