Amy Cahill thinks her time has come.

As she looks at the young boy dressed as a prince in the middle of her room, she thinks she either is having pre-death deliriums, or a psychopath serial killer has broken into her home. Gulping, the eighteen-year-old takes a closer look at the boy. The coffee-colored skin, chiseled-like jawbone and jet-black hair make him look like a model… except for that prince outfit he has on. She fingers the soft material covering his arm. Frowning, she realizes it's way too elaborate to be a costume for a serial killer. In fact… he looks familiar.

The guy's finger twitches.

Gasping, Amy jumps back, positioning herself in a fighting stance. After minutes pass and the fainted boy produces no movement, Amy sighs in relief.

But then he opens his eyes.

Disoriented, the boy sits up, glancing around. His amber eyes widen in disbelief as he spots the room he has fainted in. Amy notices the boy's face paling, his now scared eyes reflecting flashes of remembrance. "No… no, I must be dreaming."

Amy watches with curiosity as the boy's handsome face morphs from shock to horror, and finally to misery.

"Sinead," he murmurs, looking down. Then his eyes meet Amy's.

Amy grabs a nearby pillow and holds it in front of her. "Don't. Move."

Ian remains frozen, horror and shock written all over his face.

"I called the police," Amy continues, steadying her voice. "They'll be here soon to take you to whatever crazy ward you're from."

Which was partially true. Since the police hadn't believed her when she told them about the peculiar intruder, she called up her best friend Jake Rosenbloom, who was a black belt in karate.

The boy gazes at Amy from her feet to her head. And what he asks Amy catches her more than off guard.

"What in the world are you wearing?"

Amy raises her eyebrows, inspecting her jeans and dark green sweater. After the initial shock of the question, she returns to her original hostile attitude. "Why would you care?"

The prince wannabe begins to stand up. "Because only one of the poorest peasants wi-"

His phrase is interrupted by the pillow that Amy ducks at him.

"I told you not to move!" Amy quickly scolds, trying to calm down her nerves.

"Who do you think you-" the boy interrupts his snarl, looking down. "Look, I don't like this situation anymore than you do. The love of my life has been manipulated to send me –the future king of England –to some future were girls wear peasant clothes and weird artifacts surround me-"

"You could've come up with a better excuse," Amy cuts in.

She takes a step forward, and bumps into her desk. Her History book comes tumbling down and flips open to no page in particular. Sighing, she quickly bends down to pick it up. She stops, frozen, once she spots the portrait on one of the pages. She quickly glances at the intruder, and back down to her book. They're the exact same person, except that one is in a painting. Still not believing her eyes, she looks at the picture's footnotes. The missing crown prince, Ian Kabra –her class was currently studying his story.

Amy's green eyes land on the intruder once again, who has grabbed her cellphone and is studying it with great care. However, the look of worry in his eyes makes her think that while he is curious about the device, a feeling of misery still lingers in him.

She looks down at the picture and back at him. It is not a resemblance, it is as if someone photocopied the picture into a human being.

"What's your name?" she asks. She still cannot believe the fact that she is considering this could be the missing prince of England. But his face, his expression… even his clothes! They are all the same. Besides, it wouldn't hurt to ask.

With great air, the boy sits up straight, and in a silky British accent replies. "Crown Prince Ian Kabra of England. Son of Queen Isabel Kabra and King Vikram the Second."

Amy nods, pursing his lips. Either he is crazy, or she has a brain tumor. Tucking a strand of loose reddish-brown hair behind her ear, she continues. "If you are the missing prince… then why are you here?"

"Prince Ian's" tone is angry. "My future wife was threatened to trick me into going with her to the royal gardens and sending me to the future!"

Amy looks down at the article. "Well… it says here that Queen Sinead the First came looking for you in the royal gardens, where you were supposed to meet up. But she never found you, and after hours of searching for more, she found clues that the French had taken you. Therefore, another war similar to The Hundred Years' War began between the two countries. Between that and the sadness of losing her husband, Sinead found a shoulder to lean on in King Hamilton Holt. They ended up falling love and marrying each other, while you were never found –even with the never-ending search from your sister's part. So…"

Ian stomps toward Amy, snatching the book away from her hands. "What is this thing? It is full of lies!" Ian's eyes stop on the picture. "What a peculiar book… it even has the exact same portrait that my uncle's friend made. But what is this? It doesn't even feel like paint!"

"It's a photograph," Amy replies. "If you truly are from the sixteenth century, then I doubt you even know what that word means."

"My education is so extent that I know everything that there is to know," Ian says. "So if I haven't heard about those 'photographs', then it means it doesn't exist. In fact, all I am standing on is an act of sorcery!"

Amidst the situation, Amy can't help but giggle. "If you say so… you know, I'm actually beginning to think that you might be the missing prince. There were some rumors about you being sent to the future. Something about a group of servants overhearing-"

"Those rumors are true!" Ian interrupts, looking desparate but hopeful. "Really… if you don't believe me… the brithmark!"

"Birthmark?" Amy repeats. Then she remembers. "That's right… the prince was supposed to have a birthmark on his right shoulder. A snake, which is why the Lucian Dynasty thought you would be a great prince –you know, since their coat of arms involves snakes."

"Obviously I know that. The Lucian Dynasty is my family, after all, right?" Ian replies. He takes off his heavy and elaborate cape, stretching down his shirt so his shoulder is bare.

Amy's eyes widen.

A brownish red mark takes up a tiny space on his shoulder, but it's clear enough to spot the shape of a snake. She begins to rub her palm on his shoulder, just to make sure it isn't some sort of makeup.

"It must be some kind of tattoo," she murmurs, gazing at it.

"Tattoo… whatever that is, it sounds fake. And my birthmark isn't fake," Ian says. He returns the shirt to its original state. "Now, do you believe me?"

Amy tilts her head. She can't say she is surprised about her discovery. She'd already began suspecting it before. But still, it's quite shocking.

Ding dong.

"Amy! Amy!" desperate shouts call out.

Amy's face pales. "Oh… that's Jake. The guy probably came running from the university. Stay here… I'll tell him you escaped."

"AMY!"

Amy runs down the stairs, and jumps to the door, quickly opening it. Once she does, she finds a worried-looking boy holding a bat. His dark auburn hair is all messy and his hazel eyes are wide with preoccupation.

"Amy… please tell me you are okay," he breathes out. "Where are Nellie… and Dan?"

"Dan and Nellie are shopping for some school materials. Dan left everything for the last minute," Amy answers. She pauses before continuing. "Jake… what I called you for. They guy's gone. Once he saw me, he just ran off. I tried to catch him, but he was too fast."

Jake frowned. "What if he's still around… I can stay here to take care of you until Dan and Nellie return."

"No, no," Amy rejects. "You should return to college and keep doing whatever you were doing."

Jake insists. "I was simply staying overnight in the library to catch up on some studies. But this is more important." His face turns into a joking one. "I don't want you bunking in my place when that loony steals all your stuff."

Amy smiles, feeling guilty for lying to her caring friend. She leans on the doorstep. "Jake, I'm truly fine. You can go and study. I don't want to delay your education. You need to memorize all those history facts so you can easily teach them to me when my time comes."

Jake shakes his head. "You won't delay me. Besides, you're a History nerd. I am the one who-"

"Where shall I sleep? A prince needs a proper place to stay, and I can't stay up late. I do need to begin working as early as possible on that time machine to return home and claim my kingdom," Ian's voice rings out. He materializes next to Amy. "Oh… is he some kind of suitor?"

Jake's jaw tenses. "Was this wacko threatening you if you told anyone?"

Amy looks down, defeated. "No, Jake."

But Jake doesn't listen. Instead, he lounges toward Ian, holding up his bat.

"What do you think you're doing to the crown prince of England?" Ian screams, covering his head.


Author's Note: Thank you so much for the reviews! I'm really glad that last chapter was enjoyable, and I'm hoping this one is too ;)

Also, for anyone who doesn't know: The Hundred Years' War was a war between France (controlled by The House of the Capet and later by The House of the Valois) and England (controlled by The House of Plantagenet). There are many causes, but people say that the main one is because England considered several areas of Northern France as their territory, and France wanted control over those lands back. And there was also the dynastic conflict...

Argh, I don't want to get into detail :P It would take too long to explain... thanks for reading!