Author's Note

Sorry for the absolutely long wait, was hit by this huge wall called writer's block. Unsatisfied with how the story was flowing I deleted everything from Chapter 2 onwards and restarted again. I hope this is of decent quality though I really did try. I got my drive back and I really think it was a good idea for letting it sit a bit because now I got more ideas on how it should go and refreshing my knowledge on all the terminologies and conditions allowed me to make the story more realistic and stuck to the world in which it is based in. I hope you will continue to read this story and enjoy all that I have created for you ~ Hignum out!

Chapter 2

Christophe waited by the stables for their female rider to come back. Hidden in the shadows thrown by the moonlight, he watched out for her. Eventually she did come, her hood up, riding her mount at a swift pace. She dismounted smoothly as soon as she reached the stables. With quick hands she removed the saddle and shoved it into the hay nearby. Grabbing her satchel, the quiver of arrows and her bow, she entered the building from the back and disappeared from sight. Christophe silently followed, making sure not to alert her to his presence. He noted she went upstairs, so he left it at that and slipped into the ballroom where a party was taking place. Their plans of joining the ranks of the servants or soldiers in the castle were blown up because everyone else was busy preparing for this evening's celebration, a pre-wedding party for one of the princesses. Mathilde had decided to switch tactics, sneaking into the party instead as one of the guests, Christophe posing as her escort.

"So, where is she now?" Mathilde asked as he approached.

"She's gone upstairs. I think she only managed to sneak out today was due to the bustle and hustle of the preparations. If my guess is right, she'll be down sooner or later to join the party group," His female companion nodded in agreement as she linked her arm in his, guiding him across the ballroom.

"Well, if we walk a bit, we may be able to spot her and maybe some other candidates as well."

"True. With so many entrances into the ballroom, counting the main doors, it is a bit difficult to tell where she will be coming from."

"No need to worry, when she comes she'll come. By the way, did I mention how nice you look in finery?" Christophe raised a brow.

"No, but you look better in it than I do."

"How humble," She replied with a cat-like smile. Christophe wore the standard black, his silver hair left in its ruffled style. Mathilde wore a simple pale green evening gown, one that was not too puffy, to go with her red hair and fair complexion.

"Honestly speaking, one cannot possibly be more humble than it is considering the fact that these clothes were bought last minute from who knows where," Celio muttered. "Not like one had much choice in clothing for that matter."

"Point taken, I do wish for a better gown than this, and it's still too puffy. I hate the fashion these days. I prefer my own clothes to this," Mathilde grumbled.

"You mean those rags?"

"Stow it midget and they are not rags."

"They look like 'em," He mumbled.

"I heard that."

"Witch, any normal person couldn't have possibly heard me."

"Stow it you two. We're not here to start a shout fest," Christophe intervened. Mathilde glared at the ring on his finger.

"I'll get even midget, just you wait," Celio merely snorted at the retort.

Honestly, when was there ever a time that Celio and Mathilde did not fight? And if Mathilde were not fighting with Celio, she'd be bothering him instead. He'd be damned if anyone ever told him that he ought to marry Mathilde, God bless him. His eyes wandered across the ballroom, catching sight of several people who may or may not fit the bill Tiamat had laid out for them. All of them, men and women dressed in finery, minus the servants, it was hard to tell which had the better character.

"I see someone interesting. I will see you later Christophe and let me know once you've found our princess candidate," Mathilde left him to his own devices. He watched her smoothly saunter over to a man at the other end of the ballroom. He was not too bad looking, by his count, but as for personality and character he would have to wait until Mathilde returned before he would know.

Turning his attention back to the huge throng of people, he kept an eye out for the roguish princess they saw earlier in the day. However, his search was never meant to be made easy, not only because she was hard to spot but also because people kept stopping his advancement to talk to him. Majority of this happened to be female, looking either for a one night stand or to ask him to dance. Some of these majority women are matchmaking mamas searching for an eligible man to marry their daughters. Now, the other people who stopped him were either matchmaking papas or men who were merely interested in making his acquaintance either sincerely or to find out how deep his pocket is. As a Flame Haze, they didn't really have a pocket, but they do have money, something easily duplicated for them, not that they really had to earn it anyways. That piece of paper or coin had no meaning for them since their real agenda was to preserve the world's balance, not buy over the largest chunk of land and rule over it. In this case, money meant a social standing amongst these people, something that did not surprise Christophe since he knew of such a thing. Being a soldier in his past, he had no social standing, but he knew everything about the political games these nobles play. Obviously the most richest and most intelligent were the ones with power.

He was fast getting tired of this group of people and Mathilde had not yet returned to his side, a sign that she was on a roll while he was running on gravel. Moving to the edge of the ballroom, he sidled himself against the walls and walked along it. It was more comfortable, not so stuffed with people and he could make a dash for the door if another mama came along to try and introduce him to her daughter. He raised his head slightly to look out for Mathilde and spotted her on the dance floor, enjoying herself. Some kind of friend she was, ditching him for someone more handsome and richer. Now that seriously rubbed him the wrong way, so he pushed the thought aside. Besides, Mathilde was not the kind to actually dally with men like that and Alastor would put a stop to it if it were not in his interests as her Denizen.

"Thinking too much again?" Christophe raised a brow at Celio's comment.

"You're starting to sound like Mathilde."

Celio snorted. "Not likely to happen, ever. Focus Christophe, we're not here to dally with loose thoughts or pessimism for that matter and I know you have a lot of the latter due to your past. Social standings are of no importance to us, humans are humans and as Flame Haze and Denizen, we are their protectors. There is no status for us."

Christophe absentmindedly nodded at the statement. "I understand, but some thoughts just pervade. It will not distract me for too long so there is not actual need for worry, just mere contemplation."

"Good to know."

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

She despised crowds and she despised her brother for making her show up. It was not her wedding anyways, not that she was not happy for her sister. She just did not like it when people gather in large groups like this. What more, she was usually the wallflower at these kind of events. She was always not pretty enough or her eyes were too red or her dress not up to par. So what, she didn't like the current fashion, it was stuffy, just like the crowds. So she stuck to her own wardrobe and sew her own gowns, big deal. Nobles were just so discriminative. If one was not good enough to fit their bill, one would not be able to fit it at all. Being the youngest of seven siblings, Wilhelmina did not actually feel the need to rush herself to do things her siblings did, nor did she feel the need to dress up overly nicely for men she did not like or men she did not know, except when her eldest brother enforces it. Even if she did dress up, other people would not even spare her a second glance if compared to her sisters. Alexander Godfried, being the eldest son, had no choice and was, for his whole life, been doomed to take over the moment mother and father retired from the throne, something they did rather early in life when they were caught in an accident that had both their parents killed. At the age of eighteen, Alexander was already ruler and he had been so up until now, currently at the age of five and forty. Second was her eldest sister, Evelien, forty, was already happily married and with children. She was the only one happily married. Alexander had already divorced twice, his wives having cheated on him behind his back. Not many people understood Alexander because of his personality, being the eldest and ruler he had to be like that, so one could not blame him for being the way he is. Her brother was not evil, just hard to talk to.

Third was Reinier and fourth was Frederik, thirty-six and thirty-two respectively, both are yet to be married. Women liked Reinier for his sweet and gentlemanly behaviour, but he held back due to not having found the right girl yet. Frederik on the other hand was a rogue and a rake. He would bewitch any woman on sight and take her to his bed with no promises and by dawn he would be gone. He flitted about like the wind, with no strings attached and had remained so for quite some time already. Fifth was Anneliese and sixth was Daphne, twenty-nine and twenty-six respectively. Tonight was Daphne's pre wedding party, having beaten her older sister, Anneliese, to the punch. While Evelien was sweet, Anneliese was dainty and Daphne was a tomboy. It was hard for men to approach Daphne because of this but someone had, eventually, and Daphne liked what she saw. Anneliese, she was, one would not really know how to describe this sister of hers. She was nit-picky, squeamish, high-handed and whole long list but in front of men, she was like a sweet and demure lady. Being the closest in age to her, Wilhelmina at twenty-four, shared a lot with Daphne and both enjoyed doing the same things like riding, hunting and thrill seeking. On occasion they would sit down and enjoy reading the same book together or like one of those rare days, Daphne would not mind hanging about Wilhelmina as she sew, the only thing Daphne did not like to take part in often. Other than that, they would get into messes and then learn to clean it up, either literally or figuratively.

Wilhelmina sighed as she watched Daphne and her fiancée have their fun. She would go and look for Evelien, someone to talk to at least, but her eldest sister would probably be too busy entertaining the guests with Alexander to be of much company for long. And thus, she was stuck to the side of the wall, forever, alone. Daphne was leaving, that was a painful reality, just the same as when their sweet and motherly Evelien left them. She wondered when Anneliese would leave, that being if she ever left. Wilhelmina felt like leaving too and get away from everything just like her beloved sisters, and live her own life the way she wanted to. The idea of marriage seemed rather bleak to her at the moment since all men did was avoid her since Anneliese was still here and still single. She was the final option as and when Anneliese finally got herself tied to a man. She wondered how long that would be. She did hear rumours that her sister may actually be seeing someone, but rumours were rumours and so long as Anneliese does not have a wedding band on her finger, she was doomed to wait and surely by that time, all the good men would have been taken. It's not like she didn't try to catch a man, as Daphne so casually put it, but they just didn't want to let her catch them and she was not about to play their little dallying games and wind up naked in someone's bed. At the rate she and Anneliese were going, they were going to be permanent spinsters, for real, something Alexander would not be too pleased about.

The ballroom was getting to be a boring place to be and Wilhelmina had a mind to ride back out, despite the fact that it was pitch black outside. It was rather thrilling now that she thought of it. Maybe she should sneak out later to make up for this boring event. On second thought, why not sneak out now? She shot a glance at Alexander and saw him looking at her, a clear sign that he was watching and would be sure to catch her should she decide to make a run for it. Her brother knew her too well, her reasons for wanting out, but ever since the last escape attempt that almost got her neck broken due to falling off her horse he'd taken precautions and set Reinier and Frederik on her as well. Wilhelmina gloomily walked alongside the wall, in hopes of entertaining herself with some more interesting thoughts of the book she read today or how boring it had seemed without Daphne's usual loud and boisterous chatter. Not paying attention on where she was walking, considering that there was less people near the wall, Wilhelmina took for granted that there was no one else walking by it other than herself and bumped into someone.

"Pardon me," She quickly said in apology, looking up into a pair of dark blue eyes belonging to a tall man, a very tall man.

"Ah, not an issue, please be careful in future," He replied with a small smile. He had a thin upper lip but a very thick lower lip. It looked much like a fruit someone would eat.

Catching herself halfway, she snapped her gaze to his chest, which was rather broad. She shook herself lightly, reminding herself that she had remained silent for too long. "Yes, of course," She replied rather dizzily.

She had never seen anyone like the person that stood before her, what more with silver hair. His eyes were a dark shade of blue, odd that it should be that sort of colour but it seemed rather attractive against his fair skin and pale coloured hair.

"Would you care to dance milady, that is if you are not already taken," She snapped her eyes up to meet his questioning gaze. No one had ever asked her to dance, rarely, but he was. Well, it was not like she had anything better to do anyways, plus, he was rather dashing and she would only ever admit that to herself.

"Yes, indeed I would like to," She realized she had no idea who he was and she had never seen him before. Was he the son of a Duke, Earl, Marquis, Viscount or Baron? He could be related to one of those ranks as well, but did that really matter? Surely a man with such good looks must have a good background, one that Alexander would easily allow her to marry. "Indeed I know not your name."

He smiled softly and took her hand in his, lightly pressing his lips to the back of her hand in polite gesture. She felt the warmth of his lips as it touched her skin and felt her cheeks burn. "My name is Christophe Toussaint. So, what is your name?" He threw the same question back at her as he slowly raised his head from her hand which he firmly placed upon his arm as he guided her onto the dance floor.

"Wilhelmina Godfried and yes, I am indeed related to the lady who hosts this party, my sister Daphne," She replied, following his lead as he placed his hand on her waist and began to guide her in a slow waltz.

"I see, I am afraid I am not too familiar with most of the guests here," He knew no one? Was he a newcomer to the town? "I have just arrived today and yet I find myself thrown amongst people which I find rather stifling. It reminds me of the fields of war where men rub shoulder to shoulder fighting alongside the other as we lay waste to the enemy."

"Are you indeed a soldier?" She asked, deeply curious about him as he spoke.

"Yes, I was, past tense, but I would still consider myself a soldier of sorts. I fought for the French army for the things that were not exactly worth fighting for."

"Then what indeed would you deem worth the fight?"

His blank gaze suddenly grew soft and thoughtful as he twirled her in his arms and pulled her close as the dance continued on. "I believe it would be worth fighting for the people you love. If there are people that you treasure, surely they are worth fighting for," He smiled at her then, a soft gentle smiled that she doubted he showed to others.

Christophe had stunned himself silly. He had never spoken of such things before, not even to Mathilde but he had spoken of it to her, to Wilhelmina. He snapped his gaze away from her face, not fully understanding what was going on with him. He had asked her to dance to find out more about her and here now she was finding out more about him instead. He found himself gazing at her again, noticing the things he had not noticed earlier in the forest. Those eyes seemed a tad bit too red, almost the same colour as Mathilde's fiery red eyes which, as Celio put, makes her look like a demon when in the dark. Her skin was fair and her hair was a pale shade of pink, an odd colour for sure.

"So, what do you think ought to be worth the fight, Miss Godfried?" He asked, trying to avert the conversation from being about him for he believed he had revealed far more than he had intended.

He caught her stunned expression, clearly not expecting the question at all. He watched her take on a thoughtful look, her lips slightly pressed together as though heavy in thought. "Do not, indeed, think it odd of me, but I believe it would be worth the fight for the benefit of others," His blank gaze at her answer troubled her greatly. Had she said something not suitable? Was he disappointed?

"Certainly an odd answer, from a lady such as yourself no less. For the benefit of others you say, at what cost? Say, should the purpose be not of a noble cause, would you fight for that benefit? It is an ill fitting ideal to fight for, what most would say, the good benefit of others for without a doubt, it is but the most impossible task to suit everyone. The question now is, what is your purpose milady?" She felt her heart race, unsure of what to say. His gaze had become cold and calculative and she felt pressured. Was her answer too naive? Was her thinking itself too naive?

Christophe stopped himself a moment, halted his entire prejudicial thought process. He had been too harsh to suddenly ask her to answer such questions, to say such things even for she has not suffered as he has and she does not deserve to have such burdens upon her.

"Forgive me milady, I did not mean to force my opinions upon you," He did not expect her to cut him midway, but he let her.

"My purpose is an unknown cause to me milord. I wish to seek it out away from here for I believe it is not here. I want to go away and though I will miss my family and my home, I want nothing more than to leave here. I feel, indeed, as though I am a caged bird, trapped with never ending daily life with the same constant. Would it be the oddest of things to wish, indeed, that I could have some inconsistencies with my life?" She felt herself trying to catch her breath after blurting out everything. She had been dying to say it to Evelyn, to Alexander, to any one of her siblings all that she had just said to Christophe.

Christophe felt her red eyes gaze at him, longingly as if urging him to take her away but he had no right to do so. He would have to disappoint her. However, he had never expected her to say such a thing, someone so prim like herself to say such things.

"No, I suppose not. I doubt life is constant in the first place," Just then, the dance ended. Christophe released her hand and allowed them space to bow to each other.

"Christophe, there you are! Gosh, I was looking all over the place for you!" He felt Mathilde grab his arm and pull him. He straightened himself and saw the semi shocked expression on Wilhelmina's face.

"Allow me to introduce you to my charge, Mathilde Saint Omer," Two pairs of red eyes met each other for the first time, Mathilde beaming widely and Wilhelmina wearing a blank expression as if glass had just shattered before her.

"Indeed it is a pleasure to meet you Miss Omer," She politely replied. Christophe had someone, no wonder he spoke as he did and with such conviction no less.

"A pleasure to meet you as well miss," Mathilde came up short, not knowing the name of the person standing before her.

"Wilhelmina Godfried," Christophe finished for his companion.

"Yes, nice to meet you," Mathilde beamed so wide and it seemed so completely harmless that it was hard not to smile back despite the fact that she felt shattered, just like glass, and here she thought she had found someone to take her away.

"I am afraid I must take my leave. Perhaps we shall meet again?" Christophe asked politely, smiling wanly.

"Indeed, perhaps we shall." She replied out of politeness more than anything. She offered one more curtsy and departed from their presence. She felt the world caving around her again as she moved back against the wall. "Why indeed was the dance so short?" She muttered to herself, silently creeping out of the room and into the hallway, sparing Christophe and Mathilde one last glance and then turned away, closing the door behind her.