A/N: Wow, this took forever! I have written this chapter, little by little, for about two months. Hopefully there are still people out there who will continue to read this story. I tried to make this update a little longer while making sure it was still readable. Let me know what you think and if you would like this story to continue. As always, please remember to review at the bottom of the page. Enjoy!

It was now late in the evening and still sleep had not come to Stephanie. Thoughts of her upcoming "marriage" were still present and she couldn't seem to shake them. The more she thought things over, the more she drifted back to memories of her father. If he was still here, none of this would be happening to her. She would be free to marry whomever she pleased. Stephanie would be lying to herself if she said she wasn't angry with the late king for leaving her when he did.

What was she thinking! Tomorrow morning she would be on a boat going to who knows where. She couldn't be having such awful thoughts about the one person who was there for her in her life. Maybe seeing him one last time would put her mind to rest and give her some closure before she was shipped off.

With her mind made up, Stephanie threw off the covers of her bed and rushed over to her armoire to put on her robe. Creeping over to her chamber door, the princess pushed it open only for it to be stopped by something large and heavy. When she peered around the door to see what she had run into, she came face to face with a groggy Sir Paul.

"What are you doing here?" whispered the princess, trying to keep her voice down.

"I could ask you the same question." challenged the knight.

Stephanie tilted her head up and looked down her nose at the Paul, "Is that anyway to speak to a royal?"

Recognizing his mistake, the knight dropped to one knee and bowed his head low, "Forgive me, Your Grace, but I am to stand guard here until the boat arrives in the morning. His Majesty's orders."

The princess put a gentle hand on his shoulder, "If you wish to be forgiven, then I request your assistance with something."

Paul rose to stand, confused, as Stephanie began to explain her plan to him.

Deep down into the dark tranches of the castle, the silhouettes of two people creep along the stone walls. Paul was cautiously looking around every corner to make sure the ancient tunnel remained safe, while the princess keep her eyes focused on the giant stone slab at the end of their path.

"Why, exactly, do you need to come down here again?" questioned the annoyed knight.

Stephanie sighed, "I told you. I need to see my father again before I'm shipped off to live a completely new life."

"Women," mumbled Paul.

Reaching the end of the tunnel, Sir Paul passed his torch to the princess before gripping the edge of the slab. After using all of his brute strength to open the make-shift door, a new path stood in front of the duo. Rows of graves stood erect with stone images of monarchs standing gracefully on top of them. The place creeped Paul out! Stephanie, however, walked past them like it was nothing. She finally stopped at the very last row. She turned to an image of a stone queen with one hand over her heart and a blank stare into the darkness.

Bringing a hand up to the statues cheek, Stephanie whispered, "Mother."

"Mother?"

Stephanie turned to face the knight, "Do you even know where we are?"

Paul shook his head.

"This is the royal crypt. All the past rulers rest here, all the way back to the first kingdoms. My mother and father are both here and my brother will be placed here when he passes. Each has a statue dedicated in their likeness made and placed on top of their tomb so they can be properly remembered. Its been so long since I've last seen my mother, I almost forgot what she looked like..."

She tuned back to the grave and lit the candles on it as well as the one next to it before handing the torch back to Paul.

Next to the queen's grave, there was a statue of the late King, King Vincent.

The princess sighed as she looked up at the cold face of her fathers's statue.

"What's the matter, You're Grace." questioned Paul.

Stephanie shook her head, "I though this would be different. That I would come down here and find answers...peace...something. But instead I'm still feeling...empty. Like this changes nothing and I'm going to have to live a life chosen for me instead of my own."

The more she studied the face of the statue, the more things felt strange, like something just wasn't right. This statue wasn't staring into unknown darkness like the others. No, this statue was staring down. She followed the statues gaze down to its hand, where a paper scroll was placed.

"Hmm, how strange," muttered the princess.

She reached out and grabbed the paper that was wedged between the statues fingers. It had definitely belonged to her father because it bore the McMahon seal. Stephanie turned around to show the knight what she had found.

"That might be you're closure." stated Paul.

Maybe he was right. Maybe this is what she came down here for, the closure she needed. Breaking open the seal and reading the contents of her treasure, the princess gasped, reading it over again a second time to make sure the information she read was correct.

"M'lady.." asked a concerned Paul.

"It was to be me. All along it was to be me. I was to be named Queen Stephanie of House McMahon, first of my name, ruler of the Three Kingdoms and protector of the realm..."