Hey guys! Sorry I didn't update yesterday, I was exhausted ALL day long! But I'm here again!

A few things before I get to the RR's and the story: first off, you should look up what a converse is on google, it should be the second definition, it's kind of important to understand a part of this chapter. Secondly, the last part of this chapter is from a mystery character's POV, so be ready for it ;)

K here you are!

RR's

iloveerik: yeah, I really wish there are more stories about them :'( They're amazing! And so are you! Thanks for reading and reviewing!

AmeValdez: thank you! And yeah, I wish they could just be together, but the end of this chapter brings a twist… kind of… or at least a silver lining ;) I'm excited to see how you feel about it! Thanks for being awesome! XD

supergirls2008: hmm…I see you like maxon…SAME! But I honestly don't think I could pick between him and Eikko, they're just both so adorable ;) enjoy! I think you'll like the new chapter!

Maida: thank you so much! Your review totally made my day! I hope u like the new chapter! Thanks for your awesome review! It made me tear up :')

AusllyRuaraR51FANINTHEWORLD: thanks! And I couldn't pick between Eikko and Maxon either, they're both so amazing XD enjoy! Thanks for always reviewing!

Abizeau: thank u so much for reviewing all my chapters! And I love your stories! The reason I randomly stopped reviewing what a pair of shoes can do is because I had to write this chapter XD but ill start reading it again as soon as I post this chapter! ;) enjoy!

K, here it is! Enjoy the new chappie!

I laid in my bed, arms flung out beside me, eyes glued to the ceiling. There wasn't a spark of light in sight; the heavy curtains had been shut so that not even a single ray of creamy moonlight could penetrate the blackness that resembled my shattered heart so well.

My brown eyes remained unblinking as I sighed. I was so unsure of everything right now. Eikko, Henri, my responsibilities, and, for some reason, the sigh that had just passed through my lips. Why? Because I couldn't tell what emotion it was that the small exhale had held.

Sadness?

I don't know.

Misery?

I'm not sure.

Regret?

Maybe.

Anger?

Possibly.

Depression?

How was I to know?

The single feeling that I knew undoubtedly had been held within the sigh was heartbreak.

That emotion had been showing up quite frequently ever since Eikko had left me. It was associated with the thoughts of him, in fact. It was like light and the sun: you couldn't have one without the other being present in some way.

To put it simply, heartbreak and Eikko were a never ending converse.

Well, anything and Eikko were a converse, really. I saw him in everything. He was present in everything.

I looked at the bushes and flowers of the gardens and I saw him.

I looked at the chairs in the Woman's Room and I saw him.

I looked at my own reflection, so sad and broken as if the glass itself was damaged…

And I saw him.

Because I couldn't see myself without seeing him beside me, too.

Because he was a part of me.

Because he was my heart.

I sighed again and rolled onto my side, eyes staring at the black of my room, unseeing and uncaring. To me, emotions came from the heart. And I couldn't bother to care if I didn't have my heart with me.

How long had Eikko been gone?

A whole four hours.

I'm a wreck, I know.

A few tears slid from my eyes and a few shaky breaths escaped from my throat. I knew that my nights would be filled with this for at least a few days, which would eventually turn into a more realistic and believable few weeks. Because let's admit it, there was no way I would be getting to sleep when all I could think about was him.

Dreams come when I sleep. They come for everyone when they sleep. But I knew that my dream wouldn't come for me just because I closed my eyes and drifted off. He'd need more coaxing than that. And it was too late to give him the love and encouragement that he'd needed to stay with me.

So my nights and days would remain dreamless.

A never ending nightmare.

. . . ….. . . .

I curtsied to Henri, who beamed and bowed deeply to me in response. I took his arm, smiling to hide my plummeting heart and mood. I couldn't lash out at him for no reason. He literally had done nothing to me other than bow and offer me his arm. So I was polite, as I had been taught to be my entire life.

We walked down the halls of the third floor of the palace on the start of our first day as an engaged couple. I looked at the portraits of our family, paintings of younger versions of my Dad, mother, Ahren, Kaden, Osten, and I dancing through the hallways, and I thought of how one of myself and my fiancé would soon be added.

Fiancé.

I had to stifle I shudder from running throughout my entire body.

Stop it, Eadlyn! Henri's a very nice man! Besides, you said it yourself: he worships the ground you walk on!

True.

We turned down a hallway and came face to face with the door that opened up to my mother's study. She'd sent a note to my room this morning, telling me to meet her there with Henri. It wasn't hard to figure out what she wanted to talk to us about.

As I entered the room, Henri behind me, I saw Mother sitting at her desk, turquoise dress adjusted beneath her, papers spread out around her. Dad stood directly behind her, looking at them over her shoulder and fiery red hair, one hand on her back. The two of them turned at the sound of my arrival, both smiling at the exact time.

They do that a lot, acting simultaneously.

It's kind of creepy.

…Or cute, I don't know which.

The ability to act that way must come with being so deeply in love for so long.

I could've had that.

I shoved the last thought away and rolled my eyes at Mother, smiling. "I thought you weren't supposed to be doing any work."

"Oh, I know." She waved her hand, as if dismissing what I'd said as something infinitesimally important. "But this isn't work work. It's fun work!"

"Fun work? I'm pretty sure that doesn't exist."

"Oh, you'll see," Dad laughed. "I think you'll have fun with this project."

I scratched my head, pretending to have to think about what the "mysterious" project was. "Hmm…is it the wedding?"

"Of course!" Mother exclaimed.

The three of us laughed as Mother and Dad came to me, hugging me tightly. They hadn't had the time last night to do so after The Report, what with me running off and having a serious breakdown.

Not that anyone knew about that.

They turned to Henri and grinned. Dad held out a hand to him, shaking it firmly, while Mother just embraced him. "I'm so glad to finally have another son in the family," she whispered in his ear. He nodded, smiling; there was no way that Henri had understood everything she'd said, but his expression showed that he understood the context of it.

"So," I said, trying to move things along. "What first?"

Mother seemed happy to lay down the information for me. "Well, we'll be having an official meeting tomorrow to talk about the specifics of the wedding, like possible dates and the budget, which will not be small, mind you, but we can go over some of the smaller details now."

"Smaller details like what?"

"Oh, you know, what the bouquets will be made from, the color of the bridesmaids' dresses, and the overall color scheme of the wedding. You know, things like that."

I nodded, rubbing my forehead with the back of my hand. I hadn't even started planning it and I already was feeling stressed. "Okay, let's get started."

I pulled up a chair next to Mom at her desk. I looked at the papers spread out on it and saw that they all had to do with white dresses, bright flowers, and smiling brides. I grinned. My mother seemed to know what she was doing. I felt the stress of the moment ease up a bit.

Mother turned to Dad and Henri, who were both standing by the door. "Maxon, did you want to start Henri's prince consort training today?"

He nodded once. "Henri, if you will." He motioned to the door. "Let's leave our ladies to talk. We have our own things to discuss."

Henri looked at me with sadness and longing in his eyes, but he left after a moment of hesitation. Dad followed, stopping at the door for a moment to turn back to Mother.

"I'll see you later, dear," he said, grinning at his wife's eye-rolling.

After he'd left, we got down to business. By the end of our work, which had lasted for a few hours, we had the outlines for the necessities of the wedding planned out, including the flowers in the bouquet, Stephanotises, and the color of the wedding, a deep red.

"Oh." Mother snapped her fingers as we were packing up, seeming to have remembered something last minute. "What are some dates that you'd be okay with? We don't have to have it finalized this minute or anything, but we should start thinking about it."

I was stumped on this one. "I'm not sure, actually. Should it be soon or not?"

"Whatever you'd like, really."

Wow. Thanks for the help, Mom.

"Well," I started, chewing on my lip in thought. "I think I should have it soon, but not too soon, you know? Maybe in…five months?"

Was that soon?

Mom, graciously, nodded. "Yeah, I think that could work. That'd give Henri a good amount of time to work on his vows and get them smoothed over."

That was true. He'd need to get his English to sound perfect for the wedding and hopefully he'd be ready for it by then if he had five months to prepare.

"That reminds me," Mom said. "Have you started looking for another translator for Henri?"

I literally slapped my palm to my forehead and groaned. "Ugh, I completely forgot! How could I be so stupid?" I sighed. "I'm sorry, Mom. I must've thought that Eikko would be staying here forever I guess."

My breathing hitched for a moment when I realized what I'd said. I looked at Mother, but she hadn't seemed to think about the sentence in any way other than what it had seemed to state, that I thought he'd be staying to help Henri.

But the reality was that I needed Eikko way more than Henri did.

"It's fine, Eady," she said, pulling me from my thoughts. I looked to Mother as she continued to pack away the papers. She had a small smile on her face and her eyebrows were raised ever so slightly. The expression made her look content, amused, happy…

But maybe a little sad, too.

Why would she be sad?

I blinked, though, and the sadness was gone.

Huh. I must've imagined it.

Mother stood up, brushing off her dress. "It's fine," she repeated. "I'll find a new translator for Henri. You'll be busy with the wedding and everything you'll need to figure out for the constitutional monarchy, so let me handle this one, okay?"

I shook my head, taken aback. "No, Mom, I couldn't ask you to do that."

"Well, you didn't ask."

"That's not my point."

She put a hand on my cheek. "And it's not mine, either. But I'm still doing this for you." I opened my mouth to protest, but she cut me off before I could start. "And you can't change it. You may be the Queen, but I'm still your mother, and that's above anything else. So don't argue!" She patted me on the shoulder and winked at me before walking out of the door of the study, most definitely heading to see my dad, smiling the same smile as before.

I rolled my eyes and called after her. "Thank you!"

"Yeah, yeah!" was her reply. "Don't mention it!"

I sighed again. "Sure," I said, so quiet that I barely heard the single, melancholy word. "I won't."

And I knew that I wouldn't. Being as prideful as I was, I'd never let anyone know that I was glad Mom was doing this for me.

Because I knew it'd kill me to have to replace Eikko myself.

She'd lied. I knew she had.

I'd seen it clearly from the day it had started. And I'd seen whom it was directed at.

But it wasn't right.

So she'd lied.

And now she was paying for it.

It was sad to see.

I tried my best to make things better, I really did.

I was happy.

Kind.

Friendly.

Welcoming from the start.

I'd hoped that she'd end it happily.

In love.

And she had.

But not anymore, it seemed.

I knew why.

It hurt me, but I knew why.

Could my happiness fuel hers?

Rebuild it so that she forgot about him?

No.

So then should I confront her about it?

No, that'd make it much worse.

What, then?

Sit back and watch as she trudged by, day after day?

No, I could never.

I loved her too much to do nothing.

But my only other option…

It was insane.

And not fool-proof, either.

It could quite easily fail.

But I suppose doing anything would be better than doing nothing at all.

And for her happiness and love, I'd risk it.

I mean, what did I have to lose?

…Okay, a lot…

No matter.

It was worth the risk.

Anything was for love.

Don't fret, Eadlyn.

Soon, things will get better.

I have a plan.

2081 words. Meh.

Sorry if the planning thing was a bit rushed, it started to seem to get boring, so I decided to end it before it got too bad XD

So next chapter will probably be from Eikko's POV. I think I'll do a back and forth kind of thing with the chapters, you know? Would you like it that way?

Don't forget to check out The Aspen's Screech if you're a warriors fan!

QOTDT1) who was the person at the end of this chapter who has a plan? (I may or may not be giving away who it is in the next 1-3 chapters, it depends on if everyone guesses who it is or not :/ if not, then you'll find out at the end of the story most likely)

QOTDT2) do you want a lot of drama/ events about the constitutional monarchy to happen? Because, and I'm gonna be honest here, I don't know much on that kind of thing and I'm going to have to do some research and serious brainstorming to make the story not sound extremely political XD but whatever you want!

Thanks for reading! I'll update again once I get 5-10 reviews!

Love you! Byeeeee!