'I look horrible' Mel kept repeating as she turned around again and again in front of the mirror. The rather painful truth for her was that she wasn't, a feeling she was trying to subdue. Mel hated nobles and royals, something she could never really explain. Sometimes, even she would realize that maybe it was simply because she was not one. Maybe it was because she always thought nobles were unpleasant people, a thought Lydia confirmed.

'This it all then' she said, carefully tying her hair with a satin ribbon. The strapless gown fitted her perfectly. She had, unlike the usual schedule, bathed thrice and borrowed a bit of make up from Anna, a friend who worked in a nearby saloon, to avoid any suspicion that could arise seeing a commoner in the castle. In the end, Anna herself had to come an help her out, after Mel complained that the eye shadow didn't work properly. It had turned out to be a lip stick. So finally, Mel had slightly darker and deeper eyes, dull red lips, well combed, partially let down hair and was much fairer compared to everyday.

Mel breathed and went over her information again. Twice, she read a copy of the letter Gray had shown her. Finally, reluctantly, she convinced herself that she was ready. Apprehensively, she slipped her feet into the half-inch high flat heels and had her first fall before she could make it to the door of her one room flat. It didn't take much time to get over it though; she felt like being back in the rope balancing classes they had done for a few days.

The castle was to the north of Thais. Mel hadn't ever been inside it, though she had seen it once when professor Gray had taken them for an assignment in the elite parts. The walk, as a result would have been a rather short one, had it not been for her heels.

It was a building worth noticing, even if the person had decided to ignore the world. Not only was the main construction huge, but it had an innumerable number of turrets and towers. A rock spike with the emblem of Thais shooting up straight into the sky was the cherry on the cake. The entire castle was adorned with the blue Mel had become used to. Outside, a huge garden stretched, far greater than the one at the academy. It was rumored that the king had his own personal lake and went boating every few days.

'That's long!' Mel groaned as she looked up the staircase of the castle. The accent didn't take much time though, as it was a habit; Gray's office was the topmost in the academy. In the end, the view was rewarding.

The hall of the castle had been decorated lavishly. The chandelier was the first that caught her attention. It was unlike any other she had seen. Completely covered with glass, it set a diffused light around itself, causing a natural glow around everything. The walls were decorated with sparkling colorful stones, which she assumed to be gems. They had a simple engraved design of flowers. A red velvet carpet was sprawled right up to the thrones, the diamonds on which gleamed in the bright lighting. The king and queen were not seated; a small stubborn looking boy, who looked about six had occupied their places. Every now and then, he would run around and then return, fearful his seat was gone.

The hall was filled with color, though most of the men were in either black or blue-red. The women had taken all efforts to look unique; she couldn't find a single repetition. A couple of them were actually wearing gem studded gowns, something Mel had no intention of trying out. Mostly everyone looked merry, chatting away with the person next to them, not bothering to look at her, which was rather convenient.

Mel looked at everyone carefully. None of them outwardly looked suspicious. There was a man in a bright pink dress, who was laughing rather unnaturally and loudly, but he couldn't possibly be someone who was trying to hide his identity.

She already knew, had seen or read about many of the people she could see. Some who caught her eyes were the old Duke of the province of Funard, who had announced retirement earlier than expected; the mayor of Stormbend, who had only recently came to Thais and made the news; Lord Weston, a handsome young man, whom she had heard to have inherited a fortune from his step-father and lived somewhere in Thais; Lord Rupert, pleasant, who lived in the elite parts; the princes of Tar Vedron, who were the center of attention; the countess of Malington, whose name she couldn't remember; the Chancellor, the Majesties, Ulaf and-

'No!' she moaned. Lydia, with a couple of her usual cronies was standing wearing a horrible pink dresses. Not wanting to be noticed, Mel quickly sat down in a corner. It was almost ten, the time she'd been told to act at. Most of the people already seemed to have arrived, and Mel was careful not to let anyone slip out of her eye. Some time later, as expected the king cleared his throat and called out to everyone.

'Everybody!' he said in his commanding, pleasant voice. 'Join us for dinner!'

The crowd cheerfully rumbled into the next room. Mel melted away into the background as Lydia chatted past her, looking very important, the three giggling at the princes, who sometimes gave them a rare look. They'd be sorry if they fell for them, Mel imagined, though the thought of Lydia going to a far away land was worth dancing.

She kept a close watch on everyone as their courses were served. The menu was as lavish as the decor, with an unlimited supply of chicken, dishes she had never seen, various drinks, and what looked like an octopus. Nobody went out of her sight for the first two servings. In the middle of the third, a man at the corner of the table got up and went inside. Quickly, stealthily, she followed his footsteps, all the same keeping a distance, which prevented her from seeing who it was.

For about five minutes, she followed him inside. He looked young. The shoulders were straight, the hair well combed, blonde and Mel tried hard to remember who it could be. He was wearing a red cape with a blur colored suit inside and carried a sword as most of the other people. Finally, he open a door and went inside. Mel smiled slyly. It was the king's study.

The room was not something that can be described easily. It was huge, for a start and the walls were covered with bookshelves. The furniture was flawless and a bed was neatly arranged in a corner with a bluish white blanket. There was a fan on the roof, which was moving mechanically, but silently. The room had a door towards the end. The person inside rummaged through the drawers of the big wooden table for about a minute, before he seemed to have found what he wanted. He turned around before Mel could hide properly. Her jaw fell as fury mounted inside.

'Get away from the king's desk!' she said roughly. 'How long have you been a spy Edward?'

Edward dropped the letter.

'What are you doing here Mel?' he cried out.

'You need to explain yourself, not I' she said menacingly. Edward looked slightly shocked.

'Calm down, Mel, I'll explain everything' he said.

'I don't...' she began heatedly, before being cut across.

'Shut your filthy mouth, you wretch!' a voice cried out behind her. Mel turned around. It was Lydia. She was still carrying a fork in one hand and her pink gown was glowing brightly, irritating Mel.

'I hope she hasn't been pestering you, milord prince Edward?' she asked, looking at him. Something shone inside Mel's head.

'Prince?' she said, letting the angry tone go. This was beyond her.

'I think that'll be enough, Lydia' Edward said, looking at her. Lydia bowed slightly, looking displeased and went back down the hall, giving Mel a dirty look as she got at the end of the corridor. 'Do you want to hear me out now, Mel?'

Still slightly angry, Mel nodded. Edward waved towards the balcony. She followed him outside. The view was amazing, though she couldn't see much in the dark.

'I'm sorry I didn't tell this to you earlier, Mel' he said, rather warily. 'You know discussing rank isn't allowed at the academy, so I never mentioned it...'

Mel didn't say anything. It wasn't a good excuse.

'Lydia pestered me initially, till I convinced her not to let out the secret. I didn't want everyone to know. It's not too much fun, being a prince.'

'Why?' Mel asked, intrigued, trying to keep looking angry. Edward looked into the distance, leaning over the railing. A cold wave of the wind hit them, making Mel shiver slightly. She wished she had chosen a thicker gown.

'This is all then, isn't it?' he said vaguely. He spoke like a broken man, who was telling his plight. 'I'll be married off to a foreign princess whom I've never met, rule the kingdom, maybe even go down in history, but never be happy. It's been like this ever since my childhood. I was never asked what I wanted to do, where I wanted to go... for my entire life, I've been told that my only goal in life was to rule... something I never felt attracted to'

'Why wouldn't you be happy?' she asked as he stopped abruptly. 'You have everything. Money, people, an army, servants; what else do you want?'

'I want freedom!' he said, as though he had repeated it several times before. 'All I want to do is head out and explore the world... I want to be like you, Mel. Take what comes your way, and live life the way you want it to... I want to fly in the skies, I want to see people from the world... and the last thing I want is to stay here, with someone I don't love and continue this pointless existence'

He had put it rather heavily, and himself looked aware of it too. They didn't speak for a few minutes. Mel was slightly numb.

'You should have told me' she said finally.

'I couldn't have!' he said almost immediately. He was still not looking at her, choosing instead to focus on some point behind her shoulder. 'I knew you hated people of my kind... I couldn't fathom the thought of losing your friendship...'

He took her hand in both of his and looked into her eyes.

'Mel...' he said, breaking off slightly. 'You're the only real friend I have, who understands me like no one ever did before... I'm really sorry to have kept you this secret before, but please do forgive me this time... I may have lost the trust, don't let me lose a friend...'

He really did look sorry. She withdrew her hand and looked up, not replying, though her expression had softened. Edward followed her gaze. A bright streak lit up the sky. It looked like a comet, only much larger.

'Did you see that?' Edward exclaimed, slightly returning to the usual excited tone. Mel nodded. He drew out a compass and looked at it. 'That would've landed at the old ruins' he declared eagerly, but his smile sightly faded seeing Mel's face.

'Mel, will you come with me to explore tomorrow?' he asked formally, again putting up the sorry face. He looked like a puppy who had just been scolded for stealing someone's shoe. Mel couldn't help but chuckle.

'Ok, I'll come' she said, smiling finally. 'Don't be late!'

'Thanks!' he winked. Their tones had almost completely returned to normal again. 'I'll be at your house at six. Anyway, what spy were you accusing me of being?'

'Keep your nose out and it'll survive!' she said pointedly. Edward made an action of throwing it out of his mind. She laughed and let go of the railing. As she was about to reach the door, he whistled, very softly but it made her turn.

'Thought I'd let you know' he said, his back to the railing. 'Don't be angry again, but I think that you should really know, cause I've promised I'm not gonna keep any secrets anymore - wait now, did I really promise that? - anyway, you know, I didn't think of mentioning it before, in case...'

'What is it?' she said irritably, cutting through his babble. He stopped abruptly, his mouth still half open.

'You look good!' he said, grinning subtly. Mel shook her head, trying to hide her smile as she turned quickly. She didn't want to let him see her blushing.

The ball had started and even mostly dispersed by the time she was back to the hall, which was directly next to the ballroom. People had gone back to their chatter, with the exception of a few, who were still waltzing to the faint music. Some people looked missing, but she couldn't enlist them. Hoping she wasn't late, she ran off towards the royal wing to try and find anything suspicious.

The fourth door she encountered was closed. A slight push revealed it to be locked from inside. It's position was suggestive of it being the Queen's private room. Mel quickly peeked in through the keyhole.

A man was seated at the desk ruffling through papers, which looked like letters. The man had black combed hair and a black suit like many else, but Mel couldn't be sure who it was, for there was an obstruction. A young girl about her age, maybe a couple of years older, who looked like a maid, was standing behind him, her hands around his neck, looking highly impatient. Every couple of minutes, she'd make an impatient sound to which he wouldn't reply.

Finally, after about ten minutes by the time Mel's back had started paining, the man stood up and faced the door and the girl. Eagerly and passionately, she kissed him, while his eyes looked mostly uninterested. Hardly making a sound, he pinned the girl down onto the floor. She eagerly accepted every move of his, as though it was a routine she'd been waiting for.

Mel drew back from the door. She'd didn't want to witness it any longer. Lord Weston would probably spend the rest of his life in prison.