When the three return to the castle, an assembly is waiting at the gates. Both king and queen of Kilarn and Avalon are present, looking worried – with slight hostility creasing the king of Avalon's brow. Dominic and a handful of guards from both kingdoms are saddling up, in preparation to set off. Emerson sings out with relief when he's the first to see the royals returning. Both queens rush to their child's aid, frantically examining them. "Are you alright?"

"Oh my heavens, your dress! What happened?"

"You look like you've been tossed around by a gale."

"Majesties, please." Borivor interrupts them lightly. "They've had a terrible ordeal." Everyone crowds around. "And I think it would be wise to address tonight's events in private. Perhaps in the hall." He addresses his king in a low tone, as he cups his daughter's face.

"Alright. Everyone assemble in the library." The king swoops the princess under his arm and everyone begins walking briskly across the castle grounds.
Borivor and Andreia nervously exchange glances, and hold their breaths whilst waiting to see what Nathaniel says. They all proceed into the circular chamber. A seat is pulled out for the princess and she's ushered into it, everyone begins crowding around the frazzled princess, and the bombarding of questions begins.

"Give her room." Borivor stands behind her chair, looming over in a protective way – pushing everyone away.

"Alright, what happened?" Her father booms, everyone quietening and taking a seat at his tone.

"We were attacked." Nathaniel speaks up, taking the seat next to Andreia.

"What?" The queen of Avalon squawks. "By who?" She demands.

"Not who." Nathaniel responds. Andreia keeps quiet, worrying about what Nathaniel will reveal. "It was a creature." He looks up at Borivor, who jumps in.

"It's nothing I've ever seen or heard of before. It's definitely foreign in this land, and there was no indication of where it came from."

"And the fate of the beast?" The king of Avalon questions.

"Dead. It feel in the chasm." The captain is quick to respond.

"Explain from the beginning." Andreia's father hisses gravely, sharing his glare between Borivor and Andreia.

"Nathaniel was late arriving back from his expedition, and I became worried and couldn't wait another hour for Borivor to set out in search." Andreia begins. "I know the forests better than anyone, and he had confided in me the day before – revealing his intended location."

"You should have waited for Borivor's party." Her father remarks with a disapproving glare.

"You're Majesty, if I may?" Nathaniel cuts in before the king can further his rage for his daughter's actions. "If she had waited, I fear that I wouldn't have made it." The princess holds her breath whilst waiting for him to explain the reason why. "Her extensive knowledge of the forest proved to be essential when the beast came upon us." He looks at Andreia and she lets out a breath of relief.

"And you all departed on horseback, did you not?" Nathaniel's mother chimes in.

"Yes." Nathaniel turns to his mother. "The beast spooked them and they tossed us off. They ran off and I'm unsure of their fate. When Borivor found us, his steed too, threw him and ran off."

"That's why my dress is like …" Andreia speaks quietly to her mother next to her, looking down she hadn't realised how bad the damage was. But now in the clearer light she's able to see she's covered in dirt and her skirt is scattered with little tares. She can only imagine what her hair looks like.

"And how did the beast come to its end?" Dominic speaks up, looking at his brother. Andreia speaks up before Nathaniel can think of a response.

"After our horses ran away, Nathaniel was quick to get us moving. He helped me up and didn't leave me for a second. The beast was quick to catch up to us when we arrived back at the gorge. Nathaniel pushed me out of the way and used himself as bait. The beast followed him to the edge and when it leaped, Nathaniel dove to the ground as it went over the top of him – into the gorge." She retells the story with such conviction that the young prince almost believes it. "Borivor rushed to our aid soon after on foot. He'd been following the wailing of the beast and got to close. His horse threw him and he chased after us on foot." She adds quickly.

"Really?" Dominic looks at his brother with a raised eyebrow. Andreia frowns at him and reaches for Nathaniel's arm.

"Really. I'd be dead if it wasn't for your brother's quick thinking and bravery." She gives his hand a squeeze and he turns his gaze on her, his jade eyes glistening slightly.

"Well then, I think an order of thanks are needed." The king speaks. "You saved my daughter's life," he caress the side of the princess cheek, "for that I'm forever in you debt." Nathaniel bows his head to the king in acknowledgement. "Right then, these two have had quite the ordeal. I say get them cleaned up and get some rest. We'll discuss what to do next." His Majesty addresses the rest of the room and everyone agrees. One of the queen's maids enters the room upon summoning and gestures for the prince and princess to follow her. Andreia's parents give her a kiss and a hug before dismissing her to get cleaned up. Nathaniel's parents do the same, giving him a pat on the back as he gets up and follows the princess out of the room. The doors close behind them and the rest of the room stays to discuss how to approach the situation.
The two royals follow the maid silently through the halls until they come to a large landing that splinters off in two directions. "Leave us." Andreia says and the maid goes to protest. "We can find our own way, and I have my own maids that can tend to me, thank you." The women reluctantly bows and takes her leave to the right staircase. "Thank you." The princess turns to Nathaniel when the maid can longer be seen and her footfalls can no longer be heard.

"For?"

"Keeping my secret." He nods in understanding.

"I too owe you thanks. You didn't have to lie on my behalf." He says.

"Despite what other people may say, and what you think, I think you're very brave." She comments. "You could have ran off and left me, but you stayed. You made sure I was alright and you made sure I didn't fall behind." Nathaniel shrugs in agreement, for those actions were true, but he still didn't think he deserved so much gratitude from the king. "And I'm sure if I hadn't intervened, then you would have thought of something to save us."

"I think you're giving me too much credit, princess." He smirks.

"No, I'm positive you would have. And besides, it takes guts to trust someone in those moments – and you trusted me without falter."

"Ah, actually I had extreme doubts."

"Well, you trusted me nevertheless. Thank you for that." She curtsies for him with her tattered dress, which she wishes to be rid of.

"Thank you for making uneventful day … eventful." He bows to her with a smile. "And I am sorry for my behaviour. The way I spoke to you was appalling and I never intend to address in such a manner again." He takes her hand, his lips grazing gently over her knuckles.

"Apology accepted." She blushes and adverts her eyes. The prince reaches his hand out and smooths a loose strand of ebony away from her face. Her eyes fly to his, questioning his actions shyly. He pulls his hand back, with a broken twig in his fingers. Andreia's hand flies to her hair where she can feel dozens of tiny pieces of foliage tangled in her hair – and that's only one side! Her cheeks flush bright red in embarrassment. "I must look atrocious." She mutters to herself.

"Not at all." He chuckles lightly. "You could have a bird's nest atop your head and you'd still look stunning." Andreia looks up at him and her cheeks burn a brighter red. Nathaniel offers her his arm and she takes it gingerly, and they procced up the left staircase.
There are maids bustling all through the corridor, two of which serve under the princess' command. When they spot her they gasp at the sight of her, rushing to her side – dipping in a curtsy.

"Your highness ... es." The two women alternate their confused looks between the royals. "Are you alright?" The older, larger women asks.

"Yes, yes. Accompany us to my chambers." They continue on with the two maids in tow. They open the two large doors for the royals to enter and shut them once the four of them are in. "Mavis, go to the kitchen and fetch something for the prince to eat, he's had a long day." Andreia unlinks her arm and wanders around her room. "Delaney, run me a bath please." The two bow and scurry off to complete their tasks. Though, Mavis – the older one looks to be unhappy with her task, as her superiority amongst the other maids doesn't seem extend to the princess' knowledge; as she's being sent away instead directly helping the princess. Delaney on the other hand, happily skips her way further into the chamber, going past the staircase on the east wall – disappearing into another sub-chamber. "This way." She beckons for Nathaniel to follow her up the spiralling staircase, which leads to an overlooking chamber of the one below. The room above is a spacious area, with a circular wall lined with bookshelves. In the centre is a large round table with two seats tucked underneath it. "Make yourself comfortable." She gestures to the chairs. "I'm going to make myself more presentable. Mavis will return shortly with food, but I'm sure you'll find something to amuse yourself while you wait." He scans the full shelves with glee.

"I think I can manage that." He smiles.

"If you need anything else, Jenna should be just outside the door, sing out to her if you require anything."

"Thank you." He nods his head has she glides back down the stairs, disappearing in to her lavatory. The large bath tub sits in the centre of the room, with a square drain underneath it. It's already half full and steam swirls up from the slightly disturbed water. Delaney has another cauldron full of water boiling away over the small fireplace built into the wall.

"Is it warm enough, mistress?" She queries, rolling up her sleeves. Andreia dips her hand into the water.

"Yes it's fine, Del. Will you help me undress?" Delaney leaves the water to warm and begins undoing the tightly bound corset. She opens the five piece changing screen when the princess' dress falls loose. She positions it so it provides a barrier between the bath and the entrance, and assists the princess in removing the ruined gown – draping it over the screen. Andreia steps gingerly into the bath, the warm water stinging her flesh – engulfing her with goose-bumps. Only unclothed, does she realise that she has little scraps covering her legs.

"My god, ma'am. What on earth happened to you?"

"There was a creature in the woods, a foul beast that I've never heard of before. It attacked us."

"Good god. Are you alright? Are the king and queen aware?"

"Yes and yes." She lowers herself fully into the water, wincing slightly has she adjusts. "We're fine. It's dead now. It fell into the gorge."

"Thank the lord, it must have been frightening."

"Indeed." She sighs and hangs her head against the curved edge that follows the curve of her neck. Delaney prepares a bowl of antiseptic liquid and a few clean cloths, to clean the princess' wounds when she gets out. She also fetches a brush, jug, stool and cloth for the princess to bathe with. She places the stool just behind the princess' head, gently tugging her long locks free of the tub so they hang down in front of her.

"Would it be terribly inappropriate if I commented on the young prince upstairs?" She begins the precarious task of removing the foliage from the princess' mattered mane.

"Yes it would." Andreia murmurs. "But do so anyway." She giggles lightly. Delaney isn't that much younger than Andreia, and has been serving under her since they were both children. They took a quick liking to each other, as Andreia knew no other children her age, and Delaney – being a servant – never got to spend time with the other children in the village. Though, Andreia hasn't exposed her secret of Phoenix to her, she trusts her with all her other secrets. Her other maids are older, like Mavis, and often have transferred into her care after serving other members of the castle; her mother especially. The gossip of maids and the loyalty most women have for their former employers, brings word of Andreia's adventures to her parent's ears. But Delaney is all hers. She wasn't someone else's before she came to her, maybe that secretly strengthens their bond. Delaney is also a lot like Andreia, with her free spirit and contagious bubbliness, but Delaney definitely has a lot more consciousness of her place when addressing her superiors … well, unless she's alone with Andreia – then she can usually speak freely – as if she were talking to another maid.

"He's one to catch the eye, don't you think?"

"Hmm, yes." The princess smirks in agreement.

"Is he one of your suiters?"

"Unfortunately not." Had she just said unfortunately? What was that supposed to mean? Did she want Nathaniel to be an option?

"Pity. Have made any decisions on the matter yet?"

"Ah, his brother is an option. And so far he's proved to be the most intriguing candidate."

"Ooh, excellent. Well, if he's anything like his brother, I'm sure you've made a fine decisions." She begins running the brush through slowly.

"Yes…" Andreia mumbles, briefly pondering on the thought of Nathaniel being a suiter. But she quickly discards the thought, in fear of accidently stumbling down a path of no return. If she were to fall for Nathaniel and then have to marry Dominic … why was she to live with herself? Mavis returns then, bustling in with a fresh towel.

"Your guest is eating, ma'am."

"Good, thank you Mavis. Ask him if he requires anything else, if not – you may retire for the night."

"But mistress –" She huffs in protest.

"But, nothing. I have no need for you other than to serve Prince Nathaniel."

"Of course, majesty." She bows with a sour look on her face and leaves the lavatory. Delaney gets up and removes the cauldron, setting down and mix it with cool water.

"Do you think she saw my legs?" The princess cocks her head to the side to look at her maid.

"I don't think so. I think she would have said something if she had."

"Good, I don't want my mother finding out." Andreia dampens the cloth on the side of the bath and begins languorous movements with it. "She won't let me leave the castle grounds because of the attack. If she finds I'm injured, she'll hover over me for days."

"Your secret is safe with me." Delaney gently fills up the bath with the extra water, refills it and hangs it back over the dying fire.

"Thank you, Del." She takes her place back on the stool and begins washing the princess' raven locks.
Delaney fills in any gossip of interest to the princess as they continue their bathing ritual. When she's about done, Delaney disappears to fetch the princess a nightgown. She helps the princess out and she pats herself dry. She forces her mistress to sit down before she gets dressed, so that her wounds can be treated. Andreia hadn't noticed the cuts, but with antiseptic being applied she winces at the sting of each dab of the cloth.

"Sorry." Delaney says for the umpteenth time when Andreia gasps and scrunches up her face. Once she's done, the princess gets dressed with little effort and help from her maid. Andreia makes her way back into the main chamber whilst Delaney stays behind to clean up.

"Find anything interesting?" She asks when she climbs the stairs, finding Nathaniel hunched over a book, his tray of food now empty and pushed to the side.

"Yes." He looks up with a pleased smile, but quickly adverts his eyes from staring at the princess for too long in her night clothes. "You're probably exhausted. I'll let you get some rest." He stands.

"Did you enjoy your meal?"

"I did. I hadn't realised I was hungry until it was in front of me."

"Good." She smiles and adverts her gaze. "Well, I'll let you get cleaned up and rest." As far as damage goes, Andreia had bared the brunt when she was thrown from her horse. Nathaniel barely even showed signs of the incident, apart from his tousled hair which sticks up like a porcupine. "Do you wish to borrow the book?" She asks, looking at the open text in front of him.

"If you wouldn't mind." He grins.

"Not at all."

"Thank you, princess."

"Andreia, please." She insists.

"Alright." The prince nods, closing the space between them.

"Good night, Andreia." He whispers in her ear, before pressing his lips lightly against her cheek. He glides down the stairs, book in hand, without another word – leaving the princess staring blankly at the wall, her finger tips grazing lightly over the area where his lips had been.


Author's Note: I'm very, very, very sorry for taking so long. Life sort of got in the way. I promise to be quicker with the next one, and I'm sorry that this one is short.