Disclaimer: I do not own Barbie: Princess and the Pauper.

AN: I can't believe I forgot to before, but thank you to LavernaG for reviewing! And sadly, no...after all, he did try to marry her.

Chapter 10:

"Before I forget," Julian said as he and Erika stopped outside of the room that Bertie and Madame Carp were using as a workroom, "the doctor is coming tomorrow to see if there are any changes to our conditions."

"Are you and Dominick having any effects?" Erika asked worriedly. In her and Annelise's case, it was obvious that they were starting to de-age, but Julian and Dominick showed no signs of it yet.

Julian shook his head. "Not any physical changes, as far as we can tell, but the doctor is going to go through some tests to make sure. Maybe we can find out why you and Annelise seem to be de-aging so quickly."

"That would be best." Erika nodded. "I hope we can solve this before Dominick and I head back home."

Julian nodded as well. "All of us hope so." He smiled as she moved to open the door. "I will be in the library if you need anything."

Erika smiled. "I will be sure to look for you after I'm done. That is, if I haven't lost track of time and skipped dinner."

Julian chuckled, nodding at the two guards before he turned to leave.

The knock on the door was met with a cheerful "come in!" by Bertie. A familiar brunette head poked in, and Bertie lit up.

"Erika!"

At the sound of the name, Madame Carp lifted her head, scowling at the brunette maiden before turning her attention back to the piece of cloth she was cutting out.

"What are you doing here?" Bertie asked. "Is anything wrong?"

Erika laughed at her friend's concerns and shook his head, amused by how much Bertie still resembled the loving and motherly woman she was when she was still under Madame Carp's iron fist. "I'm fine, Bertie. I was just wondering if I could help out some. Maybe add some more patterns to the dresses?" She laughed again at Bertie's bashful look.

Madame Carp sniffed in derision. "Not good enough for the princesses, is it?"

Erika frowned. "No, it's just that I would like to help, and I've always liked designing dresses." She rolled her eyes. "Even if it was under you." She muttered. Bertie stifled a giggle, while Madame Carp lifted her eyes to glare at the woman.

"Without me, you wouldn't even be here." Madame Carp scowled.

"Without you, I would have been happy with my parents." Erika said, scowling. However, she didn't deny Madame Carp's point. She looked down at Bertie. "So, is there anything I can help with?"

Bertie nodded, gesturing to a plain-looking dark navy-blue dress. "I was thinking of making this one for you, but I haven't started on a pattern yet."

"Great! I'll get started." Erika grinned at Bertie. Bertie returned the smile before getting back to work on what Erika assumed was the Queen's dress.

Madame Carp snorted in disdain, but continued her work anyway.

Anneliese smiled as she finally escaped the room. She hated dealing with politics, preferring to stay in the library all day in order to focus on her studies (particularly in science), but it was a necessary evil. Politics was vital in keeping strong connections with allied kingdoms, and even if Anneliese's kingdom wasn't particularly big or well-known, it's raw minerals helped make it a worthy ally to other kingdoms.

She sighed as she walked to the library, thinking back to her mother. Queen Genevieve looked years younger without her wrinkles and glasses, along with having her hair down in a loose plait that was beginning to resemble Anneliese's own hair-do, but there was a melancholy feeling around her. Anneliese wondered if it had to do with her conversation with Preminger.

When she was younger, she had not particularly cared about the rumours, at least, until she had found her father lying dead upon his bed when she had looked for him to play with her. Her mother had been devastated, and had locked herself in a room for a whole month, leaving Anneliese desperately alone.

It was at that time that Julian became a larger supporter of Anneliese, taking time out of his own free time to listen to her fears and insecurities, and to bribe the guards with treats of all sorts for news about what really happened. He had made her smile in those dark days, and it was there that they began to fall in love.

Anneliese missed her father dearly, and the fact that her mother seemed to pretend that he didn't exist save if some visiting foreign dignitary brought him up (and even then she spoke in cold, clipped tones until the dignitary dropped the subject) didn't help her emotional state at all.

But that was how life was, and Anneliese figured that her mother simply missed her father so much that it was better not to think about him than spend every waking hour agonising over his death and what went wrong.

And then Erika had brought him up, and Anneliese was plunged into that uncertainty again, like when she had been seven and everyone tip-toed around her, never giving her a straight answer as to why Radius was rumoured to have been part of a scandal or why her father had died by his own hand. It frustrated the princess, who was used to being able to find the answers in her book, and it was only when Julian directed her frustrations into science did Anneliese's curiosity finally ebb and slowly start to die.

Queen Genevieve knew something she was not telling her daughter.

Preminger was the only one who could tell her, who wasn't afraid of losing his job if the Queen caught wind that he had told her daughter what had happened to her father.

Julian was right, but that did not necessarily mean that Anneliese wanted to talk with the man. She'd feel safer with Julian, but Preminger was royal advisor for a reason. He was smart and sly, and fought with words instead of weapons. He had been in the political battlefield far longer than Anneliese had, and Anneliese was scared - petrified - that he would unravel her fears instead of giving her a straight answer.

But what if she got Preminger to give her said straight answer? She wondered. If she could use Preminger's dislike of the queen and loyalty to the King to get him to spill the beans on what happened?

She bit her lip and nodded to herself as the doors to the library appear in view. She would go in there, talk to Julian, and then talk to Preminger tomorrow, when her head was clear and she had a plan.

Nothing. Hours spent over the books and nothing gave them a clue. Nothing was in the water or the soil, and the words were spinning in front of Julian's eyes His back ached from hunching over countless books, and his fingers were stained with ink from his inconclusive results.

"Have you found anything, Julian?" Anneliese's sweet voice drifted over to him.

Julian shook his head, turning to see her. She looked pale and fragile, and it rattled him deeply. She was the Princess. She was supposed to be unflappable, the calm in the chaos, and seeing her like this…

Pushing himself out of the chair, Julian got up and wrapped her in a tight hug. Anneliese immediately wrapped her arms around him, burying her face in his shoulder. Julian inhaled the scent of roses that seemed to cling to the princess no matter what, and stroked her blonde hair.

Out of nowhere, Anneliese let out a watery chuckle.

"What is it?" Julian asked, amused.

"I remember when I asked you to plait my hair." Anneliese murmured.

Julian couldn't help but smile into her hair as he thought back. Anneliese had been feeling particularly rebellious that day, and had refused to let anyone but Julian touch her hair. As hs ehad no idea how to get the style that she normally wore, Anneliese had sent several hours coaching him on how to french-braid her hair, a lesson that he still remember today.

"I'll braid it again." Julian offered.

Anneliese shot him a disbelieving look tinged with humour, and willingly sat down in the chair Julian had just vacated.

Untying her hair, Julian gently carded his fingers through it and started braiding her hair. He noticed her relax, and smiled.

Dominick found Erika working away, laughing and chatting with Bertie. He smiled. The atmosphere between the two of them was contagious, and they worked well together. Even Madame Carp, who was working silently on her own in the corner, had a less annoyed look on her face than usual.

"Erika."

"Dominick!" Erika turned to beam at him.

"Your Majesty." Bertie curtsied.

"Please, just Dominick." He smiled at Bertie, who blushed, but nodded.

"Is that dinner?" Erika asked in surprise, looking at the plates of food stacked on the metal tray he was carrying. She rushed over to relieve him.

Dominick nodded. "Annelise said she wasn't feeling very well, so the Queen cancelled dinner tonight. Julian brought Annelise dinner, so don't worry." He smiled. "And I thought why not bring you some?"

Erika smiled in delight, kissing him on the cheek.

"Thank you." Bertie smiled as Dominick handed her a plate.

The three exchanged a look when the sounds of a sewing machine didn't stop from Madame Carp's corner.

Bertie took a deep breath, and then turned to where the old woman was still hunched over her work. "Carp?"

The woman looked up.

"Come have dinner with us." Bertie offered. Erika silently held up a plate. Dominick said nothing, and though he didn't protest, his look said that if Madame Carp tried anything, he would be the first to lock her up again.

Madame Carp blinked at the unexpected offer. Almost an olive branch in return for the one she had offered Bertie earlier. She looked down and then back up. Erika and Bertie waited patiently.

Finally, she turned down the lamp in her corner, left the piece hanging neatly to one side, and slowly walked over to join them.

"Are you sure about this?" Julian asked her.

Anneliese nodded.

Smiling reassuringly at her, Julian nodded at the guards to unlock the door.

The couple stepped into the dimly lit room. Preminger had his hands clasped behind his back as he stared out the window.

"What do I owe the honour to?" Preminger drawled.

Anneliese straightened herself. "I want to know more about the scandal that everyone said my father was involved in."

Preminger scoffed.

Annelise narrowed her eyes. "I'm serious."

"And I'm sure you are. Why not run over to mummy-dear and ask her to tell you?"

"You and I both know she would never willingly discuss the King with me."

"Then what makes you think I would?" Preminger snorted.

"Because you hate my mother for some reason." Anneliese said, her voice surprisingly steady. "I heard you two. You two used to be close, but after what happened with my father, you two became distant."

Preminger's shoulders tensed. "It is none of your business."

"I have every right." Annelise replied, shoulders tensing as well.

"You are a mere child. You wouldn't understand."

"He was my father!" Anneliese snapped back, losing her calm. "I have been wondering about what has happened to him, I was the one who found him lying dead on his bed, and I deserve to know that happened to him! I am tired of people refusing to tell my what happened because they still think I'm a child. I'm not a child anymore!"

Deafening silence met her rant.

Julian stared at her in surprise, but he didn't let go of her hand. Preminger turned, eyes slightly wide, but then a rueful smile appeared on his lips.

He said nothing for a long time, and Julian could tell that Anneliese was getting impatient from the fixed set of her shoulder to the furrow between her eyebrows. Deciding that this was all they were going to get from Preminger today, Julian tugged Anneliese to the door. The princess followed willingly.

However, as soon as they reached the door, Preminger finally moved. He didn't unclasp his hands, but his eyes trailed to where Annelise and Julian were in the reflection of the windows.

"You are very much your father's daughter." Preminger smirked at Annelise. The Princess narrowed her eyes.

"In everything except for blood."