Author's Note: I'm so sorry this has taken so long! Please forgive me and don't send the angry mobs after me.

Chapter Nine: The Stairs

Peter frantically pushed through the crowd. He had to get to Aurora. He had to tell her it was all a lie. The image of her after the kiss was burned into his mind. His heart had broken when he looked at her.

Her eyes had shown so much pain. He had never seen her look so hurt before.

"Aurora?" he questioned out loud, finally arriving to his destination.

The swing was empty, gently rocking back and forth.

He looked around, hoping to see some, any sign of her. To what Peter could see, the other guests seemed to have taken no notce of what had happened. His eyes glanced around the room. He could see something blonde through the glass window into the ballroom.

Could it be….no.

The owner of the blonde locks had turned to reveal a very hairy knight. Peter shuddered at the thought that he believe the he could be his beautiful Aurora. Various other golden heads caught his eyes, but they proved to be female centaurs and one rough looking faun.

She wasn't in the ballroom. Then where could she be?

He replayed the events of the evening over in his mind, searching for some clue as to where she could be. Then, a thought hit him with the remeberance of the small door behind the swing.

Maybe she went down to the beach.

They had spent so much time down on the beach. It was their hideaway and would, at that moment, be the perfect spot for someonw who wanted to get away from the party.

The hidden door creaked open to reveal a wide staircase. No one was there. His heart sunk again. She had run far away from him and he couldn't find her.

"She must not want to see me." He said out loud, stating the obvious. Sighing, he returned to the party hoping that tomorrow he would be able to explain everything.

"Shhhh!!!!! Someone might hear you!" The old dwarf placed a stubby finger over his lips. A loud 'bump' came from the shifting shadows that he was watching.

"Careful, don't hurt her. He wants her unharmed." Said the old dwarf.

"Why does it matter, he's planning to kill her anyway?" said the shadow, in a voice higher that he old dwarf's.

"Yeah," said the other shadow, "a few bruises won't matter when she's dead."

The two shadows, who turned out to be drawfs also, began laughing at the fate of the girl in their arms.

Once again, her head rolled to the side, covering her face with blonde hair. Her body,which was cradled by the two dwarfs was limp in unconciousness. Her silver train was dragging along the ground, catching quite often on rocks and other sharp objects.

"What's keeping you." Said the other dwarf, a hint of annoyance in his voice.

"Her cape thing is stuck again." Exclaimed the dwarf with the high voice.

"We can't have it slowing us down." He quickly waddled over to her and , with one movement, ripped it from her shoulders. "Hurry now, they're waiting for us."

They hurried down the stairs, leaving the abandoned train glistening in the moonlight.

The next morning couldn't come fast enough for Peter. As soon as he was dressed (which he did so quickly that he almost forgot a sock) he went to Aurora's room. He knocked once, then again…..and again.

No answer.

"Aurora, please open the door. I want to explain about last night."

He heard no answer within.

His impatientce made him forget all court etiquette amd moral codes (especially those concerning girls bedrooms) and he opened the door.

"Aurora?"

Silence.

"Aurora, are you in here?"

The main room was empty and her bed was still made. He knocked softly at the bathroom door. Like before, no one answered. He cracked the door open and peeked in. The room was dark and empty.

Abandoning her room, he went to look for her at her favorite parts of the palace. The library, the stables, the archery range, and finally their courtyard: they were all emptied.

"The beach." he whispered to himself.

He felt moronic for not thinking about it earlier. It was a good place to be alone, to escape into your own mind After the incident, she must have run there, mean she could be there that very second. He noticed the same door she had used the night before and went to it, easily pushing it open to reveal the stone staircase. He went down a few steps and surveyed the beach. Nothing. Not even a single bird was enjoying the sun. On he went, going down a few more steps, hoping that her view was blocked by his position. He sighed deeply, looking at the still empty beach.As he turned to go back up ,something shiny caught his eye a few steps below. Curious, he descended to the spot so he could get a better look at what it might be. It look like a silver pool of water. He reached for it and found that it was not a pool of water, but fabric, silver fabric. He held it up, letting the fabric spread out full length. At the bottom, there were two tattered places were it look like it had been ripped off.

"I've seen this before."

Everything came into clear view in Peter's head. Hurrying as fast as he could, two steps at a time, he ran up the stairs and through the palace to the dining hall where everyone was eating.

"Aurora's been kidnapped!!!!

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