A/N : surprise P.O.V. Thank you to all those who reviewed :) so just a warning, this chapter is kind of rushed. I didn't wanna write five more chapters stating every single little thing, but the end result, hopefully, won't be too bad.

~ Joshua ~

The people of Valaire are particularly happy about our arrival. Well, most of them. The duchess and her daughter keep giving Riley and me those weird stares.

Let's see if I can get this straight.

The Valaire family tree. King Arden and Queen Annabella have a daughter and an adopted son. King Arden also has a sister, the Duchess, who has a son and a daughter with the Duke of Kingsley.

And out of all the population of Valaire, I have the Duchess breathing down my neck.

Gee, I hope Riley grows on her, since they're going to be family soon. But then again, it was just a rumor.

At dinner, Farkle turns to me and asks, "So you're the heir?"

He's a nice guy and unlike his sister, I don't mind hanging out with him. The King and Queen, Lucas's parents, have just returned and we're all in the dinner hall.

"Rightfully." I reply, dabbing the corners of my mouth with a napkin. Valaire was big on manners.

"Well, is it true that the King's daughter is engaged to Lucas?"

I look at him and blink. The kid is merely curious. "Not yet." The announcement is under wraps. Even Riley doesn't know yet, and frankly, I don't know how she's going to take the news.

I turn to look at her. She's sitting in front of me, making small talk with Lucas's sister, Caroline.

Boy oh boy does she look uncomfortable. I've never seen her in such a fancy dress, and her hair, for once, is not falling over face.

However, I'm the only person in the room that notices how nervous she is. She's actually putting up a very brave front, and I couldn't be prouder of her for that.

Farkle clears his throat from besides me. I tun to look at him. "Wouldn't it make more sense for you to marry Caroline instead?" He asks.

I frown. No.

The situation is so ridiculous I almost laugh. Marry somebody else? Never.

My stream of conscious thinking eventually leads me to Maya. What's she doing right now? Is she thinking about me?

Lord, I sound like a teenage girl.

"Think about it." Farkle continues. "Isn't it more strategic to--"

"I barely know her." I state, raising my voice a little. Fortunately, everybody else is in their own little bubble, so nobody but Farkle hears me.

"Lucas barely knows Riley." He shrugs and returns to his plate.

I spare a glance at Caroline. She's really pretty - no doubt it wouldn't be difficult for her to find a husband - but I have Maya. Why would I need anybody else?

After dinner is done, I catch Riley before she heads to her room.

"I'm leaving tonight." I tell her.

Her eyes widen. "What?!" She whisper-yells, grabbing onto my sleeve.

I nod. "My mission was to bring you here safely, which I did."

She grits her teeth and leans back, crossing her arms over her chest. "You miss Maya, don't you?"

"It's not about that." I tell her. "I'm needed back at the castle."

She narrows her eyes. "Fine." She finally huffs. "What time are you leaving?"

"Before dawn."

"Okay." She says. "The least you could do is not wake me up to say goodbye. For goodness's sake, dawn?!" Now she's just rambling to herself.

She pulls me in for a hug. "Tell Maya amd my parents I miss them." She says.

"Of course. And Riley? Stay safe, okay?"

She nods, and after one final look, heads up to her room.

The journey is long, and I'm tired. After barely getting a wink of sleep, I get out of bed and get ready, heading to the harbour before the sun rose.

The captain is waiting for me, and the ship sets sail as soon as I step on board.

The journey besides being long, is rough. There's a storm and the East, and the winds and the water is restless.

"How easy it must be for them tribes to set sail across the ocean to Mistell." The captain says.

"Our scouts will spot them." I reply, but the old man winks with an eye that holds all of the ocean's secrets.

"Not always." He says.

I mentally sigh, telling myself to remind the king to increase border patrol.

We arrive in Mistell just as it's getting dark. Not that it matters. The sun hasn't been out for the last few days.

Art he harbour, I'm met with one of the King's guards. He's Nathaniel's friend and I ask him how he is now.

"Still hasn't woken up yet." Comes his reply.

"Anything interesting happened while I was away?" I ask him as we get in the carriage.

"Yes." He nods. "The Northern tribes have contacted the King, and propose a delegation."

Huh? The Northern Tribes weren't the ones to talk. They were the scream-bloody-murder people. Their ruler had killed his own father to take his throne. Who knew what those savages could do if they had the chance?

We reach the castle, and the first people to greet me are the King and Queen themselves.

"How's my daughter?" The King asks.

Gee, I'm good, thanks for the concern.

"She's shaken, but she'll be fine." I tell him. He looks at his wife then nods slowly.

"You must be tired. I'll talk to you during dinner."

Damn right. I hadn't slept for more than 36 hours. I was exhausted.

But I couldn't wait. So instead of going up to my chambers, I went looking for Maya.

She saw me in the long hallway just outside the kitchen. She gasped and then her mouth formed a smile.

She came running towards me and I pulled her into a hug, slamming her body into mine.

"I missed you." She whispered, still grinning.

"Me too." I said. Feeling her warmth, I forgot how tired I was. Suddenly nothing else mattered.

She pulls away from me a little, entwining our hands, "How's Riley?"

"She's fine." I reply, squeezing her hand.

A servant comes down the hallway, and we're forced to break apart.

"You should go rest." She frowns at me once the servant has walked out of sight. "Meet me at the stables after dinner, okay?"

"Sure." I reply, kissing her forehead.

I knock on the huge ivory doors that have a picture of a lion encarved on them.

"You said you needed to see me?" I ask after the King asks me to come in.

"Ah, yes. Please take a seat Joshua."

I do, and glance at the giant grandfather clock on the side. Fifteen minutes until I have to meet Maya at the stables.

"The Northern tribes have set up a treaty." He says.

"Yeah, I heard." Quite impossible to believe. "What are the terms?"

"Pretty high. Nearly half of the Kingdom's gold, ban restrictions of trade routes and..." he trails off.

"You know I love you, right?" He says suddenly.

"Yes, Your Majesty." I reply. Now I'm really curious as to what is going on.

"But our love for our country and our people should always come first." He sighs.

"Whats going on? What have they asked for?"

"Their ruler has a younger sister." He turns and looks at me dead in the eye. "They want you to marry her."

Suddenly, it all made sense.

Farkle was right. It would have been better for Valaire if I were to marry Caroline, but no, because the King was saving me for someone else.

The savages.

My mind is a spinning mess right now. How could he even say such a thing?

Maya... is the one name my brain can form.

"It's the only choice we've got." He continues. "Either marry her, or watch our Kingdom burn down to ashes."

There had to be another way, but in this case...

A ruler puts others' needs before his.

Marry the savage's sister to save the kingdom.

My heart sinks.