Raoul sat on his bed, his head resting on his arms. The silly girl was fooling with his heart. Of course. She was drunk. That was all. However her drunken words echoed in his mind, My feelings aren't genuine because I'm drunk? I believe I'm the most honest when I AM drunk! The words of a drunk. Nothing more. or that's what he kept telling himself. He sorely wished it to be true but he knew she was on the rebound from Cleon. To add to that, she was at a vulnerable state where everything was tumbling down before her. He couldn't just take advantage of her when she was the weakest. He didn't even know himself if he loved the girl. He was as old as Lady Alanna, which said something because she now had a kid that was around ten.

He sighed heavily. Top of all this Kel business, he had to get ready for the Midsummer's ball. Things just weren't going his way.

~8~ I was so close! Cleon thought to himself as he stood before the tailor to get fitted. I was close enough to kiss her like how I used to when she was a squire. Why can't things be like how it used to be? The tailor fussed about his height as Cleon remained oblivious. I miss her. I miss everything about her. I just didn't realize how much I took advantage of until I was so close enough to hear her breath. I want everything back. I want her back. If only things were a bit different, maybe he could have deserted his marriage with Ermelian and married Kel. But things weren't different. His people sorely needed the funding to live and Ermelian was his ticket to ending the suffering.

Sighing heavily, he stepped down the stool he was standing on so that the tailor could measure his height.