Hey everyone... *sheepishly looks down at the floor* um yeah, so I haven't actually updated in like 4 months :S
I'M SO SORRY! I've been really struggling with loads of stuff :S um yeah :/ so that happened...

But um.. here it is :/ xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

CHAPTER ELEVEN

Weeks passed and Maxon and I didn't discuss the idea of going on a honeymoon again. It wasn't that we were avoiding the topic, that wasn't the case at all, it just didn't come up and when it did one of us was called away to do something.

I had almost entirely forgotten it, having become completely submerged in my duties around the castle, the province and the country. One day at breakfast, always a quiet affair between Maxon, myself and my mother-in-law, a pale gold envelope was handed to me by a servant who hurried from the room before I could ask who it was from. Maxon and Amberly shared a look, grinning excitedly to themselves and hiding it behind either a napkin wiping at their lips or suddenly becoming very interested in their eggs.

"What?" I asked defensively, feeling as though I was being mocked though struggling not to smile at the display of my husband's close relationship with his mother. The two of them just glanced at each other and laughed again. "You two giggle like schoolgirls," I muttered, my sorry excuse for an insult forcing the two of them to burst into peals of laughter. "You smell."

I pried open the envelope, having peeled off Maxon's deep red wax seal and shooting him a suspicious look. I took out a letter, written in beautiful calligraphy. "Max, I love you, but there is no way that you wrote this, the penmanship is brilliant." I held the folded sheet of paper between my thumb and forefinger and looked at him.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Maxon asked, the grin falling into a frown whilst Amberly struggled to conceal her tears of laughter.

"Your handwriting is awful compared to this," I stated bluntly. "In fact, I'd say that Gerad's could be considered more legible than yours."

"It's not from me, and that's just mean," he replied, sticking his tongue out childishly. A horrified looking Amberly hit his hand gently and Maxon blushed sheepishly. "It's from Princess Nicoletta." I grinned, unfolding the letter eagerly and reading it as quickly as I was physically able to.

Nicoletta wrote of how beautiful the wedding was and how much she missed me, as well as telling me of her engagement to Prince Thomas of England. They'd met of their own accord, chancing upon one another while his family came on tour to Southern Europe and he had decided to take a walk down to the market. Nicolette promised me greater detail when we saw each other in a few weeks, and then signed off. This left me baffled.

"Max, what does she mean 'see you in a few weeks?'" I asked, rereading the paragraph in order to attain clarity of its meaning.

"Darling, do you remember when we spoke about finally having a honeymoon, a little over two months ago?" I nodded, confused as ever. "I spoke to Nicoletta immediately and it took a while to arrange, but we're going to go and stay with the Italian Royal Family for a month in fifteen days." I leapt up from my chair, grinning so much it made my cheeks sore. I threw my arms around Maxon's neck, hugging him tightly and kissing his neck, whispering 'I love you, I love you, I love you,' over and over. He hugged me back, his arms snaking their way around my waist and joining at the small of my back.

"Thank you," I murmured, pressing my forehead to his. "Thank you so much."