Hello again! We're one chapter away from meeting Edward, and there's a lot happening here so I'll just say thanks for the reviews and get on with it.

Disclaimer:All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

Chapter 11

The carriage rocked along the road, making my stomach roll at the bumping and jostling. I felt awful sitting there, a thin sheen of sweat covering my skin as my heart suddenly began to race. I knew I was in trouble, but when the pain in my stomach gave way to a lurch, it became clear that I needed to get out of this carriage.

"Stop the coach," I croaked.

"What was that, Princess?" Garrett asked, noticing my pallor.

"Stop the coach, now," I roared and he immediately opened the door to call out the instructions to the driver.

The carriage stopped abruptly and I was pushing past Garrett before he could even offer to help me down. As soon as my feet hit the dirt I lunged for the side of the road and was immediately sick. It wasn't much, but it was enough to let me know that something was terribly wrong.

"What's wrong with her?" Seth demanded of Garrett.

"I don't know, she was fine until just a minute ago. She went pale and demanded that I stop the carriage, she was down the steps before I even knew she had moved," Garrett answered.

"The cider," Seth whispered. "She was fine during the meal but then she drank that second mug of cider right at the end."

I moaned, registering the hands that were holding my upper body upright as Seth appeared in front of me.

"Isabella, stay with us," Garrett whispered.

Seth pulled a small cork out of a vial in his hand. "Princess, I need you to drink this. It will make you sick, but that's the only way to make you feel better."

The vial touched my lips and I drank it down, feeling my stomach churn at the introduction of the medicine.

"We should get on the move; they may follow to see if they succeeded or if they'll need to finish the job," Garrett said and I was in the air. I was aware that I was being carried, but my heart was racing so fast that nothing else mattered at the moment.

Time lapsed around me and all I remembered was being sick in a bucket inside the carriage and the support Garrett offered me as he held me in his arms.

Blackness finally took me and when I did eventually wake, it was to a very different kind of rocking. Moonlight streamed through the windows, illuminating the man at my bedside.

"Garrett?" I rasped, my voice sounding foreign to my ears.

"You're awake, thank God," he breathed out.

"What happened?" I asked.

"After you emptied your stomach, you fainted. Seth and I grew worried when you started to seize, but it didn't last long and you started to come back. Your heart slowed and the color returned slightly, though you are still pale." Garrett answered my question, his eyes scanning me for any new changes since I'd woken up.

"I'm so hot," I whispered.

"There are bed warmers under the linens; it's supposed to help with the poisoning. In fact, I should get more cold compresses for your head. Your body needs to remain hot while your head is cold." He moved to the basin and dipped fresh cloths into the water, changing the new for the old ones on my face.

"How do you know all of this?" I asked.

"Seth knew about the poisoning, but I knew about the care from when my sister-"

I saw the sorrow in his eyes, reaching over to take his hand in mine. "You don't have to tell me."

"No, it's just you've always reminded me of her. She was about your age when she died a few summers ago from the yellow fever. Her name was Vanessa and we were very close in age so it was particularly hard for me to deal with. I needed you to be okay. But I should tell Seth that you're awake so that he can stop pacing a groove in the deck." Garrett stood quickly but I reached out to stop him.

"Ask him to come see me, there's something I need to say to him."

Garrett nodded on his way out, leaving me alone for only a few minutes before Seth entered. "Princess?"

"Seth, please come sit by me," I whispered. He took the seat that Garrett had vacated and I took his hand as soon as he had. "First, I have to thank you for everything you did to save my life. I don't remember much of the last few hours, but I do know that you took care of me, just as you always have. Also, your paranoia was well justified and I should have trusted you. It's your job to keep people alive, and the idea that you could have been punished or killed because I wasn't listening to you…"

"Your Highness-" he started, but I cut him off.

"Isabella. You can call me by my given name, Seth."

"Isabella, I appreciate the apology, but my job is, as you said, to protect you. That means butting heads with the people I'm ordered to keep safe, especially when you aren't aware of just how many threats have been made against you. It's time you know because I will tell my king, but this is your life and I'm not a subject of your father so I hold no allegiance to Genoa save for you and the promise I made Prince Emmett.

"But you should know more about your condition. You waking up is excellent news, but it isn't a few hours. You've been unconscious for a day and a half," Seth told me.

"What? How is that possible?" I cried.

Seth grimaced, but gave me the answers I needed. "You needed time to heal. But as you're awake we'll have the Captain's daughter come and bring you something to eat and get you cleaned up. We had to keep the heat on your body to help sweat out the toxins. From what I can tell, it was tobacco poisoning."

"How were you able to determine the poison?" I questioned him.

"The scent of it on your breath when I gave you the emetic on the roadside, and it has progressed in the same way. We see it when supplies get confused and people drink their tobacco and smoke their tea," he explained and I nodded.

"I would appreciate the chance to bathe and I'm famished," I admitted and he finally smiled.

"Coming right up, Isabella."

It was a little while before the knock came, the door opening to reveal a slight girl with bright red hair and brilliant green eyes. Freckles were faintly visible on her otherwise pristine skin. "Your Highness, I will be at your service while aboard ship. I've brought your meal and will be back with the necessities for your bath."

She ducked out into the hallway to retrieve the tray of food, setting it on the table nearby and then coming to my bedside. I took her arm and walked on weak legs to the table and sat down so that she could continue her work. I ate the hearty meal of beef and potatoes while the young girl worked. She brought in the buckets of water, adding them to the tub that she had carried in after my meal was delivered.

There was a diligence to her that reminded me a little bit of myself before Alice came into my life. By the time my meal was completed, she had added most of the water, allowing me to check the temperature, and added in the soap. I walked over and tested the water and asked for a little more cold water before finding my satchel and pulling out a book. It was a book of Genoan folklore, which was published in three volumes. Alice had owned an ornate special binding which was packed in my possessions which were now at Masen Castle, while my copy was a large edition that held all three volumes and was well worn by now. I returned to the tub and was helped out of my clothes by the girl and then I handed her the book.

"What is your name?"

"Maggie, Your Highness. My father is Captain Liam Drowe. Our ship is named Siobhan, after my mother, and it normally carries different grains between Masen and Genoa, but it has the quarters to carry passengers as it is one of the fastest of the king's merchant ships." She looked a little shy, as if she gave too much information away.

"Well, Maggie Drowe, I'm Princess Isabella, and this is a book of Genoan folklore. Would you mind reading aloud while I soak for a bit? After being asleep for so long, I'm afraid I might drift off again and I'd rather not be alone."

"Of course, Princess," Maggie said.

She opened the book and sat at the table, reading softly and with the slightest accent of her land. It was something that I had noticed when Seth and Garrett spoke, it wasn't so unlike my own, but it was comforting and I let her bring me back to my childhood for that short period of time before I dunked my head under the water and began properly washing myself.

Maggie put down the book and helped me get dressed and then left to get linens to change my bed and remove the bed warmers.

That night I went to sleep wondering what my life would be like once I reached Masen, because that day was fast approaching.

The days on the boat passed a little too fast for me, Maggie was a great help and I was truly sad to be losing her when we arrived at my new home.

Before I could process what was happening, the weeklong trip was nearly done and Garrett was in my quarters telling me about what would happen tomorrow.

"We will pull into the docks and then while the crew prepares to transfer your things to the shore, Prince Edward will walk up the ramp and ask for permission to board the ship. Once that is granted, he will approach you and ask if you're his future. You will answer with, 'I am' and then he will escort you off the boat to the dock where there will be a platform or stage of some sort. The prince will stand beside his parents and announce you to the crowd that will have been gathered. From there you will ride to the capital over the next five days in an open carriage. After the procession, you will be formally introduced at Court and you and Prince Edward will have just under two months to get to know each other before your wedding on your seventeenth birthday."

"It's all happening so fast." I gasped, feeling the pressure mount.

"Isabella, you'll be fine. I know this must be stressful, but just look at you. A week ago you were poisoned and now you're well again and ready to start the next chapter of your life. Take a deep breath, get some sleep and in the morning you will face this with Seth and I right behind you."

Smiling at his surety in the situation, I thanked him for the reassurance and then went to bed.

The next morning I was up early, Maggie already preparing me for the day. I was able to clean up without taking a full bath since it would take too long to get ready and then dressed and allowed Maggie to style my hair.

"You're quite good at that," I told her.

"Thank you, Princess." She blushed at the compliment and then helped me with my crown and jewels.

When I was completely ready and the room packed, my belongings were brought up to the top deck. Maggie did a final check of the room, approaching me with the book I'd had her read from when we sat together during the evenings.

"Don't forget this." She moved to hand me the book but I shook my head.

"You keep it," I told her. "I have another copy and you seemed to enjoy it."

"Are you sure?" she asked and I nodded again.

"Positive," I reaffirmed.

We walked up to the top deck together where the Captain was yelling out last minute instructions as we eased into the port. As the boat dropped anchor and unloaded the ramp, I looked out over the rail to see the dock beyond.

"Captain," I yelled, "are we at the right dock?"

"Yes, Your Highness, this is where I was told to bring the ship by King Carlisle himself when I was chosen for this honor," Captain Liam answered.

"Princess, what's the matter?" Seth asked as he came up from below deck.

"No one's here," I whispered.