Throughout the entire journey, Blaze could only think of one thing, and that was the song. Whenever she felt sad, all she had to do was play it in her head, and she felt at ease. She knew every line, every note, memorised from the vinyl she had in her room back at the castle. It was the one song that would never get old for her. As Silver walked determined to reach Volstead, which had become slightly bigger within half an hour's walk, he could faintly hear a voice next to him.

Lately, I find myself,

Out gazing at stars,

Hearing guitars,

Like someone in love...

"...You really like that song, don't you?" Silver asked as they walked.

"Yeah..." Blaze said dreamily. "...It's my favourite song in the whole world"

"...When did you first hear it?"

"...When I was a baby" she replied. "It was my lullaby. When I was a toddler, to help me go to sleep whenever I was crying or upset, all the maids would have to do was put that record on, and eventually by the end of the song, I would drift off to sleep" she said. "It doesn't do that as much these days...but it's still my favourite song"

"...It's about someone being in love, isn't it?" Silver asked. Blaze giggled a little.

"Well, that's obvious" she noted. "...Have you ever been in love before?"

Silver's eyes opened a little upon hearing the question. Why would she ask such a thing as that? Sure, maybe they hugged not too long ago, but it was purely out of comfort, wasn't it?

"...I've never been..." Silver said quietly. "...What about you?"

There was a silence. Silver felt awkward trying to pursue the line of conversation. He took a deep breath, and was about to ask something different when Blaze suddenly spoke.

"I've never been in love either..." she said quickly. Silver held his voice back, and breathed back out. He was beginning to think about why Blaze was talking about love.

"...I've had crushes and stuff before" Silver said quietly. "But...real, genuine love? Like the feeling that you'd die over someone? That's the kind of love I haven't had yet...or given to anyone except my family" Silver explained.

"Me too..." Blaze added. The two fell silent, and for the rest of the trip, neither of them said anything to each other. Blaze's thoughts were plagued with so many questions about Silver, he was such a mysterious man, she didn't know why he wanted to become a soldier, or even how old he was! The fact that she was escaping with him after barely knowing him, she felt a certain adventure of it. But she also felt completely abandoned, the fact that her father...or granduncle as it were, had no genuine love for her made her feel alone. Silver was the only person who she could turn to at this stage, the only person who seemed willing to listen to her woes, and that fact alone made her feel comfortable around this stranger. And whenever she looked at him...she just couldn't help but feel a slight tingle in her belly, a slight jolt, a jump...she wasn't sure how to react. She always felt just a little bit hotter, just a little bit restrained and scared, not for Silver, but his personality. And that kind, unique face of his was something that refused to leave her mind.

Silver was also thinking. Thinking about a certain girl who was walking beside him. Royalty. He had always been scared of royalty in the past, and always looked down on them as upper class snobs. He was jealous and envious of the money and wealth they possessed, the comfort of their castle and their somewhat easy lives. Silver never admired royalty until he met Blaze. The sweet, shy princess he met at a ball, someone he found instantly approachable. He was secretly nervous around her, and tried to hide his face at times, just so his nerves didn't show. He always believed that the eyes were windows to his soul, and therefore whenever he gazed at Blaze, he was cautious not to let anything slip by. He figured that they were the same age, and he always thought that even a conversation with her was impossible at the beginning. But she was everything he didn't expect, everything that he liked in a girl. And boy, she was pretty. He always knew princesses were made to look pretty, but she didn't have to go to any effort. She just had it. And that's what made him most nervous, and that was her beauty. Something he was just far too afraid to admire himself.

Volstead Inn. A quiet inn that made its business through its few rooms and its restaurant. It was the typical wooden inn with a bar and everything, where a woman with a veil stood, cleaning a glass, dressed in a skirt and shirt, wearing a white apron over it. The door opened, and she turned to see a pair of people walk in. One was a purplish cat, and the other was a pitch white hedgehog.

"...Welcome to the Volstead Inn. How may I help you?" the bartender said in a soft voice. Silver cleared his throat.

"We would like to have a pair of rooms" he asked. "We have a friend called Tinder, who wanted to give his greetings" he added. The bartender's eyes opened suddenly. Quickly, she pulled out a letter in her pocket and quickly opened the bent paper, reading it swiftly. She then glanced at the two whilst she read the paper, before quickly folding it and putting it back in her pocket.

"...Yes, Tinder sent me a message about your arrival last night" the bartender explained. "My name is Victoria. Please, allow me to show you to your rooms..."

She stepped from behind the bar and grabbed a pair of keys from the counter before walking towards a set of stairs in the corner of the large room, filled with tables and chairs. Both Blaze and Silver followed Victoria up to the upper floor, and into one of the rooms. She stood out side the door having unlocked it, and then cleared her throat.

"Blaze...is it?" she asked. She was completely unaware of Blaze's royal heritage, had anyone outside the castle even heard of her before? Still, she nodded to confirm her name.

"You will sleep in here. Silver, you shall be in the room next door. You two are the only guests in the inn at present..." she explained. She also explained what times food was being served in the bar and restaurant downstairs. It appeared that she did not give the two a time limit of how long they could stay for free before she begun charging, but Blaze personally hoped that they wouldn't be here for that long.

That night, the two were in Blaze's room, talking about their next step.

"...We can't stay here forever" Blaze explained. "The chances are that Gustav will come searching for me...are inevitable" she explained.

"But surely you aren't that much of an asset to him, that he needs you dead? You're out of his skin here, everything's fine!" Silver argued. Blaze shook her head.

"I know my...granduncle well" she noted, almost calling Gustav her 'father'. "I am the last heir of my family who can claim the throne...and Gustav knows that. He knows I pose a threat to him...and he'll do anything to get me killed" she said. She then shuddered once more at the thought if it.

"So...what do we do come the time he finds us? We can't hide forever..." Silver said quietly.

"We shall not hide forever..." Blaze said quietly. "I have my flames...and you have your psychic powers"

"They will not be enough" Silver quickly cut across. Blaze put her hand up.

"I know our powers alone aren't enough" she said quickly. "But there is a way...I hope"

"You mean...you don't know any way yet?" Silver asked.

"I will find a way to match Gustav's strength, in all fields. I can't let that man stay on the throne, after all the injustice he's dealt to my family. One of us has to go, either me...or him" Blaze finalised.

"So...you want Gustav dead?" Silver asked. "Then you can count me in. But...how do we defeat him? If we fight Gustav, we're also fighting the kingdom. Where will we find the strength to topple him?" he asked. Blaze turned and looked at the window. She could still see the castle from the window, tall and imposing.

"...There must be a way..." she said quietly. "...There will be a way. We just have to find it"

Meanwhile, back at the castle, things were less than cool. Gustav had completely lost his mind and was sitting on his throne, his energy exhausted from trying to find Blaze and Silver so he could kill them himself.

"I cannot believe they escaped!" he shouted. "Where could they have gone?"

It was then that Amadeus entered. He knelt on his knee for Gustav and stood up, straightening his shoulders.

"My king...I have come to share some news with you" he said in a faux posh voice.

"Spit it out!" Gustav snapped. Amadeus remained still and un-flinched.

"The search parties have reported negative again...they aren't in the castle, not even the sewers!" he exclaimed. Gustav gave an annoyed grunt. But that was when Amadeus brought his finger up. "But I have an idea..."

"An idea?" Gustav asked, still hunched over his throne in fury.

"There can be only one place the two could have escaped to if they are not in the castle...and that is outside the castle!" he explained. "And I just happened to run into something earlier on today at the castle gardens that I think you will find a little...intriguing" he added, pulling out a small little piece of paper, handing it to Gustav.

"A piece of paper? What significance will this piece of trash have to my search?" Gustav yelled.

"It isn't the paper...it's what written on it, my lord" Amadeus growled triumphantly. Gustav's eyes opened slightly in confusion, and he found himself suddenly opening the piece of crumpled paper and reading the contents. Amadeus watched as Gustav's eyes glistened with joy as he begun to recite what it said.

I got your message. When Blaze and Silver arrive, I shall offer them sanctuary at my inn, free of charge. Remember to give them a compass and directions to Volstead. I hope that they escape successfully.

"...Excellent work, Amadeus" Gustav said quietly, grinning evilly. Amadeus gave a sluggish bow.

"It was a pleasure" Amadeus replied, mimicking Gustav's smile. "What are your orders?" Gustav brought a hand to his scraggly beard and clutched it, pulling his hand down and smoothing it out a little. His eyes were closed in thought.

"Tomorrow night, you will go alone to Volstead" he commanded. "I want them assassinated. Bring their carcasses if you can, and you will gain a bonus on your next pay if either comes back alive" he explained. "Just make sure they're incapacitated"

Amadeus gave another bow. "It will be my pleasure, King Gustav"

From behind the throne room doors, Tinder stood with his ear near the crack in the door, his heart heavy. They found the note...and it was only a matter of time before Silver and Blaze were found and killed. And the worst thing was, he could do nothing about it.

Well, that sucks for them! I hoped I captured a more natural kind of romance in this chapter than the others. I would say that this story has perhaps hit the half way point, maybe gone over that. And there's a new character!

Victoria (? years old): The innkeeper at the Volstead Inn. According to Tinder, the two knew each other, 'drinking buddies' as he said. The two have been in connection to ensure Silver and Blaze had sanctuary.

I think that about wraps it up for now, I really hope this story is any good, I've been writing this more of a whim than anything else, and it is definitely the biggest undertaking of a story I have attempted to do so far! So with questions...Will Amadeus finish Blaze and Silver off? Can Tinder really do anything to revese the situation? And if nobody's staying at the Volstead Inn, then why isn't it bankrupt? Stay in tune for Chapter 12!