A.N. Sorry for the long wait guys! Better late than never!

Chapter 14

Gilbert

I looked around for Elizabeta in the crowded room with two drinks in hand, pushing the thought that she ran away out of my mind. I walked towards Alfred and Francis who were talking with a group of female Fae obviously flirting.

"Have you guys seen Elizabeta?" I asked.

The two looked at each other then back at me, both going pale. Alfred's eyes started scanning the room behind me while Francis looked like he was about to be sick.

What's their problem?

Alfred put on a tight smile. "We'll help you look for her."

"Um, that's okay. I can find her on my own." I replied feeling like something was going on that I didn't know about.

Francis shook his head and rested a hand on my shoulder. "We were thinking of going to find you two, so it's no problem!" His happy tone sounded false.

We walked around the ball room, my eyes looking for wavy brown hair and silver eyes. Alfred and Francis seemed anxious though they tried to hide it with easy bantering back and forth. Was it because of the Unseelie being here?

I felt a tap on my shoulder and turned around. Elizabeta's eyes met mine and she smiled.

"Hope I didn't leave you too long!" she laughed.

I smiled back. "Not at all!" I turned and called to Francis and Alfred, "I found her!" They walked up to us with, both looking strangely relieved.

"Alfred and I were starting to think that you ran out on him!" Francis teased.

Something flashed on Elizabeta's face but was quickly replaced with a smile. "Unfortunately, I couldn't find a good enough hiding place!"

This made Alfred laugh. "Just leave it to me! I'll show you all the good ones!"

I watched Francis' and Alfred's faces. The worry was gone replaced with big smiles; smiles that seemed bigger than they should have been.

How well do you actually know them?

The thought popped in my head as I watched the two joke with Elizabeta. They had implied not to trust the Unseelie Fae but how much could we trust them? Now that I thought about it, I knew very little about any of them.

"Gilbert?"

My head jerked at the mention of my name. "What?"

Elizabeta looked at me with a quizzical look. "Are you all right? You've been spacing out for a while now."

I saw that Alfred and Francis had moved on to talk to some other Fae and we were alone.

"Sorry," I apologized. "I was just thinking..."

"About what?"

I looked at Elizabeta. Should I tell her?

"Nothing that can't wait until tomorrow." I finally replied.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Alfred and Francis watching us.

Elizabeta

Gilbert and I left the party early and started strolling in the direction of our rooms. Out of the corner of my eye, I watched Gilbert. After I had found him with Alfred and Francis, he seemed tense. I racked my brain for something witty to say but came up with nothing. Whenever I tried to think of something, my mind would wander back to my earlier conversation with Oliver.

Did I really want to join the Unseelie? If it was the only way to protect Gilbert, then I would do it... but what if there was another option that I couldn't see yet. I could feel the minutes rapidly tick away as we approached my room.

We both paused in front of my room as we looked at each other. A little voice told me to tell Gilbert of my predicament but the words stuck in my throat.

Gilbert looked like he also wanted to say something when he smiled sheepishly. "Well...goodnight..."

Without thinking, I leaned in until our lips met. I could feel Gilbert tense for a moment then return my kiss.

I was the first to pull back, not trusting myself to stop if things got more heated.

A confused look flashed on Gilbert's face only to disappear as quickly as it had appeared.

"I'll see you tomorrow?" Gilbert asked.

I'll meet you at dawn.

Oliver's words popped in my head and I knew that I couldn't stay here and miss this chance that Gilbert would be kept safe. If something happened to him, I knew that it would destroy me.

"I hope so..." I said as I walked into my room and quietly closed the door, before I let the first tear fall.

Gilbert

That kiss... it had left me reeling and sent my head spinning. But there was something more to it. Elizabeta looked like she was fighting with herself...

Then there was the way Alfred and Francis acted when I said that I couldn't find Elizabeta. They both seemed so scared... but of what?

I walked into my room and flopped on the bed. Like Alfred had said at the beginning of the party... things did become interesting when the Unseelie Fae showed up.

My mind went back to the kiss. Through that one kiss, I could feel all the emotions that she was feeling. There was anger, sadness...and longing. Though the kiss was amazing, I thought that Elizabeta was trying to tell me something.

With that one kiss... it was like Elizabeta was saying goodbye.

Elizabeta

I waited until the sun was just peaking over the trees casting my room in a pale orange. I sat at the desk in the corner of my room staring at a blank piece of parchment. I had tried over and over to think of something to say to Gilbert, explaining where I had gone but my mind went blank each time.

A few minutes before dawn I straightened the room and packed my meager possessions, making it look like I had never even been there.

It will be easier for Gilbert to move on if I vanish all together without a word...

I looked around the room one last time before closing the door.

I stepped into the garden that Oliver had taken me the night before. Oliver sat on a stone bench a few feet away admiring the violets that bloomed around him.

"So you actually came!" Oliver said without looking up from the flowers. "I was starting to doubt that you would."

"I had a few things to take care of." I replied stonily.

Oliver looked up with a sly smile. "Did it have anything to do with Gilbert?"

"No." I replied not giving Oliver the satisfaction of breaking through my wall of indifference.

He clapped his hands and laughed. "Oh good, because I have something planned for him that will make the separation easier!"

I clenched my jaw but said nothing, which seemed to disappoint Oliver. He stood up and walked over to the door that I had just come through.

"You wait right here! I will be back after I tend to a few loose ends!"

I gulped and clung to the the promise that Oliver had made, hoping that Gilbert would be kept safe.

Only then did I wonder what was going to happen to me. I was joining the Unseelie court, but for what purpose? From what I had seen, the Unseelie were ruthless and cold. They did nothing that didn't benefit or amuse them. People existed just to amuse them for a short time until they died or destroyed. I couldn't think of anyway that I could benefit them. Why did they need me? Were they trying to stop the Order of the Grimm like the Seelie Fae? Or did they have another plan in mind?

With so many unanswered questions swirling in my mind I looked up at the fading stars and wondered what I had gotten myself into.

A.N. Please review!