Author's Note: The following Chapter is a part of the story Unspoken but, details in this chapter can also be seen in my new story A Knight's Princess following James and Clio. I will be working on both stories so that the timeline stays the same but, you Do NOT have to read one to understand the other. Thank you

Chapter 4:

(Desmond POV)

As we quickly saddled up and rode out. James looked over at me, "What is going on with you and Amber? Do you still have feelings for her?" He asked. "James focus this is our first mission together since we left school we need to get there, fast. Where did you say it was?" James looked forward, "On the border of Corinthia and Enchancia." We continued riding for a moment before he added, "You still like her." I didn't respond and we rode to a small village where a giant bird was attacking. I quickly knew that it was a Roc.

He was breaking down the roofs of homes in the village and breaking apart caravans from a traveling tour. It was also attacking the livestock eating the cows and pigs that were in the village. I took out one of the smoke screen vials and heard James shout, "Des smoke." I threw down the vial and smoke filled the air. James screamed, "EVERYONE PLEASE FIND SHELTER!" and the people who were still in the village ran off leaving us alone with the monster. James unsheathed his sword and I grabbed more vials waiting for the next move. This was our first mission and we both knew that we had to play it smart. I didn't know much about the Roc specifically but I knew that it had very good sight. I handed James some of the smoke screens and waited. We were on two different sides of the monster and began tossing the smoke screens making it harder to see.

James then came from behind the monster and slashed its wing. I tossed James a vial of a sleeping elixir and he tossed it into the monsters beak as the monster screeched. James quickly tied him up and came back over to me. The smoke was clearing and he asked me to look at the damage. I was checking the houses and saw that the roofs were ruined but other than that they were salvageable, same for all the fields. I then walked over to the caravan and it was completely destroyed. A hand then reached out from under the debris, "James there is some trapped." I said trying to remove the heavy wood. James came over and together we got everything off a woman who was pinned underneath. "Thank you," she said after coughing. James was looking her over when he said, "Clio?" She smiled at him, "Hello Prince James or is it Sir James now?" She looked over at me, "And is that Prince Desmond?" I nodded at her and turned to go deal with the monster.

It was out cold but we needed to move quickly if we wanted to avoid anymore problems. "James," I said turning back to him and Clio, "we have to go." He turned and said something to Clio before walking towards me. He stopped and turned around, "Clio would you like to... spend time together soon?" I couldn't believe that this was James. He was usually so confident and smooth. What was it about Clio that had him so flustered? Probably the same reason I get so flustered around Amber. I thought. Amber, right I am going to have to talk to her when we get back. James and Clio finished up and he came back towards me, "So you and Clio?" He hit my arm. "You tell anybody about this I will not hesitate to tell Amber everything," I felt my blood turn cold, "Alright I won't say anything..." I looked over at the monster, "but you are dealing with this thing. I am going back to the castle." I saddled up and rode off.

I knew that Amber was waiting for me to come back and I knew I was in for a difficult conversation but, completely avoiding her wasn't going to work. At least not while I still lived in her family castle. I needed to figure out a way to coexist with her without letting myself get hurt again.

(Amber POV)

I was waiting in the front room of the castle sitting on the steps. I had finished my tasks and now was waiting for them to come home. I didn't like having to wait. My brother and sister were off going on their adventures and I was the one who had to sit and wait for them to come home. I was looking forward to finally talking to Demond though. He had been so distant ever since he arrived and I wanted to know why. I saw him ride up to the castle and unmount from his horse.

He walked inside and I stood up, "Where is James?" I asked looking around concerned. "He is just finishing up, we caught the monster now James is going to deal with it." I nodded and saw that he had ripped his jacket, "Are you alright?" I asked looking for any indication as to what was going on. "Yeah I'm fine. It must have snagged on some debris." I nodded. I then realized how close Desmond allowed me to get and smiled to myself as I wrapped my arms around him, "I'm glad that you are both safe." He didn't hug me back but he didn't push me away either and I was relived about that. After a moment I separated from him, "Why don't we go somewhere we can talk?" He nodded and followed me to one of the meeting rooms.

I walked over to the window so I could hear when James arrived and turned to face Desmond, "What did you want to talk about Princess Amber?" My shoulders tensed as he said that again. "Des, we have known each other since we were kids. You're one of my brother's best friends, you're one of my best friends please call me Amber" I said having been fed up at this repeated action. He looked over at me and shook his head, "I can't do that Princess." I felt different when he only called me princess like my heart jumped out of my chest. "Des, why are you acting like this?" He scrunched his face, "Like what?" he asked. I brought my hands to my head, "Desmond you are many things including smart so I know you know what I am talking about. Why aren't you talking to me? Why are you avoiding me? What did I do that made you stop being my friend?" He stayed unmoving, "Am-Princess Amber, we haven't spoken to one another since we left Royal Prep and let's be honest had I been assigned to a different knight in a different kingdom, you never would have thought about me again. So please stop. Stop trying to rewrite history, stop trying to be my friend, stop trying to get the dumb nerd's hopes up only to be crushed again. Just stop go court some prince or something and leave me alone."

I could feel tears in my eyes what was he talking about, "I-I-I" I started to stutter out but he turned to walk away. I was trying to process everything he just said but it didn't make sense. I had tried to write him when we went to our new schools, I had thought that we were still friends, I still thought about him everyday that we had been apart. None of the words were coming out though. "Des I-I-I..."

(Desmond POV)

I knew I was going to have to talk to Amber but, I didn't expect her to be waiting at the door. She checked on me and even gave me a hug. My mind was telling me to push her away but, I couldn't. Amber was my addiction and the more time I spent with her the further hooked I became. She guided me to a meeting room for us to talk privately.

She walked over to the window and turned to face me, "What did you want to talk about Princess Amber?" I asked. She frowned, "Des, we have known each other since we were kids. You're one of my brother's best friends, you're one of my best friends please call me Amber." I just shook my head, "I can't do that Princess." I couldn't do that because it meant letting my guard down even further.

"Des, why are you acting like this?" She asked and I knew that I had to play dumb to buy myself some time, "Like what?" She brought her hands to her head, "Desmond you are many things including smart so I know you know what I am talking about. Why aren't you talking to me? Why are you avoiding me? What did I do that made you stop being my friend?" I could feel my heart rate quicken. Why was she doing this? Why was she torturing me with these questions. She stopped talking to me and now she is saying all of this. I snapped, "Am-Princess Amber, we haven't spoken to one another since we left Royal Prep and let's be honest had I been assigned to a different knight in a different kingdom, you never would have thought about me again. So please stop. Stop trying to rewrite history, stop trying to be my friend, stop trying to get the dumb nerd's hopes up only to be crushed again. Just stop, go court some prince or something and leave me alone."

I could see Amber getting upset, "I-I-I" she began to stutter. I turned to walk away nothing she could say could repair what I had done. I knew that I had to create distance between us and this was the only way that I was able to protect myself. It killed me that I had to hurt her but, I knew that in the end we would both be happier this way. I opened the door and her voice continued to crack, "Des, I-I-I need you." I placed my hand on the door urging myself not to turn around, "No Amber, you don't." I closed the door behind me ran to my room and slammed the door shut. I slid against the back of the door and began to cry. Who would have thought that protecting my heart would hurt this much?