I am posting both chapters 16 and 17 today! Chapter 17 should be up shortly and warning, chapter 17 is long and has some M themes (not the M themes that I think a lot you are wanting unfortunately, you will have to wait for that).

The days dragged on into August as Flora carried on with her responsibilities and Helia carried on with his. Flora filled her time making sure that Krystal's gown was perfect, even though she had finished the gown weeks ago. It helped to keep her mind busy at night. She also spent more time than usual with the princess, a welcome change to Krystal who always enjoyed spending time with Flora. They would talk late into the night, Flora not needing to meet Helia and like dress perfecting, talking to the princess helped ease Flora's racing mind. For the most part, Flora could find things to occupy her mind from thinking about the prince and her forbidden feelings for him but it was hardest every day from 3-4 pm.

Helia still attended tea with the princess and Flora still sat in the corner like a dutiful handmaiden, making sure that nothing happened between the prince and princess before their wedding night. She would work on mending Krystal's gowns or peeling mangos, catching the peel with a bowl in her lap. The tension in the room was palpable and the buffer that Flora once provided between the prince and the princess was now gone. In fact, Flora could sense that she was the main source of the tension.

She really wished that she didn't need to be there, wishing that someone else could take on the task for the day. Flora wished that so many things in her life were different. She had never been envious of the princess but Flora wished that she was Krystal at this moment, having tea with the prince knowing that he was hers. But she was just a handmaiden who had no right to anything in this world.

"...and did you hear?" Krystal gasped as she set down her teacup. Krystal had dominated most of the conversation. Well, all of the conversation as Helia merely gave slight nods and disgruntled vocables of acknowledgment. Helia did his best to pay attention to the princess and not let his mind or eyes wander to the woman in the corner of the room.

It had been almost two weeks since he had told Flora that he loved her and she had expressed the same feelings. That should have been enough, right? But Helia found himself in the hallway of the servants' quarters with a wooden door slammed in his face. When they passed each other in the hallways of the palace in the mornings, Flora would direct her gaze to the stone floor. At tea, Helia was forced to listen to Krystal's ramblings unless she had directed a question or comment towards Flora. Even then, Flora became a woman of few words and she kept her eyes down. The worst of it had been that they no longer spent their evenings together. While reading to her had been innocent, he still enjoyed every moment with her in the palace kitchen, reading to her and watching her work. He missed their banter and the way her eyes would light up at the climax of the story or when the conflict had finally been resolved. He missed her and he had ruined everything by revealing his feelings. Not like that was anything new; he always messed everything up.

"Princess Stella, the crown princess of Solaria, announced her engagement to a squire from Eraklyon!" Krystal exclaimed, her green eyes swimming with shock and excitement, "Can you believe it, a princess engaged to a commoner? And a servant no less."

Helia's ears perked up at the mention of the materialistic princess from Solaria marrying a servant. Helia did not know Princess Stella well but he knew that she was very self-confident, outgoing, and a little vain. He would have never thought that she would fall in love with anybody other than the most dashing prince or lord from a lavish kingdom. But here she was, announcing her engagement to a servant.

"...they apparently met when she visited Prince Sky and Princess Bloom for their first-anniversary celebration. Rumors are that she was immediately attracted to the squire and we know that Princess Stella gets everything that she wants but the squire was playing hard to get..." Krystal took a bite of a small sandwich. Helia listened on and hung on to every word she said as she regaled the chance meeting of the princess, the squire, and their...unconventional relationship.

"Marry a servant? Is that something that she can do? I thought that she was engaged to Prince Marcus of Gardenia?" Helia asked, the most that he had said all day.

"It did cause a big fuss in Solaria and Gardenia but it appeared that Prince Marcus tends to prefer the company of men so he was glad to be rid of the betrothal agreement. And in Solaria, well, King Radius stripped the titles of the members of the court who had any objections. A little harsh if you ask me but I suppose it is true that King Radius's love for his only daughter knows no end."

Helia fought the urge to look at Flora, but he didn't fight hard enough. He glanced over at her to find the handmaiden in the corner looking right back at him, her lips parted and her eyes filled with shock. When he had met her gaze she quickly averted her eyes and looked at the bowl of mango peels on her lap and then off to the side of the bowl of mangos at her feet.

"But I mean, could you ever imagine such a thing, Prince Helia?" Krystal brought Helia's attention back to her and the conversation. "A royal marrying a servant?"

Helia snuck another glance back at Flora who held her head down. He swallowed and his expression hardened as he turned back to the princess.

"No," Helia coldly replied, "I can't imagine. It's ridiculous."

"I wouldn't say ridiculous," Krystal tilted her head back and forth, "maybe a little bit unusual but I suppose they would have an excellent story to tell their children."

Helia didn't respond. What could he say?

The grandfather clock along the wall of the study chimed four, signaling the end of the tea.

"Your Highness," Flora's voice called from the corner of the room, "it is time to get ready for dinner."

Krystal stood up from the table, Helia rising to his feet in polite respect.

"I enjoyed our time together as always." Krystal smiled as she shallowly bowed her head.

Helia looked over Krystal's shoulder and met Flora's gaze. It was devoid of emotion, complete stoicism blanketing her face. She looked indifferent, like the silent and dutiful handmaiden that she was meant to be. But Helia missed the old Flora. That's why he tenderly grabbed Krystal's hand and pressed a kiss on the back of her palm.

"Until tomorrow, princess," Helia replied, watching as a deep blush rushed to Krystal's cheeks, matching the fuschia color of her gown.

He looked over again at Flora, her expression still indifferent but there was a small glimmer in her eyes that told Helia that she had been affected by that small gesture. Helia smirked as he released the princess's hand and turned to leave the room.

The door shut behind the prince and Krystal turned around, oblivious to the flicker of pain in Flora's eyes.

"Did you see that, Flora? What prince Helia did?" Krystal's mouth stretched across her face. Krystal held the hand that Helia kissed close to her chest as if it were something precious. She had been waiting for a moment like that for a long time. Finally, the cold prince had shown her some kind of affection. If only she knew why he had done so and where his true affections lied. Nevertheless, Krystal looked like a child who had been given an extra treat at the Winter Solstice Festival back in Linphea as she reveled in the kiss. She looked just like...

"Yes, Your Highness," Flora turned away from the princess to pick up the bowl of mangos and the bowl of peels, a tear falling on her cheek. She raised a hand that held a bowl and wiped her eyes with the back of her wrist.

"I saw."

Helia sat at the large table in the dining hall where he was meeting with leaders of the province as well as other members of the court. He hated dinners like this, but he supposed that they were all necessary when it came to being the prince and future king of a country. Helia did find it frustrating that he alone had to sit in these meetings, his father never bothering to show up. It made ruling less effective because Helia could not make the decision alone and would have to consult with his father, and each time, his father would yell at him that if he weren't weak and pathetic, that he would be able to make a decision. However, when Helia would make a decision, his father would lambast him with screeds that Helia was an idiot and did not make the right decision.

As members of the provincial council and the court sat around the large wooden table, eating, drinking, and chatting about who knows what, Helia's mind was not on his father but instead on Flora. The way that her face looked after he had kissed Krystal's hand and the hole that she had left in him that night two weeks ago.

Raising his glass absent-mindedly, Helia took a sip of whiskey, the drink burning his throat on the way down. He had missed the burn of the alcohol. He hadn't felt the urge to drink when he was with Flora, he had something happy in his life that was better than the warmth that he got from the whiskey. But for the past two weeks, after she had slammed her door in his face, the alcohol had never burned so good.

For the past two weeks, his mind had also been reeling with the unanswered questions of her deep loyalty for the princess that went beyond measure and why the Hell she thought that she was the monster in their...relationship. If one could even call it that. He was the one that disfigured a man, he had been the one to treat her with such disrespect, he almost hit her with a glass, and he had been the one with Azrael as a father. The way that she spoke about her own father, Helia couldn't imagine that she grew up the way he did. She did not seem angry, anything but. Even when he had deserved her hatred and anger. Sure, she yelled at him but it was only to defend the princess and he had been yelling first.

So why did she back away from him? Why did she slam the door in his face and leave him with more questions than answers?

But why was he so sure that they could be together in the first place? She was a servant and he was promised to another, even if he didn't care for the princess. If he were to break off the engagement, there would surely be some Hell to pay from King Titus. The King of Linphea was no threat to Hademort but Hademort didn't need any more enemies. But Helia would wage a thousand wars if that meant he could be with Flora. He knew that for certain.

He also knew that if he were to tell his father that he had fallen in love with the servant girl from Linphea that his father would not take that news lightly. Helia knew that his father had been looking for any excuse to strip away his title and give it to the captain, telling him that he had fallen in love with Flora would most certainly seal the deal. Was it bad if Helia thought that none of it mattered if he couldn't have Flora?

Taking another sip of his whiskey, Helia lightly shook his head. Such extreme thoughts about someone that he barely knew. She had only been in the country a few months and he was already considering throwing everything away because of her. She had secrets that she would not share with him, it would be ridiculous to give up everything for someone that doesn't even trust you, even if she had made him the happiest since who knows when. Saladin told him one night that he was in love and if there was one person in this world that he could trust on matters of the heart, it was his grandfather.

Helia didn't confirm his grandfather's accusations. He didn't want to give the old man the satisfaction of being right...again. And he didn't want to tell Saladin that he had told Flora, she said she loved him back, and still refused to be with him. What could Saladin say to that? Plus, it was embarrassing that not even the crown prince himself couldn't have the woman that he wanted. Duncan had his pick of the women at the castle, all of them throwing themselves at his feet and fighting amongst each other to see who would warm his bed that night. Helia just wanted one woman and he couldn't even have her. Once again, showing to the world how much better Duncan was compared to him.

The thought just made him reach for his glass again. Flora had told him that she had preferred him to the captain but what use was that now when she would not even look at him or speak with him? What use was her preference when she would not be with him? It didn't matter if he did not have her. Nothing mattered if he did not have her. He just felt so...empty. At least when he was in the presence of his father or the captain, there was a wave of deep anger that had consumed him, and that anger fueled his will to keep going, to show his father and the captain that he was worthy. But without Flora and her warmth and kindness, what did he have? He was just being back to the angry and hurt prince. And it was harder to go back to that when he had been filled with joy and light when he was with Flora.

Enough was enough.

Helia threw back the rest of his whiskey and slammed the crystal glass onto the wooden table. His chair scratched against the stone floor of the dining room as he rose to his feet.

"Your Highness, where are-"

"I am finished." Helia cut off the old man two places down from him, "Continue on without me if you wish."

"But Your Highness, we haven't begun to discuss-"

Helia snapped his head towards the man near the end of the table, "I said that I was finished." Helia's eyes were narrowed and his blue eyes hardened to steel, "Is there an issue?"

"Not at all, Your Highness."

"Good."

Storming out of the dining room, Helia marched down the hallway towards the servants' quarters. He passed by servants who would bow as he walked by, his face filled with determination but Helia didn't pay them any mind. He had one goal and he was deadset on seeing that goal achieved. Taking a play out of his father's playbook, Helia was going to get the answers to the questions that had plagued him for the past two weeks. She was going to talk to him, whether she liked it or not.

It was weird being in the servants' quarters when the day had not ended yet. The kitchen was still swarming with the palace staff cleaning up pots and pans that dinner had been cooked in, servants carried in linens that needed to be washed, and other servants had settled down for a quick meal before they were to be back to finish for the night. There was no guarantee that she was even down there, but Helia thought it had been as good as any other place to start.

"Your Highness," a servant called out as Helia entered the kitchen, "what brings you down here?"

"Where is she?" Helia asked, breathing in and out as he fought to catch his breath.

"Who, Your Highness?"

Of course nobody knew who he was talking about. Why would they? They had met in secret when nobody was awake. Sometimes having a secret was a pain in the butt when nobody knew who or what you were talking about.

Helia groaned and left the kitchen, not seeing her there. Looking to a clock in the hallway near the long corridor of rooms, Helia saw that the night was still relatively young and that Flora would still be with the princess. Great. He thought to himself, he would have to wait and his patience was wearing thin.

But he was the prince, he didn't have to wait for anyone.

Helia turned on his feet and made his way out of the kitchen and servants' quarters, back up to the main palace. He needed to talk to her and he needed to talk to her now. Helia continued on his march where he once again passed by servants who bowed to him and he once again ignored them as he made his way to the princess's chambers.

The polite thing would have been to knock. Who knows what the princess was doing and if she was decent but Helia frankly couldn't care less. Using the authority bestowed on him by God and country, Helia barged into the princess's room, stepping foot into the room for the first time since her arrival.

"Your Highness!"

There she was. Holding a silver box in her hands as she was taking pins out of the princess's hair.

"How dare you enter without knocking, the princess could have been-"

"Come with me," Helia commanded as he glared at Flora.

"I will do no such thing!" Flora exclaimed, "I was in the middle of-"

"You will come with me or I will drag you out of here!" Helia yelled as he took a step closer to Flora.

"What is this about?" Krystal asked as she turned around in her chair at the vanity to look at the angry prince and her equally angry handmaiden. But her question went unacknowledged.

"I will not ask you to leave again, Your Highness." Flora calmed her voice but there was a slight sharpness, "I need to get the princess ready for bed. If you need to speak to me, you will have to wait or you can tell Saladin what it is that you need and he will let me know when I am done."

"Come." Helia's voice seethed through a clenched jaw, "Now."

Krystal looked back and forth from her handmaiden in the prince, trying to figure out where the hostility and tension was coming from.

"I really don't mind-" Krystal tried to interject but was cut off when Flora yelled back at the prince.

"How many times do I have to tell you that you don't tell me what to do?"

"Don't think that because I have shown you and the princess a glimmer of kindness that you can be some disobedient and-"

Krystal's eyes shot down when she saw flickers of green circle around Flora's closed fits.

"Um, Flora.." Krystal slowly rose to her feet.

"I have told you that I will speak to you later, Your Highness!" Flora's voice began to rise, "You have barged into the princess's room without introduction and now you have the nerve to yell at me!?"

"I am the crown prince of this country and I will yell at whomever I want!" Helia was dangerously close to Flora, his chest nearly touching hers. "You will talk to me and you will answer any questions that I have and then you will-"

Flora's eyes widened, it finally hit her why Helia needed to talk to her right at the moment. He still wanted to know why she said what she said two weeks ago in the kitchen. She should have just kept her mouth shut, told him that she didn't share the same feelings. Flora thought that the prince would have just dropped the subject and soon find a way to get over her. Even if she wasn't sure that she would ever be able to get over him.

"I will do nothing! Get out!"

"Flora..." Krystal held out a hand and placed it gently on Flora's shoulder, "you need to calm down."

But Flora didn't hear her as rage began to cloud her senses. She hadn't felt this angry in the longest time. Not since the day that changed her life forever. Was it because she was angry at Helia for trying to learn about something that he shouldn't know about? Or was it because she thought that she knew him and now he was back to being the cold and demanding prince that had greeted them at the pier not so long ago? How foolish she was. But no, she wouldn't fall for it again.

Or was she angry at the prince because she was angry with herself?

Flora wriggled out from under Krystal's hand, not heeding Krystal's soft-spoken advice.

"I said," Flora shouted, "get out!"

Flora raised her hand and pointed to the door of the bedroom and from her anger, a blast of bright green shot from her finger. A large patch of ivy grew from the wall and climbed up to the ceiling. Flora panted as she did her best to calm herself, after exerting the most energy that she had in years. But when she saw the ivy on the wall, the residual glow on her hand, and the look on Helia's face, Flora was brought back to reality.

What had she done?

Helia stared ahead at Flora, in shock about what had happened. He couldn't find the words to respond to what happened. He had never seen anything like that before. Helia knew that Flora was special, but he didn't know she was that special. Who was she? What was she?

He didn't have the chance to ask before Flora looked back to Krystal and then back to him. Her eyes were wide and for the first time, he saw fear in them.

"I...I..." Flora stammered as she looked between the ivy on the wall and the shocked prince. She felt the tears begin to well in her eyes. How could she have lost control again? She said that she would never lose control again and become the monster of her past.

"Oh no..." Flora's breath became fast and shallow as she began to hyperventilate, "No, no, no, no. Flora turned to Krystal and then back to Helia, the tears beginning to flow from her eyes as she looked at the prince. "I have to leave. I'm sorry."

Flora ran past Helia, leaving him staring into space, lost in a trance of what had happened just moments ago. The door slammed behind him and while Helia had barged in to get answers, he, unfortunately, had way more questions.

"Prince Helia..." Krystal called his name and brought him back to reality.

"What the Hell was that?" Helia asked in shock as he looked at the princess but pointed to the wall of ivy behind him.

Princess Krystal closed her eyes and breathed in through her nose, "Please sit," Krystal pointed to the chair by the vanity as she went to sit on the edge of her bed.

"We need to talk."