Chapter Three

Wayne's patience was running out – he needed to get out. His mother's chatter of wedding plans was making him dizzy; he felt sick to his stomach. Inconspicuously, he edged from the dining room into the antechamber of his family's apartments inside the royal palace. Once there, he lightly touched the doorknob.

His mother had sharp ears – the slightest noise and he would be forced to listen to another two hours as his and Alicia's mothers rattled on about petite cakes, ball attire, and the 'darling suits' he and Sebastian would be forced into throughout the ceremony.

The door swung open soundlessly, and Wayne slipped out into the empty hallway. As he began to make his way towards the gardens, he breathed a sigh of relief. After a tad of fresh air, he'd feel like a new man.

On his way to the gardens, he couldn't help pitying Sebastian. The prince had been asked by Wayne's mother to serve as her darling son's best man during the ceremony, and as Wayne's best friend, Sebastian had had no choice but to accept.

Wayne knew it was a selfish thing to think, but at least he wouldn't be the only one having to endure his fiancée's endless chatter. He wouldn't be the only one squeezed into a tight suit. He wouldn't be the only one enduring his mother's syrupy sighs as he walked, with his bride-to-be, to the alter in order to receive the king's and the priest's blessings.

But while he felt sorry for his best friend, he felt even sorrier for himself. He was the one who'd be spending the rest of his life in a walking, brainless doll's company. Alicia meant well, he supposed, but she bored him to tears with her incessant talking and spoiled habits, not to mention annoyed him. Wayne was only marrying the girl because it was what his family most wanted – it was that which would make them happy once more and reunite them after his father's death several months before. He had been slain by bandits, and his body had never been found.

Wayne quickly shied away from that thought – back to Alicia. His mother adored Alicia, not to mention the noble girl's rich family, and his sister looked up to her as if Alicia portrayed Aphrodite herself. She was nearly beautiful enough, but certainly lacked the intelligence.

What better way was there to make his own family happy once more? Besides, it wouldn't be that bad, he reckoned – it wasn't as if Alicia would be accompanying him on his and Sebastian's trips to keep ogres out of the elfin forest and the gnome caverns. She wouldn't be there when he and the rest of friends – once they were knighted – went on greater quests.

With this thought to console him, Wayne stepped into the fragrantly blooming palace gardens, gulping down the fresh air and five minutes of freedom.
He'd worried about his wedding enough for one day – there were still seven days left to crack his head open on the matter.
For the first time in a week, he wasn't in the presence of blinded Alicia fans, which weren't able to see past her ignorance and jealousy. He was alone amidst the fresh air, the spring flowers, and his own personal opinions of his fiancée that he wasn't permitted to voice amongst the rest of the court.

Just as he turned a corner, beginning to relax, something caught his eye. He could just make out small, dark figure, clutching at something. Its skirts billowed around it, and Wayne recognized that the figure was a woman. He started running towards her – perhaps it was Alicia, who'd been foolish enough to pull her corset too tight, or something along those lines. If Alicia died in his presence, his family would never forgive him. The figure crumpled to the ground – she was still.

"In Kyrria's name, don't suffocate on me", he muttered, reaching the girl. He swept dark hair out of her face – it wasn't Alicia, Alicia was blonde! Her face was deathly pale, and Wayne snatched up his dagger, slit through the thin material of her gown, and sliced through the corset, trying not to cut through the Lady's undergarments in the process. The moment after he'd ripped the corset off, the girl heaved, coughed, and gagged, fighting in order to sit up. Putting his hand on her back in order to support her, Wayne shook his head.

"Why do you women always suffocate yourselves in order to look beautiful?" he muttered to himself, slapping the girl across the back again and again as she coughed up bile. She struggled to her knees, panting, in front of him. Her face was even paler than before, and her lips had barely any color in them. Even so, Wayne couldn't help noticing that she seemed extremely pretty, with petite features and silky, raven-colored hair that was coming loose from its bun. He touched her arm.

"Are you feeling alright now, my Lady?" She raised her eyes to his, and Wayne's own eyes widened. They were as green as Lord Frederick's had been – his good friend, whom had died only shortly before his father had.
"I'm perfectly alright...." She gasped for breath, wobbling to her feet. Leaning against a white pillar, she nodded to him. "Thank-you, good evening."

Wayne raised his eyebrows. This wasn't what he'd expected from a court maiden. Most girls would've loved to be in this one's situation, with him assisting them. Brushing a dark lock out of his aquamarine eyes, he caught up with her just as she nearly collapsed again.

"My Lady, you need a mug of drink and rest." She shook her head and drew herself up. "I'm dining with the royal family, they're surely awaiting my return." Her voice was tinged with sarcasm as she began slowly walking forward once more.
Wayne stopped, frowning into the darkness. He'd spoken with Sebastian earlier, and he'd said his family was dining with someone important tonight... Lord Frederick's daughter and her family! This had to be the Lady Gemma – no wonder she bore such similarities to the dead man that had once been Wayne's closest friend, with the exception of the prince.

No wonder she wasn't accustomed to her corset – Frederick had mentioned that she lived away from civilization. Although he'd told many other tales of her as a small girl, he'd never gone into the topic of where exactly his daughter lived. Now that Wayne thought of it, it struck him as very strange. He should have followed Frederick on one of the Lord's monthly excursions – visits to his daughter, whom he had been so fond of.

Now, Wayne ran a few steps to catch up with Frederick's daughter. "Lady Gemma!" he called after her.
She stopped and swiveled her head around, narrowing her eyes. "Look, after you saved me from suffocating", she told him, her voice sarcastic, "I thought you were actually the one person in the entire palace who didn't recognize me by sight. Turns out I was wrong about that, too."

He grinned at her tone. "Not only do you look immensely like your father, Lady, but you act the part", he retorted easily. "Now, let's get you to Mandy. She'll fix you up."
Gemma raised her eyebrows at him. "I don't need fixing up. I'm perfectly presentable, aren't I?"
Wayne stared at her, realizing she didn't know a thing about courtly behavior. Amused, he took in her shivering body, only in undergarments, hair in a mess, face still pale, and defiant eyes.

He didn't mean to laugh, but it just came. Never in his life had he stood in the royal gardens, or anywhere for that matter, with a half-bare, nearly strangled girl on his hands who was about to march up to the palace in order to dine with the king and queen. He stood there, laughing, and watched the girl's face go from pale to exasperated, which only made him laugh harder.

Gemma placed her hands on her hips. "Funny. This is the second time in a week that I'm isolated somewhere in my underclothes, not to mention with some secretive noble who thinks it's hilarious when I nearly get myself killed."
Wayne finally composed himself. "Beg... pardon", he chocked out, still laughing a bit. "But it's not every day you find a noble girl, specially Fred – I mean, Lord Frederick's daughter, who just walks off to meet the royal family in her undergarments after nearly suffocating to death."

Gemma sighed and shrugged. "I suppose that sort of thing doesn't happen at all here", she said bitterly, meeting Wayne's eyes.
He quickly looked away; they reminded him so much of Frederick it hurt. Coughing, he turned back to Gemma. "Well... occasionally, a Lady pulls her corset a tad too tight and gets plucked off for a while", he stated, "but they always lie around, waiting for some noble's son to come and give them the kiss of life. I've never just seen one standing up and walking off... with the exception of your father – in a more manly fashion."

Gemma faced him, her eyes flashing. "Is there anything about my father and I that wasn't the same?" her voice was sharp and annoyed. "I keep hearing how similar we are – were." She paused; they were nearly at the kitchen's back door. The beam of light from its interior nearly shone to their feet, and they could hear servants bustling about. Delicious fumes wafted underneath their noses. "My father and I were two completely different people," she finished coolly.
Wayne gave her an inquisitive look. He couldn't help being curious about what she spoke of. Hadn't she loved her father? She was speaking so in compassionately of him.

"I didn't desert my family as he did," he overheard Gemma muttering to herself. Wayne hadn't heard anything so ridiculous in years, with the exception of him marrying Alicia.
"I was under the impression that your father visited you every month, my Lady", he replied. There was a frosty emphasis on the 'Lady'. The only two courtiers that had ever spoken badly of Frederick had been Wayne's mother and Princess Katrina. Wayne hadn't listened to his mother; he'd told her to be silent. She had barely known him.

The princess had, and still did favor Wayne over many other men at court because he wasn't arrogant, nor was he after her for a title and money – and so she'd stayed away from the subject after the first, and last, debate on Lord Frederick.
The princess had been under some random impression that Lord Frederick was connected with sorcery, something she had been wise enough to keep to herself after Wayne had threatened to leave her to her greedy, empty-hearted suitors and severe his and her friendship. He had only questioned the princess once about how she came upon such a notion, and she'd shied away from a valid answer. As for Wayne's mother, she loved gossip and loved being connected to royalty in any way – it disgusted Wayne how she sucked up to Sebastian and his sister. She had most likely wormed Katrina's suspicions from her.

Was Gemma, being Frederick's own daughter, just like them? The Lord had cared deeply for his daughter, so that wasn't possible.
"My father and I haven't seen each other since I was eleven", Gemma responded to his thoughts. Her voice was still cool, but also confused. "He left my family four years ago. I don't know why, and he never visited..."

Wayne stared at her. "Sir Frederick?" Gemma nodded, frowning at the ground. "The same."
Wayne was stunned. She seemed as confused as he was – so was there something to Frederick that he had never known?

Gemma raised her eyes to his again, and it took all the control he possessed not to look away. "I don't know his motives for leaving and not coming back. You seem to know him well, so perhaps you could tell me."
Frederick shook his head violently, his black locks flying into his eyes. "No, no! Frederick left every month, saying he was departing in order to pay his daughter a visit. He told me stories of you whenever there was nothing else important to discuss. He seemed like... well, like he loved you very much. Why else would he have left his entire estate to you, Lady Gemma?"

Gemma shook her head in annoyance and confusion. "I don't know! I don't know why he wants me here now, after his death, even though he acted like he despised me. Although I intend to find out."
She lifted her chin into the air, clasping her hands behind her back. Her eyes flashed, and Wayne's heart gave way to a small twinge.

His adventurous grin was back. "And I, my Lady, shall assist you." Gemma smiled for the first time that evening. "You expect me to allow someone who laughed at me in my nightclothes help?"
Wayne shook his finger at her mockingly. "Of course. Where would the fun be, otherwise?"

Sorry - I know this chapter was sort of non-adventurous, but I really wanted to introduce Wayne and have him meet Gemma, because he's a super important part of the story. In the next chappie, the fun at last begins!

Thanks so much to my reviewers, you make it easier! Please keep it up!