A/N: Hi guys!! See I told you I'd update soon! Now PLEASE review!!

Special thanks goes to:

watrfairie- Thanks for the awesome review!! I really appreciate it. I'm curious, what did you think was going to happen? Did it happen?

Chapter 4

Aurora looked around the courtyard, before she swiftly picked up her skirts and dashed across to her room. She was glad to have finally escaped from dinner. Ideally, her mother and Noori would have liked her to stay and chat with the incoming nobility, but she just could not stand one more moment of it. It was so terribly boring, especially since Carina, her best friend, would not be arriving until tomorrow. So she had managed to escape just when they were announcing the arrival of the Marquis of Burnham, which had caused quite a flutter since almost no one knew where Burnham was. Quite frankly she could care less, but decided that it must be a wonderful place since their arrival caused just the right distraction to allow her to escape from Madame Tomil's droning lecture about the superiority of raw silk over watered silk. All she caught of the mysterious visitors was a glimpse of dark hair on her way out the French doors that led to the courtyard.

Aurora paused for a moment to pull off her shoes and release her hair from the pins strategically placed to keep her hair piled on top of her head. It was wonderful to be outside, barefoot and with loose hair. She hadn't done this in a long time, too long, she reminded herself, deciding to take a detour through the rose gardens, laughing as she imagined the look on Madame Tomil's face if she saw her then. Aurora had always loved roses and they were in full bloom, surrounding her in a plethora of colors. Bright yellows, untainted whites, fresh oranges, and soft peaches. Her favorites, though, were the passionately deep red buds. They were wonderful and she still liked them the best despite the fact that her mother and Noori were continually trying to instill it in her that the other colors were much more appropriate for one such as herself. Auora reached out to pick up a red petal when a whisper of voices nearby caught her attention. What was interesting was not really the voices, but rather that there were no footsteps accompanying them. The speakers were walking on the grass, like she was, instead of the cobblestone path provided. She had little time to contemplate this because whoever it was was dangerously close. Aurora cursed silently as she looked at her dress. 'Damaged beyond repair. Perhaps there was something to be said about keeping one's clothes in good order,' Aurora thought with a grin as she softly exited the garden before she could be spotted. It was not until she had arrived at her rooms that she realized with a groan that her shoes were back in the rose garden.

Aurora was still smiling slightly, as she rummaged through her trunk. All the way at the bottom, hidden in the mountain of voluminous petticoats was a pair of black britches, a black long-sleeved top, and a hat. Quickly glancing at the clock she yanked off her evening gown and underclothes and donned the black garments. She stuffed her shiny red locks into the hat, and without a backward glance, she climbed over the side of her balcony, landing with a soft thump on the grass below.

She melted into the shadows as she contemplated what to do first. It was ten o' clock right now and Noori would only come to check on her at around 11:30 when the dinner was supposed to be over. It only took Aurora a moment to mull over her options. Then with a nod of her head, she set out for the stable, her shoes could wait for a few minutes she decided. Besides she'd have plenty of time to get her shoes and explore a bit later.

She giggled softly as Bonnie's nose nudges her shoulder.

"You are rather forward, aren't you?" Aurora murmured quietly, producing an apple and a lump of sugar from her pocket. She had managed to sneak past the sleeping guard as well as borrow a few treats from the bins out front. All the young stable hands were at the opposite end, busy dealing with a coach that had just come in. Bonnie whinnied happily and chomped away on her apple, while Aurora brushed her reddish-brown coat. At home she usually did everything for Bonnie, but her mother had given strict instructions that she was not to be seen cleaning out her horse's stall while at the Spring Ball. Aurora had reluctantly agreed. Still, she couldn't help but make sure that her horse was being attended to. 'After all, it was Bonnie who took her everywhere and gave her company most of the time', she rationalized, giving her horse one last treat before sneaking out before she was caught.

Aurora sank into the shadows and darted through the recess's silently; her shoes were waiting to be fetched.

In the meanwhile.....

Alex grinned as he followed a servant to his rooms. He couldn't believe that he and Justin were actually here, in the Ayorthain court. They had managed to make their entrance just in time for dinner. The Queen Meensat had been rather gracious in accepting him as the young Marquis of Burnham and Jusin as his dear aging uncle. Everyone had swallowed up the lie like it was some exotic drink, he couldn't help think with a small pang of guilt. Being in court was just as he remembered it, except now instead of being the little prince frolicking and making mischief, he was now a noble that all the those treacherous females of the court, no doubt looking for a good catch, fawned after. He smiled at the memory. He had definitely been a hit. Everything was going exactly as according to the plan...except...Alex knew he was being irrational but all evening he had felt as though something was missing. He had seen no sign of Aurora anywhere. Among the blonde, brunette, and black heads of hair he had searched in vain for that fiery red. The smile on his face was replaced with a frown as he wondered where she could possibly be. Perhaps she had not arrived yet, or perhaps she was not coming at all! It was a moment before he realized that they had arrived at the door to his apartments and the servant was looking at him expectantly.

"Oh yes, I'm sorry. Just a bit tired from the traveling," Alex said with a start, "Thank you, I can take it from here."

The servant nodded and left just as Alex entered the lavishly decorated rooms. His trunks were already arranged in the dressing room. No doubt, Justin had found the same when he had left for his rooms earlier. He needed to stake out the area for tomorrow evening, Alex knew. With that, he dismissed all other thoughts and stripped off his court clothes, donning his "work" clothes, Dark britches, a black shirt, and a dagger tucked away into his left boot. Alex jumped swiftly out of his window and disappeared into the night.

He had been roaming about for around 15 minutes, mentally plotting where everything was, when something caught his attention. It was a figure clad in all black moving slightly ahead of him! Alex quickly pressed up against the wall, careful not to make a sound, and trained his eyes on whoever it was ahead of him. They were darting around the corner into what Alex knew was the rose garden. He and Justin had a little talk there earlier. Who was this mysterious person? There was only one way to find out. Alex followed close behind.

Aurora shivered lightly as she entered the rose garden. She felt as though she was being watched, but that was ridiculous. No one even knew where she was, let alone be following her. She forgot all about the feeling for a moment when she saw the garden. It was breathtaking. There was a full moon and the roses were glowing, bathed in the soft silver light. Aurora entered, and looked around in wonder; it was a pity that so few got to see the rose garden like this. The bushes were quite high and would provide her enough cover from any intruders. Her shoes, luckily, were hidden away in one of the alcoves away from the palace doors. Still, she had to keep quiet, one never knew what lurked in the recesses. She distinctly remembered intruding on one of Duchess Coventry's daughters getting quite...cozy...with one of the officers of the court. Aurora giggled softly as she finally spotted her shoes underneath a bench.

Alex followed his quarry into the magnificent rose gardens. This was getting stranger by the minute. It would be hard to follow whoever it was through the bushes. For one, it was bathed in moonlight, still the bushes should provide some sort of cover, Alex reasoned. Whoever it was obviously knew the layout well for they walked with little hesitation. It only took a moment for Alex to realize where they were headed, a dead end. It was a little alcove that was surrounded almost completely by deep scarlet blooms. The person paused for a moment to gently finger a particularly red blossom. Blood red, Alex thought grimly. There could only be one possible conclusion, this person, whoever it was, knew they were being followed and led him here on purpose. Alex jumped forward as soon as his target reached beneath a bench.

Asterisk go here

Aurora breathed deeply letting the sweet scent of the roses fill her. Nothing could beat this delightful flower, she thought, absently stroking one. It would be time to head back soon, or else risk the wrath of Noori, who she had given her solemn word that she would not get into trouble. Aurora sighed as she reached for her shoes, so much for her night of freedom. Before she could do much more, though, she felt an arm snake around her waist and a hand press over her mouth.

"Don't move a muscle if you wish to live," a cool masculine voice whispered into her ear. Aurora froze. The voice, foreign and yet naggingly familiar, sent shivers down her spine. She didn't have time to dwell on this, though. There were more pressing issues at hand, literally.

Aurora nodded slightly to her captor's question, she had to make him feel as though she was afraid and harmless. Her plan worked and as soon as she felt his grip relax she made her move. Luckily, her father had been adamant that his daughter learn to defend herself and she had rather enjoyed learning how to fight. In fact, she had had some of the best trainers in Ayortha.

She stepped on his foot as hard as she could and then in one swift move she elbowed him in the ribs and jumped away, retrieving the dagger at her waist. She whipped around just in time to see him remove a blade from his boot. It was too shadowy here in this little recess to make out his features clearly. The scene felt surreal to Aurora, here she was, crouched in a fighting position, in the middle of a rose garden preparing for battle with some strange man who had tried to attack her. He made the first move, masterfully springing at her. She just barely managed to escape and defend against his next attempt. Aurora was impressed, her opponent was an expert swordsman! The fighting was intense, they attacked and counter attacked one another, each barely making it out of the other's reach. Aurora even managed to slash her adversary on the upper part of his left arm. Blood had managed to leak through, creating a black shadow on the dark fabric. The cut didn't seem to faze him though, and a few minutes later he found his opening. Aurora was standing in front of the bench when he unexpectedly lunged forward and knocked the dagger from her hands. It skittered a few feet away and once more, Aurora found herself imprisoned.

"I got you now," the strange voice whispered, the dagger was pointed straight at her throat.

Aurora stared, she could not believe what had just happened. Who was this man, anyway? Until this moment it had just been an exhilirating swwordfight, now it dawned on her just how much of danger she was in. Fear permeated her and her breathing became even shallower and more erratic. Aurora forced herself to calm down. Panic only made people make bad, rash decistions. She needed to keep her wits around her. What did he want to do with her? His arm was reaching out toward her. Aurora drew a sharp breathe and, instinctively, tried to step back. Just as she tripped over the bench, his hand pulled off her cap and her hair came cascading down. As if in slow motion, Aurora watched the man's deep brown eyes go wide. The dagger had dropped to the floor and his arms reached out the catch her. She heard a loud crack and her head exploded with pain. The last thing she remembered before her world went black, were warm arms around her and a voice calling out, "Rose?"

Alex barely had time to comprehend what had just happened. From the moment he had seen her hands finger that rose earlier on, he had known it was a woman. Only a woman had hands like that, smooth, small, and delicately boned. She was ferocious and fought with an intensity that was rare. It was only after cornering her after the intense swordfight, that he had noticed her wide green eyes. Before he could stop himself, he was reaching for that ridiculous scrap of fabric on her head. Just as he had managed to yank it off, he saw her burnished reddish brown locks tumbling down that it finally dawned on him who it was. Rose, his rose. By the time he had lunged to catch her, it was too late. Now here he was kneeling beside her unconscious form. She looked so peaceful, a contrast from the feisty young woman from a few minutes ago. Alex picked up her hand and checked her pulse. It was surprisingly strong. 'Of course,' Alex thought to himself with a smile, 'she's a fighter.' Gently, his fingers slithered through her mass of silky locks to investigate the bump, which was steadily rising, on the back of her head. Luckily, the she was not bleeding. Alex reluctantly removed his fingers from her wealth of hair. He had no idea what she was doing out here dressed like this. With a pang, Alex saw how helpless she looked. He needed to get her to her rooms and he needed answers, fast.

'She has to have a key on her, somewhere,' Alex thought, guiltily glancing at her sprawled out body. Just then he noticed the glimmer of gold on her slender neck. He lightly leaned down and pulled on the gold necklace to reveal a single key.

'Bingo,' Alex whispered softly.

The Ayorthain court had unique key for every one of their guest suites. The key had the Ayorthain seal engraved on one side and set of symbols on the other. The symbols were actually clues, so that when a guest was lost, a servant could simply show them to their room without any confusion or mix ups. It was an ingenious idea actually, especially since he now knew exactly where her rooms were.

Clasping the key, still warm from being close to her body, he scooped her up into his arms and set off for her rooms, inhaling her sweet scent on the way.

A/N: So what do you think?? I welcome any suggestions, ideas, ect. Also I'm looking for a new name for this fic. Its kind of boring right now. Any ideas on what it should be?? REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW!!!!!