Author's Notes: Hello again everyone sorry it took me so long to update. lol it seems i do that alot these days :P and the next chapter may be a little while too i have started it, but i have my nose in the new harry potter book it came out yesturday here and i am already 420 pages in :P... enough about, thanks to my reviewers:

Queen Tatooine: yes it looks a bit fast paced, but alot is going to happen, if i can get it right before the happily ever after. please bear with me...

Cinnamon: I try not go get too many bad words in there, but sometimes you need to get them to make a statement of how bad something is. im glad your enjoying the story.

Kaytay: A person of many words ;) im going, im going ;)

oj: another person of many words ;) hope you enjoy the chapter.

Thanks again to Gabi Web who beta read the chapter for me :) thanks so much again

I dont own anything, incase we need a disclaimer and i hope you all enjoy the chapter :)

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"What?" Christine practically screamed. PRINCE!

"I will say it only one more time girl, Drop the dagger and step away from his Highness" The soldier slowly advanced on Christine

"Stephen, you shouldn't be here, we are practicing." Derek stepped back and turned to the soldier. He took Christine's dagger while he did this, lest she really try to hurt him or Stephen get the wrong idea.

"Highness, your parents are worried about you; they ordered me to follow you and take you back to the palace"

"I will be coming home directly, I just need to finish my lesson." Stephen looked as though he wanted to argue, but sheathed his sword, bowed to the prince and left, casting one more glance at the silent Christine. Once he was gone Derek spoke.

"Chris," He took a step so that he was directly in front of her again. She was looking down at the ground and breathing deeply, trying to remain calm

"Why, didn't you tell me?" she asked quietly.

"Because I didn't want to loose what we had."

"We had nothing." She looked up and Derek could see the hurt and pain in her eyes mixed with anger

"Yes, Chris, we did. I didn't have to worry that you were only being nice to me because of my title: you were my friend, you weren't pretending."

"I made such a fool of myself," Christine looked in to his face again "Can I have my dagger back please?" She put her hand out to receive it.

"Are you going to use it to hurt me?" Derek asked trying to lighten the mood, and still making no move to give it to her.

"No I am going to leave."

"Chris please, we have to talk."

"No we don't." Chris moved away and untied Phoenix's reins from a near-by tree, getting ready to mount. Derek moved and turned Christine around by her shoulders.

"Please Chris; is there anything I can do to salvage this friendship?"

Christine pulled away and mounted her horse then something struck her… Melanie...

"There is something you can do: go and visit my sister so she will stop destroying everything, while waiting for you to come and meet her."

"Sister? Who is your sister?" Christine cringed. Way to go, Christine, way to put your foot in it; great now what are you going to tell him?

"Answer me Chris."

"Look, just visit Lady Datson, then we might just have something to talk about." Christine then mounted and galloped away, leaving a very confused Derek.

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Christine collapsed on her bed still in shock, The Prince! God, how stupid must I have looked to him! That means the day he was to come for lunch to meet Melanie he was with me! It all fits; it's just too bad he met the wrong sister. God, what if he figures out that Melanie is my sister, I will be out on the street before you can say Prince Derek… God what am I going to do…He probably guessed that Duchess Maryanne Datson is my mother too, God Christine you really did it this time…He'll figure it all out…and then I'll, god I don't know what… I really screwed up this time…

Christine sobbed in to her pillow, not moving, and she eventually fell asleep.

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Derek was still in the clearing hours later, trying to make sense of what Chris meant. Sister, who is her sister and why must I meet her? She is simply a servant and she lives at Datson Manor. Could her sister be more than that? I guess that is where I start.

He mounted his horse and headed in the direction of the palace. He would go to Datson Manor tomorrow and figure out the riddle that was his dear friend, Chris.

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Christine was awoken early the next morning by Mandy.

"Why didn't anyone wake me up to help you with dinner last night?" Christine sat up noticing that she was still in her riding clothes from yesterday.

"I saw you come in, in tears, and the rest of the servants agreed with me that you should be left alone. You looked really upset." Mandy paused, sitting down on the end of Christine's little bed. "Do you want to talk about it Lady?"

"Mandy I made such a fool out of myself. Derek is the Prince." She could feel her eyes getting misty. She shook them off, trying to stay strong; she had already cried enough tears over this.

"You mean the reason that Melanie has been destroying everything is because the prince has been running around with you instead of doing his duties and coming to lunch with her?" Mandy sat back, deep in thought. "It all fits"

"I know. I made such a fool out of myself...but I enjoyed having someone I didn't have to pretend so much with, I was Chris, just Chris; not servant Chris, not the girl or maid. Even if he was a noble he treated me with respect and he actually cared." Christine felt tears slowly making their way down her cheeks.

"Come on Lady, put your chin up, you can still see him."

"No, I can't Mandy, he lied to me."

"La-

"No." Christine interrupted "It is better this way, now he can get on with his life and I can make Melanie her breakfast." Christine hopped out of bed and wiped her tears away with the back of her hand. She pulled out an old dress and apron and began to get ready for the day.

Mandy sighed.

"If that is what you want lady, you won't hear another word from me." Mandy got up and left without a word, heading for the kitchen.

Christine's thoughts cried out: it isn't what I want, though…

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After making breakfast and getting Melanie elaborately dressed, once again, Christine found herself out in the front garden cleaning up the pots that Melanie had destroyed the afternoon before when Derek didn't come to see her again.

Least there isn't any carpet to ruin out here, Christine thought as she put some plants into new pots, trying to salvage the plants. That her father had planted all those years ago...

Christine remembered it well…

She was 10 at the time and Melanie was 8. They were inside, learning to embroider under their mother's watchful eye. Christine could do it fairly well; it was, after all, quite easy. Melanie, on the other hand, needed to work really hard to master it.

Dutchess Datson, or Maryanne being her given name, was helping Melanie repair some mistakes that she had been making, Giving Christine time to look out the window at her father as he potted plants.

"Mother may I be excused?" Christine asked quietly.

"Yes, darling," her mother replied, without looking up.

Christine calmly walked out of the room, heading straight for the front garden where her dad was working, humming his favourite tune.

Christine knelt down beside him and silently began helping him, joining in on the humming. They working in silence for a while not needing to talk. Once they were finished, they sat back and surveyed their handy work.

"They look beautiful Father."

"It is always satisfying seeing something you started completed, especially plants which grow and flower." Her father took a deep breath of the fresh air.

Standing up, Christine wiped her dirt covered hands on her gown without a second thought and began gathering the tools and putting them away.

Her father stood up, also.

"How am I to raise a little lady if you can't keep yourself clean?" He asked solemnly.

"Try harder?" Christine answered trying to contain her laughter.

"I'll just have to give you a bath." Without waiting for an answer her father scooped her up and carried her towards the fountain a few steps away.

Christine screamed and tried to get down before her father dropped her in the fountain.

"Please, I'll be good!" Christine scrabbled and put her arms around her father's neck tightly so that if he tried to drop her, she wouldn't fall in.

"You promise?" Her father asked, still holding her over the fountain.

"Yes!" Christine's laughter then filled the air as her father stepped away from the fountain and swung her around before putting her back down the on ground. They embraced in a father-daughter hug before going inside the manor, never knowing that the whole display had been witnessed by two people inside.

No matter how much time passed, Christine always missed her father. It won't bring him back Chris, she told herself sternly, as she stood up, having finished cleaning up the mess Melanie created.

She turned and walked towards the fountain and rinsed her hands in the water, even though she knew she shouldn't and turned around and nearly fell in. If it wasn't for the person who grabbed her waist and kept her upright... She looked up in to his brown eyes and frowned. Oh No..

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well another chapter down, what did everyone think? remember if you have any ideas please pass them along i will make an effort to get the next chapter finished as soon as i can. remember to review i do so enjoy reading them Hint Hint.

until next time

E J Riddle