As soon as Demetrius left, Belle went into the woods and promptly began scouring them for a white rose bush. After about half an hour she finally found one and plucked a few of the petals. Belle fairly ran to the brook and tossed the petal in, saying as she was still out of breath "I…seek one of…the fay,"

Soon Kessa was there, laughing at Belle's flushed face and disheveled locks. "Seamus again, eh?" she asked, and didn't wait for Belle to reply.

There was a bright flash of light, and when Belle could see around her again she found herself in a place that was quite unlike the quiet cave from her previous visit. She was in a crowded hall this time, with the sounds of merry making, music and general yelling all around. Everyone seemed to have a goblet in their hand or a dancing partner in their arms.

"Seamus!" Kessa called, cupping her tiny hands around her mouth. "Seamus, where are you?"

Belle looked around her, temporarily forgetting about her prince. The people around her were so varied, so interesting…there were creatures with wings, creatures that were part animal, most with pointed ears, some with unusual skin tones. They were all of different shapes and sizes and Belle's head was spinning from the intense level of noise. She had never in her life been in contact with this many people.

"Seamus, there you are! I've brought the little Shepherdess to you again," Kessa called out, seizing him from his dancing partner.

"Ah," he said, catching the girl by her skirt, "Come here lass, and calm yourself down." Seamus pulled her into a quiet nook and sat her down on a stool. Kessa flew off, and when she came back a gorgeous winged boy was following her, and he was carrying a tray overflowing with food and drink.

Seamus plucked a mug of something from the young boy's tray and sipped at the contents. "This'll do," he said, waving the boy off. Seamus handed the mug to Belle, who took it. The liquid in it was an amber color, and didn't give off any particular smell. Upon sipping it, Belle supposed that it was a type of ale, or possibly wine. Or perhaps both, one could never know upon taking food from the fay.

"Feeling better?" Kessa asked sympathetically, pressing her small hand to Belle's still flushed cheek. Belle nodded and swiped some of her hair from her face. The drink she had been given was quite good, and she contented herself with sipping frequently at it.

"I suppose you haven't just come to bear witness to the revelry of the fay court?" Seamus asked her as soon as her flushed face had faded to its usual hue.

"Now," Belle said quickly, brushing Kessa away from her cheek. "I was rather hoping to join a different sort of court. Could you do that, I mean?" she asked, suddenly a bit anxious. "Could you manage to change the very blood which ruins in my veins?"

"Of course I can, lass. What do you take me for, some two-bit charlatan?"

"No, most certainly not, Mr. Seamus!" Belle cried, her cheeks burning. "It just seemed such a miraculous thing to do, to change someone's history and family station with no more then a thought."

Seamus smiled at her and made a gesture for her to down the rest of the elixir in her handle-less mug. "What sort of a noble would you like to be? And may I inquire as to why you would like to leave your honest profession, shepherdess?" Then, with a devious twinkle in his eye, he added, "The lambs getting a bit unruly?"

Belle smiled as she swallowed the last of her drink. "No. You see, Mr. Seamus, there's this prince…" And she related the tale of her very own Prince Charming to him.

When Belle had finished, Seamus lit his pipe and laughed good-naturedly. "Our little shepherdess has fallen in love, has she? Well, well, no fault in love," here he paused to blow a few gloriously shaped smoke rings. "But you seemed to have passed over my first question: What sort of a noble would you like to be?"

The little winged boy, summoned by the smaller fay in their company, floated by and replaced Belle's empty mug (still in her hand, there was no table within reach) with a delicate crystal goblet, which was filled a sort of nutty-flavored red wine. As she sampled the other wares the winged boy offered, Belle gave serious thought to the question Mr. Seamus had posed. The Lady Caprice, Belle's former contender, was the daughter of an Earl. Why shouldn't she one-up the Italian while she had the chance? Belle blushed at her…mischievous? Yes, that was it: her mischievous thoughts.

None the less, she found herself asking innocently, "In nobility, what ranks higher then an earl?"

"Everything," a dryad in the arms of a faun giggled as the pair traversed by. Before Belle could reply, they were lost in the crowd once again, the swell of voices and creatures hiding them from her eyes and ears.

When Seamus agreed quite solemnly with the disappeared tree-spirit, Belle sighed in aspiration. "What I meant was, what's the very next title up?"

"Ah," Seamus milled, "The Italian you mentioned is an earl or the daughter thereof. I believe the next step up from an earl is a marquess, or in your case, a marchioness."

"Then that's what I'll be," Belle said to herself, low enough so Seamus couldn't hear her. She raised her head, and briefly took a sip of her drink. "Mr. Seamus, I want to be a Marchioness."

"I see," Seamus said slowly. "How would you go about doing this then? Would you like to live in a castle, with your family and whatnot?"

"Well, no," Belle said, blinking in a bewildered fashion. "That's not really what I want. What I want, is to be a Marchioness without any of the rest of my circumstances changing. And that it should be a thing that all in my family knows of."

"Alrighty then. That is what you want, lass?" Seamus asked. Belle nodded, and he smiled on her. "You may find a bit of a surprise when you get home. Go on now, the sheep are alone and restless."

And before Belle could even thank Seamus, Kessa had her hand on her cheek and had whisked her away.

…………………………………………………..

"Miles, Belle…I need to talk to you for a moment," their father, Rueben told them with a grave face.

Belle had only been back at home a few minutes, and already she was sewing sedately at the table, Cassie at her feet. At her father's pronouncement, however, she set down her sewing and looked up. Miles came over from the door and sat beside his sister, looking a tad worried. Their father was always a gay, hearty man, but now he almost looked defeated.

"Children…Clara…" at his wife's name he took up her hand and gave it an affectionate squeeze. "You see, there's something very important about our life that I haven't told you. I was born into a wealthy family, and quite a noble one at that. My father was the Marquee of a very tiny province, but Marquee of one all the same. I had one brother who was older then me, and when my father died all of his land passed to Walter. I was disowned in name by my father before this happened, because I fell in love with your mother and ran off with her."

Belle blinked in confusion. She swallowed, and then asked, "So what does this have to do with us now?" Thoughts raced through her mind, but she didn't want to hope for too much. Obviously, this is what Mr. Seamus had reffered to when he mentioned a surprise waiting for her at home.

"Well," Reuben said, drawing a deep breath. "Walter has died, leaving behind a widow and a young boy, hardly twelve."

"And…?" Miles asked. He didn't hold to much interest as of yet, eleven was not an age group he preferred to have his adventures with.

"This means, Miles, that I am now basically Marquee in my late brother's stead."

Belle fell in a dead faint.

AN: Oh my god, I never have time to do anything anymore. I'm constantly at play practice, school, or sleeping. I'm so, so sorry for the late (and short) update. I thank my reviewers, I love you guys::huggles:

Well, let me know what you think of it. Bye bye for now!