"No, let go of me!" Emma shouted, as she was pulled out of the door by one of the burlier male servants.

Mrs. Williams was sobbing at the door.

"Why, milady, why?"

"He attacked me!" she yelled, frustrated that nobody would believe her. However, she was not in any way injured, except for a bruise across her left cheek, which was just beginning to materialize, while Frederick was dead, pierced through by a sword she had held.

The servants were in an uproar and did not know what to do. It was murder, plain and simple, but what authority did they have arresting a lady, the lady of the house? Fortunately for them, the party had not entirely disintegrated yet, and several individuals, including the local constable, had remained behind.

As Emma was led down, she wondered what would become of the Duchess, who had escaped in order to be set up. Now that the man who held the strings was dead, would she fall limp as a puppet and be left to defend herself in whatever way possible?

While the constable discussed with some nobles what was to be done with Emma, the sun began to rise. The pink fingers of dawn touched everything in the house and illuminated it. Emma had a distant thought… was Frederick's blood so dark because there was no light to make it quite red, or had all of his evil deeds done something to it?

Emma's last thought before she was helped into the carriage was what was to be done with her now…

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Not even week had passed before Emma was to be tried. Most of the individuals indirectly involved in the case simply wanted to end it by calling her insane. Others thought that she had ulterior motives from the very beginning. The only thing that anybody knew for certain was that Frederick, the most recent Lord de Winter, had been killed by his newly-wed bride.

The Duchess had been found, dead from a rupture of the heart. Emma would wonder whether life had simply seemed useless at that point; certainly, she would only be hanged if found.

As for Maria, she had left, just as she had promised. Her return was not expected anytime soon, and Emma was glad to have it this way.

Before this short week was over, Emma would be questioned and brought as near to torture as a lady could be, denied food and water until she answered the questions the examiners asked. She refused to lie, but could not tell the whole truth without seeming mad, either, so she was very often punished for the combination of these two. After a particularly terrible day, she heard the door behind her groan with the weight of a man pushing against it.

Before her inquisitor could begin, she spoke coldly.

"I have already told you. Hundreds of times. He attacked me."

"I believe you," a gentle voice answered.

Emma turned from her position on the bench and stared at Prince Dominic, dressed in simple clothes to escape much detection. He had, of course, only obtained permission to enter because he had revealed himself to be the prince to the guards. Apart from that, he did not want anybody to know. His duty here was not as a prince, but as a man in love.

"You… why have you come?"

"I needed to know something, Lady de Winter."

"You may call me Emma," she humbly whispered.

"Emma, then."

"What did you need to know?"

"Why did you kill him?"

"He attacked me. He had it planned all along. He wanted my father's title and what money he would obtain. Then he would marry and kill another wealthy woman."

"How did you defend yourself?" he asked, with some surprise.

Emma was silent for a long time. Then,

"My father taught me swordplay and how to shoot from a bow when I was young. I am quite good at it."

"Oh." He also was silent after this. A thought occurred to him.

"Um… No, never mind."

"Your Highness, why are you truly here?"

"I have a name!" he snapped. Calming down, he also hushed his tones. "My name is Dominic."

"Dominic. You are a man of the Lord?" she asked, rather seriously.

"So it would seem," he said with a slight laugh.

"Then you must have nothing to do with me. I have blood on my hands."

"You defended yourself!" he protested.

"In truth," she said, blushing, "I might have spared him death. I could simply have wounded him, rendered him helpless until I could get help."

"I don't believe that."

"No?" Emma was surprised that he could be that intuitive. Surely, he could not know about the constant threat that would face her if Frederick, and his powers, remained upon this earth.

"Such a man would not let injury stop him."

Again, there was a pause. He reached into his cloak and pulled out a flask and a small wrapped package.

"Food, and water," he answered her questioning glance. "I was told you were not being taken care of." He seemed indignant, to think that she should not be taken care of.

"Emma," he whispered, as she nibbled at the food.

"Yes, Dominic?"

"I… I must confess that I am in love with you."

"You don't know me, Dominic, enough to love me," she said with a sigh.

"Are you afraid?"

"What do you mean?"

"I know you did not suspect Frederick. You even seemed quite content, which is why I left without a fight. But now you are frightened to be betrayed again.

This was partly the truth, and a shadow passed over Emma's eyes as he spoke.

Again, there was silence as she continued to eat and drink.

"You said that before, you know."

"Said what?" she asked, looking up at him.

"That I didn't know you well enough to love you. At the ball, you said that."

"It is the truth."

"It was the truth," he corrected. "It is different now. Then, you were a beautiful maid in a beautiful dress. Now, I see so much more of you…"

"But not enough."

"What do you mean?"

"Have you found an answer to my riddles?"

"N-no." He was growing irritated. What did she want with those silly riddles?

"Well, until you answer them…"

Dominic understood this to be her way of saying "Good day, now kindly leave my presence." He didn't need telling twice.

He stood up, a cold look in his eye.

"I have come here with a pardon from my father the king."

"W-what?" Now it was her turn to be somewhat shocked.

"It seems that your Duchess had heart enough to write a full account of Frederick's past deeds and planned deeds to accuse him and pardon you."

"She what?"

"She was found dead, but with a letter in her hand, addressed to the royal family. Inside, she described Frederick's role in her father's death and his plans to kill you. Much remains unexplained, especially how he managed to manipulate her, but it is enough to free you."

Without a single look back, he walked out of the small cell, leaving Emma gaping after him like a gobsmacked fish.

A/N: Sorry, I don't have enough time to reply to all of your reviews in today's update. I want you to know, though, that I very much appreciate all of them! Thank you so much. It really is all that keeps me going; work is hard! But today, I have a special surprise. The first person to review or message me and guess what my first name is will be able to tell me which fairy tale to retell next. I swear I will write it, and well! I am very fond of all fairy tales, and there is not one which I have not read at least once. All fairy tales qualify; different cultures and all that. Even combination fairy tales might be fun! And now, let me be Emma for a minute and give you a hint as to my first name:

My first is everyone in sum;

My second marks the spot;

My third combines two nearby things;

My fourth rules something hot!

If you guess my name, I will let you know and you can pick the fairy tale! (If you have trouble with the riddle, think of it as charades, in a way. Combine all of the clues. It's not an uncommon name.)

All of my love to you,

-Titania