Authors Note: I am so unbelievably sorry. It's been chaos here. First there's the usual – assignments, school, tv. But this year I decided to enrol myself in Duke of Edinburgh. Such a mistake! Walking all day in the freezing cold with a 15 kilo pack. Something I will NEVER do again. Oh but I haven't told you my favourite part of the trip – getting lost in the bush. The map was wrong but nobody told us the map was wrong. We walked to a dead end and the map says to go downhill but instead there is another path further up. So what do we do? We follow the map and go downhill. DOWN A CLIFF!

Apart from that I'm sorry about the delay in the chapter. I was hoping to add something else onto this one but thought it would take to long. I appreciate the reviews guys. They really help. Keep them coming. Enjoy!

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Lost Souls Reunion

I cannot breathe but I must let my story known.

Friday was the day we laid Maurice to rest. I had called upon the priest the day before but he was otherwise occupied. They all were. They had prior engagements. However, he was available one hour after noon.

The only problem was that around noon when we started to make our way to our little patch in the woods where family members and co-workers who aren't wealthy enough to be placed in one of the more prestige cemeteries, Louise did not seem to be able to muster the strength to leave. She did not want to let him go and by attending the service it was affirming just that… he was gone.

45 minutes had passed before Paulette and I had persuaded Louise to leave her bedside and a more half hour for her to allow us to guide her shaky body out the door and into the woods.

Mon pere Vincent had been awaiting our arrival for two hours longer than we had agreed and decided to depart but we found him before he could walk but metres away. He disregarded our absence and convinced me that it had happened many a times.

Gustave had remained with the priest as we made our way over to the open grave. He was the person who carried Maurice's body and who had dug the grave. I tried to help him but he insisted that he could manage and sent me on my way. I am forever grateful to him for however I might have appeared at that moment; I wouldn't have been able to cope.

The two women were more emotional than I thought. Louise and Paulette clung to each other for support and wept. I turned to Gustave, my dearest friend, and hugged him close.

As mon pere preached to us about Maurice's life story, I stood in silence. I had not known Louise's husband for long. Only in the years when I was made a servant and we worked side by side. And then he was ripped away from us in my stepmother's desperate search for money. So in truth I had known him for less than a decade.

I was nudged from my thoughts as he was put into the open grave. I stared at a corner of the dirt stained cloth that he was wrapped in. Insignificant as it was, I felt I needed to scrub and scrub at it until it was worthy enough for him to be covered in. Like I had not done enough. I resisted the urge to grab the unclean item and run with it. Return with a better.

Mon pere moved on to talk about the goodness of Christ and how they would be walking together in harmony. How being buried under the earth would assist in his journey to heaven above.

All the while Gustave had been holding my hand. He moved to begin to slow task of moving the soil on top of him. Louise let out a short wail of despair. Paulette hugged her. Nobody noticed that my hands were trembling or that my tanned complexion was turning pale for I had ceased breathing.

Lack of oxygen forced me to stumble backwards. A single tear slipped down my left cheek as I turned and ran away from it all.

I imagine I was running for somewhat ten minutes before I crashed head first into a large tree. I clutched onto it for several seconds before I began sliding down until I sat slumped on one of its roots, crying with all my heart. Not only for the death of Maurice, although that was the major part of it, but relief. Since the day Maurice dropped of a heart attack, I had not been able to weep for him. Looking at Louise and Paulette cry openly I felt ashamed of myself. Now that they flowed over my cheeks I felt it was evidence that I cared enough about him to do so.

A few minutes later, I began to worry what Paulette, Louise and Gustave would think of me now that I had run away on one of the most important events in our lifetime that they needed my support most. They must be out of their minds with worry in addition to their grief.

I picked myself up and began heading back. I kept my head down most of the way, too occupied with my thoughts and emotions. Along the way I bumped into a person travelling in the opposite direction. Strange that I had not heard him coming but I didn't think too much about it. I apologised and walked two steps before I came upon a familiar smell. Puzzled, I slowed my step and tried to remember where it was when I had first come across it.

It was that rich musty smell that I had witnessed one year ago. My pulse rose from my normal steady rate to something much faster, my breath also quickened and my whole body shook. I had promised myself that if I came across him I would walk away.

As much as I protested, my steps were shorter than I hoped they would be. He called out my name before I could get anywhere. One simple word confirmed my theory. I stood still, praying as I had once before that I had wings so I could fly away.

Biting my lip, I turned to face him.

Henry

He wore the same tight pants and leather boots. But instead of his usual bright colours such as marron and sapphire that reflected his mood, he was dressed in black. I also noticed that his hair had much grown since I last saw him but apart from that he was still Henry, his face showed this.

'Your Highness' I said, curtseying so that my head was lower than his. I stared at the ground, afraid to look up at his disappointed face and sad russet eyes. It took many moments until I realised that he was not going to speak.

Raising as I turned around, avoiding his glance at any possible moment. Nevertheless, I felt his eyes on my every movement. I wanted to escape.

"Danielle" he spoke softly, forcing me once again to turn and address him. He seemed to hesitate with the words on his tongue, afraid of what he might say. "Are you well?"

"Quite" I replied. I did not wish to get into a detailed discussion about my past year or the death of Maurice.

"I… I did not see you at the funeral this morning." He stated.

Does he speak of Maurice? How did he come to know of our affairs? "You must be mistaken for I most certainly attended. Why would I not witness the burial of one of my dearest friends?" I answered, confusion sweeping through my entire body.

"Am I to understand that you and my father had a close relationship." He said, looking just as bemused as I feel.

Now I was for a stumble at my words. "Your father?" I repeated, "Is that whom you are speaking of?"

He shifted on his feet. "But of course. It was publicly known that he passed less than a week ago. His funeral was today."

I was shocked to hear of this. And from him! "Oh! I had not known. I was busy attending other matters. I am sorry for your loss."

He appeared to be grieved much. The sparkle once recognized in his eyes had diminished. Also observed, he looked to of aged a great deal overnight. He seemed more like his father now that he was gone. As if a piece of his spirit had been passed on as he did.

While I was carefully examining Henry's facial features, particularly his eyes, he happened to glance upwards at mine. Our eyes locked. Neither of which were able to look away.

A stick cracking in the distance averted my attention. Reminding me of where I should be. I took a step away from him. "I must go!" I informed him before running off in the opposite direction.

Half way to the graveyard I paused to pick some wild flowers. Hopefully it will be a reminder to Maurice that he is free. When I approached it, Paulette, Louise, Gustave and mon pere Vincent were nowhere to be seen. I expected that they had gone back to the manor. I placed the flowers on top of his grave before leaving myself.

Back home I apologised for abandoning them at the funeral but did not mention Henry. At night I thought about him though. Something I promised myself I would cease to do two months after the masque.

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I dreamt about her that night. It was so vivid. As if she was right there in front of me. Per usual, it began with the night she was dressed as an angel with a distinct haze surrounding her like a halo, bringing out the ripples in her hair and outlining the glitter on her cheeks, formed into a dazzling mask.

Normally the dream would end with a tear welling up in one of her eyes and suddenly breaking loose onto the crevice above her cheekbone. A swift swish of material and the dream was over. I would wake up in hope to see the woman I longed for instead of the woman I am supposed to.

However, in this particular dream a new image of her was added to the collection. It was too surreal to be appreciated. Presented like a collage, one vision meshing into the next. Some I cannot even remember experiencing. I awoke only to feel confusion.

The day was a continuous blur. Important errands seemed insignificant, tasks pointless. Questions asked of me where only to be repeated minutes later. I could only think of Danielle and our conversation. It kept rolling around in my head so by the end of the day all the people around me somehow reminded me of her even though they had nothing in common. Nobody was as individual and free spirited as Danielle de Barbarack.

During supper that evening an astonishing idea came to me. Danielle spoke of a close friend of hers passing and before meeting her in the woods I recall coming across familiar faces at a grave not too far away.

How could I have been so blind? The grieving woman at the funeral was one of servants Marguerite introduced to me the day after the tennis match. It all makes perfect sense! Danielle must have been attending the funeral of one of her servant friends and was too preoccupied to attend the town meeting to be informed about the King's death.

I must have seemed like a complete fool. If I had only been paying attention to what she was saying instead of staring into her eyes or less infatuated with my own petty problems I would have realized sooner.

Annoyed with myself, I left my food untouched and walked around the castle. Sheer frustration made me unstill. I wound up at the corridor my parents and I used to walk along many times. It was the only place where we could be free of each other with each other.

The silence of the night calmed me. Not much later did I hear footsteps. I did not bother to turn and see who it was for I knew I would soon find out.

"Your father and I used to walk up and down here late at night. He used to say it was our only escape. When I told him I was pregnant with you, he stood in that very spot that you are now and did not leave for many nights. Later he told me he was overcome with happiness and was debating on what your name should be."

She stepped closer to me and rested her hand on my shoulder. "You may not know it but underneath his strict disposition he did love you. And if he were watching he would be proud."

I stared out into the distance. Absorbing the new knowledge of my father's personality. Difficult as it was to imagine, it was unlikely that my mother's statement of my father to be untrue.

"I do hope you understand why he did what he did. It was in order to protect you, Henry. If you had chosen to take that path, adversity and turmoil would have interrupted both your lives."

Here my mother paused. Tears coming to her eyes. She dabbed at them furiously. Taking a deep breath she continued.

"I only hope that one day you will be able to forgive him. He did not mean to bring harm in any fashion."

I racked my brain for anything that might relate to what my mother was speaking of but could find none. At last I turned to face her and spoke. "I do not understand."

She slowly nodded. I could practically hear her thoughts churning inside her head, her words uncertain on her tongue. "Perhaps it is best." She finally admitted.

She stood still for a few moments. Looking over at me one last time before turning to go back the way she came. A little less than three metres away from me she stopped abruptly. Not bothering to turn and face me, she spoke her words, hiding her face.

"You are happy aren't you Henry?" she said softly.

"What response will convince you mother?" She drew a sharp breath before continuing her journey to the end of the hall.

I stood there until late into the night, staring down at my hands. I knew I had been much too harsh with my mother but frankly I did not care. Once again Danielle has pulled my entire life out beneath my feet and left me completely unbalanced.

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