AN: Had to include the Northern Lights/Aurora Borealis in this chapter as got to see them on New Year's Eve and New Year's Day in Iceland and they were so crazily pretty- definitely worth seeing one day if you can!

'I guess I wanted you more.' I sang softly from my spot on the windowseat the following afternoon. 'And looking back now, I'm sure, I wanted you more... I guess I wanted you more...' A single tear rolled down my cheek as I looked outside at the snowy landscape across the lake. Then I wondered what on earth I was doing crying over Zed Benedict. We'd only been a couple for a few weeks, hadn't we? And he'd clearly moved on, back to his playing ways. I sighed and looked out the window once again. 'I don't need you, I don't need you anymore.'

'Sky?' There was a knock at the door and I heard Seb's voice from the other side. He was worried and I didn't blame him. I'd not left my room since the morning before, thanks to my ensuite bathroom. I had eaten lunch today, though. I'd grabbed the food after it was delivered outside of the room with a fresh jug of water. 'If you won't talk to me then at least talk to Lolly please. Have I done something wrong?'

Of course he hadn't. He was perfect. My knight in shining armour, my private dreamcatcher. It was just his gender that proved to be a problem. Could princesses become nuns? Because I was starting to consider it.

'Sky, please, I'm worried.'

'Where's Phillip?'

'He and Lolly are out with my parents in town, but I can call them to come back if you want.'

'You should have gone with them.' There was silence and I realised that maybe that had stung. Did he think I didn't want him around?

'You were worrying about me getting tired of you but I think it was the other way around.' He said sadly from the other side of the door and it made my heart ache. I didn't want to push him away. We'd been so much and we'd grown close. He was probably my best friend. I sighed and got up, walking over to the door, unlocking and opening it. Seb was sat on the floor and he looked up at me in surprise. 'Whatever I did wrong, I'm sorry.' He said, his eyes sad as they met mine. He stood up and tucked his hands in his pockets, awkwardly.

'You've not done anything wrong.' I whispered, fiddling with the hem of my baggy jumper.

'Then who's arse do I need to kick?' He gave me a small smile but the concern was clearly still there.

'It's not even worth it, trust me.' I replied, tightening my ponytail. 'In fact, I don't even know what I was crying over.'

'Are you sure?' He didn't look certain.

'I'm sure.' I reassured with a smile. If Zed Benedict was going to be care-free then so was I.

'Okay, then I need a favour.'

'Oh?' I tilted my head to the side.

'It's Lolly's 17th birthday next Saturday, as I'm sure she's probably told you.' I nodded and he continued. 'But I don't have a clue what to buy her. I don't really know that much about girls and well, you're a girl.'

'Last time I checked.' I laughed and he gave me a cheeky smile. 'I hope you've got your credit card. Come on in, my laptop is on.'

'How are you?!' Lucy asked on Skype that evening as I sat in my pyjamas, ready for an early night. I tied my hair into a loose bun and looked at my three friends on the screen, in a country that seemed so far away from the fjords and snows outside.

'I'm okay.' I gave a small smile. She knew what had gone on because I'd text her that morning, letting her know what Zed had said to me. And she was fuming as best friends should be. 'How are you guys?'

'We miss you!' Tina and Zoe chorused, pouting.

'Please come home soon.' Lucy looked sad. 'It's lonely here without you.'

I felt for her. She had the dorm room all to herself and I understood that would be lonely. Although I did have a feeling that she and Nate were getting a lot of making out sessions squeezed in without worrying about me walking in.

'I even miss the security guards and that's saying something!' Lucy giggled and my face fell as I thought of poor Ciara. 'I'm sorry about Ciara. She was pretty cool in the end, wasn't she?'

'She was.' I nodded, thinking of her at the Taylor Swift concert with us, wearing a fan t-shirt despite not being a fan herself. And now she'd died, protecting me. My eyes teared up and I swallowed.

'So how's prince yummy?' Tina asked, winking and I rolled my eyes.

'You have to stop calling him that!'

'Why? Do you not find him attractive?' Zoe smirked and I sighed.

'Of course he's good-looking, but he's become one of my best friends. He probably sees me like a sister.'

'I don't know.' Lucy held up a magazine article which spoke of our safety and showed a 'timeline' of our 'relationship.' 'He doesn't look at you like you're just a sister.' I raised an eyebrow and she moved the magazine near the camera so I could see the pictures; Seb and I posing back-to-back at Disneyland. The two of us dancing at the Benefit in Paris, laughing. Then us dancing at my charity event a few weeks back, his eyes looking deep into mine as he smiled. The last minute made me teary-eyed. It was a photo someone had taken of us stood side-by-side on the London Eye and our hands were touching. Just before everything went wrong...

'Has that last photo been published before?' I asked Lucy and she gave a sad nod.

'They shouldn't have published it really, considering what happened just after...' She frowned and my friends gave me sympathetic expressions. 'Sky, are you ever coming home?'

'Of course I am!' I replied like they were being ridiculous.

'Because you want to or because you have to because of your title?'

I paused. 'I want to.' Didn't I? 'I miss you all too much and Sally and Simon. Don't get me wrong, it's beautiful here, it really is, but England is and always will be my home.'

There was a gentle knock on the door and my brother appeared in the doorway. 'Hello dear sister!' He said, his voice a teasing tone.

'Is that Phil? Hi Phil!' Tina called from Skype and my brother chuckled as he came to sit by me.

'Ladies, how are you and how is my country?' My brother said with a flirtacious smile that made Tina visibly swoon. I rolled my eyes and elbowed Phillip. 'What?' He grinned.

'We're fine!' Zoe smiled. 'And England's alright too I guess... bit wet.'

'Always is.' Lucy frowned. 'So jealous you have snow right now.'

'You both went to Morzine and had snow there!' Tina said, nudging Lucy and Phillip laughed at their arguing. I missed that.

'Right, I'm going to love you and leave you.' I said to my friends. 'Talk again soon?'

'Send us some pictures!' Lucy said.

'Of course.' I smiled and then we said our goodbyes. I turned to my brother who was watching me with a wary expression. 'What?'

'What was bothering you yesterday and this morning?' He asked and I tucked my cold toes under my duvet cover.

'It was nothing.' I replied and he frowned.

'It clearly was something if you turned down Queen Elena's hot chocolate and three meals!' He tutted. 'You've lost weight thanks to that bastardand I don't want you wasting away anymore. You're tiny!' He poked me in the rib and I winced. 'See!'

'Well it wasn't worth getting upset over.' I sighed and he raised an eyebrow.

'Did Seb do something to upset you?' Protective big brother came out and it made me smile. I liked having a brother, especially one who looked out for me. It was nice.

'Of course not! Seb's great.'

'Is he now?' He wiggled his eyebrows and I whacked him with a pillow. 'How great?'

'Really Phil? You're so embarassing!'

'Because you like him or...'

'Ugh!' I whacked him again. 'Shut up or get out!'

'Aren't brothers supposed to tease their sisters? It's actually one of my new favourite hobbies.' He grinned and I rolled my eyes.

'You're so irritating.'

'But you love me anyway, right?'

'Right.' I glared and he grinned, wrapping his arm around me and messing up my hair. I groaned, pulling away and trying to fix it. 'Are you coming to Lolly's birthday party at the palace next Saturday?'

'It's not like I have anything else to do.' He shrugged. 'Nice attempt at changing the subject by the way. Is Seb going to be your date?' I groaned. Someone else knocked on the door. 'Come on in!' Phillip called out cheerily as I glared at him.

'Oh, sorry.' Seb apologised when he saw me giving my brother eagerly. 'Did I interrupt some sibling bonding time?'

'Not at all.' Phillip smiled. 'In fact we were just speaking about you.' I smacked him. Pretty damn hard too.

I was surprised to find frost on my window when I opened the curtains the following day and it felt a little warmer then it had the last few days in Bergen. I felt like it was going to be a good day. Over breakfast, the King and Queen announced that they were visiting a school in the area so they would send some security guards with us wherever we wanted to go. But then, breakfast was interrupted and the head of security was speaking to the Queen in a language I didn't understand, waving his arms around frantically. The King and Queen glanced my way and I swallowed. What had happened? Had they seen Ezra?

'Sky, can we speak to you for a moment?' King Aleksander said and I nodded mutely, following them out of the room. I sat down on the sofa in the library, across from them, whilst a woman I didn't recognise spoke to security and the King and Queen in Norwegian. I suddenly wished that Seb had taught me some more of the language. The King nodded and he clasped his hands together, turning back to face me.

'What's going on?' I asked nervously, my heart thudding against my ribcage.

'Someone has leaked some information to the press.' Aleksander replied, calmly. 'Who knew you were in Norway?'

I blinked. 'My adoptive parents and my friends Lucy, Zoe and Tina... but they wouldn't tell anyone.'

He revealed a Norwegian paper. I didn't know what it said, but I was on the front cover; a still from my announcement with Seb that we were both alive and well, my cut visible on my forehead. I swallowed.

'Are you sure there wasn't anyone else you told Sky?' Queen Elena asked, her eyes concerned.

Then it dawned on me. Zed. I'd told Zed and forty-eight hours later it had made headlines. He wouldn't, would he? But then Savannah on the other hand. My shoulders tensed as my blood boiled. How could she? 'I told my lab partner.' My voice croaked. 'But I don't think he would tell the press. Maybe his girlfriend...' I frowned. 'I don't know though.'

'What is your lab partner's name?' The King asked. 'We will need our lawyers to speak to him. This is a serious matter.' I glanced up and saw that Seb was stood in the doorway, listening in. The King said something to him in Norwegian and Seb's face looked concerned.

'Zed Benedict.' His voice came out like a whisper and in that moment his betrayal ran deeper than leading me on. Now he'd risked my safety too.

'We will deal with this so try not to worry.' Elena said to me. 'Seb, why don't you take Sky and the others out for the day? There's no point hiding now they know you're in the country. We'll just have to send extra security with you.'

Seb nodded and I looked at the name the King had written down and my heart sank. I didn't know much about soulfinders, but Zed had said they were like soulmates. And soulmates definitely weren't supposed to hurt each other or put each other at risk, were they? How could I have been so stupid?

'Zed Benedict was the reason you were upset, wasn't he?' Seb's voice took me by surprise as I pulled a warmer jumper and some jeans out of the wardrobe in my bedroom, ready to layer up for a day out in the snow. I sighed and looked over at Seb, giving a small nod. 'Is he your boyfriend?'

'No.' I shook my head. 'I thought he was once, though. Now I'm pretty sure I was just another girl.' I turned back to my wardrobe and he walked into my room, closing the door.

'You deserve someone who would move mountains for you... travel across oceans for you... someone who doesn't treat you just like you're another girl, because you're not Sky, you're incredible.'

I looked across at him and gave a small smile. 'Thanks, but I'm not sure that's even possible in real-life. You've watched too much Disney. I think I have too.'

'It is possible.' He ran a hand through my hair. 'You said you hadn't been in love before, when we were back in Italy.'

'I haven't.' I replied, folding my arms across my chest.

'What happened with Zed?'

And for some reason, I found myself calmly telling him everything. How Zed had been obnoxious and jealous when I'd been with Marcus. How Zed had been a badboy and the press had picked him up on it when he'd been signed with Seven Minutes in Heaven. How we'd gone to Morzine with his family and how things had seemed great until someone had tried to shoot me. How we'd seen each other in secret despite my father trying to stop us from being together. And how we'd argued before the kidnapping and he'd been distant. And then I told him about the conversation that had upset me and made me angry and he'd frowned and said that Zed was an idiot and I deserved better. But I wasn't sure that I did.

We ended up taking the funicular, a tram, to the top of Mount Floyen. The journey up to the mountain 320m above sea level was quick and the four of us, plus six security guards, found ourselves overlooking beautiful Bergen, where the sun had only just risen thanks to the short days in winter. The city below us looked cold with its grey lakes, white sky and multi-coloured buildings within the valley. I sank onto a rock and looked at the view below in awe, snapping a few pictures on my phone as my breath came out as steam in the cool air.

'It's nice and calm, isn't it?' Seb commented from beside me. I nodded with a small smile.

'It's not that calm when you're down there.' Lolly chuckled.

'We'll head down there and grab some lunch later, if you'd like?' Seb suggested.

'Sounds good.' I smiled as my brother nodded from the other side of me.

We spent a good two hours up in the heavens, walking through the snow and following the trails, admiring all of the beautiful views of Norway and the fjords as Lolly and Seb told us tales of trolls, the creatures that seemed to have sculptures in their honor throughout the woodland trails we walked. Then we headed back down the mountain into Bergen (or Bryggen as the Nords called it) and I found myself amongst multi-coloured buildings in the harbour, buildings of white, red, orange and yellow, contrasted with the cold water and the snow on the ground. A few buildings were made from brick with coloured window frames and patterns in the brickwork, others were made from slats and were traditional Scandinavian-looking houses. We walked along wooden decking and then along cobblestones and I really had to concentrate to not slip over, despite having good grips on my snowboots.

'Your highness!' A woman with a small child curtsied in front of Seb and we stopped in our tracks as the security guards looked alert.

'Good afternoon.' Seb replied cheerily and formally.

'An honor to meet you!' She said and he held out his hand for her, shaking it. 'Would you believe it? I come to pick up some fish for lunch and I meet the future King of Norway!' And then she reverted to speaking in Norwegian and I looked at Lolly, questionnably. She simply shrugged. The conversation lasted about ten minutes, but we ended up being surrounded my excited members of the public and tourists who had arrived on their cruiseships, snapping away photos of us as Phillip and I simply just smiled, a royal rehearsed smile. In the end, our security guards moved people along and we found ourselves in a little tucked away restaurant, placed at the back thanks to the kind owners.

'Well that was crazy.' I commented as I picked up the menu. I squinted at the Norwegian, recognising the odd word but not enough to order.

'No rest for royalty, dear sis.' Phillip chuckled beside me. 'I thought by now you'd have realised that.'

'Doesn't make it less crazy.' I shrugged. 'I'm surprised you weren't signing autographs.'

'There were a lot of photos, though.' He winced.

'Reinsdyr?' I tried reading the menu and Lolly laughed at my attempt of a Norwegian accent. I stuck my tongue out in response, probably not the most princessy thing I could have done in public but never mind.

'Reindeer.' Phillip said beside me and I glanced at him in surprise. 'What? This isn't my first time in Norway, you know.'

I ended up eating fish with boiled potatoes and vegetables and it was delicious. I even tried some of Lolly's reindeer which was equally delicious.

I was waiting for Seb's normal nightcall that night in my pyjamas when something popped up on my Facebook timeline that made my hairs stand on end; Zed Benedict is in a relationship with Savannah...

I didn't finish reading and I slammed the laptop lid closed, irritatedly, just as the door slowly opened. Seb stood there in ski trousers and a warm-looking jumper and I raised my eyebrows. 'Were you cold in bed last night?'

He gave me a cheeky smile. 'Of course not. We're going out!'

'Out?' I squinted, reading the time on the clock. 'It's nearly midnight.'

'And the Northern Lights are visible not far from here.' He looked excited. 'Are you coming?'

My insides buzzed with excitement. 'Give me five minutes.'

Wrapped up in as many layers as possible plus a hat, scarf and gloves, Seb helped me into a high, sleek silver 4x4 that I didn't recognise. He climbed in beside me, in the driver's seat, and two security guards climbed in behind us, three extras also jumping into another landrover we'd used before.

'Is this yours?' I asked Seb and he smiled, nodding.

'It's my baby, so be nice.' He said, turning the key and starting the ignition. 'Don't worry, I'm a good driver.'

'I don't doubt it.' I replied and he carefully drove out of the garage, his headlights lighting the way on the snow.

'Road conditions are good.' He commented and I squinted, looking at the road in front of us. It wasn't clear where the road ended and where the snow-covered grass began. It was all a white sheet of snow.

'If these are good road conditions, what are bad conditions?'

It was weird driving through the darkness and I probably would have been nervous if it hadn't been for Seb behind me, the company of security guards in our jeep and the jeep behind us, and for the soft music on the radio in a language I was becoming used to hearing. A song started up that sounded too upbeat and Seb frowned, changing the radio across to CD after muttering something about a stupid Eurovision song.

'This is the start of something beautiful

This is the start of something new...'

I sank into my seat, a smile on my face as Ed Sheeran's voice filled the car and Seb smiled beside me, singing along quietly under his breath. He squinted up at the sky every now and then as he drove and in the end, he turned off of the main road and down some quiet mountainside roads where there were no streetlights at all. Finally he stopped and he turned off the lights of the car, something which would make a great scene in a horror movie. 'The sky is clear.' He said to me as he took his keys out of the ignition. 'Let's see if we can spot them.' We climbed out of the car and I watched in surprise as he set up a tripod and a camera. 'Sometimes they're clearer through a camera lens.' He explained and I remembered the picture of the Northern Lights in his bedroom back at the house.

'Did you take the picture that's in your room?'

He gave a sheepish smile. 'Yeah.'

'Wow, Sally and Simon would be impressed. You're a good photographer and artist.' I smiled and his cheeks blushed red, probably not just from cold. I looked up at the night sky and was surprised by how many more stars were visible, just by being away from the city and in complete darkness. It was magical. Seb pointed out some constellations and we looked around, waiting to see any sign of the Northern lights.

Then he paused and pointed at a cloud. 'They're behind that!' He said, excitedly. 'Notice how the cloud is lighter than the others and has a greenish glow?' I nodded and I looked at the cloud, urging it to move. And ten minutes later, when I was starting to lose hope, it did.

I gasped as a green dancing ribbon flashed across the sky and then there were two of them visible, waving and dancing as they passed us. The brightness varied, but it was perfect and Seb quickly snapped some photos before coming to stand beside me, looking up in awe as it was the first time he'd seen them too. In that moment, I didn't mind that my nose was cold or that my eyes were watery from the cold wind. I'd stepped into a dream and I was looking at one of the wonders of the world.

'I've never seen anything so beautiful.' I whispered and Seb's hand squeezed mine but didn't let go. I gave him a shy smile, before looking up at the lights, worried they would vanish if I glanced away for too long.

Seb.

Even in the light of the Aurora, Sky was beautiful, her eyes glowing and appearing to change colour just like the night sky. Her arm was pressed against mine and I watched as she looked up in awe and wonder at the beauty overhead. She sighed, a content sigh and I relaxed, taking a risk; I placed my arm around her shoulder and she didn't pull away. She let me hold it there. What I really wanted in that moment was to kiss her. I'd wanted to kiss her for a while, but I was afraid. Afraid that I would ruin the wonderful friendship we had. She'd quickly become my very best friend and someone that I really didn't want to lose. Someone I wanted to keep safe. Someone whose life I would easily put before my own.

Her eyes flicked to mine and she caught me staring. 'What?'

'Nothing.' I said with a smile and she gave a small smile as a blush creeped across her cheeks. I had no idea who this Zed Benedict guy was, but I knew he was an idiot. To let Sky go, he had to be completely stupid. She was perfect; a beautiful, kind, ray of sunshine and even though she wasn't the crown princess, she would make a wonderful Queen.

Sky fell asleep as I drove us back home and I couldn't blame her; it was the early hours of the morning and it was 3.30am by the time we were inside the garage back at the house. I unclipped my seatbelt and climbed out of the car.

'Want me to carry her up to her bed, your highness?' Marius asked, signalling to sleeping Sky.

'It's okay, I can carry her upstairs.' I replied, knowing I'd probably be sleeping at her side once again, something that I was used to doing by now. 'Can you take the camera and tripod?'

'Of course, your highness.' He bowed and I threw him the car keys, before opening the car door and scooping out Sky into my arms. Her head rested against my shoulder and I smiled as I carried her out of the garage and up to her room.

'Seb?' Her voice was sleepy and I realised she'd woken up as we'd reached the top of the stairs. 'Are we back at the house?'

'We are.' I confirmed softly and I carefully pushed open her door, taking her inside her bedroom. I placed her down on the bed gently and her eyes fluttered open as she stretched.

'Did you just carry me from the car?'

'Mmhmm.' I smiled as her deep blue eyes met mine. 'Can you get ready for bed okay?' She nodded and I turned towards the door.

'Seb, can we sleep in your room tonight?'

My heart leapt in my chest. 'Of course.' She smiled, a smile that made me catch my breath. 'Meet you in there?'

When I emerged from the bathroom, Sky was already curled up on my bed in her pyjamas, reading something on her phone. I slid under the covers beside her and she yawned as I caught her scrolling through Facebook. 'Well it's official. Everyone knows I'm in Norway.'

'Good.' I smiled as she put down her phone and laid down beside me. I turned off the light as she rolled over, facing me in the dark.

'Good?'

'Well it means we don't have to hide you or the photos and now I can post photos of you sleeping.'

'What?' She gasped and I chuckled.

'I am joking.' I replied, running my fingers gently across her bare arm. 'I think our parents wouldn't be impressed and it would probably be front page news.'

'I seem to be front page news a lot these days.' She sighed and she nestled up to me, giving me heart palpitations. Not that I minded. 'Thank you for taking me to see the Northern Lights. It was perfect.'

'You're welcome.' I whispered. 'Now get some sleep.'

'Night night Seb.' She said softly, her breath tickling my bare neck.

'Goodnight.' I whispered and I kissed her gently on the forehead, the only move I was brave enough to make.

Sky

Our days in Norway seemed to pass by quickly and, before long, we were back in the city of Oslo, where the snow was almost gone. The night skies were less clear and all I had as a reminder of Bergen were the photos I'd captured on my phone and the ones I'd swiped off of Seb and Lolly's Facebook from their cameras. My phone buzzed beside me as I was tagged in photos from our trip as I laid in bed on the morning of meeting my tutor for the first time. Seb and I hadn't shared a bed that night because he'd gotten up early for a meeting with his father; something to do with crown prince business apparently. I'd definitely missed having his warmth beside me and my mind had drifted off to places I didn't want it to go, places that scared me. My phone showed I'd been tagged in an Instagram photo by Lolly so I opened it up carefully, surprised that she too was awake.

The photo was of Seb, Phillip, Lolly and I at the top of the mountain, beautiful Bergen in the background and the four of us smiling.

Had the best time in Bergen with princesebastienII , hrhprincesssky and hrhprincephillip . How's this for a royal photo?

I liked the picture and was surprised that a few thousand others already had and the comments were adding up. Then I was tagged in another Instagram photo, this time by Seb. I opened the picture and gawped.

It was a picture of me with the Northern Lights behind me, my smile genuine as I looked up at them. It was completely unposed but so very pretty at the same time. Seb was a great photographer, that much was clear, and the sky had a green glowing ribbon across it, just as vivid as I remembered.

I've seen the Northern Lights so many times but this time was even more beautiful hrhprincessky

I swallowed. Did he mean me or the lights or both? I mentally swatted myself. Of course he meant the lights. They were clear as day as so very beautiful. But then there were the 3,452 likes and the 234 comments...

They are totally an item!

I ship them!

Seriously cute couple!

Omg, Prince Sebastien and Princess Sky are so adorable!

I love them!

My cheeks flushed red and burnt as there was a knock at the door and in walked Lavine, a cheery smile on her face and a cup of tea in her hand. 'Good morning your highness.' She said with her thick accent, placing the cup of tea on my vintage coffee table.

'Lavine, lovely to see you.' I said as she curtsied. 'Did you have a nice week off?'

'It was very nice but it is good to see you too.' She walked over to the window and opened the curtains, the sun barely creeping up. 'There's no formal breakfast this morning as the King, Queen and Prince are out, but I can bring some breakfast up for when you have showered. What would you like?'

'Toast.'

She nodded. 'Of course.' She walked over to the door and paused, glancing over her shoulder. 'Ah, there appears to be a note by your door.'

'Oh?' She walked over and passed me an envelope, my name written in swirly writing on the front. She smiled and excused herself as I opened the envelope carefully. I pulled out the note and read it, a smile appearing on my face.

Sky,

I hope that you slept okay without my company. Good luck with your first day of being home-schooled and I hope to see you when I am home later. Thought you might want to see these.

Yours,

Seb

Inside the envelope were some printed photos and my heart felt warm as I looked at them. He'd captured perfect pictures of the Northern Lights and inside was even the one of me from Instagram, the one which I knew was going to become my new Facebook picture. Then there was a picture of us, one I hadn't realised had been taken. The two of us were stood, smiling and looking full of wonder at the Northern Lights, his arm draped around my shoulder. I swallowed and put the pictures down. It was a cute picture, but we looked like a couple and clearly people thought that too, didn't they? But I couldn't even think about a relationship after Zed had changed his mind. It was too much of a risk; giving your heart and soul to someone and then them getting bored and throwing you to the curb. A tear rolled down my cheek. I didn't want a boyfriend if it meant getting hurt again.