Well, if that weren't the most interesting thing Lake had heard all day. One of the most interesting things, anyway. The time past of this evening had hardly been away from her interest. And to burst into this room only to find Jay being stabbed. She kept her arm around his back, hugging his shoulder into her chest as if that would keep him from another stabbing. An idiot he was. Lake had always known her brother was an idiot, but it was altogether new to find him in this sort of danger and she absolutely hated him for it. Jay had never been threatened in such a fashion. Imprisoned, yes. A good punch in the face was almost a regular thing. But never before had anyone dared stab her older brother!

She breathed in deeply, noisily, with a gasp, hoping the musty air of the room would do something to slow the confusion spinning round her head. In the world of the Millers it was necessary to rely from time to time on dumb luck and a little intuition and it had once again paid itself out. She and Hyrum had heard the confusion rooms away.

Hyrum. What had this freak just called him?

If they had not heard anything, she might not have been around to see blood ooze from her brother's chest. She might not have been as angry as she was now.

Prince Isaac had been attacked as well. That much was evident. She hugged Jay tighter, wondering against every other emotion dancing through her if she should go over to her first palace friend. The jerk that had made her think he could love her. She hadn't wanted him to die. Then why had she thought such before? Anger, of course; she was entitled to anger from time to time, for what else in the name of heaven and hell was she feeling now? And she was a good person. Timber considered her an angel. Angels didn't just let people die, did they? No, it was her duty to run to the Prince's side, for Jay was an idiot and could certainly take care of himself if he were stupid enough to get himself stabbed. No, that thought made absolutely no sense whatsoever!

But the truth was that the light was dim and unsteady, she didn't have the energy to stand, and the sudden attention on Hyrum was indeed interesting. With one hand she pressed against the slowing blood on Jay's chest—it was warm and sticky and did not need her sight. She used that for Hyrum and the man. Suddenly she did not care if the Prince lived or died as long as she could hear the rest of this conversation. "What is he talking about, Hyrum?"

"Nothing." Hyrum muttered quickly. He pushed easily past the man and stomped toward the Prince. Light flowed over the dusty walls. It was like being inside a lamp.

The man laughed weakly. His face grew paler by the second as blood continued to drip from his leg. Lake could actually hear the sound. "Still as tactless as ever, Your Highness?" That glorious mess of blood and flesh that had once been a leg. Her brother had caused that. Her wonderful, wonderful brother! And yet what sort of monster could laugh through it? Clearly he had to be lying.

"He's hardly a prince, you bastard," she hissed. She hated this man. He had stabbed Jay and Prince Isaac. A bastard was hardly the right name to call him. "He's a lowly guard."

Another laugh. His hand slapped, splashing, into the pool of blood. Perhaps the wound was fatal. Well, angel or not, she was certainly not going to help him. "To think I have a princess and the heir to a throne at my disposal."

"Strange words for a bleeding man," she replied.

"You are a foolish girl. Ask your friend yourself. Speak to him and if he is truthful as he should be he will let you know everything." A cough. "An odd sort of quest for a man such as him."

"Silence," Hyrum said. He was bent over the still form of Prince Isaac. Other than that Lake could not see what he was doing.

"I don't think he is going to be quiet," Jay said. He gently pushed Lake away, though she resisted at first. "I'm fine, Lake. A lot better than you would be."

"You were stabbed!" she snapped.

"And I was cut through my leg." The man spoke simply, as if he were observing something in nature. Weakly he tore at his cloak, and surprisingly managed to snatch away a ragged bit of cloth with which to staunch his bleeding. But before he could do anything the rag was yanked away by quick fingers. Andrea's.

"Here," she said, kneeling down beside Lake. How cute. She thought she had come to help.

"He really is all right," Lake insisted, but she moved aside so Andrea could press herself over Jay. "The bleeding has finally stopped, I think."

She shook her head fervently, dark hair tangling itself over her face like a veil. "No, no! I saw the knife and…" Her fingers drifted over the now-scarred skin. "You're not hurt."

Jay nodded. "I told you. Or rather Timber told you… I didn't mean to scare you…"

And, with Lake sitting at a much too-awkward close proximity, Andrea kissed Jay with more ferocity than Lake usually used for men.

For crying out loud, they had only come for gold. Not so some palace tramp could do the beginning of what a thousand different girls had wanted to do to her brother.

Yet she found herself smiling just the same. It was good for Jay to suffer in such ways. It was good for everyone. She herself hadn't been…

Hyrum.

She leapt to her feet, dizziness once again overtaking her. She would kill for a well-lit room once again. Her hands flew around her seeking balance and then she was off, stepping over the man who was now unconscious, pausing only to give his head a good kick for luck. Then she skipped over the floor, knocking dust into billowing clouds around her that threatened her throat. It was filthy, this room. To think she had found it enchanting, in retrospective, when Isaac had taken her!

The room where Isaac had taken her. She had thought herself so special then, even when she had heard of his other companion of this room. The scandals that must have occurred in such a station! With someone such as Caroline, no less. What right did a servant have to frequent dark corners with the likes of a prince?

Isaac and Hyrum seemed miles away. Hyrum had placed the torch in a sconce but the flames did nothing to steady themselves. It was like a dream, this room. Why had no one bothered to clean it out?

His Royal Highness Prince Isaac's dusty little secret. Where the hell was Caroline? She should be sharing in this moment, it being her lover who was possibly lyig dead in the arms of a guard. A prince?

That awful man had called Hyrum a prince. What could he possibly mean? How could Hyrum be a prince?

Lake had only put herself out for the likes of royalty and nobility. She was the type to frequent dark corners with the likes of princes. Why, to try out Hyrum as something else would be a change, which is precisely why he could not be a prince.

If he believed he could fall in love with her, why could he not find the time to tell her such things? What a mistake to find him attractive! A dirty rotten liar who knew all of her secrets and…

The miles and miles of dust and shadows passed behind her like wind and she found herself standing above Hyrum and Isaac.

His shirt was off—Hyrum's. His shirt was off and twisted into a rag pressed just beneath Isaac's neck. Isaac was not conscious, but his lips quivered ever so slightly with breath. Hyrum pressed the shirt down with one arm, the other pressed just as hard against the floor for balance. He was bigger than Lake had imagined, and she liked it. Many of the princes and kings she had seen were slender and weak. Which was another reason Hyrum could not be a prince.

Isaac was a prince. And he was detained. Though clearly he was not going propose to her, she might as well seek out that treasury. She could take Jay, he could take Andrea, and they would leave for the next town.

If only this damn curiosity would let her be! It had to be curiosity.

Almost entrance, she knelt down next to Hyrum. All Isaac had done was love Caroline—and clearly something else that demanded he be cut like this, but that was beside the point in Lake's mind. She could not be angry with him this time. "How is he?"

The look Hyrum shot her was hardly sympathetic. "How the hell do you think he is? I am not paid enough to deal with this kind of excitement."

It had been an exciting evening, at least this portion. "I'm just asking—"

"He'll live, that's all you need to know." He sighed deeply. "Don't worry. It's not your job. I'm sure King Cherdith will arrange your wedding when he has healed. As for your brother," he gave another sigh and looked back. "How is he?"

Jay's mother had thankfully been a fairy. "He's fine."

"He was stabbed."

"Well, the knife missed."

"Damn it, Lake, don't lie to me. I just want to know what is going on with you and your family and a little honestly would be greatly appreciated." He pushed the bloodied shirt harder into Isaac's chest. "It's slowing. Better get him to someone who knows what he is doing."

"What about—"

"The happy little assassin?" Hyrum snorted. "Leave him." He scooped Isaac up and headed for the door. "Let's go."

What strange two words. For a moment Lake was not sure she had heard right. She was supposed to chase Hyrum against his will. "What about what he said?"

"Which thing that he said?"

Lake resisted the urge to kick him. "Don't play dumb with me!"

Andrea and Jay were already on their feet, Andrea demanding to know Isaac's condition. Now she was the angel. Timber had to meet her. All Hyrum did was repeat his same gruff phrase so Andrea could squeal in delight and happiness. What an idiot.

And yet her brother had evidently managed to be hooked by her. The things their father would say! But that was not what Lake wanted to think about. "Hyrum, answer my question and you know exactly which question I mean!"

"Help me carry him." The words were a command, and Jay obediently obeyed Hyrum. With Isaac snared between them, the two men stepped over the splintery mess of the door.

"Hyrum!" Lake repeated loudly as she followed, Andrea at her heals. "Hyrum!"

"Lake, it's nothing," he finally replied. "If you want the Prince to live, you will wait."

Lake did not want to wait. "Hyrum, please!"

It did not seem as fate would ever let her hear. Her complaints were soon drowned in the smattering of people that had finally drifted from their lockdown in search of the Prince whom had so gallantly protected them. There was Jay and Hyrum, there were people, there were cries of surprise and worry. Oh no! The second murder of the night could not be their beloved Prince! Time crushed upon itself as the hallways sped by and more people arrived. Chaos burst around like wildfire and somehow through it the court doctor was summoned. Somewhere during that time, probably before she even realized it, Lake realized she had absolutely no idea what had become of Hyrum.

Fortunately that only lasted a few minutes—at least by her reckoning of the new timing.

He snuck off in the commotion, back towards the room.

She smiled. He thought he would not be seen. Well, no one would miss her. She was only the girl who spun the straw into gold.

She caught him as he rounded a corner. "Hyrum!"

He froze. "Miss Lake." His voice was formal, stiff, hardly gruff. She did not like it.

She caught up to him. "I want my question answered."

The muscles in his shoulders tightened, and he turned to face her. "I'm going up after that man. It's my responsibility. He has wounded His Royal Highness."

"What about you?"

He shook his head, turned back, and continued. It was all so familiar; not that long ago they had been walking these same halls. "Don't worry about that."

"I demand to know why he said that."

His speed increased. "I don't recall."

Idiot. Jerk. "He called you Prince Hyrum."

"It means nothing. I have work to do. I have to make sure that man is dead."

"Last time I saw him he had blood pouring out of his leg," Lake replied. "I'm very sure he hasn't gotten away."

He gave a sharp laugh. "Don't be so sure. He's very untrustworthy."

"Are you saying he made up what he had said?"

Hyrum shook his head again.

She would know the truth and he would tell her. "Clearly you lied when you said you had no intention of falling in love with me." She honestly had no belief that such a line would actually work.

But he stopped, just before a landscape of a lake. It was surrounded by green woods. Lake suddenly hoped it was the one for which she had been named. Her eyes only rested on it a short while before staring up at Hyrum. It was a surprise. He was very handsome.

He spoke quietly, slowly. "Do you remember that story I told you earlier? About the prince you robbed? The reason I am here?"

She furrowed her brow, not quite understanding. But if Hyrum were a prince… "You don't look familiar."

"Of course not. We met for the first time a few days ago. That was true.

"Then why are you talking about—?"

He sighed. "Think, Lake. Think of the whole story. The assassin spoke true. I don't recognize him, but apparently he was in my father's court at sometime. I am Prince Hyrum of Corlblen. I'm the eldest son and heir to the throne. I told you the prince had an older brother, and he is me. My brother took up residence in a corner of our kingdom because he is not going to inherit the throne unless I die first, heirless. And that is where you apparently met him and robbed him. My father is still alive, and I was bored."

Royalty had always been strange. She grinned. "So you came out here?"

"It's family tradition that we complete a quest before taking the throne."

"And you picked pretending to be a guard as yours?"

He nodded. "Why not?"

She moved in closer to him. A prince in disguise. She had yet to flaunt herself for one of those. Maybe he was worth the risk. "So what are you going to do now that you have caught me? Lock me in the dungeons?"

"I'm not going to lock you away," he said irritably.

"My brother helped." She locked her eyes with his. He was extremely handsome.

She wasn't sure who moved in first for the kiss.

Peter found the girl in a corner in one of the old halls. Her hands and feet were bound, and there was a large bump on her head.

Another casualty of the night, he realized. After the attack on the Prince one upon a servant girl would mean nothing, but Peter could not bear to see a girl so young in pain. It was Hannah, a recent employee. Sweet, silent. He gathered her in his arms.

She moaned, and her eyes fluttered open. "Where am I?"

"The palace," he said. Hopefully she had not lost her memory.

"Still?" She seemed fully awake now, and even struggled from his hold.

An odd question. "Where else did you imagine yourself?"

She shook her head and almost tumbled to the floor—Peter was sure to set her down gently. "I'm all right, Peter. I promise I am. But I need… Peter, will you take me outside?"

"It's pitch black out there."

She took a deep breath. She seemed desperate. "I need to go outside."

"But Prince Isaac was just attacked."

She flinched at that, which did not surprise Peter. It was terrifying to see everyone's favorite Prince in the state he was in. "Is he alive?"

"Yes. The man who attacked him is unconscious."

"I still need to go." Her voice was on the rise now, pleading and demanding at the same time.

Peter had never been good with the demands of women. Somewhat against his better judgment, he accompanied her to the gate.

He just knew he was going to regret it.