Ambrose was getting ready for the ball that was to celebrate the Queen's birthday. He knew he had to attend as the Queen's advisor but he was not looking forward to the event on a whole. None of the ladies of the court were ever interested in him, they thought him stuck up not only because he was smart but also because he had the ear of the Queen.
This could not have been farther from the truth. He never put on airs, he always acted as himself, never hid behind false faces and this made him vulnerable. He could not play the political games of the court and he had no desire to.
He always stayed to himself and it was this that made people say he was stuck up, that he thought himself too good to mingle with them. Him a low born who had somehow caught the eye of the Queen and had risen over night to the most sought after position.
As he straightened his dress jacket he heard the door open as quietly as possible and the soft click of shoes on the marble floor. He smiled to himself, she always tried to scare him since it was so easy, especially when he was caught up in his work.
As she was about to pounce on him he turned and said boo. She was startled and felt herself lose her balance but just as quickly an arm wrapped around her and held her in place.
"I told you I would never let you fall," he said, the smile affecting all his face.
She pouted at him, "Why are you always able to know when I'm coming?"
"I have my ways," he teased, tickling her to get rid of the scowl that distorted her features. She tried not to give in but she was very ticklish and he always took advantage of that small fact.
She was soon laughing and gasping for breath. He stopped and she noticed that he was not in his usual dress, his coat was trimmed in cold and was the deepest midnight blue and his hair was behaving, the curls tamed into neutral waves.
"Why are you dressed up?" she asked.
"For your mother's birthday ball remember? It's tonight and I," he placed his hand on his chest that he puffed out and put on a posh accent, "Must attend as the Queen's advisor."
She laughed at his impersonation of everyone else in the court. She hated them, they never noticed her and never talked to her. Only Ambrose did, he was the only one who saw her. They would often make fun of the other courtiers and had once been caught by the Queen who had given them a stern look that had never fully reached her eyes that were filled with mirth.
"Must you go? You know these are boring and sooo long."
"I'm afraid I must. I don't like it anymore than you."
"Will you dance with me tonight?"
"I wasn't aware you were joining in the festivities."
"I might…" she said with a mischievous look in her eye. "I like to dance with you and I want to show off what you taught me."
He remembered when she had asked him to teach her to dance. She had been clumsy at first, insisting it was impossible for her to dance and she had stood on his toes. He had encouraged her every step of the way, never criticizing only correcting. She had finally gotten it and was soon dancing on her own with him. She was actually very graceful and she loved dancing with him and would do so whenever she got the chance.
"DG…you're not planning anything are you?"
"Noooo. Momma is making me come because she wants me to get more used to the people that will surround me for my whole life. All those boring people smiling their fake smiles at me, trying to befriend me so when I must rule I might give them a position in my court."
Ambrose smiled sadly at her. She was only nine annuals, too young to have to worry about such things. The only thing she should have to worry about was if she would be able to go outside tomorrow and play in the sun.
"DG your rule is far off if it even comes at all. Az will rule before you since she is the elder. You don't have to worry about the courtiers."
"You're going to be late for the start of the celebration," she calmly noted.
He looked at the clock on the wall and realized she was right.
"I'll see you there then," he said and walked out the door.
DG followed close behind, he would be introduced long before she was but she still went to the stairs that led down into the ballroom and sat out of the way. She heard him introduced and saw him descend the stairs slowly. Not looking at the stairs and yet he was able to descend them with out falling. She wished she had his grace but she knew she was clumsy even if he had told her she just had to find her own rhythm.
He was now in the ballroom, she knew he would not go onto the dance floor but would find a space on the wall where there were few people. He had long ago given up asking women to dance with him, they always refused him, something she never understood.
He was a kind person who would never hurt anyone intentionally, he was always willing to do things with her even though she knew there were things he should be doing. He was charming, handsome and she had even said as much to her mother. She often found herself fantasizing about them being together for ever and had told her mother that one day she would marry him. Her mother had smiled knowingly at her, she had not missed all the things the two did together, they were never far away from each other and they both sought each other out.
DG heard her name being announced and rushed over to the top of the stairs to start descending them. Unlike Ambrose she had to look at where she placed her feet, she did not want to fall down the stairs. She made it to the bottom with no mishaps and started walking to where she had seen Ambrose. When she reached the spot she was sure he would be at he was nowhere to be seen. She twirled around trying to search the crowd for him but there were just so many people and she could not see more then a few people away.
She found a chair and sat out of the way of all the adults who were surrounding her and threatening to crush her. She looked down at the floor and didn't notice that one of the many people disconnected from the throng and stopped in front of her. She could barely hear him as he said, "May I have this dance?" and he held out his hand to her.
She smiled at him and gave him her hand. He led her onto the dance floor and they soon picked up the steps with the music. They were gliding gracefully around the dance floor and people started whispering things like, "Going after the throne," "Not happy with just advisor," "Someone should warn the Queen," "Have to put that boy in his place."
The two dancing ignored everything around them, it was only them and everything dropped away until all they knew was the music and each other.
They danced with each other for the rest of the night.
They did it for their own ends, DG because she wanted no one else to get the chance of dancing with Ambrose and Ambrose because he didn't want any of the courtiers' grubby hands touching her.
Eventually DG's father came over to where the two were taking a break from the dance they had just finished. Ahamo whispered to Ambrose, "It's getting late…"
Ambrose's eyes widened and he looked at the huge clock on the wall of the ballroom, it was almost midnight. He saw out of the corner of his eye that DG was trying to hide a yawn as she beamed at him.
"Princess," he saw her wince but the smile remained, "May I escort you to your room?"
She knew he did it for propriety and because her father was there before them watching the back and forth.
She nodded her head and gave him her arm which he linked through his own.
"Goodnight daddy."
"Goodnight Angel. Ambrose," he nodded his head at his wife's advisor. He was aware, just like his wife, of his daughter and Ambrose. When the time came, if it did, he would give his blessing to the couple.
"Your Majesty," Ambrose bowed his head.
He took DG up to her room, the two sharing the silence, the silence that was anything but awkward.
When they reached her room, she unlinked her arm as Ambrose closed the door. She scampered off to get into her pajamas in the huge wardrobe that held all her outfits.
He knew he should return to the ball but this had become a ritual for the two. She would change and then he would help her get settled in bed, then he would either read or sing her to sleep.
Tonight was no different, he had responsibilities, the most important of which was DG. She wanted a story and what she wanted he gave, he knew he spoiled her but he couldn't help it.
He told her the story of one of her ancestors', her favorite story about her namesake.
He told her of Dorothy's journey through the land of Oz, as it had been called back then. He told her of the friends she made along the way, the discoveries about herself she made, the triumph over the witch. How she had stayed in the land of Oz and had become the first Queen of this land, had married the scarecrow who had been turned into a human by Glinda. That the magic that had transformed him had been passed into each succeeding generation and even now ran through the veins of DG. He told her of how Dorothy made sure her female descendants were the ones to rule and they could marry who they wished as she had. How she had brought peace to Oz once again, a peace that still existed to this day.
Ambrose looked to DG and saw she had fallen asleep, something that usually took much longer but she had been more tired than she let on. He leaned over and gently kissed her forehead, rising slowly from the edge of the bed he took his leave of the sleeping girl.
They both smiled at the remembrance of that night. However, the memories were no longer just DG's, their memories were mixing. Glitch's memories of that night continued the story, showing her what had happened after he had left her room all those annuals ago.
He was walking back to the ballroom when one of the lady courtiers approached him. She smiled seductively at him and he wondered what she wanted, the look had no affect on him other than to make him cautious.
This was one of the many who spread rumors about him, even though he would never confront her or anyone else about it, and she was one of the many who openly refused to dance with him when he had asked.
"Lady Brianna," he stiffly bowed, venom dripping from his voice.
If she noticed she ignored it, "I was wondering if you would take a walk with me in the garden."
His intuition screamed at him to decline but if he offended her it would mean hell for him and subsequently the Queen.
"It would be my pleasure," he said, barely hiding his contempt as he offered his arm and she took it.
They were silent as they walked out to the garden that took up most of the grounds of Finaqua. It had been almost three annuals since a small six annual old had said this was the best part of the castle.
He always loved it out here, especially when the moon was full and lit up the flowers with an ethereal glow.
The stars were bright and he enjoyed finding shapes and creatures in them with DG. He smiled at the thought of DG, how she had made him feel more comfortable in his new situation as the advisor. She had faith in him, the kind of faith that only children can give and believe in.
Everything led back to DG, he did almost everything with her. He loved being friends with her, she grounded him in a world that he had never thought he would be a part of. They had taught each other and they had become the closest of friends.
The woman on his arm tried to hide the sneer, why had they put her up to this? Surely someone else would have been willing. She wanted to dance, not be out in the cold air with a man she detested.
She knew he was distracted with his thoughts as he always seemed to be, and they were using this fact about him to their advantage. She guided him to the maze and traversed it to the pre-arranged meeting place. They finally reached the tree in the middle of the maze that was the jewel of the garden.
Standing by the tree were four of the lords who had had enough of this boy trying to advance himself and doing a damn good job of it while they were left to bumble in the background to no avail.
Ambrose looked at the men's faces as the Lady Brianna dropped his arm in disgust and fled back to the party. She hoped she could get a couple more dances in. Whatever they were about to do to the advisor was none of her business and she could have cared less.
The four lords cut off Ambrose's escape immediately and confronted him.
"Think you're pretty big huh advisor?"
"Did you really think we wouldn't notice what you were trying to accomplish? I tremble at the thought of the Queen allowing something like this to continue unchecked for so long."
"It ends tonight advisor," a voice drawled. They were all careful to hide their faces from him and he had no idea which lords they were.
"We're going to show you where you belong and hopefully you will stay there. Hold him."
Two sets of arms grabbed him before he had time to react. He tried to escape but the arms were strong and only held on more, pulling his arms behind his back painfully. One of the lords who was not holding him approached.
"Time to put in your rightful place mutt."
His fist connected with Ambrose's face causing his head to whip in the opposite direction. He looked back at his attacker as he was pummeled more and more. Every time he would defiantly look at his attacker, showing his anger and hatred. This only resulted in the lord hitting harder as he tried to break that spirit. He wanted Ambrose to beg him to stop, to take the pain away, but he never muttered a sound.
The lord, in his anger, punched Ambrose in the gut and was satisfied to hear the air rush out of his lungs and a resounding crack. He slumped in the arms of the lords holding him, tears of pain began running down his face, mixing with the blood from various cuts on his face. The salt in his tears stung the wounds and he hissed from the pain but otherwise he let no other noise pass through his lips. He would not give them the satisfaction.
The lords soon tired of beating him with no affect and the lead lord who had not gotten his hands dirty thus far nodded his head to the others. They let Ambrose go and he fell to the ground on all fours, trying to catch his breath from the last assault.
The lord who had watched from afar with an evil glee in his eyes stepped forward to the bloodied advisor and leaned down.
"Maybe next time you try to attain the Princess as your own, you will remember our time together."
Ambrose said nothing, just closed his eyes in pain and thinking only that he would never allow these men near the princess, his princess, his best friend.
"You…will…never…touch her," he gasped.
The lord was infuriated that Ambrose still had the audacity to challenge him. He stood up and kicked Ambrose in the gut with all his might. Ambrose finally let out a cry of pain as he collapsed. The lord smirked in pleasure and once again leaned down.
"Don't ever tell me what to do advisor. You have no sway over me and if I have anything to do with it soon the Queen won't listen to you either."
Ambrose could feel the darkness closing in on him, he fought against it with all the strength he had left. Everything hurt, even breathing hurt.
He could not say anything even though he wanted to. The lord took his silence as a victory and looked to the others as he stood.
"Come. We will be missed soon and we mustn't have that."
To Ambrose he gave a mock salute and left him where he lay.
He tried to get up but even the slightest movement sent white-hot bolts of pain shooting through his whole body.
He finally gave in to the dark.
DG shook with anger at the shared memory. How could anyone have done that to him? He had never tried to steal power from anyone. He had just wanted a friend in the sea of hating faces that was the court. Through the shared link she sent him her love and sympathy. The next memory was DG's and it washed over them both.
DG stood before her mother, the look on her face was one she had never seen there before. It was a mixture of sorrow, worry, anger, and hate. DG never knew one could feel so many things at once.
Her mother looked at her. How was she going to tell her without causing her distress? Everything she was about to tell her daughter would distress her, there was no easy way to say this.
"DG…" she slowly began, "I have something I must tell you and you must remain calm for me…"
DG knew something was wrong, awfully wrong and she was getting worried.
"Last night…something happened…to Ambrose," something in DG dropped. Her mother continued, "We found him unconscious in the maze, badly hurt…barely breathing…very cold…"
The more her mother talked the colder DG became as the sinking sensation worsened, she was filled with worry, could only stand and stare with her mouth open. Ambrose? Hurt? Barely breathing? Cold? Her Ambrose? Who was always warm? Her mother had to be mistaken.
"Where is he?" DG couldn't hide the agitation at this news, she was trying not to cry in front of her mother, to be strong.
"He is in the medical wing…" before she could finish DG had started running in the direction of the medical wing. She distantly heard her mother yelling, "DG wait!"
She ignored it and kept running toward Ambrose. She let the tears come, the breeze from her running quickly drying them away.
Who would do such a thing to my sweet Ambrose?
If she ever found out she would kill them herself.
She reached the medical wing, out of breath, and crashed through the doors. The staff had been warned she might come and they were ready. They stopped her from running through the whole wing and calmed her down as much as they could.
They wanted to wait for her mother to come but she demanded she see Ambrose and they could not refuse.
They led her into the wing of the hospital reserved for patients who needed to be watched carefully. She barely recognized her friend lying on the bed. He was the wrong color, he was too puffy, he had something in his mouth, there was a terrible machine making a rasping breathing noise, there were bandages wrapped around his abdomen that was also the wrong color. Everything was wrong.
She walked over to the side of the bed and gently brushed a stray curl away from his face. He twitched but did not wake.
"Ambrose? It's me…please wake up."
There was no response from him as his eyes remained closed to her.
She looked to the nurse confused, she sighed and answered the un-spoken question, "We have to keep him asleep or the pain would be too much. The brain can only handle so much pain. It's better for him this way."
Tears prickled her eyes and she sat in the chair that was by the bed. The nurse bowed her head and left the two alone. DG put her hand on Ambrose's and willed him to get better soon.
She didn't notice the light that emanated from their hands as she leaned her head on his arm and cried herself to sleep.
***
It took weeks for his body to heal and DG was always there. They tried to pry her away from his side but she refused. She took her meals in the medical wing, she slept there and even refused to leave for lessons or to play outside. Where was the fun in playing outside without Ambrose?
When he finally opened his eyes she was the first thing he saw. He couldn't speak though because the breathing tube was still breathing for him but he was able to squeeze her hand. She smiled at him as she realized he was awake.
"NURSE!!"
The nurse came running and when she saw that Ambrose was awake she gently moved DG out of the way.
"Ambrose, I'm Nurse Hadra. I'm going to take the tube out now but I need you to breath out while I do. You may want to gag but try not to, just keep breathing out."
He nodded and DG could not see what she did exactly but she could hear Ambrose breath out and splutter as the tube was removed. He coughed and the nurse gave a satisfied nod of her head.
She turned to DG and said, "Don't strain him. He still needs his rest. Oh and don't make him talk too much."
She nodded and went back to sit by Ambrose. She started crying and Ambrose brushed away the tears and gave her a questioning look.
"I thought you were going to leave me," she cried, "I was so scared. You were so still and wouldn't wake up."
He frowned at her and rasped, "I remember making a promise that I would always be there for you."
She smiled and layed her head on his chest gently. He winced but DG didn't notice and he was glad she hadn't as he began stroking her beautiful hair.