Nixiesocean: So. Apparently people really like this story and read it. Well, I just wanted to thank you all! No one really asks questions, so there's really nothing to say. : - P So, have a good time y'all, y'know, reading and all that jazz.

With that said, I present in full, Dolby (Which I do not own) Sound System. Or… not… Okay, well. At least in Technicolor (Which I do not own). (Mob starts to form). Okay, okay! It's in words, any color or lack there of is completely the reader's fault!

P.S. I own everything in this story.

Chapter 13: A Diplomatic Mission

So, here I am, lying on the prince's chest. I'm wet; the strings on my corset have tightened from the water (that Prince Kyne shoved me in!). He wrapped his arms around me, holding me closely to his chest. Which, I'll be the first admit isn't all that pudgy. I put my arms around his neck and shut my eyes. He breathed deeply and I felt his heart time with mine, both of us falling into the dreamland. I awoke by a nose nuzzling my arm, which was still around Prince Kyne's neck. I opened my eyes to see the familiar shape of Saoirse, my horse. I stood, my fingers lingering on his cheek. He opened his eyes.

"Ah, the little horse came back, did she?" He asked between yawns. I smiled and mounted.

"If you want to ride home, you better mount her quickly." I teased. He grinned and easily mounted my horse and wrapped his hands around my waist. He kissed my ear and we rode off, leaving our spot behind. We arrived at the palace just as the sun was setting. The guards nodded to us, when they thought I wasn't looking, they flashed smiles to each other. We rode to the stables. There, the prince dismounted and opened the stable door, after fiddling with the lock, again. He entered saying something about replacing faulty locks. I entered and took off Saoirse's tack. I handed them to the prince who put them away.

I replaced Saoirse, who went in her large stall without encouragement, and I turned to see Prince Kyne smiling lazily at me. I locked Saoirse's stall and went over to him and kissed him on the lips, feeling that ghostly imprint fade upon contact of the real lips. He wrapped me in his arms and kissed me back, holding my still wet form to his.

You remember that small box I talked about? I think it just quadrupled in size. Finally, the prince released his hold my waist and my lips. I was light-headed, giddy and hungry. I have been a meal without food! I left the stables and rounded it to head to the stables when I heard voices.

"What was that? An attempt to show me what I lost?" – "No, not at all. What was I supposed to do? Shove her off to spare you some heartache?" – "Yes! You could've just dismissed me without shoving my loss in my face!" – "If I remember it correctly, you were the one to say that you and her couldn't be together." – "Don't defend her just because you've kissed her, Prince Kyne." – "I'm allowed to defend the one I love, Favain."

I stepped back. He hadn't dismissed him! He just hid him from me. That was the problem with the locks! He hid every time he heard the locks jingled. I cursed him, both 'him's. I blamed Favian for breaking my heart and the prince for lying to me and capturing my heart. When I took another step back, I knocked a random bucket, which hit a rake that leaned up next to the stables, which hit a tower of pails, which tumbled down. By this time, both men came around the corner seeing me staring at the pile of buckets with the rake.

"What is this?" I asked. "A cruel joke intended to trap an unassuming person?" I demanded. I saw Favain. "And you! You are- there are no words for it!" I turned, leaving both men staring at my back. I heard Prince Kyne whisper something, and then I heard his feet padding up behind me.

"Please, Fria-"

"Princess Fria. A kiss doesn't change my station." I said, whipping around. "You lied to me. Lied! I haven't lied to you this whole time, yet here you are, lying to me about dismissing one person that caused me so much pain. You cannot comprehend how dirty I feel to even have kissed you!" I said. "What do you know of pain? You're no better than that stable boy!"

"Princess Fria." He whispered. "When I said I loved you, was that empty words to you?" He held my hand. "Did those kisses I gave you nothing? Were they devoid of anything?"

I shook my head, trying to sort out how I felt. "Does it matter? There are a courtful of ladies you can lie to! Leave me be!" I ripped my hand from his. "You can't imagine the betrayal I feel." I said to him. "This is deeper than any love. This is worse than any simple fight, Prince Kyne. We are talking about lies, big, fat lies!" We were near the entrance to the palace. "Do you know how betrayed I feel? To think you were the person to come save me from my ice-world! More like hold a torch to it and laugh at it's melting fabric!"

"Princess, I know how you feel-"

"You have no idea!" I said, tears falling down my cheeks. "You men are all the same!" I turned from his face and walked down the hall, trying to lose him.

"Listen!" He roared. I turned, amazed by this show of anger. "I was in love with a court lady, Carys was her name. She enchanted me; I thought she loved me. In the end, she was after power, not me. I dismissed her when I knew you were coming. Don't you see, Princess? I have felt that deep betrayal. I never intended to hurt you. I never intended to re-introduce you to him. I was going to tell him to leave today." Tears were in his eyes. "But, since our short love means nothing, I'll keep him here. You may leave whenever you wish, simply say it and I will have a carriage prepared." He held out his arms.

I was stunned. Tears fell unchecked on the ground. I ran toward him, kissing him so fiercely that even to this day, I don't know whether it was out of anger or happiness. All emotions and rational thoughts dissolved into that age-old passion that brought down nations and built alliances. My arms wrapped around his neck, pulling his face harder onto my lips. I unintentionally knocked him into the wall. His breath was pushed into me, which in turn made me release the kiss.

He was breathing heavily. "I take it you don't want to leave?" He asked, pulling me into a hug. I shook my head, wetting the drying shirt he wore. He held me close to him. "I love you, princess." He whispered into my ear. "I'll love you forever."

I looked up. "Call me Fria, please." I requested, smiling at his words. "I love you more, my dear prince."

"If I am to call you Fria you must call me Kyne." He swept me up, my feet leaving the ground. I let a laugh escape my tingling lips. "And what, dear Fria, are you laughing at?"

"Only you, Kyne." I was stunned how long I had wanted to drop the title on his name, to refer to him as Kyne not the prince. I reached up with my arms and wrapped them around his neck to pull him into another kiss. He set me down in the middle of the hall and kissed me back. I pulled out of the kiss and sent him a smile. "I'll see you at dinner, sweet prince." I hurried off to my rooms to prepare for dinner.

I called a maid to ask her to help me prepare for dinner. She appeared. "My lady?" I disregarded her lack of title. I was too full of happiness to care.

"What is the prince's favorite color?" I asked, looking at the maid.

"I believe it to be green, princess." I smiled at her. "Go pick the most elegant green dress in my closet." She pulled out an emerald-green dress with a mid-neckline. It had ribbons down the back with small bows holding up the outer-most fabric. I nodded and she dressed me (with one of those dreaded corsets). When I politely requested her to do my hair, she nodded. When she put two simple studs in my ears, she asked me what necklace I wanted to wear. I said the simple chain. It had a heart with a small cloth wrapped on it. I smiled as she put it on me. When I went to look at myself in the mirror, I saw someone else. It was no longer the Fria I knew. Her eyes showed something other than cold distain. The reflection's smile wasn't fake, like I had been used to seeing, no, it was a genuine smile.

"Thank you, you are dismissed." When she was about to leave, I remembered something. "Wait." She came back. I dug into my truck deeply, feeling a small sack of coins. I pulled out a gold coin and handed it to the maid. "This is for a job well done." She gave me a sincere smile. She curtsied and left me.

I opened the door and walked out. I heard a gasp. My beloved Kyne stood there, waiting to escort me to dinner. "Like it?" I asked, sending him a smile, I looked at what he was wearing. A sea-blue tunic with black breeches. I guessed we looked like a perfect couple.

"You're beautiful," He breathed. "Simply splendid." He stretched out his arm to encircle my waist. I spun around to meet his face. His eyes shone with that same light I had seen in my own. I brushed his lips, feeling that ghostly imprint on my lips fade when ours touched. "Marry me." He whispered. "Please."

Tears fell down my cheeks. "Yes." I whispered into his ear. "With all my heart."

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Brennin!" His mother called. He turned to the woman in his arms. He left her and walked down the hall. "The king of Furde has requested that you come, they say they are having a problem with an assassination attempt and request you come." His mother, the queen of Auszin and Guen, finished. "On a happier note, Fria is getting married." Brennin smiled. How he had guessed she would fall for the prince was beyond him.

He sighed. "I guess your diplomatic mission worked then, Mother?"

"It did. Don't tell your sister that this was planned, Brennin. You have nothing to worry about though, the eldest princess of Furde had to given to the local dragon. The eldest, a son, is already engaged. He next two princesses are too young for you." His mother patted him on the back. "Oh, be ready in the next hour, the king and queen await your arrival."