It was the day before the ball, and Ambrose was forced to take the day off, by order of the Queen. He grumbled at the inconvenience, but at least he was satisfied that his latest project debuted without a hitch. It was a new plow for the farmers. It could carve and sew the seeds for crops simultaneously. It meant that farmers only had to spend less than a day to sew their crops.

Wondering what to do with his spare time, his thoughts drifted to the man who insisted on being a part of his life. He smiled when he thought about the time Cain took care of him. After that, Ambrose started to share his projects and ideas with Cain, and he in turn reported on what the citizens said they needed to help make their lives easier. The two collaborated on new ideas, and Ambrose found that he thoroughly enjoyed spending time with Cain. They would be so wrapped up in discussions that Cain insisted they go to dinner with the Royal family, because no other physical work was going to get done. Ambrose looked forward to talking with Cain every day. And felt disappointed if Cain was nowhere to be found. The princesses talked with him more personally now, and even helped on a couple of the smaller projects. Princess DG has proven to be quite the little mechanic. He was proud at how both of them had grown, and he enjoyed feeling worthy of their light.

So this is what it feels like to have friends? Ambrose thought to himself. He admitted that before Cain, it felt like something was missing. Something didn't fit in his new life. But he felt more at ease now, and even though he didn't fully understand why, he didn't want to dwell on it. Instead, he was almost grateful to hear a knock on the door. "Come in."

Cain poked his head in with a sheepish look on his face. Ambrose couldn't help but think he looked like a cute but lost animal. "Hey… um… tomorrow night is the ball… and um… I was wondering…" Cain spent quite a bit of time stammering out this broken sentence.

The awkwardness of it almost made Ambrose's breath hitch. Is he trying to find the courage to ask to escort me to the ball? And then he quickly berated himself for being so foolish. He is NOT a teenage girl hoping to get a date. He quelled the feeling of disappointment when Cain finally spat out the rest.

"I was wondering if you could teach me how to dance!" He said that all in a rush of breath, nearly blurring the words together.

So that's it. He doesn't want a date. He just doesn't want to look like a fool. Oh well. At least he came to the right person. Ambrose smiled at him, and stood up. "Since I apparently have time, I suppose I could attempt to give you a lesson." He smirked.

Cain wasn't all that nervous, but he wanted to somehow let the man know that he wanted to dance with him, and this was the best way to go about it. He could have sworn he saw disappointment in the man's eyes, but he decided to let it go for now. "I've been told I have two left feet. So I'm warning you now."

Ambrose snickered. "You'll be fine, so long as you don't put on two left shoes." He came over, and began a basic instruction. After a set of 1, 2, 3… 1, 2, 3… and so on, he decided to test out his wind chimer. It doesn't just chime with the wind, but creates various tunes depending on the strength of the wind, like a little compact symphony. At the moment, a nice breeze was coming through the window, so he set it up and walked back to his partner. Neither of them knew how much time went by, nor did they care. Cain soon got the hang of the rhythm, and was then allowed to lead the other man. Ambrose felt like he was dancing on a cloud. The man who stood taller than him just stared into his eyes with a light smile. Ambrose felt captured by those eyes. His heart was fluttering, and he felt absolutely carefree. This was why he liked dancing. He could get lost in the moment, and not have to worry about anything. But dancing with this man made it even better.

All too soon, they had to stop when the wind chimer did. Both of them were reluctant to let go. Cain finally cleared his throat and broke the silence. "I never thought dancing could be like that." He felt that was a lame statement.

Ambrose simply smiled. "You're much more graceful than you gave yourself credit for. Not once did you step on my feet."

Cain blushed a little bit. "Yeah, well… I made extra sure not to, because that was the last thing I wanted to do. It wouldn't do for you to have an injured foot during the festivities." They both chuckled. "Do you think you'd be able to spare me a dance or two at the ball?" Cain did not mask the hope showing on his face.

Ambrose felt charmed. "Of course."

Cain looked down, the sheepish look returning. "The downfall with being the head of the guard is that while I'm at the ball, I'll still be on duty."

Ambrose's heart lurched at the realization. Of course! He's not allowed to have an escort, because he can't be there just to enjoy the festivities. He has to be on guard for any trouble. "Just come and find me any time." He tried not to sound too optimistic.

Cain smiled and backed away. He looked out the window to see the position of the sun. It was late afternoon. "I need to run a perimeter check, and make sure my men know what's expected of them tomorrow. Thank you for the invaluable lesson. I feel much more confident." Before Cain turned to leave, he winked at Ambrose, who blushed to the tips of his ears.

The night of the ball was a spectacular affair. Tiny lights were scattered throughout the ballroom. But no light shone better than the princesses. Their beauty surpassed all others, and all the eligible men in the kingdom wanted to dance with them. Ambrose was enjoying himself, but he couldn't help but feel like he was bounced around like a dancing peacock in a maze. Everywhere he turned, some random woman wanted him to dance with their daughter. Even the Queen shoved him off to other courtiers. Although he enjoyed each dance individually, it still wasn't the same. Every time he looked for the man who's held his attention so recently, he could not find him in the crowd. He felt downhearted the later it got. Finally, when another dance ended, and he could see the next likely candidate to ask him out of the corner of his eye, he gave a graceful bow and kissed his current partner's hand. "Forgive me my dear lady, but I simply must rest my feet before they fly off without me." With a giggle from the woman, he hastily made his way to the double doors that led out into the garden. He leaned on the banister, breathing in the crisp night air, and was thankful no one was around to chat his ear off. Socializing was fine in small spurts, but he was thankful for the alone time. Until he heard a voice drift from the shadows. "You must be exhausted. It didn't look like those packs of wolves were going to release you anytime soon."

With a start, Ambrose turned around to find Cain leaning against the vine covered wall. He looked handsome in the moonlight in his dark formal suit. Definitely the aura of a dangerous man of authority. Ambrose felt a shiver run down his spine, and he knew it wasn't from the cold night. "Most of the women there are trying to shove me onto their daughters as a prospective suitor for marriage. But I have no interest in women… …*cough* women who… uh, don't speak for themselves and hide their intentions." Ambrose felt himself blush at his near mistake. It's true, while most of the women were beautiful, he felt nothing beyond an appreciation for simple aesthetic. But it made it sound like he didn't prefer women in an intimate way, which he supposed was true, because if he didn't feel any sort of stirring for women, then he wouldn't bother taking them to his bed. But he saw the amused look on Cain's face, and he felt like he needed to clarify what he meant. Yet, he couldn't tell if Cain had caught on to his mistake.

Cain walked over to Ambrose, and couldn't help but brush some of his hair out of his face. "Your face is flushed and you're perspiring. I feel bad for wanting to ask you to dance. We can just stay out here and talk if you wish."

Ambrose felt lightheaded at the touch, but he didn't let that distract him. "Have you been able to dance at all?"

Cain smirked. "Not really. Been too preoccupied with the men who decided to over indulge on the punch."

Ambrose feigned being affronted. "After all the time I spent teaching the proper why to dance, there is no way you're going to get through this evening without dancing. Assume the stance." He pulled Cain to the center of the porch. They could still hear the muffled sounds of music through the glass. As they began a slow waltz, it was as though the world dissolved around them. The crickets sang and the wind sighed while the trees swayed. This was the feeling Ambrose and Cain had waited for the whole evening. Dancing, and melding with the movement of the tune. They moved in harmony, and nothing could have felt better to either of them.

The music seemed to slow down even more, and without speaking, the two of them moved closer to each other until Ambrose was resting his head on Cain's chest, inhaling the man's scent, while Cain was leaning his chin on Ambrose's curly locks. They both closed their eyes and moved to the rhythm of their hearts. It was perfect. It seemed even more natural when their faces drew even closer together, as if seeking out a certain connection. The world seemed to stop when their breaths mingled, and their lips were less than an inch from touching.

Just then, other guests started filing out onto the balcony, shattering the spell between the two. Feeling a little self-conscious and awkward, they extricated themselves from each other. Cain looked around at the guests before turning his attention back towards Ambrose. "What do you say we ditch the rest of the party and have a drink in my chambers?"

Ambrose was blushing, but smiled at the idea. The ball was winding down anyway, and he wasn't needed anymore that night, so he saw no problem with it. He smiled at Cain, and nodded.

Cain returned the smile, "I have to wrap things up here, but it shouldn't take long. I could meet you there if you like."

Ambrose blushed, but nodded again.

"Great. I'll see you soon." Cain said before disappearing in the crowd.

Ambrose started to head towards Cain's room, slipping past other inebriated guests that littered the hallways. Once Ambrose arrived, he could see the large fireplace was burning away, warming and giving light to the room, but it was still fairly dark, so he went about lighting the lamps on the walls before he looked around the semi tidy room. There weren't very many personal objects, and the desk was full of military paperwork. He noticed a jacket had fallen to the floor, so he merely picked it up, and hung it on a nearby coat rack. In doing so, he accidentally knocked a book onto the floor from a nearby stand. Picking it up, he couldn't help but sense the book was familiar. He flipped through it, noticing that it was obviously someone's journal. Yet the handwriting… the handwriting was familiar.

He scanned some of the entries, and started to break out into a cold sweat. He knew who owned this journal. The man everyone has gone to great lengths to avoid mentioning. He glanced at the last passage: I don't know how much he thinks of me as a friend, but he's the one who's kept me grounded and sane the whole time. I feel mostly whole with him around. I love him as a comrade, and as a brother in arms. But most of all, I am in love with Wyatt Cain.

Ambrose reflected back on the man's behavior over the past months. His careful but insistent nature, trying to get closer to him the whole time. He power scanned through the rest of the entries, and learned about that man's existence in a nutshell, and he couldn't help but feel violated. He thought about his dreams. A man with Cain, who is not him. And then Cain starts pushing to become friends. Knowing things about him that he shouldn't know, like his favorite food or tea. It's all a hoax. Cain didn't want Ambrose… he wanted the love sick puppy dog this man obviously was. He wanted this… Glitch person back.

Just then, the door opened behind him, "Sorry that took so long. We had to find rooms for all the guests who clearly could not return to their homes tonight." He laughed a bit, but then it died down quickly as he took in Ambrose's guarded stance. "Are you all right?"

Ambrose took a deep breath, keeping his emotions bottled up. "I'm fine. Yet I'm confused. Why did you want to become friends in the first place? What was the purpose?"

Cain was confused, "Do I need a purpose in order to want to know someone better?"

"Motivation is everything. Surely there must be a reason."

Cain thought for a moment, "I wanted to know the man behind the brilliant mind that does so much for this kingdom."

Ambrose wanted to believe him, and leave it at that. But he's become too involved now. He can't back down, "The brilliant mind, you say… are you sure you don't mean the primary mind?" With that, Ambrose turned around to face Cain. The book held up in his hand. "The mind that buried this!"

Cain recognized the book and froze. He knew this was not going to end well.

"It's hard to think that I was the one who wrote such sappy lines. And the fact that you've got this and held onto it means that you have read it. And from what I've learned in here, you were a moping self-pitying individual. I do remember you from the Sunseeder Mr. Cain. You were willing to kill me in order to stop the witch. I understand the stakes, but you can't blame me for being bitter about it. I was wondering why everyone was avoiding mentioning this Glitch around me. It was all part of some master plan to pull the wall over my eyes. Make me think that no one missed him, and then you all were trying to find a way to bring him back!" Ambrose could not help the bitterness and pain in his voice. He couldn't think clearly. He's had no friends growing up, and when he was literally out of his mind, people suddenly wanted to befriend him. No wonder he felt incomplete. He was ruined, and it wasn't fair! Now it seemed like that despite his accomplishments, everyone wanted that head case back. It was obvious. The princesses, the Queen even, and the others all wanted something different that Ambrose could no longer fulfill. And what of Cain? Did he suddenly think this Glitch was worthy of his attention? The questions and possibilities made him sick. He noticed that Cain was offering no defense, which told him that he was assuming right about everything. He held up the book again. "This man is nothing more than an illusion." Then he gestured to himself, "This is my mind, and my body! I had it first! Whoever you thought I was, never existed!" With that, he threw the book into the open fire. He pushed passed Cain who still just stood there. Ambrose didn't even look back as he said, "Never come near me again!" Then slammed the door behind him.

Cain stood there with his head down. He thought everything was going so well. When they were dancing, he felt… complete. Cain picked up the whiskey bottle, and bypassed using a glass. He just wanted to drink and think by the window. All of his doubts and questions about his intentions surfaced, and he knew there was no excuse for him. Ambrose was right. About everything.

Ambrose slumped into a dark corner of his workshop and cried. He has never felt more alone than at this very moment. He should have known something was up. But that didn't matter now. The only thing left was a lonely heart breaking.

TBC