EPOV:

I couldn't believe my eyes. I sat there staring at that tiny, insignificant piece of paper.

This couldn't be happening.

How could such a normally meaningless, harmless thing have such a huge potential to destroy my life?

Finn tensed up angrily, and all I could do was read the announcements over and over again. As if reading it again and again would cause it to change it's mind and suddenly disappear from my vision.

The poster in the tavern window read:

Draft

Every man 14 years or older should report to

The Village Center

for training.

NOT OPTIONAL.

Serve your country and make that

Kildenzoan Princess wish she had never been born.

"Well, one thing's for sure," I said. "We're definitely in Isilee."

He chuckled as he put his arm around my shoulders. "Yes, and it seems that my countrymen have a very strong opinion about my future bride. I, on the other hand, am very, very glad that the Kildenzoan Princess was born."

I laughed too, but then I remembered our present situation, and found that I had nothing to laugh about. "What are we going to do, Finn?"

"I don't know; let's just stay here at the inn today. We can rent a room and try to figure some things out."

"Alright, Finn, if you say so," I said, a little incredulously.

"Enna, we will figure something out, trust me, I'll take care of you."

I sighed. "I know you will, Finn," And with that I took his hand and lead him towards the registration desk.

"We'd like one room, please," Finn said to the lady behind the desk. She was very young, and I couldn't help but think that I'd seen her somewhere before.

"Sure," the girl said. "One bed or two?"

"Which is cheaper?" said Finn, making sure that we'd have enough money to last the journey.

"One."

"Then one it is."

The lady handed Finn a key and said, "Room eleven," Then she beamed, like she was going to tell a joke that was so funny she couldn't contain herself long enough to tell it.

"So are you really a woman or are you a cross-dressing soldier?"

Before this, I wasn't really paying much attention, but then I realized why this girl seemed so familiar. She was the prostitute that offered herself to me for free back at that soldier's tent where we had been discovered.

I blushed, because I realized she was talking to me. She was still waiting for an answer, so I said, "What are you talking about?" I figured that maybe I could convince her that she was mistaken, rather than admit who I was.

She must have been ready for this kind of an answer, because she said, "Well are you that darling soldier who rejected me or not? I know that he is the second guy," she said as she pointed at Finn. "Not really my type, but I was just so surprised that I was rejected at all that I needed someone to take me home."

At this Finn made a face, his pride obviously wounded. I chuckled.

But she was relentless. "So are you him, or not?"

"Yes, I am. But, I am not a cross-dressing soldier, I'm just a woman."

"Then why did you dress up as a soldier?"

"Umm…" I started unintelligibly.

"Well, we should really be going, goodbye now." Finn said quickly, saving me.

"Fine," she said. "But I'll be watching you. No one, unless you have some sort of excuse like you're a woman, refuses me. Not twice anyways." At this she beamed, and I glared at her.

Oh hell no. She would never get that chance again. I swear, Finn was too perfect for his own good. It seemed I couldn't let him out of my sight anymore. Not that I had a big problem with that. After all, who was going to make sure he could escape without getting into any trouble?

I grabbed Finn by the arm and drug him possessively away from the girl, up the stairs, down the hallway, and to our room. The little silver plaque read number eleven.

He laughed all the way. "What, are you jealous that she wants me now instead of you, you darling soldier?" he questioned once I had stopped walking.

"Not funny." I glared at him, and it only made him laugh harder.

"My Enna, you look so cute when you're mad." He placed his hand on my face, cupping my cheek. When he lowered his head towards me to kiss my lips, I stomped down onto his foot, hard. He yelped, probably more out of surprise than pain.

I wrenched the key out of his hand, and stomped to the door with the purpose to unlock it. He caught me by the wrist before I took two steps. Darn Finn and his cat-like reflexes.

"Not so fast," he said as he pulled me into his arms as I continued to struggle. I frowned and stuck out my tongue, and he laughed.

"You know I love you Enna," he said, more of a statement than a question.

"Is that something that I know?" I asked sarcastically.

Then he captured my lips in a kiss more passionate than ever before, making me dizzy and weak in the knees. He pulled away, leaving us both breathless.

"You'd better," he said with a smile.

Then he took the key back from me, as I was standing still, stunned. He unlocked the door and led me inside by the hand.

The room was small; nothing fancy. It had a table, a chair, and a washstand with a bowl full of water on top. The wallpaper was decorated with a thousand little roses; it was very girlie, too much even for me. But the bed was the worst of all. Between the roses and the frilly lace, it looked like Glenda the Good Witch had thrown up all over the room.

"Wow, I guess you have to check your masculinity at the door, huh?" Finn said, almost gagging at the sight of all the flowers.

I laughed so hard that it took my breath away. I hadn't laughed like that in a really long time. Too long, actually, and it felt good. But, then again, being around Finn in the first place felt good.

We spent the day lying around the room and trying to figure out what to do. That night after returning to the room from supper, Finn led me over to the bed, and sat down next to me. He took my hand in his and kissed it. He looked at me, thinking quietly. I waited for what he had to say, because I knew he wanted to tell me something.

Finally, he said, "Enna, I know you don't want to, but I think we need to go to our parents."

My face fell, a reflex. "No. Finn we can't. You know that I can't do that."

"Yes, I know…" he mumbled.

We sat in silence for a few moments, my mind numb, trying not to think about…

"Actually, Enna, I don't know."

"What?" I said, confused.

"I don't know why you can't do that. Why you can't ever seem to talk to them. You've never told me. All I know is that you feel very strongly about not wanting to tell them anything."

"I have a reason, Finn; I don't just hate them for nothing."

"Well what is it? What's the reason?"

I took a deep breath and exhaled loudly. "You just have to trust me, okay? We can't go to my parents."

"Enna, you can tell me anything. Just tell me so that I can understand."

I thought about it. I knew that if I told him he would understand, but then again that's what I thought when I had told my mother…

No, I had to tell him, he had to know why. He wasn't my mother.

"Finn, if I tell you this you have to promise not to tell anyone."

"Of course I won't. What is it, Enna?" He looked concerned, but then again, my face probably wasn't giving him a good reason not to be concerned.

Okay, here goes, I thought, preparing to bring back the story that I'd been repressing for my entire life.

I closed my eyes as I started to retell the memory.

"When I was a little girl, the only time I ever saw my parents was at dinnertime, and then only when we had guests. I had always been "pretty", so dinner was his chance to flaunt me in front of his guests and make the various foreign dignitaries jealous." I opened my eyes. Finn looked caught off guard; this was obviously not what he had been expecting. Even so, I trudged on.

"It would be the same thing every time, I would walk into the room, and the guests' jaws would hit the floor. Then, I would ceremoniously kiss both of my parents on their right cheek and take my rightful place at the table on my father's left. So, as you can see, Finn, I've never been close to my parents. I was raised entirely by governesses paid to watch over me. As I got older, ten or eleven maybe, I became even better looking and I became a hot topic at the barracks." Finn wrinkled up his nose at the thought.

"By this time, my father had begun to look at me… differently, I guess you'd say. His face would mirror the guests' expressions when I walked into the hall by the time I was twelve years old."

I looked over at Finn, and he seemed to be entranced by my story. He was listening intently. Then, he smiled and nodded reassuringly as if telling me to continue.

"On my thirteenth birthday, my parents prepared a huge feast to celebrate my coming of age. They invited dignitaries from this kingdom and the next, and their sons. I danced all night long with suitors. You couldn't have imagined my relief when I was excused.

"Despite my tired, blistered feet, I ran all the way back to my chamber, anxious to sleep the night away. My lady in waiting was unlacing my corset and combing my hair while another one of my maids prepared a bath, when I heard a knock at the door. A third maid scrambled to the door.

"When she opened it I caught a glimpse of a male figure that I believed to be my father, but I knew it couldn't have been him because he had never been to my chamber before. Then I heard his voice, slurring as if he was drunk. 'I need to see my daughter.' Then the maid said, 'She's not dressed, I'll send her to you right after she's had her bath.'

"I saw my father push her roughly out of the way; she sailed across the room and into the wall, and I saw that she had a bloody nose and a gash on the back of her head. 'I need to see her NOW!' Was all he said to explain himself for his actions. I didn't know what to expect, so I stepped hesitantly from behind my dressing screen in just my shift. 'Yes father?' I said meekly.

"'Shoo, shoo, you ungrateful animals! Get out!' He said as he dismissed the maids. I was starting to get nervous, and they practically ran from the room. That is, all except for my lady in waiting, darling Louisa, who was my best friend. She looked at me with a troubled glance, but then left with a curtsy to my father. She couldn't have done anything different; I know that now. Then, after they had all left, my father turned to me and said, 'You looked very pretty tonight. I heard many of the men talking about you, young and old alike, and that got me thinking…' he paused and looked me up and down. 'That there was something I wanted to try.'

"Then he started walking towards me. I didn't know what he was doing, and I was getting scared. Next thing I knew, he was right in front of me. I had stopped breathing. Then, he pushed me onto the bed, and…" My voice cracked on the last word and I shuddered.

"No!" Finn said with horror written all over his face.

I nodded somberly. "Yes. The next morning I went to my mother's chamber and told her about it. I don't know whether she didn't want to believe me, or just plain didn't believe me, but she said that I was lying and banished me from her sights for saying such things."

"She really didn't believe you?" Finn said, slowly, looking like he was disgusted and like he didn't want to believe it himself.

"No, she really didn't," I said as a tear coursed down my cheek.

"Oh, Enna, I'm so sorry honey, I'm so sorry," Finn said as he pulled me into his arms and kissed the top of my head. "Has it happened again?" He asked slowly as if he were afraid of the answer.

"Yes," I whispered. "Every birthday my father gets drunk, and…well you know the rest."

Finn closed his eyes. "When was your birthday?"

I looked down. "About two months ago," I confessed.

"Enna, I'm so sorry, I love you so much. I had no idea! Thank you for telling me, darling. We definitely won't go to your parents unless you say it's absolutely okay."

"Thank you for understanding. I know it sounds childish, but…"

"It's not childish at all. I would be angry, and hurt, and…" He looked infuriated. "I can't believe that he would do that to you!"

"I couldn't believe it either," I told him, emotionless. But I felt so much better now that I had told him and he knew everything. I knew that he was the one. Who else would react the way that he had? Finn is perfect for me in every way.

There was just one thing that was still nagging at me, and I felt like a change of subject would do everyone good.

"So what are we going to do about all this?"

"I don't know, Enna, darling, I don't know." He said as he kissed my hair and rubbed my back.

I pressed my face into his chest and let his scent overwhelm me.

I slipped into a deep and dreamless sleep.