It didn't take long for Alex to realize that she had no plan. Of course, she never really was the kind of person to come up with an elaborate idea when things got rough. Simply stated, she had to leave, so she ran away. The fact that she had no place to go was secondary to everything else on her mind.

But there was one clue.

"Swans," she mumbled for the thousandth time.

After saying it for the thousandth and first time, she realized she had made it to a road that would either take her to Brookshire and the other one would take her to-

"Swan Lake… of course. That has to be what that dream meant."

She had been there – or at least in the neighboring village – a few times. When the orphanage needed supplies, it was usually her job to go out and buy – at the lowest price possible, due to a restricted budget – everything that was needed. Because it was the closest town with a large market place, the village near Swan Lake was her constant destination, and she even knew a few people there.

She thought about the huge castle that towered over the lake.

"No way," she muttered as she shook her head. She knew that they couldn't be her family, though it was pretty interesting to think about what would happen if she was. But then again, what orphan didn't picture herself as a forgotten member of royalty?

Still, it was fun to dream, but the reality was much more important.

Alex started to walk and she started to plan.

XxX

Derek, Odette, Eli, and Joan waited at the gate to greet Matthew the moment of his arrival. Excited, he began to open the carriage door before it was even stopped. He jumped down and walk hurriedly up to his friends, his family away from family.

"Glad you could come," Derek said.

"Glad to be here," Matthew replied.

"Ready to get whipped on the obstacle course this year?" Eli asked good naturedly.

"No. Are you?"

"There'll be time for that later," Odette said. "Matthew, why don't you rest for a while? I know you've been crammed in a carriage all morning."

"Always taking care of me," Matthew laughed.

As much as he loved his parents, Matthew had often felt his place was at Swan Lake. It was a feeling he could not entirely understand, but he obeyed it. Although he would never have admitted it twelve years before, he loved being there, although there was one person perpetually missing.

This time, he had come a day before the Festival Days, which were celebrated at the beginning of every fall. They were filled with good food, games, singing, dancing, and all around merriment for royal and peasant alike. And it lasted a week, which gave everyone time to sample everything that was there.

Matthew had been coming every year since he was a small boy. He always had fun dunking Bromley, who was year after year volunteered to sit on a collapsible chair – which was rigged to drop when someone hit a nearby target with a ball – above a barrel of water. He and Eli would thoroughly enjoy themselves – so long as they weren't force to 'babysit' Joan – as they meandered through the grounds, and even making a few trips to the kissing booths.

And of course, there was the obstacle course, which provided a huge amount of entertainment and competition for Matthew and Eli. And every year, it was dubbed by Derek to be the best that was ever built. They would spend entire days running it over and over again, trying doggedly to beat each other's time. They would go from morning to night, working themselves to exhaustion and not even caring.

Matthew looked forward to a long and exciting week away from Lincolnshire.

And he had another reason for coming. Lately – and he didn't know if it was because of his coming of age and the fact that he had not chosen a bride yet – he had been thinking about Alex. He knew how they acted toward each other when they were young, but those were childish times; he wasn't really supposed to like her then. But now, it was different. He found himself wondering what it would have been like if she hadn't been kidnapped.

And the thoughts and memories of her would grow more frequent each time he would meet a new princess from a new land. Somehow, he would find something wrong with the poor girl, although he was always a gentleman about it. It's not that these girls weren't good enough; they simply weren't right for him, and he didn't want to marry just anyone. He wanted The One. The princesses always seemed to lack a certain spark and Matthew would wonder if Alex had it.

But it was a thought born from circumstance, he would think. Had Alex not been kidnapped, he probably wouldn't miss her when he was away. He wouldn't wonder about her.

And yet he, like everyone else, wondered about her.

XxX

It didn't take Alex more than an hour or so to reach the town, although it would have been faster if she had the horse and wagon the orphanage would use to bring back supplies. She felt a surge of excitement when she saw the smoke stacks from the chimneys touch the blue sky.

When she arrived, she could see that the town was alive with people going about their business; merchants calling out their wares, women gossiping, children playing; all of it so normal, and yet to Alex, so abnormal.

However, there was one place that was familiar to her. It was an inn owned by one of her friends, who had stayed at the orphanage until about a year before Lady Diggs' arrival.

She made her way to about the middle of the town, keeping an eye out for the inn. It was fairly easy to find by the smell of food and noise of customers coming from it.

As she walked in and looked around, it was easy to see the place was very busy. Every table was full and even the empty floor space was crammed with people, some patrons of the inn, some waitresses trying to move around the customers.

She waited for a while before trying to find her friend. As soon as the place was cleared out – for the most part, anyway – she went to the kitchen, which was filled with the smells of food and the sounds of pots and pans clattering against each other.

"Bax!" she called, cupping one hand around her mouth for a slightly theatrical effect that would more than certainly get his attention. "Baxter!"

"Oh come on, Alex!" he called back, his voice mocking exasperation, matching her theatrics. He made his way to the door and gave his friend a bear hug. "Can't you see I'm busy?"

Baxter was tall and wide, like a wall. He had never been fat, just big, with small black eyes and brown hair. He had a great rumbling laugh and a booming voice that reverberated off the walls.

He stood tall over her, smiling down. It had been a long time since he had seen her, and he was truly happy to see that she was in town.

"Too busy for me?" she asked, gasping for air.

"You've got a point. Let me look at you... Hmmm... Tall... same blue eyes and long brown hair... No, you haven't changed a bit!" he laughed. "Come on, let's talk out in the dining room. Do you need anything?"

"Only to talk to you."

Baxter led the way to an empty, clean table. He smiled in expectation for an interesting story as they both took their seats. "What's this all about? You never leave the orphanage, and when you do, you never stop to chat."

She laughed. He was right. She rarely ever left, and when she did, she was careful to hurry back. "Well, I left the orphanage."

"Well, now you can knock me out with a feather," he laughed. "Are you serious?"

"Yes," she answered. She explained everything, including her dreams and what Lydia, Mireia, and Father Clarence had said, that had been going on at the orphanage, especially Lady Diggs.

He lifted his eyebrows in astonishment. "She sounds like a pain in the"

"Yeah," she agreed, cutting him off. "Anyway, I kind of need a place to stay."

"Well, you know you're welcome to any of the rooms here."

"Yeah, but I don't know how long I'll be here, and I don't want to be a burden or anything."

She hated the idea of staying at the inn for nothing. It just went against what she believed. She wanted to earn her keep like everyone else.

"You? A burden? Don't make me laugh, Alex."

She rolled her eyes. "I'll make you a deal; I'll work here in exchange for a room."

"Oh, come on. You're like a little sister to me. I can't let you actually work for me."

"Please? I'd feel bad if I just mooched off of you."

"Okay, but let me pay you a little bit so you have some extra money, okay?

"Fine," she said, smiling. "By the way, what were all those people here for?"

"The Festival Days start tomorrow. People come in droves to have a good time. It starts tomorrow. Have you ever gone?"

"No."

"Then go. It really is a lot of fun. You'll enjoy yourself."

She rolled her eyes. "Okay, big brother."