The delegation arrived mid-morning the next day. The Princess, four guards and two young ladys' maids were met at the steps of the castle by the Commander and the Generals; Valek and Aiyana stood near the doors. When the formalities were ended the Princess mounted the stairs. She smiled broadly at Aiyana, and embraced her warmly. "Aiyana! I trust you are well." "Yes Princess. It has been a pleasant stay." Valek looked at the two of them; they could have been sisters; the Princess' hair was a little blonder, her eyes a little browner; but he was still sure he could have picked Aiyana out of a crowd anywhere. When the group had eaten a hearty lunch the Commander drew Aiyana and the Princess to one side. "I wish for you to stay in our most secure rooms while you stay with us Your Majesty. I have arranged with my head of security for you and Aiyana to stay in his suite." Aiyanas' stomach dropped a little. Valek was head of security, staying in his suite would be awkward. The Princess however smiled warmly. "Thank you Commander. That is very generous. I hope your head of security is not put out." "Not at all my lady, he wishes to make sure you have a safe time here. If you meet him here with Aiyanas things, he'll show you to his suite." The Commander excused them and they made their way out to Aiyanas room stopping only once to send off the two guards who were returning to Tertia with the lady's maids. The other two guards would be lodging in the soldiers quarters. When they returned Valek was waiting. He escorted them to his suite, leaving instructions with the guards that they were to be allowed access to the suite at any time. As he showed them to their room; Aiyana would sleep in the same room as the Princess; he spoke only to the Princess, ignoring Aiyana. When he left they sat on the bed. "Kala it's so good to see you!" Aiyana said embracing her friend. "You do good work, I wasn't sure even you could persuade the Commander to see us." "Tertia and Ixia used to be very close. It makes sense for them to be together again. The Commander is smart enough to see that." "Have you had any problems?" "None. The Commander seems to love me. I'm sure the proposals will be accepted." "Is there something wrong between you and Valek?" "No. Why?" "He seemed to be going out of his way to ignore you." Aiyana looked awkward. Kala sighed. "Tell me?" "I didn't have a run-in with him. We just, kind of, had a moment before you arrived, and now he's being like this." "Will it be a problem?" "No." She glanced at the door. "At least I hope not." The next days consisted of endless meetings. Valek lost count of how many. Introductions were made, intentions stated, questions asked and proposals put forward. Luckily the long days meant that the Princess and Aiyana retired early most days so he hadn't yet had to talk to Aiyana. He was finding it difficult being around her so much. Their schedules also meant that he couldn't escape from her on the few occasions they made it to the training grounds. He found himself sitting across from her at most meetings and despite his best intentions he couldn't help but glance at her. The fact that she slept down the corridor from him wasn't helping either. Kala noticed Aiyana withdrawing more and more into herself as the days went by. She avoided Valek like the plague, although Kala had seen him looking at her during the meetings. Everyone knew Valek by reputation alone but the look he got in his eyes when he looked at Aiyana told Kala there was more to him than met the eye. Ten days after the delegation arrived, Kala could not stand Aiyanas silence anymore and confronted her. After the evening meal the Commander stayed talking with Valek and the Generals while Aiyana and Kala retired to Valeks suite. Aiyana went straight to their room to change. She came out in her silvery grey nightwear and allowed Kala to change. When Kala came out Aiyana was not in the lounge area. A breeze blew across her face and she glanced towards the balcony. The curtain fluttered. Stepping through she saw Aiyana stood in the far corner looking out across the grounds. "Aiyana." Kala saw her friend sigh. "Aiyana, what is troubling you?" "I can't do it Kala." She said quietly. "I can't stay here any longer." "What?! Don't be ridiculous Aiyana. You cannot leave until the delegation has completed its mission." "The delegation will not fail." "But we will need you for the final stages. You know that." Aiyana sighed again. "I know. I just… can't be around him any more." "Who?" Aiyana just looked at her. "Valek!?" Kala stepped closer to her friend. "I know it's wrong! I know it can't happen. We both know he'll find it out eventually and when he does…" "If he finds out then I'm sure he'll understand." "When he finds out, he won't. You're forgetting who you're dealing with." She sighed and stared out into the evening. "And anyway…I've known him for what, three weeks. It's not possible for me to love him." The side of Kalas' mouth came up in a smile. "I've never seen you like this before. None of your fathers' ideas of suitors have ever had this effect on you." "I've never felt like this before." Aiyana admitted. "And the only explanation is him. When he's ignoring me my heart aches and when he looks at me it takes my breath away. If I'm honest with myself I think, perhaps, a little piece of my heart was his first time we met. Now my heart feels like it's balancing on a knife edge. Between what it wants and what it knows has to happen. I can't fall in love with him but even knowing that, I want to." She fell silent at the admission, looking sad. It was the first time she had said the words out loud. Kala placed a comforting hand on her arm before turning to go back inside. She let out a small gasp and froze. Aiyana looked in her direction. Valek stood in the curtained doorway. Kala quickly recovered and slipped past him into the suite. He scarcely noticed as his eyes were fixed on Aiyanas. For a moment, in the low light, Aiyana couldn't tell if his eyes held anger or passion. When Valek entered his suite he felt a breeze. He moved to shut the door to the balcony, cross with the Princess and Aiyana for leaving the suite open. As he reached the curtain he heard low voices. "…my heart feels like it's balancing on a knife edge. Between what it wants and what it knows has to happen." He stepped silently through the curtain. Aiyana looked beautiful; her hair was down, blowing in the light breeze. Her arms crossed her chest, one hand rubbing her upper arm. "I can't fall in love with him but even knowing that, I want to." A want, more than anything he had felt before went through him. Suddenly he didn't care about protocols. The Princess comforted her hand maiden before turning to leave. Seeing him she stopped, a small gasp coming from her lips. Aiyana looked in his direction, her eyes locking to his. He took two slow steps towards her and thought he saw fear flit across her eyes as she turned to face him. Two more steps had him a hairs width from her. She saw him take several big breaths and then his lips were on hers; his body pressed against hers. His arm encircled her waist while his other and buried into her hair at the back of her head; pressing her closer. Her hands pressed against his chest before one lifted to caress his neck. He suppressed the urge to moan. His mouth moved against hers. For several minutes there was nothing in eithers world except the other. When they breathlessly parted Valek looked deep into hers eyes. For a moment her heart soared but then her stomach sank and she looked away.