Sorry it's taken soo long to post any more updates guys. Christmas and then life got in the way! Anyway, am back writing again so hopefully the updates will keep coming! Cheers xx

Ch 12-

Aiyana ran blindly. She just wanted to get away. She knew Valek would be mad but she didn't expect him to hate her so badly. She thought she would be able to at least talk to him. But his reaction told her she had lost him and she felt her heart breaking. Eventually she found herself in the paddock and she fell to her knees breathless, sobbing and holding her head.

It was there Janco found her; knelt up against the fence at the far end of the paddock. She had not turned up for training so he and Ari had gone looking for her. His first thought was that she had fallen from Aslan and he closed the distance between them at a run.

"Yani!" He called as he ran.

"Yani, are you alright?" He said dropping to his knees beside her. Looking her over he saw no obvious injuries and he relaxed slightly.

"Yani." He tried again. "Look at me. Are you hurt?" He turned her head to face him.

"What happened?" He asked in a low, dark voice. She looked quite a state; her face was red, her eyes puffy and wet. A trail of blood ran down her face from her forehead; the cut still oozing. She took a deep breath.

"I have something to tell you" she said in a shaky voice "and I don't think you're going to like it."

"Go on." He said uncertainly.

"Kala is not the Princess of Tertia."

"OK" He said slowly. "So…the delegation was a setup? Why?"

She shook her head. "No, the delegation was real." She sighed. "Janco; I am the real Princess."

He sat back hard on his heels.

"Kala and I trade places when there may be a concern for my safety. Only this time I extended the swap. To be treated as a real person for once in my life. And it worked, I met you and Ari. You treated me like a proper person. I knew I'd have to tell you at some point but there was never a right time, and it became harder and harder to do it. I'm sorry." She said in a small voice. She looked away from him, expecting more rejection.

"I guess it's not something which comes up in conversation." He said eventually.

"Do you hate me?" She asked in the same small voice.

He let out a large sigh. "No. I don't hate you. This is just very unexpected and it's going to take a bit of getting used to."

They sat in silence for a few minutes before Janco asked. "What happened to your face?"

She looked at him, wondering whether to tell him the truth. He misunderstood her silence. "Your Majesty." He added.

"Don't call me that. Can I still be Yani?"

Janco gave her a gentle smile. "Of course. But only when we're alone. I don't think the Commander would approve. Now; come on; what happened to your face?"

"I hit my head."

"Obviously."

She sighed, she wasn't going to be able to fob him off. "On the corner of Valeks desk."

"What were you…..Oh." He said as the pieces fell into place. "You had feelings for him….and he must have….oh wow….and now…"

"He hasn't taken the announcement well." She said, the pain in her heart rushing back.

"Come on." Janco said, standing. "Let's go back inside and find the pri…"

"Kala."

Janco nodded. "Kala."

They made it back to her room without meeting too many people. Kala took one look at Aiyanas face and said, "Oh Aiyana" as she ushered her onto the bed. Kala glanced at Janco.

"He knows about the swap." Aiyana said, following her glance.

"What happened?" Kala asked.

"He hates me." Aiyana whispered before bursting into tears.

Not knowing how to comfort her friend Kala grabbed a bowl left the room with Janco. Outside Kala motioned Janco into her room.

"What happened?" She whispered.

"She hit her head in Valeks office." He summarised.

Kala sighed. "Not good."

"Were they…?"

"You can't tell anyone…"

"Trust me; it's not worth the wrath!"

"They were starting something. I know Aiyana was in love with him; if not completely then mostly. I wasn't sure how deep his feelings were but apparently they were deep enough for him to hate her for this." She sighed again.

"What happens now? They can't avoid each other."

"We're returning to Tertia tomorrow at sunrise, at the Commanders suggestion. He seems to think things will blow over if we leave now. We have to take the treaty to the King anyway."

"Will Yani be OK?"

"Honestly? I don't know. She's never been in love before so she's never had her heart broken."

Janco absorbed this, feeling sad for his new friend.

"I need to find Ari. He needs to know…don't worry," he said quickly when Kala opened her mouth to object; "we won't tell anyone else."

"It will get around anyway. The Generals are bound to tell people."

"Is there anything we can do?"

"You could try and stop any rumours you hear. I'm not sure it will do any good but it won't hurt to try."

"No problem."

She opened the door and looked up and down the corridor. Seeing it empty she allowed Janco out.

"Thank you." She said, touching his arm as she left him to get some water.

When Kala returned to the Princess' room she found her lying on the bed on her side, curled into a ball. Tear tracks ran down her cheeks. Silently Kala bathed Aiyanas wound and cleaned up her face before covering her with a blanket and returning to her room.

Aiyana stayed in that position for the remainder of the day. She cried until her eyes ran dry and it was dark outside. With all the will power she had remaining she swallowed hard and pushed her emotions down deep inside her and sealed them off. She could not allow herself to fall apart in public. It just wasn't done. She would do the only thing she could; the thing she always did in bad times; shut herself off emotionally from her surroundings. Her mask in place she rose to dress for her journey home. She could not, however, hide her blood-shot eyes and pale face.

As the sun rose Aiyana, Kala and the rest of the delegation were ready to leave the castle. Janco and Ari came to bid Aiyana farewell. As each embraced her they made whispered promises to keep her secret, and were rewarded with a faint smile and a whispered "Thank you." Janco noticed that the light seemed to have disappeared out of her eyes and glared over to where Valek stood next to the Commander. As they mounted, Aiyana drew her heavy hood over her face; not only to conceal her wound but also to avoid a certain someone's gaze.

They rode up to the Commander.

"Thank you for your hospitality Commander. It is my hope that we will see one another again soon. If the King agrees your terms then we will return to Ixia at the start of the next warm season (approx 8months); if that would be acceptable?" Said Kala.

"That would be acceptable indeed." Replied the Commander; looking more towards Aiyana than Kala. "I only hope the next visit will run more smoothly than this one." His smile was returned by Aiyana; keeping up appearances was important.

As they spoke Valek allowed himself a quick glance at Aiyanas face. Above her eye sported a large bruise and the wound was red but was clean and neat. Her eyes shocked him; blood-shot and puffy they had lost their intensity, the pools of molten amber had faded, now all he saw there was pale brown. She looked empty. For the first time since the announcement, Valek felt the anger inside him waiver a fraction and doubt trickled in.

Aiyana did not look back at him as they rode away.