Sydney's POV

Stanton threw me into the dirty cell by my arm.

"This is the last time you disobey me!" she screeched. "You will stay in this cell until the visit from the Prince is over!"

I had to admit, the Royals work fast. The ball had only been a day ago and they were already searching.

I had felt heartbroken from last night. I should have never told him I was a servant; I just thought he would accept me as me.

I curled in the corner of the cell and remembered every event of last night:

My eyes met the emerald eyes of the young Prince.

He began to make his way across the room to me, I begun to panic as he took my hand and asked with a voice that could stop a crying child.

"May I have this dance?"

I nervously looked up at him and deep emotion flashed in his eyes

"Um, I-yeah, yeah. Sure."

His eyes twinkled with growing amusement at my nervous stuttering.

We entered the dance and was in complete silence before he began to ask us things.

"So, what's your name?" he asked me.

I opened my mouth to respond before it came to the part of the dance to change partners.

He smirked at me before circling behind the guy that was supposed to dance with me next and bumped him into the next girl, connecting back up with me, he repeated his question.

I was stunned to say the least, what the hell was that? "Um, my name's Sydney…"

"Sydney."

When my name rolled off his tongue with such ease I shivered slightly in delight.

"My name's Adrian," he told me, before letting go of my hands and repeating the same move as before and joining back up with me. God, this was so mind blowing.

"I know, you're the Prince," I whispered, softly.

He sighed. "Look, I don't want you to have to force yourself to talk to me, if you don't want to, I'll leave."

I looked up at him shocked at his assumption. "Oh, no, that's not it at all; I was just trying to make sense of why you would talk to me. I'm not royalty. And I doubt your father would allow you to even talk to someone like me."

He repeated that ridiculous move, before he asked what I did. I fell into a short silence. Should I tell him? If I explain why, maybe he'll understand…

"I'm… a servant."

I winced.

"But you are dressed in finest silk, you carry yourself with dignity and respect, most of all you are clean. And you are a servant?"

"My friends sneaked me in," I confessed.

His beautiful eyes widened and he backed away. "You really are a servant."

I looked away, hurt and angry. "So that's it?"

I knew what he was thinking, he was disgusted at me, my eyes filled with tears, I tried to blink them back, but it was no use.

Then the clock struck midnight. My eyes-that were blurred with tears-flew to the large clock.

"No," I whispered, I'm late.

I ran out of the ballroom, tears sill falling from my eyes.

I ran down the stairs, towards the entrance-knowing he was coming after me-when the golden cross flew from my neck. I looked back at it but Trey had popped up and shouted at me to leave it and we took off. Not my mother's necklace…

I sobbed quietly before noises came from the staircase.

"Sydney," a voice whispered out of the darkness.

"Eddie?" I asked, wiping tears with the back of my sleeve.

He came into view and pulled out a ring of keys.

"Where did you get those?" I asked, standing up shakily.

"From Ian. The trainee guard," he quickly explained, pushing open the metal door.

"If Stanton catches you, you'll be out of here; your mother too."

He winced, his mother was sick and if they were to be forced to leave, she wouldn't make it.

"I know, but I promised this to you."

"No you didn't."

"It was an unspoken promise; don't put logic into me helping you."

"Eddie, Sydney. The Prince is here."

I cast a glace up at Trey. "Is that why you're helping me? There's no point, the Prince already told me how he feels about me; he doesn't care."

"He has your necklace, he wants the girl who owns it; he wants you, Sydney," Trey told me.

I walked back into the cell and sat down. "You know what, just let Rose have him."

"Are you going to let that bitch have him?" Trey countered.

Eddie fixed him with a disapproving look, but Trey continued. "Now are you going to let her take your man?"

"He's not my man-" I started.

"He's not Rose's either, so why should she have him? He's more yours than her's."

"I really don't like how you're phrasing this-" I tried again.

"Do you want to stay here the rest of your life?"

"Of course not, but-"

"Isn't marrying the Prince the best option?"

"Stop!" I shouted at him. "Stop pressuring me, he doesn't care about me, he doesn't want me; I said no!"

I sat back down on the dirty ground and pulled my knees up to my chest.

"Just go."

Trey opened his mouth to make another argument, but Eddie grabbed his arm.

"Leave her," he whispered.

Eddie's POV

Trey didn't understand, Sydney was so used to rejection she seemed to make it up in her own mind.

I was now determined. As we left the basement, I separated from Trey and went to have a little chat to our dear friend, His Royal Highness Prince Adrian Ivashkov.