Victoria's life had become the fairy tale that she had always dreamed about. She was spending almost every day with a handsome prince and was deeply in love with him. She had made friends that she felt she would have for the rest of her life. It was different here in Pharyss than it had been in Lyscos. With Giselle it was always a game to see how many people they could walk over and belittle. Now she had real friends who liked her and a man who made her want to be a better person. She had stopped gossiping about other people and getting so angry with everyone who crossed her. Victoria could not even remember why she had needed to be cruel to all those people her whole life. It had just been normal to her and people rarely tried to correct her. Her sister was the same way and people let them do as they wished even though it was often mean. Then she met Hector. He was so good and Victoria wanted to be worthy of him. She had never felt inferior to anyone, but he was so kind to everyone he met it made her realize how wrong she had been. He had turned her world upside down. She was not nearly as close to Giselle as she had been when they arrived in Pharyss, and now she could see how petty and shallow her sister behaved. She wouldn't listen to reason and thought Victoria had somehow betrayed her. So now Victoria left Giselle alone for the most part.

Victoria did not know where Giselle went most of the time. Often she would come back with new clothes or baubles that she had bought. Victoria figured that her sister had just been going to shops and didn't see any harm in that. Sometimes that Tabitha girl would go with her. Victoria was glad that Giselle had made a friend she could spend time with, but she wished that Tabitha was less cynical all the time. The other girls had whispered that they were growing tired of Giselle and Tabitha always complaining. She hoped that if Giselle was not indulged and catered to all the time she would grow up. In the mean time, Victoria was spending all her time with Hector or Allison. Ebony had also been spending much time away from the inn. She went missing for days and Victoria was so worried. When she returned she affirmed that everything was fine and later Giselle said that Ebony had been with her brother who had come into town. She had believed her sister because the day after the ball, she saw Andrew and Ebony ride off together. Victoria was glad that Ebony was getting away from Giselle. Her sister had become increasingly angry lately and a lot of that anger seemed to be directed at Ebony. She had not seemed very pleased when Ebony returned to the inn the day before the ball. Victoria was just relieved she was safe.

Hector was waiting outside the palace like he always was when Victoria rode up in the carriage. Sir Brockton was not with him which was unusual. Normally the two were joined at the hip almost. Brockton was Hector's best friend and Victoria quite liked him.

The prince was waiting outside the carriage door to take Victoria's hand and help her out. He smiled at her and kissed the hand she had given him before pulling her closer. "Good afternoon, beautiful. It has been entirely too long since I last saw you. You must visit more often."

Victoria laughed and let him wrap her arms around his neck. "I saw you the day before yesterday. If I see you too much, you will get tired of me."

Hector leaned in close so his nose touched Victoria's. "It is impossible that anyone could ever get tired of seeing you. An entire day is much too long for me to go without seeing your lovely face. Promise to never leave me for that long ever again."

"I missed you too." Victoria whispered.

Hector smiled and quickly kissed the tip of her nose. "There now, that should teach you to stay away for so long. I demand that you spend tomorrow with me and the next day and the next until my sister's wedding. I am very selfish and want you all to myself. If Allison so wishes she can tag along, just as long as you are with me."

That sounded perfect to Victoria and she had no complaints. "And what about after Joslynn's wedding? Will you not want to see me then?"

Hector looked up to the sky as if in thought. "No, I don't think I shall," he teased.

Victoria stepped out of his arms and playfully hit his arm. "That's a fine thing to say," She laughed. "Maybe I just won't come round after the wedding."

She turned away in mock anger and smiled when Hector wouldn't let her. He pulled her back around to face him. "Don't you dare," he commanded before leaning in to kiss her.

There was a loud whistle from the palace and cheering. The couple pulled apart to see Sir Brockton skipping down the steps. "Look at you, Hector, you old charmer. I've told you before, Victoria, you got to be careful with this one. He's very possessive of the things he likes and I can tell you he really likes you. If you're not careful he might not let you leave his side ever."

Victoria wrapped her arms around the prince. "That's fine with me."

Brockton forced himself between the two and wrapped an arm around each of their shoulders. "That's all fine and dandy, but let's not get all love struck here, shall we? You know it is quite rude when you two are so close and I am left out in the cold with no one to talk to. I think that we should proceed to find your sister because she is probably running herself to death in the planning of this wedding and we need to stop her."

"How is Joslynn doing?" Victoria asked as Brockton pushed them all towards the palace doors.

Hector made a face while Brockton explained. "She really needs to take a rest before she goes overboard. She has taken almost the entire preparation upon herself and is doing a wonderful job, but she needs to rest once in awhile. Victoria could talk to her. Maybe advice from a female friend will get through to Joslynn."

Victoria knew how finicky Joslynn could be and it was not hard to imagine that she was over working herself making sure all the details were checked and rechecked. So she was not surprised when they met Joslynn in the back garden where the wedding would be held and she was a mess. Her golden hair had come out of her braid and she had numerous ribbons and fabrics draped over her arms and shoulders. Two maids stood nearby with a number of flower arrangements filling their arms. The rest of the garden was no less busy as Joslynn seemed to have employed all the gardeners to sculpt the hedges and tend to the flowers. A white rose covered archway was being pruned. That would be where Joslynn made her entrance. The wedding was in less than five days and the gardens were starting to come together.

Hector moved to hug his sister, but she glared at him until he stopped. "Don't you dare touch me, Hector. Last time you were here you mixed up all my fabrics and it took nearly a quarter hour to reorganize them and don't tell me I need to take a break because I can't. The wedding is only a few days away and there is still so much to do."

"Do you see?" Hector raised his arms above his head and backed away from his sister. "I cannot even hug my beloved sister. Please help her, Victoria."

Victoria smiled and took some of the flowers from the maids who looked relieved to be free of their burdens. She held up one bunch then another to the fabrics Joslynn was wearing. "Now I think this one and this one with this bouquet would look the best. What do you think?"

Joslynn inspected Victoria's choice and sighed. "How do you do that? I have been looking at these for almost a half hour and couldn't decide on one. You come and find the perfect match in less than five minutes. You are a magician with these things, Victoria; and now I can finally drop all these fabrics and move on to something else."

"Uh oh," Brockton leaned over and whispered in Hector's ear. "It looks like Victoria has been sucked into wedding plans along with your sister. Is no one safe? If we hang about much longer we may fall victim to the lace and seating arrangements as well. We had best escape while we can."

Hector looked at Victoria. He had wished to spend more of the day with her, but he knew if he hung about he would only be in the way. "Brockton and I will get out of your way. You really should rest though, Lynn, at least sit down for a cup of tea or something."

"I'll see that she takes a break when she needs one." Victoria absently said while she tried not to tangle the ribbons.

"Remember, tomorrow we are going to spend the day together," Hector kissed Victoria's cheek lightly.

She smiled. "How could I forget?"

This is shameless fluff and a window into what's going on with Victoria. The rest of the story will basically be a mishmash of various points of view because a lot of stuff is going to happen and it can't all be shown from one viewpoint. It will be a crazy roller coaster with ups and downs and wild loops.

I was also rereading the first couple of chapters tonight and I'm surprised anyone got past them. I really need to proofread those at some point.