AN: Here's Chapter 13. There is a part of this chapter that I have had written since I first started this story. I had been waiting for the moment I could put it into the story and I finally got it! Made a few minor tweaks, but kept 99% of the original scene I wrote almost 3 years ago. Kinda awesome.

Anyway, enough of my ramblings... :)

...

Wheatley hurried through the castle towards the servants quarters. He looked around and didn't see the person he was looking for. He spotted one of the kitchen workers.

He grabbed the young boy's arm. "Where's Eliza?"

The young cook, no more than 16 years old, was frightened by the slightly older man.

"Sh...she's upstairs."

"Which floor?"

"Th...third."

Wheatley let go of the boy's arm and headed up to find Eliza.

It wasn't hard to find her. She was sweeping the hallway.

"Eliza, I need to talk to you."

Looking up the woman sighed. "What is it, Wheatley?"

"Who's his informant?"

Perplexed she stared at him. "Who's what now?"

"Who...is...Vincent's...informant?"

Suddenly understanding, she shook her head. "So you finally talked to him. Didn't think it would take you long once he told me you knew."

"How long have you known about Chell?"

Eliza sighed. "I never knew for sure, but I knew it was possible."

"How?"

"That is none of your concern. Look, Wheatley. Stop worrying about these things that don't involve you. Trust that those of us who ARE involved are doing what we should."

"I don't want Vincent to make Chell evil."

Eliza sighed. "He won't. Trust me on this. He only wants to help her."

"How am I supposed to put faith into something when I don't know what the bloody hell is going on?" He said the last part quite loudly.

"Shhhhh." Eliza covered his mouth. "Don't need anyone hearing you."

Wheatley stood there with his arms crossed, waiting for her to say something.

"Ok, I can't tell you everything, but I can tell you this. Remember when I said I'd pissed off the Queen once before?"

Wheatley nodded.

"It was the day I took in Chell."

His eyes got wide. "She's not..."

"Not my blood daughter. And no, she has no idea, and I'd like to keep it that way."

"So, she was abandoned too?"

"Yes. And I knew her mother. She too has "the gift". That's how I knew it was a possibility Chell would as well. When she started showing signs, I grew concerned. I asked someone for advice. Not long after that, Vincent came to work here. He said he'd been asked to work undercover here to help guide her."

"How do you know you can trust him?"

"Because the person I got advice from chose him, and they would not have chosen someone evil."

'You're sure?"

"Yes, very. I've known this person for quite a number of years. Does that give you enough to trust that we are doing what's best?"

Wheatley thought for a moment. "I suppose it does."

"Good. Now if you don't mind, I have cleaning to do."

Wheatley nodded. "Hey, I'm sorry. I just..."

Eliza waved her hand dismissively. "I understand."

He nodded and began to walk to the staircase. He absentmindedly glanced at the mysterious door on his way. No light.

...

Over the course of the next few days, Wheatley couldn't help but see Eliza a bit differently. She was still Eliza, of course, but knowing she more or less adopted Chell and Doug made everything take on a new light. Eliza had taken on the responsibility of two children who were not her own and even stood up to the Queen to keep them. In Wheatley's eyes, that made Eliza a better mother than either Chell or Doug could have ever had.

This made him wonder about the Queen though. She let Eliza keep them. Wheatley wondered if she had a soft spot for children. That would explain why she put up with Eliza's defiance.

He wondered if she wanted a child of her own. There wasn't an heir to the throne as of yet.

Well if she wanted a child, how come she hasn't had one?

Maybe she couldn't have one. The thought made Wheatley sad for some reason.

He decided there wasn't a point to asking himself questions like that. Eliza was right on one thing. He needed to try and not worry himself over things that were not his concern and the Queen's fertility was one of them.

Instead he decided to focus on his entertainment for the party, which was in a few days. He hoped the King was pleased with his performance.

...

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

Wheatley had woken up from the nightmare again. The more that time when on, the more intense the dream seemed to get. Though the red eyes were gone now. He didn't have much time to dwell on it though. It was the King's birthday and the party would be starting in a few hours. Wheatley got up and cleaned himself up, got dressed, and went out to eat breakfast.

The castle was bustling with activity. Everyone was finishing any last minute details for the celebration. Wheatley noticed it was significantly larger than the one for the Queen's birthday. For some reason, it irritated him.

"You wouldn't be anywhere without me. I was born into the throne. The only reason you even have a royal title is because of me. So don't even start talking to me about appreciation!"

Wheatley remembered the Queen mentioned that to the King a while back.

If that's true, then why is it he gets a bigger celebration than the Queen? Wouldn't it make sense for HER to have a bigger party? Wheatley wondered.

Again he tried to push away the thought. It wasn't his concern, so he shouldn't spend time worrying about it, right?

Oh, man this is going to take some getting used to.

...

A few hours later, the party was underway and the castle was filled to the brim with people. Wheatley's performance seemed to go quite well and he noticed the King seemed pleased. Wheatley breathed a sigh of relief. After his performance he went around the room, doing small tricks and telling jokes to random individuals. He had to bow and apologize to one short round man who was not happy with him speaking to him. After a bit, Wheatley decided to try and take a break. He snuck himself a glass of punch. He stood there drinking it, watching the party-goers. Looking over at GLaDOS, he noticed she was wearing the lavender dress she tried on a few weeks ago. It really did look good on her. Wheatley blushed as he realized he was eying her cleavage.

Control yourself!

He tried to listen to his inner voice and looked away. Suddenly, he noticed, in the darkest corner, away from everyone else, Princess Caroline stood there, watching the party like he was. She noticed he was looking at her. She smiled and nodded to him in acknowledgement. He began to cross the room towards her. As he got three quarters of the way across the room, she turned and exited out a nearby door. Wheatley quickened his pace. He enters the door. She was nowhere to be seen.

What the...?

Wheatley went down the hall, looking in every door on the way. Nothing.

She couldn't have just disappeared.

After searching for the Princess for over an hour, Wheatley gave up. Wherever she had gone, he imagined she didn't want to be found.

He returned to the party. The King approached him.

"Where did you run off to, Jester?"

Wheatley's stomach sank. He bowed. "Oh, I'm so sorry my King, but...I had to go to the little Jester's room."

"Ah, I see. Well get back out there and entertain my guests."

"Yes, my King." Wheatley rose and returned to his entertaining.

...

The King's birthday party had worn out almost everyone at the castle. The party had been a success, however, and that was really the only thing that mattered. Wheatley crawled up into bed and wrote in his journal. He mostly wrote about the Princess and how she seemed to vanish. Maybe the townspeople had been right all along, and she really was a ghost. After all, he had never actually come into physical contact with her and the only other person who ever talked about her was Eliza. Eliza knew magic was real, so maybe she knew ghost were too. If so, then maybe that's why she always told Wheatley not to talk about her. Because people would think he was crazy.

After finishing what he wanted to write, he put the journal away and tried to get some sleep.

It was the same every time. The woman in white on the hill, the man in the black cloak, the knife, the woman's death. He'd seen all this before. He knew how it was going to end, yet for some reason he kept fighting. Kept trying to save her and every time he'd fail. But no how many times he failed, he never stopped trying.

Just like before, the hooded man rose the knife and stabbed the woman in white in the chest. He disappeared and Wheatley ran faster up the hill, trying to reach her. As he got to the top, he noticed something new. A hooded woman in blue, standing in the distance, watching. As he reached out for the woman in white, the woman in blue turned and disappeared into the woods...

Wheatley woke up. Looking out his window he noticed it was still nighttime. He needed somewhere to think.

Tonight's a clear night. I think I'll head to the roof.

He began to ascend the stairs. As he passed the third floor, he once again looked for the light under the door.

Nothing.

Silently sighing to himself, he continued up the stairs. Upon reaching the rooftop, he noticed the Queen standing against the wall, looking out toward the kingdom below. She was wearing her nightgown.

He turned around to leave when he heard what sounded like faint crying. Looking back at the Queen, he realized it was coming from her. He began to walk toward her.

What the hell are you doing? You'll never get another torture free day for the rest of your life if you let her see you.

Despite his brain's warning, he continued to get closer.

"What made you decide to come up here?" GLaDOS asked, not turning to face him.

Wheatley swallowed. "Um. You see, I woke up and couldn't get back to sleep and I like to go walking on nights like this. It was a clear outside so I thought I'd come up here, get a good look at the sky, but since your here and I don't want to disturb you, I'll just head back downstairs." He turned to leave.

"Stop."

He did.

"Did you mean what you said before?"

Confused, he turned back to face her. She was now looking at him. Her eyes almost glowing in the moonlight.

"What are you referring to, my Queen?"

GLaDOS shifted her gaze to stare beyond him. "The night of my birthday when you eavesdropped on our conversation. Did you mean what you said about a man cherishing his wife?" She seemed to have a hard time asking.

Remembering that night he nodded. "Yes I did."

It suddenly occurred to him why she had been crying.

"Um. I may be completely out of line by asking this, but you and the King got into a fight again didn't you?"

"Unfortunately." She turned back to look at the kingdom.

Wheatley had actually expected her to get mad or tell him it was none of his business. He honestly hadn't expected for her to answer him.

As if on instinct, he walked up to stand beside her. "I'm so sorry."

She looked at him. "What could you possibly be sorry for?"

Wheatley shrugged. "I don't know. I guess I'm sorry he acts that way. It's a shame he's so blind that he can't see how much his words hurt your feelings."

GLaDOS smiled a small smile. "Well, in that case, Thank You."

He bowed. "Your Welcome, my Queen."

She smiled as he rose and much to Wheatley's surprise, gave him a soft peck on the cheek.

"You enjoy your night, Wheatley." She walked towards the stairwell and headed back inside. Wheatley simply stood there in shock.

...

Reviews are always welcome.