Princess Yasmin

Money. That's what my supposed biological father traded me for, and that was the reason why he took me. So he could get money in exchange for me, the Princess.

They had treated me well. They gave me new clothes, as the place they kept me at wasn't heated, and they fed me with the little food they had. I could tell that they didn't have a lot of provisions or means to get by. He told me. He told me about all the children they had living with them, all the mouths they had to feed and what little the monarchy did to help the lower castes. But I couldn't listen to him. All I could think about was the first thing he told me. I'm your father. I wasn't a Princess. Dad, the man I could always run to with my problems, the man who had loved and cherished me my whole life wasn't even my father. And worst of all, Mom knew. She knew and she hid this from me. Not only did she keep a secret for me, but Killian as well. He knew about Mom and Sam and he had him fired, and kept it from me.

I didn't know what happened. One moment, I was eating soup Sam had given me, and before I knew it my vision blurred and my world turned black. When I opened my eyes again, I was laying in the grass, surrounded by guards. The rebels had dropped me in the middle of the Palace forest, so I wouldn't be able to betray their location. The guards told me the money was transferred to an untraceable bank account. The amount that the rebels asked for made my head spin.

I was escorted back into the Palace, and my head never stopped spinning. The sight of the sparkling chandeliers and the painting of the Royal families would always set my heart at ease, but this time, I felt like an imposter. I didn't belong here. I wasn't a real Princess. I was an illegitimate child, wearing a false title and false crowns.

I heard a door slamming open, and Killian came bolting out of the kitchen, Lady Evelaine right behind him. His face lit up when he saw me, but I avoided his gaze. I began running, my feet drumming on the marble floors. I ran past Killian, past my mother and into the open arms of my father. I embraced him tightly, as if she was holding onto my lifeline.

Dad gently cupped my face in his hands, his green eyes examining me for any possible injuries. ''Are you okay? Did they hurt you?''

I shook my head and smiled. ''I'm okay, daddy. Nothing happened. They just kept me in a room until they received the money.''

He brushed back my hair, revealing the bandage on my forehead. ''Then what's this?''

I winced at the memory. ''The rebels had to knock me out when they took me because I was struggling so much. Don't worry, you should have seen the other guy.''

Dad chuckled, and pulled me closer to him. ''They're never going to hurt you again. I will make sure of it.''

Killian carefully approached us, unsure of why I had ignored him until now. ''Welcome back, Yas.''

Dad let me go, allowing Killian to pull me into a hug I didn't return. ''Thanks.''

I could see the hurt in Killian's eyes, but I wasn't about to elaborate. I was exhausted. ''I want to sleep.''

Dad nodded, and ordered the guards to escort me to my room. He told everyone to let me rest, and to have the questions wait until I was ready to answer them.

I saw my mother walking towards me, and before she could reach me, I turned my back on her and quickly walked up the grand stairs.

…

I couldn't sleep. How was I supposed to sleep? I kept thinking about Sam, but most importantly, Tristan. Where was he? Why hadn't I seen him yet?

I moved restless in my bed, before I huffed and pushed away the blankets. ''Hailey?'' I called.

Hailey peeked her head in from the door. ''Yes, Yasmin?''

''Could you please find Officer Bates for me and send him to my room? I need to speak to him regarding the rebel attack.''

''Of course.'' Hailey nodded and softly closed the door, leaving me alone to my thoughts.

I jumped out of my bed when I heard a knock on my door. I ran as fast as my feet could carry me, nearly pulling the door of its hinges. Tristan opened his mouth to speak, but before he could, I had pulled him inside and claimed his lips with mine.

He wrapped his strong arms around me, pulling me closer as he used his foot to shut the door. I lost myself in our kiss, every bad thought leaving my brain like it had never been there.

Tristan pulled back, looking at me with love filled eyes. ''Are you okay?''

''I'm fine. Nothing happened to me. But what happened to you? Who did this?'' I gently touched the colored marks in his face. He looked like he'd been through hell.

''The rebels. And this one belongs to your brother.'' He pointed at the mark on his jaw.

''Killian? Why would he do that?''

''He blamed me for the rebels taking you. And he was right. I was supposed to protect you. You were supposed to be safe with me and I failed. I'm so sorry, Yasmin. You don't know how much I've been beating myself up about this. '' Sadness clouded his features.

''Don't say that. You have nothing to apologize for, you did what you could. It never even occurred to me to blame you for this.''

Tristan smiled. ''You're amazing, you know that right? I love you.''

I pecked him on his lips, our argument before the attack long forgotten. ''I love you too.''

He sat down on my bed, pulling me down into his lap. ''So, are you going to talk about what happened there?''

I rested my head against his chest, the feeling of safety slowly returning. ''No,'' I whispered. ''Not yet.''

Tristan didn't say anything; he just pressed a kiss on my head and lovingly caressed my hair. ''Take your time.''

Prince Oskar

Yasmin was back, back in the safety of the Palace, back with her soon-to-be husband. But why wasn't I happy? Of course I was relieved that nothing bad had happened to her, and of course I cared about her, but I wasn't happy. Was it that bad of me that a small part of me hoped this would be the end of our engagement? Of course that's bad.

I needed to clear my head of these horrible thoughts, so I headed to the stables. The moon was shining, high in the sky, as it was quite late. Which why I was even more surprised to find Jia sitting under an oak tree.

''Hey there.''

Jia looked at me with those doe-shaped eyes, her mouth curving into a smile. ''Hey.''

I sat down next to her, stretching my long legs out in front of me. ''It's a beautiful night.''

Jia nodded. ''It is. The moon looks beautiful and your fiancé is back.''

My fiancé. A subject I'd rather avoid, but I forced a smile anyway. ''Yeah.''

''So, why aren't you with her?''

''She's resting. I was actually heading to the stables. Would you like to join me?''

She laughed. ''I've never even sat on a horse. I can't ride.''

I jumped to my feet, extending my hand to her. ''That's not a problem. Come.''

Jia shook her head, but she couldn't hide the smile on her face as she took my hand. ''You don't give up, do you?''

I grinned as I pulled her to her feet. ''Nope.''

She stood close, dangerously close. She had to crane her neck to look at me, as she was a lot shorter than I was. The moon shone its light on her face, and for the first time, I really saw her eyes. And they were beautiful. They were light gray, with a darker gray rim, but that's not what made them so special. In this particular light, it looked like there were faint silver streaks in them.

''Du hast wunderschöne Augen.''

She scrunched up her nose in confusion. ''What did you just say?'' I shrugged, and she gave me a light shove. ''It better not be an insult.''

I laughed and pulled her along to the stables. ''Look it up. You might learn something new.''

''Oh I will definitely look it up. I will also look up additional German swearwords in case it was an insult. I will prepare myself.''

I grinned as I took out a gray Camargue Horse, the one I always rode when I was in Illéa. ''This is Storm. Storm, this is Jia.''

Jia bowed, a serious expression on her face. ''It's an honor to meet you, Storm.''

I saddled Storm and turned to Jia. ''Are you ready?''

''I guess..'' she said. I put my hands on her waist, and before she could protest, lifted her up into the saddle. I joined her on the horse and sat behind her, taking the reins in my hands. We were close, very close, as her back was pressed against my chest.

''Okay, I didn't think you had this in mind,'' Jia joked.

''Well, you can't ride, so this is the only way. Hold on tight.'' I led Storm out of the stables and picked up speed when we hit the fresh air. Jia and I disappeared into the forest, the moon guiding us with its light.

Lady Aenwyn

''She's a witch!''

''Burn her!''

''Throw her into the water! We have to drown her!''

I woke up with a jolt, my nightgown drenched in sweat and my face wet with tears. Another nightmare. While they had been less frequent since I arrived at the Palace and escaped the hellish orphanage, they were still present. The sadistic laughter of the children was still ringing in my ears. I needed some fresh air.

I grabbed my robe, putting it on as I left my room. The guard at my door immediately stopped me.

''I'm sorry, but you can't leave your room at this hour.''

My shoulders slumped, and I heard the laughter again. ''Please, I just need some fresh air. I won't be long, just a few minutes.''

''I'm sorry, but you can't. It's too – ''

''I'll accompany her.''

Killian walked up to us, a reassuring smile on his face as he spoke to the guard. ''She'll be with me. I'll accompany her and bring her back to her room.''

The guard immediately bowed at the sight of the Prince. ''Yes, Your Highness.''

Killian offered me his arm. ''Shall we?''

I gladly took his arm, and we walked down the hallway in silence.

''Are you okay?''

I looked at him, eyebrows drawn together. ''Why do you ask?''

''Your eyes are red and swollen. It looks like you've been crying.''

I averted my gaze, my hair shielding my face from his peering eyes. ''It's nothing.''

''You're a bad liar.''

''It was just a nightmare. It happens all the time.''

Killian stopped in his tracks. He brushed the hair out of my face, forcing me to look at him. ''It shouldn't happen at all. What are they about?''

I bit my lip as I felt the tears welling in my eyes. ''The orphanage.''

His face softened. ''Aenwyn.. what happened there?''

I gazed at him, his concern confusing me. No one had ever cared about what happened to me, whether I was hurt or not, and here was the Crown Prince, clearly worried about me. Me. A broken girl. Could it be that he cared for me? Was that even possible?

The thought alone about having someone care enough to ask what's wrong was too much. My tears threatened to spill and I couldn't stop them as they slowly ran down my cheeks.

He softly wiped away the tears, and frowned. ''I'm sorry I asked. I understand you're not ready to talk about it yet. Just please don't cry.''

I chuckled as I saw the panic in his eyes at him making me cry. ''I'm glad you asked. I hope I'll be able to tell you soon.''

''I hope so too.''

He smiled, and he looked so hopeful and sincere that I couldn't help smiling back at him. His hand was still on my cheek, lightly caressing it, and his other hand dropped down to my waist, pulling me closer. He came closer, and I couldn't move. Taking a chance, he closed the distance between us and softly pressed his lips to mine.

I froze, unable to move for a second, before I pulled back and stared at him. He dropped his arms to his side and ran his hand through his hair. ''I'm sorry. That was a dick move. I'm so sorry, I was reading into it wrong. Damn, I suck.''

I blushed furiously, my lips still tingling from his touch. I kept my eyes at the ground, unable to look at him as I stuttered, ''No, it's fine. Don't apologize. I.. I just wasn't expecting that.'' I gazed up at him. ''And it was my first.''

Killian let out an exasperated sigh as he smacked his forehead. ''I'm such a dick!''

''Please, don't worry about it. You didn't offend me. I.. didn't dislike it.''

He let out of a sigh of relief. ''So you don't hate me?''

''Of course not. Now, would you walk me back to my room?''

He nodded and we started our way back. ''You really don't hate me?''

''I will if you keep asking me this question.''

He smirked. ''Then I will shut up.''

Trismin's back! Of course I couldn't let our favorite couple get seperated for too long. I hope you liked their little reunion and of course the rest of the chapter. For once, I don't really have much else to say here so,

Thanks for reading and keep reviewing!

Love,
Wolf