Okay, I should be working on something but...I was just forced to play Gin with my mom and my brother and I don't know how to play it, so my brother taught me, but he didn't say that a run had to be in the same suit, so I ended up not winning, and my mom backed him up and said that he did say that. But he didn't! I would have done something completely different if I knew that! So I stopped playing and stormed over to my computer and then cried in the bathroom because...I was so proud of myself for winning, but then I didn't, so I was knocked down when I was happy. :( And I'm trying to write, but it's hard for me to write when I'm upset. And I don't want to play a game with them because they won't stop saying that I did a great job because I didn't. If I had done a great job, I would've won! And my mom doesn't know when to quit asking someone if they're okay. I just want to slap my brother and strangle my mom- they're being so annoying and they just don't understand how they're making me feel right now. I feel like such a failure.

Anyway...sorry.

Enjoy.

"You want me and Jerome to cover for you and Patricia while you two have a secret affair and you try to get out of your betrothal?" Mara relayed. "But…"

"Come on, Mara, I did it for you two." Eddie pleaded.

"But I knew that Jerome and I were getting married. Technically, Jerome and I weren't having a secret affair, but a relationship—"

"No one cares about technicalities, Mara," he groaned.

Jerome sighed, running a hand over his chin. "Okay, look, we have to figure out how Amber is as a person, and then decide if you'll ever be able to be away from her."

Eddie hung his head in frustration. "But you'll help me if you can?"

Jerome and Mara looked at each other before nodding.

The door to the library opened and thy looked at the servant that had entered. He bowed lowly. "King Andrew Millington and Princess Amber Millington from Votram have just arrived. Lord Peter requests your presence, Prince Eddie."

Eddie nodded and stood, and Jerome and Mara rose with him.

"We'll come with you; for support." Mara smiled, hugging him.

"Thanks," he mumbled, following the servant to the throne room.

In the middle of the room, before the king and queen and Lord and Lady, stood an older man and a younger woman; the man had piercing gray eyes and graying temples. He was shorter than most men, but he was taller than his daughter who had the same gray eyes with long, golden locks that flowed down her back like a waterfall.

"Eddie," Peter acknowledged. He motioned for him to stand next to him and his wife. He smiled at the guests. "This is our son, Eddie."

Eddie bowed stiffly. "It's a pleasure to meet you, your highness."

"His accent isn't the same as yours." The king of Votram noted.

"He was adopted, sire," Clarissa explained, brushing her finger over Eddie's cheek. "But we love him as our own."

Eddie forced himself not to scoff. He didn't believe anything either of his 'parents' said. Oh, this was such a mess.

"Andrew, why don't we let Eddie and Amber get to know each other. Eddie, take the princess to the garden; go on a walk." Peter instructed.

"Yes, sir," Eddie nodded and held his arm out for the princess to take. She took it easily and lifted her light blue skirt, walking with him through the door.

"This garden is so pretty," Amber commented. "But the humid air isn't very good for my hair. Could we go somewhere else?"

"Of course," Eddie strained through gritted teeth.

"You don't want to be here, do you?" she asked, pulling her arm away from his. She sat down on one of the benches and patted the spot next to her, but he remained standing.

"I'm sorry, is it that obvious?" he retorted.

"Yes," she giggled. "So who is she? Is she pretty? Is she smart? Is she funny? Is she worth it?"

"What?" His dark eyebrows fell together in confusion.

"The girl you're in love with. She's the reason you don't want to be near me, right? I'm right. I'm always right about these things. I can see it in your eyes. Those are the eyes of a man in love." Amber stated confidently, reaching out and pulling on his hand so he'd sit next to her.

"Is it that obvious?" he chuckled, running a hand through his hair.

"Maybe not to everyone else, but to me, absolutely; I'm a hopeless romantic. She must be some special girl if she's caught you attention. What is she? A princess; a lady; a queen?"

Eddie smiled slightly. "A maid."

Amber's head cocked to the side. "A made what?"

"No, she's a maid. She works here in the palace." he shrugged. "And don't say that I can't be with her."

"No, I get it. I can sort of relate." She admitted. She leaned closer to him. "I'm in love with a stable boy."

"A stable boy?" he chuckled.

She nodded. "I've been dating him for three months. Well, I dated him for three months; I had to leave so I could marry you."

"I'm trying to find a way out of this. I think we can find a way so that we don't have to get married and if we're lucky, we can be with who we want. But we have to play this right. My cousin and his wife will help us out with anything we need."

"So how do we convince our parents to break the betrothal? Your father seems to be just as stubborn as mine. No offence."

"None taken," he waved the comment off and stood up, holding his arm out to her. "We'll discuss it later. Right now, let's just get back and try to convince them that we had a good time."

She nodded in understanding and linked their arms.

Amber slipped out of the guest bedroom and looked down both sides of the hallway. She tapped a finger to her chin. Eddie had said to meet him in the library. That was to the right, down the hallway to the stairs to the first floor, down the hallway and through the first door on the left, which led to one more hallway where the library was the third door on the right. Right?

She followed that path and found that her memory had been correct. She looked around the room, observing the many bookcases and then noticed that on the balcony above sat Eddie, Jerome and Mara. She pulled her dressing gown tighter around her and silently climbed the spiral staircase.

When she reached the three, Mara smiled at her and patted the spot next to her. She sat where she'd been welcomed and Mara spoke first.

"Hi, I'm Mara," she said softly.

"Amber," she replied with a smile of her own.

Mara's arm jerked back and her elbow hit Jerome's arm. He straightened, eyes widening. "Sorry, I'm awake. Hi, Jerome Clarke; Mara's husband," he held his hand out and they shook hands briefly. "Take care of my cousin."

"Jerry, we're not getting married." Eddie snapped quietly.

"Wait what? Did I miss something? I'm sorry, I'm not a morning person." He mumbled leaning against the bookshelf again, eyes fluttering closed.

"Are you kidding me? Every morning, before dawn, you and Mara go up to the – what were you two doing before I got you?" he asked suspiciously.

Jerome opened one eye and a smirk pulled at the corner of his slightly swollen lips. "Do you really want to know?"

Eddie's eyes narrowed and he turned back to Amber without another word, which caused Jerome to let out a small chuckle and pull Mara into his side.

"So they're gonna help us out." he replied. "Although with my cousin's brain, I'm not sure how…"

"Hey," Jerome protested.

Eddie ignored him and spoke again, "So, Amber and I are going to 'get to know each other', but really, it's just gonna be a cover so that I can see Patricia. But see, I'm not alone on this; Amber is seeing this stable boy back in Votram. So really, breaking this betrothal will be going both ways."

"Okay, so you guys want us to cover for you two whenever we need to and keep an eye, ear and nose out for a way to break the betrothal?" Jerome questioned.

"Yeah, basically – wait, why a nose? Who keeps a nose out?" Eddie made a face.

"What do you mean?"

"You said you'll be keeping a nose out."

"I'm sorry; I'm really tired." Jerome rubbed his eyes and Mara laughed softly.

"Alright, go to sleep already," Eddie waved him off with a small smile. "Thanks, guys."

"Anytime," Jerome promised, standing up and then helping Mara. "You helped us; we'll do the same for you."

"Goodnight," Mara said.

"Sweet dreams," Amber responded kindly as they walked toward the spiral staircase.

"They'll have our backs." Eddie assured her. "They're some of the most loyal people you'll ever meet."

"Good," she smiled and then looked at her lap unsurely. "I hope this works."

"It will."

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"She said, 'paint a picture on me'; throw your dress up and your heart away. Yeah, I heard what you said. A friend of a friend, these strangers at the party never paid. And if that doesn't turn you on, I'll keep talking till something does. As we're covered in sand, you roll over and smile."

-Rachel