Hey! There are 10 more chapters left of this story, so I hope I'll be able to just get this done and then move on to the last part of this series. :)

Enjoy!

"I told him I love him." Patricia groaned as she walked into the kitchen.

"You what," KT exclaimed, standing from her seat.

"You heard me; don't make me say it again. I already said it to him. Repeating it would be three times."

"I can't believe you actually told him you love him! What did he say?"

"Nothing, he just walked out of the room." When Patricia saw her best friend's shocked expression, she chuckled. "He told me first. In a really cliché way."

"That's Eddie for you; he can be extremely cliché but he can't stand cliché things."

"He's such a hypocrite. Anyway, I'm trying to forget that I told him, so could we just…let it go?"

"Yeah, of course," KT nodded immediately. "So what's going to happen now? With your relationship?"

"He's still getting married to Amber. Now, two weeks earlier." Patricia sat down at the table and looked back up at the dark-skinned woman. "Didn't I just say I didn't want to talk about it anymore?"

"You said you didn't want to talk about the L word anymore. Now we're just talking about Eddie in general."

"I don't want to talk about Eddie." She scrunched her nose in annoyance.

"What do you want to talk about?"

"Anything but my life."

Mara planted her hands on her hips, stopping in front of Jerome as he was walking down the hallway. "Why did our parents betroth us? And why were Eddie and Amber betrothed?"

Jerome blinked. "I kind of stopped wondering why they betrothed us after everything worked out for us."

"J, I'm serious," she said, linking their arms as they continued down the hall.

"Well," he sighed. "I've never really brought it up…but maybe our parents just want a closer relationship with kingdoms? Quicker production of heirs…?

"Jerome Clarke," she scolded quietly and then he stopped suddenly.

"Eddie once overheard an argument between my dad and Uncle Peter—something about peace and an army."

"An alliance," her eyebrows furrowed.

"Could that really be it? And why would they need to do that? What kind of threat is there that we need three different armies to form an alliance?"

"We should talk to your father about this." Mara said after a moment of silence.

"I don't think he'll tell us," Jerome said with a doubtful shake of his head. "My mum wouldn't say anything either."

"Then…what do we do?"

He smirked down at her.

Her brown eyes widened and she shook her head quickly. "J, we could get in trouble."

"Our children are being mischievous." Joan spoke from the chair before the king's desk.

"I wonder who they got it from…" John chuckled

She continued, "They're trying to solve a mystery, I believe."

John nodded silently.

"They're awfully clever."

He hummed in acknowledgement.

"I think they need a little…help." She murmured.

John raised his head and smirked. "And I suppose you want us to help them?"

"If it's not too much trouble," Joan smiled.

"Oh, of course," he mumbled, leaning back in his chair. "Why don't we let them see something important?"

Joan's smile broadened. "I'm sure they'd appreciate that."

"Are you excited for the wedding?" Poppy asked teasingly, sitting next to Eddie in the garden.

He looked up at her and chuckled humorlessly. He stretched his legs out in front of him and the wooden bench.

The sun was high above the palace and the ocean could be heard faintly, crashing against the rocks below the cliff. It was warm and a cooling breeze blew through the trees and pushed Poppy's dark blonde hair around her face wildly.

"You're not giving up on Patricia though?" she asked knowingly.

"I can't," Eddie smirked, running his fingers through his hair.

"Do you need me to do anything?"

"Be the best cousin ever."

"Covered," she winked. She turned to him and pressed her lips together. "Do you believe everything will work out? I mean, Gerbil told me that he's going to become king soon. And I know it's a secret. But…that doesn't leave a lot of time to come up with some kind of crazy scheme—"

"Jerry's helping me," Eddie said simply.

"Oh well he's good at getting his way," she murmured, leaning back on the bench. "Then what's he doing to help?"

"He can't use my family as a way to get out of it…and I know that I have a duty as a prince, even if it ruins my life." He shrugged.

"You don't deserve it, you know."

"Thanks," Eddie smiled and wrapped his arm around her as they stood up, heading back to the castle. "Do you enjoy all of those romance novels you read?"

Poppy's cheeks brightened in embarrassment. "I'm a fifteen year old girl; I think I'm allowed to fantasize that one day, I'll be swept off my feet by a handsome prince."

"And literally is a possibility," he commented. "Don't rush it."

"Don't get mushy with me, Miller." She scolded playfully.

"Don't worry," he raised his free hand in surrender as they entered the castle.

Review?

"Misty windows hide your empty eyes. Ever moment, every whisper separates you from me. I've been screaming, 'Won't you let me in?'" -Frozen, Delain

-Rachel