Anthony

'Why did you do that?' I shouted up at my brother and father after finally getting the tape off my mouth.

'Why do I do anything?' My father replied, nonchalantly.

'That was her grandfather,' I retorted wishing patricide wasn't frowned upon so harshly.

'Good observational skills son.'

'She adores her grandfather, if he doesn't like me she'll never give me another chance,' I answered angrily tearing the bow off my back and stomping up the stairs to where both my brother and father sat still suffering spasms of laughter.

'He was never going to like you,' my father assured me.

'How do you know?' I demanded standing before the two of them in nothing but a horrid diaper.

'I know, and that man is rotten to the core. America and Maxon were kidding themselves when they allowed him to go unpunished,' my father answered with bitter disgust.

'Amberly respects him,' I retorted.

'Amberly doesn't know the truth,' father replied as Jared watched the two of us with wide eyes.

'What is the truth?' I asked warily. What could this man have possibly done to garner such hatred from my father?

'The truth, is that only Maxon, America and Clarkson know. I can only suspect what transpired but I know he hurt America,' he spat walking away from me angrily. I had never really seen my father angry, he was always so calm and laid back, this was a side of him which was foreign to me.

I watched my father until he disappeared and only Jared and I remained.

'What was that about?' Jared asked, standing up and brushing himself off.

'I have no idea,' I answered vaguely.

'Good luck winning over Amberly's grandfather,' Jared smiled, slapping me hard on the back, leaving a stinging, red mark on my bare skin.

'It would have been easier if the first time he saw me I was actually wearing clothes and since when do you get involved in dad's pranks?' I demanded rounding on my grinning brother.

'Since, I found out how much fun it could be to embarrass you. Nice diaper brother.'

'What am I going to do? I was going to have enough trouble gaining his approval but now you've only made it harder, if not impossible' I complained.

'I'm sure you can win him over, you can win anyone over, right?' My brother mocked and I only glared back at him in response. 'Good luck Anthony, you're going to need it.'

'You're going to regret this Jared, never enter a war unprepared and you're twenty-three years behind.'

'Yes, but I'm not the one standing there in a diaper, now am I?' He chuckled, disappearing down the corridor. I let out a growl of frustration before marching down the opposite corridor, intent on finding some clothes. There wasn't even a ghost of a plan forming in my head to try and win Amberly's grandfather over. How do you recover from your father dressing you up like cupid and hanging from the ceiling as a way of introduction?

'Prince Anthony,' A deep voice startled me as I made my way down the corridor to my room. I stumbled slightly before looking up to find the very man who could spell the death of me.

'Sir…Mr Schreave…Amberly's grandfather?' Oh god, maybe I was better off hanging from the ceiling of the castle.

'Is this how you usually dress around my granddaughter?' He asked, disapproval dripping from his words.

'No, I-I…usually wear clothes,' I stammered shifting uncomfortably in front of the intimidating man. No one had ever made me this nervous. I felt shorter standing under his harsh stare. Even though, physically, I was no shorter than he was, but from where I was standing I was just a mouse facing down a lion.

'I should hope so,' he answered, a smug look staring back at me. He was not going to make this easy on me.

'I-I-'

'Goodbye prince Anthony,' he cut me off, somehow making my title sound like an insult and all I was left to do was watch as he walked confidently away from me, leaving fear to circle around my body.

When he was out of sight I let out the breath I had been holding prisoner in my chest, afraid to even breathe wrong in front of him.

Slowly, I made my way back to my room and as soon as I was dressed more respectably there was a knock at my door and a butler came in.

'Your highness,' he bowed. 'The king has requested your presence immediately.'

'Of course he has, what torment has he got planned? Wasn't cupid enough for one day?' I grumbled nodding at the man who quickly left my room. Straightening my tie I left to go and see my father's latest scheme to embarrass me.

Amberly

I was desperately trying to contain my giggles as Anthony walked passed my door after speaking with my grandfather. This was going to be fun. Grandfather was going to eat the poor boy alive and I was going to enjoy every moment of it. Once Anthony was out of my sight I slipped out of my room and went to meet my grandfather in the gardens, sketchbook in hand.

I floated through the castle so excited to have my grandfather here after my parents had forbade me from having him with me for so long. It didn't take much to convince my mother after I told her what happened at the ball. I think she wanted grandfather to come just so he could teach Anthony a lesson. We could only hope that he was a quick learner.

'Grandfather,' I beamed walking through the gardens to sit beside him on the stone bench. He had chosen a spot that was completely secluded, surrounded by large willow trees and the air was filled with the conversation of birds in the treetops.

'Amberly,' he smiled turning to face me and looking down at what I held in my hand. 'I see you've been busy.'

'In between terrible pranks and jealous princes I managed to get some sketching done.' I smiled handing over the book to him, eager to see what he thought of my sketches. He was the only one I would willingly show them to, everyone else made me nervous but I knew my grandfather would appreciate them.

I watched as he flipped through the pages and I realised I had drawn more than I thought and most startling of all I realised there were far more drawings of Anthony than I cared to admit. I felt my cheeks flush as my grandfather stopped on the page that had the drawing of Anthony I had done on the rooftop. I hadn't looked at it since that day and looking at it now I saw it was as powerful now as it was then.

'These are magnificent Amberly,' he said handing the book back to me and I hugged it close to my chest, still thinking about my drawing of Anthony.

'Thanks grandfather,' I mumbled.

'So, why don't you tell me about this prince?' He asked, always getting straight to the heart of all my problems.

'He's childish and irrational, but he has these moments…' I trailed off.

'Like the one in that drawing?' He asked motioning towards my book.

'Yeah, but they're all so quick and then they're gone. Then he's replaced with the immature prince who can't help but cause trouble and get on the end of every one of my last nerves. Its like he's on a mission to see how far he can push me,' I answered frustratedly. My grandfather sat silently beside me, lost in his own thoughts.

'Do you think he's a good choice…for me?' I asked hesitantly, filling the silence.

'Amberly, I'm not going to think any man is good enough for you.' He sighed, looking out across the castle gardens. 'To admit that any man is good enough for you would be to admit that I need to let you go and I don't want to do that.'

'You won't lose me,' I said a little fearfully.

'You'll be here Amberly, and once you're married I won't get to stay here. I'll need to return to Illea. I'm not welcome here.' He sighed and I looked up at him in confusion. Why wasn't he welcome here?

'Why?'

'King Frederick and I have some history,' he answered vaguely, turning from me as a dark look fell across his face.

'What kind of history?' I asked cautiously.

'I'm not ready to tell you yet but you will find out soon enough,' he sighed sadly and I knew he was warring with something from his past again. I let the silence consume us, sitting back and letting the sun dance across my skin through the breaks in the leaves, wondering what my grandfather was hiding. I had always known he had been concealing something from his past but I never pressed him for it. If it was something he wanted to reveal I would have known already.

I sat with grandfather until it was time for dinner but when we arrive neither the king nor Anthony were there to join us. When I asked queen Olivier she said they were busy with matters of state, but didn't elaborate any further. I was silent for most of dinner as Elliot kept grandfather entertained. He was brimming with endless questions for my grandfather about Illea. He was relentless but grandfather never faltered, answering every question Elliot threw at him.

After dinner I walked the castle corridors aimlessly until I found myself walking down the corridor which contained both Anthony and his father's offices. Looking over my shoulder I saw that I was alone and silently moved down the corridor, the sound my skirt fluttering around my knees the only noise against the noiseless corridor. I stood just before the two of them and I heard a raised voice come from King Frederick's and I startled at the foreign sound.

He had never raised his voice before, nor had I ever heard him so serious. I couldn't hear what he was so upset about but it must have been serious to have even the king of mischief putting aside his jesters hat.

Looking over at Anthony's door I saw it was slightly ajar and I moved closer to get a better look at him. He was focused on something and his brow was etched with concentration. I couldn't help but think he was very handsome when all the smug looks fell away.

I watched him for several minutes as he poured over the papers in front of him, searching for something. Finally, he rested his head in his hands, pulling at his dark hair and rubbing at his tired hazel eyes. What was wrong?

Anthony

When had this happened and why hadn't the rest of the world noticed? When my father called me here earlier, I thought he was going to pull another prank but the news he had for me was far worse than any joke he might have played on me.

There were riots in the poorer areas of London and there were casualties, many. We needed to get officers over to the areas to try and foster peace or at least settle the chaos but there weren't enough.

However, that wasn't the reason I was pouring over paperwork looking for money we didn't have to reinforce our armies and it wasn't why my father was on the phone to our allies frantically trying to confirm claims that Russia had signed an alliance with New Asia.

New Asia hadn't been active in over twenty years but there was now movement in their fleets and a rumour that the other sleeping power, Russia, had agreed to partner with them. This could spell the end of the extended peace time the world had experienced. Why were they doing this now?

'Anthony?' I jumped at the sudden intrusion on my thoughts to find Amberly standing in front of my desk looking at me curiously.

'Amberly, what are you doing here?' I asked, rubbing the back of my neck and shuffling some papers around.

'What's the matter? Why are you so tense?' She asked, ignoring my question.

'Look, I'm sorry but I really don't have time. Something terrible is happening and I need to figure this out,' I answered, as much as I wanted to know why she was here and not yelling at me, this was more important and it deserved all of my attention.

'Why are you so worried?' She asked moving around my desk to stand beside me and I held in my groan of frustration. I didn't have time for this.

'I just have a lot of work to do,' I answered shortly but she didn't seem phased and continued until she was leaning over my shoulder, looking at the documents in front of me.

'Can I help?' she asked and I looked up at her in surprise.

'No, its fine. You don't need to concern yourself with this,' I answered trying to hide some of the more startling reports. I didn't want to worry her.

'Anthony, I can help you know. I've been doing it for Adam for years and I sat with my father most days when he was working. I'm not useless,' she answered and I almost laughed. The last word I would use to describe Amberly would be useless.

'I know, I just don't want to worry you,' I answered still shuffling papers, hoping she would leave. My father never let my mother help with these things, he was trying to protect her. She had the most important job of all, keeping my father sane. She was the perfect balance for my father, but numbers and war strategy had never been her strong suit.

'Anthony,' she said calmly with a hint of warning in her tone. 'I'll only be worried if you don't tell me what's going on.'

'There's an alliance,' I sighed.

'What kind of alliance?' She probed.

'Russia and New Asia.'

'What? When?' She asked and I saw fear in her eyes but I also saw determination shine brighter.

'We aren't sure yet, my fathers still trying to confirm it, but if it's true and New Asia is active again we need to be ready, along with all our allies.' She nodded, thoughtfully and then turned her eyes back to me.

'What are you doing?' She asked, looking back at the mess of papers scattered across my desk.

'Looking for the hidden money that could support a war effort and for the imaginary soldiers we can spare for the riots in the poorer areas of London.' I sighed.

'Let me have a look, why don't you go and get something to eat?' She asked taking some of the papers off my desk and I watched as her mind already began to tick over. Was there anything she couldn't do?

'What time is it?' I asked, rubbing my tired eyes.

'Late,' she muttered, searching around my desk for something.

'I missed dinner,' I asked a little surprised. How long had I been here? Looking outside I realised the sun had set a long time ago without me even noticing.

'Go, you need a break anyway,' she said shooing me out of my own chair.

'Umm, okay. I guess I'll be back soon then,' I muttered leaving the room but only making it as far as the door. I turned back to see her hunched over my desk and I couldn't help but wait a few moments longer, watching her. I finally turned away when I heard my father's door open and a beaten man walked out.

'Any news?' I asked walking towards him as he pulled his tie from around his collar and rubbed down the back of his neck.

'No, no one can confirm or deny the rumours but the riots are getting worse. The streets are overrun and most of them are burning and the stores are being looted. Any luck finding officers we can spare?' He asked looking over into my office where Amberly was still working.

'No, but apparently I'm not in charge anymore,' I smiled.

'Looks like you've been demoted.'

'She kicked me out of my own chair,' I laughed turning back to my father.

'She doesn't seemed to be one who would sit in the backseat and watch the action.' My father mused turning to walk down the corridor.

'Let's hope we never see what she does with a loaded gun in her hands,' I answered, remembering her when she stole my brothers paint gun.

'I believe she might solve all our problems.' My father laughed lightly, rolling his tense shoulders. 'There's nothing more we can do tonight. Why don't you tell your princess to go to bed?'

'You tell her, did you see the determined look on her face?'

'You might want to hurry up and get back to her otherwise she might completely take over your office. How fast do you think she could get the locks changed?'

'I'd say it's already done,' I answered gravely.

'Goodnight Anthony,' my father laughed moving in the direction of his and my mother's room. 'Don't stay up too late we have a lot to do tomorrow.'

'I know, night dad,' I answered as the weariness settled over both of our shoulders.

Amberly

'How you doing love?' Anthony asked around a yawn.

'Hmm?' I mumbled reshuffling the last pile.

'Whoa, is this my desk?' He asked a little shocked.

'I don't know how you got any work done in here, it was a mess,' I answered, standing up and stretching.

'Did you organise my drawers?' He accused, opening the top one. 'I was only gone half an hour.'

'I needed a pen and I couldn't find one under the catastrophe that you call a desk,' I shrugged, moving so he could sit down.

'I don't think I've seen the top of my desk in years,' he laughed.

'I figured out where we can get the extra officers from,' I announced, picking up the stack closest to me and setting it down in front of him.

'Already, I've been staring at these all day,' he frowned looking down at the paper and rubbing his hand along the back of his neck.

'Which is probably why you couldn't find anything,' I answered pointing out where there were extra soldiers in some of the outer suburbs of London that we could send.

'I didn't even think of this, its perfect.' He smiled.

'I know where we can get extra budget for the war preparations as well,' I answered, pulling out another set of papers.

'Really? You're amazing,' he beamed, absently reaching out and giving my hand a squeeze before focusing on what I had handed him. It was as if he did it without even realising. I faltered for a moment at the sudden contact but quickly shook myself. I didn't have time for that right now.

'You spend a lot on charity events and donations if you were-'

'No,' he cut me off firmly, frowning at the statistics in front of him.

'Oh, I just thought…' I trailed off, a little taken aback by his harsh response. 'I guess we can look elsewhere.'

'Amberly,' he sighed looking up at me. 'It's a good idea and I'm sure its what most nations would do but we can't.'

'Why?' I asked in a small voice. Its what my father would do. Logically, you'd cut the expenses that were unnecessary for the protection of the nation.

'If war is coming as I suspect it is we can't remove one of the only sources of hope the people have. It would instil fear and hopelessness in the people. We need to keep their spirits high and despite how frivolous some of our activities are they keep the people happy. If the people are happy they are more willing to fight for their nation. We need to convince people to join our defences and if they have a nation and a way of life they are invested in they will be more determined to defend it from outside forces. Besides, if we stop supporting the weakest members of society we will have more problems like the riots in the poorer sectors. We need to give the most to those who have the least.'

'But where will we find the money?' I asked, confused.

'We'll find it somewhere, don't worry,' he smiled, standing up and brushing a kiss along my forehead. Warmth rushed through my body and I looked up at him in alarm and noticed he had frozen looking at me apprehensively, almost afraid of how I might react.

'Sorry,' he muttered, stepping around me.

'Why?' I blurted out before my mind could catch up with my mouth. He stopped and turned to face me with an odd look on his face.

'Why don't we go and get some sleep? This will all be here in the morning,' He answered, not moving from where he stood between me and the door.

'Okay,' I answered, confused by the rate of my heart. I was meant to be angry with him, why was my heart not getting the message?

'Come on, I'll walk you to your room love,' he smiled warmly, extending his hand for me to take. I hesitated for only a moment before my heart forced me to reach out and take his hand in mine. My head was shouting at me to run but for once I decided not to listen to it, for once I was going to listen to the flutterings of my heart.

'Anthony?' I asked after several minutes of silence as we walked through the deserted castle.

'Yes, love?' He smiled.

'Why did you act the way you did last night?' I questioned looking up at him, the sounds of our feet against the castle floors the only noise reverberating off the walls.

'I didn't like seeing you in his arms,' he answered quietly, staring down at his feet.

'Why? We were only dancing,' I asked.

'I think you know why Amberly,' he chuckled and he was right. I did know but I wanted him to admit it. I needed him to admit it so I said nothing and waited for him. We were almost at my room when he finally broke the silence, my ears welcoming his warm voice after its extended absence.

'Amberly,' he sighed. 'You mean more to me than you realise, but no matter what I do, you deny me. Even when I see a glimmer of hope that maybe, just maybe you might feel what I feel I do something that makes you pull it all away, leaving me cold and lost. Then I saw you in his arms and I couldn't take it. I didn't understand how he could so easily make you smile and draw out your elusive laughter you seem so willing to give up to everyone but me. You know why I acted that way? Jealousy was my motivation, plain and simple. I've only ever wanted to be the reason for your smile.' He finished quietly, releasing my hand when we reach my door. All I could do was stare at him, his words running through me, circling my system until they were the only thing which engulfed my senses, holding me mute.

'I won't give up Amberly,' he whispered over the deafening silence before turning from me and walking down the corridor, his shoulders slumped in exhaustion. How was he so confident in what he felt about me? Why was it so easy for him to admit? Did I feel the same? Could I ever have the strength he had?

Michael

Something was wrong, I could hear it in my father's voice from the familiar vent I was crouched beside outside his office. I may be in a silent war with my twin sister but I still leant towards her methods of spying. I guess sometimes I was more like her than I thought. Curiosity had brought me here after the report. After Adam had dragged Aisling out of the studio, anger and amusement in his eyes. A volatile combination, but it seemed Aisling was always willing to dance that line with my brother. Somehow, she always brought the fight out in him when often he was the one in the background, assessing all options before acting on any of them.

My father's voice was a mix of emotions I couldn't quite identify. It was tinged with anger, with specks of fear circling but every now and then I heard the whispers of resignation. His voice was tired, weary from all the years of ruling. There was something different today, something about the country had changed, something was coming.

'…three schools? How many casualties?' He asked trying to maintain formality with the person on the other end. I didn't hear the number but I knew it wasn't good from my father's silence. He cared for the people almost as much as he cares for us, his family. Every death, every person living in hardship rested heavily on his conscience.

'What of the people in the area? What has their response been?' He asked, trying to keep his tone flat and emotionless. I was certain the person on the other end couldn't hear the trepidation in his tone but I did. It was hidden but It was there.

'I'll discuss it with her,' he answered to the person's question on the other end of the line. Silent minutes ticked by, no movement and no noise escaped my father's office. Nothing.

Suddenly, the door opened and I quickly straightened, pulling my suit jacket into place, feeling the guilt flood my cheeks. Unlike my sister, I could never get out of trouble.

'I guess you heard most of that,' my father stated, looking straight in my eyes.

'Yes,' I mumbled.

'Can you find your mother for me? I need to speak with her,' he asked and I nodded before he could turn his back on me. What was happening?

'Dad?' I called into my parents room.

'Michael, is that you?' He questioned in a muffled voice and I pushed the door open to find a massive pile of clothes building on the bed.

'Are you going somewhere?' I asked, just barely seeing the suitcase under the heap.

'Did you find your mother?' He asked, dropping some shoes on the mattress.

'No,' I answered distractedly, watching what I could only assume was my father's attempt at packing. A three year old could do a better job. 'Did you want me to see if maybe your butler, Mark could come and help you?'

'No, I know what I'm doing,' he answered looking down at his version of packing a suitcase with a small smile on his face.

'I don't think you do,' I muttered, still standing clear of the war zone.

'It'll be fine Michael,' he assured me with a confidence he shouldn't have.

'Why are you packing?'

'Your mother and I need to go on a trip,' he answered sadly, turning to face me.

'Why? Mom was only home for a month, why does she need to leave again?' I asked, upset my mother would be leaving so soon after he last trip.

'It won't be for long Michael, we'll be back before you know it. We can't leave Adam in charge for too long,' he chuckled crossing the room to me.

'You're leaving Adam in charge?' I asked a little alarmed.

'Well, your grandfather isn't here so yes, he has to be in charge.'

'But…'

'He needs to do this, he needs to do something on his own, without Amberly there to save him.' He said firmly.

'I guess,' I answered uncertainly. Adam would make a great ruler one day, just maybe today wasn't that day. Especially, with the selection still playing out. His attention was drawn in so many directions I wasn't sure he would be able to handle it and I was certain Aisling wasn't going to make it easy on him. If the report only hours ago was anything to go by.

'It's going to be fine Michael but I want you to do something while your mother and I are away,' he said resting his hand on my shoulder.

'What's that?' I asked.

'Can you please keep Marinda under control. Adam doesn't need to deal with her antics along everything else,' he sighed, probably thinking of all the trouble Marinda had made in the past.

'No one can control her,' I admitted.' And I'm not really on good terms with her at the moment.'

'I know, you finally stood up for yourself,' he smiled proudly. 'You finally stopped accepting her punishments.'

'You knew? If you knew why did you let me take the fall every time.' I asked a little outraged.

'You needed to learnt to stand up for yourself and stop letting your sister control your life. She has a very…bright and boisterous personality, eclipsing almost everything else.'

'That's one way of putting it,' I muttered looking away.

'You should know Michael when you stood up for yourself against Adam that day I was very proud of you.' He said and I brought my eyes back to his.

'You were never mad that day were you?'

'No, I may not have liked that my two sons had resorted to a fist fight to settle their differences but I was glad you finally found the strength to defend yourself. I guess we have a certain blonde to thank for that,' he chuckled.

'She is better at making chaos than Marinda,' I laughed shaking my head.

'Yes I believe she is but when she makes chaos she brings change, Marinda just brings more chaos. Adam's going to have his hands full when he finally convinces her of his feelings for her.'

'Do you think he will…convince her?' I asked doubtfully. Aisling didn't look like she wanted to be here and it appeared nothing was going to get in her way of leaving.

'Who knows, all we can do is wait,' my father answered as the door to my parents room opened again.

'America, where have you been?' My father asked rushing over to her.

'The stables with Harmonia, she wanted to go for a ride but I told her it was too late. She was a little stubborn,' she answered with a smirk.

'Just like her mother,' dad laughed.

'Hey,' my mother exclaimed stepping back from him.

'Don't deny it.'

'You're equally stubborn, it's a wonder any of our children listen to us at all,' she smiled as dad placed a kiss on her cheek.

'I have to tell you something,' dad said seriously.

'What-wait, why have you tried to pack?' She asked stepping around my father and moving towards the mountain of clothing. 'Twenty years Maxon and you still can't pack your own bag?'

'I thought I was doing well,' he shrugged sending me a wink and I rolled my eyes at my parents.

'Maxon, you're a grown man, your children are grown and you still can't pack your own suitcase.'

'Maybe I just like the way you do it,' he smirked walking across to where mom was pulling apart his apparent packing attempt.

'Maybe you're more useless than I thought,' mom shot back throwing a shoe at my dad.

'Lucky I have you here to make up for all my shortcomings.' He smiled wrapping his arms around mom's waist.

'Why are you packing anyway? Where are you going?' She asked turning in his hold so she was facing him.

'We're going to Baffin,' he emphasised.

'Why?'

'Michael, why don't you give your mother and I a few minutes,' dad said turning to face me.

'Does this have anything to do with the three schools?' I asked, remembering my father's conversation from when I was eavesdropping outside his office.

'Yes,' he sighed.

'What happened?' I asked.

'There were random attacks on three schools in the province. A rebel group went in and hardly left any survivors.' My father explained sadly and I watched as my mother's face contorted into a mask of despair.

'The children?' She whispered and my father looked down at her with sad eyes. Slowly, he shook his head and I saw a silent tear escape my mother's eye as dad pulled her in closer, letting her burry her face in his chest.

'How did they do it?' I asked, any form of weapon was still illegal in all of Illea, no one should have the means to attack three separate schools and wipe out their entire populations.

'They shot them Michael, they somehow got their hands on enough weapons to stage an attack.'

'How did they get the weapons?'

'If you can name the right price, you can get anything you want. There is darkness lurking in the shadows of Illea. Not everyone likes our policies and they have finally made their dissatisfaction of our reign known.' He explained, rubbing soothing lines up and down my mother's back.

'Why are you going there? It's dangerous,' I asked, worriedly.

'It's what the people need,' dad answered as mom pulled away from him.

'Mom?' I asked fearfully.

'We need to go Michael, the people need to know they're not alone in this time of mourning,' she said as tears still glistened on her face.

'But, what if you get hurt?' I asked in a small voice.

'We'll be fine Michael, there's no need to worry,' she soothed stepping out of my father's arms and wrapping her own around me.

'Mom,' I breathed, wrapping my arms around her small frame.

'It's going to be fine Michael, I promise. We'll be back before you know it,' she whispered and I just nodded my head in response.

'Why don't you go and get some sleep? We'll see you in the morning before we leave,' she said with a small smile, stepping away from me.

'Okay,' I muttered, turning and walking from the room. Sometimes, I wished we weren't royals, just so my parents didn't need to risk their lives for people we had never met before. Why couldn't they just stay here with us all the time?

Adam

I hadn't slept much last night, I was too excited to spend time with Aisling without her trying to sabotage me at every turn. Pacing my room, I heard my parents voices from their room most of the night, but I still refused to deal with my father after our last conversation. I dropped off for a few hours but my eyes flew open as soon as the sun began to rise and I was dressed and on my way to Aisling's room before it was fully in the sky.

I was standing nervously outside her room, listening to the sounds from within but there was nothing. Maybe she wasn't awake yet? It was still too early for most of the palace to be awake but I didn't want to wait.

I was just about to knock when a guard came rushing to my side, urgency rolling off his body.

'Your highness,' he bowed. 'The king and queen have requested your presence at the entrance of the palace, immediately.'

'Why? What's wrong?' I asked, a little worried following after the guard towards the front of the palace.

'I was sent to find you, your highness,' he replied, not answering my question.

In no time we arrived in the foyer and I found my entire family there. Maids and butlers were carrying suitcases out as Harmonia, Michael and Marinda stood around mom and dad.

'What's happening?' I asked breaking into their circle.

'There was an attack in Baffin Adam, your mother and I need to go and settle the people.' My father informed me as I turned my cold eyes on him.

'What?' I asked. 'What kind of attack?'

'Our schools have been attacked by rebel groups,' he said gravely. 'There were very few survivors.'

'No,' I breathed. I knew from all the meetings I had attended with my father that the education system we tried to implement was already suffering from lack of funds and bellow par teachers. This was another blow that was only going to send terrified ripples through the entire nation. If we couldn't keep their children safe in school how could we protect the nation from outside forces.

'Adam,' my father said pulling my attention to him. 'You need to handle everything back here while your mother and I are away.'

'What?' I blurted as nerves and fear twisted in my stomach. I had never done anything on my own. I had shadowed my father for years but I had never made any decisions on my own. Even when I was being tutored I always had Amberly there to help me. Now, there was no one to hide behind.

'Adam, sweetheart, you can do this. I know it's a lot of responsibility but you're ready for this. Your father was close to your age when he took over the entire country from your grandfather. You're going to be fine.' My mother tried to reassure me.

'I-I…Do you really need to go?' I asked looking at my mother desperately, feeling no older than ten years old.

'Yes,' my mother sighed taking both of my hands in hers.

'What if I can't do it?' I breathed.

'We're not going for too long, but you can do this Adam,' she answered firmly, placing her hands on my cheeks, pulling my head down and placing a kiss on my forehead. When she pulled back all I could do was nod my head.

'Your majesties, the car is ready for you to depart,' a butler announced, causing a new wave of fear to pulse around my body.

'We'll be back soon,' my mother said, droping her hands to mine, giving them one last squeeze before turning and taking my father's hand in hers.

'Mom, do you have to go?' Harmonia asked, wrapping her arms around both mom and dad.

'Don't worry Nia, my darling,' my father murmured bending down so he was level with my youngest sister.

'Daddy, please don't go.'

'We need to go but we'll be back,' he smiled, wiping the tears from her eyes.

'Can I come too?' She asked hopefully.

'No, Nia, you need to stay here.'

'Please,' she begged.

'You can't come Nia, I need you to stay here,' he answered, pushing back some of her warm blonde curls.

'Why?' She whined.

'I need you to keep an eye on things while we're gone, especially Adam,' he winked. 'He's going to need a lot of help, can you do that for me?' Harmonia nodded emphatically, her face set with determination. 'Wonderful,' he smiled pulling her in for a tight hug before straightening and moving back to stand beside my mother.

'Come on America, we need to get going,' dad said taking mom's hand and pulling her towards the doors. She looked back at us desperately and I moved over to Harmonia, pulling her into my arms, until her little face was buried in my stomach. I looked over at Michael and Marinda to see the two of them with their heads together, muttering as they kept one eye on our parents who disappeared through the front doors of our home.

'Adam, they're coming back, right?' Harmonia asked in a shaky voice.

'Of course, Nia,' I reassured her, pulling her closer but I didn't have the same certainty that I tried to instil in her. How dangerous was it really?

'How about we go and have some breakfast?' I suggested, taking her small hand in mine.

'Okay,' she answered sadly, glancing at the closed doors before allowing me to lead her from the room, Michael and Marinda following close behind.

'Your highness?' I turned from the table where my brother and sisters were sharing a sombre breakfast with me to face a nervous advisor. I remembered him from some of the meetings I had attended with my father.

'Yes?' I asked, not recalling his name.

'King Frederick of England is on the phone. With the king gone, he is requesting to speak with you immediately,' he answered wringing his hands in front of him.

'What's wrong? Has something happened to Amberly? Did our grandfather do something?' I asked getting up from my seat, a million questions and scenarios running through my mind. I still hadn't called her. Honestly, I didn't know how to tell her what I had found out about our grandfather.

'I don't know you highness,' he answered turning pale.

'Its fine, I'll take it in my office,' I said firmly moving quickly from the room, leaving my startled siblings. What could the king possibly want to talk to me about?

This is becoming a habit, I'm sorry it takes me so long to get the chapter's out. I wouldn't say I get writers block it's more like writers slow motion. The ideas come a little slower now, but at least they still come, right? :) Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the recent chapter :)

To the beautiful guest who missed me, I'm sorry I know it was a long time and I'll try and update sooner next time I promise. I won't say how fast I will update because I don't want to disappoint you if I don't but it should be quicker than this one took :)

Sam :) I'm glad you liked Aisling and I believe we have a partial make up between Anthony and Amberly but who knows what will happen now that Clarkson is there. Summer school does not sound fun. That is definitely a phrase that does not exist in Australia. Summer is for the beach, not school :) Hope the latest chapter helps to distract you from school work, unless you like school work then I hope it just makes you happy :)

Thank you everyone who is reviewing and reading you're all wonderful :) Happy reading story lovers!