Adam

After speaking with the guard I went into lunch preoccupied with other thoughts. What was she going to do when I told her? How much would this devastate her? Maybe she would be happy for the news, maybe this will finally allow her to move on?

One thing was for sure, I wouldn't keep it from her.

All throughout lunch I could feel eyes on me but my distracted thoughts allowed me to ignore them, even when I felt a certain pair of green ones watching me.

When lunch ended I wasn't even sure what I had eaten. All I could think about was how this would affect her. She was finally letting me in and I didn't want to ruin it now, not with this news.

Once all the other girls left I looked over at Aisling and saw she was in an intense conversation with Alice, the girl she was always spending her time with.

I had never spent a lot of time with Alice and the time I had, gave me the impression she wasn't interested in me. A major reason for keeping her here was that she was a friend to Aisling.

Today, she wore something even more bizarre than yesterday. Little fluffy balls lined the edges of her dress in every colour imaginable and it was as if someone had attacked her dress with paint, there were splatters of red, green, purple, orange, blue and several others covering its entirety. I was also noticing she had a particular fetish to wearing brown cowboy boots. However, looking at her it was only fitting that a girl who lives among the stars is friends with a girl who never appears to live in our reality.

'Lady Aisling,' I spoke just as she appeared to be about to storm from the room. 'May I have a word?' Alice who had been laughing only moments before, stopped abruptly and gave Aisling an odd look before Aisling shrugged, slowly making her way over to me.

She stood before me nervously, wringing her hands tightly until they were white. I watched her for several moments, trying to figure out the words I needed to say to her.

'Adam?' She asked cautiously, when I didn't speak, obviously anxious to hear what I had to say but I could also see the dread in her eyes. I, at first, thought my news would be good but now I wasn't so sure. Taking a deep breath I looked down at her and began to explain.

'I know inviting all the families here will be hard for you Aisling, but it's a tradition for the prince to meet the families of the elite.' I began and immediately, I saw a sadness wash over her face and I felt of a mix of emotions run through me. Anger at her father for never being the family she needed him to be, sadness for the despair I could see in her eyes and finally hope.

I had hope that one day she could be a part of my family, hope that maybe I could help to fill that void inside of her.

'I don't have any family,' she answered coldly, looking away from me with almost anger and I knew she was thinking about the only family she did have. The man who had denied her any real family her entire life.

'You do have family Aisling. I want to show you something,' I replied softly, gently taking her tense hand in my own, happy she didn't pull away from me.

Silently, I led her from the empty dining room and through the corridors of the palace until we arrived outside the door of my office. Not a word was shared between us but I was still trying to figure out what to say to her and thinking of all the possible ways she would react to what I had finally been able to acquire for her.

I opened my door gingerly and motioned for her to go in ahead of me. She glanced up at me uncertainly before stepping inside and stopping in front of my desk. I followed behind her, closing the door quietly once I was inside, then made my way to her.

I noticed she was staring blankly at the object on my desk. It had arrived that morning after weeks of searching.

'What's that?' She asked in a soft voice, never lifting her eyes from the object sitting innocently on my desk as I stood beside her, motionless.

'I've been trying to find it for weeks. Ever since I brought you here, but your father was less than cooperative,' I explained, a slight anger to my tone as I thought about all the lies her father had tried to feed me. 'At first he tried to convince me she had been buried but when I tried to locate her none of the local cemeteries knew whom I was talking about. However, one did cremate a girl of sixteen.'

'Flora,' she breathed, stepping forward towards the urn on the desk and raising her hand. She let it hang in the air just above the remains of her half sister, sadness and loss consuming her face.

'I thought you might want to say goodbye,' I answered softly, never moving from where I stood, a few steps behind her now.

She remained motionless, her hand hovering above the urn. Silence, filling the room with only our breathing breaking through.

Her breaths were short and sharp and I knew she was crying for her lost friend, her sister.

However, I made no move to comfort her, knowing this was something she needed to go through on her own.

'Adam,' she finally spoke, her voice shaking. 'I don't want her to stay inside that jar.'

'All right Aisling,' I answered, knowing exactly where I would take her.

I knew the guards were watching us closely, as we headed towards the forest, Aisling's hand held tightly in my own. They were especially attentive after the lastest attack. Several of the men had tried to follow us but I waved them off trying to give her as much space as possible.

Looking down at her I realised she was clutching the urn to her chest tightly in her other hand, glancing down at it every now and then.

We walked through the silent forest for several minutes, the sound of crunching leaves beneath our feet the only noise breaking through the quiet. I was waiting for her to say something, anything but she remained wordless beside me.

'Adam, this one,' she murmured, stopping before one of the largest trees in the forest.

'I'll wait here,' I answered, releasing her hand and taking a step away from her.

'Adam,' she whispered, looking between the tree and myself uncertainly. 'I don't want to do this alone.'

The sadness and loneliness in her voice nearly shattered my heart and I knew I would do anything to make it so she never felt this pain again.

'You're going to make me climb that tree aren't you?' I laughed quietly and despite her despair I saw a small smile spread across her lips.

'I want her to find her dreams,' she answered the smile quickly dropping from her face.

'Then lets see how high we can get,' I replied, moving to the base of the tree. 'Do you want me to hold her?' I asked motioning for the ashes.

'Adam, no offence, but I think I might be better at climbing than you are,' she answered, shifting the jar to her other hand and slipping her flimsy shoes off.

'Of course, the little dreamer spends all of her time climbing tress, how could I ever compete with that?' I teased stepping back so she could go first.

'I don't spend all of my time in trees,' she grumbled, swiftly climbing the first few branches before I could even blink. I watched for a moment in awe of her grace, even with one hand holding the urn securely to her chest.

'Adam, are you coming?' She asked looking over her shoulder at me and I quickly shook myself, placing my foot on the branch she had used first, shrugging free from my suit jacket and placing it with her discarded shoes.

My ascent up the tree was far slower than hers and when I finally reached her she was in the highest branches, looking thoughtfully out at all of Angeles and possibly beyond.

'It's magnificent up here,' I breathed, holding tightly to the trunk of the tree.

She remained silent beside me her legs swinging freely from the branch she was perched on, the urn still clutch tightly to her. The wind was light and calm, her hair gently caressing her face as I watched her see things no one else could.

'She was my sister,' she finally spoke, not tearing her eyes away from the sight of sprawling buildings and endless trees, all enclosed by rolling hills, as if separating the city of Angeles from the rest of the world. This was the first time she had admitted to me that Flora was her sister since finding out who her father was. 'I wish I had know.'

'Would it have changed anything between you?' I asked cautiously.

'No,' she sighed. 'She was already my sister, no matter who our father was.' Then silence fell between us again as we both looked out at the city bathed in the midday sun, glistening and alive with activity.

'She was the only person there for me, my entire life,' she spoke again, looking down at where Flora's remains rested. 'I knew she would leave me but I refused to believe it. I wanted her to be there forever.' Aisling took a deep breath, a single tear falling down her already tear stained face and then continued.

'I miss her, more than anything. I thought I had known pain but when I lost Flora I understood that what I had felt before that moment had been nothing compared to the pain of losing someone.'

'It'll get easier Aisling,' I consoled, relinquishing my hold on the tree, to move closer to her.

'I know, I just don't want to forget her,' she murmured.

'How could you ever forget her? She'll always be with you Aisling, in your heart and in your memories.'

'She never wanted to climb trees with me,' she said, looking up at me. 'She always said she liked to keep her two feet on the ground.'

'Finally got her up here then.' I smiled.

'I want her to find her own dreams rather than trying to help me reach mine,' she answered sadly. 'Her dreams were always mine, she should have the chance to find her own but she never had enough time.' She said bitterly, looking back down at the urn, almost angrily.

'She's free now Aisling, wherever she is now, she doesn't have to suffer anymore.'

'I know, I'm just being selfish,' she answered defeatedly. 'I wanted more time.'

'She loved you Aisling, she gave everything she had to see you happy, to see you free from Malvolia.'

'I know, but what can I give her, she isn't here anymore? She gave me everything and I had nothing to give her in return and now I can never repay her.'

'She never wanted anything in return Aisling, all she wanted was your happiness. You need to let her go Aisling,' I answered in a low voice.

'Then who will I have?' She murmured.

'Me,' I answered firmly and she looked up at me with tired eyes. 'And Alice, Michael, Marinda, Harmonia, my entire family. They're your family too now Aisling.'

'What about the other girls?'

'They haven't even met most of my family. You, you walked right in and they fell in love with you. Despite how I feel about my grandfather, he fell in love with you and he doesn't like anyone. Harmonia refers to you as her little, big sister and Marinda wants to be as tricky as you are. Michael doesn't talk to anyone except Marinda and yet he spends most days with you. Not only that before you he would never stand up to Marinda, but now he has a voice. I don't know how you did it and I don't care. I just wish you could see how many people love you and the difference you can make in other's lives.

'Flora loved you for who you are but it's time for you to let her go Aisling, let her find her new dreams,' Aisling looked down at the urn deep in her own thoughts and I sat patiently beside her. Slowly, she opened the top of the urn, standing and wrapping an arm around the trunk of the tree for stability.

'I love you Flora,' she whispered before throwing the ashes out onto the wind. The Ashes scattered across the treetops, the wisps of wind catching them quickly and carrying them away until there was nothing. Just the bright blue Angeles sky and the city below.

I looked over Aisling and saw her eyes were dry as she watched the place where her friend's ashes had been. There was still sadness in the lines of her face but they weren't as deep as before and her eyes weren't as lonely.

Anthony

'We're going to Illea?' I asked incredulously.

'Yes, it is princess Harmonia's birthday and we have all been invited to the celebration.' My father confirmed calmly, never looking up from the papers on his desk. He had called me in early this morning and I wasn't excited about what he had to discuss with me.

'How can you expect me to take Amberly back there when I know there has been two serious attacks on the palace in only the last month? How do we know there haven't been others as well?' I demanded, pacing in front of my father's desk.

'Anthony, this is Amberly's youngest sister, do you really think she is going to miss her birthday?' My father challenged raising his eyes to me.

'No,' I admitted reluctantly. 'But people have been killed in these attacks.'

'I know but we can't ignore them son, they're soon to be your in laws.'

'I don't want to put Amberly in that kind of danger. It was enough knowing someone was going to come here and try to steal her from me but I don't want to willingly take her into trouble.' I answered angrily.

'We're going Anthony,' my father answered firmly, glancing back down at the papers on his desk. It was clear I was never going to win this argument. However, that didn't mean I wasn't willing to try.

'What about Russia and New Asia? Shouldn't we be here in case they attack?' I asked searching for reasons to stay.

'Apart from that first initial mobilisation of troops the two countries have done nothing else. We can't sit around waiting for an attack to happen.' My father answered reasonably.

'So I'm just meant to agree to putting my fiancé's life in danger?'

'Yes,' my father answered simply. 'Anthony, they're her family, they don't want anything to happen to her either. Do you really think they're going to leave her vulnerable to attack?'

'I guess,' I answered reluctantly. 'But, if anything happens to her I will never forgive them. This is their war not mine and I won't have Amberly taken from me because of problems in their country.' I finished angrily, marching out of the room. I meant every word. If their problems affect Amberly in any way, no matter what my father said or how close he and mother were with the king and queen I wouldn't be as cordial to Illea.

'Anthony,' Amberly said excitedly, as I entered her room after speaking with my father. 'Did you hear, we're going back to Illea? I'm so excited to see my family again, I was so afraid I was going to miss Hamonia's birthday but now we don't need to.'

'Yes, Amberly, but look,' I started but she cut me off in her excitement, as if I hadn't even said anything.

'You finally get to see everyone. I mean I know you've met them before but that was a long time ago and you weren't my fiancé then. Oh, I bet they will love you, Marinda especially. Actually, maybe you should stay away from her, our palace can only take so much mayhem.' She said, and I figured I wasn't even really an essential part of this conversation she seemed to be having with herself.

'Amberly,' I said firmly, finally drawing her attention. She looked over at me from where she sat at her desk with wide eyes and I almost laughed. I had never seen her this excited about anything before.

'What?' She asked, getting to her feet and crossing over to me. 'You are coming aren't you?'

'Well,' I started and watched as her face immediately fell, disappointment hanging heavily on her shoulders. I wanted to tell her not to go but seeing her now I knew I couldn't. She loved her family and I couldn't keep her away from them forever. She would eventually grow to resent me and that was the last thing I wanted.

'Anthony?' She prompted and I inwardly sighed, knowing this was going to be the worst trip of my life and I'd probably regret every minute of it but I knew it would make her happy. In the end that was all I cared about.

'I'm just really excited to spend some time with your family,' I forced a smile and I knew she could sense it, from the appraising look she sent me.

'Come on love,' I said a little too brightly, taking her hand in mine. 'Elliot wanted to see the two of us, apparently he wants your advice on what to pack. He doesn't trust mother to help him.'

'Why not?' She asked as I dragged her from the room.

'She wouldn't let him take his fossil collection,' I laughed thinking of him trying to cram all the rocks he found in the castle gardens into his suitcase.

'And he thinks I will,' she scoffed.

'He's an optimist,' I shrugged, knowing my youngest brother had an even smaller chance of convincing Amberly than he had of convincing our mother.

'Amberly, Ant!' my brother shouted excitedly running to both of us when we entered his room.

'Hey Elliot,' Amberly smiled as Elliot grabbed her other hand and pulled her over to where his suitcase lay open on his bed.

My brother's bedroom was any young boy's dream. There was no doubt my parents spoiled him and the evidence was in the various toys which lay scattered around his room.

His bed was actually the shape of a pirate ship complete with a miniature cannon which actually fired things when loaded. I found that out the hard way when Elliot launched his entire stuffed toy collection at me when I entered his room without permission. He also had a small fort in the corner of his room which was littered with fallen soldiers from his latest siege.

'Amberly, do you think I can take my treasure chest and my dinosaur footprints?' Elliot asked and I looked down at his suitcase to find that there were no clothes in sight. His suitcase was overflowing with rocks, pirate swords and the chest he had found in the palace gardens, still filled with all of Jared's belongings. He had been asking about them for days but I wasn't about to tell him where they were.

'Elliot, don't you think you will need some clothes on this trip?' Amberly asked, lifting a few of the rocks from the suitcase and putting them on the bed.

'I have these ones,' Elliot answered, gesturing to the ones he was wearing.

'What about pyjama's and clean underwear? She asked taking out the treasure chest and the swords, then turning for the dresser.

'We aren't staying that long,' Elliot shrugged, jumping on his bed and putting everything Amberly had taken out back in.

'We're staying for a week Elliot, you'll start to smell,' Amberly scolded, returning with an armful of clothes.

'Pirates don't change their clothes, I bet they don't even need to take a bath,' Elliot challenged, trying to shut his suitcase, but unfortunately his chest was too large and wouldn't fit no matter how much he tried to squish it into the case.

'Yes, but you're not a pirate, you're a prince,' Amberly reminded him, placing the clothes neatly on the bed.

'I don't want to be a prince,' Elliot announced standing atop his suitcase, sword in hand. 'I want to be a pirate,' he announced, holding his plastic sword high above his head.

'Elliot,' Amberly groaned.

'Well, young pirate, I challenge you to a duel.' I announced picking up my own sword and pointing it at my younger brother. 'If you win, you can be a pirate.' At which my brother cheered, jumping from his suitcase to his bed, glaring down at me with determination.

'Bring it on Ant. I can beat you,' Elliot answered confidently.

'But if I win,' I continued. 'You have to be a prince, at least for the next week whilst we're away with Amberly's family.'

'I'm not going to be a prince Ant because you're going to lose. You couldn't even beat Amberly and she's a girl,' Elliot teased, pointing at an amused Amberly.

'We'll see Elliot,' I smirked. 'Ready to lose little brother?'

'Never,' Elliot shouted, jumping from the bed and launching himself at me. The fight was underway and I had no intention of letting Elliot be a pirate for the next week. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Amberly quickly unpacking my brother's suit case and filling it with the clothes she had placed on the bed. Unfortunately for Elliot, it didn't look like she was packing any eye patches.

Poor Elliot got double teamed, no pirates for that young prince.

theoneforever, so he didn't kill Aisling, but he did do something to heal her heart. Even had to climb a tree to do it :) Hope you enjoyed the little Antherly at the end there :)

lola5147, So excited to hear that you enjoyed the humour in the last chapter. Poor pantless Anthony. Wow, that's some serious twin love there. The closest thing I have to a twin is my little brother, however he is a lot taller than me. We often get mistaken for twins but when they realise we aren't they always think he's older just because he's taller. So unfair because I'm like two and a half years older than him. Anyway, hope you enjoyed the chapter :)

Thank you everyone for reading and reviewing you're amazing. Happy reading story lovers :)