"Is this true Emily?" Annabel looked at me with such disbelief, after I had told her everything about my past, whilst my father still looked on.

I squirmed, and forced myself to meet her gaze. "Yes," I said in the quietest of voices, "I'm so sorry."

"Daddy!"

Just then, a little girl ran past us all, straight to my Father who picked her up and twirled her around. Just like he used to do with me. With a lump in my throat, I asked, "Father? Who is that?" my voice was again no more than a whisper. Because I knew exactly who that little girl would be.

It was my Father's turn to be uncomfortable now. "She's my daughter," he said. "Your sister."

She was beautiful, with same brunette hair my Father and I possessed in little ringlets, her pastel pink dress without a single crease in it. Her eyes were just like Lady Pembrose's however; the brightest blue you'd ever see. I looked at her, and saw my replacement.

I nodded, well aware that I was going to cry any second soon. "Well, I'm glad you've found happiness without me and Mother."

"Why don't you come home Emmeline?" Father took two steps forwards, and I took the same backwards.

"My name isn't Emmeline anymore," I said, "King Sparrow before he passed agreed to let me change it to Emily. I am no longer a noble, and I am no longer in your family with that witch you call a wife!" I turned to the others – Page, Annabel, Ben, Kidd and Tim – who all stood astonished. I didn't know what to say to them. What could I? I had lied, especially to Annabel. I ran off, without saying a word heading straight to Bowerstone Industrial.

As I continued to run, the sky began to rain in large heavy drops, and I was drenched before I could even see the smoke from the factories. I staggered on, each step more difficult than the one before. Finally- I could finally see Bowerstone in the distance, but I was tired and hungry. Using the technique I had been taught by Jasper, I teleported myself to the Sanctuary.

Jasper was there, tending to a rip in one of Annabel's dresses, but looked up when I came in. "Ah Emily… My goodness! You look a mess, what happened?"

I sniffled, pulling the wet hair out of my eyes. "They found out about Father, and me," I said. And then I burst into tears.

I was in that miserable state for a while, with me slumped on the floor whilst Jasper dried my hair and listened as I talked. "And I couldn't even look at Ben," I said, "I feel like I've lied about everything, when they've all been so wonderful to me. Oh, what do I do Jasper?"

"Well my dear, everybody keeps secrets- it's just if you choose to share them. I really think that your friends won't mind that you kept this from them. After all, it is a rather large secret. Why don't you talk to them?"

I shook my head, and then stood up. "Not yet," I said. "For now I need to pack."

"Are you leaving Captain Finn's home then?"

"Yes," I said heading to the map table. "I don't think I should stay there anymore."

Using the map table, I appeared in Bowerstone industrial, scaring the life out of a homeless beggar. I gave him some coins as an apology, before setting off to Ben's home to collect my things. It was coming up to lunch, and I was starving. I fixed myself some lunch, before going upstairs to collect together all my items.

I travelled light, and it didn't take long until all my things were together in one bag. I took the bag down the stairs to leave, when I was stopped in my tracks by the one person I didn't want to see- Ben.

"You're leaving?"

I nodded, before continuing down the stairs. "I've outstayed my welcome. This was just a temporary thing until my wounds healed and they have." I had made it safely down to the last step, dragging my overweight bag all the way along. "Thank you, for everything."

I tried to get to the door, but he blocked me off. "And you were going to leave without saying goodbye?"

"You will still see me at the rebel's headquarters; it's not like you'll never see me again!"

I tried pushing past again, but he pushed me back further into the room. "Why are you so hell-bent on leaving all of a sudden?"

"Because I lied!" I yelled. He seemed surprised by my sudden outburst. I calmed myself down, counted to five and said in a quieter voice, "I lied. When you had been so honest about your past, I was pretending to be somebody else. I was a noble for eleven years, and when I'm with people of my same class now, there's still a part of me that looks down on them. For so long, I tried to forget my real name. I tried to make myself believe that I was Emily, not Emmeline. But I am a maid now, and I need to stop kidding myself that I am anything better than that."

"But you are better than just a maid," Ben said, taking a step towards me, "You're so much more than that. Never have I seen a girl match my level of sharpshooting skill, or a man at that. And your voice! With a tune like that you could travel the world, sing in all the greatest of cities. And-"

He stopped talking and ran off to a combination locked cupboard. After a couple of tries, the lock clicked and the door swung open revealing a large box.

"If you left, I wouldn't be able to give you this. I was trying to find a right time to give this to you, and now is a good time as any, so here," He passed the box to me, which I carefully prized open.

"…Oh my God." Inside was the very lute I had seen and fallen in love with when I was working for Reaver, and went out to collect his shopping. My fingers caressed the strings, plucking each as I went along it. I snapped out of my trance, and held the box out for Ben. "I can't accept this!"

He stepped forward and gently pushed the box back at me. "Just. Say. Thank you."

"But I-"

I was interrupted by Ben's lips coming down on top of mine, his hand holding the back of my head. I put the lute on the table and put my arms around him, feeling like I was about to explode with happiness. I closed my eyes, and let our hands entwine together, like it was the most natural thing to ever happen.

I gently traced my fingers down his neck, until I noticed the giant bullet hole in his shoulder. I pulled away. "I think you need to go to a medic Ben," I said, my cheeks flaming red.

He kissed the top of my head. "Later love,"

"No, now!" I ordered, before I got him to put some of his weight on me so I could half drag him down to the rebel's headquarters. It was heavy going, but I was in such a good mood I didn't mind. 'Ben kissed me! He really did!' My juvenile mind span in circles, until we arrived at the headquarters and Ben was carried off to the medic area. I stood back, letting them deal with his wound.

"Ben! What trouble did you get yourself into this time?" Walter said. He placed his hand on my shoulder and I jumped almost out of my skin. "Bloody hell, Emily! Are you alright?"

"I-I'm fine," I stammered, "You startled me, that's all."

"Captain Finn!" Annabel came running up to him, completely out of breath. "Why… the hell… did you run off… like that! You… were shot!"

Ben gaze fixed onto mine. "I had somewhere more important to be."

Annabel turned around, and arched her eyebrows when she saw me standing there. "Emily? I didn't see you there, sorry. Could we talk, somewhere private?"

I nodded. After all, she was still the princess- and I couldn't avoid her forever.

I followed her into a small supply room, where she lit a lamp and shut the door. She sighed. "You've had to keep it a secret for so many years?"

I nodded, feeling ashamed. "I'm sorry Annabel."

There was a slight pause, until she pulled me into a warm hug. "It's okay, it's okay," She said and I instantly felt relieved. She then pulled away. "The truth is I've been lying too. Not as large but still a lie. I've been telling everybody I'm fine, but I'm not. I miss Elliot every day, it hurts so much. I understand why you kept such a big secret. I probably would have too."

After we had said our teary light-hearted apologies to each other, we left the supply room.

"So…" Annabel began. "Did Ben kiss you?"

"What?!" I gasped. "How did you know?"

She laughed loudly. "I could tell by the way he looked at you, and he took off after you when you yelled at your father… It made sense. So. Was he any good?"

It was my turn to laugh this time. "Oh, yes!"

We laughed and walked some more until we bumped into Jack Timmins, who had been bandaged up properly. He smiled shyly at Annabel, before walking over to where Kidd was being patched up, with Page standing suspiciously close by. "Well, it looks like you've got a little admirer there Annabel," I teased, just when I saw Jack try to sneak another peek at Annabel.

"Puh-lease, we're just friends!" Annabel laughed.

Annabel was called over by Page, and so I was left on my own. I thought I'd go check up on Ben, to see if he was okay. He was sitting on one of the beds, with his left arm in a sling. When he saw me, he smiled. "Hey," he said.

"Hi," I quietly replied.

He motioned for me to come sit next to him, so I sat on his right side, so as to not hurt his bullet hole wound. He pulled his uninjured arm around me, and I relaxed into him, closing my eyes. "So I was thinking…" Ben started.

"Hmm?" I said, my eyes still closed.

"Why don't we go out? I like you and by the way you're lying on me, you like me too."

I sat up a little straighter and looked at him in the eye. "Oh, do you really think you can only be with one girl?" I teased. "Judging by your stories…"

"Oh I'm sure I can manage." He looked so serious.

I sighed dramatically. "Oh, alright!"

"Captain Finn! If you are done with your incessant flirting, we need you in my office," Page called out angrily.

Ben slowly stood up, taking my hand. "I'll see you back at our place, okay? You have some unpacking to do." He walked away in Page's direction, before stopping and turning back to face me. "You will stay at mine, right?"

I smiled and nodded. "Yep!"

After I had unpacked everything, I realized that I was still in Reaver's prostitute-maid outfit, covered in balverine blood. I looked at the amount of coin in my purse and thought it would be a good time to buy a new dress. I pulled on an old skirt and shirt, pulling my hair into a ponytail. I took a few minutes to play on my new lute before grabbing a basket and heading out. We were out of milk too, so I added that to my mental list of things to grab.

Walking around Bowerstone Market gave me time to reflect on the day, it seemed like so much had happened over just a few hours. Ben… my lips still tingled. I was finally going out with Ben Finn! I felt like twirling around.

I made it to the tailor shop, where I could see the pink-haired tailor busily hurrying around the shop. I stepped inside, where I was immediately bowled over by the amount of beautiful dresses. "Um, excuse me? Hello?"

The tailor stopped what he was doing and came over to me. "Well, aren't you a beautiful young girl! Better make it quick darling, the shops are closing up early."

"How come?" I asked.

"Have you been living in a hole for the day? It's the King's speech today!"

"Oh, I didn't know. What is it about?"

"Nobody knows darling but nothing good I presume. Anyway, what will your order be today? Perhaps you need something casual for everyday glamour, or a stunning ball gown to make your date speechless!" The tailor ran around the room, picking up random dresses, taking quick glances back at me.

"Um, just a casual dress today please, and nothing too expensive? I'm afraid my budget isn't very high."

"Of course, of course! I may have to check in the back..." The tailor momentarily walked out of the room, leaving me to walk around in awe of all the stunning evening dresses. I looked at the price tags and sighed; I really needed to get Annabel on the throne soon, or else I'd be completely broke. The tailor came back into the room, holding three dresses. "I think these three are rather fabulous, no?

The one on the left was too frilly and flowery for my taste, and the one on the right was a horrid yellow colour, but I liked the one in the middle. It was a light, baby pink colour which came in at the waist and the skirt lightly flared out and stopped at the knees, with thick straps on the bodice. There were no sleeves but I could easily find a warm cardigan to go over it. The dress felt soft, like petals, but didn't look like it was in my price range. "I feel reluctant to ask, but how much does this cost?"

"For you milady, it is a mere 100 gold."

It was all the money I had in my pocket, which would only leave me with the small amount stored in the sanctuary. I decided to take the dress, planning to match it with one of my cardigans at home. I thanked the tailor and left, thinking about the King's speech. I was too worried to go- Logan might recognise me in the crowd.

As people flocked to the castle, I took off in the opposite direction back to Ben's – and my- home. As I had spent all the money on that dress, I didn't have enough for milk, so I began thinking up cooking ideas on the way home that wouldn't need milk. I almost walked past Ben and Annabel without realising, as they had disguised themselves pretty well.

"We're going to the castle, to hear Logan's speech," explained Ben.

"We're not expecting good news however," Annabel looked grim and worried about it.

I wished them good luck, before rushing back home to begin dinner. I raided the cupboards, trying to find something special to cook, since today was very important. Considering however that all that was left in the cupboards was rice and some vegetables, I decided that tonight was just going to have to be standard.

Whilst the rice was boiling, I looked over at the dress, which I had draped over one of the chairs. I grabbed it and went upstairs to change. After changing, I looked at myself in the mirror. Not to brag, but I thought the dress really suited me; it hung in all the right places and wasn't too tight or too baggy. I smiled and laughed, twirling around in the dress until I tripped and fell head-first onto my bed, making me giggle more.

I walked down the stairs, just as a giant lightning bolt crashed to the ground, creating a loud BOOM of noise and lighting up the clouded over sky outside. I yelped, and slipped on the stairs. Jeez, I was getting much clumsier day by day. I took the pot of rice off the boil, wondering how long Ben would be until he got home.

Rain began to spit on the roof, and a drop landed on my face. Annoyed, I grabbed a bucket for the drips to go in and finished up making dinner before lighting a romantic fire and waiting for Ben to come back home. Dinner was beginning to get cold, so I started eating mine and put Ben's away for him to eat later, if he ever was going to arrive back this evening. How long was Logan's speech going to be anyway?

Eventually, there was a knock at the door, so I put my dinner to one side, as I straightened out my dress and pulled my hair out of its ponytail to fall around my face. I slowly opened the door, but I was not expecting the two that came rushing into the house. It was Annabel and her dog Clover that came bounding in, drenched in rain and out of breath.

"Annabel! What's wrong?" I asked, concerned.

It took some time until Annabel could finally speak, and all Clover could do was whimper. "Ben… and Swift!"

"What about them?"

"Swift is dead."

The words hit me like a shot to the heart. My throat turned dry, the rice in my stomach churning until I felt sick. "How?" my voice croaked, and tears threatened to escape my eyes.

"Logan shot him, in front of everyone- it was disgusting." When I looked at her what was once white, crisp shirt, I could see a slight stain of red that wasn't there earlier when I'd seen her. Her eyes were pink and sore and swollen.

"So that must have been what Logan's speech was about," I muttered. My heart was beating double the average rate, "Wait, Ben went with you… where is he?"

"I don't know! With all the chaos and people running away I got separated from him, and I was hoping he'd have come here… please, will you help me find him?"

I nodded, and grabbed a long cloak with a hood to protect my new dress. I put on some shoes and ran out into the pouring rain. "I'll take the Old quarter, you try Industrial; I already searched the market. Good luck!" Annabel yelled out, before running off.

I ran all around Industrial, searching for any sign of him.

'Where are you, Ben?'