Hey Peeps! 

Sorry for the delay, my laptop charger died and so I had to order another one! It arrived last week but by that time I was off skiing so I haven't had a chance to upload until today! I hope you will enjoy and remember to VOTE if you like the chapter!

Much, much love,
Daisy xxx

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AMBROSE

I hurried through the halls of the Royal Palace, Katarina hot on my heels. I glanced to the side, irked. I had not been able to shake her and it was beginning to bother me. She insisted that her only agenda was to win back my trust, but it wasn't going too well because there was not a single bone in my body that trusted her at this moment. However I was determined not to show her that she was getting to me and my face remained as devoid of all emotion as it ever was.

Halting outside the Queens room I nodded to the guard and knocked swiftly. The door opened and I stepped inside, smirking inwardly as the guard stopped Katarina from advancing any further.

"Ambrose!" She protested.

I turned and looked blankly at her. "What on earth makes you think that you are important enough to be allowed in here? You may be able to follow me everywhere, but you are still no one special.. Good day." I finished coldly, feeling extreme satisfaction as I shut the door firmly in her face.

"Not having a good day?"

I turned and bowed low to my Queen, professional as always. "Nothing that I cannot handle in time, your Majesty. You requested me?"

I rose from my bow to look her in the eyes. Evangeline was distraught and this was the only place that she could truly show it. In front of her subjects she was as strong as ever but the lines underneath her eyes were beginning to show as she whiled away night after sleepless night, worrying for her daughter.

"Has there been any news?"

"None your Highness,"

She turned away from me for a moment to stare out the window and I changed position, clasping my hands behind my back. I could never tell her about what truly happened on that mountain and what I had witnessed in the clearing with Aranel, but I knew that that information was important and needed to be relayed to the right person.

If the Queen found out about how both the Air Prince and Princess had played such a large and gristly part in Circe's disappearance, well, it would not matter how strong the ties were between the Kingdoms of Air and Water. Trust between the two Queens would be shaky and resent would rear its ugly head. We had only just reunited the pendants; I would not be the one to cause a crack in the allegiance.

But I had to confide in someone.

"I want to ask you a question." She said softly.

"Yes?"

"You once asked for my permission to go after Circe. I told you how I felt about the situation and how I did not believe that your presence was in her best interest. You went anyway, so why have you not gone after her now?"

I frowned. "I told you once I arrived back; I felt something while I was looking for her, a disturbance. I told you that I feared for our Kingdom's safety. The Great Spirits on the Other Side were not happy, I returned to warn you."

"Yes but it has been a long time since then-"

I interrupted her with a solemn stare. "If you wish for me to go, you only need to speak the words my Queen."

She looked at me nervously, fidgeting with her fingers. "Would you do that?" She whispered. "Is it selfish of me to ask?"

I reached out and took her shaking hands in my own and grasped them tightly as I stared into her eyes. "Not at all."

*

It didn't take long for me to secure what I needed, which wasn't much. I would go by myself and I had received secure information that the Air Prince Zalas had been spotted flying over the ocean that divided the Air Kingdom from the Earth Kingdom. The knowledge gave me mixed feelings, satisfaction that he had finally decided to do something instead of sitting by in his lofty tower in the clouds, but also anger. He had no right to look for her, that duty should be left to those who actually cared for her. However the latter did not hold well for me, for I too had betrayed her. I had kept information from her and omitted the truth because of my own selfish feelings. I had wanted her for myself but now she could very well be gone from me forever.

These thoughts were ones that I had already been over many times and joining them was the decision that Zalas was the best to first approach with the information about his sister. I would have to be careful though in case he was in on it, but something about the way she, the Princess Aranel, had confessed to her crime in the meadow made me think that it was a burden she was shouldering alone.

'On the way, I would look for Circe. After all, hadn't I told her that as long as was near water, I would be able to find her? And I would find her, it would be more difficult this time, that I already knew, because I was not privy to her location like I had been when she was travelling through the Earth Kingdom, but the ocean was not skilled with the art of secret keeping, it boasted too freely of the treasures it held within its watery grasp. All one had to do was listen and wait. I would find her.

I had to shake Katarina first though, which I did by slipping into yet another guarded room and then, while she waited outside, exited through one of the many secret passages. I paused for a moment, changing my hair from blue to brown and adjusting my human features slightly so that they would not be recognisable before swiftly making my way out of the castle as quietly as I could.

It was difficult to keep an unfamiliar form for so long and it was with some relief upon reaching the docks that I let the facade drop completely. A quick check with the guards informed me that I had not been followed. There was no time to waste and with a nod of farewell, I slipped into the ocean, my human form melting away as I embraced my heritage and struck out for the Earth Kingdom with unparalleled pace. It wouldn't take me long. I would gather information as I went.

*

KATARINA

I was fuming. I knew this wasn't going to work but that stupid brat Princess had insisted that I try things her way first. This was twice now that she had fucked up, well at least where I was concerned anyway.
First when she had tried to marry me off to her brother, that had been a disaster, he didn't even buy it for a second but I had foolishly put my faith in her and what she had been offering and left behind Ambrose and our future together. And now she had misjudged again, although I hadn't. I told her that there was no way he would have me back, but it had been even worse than expected, he hadn't even given me a second glance. Somehow he had figured out that I had an agenda, although I wasn't sure what he thought that agenda was.

I stared at the guard who had closed the gate to the docks and was refusing to let me through. It took all of my strength not to punch him in the face, but I had kept my slate clean so far and I wasn't about to make myself a fugitive.

"I am sorry ma'am, but no civilians are allowed through the gates between 10pm and 6am. As I have told you already, it is well past midnight. Unless you have special orders from the Queen I am going to have to ask you to leave."

Civilians? My fingers curled into fists. "Do you know who I am?" I asked imperiously, my face growing red with anger. I was not a civilian!

The guard raised an eyebrow. "A civilian? Look sorry ma'am but we don't break rules for anyone unless you have a letter from the Queen. I am going to have to ask you to leave or I will be forced to remove you."

My eyes flickered down into the water but before I could even think about it he cut me off.

"And I wouldn't consider that way either unless you want to come up against a wall like this one," He smacked his hand against the gate behind him. "The Queen decided to change the underwater gate under instruction from a higher up that it might not be Water Sprite proof." His eyebrow rose again and he looked at me as though daring me to do it.

"Fine," I spat out. "But you haven't seen the last of me." I said as I withdrew.

"I am sure I will see you again at 6am when the gates open ma'am," The guard drawled, his face bored. "Enjoy the rest of your night."

I sniffed and twirled around, stomping back across the bridge and into the town. Fortunately for me the bars in town did not apply the same curfew because I needed a drink.

I sat myself down at a barstool and waved the bartender over.

"Vodka," I snarled, pushing over enough money to buy the bottle twice. He paused, shrugged, took the money and handed me the bottle. I took a heavy swig and contemplated what my next move should be.

By the time I got through the gate, it would be too late to track Ambrose. Well I could track him if I wanted to, but what then? No, my best bet was to make my way to that rock far out in the ocean, where that boy was and where the Princess would soon return. I would tell her then what had happened and we would form a new plan.

I snarled and took another swig of vodka. This had better be fucking worth it, I was in this for my own prize and I was not a pawn to be pushed around her silly little table. I deserved some respect and this time I would not be pushed to the side, I would demand to be a part of the action or else- Well. I would figure something out.

I suddenly became aware of a presence beside me and I looked up into the face of a woman for a fleeting moment before turning my gaze away.

"What do you want?"

"Are you Katarina?"

"What's it to you?" I looked back at the woman and found her face strangely familiar. Her blonde hair spilled out from beneath her hood, curling into ringlets. Her lips twisted into a smile.

"My name is Aisling."

"So?"

She leaned forward towards me. "I heard that you were causing quite the fuss down by the gate and I would like to know why."

"I sneered at her. "Why would I tell you anything?"

"Because I already know more about you than you would like, and I think we can help each other."

*

AMBROSE

It had been three days since my departure and Katarina was the last thing on my mind. There was something deeply wrong, I could feel it through the ocean, see it through the eyes of the creatures that had watched from below. The smell of smoke, death and fear floated on the currents and it left me uneasy. I had been right; there was something dangerous out there. My only consolation was that it hadn't been noticed within the Kingdom which meant for now my home was safe.

I had diverted slightly from my original course, although I was still heading for the Earth Kingdom, the feeling in the water had come again and seeing how it was not too far away from my current position I had decided to go and check it out.

My frequent pauses to check above the surface finally came to fruition as I spotted a thick plume of black smoke rising up in the distance. Diving back below I made a beeline for it, pushing myself to swim faster until I was within viewing distance. The water had grown hotter and hotter and debris from what I assumed to be a ship was already floating out towards me and it was with a feeling of dread that I carefully I rose up just enough for my eyes and nose to break the surface of the water. In my natural form I would not be easy to spot; water on water was hard to see, although being spotted became the least of my worries as I took in the sight before me.

It was indeed a ship and I quickly realised there was nothing that I could do. The entire vessel was alight and the bones of the ship burned red hot. I could feel the heat from here and it was like nothing that I had ever felt before, I knew that this was what was heating the water near the surface although such a thing was almost unbelievable. Whoever or whatever had done this had left no room for mercy. Anyone on board would have had no time to speak a prayer before they were incinerated.

Something blocked the sun for a moment then and it made me start. I directed my gaze into the sky and searched through the clouds, but the shadow had disappeared as quickly as it had come. A twisting in my gut however, warned me to wait.

The water was eerily silent, no screams echoed out across the water, I had no doubt that everyone was dead but with no sign of life, it was almost as though the ship just burst into flame on its own, way out in the middle of the ocean. I scoured around for another vessel although I already knew in my heart that no ship was capable of this.

What then?

Darkness again, fleetingly as though a fast moving cloud had briefly blocked the sun from the world. That was irrational though, so what was it?

In one moment, all of my questions were answered and all of my fears were realised.

It dropped from the sky elegantly as though descending down like an eagle to its prey, claws descending down and his neck curved with all the grace of a swan. Its black wings spread out as it landed on top of the burning ship with a possessiveness that I could only compare to a predator guarding its kill.

I waited for the boat to buckle under the weight of the dragon, for the beast was as big as the ship and then half again, but to my shock it seemed to suddenly disappear. I froze for a moment, unsure of what I had just seen. I thought that maybe it had landed behind the ship instead, but the seconds ticked by and still it did not reappear.

It was then that I spotted a figure, walking up on top of the burning deck. My reaction was irrational and involuntary; I struck out for the ship, aiming to get closer, a word of warning on my lips. I was close enough now that I could see him, but not so close that my position in the water and the angle of the ship hindered my view. He had spotted me and stopped where he stood and it was at this point that my logical thinking caught up with the impulsive actions of my body.

How could he be alive?

I wasn't close enough to make out any facial features, but his body was bare of clothing and seemed quite unmarked. He had walked forward further and was now grasping what was left of the burning railing. It was with some horror that I realised that the flames did not bother him at all. His hair flew across his face and for a moment the wind pushed it back allowing me to glimpse what I thought to be a scar running down through his eye.

I prided myself on being an intelligent, cool, level headed, rational thinker, but never in my many centuries of life had I ever been asked to comprehend what I was now seeing. There was no solution to this problem that I could think of. There was no reasonable explanation as to how this had happened

But the oldest instinct on Earth was rising up from within me and it grew stronger and stronger, urging my frozen limbs to move, to work, to flee, to run, to run! Run! My mind was screaming at me, but something held me in place as I saw him focus in on me and comprehend who I was. I was not so far away that I couldn't see him smile and all of the pieces finally fell into place as I watched him roar a column of golden fire into the sky and the Dragon that I had seen before burst out of his skin in a such a way that my stomach curled and my body was finally kick started into movement.

I had not felt true terror in such a long time that when his thoughts punctured my mind like a poisonous barb, death promised in those simple, hate filled words, I found myself floundering in the water for a moment as I fought back the urge to gasp for breath. When I looked back on it later, I would have done anything to erase it from my mind for my cowardice at that moment was plain to anyone who heard the recount of what had happened.

I am coming for you Ambrose. You will suffer. 

*