As soon as Antony left the room, the party began to gradually realize that something was wrong. As this realization dawned on them, the music quieted, the laughter faded, and an uneasy silence spread throughout the room.

The silence did not last long however. The noise started out as a nervous sort of chatter and soon escalated until people were shouting to one another, trying to find loved ones in the crowd, and attempting to make their way in various directions through the crush of people.

Meredith looked for her family, finding Prissy and Samantha and Nash by the refreshments table. She spotted her mother making her way towards them and turned away, satisfied that, whatever was going on, they were safe. She found herself searching for Isabella or Antony. She could see Princess Olivya and Princess Therese standing near the front of the room having a hurried conversation. However, as she continued to scan the crowd, she saw neither of the two younger members of the royal family. She comforted herself with the fact that she had seen Antony leave earlier; of course he would not have yet returned. However, Isabella should be here.

She felt someone take hold of her arm and pull her from the midst of the large group of people that were surrounding her and up onto the slightly raised platform that, only about a half an hour ago, had been used as a place to greet the royal family.

She turned and looked into the concerned eyes of Lord Andrew.

"Are you alright, Meredith?" he questioned her, a frown marring his pleasant features.

She nodded. "Have you seen Isabella?" she asked him, anxiously.

He shook his head. "It's fast becoming a mad house in here," he shouted over the noise. "Do you know what's going on?"

She shook her head. "No," she said. "But I saw a servant come in and tell...King Antony something...Whatever it was seemed to greatly upset him. He left the room immediately after."

Andrew straightened, looking out over the people who were now confined to the ballroom. "Whatever is happening, this..." He gestured to the panicked crowd. "Won't help," he finished.

Meredith nodded and then bent down to the nearest guest, telling him that he should calm down and, not only that, but pass the message on to those nearest to him.

She waited next to Lord Andrew as the message slowly passed across the crowded room, finally starting to have an effect. People gradually quieted and turned to look at Andrew and Meredith.

"Everyone listen!" called Andrew. "Panicking will not solve anything. The guards are at every entrance to the ballroom, protecting you. You're safe as long as you remain here. King Antony has gone to investigate the source of the disturbance. Please remain calm. As soon as we know what has happened, and have some details, we will notify you."

The crowd began to murmer once more, but not at the heightened volume of earlier. Andrew's words of authority and comfort seemed to have had a positive effect on them.

Meredith returned to alternately scanning the crowd for Isabella and glancing at the door in hopes that Antony would soon reappear

***

Antony entered the palace, stopping for a moment to speak with the captain of the palace guard who had hurried to speak with him as soon as he saw him.

"Sire," he said. "Every guard from the entrance to the prison to the high security cells has been shot."

"Survivors?" asked Antony, curtly, his mind still reeling over Isabella's kidnapping and Evan's death.

"Yes," replied the captain. "Many of them should be fine eventually. The court physicians are attending to them as we speak. Unfortanately, about half of them were casualties.

Antony sighed heavily and ran a hand through his hair. "How do you think Jonathan was able to escape?"

The guard looked thoughtful. "I think, Sire, from accounts of a few of the surviving guards, that it was only one man who broke into the prison. However, he had to have had some sort of assistance in entering the palace because, unless something escaped our notice, there were guards at every entrance."

Antony frowned. "So you believe there may be a traitor among our guests or servants?"

"I don't want to say for certain yet, Sire, but it is a distinct possibility. I wouldn't rule it out."

"See what the door guards know," ordered Antony. "And be discreet. The guests will be asisted in leaving the palace and the information they receive will be minimal. Don't let it get out that Princess Isabella has been kidnapped."

The guard's eyes widened. "Of course not, Sire. I'll keep it to myself."

"It is my belief that they are long gone. However, as a precaution, I want the grounds searched."

"Of course, Sire."

Antony squared his shoulders. "I'll speak with the guests."

He took a deep breath and stepped forward, the guards at the ballroom's main door opening the doors for him. The people within immediately fell silent and turned to face him. They parted without a word as he made his way through the throngs and to the platform at the front of the room. Meredith noticed him coming and immediately stepped down, while Lord Andrew turned to speak to him momentarily.

"It was a bit of work getting them to calm down, Your Majesty," he said. "I'll hand them over to you now."

Antony nodded. "Thank you, Andrew."

He turned to face the people, his breath catching momentarily in his throat. He forced himself to breathe in and out and to speak.

"Guests of King's Palace. I deeply apologize for the disturbance of what was meant to be a lighthearted evening. I'm sure you've all heard rumors or formulated your own speculations. The noted criminal, Nathan, has made an escape from prison with the asistance of most certainly one, and likely two or more, individuals."

The crowd seemed to collectively gasp and begin to murmur once more.

"Quiet, please!" he said, loudly, his voice carrying over theirs. They quieted once more and he continued. "I regret to inform you that celebrations will be cut short. Guests may stay until tomorrow, as I understand that this is short notice. Any time between now and then, you may leave. If you need a soldier or two to escort you home, please inform Fulton, who will notify the head of the palace guard. In the meantime, if you have any information pertaining to Nathan's accomplices in the escape, please let one of the guards, or myself, know as soon as you can."

He stepped back down from the platform and hurried through the crowd, ignoring the many questions that people directed to him and leaving the way he came.

As soon as he had distanced himself from the noise of the ballroom, he became aware of hurried footsteps and the tapping of a woman's high heels on the marble floor.

He turned just as Meredith reached him.

"Anton-" She caught herself. "Your Majesty," she said. "Please...Have you seen Isabella?"

He stood there, frozen, for a moment, unable to tear his gaze from hers. He saw the fear and anxiety in her eyes. Worry that he wouldn't answer her. Fear that something had happened to her mistress and friend. Anxiety that must have been building inside her since she had first noticed Isabella missing, for surely she had looked.

He finally shook his head, and turned. "Isabella was kidnapped," he said simply. "I have no more information for you than that. Go back to your family."

He heard her breath hitch, and waited for the sound of her retreating footsteps, but...nothing.

"Please, Sire..." she said, finally. "Are you...alright?"

He had to remind himself of the lies she had told him in order to keep himself from hurrying to her and taking her in his arms, comforting himself just as much as her.

Instead, he straightened, squaring his shoulders and turning to look at her levelly. "Of course."

He turned and proceeded on his way down the hallway and into the main foyer, painfully aware of the fact that she had not moved.

At that moment, the head guard hurried into the foyer from the opposite hallway. "Sire," he said, hurriedly. "We've found the traitor."

***

Meredith stood in the hallway, feeling as though she were unable to move from the spot, feeling as though if she did, she might fall. Antony's rejection stung at her. His words ran over and over again in her head, blurring together, forming an unending chain. Go back to your family. Go back to your family. Go back...Of course.

She felt her eyes burn with tears and she kept her arms stiffly at her sides, clenching the fabric of her dress in her fists.

She looked up as the head of the palace guards arrived in the foyer to speak with Antony. She took a few cautious steps forward, staying hidden in the shadows so as not to attract attention to her presence.

"...one of the servants," she heard the guard say, a she grew closer.

"Do you have him in custody?"

"We do," said the guard, nodding to Antony. "We found him headed for the stables, attempting to escape in the same fashion as his conspirators."

Antony sighed. "Who is he?"

The guard turned around and nodded. Two other guards who Meredith hadn't seen before came forward then, a hunched figure between them.

Antony stood over the defeated looking man, his back to Meredith. She strained to look around him, tried to see who the guards had taken into custody.

"What excuse do you have for betraying your employers...your king...your empire?" demanded Antony, his voice harsher than she had heard from him before.

Everything seemed to be happening ten times slower than usual as the man lifted his face to the light. Her breath caught as she recognized him.

It can't be! Not...

***

"John?" exclaimed Antony, disbelief flooding his mind as he recognized the servant before him.

The servant scowled up at him, disgust and fear written on his face.

Antony recovered from his shock somewhat. "Is what the captain says...true, John?" he finally asked.

The servant looked up and nodded once.

Antony shook his head. "Take him away," he said to the guards. Once they were on their way, he squared his jaw and continued on his way upstairs to his study, giving orders to a footman to fetch Kade immediately from the group of men searching the grounds.

***

Meredith watched as the guards led John past her. He did not even fight them; he simply walked along listlessly without a struggle. Just as they were about to round the corner, she hurried from the shadows.

"Wait!" she called, her voice breaking.

The guards stopped, turning to face her. "You shouldn't get involved," they told her.

"Please," she said. "I...knew him."

She didn't wait for their affirmation before hurrying forward and coming to face John. "How," she managed to get out before she had to stop. "How could you do this? You were my friend..."

He was silent for a long time, so long that Meredith thought he simply would not speak and the guards would take him away for good, to prison. But then...

He lifted tired eyes to her. They were the eyes of a broken, hopeless man.

"I loved you, Meredith," he said. "I loved you, and he loved you. And I could never have you, so I hated him." He choked out a sob. "I'm sorry."

Meredith shook her head. "What did you think that this would help, John?" she said, her voice strained as she turned from him and walked away.

She needed to find Evan. With all the frustrations in her life currently, she felt that he might be the only person who would understand. After all, he had been right about Antony in the end. In the end, her being Borgavian had changed too much in between them. He had turned away from her.

She felt a few tears slip down her cheeks. For the first time in her life, she wished that her history was not what it was. She wished, for the first time ever, that she were not Borgavian.

She reached the stables where she knew Evan would be working tonight. After all, he had told her he would be there, caring for the animals belonging to the guests.

As she neared, she could see guards milling around the place. She felt her throat tighten and her breathing quicken. Think rationally...of course the guards will be there. I heard that Jonathan took a few horses.

Still, as she approached the entrance to the stable buildings, she quickened her steps, her heart sinking as she watched the guards carry out a body.

"Who..." she asked, breathless, as she reached the scene, but her words were cut off, choked, pushed back before they could even be born into the still, cold, night air.

Evan, she cried, inwardly. No no no no no.

The guards laid him on the ground, backing away to give her space, not saying anything but casting her those sympathetic glances that seem to be the only consolation observers can offer to the family of the dead.

She knelt on the ground before him. The melting snow soaked into her dress but she cared little.

"Evan..." she managed to get out through her tears. "Evan, you...can't be dead. My big brother...Evan...Please!"

She heard a strangled sob and realized it was her own. She leaned forward and propped him up, wrapping his arms around him, sobbing into his shirt. The coldness of him...it was like ice, freezing her from the outside in with tangible evidence that this was it. Evan was Evan no more.

She wept.

***

Isabella awakened. In a rush, everything came back to her and she panicked,struggling against the bonds around her ankles and her wrists.

As soon as her captors realized that she was conscious, they sprang into action and the cloth was again brought to cover her nose and mouth.

She fought to stay conscious, but felt the encroaching blackness creeping up and taking over her.

On waking the second time, she had the good sense to remain exactly as though she were unconscious. She kept her eyes shut and remained limp, ignoring the jarring pain of each step of the horse from her position.

She took stock of her situation as well as she could while keeping her eyes closed.

Certainly, she was on the back of a horse. Her captors had draped her over the saddle. From opening her eyes ever so slightly, she was able to gather that there were three horses. She was the sole occupant of one of them, and the other two were controlled by her kidnappers.

One, her cousin Jonathan. She swallowed back sadness of seeing her once beloved cousin reduced to this. She imagined that what she was feeling now was merely a fraction of what Antony had, and most likely still did, feel at the sight of his brother.

The other was a relatively tall, thin man. His shoulders were hunched and he seemed to have a constant sneer on his face. Even when her eyes was closed, she could still hear him speaking: even his voice had a sneer in it.

"I think we'll get there in a little less than a day's time," he said. "If we hurry and don't stop."

Silence. Then...

"I must admit, Nathan," continued the sneering man. "I was a bit worried when I watched you face that stable man. Of course you are more skilled with a sword, which I will acknowledge. However, you were in close range. There is no excuse for missing. Unless it was on purpose. I shouldn't have had to stab him."

There was more silence, and the only sound Isabella could hear was the snapping of branches in the forest as the weight of snow grew too heavy for the more feeble limbs. She shivered. The night was clear and cold.

"I want an answer, Nathan. You owe me that."

"I owe you nothing, Sawyer."

"I got you out. You owe me a lot more than you think."

Jonathan sighed heavily. "I didn't have time to aim properly, Sawyer. I can't do it as quickly as you."

"Well, if that's all..." Isabella could hear the obvious pride in Sawyer's voice at being able to say that he was better than the man who was clearly supposed to be his leader. Jonathan had played his cards quite well in this case.

Isabella thought about it as they rode on.

From what she could gather from their tones of voice, the questions they asked, and the statements Sawyer made, seemed to lead to one conclusion.

Jonathan had missed Evan on purpose.

She smiled a little thinking about it.

However, she soon remembered where she was and the smiled faded.

***

The next morning, Antony stood virtually motionless as Parker did up the leather strap that held his shoulder armor in place. The servant finished and stood back.

Antony sighed and forced himself to move to the table, taking his sword belt up and putting it on, then sliding his sword into its sheath, his hands heavy with exhaustion.

"Did you sleep at all last night, Sire?"

Antony considered not answering the question, but he finally nodded his head once.

Parker brought forward a cup of coffee, which Antony accepted gratefully.

Only then did the fog that seemed to be muddling Antony's thoughts recede momentarily. "Parker?" he said, questioningly. "What are you doing?"

Parker stood a bit straighter, looking every bit the soldier in his chainmail. The only thing he lacked was the sword and the shoulder armor.

"You do know, Sire, that it is usual for a king to have his manservant accompany him to battle?"

"Right..." said Antony, vaguely, shaking his head and turning back to the coffee on the table before him. "Of course."

Parker nodded and continued with his preparations.

As they made their way downstairs and out to the courtyard to meet Kade, Antony found himself searching for Meredith. She was nowhere to be seen. he sighed and exited the castle.

Kade was pacing back and forth across the courtyard, a squadron of soldiers standing at attention to the side.

Antony shook himself out of his exhausted stupor and walked to Kade.

"Kade," he said, softly, turning his friend to face him. He forced as much confidence into his voice as he could, for himself as well as for Kade, and spoke. "We will find her."

Kade forced a small smile and nodded. "Of course." Mounting his horse, he waited for Parker and Antony to do the same. Antony mounted Emery and, once Parker had done the same, Kade turned to face the army.

"Let's move out!" he shouted, giving the order.

***

Isabella woke up once more, this time in a dark cell, the stone floors of which were cold. They had laid her upon small scattering of straw in one corner. The cell had no window, and she felt as though the dark were pressing in on her.

She sat up and brought her knees to her chest, wrapping her arms around them and trying not to shiver. She had to admit that she was afraid. She feared what they would do to her. She closed her eyes and leaned her forehead against her knees. She wished that she had not lost her temper with Antony. She wished she hadn't left the room. She cursed herself for going forward when she heard the noise, rather than escaping back into the safety of the ballroom.

She felt her eyes burn as if she might start crying, but she forced the tears away and told herself that she must think about this rationally.

Of course Kade and Antony will come to rescue me soon...She thought, trying to encourage herself.

She heard the echoing of footsteps in the dank corridor beyond her cell door. This was followed by the sound of keys clanking against metal.

She pressed herself into the corner as the door was pushed open and a tall, over-muscled man entered the room. He seemed giant...he was even taller than Antony, who she considered to be farely tall. He carried a lantern, the light of which momentarily blinded her.

"Well! It seems our princess is awake!"

She was silent, glaring at him from her corner, willing herself not to shake.

"Not going to speak to me, eh?" The guard shrugged, then grinned wickedly. "That's alright by me. I'm perfectly satisfied with my lot. You see, Sawyer's given me a great privilege. I guard you. In exchange, I get to do whatever I want to with you."

Isabella felt as though she might vomit.

He bent down before her, leaning forward until his face was directly in front of hers. "Anything I want," he hissed. "See if they'll want you back when I'm through with you."

He laughed harshly and stood, continuing to chuckle as he made his way down the corridor, taking the lantern light with him.

She couldn't anymore; she could not remain stoic.

She lay on her side, curled up, and wept.

***

{an} -This chapter is shorter guys, by about a thousand words. However, this is where I'm going to stop. This is the end of what could be considered the "first part of the book", although they won't be labled as such. The next chapter will skip forward a bit in time. Well...you'll see.

Anyways, I know it's been a little while but...you know...COLLEGE. :P

I'll see you around at the end of next chapter.