Meredith made her way downstairs after being dismissed from the Lady Catherine's room. She briefly wondered what Antony had been so upset about, but that question was overshadowed by her overwhelming feelings of gratefulness towards him for not only bringing her family to her, but allowing her to go and see them.

She saw Fulton at the end of the hallway talking to one of the guards. "Fulton?" she questioned as he turned to leave. "Do you know where my family has been taken?"

"To your rooms," he said. "The Princess Isabella is with them."

"Thank you," she said gratefully to him, already on her way down the stairs to the second floor west wing.

She paused outside of the door to Isabella's parlor, hearing voices inside. She smiled to herself as she pushed open the door.

The first person she saw was Jade.

"Mother!" she exclaimed, happily, running to her with open arms. Soon she was hugging her mother, and she could feel tears beginning to form at the corners of her eyes.

"Mer..." said her mother, and Meredith could hear her choking up too.

She closed her eyes and felt at home.

Later, she sat with her sister, Samantha, the youngest girl of the family. "How are you doing lately, Sam?" she asked, giving her sister a fond smile.

Samantha shrugged. "I'm alright...But I'm worried about Nash." She turned worried eyes to her eldest sister. "What happened to him? Mother says he was captured, but she won't tell me where he went or what he's doing."

Meredith put her arm around her sister and pulled her close. "I'm sure he's alright..." she said quietly. "Mother can't tell you where he is; she doesn't know. I...I don't either. But I do know one thing. They're looking for him. They'll find them, you'll see," she added, forcing an optimistic tone into her words.

Samantha smiled. "Is that man, Kade, looking for him?" she asked.

"So you've met Kade?" said Meredith, smiling. "He's very nice, isn't he?" She bent down to whisper into her sister's ear. "He's the Princess Isabella's beau."

"Really?" said Samantha, shyly. "Are they going to get married?"

"I'm not sure," laughed Meredith. "But I think there just might be a good chance."

"What about King Antony?" pressed Samantha. "He's really nice too. Does he have someone to court?"

Meredith sighed inwardly, remembering the letter she had burned just yesterday.

"No," she said. "Not yet. Although I'm sure he will. He certainly enjoyed dancing with the Lady Adelaide at the coronation ball."

Prissy perked up at the mention of a ball. "Did you get to go?" she shouted excitedly from her corner of the room, where she had been brushing her hair before the mirror.

"I did," said Meredith.

"Ooh!" gushed Prissy. "Did you get to dance?"

Meredith closed her eyes briefly, recalling how it felt to dance with Antony. "Not with anyone of consequence," she said aloud.

"I hope that I get to go to a party while I'm here," continued Prissy, standing and pretending to dance around the sitting room. She bumped into a chair and it fell over with a crash.

"Shh!" said Meredith, immediately putting a finger to her lips. "Mother is sleeping!" She cast a worried glance at the door to her own bedroom, where her mother was currently resting after the long journey and the nights of worrying leading up to it.

Prissy came to sit on her other side on the chaise lounge. "I don't ever want to leave," she said, clinging to Meredith's arm. "I want to stay here with you in the palace forever. You're so lucky you get to stay here."

"I suppose I am," said Meredith, reflectively.

"Is there a library?" asked Samantha, always a lover a books.

Meredith smiled at her younger, ten year old sister. "There is, although I've never seen the big one. Isabella has a small, personal library. You may see it, if you like."

Samantha stood and Meredith took her hand, leading her to the small room with its shelves of books. Her sister's eyes widened. "I've never seen one so big! It's...huge!"

"You should see the Royal Library. It's much, much bigger than this if my friend John is to be believed." An image of John's face came into her mind.

How right you were, John, she thought. I am in love with the king.

She sighed and resolved to be cheerful, as she had both of her sisters with her, and her mother. The only thing more that she could ask for was to have her brother back.

Sawyer entered Nathan's tent, his lip curled in disgust.

"Sir," he began, angrily. "I've heard that you're going to release one of the prisoners! We've just taken them captive and you're letting them go!"

Nathan swiveled in his chair, facing his top man. "That's right," he said, calmly. "I am. We've managed to get their attention. Besides...We don't need the little one. He's useless to us. The older one...perhaps he has information about the army. His son is leading it, is he not?"

"If the little boy is no use to us, why not just kill him now!"

"Because," said Nathan, his voice icy cold as he met Sawyer's eyes. "He reminds me too much of someone. Someone I don't yet have the heart to kill mercilessly."

"Well that's too bad," muttered Sawyer. "Will you be ready when the time comes?"

"Of course," sneered Nathan. "I will do what I have to to bring down Astoria."

"You're not just going to let the boy go, are you?"

"Of course not. I have something in mind for him. He will bear the scars forever."

Antony left his study after drawing up a report on his trip to Hampshire and Dunkirk. He was on his way down the stairs when he saw a little girl wander out of a nearby hallway. As she drew closer, he recognized her as Samantha, Meredith's younger sister.

"Samantha!" he called. She jumped in surprise and turned to face him, hastily falling into a clumsy curtsy.

"King Antony!" she exclaimed. "I'm sorry...I shouldn't have been wandering around..."

He smiled slightly; she reminded him of her older sister.

"It's fine," he said. "Were you looking for your sister or your mother?"

"No..." she admitted, shaking her head sheepishly. "I was...I was looking for the library." She hurried to explain. "Meredith told me it's huge. I simply love books and I just wanted to see it. I wouldn't take any books from it..."

Antony laughed slightly. "What's a library for, if not to take books from?" he said, with a smile. "Come with me; I'll show you the library."

Samantha's eyes lit up and she hurried over to him, shyly slipping her hand into his and looking up at him.

He led her to the first floor. "You have to go through the first floor portrait hall to get to the Royal Library."

"Portrait hall?" she asked, curiously. "Is there pictures of all the kings and queens in there?"

"Yes," he said, as they entered the hall of portraits. He watched as she let go of his hand and made her way down the hall, looking at the pictures on the walls. He wondered if he only imagined that she paused a bit before the one of Rupert the Third, his notorious uncle. He frowned, but shrugged away the feeling as she moved on.

She stopped at the end. "I don't see you," she said, her voice puzzled.

He sighed and walked to one of the last portraits. "They're still working on it," he explained. "So for now...this is the only picture of me that they have." He pointed to the picture of his family.

She gazed at it critically. "You were the tiniest baby ever," she finally said. He managed not to laugh at her remark as she continued to study the portrait.

"Is that your brother? He doesn't look very happy..."

Antony glanced at Jonathan. "I suppose he doesn't in this picture..."

"Is he a lot older than you?"

"He was, yes. But he...well..."

"He died, didn't he," she said, solemnly. He merely nodded before moving to the portrait of Jonathan as king.

"He was the king before I was. This is him."

She looked at the portrait, and then back at him. "I think you're better looking," she said, her voice just as solemn as before. He couldn't help it this time, and laughed despite his best efforts not to.

She simply smiled. "My sister says you don't have anyone to court yet. She says you like the Lady Adelaide though so you might court her."

Antony frowned slightly, thinking how far from the truth this statement was. He had liked the Lady Adelaide...but only as a friend. He was in love with Meredith.

He sighed. "The Lady Adelaide is...very nice. However, I don't think I'll be courting her."

"So you like someone?"

He frowned, and she giggled, before skipping ahead to the double doors at the end of the portrait hall. He briefly wondered how far she would carry this conversation, for he didn't know how to respond to her. His experience with little girls was rather limited, as the only one he had known was Isabella and he had been too young to remember much about how she had acted.

"I bet you do," Samantha called back. "You should just do what the hero does in the books! Tell her!"

He thought about that for a moment. What if he did tell Meredith? How would he react if she rejected him?

"Of course," she added. "It always helps if you have a white horse and lots of money." She said this with such seriousness that Antony had to work hard at attempting not to laugh at her statement.

Thankfully, his young friend seemed to move on from the subject once the doors to the massive Royal Library of Astoria were open.

He simply shook his head in amazement at this small sister of Meredith's.

Meredith poured her mother a cup of tea from the set on the table between them. Isabella had kindly volunteered to let Prissy do her makeup and hair while Meredith chatted with her mother.

Jade smiled at her daughter from across the table and Meredith smiled back, feeling very blessed with the presence of her mother.

"It's been too long, Mom," she said, picking up her tea cup. "Receiving your letter the other day made me realize just how much I've missed you."

She watched as her mother's smile faded. "I just wish, of course, that it were under different circumstances."

"Of course you do," said Meredith. "We all do." She paused. "So..." she finally said. "What do you think of the House Westerholme now that you've met two of its members?"

She observed her mother's thoughtful expression as she took a sip of tea, mulling over her answer.

"I suppose," she finally said. "That, so far, they've surprised me." She locked eyes with Meredith. "Although there are a few things I question."

"What?" said Meredith, frowning.

"Well, for one...Why would the king and his head general leave for Dunkirk, simply to bring me, Samantha, and Prissy back?"

"We're friends, Mother," she said. "Both Kade and Antony are my friends."

"You have not forgotten the suffering we have gone through at the hands of your friends' family, have you not?"

"I have not, Mother. But I do feel that it is right to give them a chance, to see who they truly are. And I really think that neither Antony nor Isabella are like their uncle, the late King Rupert."

Jade sighed, looking down into her cup at the tea within. "I suppose you may be right, although I feel loathe to admit it."

Meredith sighed. "Mother?" she finally said. "While here at the palace I've...I've met someone."

"Oh?" said Jade, smiling. "What's he like?

Meredith nodded, trying to think of a way to ask her mother what to do in her situation about Antony, without specifically mentioning that the man she was in love with was the king.

"He's kind," she finally said. "And brave. And a hard worker. He puts people before himself and he tries to make them feel happy. I've been to a dance with him and we've talked several times. However..." She paused, hesitating. "I'm not certain that he would care for me in that way. I don't want to be hurt but...I think about him a lot, Mother. I find myself wondering how he is throughout the day, or if he's happy."

"Have you told this man how you feel about him?"

Meredith forced a smile. "No. I feel that I'd look entirely foolish."

"Are you sure he doesn't also like you?"

"Well..." she hesitated. "I'm fairly sure." She sighed. "I just want to escape this feeling that it's entirely hopeless or that I never have a chance at love."

Jade smiled. "Just remember: if it isn't meant to be..." She shrugged, and Meredith managed to smile back.

"It won't be," she finished.

There was a knock on the door.

"Come in," called Meredith.

The door banged open and Prissy entered, waving her hands in excitement. "Guess what, Mer!" she exclaimed. "We're going to have dinner! In the royal dining room! With the king and the princess and...the other princess...and the...lady..." Prissy stopped, frowning in momentary confusion, as Isabella entered the room behind her, laughing a bit.

Prissy had done a surprisingly good job on Isabella's hair: it was pulled back in a lovely updo with loose strands at the side and a braid wrapped around.

"Well, anyways, continued Prissy dramatically. "I simply must go and get ready."

She swept across the room and into Meredith's bedroom, shutting the door firmly behind her. Once she was out of earshot, Isabella and Meredith couldn't help but laugh. After a few moments, Jade joined in too.

"She is very much enjoying herself," Jade said to Isabella. "It...helps to take her mind off of what happened with Nash, gives her a chance to be distracted from the troubles of the adult world and be a child for a bit longer."

Isabella smiled. "I'm glad we could help."

Yet another knock sounded at the door.

"Yes?" said Meredith, curious.

The door opened somewhat more gently now and in came the strangest sort of small parade that Meredith had ever seen. In the lead was Samantha. Her sister had a stack of almost ten books piled in her arms and was working very hard not to drop them. Following her was Antony, carrying about the same number. And then a servant, carrying the remaining stack of five books.

"Where can I put these?" said Samantha, peeking around the stack of books in her arms.

Meredith simply looked on in surprise. Isabella smiled. "How about over here?" she suggested, pointing to a shelf at the side of the room. She removed a few decorative vases and showed Samantha the clean shelf.

"Great!" said Samantha, hurrying over and beginning to neatly place her treasures, one by one upon the shelf. She then did the same with the books Antony and his servant were carrying.

After this was finally finished, Meredith watched as Antony turned to leave, briefly stopping to speak to Isabella before leaving.

She forced herself to look back down at her teacup. When Prissy came in to beg her to allow her to do her hair and choose her outfit, Meredith gladly consented. After all, anything that could be a distraction was welcome.

When, a half an hour later, Meredith made her descent to the dining room, she had begun to regret allowing Prissy to choose how she looked for the evening. She felt too conspicuous in the white chiffon dress of Isabella's with its fitted waist and bodice, three quarter-length sleeves and light chiffon fabric. Not to mention the fact that her sister had insisted that she wear her hair down, letting its waves fall down her back, its only adornment a diamond pin which was, again, borrowed from Isabella. She felt rather self-conscious about this fact. As, technically, a servant, she always kept her hair up, never letting it down except in the evenings once she returned to her room.

She was accompanied by her sisters and her mother, both wearing the best clothing they had brought with them from home.

Meredith felt selfish for wearing nice clothes when they wore what they always had: dresses that had been handed down and repaired many times already. However, all the others had insisted on her wearing the dress and she hadn't wanted to disappoint Prissy.

She sighed as the footman began to announce their arrival to the already-present members of the dinner party.

"Announcing the younger Princess Westerholme, the Lady Jade Ellingston and her daughters, the Ladies Meredith, Priscilla, and Samantha..."

Meredith blushed, but felt a rush of gratefulness to whomever had thought to have her sisters introduced as ladies. It would be a highlight of their evening.

She entered the room behind Isabella and her mother, keeping her eyes fixed on the floor as she took her seat between Isabella and Prissy (who was practically beaming with happiness over her introduction).

She kept her eyes on her place setting before her, feeling foolish for feeling so self-conscious. Glancing up, she saw that, so far, only the Princess Olivya and the Princess Therese had arrived. Two empty seats remained.

Finally, the footman began to speak once more. "Announcing His Majesty, the High King of Astoria, King Antony of Westerholme and the Lady Catherine of Pendleton, sister to Princess Therese."

Antony and Catherine entered, and Meredith immediately returned her gaze to her lap, where she had neatly folded her hands. At the moment, she wished to make eye contact with neither of the two more recent arrived guests.

Isabella leaned towards her and whispered quietly to Meredith, but loud enough that Jade could overhear, "We don't usually do this...the introductions and all. Antony doesn't actually like it much...but I convinced him for tonight. I thought...I thought your sisters might enjoy it." Meredith smiled at the kind-hearted Isabella.

"Thank you," she said, softly. "I can tell that they're enjoying it. They're so excited to be part of the royal dinner."

Isabella smiled, her eyes shining with happiness. "I'm glad," she said. "They're such lovely girls. You're lucky to have such sisters. I...If I had sisters, I'd want them to be like yours."

Meredith smiled, glancing at Prissy and Samantha, both in rapture to simply be here, with the royal family, about to eat a dinner better than anything they had had in a long time.

She was lucky, indeed.

Antony felt that he hadn't been able to take his eyes off Meredith since he had walked in the room and seen her. He hoped she didn't notice.

He watched her smile at something that his cousin had said, a slight blush coming to her face, her eyes alight. He had never seen her with her hair down before; he thought she looked lovely.

Tell her, whispered a part of him, but he pushed it away; the idea still intimidated him somewhat.

He sighed and turned his gaze towards his plate as the footman served the first course. He didn't feel much like eating and found himself frequently distracted by glimpses of Meredith out of the corner of his eye. Meredith as she laughed with her sisters. Meredith as she talked with her mother. Meredith whispering something to Isabella and making his cousin laugh. Meredith meeting his gaze, once, and giving him a small smile, at which point he almost dropped his fork.

About midway through the meal, a distraction came in the form of Lady Catherine's apology. She was sitting next to him and suddenly turned and tapped him on the arm, effectively pulling his attention away from Meredith.

"Yes?" he asked her.

"I suppose I want to apologize," she said, pursing her lips. "I've thought it over a good deal since you spoke to me earlier. Perhaps I have been a bit overbearing to my younger sister."

He smiled. "It isn't me you have to apologize to, Catherine," he said. "Apologize to your sister." She attempted to maintain her sour look but almost managed a small smile.

He watched as, a few moments later, she turned to Therese and began a quiet conversation.

He couldn't help but hope that, in the future, the relationship between the two sisters might improve.

Meredith and Isabella stood at the side of the ballroom, watching as Samantha and Prissy twirled around the polished wood floor. They danced with two of the footman. Other than that, the floor was empty. Jade had gone to bed. Antony had left as soon as dinner was over. Therese and Catherine were standing in the opposite corner, chatting, Therese even smiling.

"They seem to be getting along much better," remarked Meredith.

Isabella laughed. "You mean you don't know?"

"Don't know what?" asked Meredith, confused, turning to face her friend.

Isabella smiled, and gestured to Meredith's cheek where the fading bruise was still slightly visible. "Somehow, my cousin found out about that. Let's just say that my Aunt Catherine met her match; she won't bother you any longer."

Meredith didn't say anything, allowing what Isabella had just told her to run through her mind a few times. She had, of course, recognized that Antony was frustrated when he came into the room. She had seen the anger written on his face. She just hadn't known the cause.

She bit her lip, not knowing what to say.

When Samantha swept by and grabbed her hand, tugging her onto the dance floor, she was incredibly grateful.

The striking of the clock echoed throughout the palace, twelve chimes for midnight. Meredith sighed, feeling just as awake and restless as she had the last time the clock had struck, announcing eleven.

She had, after seeing her sisters to bed, taken herself off to the library where she had sat in one of the cozy chairs in the corner, hoping to remain alone and hidden.

Alone she had remained, just as she had wished.

Now, however, she stood, making her way slowly across the dark room, the moonlight acting as her light as she went to the door and left.

As she walked through the hallways, she tried to sort through everything she was feeling: every doubt, every hope and dream, and every surety. The sureties were few and far between. The library was in the west wing of the palace, on the first floor. Before she realized it, she had traversed almost the entire length of the grand residence and was now in the east wing, near the throne room.

She was about to turn around and return the other way when she noticed the faint flickering of candlelight shining from the throne room, a thin sliver of light that shone through the partly opened doors. At that moment, it disappeared, as if someone had blown out the candle.

The door opened and Antony stepped from the room, still in his clothes from dinner, including the cloak and crown. He didn't seem very surprised to see her. Of course, she had wandered places in the night before, including the window at the end of his hallway. He probably expected it.

What surprised her, however, was that he seemed rather apprehensive. She wondered what might be wrong. Had there been another attack? What was he doing in the throne room so late at night?

And then...

"Meredith?" he finally said. "Is it alright if I...speak to you about something?"

She was struck dumb momentarily. He was, after all, the king. He happened to be wearing the crown to prove it. Why should he ask her permission? Then again, he didn't behave as most kings would.

She finally nodded. He came to stand next to her and they walked down the hallway, back in the direction that Meredith had come.

"Might we...go outside?" he said, abruptly. She was again struck with the feeling that he was worried about something; something was upsetting him.

"Yes," she said, softly, watching him from the corner of her eye. He nodded in response and led her to the front doors, which the guards opened for them. He offered her his hand as they went down the steps.

For a while, they simply walked in silence, allowing the moonlight to shine over them and the cool breeze the only sound.

"Is something wrong?" she finally asked, unable to take the silence, the waiting, any longer. "Am I going to lose my job? Has there been another attack? Is Nash..." She couldn't bring herself to finish that question, and didn't have to because Antony interrupted.

"No, not at all," he said, quickly. "I just..." He turned away for a moment, and Meredith thought that he looked frustrated with himself. He was certainly agitated.

They had reached the river, its water flowing slowly past the bank. Meredith shivered in the night breeze.

"I'm sorry," said Antony, his voice one of someone who is mentally berating himself. "It's cold; I shouldn't have brought you out here." She didn't say anything so he asked her, "Are you cold?"

"No. I mean...a little," she finally admitted. She watched as he reached up and unfastened the cloak from around his shoulders, surprised by the action and by the look of concern on his face as he did so. Concern for her.

She felt herself blush as he fastened it around her shoulders instead and she felt the warmth of the fabric...and the lingering warmth of him...envelope her.

"Thank you," she whispered, pulling it around her like a blanket. He nodded, turning to look out over the river before immediately turning back to her. He seemed to be debating whether or not to speak.

She decided to make it easier for him by beginning. "I want to thank you," she said. "For standing up for me like that against the Lady Catherine."

He turned fully to face her, meeting her gaze with his own. "You're welcome," he said. "Are you...alright?" He gestured to her face.

She nodded.

He sighed, looking at the ground before meeting her gaze once more. "I've said before...that I'm not always very good with talking to people. I don't always...know what to say or how best to put something that I'm feeling into words. Sometimes...there aren't words to say what I want to say. I'm...going to try. I hope you'll bear with me for just a few moments." He stopped, looking her straight in the eye.

"Meredith," he said. "I...like you. No!" He shook his head. "I love you. I'm in love with you. Perhaps I sound stupid; perhaps you have no feelings for me whatsoever. Please. Just hear me out. I love you and I have, I think, ever since that night when Isabella forced us to dance. Do you even remember that? I catch myself lately wondering if you do. If you...if you liked dancing with me. I loved listening to you talk about your family when I gave you a carriage ride. I am happy when you are happy; the entire time I was riding home from Dunkirk with your mother and sisters, I was thinking of how delighted you would be to see them."

She felt surreal, as if this wasn't happening. For it couldn't, could it? Antony, King of Astoria, couldn't love her, a mere servant girl...She listened, feeling as if she were straining to catch every word and hold it close, fearing that at any second he would steal it back and it would all be a dream, a lie.

"When you were sad, because of...what happened to your brother, Nash." He looked at her, sadness in his eyes. "I wanted nothing more than to hold you and defend you against the hurts of the world and the things that would make you sad. I hated seeing you unhappy and knowing I could do nothing. And when you were upset in the gardens...And I never felt so furious as I did when Ramona told me that Catherine had hit you. "

He took her hand, looking at her, willing her to understand. "I love you, Meredith Ellingston; I do."

His declaration had rendered her temporarily speechless as thoughts of the letter she had written but never sent, recollections of how often she had thought of him, and memories of the way she had felt each time she was with him flooded her mind.

After a few moments, he gently let go of her hand. "I'm...sorry. I suppose you think me a fool now."

As he turned away, his expression sad, she finally found her voice. "No!" she exclaimed, the words coming to her easily now.

He turned back to face her, his eyes lit with hope and urging her to continue.

"Oh, Antony!" she said, her words soft. "You don't know how many times I've told myself I cannot love you because I am a servant. Because you are a king and I am not pretty or rich or..."

He interrupted her, taking both her hands in his. "You are beautiful," he said, his voice soft, but adamant. "To me, everything about you is beautiful. I could care less if you were the poorest begger in Astoria or the richest titled Lady the court had ever seen. It doesn't matter. Please understand!" he begged her. "It doesn't matter at all."

She felt tears spring to her eyes: tears of relief...tears of happiness.

And she was in his arms, and everything felt right. The rest of the world seemed to disappear and it was only the two of them. The cold of the night seemed gone.

She looked up, met his gaze...she was longing to believe that this was real; this was not a dream...that she wouldn't wake up in the morning with only a faint memory to hold onto.

He kissed her, then, and drove her doubts and insecurities away.

Hello Readers!

Up until this point, I had been manually splitting up the long chapters into several different parts to make reading easier, as I felt that longer chapters could become tedious. However, I no longer have the time to go through the work it takes to split each chapter. So, for now, the chapters from this point on will be their original longer versions. However, when I get more time, I'll be back to finish the job splitting them into shorter ones.

Thank you!