It hadn't been at least fifteen minutes and her peace had finally been broken. "Hey!" a male voice yelled making Risa jump at his voice. "How'd you get in here? Your trespassing on these premises! This is off-limits to unauthorized people!" His voice boomed with such authority as he walked down the steps.

Risa rolled her eyes as she stood up and looked down at her dog. "Unauthorized people? Oh boy, who does he think he is? No signs were telling me not to come in, plus I needed to get you. Do you think he will believe me if I said that?" She picked up Loyal, asking her beloved dog for advice and she knew she wouldn't get any back.

Vincent once again asked who she was as he walked closer, obviously not happy with her inside the palace. He didn't like people just walking into the castle without an invitation for being told they could come in. "This place is under construction. No one is allowed on this premises unless they get the okay for me!"

Risa set down Loyal and crossed her arms, looking at him with an unhappy and annoyed look. She was in no mood to play games with this boy, Vincent, unknowing to her. She was not acknowledging he was saying anything to her, she was already in a sour mood due to her whole day going wrong.

Vincent stopped a few feet from her and crossed his arms as well. "How did you get me here? I want to know how you came in here! Who are you? Did anyone send you here? Did someone invite you?" He asked in a skeptical tone, eyeing her up and down, with narrow eyes.

Risa raised her eyebrow at him and all his questions she had just asked. "What makes you think I will answer you? You are not in authority or anything as I can see. Therefore I have no reason to answer all your questions." She paused and quickly added. "However, my dog jumped through a broken window in the kitchen and I had to get her back. You know how dogs are."

Vincent nodded pursing his lips. Was she expecting him to believe such a story? Yes, she had a dog, but many people who had come in had such wild stories on why they came in. "Ah, I see." That was all he said as he turned to look at his guardian, shaking his head a little bit.

Rolando hurried up to Vincent, stopping beside him and resting his hand on his shoulder trying to catch his breath. "Good grief, you run too fast. I'm not in my prime like you young ones nowadays. Next time let's do this together and not just you acting like an adult." He told the boy patting his shoulder.

He then had his mouth drop open but he quickly closed it but his eyes did stay wide. 'She looks just like Duchess Clarissa, just an older version, of course, time didn't change this girl much!' He thought to himself but then paused. 'It probably is just a coincidence. I have looked for her and here she is before my eyes? Seems unreal.'

Risa looked at the two. What did she get herself into with these men? "I hate to break up whatever on this planet is going on here. I do have a little question: Why is he staring at me and who are you?" She asked pointing to Rolando then back to Vincent.

Rolando grew a little fluttered, was it that obvious? "You just - um - you look - nevermind, forget I even said anything." He didn't want to make her think he was crazy because he was not crazy. He was pretty good at matching someone younger with their older self. It was a gift and something he had learned in the military for the king.

Vincent rolled his eyes at his guardian and looked back at Risa. "I'm Vincent. This is Rolando who is helping to restore the palace to its former glory. I am helping him out with this massive place since I have nothing else better to do." He replied running a hand through his hair, tilting his head at her.

Risa pulled out the paper from her pocket and looked at the poster, before showing it to him. "Oh, so you are doing this? Making this place a museum! That is very noble of you to do such things. I am sure the royals would have been happy to hear what you are doing in honor of them." She told them gently, smiling.

Vincent just nodded, it did boost his ego just a little bit and he then turned prideful at her raving. "Ah, thank you. That is quite kind of you to say. It is an honor to bring back the memory of the royals." He was getting looks from Rolando knowing he didn't want anything to do with this but now he was?

Loyal walked over to Rolando and started to sniff him. He had to make sure he could be trusted since there was no way she was getting anywhere next to Vincent. "Risa! He seems alright! Can't say the same about the younger boy though." She barked at her mistress then realized she couldn't understand her, which every time she tried she hoped she would.

Rolando bent down and started to talk baby talk to her. "Look at you, such a cutie pie. What's your name beautiful, huh?" He cooed picking up the pup and holding her in his arms. He rubbed her head and it seemed Loyal loved it, which she was enjoying the attention from someone else other than Risa.

Risa smiled softly at how Loyal looked like she was falling asleep. She was relaxing so much. "Her name is Loyal. She is my pride and joy, my sweet little dog, my friend, companion in this world." She raved in about Loyal. She loved that dog more than anything in this world.

She then turned to Vincent and thought about his name. "You are not what I expected to have been helping restore the place to its former glory. You're cute in a tall and scrawny way, and very young. I always thought everyone who wanted to restore something was old, no offense Rolando." She quickly added putting her hands back into her jacket pocket.

Rolando held back a snicker at her words. He didn't take offense to her words. "None taken, I understand where you are coming from." It seemed those who were elders, seemed to respect the past and preserve it rather than those who were younger, who seemed to not care about history.

Vincent gasped placing his hand over his head, in mock hurt at her words. "Now just wait a minute. I'm not scrawny. I'm tall and fit! I'm six foot with muscles and can do a whole lot more than most men can even dream of -" He was cut off my Risa, and she didn't want him to explain, the look on her face said it all.

He sighed and crossed his arms, looking down at her. "Shouldn't you be going now? Don't you have somewhere to be? Also, you never told us your name." He pointed out in a snippy way that just went over everyone's head. She was unbearable to him and he wanted her to leave soon.

Risa facepalmed, how could she have been so silly. "Oh, I'm Risa. I don't have anywhere to go. I came from the orphanage and let's just say everything I have planned kinda flopped very early into getting here. I just wanted a passport, yet being an orphan I have no way of getting one." She sighed in such a sad manner.

Vincent raised his eye at the girl. She was an orphan and explained a lot if he must be honest. "May I ask why you need a passport?" He asked as he put his hand to his chin and looked at her with a detective's eye. He wanted to know why she wanted a passport so badly since it obviously was upsetting her not having one.

Risa frowned as she looked back up at him after looking down at her feet. "Why do I need a passport?" She asked in a low demeanor crossing her arms over her chest. "I didn't know I had to explain every little detail about my life to you. It is none of your business." She snapped at him.

Vincent smiled at her, and it was not a genuine smile showing be cared, it was one of opportunity. "If you give me a good explanation, I could perhaps help you with getting a passport." He said matter-of-factly with a charming smile, hoping that helped persuade her into telling him.

Risa pushed her hair behind her head and just looked at him blankly. "What is in it for you? Why would you want to help me get a passport? You must have an alternative motive for wanting to help me." There was no way he was going to help her without wanting someone.

Vincent frowned, she was good, but he was not going to tell her anything. "There is no other way you are going to get a passport without my help. I can get you what I want, I just need to know why you need one. That is all. Plain and simple." He merely said as innocently as he possibly could.

Risa wasn't buying it but she had no choice. She needed a passport to get to Paris and if it meant telling him then so be it. "Alright, if you say so. If telling you why gets me a passport, then sure." She just needed that passport and she would do anything - within her morals - to get it so she could go find her family!

Vincent smiled, it was a devious smile of course, yet one nonetheless. "Good, now what is it you need it for?" He asked in such a cocky way, pride-filled his eyes as he waited for her to tell him why she needed one. He hoped it wasn't anything too big or weird because he was not going down the road of weird. Not his forte.

Risa sighed, she was never going to win with this but, only lose, right? She would still keep it simple and tell him on a need to know basis. "I just need to go to Paris, anything else is none of your business." She said getting a little defensive. She hated people praying and asking a million questions.

Vincent was not expecting her to say that. He was shocked, so was Rolando, but he was amused by her. He wasn't so amused, more shocked and annoyed. "Well, so I guess that is kind of an explanation, not the one I was looking for though. It will do." He sighed rubbing the back of his neck. He then looked her up and down, walked around her then came back to his place. He was inspecting her just to make sure she wasn't a spy or anything that would haul him to jail.

Risa crossed her arms feeling a little awkward at him looking at her. "Is there something wrong with me? You are making me quite uncomfortable with you inspecting me." She pulled her coat around her tighter, crossing her arms over her chest tighter.

Vincent didn't really feel bad but he had to be polite and he bowed his head to her. "My apologies, I'm not meaning to be creepy or anything. I just can't help but notice you look just like the Princess, now Duchess Clarissa? That is all I was merely doing, besides making sure you weren't a spy or something." He said leaning back in the hand railing.

Risa looked at him and blinked a few times then she laughed hysterically at his comment. "What? You can't be serious? Come on, you must be joking. Look at me, do I look like a duchess or princess material? Do I have princess or duchess potential? The answer is no. I'm an orphan, I know nothing about who I am and I certainly know if I was of royalty someone would have claimed me."

Rolando looked at Risa, who was frustrated by Vincent's accusations. He nudged Vincent in the arm and gave him the stop-messing-around stare. "Vincent, what did I tell you?" Even if deep down he knew, he had to have proof that this girl was the duchess.

He looked over at Risa and felt bad for her. "I am truly sorry for him. We are also on our way to Paris, it wouldn't hurt for you to tag along with us. I know a lot of people, they can help you find your family. Only if you want to. I'm sure we have one to spare somewhere." He glanced over at Vincent.

Vincent sighed and pulled the passports out of his vest. "I only have three passports: one for me, one for Rolando, and one for the Duch - I mean a blank one I can get fixed up for you." He waved the three passports around in the air. He wouldn't have to tell her it was for the duchess, all he needed was her picture and bam.

Risa was getting very agitated when he was waving them around like he was teasing her. She crossed her arms and tapped her foot. Was he trying to say he was the Alpha male and she's not getting one unless she begs? "So, you guys will let me have it if I go along with you to Paris? You have connections you were offering to help me. Why are you doing this for me?"

Rolando stepped closer to her and gave her a caring look. "I know how important it is for a child to know where they come from. If I can help you find your family, it would mean the world to me and your family. It would show you people truly do care about you, which is why I suggested." He gently told her.

Risa was touched by his words, they were making her tear up and want to get all mushy. No way, she took a deep breath and rubbed her eyes with her sleeves. "That, that is very kind of you to suggest. I couldn't, I do not want to be a burden or intrude on your life. I do thank you for the offer."

Vincent rolled his eyes, oh brother, this was just way too much for him. All this caring made him just want to throw up. He knew he had to get them sidetracked with something else. "Just to pique my curiosity, don't you ever think of you like royalty?" He said making his hands into finger guns and pointing them to her with a little smirk.

Risa frowned as she looked at him, giving him a 'really' look. Did she really want to be stuck with this boy? He was worse than any child at the orphanage. "First stop pointing your fingers at me like guns." She demanded pushing his hands away. "I never thought about it? I grew up thinking fairytales were for babies. It was so far fetched for me, Mrs. Hemmingworth always told me I was an orphan nobody with no life ahead of me. I guess I believed it." She replied.

Rolando felt horrible hearing this. He knew of Mrs. Hemmingworth, who he had had a run-in with and she wasn't too happy with him. He had done nothing to her though. "I'm so sorry, Risa." He gently told her sympathetically, looking down at Loyal who was licking his cheek, trying to cheer him up.

Risa looked up at Rolando, he was so different than Vincent and she liked that. "There is no need to be sorry. It is normal for us orphans. We take it with a spoon full of sugar, not literally, and just deal with it. It makes us tougher in not caring about what others think." She explained with a small smile.

Vincent rolled his eyes, wanting to cut this mush fest short. "If I would give you this passport, I'd need a surname?" He asked in a rhetorical question not meaning it to be answered. He already knew the answer to his question. If she was getting into places that she didn't need to, she couldn't have a family. If she was an orphan, then she'd have no surname and no birth certificate, and no way to find out.

Risa sighed, shaking her head. "I don't recall my last name, I am an orphan, I know nothing about who I am. I don't even know if Risa is my real name or not. The only thing I was told was I was in the hospital for a while when I was found because they said I had, hypo - hippo - whatever it is when you're sick from the cold." She couldn't figure out the word she was looking for.

Vincent looked at her. "Hypothermia is the word you are looking for." He knew portraying as a doctor and learning the terms would come in handy one day. Even if Rolando said it was going to be useless for him, it finally came in handy. Plus who knows what could go wrong restoring this place and it took too long for a doctor to get here.

Risa was unimpressed with him since he made it sound like she was dumb. She wasn't dumb, she just didn't know the word. "Yes, that does sound right." She confirmed pursuing her lips and playing with her sleeves. His cooky nature was bugging her and she was wondering if Rolando's suggestion was actually worth it being stuck with Vincent.

Vincent nodded and then looked over at the paintings. "The duchess has a family that is waiting for her in Paris, which is such a coincidence that you need to go to Paris to find your family. She is your age and you look just like the girl in the picture just older. Can't you see the resemblance?" He said in such a nonchalant way.

Risa shook her head, crossing her arms. He was getting ridiculous and getting on her nerves. "I am sure it is merely a coincidence or something of that nature. Who doesn't have family in another country? I think we might be astrological twins, born on the same day, and look just like each other." She was uncompressed with him.

Rolando knew she was thinking logically and he didn't blame her. They had no proof she was her and until they did, Vincent was going to drop this whole thing. "She does have a point, Vincent. I think it is best if you drop the whole subject and focus on helping her find her family."

Vincent sighed, Rolando was right and who knows, time would tell if she could really pass or be the duchess. Not that he believed she was. "Look, if you aren't going to take the deal, that is fine. We really would love to help. So far, it has been a no. I hope you have a nice day and hope you get to Paris." He turned around and walked off.

Rolando looked between the two, turning and going after Vincent. He was flaming at the younger boy, did he just do what he did? "What are you doing, Vincent?" He snapped at the young boy. "Why are we walking away? We need to help this girl get to Paris and find her family!" He exclaimed.

Vincent sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Just relax, Rolando, I have this under control. She will end up giving in, as they all do! If she's desperate to go, then she will take the offer and go! I know what I'm doing. Trust me for once." He wanted Rolando to trust him in his decisions.

Rolando was in no mood to argue with the boy. "Fine. I just hope your right, if not it's your fault you blew a chance to help this girl. I will send a letter to Stella saying we are bringing a guest, I am sure she will be happy." He said, angrily at first, then getting love-struck when he said Stella's name. It was strange that he could be happy and be angry at the same time.

Vincent was cringing since he hated everything with love. It made him want to throw up. It was gross. He never understood the whole love and marriage thing. "Why don't you just marry Stella and get it over with." He said sarcastically humming the wedding song. "I am sure she is waiting for you to propose."

Rolando looked over at Vincent with a very impressed look. "If I do and you keep acting like that, you won't be the best man." He paused as he stopped at the steps. "I have everything planned out, the time will come soon for me to ask to marry her. I already have her father's agreement, I just got to finish the plans." He was taking so much care into this.

Vincent looked over at him with raised eyebrows. "You would honestly do that to me? Come on Rolando. You can't be serious!" He was a bit hurt about him saying he could end up not being the best man. Of course, he could not have meant it and was just trying to see what he would do to get back in his graces. Not gonna happen.

Rolando nodded, he was going to show this boy more tough love if it was the last thing he would do. "Yes, I would. You have to understand asking her hand in marriage isn't some simple thing. I love her so much, I want the best for her! That is why I am taking my time in planning. You will someday understand."

Vincent rolled his eyes. "Now I see where you're really at in this game. It is ridiculous all the time you are taking to plan something that will be over in five minutes. You ask. She says yes. You go on about your life preparing for the marriage. What planning does that have?" He asked rhetorically.

Rolando was very disappointed to see him act this way. Yes, he knew he never had a mother or father figure. He did his best to fill in where his parents lacked. "You think this is a game? This is no game. You are so self-centered you can't think about someone else. If you were in my shoes you would be doing the same."

Vincent groaned, running a hand through his hair. "Will you stop with all this stuff Rolando! I'm getting so sick and tired of you saying, 'All I care about is myself.' Tell me something I don't already know. Who cares if I do? It has gotten me this far, why should I stop now?" He said getting defensive.

Rolando was going to drop this whole subject and let it alone. "Let's just drop this and hope Risa agrees to come along with us. It is the least we can do when she had so many dreams and they all had crashed around her. She has had so much disappointment in her life. Let's change that."

Meanwhile, Risa sighed sitting on the steps and looking down at Loyal. She was having a battle with her feelings on what she should do. She wanted to go so badly. This may be her only opportunity to go! She didn't want to be stuck with Vincent yet again she had no choice either. She wanted to find her family, so she knew what she needed to do.

She took a deep breath, stood up, then followed the two "Vincent, Rolando, wait up a minute! Hold on, wait up for me!" She was in no mood to run so she just hurried over. She would agree and go with them, it was her chance and she was gonna take it. "I know you can hear me! Just wait."

Vincent turned around trying to hide his smug reaction to her hurrying after them. "Sorry, sorry. Rolando and I were deep in conversation. Have you changed your mind? Will you accept and come with us?" He knew the answer but he still was going to ask it.

Risa nodded her head, picking up her dog and holding her. "I really want to go to Paris and since you have a passport, it couldn't hurt to tag along. Loyal goes too, she is my companion and wherever I go, she goes." She had to make it clear that her dog was coming. There was no way she was departing from her beloved friend. Her only friend.

Rolando was so happy she had decided to agree. Even though Vincent's way was a little farfetched, it still worked. "Of course you can bring her. This is wonderful! Paris, I am coming for you~!" He exclaimed with the biggest smile ever. One step closer to seeing his beloved Stella, his girlfriend.

Risa tilted her head to the side at Rolando and his enthusiasm about her agreeing to come. "Why is he so happy about going to Paris?" She asked, rubbing Loyal's head. She knew why she was excited to find her family, yet she had no clue why he was.

Vincent sighed, rolling his eyes at his guardian. "He's got a girl there who he can't wait to see. His girlfriend, Stella, his future wife who he still is planning to ask her to marry." He said, mocking how happy Rolando was about his girlfriend. It made him sick. Love was a fickle thing he wanted no part in ever.

Risa was awestruck by what she had been told. "Aw, that is so romantic. This Stella is such a blessed girl that she is waiting for you. Paris is the city of love after all. I want my own romance, another dream that is silly of me to think." She sighed looking down at Loyal. She had a long way to go before she could even think about love.

Rolando was glad to have someone who supported his actions. Love was such a pure wholesome thing to him. "It is nice to have someone who doesn't mock me. Vincent always mocks me when I say her name or I get a flutter in my heart. He doesn't understand love at all, no matter how much I taught, he never carried."

Risa looked over at Vincent and smirked. "Aw, so Vincent doesn't want to be a daddy and get married, does he?" She cooed in a baby way, teasing him since it was funny to see his reaction. There must have been something major for him to not like love at all. She knew it wasn't her place to ask anything about it.

Vincent's ear tips grew red and he looked flustered. "WHAT! I do not! I hate kids, not a fan of them. Never have been a kid person, they always cry or act like children. Can't handle them. Plus love is fickle and flaky, not something I want to be tied down to." He went on his little rant being as stubborn as he always was.

Risa looked at Vincent and shook her head. "I was joking, Vincent. You need to lighten up a bit. Get loose. Don't be so uptight it is very unflattering on you." He was so annoying, like many older kids back at the orphanage who she loathed to be about. He reminded her of a few boys she was glad to have left.

Vincent rolled his eyes at her words. She was ridiculous. He couldn't believe he was going to be stuck with his girl. "I'm serious Risa. I don't kid. Never have joked around in my life. I don't understand the whole joking thing. It isn't funny it is dumb." He pointed out, crossing his arms over his chest.

Rolando was not going to have them keep on bickering like this. "Alright, come on, let's get that passport fixed up for Risa so we can go." He shooed them to the common room so they could get on their way so they could get to Paris soon. He hoped the rest of the ride was going to be perfect.

Of course, it was going to be a long way to Paris, and what was in store for them no one could have ever expected or who was watching their every move. It was not going to be any walk in the park for anyone on this trip.

❅~❅~❅~❅~❅~❅~❅~❅~❅~❅~❅

A/N:
I am getting back into the roll of getting the chapters edited and posted. As I keep saying, it is a blessing I have had so much of these wrote up so I have very little to do with writing everything from scratch. Such a blessing. So prepare for more updates in this book!

Chapter Talk:
Sorry if this chapter is a little long. I didn't take away much from what I had and I did add a bunch. I just really liked what I had and didn't want to compromise this just to make it shorter. I may end up later merging chapters together but right now, some will be longer than others and I will not change that.

Goodness, I love Vincent. I love writing that boy he is such a fun character! Eek, he is one of my babies, my puppy kittens, my sweet, sweet childs who I will do all in my power to protect. I mean he has grown up from when I started to write him. I added more and matured him a bit since I am quite maturer than I was when I started writing this. He will have a whole lot of character development and I can promise you that

And lastly, anything else I forgot ask away my pals. I am happy to answer anything!

In closing, all rude, impolite and mean comments will be replied to in a diplomatic way, reported or deleted if I feel like it is attacking me personally.

Thanks for reading!