I awoke the following morning to a knock at my door. I looked around to find that I was no longer sitting in the chair by the fire; I was lying in my bed, and William was not in my room. I went to the door and unlocked it, sliding the bolt out.

Agnes came in, her eyes sparkling, as she smiled at me. "Good morning, Miss." She said, setting down my breakfast tray on my bed.

"Good morning, Agnes." I said, smiling, a little surprised by her enthusiastic countenance. She was usually quiet and timid.

She curtsied to me and exited so that I could eat my breakfast. After I had eaten my breakfast, I bathed and dressed in a simple pale blue gown and tied my hair back to keep it out of my eyes.

I went to the library for my lessons, where Miss Grimoult droned on, and I could hardly stay awake. She smacked my wrist a few times for dozing off during her lessons. It was so boring; it would be hard not to fall asleep.

I stopped paying attention partway through and was staring out the window, at the dust swirling through the streams of sunlight.

"Erika Lovet," Miss Grimoult snapped sharply, implying that had not been the first time she had tried to get my attention. "Have you heard anything I've said?"

I looked up at her. "Not really, Miss Grimoult." I said truthfully.

"Well, since you have hardly heard a thing I've said, this is a waste of time. You may go." She shooed me toward the door.

I thanked her and hurried out of the library. I ate my midday meal in the kitchen, watching everyone work. It was a small platter of soft cheeses and fresh bread and fruit.

I had a lovely conversation with Chef Louis as he prepared our dinner. He talked quite a lot about his home life in Renwick—a country just north of Belhaven.

He spoke of how he and his family had been refugees during the War of Sierre, when the people of Sierre had turned to slaughtering the people of Renwick. They traveled to Belhaven to seek refuge and found that they quite liked it here. Apparently, Louis' father was the village blacksmith and had made a name for himself. He'd done work for people of his own stature all the way up to royalty.

Louis continued chatting amiably as he kneaded bread dough, seasoned the pork roast, and chopped vegetables, pausing only briefly to direct servants and kitchen staff.

I listened to his long, well-told story, until one of the younger servants of the house came into the room. "Miss Lovet," she said, her voice soft. "Your mother is asking for you in the ballroom. She will not wait long."

I'd completely forgotten about my dance lessons! "Thank you." I said, standing. I thanked Louis and told him he should tell me the rest of his story at a later date, to which he replied with exuberance, "You bet I will!"

I smiled and made my way to the ballroom. Mother and Monsieur de La Reue were waiting for me when I entered.

Mother was glaring at me, her arms crossed, her face severe. If I were being honest, she didn't look much different from how she usually looked. "You are late. Where have you been, Erika?"

"I was in the kitchen, Mother." I said and then turned to Monsieur de La Reue. "Good afternoon, Monsieur de La Reue."

He nodded his head curtly at me, his eyes narrowed. "Good afternoon, Lady Erika."

And so went my dance lessons. I had to admit, I was much better than I had been when I started. Now, I only stepped on his feet when I was not paying attention. It was no longer because I just did not know how to dance. But this dance, I hardly made any mistakes, besides an occasional misstep.

Mother watched me dance, her eyes narrowed, lips pursed in a thin line. When the musicians finished playing the song, I turned toward her, proud of my improvements. "What did you think, Mother?" I asked her eagerly.

"You need more practice," was all she said.

My shoulders drooped a little, my smile sliding off of my face.

Then her eyes lit up. "Ah, Alice, there you are."

Alice entered the room, looking at Mother. "You called, Mother?"

"Yes, I did. I want you to dance with Monsieur de La Reue, to show Erika how to do it." said Mother, smiling at her eldest daughter.

"Alright," Alice said and flounced over to the dance instructor.

The musicians started up again and Alice danced with Monsieur de La Reue. They were excellent; graceful and poised, gliding across the floor as though they were floating.

He spun her and she flowed with it, her dress swirling around her ankles. Neither of them smiled, nor looked anywhere but at each other. This was strictly a professional thing. They were not having fun, or doing it for entertainment. Why would one dance, even if they were quite good, but did not like it?

Finally, the music came to a close and they stopped dancing. Alice walked over to where Mother and I stood, her eyes cold. "Is that all?"

I looked at Mother, who was grinning proudly at Alice. "See, Erika? That is how one dances. Do not ask me how you've done until you can dance like her."

Alice curtsied derisively, a mocking smile finding its way to her lips. "You will get there eventually, Sister." She said softly.

I felt my lip quiver slightly, but I forced a smile onto my face. "Yes, I know, Alice. One day, I will dance like you, maybe even better. Thank you for showing me how it is done."

A look of disdain crossed her face; she was displeased with my reaction, which I found quite satisfying.

"Of course. I am always happy to be of service." But the tone of her voice said otherwise. And with that, she curtsied to Monsieur de La Reue and then Mother, before exiting the room.

I turned to Mother and she glanced at me. "Keep dancing." she said, and then left, probably to go after Alice, and, to my great displeasure, I was left alone with Monsieur de La Reue.

I decided to go see William later that night. I locked the door to my bedroom and tiptoed down to the front door, watching for creaky floorboards or furniture I might bump into. I found our footman waiting by the door.

"What are you doing out here, Howard?" I asked, as it was long after he should have been off duty. He stood as I walked toward him.

"Good evening, Miss Lovet. And where might you be off to?" He asked pleasantly, ignoring my own question.

Oh, that's why he was out here. "I just thought I would go for a walk." I said warily. I pulled out three gold coins from my purse and handed them over to Howard. "Just because you've been working so hard lately."

He smiled faintly, his eyes glinting at the coins now in his hand. "As far as I've seen, you have not left your room all evening, Miss." He said.

I smiled and pulled open the door, stepping out into the cold night, before shutting it behind me. I wondered briefly about whether I should be concerned that our staff could be bought so easily, but the thought soon left my mind as I made my way toward the palace.

When I got to the gate of the palace, I was saddened that William was not waiting under our tree. But I expected it a little, seeing as I had not been able to meet him of late.

William's friend, Commander Gabriel, was standing before one of the pillars attached to the palace gates, his stance rigid, his hand resting lightly on the hilt of his sword.

"Commander," I said softly, and immediately swords were drawn and aimed directly at me.

I froze, sucking in a breath sharply.

Gabriel recognized me. "At ease, soldiers." He said, and the soldiers put their weapons away.

"Lady Lovet," He said, sounding a little surprised as he came toward me. And then he smiled. "I would ask you what brought you to the castle, but I already know."

I smiled sheepishly at him. "Thank you for keeping your men from cutting my head off." I said.

He laughed softly, a sound I had not heard from him before. He looked younger when he laughed like that, and much more attractive. For the past few weeks, he had always escorted William and me to my house, and in that time, I had seen him smile very little, and I did not even realize that he could laugh. "It was my pleasure, my lady. I shall take you to see His Highness."

I thanked him as we walked up the path to the palace doors. He led me down the long corridor, and up the stairs, and down more corridors, before we ended up in front of William's door.

Gabriel bowed to me, and I curtsied and thanked him, to which he murmured some intelligible nonsense about it being his duty and then he turned and went back the way we'd come.

Turning back to the door before me, I tapped lightly on it.

I heard movement from inside the room, and then a moment later, the door opened and William stood in the doorway. He really had not expected me, for he was wearing only black trousers and a white dress shirt that was unbuttoned completely—suggesting he had most likely thrown it on hurriedly—which displayed his muscular chest, and, also, his hair was ruffled.

I felt my face heat up and I looked down at the floor, finding that he was barefoot. Forgetting that he was partially naked, I found that his being barefoot was somehow much more intimate. My face turned a bright shade of scarlet, and I looked up at him, opening my mouth to speak, but nothing came out.

He smiled slightly, leaning against the doorframe, arms crossed. "Do you like the view, Erika?" He asked teasingly.

Completely mortified, I smacked his arm.

He laughed softly and stepped out of the doorway to allow me into his room.

"I am terribly sorry I showed up unannounced. I did not realize you would be sleeping . . ." I swallowed hard, my eyes finding their way back to his taut stomach.

"I wasn't sleeping. I was going to, but I found a book to read instead." He said, buttoning up his shirt.

"Isn't that always the case?" I said distractedly. I sat on the divan before the fire and he took a seat beside me.

"I did not expect you to come tonight." He said, staring into the fire as he wrapped an arm around me.

I leaned into him, relishing the warmth of him. "I figured, seeing that you were . . . undressed."

He snorted. "I was not undressed. As you could see, I was wearing a shirt, and trousers."

"You were not wearing shoes." I explained, looking down at his still-bear feet, before returning my gaze to his face.

He looked at me as if I were mad. "You looked like you were going to faint from embarrassment because I was not wearing shoes?"  I nodded vigorously and he just burst into a fit of laughter. "You are the strangest woman I have ever met."

"I will take that as a complement, William." I said testily, my face flushing once more.

He just shook his head in bewilderment. "Only you would, Erika." He said, smiling slightly.

I looked about the room quietly for a moment, before speaking. "So . . . I have a question . . ." I began slowly.

He raised an eyebrow at me. "What is your question?"

"You go to many balls and events and you eat a lot of really expensive, rich foods, and yet, you have muscles and . . . a nice body. How is that possible?" I demanded, looking at him.

He cocked his head to the side, giving me a strange look. "Well, I train with Gabriel's men quite often. I'm an excellent swordsman. That may be why. What an odd question."

I felt a little bit embarrassed for asking, but I'd been really curious. I averted my gaze and my eyes fell to a book lying on the side-table beside us. I pulled away from William to read the title of the book, feeling William's eyes on me as I did so. Macbeth by William Shakespeare, it read. Smiling to myself, I picked up the book and began to read.

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Hey guys! Sorry this chapter was kind of uneventful. Of course, if every chapter was action-packed, none of it would be very interesting! So just bear with me! And you HAVE to reach chapter twelve. Personally, I think it's the best chapter. I promise, you will not be disappointed! <3

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P.S. Just a reminder: I know I've published this on the website, but I am still going to edit it just as I go, because I am still working on it. I haven't even finished writing it yet :P