At the palace . . .

William reached the door to the king's throne room and knocked upon it. It was opened a moment later by one Gabriel's guards. William nodded to him and the guard bowed at the waist as his prince entered the room.

William walked into the room and paused in the center and bowed low to his father, who regarded him in a detached manner. William noticed that his mother was also sitting in the smaller, more elegant throne next to the king, but she did not meet his eyes, only stared at the far wall, a determined look upon her face.

"Your Majesty," he murmured to his sovereign and then to the queen.

"Rise," King Henry commanded, and William obeyed.

He met his father's dark eyes and then he turned to his mother, who was not looking at him, her mouth pressed into a thin line. "You called on me?" He said to his father.

Disregarding all formalities, the king got straight to the point. "You will be marrying Lady Alice Lovet this spring."

William blinked at him, momentarily surprised. He knew he'd heard what the king had said, but felt as though the words had passed over him. "I see."

His father only nodded. "You are going to be spending a lot of time with her until then. And I do not care where you real feelings lie, nor do I want you to tell me, but you are going to act like they lie with her and try to make your feelings for her real."

"Your Majesty," William began carefully. "I do not want to marry Lady Alice."

The king cut a scathing glare toward his son. "I just told you that I do not care. Pretend you do. Lie. That does not concern me. But you are forbidden from seeing that other girl. She does not exist to you."

He felt offended on Erika's behalf that the king did not even care to know her name and had labeled her as, "that other girl." There were so many things that William wanted to say to his father, and none of them kind or appropriate for speaking to the king, so he said nothing.

"William," King Henry's voice held a note of warning. "I am serious. I am putting an end to . . . whatever your relationship with that girl was. You will forget about her and marry Lady Alice."

William nodded, his jaw clenched. "Father," he said hurriedly. "You must understand—"

"I do not want to understand, William. Whatever it was . . . it is over. Surely, you understand that this is for the good of the kingdom?"

Exhaling, William nodded. "Of course." It always is. He thought bitterly.

"Then I do not want you to argue with me about this. There will be a ball within the next few weeks in honor of your engagement. I want you to spend time with Lady Alice, making decisions about the wedding. All of Belhaven will be there, if possible." The king grinned, but it looked more like he was baring his teeth.

William turned pleading eyes on his mother, who should understand his suffering more than anyone. And she met his eyes with her own blue ones, and he saw a flash of sympathy there, before she shook her head and her face became a carefully expressionless mask.

He clenched his jaw so hard that his teeth hurt. He turned back to his father and bowed. "As you wish, Your Majesty." He said coldly.

His father waved a jeweled hand at his son. "You are dismissed."

William turned on his heel and exited the room, not glancing anywhere but straight ahead as the door was opened for him. He was blinded by his frustration. Why can't he just understand? Was the thought running through William's head over and over again.

He reached his room and did not even glance at his friend Gabriel, who stood guard outside his door as he pushed it open and stepped inside.

"William," Gabriel was casual about calling William by his first name when they were alone. William did not mind, although his rank required the title of "Your Highness," or such, usually. Gabriel was the exception. "What happened?"

He turned to his friend, his hands shaking. "I am marrying Lady Alice."

Gabriel raised an eyebrow. "Were you not, already?"

William, at a loss for words, just shook his head. He clapped a hand onto the commander's shoulder and then slammed the door to his room shut.

He'd tried reading, but he could not focus on the words. Every time he tried to absorb the words, he would get distracted and discover that he had missed pages and had no idea what was happening.

After another hour of this, there was a knock on the door. He slammed the book shut and turned toward the door. "Enter," he called.

He expected it to be Gabriel, and was surprised when his mother opened the door. "Mother," he greeted coldly, turning toward the book that he was still holding.

The bed shifted and dipped slightly as Queen Alexia sat next to him. She placed a small hand on his arm. "William," her voice was soft.

He stiffened under her touch, not wanting to be comforted. He just wanted to be left alone. "What do you want?" His words sounded dull and expressionless to his own ears, not holding the sting he'd gone for. Even though she was his mother, she was still the queen and her title demanded more respect than he was giving her. Though, she did not reprimand him for it.

She spoke softly, as though speaking loudly would make the palace come down around them. "I know you are upset. But this is for the best—"

He recoiled from her touch, as though she had burned him. "I do not care that this is for the best. I do not want to marry her." He knew he sounded like a spoiled child throwing a fit, but he hardly cared at the moment.

"I know." She sighed. "But this is your job, William. You are supposed to do what's right for your country, which is your first priority over what you want."

He nodded. "Yes, but that was before I met her." They both knew who he was talking about.

Queen Alexia pulled her son into her arms, hugging him gently. He sighed and returned the embrace, which he found comfort in, even now, as his world seemed to be falling apart. "I know that you will make the best decision, no matter what it is. Do what you think is right and you will never go wrong."

William found those words hard to listen to. He did not want to hear that. "That is not true, Mother. It is very likely that I could make a wrong decision."

"Everyone does, William. Your father has made many wrong decisions. But in the midst of all that, he has made many right decisions, too." She offered him a small, reassuring smile.

He nodded and closed his eyes, exhaling slowly. "Do you think I should marry her?"

"It does not matter what I think." She replied.

He pulled back to look her in the eyes.

She smiled and pulled a ring off of her ring finger. She placed it in William's hand.

Looking down at his hand, he found that it was the family ring. The ring had been passed down through their family for generations. Each son of the royal family had been given the ring by their mother to give to their future wife.

The ring was a thin band of gold, with words engraved on the surface in a beautiful, ancient language. Elegant gold designs were etched into the surface along with the words and small diamonds wound their way around the golden ring. And right on the center of the band, sat the royal crest: a shield divided into quarters to define what Belhaven stood for, and wrapped around the shield was a dragon. The ring was small, so it was not a detailed engraving, but it was still very symbolic. It was a ring meant to be worn by a woman, not a man. It was meant for Erika, he thought despairingly.

He closed his hand around the ring and looked up at him mother, surprised. "I am supposed to give this to Lady Alice." He said slowly.

His mother placed her small hand over his larger one, shaking her head. "Think about it and then decide who you think should wear the ring. I know you will do what is best, and what is right."

He was perplexed by his mother's words, detecting a hidden, unspoken meaning, but he pocketed the ring, all the same.

She smiled at him and nodded, standing. After smoothing out her skirts, she patted his arm gently. "But . . . try not to anger your father so much as you decide. He does not need that."

"Of course, Mother." He murmured and watched as she exited his room and shut his door.

Once he was alone again, he pulled out the ring. Laying down on his bed, he stared at the golden band, thinking over his mother's words.

I know you will do what is best, and what is right.

His heart sank as he thought about Erika, and what she would think of him. He closed his eyes, dropping the ring back into his pocket. He had to go meet her tonight.

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This was the end of chapter fifteen. I hope you like the story! Sorry, it may take me a little longer to post chapters than before. School has started for the year and I will not be posting chapters as frequently as before. I will try to post still a few times a week though. Thanks!

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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