For the next two weeks, that was how it went. I would meet William after dark, so my family—mostly Mother—never found out. We grew closer, spending more time with each other every night. We did different things when I went to the palace. We would walk down the streets and talk about anything and everything that came to mind. Sometimes, we would go to the palace library and find a little nook to ourselves and just read. Other times, we would go to his room and sit together on the divan and read or talk there. And then there were times, we would be in his room, and we would just end up falling asleep together.

The best thing about our time with each other was that we didn't have to always be talking. There were times when I would meet him and we didn't have to say anything. We would go do something where talking was not required, like reading, or sleeping, or occasionally walking.

It was so perfect that sometimes it felt like a dream. That I would wake up and none of it had been real. But, so far, it seemed real to me.

However, one day, before I'd left to go meet William, I'd made one fatal mistake.

I walked through the door and into the house, after the walk home from the palace. And, where the hallway was usually dark, a kerosene lantern was lit and my mother was sitting in a chair before the door.

She narrowed her sharp eyes at me, standing. "Where have you been, Erika?"

Panic flared inside me. How did she know? "I went for a walk," I said quickly.

She nodded slowly. "I went to talk to you in your room earlier but you hadn't been there."

I swallowed hard, wanting to bang my head against the wall. I'd forgotten to lock the door.

"Like I said, I was on a walk." I repeated.

She smiled grimly at me. "Tell me, dear . . . did you really walk for six hours?"

I hesitated, knowing that I could not talk my way out of this. "No." I replied laconically, meeting her eyes.

"I see. And I'm guessing this is not the first time that you have snuck out of the house. Am I correct?" She crossed her arms, watching me with her cold stormy eyes.

"Yes, you are." I said honestly.

"And where have you been going?" She asked.

I inclined my head just slightly. "I do not wish to tell you that."

Mother smiled a predator's smile, stepping toward me. "Because you know I won't approve. Well, you are not wrong. I know where you've been going. Why else would you leave the house, late at night, when I would not be watching?"

"There are plenty of reasons!" I exclaimed indignantly.

She raised an eyebrow at me. "Like?"

I opened my mouth to respond, but I did not have an answer. She laughed softly, and the sound rang out in my ears, haunting me.

"I didn't think you would have anything. Go up to bed. And if I discover that there have been anymore . . ." she paused, seeming to search for the right words. "Midnight excursions, there will be consequences. Consider this your warning."

"Yes, Mother," I replied softly and made my way up to bed.

"Good girl. You should do what you're told more often." Her words repeated themselves in my head throughout the night, working their way into my dreams, waking me up in the morning. I could feel rage building up beneath my skin, but, like always, I shoved it deep inside of myself, out of sight.

I handed Walter the note and he bowed, shoving it into the pocket of his coat, before going over to the carriage and driving off. I was having him deliver a letter to Prince William, since I could not meet him tonight. Mother was too suspicious; I did not want to get caught again.

I tried more than usual to avoid Mother. I did not want to speak to her, or be around her, after last night.

And I succeeded. She did not interrupt me during my lessons, nor did she oversee my dancing lessons. I took breakfast in my room, so I would not run into her, as well as my midday meal. The only time I would have to see her, or speak with her, was during dinner, which I had begun to dread.

Agnes came to retrieve me for dinner, and I went down to the dining room, where Alice and Father were already waiting to eat. Mother joined us a moment later and took her seat and we all began eating.

She and my sister began talking about potential suitors, but both of them kept circling back to Prince William. Every time they mentioned him, I felt myself stiffen, wishing they'd move on to a different topic.

Father looked as though he felt much the same way. For different reasons, of course. He was sitting at the head of the table, slouching, his eyes looking dull, no doubt because of this particular conversation that seemed endless.

I started celebrating in my head when he interrupted the conversation. "That's enough of that sort of talk. There are more important things in this world than suitors and love and such."

"Hardly," Mother sniffed pompously.

Father ignored her comment. "How was your day, Alice?" He asked my sister.

"It was lovely, Father. And how was yours?" She asked.

"My day was good. I got lots of work done." He replied, smiling. He turned to my mother. "And how was your day, dear?"

"My day was fine, thank you." She said, smiling faintly.

He turned to me. "And yours?"

"It was alright, thank you for asking." I said quietly, answering how I was expected to answer, which was not exactly truthful.

"Very good." He said brightly, after we had all finished our polite exchange.

Everyone excused themselves from the table and went off to their own places. I went up to my room, shutting the door. I changed into a nightgown and threw myself onto my bed. It was quiet and peaceful, so I got out my book and began to read.

I had not been reading for very long, when I heard a soft tapping on the balcony door. Startled, I glanced up, but I saw nothing out there, so I turned back to my book.

The tapping sound came again, interrupting my reading. Feeling slightly irritated at being disturbed, I shut my book and walked over to the balcony doors. I pushed the door open and nearly screamed, stumbling backwards and toppling a chair.

William stood on my balcony, his clothes rumpled. He watched me nearly collapse from fright at the sight of him standing on my balcony.

"William," I gasped, my heart beating so loudly, I was surprised he couldn't hear it. "What the hell are you doing here?"

He flashed me a mischievous smile. "Well, when you told me you couldn't meet me, I decided to come visit you." He replied casually.

"How on earth did you get up here?" I asked, looking over the railing. It was quite far to the ground.

"I climbed." He said, grinning.

"You climbed? From the ground? That's two stories." Just the thought sent ice into my veins. I shuddered and turned to look at him.

Besides his clothes being rumpled and torn in places, he seemed completely fine. He nodded at me. "Yes, I climbed. Your room is very far up, Erika." He said seriously, as though he were going to reprimand me for my room being on the second floor.

I was about to object to this, but he spoke again. He looked around my room, nodding appraisingly. "You have a nice room."

"I . . . thank you?" I replied uncertainly.

He looked at me, his blue eyes meeting my own.

The first thing that came to mind was that I did not want Mother knowing he was here. She would skin me alive if she found out, so I walked over to my door and locked it, and bolted it . . . just in case.

I looked back to find William watching me with a bemused expression. I felt my cheeks heat up under his gaze and I looked away. "My mother cannot know you're here." I explained. "We will both meet an unpleasant end if she finds out."

"Ah, I see." He nodded and walked over to me. He wrapped his arms around me, pulling me against him and I melted into his embrace. "I know it's only been a day, but . . . I missed you." His voice was soft, and so close that his breath tickled my ear.

I closed my eyes, nodding. "I missed you too," I said softly.

We sat on my bed and talked for a little while. And soon after, we ended up lying beside each other on my bed, his arm draped loosely around me, keeping me close to him. My head was resting on his chest, and his head was resting against mine. I could feel his chest rise and fall with each breath he took, could hear his heart beating steadily.

We did not speak, but neither of us were sleeping. It was quiet in the dark room, the only light coming from the fire in the hearth, which was just embers at this point. I felt myself getting sleepy as I lay against William. And soon enough, I'd drifted off to sleep. When I awoke the next morning, Prince William was gone and it was almost as though he had never been there at all.

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This was the end of chapter seven. I hope you like the story so far! If you see anything that is a mistake or grammatical error, feel free to leave a comment and tell me what needs to change.

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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