"Where have you been?" Mother hissed as I walked up to her. Her cheeks were flushed, and she looked quite distressed.

"Oh . . . I was dancing." I lied. "Didn't you see me?"

"There is no way that you were dancing. I haven't seen you all night, Erika." She snapped, arms crossed.

"Alright, fine. I was not feeling well so I took a walk in the gardens." Of course, it was another lie, but it was better than admitting the truth. She would not be pleased if she found out what I'd really been doing.

She narrowed her eyes at me, pressing her lips into a thin line. "I see . . . and is it just a coincidence that Prince William was missing also?"

Immediately, I felt my face heat up and I opened my mouth to deny the accusation imbedded in her words, but she was already nodding her head, her eyes holding a knowing look that was all too familiar, but infuriated me, all the same.

"Erika," she said, her voice holding a note of condescension. "You do know—"

"Yes, Mother. I do know." And I don't need you to repeat it again, are the words that I wanted to say, but could not.

She inclined her head slightly, her eyes meeting mine. "Then you would be wise to listen to me, dear." she said softly. Her steel gray eyes—the same as my own—held a warning that words could not express.

I felt myself backing down under her cold gaze. I bit my lip and looked away.

She smiled coldly at me and patted my arm. "That's better. Now, be a good girl and go dance with at least a few men before we leave."

My hands were shaking; I was so angry. I was about to reply, but she did not give me a chance.

"Ah, here we are." She said, smiling to someone behind me.

I turned to see who she was looking at and found an attractive man standing close by.

"Perfect timing. Erika, this is Jeremiah de Clare. You two should get to know each other." The smile that was plastered onto her face was sweet and charming and possibly the most superficial thing I'd ever seen.

I looked at Jeremiah, who had bright green eyes and golden hair the color of wheat. He smiled timidly at me. "Would you like to dance?" He asked, holding out his hand. His voice was deeper than expected.

No, I wanted to shout. I do not want to dance with you. But, just as Mother expected, I set down the book William had given me, and took Jeremiah's offered hand and let him lead me between dancing couples until we were in the middle of it all.

I curtsied and he bowed and we began to dance. Unfortunately, two dance lessons were not enough to make me a dancer. I stepped on his foot occasionally and stumbled once and I felt as though I could die from embarrassment.

Finally—it was the longest few minutes of my life—the song came to an end and we stepped away from the dancing couples.

"Well, that was . . . erm . . ." I could tell he was trying to find something nice to say about it, but was failing miserably.

"I'm terribly sorry. I know I can't dance." I said, my face burning.

"No, no, you were alright." At least he was a gentleman, trying to spare my feelings.

"Just tell my mom that it was lovely and then you never have to see me again." I answered flatly.

He did not argue. "Well, if you insist . . ." He bowed and walked away, leaving me by myself, in a state of misery.

I stood back, in the shadows, watching happy couples dance and laugh merrily, many of them intoxicated after too much wine. I saw Jeremiah de Clare dancing with Alice not long after and it just made me want to curl in on myself.

Bastard. I thought bitterly and looked away, wishing I could just leave already.

It was much later when my mother came over to me. "We are leaving, Erika." She said and began walking away, expecting me to follow.

And I did, like a dumb little lamb, always too trusting, always too willing, and in the end, would be the one to get eaten by wolves.

When we got back to the estate that night, I was exhausted and trudged up to bed without so much as a "goodnight."

I undressed and got into a nightgown and fell into bed and was asleep almost instantly. But it was a troubled, restless sleep.

I spent most of the following day looking forward to meeting William. Today was a free day for me. I did not have any lessons, or anyone to meet, so I spent the day reading in the garden. It was nice, not having anything to do.

It was unusually warm for this time of year, as it was almost winter. I wanted to take advantage of the warm weather while I could.

The sun began to set and Agnes appeared in the doorway leading to the garden. "Dinner is ready, Miss Lovet."

I smiled at her, shutting my book. "Thank you, Agnes." I said, and went inside to have dinner with my family.

During our meal, Alice was very talkative. Apparently, she'd danced with Prince William and was extremely happy about that. She could not stop talking about him, her eyes alight with excitement. I picked at the food on my plate, listening as she went on.

I glanced at Mother, who was smiling, listening intently to what Alice had to say. I glanced over at Father, who was reading a book, occasionally giving and "I see," or mumbled agreement, although I knew he was not listening.

"And he has an amazing smile," she went on, to which Mother nodded, still listening. "His teeth are really white . . ."

I finished my meal and excused myself, so I didn't have to listen to Alice talk anymore. I went up to my bedroom and thought about how I could leave the house without being noticed. I went to my balcony doors and briefly considered tying my bed sheets to the railing and climbing down, but I would most likely end up falling and breaking my neck.

So, in the end, I took the key to my bedroom and locked the door from the outside if someone came to my door they would think I was asleep. And then I went out the door to the garden and around front.

I was pleased with myself for sneaking out without my mother noticing. Since it was getting late, it would have been unfair of me to call on Walter, who was probably in bed, so I decided I would walk.

The walk was not extremely long, but it was difficult when I was only wearing satin slippers on my feet, not helpful for walking in the least. I walked for some time, with only the kerosene streetlamps to guide me. Eventually, I could see the palace looming above me.

I got to the gates and I found William leaning against the tree, where he had waited the last few times we'd met. I felt myself smiling as I walked toward him.

"Good evening, William." I said.

He smiled. "Good evening, Erika." He took my hand and began walking toward the gates, so I followed.

We did not go up the stairs to the palace, but instead, around the back to the garden. It was quiet, except for the soft chirping of crickets and the occasional hoot of an owl. We sat on a bench beside the fountain, where the water added to the soft noises of nature that enveloped us.

"I heard you danced with my sister yesterday," I started, a small smile pulling at my mouth.

His cheeks darkened in the moonlight. "I did."

"It's alright. But she talked about it—and you—so much that I got tired of hearing about you."

"I'm flattered." He replied in a teasing voice.

"As you should be. I think she is a little bit infatuated with you." I stated.

He leaned in close to me, his eyes sparkling. "Is she the only one?" He asked softly, a hint of mischief hidden in his words.

I felt my cheeks heat up and looked away to hide my smile. "I doubt she's the only one."

"What about you, Miss Lovet?" His voice was low and a little husky.

I looked up and met his sapphire eyes. He was so close that I could feel his warm breath on my cheek. "I would not call it an infatuation." I whispered.

He raised an eyebrow. "What would you call it, then?"

Love. But I did not say that. I just turned away and looked out toward the garden.

"Erika?"

"Yes?"

"You're blushing." He said.

This only made me blush deeper. "How can you tell? It's dark out."

He laughed softly. "It's not that dark out."

I smiled and looked down.

We had lots to talk about, as we always did, it seemed. We talked late into the night, about a lot of different things. And I found that William made me laugh quite a lot. I heard the monastery bell chime the hour, but it only chimed once.

"Is it really one o'clock?" I asked, surprised.

He looked up at the clock tower and nodded. "I guess so."

"Well," I said, standing. "I should go."

He stood too. "I'll walk with you."

We walked back through the gates, where the guards were posted, still standing alert at this hour. He walked me back down the cobbled street.

"Did you walk here?" He asked.

"Yes," I nodded my head.

"I don't want you walking alone at this hour." He said. "You can borrow a palace carriage."

"That would draw too much attention. My mother would most likely see or hear the carriage from her bedroom." I explained.

"Then, at least let me walk with you." He offered.

"You're the prince," I replied. "You shouldn't be walking the streets this late at night, either."

He thought for a moment, his eyes drifting skyward. And then he smiled and told me he'd be right back before walking off. He came back a moment later, another man in tow.

"Erika, this is Commander Gabriel Thorel. He is the commander of the Royal Guard and just happened to be on duty tonight. He agreed to escort us both to the Lovet estate." William said, motioning to the man standing at attention beside him.

I looked over Commander Thorel, who seemed to be rather young to be a commander. He looked to be in his mid to late twenties. He had dirty blond hair and pale blue eyes. He stood rigidly beside William, wearing his dark blue uniform, as customary for anyone in the guard. Of course, his had more pins because he was higher in ranking.

I narrowed my eyes at him. "You look too young for this position."

He inclined his head at my comment. "I am." His voice sounded younger than expected, making me think he was more in his early twenties.

I curtsied to him. "Oh, well thank you for walking with us, Commander. It is greatly appreciated." I said as respectfully as I could.

He nodded his head, looking me over, and then turned to William. "Shall we go?"

William nodded and we began walking. He leaned in close to me. "Gabriel and I have been friends since we were children. He had trained with the Guard since he was young, because his father was the previous commander. So, when his father died, he was offered the position of commander, at eighteen."

"Eighteen? He was still practically a child! How old is he know?" I asked quietly.

"Twenty-two." William said.

Gabriel cleared his throat from behind us. "I can hear you."

"Well, it's not a secret." William grinned at his friend, who offered a small smile in return.

"I supposed not. But you should tell the story correctly. The only reason I got this position was because my father and William's father were friends."

William glared indignantly at the Commander, who smiled wryly. "That is not true!"

"Isn't it?" He said vaguely and then dropped the subject completely.

As we walked, we continued our conversation from earlier. It felt like no time was passing, and then, all too quickly, we were standing before the door to the house.

Gabriel stepped out of sight to give us some privacy, but I knew he was listening.

William and I stood in front of the door, neither of us saying anything. There were so many things I wanted to say to him, but all I could manage was, "Goodnight, William."

He smiled and took my hand, pressing his lips to it. "Until tomorrow, Erika." He said softly.

"Until tomorrow." I repeated, pulling my hand gently from his grip. I pushed open the door and stepped into the house and shut it behind me. I leaned against the door for a moment, waiting for my heart, which was beating erratically, to steady itself, before I walked up the stairs to bed, thoughts of William still hovering in my mind as I drifted off to sleep.

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This was the end of chapter six. 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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