When I arrived at the palace gates, I found William leaning against our tree. He looked up at me as I approached, but his expression was not exactly welcoming.

"Good evening, William," I said warily.

"Erika," he replied.

I stepped toward him, wrapping my arms around him. He dipped his head toward me and kissed me. So many things were said as our lips met, but neither of us spoke.

"I am to marry your sister." He murmured, his breath hot against my lips.

I closed my eyes, sighing. "I've heard. And you're going to do it?"

"Well, it is not like I have much of a choice." He sounded weary and I wondered how much sleep he'd lost over this.

My heart sank a little at his words, and I pulled away to look into his eyes. "Of course you have a choice! You are the one marrying her!" I said a little louder than necessary.

"It's not that simple!" He answered. "He is still my father, as well as king, and he has control over who I will wed."

I swallowed, feeling anger bubbling up inside of me, along with hurt. "You did not even try to persuade him?"

"What was I supposed to say?" His voice was softer now, and there was sorrow in his blue eyes.

"There are many things you could have said, William." My voice cracked a little on his name.

He opened his mouth to speak, but I cut him off.

"So, that is it. You are going to marry Alice."

His Adam's apple bobbed as he swallowed. He nodded his head, exhaling. "Yes, I am going to marry Alice."

I looked away. "Alright, then."

He reached for my hand, his fingers brushing against mine. "But we can still see each other—"

I quickly pulled my hand away. "You will be marrying my sister." I said coldly, turning to look at William. "This is the end of us. Alice and I are not close, nor do we get along, but she is still my sister, and I would not do that to her."

"Erika," William began again.

"Goodbye, William." I brushed my hand against his in a final farewell.

"Goodbye." He said softly into the darkness. And then I turned and walked away.

I could feel my heart breaking with each step I took away from the man I loved. I had always resented girls in books, who would talk about having a broken heart in such a literal sense, but now I understood. It hurt to walk away from him.

I made it around the corner, out of sight, and out of hearing range of our tree, before I burst into tears. I leaned against a small brick building as tears ran down my cheeks, dripping onto the cobbled street.

It took several minutes to compose myself after my little breakdown. I noticed how cold it was as I made the long walk back to the Lovet estate. The chill wind sighed, as if responding to my own feelings of remorse.

I brushed away more tears that would freeze on my cheeks, making my face cold and stiff.

After what felt like hours, I reached the front door of the house. I pushed the door open, relieved to find that my mother had not noticed my absence. I walked up the stairs as quietly as I could, to my room and shut the door, locking it, as not to be disturbed.

I sat before the fireplace, staring into the golden flames as they danced around the logs, consuming them. I held my hands in front of the fire in an attempt to unfreeze them. The room was quiet, save for the crackling of the logs in the fire, and I did not like it. I wished there was noise, to drown out my thoughts, to distract me. Even reading held no appeal for me on this night.

Somehow, I did not feel whole. As if, when I'd walked away from William, I'd left a part of myself with him. There was an empty feeling where my heart should have been, and I felt as though it would never be filled.

I rested my head against the back of the chair, staring at the mantle above the fireplace. I closed my eyes, trying to feel hate, or anger, or anything toward my mother, or sister, or even William, for this.

But I felt nothing.

I awoke to a sharp knock on my door. My neck was bent at an awkward angle and I was incredibly sore and stiff from falling asleep in the chair. I stood up and stretched. Everything seemed okay . . . until I remembered the previous evening.

Sighing heavily, I went over and opened my bedroom door.

Agnes stood there holding my breakfast tray. "Good morning, Miss." She said, pushing past me into my room.

"Good morning, Agnes." My voice sounded hoarse to my ears.

She pressed her lips together, giving me a sympathetic look. I had a feeling she knew what had transpired the previous night, without having to be told.

She set the tray down beside my bed and turned to me. "Do not worry, Miss." She said softly. "I am sure you will find someone soon."

I nodded my head, watching her. "Did you know about . . . us, then?"

She gave me a sheepish smile. "One night, I walked in on you and him talking. But I did not want to interrupt." And then she added hastily, when I gave her a look, "Do not worry, Miss! I did not tell anyone! It was not my business."

"You are very loyal, Agnes. I am very thankful for that." I said honestly.

She smiled at me and hugged me tightly. It was more of a motherly hug than I had ever gotten from my own mother, and it only made me want to cry again, as I hugged her back.

I closed my eyes, sighing. And then I pulled back, letting her go.

She curtsied. "I will be back momentarily with your bath, Miss." She said and hurried out the door.

I picked at the food on the tray, but I was not hungry. I quickly lost interest in the food and turned to stare out the window, waiting for Agnes to come back with the servants.

And she did. The servants brought in my bath and filled it with warm water, before excusing themselves, and only Agnes remained.

I did not speak as she washed my hair and scrubbed my skin with soap. I did not speak as I dried or as she dressed me in a pale-yellow gown. She combed out and plaited my hair.

After she finished, she excused herself and I was alone. I looked at myself in the mirror and found that my eyes were red from my crying, and my cheeks were flushed, dark bruises underlining my eyes from lack of sleep.

I released a breath, shaking my head, and went down the stairs and out into the garden. There was a light frost coating the grass, and the tree leaves were bright shades of gold and red and orange, and were falling to the ground.

I sat on a stone bench against the fountain, staring into the water contained in the marble basin.

Lost in my own thoughts, I did not hear anyone approach, until I heard the person speak.

"Erika?" It was Alice.

I looked up at her, surprised. And I found that her cheeks were flushed and her eyes were rimmed with red, whether from the cold, or something else, I did not know. "Yes?"

She tilted her head, her eyes on me. "Are you all right?" Her voice was surprisingly gentle, no trace of hostility or scorn about her. She only looked concerned. It was unfamiliar and immediately I felt suspicious.

"I am fine. Why do you ask?" I replied, colder than I meant to.

She sat beside me and it was all I could do to not recoil from her. "You look like you've been crying. I wanted to see if you were all right, of if you wanted to talk."

I am far from alright and why would I talk to you about it. I wanted to say, but did not. I looked at her, and she looked much the same as I had this morning when I'd looked in the mirror. "Are you alright, Alice?" I asked her.

She nodded. "Yes, I am."

"So, you are going to marry Prince William. Congratulations. I am very happy for both of you." I said, trying to sound happier than I felt.

She shook her head, her eyes closed. "Don't. I know you are not happy for me, or for him. I do not want you to act like you are okay with this, Erika. I know you are not."

I looked at her, surprised by this. "You do not want me to be happy for you?"

She sighed and looked at me. "How can you stand for this? I have taken the man you loved—yes, I do know—and I am going to marry him. You must hate me! You must wish horrible deaths on me, and resent me, and all sorts of things."

I opened my mouth to speak, but shut it abruptly. I did not know what to say to her. Where was this coming from? "There is nothing I can do about it, Alice. He is yours."

She shook her head again, so forcefully that her blond curls whipped back and forth. "I don't understand how you can say that!"

"Why do you care?" I asked irritably, turning away from her.

"Is it wrong for me to care about my sister?" She asked me.

I glanced at her. "You never have before."

"That's not true," replied Alice indignantly.

Something occurred to me at that moment. "Alice," I turned to my sister, meeting her blue eyes. "Do you want to marry William?"

Her eyes widened slightly at my question, and then filled with tears. "No." She whispered.

I blinked at her, completely taken aback. "You don't?"

She shook her head. "I do not love him! He is kind, and good, and very handsome, but he is not for me."

"Then don't marry him." It seemed like the answer would be obvious, but apparently not.

"But I have to! Mother and Father expect me to!" She exclaimed, looking very distressed.

"You do not have to." I replied.

She sighed loudly. "You would not understand. Mother hardly pays any attention to you! But I have to do everything for her. This marriage is for her! I don't want to marry him, but she wants me to so she and Father can have more influence in the country."

Cold fury flashed inside of me and I met her gaze. "Do you expect me to feel sorry for you? To comfort you while you cry about receiving too much attention? I do not feel sorry for you and I you will never earn sympathy from me where family is concerned. You get everything. You are the favorite child. Mother and Father dote on you, get the best of everything for you . . ."

"They expect the best from me as well. They want me to be perfect, expect me to be perfect. I can never make a mistake, because I am being scrutinized so closely. You would not want this! You would be miserable being the favorite, Erika." She said softly.

I could hardly believe what I was hearing. It took an incredible effort to keep from rolling my eyes at her. I took a deep breath, so that I could get my emotions under control. "So . . . you are just going to marry him? Because Mother expects you to?"

Her lip trembled slightly and she nodded her head. "I have no choice."

"You will always have a choice." I said gently.

She closed her eyes, shaking her head. A single tear slid down her cheek. "I am sorry, Erika. I really am." She stood from her place beside me on the bench.

I watched her, unsure of what else to say.

She turned to me, and her blue eyes met mine. "I am sorry." She said again. "But this is what has to happen." And, with that, she turned and walked away.

I stared at the trees, watching as a bright orange leaf floated to the ground. Now, I did not so much feel sad for myself, as I did for my sister, who would never see anything but what Mother told her to.

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This was the end of chapter sixteen. 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!

Please vote, comment, or fan! Follow me for updates on First at Last! Thanks for reading!

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