When the next morning dawns I am relieved to see to see my mystery visitor has not come again and there are no notes or signs of disturbance as I make my way over to the window. It's early and a light mist hangs over the hillside. For a moment, I just gaze out at the mountains, with the same longing I did as a child. Dreaming of adventure beyond the castle walls.

The Undoing senses my unhappiness and moves inside of me, effectively distracting me from those dreams. At the wardrobe my hands skim over dresses before settling on a dark green one and stiffly attempting to dress myself. Despite being determined to avoid company, my aching body betrays me as waves of exhaustion crash through me with every movement. Getting dressed should not feel like I am trying to fight against running water.

The fear that I might sleep too deeply and not awaken at the noise of someone in my room kept me from consuming the sleeping draft Violet provided. Constantly on the edge of wakefulness, even when I eventually dozed off, I couldn't even say the sleep I had managed had been particularly fulfilling either.

Nightmares about my mystery visitor plagued the dreams I did have, and I woke in a panic more than once. At one point, I had felt sure there was someone or something in the room with me. A flicker of movement in the corner of my eye and a prickle of awareness up my spine.

But it was gone before I could acknowledge it and the room was silent and empty. I put it down to the aftermath of a dream. Or perhaps it was all a dream itself? It is hard to tell the difference been sleep and wakefulness when you toe that line of exhaustion.

With a frustrated sigh as the corset refuses to tighten correctly, I finally admit defeat and use the crystal to call my staff. Seconds later, the room fills with activity. Maids dress me quickly. Nimble fingers not so encumbered by weariness fasten me into it with practised ease.

"Are you alright my Queen?" Alessia asks, joining me at my door as we make our way to breakfast.

She looks tired, and the shadows of that exhaustion sit just under sunken eyes. I frown, "As well as I can be. Did you not sleep well?"

"I did not sleep, your majesty. I stayed on watch at your door last night." she admits, refusing to meet my eye.

"Alessia!" I gasp, "You cannot do that. Please go and rest immediately." I raise a hand to call the nearest guards to me before she can protest, "These two will stay with me until you can find someone to cover watching me and then I expect you to get some rest."

"But I cannot just-"

"You cannot just disobey your Queen! I command it, Alessia." my tone softens, "Please, I do need you with me, but I also need you well enough and rested."

I see indecision warring across her features before resignation falls over her and she nods, "I will send someone to watch you immediately. Please stay in the dining hall until then?"

If anyone else had said such a thing, I would have immediately have taken offence to being told what to do. But I know Alessia and I know she means well, so I nod my head. 

"Rest friend." I say gently, and with a sigh, she steps into a pool of sunlight and vanishes.

The guards I appropriated follow me silently to breakfast and I'm half-grateful for it as I don't quite know what to say to Alessia now that she knows the truth. The hall is busier than I expected and without anyone running interference as Alessia often does, it took far longer than normal to reach my seat. I am already missing her, it seems.

I have almost finished my meal when a familiar guard appears. "Kyp?" I ask.

"Yes, your majesty. The Captain asked that I guard you until she returns." he says, puffing out his chest in pride that I remembered his name and that he was called on for this task.

I can see it now. That lovesick adoration in his eyes. Apparently, Alessia's attempts to push him away have not yet been effective. 

I smile, "Thank you Kyp. It is much appreciated. I plan to spend much of the morning in my study, I am afraid. It will probably not be the most exciting of tasks." 

Kyp shakes his head. "Any way in which I can serve the royal family is the most exciting of honours." he insists.

My heart clenches at how easily he refers to a royal family. A family of just one is not really a family at all. Before the loneliness can pull me under, I rise. "I'm glad to hear it. Let us make our way to my study then, Kyp."

We are almost at the top of the tower where my study sits when Kyp speaks again, "You majesty, if it is not too much of a bother, might I ask you a question?"

I stop and turn to him cautiously. "You may ask, but I cannot guarantee a response without knowing the subject."

He shuffles his feet and his fingers play with the edge of his armour. "If it is not impertinent I would like to know if you know Captain Alessia's favourite food?"

The question takes me so off guard I laugh before I can stop myself, and Kyp looks alarmed. All the tension and worry in me fall away as the innocent infatuation provides an excellent distraction. 

"She has always enjoyed honey cakes, the ones with the honeycomb snap on them." I inform him as we continue down the corridor. 

"Really? I wouldn't have guessed a sweet tooth." Kyp says thoughtfully.

"If I might give you some friendly advice, Kyp?" 

It is his turn to look guarded, as though he expects me to warn him off my friend. "Yes, your majesty?"

"Alessia is adept at pushing others away. She does not let people close to her easily."

I watch his face fall as I hurry to explain, "That is not to say she is not deserving of it, but she needs someone who will win her trust. Someone who will get to know every part of her. Even the parts she does not share with others. The very fact that she asked you to watch over me today tells me she holds you in high esteem."

Kyp's eyes light with hope at my words, "Do you truly think I have a chance?"

"I cannot say for sure. I don't think anyone truly knows what is going on inside her mind. However, until she tells you that nothing will ever happen between you, I believe there is always reason to hope."

"I am good at hoping." he says with a smile, and I have to look away from his optimism to step into my study.

Heavy gold drapes are swept back from the windows with a thick rope of the same fabric. In the centre of the room sits a gilt desk and matching high-backed chair.

The piles of scrolls and stacks of unanswered letters that greet me on the desk are a reminder of just how much I have let slip with all the nonsense the council has placed on me. Kyp stations himself discreetly just outside the door and I can hear his cheerful humming as I set to work crafting diplomatic replies and thanks for well wishes and gifts.

"I just wish to speak to the Queen briefly." a voice says loudly outside the door, pulling my attention from my latest letter.

I yawn and stretch my neck out, blinking rapidly against the tiredness. How long I have been sitting here? Minutes or hours? Everything seems to have blurred into one. However long it has been, my body has stiffened up from remaining in one position. I don't catch Kyp's quiet reply, but I am sure he said no. 

"Elora?" a voice calls out and I roll my eyes, marching to the door.

"That is Your Majesty to you. What is it, Prince Ezra?" I snap back as soon as I open the door.

Ezra's face lights into a smile that almost tugs my own lips into an answering one. "Elle," he looks inordinately happy to see me, "I just wish to speak with you, your majesty."

I raise an eyebrow, but the set of his jaw tells me he will not be moved on this. "Fine." I sigh, moving back so he can enter.

The way he strides in as though he owns the place instantly gets my back up and I wonder what I ever saw in him. "I had to see you." Ezra says more softly, now we are almost alone.

I nod to Kyp to wait outside the door and step back, leaving it slightly ajar. "Whatever for? You will see me for the next task." 

Although I choose each word carefully, I sense he is doing the same as he hesitates before replying. "There are rumours that someone tried to hurt you and that's why Alessia stayed on your door last night."

"How do you know she was at my door last night?" I ask sharply.

My heart thuds in my chest. I cannot have everyone thinking I am afraid.

"I saw her. I heard the rumours and wanted to check you were safe." he looks embarrassed to be caught caring, and my traitorous heart skips a beat.

His eyes are searching mine and see far more than I would like before I can shut him out, "You feel it too, don't you?"

"Feel what?" the words come out of me in a whisper.

"This, between us." he replies, those golden eyes glowing with need.

At some point, he has moved closer, and there are just a few paces between us. I open my mouth to reply, but nothing comes out.

"I'm not asking you to forgive me," his voice is gentle and his expression is so close to the boy I once knew that is hurts, "I know forgiveness needs to be earned and I will. I'll earn it every day if you will just give me the chance to?"

I swallow hard. "What if I never forgive you?"

Sadness flickers in his eyes. "Then I'll keep close by anyway. There is nothing else for me. No one else out there but you."

"Say I give you a chance. How can I ever trust you, Ezra?" I ask him quietly.

"I'll be on my very best behaviour." he promises with a wicked grin.

I shake my head and laugh, "And then what? I'll see that you've not become some dark and evil fae monster and fall head over heels for you?"

"Perhaps," he says softly, stepping closer again, "Or maybe you'll see that I am a monster? And maybe you'll fall in love with me anyway?"

"Ezra." My voice is low and full of warning.

"I know Elle. I know that even after all this, we might not end up together. I know you, and I know your mind. Your independence and your spirit are two of the things I admire most about you." 

We are toe to toe now and the room around us seems to fade out. "I wish I had returned sooner," he says. "In fact, I never should have left. But I'm here now. Not as a Prince, and not with you as a Queen. Just here as a boy, reaching out to a girl, and asking for another chance."