-Jade-

William proved to be right. The other's returned shortly after she had gotten dressed and she thanked all the possible Gods there were to thank.

A part of her could not wait until they were living in William's castle, all alone. Where no one could disturb them, be it during encounters of an intimate nature or just private conversations. She had grown very tired of never truly having a moment of to themselves without the threat of being interrupted. But what was there to expect? They shared a home with five others, and it was bound to get a little crowded.

However, there were no time left for the two of them to continue their discussion about this new upcoming war William had sprung on her.

Jade stood quietly and watched as the others went about their day like there was nothing wrong. She longed back to the time when she had shared this blissful ignorance with her family. The time when she had known nothing but the day she had woken up to, was long gone. Nowadays she woke up with her stomach in a knot and she had all of these troubles causing it.

First it was the queen... then the raiders and then the servant girl. Now he is telling me there is a war coming? All because of me? Jade thought and sighed quietly and tried to calm her tense body, it failed. She was stiff all over and could not relax at all.

She let her gaze sweep across the room again in an attempt to push her thoughts away. Her parents were just like they used to and so was her siblings, laughing and playing.

Loren was teaching Samuel how to best parry a strike whilst holding Samuel's new wooden sword, which Loren of course had made for him so he could easier teach the little one how to fight. These new lessons were not appreciated by Jade's mother, but she never said anything directly to Loren since she was grateful for all he had done to keep Jade safe. So, she quietly let the royal guard teach her little boy how to fight.

How sweet it would be to not know anything of this war... or that wretched servant girl... Jade thought to herself as she smiled faintly at the sound of Samuel laughing whilst Loren pretended that he had been struck badly from Samuel's counterattack.

A heavy feeling of sorrow and worry came over her when the servant girl entered her thoughts and stayed there.

She could be anywhere... She could easily be here in Thornstead.

Jade's mother and Liz were talking happily whilst preparing dinner for them all. Her father was discussing something with the king which she could not hear... and she was not sure she wanted to, since he could be quite blunt, and had proved that he was not about to change his ways just because there was a king underneath his roof. To her relief the king looked content and not at all offended. This she took as a sign that they were getting along just fine.

William walked up to Liz offering to help them with the heavy cauldron tonight's dinner was going to cook in. He was waved away after getting a scoff from the one of the two women by the counter. Jade's mother looked surprised at Liz and her quite rude response to William's kind offer.

"No, thank you, your grace." She said with a smirk and narrowed eyes. "Where is this helpfulness coming from? I do not remember any princes coming to offer me help in the kitchen..."

"I at least kept you company." William laughed quietly and raised his eyebrows at her. Liz rolled her eyes and waved at him to leave them alone.

"The prince has been kind and helping us ever since he got here." Jade's mother quickly defended William, which earned her a thankful nod from him.

"Well, I do not need young men's help with things I have done all my life by myself." Liz told Jade's mother and she sounded just as stubborn as Jade remembered her.

William left the women and walked up to Jade. When his eyes landed on her he immediately seemed to know that something was on Jade's mind.

"Is something wrong?" he asked her softly as they both studied their fathers for a second. Jade shook her head but could not commit to the smile she tried to fake.

"That was what I thought..." William whispered in a sigh and stepped closer to her.

Of course, he saw right through me... She sighed as he obstructed her view momentarily and kissed her forehead gently before placing himself next to her.

"Why are you being so quiet? Tell me what is on your mind." William said caringly. She felt his left arm snake around her waist as he placed himself on her right side.

"I am just worried." Jade mumbled and leaned against him. A soft kiss was placed against her hairline and she closed her eyes from the comfort it gave her. She inhaled his scent and could almost forget her worried chaotic thoughts about the one person that still posed a real threat against her and William, and now her family.

"About what?" William asked quietly. "About the war? Do not worry Jade... There might still be time to reason with-"

"It is the girl." Jade corrected him with her voice lowered. "Do not misunderstand me, I am worried about the war as well, but the girl can be anywhere..."

"Yes and? What of her?" He asked and she could feel him breathe in the scent of her hair as he hugged her closer to his body.

"I fear that she followed your father here..." Jade answered and noticed that Iria was watching her.

The little one was smart, and Jade could tell that she had noticed Jade's facial expression change when William had forced her to tell him what was worrying her. Jade pretended they were not having such a grave conversation. She tried to look like they were talking about just about anything but the servant girl.

"Do you think my father would not notice if someone followed them here?" William asked her in return. She could hear how he tried very hard to not sound offended on his fathers' behalf.

Jade kept an eye on her little sister and pretended to smile at what William said.

"I think the girl is cunning enough to stay hidden until she wants to be seen..." Jade answered and relaxed when her little sister finally directed her attention towards the king. Her little eyes were scrutinizing him from top to toe.

The sweet girl had come up to Jade earlier and asked her why he was not wearing a crown, and if he truly was a king if he did not have one. Jade had explained, giggling, that the king could not walk around with a crown on his head all day. It would be very uncomfortable. Iria had raised one of her eyebrows and told Jade that a king should just have to deal with such things because he should not be easily bothered by something so simple. How else was he going to reign if such a simple thing bothered him? Jade had laughed and hugged her little sister while kissing her forehead. Iria had then said that she was going to ask the king herself, but she looked like she was lacking the confidence to do it right now.

"Cunning or-" Jade woke up from her thoughts quickly and realized that she was still having a very grave conversation with William.

"She managed to stay hidden in the castle, William." Jade interrupted him quietly. "I do not think lesser of your father for it, but you have to accept the possibility that she could be here... That she could have followed them here."

"I highly doubt that." William breathed and placed himself in front of her again. "Do you not trust me?" He asked her quietly and she watched his eyes search hers for an answer. He seemed to hope for the answer 'yes'.

"William, it is not that I do not trust you." Jade whispered and crossed her arms as she grew more and more uncomfortable.

"Then what is it? Do you think I cannot prot-"

"I do not think anything of what you are going to say!" She sighed irritably and felt her eyes fill with tears. Her vision slowly became blurry.

A quiet sigh left her husband to be as he understood he had pushed her too far.

"I am worried." She sniffled but managed to keep her tears where they were. William's shoulders sunk as he noticed how upset she truly was. "You have to understand that I do not think that neither you, Loren or your father is incapable of protecting me." She continued. "...But my family is here as well... my siblings... and Liz." She whispered as her eyes wandered off to little Pete whom was tugging at the hem of Liz's skirt.

Liz cried out in a sweet laughter and quickly picked the boy up. He let out a heartwarming sound of joy as he was lifted into the air and then placed on Liz's hip before she continued working like he was not even there and did not weigh a thing.

-William-

Jade's eyes were filled with tears. It pained him terribly but nothing he said seemed to sooth her or calm her down. Nothing could ease her worry.

She was looking at Liz and her little brother Pete whilst William was waiting for an explanation. When he did not get one, he grabbed her chin carefully with his thumb and index finger.

"Jade, love." He whispered and drew her closer. With his hands around her ribs he made sure she was close enough to hear him whisper: "I told you; I won't let-"

"... anything happen to me." Whispering she finished his sentence. "Yes, I know. But it is not me I am worried about, William. It is them."

Jade nodded towards her family. As she finally nodded towards her father, the imminent tears tore themselves out of their cages and they ran down her cheeks like rivers.

"I am terrified that she will hurt them just to get to me." She whispered and blinked tears from her eyes, causing them to trickle down her cheeks. "And I have no idea of what I should do to keep them safe."

William sighed and was quiet for a long moment. There was no knowing of where the servant was, that much was true, he had to admit that Jade was correct. However, he could not imagine that the girl could had followed his father and Liz all the way to Thornstead without being discovered or caught.

I hate to see her like this... the sooner we leave the better... He thought and swallowed. Then the thought came to him. Why don't we just ask them to come with us? All of them? There is plenty of room and... William did not finish the thought before he opened his mouth.

"We could leave." He suggested quietly, keeping his suggestion just between the two of them. It immediately caught Jade's attention. She shook her head rapidly when she clearly misunderstood him. She thought she meant just the two of them and the fear she was feeling about leaving her family behind radiated from her icy blue eyes. "All of us." He added comfortingly. "Your family as well."

"What do you mean?" she whispered and suppressed a sniffle. The icy blue eyes looked into his and he could not resist her. He caressed her cheeks and wiped her tears before he pressed his lips against hers. There was nothing more he wanted than for her to stop crying right now. There were no lengths he would not go to just to soothe her.

"I mean we will all leave." He began. "Your family can come with us to the north."

"But they live here." She stated. "What-"

"They can live with us, or I will build them a new house. I will make sure there is work for them if they want it." William whispered.

He was willing to do anything to keep Jade happy. If that meant that he had to build a new home for her family, it was not even something he had to think twice about.

"William, you-"

"I promised you father that I would give you everything you could ever want for Jade." William interrupted her and kissed her deeply again. Her hands gripped his shirt and he felt how she clenched them into fists. "Everything will be alright. Trust me." He assured her after their kiss, which had of course been interrupted by her father's grumpy mumbling when he had seen them.

"The wedding?" Jade whispered against his lips. He could hear that she had accepted his offer on taking her family with them.

"What of it?"

"I don't want to wait..." She answered and locked eyes with him. "I don't want to wait until we are up North."

"Then we-"

"I want to leave tomorrow." She interrupted him.

William breathed out and felt a bit confused. His brows knitted as he studied Jade. Her face was set, and she looked so wonderfully decisive. The fiery spirit of hers never stopped to amaze him.

She wants to leave tomorrow and she does not want to wait with the wedding? That leaves us with less than a day...

"That would mean that-"

"That we have to get married today." She filled in. William let out a surprised quiet laughter and caressed her cheek softly. He could not believe he was finally going to make her his. It made his heart beat hard and fast and it almost felt like he was getting a bit lightheaded.

"Do you want to tell them or should I?" he answered his future wife.

"You can have the honor, and then I will try to stop my mother and Liz from killing us when you tell them that it will be today." Jade chuckled. "We just need to find the priest..."

"My father can do it." William answered her and turned around and looked at his old man. He would without a doubt be honored to wed them.

"He is not a priest." Jade chuckled.

"No, he is just a king." William chuckled in return and playfully furrowed his brows at her. It caused her to laugh quietly and he felt so relieved that he had been able to calm her worried soul. "We will have to get a carriage for your family for the journey... Do you know where I can buy one?" He continued.

"You cannot buy everything, William." Jade said and rolled her eyes.

"That has been made very clear to me, thank you." He replied and winked at her. They both smirked as they recalled Jade's hot-tempered outbursts she had had in the past when she thought William had bought her from her father.

-Jade-

Her family and Liz was not quite as joyous as the king was when William told them that they wanted to get married right away.

"There is no time to prepare a feast in just a day! I know that the two of you are smart enough to know this!" Liz exclaimed in frustration when she saw that neither of them was going to cave.

"We don't want a feast, Liz." William chuckled and placed his hand around Jade's waist.

"Well, not everything is about what the two of you want." She spat back and Jade was surprised about the crude manner she was talking to William in, but only because the king was present. She had never given it much thought had they been alone.

"Mother, calm down." Loren sighed. Jade turned her eyes towards him with her eyebrows raised in shock. She had never heard him call her mother. "There is no harm in having a small wedding. The girl never wanted a big wedding so this ought to fit her perfectly..." Liz shot her son a very dark look and he immediately continued. "... but from what I remember she did not want to get married at all in the first place so I will just keep my words to myself."

"Yes, please do." William said when he clearly was not impressed by the last words Loren had uttered.

"What? Are you scared she will change her mind?" Loren chuckled teasingly.

"Shut your hole." Liz snapped at Loren before she turned to Jade and William again. "Are you sure? There is plenty of room and time when we get up North."

"Yes, we are sure." Jade answered. "Your grace, would you-"

"I will, if you stop calling me 'your grace'." The king interrupted her with a soft smile on his lips.

Later...

Jade sat quietly on one of the chairs around the dinner table as Liz was doing her hair. She was braiding two small loose braids from each of Jade's ears and then braided them together into one larger in the back of her neck. The rest of her hair was resting freely against her back.

Her dress was more beautiful than she could have ever asked for or even imagined. It was the perfect shade of white; like her father's white roses. The tailors had done more than she could ever have imagined was possibly in such short time, then again, they were royal tailors, and this was what their only task. They were three working on the dress as well which probably was in their favor. Nonetheless, it was stunning.

Maybe they felt bad for starving me and put in more effort? Jade thought amused and remembered how she had been standing in the middle of them in one moment, just to hit the floor in the next.

Jade's wedding dress was tied in her back with beautiful white silk strings and Elizabeth had then tucked the bow and the rest of the strings in. Her breasts were neatly pushed up into two soft hills and decorated with a very beautiful thin piece of lace that stood about the size of her pinky-finger from the actual dress. The arms of the dress were long and reached her wrists, but an arrow-shaped piece of the fabric covered half of the back of her hands.

At her waist the dress hugged her body tightly until it reached just below her bellybutton. From there it flowed out to her sides and around her. It was embroided by hand with delicate light golden stitches resembling thin branches. They started where the bodice ended and the dress' skirt began. The thin branches spread widely down to the hem of the dress. They were barely visible the closer the hem they got.

-William-

"You are lucky I thought of bringing you some proper clothing." His father chuckled while they waited for Jade in her father's gardens. The mustache twitched amused from side to side quickly and he looked quite happy with himself.

William raised one eyebrow at his father and chuckled. There was no chance his father would have thought of bringing the clothes his son was to wear at his wedding.

"So, you are telling me that Liz did not strongarm you into bringing them for me?" William asked his father and looked at the dark grey jacket which he had the tailors make for the wedding.

"Strongarmed is not the right term. Strongly reminded me may better fit the actual events." His father chuckled and admitted without words that it was indeed not because of him that William wore what he did right now.

"Father, did the girl follow you here?" William asked quietly and looked for Jade or her family. No one was there, just Loren who stood a bit further away.

"No, Elizabeth and I left in the middle of the night. The only one who knew that I was leaving was your mother." His father answered and looked very surprised and confused by his son's question. "Why do you ask?"

"Jade is worried." William mumbled.

"Well, I would have noticed if that wretched soul had followed us."

"I know you would have. I just wanted to ask you, for Jade's sake."

"I understand." His father said and was then quite for a moment. "Do not think of such miserable things now... Rejoice! It is your wedding day!" He exclaimed happily but in a controlled manner.

One of his father's large and heavy hands landed on his right shoulder and they shared a warm look.

"I know." William sighed and looked towards where Jade would enter in due time.

He could not wait any longer, but he did not want to rush her or Liz. If he knew Liz right, she would not let Jade walk out of that house looking less than amazing for their wedding, especially now when it was being held right away. Liz would without a doubt try her hardest to still make Jade look like the queen she would become one day.

My queen... William thought and clasped his hands in front of him. He longed for the day he would see her in a crown. Her crown.

-----------------------------

I hoped you liked this chapter!

Soooooon my friends there might be a wedding after all, or what do you think will happen?

Thank you so much for reading, it means so much to me!

LOVE JENNY