Okay, I don't know how much you guys care but I think it is good news; in about a week or a week and a half I will be DONE with my bachelor and I can't wait to have all my free time focused on this story! It will be pure heaven to be able to sit down with it whenever I want without feeling guilty for not doing school work! (lol) I can't friggin' wait!

-Jade-

You could almost have thought that the city was on fire too. From the screaming people running in the street it was not so different from how the servants had been screaming in the kitchen and corridors.

The air smelled of the smoke spewing out from the castle. Red flames licked the walls of the castle, turning the stone it was made from black with soot. From every little flame, red, orange or yellow, soot arose and was carried off with the wind.

Jade watched as the fire consumed the left wing of the castle, a part she had never ventured to as much as she could or wanted to. It was sad nonetheless. She mourned the books that were most likely consumed by fire right now. If the fire had spread to the library that was...

"I can't believe she set fire to it." Jade whispered airily with her eyes still fixed on the burning stone building she had been forced to consider her home for a while.

Loren grunted something next to her. He too was watching the tragic outcome of a lunatic's doing. It must have been worse for him than Jade of course. She didn't mourn the castle, it was nothing else than a cage for her. For Loren it was a home, a place where he had grown up. Jade glanced sideways at him. There was no sign in his face that told her of an eventual sorrow. Nothing played in his eyes.

"Are you alright, Loren?" Jade whispered and turned her eyes towards the castle again. The screams of a servant girl made chills run down her spine. From the sound of it she was hurting, possibly on fire because she sounded like she was in immense agony. It made Jade grimace.

"Yes." Loren answered shortly. "Come on. We need to find a carriage or horses so we can leave this place."

"Where are we going?" Jade asked and followed Loren who had quickly turned around and started walking towards the direction of the gate Jade had made it through in her failure of an escape. "North?"

Loren shook his head.

"No. It is not safe." He argued as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "We will have to travel from place to place. The prince's castle will be the first place they will send guards to find you."

"Find me?" She repeated.

Loren gave her a frown that revealed that he thought she was smarter than this and should be able to figure it out on her own. Jade stared at him with widened eyes, signaling the desperate desire for an explanation. Loren sighed and she thought she saw him roll his eyes at her.

"If the girl manages to convince everyone that you tried to kill the queen, then every soldier in the kingdom will come for you." He explained. "That is why we will not go to the castle in the North."

"Do you think William will believe I did it?" she asked quietly. The fact that she would be hunted down like dog didn't get a place on the list of her worries. All she cared about was if William would believe the rumor or not... She also wanted for Elizabeth to be safe and the servant girl to be... dead. She wasn't proud of it, but she felt a deep desire to see the girl meet her end. A dark part of her mind even wished for it to be William who killed her. So she would understand that her obsession with him was caused by her own insanity and not a realistic outcome.

"No, but I fear the consequences he will face if he goes through with your marriage now." He answered discouragingly." Jade felt a brief moment of relief but it was quickly stifled by Loren's tone.

"What kind of consequences?" she asked with a thick throat. Loren looked at her immediately. He had noticed that she was close to tears. Practically crying.

"If he marries you, and if your name hasn't been cleared of the allegation that stands towards you... then I fear that he will not be accepted as king... Even worse I fear that he will be exiled even though the king might not approve of it." Jade felt an aching sensation hit her heart like an arrow. Her mind raced off with her and the relief she had felt when Loren had said that William wouldn't believe the rumor was replaced with an agonizing pain caused by the thought of William leaving her in order to remain a prince.

"How can he be exiled if his father doesn't approve of it?" Jade asked and felt tears stream down her face again. Only now they had gained more force. She didn't dare to ask Loren for his opinion concerning whether or not William would actually leave her or cast her out. A light in her heart was convinced that he wouldn't but... a part of her feared it as well.

"He can be exiled if the people demand it." Loren answered gloomily. Jade looked at him swiftly and her hood fell down from her head. "If the king doesn't abide it, then the whole royal family risks being overthrown..."

"How can they do that? I thought the people loved king Uldard..." She mumbled. Loren shrugged his shoulders.

"You are right... However, the queen has her loyal subjects as well, even though it seems very unlikely, and they will not look kindly on a prince that would marry the woman that tried to murder their beloved queen."

"This is not fair." She cried silently as to not draw attention to them. Her hair blew violently in the freezing wind. "Nothing of this is fair! I... I didn't do anything of these things..."

"I am sorry but you have to keep it down, miss." Loren said in a low but grave tone. "No one can know who you are or where we are going. Stop crying and pull your hood up." He ordered her.

. . .

An hour later Jade found herself on a dark brown horse. She was still crying but her sniffles had died out. Loren had managed to buy two horses off a man for them, with what money she did not know, but here they were.

The cries could still be heard from the city streets even though they had managed to get out through the eastern gate without being noticed or followed. Jade closer her eyes and blinked away another wave of silent tears.

Loren rode alongside her but hadn't said a word since he had paid the owner of the horses. After that he had been as much company as a tombstone.

The darkness of the night surrounded them and the woods following alongside the road were even darker, black almost. Jade swallowed nervously at the sound of a twig breaking in the distant. Not even the soothing cooing hoot of an owl could ease her worry. What if there would be another ambush waiting for them like it had done when William had brought her here? She did not doubt Loren's skill in combat... However, they had the disadvantage of being out in the open like sitting ducks, and it was almost impossible to see anything from outside of the light of a torch Loren held. It was nice to see where they were going, but at the same time it felt like the torch was a beacon for eventual harm doers lurking in the darkness.

Jade threw a discreet glance over at Loren. He had his eyes fixed on the road before them. He hadn't taken his helmet with him. In fact he had thrown it into a bush inside the city. Jade guessed it was in order so no one would recognize that he was a royal guard, but for this to be completely avoided he would have to rid himself of the whole armor Jade guessed.

"When will we stop?" Jade asked quietly. "I am tired." She stated and it wasn't a lie in order to get her way. Exhaustion had gripped her since the horses had stopped galloping which was a good twenty minutes ago. Even though she was scared senseless her eyelids felt heavy and she wasn't sure she could feel her legs anymore.

"I don't know." Loren answered frankly. "When we arrive at the nearest inn..." He muttered. "Why?"

"I am tired."

"Then we will stop for the night when we are given the opportunity." He answered without even looking at her.

Jade raised her eyebrows unimpressed. She wanted to stop now. What she most of all wished for was to crawl into a warm and hot bed, hide herself under the covers and cry.

Some time passed, Jade didn't know how much but it felt like forever. Then they finally arrived on the outskirt of a strongly built palisade, at least three or four meters tall.

"Who goes there?" Someone called out to them. It was the sound of a young boy Jade could tell. The tone was tired and bored.

"Travelers, seeking shelter from the cold night." Loren answered simply and it actually sounded like he was telling the truth. Jade lowered her head. "We have the coin to pay for it..." He continued. "...and for the one who lets us in." he added and there was a sound coming from other side of the palisade. Jade kept her head down but she could hear that Loren had intrigued the boy with the promise of coin.

"Come in, travelers." He stated.

-William-

The late afternoon sky was almost red when they reached the last hill before they would be able to see the castle. What he could see was a massive cloud of smoke coming from the horizon. Black and grey smoke spewed out across the sky and it foretold that the castle would be in very bad shape.

"It must have been some fire..." His father breathed as he studied the sky. William motioned Dimma to run faster and his father almost fell behind before doing the same. "The smoke from the villages didn't cover the sky like this..."

William muttered something that wasn't even words. It was just a sound that made no sense. He was too worried about Jade to answer his father. The fact that the castle could be in ruins didn't even bother him. All he wanted was to know that Jade was alive and safe.

. . .

The courtyard was filled with ruined furniture and servants that had created a chain of hands in order to effectively getting water up to the castle. They hollered at each other to work faster or to not spill the precious water they were transporting inside the castle.

"At least the fire is out." His father breathed out as he let go of the reins in his hands. "My God. This will take forever to rebuild."

"I need to find her." William said and got off Dimma immediately. He didn't even care to get a servant to fetch Dimma. He just stormed inside through the entrance that stood wide open.

The great entrance hall was a shell of its former self. The thick curtains were piles of ashes on the floor. The carpets were dust on the floor as well, but they had been pushed aside and you could see trails from where the servants and people had walked in order to get water to where the fire had been.

A servant passed him in a hurry to get out to the courtyard. William grabbed him by the arm.

"Where is the future princess?" He asked sternly.

"My prince! You are back!" The servant sighed in relief and put his hands together as if he was to break down in prayer.

"Answer me." William repeated himself.

"The girl..." The servant mumbled. "I haven't seen her, your grace."

"Then where is her governess?" He asked. The servant gave him a confused look. As if he wasn't aware that Jade even had her personal governess. "Elizabeth." William growled. The name clearly rang a bell in the mind of the servant. His eyes lit up and he turned his gaze towards the way to the kitchen.

"Ah! She is taking care of the ones that were injured in the fire." The servant answered. "In the kitchen."

William set off and didn't mind the rest of the people around him that called his name. He didn't have the time.

. . .

Elizabeth was taking care of badly burned man when William walked through the door. The man had been placed on the counter where the cooks usually prepared the food. All of the cooking tools had been shoved into a corner and there were broken ceramics all over the place. William walked through the shards.

"I don't have time for another one." Elizabeth hissed irritably when she heard his steps. She didn't as much as look at him. Obviously mistaking him for someone else.

William studied the burnt man for a moment. He didn't have any hair left and his face was a horrible mixture of blood red wounds and burnt black pieces of skin that had yet to fall off of him. The smell was something greatly repulsing. The burnt skin smelt something like charcoal and it mixed with the disgusting odor of burnt hair. William swallowed slowly, trying not to vomit where he stood. He felt a frown appear in his face and he covered his nose with his glove clad hand.

"Did you not hear me?" Elizabeth spat when she noticed that the response she had given hadn't been received.

"Liz..." William said and tried to breathe through his mouth and not his nose.

The strict line that went over the woman's face disappeared as she turned her face to look at him. Her lips parted in surprise but her hands kept tending to the man in front of her.

"William!" She gasped in surprise. "Finally!"

"Are you alright?" William asked when he saw the blood on her clothes. She looked down and waved his question away.

"It's not mine." She comforted him. "You need to leave, right away!" She said and summoned him towards her with a quick motion with her hand. With a few speedy steps she had made her way over to the door of the tunnel. "They left through the tunnel." She whispered and pointed at its door.

"What are you doing, Liz?" He asked puzzled. "I don't have time for this I have to find Jade-" A pair of hands grabbed his cheeks suddenly and the woman's eyes locked with his, causing him to shut up. "Wait, what did you say? They left through the tunnel?"

"Don't you think I know this already?" She blurted out. "Loren just managed to get her out of here before she would have been killed." She continued. "They are blaming her for it, and-"

"She didn't do it." William interrupted Elizabeth now. "Jade wouldn't hurt anyone." He sighed and felt his whole body relax as Elizabeth's words sunk in. "Not even my mother... in spite of how she has treated her."

"I am relieved to hear that you have such faith in her. However, the queen is under the misapprehension that Jade did it." Elizabeth stated seriously. William's frown deepened in confusion.

"Mother didn't do this?" He questioned her. "Then who did?"

"A servant." Elizabeth explained with a hint of despise in her voice. William waited patiently for the rest of her explanation even though it made no sense to him. "A servant girl in the staff, your mother's to be specific, is obsessed with you."

William shook his head in perplexity. A servant girl set fire to the castle because she was infatuated with him? Elizabeth walked over to the man on the counter again, it seemed like she was making sure that he wasn't listening. To William he seemed rather unconscious, which he could only wish for the poor bastard.

"I don't have the time to explain it to you in detail right now. There is a chance someone will hear us." Elizabeth whispered and her gaze flickered towards the man on the counter, the door and then landed on William again. "I am afraid that she will follow you if she finds out that you have left to find Jade. So leave, now before anyone sees you!"

"I can't leave through here." William said whilst looking at the door to the tunnel. "I need Dimma, and I left him in the courtyard."

"You better make sure the girl doesn't see you on your way back then." Elizabeth told him very seriously.

-Jade-

Jade stepped into the inn, keeping behind Loren as he paid for their rooms. Her hood was still over her head in order to keep her unknown and hidden from any curious eyes. Even though she had never been to this place before it felt necessary. Coming from the dining hall she could hear the deafening sound of drunken guests all talking at the same time and over each other. She lowered her head.

. . .

"You should eat something." Loren stated after they had taken a quick look in their rooms.

Loren stood in the doorframe and something was different about him now Jade quickly noticed. He had taken his armor off and Jade could see how much metal he usually wore, he wasn't as big anymore. That didn't mean that he wasn't a tall and large man now, which he was.

Their rooms were adjacent and Jade was already convinced that William wouldn't have been the only man to lock her into a room like this before this was all over. Loren would without a doubt do the same.

Jade studied Loren quickly. He had a more casual armor on, studded leather from the looks of it, which made him look anything else than a prince's personal guard. His appearance resembled that of a hunter. A clever disguise.

"Probably." She answered Loren and walked towards him.

"Keep your hood on." He told her and she nodded in response.

"What are you going to do with your armor?" Jade asked silently as they moved towards the stairs that led down to the ground floor of the inn.

"I don't know." He mumbled. "I won't sell it. That would be a disgrace..." Jade smiled faintly at his words. "I can't take it with us that much I am certain of."

"Can't you leave it with someone here? For safe keeping? I am sure some poor family would happily do it for a few coins."

Loren turned to look at her briefly with a surprised but impressed look on his face. Did he think her incapable of being clever?

"I will consider that. Thank you, miss." Jade rolled her eyes. He still called her 'miss' even though he had actually used her name at the castle. "We will need to get you new clothes as well. People will ask questions if you look like a noblewoman."

"A noblewoman traveling with... a hunter?" Jade asked and smirked beneath her hood.

"Precisely." Loren stated as they got to the bottom of the stairs.

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

I know that you want a reunion but bare with me!

I hope you liked it!

Love Jenny