-Jade-

Jade refused to participate in the feast. Elizabeth had managed to get her into her dress for the evening but that was all she agreed to.

Jade wouldn't take one step out of her cellar of a room.

Where the streams of tears had been she felt very dry and like her skin was going to crack. Jade threw a quick glance into the mirror and she looked like hell. Her eyes were still a bit red and beneath them she was visibly swollen.

"I wish you would reconsider..." Elizabeth sighed. She stood in the doorway about to leave Jade to her own company.

"I will not spend another second with him today." Jade answered. Her voice was hoarse from the time she had spent crying.

Elizabeth sighed in sorrow. She hadn't said anything about what had happened.

Apparently the King had sent her to find Jade but she hadn't said anything about William. Jade heard the door close softly and she felt silent tears fall again.

. . .

Later Jade went to the library
She had hoped to be alone but was of course accompanied by her new shadow; Loren. He didn't utter a word.

It seems like no one is going to speak to me... Jade thought gratefully as she entered through the library door which Loren had opened for her.

Loren then placed himself in the doorway and just stood there like a shadow.

Jade sat down in one of the armchairs in front of the fireplace and leaned back. She didn't even feel like reading or doing anything at all for that matter. She just wanted to be alone. The corset made it hard to sit in a comfortable way but she managed.

Jade studied the flames as they danced lively. She followed every flame's movement and tried to find some peace in the quiet room. It wasn't so easy with Loren lurking in the other end of the room, making sure that she wasn't running away. He didn't make a sound but his mere presence bothered Jade immensely. It was a reminder of William's words.

Jade felt her temper starting to awaken when she was reminded of earlier today.

All the things he had screamed at her echoed in her head. That he couldn't trust her... that she was dumb enough to put herself in harm's way. Among all the things he had screamed at her, these bothered her the most.

Everything he said was... Jade wiped away tears from her cheeks yet again.

It isn't fair. I didn't even get the chance to explain... Jade put the back of her right hand in front of her nose and lips. Trying her hardest to suffocate a sniffle that wanted to escape from her body. She didn't want Loren to hear her cry.

An hour or two passed. Jade wasn't sure how long she'd been in the library. She had drifted off to sleep at some point.

"Your grace." Loren suddenly said loud enough for Jade to hear. The metallic sound of his armor moving as he bowed made Jade alert.

It would most definitely be William, coming to apologize again.

Why won't he just leave me alone...? Jade thought and rolled her eyes.

"I don't want to talk to you. Leave." She called out without turning to look at William. Her throat felt tight. She was close to tears again by his very presence.

"I know, little one." A dark but soft voice said comfortingly. Jade quickly realized that it wasn't William. It was his father.

"Your grace!" Jade breathed and swiftly got on her feet. "I am so sorry... I... I thought you were him. Your son, I mean." Jade babbled from nervousness.

The King had a warm look on his face and the eyes were calm. She could see him smile through his thick beard.

The king approached her and when he stopped Jade curtsied.

"Relax, girl. It is just us. I don't want you to feel like you should have to bow for me when we are to be family." He said and there was a hopeful tone to his voice, almost like he wanted nothing else than this wedding to happen. "Can I call you Jade?" She nodded quickly in response. "Good, since it's just us Jade. You can call me Uldard. "He chuckled and his whole presence exuded calmness. Jade let her shoulders down a bit and exhaled.

Wait... does he want me to call him by his name?

"No... I wouldn't be comfortable with calling you-"

"Are you saying no to me?" he asked and raised his left eyebrow in a playful manner.

Jade pressed her lips together and didn't know what to say or do. She couldn't say no to the king, but there wasn't anything else to say.

"No, your grace." She finally answered timidly and it made him smile again.

"Would you please accompany me for a walk in the gardens?" he asked and reached a hand out towards her.

Jade hesitated and he noticed it immediately.

"It is no trick. It will just be the two of us. My son is occupied... with other things... and his own thoughts. " He promised.

"If I may ask, what other things?" She asked suspiciously. The king chuckled.

"Avoiding his mother, just to mention one of the things." The king said in a low laughter. "I promise that he won't join us. Will you do me the honor and come with me now?"

Jade exhaled and nodded. He held out his arm and she laid her hand on it. He then calmly escorted her towards the door.

"Take a break, Loren. I imagine that you haven't eaten today." The king said with a completely different tone than the one he had used towards Jade. This one was stern.

Jade figured that this was the way he spoke to the staff. It wasn't rude but he wasn't negotiating either. He was telling Loren to go away, even though he probably knew very well why Loren was by her side.

"Your grace." Loren answered affirmatively and bowed as they went past him.

"Take a nap while you're at it." The king added. "I dont want to see you sleeping standing up again, do you hear me?"

Jade chuckled in surprise but heard Loren straighten himself. Loren must have been half asleep when the king had arrived.

"My apologies. Of course my king." Loren answered, sounding ashamed that he had been caught.

The King walked with Jade through the castle and out into the gardens. He had taken a route that kept them from walking into the ballroom or even in the vicinity of the guests. Which Jade was very thankful for. Most of all she was thankful that she didn't have to see William. They walked in a slow pace and she saw that the King looked at her sometimes.

"I heard about what happened today." He said without looking at Jade. His eyes were focused on something further down in the garden. Jade bit her lower lip and it felt like her chest shrunk again and like something pressed her lungs together. "My son told me." He added.

William told him about what happened? Did he also tell him about what happened in the chamber? Jade wondered.

"I-"

"I am sorry for the way my son acted." He interrupted her.

What? William had actually told his father this as well? Jade's eyebrows rose quickly in surprise.

The King noticed when he glanced at her quickly but then turned his eyes to where they had been before.

"You are allowed to speak, Jade." He said when she didn't say anything. "I know that you have a sharp tongue. Don't be afraid to speak your mind when it is just us."

"Can I really?" Jade asked. "He is your son."

"I know everything there is to know about him so you can be just as blunt as you want." he chuckled and shrugged his shoulders. "I doubt that you will tell me something about him that I don't already know."

"You are not the one who should apologize." Jade stated in an exhale. She tried to keep calm when her temper started bubbling up inside her again. "Your son is the one that should apologize."

The king laughed shortly.

"Agreed." He said and blinked at her when she looked at him.

"What did he tell you?" Jade asked and forced herself not to call him 'your grace' as he had told her. It felt strange to not call him by his title.

The king stopped in front of a large bush of lilacs and studied its flowers. Their color was a vibrant purple and Jade could almost smell them from where she stood. The king broke of a twig and smelled the flowers calmly. He then turned to her and wiped away a tear from her cheek. Jade hadn't even noticed that it fell. Jade turned her face to the side in embarrassment.

"He told me what he did..." The king sighed. "He seemed devastated and full of remorse. He is very ashamed of what he did and he regrets it terribly." He continued.

Jade didn't feel any happier or comforted just because William was feeling bad. He deserved it. Was William's father here to convince her to forgive him? No, that couldn't be it. He had agreed with her that William should apologize.

"Good." Jade said before she thought her words through.

Damn it, Jade! He is his father... and the king. Keep that mouth shut! But the king didn't get upset or annoyed with her. He just bowed his head in agreement.

"There is something you should know about my son..." He said.

Jade clasped her hands in front of her, waiting. She studied the man in front of her closely. His head was bowed a little and he was studying the grass under their feet.

Then he suddenly looked up at her again.

"He may seem cold as ice and hard like stone... but that is just a mask he wears."

"He has acted like that almost consistently since I got here." Jade said quietly.

"My son is probably the worst at just telling the people around him what he truly wants. I am almost sure that he thinks that it would make him look weak." The king sighed. "He is very concerned about taking my place when that time comes, and he wants to be respected."

"I am sorry, your grace. But by acting like he does, and not only when it comes to me, people will not respect him. They will fear him. He has a very foul and ugly temper." She said and swallowed afterwards.

This was the most honest she had ever been about William, and she had told none other than his father. It made her very uneasy. What if his father had the same temper? But the man in front of her just got a look of sorrow in his eyes.

Something tells me that William's temper isn't something he inherited from his father... Jade thought. But which part did he inherit from the king? Besides his looks?

"I know... I am trying to make him see that as well." He said. "However, I think that you would do a much better job than me."

"Me?" Jade asked. "Why would I do a better job? He barely speaks to me. He doesn't tell me anything."

"Did he tell you why you are here?"

"We are to be married. That is all." Jade answered shortly. The King frowned.

"He only told you that? Nothing more?"

"No. He acts like there is nothing more to tell." Jade answered suspiciously. "I have asked him, but he never said anything else."

"So my son hasn't told you why he chose you..." the king muttered and looked towards the castle. Jade shook her head. He sighed slowly. "That idiot..." he mumbled.

"Your son doesn't say much." Jade answered, but this time he didn't chuckle or laugh. "And he doesn't seem to appreciate being told off either."

"That is true. He doesn't like to be told what to do. " He stated and sighed. "He pouts like his mother instead. I don't want to impose on his..." the king went silent for a moment. "I feel like I need to tell you something." The king sighed and took a step closer to Jade.

Yes, please tell me! Tell me so I can make sense out of this whole nightmare. Jade thought to herself. Could he, please, give her the answers for the person she couldn't figure out on her own. Who was it behind that mask of stone and harsh words?

After a while he shook his head slowly.

"No, I shouldn't... William should tell you himself..." he said and Jade felt disappointed. She would have loved to know why William had chosen her, because she simply couldn't understand why. "But I will tell you one thing."

Jade's eyes locked with the King's and she listened carefully.

"The day William returned from the north, after having... let us say 'found' you... I have never seen him like that." The King said quietly and the memory seemed to bring him joy because his lips turned into a warm smile. "It was another man that came home that day." He continued.

Jade tilted her head to one side as she listened and it seemed to amuse the king because it caused him to smile.

"William has been very... quiet and reclusive, and as he grew older his mood turned quite... dark." Jade frowned in confusion.

Do this mean that he wasn't always like this? And when did he become like this? She wondered while the king continued:

"He was so eager to tell his mother and me about you. I heard from the guards that he actually ran inside as soon as he got off his horse." The King said and laughed at the memory that obviously flashed before his eyes. "He told us that he had found the girl he wanted to spend the rest of his life with and that there was nothing we could do or say to change his mind."

Jade stared at the King in pure shock. Was he talking about the William she had just been crying over all day?

"Just finding you made him the happiest young man I have ever seen."

"Why..." Jade became quite when her thoughts overwhelmed her.

The King turned and faced the castle. She didn't let him out of her sight and he seemed to notice something back at the castle. He put his hands behind his back and clasped then. The corners' of his mouth slowly elevated as he smiled.

"Let him come to you..." He said in a low voice with his eyes still on the castle. There was a light in his eyes that kept a secret from Jade. "I don't think that things will be easy for the two of you, my son is a... complicated young man. Until you get to know him, but I know that it will be worth it. It will take time." He continued. "Will you do me a favor, Jade?" he suddenly asked after a moment of silence.

"I am guessing that it involves your son." Jade muttered and rolled her eyes.

The King turned his face towards her and smiled. It was so warm that Jade couldn't keep from smiling softly as well.

"It does..." he answered in a chuckle. "Be patient. Let William come to you... I don't think you will regret it if you give him the time it takes for him to let you in."

"But your grace... If he is the one that wants me here, shouldn't he let me know? I wasn't given a choice in this matter, I don't even know if I want to be here. He just brought me here without my consent."

"I know it was hard to leave your home, and everything and everyone you know there. But he was so sure that you were the one for him. I didn't think that he would ever be so lucky to have find the girl that he was going to marry on his first try. However, after meeting you, I am as sure as he is. You just need to see the true side of him. That is all." The king said.

His words were kind and warm but Jade had a very hard time imagining that everything he had just said was true. How could it be so hard for William to tell her these things if he was so sure that they were meant for each other?

"I better go back. My queen doesn't like it when I disappear when we have guests." The King said in amusement over Jade's obvious conflicted thoughts. "I don't expect you to join us, but if you do, there will be two people glad to see you." He said and waved the lilac twig around. "...I will be one of them." He added and Jade laughed.

-William-

William stood among the guests, searching the crowd after the one he knew wasn't here.

Jade was nowhere to be seen.

Feeling disappointed, he walked over to his throne and sat down.

His mother was already sitting in hers and had guests sitting close to her. She was delighted about Jade's absence and she hadn't missed the opportunity to say so during the feast. To William's surprise his father had cut her off as soon as she spoke of Jade. They had fallen into a quiet argument while he had thrown glances at the empty seat next to him. It wounded him that Jade wasn't there. That he was the reason she wasn't there.

William had hoped that she would attend at the feast but when she never showed he wasn't surprised. The whole time he had kept an eye on the door. He had barely eaten anything, because every time someone had entered he had looked up. Hoping that it would be her. But it never was.

"Why are you so quiet?" His mother asked. "This is a happy occasion." She said and looked out over the people dancing in front of them. "There's so many lovely girls here..." she added and it was obvious that Jade was meant to be excluded from her statement.

"It is to you, mother. " He growled and ignored the comment about the girls. "Where is father?" he asked so that he didn't have to talk to her.

"I think he went outside." She said and didn't seem to care at all. "You know he wants be alone for a while when we throw feasts or balls. He can't stand being in a room with this many people without getting a moment of silence. He is most likely in the gardens." She said.

William got up and walked out through the glass doors. The gardens spread out beneath him and he inhaled slowly as a breeze hit him. His thoughts disappeared in to the memory of when he had returned to Jade's home for the third time.

Months earlier...

William rode up to the rugged little house and noticed that the girl's father went into a garden. William searched the vicinity for the girl but he couldn't find her. He got off his horse and took off his gloves as he followed her father into the garden.

The farmer was tending to a bush with blooming white roses. They were beautiful and it was obvious he took great care of them.

"Sir." William said and cleared his throat. He puffed his chest a little and prepared for another rejection. He turned his head and the eyes turned dark immediately.

"What are you doing here, boy?" he growled and crossed his arms over a massive chest. William didn't move. He had to stand his ground. "I thought I told you to get off my land."

"I did." William answered. "And now I am back."

"Why?"

"I want to speak to your daughter..." William said even though he didn't think it was any of the old farmer's business. "Alone."

"That will never happen." The man said and nodded towards the exit of the garden. "Get off my land."

"Sir, I want to ask for your daughter's hand in marriage. I don't have to..." The man raised his eyebrow and studied William closely. He walked up to him and William could smell the dirt and sweat on him.

I shouldn't have said the last part...

"Who do you think you are exactly? Do you think you can just walk into my garden and ask for my Jade's hand?" He growled. "You have never met her, have you?"

"No." William confessed. "I saw her at the inn some time ago."

"And?"

"And I..."

"And you decided on that occasion that she was to be your wife?" Jade's father muttered and did not look very impressed.

"No."

Yes. He thought to himself.

"I don't think you can handle my Jade." The man suddenly laughed, mockingly. "She is quite the handful."

"I don't care." William said and breathed in. "I want your daughter... I mean I want her hand in marriage."

"My daughter is not for sale and she is not a pretty little object you can just do as you please with." The man said coarsely.

Will he not budge? What do I have to do? William thought frustrated.

"Who are you? And what makes you think I will give my daughter's hand to you?" The man sighed and was visibly annoyed with William's stubbornness.

"I am William, son of King Uldard the fourth." William answered and it poured out of him like water. He didn't think of mentioning which kingdom he came from since most people recognized his father's name. The man laughed.

"Good one, boy." He said and laughed again. "Tell me, did you fall off your horse?"

"I did not." William answered and started to get agitated.

"Tell me: What does a prince want with my daughter? A boy like you is the last thing she needs."

"I assure you, I am no boy." William muttered and kept his temper in line. He would never get Jade if he lost his temper in front of this stubborn farmer. "Your daughter will never want for anything for the rest of her life if you give me her hand." He promised.

The old farmer's eyes narrowed.

Is he considering it?

Now...

William was tired from just thinking how much time he spent trying to convince Jade's father.

The stubborn man hadn't caved in a day... It had taken William several days and a few threats from the father.

"If her father ever found out about today... He would walk here if he had to, and then kill me..." William sighed. He had promised Jade's father, and her mother, that he would take care of her. That she would want for nothing and that he would do anything to make her happy, if he could have her hand.

William walked to the steps leading down to the first garden. He searched the gardens for his father. He found him after a while, but not alone to William's surprise. He focused his eyes to see better in the darkness. His heart skipped a beat.

"Jade." He whispered as he recognized the dark hair and how she moved. His father broke of a piece of a bush and they were talking about something.

"What are you doing?" he asked his father but so quiet that only he could hear the question. Suddenly he noticed that his father had seen him. Jade hadn't. She was standing with her side towards him and was listening to something his father was saying.
"What are they talking about?"

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I hope you liked it!

Love Jenny