Just like Elena had said, her ride to her new life had arrived at exactly six o'clock; but it was not what she had expected. The car sitting outside her house was a black limo with a driver dress in a black suit and tie and a drivers cap which was black with a deep red strip and a peck that fell down just above his eyes and black cokade at the front. He stood with his black leather gloved hands behind his back with the door open waiting for her. Grace looked around her house for the last time as she held onto a photo frame with a picture of her father and her in it.

With a heavy sighed she turned around and limped over to her crutch. She hooked it onto her arm and she made her way out of her flat closing and locking the door. She pushed the set of keys through the letter box and looked at the golden numbers on the door. Turning around, she made her way down the stairs she knew she would not miss.

" Good morning Ma'am." The driver spoke as his green eyes covered with thick lashes smiled to her. He puts out his hands to help her into the car but Grace hits them away.

" I may be crippled, but I don't need help." She told him with a smile trying not to offend him. The driver smiled and nodded stepping back.

" Sorry ma'am." He said softly as she slipped into the cold black leather seat and the driver shut the door. She balanced her crutch against the seat and door as the driver started the engine and drove away from her flat. She caressed her thumb up and down the wooden frame as she smiled softly, remembering when the picture was taken.

*Flashback*

" Buttercup, come here." Grace's father called with a warm smile upon his face. A six year old Grace ran over to him wearing a yellow sun dress with a shinny yellow ribbon around her belly. Her brown hair tied in two pig tails on either side of her hair.

" Daddy!" She yelled happily as she bounced into his arms hugging him with her small arms around his neck. They chuckled and laughed happily as they spun around.

" How are you?" He asked her with a smile pushing his head back to look at his daughter. Grace looked exactly like her father with brown soft eyes and brown hair with a button nose. Grace sat in his arm as he tickled her tummy with his left causing her to laugh and squirm trying to get away from him.

" Hey, you want ice cream?" He asked her, Grace nodded prefusely as he took them towards the house but stopped and pulled out his camera.

" I know why don't we take a photo!" Her dad called out and held the camera pointing at them.

" Say cheese." Her dad said smiling at the camera.

" I don't like cheese." Grace grumbled with a pout causing her father to laugh.

" Okay then. Say ice cream!" He said and Grace smiled looking at the camera.

" Ice cream!" They both yelled smiling as they tok the picture.

*End of flashback*

" I miss you daddy." Grace whispered as a tear fell from her eyes an landed on his face. Grace reached over and wiped it away from him as she sniffed a deep breath; lifting her eyes up to look out the window too see they were now out the city and on the motorway. They were driving over the Forth Road bridge and headed higher up Scotland taking twists and turns.

" Ma'am, it will take another hour before we reach our desitination." The driver called back to her as Grace nodded with a smile to him.

" Okay." She spoke quietly as she placed her head against the window and closed her eyes, slowly drifting off into a shallow sleep. She was jolted awake when the limo pulled to a stop, she blinked a few times taking her forehead from the window and looked out onto the castle that stood before her. It was beautiful with beige stone walls and many white framed windows with a tower at the front entrance. The limo had stopped next to the door that had a few stone steps leading up to a single wooden door with an arch over head. The driver had gotten out and opened her door so fast Grace found it strange, not paying any attention to it, she grabbed her crutch and managed to pulled herself out of the car. Grace looked at amazed at the sheer magnitude of the castle in front of her, it had a modern sense mix with it original old fashion style. Grace hobbled over the red gravel path and up the stairs one at a time. Just as she made it up the fifth and final step the door opened to reaves a young woman with dirty blond hair tied back neatly in a short ponytail. Her unnaturally blue eyes looked sown to her with a stern frown on her face, her hands crossed over her chest with a clipboard under it. She wore a black pencil skirt with a deep yellow t shirt with a black suit coat over it.

" You must be Gracia Freebird." She said in a very authoritative tone.

" Grace, just Grace is fine." She told her and she nodded sharply before turning around and walking into the castle.

" Follow me." She muttered as they walked into the hallway, it's walls coated in a white paint to give the hall light as the width was fairly thin. A set of carpeted stairs wound up on her right hand side with dark wooded delicately carved banisters.

" This way, you will be meet the queen only this evening as the king has had some urgent matters to attend." The woman said as she walked a bit to fast for Grace to keep up.

" Can you slow down... A bit." She asked with a small shy smile. The woman nodded to her and slowed down just enough that Grace would not fall behind.

" My name is Alicia I am the head secretary to the royal family. Anything they need done I see that it is." She said as she stopped at two large wooden doors and knocked four times. They waited for a bit until a voice called for them to enter and Alicia opened the door walking in.

" My queen, Gracia is here." She said as Grace waited for to be called in. Suddenly, out of nowhere she felt her nerves kick in and the hand that held her silver crutch began to sweat.

" Send her in." A gentle voice spoke to her as Alicia looked to Grace and glared at her.

" You may come in." She growled to Grace how nodded and took in a breath and limped forward. She entered the very open spacious drawing room. The walls were painted a light blue with a golden mirror over a wooden fire place. Three armchair sat around a round wooden table just over from the fireplace where a gentle fire burn brightly, filling the room with light from the darkness of night. A woman with short brown hair curled on her head just covering her ears, her unnaturally blue eyes looked to her with calmness and spoke royalty as she sat on the armchair facing Grace; back straight and her hands neatly folded together on her lap.

" Please have a seat." She spoke more a command to Grace, who nodded and slowly made her way to the armchair that had it back to Grace and sat down as gracefully as she could.

" You really are beautiful, Miss Freebird." The queen spoke to her causing a large blush to form on her cheeks.

" Thank you, your majesty. But please just call me Grace." She spoke with confidence, it was like her days back in the army when she would be summoned to a superior's office.

" Then please call me Anna, I insist." The queen smiled softly warming up Grace's heart. The queen was indeed very beautiful and attractive, but also very young to have a child around her age. The queens flawless pale white skin made Grace fell flawed as the queen dress in a light blue tweet suit coat with a white shirt and blue pencil skirt with blue heels; while Grace wore baggy jeans and a black leather coat with a purple shirt on underneath.

" Your majesty, as you know I was a soldier. It would not be proper for me to address you as an equal." Grace told her with a stone face.

" Oh Grace, you will soon be my family. You must relax my dear." She told Grace but Grace did not relax at all, it was drilled into her to show such respect to her superiors and the queen was the second highest in ranks. Grace opened her mouth to speak when the doors opened and footsteps could be heard walking towards them as the door closed again.

" Ah Grace, I would like to you meet my son." The queen said as her son rounded the corner.

" You must forgive me for not standing as I am unable to do so." Grace bowed her head looking to the ground to show her respect.

" And why is that?" The prince growled lowly, clearly unhappy with her not standing to greet him.

" Richard! Do not be so rude!" The queen scolded as Grace looked up to see an man very familiar to her. His black hair styled gracefully with a little stubble over his string jawline. He wore a blood red shirt with black formal trousers and shoes. As soon as their eyes connected Richard's mouth fell open slightly as his eyes wondered over her. He remembers Grace, but he knew she would not remember him, it did not take long for his surprised face to turn hard and cold again.

" This is her, the girl I am too marry." He spoke with such disgust causing Grace to fell annoyed at him.

" Yes now, I want you to take her to her room." The queen instructed her son as groaned in annoyance.

" Come on, let's get this over with." The prince moaned as Grace pulled herself up and took hold of her crutch before following after him. Grace stopped at the door and turned to the queen and bowed softly.

" Your majesty." She spoke before walking out the room following Richard through the halls.

" You were a soldier correct?" The prince asked her as he walked a few feet in front of her, not looking back.

" Yes, I was a field medic, served for three years. How did you know?" Grace asked curiously as she walked as fast as she could to keep up with him.

" I want to know who I was being forced to marry, so I researched you." Richard said as a lie so that she would not remember their first encounter just under a year ago.

" So you know what happened then." She whispered cringing at the painful memories it brought back.

" Yes, I do." He said in his hard voice.

" This is you room here, my room is the one adjacent to your own. There is a party being held in tomorrow to announce our... engagement." He said almost reluctantly to her as he opened a door to a fair sized room.

" Looked I am not to happy with all this either. In fact I would rather be in a bar drinking away my life, like I normally do." Grace said limping past him and into the room. The walls were covered with a cream wallpaper with a golden framed double bed and dark wooden furniture. There was a doorless archway leading to a very stylish bathroom.

" Than why agree?" He growled clearly annoyed at the whole situation. Grace thought that he no doubt thought she was after the money involved with marrying a royal; but that was far from the truth.

" Because I had no other choice, once a deal is made it must be seen through. Even if it was not my deal." Grace said as she placed her crutch onto the thick bed as sat down on it with a sigh.

" Who's deal was it?" Richard asked curious as to her intentions.

" My mothers, it is she who was the fortune from this marriage. But as soon as she told me about the deal. I disowned her and now I have no family but myself." Grace shrugged her shoulders looking down.

" Your father?" Richard asked, clearly want ping to get rid of her.

" Disappeared when I was eleven. Never heard from him since." She told him, Richard only nodded in response to her.

" Get some sleep. You will need it." Was all he said before he left her alone in the new room.