I glanced around on my way to the room and wrote a message to faith. 

'sister, go to the prince's room and snoop around. see if you can find the work he has been neglecting and bring that to my rooms' 

simple sweet, and to the point. The problem was that the only person I trusted to give this message was my ladies in waiting and Nema. None of those options were around, so we had to send it directly. I needed to send a fire message. I moved into a dark corner, hoping I had time 

"Fire," I said. A palm-sized flame appeared in my hand "ashes to ashes, dust to dust, in fire we burn, in fire we trust" I spoke the incantation and lit the note on fire. As quickly as I started the flame, I put out the message that would reform out of these flames in front of faith. Hopefully, she was alone. Then I entered the dining room. 

"you dare summon me," the prince was fuming when I entered the room. He must have run here to get here this quickly. He marched up to me and shoved me into the wall, but I remained standing. 

"I grew tired of the old dining room and found this one to my liking. It is simply a location" nonchalant; please buy that. he crowded my space with me pressed against the wall. "I apologize if this choice of venue is hurtful in some way." 

"it is a room" he glanced away in an attempt to control whatever emotion he was trying to hide. I reached out and touched his face. I was going to try to caress him to see if that worked, but he snatched my hand in his tight grip leaving bruises in his wake again. 

"It seems like more than a room to you" I did not fight his grip as it tightened further, practically threatening to break it. 

"It is none of your concern" With tight lips and ridged stance; he looked like he was going to snap at any moment. 

"I simply want to understand you" my following action was a risk, and oh did it pay off. I reached my other hand forward. As soon as it touched his chest, he jerked back but forgot to release my first hand, and he snapped the wrist. The crack of my bones echoed through the dining room as I sank to the floor. The tears in my eyes were real. "why" is all I asked, teary-eyed and staring at him. he turned sheet white at the scene in front of him. to be honest, I couldn't feel much of anything, but I think that is because my brain hadn't caught up to this yet. I cried on the floor. The prince looked at the door. He shouted twice, but no one came, so instead, he scooped me up in his arms and walked me to the castle physician. 

"I am so sorry, Estell. I didn't realize how tightly I was gripping your arm." he apologized over and over again but the pain was starting to kick in, and the crying was becoming more and more real. 

"Estella my name is Estella" 

"what, oh I am so sorry, Estella, please forgive me please" I nodded, not saying anything but tunneled my face further into his chest. He held me close as we walked into the physician's rooms "Montgomery, I need you," the prince called into the room. I felt his words rumble through his chest. 

"what seems to be the matter, your highness?" an old man's voice hit my ears. 

"her arm is broken." 

"oh my, put her on the table while I get some supplies" the prince went to put me down, but my other arm clung to him, so he ended up sitting with me. 

"It hurts," I cried, still burying my face in his chest. His arms were around me as he swayed in an attempt as a comforting motion. 

"I can go get your sisters. I think Diana is not leaving until tomorrow," he offered, then moved to get up. 

"no, please don't leave me alone," I cried out, gripping his arm

"I won't; I won't." 

"tell me something to distract me, please," I begged. It even sounded weird to my ears. 

"um, the room we were in, that room was my mother's favorite dining room. We always had our meals in there as a kid. she said she liked the feeling of walking amongst the clouds. She taught me to dance in that room. She told me stories in that room, and we made blanket forts in there. My dad would always come in and destroy our forts, saying he was an invading army since we wouldn't let him in." he shivered not from the cold but the memory. "all my good memories of my mother are in that room. If I ever want to remember her, I go in there. She always told me to follow my heart and be a good man; if I did, being a good king would come naturally. no, she is probably disappointed with me for what I did in her room." 

the doctor had started splinting my arm; I felt the sting and gritted my teeth, but his story too entranced me to notice fully. "she is not disappointed in you. she told you to follow your heart, and all you were trying to do is protect it" I told him

"what you did, well, it did not warrant the reaction I gave. I overstepped blamed you for my troubles, and all you were trying to do was be nice to me" he shook his head and looked away. 

"how about we start over as friends. I'm Estella. I have two sisters that I love dearly, and I am new to this area" he laughed at my idea but participated anyway. 

"I am Dimitri, I have two brothers and two sisters, and I would love to show you around some time so that you are more comfortable with the area." 

"all done," the physician announced, "that should take about two months to heal, then we will take all this stuff off your arm" I nodded and looked at my arm. There was a constant pain in my wrist from the brake and the tight wrapping. I had four rods of wood strapped in place by strips of fabric to stabilize the wrist in the correct position. ThereDimitri helped me off the counter. I swayed on my feet and used my non-broken hand to keep from falling. Dimitri lifted me in his arms and carried me out of the chambers. 

"the doctor gave you something for the pain. That is why you feel dizzy and sleepy. Close your eyes, Estella. I will take you to your rooms," and I had no choice but to follow his order and let sleep overtake me.