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Link to the map: http://i.imgur.com/gC6JlYq.jpg (Also included on the side for reference)

:  C H A P T E R  T W O  :

            Ambrose looked no different from when I last saw him. His hair was short and blonde, almost white, and his skin was just the same. He was pale and looked striking in his faded suit of grays and reds. I noted how he had his hands clasped in front of him in a slightly nervous way, and how he came to attention when I entered the room.

            Neither one of us said a thing until I was close enough for him to reach out for my hand. I had not realized I had my hands bundled around my family's crested medallion until I let him take my palms and bend down to kiss my knuckles. I nearly melted when his calloused yet soft hands touched my skin. "Would you like to take a walk with me?" he asked.

            Do not leave the suite without a guard, Conroy had warned.

            "Yes, of course," I agreed, and shared a brief glance with one of the guards at the door. He nodded and opened the door for us, and when we exited, so did he. We were followed at a safe distance so as not to be heard.

            Ambrose walked at my pace, and kept his hands clasped behind him. "This is your first time going to a celebration and being of age, right?" he said, even though we both knew it was right. We knew all the royals our age, and knew beforehand when celebrations were going to be held, and there had not been any others between mine and Eli's.

            "Yeah, I guess I should be keeping track now," I mused softly, looking out towards the paintings on the walls of the corridors. It kept my mind off of the thought of how he walked with his shoulders back and his head high, like a man preparing the bowstring and notching an arrow up to his cheek.

            I was reminded of his Coming of Age celebration, when we did not know each other all that well, yet we still danced and went our separate ways. Theo and I spent so long out in the forests without supervision, and jumped the estate boarder so we could run the horse trails. Sir Ambrose of Res'rustica was one of those traditional men of his culture who rode horses bareback and hunted in the birch wood forests with his friends. The mountains there were white and orange in the fall, and gorgeous at sunrise and set. If I could go anywhere other than Damunt, Res'rustica was the next best place.

            And I thought about the fantasy of horseback riding alongside Ambrose through the birch forests.

            "Have the leaves turned colors yet?" I asked, this time looking up to him where a small smile came upon his lips.

            "It's beautiful. Before leaving I went on a run with my father, and the leaves are falling now. The streams are starting to freeze over at night," he informed me. "You should visit sometime."

            My ears went red, and I hastily made sure my hair was covering them.

            "I remember when we were talking earlier, you mentioned how you loved the forests back in my home country. I figured you'd enjoy seeing them again," he added quickly, which caused my game face to break a little just so I could smile.

            "That would be incredible! Perhaps I could convince my father to arrange a visit. You talked about the waterfalls by the mountains--we could go there and hike," I suggested, taking the bold move to grip onto his arm. His amber eyes met mine, and for the moment we were both on board with the idea.

            I glanced over my shoulder to where my guard was, conversing with one of the handmaidens passing by with a dress hooked over her arm. A sly smile grew on my lips as I took Ambrose by the hand and said, "Come on! Before he sees!" and dashed towards the columns that led out to the courtyard.

            He steered me over one of the cobblestone paths that ducked beneath weeping shrubs and ivy trellises. We were laughing the entire way, trying without success to quiet ourselves before we inevitably collapsed onto one of the benches hidden around a shrine of wide-leafed plants climbing overhead.

            Ambrose kicked his feet up on one of the nearby garden stones and settled our hands onto the bench. I pushed my hair back and leaned down to pick up the hem of my dress, and check that it was not soiled during our run. I kept my other hand still tightly clinging to his.

            "You know," he started, bringing my attention back to him. He cleared his throat and started again, "You know, there is a dinner tonight."

            I knew about it. Conroy made sure of it. "Yeah, I have to sit with my family," I muttered, pretending to hurl at the thought, which caused him to laugh and nudge me to cut it out.

            "After the dinner we should take a walk. A real one--no guards, no running, just the two of us. I heard there's this wonderful trail that follows the edge of the cliff, and at night you can see all the stars." My heart fluttered at the thought, as much as I hated it doing so. I wanted to see the stars with Ambrose. I wanted to take a walk, a real walk, with Ambrose, by the cliff face overlooking the ocean...

            "We should," I agreed. After a brief silence that consisted of the two of us simply smiling at each other, drinking in the fact that we were both absolutely, completely alone underneath this romantic archway, we realized that we were in fact not all that alone.

            My guard, who we had abandoned in the palace, passed us from the other side of a row of rose bushes and shrubbery, only to dart back and cut through the thin space between them. I winced and covered my guilty smile up with my hand that I pulled out of Ambrose's. His face said it all; I was in trouble.

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            Among other things, dining etiquette was not one of my specialties. I did not enjoy sitting up straight, or drinking from expensive goblets when I could just snack on fruit while pouring over a night's worth of history studies. I especially did not enjoy sitting among my family, excluding Claudia, at one of the esteemed tables among royalty.

            I had to lean over incredibly far in order to catch a glimpse of Ambrose sitting among his relatives. His younger sister was seated between him and an empty chair where their father would be, if it were not for the fact that he had matters to attend to in Res'rustica that couldn't otherwise be taken care of by his court. Ambrose had mentioned a small comment about a forest fire near the eastern bank, but reassured me that the birch forest was safe and sound.

            In the center of everyone's attention, Eli was present alongside both of his parents. All three of them were dark-skinned and accompanied by three other children, though one of which was older and was already arranged with a man from Faymoore. The woman and her husband were stoic, just as their relatives were when faced with a room of suitors. I found myself entranced by the man from Faymoore, mainly because it was rare that I ever saw a person from their court here at celebrations.

            They were rather reserved people, and as far as I knew had not participated in these events.

            It became apparent after a brief message from Theo that the man's family had also joined the festivities, and were the strangers sitting beside the Valens royal family.  I recognized the father, mainly due to the fact that he had once shared a conversation with my father and Theo all those years ago when my brother was just a young kid seeking insight. His long, white beard was easily recognizable, along with his native robes that were a striking contrast to the delicate fabrics donning the Valenian family.

            The entire hall was filled to the brim with people. Guards lined the walls, and servants bustled about, carrying silver trays and plates of appetizers. We were all presented our food after Eli's father provided a welcoming speech, and everyone up at the head table ate in relative silence. Since there was no other way to make this meal any more exciting, I decided to savor the Valens dish that consisted of a golden sea fish stuffed with vegetables.

            My dress felt tight by the end of the dinner. The corset reminded me that I ate too much, but I couldn't stop myself from eating a bit of the odd yet deliciously flavored mousse for dessert. I always did have a sweet tooth.

            As the tables were being dismissed, I leaned discretely over to catch Ambrose's eye. His charming smile could be seen from over here, and I returned to my seat with red-tinted ears and a grin of my own.

            Eli's family table was the first to leave, followed by mine and the Faymoore family. I pushed my chair back and made a move to stand up, but was interrupted by a hand on my forearm. I brought my eyes behind me to where the man of the hour stood, staring down at me while he wore a stoic visage. His dark, coal-like eyes were unreadable as he flickered between my own.

           "Princess Maxine," he said suddenly, and offered a discrete bow. After a moment's hesitation, I returned it. "May I talk with you in private?" he asked, leaning down to speak soto voce to me. I swallowed harshly, head swimming from the fact that he was touching my arm and I could feel the presence of Ambrose across the room, leaving in the opposite direction.

            When I could not find my voice to speak, I merely nodded and allowed him to help me up from my seat and walk me out after our siblings. He stood closest to the wall, and held his elbow out for me to hold onto. He was a gentleman in all sense of the word, but his demeanor worried me.

            We arrived in the entrance hall to the dining area, and Eli steered me away from our parents, who were chatting as they were escorted down the hall by a throng of guards. As far as I could tell, we were alone in the hallway, other than the guards stationed at every other door.

            "What's this about?" I questioned as we stepped into a separate hall. It was decorated floor to ceiling with paintings of famous Valen royalty, and people of high standing. Glass cases stood on elegant, gold-trimmed tables, and inside the cases were vases, historical antiques, and family heirlooms. Eli kept walking, hardly noting them at all as I struggled to keep up while still awing at the art on the walls.

            He pulled me into a nook in the wall where a massive wooden door rose up from the ground. He leaned back against the wall across from me, and suddenly his face betrayed it all. The Eli I saw at my celebration was never so... nervous or concerned.

            "What's that face for? You are worrying me, Eli," I said, reaching over and prodding his arm. He drew his eyes up to me and shook his head urgently.

            "Did Baldwin tell you about this?" he asked me. Since I hadn't a clue as to what he was about to say, I shook my head. My father never told me anything to make me as concerned as Eli.

            This just seemed to upset him more. He groaned and put his head in his hands. "I apologize, Maxine. I really do, but I don't think I can go through with this. Our parents wish for us to be together like Rayln and that Faymoore half-wit."

            At first it was shocking to hear this, but then it became prevalent in the way Father insisted we go to Eli's celebration, and how our table was next to theirs. It was difficult enough as it was watching the painful exchanges between Eli's older sister and the Faymoore heir. Rayln, the olive-skinned Valen, was arranged a husband for the purpose of gaining an ally that would help in future endeavors.

            "You must feel the same way, Maxine. I have no intention of starting any kind of hostility between our families, but... do you not believe in finding a husband in your own time? As I do a wife?" He had no need of trying to convince me of that. I simply nodded, because I could not trust my own voice to start shouting and throwing a tantrum over how absurd my father was to bring me here blindly.

            Eli released a sigh of relief, and brought my hand to his lips to kiss it. "Thank you! We must talk later on speaking to our parents about this."

            He was getting ready to leave, but I felt like we had only just started this conversation. I grabbed onto his arm and held him back, staring helplessly into his face. "What do you mean? We can't trust that they will not arrange us together against our will. Is that not how Rayln was arranged?"

            He licked at his lips and looked away. "I know, but there are other ways of alliance than marriage, do you disagree?"

            I hated my father then, but the strength of my loathing diminished when I realized he was only doing this for the good of the Damunt and Valens people alike. We were just a ship's passing away from each other, and in any case there was trouble stirring between the two of us in Matalivens. Civil war was starting to affect our trading routes, and if it came down to it, the Valens were prepared to put an end to it all with our help as well as the Faymoore population. Father was willing to risk his daughter's freedom of marriage in order to protect our people.

            And that was something I would have to risk, if it was for the good of the people.

            "Maybe they are right, Eli," I said quietly, knowing it was the opposite of what he wanted to hear.

            "But Maxine-"

            "I understand that we both want to find love in our own time, but... sometimes we have to put our own preferences aside."

            He looked appalled at first, but then slapped on the stoic expression all his family members wore. Truthfully, I felt guilty for saying it, and wanted to take it back as soon as it came out, but he stopped me from blurting out anything more.

            His hand rested on my arm, and he said, "Just think about what I said."

            A moment later, he pulled away and walked off. I stepped out of the cubby in the wall and faced the direction he turned to go. He breezed past a man standing farther down the corridor, who appeared to have been coming in this direction. I recognized his pale complexion to be Ambrose.

            I felt exhausted after that conversation with Eli. It was the last thing I had expected from this celebration, and I feared now than any attempt at pursuing Ambrose would be futile. Still, it did not stop me from walking up and capturing his hand, pulling him in the direction of the doors to the outside.

            "Why were you with Eli?" he questioned as we exited the palace together. We were in a courtyard directly in the center of the massive estate, and eventually found the narrow pathway out to the garden by the cliff face. As we walked along the cobblestone trail, I felt the weight of everything piling down on me.

            I resisted the urge to rub my eye because of the time Claudia spent on the makeup paint. Still, nothing could stop the strain on them as the tears starting to gather at the rim. I looked away from Ambrose to hide them, and pretended to be interested in the perfectly trimmed hedges glowing blue under the bright moon.

            "He just wanted to ask me about something our parents were discussing. I didn't know what he was talking about," I told him. I felt his hand grip onto mine, and for the moment I felt better.

            "If it upsets you, you don't have to talk about it," he reassured me. I tried to smile, but it was as if an invisible pair of hands were straining to keep the corners down. I did not want to end up like Rayln and the Faymoore man. I did not want to look at my father again until I was sure he would agree to some other settlement.

            I did not want to be royal at that moment.

            I shut my eyes and tried my best to drown out the picture of a better tomorrow where I lived here and Matalivens was not threatening to collapse under its own weight. Against my better judgement, I smudged my hand over my cheek where a tear fell, and came up with a black smudge from the makeup.

            "Dear gods, it's the first day and it is already a disaster," I complained with a hallow laugh. His arm came around me, and a moment later I was nestled up against his chest, reveling in the comfort he provided. We stood a good few feet away from the cliff's edge, but we could still see the ocean lapping against the stacks of rocks out at sea. The spray of water was caught in the moon's light, and I did not feel as terrified of the ocean anymore.

            We watched the approach of a ship, and how it came parallel to the coast. It was silhouetted against the moonlight rippling on the waves. The port was a good mile or two to the north, and I was surprised to find it so close when we were suddenly interrupted by a set of commotion rising up behind us.

            "You there! Step away from the edge this instant! Get to the palace!" someone was shouting, which startled us both away from each other. I whirled around and faced the guard, who was coming up on us. In his hands, he held a bow. It was one of the few times I ever saw a bow in the hands of a guard.

            "What is it? What's going on?" Ambrose ordered, but did as the man said and started walking back towards the palace. I hung back, mainly because I was stunned to see the guards post themselves at the edge of the cliff, bows drawn and arrows targeting the ship below. I turned back to peer over the edge and into the water where specks of black, like ants, were moving towards land.

            One of the archers shouted down to the ship, but their voice was distorted in the wind as it was carried over to me. I was jolted back by a hand on my arm, and I struggled away from them only to realize it was a guard trying to move me away from the cliffside, but it was too late.

            A massive blast down below left my ears ringing, but it was nothing compared to the cannon hitting the cliff face and rocking the ground beneath me as it started to crumble away from the edge. I screamed out loud, and leapt towards the garden railing, but only caught my hands on the edge of the rocky cliff as it broke away.

            "Maxine!" Ambrose screamed, racing forward to catch me, but a guard held him back. The man who had taken me by the arm fell behind me down the massive drop to the water.

            I wailed in horror as I watched him turn into nothing, and the rocks crash into the waves. Another cannon shook the cliff face, just as I was reaching a hand out to one of the archers. My grip slipped on the cliff, and after that my vision skewed and blurred into black nothingness.