1711, Aethiel Palace, Kestramore City

No one would have expected that such a seemingly sweet and calm lady could harbour such hatred and vengeance in her heart.

Inside the bathing chamber, Marguerite sat on the floor all alone. Her inner clothes were still soaking wet and clung to her skin, and in front of her was her precious silk dress, horribly stained by a splash of black ink.

She did not know how it was stained in the first place, but even if she knew, the dress was already ruined nonetheless. Marguerite held onto a cleaning rag, trying her best to scourge away the stain, but to no avail.

The black splatter would remain there forever, ruining both her hopes and dreams.

Marguerite had purchased that dress with the little money she had left, in hopes that she would be able to charm the Prince and have him wrapped around her little finger.

     But no matter what Marguerite did, it seemed that the Prince's eyes were always on that ditzy little fool, Catarina de Fontaine.

Now that she thought of it, Marguerite recalled that the fool and her buffoon friends chattered about a spilled pot of kohl. Her grip on the cleaning rag tightened, causing soap suds to leak between her fingers.

     Catarina, Marguerite growled. Why can't you just drop dead? If it weren't for you and your family, I wouldn't be living like this! I would have been the finest lady in this kingdom, and the Prince would be mine! Mine!

The young Lady le Prince had always despised House de Fontaine, but she never tried to harm them. Not yet, at the very least. Now as she looked at that black splatter, she realised that she had long passed the threshold.

By hook or by crook, she would destroy House de Fontaine.

        "Oh, the weather is absolutely dreadful," Cosmina remarked as she pulled the windows shut. "It started on that night at the opera, and it hadn't stopped raining since."

Catarina looked up from her novel and glanced at the window. "You're right," she murmured. "At this rate, the capital city will be flooded by water."

She abruptly stood up from her bed, leaving behind the novel on top of the covers and headed towards the fireplace. The fire was about to die out, so she tossed in several chunks of firewood. In a few moments, the fire was alive and roaring again.

         "What could this be ?" Cosmina's voice rang, and Catarina turned around to see her flipping through the pages of her novel. She let out a blood-curdling shriek.

           "No, no! Don't read it!" she screeched, trying to pry the novel out of Cosmina's hand.

           "And why is that ?" the Lady Breckenridge chuckled while letting go of the novel.

            "Because.. because it's not yours," she bluffed. Cosmina let out a chuckle.

             "My Handsome Knight by Patricia Marlborough," she said, gesturing to the bright pink hardback novel in Catarina's grip. "Personally I did not enjoy it that much. It was a bit raunchy and wild for my taste, but if that's what you like... To each their own, I guess."

Catarina briskly shook her head. "No, I didn't like it at all. I actually borrowed it from the Royal Library. Why the book is in the Royal Library, I will never know. All I wanted was to learn something."

           "Learn about what, Catarina? Birds and bees ?" Cosmina teased.

Catarina swallowed the lump in her throat and slowly sat down on the nearby bed. "That night at the opera, the Prince told me that he loved me."

            "Oh? And what did you say to him ?" Cosmina responded, now becoming interested in Catarina's story.

             "I... I said.. that I don't love him, and that I never will. I said that there will never be room in my heart for him.."

              "Hmm... And that's why you think before you speak. So what are you reading the novel for? Fantasizing about a lover that you already turned away ?"

               "I regret what I said. I was too harsh. I borrowed that book from the library, hoping that I could understand more about being in love. It contained none of the sorts, though, " Catarina commented bitterly as she glared at the novel.

                "Not only did you not reach your goal, now everyone knows that you read Patricia Marlborough's questionable novels. If I were you I'd be quite worried. After all, your reputation now lies in the hands of the librarian that checked out this book for you."

Catarina let out a tired sigh. Then, she shifted her gaze towards Cosmina. "Mina, have you ever been in love ?"

The Lady Breckenridge blinked in shock, and an anxious chuckle left her lips. "Yes. And I still am."

Catarina gasped. "Really ?"

                "Really," Cosmina responded. "But I don't know if it could be considered love. I don't even know his name."

The dark-haired lass was quiet, but her beaming eyes indicated for Cosmina to go on.

               "After I finished my studies at the Academy, I asked for my parent's permission to travel the kingdom.

They agreed under the condition that I took my brother, Vaughn, with me. We started in Avionne, and to Kestramore City we went.
     From there we went to Esterdel to see the sunflower fields, and then we snuck into a ship that transported us to the Isles of Vitale, where we saw the salt flats-"

               "Mina, can we get to the part where you meet him ?"

               "Fine, fine. After the Isles of Vitale, our next destination was Aurigny. We heard the locals talk about a mysterious artisan, a man with skin as pale as the moon, with hands that are littered with scars. They say he has eyes like that of an animal, one blue eye and one brown."

Catarina gasped in shock. "How very odd! And does he really look like they say he does ?"

The tips of Cosmina's lips curled up. "He does. And it isn't just his appearance. Everything about this man is extraordinary. The way he speaks, the way he works... It is impossible not to fall in love with him."

Then, Catarina began to think of Julian. She thought of the way her heart quickened whenever she saw him pass by, how she held onto her breath until he had gone.

            "Does your heart beat faster when you are around him ?" she murmured.

            "It does. It feels as if I had just ran across a huge field."

There was also the matter of her chronic clumsiness, the way she seemed to lose her fluency in speech whenever he looked at her. It was as if she had reverted back to a child that had not learnt how to speak yet.

           "D'you ever stutter whenever you talk to him? Or accidentally saying things that you did not mean to say ?"

            "At first, yes. It didn't help that he was so cold and domineering. I first met him at the local tavern, and it was raining heavily that night. Vaughn and I were soaking wet, so we went into the tavern for shelter..."

Cosmina's voice gradually became more and more distant as Catarina became lost in her own thoughts.

She thought of his beautiful amber eyes, and the way they seemed to sparkle underneath the sun. She thought of his voice, so deep and sultry, just like a pot of honey lemon tea. The way he always exuded warmth and comfort, the way he always made her feel safe and sound.

    Wait for me, I will come to you.

That voice... Though it was distorted by the heavy rain, the voice of that man from the maze sounded oddly familiar. She could feel the same warmth in his tone, as if she were being tenderly held by a lover, whose lips incessantly rained kisses all over her cheeks.

           "Mina, I think I now know who the man from the maze is."