One year later

As on most mornings, Astrid woke up with a scream wedged in her throat.

In her dream, she walked, barefooted, on the marble balustrade of one of the balconies of the castle when an arrow pierced her heart. She saw herself spread her arms wide, her golden-white ball gown fluttering around her body like a huge pair of wings as she precipitated towards the waterfall...

Shivering, the princess pulled the tangled covers to her chest, leaned on her elbow, and peeked through the gap between the midnight-blue curtains enveloping her bed. The wan light fighting its way inside through the small diamond-shaped panes of glass of the window told her that the sun had not risen entirely yet. She let herself fall back onto the pillows, one hand pushing a few golden curls from her eyes, her thoughts returning to her dream.

Why couldn't she stop dreaming about him?! An entire year had elapsed since she had spoken to the mysterious man on the balcony for the first and the last time. She had never told anyone what had happened that night-- when Arabella, on her uncle's orders, had come to look for her, Astrid had been in her chamber, pretending to be asleep.

Astrid had spent the whole year attacking her lady-in-waiting, Orion, and even maids and servants with carefully worded questions that did not raise suspicions, at least not enough to reach her uncle's ears, and now she was absolutely certain that no one but herself had seen the blond man in the castle.

Had he been real? Had he died that night? Had she simply dreamed him up?

No body had been found on the shores of the river in Starling; she had made sure about that too. Whoever he was, he had removed himself from her life completely after that night, and she should have forgotten about him a long time ago. Why not even the threat of the approaching trial, followed by the wedding, could banish the memory from her mind, she didn't know.

The soft sound of the door being opened pulled her out of her reverie. It was too early for Arabella, her lady-in-waiting never woke her up before sunrise... unless... it was her birthday.

It was Astrid's sixteenth birthday today and the castle had been a-buzz with the preparations for the ball she wasn't supposed to know about for weeks-- an event which meant that she would have to suffer two balls this month. As if the usual Black Night Ball wasn't enough.

How could she have forgotten? Something like this, two balls in as many weeks, had never happened before, not in her lifetime. But, apparently, her uncle who couldn't wait to send her off for the trial soon after her birthday, and Orion who was counting the days to their wedding that would happen the moment the trial was over, had apparently conspired to make a big event of her sixteenth birthday.

Astrid had noticed how close Orion and Uncle Arcturus had become lately and wasn't thrilled about it. She had always maintained a polite distance from her uncle who kept her in darkness about everything, including the real world beyond Starling, her future duties, and even the death of her parents, and now she could see his influence on Orion as a wall of secrets that had appeared between her and her fiancè. It seemed that Orion suddenly knew so much more about life over the castle's walls but was instructed not to tell her anything, and it was annoying her. Astrid had a half mind to refuse to marry him. But Uncle Arcturus had never asked her if she wanted to marry Orion, and she didn't think she was allowed to express her mind on this subject.

Astrid groaned even as Arabella's face appeared in the gap between the curtains, blocking out the first shy light of the new day.

"Please accept my best wishes, Princess. It's time to get up; a long day is in front of you. You can't skip your lessons, and oh, Master Orion wants to see you before you meet your tutors."

"Thank you," Astrid said simply. Suppressing a sigh she pulled herself up and let Arabella help her get washed and dressed, then arrange her hair which had grown long, thick, and indomitable during the last year into a low bun, hiding the streak of platinum under the mane of gold.

The moment she was ready, a tentative knock was heard from the door. Astrid could feel Orion's nervousness even through the thick wood separating him from her. Just what was he up to?

"Let Orion in, Arabella, then you can go. He will accompany me to the library after breakfast."

"Very well, Princess," Arabella agreed, directing her steps towards the door while Astrid walked in the opposite direction, towards the table standing by the window where a couple of maids had set her breakfast while she had gotten dressed.

She was about to sit down when Orion rushed inside.

"Wait!" he called, making her stop with her hand on the back of a chair and turn to look at him.

The aura of anxious happiness emanating from him made her frown. Astrid didn't like surprises, and he definitely had one for her. As if putting up with the ball she wasn't supposed to know of wasn't enough. Letting her arms drop to her sides, she took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and tilted her face up for a kiss; there was no avoiding whatever was on his mind.

As always, her bad mood and doubts about Orion melted the moment she felt his large, warm hands on her cheeks, his soft, gentle lips on hers. Even though he didn't believe in love, she could feel that Orion cared about her. It was enough. It had to be.

She laced her hands through his black shoulder-length hair, tangling her fingers through the silky strands playfully, sighing when his hands abandoned her face for her waist and hips... She opened her eyes when his lips left hers and found him staring at her, a contented smile lurking in his midnight blue irises.

Astrid frowned again-- he knew what he was doing to her. And since she had noticed his closeness to Uncle Arcturus, she despised letting him see that he had any kind of effect on her-- it was her silent way of letting him know that she didn't appreciate what felt like a betrayal on his part. However, with a person one had grown up with and was supposed to marry very soon, it wasn't always easy. Orion knew her too well.

"Happy birthday," he said, smoothing out her frown with a kiss on her forehead. "I have something for you," he added, dropping to his knee.

"What are you doing?" she asked. "Oh..." her mind caught up the instant he pulled a small box made of dark, gold-plated wood from his pocket.

"We've been promised to be married forever, Astrid, but I have never given you a ring. I know it's all settled and everything, but... please accept this as a promise that I'll always try to make you happy and only do the best for you."

He didn't ask if she wished to marry him, but even if he did, she would have to say yes. However, the thought of refusing, of begging for more time, more... options flickered through her mind. Couldn't she become the queen of Eurovea without marrying anyone? But she knew that wasn't an option-- all the queens before her had been married, and the country was called a kingdom for a reason. There had always been a powerful king behind each queen...

Pushing those thoughts away, she allowed Orion to slip the ring on her finger. It was gorgeous-- a plain band of white gold adorned with one too big sapphire as dark as Orion's eyes, a sparkle of light seemingly encased in its centre shining like a captured star with the slightest movement of Astrid's hand.

Pulling him to his feet again, she said, "And I... I promise... to never forget what you mean to me now, Orion."

"What does that even mean?" he chuckled, kissing her again, then pulling a chair out for her.

She shrugged. "I'll marry you. Once I return from wherever my uncle will send me for the trial."

"Us," Orion said, winking at her conspiratorially as he poured out some tea for both of them.

"Did he tell you something? Tell me what you know!" Astrid called, dropping the small cake she just brought to her lips back on her plate.

Orion's hand covered her mouth, a finger of his other hand pressed to his lips, bidding silence as if the walls around them had ears.

"Hush. I don't know anything about your trial. I only know that you don't have to go alone. You can choose someone to accompany you during the task. I want you to choose me, Astrid."

Picking up her cake again, Astrid nodded. Yet again, she didn't really have options. She didn't know anyone else whom she would want to take with her, Orion and Arabella were the only people whom she had been allowed to meet daily as she grew up, she had never exchanged more than a few unimportant, impersonal sentences with her uncle's friends who frequented the balls. Thinking about it now... it all felt like a scheme designed by Uncle Arcturus...

Astrid shook her head to clear the strange thoughts when she felt Orion's hand on her cheek. "You've been so thoughtful and distant lately," he muttered, his eyes searching hers for answers to questions he preferred not to ask. "It's time to go, you'll be late for the first lesson."

She nodded, accepted his arm, and pressed a kiss on his cheek as he led her out of her room and towards the library.

Just what would she do without Orion?