"That went well." I muttered, walking back into the ballroom. I patted my pocket, now filled with the crowns I had extorted off of the Prince, reassuring myself that at least this time I had not come out empty-handed.

Now, off to find some food.

Ronan had grabbed me the moment the party had started, pulling me outside towards the gazebo so that he could break the engagement as dramatically as possible. I hadn't even had a chance to look at the tables holding the food...

I stopped in my tracks, deeply disappointed.

Most of the food was already gone.

"That's two lifetimes!" I growled under my breath. "Now that's just going too far!"

Before I could mourn too long, however, Hallers stepped up behind me, holding a plate. My eyes widened with surprise.

"How...?"

He gave the smallest hint of a smile. "I saw that His Royal Highness had pulled you aside, and that you had not had a chance to eat today. I took the liberty of preparing a plate of the dishes I thought you would most enjoy."

I grabbed the plate, smiling brightly. "Hallers, you are an angel! Definitely the best butler in the entire kingdom!"

He stepped back towards the wall with a quick wink, "Naturally, Miss."

As I happily enjoyed the party food, I heard a voice behind me.

"Did the prince talk to you?" Edith was wearing an unnatural smile, her eyes searching me closely, as if expecting to find me in tears.

Ignoring the question, I looked her up and down, nodding in approval. "I like the dress!"

She was wearing one of my newest designs from "Prosperity." Ever since I had "recommended" her, allowing her to shop there, she had been purchasing gowns on a frequent basis. I had no issues with this, despite her stealing my fiancé in both lives, having decided that I was going to be the bigger person.

And if I happened to have the store charge her twice the usual price?... well, no one was perfect.

In fact, given the fact that her purchasing hadn't slowed down despite the increased pricing made me wonder if the prince wasn't funding her shopping as well. Which should have offended me, but I did enjoy the idea of both of them unknowingly supporting my business.

Edith preened at the compliment. "Don't I look amazing in it? Prosperity is expensive but definitely worth the price!" She looked over at me with a pitying look. "I see you aren't wearing any of their new line. It's okay, I know that your family has... financial difficulties."

"Don't worry about us, we're doing just fine." And we were. Given the revenue from my multiple stores, we were one of the wealthiest families in the kingdom. It was true that I wasn't wearing any of the dresses released at the store, as I didn't want them associated with me being dropped by my fiancé, but I was happy with the dress I had designed, a deep blue gown with silver embroidery.

"Of course you are." She looked around, obviously frustrated by my casual attitude. "I think the Prince was looking for you."

I smiled. Edith must have assumed he hadn't broken the engagement yet, as I didn't look upset enough. "I'll keep that in mind, but first, I need to go greet the queen."

"WHAT?" Her voice was a little too loud. She flinched the whispers around us, and looked around, seeing the queen enter without introduction. "What is she doing here?" She sounded upset.

"It's her son's birthday, where else would she be?"
Not giving her a chance to answer, I walked away, heading towards the queen.

____________________________

"How are you feeling?" I felt a flash of relief, looking her over. She didn't seem ill at all.

"I feel fine! Really, everyone was fussing over nothing!" The Queen reached out and gave me a hug.

Perhaps too much has changed in this lifetime, and she simply didn't get sick this time. Shrugging it off mentally, I stepped out of the hug, giving her a serious expression.

She saw my face and her smile fell. "Oh no. Did he break the engagement?"

At my nod she swore under her breath, shocking me. "What a fool!"

Queen Amerande turned, looking over at her son, who was walking towards the center of the room with a determined expression. "And of course he's planning to make a scene." Reaching out and grabbing my hand, she quickly leaned towards me and whispered in my ear.

"Please, play along with what I do next!"

"What do you mean?" Before she could explain, however...

"Everyone, I have an announcement to make!"

Prince Ronan spoke loudly, waving his hands until the crowd quieted down. "As many of you know, Lenora and I have been engaged since childhood." His eyes moved over to me, his mouth forming a vindictive smile. "But today, now that I am legally an adult, I am breaking that arrangement. I will not marry Lenora, and she will not be Queen."

Everyone seemed to be talking at once, the room filled with shocked murmuring. More than one sympathetic glance was directed towards me. Just as it seemed that the noise would continue indefinitely, however, Ronan held up his hand again, and the room fell silent once more.

"I have one more announcement to make...." A more genuine smile crossed his face, and I noticed Edith starting to make her way through the crowd of people, looking excited.

I held back a sigh. This was the twisting of the knife that had hurt so much back in my first life. Not only had I lost my love, my future, my reputation... but within minutes of the first blow, Ronan had replaced me with my best friend.

It's much nicer this time around, not caring.

"Before you do, Ronan, May I say a word?" The Queen spoke up, her loud voice startling me from my reverie. It was phrased as a question but her tone made it clear that she was going to speak, whether he liked it or not.

Confused, Ronan nodded, motioning to Edith to stay where she was for the moment. Edith's smile faded, turned in our direction, her hands clenched visibly at her sides. I wondered briefly if I should feel sorry for disrupting her big moment, but was quickly distracted as the Queen turned to me, holding my hands between her own.

"Lenora, dearest. I have loved you as my own daughter since you were young, and always hoped that you and Ronan would marry and make us officially mother and daughter."

She reached out tucking a strand of hair behind my ear. "Unfortunately, I know that you and Ronan simply didn't love one another, and it wasn't meant to be. This is through no fault of your own, I don't want you to blame yourself for the strange workings of fate."

I felt like laughing, but held it in, nodding seriously instead. She was very adroitly deflecting any shame of the broken engagement from me. By pretending to keep me from "blaming myself," she was subtly warning everyone else that they couldn't blame me either.

She wasn't finished. "I will always think of you as my daughter, and so I want to bestow this necklace, a family heirloom to you. " She pulled out the necklace, the small sapphire amulet twinkling in the lights of the ballroom, and placed it over my head, taking care not to disturb my hair. The necklace I had refused several years ago.

I put one hand on the jewel, its weight so very familiar to me, but strange at the same time.

____________________________

"Please, the bread was only a quarter crown two days ago." I begged the shop owner, feeling powerless. The small coin in my hand was clenched so tightly it was painful. My stomach was empty, had been for too long, and if I didn't get food soon...

The man stared at me, shrugging. "The price was raised. The ingredients are more expensive so I charge more to sell it."

"But..."

"No exceptions." He paused. "Unless you have something you can trade for it." Looking me up and down, he laughed. "Not that a beggar like you would have anything of value."

I paused, deeply unsure. I had one thing left. The only thing I had clung to in all this time since losing our home. I had hid it from my parents, knowing they would sell it immediately and spend the money. It was my last connection to my old life, the last connection to the woman I had thought of as my mother.

But I was so hungry.

Desperate, tired, with tears in my eyes, I pulled the necklace from my tunic. The blue jewel seemed to sparkle in my hand, but I averted my eyes, ashamed.

"How much for this?"

____________________________

Confused, I almost started taking it off, and then caught the queen's eye. She mouthed silently, play along, and so I put on a smile, thanking her.

"You are a wonderful young woman." She grinned. "I have never seen your match when it comes to intelligence, poise and hard work, a true role model for everyone around you." A mischevious light came into her eyes. "I must say that I feel very sorry for whoever follows behind you. No one will ever be able to match up to you as a daughter in law."

With that, she hugged me again, and turned to Ronan. "Alright dear, I'm done. You had another announcement?"

Ronan's face was bright red with rage as he stared back at his mother. He had clearly been about to announce his engagement to Edith, but how could he do that now? The Queen had just publically declared that whatever girl he chose would be inferior. If he brought her forward now, it would completely color the nobility's perception of her.

He took a deep breath, trying unsuccessfully to hide his anger. "It can wait for another time."

Ronan stalked off to find a drink, and the music and talking resumed. Through the crowd I caught a glimpse of Edith's face... I had never seen her so angry. She was staring at the queen as if ready to kill her right then and there. But soon she controlled her expression as well, walking away, likely to find the prince.

I turned to Queen Amerande. "Why did you...?"

"He was about to announce an engagement to another woman, wasn't he?" She made a disgusted expression. "Even if you weren't my daughter. I would never let him humiliate a young woman by announcing her replacement immediately. But especially you! As if I would stand by and watch you be hurt by such a terrible thing!"

____________________________

"Please, I just need to speak with the Queen. Could you tell her Lenora wants to speak to her?" I felt so out of place standing in front of the palace, where i had so freely entered in the past. But I had to know if Edith had been telling the truth.

The guard looked down at me with an unsympathetic expression. "Lady Lenora is dead. I would advise you to not come back in the future."

Dead.

I shook my head. "There must be a mistake..."

"The only mistake is that you continue to stand in front of my gate." The guard pushed me down, and i fell with a grunt of pain. He continued to stare down at me, his eyes disdainful. "Leave, trash."

____________________________

I looked down at the necklace and then back up at her. It didn't make sense. I desperately wanted to believe in her. She was here, by my side, even after the engagement was broken. But then why? Why had my first life been so different?! I shook my head.

I needed to think this over.

"Let me return this..." I started to remove the necklace, only to be stopped by a gentle hand.

"Please, keep it." Her eyes were sad as she spoke. "Something happened to you, dear... something that made you lose trust in everyone around you..." She sighed. "And perhaps after your mother... and after what Ronan did to you, I understand somewhat. But I want you to have it."

She patted my hand. "Keep it and remember that engagement or no, you will always be my daughter."

I looked up towards the ceiling, blinking rapidly to keep tears back. I didn't want anyone to think they were caused by Ronan. I stopped trying to take off the necklace however, and the Queen smiled.

"Now, with that unpleasantness out of the way, perhaps you could try to have some fun. Maybe some dancing?"

"Dancing?" I laughed. "Not likely to happen, now that I'm ruined."

"I wouldn't be so sure of that." She cleared her throat, pointing behind me. Confused, I turned, only to be confronted by a familiar face.

"May I have this dance?" The young man formally bowed, reminding me of a party a few years ago.

"Nate?!" I was shocked. We had kept in touch with letters, but it had been over two years since we had last seen each other. He was taller, his face fuller and more mature than I remembered. He straightened up with a grin, and this was familiar enough to reassure me that it was in fact the young man I knew.

"Hello, Lenora, long time no see."

"What are you doing here?"

Nate looked slightly offended. "I was invited. It's not like I crashed the party or anything. And it's been so long since we got to see each other..."

"Hmm..." Queen Amerande stared at him, narrowing her eyes. "You have impeccable timing."

"Well, I- uh, you know..." Nate looked nervous under her increasingly intense stare. "I wanted to be around in case she needed help."

"Needed 'help,' huh?" She grinned. "Well at least you're not dumb enough to miss out on what others have overlooked." She glanced at me, smiling. "But you and I will need to sit down and have a talk later, given your interest in 'helping.' Prepare yourself."

He nodded rapidly, his face slightly pale. "Of course, Your Majesty." He pulled at his collar. "I- I look forward to it."

"Me too."

I looked between them, slightly confused. "What are you...?"

"Never mind that, how about you two dance?" The Queen smiled, pushing me slightly forward.

"Uh, sure." I stepped toward Nate, taking his hand, only to be stopped by a familiar shout.

"Save a dance for us as well!" Richard, Nicholas and the rest of the young noblemen that I helped teach at Jim's classes grouped around us, smiling.

I stared at them, taken aback by their sudden appearance. "Really?"

"Don't take up all her time, we wanted to talk to her some! Especially about where she got her new dress!" I recognized Lady Erica, the young lady who had fallen in love with a captain of the Eastern guard. I shook my head, confused. I had worked with Rig to divert a few small schemes to remove her captain from his post, nothing life-threatening, but she shouldn't have any idea of that...

"We all owe you." Erica leaned in, whispering with a smile. "Marile from Prosperity told me how you paid some of our debt to the store."

I had told Marile she could forgive a few small balances, they weren't supposed to know I was involved with the business though. I assumed this was Marile's way of trying to give me credit anyways.

The Queen took in the small crowd that had gathered on our side of the room, laughing quietly.

"It looks as if you have quite a busy night ahead of you!" She quickly organized the two groups into time slots, making sure I would not be alone for any portion of the party.

____________________________

Stunned, I was led onto the dance floor by Nate, who looked as if he were desperately trying to hold back laughter.

"Did you really not realize how much you've impacted the people around you?" Placing one hand on my waist and gripping my hand in his other, we danced together. I finally spoke, still feeling overwhelmed.

"I didn't expect..." I had always assumed that everyone would avoid me after the engagement was broken, just as they had in the previous life.

"You are one of the smartest people I know, Lenora, but sometimes you are really dense." He chuckled. "Despite your best efforts, you keep helping and caring for other people, and they now they want to help you back. Is that so surprising?"

"..." I stared at him silently, processing this.

"By the way, someone should probably hold back Hallers. He may actually murder the Prince in his sleep."

Looking over at his words, I saw Hallers in the corner. He still stood at attention, the perfect example of professionalism, but his gaze was a little too intense as he stared sharply at the prince. I made a mental note to talk to him later. I didn't want him to get into trouble.

"Thanks for the heads up."

"No problem. I'll be in town for a little while, not as long as last time, of course." He shrugged. "Maybe we could meet up with Jim, for old time's sake?"

I smiled, "I'd like that."

We fell into silence after that, dancing along side the other couples. There were a few whispers and stares, but nothing compared to what I had been expecting nothing like the last time.

"It just seems too simple." I muttered, feeling a dark unease building. It couldn't just work out so neatly, could it?

"Oh, it won't be simple." Nate responded motioning with his head to the right. "Have you seen the King's expression since the announcement?"

I glanced over, startled. The King was seated off to the side of the room, drinking wine and watching over the party. His dark blue eyes met my own for the briefest moment, and I felt a cold chill run down my spine.

I hadn't had much interaction with the king, in this lifetime or the last. He was usually too busy to look in on my training, and although we exchanged greetings and such at parties, we had never had in significant time together to talk. I had thought that since he had not factored significantly in my last life, I needn't bother with him in this one.

Now I wondered if I hadn't been mistaken.

He was smiling, the expression perfectly polite, but his eyes... they were ice cold. He was studying me as if I were an object in a store, something he was considering how much he would pay for. As our eyes met, his smile widened, and he lifted his glass in a silent toast.

I had a bad feeling that even if I considered myself free of the royal family... he wasn't done with me yet.