Some time during the night I must have cried myself to sleep because I woke up to knocking on my door. "Has the lady awoke yet?" a voice asked sharply. It was Xic. Slowly, because my back ached from sleeping in the fetal position on the floor, I sat up, rubbing my eye with one hand. When I had got my bearings some, I looked up at the door. What time was it? A glance to the window told me it was early, but not unbearably so. Several more knocks sounded and I dragged myself to my feet. "His highness would like you to come to breakfast," Xic informed me, voice as cold as usual.

My head hurt from my night of crying and it took me a moment to process what he was saying. However, when I did, I frowned. His highness, the king, wanted to have breakfast with me. "No, thank you," I said shortly, turning away from the door.

There was a pause, probably his usual spark of anger from my attitude. I waited and after a couple of seconds he said, "That is not the answer the King will be hoping for. His highness has requested it, and as his daughter, you are expected to join him."

He started to open the door, probably willing to use force like he had the night before, but I slammed it closed before he even got it a jar. "Well, you can tell 'his highness' that I have no interest in speaking with him." I kept my hands braced against the door.

Xic sighed, sounding exasperated. "Princess-"

"Don't call me that," I snapped, cutting him off.

He sounded frustrated when he sighed again and then I heard the sounds of his retreat as he stalked away. I relaxed against the door and closed my eyes, sliding to the stone-cobbled floor once again. Half of me was grateful he hadn't persisted, but I couldn't deny my underlying disappointment. I had said I wouldn't see the king, but what would I do all alone in my room? I certainly couldn't just keep myself locked in here forever. Even if I tried, it was more than likely the king would eventually grow frustrated and have his men force there way in here to drag me out. He seemed kind, but no one was that courteous without a reason; usually a bad one. No, he would become tired of my evasive behaviour at some point, that was for sure, and when he did I couldn't imagine a pretty picture.

I was still sitting on the floor, trying to imagine the horrible things possibly in store for me, when there was another knock, softer this time and less demanding. "My Lady?" Christopher called. "Xic has asked me to, and I quote: 'get your ass out here'," he said from the other side of the wood door.

My expression turned sour when he mentioned Xic and I stayed very resolutely on the floor, crossing my arms. "I thought you were suppose to treat me with respect," I said, referring to his use of words.

There was a moment of silence. Then, "Get your ladyship ass out here," he repeated, only slightly mended, "Or I shall have you removed from your chambers by the hems of your skirts."

My tension eased and a small smile forced it's way onto my face. I uncrossed my arms slowly and turned to look up at the door. With less apprehension than before, I got to my feet and pulled the door open a crack. Peeking out, I saw Christopher looking relieved to see me. "By the hems of my skirts now?" I asked. "Doesn't that sound like harsh treatment for a lady?"

Christopher smiled at me. "Well, according to Xic you're not much of a lady," he said.

I rolled me eyes. "He would say that," I muttered.

The two of us laughed for a couple of moments before we sobered. Christopher glanced down the hall. "I know you said you didn't want to meet with his highness," he started. I frowned, turning away, ready to close the door again if needed. "But," Christopher said, trying to stop me. "But... maybe you wouldn't be opposed to having breakfast with me."

His offer surprised me, but I wondered why. He had been kind to me since I'd arrived here, much kinder than my supposed father, or my unbelievably rude bodyguard. When I thought about it, having breakfast with Christopher actually seemed quite pleasant. "Just the two of us?" I ventured. "The king won't be there?"

He smiled. "Not if you don't want him there."

I took some seconds to think it over before I spoke. "Give me a minute to get changed," I said. Then I closed the door. What I was currently wearing was still my pants and sweater from the night before and it was probably not something acceptable to wear to breakfast with a prince. I managed to find a simple dress to slip on with some flats. I couldn't do anything fancy with my hair so I simply used a ribbon as a headband and let my hair cascade over my shoulders. My eyes were a little puffy from the night before, but I decided there was nothing I could do about that. That's what happens after a night of crying and cursing one's unbelievably bad situation.

Once I was presentable, I went to the door and opened it again. Christopher smiled at me when he saw me. I stepped out cautiously, trying not to smile too much myself. "Sorry for making you wait," I said.

Christopher just offered his arm. "Ready?"

I took his invitation and looped my arm around his loosely. Then we started off down the hall together. We had only gone a short ways when I noticed him glancing at me oddly. "What?" I asked, frowning.

He looked away quickly. "Nothing," he said. I gave him a skeptical look and he turned his face farther away. "Just... Most women I've met do not wear such... casual garments during the day. Especially not when spending time with a man," he said carefully.

I looked down at my clothes with a deeper frown than before. Casual garments? In my experience, dresses were much nicer than most other casual things a girl could wear. But then again, this wasn't my usual experience. The people here were weird, they probably had different ideas of casual verses nice. I started to feel super self-conscious and tugged at the uncomfortable skirt hanging from my hips. "Is it weird?" I asked. 

"No!" Christopher said quickly. "No, not at all. You look very nice, very beautiful."

His words were beginning to contradict themselves. His attempt at reassurance wasn't as helpful a he probably meant it to be, in fact, it made me start to specifically take notice of the way I was walking and how my hair was laying, even what my breathing sounded like. I mean, I wasn't actually raised like a princess. What etiquette was a proper lady supposed to have when having a meal with a prince? Was I making a fool of myself right now? The sudden doubt in my mind was terrible.  

Thankfully, we seemed to reach wherever we were going a short time later and I was distracted by the sight as Christopher lead me out onto a balcony. "Oh, wow..." I said, looking around at the view of the village. It was almost as good as the sight I'd seen in the throne room. Looking around at the balcony itself, I saw a small table for two set up off to the side. There was a plate and a glass of water in front of each seat, a bigger dish of scones in the middle between the two. It looked quite nice.

"It seems you were prepared," I said, wondering how he set all of this up without knowing whether I would've accepted his offer or not. 

"Well, his highness had this prepared for the two of you, but I don't think he'll mind if we use it instead," he told me with a playful smile. He pulled a chair out for me and I sat. Then he took his seat across from me. "I think the scones are blueberry," he said.

I took a bite of one and nodded. "Yup, those are blueberries," I said. They were really good. Flakey, buttery, and with a dash of powdered sugar on top. Almost better than the ones my Auntie use to make. That made me frown through a bite of sugary pastry. I couldn't remember the last time Auntie had made scones for my uncle and I. She used to bake all the time for us, but it had been hard for her to find the time recently. I missed her scones.

"Winter?"

Christopher's voice brought me back from memory lane and I looked up. He was watching me curiously. Quickly, I chewed my food and swallowed. "Sorry, I was just reminiscing," I apologized.

"There is no reason to be sorry," Christopher said with a chuckle. "If you don't mind me prying, what was it you were thinking about?"

I hesitated on telling him about my aunt and uncle, for their safety and my own privacy. But Christopher seemed genuinely interested in hearing about my family. Plus, he'd never given me a reason not to trust him so maybe it would be alright. "Just my auntie's baking," I said. "She always made my uncle and I our favorite baked dish for the holidays and our birthdays."

Christopher looked happy to hear me talk about my family and asked me a few questions about my home life and other such things. He seemed particularly interested in the fact that I talked about my aunt and uncle like they were my mom and dad. "I know you weren't raised by his highness in the traditional royal fashion, but didn't you ever wonder about your parents?" he asked.

"Not once," I told him. "I had Auntie and Uncle, and they were enough for me. I didn't need parents to look out for me when I had them."

"You three seem very close," he commented. "Very much like my aunt and uncle and I. My aunt used to bake too, actually. My uncle used to come looking for me when she would bake and we would sit outside the kitchen all day, smelling the cakes and cookies she would make."

That made me smile, knowing someone had a similar relationship with their family members to mine. "Your aunt's good at baking?" I asked.

Christopher scratched the back of his head. "Well, she did... She was the best in the kingdom. But her and my uncle were killed a few years ago," he said. Immediately, I almost dropped my scone, my free hand clattering against my glass of water. The table fell silent for a moment as Christopher realised he'd made a mistake. "But it was a long time ago now," he added quickly.

"They were killed?" I asked, my voice softer and more horrified than before. "By who?"

"No," he said, looking panicked. "I mean, yes. They were, but we never found out who did it. I didn't mean to upset you, so why don't we discuss something else?" he urged. 

We didn't get to. The next second a servant was stepping out onto the balcony, head bowed. "I apologize for the disturbance," she said, "But the king requests an audience with both of you."

*******

Hey everyone! Finally finished this! I've been working on it for a while and I just hadn't been able to finish the chapter. Big things are coming in the next chapter. BIG things. Hope you enjoyed this chapter! AS ALWAYS, VOTE, COMMENT, FOLLOW, AND STAY AWESOME!

-Nekoco