Gisella scurried all around the castle looking for Alexander, panting for breath. She questioned all the servants until one, a tall and beautiful blonde pointed in the direction of the garden. Gisella quickly thanked her before scurrying off, pushing open the grand doors.

The feeling of the setting sun on her skin warmed her, a pleasant smile on her face as she searched for the prince. She turned around a hedge and found him speaking with a girl. From the looks of her, she must have been a castle servant, dressed in the common clothes of them. She was rather beautiful, a tall and slim brunette with a slender and pale face, which was common beauty standards. Unconsciously, Gisella touched her own plump and sun-kissed cheeks.

Immediately, the blonde felt envious of the beautiful, thin girl. Shaking off her thoughts, Gisella marched towards them, picking us her dress slightly so the bottom of it didn't get stained green by the grass.

"Alexander," she addressed him, coming to a stop at his side. "I've been looking for you."

The servant girl sneered, turning around to face Gisella with lightning speed. "How dare you address your future king like that, you should be ashamed." Her cold glare was almost enough to make Gisella shrink in on herself, but she held herself with a confidence she didn't know she had. 

Gisella snorted very unladylike and opened her mouth to retort, but Alexander cut her off with a raise of his hand. "Cinthia, meet my fiance, Princess Gisella of Conterna."

Gisella smiled at the shocked expression on her face and watched as she immediately dropped into a curtsy. "I am terribly sorry, Your Grace. I had no idea."

"Of course you didn't," Gisella waved her off dismissively. "I'll forgive you, but next time I won't be too kind. Watch who you're speaking to next time."

Cinthia nodded hurriedly, head bowed so her gaze was on the grass below Gisella's feet. "Of course, Your Grace. Will do, Your Grace."

"You may leave now Cinthia," Alexander addressed the servant with a sigh, "I have a high feeling the Princess wishes to speak with me alone."

"Indeed, I do," Gisella stated sourly, watching as the servant girl scurried off and back into the castle. 

"I presume you are here to yell at me again?" Alexander inquired, standing stiffly.

Gisella turned to face Alexander, "No actually. I originally came to apologize, but now I really am curious to know what you were doing with a servant girl in the garden without my knowledge."

Alexander raised a single eyebrow, looking down at the blonde who was glaring daggers up at him. "I'm doing whatever I want. Husbands don't have to have their wives permission to talk to others, I don't have to answer to you."

Gisella stayed silent, she could feel tears forming at the corner of her eyes. She had no idea why she felt like crying, but his words were like a stab to the chest and she felt like she was suffocating. "I came out here to tell you I was sorry for yelling at you about the assassins. I wanted to tell you that you were right."

Alexander's eyes softened and he watched as she turned on her heels. Grabbing her wrist, he tried to make her stay, but she pulled her wrist away from him, "Don't, please."

The prince watched as she disappeared back into the castle.

Dinner was eaten in silence, the tension between the engaged couple didn't go unnoticed. Marcella passed glances towards her brother and his fiance occasionally, questions burning in her gaze that Gisella avoided.

When dinner was finished and the children were dismissed, Gisella shot up from her seat and briskly walked out of the dining hall, heels clicking on the marble floor. It took no time for Marcella to catch up, walking in silence for a while beside her newfound friend until the two came to a stop outside of Gisella's newly assigned sleeping chambers.

"What is going on between my brother and you?" Marcella asked as Gisella pushed the sturdy door open and entered her chambers. Marcella followed without an invitation, earning an eye roll from Gisella who shut the oak door behind the two of them.

"Nothing," Gisella dismissed, stalking over towards her small lounge couch, where she sat down with a sigh.

Marcella plopped down on Gisella's bed, her dress bunching up around her. "What a lie," the princess laughed, "I could have cut the tension in the air with my dinner knife. I'm sure father noticed as well, he wasn't looking very pleased."

"Who is Cinthia?"

Gisella's question stopped Marcella's laughter, eyebrows furrowing together in question. When Gisella gave no answer to the silent question, Marcella shrugged her shoulders, "Just a castle servant that I know of. She cleans many of the chambers and helps out in the kitchen. Why do you ask?"

"I saw her today, out in the garden with Alexander," Gisella said, running her hands along her dress. During her short stay, dresses had been made in her size and Gisella often revealed in the sheer beauty of them. "When I questioned him, he got all defensive on me and I got the feeling that there was something between the two of them."

Marcella was silent and Gisella's worst fears came to life, "There is, isn't there?"

"No," Marcella said softly, pushing herself up on her elbows. "Of course not, Elle."

"Then what?" Gisella demanded, pushing herself to the edge of the seat. "What is he hiding from me."

Marcella hesitated and then sighed, "As far as I know, Cinthia's mother was Penelope's handmaiden. My brother knows very little about his mother and Cinthia's mother knew a lot about her. Cinthia told him stories that her mother told her about the first queen."

"So, there's nothing between them?"

"As far as I know, no."

Gisella's shoulders slumped in relief. "Then why did he make it seem like there was?"

Marcella pushed herself into a sitting position, folding her hands in her lap, "My brother is constantly on edge around you. He's afraid he'll say something that'll set you over the edge. I'm sure he was just annoyed with himself that he doesn't understand you."

"Understand me?"

Marcella nodded, "He's used to women throwing themselves at him as the future king, but here you are, trying to get away from him. He's confused, you are so unlike everyone he knows."

Gisella stayed silent, eyes drifting away from her new friend. "It's all new to me, everything I've ever know is a lie and I'm thrown into this world that I don't belong to and I'm afraid I may never belong to it."

"That's understandable," Marcella agreed. 'Life as a Royal can be very hard and sometimes you'll want to get out of it, sometimes you'll hate it, and sometimes you'll want to murder everyone in your family," Her words made a smile form on Gisella's features. "But sometimes it's worth it to protect those you love, to protect the people of your kingdom."

Gisella nodded her head, a small smile forming on her face as she thought about all the positive things that came with being part of the royal family.

Still, the negatives hung in her mind like a dagger.