Ariadne's POV

"Pleased to meet your acquaintance." I turned my back against the bush and put my hands with the cookies behind me. I quickly felt Iris's little hands fold around the cookies and soon they were gone, leaving me with a bunch of crumbs.

"The pleasure is all mine," he said taking my cookie crumb hand and kissing it. "Would it be too bold to ask if you would give me the next-"

"My lady! I believe you promised me the next dance," Lord Tweedle interrupted grabbing my other hand with surprising strength for his thin frame.

"No, I-" I said looking back and forth at the two men.

How did Lord Tweedle have such impeccable timing?

"It's alright, as long as I can have the one after," Prince Wilson asked.

I smiled. "Yes, of course."

Then Lord Tweedle pulled me back to the dance floor to do a very complicated dance I'd only done twice before and tired us both very quickly.

"You... are... a marvelous... dancer," he said between breaths.

"Thank you... Could we... sit for a moment?"

He nodded and we passed the refreshments to a bench where Lord Tweedle told me about the time he rescued a dog from a stream, but I wasn't paying much attention because I saw Peter dancing with Lady Layton, but quickly looked away when his gaze came close to the spot I was at.

I should be happy for him; winning a dance with one of the most beautiful lady's in the kingdom. But something about them together didn't seem right.

"There you are, I thought I'd never find you," Prince Wilson said with a smile when the song ended.

"I'm glad you did," I said and smiled back.

I hoped he would be a nice distraction.

"Shall we?" He asked extending his hand.

"We shall," I said following him to the middle of the room.

The music started, and we began doing a nice slow dance.

"Ah, this is one of my favorites," the Prince said leading me through the steps very professionally. I felt as if I was a feather drifting through the wind, with my skirting flowing around me.

"Has anyone ever told you how beautiful you are?"

"A few times," I replied honestly.

"Well, I am delighted that I have the pleasure of dancing with such a magnificent creature. You are like a beautiful rose in full bloom, or a magical sunset creating a peaceful bliss over the land."

I felt my face redden even more. "Thank you, Prince Wilson."

"You are most welcome, Princess Ariadne."

I smiled as we continued dancing.

"So, is there a trick to beating the maze? I would so love the dance with you again," he whispered in my ear and I stopped dancing at his boldness.

I forced a laugh as the song ended. "You would not be the first man to ask me that tonight. And you will also not be the first that I deny having the information you need to complete the maze. I have not been inside the maze yet myself."

"Excuse me," Lady Layton interrupted. "Have you seen Lord Fairborne? I appear to have lost him."

I shook my head. "I'm sorry, maybe try the refreshments."

She huffed. "Lords and their food."

I watched as she stomped away, wondering why Peter would have left her. Then the prince escorted me to the center of the ballroom, where Sir Sneddon was calling everyone's attention.

"As most of you know, the final dance is a special one. And only the quickest and smartest man is worthy to dance it with Princess Ariadne," as Sir Sneddon said my name I felt everyone's gaze turned to me. "The man who can find his way through the maze first gets the last dance with the Princess. Now, I will explain some rules while Harriet, our beloved housekeeper, directs Ariadne to the previously designated position."

Suddenly Harriet was beside me, leading me out the back doors towards the maze.

"I will see you soon, Princess," the Prince said assuredly.

I nodded as Harriet pulled me back outside, and we began our journey through the tall maze. As we speedily walked to the destination, through the eerie silence, I began noticing a pattern; though a strange one. Every year they had a different pattern so none of the men would remember the one from years previous, not that many of them noticed there was a pattern to all the twists and turns.

We finally made it to the center of the maze where some guards were waiting. Now all I had to do was wait for Harriet to return and tell the palace guards that the men could begin searching now. I prepared myself for the long wait by gathering some fallen twigs and sticks; which was a challenge because our caretakers were very efficient. Once I gathered all the sticks in the little area I was in, I went to go find a few more outside of my designated area, under the watchful eye of my guards.

I had gathered two armfuls of twigs and sticks when I heard the sounds of loud footfalls and men yelling. I smiled - they were all going the wrong way.

I quickly ran back to my spot through the only entrance and exit, and set the sticks down in the pile I had made earlier. What should I do now? I wondered.

When I was younger I had tried many games to keep me occupied - throwing sticks over the walls, tossing them in the air and catching them. However, those things were no longer proper. And a princess must always look the part.

Instead, I picked up the biggest stick I could find, so as to not get my gown dirty, and began drawing the outline of a very uneven castle.

At least this was something I could do while I waited.

"That looks like a fun place to live." I dropped my stick as the voice sounded behind me.

I turned around and found myself face to face with Prince Wilson.

"Prince Wilson! You frightened me!"

"Oh Princess, I do apologize. I just could not help but admire your work," he said as he advanced closer as if to inspect my drawing.

"Ah ha! I have found thee-" Lord Tweedle said but stopped when he saw the Prince. "You! How did you get here so fast?"

"Actually, this is the longest I've-" I tried to interject.

"I guess today was my lucky day," Prince Wilson said putting his arm around my waist and smiled at Lord Tweedle.

"We will see about that," the skinny man said and put his hands up. "Fight me and we will see who really gets to dance with the princess."

"I am not fighting you, I already won the challenge."

"Or are you just afraid you'll lose to someone of a lower class than you, your highness?"

Peter? I stared as he entered the enclosed space as well. This was more drama than I wanted to deal with.

The Prince laughed. "I am not afraid of losing to a, I'll be it, well-dressed stick. I just do not see the point of fighting for the princess when I have already won."

I looked at the guards to see if they might intervene, but they were talking amongst themselves and appeared amused by the whole situation.

"There will be no fighting," I said, stepping between the men and they all looked surprised to see me there. "As the prince has stated, he already won. No duel would change that."

"Unless he became too injured to dance," Peter murmured under his breath.

I gasped at my friend. "Lord Fairborne! I would expect that from any other Lord in the whole realm, but not from you. Why do you care anyhow? You were the third to find me here tonight."

Lord Tweedle interrupted the moment by giddily clapping his hands like a child while looking at both of us. "He didn't tell thee?"

"Tell me what?" I asked Peter, but he wouldn't look at me.

"Isn't that amusing?" Lord Tweedle said grinning and I glared at him.

"What aren't you telling me?"

Peter breathed in deeply and looked at me. It almost seemed as if he were sad, or ashamed.

I love this book! It's sooo much fun to write! And I hope it is equally as fun to read! 

Thank you for all of your support so far! 

Sorry with the confusion of the chapters, hopefully I will get it organized soon so it doesn't make too many problems.