Jade woke up the next morning surrounded by the silk sheets she had woken up in the morning before. She had half expected to wake up in her dusty attic, as if this whole thing was still nothing more than a wild dream. Everything seemed fuzzy in her mind. Her brain was telling her that none of this could be real and yet her senses told her that everything was. Everything she touched was real, everything she smelt, tasted and saw. She rubbed her eyes. She needed to clear her head, she didn't feel scared as she had done the previous morning but she was no less confused. Her mind and body seemed to be a war with one another over whether or not this was real. She felt so lost. Like a deer caught in a headlights, she didn't understand what to do. There was a soft knock on the door.

"Come in." She called trying to suppress a yawn. The door opened and in came Katie. She was dressed in the same attire as the day before.

"Good morning your highness. I'm sorry to wake you at such early hours but I was instructed to by his majesty the King."

"Yeah I know." Jade said with a sigh as she pulled herself out of the bed. Katie walked towards the wardrobe and pulled out an elegant green and black dress. It was very tightly fitted around the top half, with two thin straps on either shoulder holding the dress up. It had a small green bow where the two straps meet the dress on either shoulder and another much larger bow placed at the small of Jade's back. The base of the dress was mostly green, the material was scrunched up in places to add frills and depth. Just after Jade's knee the green material stopped and a silk black carried on from underneath the green. The black material finished the dress off, which reached all the way the the floor with two layers of frills. Jade frowned. She wasn't really expected to wear that was she? Zachariah had said that they would be doing a lot of traveling. That was not a travelling dress, it was more like a dress you would do to a ballroom dance in. It was then that Katie pulled out the worst part of the outfit. The corset. Jade had felt such a great relief when it was removed the night before. For the first time that day she felt like she could breath like a normal person. Jade stood in silence and watched as Katie smoothed the dress and played with the corsets straps. She seemed to be completely unaware of what was going on. Jade suspected that she had not been told, just as the King had instructed.

"Are you ready to get dressed now my lady?" Katie questioned. Jade snapped out of her trance and nodded.

"Er yes I am." She walked over to Katie and much like the day before they began the painful process of getting her dressed...

There was a demanding knock on the door once Jade had finished putting the dress on. Katie was knelt down by her feet making sure the bottom of the dress sat the way it was intended to.

"Come in." Jade answered. The door flung open and a rather angry Queen came marching in. Katie stopped what she was doing the second she saw it was the Queen who entered. She stood up and curtsied to her.

"Leave us." The Queen instructed coldly. Katie said not a word, she bowed again and left the room as quietly as she could. Jade shot daggers at the woman in front of her. Ever since the morning before she had had a great distaste for her. She was cruel and self entitled and nothing like the caring and loving attitude her true Mother had shown her since she was a child.

"Is there something I can help you with?" Jade demanded when the Queen said nothing. Jade received a very hateful glare but she didn't care. She felt unable to speak in the King's presence but she had such a hatred towards the Queen already that she found it impossible to hold her tongue.

"How dare you speak to me like that? You might be in the body of a Princess but I have no trouble in deducting that you yourself are nothing but a commoner." The Queen spat her venomous words at her. She was slowly pacing back and forth in front of Jade. Her long dark red dress slid behind her. The colour, the black embroidered designs and the scowling face gave her a menacing look.

"This dress...I can't travel in this." Jade stated with a sigh. The Queen looked at her as if she were an idiot.

"Yes I expected you to say something like that. The body you are in is not your own, it belongs to a Princess. My daughter. She has spent her whole life in the spotlight, gaining herself a reputation. Her face is the future of this Kingdom, your actions will affect that and if you think I'm going to let you ruin everything she has made for herself you are terribly wrong."

"What exactly has wearing this dress got to do with that?"

"The dress is to keep her....you decent. I can't have you walking round showing my daughter flesh. If you're recognised on the road in wear that is inappropriate for a Princess, it would reflect very badly on the Kingdom."

"This is impractical."

"It's necessary." The Queen shouted at her. Jade looked taken aback slightly by the pure rage in her voice. The Queen sighed and calmed herself. "I don't expect you to understand my reasoning but you do need to understand that your actions will reflect on my daughter. I expect much from her, perhaps too much but everything I have done I have done for her. I have built her up to be the perfect Princess, a ruler that the people can respect and trust to lead them. I cannot have all that tarnished by an outsider who doesn't know what she is doing." Jade felt herself calming down. She did really care about her daughter, she had a strange why of showing it but it was there. Maybe Princess Jade understood that, maybe the Queen wasn't as bad as she originally thought.

"I get it. I won't do anything to disrupt the Princess or your Kingdom." Jade said softly. The Queen looked her in the eye and gave her such a small smile that it was barely there.

"Thank you. I very much appreciate your cooperation." She gave a nod of recognition to her and turned to leave the room. The Queen stopped by the door and turned back around to look at her. "Your Mother...your real Mother...what is she like?" Jade smiled at the thought of her Mum.

"She's wonderful. The kind of person you wouldn't be able to hate if you met her." The Queen looked curiously at the smile on her face.

"I see. It must have been quite a shock to meet me then. I know that I am not the easiest Mother to have. Jade has often clashed with me but as royals she and I have duties. They come in the way of many things, I cannot be the Mother I would like to be for her. She cannot be the daughter she would like to be. Although I will apologise for the harsh words I have spoken to you. I feel now that they were uncalled for. You seem like a respectable young lady, I'm sure you're Mother is very proud." The Queen gave her a longing look and then moved to leave. Jade's mouth opened as she planned to say something but nothing came out. The Queen had been so harsh to her and yet she just wore her heart on her sleeve for Jade to see. Maybe that was the real her? Maybe the Queen she had met before was the one for the public. Jade closed her mouth and watched as the Queen left the room without another word. Jade let out a long sigh when she heard the soft bang of the wooden door being closed. She rubbed her eyes and moved towards the bed to sit down. Just as she had gingerly placed herself on the end of the plush bed there was a loud knock at the door. Jade shot up and smoothed her dress out. Had the Queen come back?

"Come in." She called trying to sound more confident than she felt. The door opened slightly and a male figure slipped into the room. Jade's eyes widened slightly when she saw who it was. It was Simon, the older but no less attractive brother of the knight that was supposed to accompany her and Zachariah on their dangerous journey. He made no more advances to come further into the room and bowed to her while still by the door.

"I'm sorry to disturb you my Lady." He said while bowing.

"N-no it's fine." Jade replied with a small nervous laugh. Simon stood up straight, his back almost pressed against the door. He was looking at her but he avoided eye contact and his head was still slightly bowed in her direction.

"I thought that perhaps you would need to be escorted to the courtyard considering you are unfamiliar with the castle grounds." Jade smiled and felt a small blush creep onto her cheeks.

"Yeah, um, thank you."

"They are waiting for us now. Are you ready to go?"

"Yeah, about as ready as I'll ever be." She whispered to herself. She walked towards the door just as Simon moved to hold it open for her. "Thank you." She said unable to meet his eyes as she walked through the door. She waited for Simon to close the door behind him and moved leftwards. Jade began to walk beside him and Simon slowed his pace to match hers.

"I don't believe I have fully introduced myself. I'm Simon Bennet, the head of the ten knights and the King's personal bodyguard."

"And I am Jade...just Jade. Nothing of note really."

"I'm sure that isn't true." Simon said giving her a smile. Jade felt her heart flutter a little but hide it well.

"Ethan is your brother right?" She inquired changing the subject.

"Indeed he is. My younger brother I might add. I will warn you that he is very quick to temper and feels he has everything to prove. I suppose that is my own fault really. He has always felt the need to compete with me, to prove that he is better than me."

"And is he?"

"Well he has yet to win a fight against me." Simon chuckled. "Though I am sure that one day he will surpass me but I will confess that there is something else that troubles me." Jade noticed that his tone had become very seriously.

"What's that?"

"The wizard. Zachariah. The three of us have...a history to say the least. Ethan sees it that he wronged us in some way and he has never forgiven Zachariah for it. He hates him with a passion which is why I am very concerned about him accompanying you on this trip."

"Are you worried that he will do something to Zachariah?"

"No, of course not. It's nothing like that. My brother might be many things but unprofessional is not one of them. He understands that you need Zachariah and he will not do anything to jeopardize that. His main aim to to protect you, you will be the forefront of him mind at all times. That I can assure you off."

"I see. So you're basically just warning me that there's going to be a lot of tension?"

"Essentially yes. I thought you should know."

"Can I ask what he did that made Ethan hate him so much?"

"Regrettable I don't feel that it is my story to tell. I am sorry, I know that it all sounds very cryptic but I was hoping you would understand."

"No I get it. That's fine, thank you for the warning." Jade told him as they came to a small wooden door. Simon instantly moved forward and hold the door open for her. Jade stepped out to be hit with a cold air of early morning. They had reached the courtyard. It was a large, cobbled square area with a well in the middle. Around that there was a wooden side walk with a slanted roof above it. Jade was stood under the wooden roofed area, attempting to hide the fact that she was a little cold. There were three horses in the courtyard. A very large black one, a warm chestnut coloured one and a pristine white horse with a few black patched over it like a dalmation. There was stuff backed onto the back of each horse and they were strapped up with all the gear required to ride them. Standing between the brown and white horse was a dark figure. The light from the torches located all around the courtyard reflected off the perfected polished armour. Ethan. Simon had closed the door they had came out of and stood next to her.

"Are you cold my lady?" He asked her.

"No I'm alright." She lied not wanting to admit the truth, feeling that being cold was some kind of weakness. Simon looked at the hairs standing up on her arm and although he knew she was lying he nodded and gestured for her to move further into the courtyard. She began to make her way towards Ethan, who hadn't noticed their arrival, with Simon following closely behind.

"Is everything ready?" Simon's voice seemed to echo off the stone all around them. Ethan whipped around and stood up as straight as he could. When Ethan made eye contact with Jade he bowed like he had perfected it over many years.

"Good morning my lady." He said in the deep voice Jade had heard yesterday.

"Good morning." She greeted. Ethan stood back up and turned to his brother.

"Yes everything is ready but the wizards late." Ethan spat. Jade could hear the anger in his voice, pure hatred. He couldn't even bring himself to say Zachariah's name.

"Not late, just making sure everything is prepared." Zachariah's silk voice was just as cold, if not colder than the frosty air that pecked at Jade's bear skin. He was wearing his tattered long black cloak as before and the crystal on top of his staff seemed to glow a pure white colour in the midst of the morning. Jade glanced at both Ethan's and Simon's face. She could feel the tension, it was like a very tight wire being stretched to the point where it could break with the slightest wrong move. Nobody was saying anything, Jade began to feel uncomfortable. She didn't like this, she wanted to leave.

"And it is?" She blurted out unable to take the silence a moment longer. The three gentleman before her turned their attention on her. "Is everything prepared?" She re worded her question.

"Indeed it is. I have the jewel from this Kingdom, we'll be heading to the Kingdom of Sky soon." Zachariah told her very matter of factly. Jade opened her mouth to speak when she spotted both the King and Queen walking towards them.

"Glad you all made it here on time." The King said. Jade and the two brothers bowed in their presence but Zachariah didn't move a muscle. When the three had stood back up Jade looked at the Queen. For a brief second they made eye contact. She gave Jade a small nod of recognition but her face was plastered with hostility as it was before. It was like the woman had two personalities, the ice Queen and the loving Mother.

"We're ready to set off." Zachariah told him.

"Good. I made arrangements that everything you could possible need to provided for you. I have had to keep the whole thing under wraps of course."

"Yes we are aware. I do thank you for your generosity Phillip, I understand that this situation is not to your liking." Jade frowned slightly. She was always used to her Dad being called 'Phil,' it sounded strange to hear his full name. Jade studied the atmosphere between the King and Zachariah. It was very calm, almost friendly but there was still some underlying tension.

"I think 'not to my liking' is an understatement. However I understand the severity of the situation." He nodded to Zachariah and looked at Ethan. "I understand that it is not truly the Princess you are accompanying however it is her in body. I expect her to be treated the same way the Princess should be, is that understood?"

"Yes Sire." Ethan answered with a nod of respect.

"Good. I wish you all a safe journey and I hope to are able to return home safely Jade." His words were kind but Jade didn't feel as if they were. It felt almost threatening.

"Thank you." She replied simply.

"Well we'll be off then. It's a good day's ride to the Kingdom of Sky." Zachariah said while turning and pulling himself up onto the large black horse. Jade looked around awkwardly until she saw Ethan looking at her. He used his right hand to gesture towards the white horse, notably the smaller of the two remaining horses. Simon nodded politely at her and then moved to stand behind the King and Queen. Jade moved towards Ethan and looked up at the horse. She felt scared. Ethan stood ready to help her mount her horse.

"Is now a bad time to mention that I can't ride a horse?" Jade whispered. Ethan looked shocked but soon returned to his usual stern face. He glanced behind Jade towards the King and Queen. Luckily for her she couldn't see them. She could only imagine the glares she would get if they found out that she couldn't ride. Ethan however seemed to understand her thinking.

"I'll lift you on. Keep your knees together, put them on the left hand side of the horse and whatever you do, don't straddle it. Hold on tight, but don't pull her mane and I'll guide the horse out of here, all you need to do it not fall off. Do you think you can do that?" Jade nodded. Ethan carefully grabbed her hips and lifted her like she weighed nothing. Jade kept herself from letting out a small cry of surprise. She made sure to do as she was instructed, finding it hard but somehow managing it. She straightened her back, knowing that the Queen was watching and remembering the trouble she had got into for slouching the morning before. Ethan swung himself onto his own horse with one smooth movement and took the reins of her horse. Zachariah has been watching the interaction and once he was satisfied he gently kicked his horse to make him move. The horse obediently obeyed and Ethan began to follow behind, pulling Jade's horse along with him. Jade felt herself begin to fall backward at the sudden jolt of movement from the sturdy animal beneath her. She pulled on the reins to pull herself back up which got her and annoyed neigh from the beautiful horse. Jade looked at the King and Queen as she trotted passed. Neither of them looked pleased, both were glaring at her. She might have been going to face a dragon but there was part of her that was happy to get out of the way of those two. She turned her head away from them and let out a sigh. She just hoped she would be able to see her own parents sometime soon...