Three years later

She walked down the hall to her next class when she saw him walking toward her. Her heart skipped a beat and her breathing began to speed up and time seemed to slow as he made his way to her.

He smiled when he looked up and their eyes met. So many years of longing for her and wanting her to know how he felt. His shoulders felt light as if a weight of enormous pressure had been removed from them. He watched as she tried to look away from him and chuckled to himself. Reaching her he took her hand in his and kissed it softly.

She pulled her hand away and looked around to see if anyone else was in the hallway who could see them.

"You mustn't do such things publicly."

"Why not? Are you afraid of the rumors that will spread if people were to know of us?"

She took a step back as she held her songbook up to her face to keep him from stealing her lips again as he had become accustomed to when he saw her.

"Well, it hasn't been publicly announced yet that I am the princess of Serenity. The students and most of the staff still believe we are siblings. Only a select few know that I am not the true princess of Mossca."

He placed his hand on the top of the book and pushed it down. Looking her in the eye he smiled and reached his hand out and fixed a stray curl that was on her face.

"Then let them see how these siblings show their love for each other."

Grabbing his hand and inhaling deeply she closed her eyes and then exhaled. Shaking her head slightly she opened her eyes and gave a half-hearted smile.

"You are acting rather strange, Robert. I remember a time when you wouldn't even look my way or hold out your hand to me."

Robert shrugged his shoulder,

"I have finally just given up trying to force myself to be something I am not."

Loraz gave him a sidewards glance,

"And what is that?"

His face became serious as his smile disappeared and his eye became fixated on her.

"Your elder brother."

"I already told you before I would have been fine with you just being my friend."

Robert pulled her closer to him and stared into her eyes.

"For years I had to pretend like I didn't care about you. I turned a blind eye to everything that had happened to you because I was afraid of what my brothers may have done to you if they knew of my feelings for you."

She looked away from him and stared at a wall as she rolled her eyes to keep from crying while she remembered the hell she endured at Mossca.

"They tried to kill on several accusations. I highly doubt that finding out about your crush on me would have made it any worse."

"That is where you are wrong," He said while shaking his head, "It has already been decided that he will leave the kingdom to me. It was decided long before you came to the castle. That is why only I have been sent to Ay Su and my siblings still sit in their gardens sipping tea with their mothers back in Mossca. They don't know anything as of yet it is only known to a few close followers of my father and my mother. Father knew what would happen if my brothers found out and so he made it seem as though this trip was only for educational purposes."

"So Mossca doesn't choose their successor by order of birth, but by who is more capable and suitable for the job. No wonder they wanted me dead."

"My brothers have been corrupted for a long time by their mothers' greed. Each wants to outshine the other. My mother is the queen, my father's legal wife. He took on concubines when mother fell ill and was unsure if she would be able to give an heir."

"The poor queen..."

Robert looked at her and smiled sadly as he leaned up against the wall and looked at the floor.

"It was my mother who suggested concubines. She didn't want father to be lonely and she knew he wanted children."

"That must have taken a lot of courage on her part."

"Why do you say that?"

Loraz sighed a bit and leaned up against the wall beside him.

"I forget that you and I were brought up in two different worlds. Royals may think it is okay to have a palace full of beauty, but in the world of the commoner, one beauty is all that is needed in the house. She becomes the sole foundation of that home until it is time for her to return to the Ancestors."

"Yes, I forgot father said you have the eyes of a commoner. Maybe that is why I fell for you. Your heart has not been tainted by royals or politics."

"Maybe that is why my mother waited so long to send me to Mossca. The past few years have shown me that royals and politics are as corrupt as the spoiled soil of the wastelands east of Serenity."

Robert laughed as he saw Loraz's pouting face grow red and her brows knit together.

"We are not all like that, Lo."

Loraz snapped her head towards him at the sound of that name. Her eyes watered a bit as she bit her bottom lip and hugged her book to her chest.

"Do not call me so casually. That name is reserved for someone else. Only they may call out to me or refer to me as Lo."

Taken aback Robert leaned forward and stared her in the eyes,

"Oh, a childhood friend you had to leave behind?"

Her cheeks grew red as she averted her eyes up towards the ceiling.

"You could say that."

He leaned back up against the wall as he threw up his hands.

"So I have a rival."

"What do you mean by that?"

"A special name that can only be called by a special person. It's obvious that the person is not just a childhood friend, but a childhood love."

Loraz scoffed as she rolled her eyes,

"You don't know what you speak of. Vestin is long gone, he most likely died when the queen attacked my village in search of something she believed to be hers. They are all...most likely."

"Whoa now, and how are you so sure that they are dead?"

"Because even though his sword skills were better than any other I've ever seen, he was still only a child as was I when I left. What help could he have been during that massacre."

Robert turned to face her and then pulled her to face him. He wiped away a tear that rolled down her cheek.

"He could have survived. Maybe nothing happened to your village and they are happily living out their lives. You know how people love to embellish details."

Loraz pushed his hand away from her face gently and a small smile crossed her lips.

"You do not have to try and cheer me up, Robert. I know I won't ever get to see any of my friends anymore, Vestin included. Now if you don't mind I have a class to get to before I'm late for it."

Robert took a deep breath and released it with a groan. Grabbing hold of either side of his head he ran his finger roughly through his hair.

"I wish you would stop fighting your feelings for me. I am no longer going to be in the shadows afraid to shower you with affection. Loraz, I love you, from the very first time we met my heart was yours. So, maybe, you can look at me, not as a horrible person, but as a man who was afraid to let you know how he felt for you. Think it over, as I've said before, father has already told me he would approve of the union. We wouldn't even have to go through the banquet they have here to announce it."

Loraz sighed and stepped in closer to him. He stood back a bit taken off guard. She placed a hand on his chest and looked him in the eyes.

"I am still confused about a lot of things, Robert. I also still have lingering feelings that can't just be forgotten. Please understand that I am fully aware of your presence as a man, but I was never able to profess my love to someone I lost."

He placed his hand on her shoulder,

"Then let me be the one to help you forget."

Loraz removed his hand and shook her head.

"That's just it, Robert. I don't want to forget. That's how far my love for him goes. Even when it's painful I won't just let go. I will say that you are special to me and I don't want to lose any more people that are important to me."

His shoulders slumped, his head hanging he heaved a sigh and thought back to the morning they shared a passionate kiss over breakfast.

"Then what about that kiss we shared in your room? Did it mean nothing to you?"

Loraz giggled and pulled his face up to face her. Their eyes met and she bit her bottom lip.

"You think ill of me right now. I will admit one other thing to you. My heart did flutter as our lips touched and you do make me short of breath and become a bit nervous when you are near, whether this is love I cannot say, but I do know that I can find you standing in an overcrowded room with no trouble at all."

He looked at her and smiled a bit,

"Then I will keep coming for your heart until it is completely mine. You will look my way completely, Loraz. This I can assure you."

She then leaned forward and quickly kissed his lips. Then went close to his ear and whispered,

"We shall see."

Walking away slowly she looked back at him and smiled then made her way down the hall to head to her class.

Standing in the hall frozen in place he held his cheek she kissed and his face went red.

"That cheeky little...princess..."He chuckled softly then headed off to the stables for his afternoon ride.