Vestin didn't understand what had happened. It had been days since she went missing and no one searched for her, why was only he worried about her disappearance. She had disappeared like a leaf blown away in the breeze and not a trace of her was left behind, except for memories she left behind, it was as if she had never existed. No one would answer him honestly about her whereabouts, not even her mother. Sitting in his room he looked at the small necklace he made for her and pictured her smiling face looking back at him. It was a small carving of a heart with a small ribbon strung through it. The yellow ribbon would look nice against her skin; it was also her favorite color. The heart took him some time to crave with the help of his father. He remembered how excited she was and the promise they made to meet the day before she vanished. The plan was to tell her of his feelings after giving her the necklace, although she had already beat him to a confession. He wondered where she had gone and why her mother did not seem to be worried. Fed up with being told everything was alright and not to worry, he raced to Loraz's house to demand answers from her mother. Loraz often told him that her mother was sick with an unknown illness and was put on bed rest repeatedly. As he approached the house, he could see the doctors had come to visit her. Upon reaching the steps he saw they did not look too thrilled with the results of their visit. He waited on the porch for them to leave then went inside the house slowly peeking from behind the door. Walking down the hall as quietly as possible he looked over to his left and saw that Loraz's bedroom was almost empty as he passed it. It looked as if no one had ever stepped foot in the room. As he came to the door, he saw a frail figure propped up on pillows staring out of the window. He had seen her two days ago and she didn't seem to be in such a sorry state.

"Hello Vestin," She whispered. "What brings you here today?"

He paused as he tried to figure out how she knew it was him at her door and not someone else. He walked into the room and stood nervously before her. His anger melted away as he watched her take shallow breaths and sit in her bed as if she had given up.

She turned to face him and waited for him to speak. Her eyes had dark circles around them, and her face was sunk in. It looked as if life were being drained out of her slowly. Her hands that rested gently at her side looked more like twigs of some dead tree while her hair lay loose upon her shoulders covering the thinness of her body.

"I just want to know where she is. Please, just let me know that she is okay and safe. I haven't seen her in days and no one, not even you, seems to be worried about her whereabouts."

She sighed softly looking down at her hands briefly and looking at him with moist eyes.

"Vestin, can you keep a secret?"

He nodded his head.

"If I am correct, you are two years older than my sweet daughter, are you not?"

"Yes, I am a man now, my father told me. He is even training me to take over the family business."

"She spoke very highly of you when she was home telling me stories of the many 'adventures' you two had together. My Lo, she would speak of her other friends, but you...she spoke of you the most."

She coughed a bit and he jumped forward to make sure she was alright. She held up her hand and took a deep breath.

"I've watched how you act when around my daughter over the years. So caring and gentle, I had hoped that one day you would grow up to be the man to stay by her side and protect her. A silly wish now that I think of it; to want a young man to take over the protection of a child such as my daughter."

She looked over at the spot Loraz used to sit on her bed and pictured her sitting there smiling back at her and giggling as she told one of her many stories.

"I will grow into a stronger man and take care of Loraz. I will. Once I find her again nothing will ever keep me from her side."

Her eyes glistened with hope when she heard this and the thought that maybe he could be by Loraz's side in her place crossed her mind.

"Vestin, I am dying. I don't have many days left, so will you listen to my story? I will tell you the fate of my daughter and then you can decide if you still wish to be by her side."

"What do you mean by her fate? Is she okay?"

"She is safe from harm. She has been taken to a safe place... If all went well, she should have made it safely by now. She is not just any child you see..."

"What do you mean?"

"If I tell you her secret, can I trust you to take it to your grave? I must make sure she has one true ally by her side; the dark days that follow will most likely steal away her light. She will be surrounded by the darkness of being alone in an unknown place. I cannot have her pure heart be turned into stone. If I tell you everything you must promise to protect her smile and her heart. Pureness such as hers is rare these days."

"I will do anything for Loraz. If she needs my help, I will do whatever is asked of me."

She smiled as she looked him in the eyes. Such a strong young man stood before her, if anyone could be by her daughter's side then it would be him. She looked him over; tall, handsome, and well built, he held determination in his grey eyes and love in his heart.

"Okay, I will first tell you about how I came to this village with my daughter...she was only a year old at the time, so she has no memory of what took place...in the kingdom of Serenity there was an attack...not just some random attack, but one of great strategic planning. That night I heard the screams outside the nursery, guards shouting to know the gender of the child and the name...but only I knew, the people that guarded the door knew nothing, all the nurses that helped deliver the child were long gone, sent away by the king himself to protect the babe...we barely escaped alive that night. With the death of the king and his new wife in control I fled with her in my arms with the help of a few guards...we came upon this village, and they welcomed us with open arms..."

"Are you saying that you and Loraz used to live in the castle?"

"Listen to me closely, in a few days I will be gone from here; my life belongs to the ancestors and death will be here to guide me home. I want you to find my daughter one day in Mossca and tell her that she is not alone; that she will always have me watching over her. I have told her this once before already, but she must hear these words again. You must always be by her side and protect her from danger. Wait until you are of age to leave, of course; we don't want your family to worry. In that time, you must become stronger because only the strong can stand and protect a princess. The true heir to the throne of Serenity."

"A princess...Loraz..."

"Yes. I'm sure you heard of the story...the lost princess of Serenity."

"Wait, you mean all this time..."

"Yes. I was entrusted to protect her with a few others. I cannot protect her any more than I have, so I am giving this task to you. Can I trust you to do this? "

"Yes."

She smiled a bit relieved that he had agreed to her last request.

"Then with that, you can no longer be a boy."

"I told you I am a man..."

"Good, remember those words when you face Loraz again."

He stood there; his fist clenched tightly as he looked down at the floor. All this time he had been in love with a princess. While he waited for the day that he would meet her again he had to get stronger so he could find her and stay by her side always. Her mother had given him this task and for both their sakes he would fulfill it.