Alek opens his eyes, his stomach flipping. He feels an urge. He pushes her away, a frown coming to his face as he holds his arms close to himself. "I... I can't..."

Her ears lower and she looks away "O-oh.... sorry..."

"I mean... I want to..."

"I don't understand..." She sits up slowly and blushes, looking away.

Alek blushes more, "I...  I just mean..." he takes a deep breath. "I shouldn't do anything... serious until... we're married... I-if you still would... want... that..." he trails off.

She blushes more and turns away "O-oh you're right... l-lets not go any further than that."

Alek smiles softly. "I  really do want to... thank you for understanding..."

She nods and looks up at him, smiling a bit "Thank you for respecting me"

"You deserve respect, my dear." Alek holds out a hand to help her up. "How about a dance instead?"

She blushes and takes his hand "Yes please..."

Alek helps her up, bringing her into a dance position. A hand oh her waist and the other holding hers close. He smiles lightly, dancing with her.

She giggles and dances with him, smiling a bit. "I'm sorry... if I got a little carried away..."

He chuckles. "As did I." Alek slowly spins her. "And I apologize... I brought that and... I'll be more careful."

"... I did enjoy it..." She blushes deeply and smiles a bit.

"Then we have something to look forward to." He kisses the tip of her nose.

She sighs and looks to the side "Alek... I'm not marrying you."

Alek looks down, the smile still on his face. "...Right."

"..." She looks away "I'm sorry... I cant..."

Alek stops dancing. "Bridgette..." he look up again, his smile halfhearted. "I won't make you... but I don't know what we would do otherwise..."

"Find someone else Alek!" She sighs and turns away from him.

Alek lets go of her and sighs. "I've told you my thoughts on that many times."

"As have I. After the war, I'll be gone. So lucky for you, I won't be a distraction anymore." She holds her head high.

"Bridgette, you're not a distraction. While I'm gone, you'll be my reason to continue." Alek frowns lightly, wanting to hold her but not fully trusting himself.

She shakes her head "No. I'm sorry Alek but you need to understand that someone else would be better than me. I am not marrying you."

"I'm not going to meet anyone." Alek sighs. "And I won't make you marry me. That is final."

She looks at the ground and her ears lower "Then, you do not want me that bad. Then you will go on finding someone else." Her voice is blank without emotion.

Alek bites his lip. "It's not that I don't want you... I'm giving you the option, I don't want you to suffer if it's something you don't want."

"I do Alek! I just can't! Number one, I'm a commoner. Number two, papa doesn't even know! Number three, I CAN'T MAKE A QUEEN!"

Alek opens his mouth to say something. He pulls her into a kiss, feeling that was the best way to say it.

"Mmph!" She kisses back for only a moment before shoving him away "Alek! We already discussed this. We can't keep getting so close to each other when you need someone else. Especially since nothing will happen until after our 'marriage'. You wouldn't want to risk it." She narrows her eyes and turns away.

Alek bites his cheek. "I'm... my apologies." He holds to himself again, losing any faith he had in his restraint. "You should go to your house... we-we'll talk again tomorrow."

She looks down and nods once, before leaving him. She goes back home.

Alek stays back, eyeing the clouds, the cold of winter setting in.

Bridgette decides she should sleep and help the town in the morning.

Alek heads to his room. He lays down in bed, hearing a knock at the door. He moves to answer. "Alekar." Darwin spoke, his voice quiet. "Tomorrow afternoon you're needed in Crathe."

Monarch wakes up early in the morning and finds ever one evacuating to the castle. She helps them all she can and asks what's going on. Someone explains that Castoria has hit Crathe, and the war has started.

Alek arrived early in the morning, the marching of Castorian footsteps echoing through Crathe. Alek wore his light armor, the emblem of Alcor on his chest. "Ready men! Hold the line!" The General shouted. Alek felt a touch of nervousness, clenching his jaw, staring at the shining armor.

Monarch continues helping all she can and suddenly her heart fills with fear at the thought of Alek. She runs into the castle, searching for him.

Kogan was seated on Alek's bed, holding to a pillow and looking out the window to the cloudy skies.

The clashing of swords and the shouts and screams of men filled Alek's ears. He fought along the others, never killing anyone, but defending himself long enough for others to end the fight. The smell of smoke and the crackling of fire was apparent, a few homes in Crathe flaming.

Monarchs eyes widen and tears fill them. She stares at the sky, almost unable to move.

A sword comes down from behind him, and Alek dodges, rolling behind the attacker, hitting the man on the back of the head with his hilt, knocking him unconscious. Alek turns, shielding from another man with an axe.

Monarch runs through the castle, quickly getting people to safety and helping the children.

People fall left and right, the Alcorians diminishing. "ALCOR RETREAT!" The general shouts. The Castorians hold their ground, the people of Alcor turning and making their way down the road, moving to the next town and making sure civilians were getting out. Alek takes a look back before pushing away an attacker and following the rest of the troop. "A loss for Alcor..." he thought, anxiety pecking at him. The secondary commanders stay, the lower lieutenants, including Alek, and the major Generals and Commanders return to Alcor, going straight to the castle, meeting with the King behind closed doors.

They discuss strategies and errors. Alek brings up the lack of training and the room goes silent for a moment, the recognition of the problem. The meeting goes late into the night, and when it ends, Alek goes to clean himself, washing away memories of the battle. He falls asleep after getting dressed, unable to stay awake.

*******

A/N: .... I think we have two chapters left I'm not sure...
Yeah. That's about right.
BOOK TWO IS ALMOST OVER!!!
AND BOOK THREE WILL BE NEXT!

And... I have some sad yet important news.

I think something happened to L's phone, or she can't reach anything right now... and it's worrying me a bit, but I am praying she's fine.

She won't be able to put notes at the bottom for the rest of the book, which is heart breaking, and it makes me kinda hesitant on posting.

I will anyway, and change it if she is unhappy. I only wish for her happiness.
We'll figure it out, but it is hard because she is in China for... six months...

Heavens it's upsetting.
Anyway, I hope you all understand.
Thank you!