Two hours later was when Risa and Loyal climbed over a snowdrift and came upon the old city that used to be called Frontrance. They were both frozen and yet happy to have made it here. It seemed like they would never get there and yet here they finally were after what felt like days.

You could see the smoke rising to the gray sky, it was a blue-gray sky since the sun was trying to fight its way through the dark snowy clouds. The chilly wind started to blow again, making it feel ten degrees colder than it is. The snow had finally let up, which was a good thing for those who hated snow.

Risa was thrilled and proud she has finally made it into town. She may have been half frozen but it was worth it to be here. "I made it! Hello Frontance!" She called out jumping up and down. She was beyond thrilled as time went on and relieved she had made it.

She began to grow nervous, as she realized this place was huge. It was a pretty big city. From where she was at she could only see half of it. It stretched for miles, and she could see the tippy-top of the old palace, although she didn't know that was what it was. She could see the industrial part from her spot since that was pretty close to her.

She stuffed her hands in her pockets as she rocked on her heels. "So, this is where my life all started. This is like a dream being back here and to finally be able to hopefully find my family! Oh this is so exciting, isn't it Loyal?" She gasped, clapping her hands and then picking up Loyal, holding her close.

Loyal yelped and bounced around, shivering a little bit but happy nonetheless. "Oh yes, Risa! This is so exciting! Who knows what lay next on our adventure! We must hurry though I am really cold!" She was quite excited herself to see what this city had in store for them.

As she walked down the snowdrift, she held her puppy in her arms who was snuggled under her coat. She was careful about not slipping and falling into the snow. It was hard enough that it wouldn't give way under her feet. Well, as long as she was careful where she stepped.

Once her feet were planted on the slow covered cobblestone road, she ventured into the city. Things became real to Risa, this was really happening. She was finally here. Yes, she had no clue what she was going to do here now, she just hoped she would be able to figure it out soon.

Glancing around, the townspeople were busy doing the things they did in their everyday life: going to work, coming from work, taking a break from work, going on errands, school children playing out in the snow, people chatting, carts and cars fixed with the traffic on the cobblestone roads. The normal hustle and bustle of life in such a historic city as this.

Much younger kids who were too young to go to school were bundled up nice and warm trying to catch snowflakes on their tongues. Or they were making snowmen and dressing them up with their clothes they had grabbed from their drawers. It was adorable to them to have so much fun while being watched by their happy parents.

That was the life of normal children, Risa knew she had never got that growing up. She didn't get hot chocolate after playing in the snow all day. She didn't get to have snowball fights with her whole family. She did have the other orphans in her orphanage to play with, but she learned you can't make friends with other orphans since once they leave they are gone for good. You will never see them again.

She went up to the teller at the boat dock, standing in line behind a woman with her husband and three kids. The kids seemed to be anxious that she didn't blame them. She was anxious herself to figure out what to do to get to Paris. She hoped the teller would help her out since that would be a major blessing.

She coached herself on what to say. 'Just ask for a ticket. It should be fairly easy to buy a ticket. I have a few coins in my pocket I found back at the orphanage, on the floor, probably fell out of Mrs. Hemmingworth's pockets. It should cover at least one ticket, right?' She thought to herself.

After the people in front of her had all gone, she walked up to the window. "Hello, I was wondering, how do I get a ticket to Paris or the closest place to get to Paris, even France is fine?" Risa asked standing on her tippy toes a small bit just to be able to meet the eyes of the teller who was sitting on a chair. She hoped the answer would be quite easy, she just needed money to pay, and bam she got it.

The teller, Herbert frowned a bit, running a hand through his white curly hair and then scratched his scruffy chin. He grabbed his knitted green hat and tugged it over his head. He raised his eyebrows, looking down at her with narrow green eyes. "Do you have a passport?" He asked in a dull voice.

Risa looked down at Loyal with a confused look before looking back up at him. "A passport?" She questioned. She didn't have one. Nor did it ever cross her mind that she needed a passport. That was one thing she did not have.

Herbert grumbled under his breath. Great, another person trying to buy a ticket without a passport. "First you need a passport. No one leaves for another country without one. Then once you get the passport you show it and we give you the ticket after you pay for it." He replied, his voice dull and croaky.

He was in no mood to play these games. She had been the second person who tried to get a ticket without a passport. At least she wasn't saying she had one and had just left it somewhere. Still, he wasn't too happy she had asked for a ticket without having the proper papers. The things kids tried to get away with.

Risa nodded as she took what he had said and made a note. She pursued her lips before asking another question. "Where do I get a passport?" She really didn't know what to do. Growing up it never crossed her mind nor did anyone tell her to leave the country you had to have a passport.

Herbert looked at her and raised an eyebrow once again. "If you have an ID of any type, birth certificate, go show it to the passport person at the post office." This girl was acting clueless and he was having trouble figuring if she was serious or she was just toying with him because she was getting on his nerves.

Risa rubbed the back of her neck with her hand. That was a major problem for her.  "Oh dear, there is one problem with doing that. You see, I'm an orphan, how in the world am I to have a birth certificate? How do I get one or find one?" She sheepishly told him, beginning to feel a bit embarrassed by her own words.

Herbert groaned and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Then you must go down to city hall and request for you to get you a birth certificate printed out." He explained hoping she would just go and leave him alone. He hated all these questions, did he look like a book?

Risa sighed softly, this was not going how she wanted it to go. "I don't know my full name though. Is there anything else I can do to get a ticket to go to Paris? I will have all that once I find my birth family! I am on a mission to find who they are." She asked, hoping that there would be another way for her to get a ticket.

Herbert placed his hands on the table in front of him and leaned forward. "No passport. No ID. No form of identification. No ticket to whatever you're going! Got it! Next!" He yelled shooing her away from the door. He was done with her antics and didn't have the patience to continue.

Risa frowned as she walked out of the line. Man, what was wrong with him? Who gave him a sour lemon to eat. "How am I going to get a passport?" She pouted looking down at her pup in her arms. She couldn't do anything of that sort, she was an orphan, she didn't even know who she was.

She sat down on a bench and rested her dog on her lap. "I don't have anything of that nature nor could I ever find such a thing. I can't sneak on the boat, that would be wrong, who knows what could happen if I got caught." She sighed heavily. "I do not want to go to jail or worse, prison."

So far it has been good and bad. She loved being away from the orphanage and being on her own, yet she hated that she didn't have a passport to leave Canada. There was no way possible that she could get what they wanted. How was an orphan supposed to be able to leave to another country without one?

Risa crossed her legs and set Loyal down beside her. "Perhaps I should go find a job, make enough money so I can get what I need to be able to leave. It could take months of course, which isn't what I want to do. It doesn't look like I have a choice." She was bummed by this whole thing.

Loyal whimpered and nuzzled her nose on Risa's hand, looking up at her with big puppy eyes. "Oh Risa, I am so sorry you can't leave yet. Perhaps you should, or we could walk about a bit to see what we can do! Get your mind off of it for a while." She barked happily, perking right up.

Risa smiled down at her, rubbing her head. "You're such a good dog. You always know how to make me feel better." She would never stop admitting how much of a blessing Loyal was. If she had never found that cute little pup in the snow, she would have never found a friend.

She took a deep breath and leaned back, closing her eyes. "What I thought was in store for me, wasn't all it was cracked up to be. One day I will be able to go to Paris. Yet, for right now, I need to figure out how to get a passport." She was determined.

Then a paper flew into her leg by the wind, she then bent down and picked it, running her eyes over the paper in her hands. She let a gasp slip from her lips as she stood up. "Loyal! Look at this!" She turned it around and read it. "Coming Soon: Pallatine Palace is reopening as a historic museum!" She read out loud.

She was overjoyed by this news. Something was telling her to go there. "Come on Loyal, let's go see what they have got done so far! I have never seen a real palace before! Even though I think the royal life is too ridiculous, it is still cool." She stuffed the paper in her jacket pocket.

Royal barked at her heels, doing a cute little bounce of happiness. "Oh, Risa that is splendid! Let's go! Let's go! Let's go!" She tugged on the corner of her jacket towards the road. She could see the tippy top roof of the palace from where she was at. She was just as excited.

Risa walked down the path to the old castle, Loyal at her heels, as the old signs were still up giving them directions. Yes, they had a few bullet holes, some were simply weather-worn, others were uprooted or burnt. Oddly enough, it was still legible to see what had been there before.

She looked at each one and frowned. "Do you know why the signs are like that, Loyal? Well, many people hated the royals and during the chaos years back they tried to destroy everything relating to them. That included signs, books, pictures, anything that beheld them." She explained with a rather glum look on her face.

She recalled what she had been told about that time. It was chaos and pain for everyone, not just the royal family. Amongst the chaos, many children were left orphaned just like she was. She recalled the ride to the orphanage but only because she had asked a million times how she got there. She often forgot, simply because she had a lot to worry about.

She looked down at her feet. "Mrs.  Hemmingworth told me that was how I was found. Laying in the cold snow and found by two good people who brought me to the infirmary. I ended up going to the orphanage when no one claimed me, along with a few others. She also told me that I wasn't wanted, hence why no one claimed me." She sighed softly, feeling hurt by those words still to this day.

Loyal looked up at Risa. She had never heard her say that before, and sensing her feel down made her feel sad. She barked and rubbed on her legs. "It is okay, Risa. You know she is wrong! She was a mean woman who only loved money and could care less about your orphans." She knew she couldn't understand her, it was worth a try.

Risa smiled looking down at her dog, she was no doubt a blessing. "You are the best dog ever. I will never get tired of telling you that because it is true." She bent down and picked her up, hugging her tightly. Before setting her down and continuing to walk to the castle, seeing it slowly grow bigger made her excited.

They stopped at the gate, which was slightly open. Risa pulled it apart just enough so that she could slip in, followed by Loyal. She looked down at her dog who was sniffing around cautiously. "Loyal, it is okay. If they wanted to keep people out, they would put signs and lock the gates." She could just tell her dog was wary about going in here.

As she closed the gates, she looked around the courtyard and saw some big chunks of stone covered by snow. It was pretty obvious they were statues since they were in crumbles in very particular places. "I wonder what the statues were before. It is so hard to make anything out now. Why do people feel the need to destroy such works of art." She sighed, shaking her head.

Loyal ran over to the bottom of the trees that were covered with snow, barking at the squirrels who had just run up the tree from digging for nuts. "I just wanna talk to you guys. I am friendly! I won't hurt you!" Of course, they didn't believe her, and was scolded by Risa, walking back over to her.

Risa gasped and walked over to some plants that were there. "Winter aconite and winter cherry bushes, also known as Chinese Lantern Flowers! The royals must have been given them as a gift from China! Wouldn't it be cool if they did? I am pretty sure they did." She raved on and on about those plants.

She walked up the stairs to the huge front entryway, the doors had chips and were weather-worn, but it still looked like it was years before. She set Loyal down beside her and placed her hands on the handles. She pulled on the door and it wouldn't budge. "Oh, come on!" She grunted as she pulled even harder in the door.

She then put her foot on the left door and pulled as hard as she could, which didn't matter. She gave it a few more jerks hoping it would come open. No matter how hard she pulled it wouldn't open but instead she had accidentally ripped off the door handles. She quickly dropped them with a gasp as they fell into the snow. "Uh oh." She said as she picked them up and tried to put them back in.

She stepped away from the door and groaned after she had barely gotten them on.  "How am I going to get in if I can't use the door?" She kicked the snow out of frustration, so upset so far nothing had been going her way. "Could this day go any worse?!" She exclaimed, stepping down one step and sitting down with a sigh.

She couldn't get a passport to leave Canada. She couldn't get into the palace to look around and get out of the cold for a bit. She also just felt for an unknown reason she needed to go into the palace, she didn't know why but it seemed like a longing or yearning feeling. What was she going to do? She was all alone, people wise not companion wise hence Loyal.

Loyal looked at her mistress and saw how upset she was. That really hurt to see her so upset about everything. She looked like she was about to give up and she did not want that for her mistress. No way was she going to let that happen. She had come too far to stop now. "Come on Risa, let's find another way in!" She barked as she ran around the building.

Risa stood up as Loyal had run off around the corner. "Loyal! Loyal wait for me. Come back here!" She called hurrying after her dog around the side of the palace. This was not what she wanted to do, chase after her dog around this massive palace. "Loyal get back here now!' She demanded.

Loyal stopped at a boarded-up doorway and started to scratch on it. She barked a few times as if she was gloating which she was. "Look, Risa! I found a way to get in!" She was pretty proud of herself. Her nose led her here since she could tell this door led into the kitchen. Of course, the original door had been broken, they just nailed it up.

Risa stopped and placed her hands on her hips. "Loyal, we can go in its trespassing. It would be different if the door was unlocked and opened like the gate. Even though no one still lives here, it's still against the law! I don't want to go to jail! Who would get me out? And that would take time away from finding my family!" She huffed stuffing her hands on her coat pockets.

Loyal rolled her eyes and looked around to see if there was another way in. She saw a half-broken window, so she jumped through it and landed safely on the ground without getting hurt. "I did it!" She beamed with happiness at what she just accomplished. "Oh, Risa I know what I'm doing if only you could understand what I was saying you'd understand that this is the easiest way to go." Cons to being an animal and not being able to talk to dogs.

Risa frowned marching over to the window. "Loyal! You bad dog! You're trespassing! Now I am gonna have to trespass to get you back! You also could have gotten cut by the broken glass." Risa scolded, giving a groan and running her hand through her hair. This was not how she wished her day to go, heaven helps her.

She pushed over a box up to the window, which she would use to get into the window. "Once I get you, we are leaving you here?" She waved her finger at the dog before sighing. She took off her coat and laid it over the jagged broken pieces of glass. That way she wouldn't be cut by the glass, she knew how much that hurt.

She climbed up on the box, leaning through the window to make sure she would step on something. Once she saw there was an empty table by the window she threw her foot through the window, straddling the window with her hands as she stepped on the table.

Unfortunately, she was too heavy for it and it tipped over, sending her tumbling to the could. "Ouch!" Risa exclaimed with a groan, looking up at the massive kitchen ceiling. She sighed and got to her feet, pursuing off her dress and grabbing her coat. "My back is so gonna hurt me later." She mumbled putting on her coat.

She looked around the kitchen. Everything looked like it had been abandoned, it seemed no one touched the kitchen since the chaos. She made her way through the kitchen, following her dog who went through the kitchen doors. "Loyal, come on, we need to go!" She was feeling worried as time went on.

She took a brief moment to gaze around the kitchen. It seemed to be clean as a whistle, the main equipment and tables were placed in their respective places. The walls had been recently painted, seeing as everything had been moved away from the wall. The floor was covered in newspaper, dried paint covered them.

She walked down the hallway and up the square spiral staircase. She had no idea where she was going, but her dog sure did no doubt. She looked at the walls and they were filled with old pictures. She did happen to stop a few times, admiring the paintings that looked in perfect condition.

Risa walked down a bit more looking at the paintings. "This must be the pictures of the royals that lived here before. So many generations and family. Most seem perfectly intact, others have gash or burn marks on them. These people really hated the royal to do this to royal members who had since passed on before this even happened." She sighed.

She stopped and tried to hold in a laugh at another picture she had seen. "They even have paintings for the royal animals. Look here there even is a royal goldfish." She rubbed her sleeve over the plaque beneath the paintings. "His name is Sir Goldie, how ironic." She shook her head trying to calm down.

She walked over to another one, it was a young boy and his parents. "Duke Edward and Duchess Valentina Robinson and son Duke Kyle Robinson.  Hmm, why does that name sound familiar?" She asked herself to find it off and it kinda sounded like she had heard it before.

She shrugged it off, not giving it too much thought. "Maybe the person who helped me was named Kyle or who knows?" There were a lot of people named Kyle, right? She figured it may have been a common name for boys. Either way, she doubted she knew him because that would have been ridiculous.

She walked up the stairs gazing at the painting as she passed them. Oh, how she wanted to find out who she was so she could be happy like the families in the pictures. They all were bright smiles, bright eyes, they seemed happy. Picture perfect families. One she hoped that she could find for herself.

As she walked down the hallway, she stopped looking at a small table underneath a mirror. She studied the vase with a rose design on it and 14-carat gold detailing. She ran her hand around the rim making the dust collect on her glove. "This is so beautiful. I'm surprised people haven't stolen things from here." That struck her as odd no had but it was a good thing.

She wiped her hands on her coat then gently picked up the vase and studied it carefully. She turned it upside down, where she saw a royal seal and a name embossed on it. "Property of the Palace of the Rosenberg royals." She set it back down where she found it and sighed. "At least it would be hard to pass it off as your own. No wonder no one stole it."

She walked through an open door and it was the entrance to the throne room. She was bored and in a palace, why not have a little fun? "Now it is Her Royal Highness Princess Risa of Frontrance, Canada!" She laughed at her announcing voice as she walked up the thrones looking at them fondly.

She turned around and sat down on one of the thrones, trying to mock looking like a royal. "Loyal. I am your queen, sitting on my throne. Are you not going to bow to the qu-" She got off the throne quickly and had a very guilty feeling about it. "Wait, if I am not of royal blood, then did I just disrespect the royals who lived here before?" She recalled what Mrs. Hemmingworth had told her. She was a lowly orphan, how could she disrespect the royals like that.

Loyal shook her head at her, rubbing on her legs and barking. "Risa, this is no longer a working palace, no one lives here and all the royals have been killed or left. There is no need to worry! I doubt anyone is even here." She walked over to the steps and walked down then sniffing. "Maybe I spoke too soon."

She walked down the steps, looking around at the walls, ceiling, and then back down at the marble floors. "Loyal, I feel like I've been here before. I know, I know that sounds crazy and is impossible. I just can't wrap my head around the feeling I am feeling, it is almost like deja vu or a strange peaceful feeling." It was confusing for her.

She pulled her coat around her body as she laid down on the floor and closed her eyes. She was tired and even if the floor was cold, she didn't care. She needed just to rest a little bit before she decided to leave the castle to go find a job. She smiled softly when Loyal laid down on her chest, so she placed her hands on her back.

She had a million thoughts run through her head. It was giving her a massive headache and no matter how hard she tried to push them out they came jumping back in. She hadn't really slept the past few days because she had been too excited about leaving the orphanage. This was a big step for her, one she had been waiting on for years.

Even if it was going to be tiresome and troublesome to find a way to Paris, she wasn't going to stay discouraged. It was part of life. Part of being an adult. She knew the risk she was taking when she choose to deviate from the path Mrs. Hemmingworth had told her to take it. She wanted to make her own way in the world and that was to find her family.

It wasn't like she was this shy, scared little girl. Growing up how she did toughen her up and she wasn't going to go down without a fight. She was prepared or at least tried to prepare herself for everything she could ever imagine that could go wrong.

It seemed to be so peaceful like nothing could interrupt the peace. Of course, she was wrong by a long shot.

❅~❅~❅~❅~❅~❅~❅~❅~❅~❅~❅

A/N:
Finally got it done and sorry, I have kinda been putting this off because I haven't really been in a writing mood. I am working on them as best as I can whenever I am free. I am really stressed out and got a lot going on irl, so I am doing my best with the time I have.

This book and Royalty of the Heart are the two books I will be trying to get as many chapters as I do in the other  novels I have. Bare with me while I try and get these updated as best as I can in a timely manner. In the meantime, check out the other novels I have and feedback is always welcome and much needed with them as well.

Chapter Talk:
Poor Risa, nothing is going her way so far. Cons to being an orphan in that time, not having any thing to prove she even exists and says who she is. She bounced back which is a good thing and what she always had to do.

Curiosity killed the cat and Risa just had go to the manor. Dogs will be dogs and that did help her get in so it wouldn't be technically be trespassing since she had to get her dog back. There also were no signs saying to keep out so she could use that in her defense.

Next chapter I am so gonna be happy to edit because I think it is pretty funny with who Risa mets there. I am pretty sure you can guess who she meets, and I must say, I am quite happy with what I got so I won't be changing much.

And lastly, anything else I forgot ask away my pals. I am happy to answer anything!

In closing, all rude, impolite and mean comments will be replied to in a diplomatic way, reported or deleted if I feel like it is attacking me personally.

Thanks for reading!