"Perfect timing," Erik said as we crossed the line after finishing the obstacle course. "Sam, the princess has requested you head for the castle," he said, then paused. "I'd suggest getting cleaned up though," he said with a smirk looking down at my muddied clothes. I glared at him. He was the one that had given us forty minutes to complete the course. Normally that wouldn't have been bad but he had also given us the instructions that no one was allowed to speak and I was blindfolded. It had taken us three times to get through and each time I had ended up in the murky water. Erik simply laughed. "Don't keep the princess waiting long," he said and walked off.

After a quick rinse off and a change of clothes, I headed for the castle. At this point no one questioned why I was here; they simply pointed me towards where the princess was. I'd heard multiple rumors of people claiming we were having a secret relationship. At first, I told them it was my job and we were friends, but I soon found it was easier just to let people think what they want and move on. I found Isabella and Chloe sitting in the garden. Both of their faces quickly dropped as they took in my scratched up face and arms.

"What have they been doing to you?" Chloe asked walking over and running her fingers along my cuts and bruises.

"They've been training me. It's really not as bad as it looks," I said, taking her hands and bringing them off my arms.

"Except for these ones that are still bleeding," Isabella said, pointing to a few cuts that I had gotten earlier in the day.

"Sam," Chloe said in her overly protective mother tone.

"We have to push ourselves if we want to be the best. That at times comes with injury. When you were learning to sew you pricked yourself many times, but did that stop you?" I asked Chloe.

She sighed and shook her head. "We train so that we can avoid injury when it matters. I'd rather have a cut that bleeds in training then my arm laying beside me in battle," I said laughing as Chloe shook her head at my extreme explanation. "So where are we riding today, Isabella?" I asked, earning a smile from the princess as I remembered to call her by her name. Isabella smiled and shook her head.

"We are not riding anywhere today. I am going for a walk in town with my mother. You are going to stay here with Chloe. You have been so busy with your duties that you haven't had much time to spend with your sister. I'm changing that," she said, then walked out of the garden.

I turned to Chloe who shrugged her shoulders. "She asked me this morning when the last time we spent time together was. I told her it had been almost three months and she walked off telling me she was calling you over for the day," Chloe said.

I took a seat beside my sister. "Has it really been three months since we've had time together?" I asked.

Chloe nodded. "The last time I really saw you was at the ball. The past few times you've come for rides with the princess I've had other jobs. I saw you a month ago when you came to the castle with a handful of Dragons, but it became clear that you were on an important task. Then we find out that La Fray is on the move and you and your Dragon brothers have been traveling nearly every week to investigate," she said.

I nodded as she talked realizing what she said was true. I twisted my body so I was facing my sister and took her hands in mine. "So how do we make this right? I say we have a good four hours before the princess returns and I have to head back," I said with a smile.

Chloe smiled back squeezing my hands. "You tell me everything that you've been doing. From your time at the ball to your training. I want to know what my little brother has been up to," she said with a grin.

I laughed as she called me her little brother. The next hour was spent sitting together as I filled her in on everything I could. From my brothers finding out my secret to my new friendships with the youth and then to the unsuccessful trips with my brothers going from village to village trying to find useful information. After Chloe was satisfied with what was going on with my life we decided that it was time for lunch. We were walking through the halls when the man that I ran into earlier emerged from one of the doors. I was slightly shocked when a smile crossed Chloe's face and she released my hand walking up to this man. A past conversation with Isabella about a possible romance for Chloe came to mind. A feeling in my stomach wasn't pleased to see its truth.

"Chloe, I thought you'd have gone with the princess," he said, smiling at my sister.

Chloe shook her head and motioned me forward. "Princess Isabella arranged for my brother to come spend time with me as we have not seen much of each other lately," she said taking my hand and pulling me close.

He turned to me and nodded his hello then his face changed as we both realized that we'd had a few run-ins. "So we finally get to meet without colliding into one another," he said with a grin. "I've heard a lot about you, Sam. It's good to meet you. I'm Nate," he said holding out his hand.

I reached out to shake it after getting a squeeze from my sister. "It's good to meet you as well, Nate. And to have a name for the person that I keep running into," I said. Nate laughed.

"We were just heading to the kitchen for lunch. Would you like to join us?" Chloe asked.

Nate sighed as his attention turned back to my sister. "I would love to. It would be nice to spend more time with you and get to know your brother. Unfortunately, I have a long list of tasks to complete today. Prince Louis and a section of knights are getting ready to head out for a long scouting trip and there is much to be done before they leave at weeks end," he said.

I watched as Chloe's face fell. My mind is still trying to figure out who Nate was and why my stomach was so tight. "Go enjoy your time together. Siblings are one of the best friends you'll ever have," he said, a look passing over his face that I knew to be remorse and remembrance.

Chloe nodded. "Another time," she said smiling up at him.

"Yes, I'd like that," he said then turned to me. "It was good to meet you, Sam," and with that he walked off.

"Chloe... how long have you known Nate?" I asked slowly. I watched as her face dropped. She too was remembering something unpleasant and I don't think I was going to like the answer I was about to get.

"Let's get lunch, then I'll explain," she said and without waiting walked away. After a silent gathering of food we found our way back to the garden. "Okay, you have to listen to everything before you react," she said. I sighed not liking any conversation that started with those words, but I nodded. I watched as Chloe struggled to find the words to tell me. She reached down to her wrist and rubbed were marks from the ropes that bound her as a prisoner from our village attack still lay. "Nate was one of the men that attacked our village," she said quietly.

I stood to my feet. "Chloe! How could you? How could you ever smile or even consider a friendship with someone who did that to our village! To our family! Do you remember what happened that night? Or did they hit you so hard you forgot?" I asked. If Nate had been part of the attack that could mean he was one of the inside men. I saw the hurt that my words caused and quickly sat down. "I'm sorry Chloe, those were harsh words I shouldn't have said. We lost so much and I... I'm sorry," I said looking down at the ground.

I felt her hand slowly take mine and I looked up to see her eyes looking into mine. "I do remember... every awful second of what happened. Sam, Nate is the only reason that I am here," she said softly. I sucked in my lips keeping any more comments to myself as I had told her I would. "When I was captured they gave me to Nate he was the youngest so anything they didn't want to do they made him do. He was the one that fed me. He was the one that kept the other men from using my body for their pleasure," she said as her tears started to fall.

"Chloe," I said, softly reaching up and wiping the tears away. No words could help right now.

"Nate was the one that pointed me out to the men that saved me. When we ran into each other at the castle a few months ago I got to hear his side of the story. When he escaped he had nowhere to go, just like us, he had no family or home to return to. So he came here to find a new life. We have become friends. No one else understands what happened to us. The three of us are more similar than anyone else. We all saw our families murdered, our homes destroyed and hope was lost. In Jarrow, we have each found a new life. We have found friends and family," Chloe said as she pulled me close.

I sighed as I listened to her words. "Please be careful, Chloe," I said after a bit.

Chloe nodded and lay her head on my shoulder. "Always," she said. After a few minutes of silence, we sat up and continued our lunch and our time together. Chloe's words rang true, but something inside me still questioned who Nate truly was.

Soon after my day with Chloe, an announcement went out that in three weeks there would be another ball. King Philip and Queen Vivian thought it would be good to give the people something to be excited about, rather than worry about all the coming and going of the knights and Dragons. "I went to one dance so I can skip this one right?" I asked as my brothers and I walked through the streets on our way to The Lions Den for lunch.

Alakay laughed as he dropped an arm around my shoulder. "Unless you are on your deathbed, you are going to the ball," he said. I groaned.

"Plus you have friends now. Think of it as a time to be with them and not have to worry about training for a few hours," Shepherd said, smiling at me. I sighed as I nodded. He was right. I had been spending more time with James, Kole and the girls. It was nice to have people my own age to be with again.

"Plus, the princess seems to like you so I think she'd raise a fuss if you didn't attend," Benedict grinned, laughing as he sidestepped my attempted attack.

"We are friends!" I said glaring at the guys as they laughed.

I looked to Louis who had been fairly quiet. "Louis! Help me," I pleaded.

He nodded and pulled me close. "Of course. Guys back off," he said nodding for the guys to give me some space. "If we cause discomfort now, when Sam's in charge, he'll have us all cleaning stables the rest of our lives," he said.

I shoved Louis away as another cry of laughter went out from my brothers. "I hate you all," I hissed as I walked ahead of them and into the Den.