Earlier that day...

Sir Geraint had been taking an afternoon stroll around the castle grounds, deep in thought. He still couldn't get what happened to the princess out of his mind. His heart went out for her: how, despite all appearances, she was living a rather miserable life. He recalled how eagerly she looked to be able to open up to him, her eyes wide and her face soft, as if that strong persona she always carried on her had begun to melt away.

Geraint remembered how he told the story of his mother and his father, the wise things they often told him growing up. He had heard that the princess did get to leave her room that morning, but there was something in his gut telling him that something was still there, hiding deep below the surface. It was the same gut in him that got him through battles, tense negotiations, and protecting the prince for many years; could this gut be right too about the princess?

He was about to turn the corner when he saw Suzanne talking closely with a brown-haired young fellow wearing a dark green cloak. He stopped and partly hid behind a column, watching them. Suzanne was holding a white letter in her hands, and talking in hushed whispers to this young fellow. By the way she spoke and the look on her face, it seemed like something important. Geraint strained to hear her, but her words were too soft.

She then handed the letter to the young fellow, and finally Geraint heard her: "don't tell anyone else." He watched as the young fellow nodded, put the letter in his pocket, and walked away. He watched him leave, and then looked at Suzanne. She had looked around her, checking if anyone was listening, and then quickly walked the opposite way.

The same gut that led the knight to find hidden killers or see the wrong interior motives of enemies was now giving him a strong gut feeling: something was definitely not normal. What was in that letter? Why did Suzanne have to make sure no one would find out about it? Where did the letter come from exactly? Why was it so urgent?

The urge to follow the messenger and see what was in the letter was too much. And so, the knight followed him closely, watching as the messenger briskly walked out of the castle and towards the main gates. Geraint quickly caught up to his pace and stood in front of him, putting on a strong, rather intimidating face, the kind he always wore when meeting enemies for the first time.

The messenger, who judging by his looks must have just been around his early 20s, stopped and looked up at the towering knight, shock in his eyes. "O-oh, sir knight," he said, taken aback. Geraint quickly noted how his hand immediately rested on his pocket, where the letter was hidden.

"Good afternoon," Geraint said to him with his steady voice. "Where are you headed?"

"To Eden, sir. To deliver a message," the messenger replied, stepping back slightly. In response, Geraint took a step forward, not taking his eyes off of him. He had found that reading people's faces always told what they were really hiding from him. It was clear that this young man had been told to guard a secret.

"From whom is this message?" Geraint asked him.

Panic filled the messenger's face, and his eyes strained to search for an excuse. The gut feeling in the knight grew stronger. "I-it's confidential business, sir. I was only told to deliver it."

"But clearly, you do know who it is from. I am a knight to the prince of Tridor, and it is my job that no incriminating messages leave this castle without my knowledge." The knight held a hand out towards him. "Give me the letter. I know you have one."

Panic quickly transformed into fear. The messenger took two steps back, and Geraint quickly took two steps forward. "S-sir, I was told not to let anyone see it. Please, I am innocent. I am merely a messenger," he pleaded. The calm look on Geraint's face changed to that he was sure would intimidate him. He quickly reached down and with a movement so fast the messenger couldn't stop him, the knight grabbed the letter out of his pocket.

He looked at it and saw the princess's seal on it. There was no written address other than "The Castle of Eden". Geraint looked down at the shaking messenger, who held his hands up as if to shield himself, his face pale. "Please don't hurt me, sir. I'm innocent," he pleaded.

"Go home, young man," Geraint ordered him. "If anyone asks, tell them you lost the letter. If you say otherwise, I'll find out and I'll find you and that letter won't be the only thing you lose. Got it?" he threatened him. The messenger nodded and quickly ran away.

Geraint quickly opened the letter, and his eyes grew wide and he felt as if his stomach dropped. He immediately wanted to run to her, to hold her and to shout at her for even thinking of doing such a thing. She couldn't just run away, it would spell doom to both kingdoms. He knew that the marriage pact wasn't just for an alliance, it was a way to save both kingdoms from being attacked from the different kingdoms in the east and south.

As both Neruvia and Tridor were fairly new kingdoms, they didn't have as much allies compared to the older kingdoms that existed around Old Vrazivia. The Lord of Argus in the far north had been threatening to attack Neruvia and integrate it to Argus for months now, and in the south, the Sea Lords of Sealand have been attacking the port of Tridor since the last winter. Neruvia and Tridor needed each other's help, and if the princess just disappeared, war would only be a few steps away.

Panic and anger filled the knight's mind, and he paced to calm himself, thinking what to do next. The princess needed to know that what she is attempting to do was wrong, but she couldn't just be told. Clearly, her mind was set. No, she needed to be caught in the act.

Knowing that she'd have to get her horse from the stables, the knight patiently waited, hiding in the shadows as night fell. The many years he spent on night watch made his eyes clear in the dark, and he could see any movement.

Finally, he saw her. A cloaked figure, quickly rushing towards the stables, running underneath the trees. Upon seeing her, a strange feeling like a mix of different emotions filled him. He felt mad at her for selfishly wanting to abandon her life while leading to the destruction of many others. He felt pity for her, for being in a situation that would make her want to leave such a life. He watched her get closer and closer to the stables. Finally...

"Hey! Who goes there?" he heard himself shout, his voice echoing in the night. She immediately froze as he walked towards her, and she looked at him. Her beautiful face hid in the hood of her cloak, her face looking even more pale, her eyes so big.

He wanted to hold her by the shoulders, to ask her what she was thinking. But she felt with someone like her, she needed to feel fear. She needed to feel that not everything will go her way.

"What are you doing out at this time, my princess?" he asked her, circling her slowly. She held a bag he could only guess held important items such as clothes and books. She was silent, her eyes still wide in fear, like a child caught by their mother. "Wearing that cloak with that bag, sneaking out to the stables, as if you were...up to something?" He poked her bag of items, and she immediately pulled it away, holding it closer to him.

"Please, don't be loud," the princess begged of him, speaking in a low voice. "What are you doing out here anyway?"

The knight continued to circle around her, as if inspecting her. He then took out the letter with the broken princess seal, and held it up in front of her. "Being with the prince for so long, I've grown a sort of instinct with these things. People trying to run away, to be deserters...." he let the last word linger.

She looked away and forced herself out of his grasp. The fear in her eyes quickly turned to that of anger. "How dare you intercept my letter? That was completely personal! I thought I could trust you, give me that!" She cries out, trying to reach the letter, but the knight pulls it out of reach.

Finally, he couldn't take it no longer. He looked at her and held her by the shoulders, making her look up at him. "What do you think you're doing? What will you ever achieve from this? Don't you know that wit the flick of your father's finger, he can start a war just to find you?" he said to her, his voice urgent, his eyes searching hers for an answer.

She sighs, defeated. Her shoulders slump, and the anger in her face slowly disappears. "I can't be a princess anymore, I give up on this life. I don't care if you see it as selfish, it's my life and I'm allowed to do what I want." She steps back, as if to protect herself. The knight steps forward. It was almost like a dance.

"How could you be so selfish, my lady? Don't you know that if you go missing, war could break out between all kingdoms? The world is already holding its breath, hoping against all hope that another great war won't happen. If you run away and the king finds out, what do you think will happen?" the knight asked her.

The princess didn't respond, and only stared at the ground, biting her lip as if to fight back anger. "Let me tell you what will happen," the knight said, taking another step closer to her.

"Once the king finds out, he would immediately assume someone took you away. He would send his troops towards the non-allied kingdoms, searching for you, all the way from the brute kingdoms of the north to the savage kingdoms of the south and east. Your father would pick a fight with any king or leader, looking for you. And without the alliance of Tridor, your own uncle would fight with your father. If you leave like this, you risk the lives of millions. All because you wanted to rebel."

The knight paused for a moment, letting it all sink in. The princess looked more and more uncomfortable, but he could hear the gears in her head turning, as she planned what to say next.

The princess looks at him with a look of shock and anger. Other than her mother, no one had ever tried to question the princess. "I...I mean..." She stuttered, realizing his words were true. Her anger came back along with such a realization.

"What does it matter to you then if I escape? Alex can just find another princess to marry, he's clearly had no problem finding whores to bed back in tridor, and there are many other kingdoms. Why does it matter so much to you if I run away?" She asked him angrily.

"And like I said, I don't care if you think of me as selfish. You don't know how much I've suffered in this life as a princess. You have no idea of the pain of it all, of having your entire purpose to be second to someone else, to have children and then waste away. In Eden, I can just even work as a lady in waiting to Eliza, or even live as a normal woman. A normal life, that's all I want. Is that so much to ask?" The princess sighed, and found a pile of flat rocks under some trees by the side of the stables. She sat down, and hugged herself, her eyes down on the ground.

"How can I be Queen , no matter how strong I am, if no one will ever even listen?" She added sadly, sounding defeated.

The knight felt his anger flare up again at her. How could she still be thinking of herself in this situation? How could she still think it was a good idea for her to just run away, to just give up that easily?

"Children, the elderly...would you have really let them all suffer?" he continued on, pushing it towards her.

The princess looked at him, glaring. "Don't you dare try to make me feel guilty," she said to him, her voice accusing. "Okay fine, I didn't think of that when I planned to escape okay? I only thought of myself, is that what you wanted to hear?" She added sarcastically. "I'm the bad guy, aren't I, for wanting to take matters to my own hands just for once?"

The knight felt as if he was dealing with a lion, a very much angry lion ready to pounce and bite his head off. "I'm not trying to make you feel guilty, princess. I'm just trying to make you understand what's wrong with your actions."

It was as if that was the last thing she ever wanted to hear. To be blamed again for her own emotions. For someone to not understand that, no matter how selfish it may seem, she couldn't bear the thought of it anymore. She felt her anger take over her body, taking her skin and voice.

The princess stood up and faced him, her rage finally boiling over. "I'M CARELESS AND STUPID, AND SELFISH, I GET THAT OKAY?! I GET IT! I'M THE WORST! I HATE MY LIFE AND I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO BUT ALL I WANT IS TO MAKE EVERYTHING STOP, OKAY? JUST ONCE!" she shouted, her voice echoing through the night air. She felt angry tears spring up in her eyes, and her throat felt hoarse from shouting.

The knight stared at her. He had fought warlords and helped negotiate with all sorts of men, but he had never been shouted at by a princess. A memory flashed in his mind's eye, of a woman shouting the same way to a knight, but the knight had turned around and left. The woman began to sob, but everything in the memory seemed like he was watching from underwater, the sounds and voices foggy. His heart ached.

The princess had turned around and began to furiously wipe rogue tears away from her face. The knight found himself taking a step towards her, and then two steps, and then three...he held her again by the shoulder, but gently this time, and hugged her.

The princess looked at the knight, her body stiff from his hug. Her mind raced; she wanted to push him away, but for some reason it was as if a hug made all of her tumultuous emotions suddenly calm down. Slowly she raised her hands and rested it on his back.

The knight felt her warmth, which felt so needed in the cold night. But reality hit him like a ton of rocks: he was a knight and she was a princess, and this was not allowed. He quickly stepped back and cleared his throat. "My lady, I..." he began, but seeing her face, now with a hint of redness in his cheeks, made his voice fade.

The princess stepped back as well, and looked down nervously. "I...appreciate that," she said slowly, secretly happy that it was dark so the knight wouldn't see her blushing. "I was really quite upset earlier and I think I...needed that." After a moment of rather uncomfortable silence, she added: "My parents...well, royal families in general, aren't quite the touchy type, you know," she added with a nervous laugh, secretly wondering why all of a sudden she felt nervous.

Her nervous laugh felt like she had strung something in his heart, and a warm feeling filled him. Was she always this...adorable? He shook his head and focused on the bag she still held. He reached out for it, saying, "It's late, my lady. You must go back to your room. Let me escort you there," he said.

"But, my plan of escape..." she began, looking at him, holding her bag close. "I still...admittedly, don't know what to do. I don't think I can just go back and be the same normal Amelia tomorrow." she admitted. The knight felt her fear, but he knew too that if they stayed out any longer, someone else might see them. He reached out for her hand. "We must go," he insisted.

The princess pulled her hand away. "No, I...I've had this big plan and I was really set on it, granted it wasn't well thought out but...I'm still really confused and conflicted. I can't just go back."

"Let's talk about it inside your room," as he grabs her hand again, gently pulling her away. The princess tried to resist, but then a cold gust of wind went through the field they were in. The princess hugged herself and shivered. "C-cold night out, huh?" she said nervously, her voice slightly shaking from the cold.

"My lady, stop acting—" he began, but then he felt how icy cold her hand was. He looked at her, and saw her freezing and shaking slightly in her cloak. His heart warmed at the sight. His body ached to protect her. He tightens his grip on her hand and pulls her close, putting his hand on her dainty waist. "Let's go to your room, then," he said to her, his voice more gentle now.

They then walked through the hallways, back up to her room. She appreciated the warmth, but something about being that close to him, with his arm on her, made her feel something...odd. Like a warm feeling, but from somewhere in her stomach, going up to her heart. she looked up for a moment, and saw his face, with his strong jawline and fine features. She blinked and looked away, before the knight could notice anything.