Chapter 1

Memories plague me as I sit upon the shore.

Him.

They are all of him. Every thought is of him: his eyes, his smile, how kind he had been to me. Why did I have to go and fall in love with a prince?

A wave washes over my feet.

A tear falls.

Not even the ocean can wash the pain from my heart; the finest tailor cannot mend it. I am a hopeless void with no reason to live, yet live I do... Somehow.

Another wave comes and goes.

Another tear falls.

How could I have been so stupid? I am not but an orphan.

Him, a prince; me, an orphan. In no world could that ever happen.

"Love is a strange thing." I was told once. Though strange it may be, for me, impossible is what it is.

I will never find another like him. Never shall there be anyone so kind, gentle, or honorable as he. I shall never love another. If I am not with him, my heart is a broken stone that can never be fixed. And so it shall remain. I can never be with him.

He loves another.

My tears are pouring like rain now. I do not understand what I did to deserve pain like this. The rich, they live well, never in pain or misery, but we who are poor, we are forced to beg on our knees for even the smallest bit of hope.

The sound of an approaching horse interrupts my internal ranting. I quickly wipe my tears away so they won't see. The horse stops. I hear the stranger dismount, but I do not look up. I don't wish to talk to whoever this stranger is, I want to be alone with my depressing thoughts.

The stranger walks over and sits beside me. I do not understand this madness; I am as much a stranger to them as they to me. I think. I look up at them to see if by some miracle I know them, but I don't. He is handsome, and looks to be no more than three years my senior. His eyes are a deep, rich brown. His hair is black, falling to his shoulders, and his skin is naturally dark. An image flashes across my mind, I had seen him earlier this afternoon in town. He'd followed me. Immediate distrust wells up in me.

"I am Robert." He says. I know he expects me to introduce myself, it wouldn't be polite to get up and walk away but that's just what I do.

"Wait!" He calls out after me but I ignore him and move faster. By the clanging of his sword getting louder, I can tell he is catching up. I try to run faster, but can't. Suddenly his arms are around me. I struggle to free myself, preparing to scream. I barely get a squeak out before Robert puts his hand over my mouth.

"Will you please listen to me?" He sounds almost as if he is begging. But I glare at him, and fearing that I have no choice, I agree to listen.

"First, I must know your name." He still has his hand over my mouth failing to let me speak as he'd asked, so I lick it to get him to remove it and he grimaces, but let's go of me.

"Cecilia." I say giving him my name, but am determined to say as little as possible. His eyes pop open with shock.

"Cecilia Rosette?" It is my turn to be shocked as to how he knows my name. I don't know how he knows my middle name and makes me afraid. I begin to back away, but he grabs my arm again. He pulls me into a hug, but I am still wary and afraid and I can't help but push away.

"How do you know me?" I ask, though it sounds more like a demand.

"We have looked for you for the last seventeen years, sister." He answers. The last word shocked me.

"Sister?" I squeak. He grins at me.

"I will explain when we get home. Come, my horse can take two armored men, so I'm sure there will be no difficulty with him carrying the two of us."