"What was spoken here today does not leave this room Weisheng." Godefroi said.

"Understood my king, but what are we to do now with the bodies and the blood and what of the people?" Weisheng said.

"Concealing something of this magnitude is impossible!" Godefroi scowled. "IF I reveal he was killed for treason, it will put those he was in cohorts within awareness. But whether I do or not they will inevitably find out. Those Dukes of mine are too savvy."

"I have an idea." Duke said. "A careful procedure to find out who is loyal to you."

"What is that?"

"Summon the Dukes. And admit to the treason and death of William. But, leave out how exactly he was murdered. If people find out the specifics, it means Gilbert or Valentene, is leaking information."

"Excellent idea Duke." Godefroi said smiling.

"After which we will interview and investigate the Duke's followers and knights, to see if anyone was aware of his treason, or the circumstances behind. Wiesheng, you had heard it was possible he was in talks with Britain but had no evidence correct? Well now I need you to find that evidence!" Godefroi ordered.

"Yes my King!"

"So what's next following this great conference?" Duke asked.

"The Wedding of Princess Yingjie and Bishop Clay." Godefori said. "Marriage between France and Wudon will bring a line of power our enemies wouldn't dare approach."

"I couldn't agree more my King, it is an honor" Wiesheng said bowing.

Knock! Knock!

"Who is it?" Wiesheng called out.

"It is Melin, Weisheng I bring news from Vienne"

"What is it?" Weisheng said, inviting her inside.

"It seems the Dark Prince has made his move yet again, he's burned the entire Den of Wolves to the ground.

"What!" Duke exclaimed "There was a fire?"

"There are dozens of bodies everywhere, the body count is at least 25, there was a couple out on a date, they were absolutely petrified, Apparently not only was the building set on fire with patrons inside but she could hear the screams of men being chopped to pieces above her."

"That Bastard!" Duke screamed. "These rogue killers don't care about innocence! They kill with no remorse! It makes me sick!" Duke said.

"Duke, its important you understand," Godefroi began

"No!" Duke said storming out of the room. "Let me tell you something! Anyone who harms innocent people is scum! First I'm going to find Prince and bring him to Justice! And then I'm going to find Byron! And make him answer for his crimes! I will not let men like these walk the streets of France! I refuse to listen to another story of children who lost their parents!" Duke said slamming the door.

"He's usually so composed," Weisheng said.

"It's these crimes on innocents, he can never look past that." Godefroi said.

"This is a dangerous situation." Godefroi thought. "If he finds out that Prince is Prince de Bourbon, the results could be disastrous… I have to somehow throw him off Princes tail, if he finds that they are related, he may undergo a psychosis that even I cannot remedy"

(Back at Ivans estate)

"Well, are you just going to stare at him? Or are you actually going to go say something?" Marlin asked.

"He looks like he's reading something…" Meri said.

After giving Meri a disparaging look, Marlin shoved her up the hill towards Prince.

"Prince! Meri has something she wants to ask you!" Marlin said walking away.

"Screw you Marlin!" Meri said.

Closing his book, Prince turned to Meri.

"What is it Meri?" He asked, reflecting the sun's morning shine in his eyes.

"Prince…" Meri said.

"Stop stuttering Meri, you know me by now, there is no reason to be nervous," Prince said.

"I want to get to know you better," Meri said.

There was an awkward pause between the two, as Meri desperately tried to maintain eye contact with Prince's beautiful blue eyes.

"I want to know who you are, who you were before all this, I want to know everything!" Meri said.

Still Prince remained silent, unphased by her words.

"I won't tell anyone! I won't betray you I swear by it! Please, I need to know are you royalty? Are you a criminal? Are you a killer? I need to know!" Meri said.

Finally giving in, Prince put his book away, letting out a deep sigh.

"Meri, if I tell you this… and you are captured… you will be tortured for this information… You may die, just for knowing this secret, do you still want to know?" Prince asked.

Meri gulped. She was overcome with so much anxiety she could hardly look at Prince.

"Wait Meri think," She thought. "If there's anything to learn here it's to think, do I really want to end up in a situation he's describing? It could be much worse than he's leading it on to be… But at the same time… do I want to blindly follow someone like this? Shouldn't I know? Don't I want to know?"

"Yes!" Meri answered. "I will probably be tortured whether I know or not! Since I've decided to follow you! Now tell me! Who are you!" She said.

"Very well," Prince said. "But before I do that, tell me who you really are?" Prince asked.

"What do you mean?" Meri asked.

"How did a girl like you learn about artes?" Prince thought. "And better yet, at what age? I was made to believe that was hidden knowledge, how did a woman stumble upon it?" Prince asked.

Meri was silent, baffled by Prince's words.

"You hid it pretty well, but I've got to ask," Prince said. "What's a woman who knows artes, can speak well and can read, doing unmarried, as the foreman on a plantation? It's almost as if your hiding yourself from public view, like I am," Prince laughed

Meri's eyes flashed, and she became cold.

"Don't be afraid," Prince said. "I've known for quite some time, why don't we start over, from the beginning" Prince said standing up.

"Hello, my name is Prince, Prince de Bourbon, What is yours?" He said, extending his hand.

Meri looked away utterly flushed with embarrassment. "I did that in the mud… with a Prince!!!!" She thought.

"Hi, my name is Merideth, Meredith de Niche" She said, extending her hand.

Prince's eyes flashed with a burst of unexplained emotion. Catching himself, he took a step back.

"What's wrong?" Meri asked.

"De Niche…" Prince said. "There was a young man about my age, in the procession, he looked at me with strange eyes, like he knew me from somewhere. But it wasn't a familiarity that was good, it was hatred, for some reason I felt indignation in his eyes, but after a few moments his eyes left me, and he shook his head. Judging by the list of attendees, I figured him to be Duke de Niche."

"That's my half brother…" Meri said.

"Pedro," Prince said.

"What is it?" Pedro answered.

"Why do I get this feeling?"

"What feeling?" Pedro asked.

"That I am not the only undercover royalty here? Just what kind of people have I invited on this journey?"

"What do you think they're talking about up there Jimi?" Marlin asked.

Jimi shrugged his shoulders, unable to answer Marlin's question. Marlin spun around curiuously examining his friend.

"What's this about you being able to speak? Is that true?" Marlin said scratching his chin.

"No," Jimi answered. "There is no truth in that whatsoever."

"Yeh, I figured Prince was lying there's no way you can.....Wait..." Marlin said examining Jimi.

"WHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAATTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT!" Marlin cried.