Prince Edward released her from his firm grip and the girl fell to the ground and gasped in the precious air. Once she was back on her feet Jade could see the terror in the Prince's eyes. He glanced down at his brother and then back at her. A flock of guards wearing red greatcoats pushed through the unyielding crowd and bowed swifly.

"Take him," The crown Prince uttered harshly, losing all other emotion visible in his eyes.

"I've done nothing wrong," Jade protested as the guards positioned themselves on her sides as if they feared she too would fling herself down the cliff.

"Take him to Elliot," The Prince ordered and turned his back at Jade. He instead cast a hateful glare at the rest of the crowds, "Leave. If I see another ugly mug loitering a second later they will be hung upside from the clocktower."

There was a frenzy of movement where the Lords disbanded as soon as the Prince uttered his words. Horses winnied as they were forcefully placed into position and made to move back to the starting line. Jade was not even given a choice and her pace was set by the two guards surrounding her.

"Mr. Ward," Emma shouted to get his attention. The banner fell from her limp hands. The guards would not let Jade's horse come to a stop and the girl could only reduce her speed to meet her friend.

"There's something very wrong with Prince Luke. He was a mere hair's breadth away from jumping off a cliff," Jade bent and hissed into Emma's ear who had elbowed a guard and propelled herself next to her friend.

"He showed no signs of distress when I saw him grooming his horse," The girl warbled, sounding as sad as she looked.

"It wasn't distress. It- I'll explain later," The taller girl waved as her horse was urged into moving faster. She had no control over it by now.

Once into the palace with her horse safely in the stable master's hands she was marched into Sir Elliot's formal office room. The guard waved her in and she walked in dejected expecting a tongue-lashing.

"What trouble have you gotten into now?" The toupeed man groused from behind his desk.

"None at all. I saved Prince Luke from tumbling down the cliff like a ragdoll and being squashed to bits," Jade exhaled her story and then remembered to bow, "Sir."

"I have heard as much. What I want to know is why would a perfectly normal man who's only woe is an elusive girl could go to the trouble of offing himself so publically," Sir Elliot wrote heavily on the notebook in front of him and slammed it shut.

"It was because of the girl.

He said he could see her," Jade explained as succinctly as possible.

"Preposterous," Prince Edward,who opened the door at that very minute, answered instead. The girl was disappointed to see the other brother did not accompany him.

"What does he say; I mean Prince Luke?" The girl asked eagerly as the man marched in and slammed the door shut.

"He cannot remember anything," The Prince gritted out and threw his riding whip on the floor.

"He also couldn't remember when we met at night near the library. I thought he was walking in his sleep," Jade rounded towards the older man who seemed to be listening to her quite carefully.

"I warned him, yes, I did. I should have known a public outing would be trouble in the making," Elliot grey eyebrows were scrunched as he sighed regretfully.

"It's a spell of some sort, I am certain. His eyes, his voice, his mannerisms, everything was altered. He was seeing things he should not. He said she was right in front of him," Jade pressed her assumptions forward.

"It could be a spell or it could be a madness," The secretary revealed his own assumptions with hesitance.

"My little brother is not mad," The crown Prince exploded, "Ever since that ball, that blasted girl's taken up residence in his head. She's the one driving him mad."

"Could she be a witch?" Jade asked, her gaze alternating between the two men.

"That cursed woman has to be. Falling is love is difficult, not having whom you want is doubly so but you do not go crashing into mountains, hallucinating things."

"He's not made from the soil you were carved from, Ed. Your heart is made of the gold your crown was carved from. He's different; sensitive," Elliot tried to reason with the wrathful future king.

"He's sensible that's what. Don't you forget that. He's not prone to such foolish flights of fancy," The concerned brother argued, "And what does my heart have to do with anything?"

"I am neither well versed with spell work nor mental ailments but we need to find a solution soon. He may not be so lucky next time..." The girl wondered out aloud.

"We?" Edward asked imperiously as if offended by the presumption of the upstart.

"You should include him from now on," Elliot sighed,

"Might as well announce that you've been chosen as my successor."

"Surely not because of this incident," Jade protested, feeling offended she was being given the job not for her merits but her circumstances.

"I hope you are as trustworthy as you look. I do not wish for our information to be spread out," Elliot said before breaking his speech due to a fit of coughing.

"Just because I save his life and know too much? It's not fair to the others, is it? They might be better suited. You've already tried to send me away so I know I wasn't the favourite," The brown haired girl gestured with her hands.

"Are you already terrified by the daunting task ahead of you?" The crown prince taunted from his corner.

"No, not quite. I have a stronger constitution then you think," Jade spoke, her words firm and clear, "And you needn't worry about gossip, Mister Elliot. I've told no one barring Emma what I suspect. She's been helping in the library."

Edward made a stuffy noise in his throat and took off his leather blue gloves with the most false show of concentration. He picked at his fingers delicately as he weaned the glove off.

"Don't involve her in this. This is getting dangerous. Leave this matter to the men," The dark haired man mumbled, now very quiet.

"Do not discount her strengths just because she happens to be a woman. She is acquainted with the library and is a fount of useful information," Jade was quick to defend her friend.

Edward ignored her words and faced the older secretary, "I disagree with your plan Elliot. It is too hazardous with the new developments. Stall his plans and make sure he doesn't leave the palace until we've exhausted all our options. We need to make her come back looking for him instead of him riding out to find her."

"Another ball, sire?" The elderly man caught the topic at hand fast.

"Yes, another ball," The Prince examined his neat fingernails while his brows were furrowed. It seemed he was plotting something.

"And if she doesn't make an appearance?" Jade asked, being unnecessarily glum.

"Let us not think of the worst for now," Elliot tapped his pen in his notebook, "And if the time comes it shall be you, Mr. Ward, who will need to protect him."

...

Jade was led up the stairs at a floor much higher up from her former sleeping place. From the large windows she could see views she had not been able to see earlier. The lake shone crimson in the afternoon sun.

"These are your new lodgings. Your belongings have been moved," The bearded guard answered her unspoken questions sharply as they came to a halt in front of a door in the middle of the corridor. Jade was grateful she had never opened her bags properly after she had been told she was to stay at the palace. Her heart had not believed she would be allowed to stay permanently.

The guard opened her carved white door and Jade walked into a spacious, square room with a high ceiling. The room was divided into two with a wooden screen set near the bed area for privacy. The fireplace at the right housed a seating area and beyond it a large desk and matching chair which was shrouded in darkness. The heavy curtains completely drowned all the natural light leaving her with only the fireplace as her light source.

She sat down on a bench near the fireplace and in one swift motion took off her cravat. Her next action would have been her wig but she forwent it in favour of releasing her toes. They were stuffed in her riding shoes since morning and she needed to find a water bath to soak them in. The day's events had taken a toll on all her limbs.

The girl was tugging on her shoe's laces when she got the shock of her life. she found another man staring at her from the chair placed at the desk. She could have sworn he wasn't there a moment ago.

"You're injured. Would you like to be seen for your injuries," Prince Luke asked, remaining seated on his hiding place. His grey concerned eyes ran over her face as if trying to discern hidden physical trauma.

"No, your highness, I require no medical assistance," Jade bowed sharply, remembering her place. One of her foot was in her socks while the other in her unlaced shoe making it difficult to keep her composure.

Her knuckles were sore and her body ached but nothing pressing concerned her. She looked in better shape than the Prince anyway. His long hair was in pathetic disarray while his eye was showing signs of a blossoming bruise.

"I came here to apologize for the trouble I put you through," The man had his eyes on the joined hands he lay in his lap, "I hope you are not too startled by my intrusion."

"There's no need your highness. I was only doing my duty."

"False. You were not even my secretary back then. I hope Elliot's told you the good news although if you are in this room then you know by now," The man gestured towards the expanse of her room.

"I'm honoured although," Jade paused worried she was overstepping her place, "Are you certain? I also have the dubious honour of giving the Prince a black eye."

"It was a good shot," The man chuckled proving her right. He wasn't as hoity toity as his sibling and could laugh at himself.

"I haven't had much practice if I'll be honest. I did not partake in too many aggressive activities as I got older," Jade explained hoping the man did not judge her lack of physical prowess if he remembered her actions.

"You shall be taught all that you need to know," The man answered mysteriously.

"Is is necessary? I doubt Sir Elliot's been taught how to take a man down," The girl asked with a frown on her forehead trying to imagine the impossible.

"He could murder you in his sleep and you'd scarcely know it," Prince Luke smiled at her expression.

"As if I needed to be any more terrified of him."

"Ignore his tough exterior. He has a soft heart. And on that note I should leave now. It's getting late. I've already got people speaking about me as it is," The man uttered with a shrug, looking unconcerned by the heaps of gossip attributed to his actions of the morning. Jade could not figure out if his airs were the truth or not.

"I'm hardly a pretty maiden to incite such gossip," The girl snorted.

"Yes, not quite the maiden but still pretty enough for the maids to have their tongues wagging. No wonder my brother's jealous," Prince Luke could barely hide his mirth. His lopsided grin was a sight for sore eyes.

"He has no reason to be. I sometimes wonder if I should tell Emma of our suspicions," Jade brushed off the compliment. The two Princes were certainly better specimens of masculine beauty than she could ever hope to be.

"No, let them sort it out all on their own. They'll figure it out eventually," The Prince propped his beaten hat upon his head.

"What if they don't?" The new secretary asked curiously.

"If they're meant to be then they're meant to be. No power on this earth can stop them."

Jade had no smart retort for that. She watched the man turn for the doors when she remembered something, "Are you going back alone, Sire?"

"If I am?" The Prince raised his brow at her.

"That won't do. Mister Elliot was rather firm you would not be allowed out on your own and here you are going on a solitary walk," The girl crossed her arms. Keeping the man under lock and key was going to be more challenging than she thought.

"And I shall tell you what I told Elliot. Bugger off. I've got no use for a guard," The man's reply was petulant.

"Well, I've got no place to bugger off to, your highness, being penniless and adrift in the world and all that. I'm just going to have to follow you around like a rabid dog until you yield," The girl sat down to tie up her open shoelaces.

"If you are going to be persistent," The man chuckled and before she knew it the door had slammed shut.

"What a cheeky, bastard..." Jade discarded her shoe and ran for the door with only one foot safely tucked in her riding shoe.

She stumbled through the door way and caught a glimpse of the man's coat turning to the left corridor. She ran thudding down the carpeted corridor not caring who she disturbed. The other man's safety was paramount and she just couldn't let him win.

They turned another corner and found her prey giving her a roguish smirk as he ran. She sped up and could feel the distance decreasing.

They turned to a small staircase and while the man jumped down two stairs at a time Jade just gave up the thought and slid down the golden bannister as she had done many times in her father's house. She reached the end of the bannister at the same time as the Prince and leaped upon him as soon as her feet touched the ground.

"Caught you," The girl gasped, completely out of breath. Both her and Prince ended up face down on the plush green carpet.

"Why yes indeed," Sir Elliot replied. Jade turned her head upwards and found the man surrounded by three guards who were all watching the scene before them with amusement.

...