Alison smiled, seeing the Prince’s finger come from under the table, pointing at a tile and then played it. Actually, the Prince really acted different right now…He was more conniving, more…Sly. It was a side of him, a Prince, that you never would have thought existed, but it did, and it made her blush to the sudden similarity as herself…

At first, she had been uncertain on what to do with how to play the game to the best of her capability, but now she was playing like she had been a professional player for years. Hearing his quiet chuckle from beside her, she tried not to think of his hot breath as she peeked under the table at the tile that she had just stolen.

“Keep it.” The hot breath said. So she did…Exchanging it for a tile that the Prince pointed at.

Now she used her next turn in discretely disposing the useless tile out onto the table and upside down.

“The lady wins.” Prince Elton stated after another minute.

“Wait! I haven’t had my go yet!” David said.

“…You’re not very good at losing, are you?” Alison asked David.

David glared at her, “Someday, I’m ganna run away. I’m going to run away from all you nasty people!”

“You say that all the time.” Cid stated, leaning back and kissing Bethany’s hand.

“I mean it hey, I’m not sticking around to be treated like this!” David said, getting up in the next second. “I’ve decided!”

Everyone looked at David, wondering what he had decided.

“I’m going home!” David stated, finishing his cup of drink and then put on his jacket.

“Wait…” Cid said, also getting up.

“No, not yet!” Princess Bethany mumbled, taking more of a hold of Cid’s arm.

Alison looked away from the couple across from her and no longer knew what to do. Playing the game, she was able to divert the attention from her hands, but now…Now the hands playing with hers under the table seemed to take her full attention…

“We’ll take our leave too. Cid, go with David!” Prince Elton said, not wanting to leave Bethany and Cid alone together. It was getting late anyway, in fact if they played another game they might as well not sleep until the next night!

“Why can’t he stay here!?” Bethany asked in a huff, not wanting to let Cid go.

Both Cid and Elton cleared their throats, “No.”

Looking from one to another, the girls then looked at each other and shrugged.

“I will then take my leave, Your Highness.” Cid bowed to Prince Elton and left, only for Bethany to follow after him.

Alison chuckled lightly and smiled, “It’s nice to see they like each other.”

Prince Elton blinked and took the hand he craved once again, “Come, we’ll go to another place.”

“You know, I’m not some type of dog!” Alison muttered as she tried to keep up with the Prince.

“Mmm, I know this.” Was all the reply she got.

“Then why do you treat me like one then?” She mumbled, still following him…

Prince Elton stopped and stared at her, “Would you like me to carry you instead?”

Whoa!

“…It’s ok…Please show me the way, Your Highness.”

With a chuckle, the Prince continued, and they were going up some steps, then some more steps and then through a corridor then…Up some more steps!

Alison wanted to stop!

“Here…”

Alison looked out into the distance, to what was over the wall of the palace, and saw such a splendid sight below her. It seems that they had made it to one of the highest points in the palace and it was a place that overlooked the capital, even beyond that!

“It’s beautiful…” Alison muttered.

“Funmil is that way…Helasert over there, see?”

Looking at where the Prince was pointing, Alison nodded.

“Lupis is that way.”

Alison nodded again and looked, to be shown next to another area…But this time Prince Elton didn’t speak.

It was where her house used to be…

Why did he point there?

“Where’s Milo?”

Alison frowned and then nodded, “He was eating when you arrived.”

“Ah…”

Alison suddenly became aware of what she had done and quickly took in a breath.

Without any warning, Prince Elton removed her veil and smiled. “I knew it was you!”

“Hey!” She tried to take the veil back, but the Prince threw it…Both of them went silent as it blew away and down…This would have been absolutely terrible if it were her only one…Luckily she had another one, it was just in a different color…

When the Prince turned to face her, she looked elsewhere.

“There’s no point in denying it now!” The Prince said, in a bit of amusement.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about!” Alison said. She was completely caught, she knew it but…It doesn’t mean she has to agree to it with words!

“Oh? You have no idea?” The Prince moved her closer to him and he put a hand around her waist. “Where have you been, Little Pillager?”

“I am not a Pillager! I’m not even little! I’m a lady! I’ll have you know that I’m…”

Silence then came next as he took her lips with his.

Putting a hand to her face, her very pretty face, Prince Elton couldn’t help but take the kiss a bit deeper.

This woman, this silly woman…

Pulling away from her, Prince Elton couldn’t believe that he had gotten to such a state!

Alison opened her eyes as she went into his embrace and sighed, “After I left the palace, I was taken to the…”

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“Advisor’s?”

Alison nodded. “He had been watching us, he knew that we had seen each other.”

“I see.” Prince Elton stated, then asked, “Why are you doing what they want?”

Alison looked up at him and wondered if she should tell him…Tell him that evidence was here to state her family as innocent. Then, that would mean that she…

It probably wasn’t a good idea.

“Tell me, Alison.” Prince Elton said, putting a hand lightly under her chin and making her look at him longer.

Alison went wide eyed and held her breath for a moment…

He knows my name…

Swallowing, Alison went to look away, but found that her face turned back to him, “Don’t panic.”

“I’m going back.” Alison pulled herself away from him and started going back a way that she wasn’t sure was the right way.

“Straight ahead…To the left…”

Alison held in her anger and her tears until they were down all the stairs then stood there.

Without a word, Prince Elton took her hand and walked slowly in a direction, and she followed. They walked for a little longer this time, making Alison hardly able to bear it.

She had so many questions, but she didn’t know where to start…She didn’t know if she wanted to hear the answers!

Did the prince know that she was his fiancé? Did he know that his father was the one that had hurt her family?

Upon coming to her back veranda, Alison went to keep walking but was suddenly in his embrace once again.

“I’m not your enemy, Alison. Trust me…”

He’s not?

Can she really trust him? Can she?

Once again, her lips were covered with his and she let it happen…Why did she let it happen?

Doesn’t she hate this man!?

She was Lady Adaline, Lady Adaline!

Feeling his arm around her waist, Alison nearly let out a groan when he pulled away.

Quickly, she pulled herself together and bluntly said, “I don’t know what you’re talking about, Your Highness. I am the granddaughter of Advisor Rick and prefer if you stopped confusing me with a person called Alison!”

Letting her go, Prince Elton smiled, “…Let’s make one thing clear!”

Alison swallowed and thought that she would have to come up with something else to make him see that she wasn’t Alison.

The Prince was going to state one thing but changed his mind. It seemed that she was worried, so he couldn’t bring himself to go against her wishes. “…It was indeed a very beautiful sight tonight…Lady Adaline!”

Watching the Prince leave, Alison put her fingers to her lips and even found herself wanting to smile.

He had finally stated that she was beautiful!

And…She got kissed, twice in one night!

It was like a dream…

Her dream quickly vanished though, as she remembered what her role was here. She was supposed to woo the prince to the point of making him a puppet…Instead, it seemed that the Prince already knew who she was! As much as she claimed she wasn’t Alison, does he even believe her?

Does that mean he knew why she was here?

‘I’m not your enemy, Alison. Trust me…’

Her heart…Her heart was already willing to trust him…Her head though, it was trying to figure it out, trying to figure out how much that man knows!

***

Two days later, when nothing was ‘seen’ as in any change upon ‘Adaline’s job of wooing the Prince’, Alison was forced to leave the palace for a day.

In no time, her new master had asked for her permission to leave, in silence he took her away…With no words spoken between them, Alison felt like she really should worry upon what was going on. This old coot had let her be lately, but it seemed perhaps he wasn’t happy right now. Was he going to hit her? Perhaps yell at her? It would make sense to leave the palace so that he could do so, if he was seen to do this at the palace, he might get into trouble.

In silence and making Alison more and more nervous as the time went on, her master brought her to the place that she left from a quite a number of days ago. except…

Upon her arrival at a place to the rear of the property, that looked like a dirty and low hole in the ground, she was suddenly pushed into it.

It wasn’t a cell for a person…It was more like a dog cell! No, it shouldn’t be something that should hold any kind of living thing!

It was a strange cell though, considering that the door was above her head and around the outside and the bottom was walled off or something.

“Just leave her there for now.” Advisor Rick said to his men and turned. “If one is disobedient, one needs to be punished! Turn on the water.”

Alison inwardly scoffed at the old coot and let out a deep breath.

She had not wanted to be in the Prince’s presence, so she had not seen him…Even when he had wanted to see her…

Having not made up her mind upon how much he knows and how much she should trust him, Alison didn’t know what to say to him.

She also had a bad feeling that she was…Being taken by him…

Not wanting to fall for the son of the person that had ruined her family, Alison felt ashamed.

It really was tempting to just get out of this…Cage and run…

Just as she thought of doing this act, the cage started to fill up with water…

Quickly, Alison tried to move about to get a tool out for herself, to help herself get out of the cage, until she looked up…To see someone standing on it. “The master tells me to stand here…Hehe, I’ll get to watch the little girl drown!”

Clenching her hand, to which was holding her tool, Alison started to really panic upon how she was going to free herself from this cage…

Swallowing hard, she looked up again and came to the conclusion that going up was not going to work. Looking from side to side, then where the water was coming from, even though it was already under water, Alison used her hands to poke around, not finding anything to help her out!

This was getting scary!

Breathing harder, she felt her waist now wet, and she put her hands to the top and pushed at the cell bar entrance. It’s not going to work but, I don’t know what else to do! She thought.

“Let me out!” Alison yelled.

“Haha! She’s scared!” The man standing on top of the cage laughed.

“Let me out!” Alison then screamed, pushing at the bars and feeling the water now near her shoulders.

“…Please…Please let me out!” Alison said, feeling the water now up to her neck, tears running down her face. “I’m sorry! Please let me…”

With a deep breath, she held it and saw that she could no longer get any air…The cage was full of water!

No! I can’t die like this! I needed to…I needed to…My family’s innocent! My…Milo! Milo will need food and water! He…

The advisor came out then, seeing the water trickle over the edge and said, “Get her out!”

They opened the cage and out flopped a wet body.

In mere moments, the wet body was coughing and breathing deeply.

Bending down to the girl on the floor, the advisor said, “Do you think I’m stupid?”

Alison put her hands around her body, nearly shaking…

“Next time I will get a man touching that luscious body of yours, my dear…So I suggest you take this seriously!” With that, the advisor got up and left!

Without anyone helping but with looks from both men and women, Alison had no choice but to take herself back inside. It was so…Humiliating…Terrifying…

Her clothes stuck to her and she tried to cover herself because of the males that looked at her with hungry eyes. Stop looking at me!

Alison held in her tears, she held in her fury, never had she been treated like this! Never!

Only given towels to wipe herself down, Alison quickly got new clothes on in a place where no one could see her and was directly led to leave and go back to the palace. Obviously, they had only wanted her to leave the palace so that they could ‘remind’ her of her position, of their plans and what she had to do…

They won…

As much as she was angry with what had just happened, it was more scary.

She had swallowed water, she was still shivering and the memory of being nearly drowned was still with her so vividly! No, I have to survive, I have to! She thought, clenching her hands together.

Upon entering the palace gates, inside the carriage with her ‘master’, Alison had not said a word as she was just about to get up to get out.

“I will send someone to collect a letter that you write to get the Prince to come directly to your quarters. Be ready!”

Alison got off and stood there for a moment as she heard the carriage start to leave.

Whatever the circumstance, she needed to return to her quarters inside the palace anyway because she could feel herself shivering more and more.

Her hair had been fixed, but it was still a bit wet. Not only could she feel that she was probably not properly dressed to be outdoors, because her dress was slightly wet, but she was feeling the cold a bit more than usual right now.

Winter was still cold, even as a thief, so it wasn’t like she was immune to getting sick…

Without a word to anyone and trying not to gain any attention, Alison finally made it to her quarters and took a deep breath.

Wrapping her hands around herself, she held back her tears and walked towards the wardrobe. She needed to dry her hair and redress, before she got sick!

Knowing that she probably didn’t get much time, Alison quickly got dressed and gave her hair a quick dry, then got into making a letter. Sitting there for a few minutes, Alison still didn’t know what to write. She didn’t want to seduce him, yet she had to get the Prince here. She didn’t want him to think that anything was going to change yet…How could she…

When a knock on the door came, Alison started to panic.

She really was being watched!

Quickly getting up, putting an extra piece of clothing on over her dress, she opened the door.

“My Lady, I have been told to pick up a letter.” Said a maid.

Alison nodded, “Very well, I’ll finish and give it to you in a minute.”

The maid bowed and stayed there, as Alison quickly went to write the letter. All that came to mind was, ‘Come to my quarters.’ There was no reason given, no polite words either.

Alison didn’t like the message herself, but she didn’t know what else to do. If she were to make the maid wait too long, or if she made the maid to go away, she might be dragged out of the palace…No!

Yes, she couldn’t deny it, she was slightly worried about her predicament.

She did want to leave, she wanted freedom and to act who she was but…At the same time, the evidence was here, and she still hadn’t found Noel Price…

All she could do is do as she is told…For now!

Giving the letter to the maid, Alison said, “Take it to the Prince as soon as possible.”

“Yes, My Lady.” The maid said, then promptly left.

Closing the door behind her, Alison leaned against it for a moment and then became aware of what could possibly happen.

The Prince might not come…What if he doesn’t come!?

Perhaps she should have written a better letter! If he doesn’t come, the maid, most likely one of the advisor’s people, will probably tell straight away!

Alison began to pace the room with worry and put a hand through her hair.

If…If the prince doesn’t come, that would be it then, I will have to run…It would probably be better that way anyway.

Through all this, Alison didn’t really consider the other option…And that was that the Prince would come…

Then, a knock on the door made Alison frown.