Night after night, she reported straight to her room and was confined there. She never left, only to eat in the dining hall. Brian visited her nightly.

“The day is coming soon. I fear for the worse, Brian,” she confessed to him, on her bed.

“M’lady you will be fine,” he said, not even believing his own words.

“No. I don’t want to be married to some twisted man who doesn’t care about me!”

Brian hugged her. His chin rested on her shoulder. He sighed and thought silently.

“What shall I do, Sir?” she inquired desperately.

“If you had a choice, who would you choose?”

“No one. I want to be free. No chains to hold me down,” she stated.

“Would you marry Prince Nickolas?” he asked with a grin.

“Absolutely not,” she said and smirked. “He is too much of a cocky brat to be considered.”

“Maybe he has a side you haven’t seen. Perhaps he is quiet and gentle.”

“And where do you find logic in those words?”

“I am not exactly sure, Celeste. I don’t know. He doesn’t seem all that bad, does he?” Brian asked.

“I told you, Sir, he is an immature boy. He will not ever be a king, unless he wants to dishonor his family’s name. I know he isn’t that stupid.”

“True,” he agreed, “but you can admit he is sort of attractive, can’t you?”

She pictured him that day at the lake. She saw his cocky grin, baring white teeth. His blue eyes watching her with some kind of spark in them. The way he presented himself was utterly out of uniform, leaning on the rock, his head in his hand. His attire was gorgeous; he was adorning a beautiful blue gem that Celeste thought was stunning. Nickolas himself was a piece of artwork. “He is extremely disgusting.”

Brian smiled. “You fancy him. I know it. You fell into this trance. You were thinking of him, weren’t you?”

“I was not. I was…thinking of you, honestly,” she lied with a grin.

“You never think of me like that. What do you find so appealing in him?”

“Nothing,” Celeste claimed.

“Give it up, Darling, tell me the truth.”

Celeste sighed. “His smile, his eyes, the way he presents himself.”

Brian laughed. “I knew you liked him. I feel he thinks the same way.”

“Why?”

“He always wants to see you by the lake. He is intrigued by you, and honestly, I think you two would be an interesting pair.”

Celeste looked at Sir Brian with his bright and mischievous grin. He stared at her with his bluish eyes. “What is it, Celeste?”

“I don’t know what to do. I don’t love Nickolas, though he is attractive. If I know you well enough, I’d think you’d try to marry us. But we can’t. Father is choosing, remember?”

“Yes, I do.”

Brian’s eyes flicked with sheer ingenious electricity. “That’s perfect.”

Celeste had a look of concern on her face. But also of curiosity. “What is it?”

“You have two choices,” Brian said.

“Choices of what? Why does this seem very scary to me?”

“You can marry Alexander,” he said.

“Or…?”

“You could marry Nickolas,” he told her.

Celeste blinked and looked at him. “He is the son of Father’s enemy. Why would Father allow me to marry him of all people?”

“It isn’t that. Think of it: your marriage would unite the two biggest empires in the land. And you like Nickolas, so it wouldn’t be as if you were marrying someone you hate.”

“But I hardly know him,” she protested, “I could marry Alexander and be happier!”

“Then do that. You can put up with his constant chatter for the rest of your life. You aren’t guaranteed that he’ll even be around. You know how he is. A woman is a woman to him.”

“This is so far-fetched.”

Brian positioned his face on the crook of her neck. He smiled. “But if this works, it could create history. Think of all the possibilities, Celeste. There wouldn’t be as many wars over the land because we would all share it. We could combine forces and be a stronger, more lethal army. It is too sweet for his Highness to disagree! There is no downside.”

“And how do you think we should propose this to my father?”

Brian kissed her neck softly. “We don’t now. We first need to plan how to propose this to Nickolas.”

----------------

Brian finally had his plan set. It was outrageous to Celeste, but it was interesting. She couldn’t avoid it. There was that chance of it actually working and that’s what kept Celeste working. She and Brian were supposed to meet Nickolas at the lake secretively at noon. It was past noon, but there was no sign of Nickolas.

“He isn’t coming,” Celeste announced, still searching through the trees. She wrung her hands nervously.

“He will, Darling. I promise.”

Finally, a glint of light caught Celeste. She heard the hollow thump of horses hooves in the distance. Celeste looked to her left and saw a black stallion, mighty and strong. And on top of it, the man that could possibly get her out of this mess.

Nickolas stopped the horse, and dismounted. He nodded respectively at Brian, still a little flustered from their last meeting, but then approached Celeste. He held up a piece of paper, and said, “I came as soon as I received it. I’m sorry I was late.”

“We’re relieved that you came,” Brian said to him. “What we need to discuss is utterly important.”

“What is it?” Nickolas asked.

“Where do I begin?” Celeste said. She took a deep breath, letting her mind swirl with ideas. She couldn’t just propose to him, because that was suspicious.

“You’ve heard that her father is going to marry her off, correct?” Brian said to Nickolas.

“Indeed,” he replied.

“Well, that is our problem. And you know that her father and your father have been enemies for years.”

“Well, of course.”

Brian tried to think of what to say next. It was hard to word it correctly without scaring him of or making him think it was all a big prank they were pulling on him. “We need to marry her. Before her father picks her husband and she is stuck with some miserable twit.”

“What are you suggesting?” Nickolas inquired densely.

“What we’re suggesting is that you and I marry. That way, our fathers will unite and our kingdoms come together as one.” Celeste turned away and shook her head. She put her head in her hands and blurted, “It sounds horrible. It’s never going to work. I’m so stupid for believing you, Brian.”

Brian looked over his shoulder at Celeste, obviously a little hurt by her lack of faith. He turned to Nickolas and stated, “Look, it isn’t the best situation. But I hope you have enough sense to realize if you did this, you could possibly start a revolutionary thing. If our two kingdoms united, we could become the ultimate kingdom. And if that doesn’t move you, then at least knowing that Celeste is in better hands then she would be otherwise is what we can offer.”

Nickolas didn’t respond. He stared blankly at Brian. Not in confusion or anger, but almost if he was weighing out the situation. Nickolas had to think. This was an opportunity of a lifetime. Sir Brian’s ideas of an united kingdom would be fantastic. And marrying the girl who had been haunting his dreams for weeks would be wonderful. She was certainly something beautiful and ultimately unique. Nickolas looked over at Celeste. She was now crying, muttering something to herself.

“Sire, I know you could care less, but Celeste means the world to me. If I saw that she was in the wrong hands, there would be nothing I could do to comfort her. I am not allowed to act against the king --- or future king. If you married her, at least I could rest a little bit easier.”

Nickolas walked up behind Celeste, and put his hand on her arm. She kept sobbing, and Nickolas could only decipher a little bit of what she was saying. She was mumbling her mother’s name over and over. Nickolas made her face him and he hastily put his arms around her. He put his head on hers and let her cry. He whispered to her, trying to coax her, but she continued to cry. He finally gave that up and started to sing her a song that Patricia used to sing all the time. Celeste hushed, and listened to him.

She was like a child, really. Celeste was so innocent and young, even though they were almost the same age. Her delicate hands gripped his sides desperately, as if he was the last thing keeping her safe. And perhaps in a sense, he was. And he would.

“Celeste, I will keep you safe,” he vowed, whispering in her ear. He paused, and put his hand through her hair. “You will not worry, because everything will be fine. I promise.”

Brian watched them from his spot. He barely saw Celeste shake her head and looked up at her new hero. She smiled weakly, a tear in her eye. Nickolas leaned down and kissed away the tear tenderly as it rolled down her cheek. Brian frowned a little, but allowed him to do that. He was happy that he’d convinced the Prince. But now, could he convince the King?