chpter 14 : confrontations

"Have you seen a couple as nauseating?"
"Not I."
"Nor I."
"We weren't like that."
"We were much conservative."
"We are much conservative."
"But your brother looks very happy..."
"So does Anna."

The two kept quiet as they leaned against the tree bark, watching their two friends by the Lakeside.
Adam had just splashed water on Anna.
Anna squealed & splashed right back.
Adam began to chase her around the Lake for what seemed like hours (when truth be told, it was actually 10 minutes).

& it went on.

"We were never like that." Abby said again.
James nodded.

Abby sighed. "It's a shame. I'm sure that Amy would love to witness my brother & Anna together."
"Finally." James muttered.
Abby flashed a grin.

James could not help but grin himself. It was not actually Abby the source of that infectious smile (well, it was but not as much) but the thought that he was the responsible - the one who gave Adam that final push.

Which, really, he should have done ages ago - but he thought to himself, 'No reason to dwell on the past.'











Anyone who used the phrase 'no reason to dwell on the past' was an idiot.
At least, in Amy's opinion.

It had been nearly two weeks - half a month - since she had last stepped outside her bedroom door.
She hadn't breathed the familiar stables' smell or see her nosy aunt wasting breath on gossip. or even her plump uncle waddling about the Hut.

She missed it, Amy realised with surprise. She missed civilisation but then, the familiar thought popped inside her head, "What's the use?"

Love could make the world seem a brighter place.
Unrequited love, on the other hand, could make the world seem a dull & dead one.

So, really, what is the real purpose of love?

"Nothing but to stir up trouble," she said to herself.
Amy felt lonely... But not as lonely as she could have been if it weren't for her ever loyal friends.

Abby & Anna - either one or both - had stayed outside her door, updating her on the life beyond the Hut.
Anna would tell her silly stories & mishaps of people while Abby would tell tales of Anna & her public display of affection with her brother ("Nauseating," Abby gagged).

Amy missed it. She wanted to tear open the door & run into the arms of her four dearest friends, squeezing the life out of them.

But she couldn't because her paranoid conscience would appear.
"What if you bump into Jeffer?" it would say tauntingly. "What if he sees you & ask of your failure marriage?"

Marriage. She snorted. What marriage?
She had not even gone past the altar.

But the worst one was "What if he begins talking about his beautiful wife to you & asks how is your wonderful husband?"

No. She would rather lock herself up in her chambers than risk a moment with Jeffer.









Anna was hanging laundry by evening.
Adam had to leave her to tend to the horses. She supposed she could not keep him all to herself.

After all, his mother is her employer, so to speak.

As she moved on towards the second basket of damp laundry, she heard a voice saying, "Excuse me."
Anna nearly shrieked.

She turned around & saw a shadow of a man towering over her.
'Where did he come from?' Anna wondered.

Nobody was in sight. Everyone was too busy with their chores (as Master Zeddy was in a rather snappish mood this day). Only Anna was fulfilling her duty outdoors, hanging the clothes on the wire.
The stranger apologised (sheepishly?)

She knew it wasn't Adam, attempting to scare the life out of her.
She knew his voice.
But this voice... It was familiar...

"Jeffer?" she whispered incredulously.
She could see the man stiffen, even if he was at a safe distance away from her.

"I beg your pardon." he said.
"I-I-I- mean, my Lord." she stammered nervously.

Silence.

Suddenly, he burst out laughing.
"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean it like that. It's just..." he cleared his throat. "It has been a while since anyone had called me by that name. Only my parents & Amy..." he trailed off & blinked back into reality.
"Aren't you her maiden or such?" he asked.
Anna nodded & realised that the sun had already set. "Yes," she said.
"Do you know where I might, um, find her?"

Anna quickly calculated the good & bad outcomes if she told him what had happened to Amy for the past few weeks.
She decided not to inform him.

After all, what right did he had? He was just an acquaintance of Amy - not a friend, not a lover.
Acquaintance.

"She's, uh, occupied at the moment."
Anna wondered how big a sin it was to lie to a Pharaoh. (Although, Anna insisted it wasn't lying. Not really. Just... Bending the truth)

"Oh. Could you... I suppose, call her downstairs? There is something urgent I'd wish to say to her." the Pharaoh said.
"I'm sorry but she really can't see anyone now."
"What? What's happened to her?" in a flash, Jeffer gripped Anna's shoulders with such intensity, she could not breathe.

"Nothing! Nothing!" she assured him & sagged her shoulders as Jeffer loosened his grip. "It's just-"

'Oh, forgive me, Amy.' Anna thought as she began to explain the situation. It wasn't her fault.
Not really.
Could anyone blame her? Jeffer was abnormally tall, which made him more intimidating. Anna did not know why but Jeffer reminded her of an ape.

'Lord. How could Amy ever fall for an ape?' she wondered.

But she was drifting off. Jeffer shook her, his face looming over hers. "It's just...?" he asked, a hint of impatience creeping into his voice.
"What in hell's name do you think you're doing?" a voice called out from behind.

Anna brightened up. "Adam!" She didn't have to peer over Jeffer's shoulders (a feat she thought impossible) to see who it was but she did it anyway.
He was walking towards the two, with a lantern in a hand & a bucket of hay in the other.

"Anna, what's going on?" he asked, looking at Jeffer.
"You." the two men said at the same time.

Jeffer instantly let go of Anna. Before anyone knew what was going on, Jeffer raised his fist & punched Adam's eye (again).
"Adam!" Anna screamed.
"Adam..." he muttered. The name was instantly locked inside his memory.

"What's going on out there?" Mrs. Geraldine said, a torch lit inside the kitchen.

Jeffer cursed under his breath & ran off.
Before he did, though, he requested Anna to tell Amy of his presence. Giving a last scathing look at Adam, groaning in the bucket of hay, Jeffer ran in the shadows.

"He really is," Adam spat out a mouthful of hay. "-pushing his luck."








"Amy!" the four cheered as they caught sight of her entering the pantry.
"Yes, it is I." she smiled & gave a dramatic bow.

She nearly fell over as Anna, Amy, James & Adam ploughed her with an enormous group hug.

"Please don't suffocate me." she choked from below (being the shortest - or, delicately put - most petite, it was extremely difficult).
As the group made way for Her Highness (or Shortness, in this case), she sat down & laid her head on the table.
She suddenly sprung away from it & shrieked, "What in the world is a raw piece of meat doing there?" while wiping the sticky juice off her face.

"Sorry. My fault." Adam said. As Amy caught a glance of his face, she gasped.
She was about to ask the obvious question ("What happened?") But Adam decided to save her the trouble & was about to inform her of last night's events.

He could not, though, as he caught Anna's sharp glare (from behind Abby's back). Instead, he quickly shut up & muttered a rather lame excuse of being kicked in the eye by a horse.
James let out a snort, Abby bit her lip from smiling & Anna looked heavenwards, either praying or attempting to distract herself from laughing too hard (if one had looked closely, one would notice her eyes watering from the strain).

"Oh, poor thing!" Amy exclaimed as approached Adam.
"What could you have possibly done to that poor horse?" she asked & gave him a poke at his side.
"Ow!" Adam rubbed his rib.

"So, did anything interesting happened yesterday?" Amy asked cheerfully, as if the previous moment did not happen.
The four looked at one another.

Adam & Anna clamped their mouths shut into pinched smiles while Abby & James chorused, "Nothing. Nothing at all."
"Oh." Amy's face fell. "I was sure something had happened yesterday."

Silence.

"That's how the world is without me being there, I suppose!" Amy laughed & her friends rolled their eyes.







"How long must we keep up with this charade?" Anna asked exasperatedly, the minute Amy went to pluck flowers growing from the side of the Hut.
"It's only been three days, Anna. We must give her time to adjust. She's just came out of her room after a period of, oh, I don't know..." Abby hummed, tapping a finger at her chin. "Half a month?"
"Well, fine. But we have to tell her sooner or later."
"The preferable choice being later."

Anna let out an annoyed stamp. "Oooh, this is so infuriating!"
"Who's infuriating?"

Abby & Anna turned around & found a sweet smiling Amy with a handful of equally sweet smelling flowers.
The two exchanged glances. "Um, it's nothing. It was just... Adam." she sighed.
Abby nodded along.











"Hey!" Adam let out a shout.
"Good heavens, Adam. What is the matter?" his mother asked, startled.
"Oh. Nothing, mother. I just... Felt something." he shrugged.
"Must be something in your dreams, then." she smiled. "It isn't normal to wake up from a nap in the style of your behaviour."
"But it felt as if someone... Accused me." Adam muttered, bewildered.











"She's not a little girl anymore." Anna said, still uncomfortable lying to her dear friend.
"Mhmm." Adam muttered as he played with Anna's hair.
"Adam! Are you even listening to me?" she craned her neck to look up & instantly wished she didn't as her eyes linked with his grey ones.
It was filled with the same intensity & a little bit of... Amusement & satisfaction.

"I am, I am. You're right." he assured her & kissed her forehead. "Amy isn't a small girl anymore."
"Thank you." Anna said & closed her eyes, basking in the touch of his warm fingers against her scalp, wrapping it with her dark hair.
"She's a big girl. Huge. Enormous." he said.

Anna laughed. "Adam! What a horrible thing to say."
"You suggested."
"I did not."
"You did."
"No, I didn't."
"You did."
"No, I di-"

He shut her up with a kiss.

Moments later, the two took in deep breaths of air.
"Ad-"
"Shh." he put a finger against her lips.
"No. Something's still bothering me."
Adam groaned.

"I can't stand lying about this anymore. We have to do something." Anna said, ignoring his groan.
"What? Drop by the Pharaoh's palace & complain? Of course that would work." Adam rolled his eyes.

Silence.

"Anna? Anna?" he looked down & saw Anna brightening up at the idea.
"Adam, you're a genius!" she said.

If it was a different situation, Adam would graciously accept this compliment with a line such as, "Why, you've just noticed?" with a waggle of his eyebrows.
But this was an entirely absurd moment - he had just clued Anna in an unwise idea, just by being sarcastic!

Nothing ever ends nicely with sarcasm.

"No." Adam said, surprising Anna (& himself). "No, I'm not. I'm not a genius. I'm a blathering idiot!" he assured her. "So why don't we... Forget whatever I had just said & continue our previous activity?" Adam leaned towards her but Anna was having none of that.
She pushed him away & shook her head. "Adam, it really was a brilliant idea!"
Adam groaned again.

"So tomorrow you have to help me, alright?"
Adam hesitated, refusing to say a word.
"Alright?" she asked again.

Anna's fingers laced with his & the other hand slowly crept up his arm, to his neck. She brought his head forward until his lips were inches away from hers.
His breathing grew rapid, his eyes grew a shade darker (or was that Anna's imagination?) as she asked again, no louder than a mere whisper, "Alright?"
Leaving him no choice, he gulped & nodded his head, knowing that he was signing a contract with his own blood.

She gave him a smile & then his reward.










"Where is Anna?" Abby asked her brother, who was sweeping the floor inside the stables.
"Oh, she's ill. She went to see a doctor in the village." Adam replied, his eyes never leaving off the suspicious form of brown underneath a horse.
"She is? What fever is it?"

Adam gulped. It was really hard to lie to someone like his sister - she was not only tenacious & nearly as nosy as Madame Zeddy, she was also related to him.
"I wouldn't know. She just told me she felt feverish & went off."
"How do you know she went to visit a doctor?" Abby asked.
"Where else would one go if one was sick?"
"The market. A girl can cure herself with therapy like that. I would know." Abby grinned.

Adam finally looked up - but only to Lord, sending a prayer for him to survive this day.









Anna strode towards the Palace, feeling a surge of adrenaline &, for once, courage.
She felt like a completely different person.

Finally, as she got closer within the Palace's grounds, she widened her eyes at the sight of so big a crowd.
Anna asked the elderly woman on her right, "Excuse me, miss? Why are there so many people?"
Anna instantly regretted her choice as she realised that the woman was clearly a gossip monger. The elderly woman replied, "Oh, where have you been all this while, dearie? The Pharaoh's wedding is tomorrow! We are just here to give our blessings. Have you heard of his wife-to-be? Shari? She's supposedly a virgin but that's what she clearly wants us to think. There are no virgins at her age, sweet."

The woman looked at Anna, up & down & then said, "Well, you being an exception."
Anna did not know whether to be flattered or insulted. Nevertheless, she opted for a safe smile.

Before the elderly could open her mouth once more, Anna quickly excused herself through the crowds until she reached the line at the front of the crowd.
Two heavily built men guarding the doors looked at her & inquired her business with the Pharaoh.

She quickly said in a raspy voice, "I'm merely a cousin of the Pharaoh's. Oh, do tell him that I am the sister of his favourite cousin, Adam."
The guards gave her a weary glance, an unsaid message informing her that they've seen - & heard - everything. Anna begged with pretended urgency, "Please."

One of the men went inside.
After a good three minutes, the guard nodded his head at her, a signal for her to enter.

The crowd instantly moved forward, trying to enter the blessed doorways but the two men were quicker than that.
They stretched their arms outwards, blocking the people attempting to pass by.
Anna quickly ran under the guard's arm (& instantly regretted it as the man's stench tickled her nose), inside the Palace & nearly skidded to a halt.

There, across the empty & wide hall, sat Jeffer.
The boy who broke her dear friend's heart.

There were still people present so she dared not show a sign of disrespect. She kneeled before him & said, "My Lord."
"Get up." Jeffer said. He noticed that Mr. Biceps had snuck inside, just to keep an eye on the girl & he cleared his throat. "No need for formalities, cousin. Come, join me for dinner."
"But, sir, the villagers have not yet given their blessings to you." Mr. Biceps reminded.

Jeffer thought fast. Which was more important? The blessings from his beloved villagers for his future marriage or a message from his dearest friend?
A marriage that was not even going to last, Jeffer thought bitterly.

"This will be just a quick meal." Jeffer said.
Mr. Biceps had gotten the hint, shrugged & went outside, facing an angry mob.

Smart man.





Silence.
It was the kind filled with awkwardness & nervousness. If it was an informal meeting - or if they were even friends - one would crack a joke to break the ice, while the other would laugh politely (even if the joke was nowhere near amusing). But this was a meeting of formality - planned or otherwise.
"So how is," Jeffer cleared his throat. "Amy?"

Anna took in a deep breath. What does one say to their ruler, who coincidentally, happened to take up a hobby of breaking their best friend's heart?
She shook her head & decided to deduce the question to a simpler one : How does one make another realise where their heart truly lies?

"Jeffer," she bit her lip. "May I call you Jeffer?"
He nodded.
"You've known Amy since you came into this life - more or less."
He nodded.
"& you two were close friends - as close as two peads in a pod."
"Are." he corrected Anna.

She shook her head, a sad smile on her lips. "No. Were. These past few months... This past year..."
She took in a deep breath. Here came the ultimate challenge.
"To put it delicately..."
Jeffer nodded his head with a little more vigour, clearly impatient for her answer.
"You've been an ass."

It was a relief. Like a burden taken off her chest.

Jeffer winced.
"You've been an ass. A huge, inconsiderate, selfish-"
"Alright, I've been an ass." he cut her off.

He has passed through the stage where furious women told him off, listing down his weaknesses, imperfections & lies. The last thing he needed was another one (furious woman, that is) added to the list.

Anna blushed. She did not mean to be that straightforward.
Adrenaline must have gotten the better of her.

Jeffer, on the other hand, thought it rather interesting to witness a girl blushing while beaming with pride.

Anna nodded & cleared her throat.
As she distracted herself with a sip of wine, Jeffer leaned across the table, his eyes filled with a seriousness he did not know he even possessed.

"But enlighten me. How so have I been an ass?" he asked.
Anna looked me. She really just looked at him.

There in front of him was a mere boy her age, blessed with (she supposed) good looks & a menacing height.
This was the boy behind the proud title. Not a wise man of age neither a proud, adulterous man (although Anna did not believe that herself).

The point she was trying to make was that, he was just a boy. Human.
& humans make mistakes. Even if they were a Pharaoh.

He looked different. Something unfamiliar flicked across his features - fear, insecurity.

"Well... You broke her heart." Anna decided to be frank throughout.
"I what?" he spluttered, water spraying over.
"Charming." she muttered.
"How did I...? No. No," he shook his head. "You really are exaggerating. I couldn't have done such a thing. We are just-"
"Friends?" Anna cut him off. "For Lord knows how many years? You couldn't have possibly been so for such a lifetime."
"Why not? Why is it so hard-"
"Jeffer," she sighed. "Who are you trying to convince? I or you?"

Jeffer spluttered even more (only without the presence of sprayed water). He finally settled being speechless.
"Why are you so persistent to avoid this - when the only thing you're doing is tormenting both you & Amy?"
"Because-"
"Because you're afraid, that's why."
"Is this part of your enchanting manners, unallowing anyone to finish their sentences?" Jeffer asked.

Anna carried on, pretending as if she did not hear him. "You're afraid of rejection. But Jeffer," her tone became urgent. "Everyone is. Just... Take this risk. After 12 years, Jeffer. You - well, Amy deserves it."
"You think it's easy? So bloody easy to just take a risk?" Jeffer burst out. "Everyone's watching, Anna. Why? Because I'm the Pharaoh, that's why! Scandalous affairs, good disciplinary..."
He took in a deep breath.

"One slip up. One slip & people would begin their havoc - tutting, scolding, laughing, teasing." the fierce mask melted. "I wouldn't want that on her." he said softly, playing with his ring.
"Jeffer, when are you going to start living your own life? You may be ruling a village in return of strangers ruling your life."

Jeffer opened his mouth for a reply but before a sound could come out, a knock was heard on the door.
"Sir," a muffled voice - Mr. Biceps - said behind the door. "The people are getting a little... Annoyed. Your cousin may visit later."

Jeffer got up from his seat & cleared his throat. "Well, cousin. It has been a nice visit."
Anna blushed. Before she exited the palace, she turned around & told him - right there with Mr. Biceps & the people outside - "You better make your move before she makes hers."
















The eve of the wedding day had come.
A joyous, gay event was expected for this long awaited evening.
Every single villager was invited to the bride's house, to wish her good luck for a long, married life.

The only belief was that the groom must not attend to this event, as he should not see her two days before the wedding day.
So the people absent at this ceremony were Jeffer & four friends at Zeddy's Hut.











"She seems well," James whispered.
"But clearly, she isn't well on the inside." Abby whispered back.
"Would you two please stop having a private meeting? She's right here, you know." Amy whispered as she butted into the conversation.

"Oh, Amy!" the couple said in unison. "What a surprise," Abby said.
"The weather's nice." James said at the same time.
Abby rolled her eyes.

"Amy," Madame Geraldine tapped Amy's shoulder. "You have a visitor."
Amy instantly went suspicious as she noticed the sly look in Madame Geraldine's eyes - but she followed anyway.








Jeffer paced up & down. He had not seen Amy since that banquet her odious uncle held.
Good Lord. It had been how many months since he had even engaged in a proper conversation - let alone an argument - with her.

With a total bonus that the last time he had departed, Amy was left in a foul mood.
A foul mood directed at him, he suspected.

The door opened & Jeffer instinctively stood up from his seat.
"Oh, good morning, Anna." he heard a familiar voice chirped from behind the door.
Anna gave a rather nervous smile.

Jeffer did not dare look up from his hands, which were twisted together tightly. He continued pinching his fingers into awkward & rather painful positions until...

She whispered, "Jeffer?"
He looked up.

"Hello, Amy."











Whatever Amy was expecting, this was far from it.
She had thought that Madame Geraldine had just mistaken today as her birthday.
She had thought that Madame Geraldine was hiding her gift right in the waiting room.

Amy restrained a snort. What a naïvette she had been.
Why in hell (Amy rather thought this an appropriate moment to use such words) would her birthday present be doing in the waiting room?
Obviously there was a guest. She should have known better.

Amy supposed that she had been lying to herself on so many occassions, she had finally manage to convince herself.

"Amy?" Jeffer said hestitatingly.
She remained silent. What was she supposed to do?

Thoughts were running in Amy's head like water flowing through a stream such as, 'What is he doing here?' & 'Should I offer him a drink?' & mostly 'Is my appearance acceptable?'

"Amy?"
She nodded her head.

"Amy."
'Yes, I know my own bloody name. Get to the point,' Amy thought impatiently. 'Get to the point to get over it.'
Instead of voicing out her thoughts, she replied softly with a polite, "Yes?"

"I... I, uh..."
"Oh for Lord's sake, Jeffer. What do you want?" Amy burst out.

Jeffer looked taken aback. Instinctively, a snarky comment was hanging at the tip of his tongue but in the last moment, he realised that he was in no position to do so.
He suddenly realised that he would like to do a million things at that very moment.

He wanted to run away.
But he wanted to drag her into his arms.
He wanted her to be his & his alone.
He wanted to tell her how much he cared for her.
He wanted to tell her how much he lov-

"I r-realise I made a mistake." Jeffer said, cursing himself inwardly for stuttering.
He may now realise the errors of his ways, but that does not mean it made the situation any easier.
"A mistake?" she echoed, rather skeptically.
"Yes, a mistake."

She kept quiet & moved her gaze downwards.

"& what is this mistake you speak of?" she asked (to the floor).
"I-"
"Oh, God. Who are we trying to fool, Jeffer? Me? You? Everyone?" Amy cried.
"Wait. Le-"
"& it has been like this since we were five! When we were suddenly aware that you're a boy & I'm a girl. 'Just friends, Amy. Forever & ever.'" she went on.
"Amy, what are you talki-"
"Of course. What am I talking about?" she laughed. "'We'? Of course there was no 'we' in this situation. It was only me. I, Shari Amy, niece of the oh-so powerful Zeddy of Zeddy's Hut, was the only victim here. You're the blessed one, Jeffer. Look at you! The highest rank in this village - an heir to a Pharaoh's throne."
"You're the heir to your uncle's business."
"Which I am grateful for, yes. But the point is, that you're the Pharaoh. The highest position, soon-to-be-married to the world's most beautiful woman! So tell me, Jeffer." Amy took a step forward, Jeffer took a step back.

Her eyes were filled with a white hot intensity, nearly hiding the other emotion Jeffer could spot - hurt.
Disappointment, sorrow, pain, a mixture of all these tucked away in the corner of her eyes. It was there.
It made Jeffer want to wrap his arms around her, protect her from the outside world.

But he couldn't. Not now.
It had to be when the time was right.

"Who are you trying to fool?" she asked.
"Amy," Jeffer took in a deep breath. "I have given you your time to talk. Now it is mine. Sit."

Amy did not move.
"Sit." Jeffer said again, his tone firm.
Amy sat.

"You ask me who am I trying to deceive? The real question is, who are you trying to deceive?" Jeffer asked as he paced up & down.
Amy looked at him. He only paced at serious matters.

"Wh-who am I...?" she spluttered furiously.
The nerve of him! Barging into her territory, repeating her name like an idiot (to vex her, Amy was sure) & now accusing her to take the blame.
For whatever problems they were pointing fingers to.

"You kept telling yourself how convinced you were, being in love with... With that golden haired girl in breeches!"
"Oh, that's rich. Your insults are getting worse by the minute, Jeffer." Amy scoffed.
"Yours, too." Jeffer muttered.

He could not help it. With each passing seconds ticking away as he stood in front of Amy, his temper was rising.

"But that is not the point! We both are to be blamed &-"
"Oh, so that's why you've come? To brag about your brilliant marriage, leaving me to endless shame that mine had not even taken place?" Amy choked the words.

She was on the verge of tears, even Jeffer could tell. He had been there when she was informed that her mother had passed away.
Also, when he had pinched her cheeks & mocked her clothes.

"No! No..." Jeffer said. He took a step forward, the urge to hug her dangerously growing.
But Amy backed away. Her urge to run off, run away was growing, too.

"Amy, listen to me. Shameeka..."
"Don't!" she hissed. "Don't you dare mention her name here."
"Fine. But listen to me & I swear on my name that you will never have to see me again."

A minute passed. Just as Jeffer reached to a mental count of 10, he spun around.
As he headed for the door, his hand reaching for the door knob, he heard Amy quietly say, "Alright."

He faced back to her & took in a deep breath.
"I was engaged to Sha- her eleven months ago. The villagers think that the wedding is held the coming week."

Amy nodded her head, wondering where he was going with the topic.

"But the secret wedding is today." Jeffer looked out of the window & a small smile lit up his face.
"Right this minute, actually." he said & looked down.

Amy did not know what else to do but whisper, "You two were going to elope?"
"Yes. But... We didn't. Well, I didn't."
"Of course you didn't!"
"You understand?" Jeffer asked, surprised.
"Who doesn't? You love the attention, don't you, Jeffer? The glorious limelight. You'd rather announce it to the world that you're officially married to the world's most beautiful lady alive." Amy said.
"No." Jeffer shook his head.
"Oh, being self-righteous now? At this particular moment, you choose now to be self-righteous? You are so-"
"God, Amy. Keep quiet & listen to me." Jeffer said, his voice raising.

He cleared his throat with a hoarse apology. "What I wanted to say was this. No, I was not about to be married to the most beautiful lady alive. Because she was then-engaged to another man... Of my (ahem) acquaintance."
Jeffer thought it better to inform Amy of Edmund another time.
"& now here she is, standing right in front of me, still looking beautiful, even when she's yelling like a crazed banshee. Even when her eyes are watering, even when she whispers... Yet."

'Yet? That is how he ends the speech?' Amy thought bewilderedly.

"Yet I am not engaged to be married to her. Even though she's the most beautiful lady I've seen in my entire life, since the minute I saw her in her silken frocks with her gap-toothed smile."
Amy choked - she rather suspected between laughter & tears.
Then she gasped as Jeffer kneeled before her & looked up, into her eyes, his filled with hope & something else.

Something she has never seen before.

"Amy, will you marry me?"

chpter 13 : dandelions

The only news that could compete with the news of Lady Amelia & Sir Edmund's engagement was the news of said engagement being called off.
The whole village had speculate about the recent event - not to mention the mysterious disappearance of the famous rogue (which caused sorrow among all the young females throughout).

Old men thought that Edmund's gambling habits had finally done him good.
The elderly women thought that Amy chased him out of the village - for having a furious & broken-hearted woman was probably as safe as approaching a poisonous cobra.

But the smarter (or more cynical) kinds knew just who may be the cause of the broken engagement.








"Amy, you can't hole yourself up in here because of him," Anna said exasperatedly, knocking on the door again.
"Watch me." came the muffled reply.

It was getting rather old, in Anna's opinion.
Amy had been locking herself up one too many times.
Sooner or later, Amy just had to come out.

At least... That's what Anna hoped.

"Please, Amy. Do you really wish to spend the end of the year like this?"
"This being that I would like to isolate myself from the world... Be alone? Yes, please."

Just as Anna opened her mouth for another retort, Abby waltzed by with a woven basket by her side, clean silks spilling out of it.
"Oh, Amy!" she sang. "I have your favourite silk robe that you so love to wear!"

Abby dangled the flower-patterned robe in front of the door, as if Amy could sniff it out.
"Oh, but of course. Luring Amy with clothes. Pah." Anna smirked.

The door creaked open & Amy's hand quickly snatched the robe out of Abby's fingers.
With that, she slammed the door shut - right back into place.

"It worked the last time," Abby muttered, still not getting over the shock.











"This really is serious. It's been a week now since she last stepped out of her room." Abby cried as she played with her drink.
"You're right. The last time she holed herself up like that, it was only for three days at the very least." Adam said.

Anna nudged him hard in the ribs.
"OW! What? I thought that would help." he muttered, rubbing his sore spot.

"Imagine if we'd told her about that little scene you saw between you-know-who & he-no-hair." James said.
"He-no-hair?" Abby smiled.
"It's being creative! My mind is very imaginative." James leaned forward.
Abby followed his lead. "Ooh, do tell."

Adam & Anna exchanged glances. They wondered how it would seem to turn into a mixture of sick shade of green & a dark crimson.

Adam cleared his throat.
"We're still here, you know." he said. Anna looked at him - he looked (& sounded) as if he was being strangled.
Or that he'd wish to strangle someone.

As if he didn't hear, James whispered something in Abby's ear, causing her eyes to widen, her face to flush & she giggled.
"I," Anna inhaled. "Do not wish to know." she exhaled.










As the girls & boys went their separate ways, Adam caught up with James.
"James, what in hell were you doing with my sister back there?" Adam demanded as they walked to the Hills.
James raised an eyebrow, clearly asking the question Do you really want to know?

Adam shook his head. "Forget I asked." but found himself smiling as well, momentarily unaware that he was discussing about his sister.
"So.." James casually slurred as he put his arms at the back of his head. "When are you ever going to get Anna?"

Adam tripped. Over his own feet.

"Excuse me?" he asked, stunned.
"I said when are you ever going to get Anna? Clearly you like her-"
"Well, I, uh..." Adam was at a loss of words.
"& clearly she likes you-"

Adam snorted.

"She does." James insisted. "I can tell. At the beginning of the year, she could never stop talking about you. It was always Adam this or Adam that. She is so adorable."
"Pardon." Adam said, his voice steely.

James laughed. "That's not what I meant, you ignoramus!"
"Big word." Adam muttered.
"What I meant was," James continued, pretending not to hear. "as her older brother - you are my age, aren't you?"
"Eighteen turning nineteen next year." Adam nodded.
"She is adorable. Completely besotted with you."

Adam flushed.

"Come to think of it, you look adorable, too." James smirked, pinching Adam's cheeks.
Adam responded by first slapping James' hand away, then chasing him (James, not Adam) around the pathway to the Hills.

As the chase came to an end, the two friends fell down & laughed on the grassy slope.
Finally, James sobered up & said in a serious tone, "But Adam, sooner or later, you have to do something for (or to, whichever suits you both best) her before some other fellow comes & snatch her away."

Adam kept silent.

"It is the end of the year." James reminded him. "Things happen."
With that, he whistled his way back to his work, leaving Adam rooted to the spot.









"Anna," she heard a voice say.
Anna turned around & found herself looking up at Adam. She smiled. "Hello, Adam. Looking for your sister?"
"No, I'm... Come to think of it, where is she?" Adam asked, for the sake of asking.
"Well, she's..."
"With James." the pair said in unison.

Adam cleared his throat & rocked on his heels - back & forth, back & forth.
Once. Twice.

"I, um, brought you something." Adam said, in an unusually (adorably, Anna thought) shy manner.
"Well, if it's the laundry, it's not funny, Adam. There is a pile of it with me & if you even sneeze, the whole thing will coll- Oh!" Anna exclaimed as she found a dandelion in front of her nose (literally!)

"They say if you blow all the seedlings off it, you could make a wish & it will come true." Adam explained. "I got one for myself, too."
He held out another dandelion behind his back, smiling sheepishly.

Adam looked much sweeter, with his dark hair a tad more ruffled than usual, his grey eyes looking hopeful, his smile crooked.
He looked like a healthy eighteen year old but really, if one could see souls, his would be the age of 7 at that moment.

"& you're supposedly 2 years my elder?" Anna asked sceptically.
Adam raised an eyebrow.
She shrugged.

"Come, lets go." Adam said, tugging Anna's arm.
"Where are you bringing me?"
"Somewhere nice for the dandelions." he said with a grin.











"I cannot believe you," Anna puffed. "-dragged me (puff) just to climb (wheeze) the peak of the Hills near evening. Really, Adam, the things that goes through your mi- Oh, that's beautiful!"

Adam smiled as he watched Anna staring at the magnificent sunset, the sky a rich crimson & orange with the sun evolving into a big ball of yellow light.
The scenery was gorgeous.

He turned & looked at her.
Adam never realised how beautiful she looked when she was happy.

It was like a second taking of the same scene.

"It is," he said, his voice low.
Anna looked up at him & took a step backwards. He was practically staring her down.

"Adam, are you alright?" she asked, tucking a strand of hair nervously.
Adam blinked, looking as if he quite forgotten where he was.

"Oh. Um," he cleared his throat. "Yes. I'm fine."
"Good."

Silence stretched between them.

"Make a wish." Adam said.
Anna put the dandelion in front of her, took in a deep breath, closed her eyes & blew with all her might.
All the seedlings flew off the flower, dancing in the air.

"What did you wish for?" Adam asked.
"It won't come true if I told you." Anna smiled. "What did you wish for?"
"It won't come true if I told you." he said.

They kept quiet. It was not an awkward silence Anna knew of so well, but a good silence.
Temporary.

"Shall we go then? It's getting dark." Anna said, trying not to sound too anxious.
She did not know why but she felt like running away. Something was going to happen today. She could feel it in her bones.

"The sun has just set." Adam smirked.
Anna rolled her eyes.
He nodded. "Lets go then."

They walked down the Hills, Anna taking the lead, Adam walking behind her.
He whistled down the way & the Anna began to argue with him, telling him how annoying it was to hear one's whistle.
Adam then told her that a whistler is a generally happy person.
Anna replied back that a whistler has nothing better to do than to pucker its lips and blow.

She noticed that Adam did not give a reply back. Little did she know, Adam was biting the back of his hand from saying a word & or laugh out loud at the thought that had entered his mind.

As they finally reached the Hills, the sun was still setting, settling between two mountains as if waiting for something to happen.
The two did not know which was lovelier - the scenery from the peak of the Hills or at the foot of it.

The scenery was reflected across the lake, giving the illusion that it was filled with orange coloured water instead of a green shade of blue.

"Why don't we sit here & savour this moment?" Adam suggested.
Not even waiting for her reply, he sat down by the side of the Lake on the grass, staring at the sun.

She sat down beside him, an arm's length away.

Anna did not know why but suddenly, she thought of Amy. How hard it must be for her to cope with her 'love' to disappear, after finding her first love appeared & that, in three days' time, he was about to be engaged.

She pondered the feelings & tried to imagine herself in the situation. What if Adam got engaged?
Only not to her.

Of course not to her. Who was she fooling? A healthy man of eighteen years, so successful with a pure soul with a sixteen year old girl like herself?
Unlikely.

She felt like crying, all of a sudden.
She felt like mourning over the fact that the chance of him choosing her was as big of a chance as James & Abby stop lurking in dark corners.

Adam, on the other hand, was trying to plan a strategy.
He did not know what to do - because, hard as it was to believe, he had not tried to get a girl to fall in love with him.

It should be easy, shouldn't it? Bring a girl flowers & give a big romantic gesture.
What in the world could he do for a romantic gesture?
Was the dandelion not enough?

Suddenly, he heard Anna sob.
"Anna, what's wrong?" he asked, worried & confused.

Was he that unappealing? He just had a bath!
He resisted to check the level of his odour.

"Anna, do you really want to go back that badly? Come, let us go right n-"
"No!" Anna exclaimed. She did not want this special day to end, all because of a sniffle. "No, it's not that. It's just..."

She took in a deep breath. She knew how men never liked talking, let alone hearing one talk.
But this was Adam.

Well, he is a man, too but he's different.
In a good way.

"It's just that James & Abby already have their happy ending."
Adam muttered something & Anna was fairly certain that it was along the lines of, "Dirty something is more like."

She decided not to press the issue.

"But Amy... Amy's road of life had had potholes & Lord awful bumps along the way. Why couldn't Jeffer just admit? Clearly, his feelings for her were there. I saw it at the dinner."

She had. When he thought no one was looking, Jeffer stole a glance or two (or three or four...) at Amy & quickly looked back at his plate.
When Golden Locks's arm curled around Amy's shoulders, Anna could see Jeffer's knuckles growing a dangerous white as he held on to the fork (& knife, which was very dangerous, indeed).

There was this longing, furious possession from him for Amy that Anna could just feel it.
It was that strong.

& she wondered why the people that mattered could not feel it.

"Maybe he's afraid." Adam softly said.
"Afraid of what? They've known each other since they both came to this world, for Lord's sake!" Anna exclaimed.
"Fear of rejection."
"Now why would Amy reject Jeffer? She's in love with him, too, just in case you didn't notice."
"Yes, but Jeffer wouldn't - doesn't - know."
"Then he's a fool."
"It's not his fault he fell in love." Adam said, even softer than before.
"But it is his fault for being so blind to what's in front of him. For practically the whole of his life! Wouldn't you-"

As Anna was going on & on of Amy's affairs, she did not realised that Adam was leaning in so dangerously close. Before she could finish her question, his lips crashed against hers.

She was so surprised. If Adam's eyes were still open, he would have broke off the kiss & laughed at how wide her eyes were.
But it wasn't.
His eyes were closed & Anna could not help but to admire the length of his eyelashes.
& how gentle & soft his lips were...

So she had no choice but to kiss him back.
Without realising it, his hand crept & covered hers.
Just holding it, as if protecting her hand from the outside world.

Anna moved forward & swung her free hand behind his neck, playing with his soft hair.
She missed this.
He missed this.

But the present was the present & they both realised that they loved moments like these spent together.
They loved each other.

Finally, the kiss ended & took in deep breaths.

Adam sent a prayer up to heaven.
Anna touched her lips, still tingling.

Their hands were still touching.
Suddenly, Adam took his hand off of hers.
"I forgot." he said with no explanation.

Before she could say anything, she found something shoved into her right hand.
"W-what is this?" she asked.
"A gift." he said non-chalantly. "Go on, see for yourself."

But she did not open her hand. She tried to guess the mystery present - was it a ring? Good heavens, she really was a dreamer. No, maybe another dandelion...

But dandelions were not heavy, she thought to herself. & not so small.
It was no bigger than her palm.

She looked up. Adam put his hand atop of hers & gently pried her fingers away from the centre of the palm.
As soon as the index finger was off, she squealed.

"It's the horse!"

He replied with a smile.

"The horse that Chinese boy gave to you."
His grin grew wider.

She ran her fingers over the face of it. She still remembered the details from that wonderful day - the sharp ears, the long nose, the line that seperated the teeth, the awkward shape of its jaw.

"Anna, are you... Crying?" she heard Adam ask incredulously.
Instinctively, she put up a hand to her eyes. She felt something wet & looked down at her fingertips.

She was crying.
But she was not sad...

"I'm happy." she simply said.

The two kept quiet as they began to walk their way to the Hut.
"You remembered?" she suddenly asked.
She flinched. Anna did not want to ask - again, she knew that men did not like to talk about their feelings.

Adam stopped walking & looked at her. It was already dark but she could feel the intensity from those grey eyes of his, looking at her brown ones.
She felt hot.

"I never forgot." he said.
& before she knew it, they were kissing again.

Adam broke off.
"Adam, wha-?"

Before Anna knew what happened, he threw the dandelion on to the floor, wrapped an arm around Anna's shoulders & walked away.

chpter 12 : blessings

The quaint village found at the border of Egypt was in an uproar.
Never had there been such excited news over the nuptials of one of the most eligible bachelors & ladies - not even of the Pharaoh's arranged marriage with Shameeka.

The young ladies throughout were hoping more than ever to be invited to the infamous wedding, which would be held in a week's time.
But the old women speculate between the scandalous relationship of the Pharaoh's & Amelia Shari - was Amelia & Pharaoh not besotted with one another?
Has Amelia finally moved on?
& what of Pharaoh's feelings? Would he do anything about the matter?

Questions of all these were circulated around - until it finally reached the location of Zeddy's Hut.





"Anna! Anna! You won't believe what I've just heard from the water boy out there!" Adam laughed as he walked in at the clothing line area.
"Hm?" Anna responded, a few wooden pegs between her lips.
"He said," Adam said between chuckles. "He said that the Pharaoh plans to murder Golden Locks."
Anna giggled softly - she didn't risk letting out a huge laugh. She didn't want to choke on the pegs.

She hung a linen blanket from the basket & clipped it with pegs on the wire.

"Peophle dese days." she commented, her voice muffled.
"Precisely." Adam smiled, shaking his head.






"Oh, good morning, Edmund," Abby said happily as he passed by.
She was in a good mood, after a morning's walk with James.

"It's Sir Edmund to you, servant girl." he sneered.
"Oh." was all Abby could manage to say, a little taken aback. It was the first time Abby had been alone with Sir Edmund - she had thought he was a charming person.

'Maybe he had a bad morning.' she decided, shrugging the hurt feeling off.
"Are you coming by to visit Amy?" she asked, picking the conversation's pace.
"It is no concern of yours," he spat. "& her name is Lady Amelia."
"Well."

Back to one-word conversations.

'Sir' Edmund smirked. "Good morning to you."
& with that, he walked by her.

Abby shuddered - she felt the cold air trailing behind him.











"Amy," Edmund gasped.
"Edmund."

The two panted & gasped for two whole minutes.
Edmund cleared his throat. "Amy, lets talk."
"Oh, dear. We've suddenly gone serious." she nervously giggled.

Unfortunately, Edmund did not giggle.
(Although he was doing so a few minutes before)

"Amy, I must warn you of your... (ahem) Friends."
"Yes, what about my friends?" she smiled.
"It is just that... One of your social rankings... You should not be (ahem) seen with them."
"Edmund! Surely you jest. They are people with the kindest of hearts." she protested, feeling appalled.

A minute of silence passed & suddenly, Edmund burst out laughing, "Of course I was jesting. Do not take me seriously, dear. I'm just a fool in love."
"Oh, Edmund." she sighed & leaned in forward.

But Edmund pulled back & warned her, "But do be careful with that crowd. You shouldn't be fooled - they're very convincing."
"Convincing? So what are you suggesting?"
"Well. I'm not one to say... But I happened to bump into Abby just now &, well, she didn't act like her normal self."
"What? What did she do?"
"She looked me in the eye & called me a 'spoilt, little rich boy' to my face. I was furious, of course but a gentleman never hurts a lady. I just smiled & walked passed."
"She... I don't believe it! How could she do that? Why would she do that?" Amy sputtered.
"Maybe she's jealous. After all, I am about to marry her dearest of friends - who would like their dearest friend being taken away - even to fulfill her happiness?"
"But... Abby would never..." Amy trailed off, doubt filling her every passing second.
"Oh, I better leave. We've been here for nearly half an hour with the door closed." Edmund winked.

He got up & quietly closed the door, smiling as he whistled away.









"I've always told you that Golden Locks was a two-faced b-"
"Adam." Anna said with a warning tone.
"Sorry. I meant, boy. Two-faced boy." Adam said sheepishly.
"& you did not say that, Adam." Anna sighed. "What you actually said was that he was too pretty for his own good."
"Same difference."
"Ah, your brother the philosopher."

Adam shot her a sour look & opened his mouth for a remark but his sister cut him off. "I'm sorry but are we supposed to be flirting or stopping a matrimonial match?"
James coughed.
Adam & Anna turned into a deep shade of red.

"I really don't want to say it but I told you so," Anna said, brushing aside the previous remark.
Abby sighed. "Well, we didn't really listen because you're so... What's the word?"
"Determined?" James helped.
"Yes, determined for Amy to choose the Pharaoh. & really, why are you so intent for their relationship? Do you not know of how many obstacles there are in their path?"

Anna looked at James. "James, remember our caretaker, sweet Mrs. Cara?"
"Oh, yes. I was always her favorite student."
"No, you weren't. That's me."
"That's me."
"Whatever you say, James. Anyway-"

("Why do you always get away with the argument? What's your secret?" Adam whispered anxiously to James.)

"- she once told us that when we wait for something patiently, it'd be worth it in the end. It's just the Lord testing us. & the letters the Pharaoh had sent her... They were so sweet." Anna smiled.

For a reason Adam could not understand, he felt a tinge of jealousy towards Jeffer.

"But I just do not understand Edmund's behavior! I'd thought he was a gentleman."
"A two-faced, too pretty one, is all." Adam said sweetly.
"That, my dear friends, is why I do not like fair headed people. He's a specimen of a true Golden Locks."

If Anna had looked at Adam, she would have seen his grin grow or his face going a little red.









"How could you treat my fiancée like that?" Amy yelled as she approached Abby.
Abby looked up from her silk rolls to Amy, a furious expression painted on her face.

"To treat my fiancée like- like dirt!"
Abby opened her mouth to protest - to say that he treated her like dirt but decided it was best not to contradict her.
Amy gave a bitter glance. "Of course you have nothing to say. If it was Anna, it'd be understandable (but still not viewed upon). But it was you. You, of all people, are doing this just to ruin my only chance at happiness. Goodbye, Abigail."

She quickly walked away - she didn't want to see Abby's tears.










"Those two are revolting," Abby said to James.
"Agreed." James nodded.

They continued watching their 'friend' walk around the lake with her fiancée.
Ever since the fight Amy had with Abby, they hadn't spoken to one another.

Or in Amy's case, she hadn't spoken to Abby. Abby had tried to talk to her but to no avail.
Amy would either shrug her off or coldly inform her that laundry was due for cleaning.

Anna had never seen her friend acting this way - when they first met, she had initially expected this but instead, she was blessed with a kind-hearted person she dared call a friend.
But now... It was as if she had been alienated. She was no longer the Amy who had given Anna a slice of rum cake when she was sick nor the girl who had once given a bandage to wrap Adam's cut finger.

She was now Lady Amelia, niece of Master Zeddy.

"I just can't believe it." Anna said, shaking her head.
"Mm."
"I really just, can't believe it."
"I know."
"& all because of that- of that-" Anna choked.

'Good Lord, is she about to swear?' Adam wondered.

"Golden Locks!" & with that, she burst into tears like a leaking dam.
Frustration wracked inside of her - what had happened? How could one person change another so much?

Anna felt so upset, so miserable, so bloody frustrated that she didn't notice Adam's arms around her.
But she felt a little better as she heard him telling her that everything would be alright, murmuring in her hair.










"Anna! Hurry up! We're late!" Amy said.
"I'm coming, my lady," Anna said with a curtsey.
"For Lord's sake, girl, get up & do something about your hair. Honestly. You expect me to be seen with some girl in rags?" she muttered.

Every word, every sentence that came out of her mouth was a blow at Anna but she stayed strong & compressed everything inside her & remain her measly servant.

"Where are we going, sweetheart?" Amy asked as she cuddled up beside Edmund.
"Oh, we're following the traditions, schmoopie." Edmund said as he wrapped his arms around her shoulders.

Anna, who was trailing behind the couple, felt like retching.

"One being never engaged, I wouldn't know." Amy teased.
Edmund laughed, "Thank goodness for that."
The two looked at each other for a minute - Anna was convinced that they were about to devour each other right there & then.

She sent a silent prayer as the couple in front continued their walk to the carriage awaiting them at the entrance of Zeddy's Hut.
(She would have run for the Hills if they did so.)

As they got inside, Edmund asked amusedly, "But you honestly do not know?"
Amy shook her head.
"Oh, we're visiting the Pharaoh for his blessing! If one would wish for a happy union, one must get the Pharaoh's blessing."

Amy froze.
Anna tensed. She, Abby, James & Adam had been anticipating a fight so huge that would cause Amy to cry off the wedding.
But Anna didn't want to be in their presence when they fought.

Amy remained silent, staring blankly into space.
Edmund, of course, stayed blissfully ignorant, assuming that Amy was too happy for words.
Anna kept quiet, wondering how thick Edmund's skull really was.

The journey was not a pleasant one - although it was Anna's first time in a proper carriage.

As the three got off, they walked up the stairways, lining up to enter the Palace.
Finally, as the sky darkened, Anna, Amy & Edmund had finally reached the front of the line.
Anna wondered how nobody could hear the racing pace of her heart - it was beating so loud.

She couldn't help but speculate of the Pharaoh's reactions.
Anna was sure - so confident (& that was a rare thing, really) - that the Pharaoh cared for Amy.
She could just tell by reading his letters to her & all the stories told by Amy.

So how would a man in love react when his love of his life visited him to ask for his blessings?
She was about to find out as the magnificent oak doors opened.







Jeffer was still chuckling over the latest villager's visit. She came in & proposed (marriage!) to him.
& he was sure that that young thing was only the mere age of 10.
Oh, his villagers were quite the people.

The guard by the door (or as Jeffer had nicknamed him Biceps Fellow) cleared his throat, as he always did & announced the arrival of the next guests & their purposes.
"Announcing Sir Edmund & Lady Amelia of Zeddy for the blessings of the Lord."

What?

Whenever the Biceps Fellow announce the phrase 'blessings of the Lord', it usually meant for an engaged couple.
Amy wouldn't marry someone - Jeffer had thought there no men were good enough for her in this village.
That & also because Amy was a very, very picky woman.

Surely it was a different Lady Amelia of Zeddy. It was a big village, after all.
Well, actually it wasn't - it's quite small, you know - but a man can hope, can't he?

Jeffer gave a nod to Mr. Biceps, a cue to lead the following couple inside.
There were only two moments when Jeffer had felt a boiling rush of emotions in a jumble (fury, frustration, sadness, disappointment, hurt...) - one was at his mother's funeral & the other was when he caught Amy in another man's arms.

The first time he felt this was when he was the mere age of 9 - whispers of his mother's death had managed to reach his ears - majority were saying that his late mother was dead as she rode on a horse to meet her lover.
Apparently, she was pregnant, too.

It was too much to handle & nobody but Amy knew of this dark secret gnawing at the insides of him.

The second time was caused by Amy.
Amy, of all people! If it was Shari, Jeffer would've understood - lust was a wondrous thing, after all.
But Amy, his dearest & most trusted friend?

All because she was caught in an intimate position with another man.
The first feeling that had hit Jeffer's gut was jealousy - white, hot & unfamiliar.
The following were a rush of confusion (why was he jealous?), anger (why was she in another man's arms?), sadness (why was she in another man's arms?). hurt, betrayal, denial...

It was too much to bear. He felt like a woman.
The third time was now, the present, he thought as Amy, Edmund (& some girl behind the pair) bowed down before him.

"My Lord," Edmund said, bowing down so low along with Amy.
He didn't want that - he felt like laughing at the sight of his friend, practically on her knees.

Jeffer gave a nod of acknowledgment with a smile carefully spread across his lips. He didn't trust himself to speak.
"My Lord," Edmund said again. Jeffer began feeling irritated & thought, 'Out with it already!'
"Please," Edmund cleared his throat. "Indulge us with your blessings for our marriage."









If ever she had a time to freeze a moment, it would be now.
The look on the Pharaoh's face was priceless - she usually saw him as a tall boy with a smirk on his face.
Now... Now he had a face of someone who had just been slapped - appalled, shocked, speechless.

"Um, my Lord?" Edmund cautiously asked.
Anna had never met anyone as thick-headed as the man in front of her (Golden Locks, not the Pharaoh).

"Oh. Yes. Yes, of course." the Pharaoh said, blinking & giving a wide grin.









There had been a million times when Amy was furious at Jeffer - the time when he pulled her hair, their first kiss at the age of 5, the time when a rumor had spread of their liking each other at 9 years of age...

They had history &, though she may loathe a few moments, she cherished them all.
But this. This. How could he just sit there in front of them, grinning like a fool ('a hopelessly handsome fool,' Amy thought with frustration)?

Her fiancée was asking for his blessings! How could he merely sit there? Why was he treating her like a stranger?
What had happened?

'He's changed,' Amy thought.










It was near sunset & the four (Jeffer, Amy, Sir Edmund & Anna) found themselves seated at the Royal Dining Table.
The three could not help but be awed by the magnificence of it all - the rich coloured theme of gold, the delicious smell of roasted ham wafting through, the long, rectangular table taking up two-thirds of the room.

Anna wondered how such a situation of hell could be held in a place like this heaven.
'Heaven of food!' Anna (or Anna's stomach) thought.

It was pure irony for her.

"So, Miss Amy, Sir Edmund," the Pharaoh said casually, oblivious to the glory of his dining room. "Was your betrothal a, um, recent event?"
"Why yes. I proposed to her just a few days ago." Edmund said as he sat down eagerly on the Pharaoh's left side.

If Anna had not found the delicious meal of lamb placed in front of her, she would have noticed the razor sharp glare Jeffer had given to the ever unaware Edmund.

"We are thrilled." Amy said, breaking the silence.
"Are you?" the Pharaoh murmured.
"Yes, very much. I'm ecstatic, really."

The room was filled with heavy silence. It was not the kind which was normally awkward.
Nor was it the type of which one would grieve.
It was the kind of a silent war - one Amy & Anna knew only too well.

All eyes - except Edmund's, who had no difficulty expressing his hunger by gobbling down his meal - were on the Pharaoh & Miss Amy.
The two were having a duel - some unspoken challenge that had been issued by both/either parties.
Jeffer was clenching & unclenching his jaw - so hard that if one had looked closely, one would have noticed the bulge near his throat & neck moving.
Amy's fists on her dress were turning a dangerous shade of white.

"I really can't believe how delicious this meal! Send my compliments to the cook." Edmund said eagerly to no one in particular.
"I'll inform him right now. Excuse me." & with a nod of his head, the Pharaoh got up & stormed off.
"I'm not feeling so well, darling. I think a little of fresh air would do me good." Amy said with a queasy smile.

Edmund waves his hand & with that, she got up & stormed off, not unlike the style of Jeffer's.









"What do you want?" She didn't bother turning around.
She heard him.
Oh, he was quiet. Quiet, sly, sneaky... But she had heard him creeping up behind her.

Maybe it was the muffled footsteps or his heavy breathing... She didn't know. Or maybe it was just the scent of him that gave her the hint of his presence.
She didn't know.

But it was a curse to her.

"How could you?" Jeffer said, his voice tinged with silent fury.
"Be betrothed? Oh, it's simple, really. Get a man in love plus a woman. A simple equation to get an engagement. You would know, wouldn't you?" Amy asked, still staring at the stars.
"I meant how could you have humiliated me there?"

Amy gave a shrug of her shoulders.
She was too afraid to say anything. Because she might risk Jeffer hearing the sadness in her voice or catching a glimpse of the tears threatening to spill from her eyes.

"Who are you." It was a statement, not a question.
The tone of his voice - lifeless, flat... Like he didn't care. It felt like a stab to Amy's gut.
'He never cared...' Amy thought.

"The proud fiancée of Sir Edmund," Amy replied.
"So where's the Amy I knew?" Jeffer asked.

Amy kept silent.
For a minute, she thought that Jeffer was about to do something - something wild, something unexpected - grab her shoulders, tug her hand... Something.
But the moment passed & it felt all too soon as he heard him walk back inside the dining room.

'I'm still here.' Amy thought as she buried her face into her hands, letting the teardrops spill.



















It was a long ride back to the Hut but thankfully, the day felt short to Anna.
She yearned to reach out to her best friend & give her a hug - the sadness etched in her red-rimmed eyes was too much...
But she couldn't do anything. No.

Before working at the Zeddy Hut, Anna believed that there was no such thing as friendship between a high ranking of a lady to a low-life like herself, a mere servant girl.
But on that fateful day when she had bumped into Amy, dropping her laundry all over the road, when their friendship had begun to bloom, she finally dropped that cynic prophecy & moved on to a happier one - friendship can come in any form.

Now fate had decided to have a cruel twist of turn on the two's life - their friendship was as limited as any other master-servant relationship.
& Anna had no other choice but to let go.









"I think this has been the longest we've been silent together." Adam said, taking the chance of breaking the ice.
"I suppose." Anna said.

Adam wondered what Amy had done to her - to make her feel (& look) so depressed... To just rip her soul away.
He had a sudden urge to strangle Amy.

"Adam? Adam, what's wrong?" Anna asked, touching his arm.
Ever since the event of discussing his 'mastermind' plan, touching Adam's arm was a simple event that takes place every day.
It seemed... Natural - it was just touching his arm!

"It's nothing." Adam managed to choke out.
Although Anna had started this unnerving habit of touching him, he still wasn't quite used to the feeling of her small, satin fingers touching his skin.

Even if it was on his arm.

"Are you sure?"
He nodded his head.
"You look a little... Red in the face."
He shook his head.
"Okay then. I think I'd better be off."

As she headed to the stable door, she froze at her tracks.
"Anna, wha-"
"Shh!"

It's Golden Locks, she mouthed.
Adam nodded his head & silently told her to stay put, he'll go.
Anna stubbornly shook & told him (quietly) that she'll follow.
They then had a mimed argument - which included Anna flying her arms around & Adam pinching the bridge of his nose.

If there was a third person, one would find it a comical sight.

Finally, Adam gave up & mouthed Fine, you can go.
Anna was about to let out a (mute) whoop! of cheer but Adam cut her off with But you just stay behind me, okay?

She nodded.









It felt like an adventure, sneaking off somewhere in the dead of the night with Adam (but for a
different reason).
But Anna was a little impressed with Golden Locks thoroughness to cover his tracks.

He may be thick but he was alert as a thief.

Finally - finally - Golden Locks stopped at a wide, meadow field.
Adam pulled a gaping Anna behind the bushes & put a finger to her lips.

The sounds of crunching leaves & the wind humming a tuneless note (not to mention Adam touching her lips. Technically) sent a thrill up her spine.
"Oh, Sir, good e-"
"What in hell were you thinking?" an angry voice said.

Anna bit her lip from gasping. She knew that voice.
What is it? Adam mouthed.
Don't you know who it is? Anna replied. It's...









"What in hell were you thinking?" he said angrily.
Jeffer knew it was wrong. He was the bloody Pharaoh, after all.
But he was a human being, a friend. He was just looking out for his friend - that was the only reason he stooped so low to do such a thing.

"I greeted you? Sir?" Edmund said dubiously.

Jeffer felt his fists shaking. Edmund really doesn't know when the right time is to open that damned mouth of his.
Which, really, there was no such thing as a right time. Ever.

"No." The calmness in his voice was surprising - even for Jeffer. "Why did you propose to Amy? All I had asked you to do was to take care of her, woo her a little. Not propose marriage!"
"Well, you would know, sire, she really is a catch - pretty, charming, flirtatious - one doesn't kiss & tell but I wouldn't mind being shackled up to her if she would always-"

POW!

Edmund stumbled back. "S-sire?"
The blow to Edmund's jaw felt broken yet the blasted fool could talk.
He should've hit harder.
But he didn't regret it. Blood spilled from Edmund's nose, causing it to slowly drip down his jaw.

"All I asked you to do was take care of her. Was that so bloody difficult? I suppose it was for that idiot brain of yours. But now you list down the reasons why you so desperately want to marry her - or, as you said, being shackled up to her - was because she was pretty, flirtatious?"
"Now, see here. I am not an idiot brain!"

Good Lord, the man really didn't know when to shut up.
Jeffer decided to ignore that (after taking a deep breath & counting one till three).

"Why didn't you list other things? Such as her smile, her wit, her laugh?"

Silence.

Jeffer let out a bitter laugh. "You disgrace me. You disgrace not only I, but the rest of mankind."
His stony voice gave a better impact than yelling.
"Get out. Don't show me your face. Leave the country. & here's the money I owe you for your services."

He threw a bag of coins in front of Edmund's boots.
Wiping his nose with his sleeve, Edmund fumbled with the bag, got up & ran.

"That's right. Run." Jeffer muttered.
Kicking the leaves as he made his way to the palace, Jeffer walked off, unaware of the two witnesses behind the berry bushes.










"Should we tell Amy of this?" Adam asked the next morning as the two had their breakfast.
Anna shook her head.
"The Pharaoh doesn't seem to be one of her most favourite people right now."
"So he really punched him?" James asked eagerly, for what seemed to be the millionth time.

Adam, Anna & Abby said, "Yes." tiredly & loudly.
"Never knew he had it in him." James muttered.
"So how is Amy? I haven't seen her this whole morning." Anna asked worriedly.
"I wouldn't know, being the mere servant girl that I-"

Suddenly, a girl ran through the pantry doors & stood there, in front of the four.
"Amy?" Anna & Abby asked softly.
"H-He..." Amy sobbed. Her cheeks were tear-stained, her eyes were red-rimmed, her hair flying unusually everywhere. She was still in her night gown & her pale face was a contrast to her eyes & nose.

The four crowded closely & slowly around Amy, hugging her into the tight circle.
"He broke off the proposal." Amy said softly & tears began streaming down.
"It's okay, Amy." everyone begun to say.
"He wasn't worth it."
"What an ass."
"James!"

The gang started laughing - including Amy.
"I'm s-sorry. For being an equal ass." she murmured.
"Amy!" the girls cried while the boys said, "It's alright."

& the five remained like that for a wonderful 10 minutes until Mrs. Geraldine burst in the pantry, scolding everyone to not suffocate Amy.

chpter 11 : a proposal

"You go."
"No, you go first."
"Why should I go?"
"Because, sweet, you're her best friend."
"& why shouldn't you go?"
"Sweet, the real question is why should I go?"
"Because-"

"Lord, how long have you been standing outside her door?" an angry voice said.
Abby & James turned & found themselves facing an irritated Anna.
"Um..." both of them stalled.
"Are you telling me that the two of you have been flirting the whole time since you got here? Abby, go in!"
"Oh, fine. But the next time we're doing this, he's going in."
"Abby, why in heavens would we let a male inside our mistress's chamber?"
"Precisely!" James said triumphantly.

Anna rolled her eyes. Abby took in a deep breath, knocked on the door & entered the chamber.

"How long do you think she's going to last?"
"5 minutes tops?"
"Definitely."





Amy felt like hell.
Yes, she knew it was not her position to go so low as to swear but really, she's only human.
A wealthy, healthy merchant's niece but human nonetheless.

She felt like hell since she heard of Jeffer's news.
What was he thinking? How could he abandon his own village just for... Well, whatever reason it was.

& it is not to say that Jeffer had anything to complain about. He's a Pharaoh! The ruler of this village.
Yes, he may have a crabby old fart as a counselor.
& yes, maybe it is that he is becoming socially declined.

What else is there?
He has a beautiful fiancée, he's the Pharaoh...
Good Lord, how selfish could one person be?

He threw all that away to selling robes for a living? He wouldn't last a season!

So again, Amy locked herself in her room for two whole days with no contact from the outside - asides the meals from the servants.
But that was different.

Knock knock.

'Who could that be?' Amy wondered.
"Hello, Amy." Abby chirped with a smile on her face.

Amy instantly went suspicious.
On rare occasions, Abby would use that smile & tone of voice to when she had to inform someone of bad news.

"What is it?" Amy asked.
"Can't a friend drop by & say hello?"
Amy raised an eyebrow.
"Oh, all right! It's just that... I've got some bad news."
"I see."
"Well, it's not to say bad, really. Maybe, um, unfortunate."
"Unfortunate? How unfortunate? As unfortunate to know that one of your so-called 'dearest friends' abandoned his life for no apparent reason & came back to reclaim the throne? Never sending a letter? Breaking friendship without giving notice to the other end?"

Abby gulped. She knew James should have come in instead.

"Um. Maybe."
"Go ahead then."
"It's... Edmund."
"Sir Edmund."
"Right. Sir Edmund."

& so Abby told the story of Adam & Anna spying on Amy's 'friend'.

"So?" Amy asked.
"That's all you have to say? Aren't you wondering what it could be about? Why is he being so mysterious of all this?"
"Well. Maybe he's gambling."
"Gambling? What for, a man of his status gambling?"
"For pleasure, of course."

Abby mumbled something under her breath & Amy could have sworn it was "Well, men find pleasure in other forms, Mistress."

Amy decided to ignore that.
"So the man is a gambler. Loads of men gamble in this village!"
"How are you certain that Edmund - er, Sir Edmund - is a gambler? He could be a thief, a spy!"
"Oh, really, Abby. This imagination of yours is frightfully entertaining." Amy laughed.

Abby gave up but before she left the room, she said something to Amy that left her food for thought.
"Just be careful. Men of your taste... They really aren't at all what they seem."
"Yes." Amy whispered as Abby closed the door. "They really aren't."









4 days of isolation was enough for Amy.
She decided she should take a walk - one has a limit, even a depressed one.

Her stomach rumbled loudly & she laughed to herself. "Oh, dear."
Changing route, her feet took her to the pantry.

Unfortunately, Amy bumped into her uncle.
"Ah! Amy, dear! How nice it is to see our young relation coming out from her room!" Master Zeddy exclaim.
"Ah."
"Where are you heading, Amelia?"

She winced. Amy hated being called by her full name.

"Pantry?" she said weakly.
"Speak in full sentence, child! Good Lord, running my business soon & you speak a word as a sentence! What am I to do with you?"
'What am I to do with you?' Amy thought scornfully but kept the smile on her face.

"No young lady should enter the pantry! Come, join me & your aunty for dinner at the dining room. I won't take a no for an answer."
& with that, Master Zeddy put his meaty paw on Amy & dragged her upstairs.

The dining room was the least liked room of all (asides the Zeddy chamber, of course).
It was huge & elegant but it was so... Dead. No life seemed to radiate from this room.
It was coated a nice emerald, with velvet curtains hanging from ceiling to floor.
The Dining room was used only for the most important - in other words, very wealthy people.

Portraits of the previous Zeddys were framed up on the wall. Amy shuddered. It felt like the eyes on the wall were following her every step.

Master Zeddy sat at the head of the table & Madame Zeddy sitting faithfully on his right.
At the far end of the wide table, Amy sat down.

"Now, Amy. How is Sir Edmund?" Master Zeddy asked.
"Fi- Um. He is fine, my dear uncle. Healthy & breathing. Wonderful, really." Amy smiled as Anna came in, filling the cups with wine.

Master Zeddy ignored Amy's jibe. "Has he, er, talked to you?"
"Well. Yes." Amy said, surprised.

Really. She knew her aunt & uncle were dim at times but she didn't know they were that dim.

"Talked to you about any particular (ahem) subject?"
"Um. We've discussed about many 'particular subjects'." Amy said, confused.
"Amelia, we must discuss of something. When a lady meets a gallant, a lady must be honorable."
"Oh, heavens." Amy blushed.

Surely her uncle couldn't be discussing about... That, could he?
Heavens, she hoped not.

& Anna snickering at the corner really did not help the situation.

"A lady must remain (ahem) committed to the gentleman." Master Zeddy said, putting an emphasis on 'committed'.
Amy let out a breath of relief. "Yes. Yes, I am loyal to Sir Edmund."

She sent a prayer to heaven.
The bread & cheese had arrived.
She kicked Anna when she brought the next platter.

"That is good. To when is the date of your next (ahem) re-union with Sir Edmund?"

Amy dropped her fork with a clatter.
Anna's coughing was suspiciously brought to a halt.
Master Zeddy let out a wheezy chuckle.

Silence (asides the wheezing) was filling the Dining Room with a thick pressure around everyone.

"Close your mouth, Amelia. Portraying as a fish is not one of your attractive traits." Madame Zeddy barked.
Amy closed her mouth.

"You, chit with the jug of wine, come here & fill my glass." Madame Zeddy ordered.
Anna walked over & did as she was told.
The shock was still numb in her brain.








Meanwhile, outside the Dining Room, Adam & James were planning something in the stables.
"I can never fathom why you have such a passion for horses. Among other things (ahem) person, of course." James said, wiggling his eyebrows.
"Oh, shut up." Adam said.
"But, really. Why, out of all the careers & jobs you could get here, did you take this?"
"As a horse keeper? Do you know, you're the second person to ask me this."
"& the first, I presume, is Anna?"

Adam said nothing but James smirked at the red of his face.

Adam turned around & groomed his favorite horse, Charcoal, quietly.
He smiled at the memory of when Anna had asked the exact question.

...

"So... You love horses?"
"Yes." Adam smiled.
"Why?" she asked.
"Well. Four years ago, I was at the docks & I met this Chinese boy. He was holding a wooden toy. I got closer & asked him what it was. He told me that it was a horse, given from his father. The boy then smiled & told me what it meant. I still remember his words : 'Horse means freedom. Power. Friendship.' With that, he gave me the toy & I never saw of him again." Adam turned around. Anna quickly wiped her tear away. "What happened to the toy?"
"Oh, threw it away."
"Adam!" she half-screamed.
"I'm kidding." he laughed. "It's here."

Adam took the wooden horse from his pocket.
"Can I... Hold it...?" Anna asked shyly.
Adam nodded & handed her the toy.

Anna was amazed - the carvings... It was all so detailed. & it was so small! No bigger than her palm, Anna ran her thumb over the face of the horse.
It looked as if it was running, the mane brushed back.

"It's beautiful." Anna said softly.
Adam looked at her. "It is."

...

"Adam? Yoo hoo? I'm a little afraid here, Adam. You're smiling to air!" James said, poking Adam's shoulder.
"Huh? Oh, sorry. Was a little... Pre-occupied there." Adam said.
James gave him a knowing smile.

"We were planning something, remember?" James said.
"Oh, yes. Do you notice that after Edmund's every visit to Amy, he quietly slinks somewhere?"
"Everyone knows of it. But what could we mere servants do? We're just here for the work."
"& did my mother say that?"
"Yes."
Adam looked up & muttered, "Forgive me, mother."
"So what's our plan?" James asked, deciding best not to inquire of Adam's actions.
"Here is what we're going to do. First, we..."






"Edmund! What a surprise!" Amy exclaimed.
"Good eve, SIr," Anna & Abby curtsied.
"Good eve, ladies." Edmund said with a smile & a bow.

He flicked his blonde hair aside & excused himself & Amy for a little privacy.
"But of course," Anna said with a smile.

The two quietly walked out of the couple's radius.
As soon as they walked passed the stables (where James & Adam were), Anna & Abby quickly discussed the shocking news.

"Marriage? Hell's teeth!" Abby exclaimed.
"Abby." Anna said, appalled. Although they were not of blue blood, they were still ladies. Ladies unfit of swearing.
"Well, can you really blame me?"
"I suppose not." Anna sighed.
"Master Zeddy really emphasized on marriage?"
"It would give Zeddy's Hut a boost. Sir Edmund is apparently a very sought out bachelor of our humble village. Marrying such a popular one would rise scandals - & Lord knows how the villagers here love a scandal."
"Lord knows." Abby agreed.
"Our Amy is very notorious."
"Anna!"
"For different matters! I wasn't implying otherwise."

Both girls had turned a delightful shade of crimson.

& so the conversation went on until they had both reached the pantry.
"Abby! Anna! Good Heavens, have you eaten?" Madame Geraldine asked.
"No..." both of them admitted. One could never lie to the Head of Staff.
"I can tell. The two of you - so skinny! Men would never want sticks, you know. They prefer healthy women." Madame Geraldine smiled.

Anna wondered why today was filled with such... Corruptive suggestions?





"Mother," Adam said with a nod of his head.
"Madame Geraldine." James smiled.
"Boys! Come, join us for supper." Madame Geraldine said heartily - she loved having company for any eating event.
"Yes, please, boys. Join us." Abby said, patting a seat next to her.

Adam quickly sat down there, sandwiched between Abby & Anna.
Abby threw a sour glance at her brother while Adam remained blissfully unaware.

"The food's delicious." Anna said with her mouth full.
"Yes, I can see that." Adam said, amused.

Anna narrowed her eyes. Adam remained his angelic look.

"They're making progress." Abby whispered delightfully to James, who was standing behind her.
"They're always making progress. Today's just a fast day." James whispered back.
"You know, we can hear you." Anna hissed to the couple.

She had to lean so far as to go over a very flustered Adam.
Adam cleared his throat.

"Well, I'll leave you children alone." Madame Geraldine laughed & walked off with a laundry basket in her hand.

Anna immediately returned position & continued eating her bread & cheese.
Adam quietly sipped his beer.

"We have plans." James said as soon as the coast was clear.
"Plans? Of what, may I ask?" Abby smiled.
"Plans to follow our beloved Sir Edmund."
"Oh, you mean our best friend's future betrothed?" Anna casually asked as she sipped her glass of water.

Adam choked on his beer (causing Anna to pat him on the back) while James allowed his jaw to drop ("Close your mouth, dear." Abby said).
"B-betrothed?" Adam managed to stammer.
"Yes. I think the definition of that word is engaged to be married."
"B-betrothed?" James echoed.
"Or so Master Zeddy says."

"Would make sense. The popularity of the Hut would increase by a miles' worth." Adam said after a moment of silence.
Anna shot Abby a look that one would interpret as I-told-you-so!
Abby shot Anna a look that one would interpret as Oh-you-really-are-meant-to-be-with-my-brother.

The look Anna shot next was one that needs no interpretation.

"Wait. I thought we were supposed to tell you about our devious plan?" James asked, confused & oblivious to the silent look war.
"Oh, yes. Sorry. Gossip corrupts." Anna joked.
"Continuing?" Abby asked.

"Yes, well. We plan to follow Edmund as soon as he slinks away." James said.
"I thought you've already done that?" Anna asked Adam.
"It's foolproof."
"If you subtract the fact that you got one to your eye, then it's definitely foolproof."
"Do you know," Adam asked. "that sarcasm isn't very attractive?"
"Hm."

Adam did not like that 'hm'.

James cleared his throat. "The conditions?"
"Ooh, let me guess! We can't follow you?"
"Precisely. My sister is smart." Adam said.
"Thank yo- Wait. What do you mean by that?" Abby demanded.
"Well, I'm ju-"
"Here he comes!" Anna whispered.

The four plastered a smile upon their faces. "Oh, back so soon?" Anna asked sweetly.
Amy & Edmund looked at each other & burst out laughing.
"Yes. Very soon." Edmund said, giving a glazed look at Amy.

Amy wondered why the room felt very hot all of a sudden.

The four could feel their supper coming back in their throats.

"Well. I'll be off. See you next time!" Edmund said & walked out of the door.
"Say, Adam. I thought you were suppose to groom Charcoal?" Anna asked as soon as Amy opened her mouth.
"Wha- Oof! I mean, yes. Yes, I did. James, care to meet Charcoal?"
"Couldn't think of a better thing to do." James said with a too-wide grin.

If Amy was in a sober state, she would have narrowed her eyes in suspicion & pester all four of her dearest friends to tell her what was going on.

But alas, she was not. Amy was too besotted to mutter a sensible word.
She was a fool.
'A fool in love!' Amy thought giddily.

"See you soon." James & Adam said. With that, they were off.









"He may be pretty," James puffed. "But Golden Locks here really could run."
"Shush! Those too-pretty ears of his are sharp as a goblin's." Adam hissed.

The two had been following his every step, turn & twist. If an unexperienced stranger would have followed, he would've thought that Edmund was lost.

But Adam knew better. There really was a brain beneath those gold locks of his. 'Devious, little mind.' Adam thought scathingly.

Finally - finally - Edmund stopped.
He looked around to check if he was being followed.

Adam & James quickly hid behind a broad tree.
"Not the Sacred Gardens?" James asked.
"They must've changed the location."

Devious mind, indeed.

"Someone's coming." Adam whispered.
The two held their breath & every muscle. They did not dare take the risk of being discovered.

"Edmund? Edmund! I'm here." a voice said loudly.

Adam frowned. It was the Venom voice - the voice he last heard before someone threw that punch in his eye.
But something else was not right... He just couldn't put his finger on it.

"Oh. It's a good eve, don't you think so, Sir?"
"Cut the proprieties. We're here strictly on business - nothing personal."
"Oh, yes, Sir."

It was disgusitng. Pathetic, really.
Clearly Edmund was trying to get on the mysterious man's good side. He was practically a lap dog, for Lord's sake!

"How are things doing?"
"Fine, sir. Just fine. Amelia is as fine as rain."

The mysterious man kept silent.

Adam & James heard a rustling sound. The mysterious man must be walking.

"Good, then. Now here."
Sounds of clinking metal was heard - every man could identify this sound - money.
A sack of coins thrown.

"T-thank you, Sir!" Edmund said, barely restraining the glee to creep in his voice.
"Now go." the mysterious man ordered with disgust. "Before that meddling ass appears."

James gave a smirk to Adam, the 'meddling ass'.
'Oh, this day is getting better & better.' James thought to himself.







"We must tell the girls!" Adam said as soon as they got to the stables.
"It's the middle of the night. We must care." James hastily added when he glancd at Adam. "-for at least their sake. What good would it do to find boys like us going in their rooms?"

Adam gave a sigh of frustration. "You're right. Lord. But I just think that we better do now before it's too late."








"Where is Amy? We must tell her now!" Anna said as soon as Adam told the tale.
"I haven't seen her yet. You know how she's not a morning bird." Abby said.

"Good grief. Even I'm not that bad!" Anna muttered.
Adam coughed but Anna could still see his smile.

Suddenly, someone bursted in the stables.
"Lord, James! What in the- Um." Adam cleared his throat, remembering that there were ladies present. "Why couldn't you just walk in like a normal person?"
"Funny. I never realized how blessed your brother is with humor." James said to Abby.

It was the girls' turn to cough & hide their smiles.

"Sir Edmund is waiting for Amy. She's coming down now. I think he's about to court her." James said.
"NO!" both the girls cried.
"So soon? It's barely half a season - a quart of the season, even! They barely know each other." Abby exclaimed.
"He comes at the crack of dawn to court her?" Anna said skeptically.
"It's actually nearing noon." Adam muttered.

Anna narrowed her eyes at him. Adam shrugged helplessly.

"See how well this Edmund knows her? He doesn't even know the basic fact that she sleeps like a rock!" Anna said.
"Well, we should be grateful he doesn't." James murmured.
"James!" the girls half-shrieked.
"I'm just saying!"

"What do we do? Come on, boys. You're the Master Mind, right Adam? Think. Think!" Anna pestered, holding tightly on his arm.
Which, really, was no help at all. It was distracting him more than ever.

"Okay. Maybe James could do that walk of his just now & distract him. &, as you said, it takes a lot to wake our mistress up." Adam said.
"Oh, funny. Funny man. Or should I say 'meddling ass'?"

Everyone - except the butt of the joke, of course - laughed heartily before remembering their dilemma.

Abby cried, "We can't laugh! Our best friend is about to marry some- some-"
"Person?" James helped.
She ignored the jibe. "-who has a deal with most likely a murderer of some sort. A stalker!" she gasped.

Anna gasped too & felt her eyes stinging with tears.
She didn't want her best friend like this - treated like dirt by her first love & then about to be chained to a man with Lord knows what sins he has made for the rest of her life!

She felt Adam's arms around her shoulders, which helped (just a little).
"Don't worry about her. Keep in mind that this is the girl who had once held a ferocious fear of puppies because they looked demonic."
"I was five! & really, that puppy was about to bite me!"

Anna half-laughed & half-sobbed.

"Lets get him." James said.









But no such luck.
The four were not allowed to enter the green room (the waiting room for guests).

Master Zeddy had given strict orders that no one - no one- under any circumstances were to walk in there.
"Not even if you saw the Grim Reaper passing by." Master Zeddy said.

So the four friends had no choice but to wait for Amy & the courting 'gentleman'.
"What are they doing? Are they really courting?" Anna whispered.

James & Adam exchanged masculine glances but remained silent with a smile on their lips.

"Never mind. Forget I asked." Anna whispered, shaking her head.
"You boys! Such animal minds." Abby snorted.
James' grin grew even wider.

As the two quietly & slowly walked off to a corner, Adam & Anna were left alone.
The two were silent, standing next to each other closely - Adam with his crossed arms & Anna with her hands behind her back.

Adam couldn't help but notice the beguiling scent of lavender - it was Anna's trademark scent since way back when.
Anna, on the other hand, could not help but to notice how ruffled & thick Adam's hair was & how tall & broad his shoulders were.

(Not to mention the muscles bulging at the arms.)

Adam decided - it was now or never.
"Anna," he whispered.
She looked up. Adam felt dizzy as he noticed how quick her brown eyes were.
"Yes?"
"Things have been awkward since-"
"Yes."
"& I really value our friendship s-"

But before he could continue his sentence, Sir Edmund & Amy walked out quietly of the door.
Anna & Adam straightened & distanced themselves.

They both greeted Sir Edmund & Amy.
Anna could not help but notice the red in Amy's cheeks.

"We're getting married!" Amy said proudly.