Her heart was breaking. Surely that was the source of the breath-robbing pain in her chest. Her blood ran cold and a white noise filled her ears.

On shaking legs, she stumbled backwards and turned sharply, catching herself on the back of an armchair.

'Please forgive me,' his soft, but firm voice only drove the pain deeper.

Forcing herself to nod, Molly choked back the sobs that threatened her. She wouldn't let him see the damage.

She heard the click of his shoes as he snapped his heels together before leaving. The door shut behind him with a quiet thud and Molly collapsed.

Her hands covered her face as she cried. Racking sobs that tore from deep inside. For the future she lost and the future she faced.

For those few minutes, she let herself mourn. But when her tears stopped, when she sagged wearily like all the strings holding her up had been severed, she got to her feet and forced herself to stand tall.

She was to be married in three week's time. And though her husband-to-be would not be the man who held her heart, she would be brave. For that is what one born of Royalty does. Her duty.

She would simply put this down to a moment of weakness and move forward.

Come the wedding ceremony, she would be bound to Lord Thomas and leave her home to travel with him, a stranger, to live in an even stranger land.

And Sherlock Holmes, Captain of her father's Royal Guard, holder of her heart, would be a bittersweet memory.

oOo

It was the hardest thing he had ever had to do. She had handed him her heart and it destroyed him to cast it aside, to refuse her request to run away together. Watching her heart break right before him had nearly undone his resolve. Only knowing that she remained safe if he maintained his distance kept him from sweeping her into his arms and disappearing from this place, duty and promises be damned.

Standing on the other side of the door, he leaned against the ornate wood and closed his eyes. Her muffled cries beckoned to him, nearly bringing him to his knees.

He clenched his gloved fists and breathed deeply to control his emotions.

With determination, Sherlock pushed away from the door and walked away from the woman he loved, making a silent vow that it would be the last time.

The game was nearly won. And he wouldn't do anything to jeopardize her life. Even if it meant breaking her heart.

AN: Ihink I might make this a multi-chapter fic... the little plot bunnies that came to me might not be satisfied with a simple 2-parter. :) We'll see...