Enjoy!

The girls turned when a throat cleared behind them. Ivan stood near a door. "I've been instructed by the king to show you to the rooms you'll be staying in." he said.

Bidding the princes farewell, the girls followed the butler silently. After a while, they doubted that they'd ever find their way around the large palace. There were so many hallways and doors; they'd need a map.

"Here is Miss Amber's bedroom." Ivan announced, opening a door to their left.

They stepped into the room and Amber gasped. "This is huge! It's my room?"

"Yes, is it to your liking?"

"Absolutely, it's beautiful!" she grinned at him.

Ivan visibly relaxed and led the three others to the next room to allow Amber to get settled in hers. The next room was Joy's and she expressed her gratitude to him. As Ivan showed Mara and Patricia to their rooms, he realized that they weren't like any other guests that they had stayed in the palace. They were kind and satisfied with what he had prepared for them.

He bowed as he left Mara's room, but she called out for him before he could shut the door. "Yes, miss?" he acknowledged.

"Why is Prince Jerome so distant?" she asked quietly, tucking a stand of her dark hair behind her ear.

"He's not exactly distant, Miss." He replied. "He takes his role as prince very seriously. He's not like the other princes. He does his work and he does it well. He may act like he doesn't care, but he certainly does."

"He just acted a bit cold to me." she said. She felt awfully guilty talking about the prince behind his back, but she needed to know how to speak to him.

"He isn't very good at showing his emotions, Milady. Give him time; he'll come around." Ivan replied with a small smile.

Mara nodded in understanding. "Thank you, Ivan."

"A pleasure, Miss Mara." He bowed again. "If there is anything you need, do not hesitate to ask."

And with that, he left the room, leaving Mara to her thoughts.

The next morning, the four girls left their bedrooms and met in the hallway. Patricia groaned quietly, running a hand through her hair.

"Okay, what are we going to about this? My clothes from yesterday disappeared last night."

"Mine did as well." Amber piped in. "That blouse was expensive."

Mara looked down at the silky, crimson colored pajamas she wore. They had been on the bed, waiting for her, the night before. She was grateful that she didn't have to sleep in her jeans, but she definitely didn't want to spend the day in the pajamas.

"Ah, I see you four are awake."

The girls jumped slightly at the voice and turned to Ivan as he walked up to them. In his arms was a stack of folded clothes. He easily distributed the four outfits between the girls and awaited their responses.

"These are our clothes." Joy pointed out in astonishment.

"Yes, I had them washed and pressed while you were asleep so you had something fresh to wear today." Ivan explained. "His Majesty has given you all permission to go into town and go shopping this afternoon."

"Oh, we couldn't do that." Mara declined, holding her clothes close to her chest.

"Nonsense, Miss Mara, the King's orders are that you four have VIP treatment. He won't take no for an answer."

"Well if he won't take no for an answer," Amber sighed dramatically and then clapped her hands together excitedly. "Shopping spree!"

"Amber!" Joy scolded. "We can't take the King's money just like that."

"What? I don't want to wear the same clothes every day we're here." She scoffed, flicking her blonde hair over her shoulder.

"Please, just accept. The King will force it upon you if you don't." Ivan smiled slightly at the four of them. "Please, dress and when you are ready, I'll show you to the dining room for breakfast."

The girls nodded and departed to the bedrooms, changing their clothes quickly and brushing through their hair. They entered the hallway once again and scurried after Ivan as he walked through double doors to another hallway. He led them to the end and had the guards that stood there open the closed doors before them.

They stepped into the large room. The walls were an off white color and the floors were marble. There was a red carpet that led from the doors to a long, wooden table. It was covered by a white and gold tablecloth and a feast fit for a king, or rather the four princes that sat in the red velvet lined chairs, already digging into their meal.

"I present the four girls from England." Ivan announced and took a step back.

The girls stood frozen for a moment, wondering where they should sit. Each of the princes looked up at them expectantly. There was an empty seat by each of them. Joy nervously sat down next to Fabian and each of the princes seemed to be okay with that. Finally, Mara, Patricia and Amber each sat next to the princes they had chosen to speak to the day before. The table was quiet while they served themselves some food.

"We pay the servants for a reason." Jerome spoke lowly when one of the servants had stepped forward to serve the food Mara had already given herself.

"Oh, I'm sorry; I'm just so used to serving myself." She explained herself.

"Get unused to it then."

Patricia's green eyes narrowed toward the blonde before she felt someone's breath against a rip in her jeans that had exposed her pale skin. Her head whipped around and she immediately smacked Eddie's back in shock, without thinking first. His head banged against the table and he grunted.

"Oops, sorry," she said sarcastically, once he had straightened in his chair, rubbing the back of his head. "But that's what you get for breathing on my leg, you pervert."

"Patricia," Joy warned quietly.

"I was just picking up my fork. Geez." He rolled his eyes and Jerome let out a short chuckle.

"Sure, your fork," he scoffed. He wiped his mouth and stood from the table, appearing to be finished with his breakfast.

Mara spoke up quickly. "Uh, Prince Jerome, I'm sorry, but I kinda need to talk to you about some things."

"I'm sorry; I just don't have the time." He replied hastily and left the room.

The servants cleared his spot at the table in a matter of seconds. Mara sighed in disappointment and stood up from her chair as well. She quietly left the room and Patricia groaned.

"I feel guilty now. I should have taken Prince Jerome."

"Don't feel bad, Patricia." Amber said. "No one can dislike Mara Jaffray for a long time; he'll warm up to her eventually."

"Yeah, I guess you're right."

Mara aimlessly wandered around the palace. She hadn't been stopped by a guard as she strolled through the hallways, but she was beginning to get bored. She walked up to one of the men that stood in beside one of the many doors and smiled.

"Does this palace have a library?"

And that's how she found herself surrounded by thousands and thousands of books of all genres. She sat in one of the arm chairs near one of the huge windows, reading a fact book about the country, enjoying the natural light.

"Miss Mara?"

She looked up at Ivan after jumping slightly and she held the book to her chest as she stood up.

"Are you okay? You've been in here since breakfast. It's almost noon." He told her.

She nodded silently and held up the book she was reading. "Do you know where I can find a bookmark? I'd like to continue reading, but I don't want to bend the pages."

"Why don't you just hold onto it; as long as you're staying at the palace, you may read all the books you'd like." He replied with a smile.

"Thank you. The history of this country is very interesting."

"Yes, it is." he tipped his head in agreement. "I apologize, milady, but I did not come to find you to only check on your safety. His Highness, Prince Jerome has summoned you. I am to escort you at once."

"Oh," Mara murmured in surprise but she followed him as he left the library.

Sorry about that guys; I kept forgetting to upload this chapter! :P

Review?

"Saviour will be there, when you are feeling alone, oh. A saviour for all that you do, so you live freely without their harm."

I literally love that song more than life itself. :')

-Rachel