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Tara walked slowly into the main throne room, watching her father as he stood by the window staring out. The light clicking of her shoes on the hard stones floors echoed in the large chamber, but King Rupert never took his attention off of the scene outside.



Sighing slightly, she reached her hand out, touching his arm as she stopped beside of him. "They'll find the Carriage father." She said softly, smiling at him as he turned to look at her. "I'm sure everything is just fine. Please don't worry so."



King Rupert smiled back at her before raising his hand and placing it over hers. "Yes, I do hope you are correct." He said before looking back out at the men assigned to go search for the Carriage. Princess Elizabeth should have been there hours ago and he had automatically gone into a panic when the carriage didn't show. Assembling a small group of men, he had ordered them to ride until they found the Carriage.



"Any word from Edward?" he asked, turning back to her.



"No father." Tara said softly, "He hasn't returned either."



Tara stepped back as her fathers face twisted in rage, his irritation evident on his face.



"That boy is really trying my patience." He spat out, his anger at his son almost consuming him. "Why he insists on being pig headed is beyond me."



"Edward does these things to upset you father." Tara told him, "He knew how important it was to go to Parissa himself."



"I know." King Rupert finally said defeated. "If Caroline were still alive..."



Tara smiled fondly at the memories of her mother before wrapping her arm around her father. "We could always tie him up in the square, let the people have a go at him." She said smiling.



King Rupert let out a small chuckle before turning and placing a small kiss on Tara's head. "Yes, that we could, but I'm not sure I want to subject the Kingdom to Edwards's ill fated ways."



Tara laughed quietly before leaning in and kissing her fathers cheek. "I'm sure everything will be fine." She said as she pulled back away from him. "I'll be in my chamber if you need me."



"Good night dear." King Rupert said, smiling as he turned to look at her.



Tara smiled back at him before turning and walking away. She glanced back at him as she reached the door, watching the worried look once again fall upon his face before she turned and walked down the hall. She was as upset with her brother as much as her father was. He wasn't taking his responsibilities seriously. The future King was nothing more than a spoiled brat in her opinion and the extra stress on her father was worrying her. Why Edward had decided that hunting was more important than escorting his future bride to his Kingdom, was beyond her, but Edward always did just as he pleased, no matter what was expected of him.



________________________________________





Buffy stretched, being pulled from her sleep as the dew from the ground slowly seeped into her dress and hair. She winced slightly as she opened her eyes and moved her neck, the stiffness in her joints from sleeping on the hard cold ground something she wasn't accustomed to. Sitting up, she wiped at her eyes and looked around.



The fire had all but died to nothing, only a few burning embers still glowing. The sun had rose, its light starting to shine above the canopy of the trees once again. Glancing around, she noticed William was no where to be seen and she immediately panicked. Standing quickly, she pushed her hair away from her face as she spun in a circle, searching for him.



"William?" she said loudly, looking through the still darkened forest before she took a few steps towards them. Buffy's eyes searched the forest, fear creeping up her spine. What if he left her there? *No, he wouldn't have done that* she told herself. He could have left me yesterday, but he didn't. "William!" she said again, turning in a circle as she looked around.



*Okay, calm down, he didn't leave you* Buffy tried to reassure herself as she looked out into the darkened forest. Turning, she stared at the stream, watching the water travel its path as she brought her hands up, and tried to smooth her crumpled hair out. Taking a deep breathe, she closed her eyes, trying to push her fear away without much luck.



William cleared the trees, making his way back to the campsite where he had left Buffy. He smiled when he saw her standing by the stream. Cradling the arm full of berries he had collected for them, he quickened his step.



"Good morning Princess." He said as he finally made his way to her and stopped by her side.



Buffy spun around at his voice, not hearing him approach as she was lost in her thoughts. She smiled weekly at him as the heavy feeling that had been creeping it's was into her body slowly lifted.



"What's wrong?" William asked worriedly as he looked at her and saw that her eyes were filled with unshed tears.



"Oh, nothing." Buffy lied as she forced a bigger smile on her face.



"You sure?" he asked as he tilted his head to the side as he looked at her.



"Yes, I'm fine." Buffy said, looking down at the berries in his arm. "Breakfast?" she asked, changing the subject.



"Yeah." William said quietly, still not believing that something wasn't wrong. "Just let me give them a wash." He added before walking to the stream and bending down.



Buffy let out a silent breath, quickly wiping her watery eyes as William cleaned the berries. She sighed in relief as she looked at him and her fear instantly vanished as she walked closer to the stream and settled down on the ground.



She didn't think she had been this scared since her father was killed, but waking and finding William gone had terrified her. The thoughts of having to take care of herself out in the middle of nowhere left her with an uneasy feeling. She wasn't use to doing things that servants were used for. She had never had to rely on herself to find food or shelter and the thoughts of having to do it now worried her.



William was watching Buffy as she sat there staring at the stream. She had a far off look on her face and there was a slight frown creasing small lines in her forehead. He knew something had upset her and he wondered if he should push her to tell him or just let it slide.



"Buffy." William said, trying to get her attention.



Buffy sat there, lost in her thoughts. She finally looked down as William touched her hand and she looked up at him, smiling slightly.



"Are you sure you're okay?"



Buffy nodded her head at him, looking down at the berries he held in his hand before reaching out for them. Cradling the berries in her hands, Buffy smiled up at him again as she laid them in her lap and started to eat their meager breakfast.



William settled himself down beside of her, trying his best not to stare at her. She was extremely quiet and the silence was deafening. "So, what's the plan for today?" he asked smiling, hoping to get her talking again.



Buffy smiled as she looked up, popping a few more of the small yellow berries into her mouth. "Well, I was thinking you could build me a carriage so I didn't have to walk all the way to Alcala." She answered him, smiling bigger as he chuckled at her.



"Guess I could do that." William said laughing, "Not sure what we'd get to pull it."



"Well, you could pull it, you are the one that got me into this mess, remember?"



"Oh I see now, the lowly page isn't good enough to ride, only pull?"



Buffy laughed, feeling better by the second. "You could always just carry me." She said, as she felt the familiar blush creep up her neck and settle on her face as the thoughts of him doing just that settled on her mind. She quickly looked away from him as he stared into her eyes and the once clear blue shine in them quickly darkened.



William held back a smile, watching the pink stain her cheeks before popping the last of his berries in his mouth before standing. "Hurry up Princess, we have a long day ahead of us." He said as he walked over to the fire and made sure it was out. Glancing behind him, he saw Buffy stand before turning back to the fire, his restrained smile finally pushing its way to the surface.





________________________________________





"Get up!" Angelus growled as he kicked at his men scattered around the ground. The sun was up and he knew if they wanted to catch up to William and the Princess they needed to get moving.



Grumbling and cursing quietly, the gang of scraggly men slowly rose, wiping the sleep from their eyes before standing, eyeing their master before each tended to their horse and prepared for the coming day.



Grabbing food quickly, the men ate, mounting their horses and soon, they were all on their way.



Angelus led the group, their pace less hurried than the previous day due to the fact that their prey was now on foot. He knew they wouldn't get too far ahead of them, no matter how slow they traveled.



Finding the stream several hours after dawn, Angelus slowed his horse, stopping and dismounting allowing the animal a much needed break as his men slowly fell in place around the stream along side of him.



"Why do you think he wants her so badly?" one of the men asked quietly as their horses drank from the stream.



"Have you seen her?" the second man asked with a toothy grin. "'ell I'd probably chase her myself"



"Pretty then?"



"Oh she's more than that."



The first man laughed quietly to himself, shaking his head as he looked over to where Angelus was standing.



"Beauty may be a significant reason, but I think his true desire lies in that of Prince Edward."



"Oh, really? How so?"



"Lord Angelus hates him. If he hadn't been trying to win Princess Elizabeth's hand to begin with, he would have still tried to take her, just to prove to Prince Edward that he could."



"LORD! We found something!"



Angelus stood up, looking to his left as his men all looked over in the direction of the man shouting. Walking quickly over he stopped as he approached the rock the man was pointing at.



Bending down, Angelus scooped up the dirty white stockings that lay crumpled on the rocks before standing up. Smiling he ran the material through his hands before turning and facing his men. "They were here." He said as he started back to his horse. "Let's go!"





________________________________________





Buffy was breathing heavily, trudging along the rough terrain of the forest. She had one hand on her dress, holding the bottom up slightly as if kept catching on the fallen limbs and bushes that littered the ground.



She and William had been walking for hours, the scenery never changing. They had tried to stay near the stream, but as it started winding future to the left, William had steered their path to the right.



"Are we almost there?" Buffy asked, slightly breathless.



William chuckled softly from his position in front of her before turning to look at her. "No hardly." He said smiling. "It will be a while before we make it."



"I'm so tired." Buffy said wearily. "I don't think I've ever had to walk this much."



"Do you want to stop and rest a bit?"



Buffy smiled and shook her head. "No, the longer I sit, the less time we have for travel."



"Are you sure?" William asked, stopping to look at her.



"Yes. I'll be fine."



William smiled and gave a small nod of his head before turning and leading their way. The trees were starting to thin a little, giving way to more open areas. As they climbed a small incline, Buffy stumbled, falling before William stopped and grabbed her arm, helping her up the hill.



"Thanks." Buffy said, struggling up the hill, her dress tripping her as she went. As they topped the small hill, the tress seemed to vanish, leaving nothing before them but soft green grass.



William smiled, looking out across the valley as he saw that they had finally cleared the forest. "Well, looks like we escaped the first leg of our journey."



"Really?" Buffy asked cheerfully.



"Yes, Alcala lies to the east." He said pointing to his left before turning his head to look at her.



Buffy stopped, taking a deep breath before looking off in the direction he was pointing to. She smiled as she saw the rolling hills, the wide open fields of green grass seeming to go on forever before a wide expanse of trees was seen in the distance. "How long will it take us to make it there?"



"Well, Alcala lies on the other side of the Enchanted Forest."



"Is that it?" Buffy asked, glancing up at him before looking back out over the valley.



"Yes, that's it."



Buffy smiled, the mystical tales she had heard spun about the forest coming back to her mind as she looked at it. "Somewhere deep down, I honestly thought it wasn't real." She said smiling back up at William. "The stories I've heard about what lies in the forest are things of imagination, not reality."



"Well, I guess we'll see then, won't we." William said to her smiling as he slowly started walking again.



"What do you mean?" Buffy asked as she walked along beside of him.



"Well, we'll have travel through there. I imagine we'll get a chance to see if the tales are correct about it."



Buffy's eyes widened as did her mouth as she stopped in her tracks. "We can't travel into the Enchanted Forest! It's forbidden!"



William stopped and turned looking at her shocked face in amusement. "Forbidden or not, that's the way we are going."



"But.but, we can't!"



William chuckled at her shocked face, smiling before shaking his head. "Buffy, if we don't travel into the Enchanted Forest, then we'll have to travel around it. That will add another three or four days onto our trip. Now I'm sure you don't want that, do you?"



Buffy turned back to the forest, looking in disbelief and wonder at the place of myth she had heard so much about. Of all the things she had heard, the most important was that no one ever disturbed the Forest. The creatures that lie within its depths were pure and unspoiled, never to be seen. How could they destroy such things if they `really' existed?



William could see so many emotions cross her face as she stared towards the Enchanted Forest. He had also heard the tales about the mystical creatures that roamed the forest and like most, he wanted to see for himself, but never ventured in for fear of disrupting the balance that held the Forest together, but just as he told her, they had no choice. It was either enter the forest and shorten their journey or go around it, and he didn't think Buffy would be able to make it if that were the case.



"Come on Princess." William said softly, reaching our at taking her arm.



Buffy turned her head looking at him as he smiled down at her. She returned his smile, sighing lightly before they started moving again. As she looked out over the valley, her eyes never strayed far from the forest. Smiling, she readied herself for an adventure that she knew Dawn would never believe, her youngest sister's yearning to see first hand what lied beyond the Forest boundaries always causing a smile to light up her face. Glancing back up at William briefly, Buffy's smile widened when she realized that not only had William made her feel things she never thought she would, but he was giving her an adventure of a life time.





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