Joren's carriage had finally reached the palace, and he looked up at it in great admiration.

"You know Falion, I was wondering what you did pack that you deemed proper, I wouldn't want to offend the royals by showing up in this", he mused, Falion almost fainted with relief.

"Yes, you must make a good impression, after all, your older brother is marrying the Princess..."said Falion, with feigned innocence.

"What? That pompous jerk, don't tell me he's going to be here", yelled the prince, startling the people walking outside, "Damn it, Falion, why do you always get me into these thing?"

"Sir I hadn't thought it important enough to mention to you", he said softly, wincing at the scandalized glances from the passing debutantes.

"It's bad enough that he's going to run our kingdom some day, but now I have to be all nice and polite to him, and his fiancé, I hope she's an ugly pig, with a beard and a tail, that would be poetic justice right there", he said angrily, following his man servant into the palace in a huff

She raced into her room and pulled off her mannish clothing hurriedly. She shifted through her closet, trying to locate the dress she was suppose to be wearing, she found it and tried to shimmy into it as quickly as possible. Half way on it got stuck and she had to call for her much loathed ladies maids. They disentangled her, washed her up, got the dress on, and did her hair and make-up with cool efficiency. She looked into the mirror and barely recognized herself. She sighed and then thanked her ladies maids with perfusion. "Your highness, you don't have time to thank us, you're going to be late for dinner, and it's in honor of a special guest tonight.

She moved as quickly as she could to get to the fancy dining hall, they were having a feast in honor of some important person coming. She flew down the stairway and got to the hall just in time.

"Presenting her Highness, the Princess Tamaril", said the announcer as she glided down the remaining stairs. She couldn't remember where she was supposed to sit, her mother motioned towards the only empty tables. She was late again, and her parent's didn't look pleased.

"Oh great, I get to sit with the guest of honor", she mumbled and moved to sit down at the empty table for two; she looked around to see that all the other tables were full. At least this mysterious guest of honor was late, so he wouldn't know that she had been late as well.

"Why do I have to wear this clown suit", asked Joren, "I feel totally ridiculous, and I itch everywhere."

"Well, it won't matter if you wore it now or not, you're late", said Falion, looking at the clock.

"Why didn't you tell me? Great lot of help you are", he said, making a running start down the hallway.

He located the Great dining room without trouble and was announced in.

"Presenting his highness, Prince Joren", rang trough out the room, he saw that the only empty seat was across from a girl in a sea green dress and cascading black hair, so he headed to it and sat down, trying not to notice the stares that followed him, he wasn't use to all this attention.

He looked up to see the girl form the cliff, the one who was wild and free, as well as mysterious and beautiful. Now she looked proper and he couldn't believe that she was the same girl from the cliffs, who had sparked his interest.

"Wh-what are you doing here", he asked in surprise, "I saw you standing on a cliff this afternoon, what are you doing here?"

"I'm eating, as you well know, and you should never judge who someone is by what they wear", she said, "Because, by the look you're giving me, you probably thought I was a female sailor."

"No just surprised to see you. I thought you were a dream up on that cliff, I walk around in commoner's clothing most of the time, so most people don't even know what the second prince really looks like, which isn't really a bad thing", he said, "You should come when I go around this city, show me around the underbelly, the real Frell as it were, knowing you they probably recognize you in very different clothing."

"That could be fun, how about tomorrow then, meet me in the stable after breakfast", she said, then they talked of the cities they had visited and the strange things they had seen.

He was almost half in love with her by the time dessert came. She was much like he was, and he could bet that she too was a thief and a spy, as well as a princess; he knew he had found his soul mate.

"Just a question, I never asked you your name, what is it", asked the prince with great curiosity.

"Princess Tamaril", she said.

"My brother's fiancé", he said, half asking, half in shock.

"Yes, I must marry your pig of a brother", she said indignantly, expecting him to become angry.

"You should marry me instead, we don't know each other, but I can tell you, I'm much better than my older brother, and I'm a prince so it'd probably be ok", he said, only half joking, "Better me than my brother to have control of this kingdom."

"You would do that for me? You would risk your brother's wrath so that you could marry me", she asked, looking at him in wonder, this could be the answer to her problems.

"If my mother wasn't dead and buried, he's sell her to get a little more money or land, you can count on that, and I can guarantee that he only wants you for the kingdom you will one day inherit, then your life will be in danger. And before that your parents' lives will be in danger. Then your whole kingdom will fall under his evil tyrannous rule", he said being quite serious, "And if it takes marrying a strange, beautiful princess to stop him, then sign me up."

"I guess we'll be getting married tomorrow then, I know just the chapel", she said grinning at the craziness of the whole idea, she wouldn't have to marry his brother, she wouldn't need to protect her kingdom, and she would have someone to depend on and travel with.

Joren's eyes grew wide, what had he just agreed to?