Jonathan sipped his wine and stared around the ballroom as Lady Alana chatted his ear off. She kept hinting at him to go dance with her, but he pretended he wasn't picking up on it. The only woman he wanted to dance with was avoiding him.

He hadn't seen Skylar since she'd left him on the balcony. He understood her reasons for backing away from him during their kiss, jumped away actually, but it had still stung. Especially since it had been the best kiss of his life. She'd responded so enthusiastically to him, melted in his arms, and when she pushed him away... Well it would suffice to say it had ruined his evening. The only comfort had been the disappointment and confusion he'd seen in her eyes. She felt the same way he himself did. Now he just wanted to talk to her.

Alana tucked her hand in the crook of his arm and leaned against him while she sipped from her own glass. She continued talking about a dress or some other garment he really didn't care about. He scanned the crowd for Skylar. He'd last seen her with Draco, but that had been hours ago. Avoiding him or not, he should at least have been able to find her in the crowd, right? He wondered if anyone else was missing her, or if it was just him. After her first few dances, the party had gone into full swing and was no longer all about her or gaining her favor. He hoped she was having a good time, wherever she had gone off too.

That was actually a lie, and he couldn't even convince himself that he truly wished she was having fun. If she was having fun, that meant she'd met a suitor she actually liked. He didn't want that. No, he didn't want that at all. It was selfish of him to want her when he couldn't have her, but he did it anyway.

He'd had a crush on her since she was eleven years old. She was the only thing that could make him smile after he lost his father. He'd loved her for nearly as long. The necklace he'd gotten her was the only way he'd ever been able to tell her.

He told her that the necklace was from his grandmother because it would have been inappropriate for him to give her jewelry, but he'd seen the necklace, saw how it matched her eyes, and just needed to buy it for her. When he saw her eyes light up when he presented it to her, he was glad he'd bought it. He'd have to write his grandmother and explain his white lie, just in case Skylar ever wrote her or saw her and thanked her for the necklace his grandmother had never seen.

He grinned at what his grandmother would say when he told her. She asked him every time she wrote if he had told Skylar how he felt or told her parents. She was convinced that he would make a great husband and a great king, that he would treat Skylar and the kingdom how they deserved. She was right, but Harold wanted a marriage for an alliance, and as head knight, Jonathan's entire life was already devoted to Trael.

He rolled his shoulders slowly. Stiff, but not as bad as he thought they would be. He hadn't trained as much as he should have while at his grandparents' estate. He practiced his swordsmanship everyday, but not as vigorously as he did while he was here. His knights had also gone soft without his hard hand to keep them working. So, he'd spent today with his men, pushing them to their limits. He had worked harder than usual too, trying to keep the fact that the king was trying to find Skylar a husband that wasn't Jonathan from souring his thoughts. Perhaps he should have talked to Harold about how he felt. There was still time, he supposed. Maybe if Harold knew about what he and Skylar had, and that kiss had definitely meant they had something, he would change his mind about an arranged marriage.

His finished his wine, his mind set. "If you'll excuse me, my lady," he bowed at Alana, who appeared taken aback at his departure, and set off to find the king and queen. He scanned the ballroom and found his rulers missing as well. Maybe Skylar was with them, and that's where she'd been all night. He'd had to take a walk outside after their kiss, maybe she'd needed to talk to someone after her dance with Draco.

As if summoned by the thought, a pale, long-fingered hand landed on Jonathan's shoulder. He spun around to meet Draco's dark gaze. "Good evening, sir."

Jonathan bowed to the king. "Your highness, have you been enjoying yourself this evening?"

"Oh, immensely," Draco nodded. "The princess was a delight as usual. I just wish to make sure there were no hard feelings about my interruption earlier."

Jonathan stared at the king, but the man gave nothing away. But Jonathan knew he had seen, or at least suspected, something. The question was a matter of how much he knew and if he had told anyone. If word got out that Jonathan had been kissing the princess on the balcony, her reputation would be ruined. He was not formally courting her, nor was he even eligible to be her husband. He didn't want that for his Skylar.

"No, there was nothing to be interrupted, my lord. Simply two friends taking a reprieve from the demands of a party," Jonathan lied. He would stick to his story too, if anyone else asked. "You wouldn't by chance know where Harold and Violet are, do you?"

"Why, yes. I just took my leave of them. They're in the throne room," he waved his hand in the general direction of their location. "Apparently our dear princess is off hiding somewhere. She hasn't been seen in a while. As head knight, you should probably go speak with them."

The king and queen didn't know where Skylar was either? The last person he'd seen her with had been Draco, but the dark king had no reason to harm her or do anything else to her. She likely barely registered on his radar. Jonathan himself had slipped out of the ballroom and into the courtyard, not keen to watch possible suitors vie for her attentions, so he wasn't sure who she'd really been with last.

Jonathan nodded his head once, hoping that the worry didn't show on his face. "I think I'll do just that. If you'll excuse me, my lord." He bowed and then practically ran out of the ballroom. A rock had formed in his stomach, and his gut had never lied to him before. Something was terribly wrong.

As he approached the closed doors to the throne room, two guards pushed them open to allow his passage. The queen sat on her throne with Greta holding her hand and talking gently to her, while the king paced back and forth. Skylar's three guards stood off to the side looking at their boots in shame. Yes, something was terribly wrong indeed.

Jonathan's boots clicked on the stone floor, announcing his approach, and the king spun around to look at him. The monarch's eyes narrowed and he lifted a finger to point at Jonathan. "You," he practically snarled. "You were the last person seen with her. Where is she!" He advanced towards Jonathan and the look on the king's face made Jonathan think he was about to get hit. And he likely would have if Greta hadn't spoken up.

"Hal, leave him alone!" she snapped in that grandmotherly way of hers. Only sassy Greta would dare speak to the king that way. The tiny, gray-haired woman stepped away from the queen and toward her king. "The boy obviously loves Skylar, he would never hurt her."

Hal spun around to stare at the nurse. "What?" he demanded. Jonathan was simply frozen in place. Had he really been so transparent?

"Jonathan loves our girl. He would never do anything to her. He respects you and her too much, and you know it. So don't you dare take out your anger on that knight," Greta warned the king, walking straight up to him and sticking her finger in his face. "And if he ran away with her, why would he have any reason to come back, hmm?"

Hal turned back to Jonathan, confused, but still angry. That much was apparent. "Is that true?" he demanded. "Do you love my daughter?"

Jonathan cleared his throat and found himself unable to look his king in the eye. "Um, yes, my lord. I do."

"That is something that needs to be discussed later." Hal squeezed his eyes shut and pinched the bridge of his nose before looking back at Jonathan, his gaze desperate. "But, do you have any idea where she is? Draco said you were the last person he saw her with."

Jonathan's hand tightened into a fist at the mention of the other king. He'd tried to set Jonathan up. Draco hadn't lied, exactly. Jonathan was the last person he'd seen with Skylar, other than himself. But he'd tried to get the king to turn on Jonathan.

"I was, until Draco interrupted our conversation. Skylar then went to dance with him, per his request. I went for a walk afterward. I haven't seen her since, my lord."

"Hal," Violet rose from her throne and approached them. She grabbed her husband's arm, drawing his attention to her. "Hal, darling, we saw her last. Oh, I just know it. We told her she could take a break. We didn't make her guards go with her." Violet's gloved hands flew up to cup her cheeks, horror flashing through her eyes. "She knew we wanted to find her a husband tonight. You don't think... you don't think she ran away? To-to find them?"

Hal quickly wrapped his arms around his wife. He kissed her auburn hair and pressed her head into his chest while she cried, reassuring her that the princess would never had left them willingly. Watching them, Jonathan thought back to his conversation with Skylar, before he'd kissed her. How she'd told him that she wanted a love like her parents, how she didn't want an arranged marriage. And how upset she'd become because of that. She hadn't wanted to marry for an alliance, but Jonathan didn't think his princess would abandon her position and her family because of it.

"Jonathan, darling," Greta placed a hand on his arm. "Did Skylar say anything to you, when you spoke with her? It was shortly after speaking with you that anyone saw her."

He shook his head, at a complete loss. "She didn't want an arranged marriage, but, my lord, my lady," he turned to address the monarchs, "Skylar wouldn't have run away from her problems. You know as well as I do how seriously she takes being the heir to the throne."

"You're right," Hal nodded slowly. "Skylar was doing a great job this evening, entertaining her guests, charming them. Whether she wanted to or not, she would have chosen a husband she didn't know."

He blinked once and then his eyes narrowed. "You said the last time you saw my daughter she was with Draco?"

"Yes, my lord."

"And the last time I saw her, before she asked to leave, she'd been dancing with Draco. I assume these were the same instances, since I haven't seen her since she asked to step out for a moment."

"That seems reasonable."

"Why would Draco lie about seeing her with you?"

Jonathan shrugged. "Perhaps he didn't think he was lying?" Jonathan wanted to give the other king the benefit of the doubt, but the sinking feeling in his stomach made it hard for him to believe it.

"It doesn't matter," Violet snapped, straightening away from Hal. "My daughter is nowhere to be found, and I will not stand for that." She met Jonathan's gaze. "Gather your knights, Jonathan. Skylar is going to be found now. And no one is to leave this castle until that moment."

"Love," Hal calmed her. "I think it best if we don't frighten our guests. Lets just send Ian, his men, and Jonathan around to hunt for her. If they don't find her, then we will gather everyone. I promise."

"Fine," the queen straightened her crown. "But I will see my daughter tonight, because we are going to find her. And I will stand for nothing less."

"We'll find her," Hal promised. He kissed her forehead before nodding to Jonathan, who took off out of the room. Skylar was upset, where would she go? Obviously she wasn't in her room; Greta would have found her. A slow sense of panic spread through his chest as he racked his brain for a place she might have gone. The courtyard, perhaps? He raced down the hallway, confident that he would find her there. Where else would she go? The courtyard was her favorite place in the castle; if she were looking for a place to be alone that's where she would go.

He glanced over his shoulder and saw Ian and his men splitting up to cover more ground. It was reassuring knowing that they would be searching other parts of the castle before they needed to call in everyone. He'd rather not call in everyone to find her, but he wasn't above it.

He shoved open the doors leading to the courtyard. It was dark, very few lanterns were lit, but he could see by the light of the nearly full moon.

"Skylar?" he called, venturing into the darkened area. Dewey grass squelched beneath his boots as he called out for his princess. It didn't take him long to realize she wasn't there. It was too eerily quiet and void of life for anyone to have even passed through recently. So, by the light of the moon, Jonathan continued toward the stables. The horses didn't care much for the sweet Skylar, for reasons beyond him, but people knew that. He reasoned that if she didn't want to be found, that would be the place to hide.

He entered the stable, where the stable hands played cards at the other end while the guests' horses rested up for the journey home, although many would be staying the night. It was quiet and dark, only the lanterns around the card table and a couple down the long row of stalls lit the building. He could hear the stable hands at their game, laughing softly so as to not disturbed the prized horses. A few curious animals stuck their heads out as he passed, nickering softly for attention. He absently stroked a velvet muzzle here and there as he passed, focused on questioning the workers.

He turned the corner to the quarters of the workmen, startling the focused men. They rose at once, showing him the respect he was due, but he could tell that his presence confused the men. "Sir, we weren't expecting you," one of them said as he placed his cards on the table bashfully.

"I wasn't expecting to be here," Jonathan waved the man off. "Have you seen Skylar recently?"

"Nah, 'aven't seen 'er since this mornin'," another man responded. He scratched at his unruly beard thoughtfully. "An' she ha'nt been 'ere. Beasts are too calm for tha'." Everyone knew about Skylar's reputation in the stables; she made the horses nervous, so there was no way they'd all be sleeping if Skylar had walked through recently. Why the horses were so skittish around her was an enigma; Skylar was nothing but sweet to the creatures, but they still shied away from her. Jonathan ran a hand over his face, the knot in his stomach tightening with every second he couldn't find her.

"Is something wrong, Sir? Is something the matter with Princess Skylar?" the first man asked, worry covering his face. Jonathan glanced at the half-dozen men and realized they all wore similar expressions. Skylar was loved among all the staff, of course they would be worried about her.

"No, nothing's wrong," Jonathan assured them, but he sounded unconvincing even to himself. "Go back to your game. I'll be on my way." He nodded at the men and left abruptly. He ignored the insistent noses that pushed towards him as he walked by, his mind completely focused on finding Skylar. But he had no idea where else she would be.

He made his way back toward the castle and ran into Ian, who was on his way out. The guard bowed respectfully, but his brow was furrowed in worry. "I'm sorry, sir. We didn't find her. And I take it you didn't either."

Jonathan pursed his lips and shook his head. "And you checked everywhere?"

"It would help if we had more men on it, and the others are still looking, but we haven't found any trace of her, and none of the staff have seen her since she danced with King Draco."

Jonathan was sensing a common thread. But he had no proof that Draco had anything to do with the missing princess.

"Let's check the gate then," Jonathan sighed, resting his hand on his sword. He felt like admitting they should check there meant they were giving up, but he couldn't think of anything else. "We'll check with the guards, find out if they've seen anything."

Ian nodded in agreement. "Skylar's always prided herself on the fact that she could outsmart us guards, get away from us."

Jonathan cracked a small smile as they took off at a brisk walk. "It always was a bad habit of hers."

The older man shrugged. "I never minded so much. I knew she wasn't getting into trouble, she just wanted her space. Her father is a very protective man."

"That he is, but look where that's gotten us," Jonathan scoffed. "A missing princess."

They walked the rest of the way in silence, their boots clicking against the stone floor in a brisk walk. When Jonathan saw the front gate standing wide open, he paused and then took off in a sprint. The front gate should have been closed tight; no guests had left yet as far as he was aware. And they weren't going to leave soon, Violet would make sure of that.

The two guards on either side of the gate, the two that opened and closed the impenetrable wall, were slumped against the wall, deep in sleep. Jonathan blinked in shock. These were guards he'd trained himself. They did not just go to sleep while on duty. He knelt next to one and pressed his finger against the man's neck. His pulse was steady, if a bit slow. He patted the guard's cheek in an attempt to wake him up. Nothing.

He looked over at Ian and saw him doing the same thing to the other guard. Jonathan rushed over to the ladder that led up to the watch tower, but he knew what he would find. The guards up there were unconscious as well, and there was no waking them up. He pulled at his hair, trying to understand what had happened. "Skylar," he whispered. "Oh, Skylar. What happened?"

"Jonathan!" Ian yelled. He stood out on the road that led away from the castle, off to the side, in the underbrush. "I found something."

Jonathan's first thought was that it was Skylar's body, but Ian was far to calm for it to be that. That was a worse case scenario situation. He took a deep breath and climbed down from the tower, trying to imagine what Ian could have found. He approached the other man, hardly able to breathe.

"What did you find?" he asked as calmly as he could. Ian turned around and what little breath Jonathan had left him along with blood in his face. He actually felt it rush out of him when he saw the glittering tiara in Ian's hands.

"Oh, no," he choked as he took the tiara from Ian. He examined it closely, not sure what he was looking for. "Where was it?"

"In the bushes there," Ian nodded to a spot a few feet away. "It was caught up in them like it had been tossed there."

Tossed there by a princess who no longer wanted to be a princess?

No! Jonathan chastised himself for even thinking such a thing. Skylar would never do that. She would lift her chin in the confident way she so liked and proceed with poise and dignity. She would never run away.

"We need to tell the king and queen," he said and spun on his heel. He felt nothing, couldn't allow himself to feel anything. He didn't need anymore proof that Skylar was no longer in the castle, and he numbed himself the the turmoil that filled him. She was gone, and he had no idea why. "Gather guards to replace the ones here and get these men to the infirmary," he ordered sharply.

"Of course, sir," Ian obliged. "I'll get the gates closed as well."

Jonathan didn't respond as he approached the castle. How was he supposed to tell the king and queen that Skylar was gone? She wasn't just hiding or avoiding them, she was no longer in the castle, and all the evidence pointed to the fact that she left of her own accord. That she left because she wanted to. If that were the case, she'd hidden it very well. He knew her inside and out, and he'd never suspected that she wasn't happy here. He supposed he'd been gone for a few months, but could so much have changed in that time? He didn't think so, and he liked to think that she would have talked to him about it if it had.

The woman he loved was gone, and she hadn't trusted him enough to tell him she wasn't happy.

He looked down at the bejeweled tiara, so delicate but holding so much meaning. So much power in one piece of jewelry. And the woman whose it was wasn't around to claim it.

He was on his way to the ballroom when he heard Violet and Hal still in the throne room. Violet was a complete wreck and Hal was attempting to soothe her. They wouldn't go back to the party until they were composed and gave no hint of worry. Jonathan supposed the party was over now.

He pushed the door open to the throne room without knocking. He didn't care at this point. His hands clutched the tiara before him. Hal and Violet's gazes immediately focused on it as he approached them. There was a moment of silence as they registered what they were seeing. Violet let out a cry of anguish and Hal simply went pale.

"We found it outside of the gates," Jonathan said softly. He found his voice choked up and cleared it. "Which were wide open and the guards were unconscious."

"She's gone?" Hal asked.

Jonathan's head bobbed once. "It's uncertain whether she left on her own or if she was taken by someone."

Heat boiled up into the king's face. "No one leaves this castle." His voice came out in a dangerous hiss. "No one leaves this castle until I find out what happened to my daughter. Until she is found."

"Yes, my lord."

"Gather your knights, Jonathan, and round up the guests for questioning. Send the guards to patrol the surrounding area. Look for any signs of her, any signs of anyone."

"Of course, my lord."

Jonathan spun to leave, still numb. As he exited, he heard Violet keening. "I knew this would happen," she cried softly. From how quiet she was, he guess he wasn't supposed to be able to hear her. "Did I not say that she would leave to find them someday?"

"We don't know that's what happened, Vi," Hal answered harshly.

"Of course it's what happened! That beast was slowly driving her insane! Of course she left to go find them. But why tonight, why wouldn't she tell us?"

"I refuse to believe that our daughter abandoned us to go look for strangers."

"You were always blind to the pain she was in, Hal. She wasn't happy here, not with that monster holding her back. I just hoped I'd be able to say goodbye."

Hal didn't respond as his wife sobbed, and Jonathan was simply confused. Beast? Monster? Who did the queen mean? Jonathan could think of nothing that tormented the princess in the way Violet described. But, did Jonathan ever really know Skylar as well as he'd thought?