Instead, I focus on him--try to figure out what game he’s playing, what he wants from me. Maybe he’s just here to gloat, after all he did manage to follow me unseen and catch me.

          He notices my glare and the smile on his face widens—he’s enjoying this, me being the one in need of answers, and he’s not going to go easy on me. It’s useless for me to fight him on this; he has all the cards, and I have no inclination to waste any more time than I have already.

          “What do you want, Julian?”

          He straightens up and walks the couple of steps to the bed.

          “I want to know what you were trying to accomplish last night, and. . . . “

          He trails off and the smile leaves his face, I can hear the question he’s not asking; ‘what made you freak out?’ Well, if he doesn’t have the guts to ask, then I have no inclination to appease his curiosity.

          “I just wanted to reacquaint myself with the layout of the city. It’s been a while, you know.”

          A blatant lie, and we both know it. He frowns, and this time I’m the one with the smile.

          “Why is it so hard for you to trust us?” Julian runs a hand through his hair making it stand on end, then brings it down with a sigh, “Never mind. What made you collapse?”

          I flinch slightly, I really didn’t expect him to come right out in the open and say it. Obviously, he doesn’t feel like tip-toeing around my feelings anymore. He’s dreaming if he thinks I’m going to just give him information he can use against me!

          “Where’s Melody?”

          He crosses his arms and eyes me for a minute then sighs in defeat. “She went back to the underground to see if she could help in anyway.” Before I can ask, he answers my next question, “I told her you were working on a plan. I’m here to keep an eye on you.”

          Now that’s a surprise! I struggle to keep my astonishment from showing on my face. He lied to Melody? Why? What exactly is their relationship?? And what is his game!?

          “So do you?”

          I blink at him confused, “Do I what?” He rolls his eyes and smirks slightly, “Do you have a plan? You know, to take down the Castovias? After all,” he goes on tiredly, “that’s what you came here to do, right?”

          I nod and look serious, “I, ah, hoped I’d think of something when I got here. You know, once I got the lay of the land.”

          I’ve pushed him too far; Julian’s face goes dark and he stalks angrily towards the door.

          “If you’re going to behave like that, there’s no reason for me to hang around. Go get yourself killed if you want! I don’t care anymore.” He growls before slamming the door shut.

          A touch of disappointment wells up, I shove it back down again. Why should I be disappointed if he leaves? It’s what I was aiming for. Everything will be much simpler now he’s off my back.

          I’ll head back to the palace tonight—I won’t fail again. Now that I know what to expect, I’ll have my guard up. I’ll lock my emotions up and throw away the key—they won’t break me this time. Tonight, I’ll be Raven Queen; feared by all, scared of nothing. Someone with no past, no future—just the present, the now.

          I stay at the hotel all day--in my room, not Julian’s—going over my memory of the palace’s layout and what security I’m likely to encounter. Of course, it’s probably changed since the last time I was there, but the layout should be pretty similar—unless they’ve knocked down walls or something to ‘redecorate’. Which, with this family, is a distinct possibility--though I don't think the people would have allowed them.

          The secret room is right in the heart of the palace, where the strongest security used to be--and probably still is, if they’re not complete dimwits. The way in is locked by a DNA scanner. Only someone of royal blood can get in—its completely impregnable to outside assaults.  

          It was designed by a genius to ensure the royal family could never be assassinated. He didn’t count on my stupidity. The only reason the Castovias got through the door was because of my idiot decision to save my best friend. I put her DNA into the system and then she turned on me. Showed me her true colours, broke my trust, and left me with a scar on my face for my trouble.

          What could a weak defenceless princess do against a strong swordswoman? To have that amount of mastery over the sword, she must have practiced ever since she was little—and then had a decent amount of natural talent as well. I never even knew she took sword lessons! Her parents must have been planning the takeover for years, maybe even decades!!

          Once I make my way through the palace to the hidden entrance, there is no doubt I’ll be able to get in. No one can take off or add to the DNAs in the lock except someone with the Lamonias bloodline—and I’m still a royal, by blood anyway.

          Melody returns just before dinner and comes to visit me.

          “Did you think of a way you can help the underground, Raven?”

          I shake my head sadly, “I really want to help, but I just can’t see how!” I respond despondently, Melody seats herself next to me on the bed and smiles gently,

          “Just giving them your encouragement and support means a great deal to them. Help out in any way you can, be it little or seemingly inconsequential. Everything you do can change a mind or lift a spirit.”

          I smile brightly up at Melody, her advice tugs at what’s left of my heart and conscience but I squash it. I can do so much better than merely encouragement! 

          I yawn and claim to be tired, Melody believes me so easily I nearly feel bad for deceiving her so shamelessly, so often.

          This time, instead of trying to avoid Julian and sneak out, I leave openly at dusk, avoiding only Melody. I head towards the palace again; this time though, I won’t fail. I know exactly what’s waiting for me in my mind and I refuse to be defeated. This time I’m in control.

          I hide myself on one of the rooftops surrounding the palace and monitor the guards’ patrols. The security is extremely tight—it’ll take me a few nights of reconnaissance to find their weak point. 

          There is always a weak point.

          Just before dawn I head back to my room. It’s much too easy to sneak in now Julian’s given up—I’m nearly disappointed. If I want to be alert tonight, I’ll have to sleep through the day.

          A noise wakes me and I spring out of bed, my eyes half-shut in the day-light.

          “Snow, are you awake yet?” Melody’s voice calls through the door. I sigh and sit back on the bed rubbing my eyes blearily.

          “Yes,” I respond tiredly, “Was there something you wanted?”

          Melody opens the door and enters with a big smile, “I thought we could all go to church, seeing as how it’s Sunday today!”

          I groan silently; now that I’m cooperating with them, I have no excuse not to go. I’ll have to play along.

          “Sure, just let me get dressed.”

          Melody smiles and backs out of the room, “Something better than causal wear, please dear.” She says before closing the door.

          I close my eyes and flop back on the bed. How much easier would it have been if I had ditched Melody and Julian in Australia and come alone. Sigh. Well, what’s done is done.

          I join Melody in the foyer but freeze when I spot Julian next to her. Damn it! Is he coming too? This is going to be oh so fun.

          Melody has an ecstatic grin on her face; I guess when she said ‘we could all go’ she meant all of us. I see them both eye my clothing when they notice me.

          I only brought two dresses, and the one I’ve already worn is much too fancy for my taste. The other dress I brought is much simpler; a lady gave it to me when I bought the fancier dress saying ‘you always need a plan b’. I guess she was right.

          It’s simple, dark purple, and floor length with short flowy sleeves and a square neckline. My hair is down covering half my face and I have a few concealed weapons in my boots (which are my normal ones) and under my skirt. That’s as much a concession as I plan to make, and if they don’t like, they can just suck it up.

           Melody seems delighted, though she eyes my bare face and hair with flicker of disappointment. She never said anything about accessories, and if she doesn’t ask, she won’t receive.