Prince Henry pulled Sara past the curtains and through the door. The side of the building was lined with semi-private balconies carved from stone and covered with flowering trellises. Small hanging oil lamps filled the night air with a soft, romantic glow.

Sara stopped when Henry tried to tug her forward, unwilling to step closer to the stone railing. They were only ten or fifteen feet above the ground, but it made her palms break out in a cold sweat beneath her silk gloves.

“What is the matter with you?” The prince gripped her upper arms, stopping just short of shaking the answer out of her.

“I…” Sara’s tongue felt thick and heavy in her mouth.

“You made a fool of me tonight,” said Henry. “Why are you behaving like this?”

Sara looked away as Henry released her arms. He caressed her face with one hand while pulling her towards him, and the railing, with the other. She shook her head, unable to voice her discomfort.

“You are always so elegant and untouchable. Was tonight meant to be your revenge on me for Katrina? Did you not do enough when you ravaged my lip?”

Henry ran his thumb across his lower lip, licking the finger slightly before placing it upon Sara’s lips. She remained frozen in place.

“It is still a little sore. Won’t you please give it a kiss? I’ll forgive you if you do.”

Sara found herself able to move once again despite her fear. Robotically, she pushed against the prince and turned her face away like a petulant child.

“You refuse me again?” Henry’s face tightened with a brewing anger. “You are fortunate that my father still desires a Harrington marriage, so I will attempt to forgive you.”

Henry put his large hands around her waist and spun her, reversing their positions. Sara screamed, squeezing her eyes shut in an attempt not to see the ground below.

“Goodness, Lily, I’ve not even done anything yet,” said the prince. He pressed his body against hers and pushed her backwards against the stone railing.

It was sturdy and well-constructed, but Sara felt her knees go weak as she was forced closer to the edge. Her gloved hands slipped as she tried to steady herself.

Feeling the shift in her stance, the prince supported her by wrapping his hands around her waist. With a smirk, he lifted her off the floor and placed her in a seated position on the railing itself.

“No!” cried Sara. “Put me down!”

She panicked, digging her fingers into his coat lapels instinctively. The prince smiled and placed one hand on her lower back and the other on her cheek.

“You say no, yet you cling to me all the same. Is this a new game? Is that what all this nonsense has been about?”

As Henry bent to kiss her, Sara could feel herself growing faint. Her breathing was beyond her control, rapid and shallow, and she could feel her heart racing in her chest beneath the lace and jewels.

She was going to faint. She was going to fall.

She shuddered as her lips were forced open and the prince’s tongue entered her mouth. Her disgust and hatred were anchors, allowing her to cling to reason a little longer.

She didn’t even have the will to bite him this time.

Help! Her fear-addled mind cried out as tears fell on her cheeks. Evren!

Against the back of her eyelids, which had remained tightly shut, golden text began to appear:

[WARNING!]

[AGENT - - - IN ]

[PSYCH. DISTRESS]

Sara’s eyes sprung open as she read the text. It persisted in her visual field, floating in front of Prince Henry’s face yet somehow remaining in perfect focus.

[CONTACTING SPONSOR - - - ]

The prince’s face withdrew. He could see that his fiancee was pale, sweating, and now crying.

“What in the world is the matter with you?”

Sara gasped as he held her at arm’s length and looked her up and down. She was leaning backward over thin air, only the prince’s strength between her and a terrible fall.

The golden text flashed once more:

[ . . . NO RESPONSE . . . ]

“Please,” she begged. “Let me down.”

“You’re behaving like a fool,” snapped Henry. He was interrupted by the balcony door opening. He turned to look, jostling Sara and causing her to cry out once more.

“Oh, Your Highness, my apologies!” It was Lady Isabella, her cheeks tinged pink with embarrassment at having interrupted them.

“Who are you?” asked Henry. Before Isabella could answer, he shook his head roughly and pulled Sara off the railing and back to her feet. “Where is my guard?”

Isabella bowed her head and said quickly, “I spilled my drink on his uniform and he needed to go freshen up. He asked me to inform Your Highness that another guard would be coming soon…”

“Bastard,” grunted Henry. Isabella raised a hand to her mouth to cover her surprise at his profanity. He pushed past her and stormed back into the banquet hall, muttering, “He should know better than to abandon his post..!”

As soon as the prince was gone, Isabella shut the balcony door and rushed to kneel beside Sara. After being released by Henry, she had collapsed onto the floor. She pressed her body down onto the carved stone as if to convince herself of its solid nature.

When Isabella offered a tentative hand, Sara grabbed onto it with all her strength. Instead of standing together, she pulled Isabella down into a sudden embrace.

Sobbing, Sara allowed herself to be comforted by a total stranger. Isabella simply patted her on the back and allowed her tears to work themselves out.

“I… want… to go home,” gasped Sara between sobs. “I’m tired of this…”

“Oh, my lady,” soothed Isabella. “You’ll be home soon, I promise.”

At those naive words, Sara buried her face into Isabella’s shoulder and wailed as if the world was ending.