Pain. Excruciating, agonizing pain. I woke up screaming, thrashing the sheets about, tossing them off of my burning skin. The vigil outside my door and two servants ran in at my cry. I was shivering, but my skin was hot. One of the servants pressed a cold cloth to my head while the other went to get me some hot tea. My vigil bowed low before saying a word.

"Your Majesty, is everything alright?" He asked. I nodded.

"Everything is fine. It...it was just a dream." I said, slightly breathless. The other servant came in with the hot tea. I nodded my thanks to her and took the tea. She bowed her head and scurried out of the room, her eyes fearful. I sighed.

"Does everyone in the castle fear me?" I inquired. The vigil hesitated.

"Only those who don't know you, miss." He replied. I glanced at him before waving my hand.

"Thank you. You two may go. Try not to spread any rumors about me." I dismissed them. They left the room quickly, both bowing their heads to me. I sighed and set the tea aside, no longer wanting it. I ran my fingers through my silky black hair and got to my feet. The floor was cold beneath my bare feet as I walked across my giant room to my large bathroom. There was a new water bucket beside my tub like there always was whenever I woke up, and I was disturbed by the thought that someone had been in my room while I was alseep. If they had wanted to, they could have struck me down where I lay and everyone else would be none the wiser. Then again, who knows what the curse would do, and if the person would even be able to kill me? I shuddered. I poured the hot water into the tub and began to untie the knot around my nightgown. My hands were shaking. I eventually gave up and just pulled the dress up over my head. I lowered myself into the warm water and bathed. I laid in the soothing water, washing away my worries. Almost a week ago, a treaty was signed by Alston and Hestol ending the war started years ago. In other words, both countries were tired of fighting. Alston, to whom I had previously promised victory, was surprisingly grateful for the stalemate, glad to stop fighting. However, I felt that it was in the back of everyone's mind that Hestol was never truly at peace with us. Not while the curse still gripped me. The water had turned cold, so I pulled myself out of the bath and began to prepare myself for the day's activities. I was shocked to find that in only a few minutes, the prince of Libethya was scheduled to arrive at Alston. My parents had formed an alliance with Libethya years ago on the promise that the prince could marry Alston's princess. Thankfully, since I was made Queen, Libethya decided that their prince, whom was one brother of three, would live in Alston as my King, but not hold any real power over Alston. Libethya's cooperation had been mainly due to the fact that the King had been close friends with my father and the arrangements had been made at their funeral. The arranged marriage didn't bother me much. Half the royals in Alston were either scared of me or ugly. Plus, it is said that the boys of Libethya are much cuter than Alston boys. I would be the judge of that. I pulled on a nice dress. It was strapless, sleeveless, and a dark red color that complemented my dark hair. I wore a light blue gem on my necklace that matched my eyes. I slipped on one of my more comfortable pairs of shoes and headed out the door of my room. My vigil jumped up from his chair and bowed low.

"M'lady! I apologize! Had I know you wished to bathe and change, I would have sent for a servant." He said, standing up. I shook my head.

"It's quite alright. I am capable of dressing myself." I replied, slightly irritated. He bowed his head again.

"Of course m'lady." He corrected himself. "The prince of Libethya arrived just a few moments ago and requested an audience with you, your highness." He continued. My stomach fluttered with nervous anticipation.

"Where is he?" I inquired.

"He is waiting for you in the garden, miss. Shall I escort you?" He asked. I shook my head.

"I know my way around my own castle, thanks." I replied, slightly heated by all the questions. Looking slightly hurt, he bowed and walked off. I made my way to the garden, wondering nervously if I would like my betrothed or not. I entered the garden and saw the back of a boy my age dressed in fine clothes. He had one leg up on the ledge of the fountain, looking in to it. His dark brown hair was speckled with light brown and was tousled in an attractive way.

"Sorry to keep you waiting. I wasn't notified of your arrival untill quite recently." I said, making my presence known. The boy turned around and I was stunned by how beautiful he was. His eyes were green and piercing, his thick eyebrows curved perfectly. His jawline was sharp and his skin was a carmel color. He smiled warmly, showing off his straight white teeth.

"It is no problem at all, my Queen." He said, his Libethyan accent so slight it might as well of not been there. I smiled back. "May I just say that you are more beautiful than I thought you would be?" He admitted. I wasn't sure wether to be offended or complimented. I shook my hair out of my face.

"You're not so ugly yourself." I replied shortly. He laughed. His laugh warmed my cold heart. The formalities out of the way, he sat down on the edge of the fountain. I joined him there, careful to keep my dress out of the water.

"You know, I wasn't happy about being betrothed to you at first." He said. I raised an eyebrow.

"Oh? And why's that?" I questioned. He raised an eyebrow of his own.

"Well, rumors do fly." He whispered, leaning in close. I examined him closely.

"You seem familiar." I said, ignoring his previous statment. "I feel like I know you from somewhere." He leaned back and thought for a moment.

"Let me think..." He said. He seemed so familiar, like I had known a younger version of him. Suddenly, it hit me.

"Rory!" I cried out. His green eyes lit up with remembrance and he smiled.

"Mnesmosne! Now I remember! How could I ever forget a name like that? How could I ever forget a face like that?" He asked unbelievingly, running a thumb across my cheek. I embraced him in a hug.

"It's been so long. So much has happened since then! You've changed so much!" I exclaimed. Rory hugged me back.

"It's been eight years. We were ten. There was a war, your parents died, the incident with the witch, it's a wonder you remember me at all." He said with a smile. I pulled away and frowned at him.

"It's no excuse to have forgotten you. We dated for almost a year." I reminded him. He shrugged.

"Again, I say that we were ten." We talked the rest of the day, catching up on things, talking about almost everything that had happened since we last met. Almost. We didn't talk about the curse, which I was grateful for. Soon, the sky grew dark and it was time to head in. Rory and I were holding hands as we entered the castle again. He walked me to my room, and I was happy to see that there was no vigil outside my door. I turned to face Rory. I smiled.

"How crazy is it that we got betrothed?" I asked with a laugh. Rory smiled and leaned in close, intertwining his fingers with mine.

"Pretty crazy. And pretty lucky." He said. He put his forehead against mine and smiled again. "Let's just pick up where we left off." He suggested. I shrugged.

"Why not? I mean, we're gonna end up married no matter how we feel." I agreed. Rory kissed my nose and whispered goodnight. With that, he turned away and walked to his sleeping quarters.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

When I woke the next morning, a servant was waiting to help me change. I groaned inwardly, but let her dress me. She finished tying my dress up and politely instructed me to turn in a circle. Satisfied, she bowed to me, waiting to be dismissed. There was a grim look on her face.

"What's wrong?" I questioned her. She shook her head slightly.

"Nothing's wrong, miss. I merely forgot to inform you that the regents have been called for a meeting. They request that you come at once." She stated. I thanked her and dismissed her. I leaned against my bedpost. Half of me wanted to just run off, but the other half of me knew that I had to attend the meeting. I sighed and left the room. I walked down the corridors of the caslte, shivering slightly. The hallways weren't cold, though. It was my insides that chilled me. I rubbed my arms to try and warm myself up. I paused outside the door to the meeting room to compose myself. I entered the room, my head held high. Everyone stood as I entered. I took long strides as I crossed the room. I perched myself on the edge of my throne and watched my regents, waiting for them to start the meeting. They all sat down, but none said a word.

"Well?" I prompted. "I didn't call the meeting, you lot did!" A few regents brushed themselves off. My Prime Rengent, Sir Turbalowe, cleared his throat and bowed low.

"My Queen," he began, straightening his back again, "it has been called to our attention that you and the prince from Libethya have met before?" He asked. I furrowed my eyebrows and nodded.

"That is correct. He and I were childhood sweethearts in our younger years. It's quite the coincidence that he be my betrothed, is it not?" I replied. Turbalowe nodded, glancing at the other regents, before continuing.

"Quite the coincidence, m'lady. Another matter has come to our attention, miss. One that isn't as cheery." He informed me. I raised an eyebrow. "Word has gotten out about your worsening condition, my queen, and the townspeople are starting to worry. We fear that the mild rumors have built to something much more and that some may begin to believe you are on your death bed." I narrowed my eyes, my mind thinking of different forms of punishment for the one responsible for the rumors. I took a deep breath and shook my hair out of my face.

"That is easily fixed! Prince Rory and I will go out on the town today. We will assure them that their Queen is healthy and quite happy." I decided. Sir Turbalowe nodded and ordered that a carriage be readied and Prince Rory be notified. Turbalowe looked at the other regents and took a deep breath.

"There is one more issue, m'lady." He said nervously. I waited for him to continue. "We have reason to believe that Hestol's troops are undergoing intense training. We believe that another attack will soon be underway." He admitted. I sat back in my throne.

"Has the Captain of the Guard been informed of their situation?" I inquired. He nodded. "Instruct him to give Alston's soldiers training of the same intensity. It's too soon after the end of the war for Hestol to be plotting another. It's an intimidation game. They believe that they can scare us into hiding with their pathetic shows of strength and their petty curses. Alston will not be scared into submission. Hestol will know of our strength. If they decide to strike, we will be ready to take them out. If they attack, the next war will be measured in weeks, not years, and Hestol will be destroyed." I declared. Sir Turbalowe nodded and bowed once more before scurrying off. I waved the rest of the regents off and they left, muttering under their breaths. Once everyone was gone, I let out a sigh and slouched in my throne. I rubbed my forehead, fighting off a headache that had been growing over the past hour. I jumped to my feet when the door opened. A steward ran in and bowed low.

"Queen Mnemosne, your carriage is ready."