Sorry I took so long, I’m a very lazy person ^_^ This isn’t very long but I thought I better out it up. Enjoy!

Isabel swan for over an hour in the river before Heeding eventually showed up. She had given up on waiting for him after Seventeen had stormed out and had told the slaves to say she would be in the river. Part of her knew she would have reported Seventeen so he would receive a beating but she just didn’t have the heart to. After all he had every right to be angry, she was denying his hope for freedom.

Isabel silently laughed at her sudden concern, they were slaves! They didn’t need any pity from her. She gazed at Heeding seeing all of those things she had been preparing for in her future, to her surprise she felt a wave of disgust. She tried to ignore it and smiled as Heeding stripped down to his trousers and jumped nosily in, disturbing the calm peace Isabel loved so much.

“My lady I’m surprised at you, most women wait patiently for their man to arrive.”

“I grew bored and decided to cool of after a heated conversation with my brother.” She said dismissively, something she always learnt was to be casual around men, it kept them interested and wanting more.

“You mean the panther who believes it is cruel for slaves to do our bidding? Your father must be so embarrassed to have a son like that, I suppose it places quite a burden on you.” He muttered carefully a grin crossing his face.

“My father believes I will not disappoint him and I don’t intend to.” Isabel said making sure to keep her distance.

“You wish to marry well then.” He said snugly swimming closer to Isabel’s shelter. “Tell me why I should accept you as mine.”

“Because I have good lineage, my father can help you on your way to become King. It has already been determined that I will be able to bear many children.”

“What if I choose to have many Queens? Will you not mind sharing?” He asked with a wink, Isabel resisted the urge to roll her eyes..

“I plan to marry for honour, it will make no difference whether I am one wife of a King or not.”

“You are not an idealist like your brother then? You do not believe you should marry for love?”

“Love isn’t real, only in stories.” Isabel said coldly smiling up at Heeding. The truth was when she had been smaller she would have eagerly listened to her brother tell her tales of love and freedom. But as she grew so did her knowledge of the world, knowing no such thing as love could ever really exist.

The only time she had dared to hope since she had grown more wise about the world was at the age of fourteen. She had fallen in love with the image of the dragon prince when he was fifth teen, during his third and final appearance to the public before his death. He hadn’t been like anything Isabel could have begun to imagine, no royal snobbery had existed in him. Only an adorable eagerness to please people and be accepted. He had talked to her for only five minutes before he was taken back into the safety of the castle, but within those minutes all he had talked about was freeing the slaves. He had been beautiful and Isabel found that seventeen reminded her of him a little.

There were obvious differences between them, like the prince had been full of life and wore no worry. The slave was full of grief not shed and seemed to have no hope left within him after today. The prince’s eyes had been full of emotion, too young and unaware to know he should be cold and hard rather than the way he was. It was one of the reasons why he inspired her so, he found hope even though none seemed to remain. No one else Isabel had met had that, not even Edwin.

Isabel quickly out the thought out of her mind as Heeding’s lips pressed on hers roughly and forcefully. There was no such thing as love, and she knew there never would be for her.

There was a faint ruffle amongst the trees nearby. Without breaking the kiss Isabel turned her head to see who was there. She met the solid gaze of her slave who’d stopped picking apples and stared at her with disbelief. Isabel suddenly felt a wave of shame and disgust wash over her. Why am I doing this? Why do I feel I need to marry for honour? She ignored her thoughts and instead deepened the kiss, yet the thoughts wouldn’t go away. It was as if someone was in her mind trying to bring out thoughts she’d been keeping buried.

Please leave me alone. Please just let me not think about it.

***

Ten minutes later Isabel was riding through the fields on her favourite horse. It was pure white in colour and had the most beautiful blue eyes. She sighed as she cantered on thinking back to the lame ‘I’m not feeling well’ excuse to get away from Heeding. He’d complained but let her leave none the less. Why did life have to be so hard? Just when she’d achieved everything she’d been aiming for these past two years her conscience had to kick in.

She had been looking for her brother at first but apparently he had taken his latest girlfriend to dinner where he would then tell her his beliefs on slaves. Isabel knew he would return alone and decided to leave him alone the rest of the day, he would only be in a sulk later on.

As she rode Isabel past the apple trees near the river, to her amazement she found that all the apples there seemed to have all fallen from the tree. Seventeen was alone placing the fallen apples into a basket and then emptying it into the nearby stockroom. Isabel hesitated for a moment deciding whether she should leave him to his work. She sighed and began steering towards him slowly, knowing she would have to take control before he got out of hand.

“I won’t tolerate you running from me again, think of this as your final warning.” She said coldly as she climbed gracefully down from the horse and stared at him defiantly. As soon as she’d climbed from the horse reared up in terror and took off across the filed. Seventeen seemed slightly uncomfortable while Isabel just stared in disbelief at the faraway horse.

“If you are waiting for an apology you will be standing there a long time my lady. I don’t see any wrong with what I did, I removed myself from the room before I said anything offensive and I returned to my duties soon after.” Seventeen continued his work with his back to her as he said this making Isabel angrier.

“You did not have permission to leave.” She snapped.

“I thought it would be better for me to leave before the conversation got any further.”

“That’s rubbish! The truth is you were scared because you know as well as I do that I’m right. You will always be serving your betters until the day you die.” The apple dropped from his hands and he turned to face her with a blank look that caused her to shiver.

“You are not our betters, you just think you are. The fact that you have no moral issue with making those weaker than you do your bidding just proves you are no better.”

“How dare you insult me like that!”

“Isabel!” She looked behind her to see her father approaching on a horse. She took a few deep breaths to calm herself before he came beside them. She smiled warmly up at him.

“Daddy! I thought you were going into town to sort out the money.” She commented sweetly.

“I’m just on my way now. What’s this problem you’re having with the slave?” His gaze made dread fill her. She knew better than to say anything about Seventeen’s disobedience to her father.

“Nothing I can’t handle, he’s just going on about moral rights.” Isabel stammered under his accusing gaze.

“Causing trouble among the slaves too, they seem rather high in spirits since it arrived. I think it will do the thing good to spend a few days at the factory in town. I’ll drop it in and ask them to send it home in two days.”

“Well, if you think it will help.” Isabel trying to ignore the glint of fear in Seventeen’s eyes. “Are you sure you will be able to get him back?”

“Many people send misbehaved slaves there, I promise you, my precious daughter that it will return soon.” With that Isabel watched as he quickly took a chain from his baggage on the horse and attached it to Seventeen’s collar. Her father climbed back on his horse easily and began trotting away without a second look at her. Isabel watched as the slave was forced to run along the horse feeling incredibly guilty.

The nest two days were lonely and long, as soon as Edwin came home (alone) and heard that Isabel let father take Seventeen to the factory he’d gone crazy.

“Don you know how many slaves die in those factories? The average is five a day, five! In two days he could have died from exhaustion or just been beaten to death! How could you be so stupid!”

With Edwin not even daring to look at her, Heeding away training and her new slave having been sent to a place closely described as death camp the days were enough time for Isabel to begin filling up with guilt.