Chapter 3

Jessica had not been noticed behind the stove, getting some wood that was stored there.

After they had both left she abandoned her hiding spot behind the stove, but stayed in the room a good hour before finally venturing out. The halls were empty, she knew that everyone would be heading to the great hall.

He headed back to her room in the castle that she had once had. She knew no one would have taken it. It had been over a year, but she knew it would still be there. She walked down several flights of stairs until finally getting to a narrow stone passageway lined with doors. She went straight to her room.

It was locked. She had to concentrate before she remembered where she had left her key.

"Damn memory" she said to herself as she bent over to remove a stone in the wall. She pulled and it came out with only a bit of coaxing and magic. She reached in, but the key was gone.

"Damn it all!" she said under her breath. She took her pack off her back and looked through it. She did not find the key. Finally she gave it up and decided to use magic. She had been tired out after using magic in the room, but after unlocking the door she was about ready to collapse.

Her room was as she had left it. Her tiny table, a chair, a small threadbare rug, and her bed were all there. Everything else she had been able to put into her pack. On her bed was a figure. It took her a minute to recognize him, because the change was so great.

"Aaron" she said, sitting next to him, putting her pack on the floor.

"He's dead now, dead." His voice was hollow and his breath rattled in his chest.

In the period of time between then and when she had seen him last, he had changed more than Jessica ever thought a person could. His face was pale, even with his tan. His green eyes were surrounded by pink veins, the green itself was a sickly color. His face was now covered with lines and wrinkles. His hair, usually perfectly under control, was everywhere. He kept clenching his fists. Her eyes filled with tears at the site of him.

"Oh, Aaron." It was all she could say. She laid a hand on his shoulder.

He moved his mouth to say more, but he broke down. The tears fell from his eyes; his pale cheeks became red.

In a second he was leaning on Jessica's shoulder, his arms around her waist. She did not know what to do. She put her thin arms around him and pressed her cheek against the top of his head. She became hot as she felt his tears against her neck and shoulder, that slipped under her collar, sliding down her back.

He cried on her shoulder for hours. Neither knew how long. It seemed strange that such a kingly man would be comforted by this whisp of a servant. Finally he lifted his head.

"Forgive me, my friend," he said to her after a minute. "I should be up there. I don't know why I am like this, he was as good as dead before."

He stood up and walked to her table. He dropped her key on it and walked back to Jessica. She stood up, her head bowed.

"I only do what I can, but I am just a servant." He took a step towards her, and grabbed her hand. Jessica kept her head bowed.

"You are much more then that." He kept his steady gaze on her until she looked up. He then leaned forward and gave her a soft kiss on the lips. She opened her eyes wider in surprise. He let go of her hand to put his arm around her, but she pulled back. Her heart had started to beat so fast she could barely make herself speak.

"They... they are probably looking for you," she whispered as she sat back on her bed and bowed her head again.

"Jessica."

"My liege! Please!" she sounded almost desperate for him to go. He looked at the top of her bowed head, and then turned to leave. At the door he turned back to her, her head was still bowed.

"I am sorry, my friend." He turned and left quickly.

After he had left, Jessica sat on her bed as if in a trance with tears falling into her lap. After a bit she got her pack off the floor and rifled through it. She found a piece of paper, crumpled, but it would serve. She took a small bottle of ink, and, having no pen, used magic to form her words on paper. She let the letter dry, put it on her bed, and put the ink back in her pack. She took the key and went out to put it in its hiding spot.

She then left the castle and its ground, giving one last look behind, as she passed the gate out of the castle.