Michael

Three days had passed and nothing eventful happened in Ariana's life. This would have been good for her at any other time, meeting Michael had done her no good.

Ariana knew she was a gonner. Never before had felt such a strong connection with a man. Michael had made her feel things that she had never felt before. Every inch of her skin was set on fire. She felt more aware of how she looked. For the first time, she had paid a visit to the beauticians and asked them several questions about her skin, eyes, lips, nose, everything. Even the head, Martha, had been shocked to see her sudden interest in how she looked.

Martha had said, "What a surprise Ariana. To see you here. Is everything alright? "

Ariana blushed. " Yes Martha. I just decided that I wanted to be a princess now."

Martha was pleased. Ever since the Queen had died, she had seen Ariana taking care of the Kingdom. A part on her knew that Ariana was extremely breathtaking and that she was neglecting herself but she had never come in the way. Martha believed that people want to look beautiful only when they find a reason for it. She wanted to know what reason this young girl had found.

As Ariana thought of all this, she dozed off. By the time she woke up, it was six in the evening. Just as she was about to go into the courtyard, a sudden incident flashed in front of her eyes.

A young boy, probably eleven years of age, teaching her how to ride the horse. They were giggling as he cracked some joke and then kissed her on the cheek. She blushed.

And as suddenly as it had appeared, it vanished. She could no longer recall how the boy had looked, or the horse for that matter. She was right. Something had changed since she had met Michael. She had to find out what it was before she became mad. She dressed up and was ready to go to the only place that held every answer.

********************

Silas sat in his chair and thought of a perfect reply for the letter that he had received from Ryan, The prince of Castillo. Ever since Ariana had told Silas about the war and how difficult Ryan had been to negotiate with, Silas had been both outraged and impressed. He knew how much courage it would have taken for any man to attack Ambrosia inspite of the fact that Ambrosia had so much more than just normal human soldiers. Now, Silas was confused. If he decided to make peace with Ryan he would never be sure that he wouldn't attack again because Ryan was tactful.

And so, Silas thought of the best possible solution of safekeeping his Kingdom.

He dictated,

Ryan

I was surprised when I found out that somebody had had the courage and power to wage a war on my kingdom. I was also disappointed in you. Even now, I can't ever be sure if you will take this truce as seriously as you should. If you really wish to convince me, I invite you to my Kingdom. Unarmed. We would like to be your host and sign the truce in person.

Looking forward to the meet.

Yours

Silas."

**********†**********

Ether heard two sharp knocks at her door. Ari was here. Ether had been waiting for her to come and fill her up on the details. She felt this strange excitement about finding out if it had been a man or a woman. She opened the door.

There, in front of her, stood a woman not a girl. Ariana had metamorphosised into a princess from a young warrior. She had highlighted her beautiful eyes and there was a rosy tint on her cheeks that day. Ether was taken aback.

"You look changed, my dear" she said.

"Oh do I? Well I feel different. I feel feminine. And happy." Ariana gushed.

"So I suppose it was a man then. It had to be. Did you find out his name? Any information that could help me trace him?" she enquired.

Ariana sat down on the couch and started reiterating her conversation, leaving behind the parts that had made her feel breathless. As she told Ether the story, she realised she remembered every single second that she had spent with Michael. The evening had been engraved in her memory almost like a holy book.

"Michael? Now who is Michael." She took out a piece of glass and put it in front of her. "Ariana I want you to get up and touch this piece of glass. And think of this man. He makes you feel strongly about certain emotions. That might help us in finding out who he really is." She said matter-of-factly.

Ariana put her hands on the glass piece and started thinking of her sword fight. Every move, every breath of his that had resonated with hers. Every word that he had whispered into her ears when he had had the sword on her neck, holding her firmly from behind. All of a sudden she heard Ether yelling at her, "Stop! Stop Ariana."

Ether was shocked. She needed to sit down and drink some water. This was serious and she had to warn Ariana without scaring her. Meanwhile, Ariana stared at Ether hoping that she would now know about Michael some more.

************************

Ryan was puzzled. Why would Silas suddenly be interested in meeting him. There had to be a hidden motive. Some intention that he wasn't being able to point at. But he also knew that if he really wanted to find out, he would have to go to Ambrosia.

He had sent his reply to Silas. He would go. Curiosity had always been one of his greatest vices. He wondered is Silas knew about and had therefore played wisely, giving away just enough to lure him in.

Sometimes he wished Amada and him were on talking terms. No matter how soft Amada was, he was wiser than him and Ryan knew it. However, he also knew that after what Amada had done to him and his mother, he would never forgive him.