FLASHBACK OVER!!!

Sky went to see his father privately per his father's command. "As your gift, name one thing you would like to have, and I'll give it to you" The king said to Sky. "Really father? Anything?" Sky asked, overjoyed. "Yes, even if you want the crown, I…" "No father, I don't want the crown. There's only one thing I want, and that is to marry Isabelle" Sky said confidently. "Who is Isabelle? Your handmaid? No! You can't marry her. I allowed you to keep her because I know she is your mistress, but you can never marry her as your wife. It is completely forbidden!" The king said. "But father you promised!" Sky said. "I can't go against the law. If I permit her today, do you have any idea what chaos it would revoke? I won't have this on my name, for history to remember me as the king who legalized seductresses!" "But father, she's not a seductress. I am the one who fell in love with her first. I am the one who wants to marry her" Sky insisted. "Don't you realize what you're doing? You're painting her as one even more. Do you want her to have a death sentence as the law says? If you don't, then remain silent and never speak on this. You cannot make a maid a princess or queen. It can never happen. A prince cannot fall in love and lose his senses. You are allowed to have her as a concubine, but a maid as a wife, will never be tolerated. The people will never accept her" The king stated. "I'll pretend I did not hear this. If you continue to push this issue, I will have her banished" The king added, trying to calm his fury.

Sky went back into his room and saw Isabelle waiting for him. "I'm sorry" Sky said as he burst into tears upon seeing her. Isabelle was confused and went to console him. After Sky explained to her, she laughed. "You are so silly. I'm happy to be close to you no matter the title I have. As long as I can spend the rest of my life by your side" Isabelle said to him. When Isabelle got back to her room in the maids' quarters, she realized the stares that came her way from the maids, majority of which found her proud and had always disliked her. It was as if she didn't exist and they wished she hadn't returned. Inna and Nadia came to see her. After Inna had left to bed, Nadia told Isabelle that prince William wanted to meet her the next day. The next day after Isabelle had left Sky's room, she made her way for William's chamber. On her way in, she met Madolika, who was being escorted by William. Isabelle watched in shock as William curtseyed to Madolika as she left. When Madolika and Isabelle's eyes met, everything seemed to come to a halt as Madolika read the confusion on Isabelle's face. Realizing she was in trouble, Madolika quickly walked past her, hoping Isabelle didn't recognize her.

"What exactly happened to you and Sky?" William asked Isabelle. "I'm sorry your highness, but I can't disclose that without prince Sky's permission. I came here to plead with you, lease let me stop working for you," Isabelle begged as she went on her knees. "Tell me how much you want? A bag of silver? Gold? Name it, your price. I'll give it to you" William said, but Isabelle shook her head in disagreement. "No, I don't want any of that, I just don't want to betray his trust" Isabelle said. "Am I supposed to believe that? Or did you fall in love with him? Do you really think your love has a future?" William asked. "I know it doesn't. I know I have no chance to have things my way, your highness, but I'm still willing to settle for nothing. I promise I won't do or say anything against you, so please…" Isabelle begged, on the verge of tears. "Alright, let's do this then, this will be the last thing you'll do for me. First, you'll tell me what happened in the past year. Next, you'll find out and tell me what Sky's plans are. If you can do these two, I'll agree to your demands" William said. Although unwilling, Isabelle obeyed.

The next day, Isabelle made inquiries about Madolika and found out she was the soon to be bride of William. Isabelle was confused and angry. She felt betrayed, the very thought of what Isauro would do if he found out saddened her. Isauro wasn't strong emotionally like she was. He had a very soft heart, what if he couldn't handle it? Isabelle didn't want to hear from Madolika, now, to her, Madolika was a liar and a cheat. It was just on the tip of her tongue to tell everyone Madolika was a sorceress, but she held back. She didn't know how long she would continue to though. Later that night, she asked Sky about his plans, but Sky admitted that he didn't have one yet, so Isabelle continued to stay by his side, waiting for the time when he would have one, so she could finally be free to love him without guilt.

It had already been two weeks since they had arrived, and Isabelle was worried as she had missed her period. Thinking it was probably a coincidence, she decided to wait a little longer, however, nausea and fatigue caught up quickly in a matter of days. It was beginning to get obvious, as she realized her strange cravings and moodiness. At this point, it was obvious to her that she was most likely pregnant. The thought scared her. This was neither the convenient time or place for a pregnancy. If she was pregnant, it would be obvious who the father would be, and since the prince wasn't married yet, she couldn't become a concubine, since the first wife of the king would have to be the queen. At this point, Isabelle knew that her options would be complicated. The following evenings, she tried to hide her symptoms from the prince, having no one to confide in, since there was no one who could help. She had very few people she trusted, princess Iris, who was not even in the palace, and Inna, but Inna had a big mouth and would tell Nadia. She also couldn't tell Inna not to tell Nadia because it would all lead to more drama and difficulty. 'It's okay Isabelle, you can handle it all on your own' Isabelle said to herself.

Isabelle went with Sky to his practice grounds. While he was training with his soldiers, William walked in, along with Madolika. "I thought of introducing my wife to be to my brother" William said to Sky. Sky took Madolika's hand and offered a gentle kiss to greet her. Isabelle was about to bow to her but she stopped her. "It isn't necessary" Madolika said to Isabelle with a smile as she held her, but Isabelle pulled herself away. "Thank you, your highness" Isabelle said, holding back her anger. "She seems kind. Good for you" Sky said to William. "Yes, indeed I am lucky" William said. "What happened to Desperalda then? You finally quit putting up with her arrogance?" Sky asked. "I was blind, but Nyxerias helped me to get out the dust" William replied. "Let's play. I want to know how bad you've gotten, since you haven't practiced in a while. Perhaps I'll beat you this time" William said to Sky as he threw him a sword.

As William and Sky were sword fighting, Madolika spoke to Isabelle. "Something happened while you were away" Madolika started. "Please don't tell me anything, I really don't want to hear it, you traitor" Isabelle said. "I'm sorry. I didn't have the courage to talk to you earlier…it has something to do with the other sorcerers, please just hear me out this once and I won't say anything else in my defense henceforth " Madolika said but Isabelle remained silent so she continued and narrated what had happened. "It doesn't change the fact that you betrayed Isauro, but I understand. I hope you are able to end all this before Isauro finds out" Isabelle said to Madolika. "Is that all you have to say to me?...You won't talk about the baby?" Madolika said. "The baby…what baby?" Isabelle asked, tensed. "The one in your belly. Queens in the Banki kingdom, my kingdom, had the ability to notice pregnancy an bless it. Since I'm the only survivor of the royal family, although unofficially, I still possess the power" Madolika said and touched Isabelle's womb. "Ooh, you'll be so pretty" Madolika whispered to the baby and laughed. "The baby laughed" Madolika said to Isabelle, making Isabelle smile as she thought Madolika was just joking, but Madolika wasn't. "Can you please bless this child for me then? I'm not really sure about what will happen to it since it's the child of Sky. I don't know what to do" Isabelle said, wiping away her tears to not attract attention. "Okay, I'll give her a blessing when she's born" Madolika said. "Her?" Isabelle asked. "Yes, I'm sure it will be a girl" Madolika said with a smile. "If only she'll be born. I'm so scared, I don't know what will happen or what to do" Isabelle disclosed to Madolika but before Madolika could say anything, the princes came in their direction, clearly exhausted.

Madolika brushed Isabelle's hand to reassure her and left with William. Isabelle tried to calm herself down and not let the sadness overwhelm her. She got up to serve Sky and collapsed. Sky carried her and rushed her into his room. Shortly after, a physician came in. "Your highness, it's not a cause for worry. She is just pregnant. It happens with them sometimes" The physician said. "Pregnant? You mean she's expecting a child?" Sky inquired, a sudden happiness taking over him. "Yes, it seems to be a month or more by now but the time will be confirmed after she wakes up. I think she should be given a leave to go home for her family to take care of her so I'll inform the chatelaine queen" The physician said to Sky. For a moment, the sudden happiness began to fade away, as Sky realized what the news would bring. "Please don't tell anyone about this" Sky said to the physician and went to bring him gold coins. "No, your highness, the gold isn't necessary. I understand, it has happened with many princes and maids too. Just fire her so she can go back home. That's what most of the others did" The physician said to Sky and left with the gold coins.

When Isabelle woke up, she found Sky sitting beside her, on the bed. Sky didn't know how to tell her, thinking she was unaware. "Isabelle, there's something I have to tell you" Sky said hesitantly, staring into her eyes. "Tell me" Isabelle consented. "The physician said you are pregnant" Sky let out. Isabelle held her belly and looked down, completely unfazed by the news. "Did you know already?" Sky asked her, confused by her strange reaction and Isabelle nodded gently, shocking Sky. Sky ran his hand through his hair, frustrated. "Why didn't you tell me?" He asked, feeling betrayed because she hid something so important from him. Isabelle looked up to face him and looked away again. "What is wrong Isabelle?" Sky asked, lifting her head up till their eyes met. "I don't want to die" Isabelle said and began to cry, shattering Sky's heart into a million pieces. Sky got closer and hugged her. "I will never let anything happen to you. You will not die, who told you that? It's just a rumor Isabelle, nothing will happen you" Sky said, trying to console her. "It's not, you know it's not. Every maid who was pregnant went missing. They were killed" Isabelle said as she continued to cry. "That's just a rumor, it's not true. They were just sent far away" Sky claimed. "No, they were killed. Their families never saw them again. It was a lie they were told, that they'd be banished but the truth was, the palace didn't want anyone to know about them, so they killed them. All the maids know this" Isabelle cried.

Torn between love and duty, Sky could almost hear the whispered judgments of the court, the unforgiving eyes of his advisers, and the disapproving glares of his royal family. He could picture the harsh verdict that might befall Isabelle if this was exposed. Yet, the most agonizing emotion was the knowledge that he was responsible for her predicament. His title had put her life on the line, and the realization weighed heavily on his conscience. A deep sorrow engulfed him, an ache in his heart that seemed unbearable. In that moment, Sky understood the cruel irony of his royal privilege. He had power over thousands of people in the kingdom, but he was powerless to protect the woman he loved because she, as a maid was now a property of the palace, and not like other people. The palace, a symbol of strength and majesty, now felt like a prison of despair once again. He knew he had to find a way to save her. He would not lose someone dear to him again, especially the one who was carrying his child. "I will protect you, nothing will happen to you" Sky said to console her, but they both knew that a dangerous road was ahead.