"What am I going to do?" I said as I paced back in forth in our room. Ambrose was sitting at the desk, watching me pace. "He'll be here tomorrow!"

"I did that a lot to get away from Charles. The clerics caught on when I didn't have a fever." I told him. Ambrose sighed and brushed a length of hair out of his eyes. If I wasn't in such and agitated state, I would have appreciated the sight more. Ambrose was only wearing a loose shirt that hung down to his knees. He had been preparing to go to sleep when I came barging in after spending most of the evening with Navarre and Niles studying for an exam.

"Look," he said crossing his legs at the ankle and leaning forward in the chair. "What could possibly be so bad about your father coming here? So he would find out, so what? You'll get punished and that's about it, right?" He didn't understand, he just didn't understand. "You said it yourself that you changed your appearance."

"I cut off four feet worth of hair, yes that's true." I muttered contemplating if I could truly face my father. "No. It's not enough. I look too much like my mother. He'd know it was me because of my eyes."

"Your eyes?" I nodded.

"One is hazel and one is gold." I pointed out. Ambrose seemed confused.

"They both look the same to me."

"That's because you're at a distance." I strode over to him and leaned down touching my nose to his. "Now look." I saw the recognition lift his eyebrows. "You don't notice it unless you're close up or you've seen it before. Only my mother's side of the family has eyes like that. My Aunt Susanne has them too. My father will know who I am." I took a step back and resumed my pacing. Ambrose was silent for a long time before getting up and slipping on some breeches. He left the room without a word and returned twenty minutes later with a small satchel.

"Where have you been?" I asked.

"Getting something from a friend of mine. His specialty is herbal medicines. He is also the world's worst practical joker." Ambrose opened the satchel to reveal several herbs and a few tiny bottles of powder. I stared at him in confusion. "If you have a fever, will the clerics think you really are sick?" He inquired.

By early the next morning I was in the infirmary with several clerics bustling about me. I felt awful, but I was safely tucked away from my father. They were most likely touring the school with Headmaster Kenmoor talking about the historical significance of each stone in the building. I could almost see Navarre giving the entire entourage a dirty look for coming at an impractical time. He felt they were interrupting his studies. I could almost imagine the look on my father's face if he came within six feet of Navarre's deadly gaze. I'm not sure who would back down first, Navarre or him. I lay in the cot waiting for someone to call out that there was a staring contest between them going on, but it never happened. The entourage never stopped by the infirmary because they didn't want to risk the king's health. Lucky me.

Niles stopped by sometime after dinner to tell me how the day went. He had hoped the king's arrival would get him the day off, but it hadn't. There was this one dairymaid that he wanted to see again. I laughed, but it hurt my head, so I lay back on the pillow and let him finish his story. After he had gone Ambrose appeared. Sitting on the edge of my bed, he watched me without speaking. I smiled.

"Don't look so worried, I'll be fine in another day. You said so yourself." I winked at him.

"I know, it's just…."

"Just what?"

"Something I saw today…one of the older princes accompanied the king. Jamison, I believe was his name. He looks like his father, except for his coloring." He paused. "I've been told it is the queen's. Her blue black hair and her rare colored eyes." Suddenly I felt a lump developing in my throat. I knew I was shaking, but I couldn't stop. He continued to sit, patiently waiting for me to speak. I couldn't. His eyes probed mine, but I shut them tightly against the intrusion. "I'm going back to the room." He said after a time. I felt his weight leave the cot and heard his footfalls on the stone floor. I pried my eyes open and stared at his back. How could I have done this too him?

I was deemed fit enough to return to classes the next afternoon. Instead I slipped back to our room and lay down. I didn't move for several hours. Ambrose came in several times, but didn't say a word to me. I knew he knew what I was now. That I was a fraud, a phony, a sham. I wasn't what he thought I was and that hurt. It hurt both of us. I'd known that any relationship I'd formed here would have to be forgotten once I left this place. I never should have kissed Ambrose. I should have told him I wasn't interested in him when he confessed. More lies on top of other lies. That's all it was. But my feelings for him weren't a lie and that one truth glared at me like an angry angel the entire time. Maybe it was time I swept all these lies away and tell Ambrose everything, I told myself. Yes, that is what I'd do. Even if he rejected me, I at least would have told him the truth.

Resolved in my actions, I rolled off my cot, planted my feet firmly on the floor and got up. Striding with all the purpose of a man who had a date with destiny I threw open the door and came face to face with Navarre. His fist was still raised in position to knock.

"Del, I'm glad you're feeling better. Here." He handed me a letter, the seal still intact. "This was mixed up with a bunch of letters from my parents. I thought you'd like it."

"Thank you." I said taking it from him. I checked the address and smiled recognizing the handwriting. Orrin. With Navarre still standing there, I broke the seal and began to read the letter quickly. I was hoping for good news, that Orrin had found the book. My eyes halted on one line and one line alone. All the blood froze in my veins. Sweat beaded on my forehead. I swallowed several times before I found the courage to move on.

"Hey, Del. Are you all right?" I barely heard Navarre speak, my mind had gone numb. "Del? DEL!"

It was cold, but I barely acknowledged it. I wandered for who knows how long through the grounds and into the woods. Night had wrapped its dark arms about the land and watching the world through her one eye, the moon. I followed an old deer trail until I came to the lake. There at the shore I sank to the earth. Orrin's letter was still clenched in my white knuckles, its messy script revealing my fate.

"DEL!" I thought I heard someone call my name.

"DEL!" Again my name was called.

"DEL! Please answer me!" Slowly my mind awoke as fear replaced shock. I scooted into the brush and leaned against the base of a tree. I prayed it would hide me from my pursuers.

"I can't find him Ambrose. Look, I'll head back to the school; you keep looking out here. If the headmaster finds him gone, we're in a world of trouble."

"Navarre, what was in that letter?"

"I have no idea. All I know is it was enough to turn him whiter than snow and run like a devil was on his heels. Goddess! I hope someone didn't die!"

"Don't worry we'll find him. I'll check down by the lake."

"Okay." I listened as Navarre turned and headed back to the school. Knowing that Ambrose was heading my direction, I pulled myself into a tight ball. He broke out of the tree line near where I'd just been. Whipping his head about he scanned the area for me before turning his attention to the lake.

"DEL!" I didn't move. Closing my eyes I willed him away. I didn't want him to become part of my misery. My fate was sealed; my father would find out and have me exiled from his lands. He would have to expose what I'd done to the court and that would be the end. I would be his shame. I was his foolish child who had used magic in an attempt to change the chosen course for them. My mother would plead for me, but in the end it was entirely my fault.

"Del, please." Ambrose's please reached my ears, but I ignored it. Tears were sliding down my cheeks and I moved to wipe them away. "Del. Come on, answer me. If this is about your family, who you are…I don't care. Yes, I'm hurt that you didn't feel you could trust me enough to tell me." He paused. "But I understand that earning your confidence takes time. I'm sorry that I haven't been speaking to you. Del, please. I want to help if I can."

"There's nothing you can do to help me. My fate has been sealed." I whispered. I must have said it louder than I thought because the next thing I knew, Ambrose was shoving foliage aside.

"Del, thank the Goddess you're all right. I was afraid you might have drowned yourself."

"I don't like swimming." I replied. He scooted into my hiding spot and sat down next to me.

"Del, you have everyone worried. Navarre, Niles, even Marcus. What is in that letter that would cause you to do this? Did your father find out you were here?" I shook my head. "Then what."

"Do you know how many princes there are?" I asked.

"Of our kingdom? Why?"

"Because."

"Look, I've already figured out you are one of the princes of the land. I promise I won't tell anyone. Please Del, come back to the dorms. We'll talk there." He laid his hand on my shoulder, but I jerked away.

"Ambrose, how many princes are there."

"Six, why?"

"Can you name them all?"

"Sure, Hector, Edmond, Samuel, Arthur, Michael, Louis, and Jamison." He paused to look at me. "Jamison doesn't look much older than you actually."

"He's only older by a year." I replied. Suddenly he looked puzzled.

"I don't understand. You're a prince, right?" I stared into his brown eyes and held up a finger.

"I'm a member of the royal family, but I am not a prince."

"The only other person is….a princess." His eyes widened as the realization washed over him.

"My real name is Delanthia Pavulitonor, first and only princess." We sat in perfect silence for a few minutes. Sighing deeply, I stood up. "I better go. I have to go see my aunt. Maybe she can help if Orrin and I tell her everything."

"You're the princess, but I've seen you without any clothes. You're a guy." Ambrose stated climbing to his feet. He grasped my wrists so tightly, that I nearly dropped Orrin's letter. "You are physically male."

"A spell." His face twisted with pain. I couldn't look at his hurt expression any longer.

"And your cousin's letter told you that the spell would dissipate soon, didn't it?" His voice was filled with sorrow. The tears fell from my eyes in a steady stream. I tried to wipe them with my hand, but Ambrose held fast.

"The spell was supposed to only be an illusion, but Orrin didn't read the instructions right and messed up the runes. Instead of an illusion of a 17 year old boy, I actually became one. Orrin promised that he could undo it when the time came and convinced me that this was better than the illusion. We should have asked my Aunt Susanne for help, but I couldn't wait. I was too impatient to be on my way."

"Didn't you think of the consequences? What if the headmaster found out who you were?"

"There was no way he could prove it. After all, Delanthia Pavulitonor is a girl and Del Pavnor is a boy. The only problem would be my eyes, but if he didn't know what to look for, he would miss them." Ambrose slowly released me. He looked down at the ground. "I'm sorry to mislead you. I'm horrible and selfish, I know that. I'll understand if you never want anything to do with me again." I turned to walk away.

"What did the letter say?" I glanced down at the crumpled parchment. Extending my hand, I held out the letter for him to read. Gingerly he took it.

"It says that there is no way to reverse the spell. I'm permanently male." Ambrose glanced down at the letter. Holding it so that he caught the moonlight, he read the lines for himself. Then he lowered it and walked forward taking my hand. He turned me so that I was fully facing him, backed me up so that I was against the tree and held me firmly. "Um, Ambrose?"

"This is so you won't bolt." He said referring to the tree. Leaning forward he kissed me. I didn't know what to think, I was too stunned to do anything. Releasing my lips, he looked into my eyes. "I fell in love with Del Pavnor and no matter what, I want you to know that. Delanthia Pavulitonor is unknown to me, so I don't care what her problems are."

"You may have to, because we are one in the same. Especially considering the King will not be happy that he now has another son instead of a daughter to marry off to the prince of Nonford."

"Well, the prince isn't getting either of you." Ambrose replied. His eyes grew darker with desire. He moved closer so that our bodies touched. I swallowed as his hands moved down my sides. "Del. I want you to know that I'll help you no matter what." He smiled slowly.

"Thank you." I whispered catching his mouth before he could say anything more. I pulled him closer so that our bodies pressed against each other as they never had before. His hands found the ties to my breeches as our kiss deepened. I felt my way down his front to find his. The laces were cumbersome and hard to pull free. Meanwhile, his hands were inching down me.

"You know, we are going to be in trouble if we're not in our cots for lights out." I said as we paused to breathe. Ambrose smiled.

"So we decided to take a skinny dip, everyone does it." I laughed, but it was short lived as his lips once more found their way to mine.