The Duchess

Ellsie stood there stunned, looking at the empty spot where the prince once stood, it took her a second to relay and analyse what he'd said, when she'd finally realised what he'd done.

"Lucian come back!" She called out to him, but he seemed to have gone. "We can't let go of each..." Ellsie's voice trailed off as she realised, he'd already disappeared.

As she was about to chase after him, the room around her changed and suddenly she was standing by the cliff outside the church.

~~~

As Lucian said the words, he could barely believe what he was saying, had he really just admitted the truth to her, after two lifetimes, he'd never known how he felt. Only when his brother put it into words for him, did he realise just how much he cared about her. He complained about how oblivious Ellsie had been, but in reality he had been just as oblivious.

Suddenly the images of the church about him disappeared and he'd realise what he had done. Lucian found himself walking around in an endless cloud of thick fog. There was no sign of where it ended or began, he wasn't even sure when he'd walked into the fog, but he couldn't even see a metre in front of him. How was he going to find his way back to Ellsie?

"Ellsie!" Continuously calling to her, walking nonstop for what seemed like hours.

"Well what do we have here?" The sound of a woman's demanding voice echoed from behind him. The prince jumped to see a tall slender woman in a red gown and black hooded cloak hiding her face. While he could not see her face, he could tell by her voice that she was quite young, no more than 10 years older than him, if that.

"Who are you?" Lucian asked cautiously, slowly taking a step back.

"Well if it isn't the young second prince of Creston, Prince Lucian. What brings your highness here?" The woman did not reveal her face, however she knew exactly who he was and although he recognised her voice, he couldn't remember who it belonged to.

"So you know who I am, that's a little unfair, so I will ask one more time. Who are you?" He straightened up watching her intensely, his aura suddenly became strong and overpowering, now he had the force of a prince of a mighty empire.

"Hmm." The mysterious woman laughed, "You certainly are your father's son aren't you." The woman raised her long delicate hands up to the sides of his hood, pulling it back to reveal; tresses of scarlet red, in a half updo, falling down her back, a pair of emerald green eyes, a soft beautifully diamond shaped face and soft red lips.

"I... Im... Impossible..." Lucian stumbled backwards in shock. While it had been more than a decade since he last saw her, there was no mistaking it, she hadn't aged a day. "D... Duchess Emily?"

"Yes your highness," She curtsied at the prince politely smiling.

"How... how are you here? I thought only a mage could get here?" He'd straighten up, trying to find his senses.

"I could ask you the same thing young man?" She looked curiously at the prince.

"My sister," he seemed intimidated by the mysterious aura surrounding the duchess. The puzzled look on the duchess' face, reminded Lucian just how long she'd been gone. While his and Jonathan's mother died in childbirth and emperor did not remarrying until he was seven, meaning the duchess didn't know about Olivia and Alissa. "My father remarried when I was seven, he married the mage Olivia Lightheart, a year later she gave birth to my sister Alissa, who despite her age is an amazing mage."

"While she might be amazing to a mortal, I can guarantee that a truly wise mage would not have cast this spell unless your body was about to be destroyed. Since you are here as a temporary visit with my daughter I'm guessing not." Emily rose her eyebrow in question. "However your sister must be indeed powerful for the empress to have taught her that spell. There are very few mages in the world for Olivia to already trust Alissa with it, that means your sister is indeed a substantial mage already."

"Wait you know Olivia?" There were thousands of questions floating around in Lucian's head, but he could only focus on things that related to his family. That was when he noticed the black rose hidden in her half updo. A rose. A black rose. "That rose? Are you... a mage?" As a kid he'd seen the duchess almost everyday since Ellsie was born, how had he never noticed the rose, had it always been there?

"There is a no time for that now," Her nonchalant expression suddenly became serious. "You need to find Ellsie and get out of here. The living cannot stay here much longer." She'd avoided his questions swiftly, turning his attention to the problem at hand. He was no longer connected to Ellsie.

"But how can I find her, I've been walking around in this fog for hours." Letting go of his pride he looked at her helplessly.

"You and Ellsie are connected... in a... arrr..." Emily hesitated "in a special way. Close your eyes, concentrate on her, picture her in your mind. What does she look like, what does she sound and smell like? How does she make you feel?"

"She has the most beautiful scarlet hair and green eyes more beautiful than any emerald, she has beautiful soft pale skin and her long slightly plump red lips. She smells like vanilla and roses, her voice is so sweet and gentle." As he spoke images and memories of the heiress filled his mind. The Duchess facing him, looked sweetly as he spoke fondly about her daughter.

"Now concentrate on that and you'll find her." Emily looked down her feet were starting to fade. "Remember when you find her, her heart is broken it will take time to heal. You need to support her, believe in her, trust her and most importantly be someone she can learn to trust. In a world where she can now see the complete truth be the person who is still the same, be someone who doesn't have anything to hide. That is how you will win her heart." Lucian abruptly opened his eyes in shock at the duchess' words. How did she know? It was only then that he realised the duchess was starting to fade away. "Don't worry about me." The duchess had seen the concern on his face and reached up to touch the boy's cheek. "Promise you'll take care of her for me, don't let Mara get to her. Not again." Without words he nodded sadly. As he watched the woman, who had been almost like a mother to him for many years, disappear.

In that moment, he heard the soft cries of his heiress.

"Be patient with her..." Emily's voice echo in his mind.