Cecily stayed at the castle until she was two, when she was given her own manor, and a household to care for her every need. I requested to go with her, I didn't want to say goodbye yet. Merek refused my request, sending my child away from me. I hugged and kissed her, promising to see her again soon. I wished more for her than the life of a Queen, I wished her the freedom to choose her path in life as I had never been allowed. My sole purpose was to produce an heir for the king , and I hadn't even been able to do that.
Time passed and I found myself with child yet again, time passed much as it had for the last few years, with Merek and I putting on a show in public, then going our separate ways when we were alone. I hoped and prayed for a son, but once again I was blessed with a daughter. She was named Emma, when the time came she was sent to live in her sisters household, the two of them were the best of friends. With every daughter that I bore Merek he grew further and further away. Nothing I could say or do could change what had happened, I knew he no longer loved me, though I still loved him.
Tristan was getting older, and bigger, at seven, no longer was Alice able to hide him in the tower, so under the cover of darkness, the two of them snuck out of the tower, past the guards, and into the village where Alice had a small hut on the outskirts of town just big enough for the two of them, there they would be safe.
