"You can't just leave me!"
"I don't want to! Princess, you know I would never leave you of my own accord, but I can't stay here knowing that I'm putting you in danger."
"Danger? What danger?"
"The danger of us! If this gets out, they burn us at the stake and then what? The people are left without their queen and and a foreign king, or worse: Prince Philip - a boy will take what rightly belongs to you! This country will never last without you. If I get caught... well, if I get caught, at least I don't get caught with you. At least, you'll still be a respected queen."
"None of that matters. You promised you'd always be there, and I want you to be there. If not for us, for me; to help me when I need it."
"Problems will come - they always do - but I know that you can solve them. If anyone can, I know it's you, princess. It has been an honor serving you. But now, I must leave before Charles discovers I was here again."
"Stay. I'm begging you, please, stay."
"I'm sorry. I love you, Catherine, and I promise I will never forget you."
As Claire aims to leave her oppressive stepfamily behind, she befriends Zion. Will he be her ticket to freedom or a distraction in achieving her dreams?
*****
Claire Olsen has had a crush on Zion Petrakis since the first time she laid eyes on him, but he never noticed, instead only having eyes on the school's it girl, Maddie Jennings. Knowing she couldn't compete with Maddie, Claire hid her feelings for Zion, satisfied with admiring him from afar. However, when a series of events led Claire closer to Zion, her feelings for him grew from infatuation to love. And despite fighting hard to keep her feelings contained by distancing herself from Zion, he was determined to show her that he's earned a spot in her life.
[[word count: 100,000-150,000 words]]