It's been a week since Mr. Jittaleela's visit to the Mindara Manor. There's a hint awkwardness between Kim and her father but they are both trying to make most of the time they have left, unknown to Kim, her time with Pie is also numbered. Pie could not bear to tell Kim about her family troubles, she does not want to rob Kim and her father's last days together. She kept checking the photo album where she found news clippings about her father and her sudden disappearance. Every day a clip or two is being added, each news worse than the first one. She knew it was her mother's or Van's doing, it's the only way they can send her a message. Kim is not here today, so are Bai and Mike. I would love to talk to Yam but she feels awkward around me. It feels so empty, just like before I met Kim. Her father is dying and mine is being accused of murdering me. It seems that someone or something does not want us to be together, it's like we cannot breathe easy. There's always some sort of obstacle. But of course, there is.. TIME. We do not belong in the same time. And so, the universe is conspiring against us. Fixing the anomaly which is us. But I must go back, I cannot let my father go through this. It's already hard to say goodbye but it's even harder to go back. I don't even know when will the wormhole open again or will it ever open. Pie sat down on the bench in the garden, in her hand was the photo album where she finds newspaper clips. She has always been afraid to look at what is added in those pages and she was right to do so. A photo of her father in the handcuffs, she read the headline: MR. MINDARA, CHARGED WITH THE MURDER OF HIS DAUGHTER. Pie read the article, her tears starts to drip from her eyes to her cheeks. At the bottom of the clip, there is a message written in pen: “Pie darling, this is your mother. We need you to come back, your father needs you child.” It was her mother's handwriting. Now she is crying.

Suddenly, someone handed her a handkerchief. It was Yam. “Pie, what's wrong? Why are you crying?” Yam moved closer to Pie and saw the newspaper clippings. “Does Kim know about this?” Yam asked. Pie shook her head carefully dries her eyes and cheeks. “Thank you, I'll return it as soon as I've washed it.” Pie said as she neatly fold the handkerchief. “It's okay. Pie, don't you think Kim needs to know about this?” Yam said. “I don't want to rob Kim and her father their last days. He is dying. They need to say goodbye properly and make up for the lost time.” Pie replied. “I understand, but Pie, what is your plan? Do you intend to keep that to yourself forever? This is serious Pie.” Yam read the Pie's mother's handwritten note. “Pie, you mean to go back to your own time?” Pie nods. “More reason to tell Kim. Wait, so, you mean to say, that if the wormhole suddenly opens you'll just split without saying a word?” Yam looked at Pie. “No, Yam. It's not like that. I've tried to tell Kim a hundred times but I just couldn't. She finally has her father back and I want her to feel at ease for some time. If I go back, if I ever I can go back, she might want to come with me and I can't take her away from her father now. Besides, it will be easier for us if I leave without saying goodbye. Deep down, I know we are meant to be together. But now is not the time for our love, I think, our love helped us find the things we've lost and the things we long for. Kim helped me find hope and freedom..” Before Pie could finish her sentence, Yam cuts her. “And Kim found the courage to believe in love again.” Pie looked at Yam in confusion. “Pie, tell her. She needs to know. Do it for both your sakes.” Pie nodded.

It was about 8 in the evening when Kim came home. Her father went back to his own home in Bangkok after his chemo session in the hospital. As soon as she entered the manor, she started searching for Pie. “I'm in here.” Pie answered. Kim went inside Mr. Mindara's office, there she found Pie looking at an old photo album. Kim was excited to tell her some good news. “Pie, I need to tell you something.” Kim excitedly said. “I need to tell you something too Kim.” Pie replied. “Okay, you go first then.” Kim said. “No, you go first Kim.” Pie replied. She was still nervous about telling Kim about her plan to go back to her own time. “Alright then. Pie, we are invited to the King's birthday tomorrow. It's a ball and dad said the King would like us to come. Isn't that great Pie?” Kim hugged Pie tightly and she hugged her back, she gave a faint smile behind Kim. How can I tell you now? You have your family back, while mine is falling apart. “It's really good to hear that Kim. Where will it be held?” Pie asked. “I don't know yet, dad said he'll send us a limo and the driver will take us there. Wait, let me tell Yam, Bai and Mike.” Kim ran out even before Pie could speak. Pie could only sigh at her failure to tell Kim. Later that night, Pie could not sleep. The thought of her family falling apart cuts her deep inside. She went outside her room and into the garden, there she sat down and smelled the cold breeze of the country. I'll tell her, as soon as the party is over, I'll tell her. But can I even go back to my own time? Sigh... She went to her father's office and took out a piece of paper and pen,then she started writing.

They all woke up early the next day to prepare. They were meeting the King and the entire royal family so they wanted to dress their best. At about 9 in the morning, the limo Kim's father had sent arrived. They all loaded their things in the trunk and they were on their way. Pie was astonished by the size and the luxuriousness of the vehicle. After a two-hour drive, they arrived at the Bhubing Palace, the royal family's winter residence. An Asian-Style palace built in the mountains overlooking Chiang Mai, it was surrounded by gardens from which it is known. Pie and the others were in awe to see such beauty and elegance. Kim's father was there to meet them, the maids showed them to their rooms and later on to the dining area where they will eat lunch with the rest of the royal family. Kim told her father about Pie the day they reconciled and he was happy for her, though he did not tell him she was from the past. Mr. Jittaleela then told Kim to have a separate room with Pie for the time being, the royal family may not yet ready be to accept her relationship with Pie.

Later that evening, the guests start to pour in the palace. This is a very familiar sight. Pie thought. The golden chandeliers, the aristocrats and socialites that fill the ball room, the endless chattering and the music of the band, these were the things Pie grew up with. She hated these balls back then, but now, she could feel a mix of excitement and nervousness in her, this time, Kim is with her. For a moment she forgot her problems and instead imagined that her parents were in the crowd. She wore a golden gown covered by a white shoal and long white gloves. As she came out of her room, she found Kim waiting for her. She was wearing a three-piece suit. A white shirt with a silver-gray tie, over a black vest all covered by a black suit with a handkerchief in her front pocket. Kim was bred for this kind of things as well. “You look beautiful Pie.” Kim complemented Pie. They all went down to the ball and everyone was staring at them. Pie then decided that she would not let anything ruin this night. They could hear people talking about them as they pass. “Is that the prince's bastard's daughter? Why is she wearing a suit? Who is she with, is that an aristocrat?” “She looks familiar, I think I've seen that young girl before.” “They look good together though.” “Yuck, lesbians.” Kim and Pie shrugs off all what the people around them were saying, no one can do them any harm, no one can ruin this moment for them. Kim gently pull Pie towards the center of the room, where all people were dancing. The band started to play Carlos Gardel's Por Una Cabeza and they began to dance.

Please play (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dsU9zmnZ37g)

Pie's gown was flowing as she and Kim floated on the dance floor, everyone was watching including the royal family. Kim's father was nervous and afraid that it will anger the King and the rest of the royal family but when he looked at the dais where they were sitting, they were all smiling as they watched the couple dance. Time seem to stand still for Kim and Pie, everything else didn't matter, they were safe in their own world. Kim's father stood proud and happy for his daughter and her lover. Tango is said to be the dance of love. It requires passion between the partners for them to dance it perfectly and beautifully. And they are perfectly beautiful. Kim twists and lifts Pie, with every moment their bodies come closer, the people could feel the passion and desire between them. Many guests, young and old started to join in the dance. And as the music ends, the crowd started to applause. For the first time in years, Pie felt comfort in the society she was born in, she never felt like a prize but rather, the aristocrat she has always been, graceful, elegant and proud.

They left the ballroom and went to the rose garden. The weather in the mountains was cold but air was fresh, Kim gave her coat to Pie and wrapped her arm around her as they descended on the stone steps in the gardens. The smell of roses filled the cool mountain mists, the moon was shinning high in the sky. They continued on the path until they reached a fountain, there they sat on a bench. Kim picked up a red rose and gave it to Pie. “Thank you, Kim.” Pie smiled sweetly. “You know, it's forbidden to pick up any flower here.” Kim grins at Pie. “Then why did you pick it? Here! Put it back quick!” Pie shoves the rose back to Kim. “I can't put it back, I already picked it. All we can do now is take care of it, appreciate the fruit of my forbidden gesture.” Kim replied. She took Pie's hand and gently hands her back the rose, then she took something from her pocket. When Km took out the object, Pie could not believe her eyes. She took a deep breath as Kim kneels before her. “I know our love is forbidden, not only because we're both women but because we're from different eras, a hundred years apart. I know it's naïve of me and I'm not the kind of person who would say this in broad day light, but I know deep down in my heart you are my soulmate. The missing half that I found in 1914. That one person I cannot be without, that person whom when I look into her eyes, I can see all the beauty this world. Pie, I love you. Will you marry me?” Kim opened a box containing a ring. Its center stone is a 12-karat oval Blue Ceylon Sapphire surrounded by 14 solitaire diamonds resting on an 18-karat white gold. Pie was in shock, she wanted to say yes but the thought of her family's situation held her back. “Kim, I-I'm... Kim, I need to tell you something.” Pie closed Kim's ring box. And held Kim to stand up. Kim was confused and disappointed at the same time but she listened to Pie's explanation. “Kim, I found newspaper clippings about my father's arrest back in 1914. They accuse him of murdering me, and unless I come out and say he didn't do it, they will execute him.” “When was this? Why didn't you tell me right away?” Kim asked Pie. “Because I do not want to take the remaining time you and your father have. If I told you about this, I know you will worry and distract you from your father. You have your family back Kim, I don't want to take this away from you.” Kim looked at the ground and shook her head then she hugged Pie. “I know how hard this is for you Pie, I understand what you are saying. You should have told me this sooner so that we could figure this out together.” Pie hugged Kim back. “I'm so afraid that when I go back, I will never see you again.” Tears start to fall from Pie's eyes. “Hey, don't say that. Of course we'll see each other again, no matter what. I'll invent a time machine if I have to.” Kim wiped the tears from Pie's cheeks and then she kisses her eyes. “By the way, you haven't answered my question yet.” Kim chucked. “Yes, of course it's a yes Kim!” Pie exclaimed. Kim took out the ring and slid it on Pie's left ring finger. “It's beautiful Kim. I've never seen anything so beautiful.” Pie said. “A ring for a princess, my princess.” Pie leaped towards Kim and hugged her tightly, Kim took out her phone. “Let's take a picture.” Kim held out her phone, she and Pie looked at each other and smiled. CLICK! Kim and Pie stayed in the garden for the rest of the night, Kim played Clair de Lune in her phone and they danced beneath the moonlight, surrounded by roses and the mountains. Unknown to them both, it was their last dance.

A week after that, Pie went back to 1914.

--------------> Author's Notes

Hey guys, thanks for waiting and for reading my story. Sorry if it took so long for me to update, I needed to do a lot of research for this chapter. And sorry if it's too long. By the way, here's a video that best fits my imagination on how Kim and Pie's dance looked like : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mI3eiAp7WJ8

And here's a website about Bhubing Palace: http://www.bhubingpalace.org/gallery_en.php?gallery_cate_id=6

I hope you'll enjoy this chapter, I'm almost at the end. Thanks again! :)