Moving silently through the dark forest, Brendan could smell the other camp before he could see it.

The scent of burning wood… no cooked food however, which could mean a number of things…

When he could make out the flickering light between the trees, the Troivackian King dismounted his steed silently, his sword already clipped at his side as he picked his way carefully through the underbrush.

He wasn’t as quiet as he usually was, but it was all because he was unfamiliar with the Daxarian terrain- particularly in the dark…

The shadowy greenery shifted beneath his feet and the occasional nocturnal creature was startled from their activities and scurried away.

Yet there was no movement from the campsite.

Immediately, he wondered if it were bandits. Regular nomads would never risk traveling so deeply into the King’s forest. He rested his hand on his sword at his side tentatively.

As he neared the clearing, however, all he could make out was one sleeping form beside the fire, and whoever it was was quite small.

Drawing his sword carefully, he felt his senses prickle as he looked at the surroundings.

There was a lack of any bulky provisions or weapons, suggesting they were traveling with speed in mind.

It was then Brendan noticed the horses tied across the clearing from where he stood.

He stilled at once.

There were two horses, but only one sleeping form.

That was when an arrow whizzed by his ear, making him duck reflexively into the undergrowth, his sword gripped firmly in hand as his eyes sought out the archer.

“I didn’t miss because you're a dainty target. Who are you?”

The voice behind the King made his mood blacken.

He had been feeling restless cooped up in Daxaria, and was spoiling for a good fight…

Instead, he let out a long sigh, resigning himself to having to speak instead.

“Lady Katarina Ashowan, I take it the one sleeping on the ground is the Princess?”

Brendan heard the creak of the bow as its wood slackened.

“Oh. It’s you. Your Majesty.” Kat’s flat tone greeted dully. Brendan didn't have to bother trying to guess if she had curtsied or not.

Already displeased over having to face the Viscount’s daughter, Brendan turned around ready to start chastizing her for her careless decision to bring the Princess without any armed guards out in the middle of the woods, but when he turned and saw the Lady standing ten feet behind him, found himself speechless.

Her glowing yellow eyes in the dark were watching him as a beast watched an irritating mouse.

“Yes, yes, I know I’m not exactly normal. No need to look at me like I’m a demon.”

“You can see in the dark?” the Troivackian King’s astonished tone made the redhead grin wolfishly.

“Damn right I can. How can we help you, Your Majesty?”

The King sheathed his sword as he remembered exactly why he was out in the middle of the woods at night.

“Your King had a bad feeling when your father and Duke Iones failed to show up. I was coming back down to see if there were any messengers on the way to our camp.”

Kat raised a skeptical eyebrow. “You rode an hour away from your camp just to see if a messenger was hanging around?”

“I was going to ride another hour when I smelt your fire. Are you a fool?”

Kat's expression morphed in the flickering campfire through the trees. “Do I need to remind you that I could have easily shot you before you spoke?” her voice was tight.

“Like mother like daughter,” Brendan muttered darkly. “Regardless, you think you can take on a group of bandits? Or even stay awake all night?” he asked so that she could hear.

“I can stay awake for days quite easily. What was that about my mother?”

Closing his eyes briefly Brendan chastised himself for bringing it up.

The Viscountess’ daughter likely had no idea what her mother had done given the ways she behaved.

With his tone weary and exasperated, he finally replied. “Lady Ashowan, I recommend we wake the Princess and return to the King’s camp.”

“No.”

Both the Troivackian and Katarina jumped at the sound of Alina’s firm objection that came from behind the large King.

When Brendan turned to face the younger monarch, he found she was staring calmly up at him, making his dark gaze immediately soften- not that he was aware of this. Her golden hair was in disarray from the humid night air, and there was dirt smudged on her cheek, but the way the firelight warmed her dirty blonde curls made her appear…

‘Cute,’ the Troivackian King found himself thinking before he could stop himself. The Princess just looked so disheveled and mildly irritated…. He couldn’t help it.

“It is the middle of the night. We will leave at dawn to go back to the castle, and none of us are going to breathe a word of it,” the Princess explained evenly.

Brendan raised an eyebrow. She seemed quite assured of herself…

It was a nice change.

Even so…

“Why are you so certain that is the best decision?” the King asked patiently.

“She doesn’t need a reason to want a night to herself,” Kat snapped from behind Brendan, which immediately set his teeth on edge. He didn’t bother glancing at the Viscount’s daughter, and instead waited for the Princess to respond.

“It is more dangerous for me to go back to a camp full of would-be suitors and my irate father than stay here. If you are truly concerned that in the next five hours someone will attack us, feel free to wait until it is safe for us to ride in the morning.”

Brendan found himself smiling. “Princess, you are saying the trouble you would get in over being discovered is worse than being possibly murdered by wayward souls?”

“My murder is a guaranteed event if my father finds out about this, yes,” she replied, a small smile working its way onto her face at the sight of the King’s rare grin.

Staring at her pleading expression mixed with her teasing smile, Brendan heard himself say words without even taking a moment to think! Which disconcerted him only for a brief moment...

“You will leave before the sun rises. I will sleep forty paces south of your site. Lady Ashowan, if you try to shoot me again, you will regret it.”

The redhead behind the King snorted.

He chose to ignore it.

Instead, he gave a bow to Alina, and began to walk his forty paces, when the sound of two men’s voices suddenly echoed through the trees.

“- Then she said I wasn’t taking fatherhood seriously! Can you believe that? I swear, I didn’t think it was strange that he ran around naked. I mean it’s hot out this time of year, and he’s only four! Or is it three… anyway, I mentioned how pigs keep cool, and you know what, so what if he was a little muddy! I’ll buy her a new dress and she knows it.”

“What were you doing when he was in the mud?” came a familiar voice beside the original speaker.

“I was drinking with the Knights, but he was within my sights… mostly. The dogs would’ve gone crazy if he was doing something actually dangerous.”

“So in other words, you were relying on your dogs to ensure your son’s safety, who was rolling around in the mud, in the pig’s pen,” the flat response was barely hiding a laugh.

“Oh, Gods,” Kat groaned, her head fell back, her eyes closed in a grimace.

Both the King and Alina glanced at each other. They guessed exactly who was drawing closer.

“Is that my darling, obedient, and THOUGHTFUL daughter I hear?!”

Kat slowly opened her glowing eyes and turned to the two shadowy horses and their riders that drew nearer, her face stretched into a forced smile that looked moderately painful.

“Hi, Da, boy you sure are up late! Mum will be mad if you wake her up, you know how-”

Finlay Ashowan emerged from the darkness into the light of the campfire, his gaze livid as he fixed his attention on his daughter, completely ignoring the two monarchs in his presence.

“Godsdamn, Kat, this is too far. You risked not only your own neck, but Alina’s. I can’t believe you did this, and for what reason? You wanted to prove yourself to the courtiers that you could hunt better? Why did you-”

“Viscount,” Alina interrupted softly, her hands clasped nervously in front of herself.

Fin turned to face her, and she winced at the magical gleam in his eyes that flashed briefly before settling once more into a peaceful one instead.

“I could have refused, but I didn’t. I… I really did need some time away from the castle. If you could perhaps-”

“Princess Alina, the entire castle is in chaotic panic because of your absence. We should head back this instant,” Fin interjected firmly before turning to the Duke Iones. “Can you please continue on to the camp to let His Majesty know I will be delayed joining the hunt.”

“Da, I left a note saying we were going camping, there shouldn’t be-”

“What note?! We have looked in your chamber, and every nook and cranny in our estate as well as the entire Godsdamn castle for you two!” Fin rounded on his daughter, and she visibly shrank before him.

“I-It was on my desk at home,” Kat responded, looking entirely unlike herself as she faced her father.

This immediately softened the Viscount’s features, his shoulders slumping forward as he raised his hands up to rub his face.

“Kat… do you know how scared we all were? Anything could have happened.”

“We’re an hour from the King’s camp, it really wasn’t that dangerous, I swear!” Tears glistened in Kats golden eyes, and the moment they appeared Fin pulled her into an embrace.

“Kat you’re getting more and more…” the Viscount’s voice cracked as he trailed off.

“Erm… as… touching… or heartbreaking? One of the two, anyway. As memorable as this first meeting is with Your Majesties,” Duke Iones bowed his boyish smile making him appear significantly younger than his years. “Perhaps we all decide what to do here. In my estimation, if all of us sleep here, Viscount, you can return the Princess and your daughter, and whether or not the King hears of this little adventure… well…” Lord Harris shrugged, his hands turned upwards.

“Do you honestly think no one will mention how his daughter went missing for an entire day?” Fin asked drolly.

“What if we say it was a miscommunication?” Alina interjected while stepping forward. “We tell the staff my father wanted to spend some quality time with my fiance and I- which will be the first official announcement of my engagement to the Troivackian King. It’ll distract everyone, and when he arrives everyone will be too excited to bother mentioning it. Besides, even my maids would be too embarrassed to admit such an oversight in my schedule. Brendan can just say... erm... that left the camp due to forgetting an important correspondance to respond to. Hopefully with that added the chaos will make it much harder to discern the truth.”

The only sound that followed the Princess’ idea was crickets.

Lord Harris was the one to smile first. “That is quite… devious, yet brilliant.” Lord Harris’ grin brightened. “To think everyone said you were a model of what a good, demure maiden should be.”

Alina winced.

“Don’t worry, this is much better!” the Duke quickly added while the Viscount stood beside him staring at him exasperatedly.

“Harris.”

“Yeah?”

“Shut up.”

“Right.”

The two men then faced the Princess. Fin stepped forward as his daughter hastily wiped the remaining of her tears away with the back of her wrist. “We will try to adhere to this plan, Alina… I will be the first to admit I’m agreeing to it to avoid Kat having to face exile from the court. So I thank you from the bottom of my heart.”

“You forget, Lord Ashowan, I have not agreed to this plan,” Brendan interjected sharply.

Only the Princess whirled on him, and took him by surprise.

“Oh, yes you do, because if you don’t I’m going to tell my father about the discussion we had outside the east entrance regarding what is a comfortable topic for husbands and wives.”

Brendan’s eyes grew round. “You… You were the one to bring up the topic of bed-”

Alina slapped her hand over his mouth before he could finish his sentence, her expression crazed and desperate.

Her heart thudded in her chest.

She prayed to the Green Man and Goddess that no one had heard.

Begged the kind heart of her mother up in the forest of the afterlife that no one would ask…

“What was that about beds?” Lord Harris asked loudly while bouncing up and down on the balls of his feet.

‘Father always did say mother had a cruel sense of humor…’ Alina admonished grimly while looking nervously over her shoulder, her hand still firmly clasped over the King’s mouth. She hadn’t noticed that his hand had reflexively risen to stop her from doing it but had managed to stop at the last moment.

Fin gave the Duke a small shove while unable to mask his own dubious expression when eyeing the Princess and King. “Knock it off, that isn’t appropriate for the wome-”

“No, no! I swear I heard him just fine! He mentioned that the Princess had brought up something regarding beds! Perhaps there is a perfectly good reason why they were having such a discussion!”

“Harris,” Fin’s voice carried a warning note.

“You can’t silence me on this one, Fin, it’s too damn interesting. Even the infamous Troivackian King looks like a deer caught in the sights of a hunter.”

“I’ll tell your wife about your decade long crush for a certain maid we both know.”

The Duke froze, his smile paired with his wide eyes suddenly blind to his surroundings as visions of his own gory death filled his mind.

He then gave his head a shake and held out his hand towards the young couple who were watching the scene unfold, completely paralyzed.

“Nice to meet you, I’m Lord Harris of the Dukedom Iones. Former kitchen aide to the House Witch, and I have a big mouth that I occasionally remember to shut. Congratulations on your engagement!”