Police Sergeant David Budd's trainers crunched on the gravel drive as he stepped out of his parked car in the shadow of the grand white stone townhouse. His hand went through his thick brown hair and he breathed out in the crisp, early morning air. David strode toward the back entrance of the building, fishing his police identification out of the back pocket of his track pants. The uniformed officer at the door inspected the id and nodded, opening the door for David to enter the house.

She was in the hall, waiting, even though he was three minutes early. Her Royal highness, princess Eleanor of Wales, was stretching her legs, dressed in black running tights, a black long sleeved shirt covered with a lightweight grey puffer vest and black and grey trainers. A pair of white earbuds hung around her neck, their cord snaking under the vest. When David stepped into the hall, Eleanor straightened up and turned to face him. She wore no makeup, but she was stunningly beautiful. Her pale delicate features were in stark contrast to the dark red hair that was pulled up in a high ponytail. It was her eyes that did him in; they were the color of emeralds and sparkled like them too. Eleanor leaned toward him, extending her hand.

"I'm Eleanor," she stated, "You must be the unlucky bloke they sent over from SO15."

"If you mean your protection officer, ma'am, then yes." David replied. "Sergeant David Budd." David took her hand and shook it. It was soft and warm and fit snugly in his. She rolled her eyes.

"Please don't call me ma'am." She said. "I'm far too young." She winked. "And never Princess." She wrinkled her nose.

"Then, what should I call you?" He asked.

"Eleanor will suffice." She replied. "Ready? Ten miles won't run themselves." With that, she put in her earbuds and was off.

Now David knew what she meant by unlucky; they hadn't told him it was ten miles when he accepted the assignment to protect the daughter of the Prince of Wales on her morning run. David scrambled to catch up with her. After the disastrous situation with the Home Secretary and the suicide vest, he had been given time off to heal and regroup. Upon returning to duty, he had been given a few short term assignments guarding visiting dignitaries and was then assigned a detail with the immigration minister. David had been on that detail for sixteen months. He was working on administrative duties at headquarters yesterday when the shift supervisor had come around asking for a volunteer. David had offered and gotten the details save for the part about running ten miles as the rest of his office mates had practically ducked under their desks and pretended they had something else to do.

They ran up the mall toward Buck house and through Green Park. David ran behind her until they reached Piccadilly. They stopped at the traffic circle to cross Knightsbridge and she pulled out one earbud.

"You don't have to stay behind me, sergeant." Eleanor said to him, stretching her legs one at a time.

"Not sure I can keep up, ma- Eleanor." He smiled. They ran a few more miles along the serpentine and past KP. For a few miles he had managed to get up next to her and they ran side by side companionably. She led them the long way back, past the long water and the north side of Hyde Park. Then, they were back at Piccadilly, David's tee-shirt soaked with sweat and his knees killing him. Eleanor smiled at him. She was covered in sweat as well, her face red.

"I usually do a loop through St. James Park, but you're looking a bit dodgy." She told him. "We can walk back to the house." David nodded, bending at the waist, his hands on his knees. Sweat dripped off his nose and to the ground.

"Sorry." He mumbled, straightening up. "It's been a while since I've gone on such a long run. They didn't tell me it was so many miles."

"It's fine. I was testing you." She smiled.

"Well, I failed."

"I'd give you a C."

They walked along Constitution Hill and gradually caught their breath.

"Have you ever been a PPO for anyone in the family?" Eleanor asked. David shook his head.

"Right now, I'm on the immigration minister's protection team." David replied.

Eleanor was surprised at how easily they chatted. Her officers were usually very no-nonsense, but she could mostly get them talking after a while if she tried. She was trailed by a team 24/7, so she would rather have a camaraderie with them. Her sister-in-law, the Duchess of Cambridge and soon to be sister-in-law, Megan, both had a split team of one man and one woman, but Eleanor didn't care. Unlike the two of them, she had been around the protection teams her whole life and all she cared about was whether or not they could keep her safe and if they got on well with her, not if it was appropriate for them to accompany her to the loo as a woman. She took an instant liking to Sergeant Budd. He had ran seven miles in the early morning cold without complaint. He was open to her requests and seemed to be good at his job. He stood slightly in front of her most of the time, eyes scanning for any threats and almost imperceptibly moved a bit closer to her when someone approached her direction. No one came right up to her; it was early and the only people out were commuters busy in their own thoughts. He was confident without his radio or firearm, but she noticed that he didn't use any earbuds and thus no music to distract him.

They had just crossed the mall and were approaching Clarence House. The house had a little more life in it since they had left as more staff were milling about and a dark blue sedan was waiting on the gravel drive.

"Well, Sergeant Budd, thank you for being my volunteer this morning." Eleanor said, pulling her earbud cord through her vest and wrapping it around her mobile.

"No problem, your highness. Next time, let's try the full ten." His blue eyes crinkled with his smile. With that, he headed toward his car and she bounded up the steps into the house.