Author's Note:

Hello! This is my Valentine's gift for my readers :)

It is not set in any of my stories, in fact it's a stand alone, set somewhere after Book 4 but before Book 7 (which I think is Book 5 -.-)

Despite how it sounds, if you keep on reading you'll find I'm still very much the mad Cassie/Horace shipper that I am. I also wanted to do some more Cassie/Duncan, so here's a little bit to satisfy myself.

Feeling like some quotes! Some are to do with the story, other's are a bit more ambiguous and I just chucked them in because I liked them :3

I also bombed out on the title, so unimaginative.

As if I own RA... all that jazz.

Please read and review! :)

Royal Valentine

'It hurts to love someone and not be loved in return, but what is the most painful is to love someone and never find the courage to let the person know how you feel.'

- Author Unknown

King Duncan, in a rare moment of peace, walked along one of the many paths surrounding the gardens of Castle Araluen with his mind at ease.

The sun glowed weakly behind the clouds and the sky wasn't exactly clear, but he relished the fact that it wasn't snowing.

Upon finding one of his favourite and more secluded gardens, he was mildly surprised to find his daughter, no doubt hiding from her guards.

"Cassie?"

The Princess glanced up, her bright green eyes wide. "Dad?"

Duncan came to sit beside her, admiring the faint carven work on the outdoor chair. He could tell from her voice and her posture that she wasn't in her usual mood.

"Something wrong?" He asked casually.

"No, not really." She answered, a little too quickly. Realising she couldn't pull a hood over her father's eyes, Cassie sighed heavily. "Okay, there is something. But you can't laugh."

Curious, Duncan nodded solemnly. "Promise."

"I wanted to come up with a good idea for St. Valentines. But, well I'm a Princess. There isn't much I can do."

"Is it for Will?"

She jumped slightly and her face ran pink.

Duncan sighed. "I know, don't worry." He petted her back gently.

Ever since she had been captured and learnt to survive on her own alongside him, she'd constantly pestered him, desperate to come up with ideas for him to visit Castle Araluen. Duncan wasn't sure if it was a lost cause. He didn't know the young Ranger that well, especially in that matter. He just hoped if it wasn't going to work, his daughter would realise it before she hurt herself.

"You could always invite him here for dinner." He suggested.

Cassie shook her head stubbornly. Her blonde hair was beginning to grow back, though it would be a while before it reached its former length. "St. Valentines is a tradition. I don't want to flaunt my money or power. It's for making treasures and gifts for those you care about. And I don't know how to do anything but sew."

King Duncan would've apologised, but he really didn't see much of a benefit of the Crown Princess knowing how to make love notes or trinkets.

"Well, how about strolls around these gardens? No Fiefs rival them. Or horse riding? You two could always practise you're weaponry skills." He went on, hoping to cheer her up somehow. "None of those involve money, really."

Cassie brightened, her eyes round and hopeful. "Do you think that'll work?"

Duncan smiled. "Your mother and I used to spend our time together doing those kinds of things."

"Oh thank you dad!" She exclaimed, hugging him tightly. "I better go send a letter then, shouldn't I?"

The King chuckled softly.

On a last thought, she bit her lip and smiled sheepishly. "Uh, this is alright with you, isn't it?"

"One Valentines date is fine with me." He assured her.

Cassie grinned and bid him farewell, before rushing off to prepare her new plan.

King Duncan watched her go with a small smile on his face.

More than a week before St. Valentines, Cassie got hold of Crowley and requested to use one of his carrier pigeons for faster travel.

The Ranger was unable to refuse her as she was the Princess, but saw no harm in it anyway. However she didn't budge an inch about what exactly she was using the pigeons for.

For good measure, she ordered him not to open the reply letter (if there was one) until she had or said otherwise. Although he was terribly curious, Crowley promised to do as he was ordered and sent the message off on its way.

Not even twenty minutes after the pigeon had been released and Cassandra began to have doubts.

What if the letter wasn't appealing?

She bit her lip, drawing blood in her unease.

She'd spent a good part of the morning designing it. After multiple attempts and a lot of scrap efforts, she had finally come up with something she saw as being substantial.

The letter had been addressed directly to Will so Halt wouldn't pry, and read:

"Dear Will,

I hope you're alright and training hasn't been too tough since we returned. You may or may not know that St. Valentine's is coming up and I would like to invite you to Castle Araluen for the weekend. My father looks forward to seeing you as well for dinner with us. Please reply through a carrier pigeon so we can prepare accordingly.

Signed, Evanlyn."

Cassie had tried her best not to sound like she were demanding him to turn up, but at the same time she realised she might have been too casual with her offer.

Her hands rubbed her eyes tiredly, knowing now all she could do was wait a few days until a bird returned.

The reply didn't arrive until mere days before St. Valentines.

Cassie had taken the absence of reply as simple agreement, perhaps Will was on his way to make the time to get there? After all it was a good three days ride to Castle Araluen from Redmont Fief.

She was relaxing on her desk in her room, her arms spread across it as her head used it as a pillow. Her golden hair cascaded around her like a halo and she was near to falling asleep when she heard a faint knock at her door.

Bidding the person entry, she glanced up to find one of her maids.

"My Lady, the Ranger Crowley told me to inform you that there is a message here for you."

Cassie blinked groggily. "Oh, okay, thank you for that. I'll be right there."

The maid bowed and left.

It suddenly hit her: she had an answer!

Leaping up and suddenly feeling dizzy, she decided to wait for a bit so her body adjusted. Once she was well balanced, she tried to brush out the crinkles in her dress and then dashed from the room.

Crowley was more than surprised to see the Crown Princess practically tear around the corner, and almost run into him as a consequence.

"Whoa, what's the hurry?" He asked her jokingly. Like Halt, he had gotten in the habit of not using a formal title for her. Cassie either didn't mind or simply never took notice.

"There's a bird for me?" She asked breathlessly.

Crowley frowned. "No, not a bird. A letter."

"A letter?" She asked disbelievingly. No wonder it had taken so longer to arrive.

The Corps Commandant nodded and handed her over a piece of folded parchment. It carried Halt's seal, since Will wasn't yet a fully-fledged Ranger.

She stood for a moment, studying the letter. She was barely aware of Crowley's eyes on her.

Snapping out of her thoughts, she thanked the Ranger and decided she wanted to open it in peace.

Cassie barely noticed the guards that saluted her or the maids and servants that bowed or curtseyed, her gaze was trained on the small letter within her hand. Her brain itched for her to open it.

Once she arrived at her room, she shut the door and realised her heart was beating rapidly. With sudden nervousness, she couldn't bring herself to open it.

"Ugh, I'm so hopeless." She muttered.

There had been numerous times since Skandia when Will had turned her down. Why would she think today was any different?

Feeling terribly cowardly, Cassandra stuffed the letter into her dress pocket and vowed to open it later; when she was truly ready.

King Duncan was startled to find the Princess once again hiding in the Castle gardens.

"Cassie, is this becoming a bad habit of yours?" He called out chidingly, but he smiled to show her he meant no harm in his words.

She was staring at nothing. He frowned, realising not all was well with his daughter. As he sat beside her, he came to a conclusion on what her problem was.

"Is this to do with the young Ranger again?" He asked gently.

Cassie finally seemed to recognise him. She slumped, letting her hands support her head.

"I got a letter back from him, it came yesterday." She admitted quietly.

"Oh, what did it say?"

"I don't know. I haven't opened it."

"Cassie! St. Valentine's is tomorrow! How would you plan out tomorrow with less than the afternoon?"

The Princess looked at him with such a sad expression that Duncan let his disappointment lie low for the moment. It's not that he wanted to encourage her to peruse relationships, but it wasn't in her nature to simply give up.

"Here," the King held out his hand. "I'll read it to you."

Cassie hesitated. If there was something endearing to her in there, did she want her dad to read it? She shook her head violently. If she believed something like that was in there, why was she scared to read it?

Reluctantly, she pulled the paper from her pocket and handed it over.

Duncan didn't waste a moment to tear the seal. He made sure not to let her see it.

Giving it a once over with his eyes, he cleared his throat.

"Dear Evanlyn," he paused at the unusual name before realising it was easier for Will to refer to her as that, "I don't doubt that it would be a good day to spend together, however I have to decline due to already having plans for that day in particular. Please send my regards to your father. I'm sorry I won't be able to see either of you. Signed, Will."

"Cassie?" Duncan encouraged, after not hearing a response from her.

The Princess sighed heavily. "Sorry dad, it's alright, really. I sort of knew he was going to say that anyway."

"He does sound genuinely sorry for missing out."

Cassie laughed bitterly. "Yeah right. 'Plans for that day in particular,' I bet that courier has a hold of him."

"And if she does?" Duncan knew he had to ask it, even if it would hurt her. "Do you resent her so much you would deny Will's happiness?"

She sobered, her eyes closing briefly. "Of course not."

The King held out his hand, hauling his daughter to her feet.

"Come on." He ordered.

Knowing it wouldn't do well to sulk; Cassie accepted his hand and stood ungracefully. King Duncan wrapped an arm around her shoulder as he led her back into Castle Araluen.

As they passed the Grand Hall, Duncan told her comfortingly, "Don't forget, St. Valentines is also about family and friends. We can spend it together, like we do on your birthday."

She made nodded glumly and followed him from the room.

Once the royals were gone, one person turned around in confusion, temporarily abandoning his conversation with another knight.

Horace frowned and folded his arms, his mind deep in thought.

'If you love somebody, let them go. If they return, they were always yours. If they don't, they never were.'

- Kahlil Gibran

A/N:

Are they pigeons or doves? Far too lazy to look it up. I don't care if I'm wrong. You get the message.

And yeah, Cassie did like Will, a lot, even I can admit that. I wanted to get into her mind frame between the books. At this point, Horace is one of closest friends, (check Book 4 if you want) but she's still hung up over Will pretty much until Book 7. But not Book 5 +6, argh how confusing.

It's not a oneshot, there are more chapters. I'll release either another tonight or the whole thing tomorrow.

- Love Mae.