The first time he saw her, he was 18, and she was 14. Ben Finn was just a young soldier, fresh out of training, and having excelled completely at all he did, he was invited to the castle with the rest of the Swift Brigade for afternoon tea before they were sent out to Mourningwood Fort to quell the never-ending hollow-man raids.
The princess had been hidden away since birth; for fear that she'd fall ill if she were to be exposed to the outside world. This was enforced by her father when the Hero Queen had passed away whilst giving birth to Anastasia, and when the King passed on a few years later, Logan took it a step further, basically banning her from seeing any outsiders; leaving this young girl a mystery to the citizens of Albion. She was imagined to be a blushing vigil of purity, only to be seen years from now in a wedding gown, being married off to some noble boy who won't actually love her, but will be good for the country. Albion rested well with this; the people simply took this as a fact of life. They simply were excited for her 19th birthday; when she'd inevitably be wed in front of the entire country.
Anastasia was absolutely beautiful; there was no doubt about that. Ben was immediately intrigued by her looks and her personality, the way she took a moment to speak to each member of the Swift Brigade, laughing along with the finely dressed soldiers and curtsying when she felt she had sufficiently spoken to that particular person or group, and when it was finally Ben's turn, he took a moment to examine her out of the corner of his eye as she walked over to him from across the yard. This young woman was just beginning to fill out; curves beginning to be seen through her royal attire, her face having almost completely lost they're baby-like roundness. Anastasia had long, auburn hair that cascaded down her back and large eyes that glimmered green like the forests he had traveled through many times in his past few years of rather unsavoury travel.
Faster than he anticipated, she was in front of him, and he bowed low and then took her small hand into his larger, calloused one and kissed hers softly, as was custom.
"Princess, it is a pleasure to meet you, Captain Benjamin Finn of the Swift Brigade, humbly at your service ma'am."
"Thank you Mr. Finn, no need for such formalities though, this is just a relaxed event! It was my idea to give your brigade a bit of a break before going out to protect my dear Albion. I hope you're enjoying yourself?" She replied whilst waving his actions off.
"Most definitely Princess, this garden is absolutely beautiful, thank you for this privilege, it is much appreciated." Ben said smiling at her relaxed actions.
"Don't bother with that "Princess" stuff Mr. Finn, call me Annie! Oh, would you like to see the rest of the garden? We could go on a walk if you'd like, Captain." Anastasia blushed and looked up hopefully at Ben, waiting for a response, Ben could tell she hadn't had too many visitors in the past ten years and he obliged her.
"Well, Annie, I will walk around the gardens with you, but I have one condition." He replied, smirking.
"And what would that be?"
"You have to call me Ben, none of this 'Mr. Finn' or 'Captain' nonsense; if I'm calling you Annie, you're gonna call me Ben."
The girl nodded, smiling, and Ben held out his arm for her to take, she immediately did, and Anastasia began excitedly showing him her favourite plots and talking about the exotic flowers that were all together in the magnificent garden.
When they reached a plot of yellow roses, she stopped walking and decided to tell Ben about this particular spot in detail:
"These roses are my favourite, partly because they're yellow, and also because they don't have thorns. When I feel like causing a stir, I hide in here for a few hours, which sends the handmaids in an absolute frenzy because they know they'd get hided by my brother," she smiled as if she were remembering a certain instant, and then continued on:
"I first found this spot the night after my father died, I was 4, and I ran out into the garden when I found out, I was far too fast to be followed, and I found these, I dove into them to hide, and I found that they had a very large clearing in the centre, and I hid in there all night. Needless to say, nobody found me, and the next afternoon I just stepped out and walked to the kitchen for lunch as if nothing happened, everyone was appalled, and I didn't get in trouble because I was in the garden."
The two laughed for a bit and she finished off her tale by saying something that surprised Ben.
"If my brother let me see people, maybe I wouldn't hide in there, wanna hide for a bit with me, Ben? I'm tired of this party and you're pretty cool, a lot nicer than the other soldiers, they refused to call me Annie. We should hide away, please?"
"Annie, I don't think that's the best idea, I'd love to, but I'd get in big trouble if I was caught in there with you, why don't we walk over to the little pavilion over there and we can sit down in it instead." Ben motioned to the ivy-covered pavilion.
The princess nodded, and he knew that she understood his reasoning and together they walked towards the small stone building and when they got there, she began telling him about a princess in a story she'd read.
"There was this princess, Anastasia was her name, I wasn't named after her, but my brother would read me this story when I was young and I read it often even now, this princess lived in a gorgeous castle and her grandmother gave her a beautiful music box that sung a song, will you dance with me while I sing it?" She kicked off her shoes, and Ben knew that even if he didn't dance, she would.
"Sure Annie, I'll dance with you. I'd love to actually." He said sincerely.
Anastasia grabbed his hand and put her other hand on his shoulder, and she cleared her throat before she began to sing in her perfect smooth voice, a song Ben had never heard of before, it quickly became his new favourite tune.
Dancing bears
Painted wings
Things I almost remember
And a song someone sings
Once upon a December
The two spun and moved slowly to the sweet sound of the princess' voice, as Ben realized his proximity to this girl he'd probably never see again, and revelled in the feel of her waist under his hand.
Someone holds me safe and warm
Horses dance through a silver storm
Figures dancing gracefully
Across my memory
Ben let the fact that she was four years his younger slip from his mind as he enjoyed his last moments of simply being a teenage boy, dancing with a pretty girl, not being a soldier about to go fight for his life and for Mourningwood in two days time.
Far away
Long ago
Glowing dim as an ember
Things my heart used to know
Once upon a December
He smiled down at Anastasia and saw the blush creep up her neck and paint her cheeks red as their feet moved in unison to her perfectly tuned voice. As she finished the song off, he pulled her in closer, so close that he could smell the exotic shampoo she must use, and he felt her breath hitch for a second while she sand the last verse.
Far away, long ago
Glowing dim as an ember
Things my heart used to know
Things it yearns to remember
And a song someone sings
Once upon a December
After a moment of enjoying their closeness they broke apart, Anastasia breathless, and even the strong, charming Ben Finn, who'd already, in his young age, had many women, had a small, but noticeable, blush on his face.
"Thank you for indulging me in my childish actions, Ben, I truly appreciate it." She said towards the ground as she stepped back into her lavender flats and straightened out her purple gown that, just moments ago, Ben had been holding onto.
He nodded and replied: "Well Annie, we best get back to the party, before somebody notices we've been gone and sends out a search party, it's been an absolute pleasure being here with you."
"Yes of course, let's go back to all that stuck up stuff, honestly, I only asked for this party for some actual interaction, I hate parties, but I need more company than just those shallow, immature, noble boys my brother is trying to get me to marry."
"Ah, well, I understand that, regardless, I've had a great time." Ben said as he pulled her into a hug.
Hugging was completely inappropriate, but so was calling her by her name and dancing on a small pavilion in a hidden part of the garden, so it was sort of a 'what the hell, why not?' kind of deal. He held her close for a few moments and then the walked back to the party as is nothing had happened.
Little did he know, four years later he'd be fighting beside her in a revolution that would turn his world upside-down, with a woman he had met only once, in a garden, days before he was sent away to a god-forsaken swamp.
Authors Note:
Hiya! So, a couple years ago I started a Ben Finn/Princess fic, and I abandoned it and now I'm back to try again, depending on my schedule and my creativity levels, I should put a chapter up every week and a half to two weeks, if I don't.. feel free to beat me down in my PM box because otherwise NOTHING will get done *sigh* 'tis how it works.
Hope you enjoy! Feel free to message me any grammar mess-ups or suggestions for future chapters because (honestly) I don't know where this story is going yet, but it'll be worth it to stay tuned in!
- Chelsie