Wow, I am so incredibly happy right now! Not only have I had lovely reviews for this already (and feel so anxious about you all liking it!) but I have seen a few new names in the review list. I miss the familiar ones when they aren't there and I always notice ones I haven't seen before so welcome to anyone who is new to my stuff. And thank you everyone for your words :D

I have recently been introduced to Pandora147 (thanks Peter) and am trying to work my way through her stuff, so far I have only read 'Serendipity' (amazing) and 'The Simple Need' (awesome), but I thought I would mention it for anyone looking for engaging, real, romantic, original stories!

What happens on the Island, stays on the Island

"So what did you do?" Troy Bolton threw down his hold all and eyed the obviously uncomfortable bed he would be sleeping in for the next two weeks.

He looked over to the small Ecuadorian female who apparently was sleeping in the iron bed beside him; under the same roof, in the same hut which had very little supplies and no home-comforts.

Gabi Montez sighed and looked over to the brown-haired, blue eyed boy beside her and adjusted her description. No, he wasn't a boy, he was a man. A young one maybe, but a man all the same. His thick-set shoulders and steely gaze told her that.

She tipped her head and licked her lips, knowing she couldn't avoid revealing her bad behavior to this stranger and somehow she was okay with that, because he was here for the same reason it would seem. They had both been placed on the adult naughty step.

"Pole danced in night clubs and smoked cigarettes;" she lifted her chin competitively. "You?"

He liked the way her long, dark hair fell in messy curls down her back even though half of it was up in a bun on her head. He shrugged and down turned his lips. "Got drunk a lot…maybe got into a fight or two…"

She nodded, turning her lips down too. "Impressive."

He sliced her a mischievous sideways look. "You think we can make a break from this place?"

If anyone would be up for an escape, he was pretty sure it would be her.

Her lips rose slowly in a smirk. "I'd like to say I tried…"

He held out his hand; as if offering a bond of agreement. "I'm Troy Bolton." He told her then; even though they both knew each other through their father's alone. Each had had 'the talk'. Each had been told gravely what their actions had resulted in. Each had rolled their eyes and stopped listening as the punishment had been explained.

And they had both had expressed their disappointment at being told the news.

Gabi met the blue gaze of her ally and blinked. "Gabi Montez. But don't think we'll be friends, Bolton," she warned icily. "As soon as I find a way to escape, I'm gone…"

"You're not going anywhere, Miss Montez…" A loud, clipped, authoritative voice told her as heavy boots thudded on the wooden floor of the hut.

Gabi merely smirked and folded her arms. "You can't stop me."

Troy looked over with a little curl of his lips, surprised at her spoilt demeanor.

"This is an island, Miss Montez, unless you have forgotten. That means all sides are surrounded by water. Unless you wish to drown yourself to escape- and may I add it's likely the dolphins will only bring you back to shore- then I suggest you give up any notion of escape…"

Sergeant Taylor strode up to Troy. "And that goes for you too."

Troy let out a little laugh and lifted his hands in surrender. "I didn't even do anything!" he chuckled.

"That's not what I've heard," Buck replied dryly, then walked by them both again as he paced up and down. "From now on you will answer to Cadet Bolton and Cadet Montez."

"What?" Gabi spluttered, throwing her arms out. "That's ridiculous!"

"No, what is ridiculous is that you stay out all night and dance like a night-walker in clubs around 'that' part of town," Buck commented, giving her a stern look and Gabi blushed as Troy snickered beside her.

"Shut up," she whispered to him.

"No worse than taking your father's 1976 Buick and wrapping it around a tree before being breathalised at four times the limit…" Buck added to Troy and Troy smirked and made a 'rock on' sign with his hand.

Gabi stuck her tongue out at him to prove she was not the only troublesome offspring at camp.

"Breakfast is at seven, sharp- cooked and prepared by you both on a rota. Lunch is at one and you hunt your own food and dinner is at sun-fall. No later. Your uniforms are here…" Buck hit the metal locker. "No other clothing permitted."

"What about-" Gabi began, only to be silenced.

"Lavatory is outside and showering will take place each morning in the camp shower." Buck added, as if pre-empting her question. "Any questions, cadets?"

"Is this all the bedding we get?" Troy asked with a frown. "I used to have two pillows and at least one more blanket…won't it get cold at night?"

"You are no longer at the palace, cadet Bolton," Buck sneered in his face; his hands behind his back. "Your bedding is sufficient for the night –time temperatures."

Gabi tipped her head to one side and sighed. "Do I have to share a room with him?" she wondered. "I mean it's not safe, a young girl having to share with a guy…"

"Perhaps you should of thought of that before," Buck argued. "And if I suspect any hanky-panky from Cadet Bolton, I will put a stop to it right away," he assured and Troy spluttered at the word 'hanky panky', and then regained his composure.

"I don't know what you're laughing at;" Gabi muttered, "you best stay to your bed or I'll kick your ass…"

"Swearing is not permitted in Camp." Buck added. "Ten press ups."

"What?" Gabi frowned. "I can't do ten press ups! I never even-"

"Shall I make it twenty?" Buck lifted a brow and hardened his tone and Gabi gaped.

"I'm not doing press-ups! If I wanted to look like a man I would lift weights and take hormones…"

"Cadet Montez; ten press ups. Now!" Buck added with a loud command; making them both jump.

"Fine, whatever…" Gabi grumbled as she knelt and cheated by using her knees to take some of her weight while she followed command. "Stupid, idiotic army camp from hell, just because you don't have a life doesn't mean I should have to-"

"Are you done, Cadet?" Buck asked as Gabi completed her tenth dip.

She stood up and rolled her eyes. "Yes."

"Yes, sir," he corrected.

"Are there any more rules?" Troy chipped in, glancing at Gabi as she straightened herself from her punishment.

"Lots of them, boy," Sergeant Taylor smiled. "But let's get started on the cleaning before sun down…"

"Cleaning?" Gabi's face screwed up.

"Think of yourself as a reverse Cinderella, if you like…" Buck announced and then marched from the room.

/

"This really sucks…" Gabriella wiped a hand over her forehead to train back the wisps of hair that escaped her quickly-made bun.

"Yep." Troy agreed beside her, scrubbing the cabin floor with as much enthusiasm as she felt.

"Are you okay with this?" she wondered. "I mean, really?"

"I thought you didn't want to be friends," he lifted a brow.

She gave him a long look. "Whatever."

Their uniforms were khaki; as expected. Troy's fit his manly body snugly and Gabi's was a little big and as they knelt there and scrubbed the floor for the first time in both their lives, Troy couldn't help but see the irony of it.

He chuckled as he knelt up to stretch. "This is insane."

"My nails are cracking already…" Gabi complained. "I think I am going to disown my father."

"You mean he didn't disown you already?" Troy chirped up; finding amusement in this task.

"Ha-ha," she gave him a stare with her liquid chocolate eyes.

"Oh, come on, you have to see the funny side of this. All our lives we've had servants to do this for us and now we're scrubbing our own floor…it's funny. I like the twisted humour of it all…"

Gabi huffed. "I don't."

"Come on, Princess," he goaded. ""We're almost done now. You want me to finish your part?"

Gabi frowned at her partner. "I thought you wanted out as much as I did?"

"I do," he shrugged. "But patience is a virtue," he smiled as he helped her with the second half of her side of the hut.

"I want out of here," she repeated. "Like now."

"Hey, relax princess," he teased. "Don't stress."

Don't stress? Was he kidding? What was there not to be stressed about? She nodded her head in agreement but inwardly complained.

"Great job, cadets," Sergeant Taylor commended as he came inside the freshly cleaned hut. "Teamwork is vital," he added as he noticed Troy on Gabi's side, helping. "I hope you like rice, dinner is ready…"

/

The rice had been chewy. And tasteless. Gabi was used to far more exotic flavours in her home country none of which seemed to be available here - in prison where she had landed with another inmate.

She wrestled in bed as she remembered the stranger lying opposite her in his own iron bed- complete with flat mattress and scratchy blankets.

She sat up and gently lay her feet on the floor as she snapped open her luggage case and rifled through the mountain of clothes to find her fleece jacket; only she couldn't find it in any of the mound of clothing and she cursed as she realized she must have left it at home.

"Hey, Cadet, you ok?" Troy whispered into the dark.

"Fine," Gabi lied as she stood and got back into bed.

"You missing home?" he wondered and she snorted.

"I've only been gone a day."

"This is kinda different though…"

"No, I'm just cold and I don't have my fleece," she explained with a little petulant sigh and he smiled in the dark.

"Here," she heard him call before a soft weight hit her. "Use my hoodie."

Gabi picked up the warm garment and realized he must have been wearing it. When she pulled it on and it smelled of him; she was certain of it.

"Thank you. Won't you be cold now?"

"I'm a guy," he whispered back. "I can handle it."

"Goodnight," she whispered now that they were awake and she wanted to sleep again.

Troy smiled at her small form snuggled up in his jacket that he could faintly see in the dark of the room.

"Goodnight, princess."

/

"I am not showering in that." Gabi folded her arms and jutted her hip; still encased in Troy's jacket as Buck showed them the cleaning facilities.

Troy stood beside her and snorted, woken by the drill sergeant at the same early hour.

The outside shower was barely covered with screens for modesty and the single metal shower head did not appear to have a heated water option and although she had expected this island retreat to be punishment, she hadn't expected it to be sub-human.

"This is the camp shower, cadets." Buck too folded his arms.

"But it's…I'm not even…" she gaped. "Is there nothing else?"

"The sea," he offered and she stretched her lips.

"It's freezing cold out there. And in here. Does this water have any heat?"

"Stop whining," Troy muttered under his breath and Gabi gave him a stare.

"Shut up."

"Enough for one." Buck confirmed. "You can take it in turns who goes first each day…"

"Oh thanks, so generous," she smarted and sighed. "Can I at least wear my bikini in the shower?" she begged.

Buck nodded. "Permission granted. Now hop to it; you're on breakfast rota."

Breakfast making was an interesting task. Considering Gabi had never had to make her own breakfast before- let alone for three people- she managed to heat up oats and water with a cup full of powdered milk to make a surprisingly decent porridge.

"Hey, thanks for breakfast," Troy told her as she handed him his bowl.

"How was second shower?" she wondered of the cold, uncomfortable shower he must have taken.

He grimaced. "Not great." He admitted.

"Grows you balls, showering in cold water," Buck piped up and Gabi snorted.

"Just what I need."

Troy flashed her a grin and she felt dazed for a second. He really had the most amazing smile and she hadn't noticed it.

"Maybe you do," he countered and she pursed her lips.

"I don't have a problem in facing people," she argued.

"But you can't face your destiny," he remarked and she looked at him, meeting his gaze for a long moment.

"Neither can you." She replied, equally unflinching and he saw a spark of something inside her then, maybe it was determination; or grit; or just pure disobedience, but he knew she wasn't the spoilt princess she pretended to be.

Troy took a spoonful of his breakfast and ate.

/

"Okay Cadets, today we are going to explore the island so you know where to find food and where not to tread."

"Why would we not want to tread anywhere?" Gabi wondered, tying her hair up and frowning at the rucksack Buck showed her. "What is that?"

"There are some nasties out there," he explained, then to answer her second question, "Camping kit."

Gabi's face paled and her eyes saucered. "You expect me to sleep out there? With all those creepy crawlies?"

"You should have thought of that when you disobeyed your father and brought shame on your family…" Buck quipped and Gabi opened her mouth to protest, then closed it, then opened it again, taking a long suck of air onto her lungs.

The man was right. As much as it annoyed her to have him putting her in her place, she had kind of deserved this punishment.

"I still don't see how dancing in a night club is such a bad thing," she grumbled to herself and Troy came into the clearing in his green uniform, lifting his bag without a struggle.

"Ready princess?" he asked.

"I wish you wouldn't call me that," she complained.

"Why not? You are…"

"Would you like it if I called you Prince?" she wondered with a lift of her dark, shaped brows.

Troy let himself study her face for a moment- she had big brown eyes and naturally dark lashes that didn't currently boast any mascara but still curled darkly around her eyes. Her cheeks were full but shaped her exotic face with high cheekbones and a dimpled chin. Her nose was small, cute and her lips bowed; pursed just so that he might lean down and kiss her just so easily.

He smiled at his own thoughts, flicking his gaze over her uniform to try and guess what lay beneath but she was guarding her figure very closely he noticed.

"Princess is a term of endearment," he excused his annoying nickname.

"Lest we forget, we have to put up with each other for two whole weeks, Princey, so any kind of endearment better get dropped now."

"Then what do I call you?" He couldn't help his smile as she struggled to lift her back pack.

"Gabriella. Like everyone else." She suggested crossly.

"Not Gabi? Brie? Ella?" He offered of the different parts of her name for possible shortenings.

She tilted her head and took in his handsome features and messed hair; a sign perhaps of his rebellion against his heritage. "The only person who called me Ella was my boyfriend and he's not my boyfriend anymore," she mumbled under her breath and his brows rose as they began their hike.

"You have a boyfriend?"

"Had," she corrected.

"One your dad chose?" he wondered lightly, remembering his own arranged engagement.

"Actually I met him outside the palace walls on one of my jaunts."

"What happened?"

She squinted at him. "Why are you so interested?"

"Because we live the same life Gabi," he reminded her with a museful grin. "The only girl I was allowed to get close to was chosen for me. Why do you think I got in this mess in the first place?"

She parted her lips to sigh; nodding at their unspoken similarities, something they still had time to explore but for now, it seemed harmless to share stories of her love-life.

"He was a barman- at the club I went to. Father didn't know about him until the very end. I had successfully been seeing him behind Father's back and when I went to dance, I went to see him, too. But the cameras caught us out. They found us kissing in the back alley- not a place a future Queen should be," she rolled her eyes. "Especially not in the arms of an Ecuadorian rascal as my father put it. Apparently the man was seducing me," she derided.

Troy licked his lips and looked down on his small partner, wondering if it was she who was the seducer rather than the barman he spoke of.

"That's when he sent you?" he checked and she nodded. "You're still in love?"

She snorted. "No! I was never in love. Alejandro was just my escape. He was just a fling."

Troy was surprised at her ability to say such things when her background juxtaposed with every word she spoke. The Royal way of life did not allow for much freedom- especially outside the palace but more especially mixing with 'commoners'. He secretly respected her for escaping and even envied her love affair with an outsider.

"What about you?" Gabi turned the tables and Troy swallowed; wondering if he should lie. For all the wild nights and parties, he hadn't once taken solace in the arms of a willing female- and there had been plenty. Did that make him weird, he wondered?

"Ah…I've never been in love," he shared carefully, flicking her a look.

"Oh. What about your engagement?" she wondered and he smiled sadly.

"It wasn't a love match," he described.

"Hence the partying…" she nodded knowingly.

"Keep up Cadets!" Buck called ahead of them, slashing greenery in their wake.

Gabi groaned. "I'm tired already!"

"Want me to take your bag?" Troy offered and she frowned at him.

"Are you really a Prince?"

He smirked. "Apparently…" he helped her off with the structure and carried it in his hand as they caught up to their leader.

"We're at the rock pool where we can poach for fish," Buck told them and Gabi peered fearfully into the unknown depths.

"Please tell me we have a fishing rod…"

/

They didn't have a fishing rod. As it turned out, the rock pool fish catching involved getting into the knee-deep water and using a stick to stab anything that came near. If they were lucky they might find a crab, Buck said.

Gabi sighed as she watched Troy expertly catch three fish and a crab before it was her turn. For some reason, Buck still wanted her to do this even though they had enough food now for their day.

"Do I have to?" she whined and unlaced her boots; choosing to slip off her trousers instead of roll them up like Troy had.

She gingerly picked her way to the side of the pool where Troy met her; an amused gleam in his eyes.

"Nice boxers, Montez," he complimented of her shorted underwear.

"Well I'm not sitting in wet trousers the rest of the day," she snapped, surprised to find his hand offering her help down into the dark water.

"Thank you," she looked up and met his blue eyes as she sank into the warm pool.

"You're welcome," he replied, then winked to which she frowned.

"Tonight," he whispered and she took a moment to understand.

Her eyes widened. "Escape?" she mouthed back and he nodded like an excited little boy.

"How?" she shrugged her shoulders up.

He tapped the side of his nose and she parted her lips to commend him, but Buck ordered them to 'get a move on' which she quickly obeyed albeit with a grimace on her lips.

"God, this is stupid!" she sighed, running the heel of her palm up her forehead stressfully. "I was not made to catch fish- clearly."

Troy vaulted back into the water and stood toe to toe with her, a quick smile on his face.

"Just relax. Stop wiggling your toes. Let the water settle; all is still…" he led and she breathed in and out slowly; surprised by his appearance to help her.

He didn't need to do that- he could have just laid out in the sun and caught a tan while she struggled and she frowned as she considered she might have actually done that had this been the other way round. So where was the bad boy she wondered? Where was the drunken, yob-like, party-Troy that he had told her about?

As he clasped his hands over hers and drove the spear downwards; expertly capturing a fish, she realized his naughty counter part was not present today. Maybe it took a little alcohol to bring him out or maybe he was just happy to camp out and spear fish; whatever the case, he sure wasn't what she expected and she felt herself melt a little at his kind gesture.

"So what happened to the guy who couldn't behave?" she asked lightly as she looked up and he helped her from the water-hole.

Troy shrugged. "I'm helping a lady out, that's all."

She nodded, not convinced. Troy couldn't deny his conditioning any more than she could; but he surprised her. He was actually quite charming and it irked her.

"Okay I got one," she told Buck. "Can I please rest now?"

Sergeant Taylor looked down on his two charges and dipped his chin in a nod of agreement.

"Set up camp, Cadets," he instructed; quickly going about building a camp fire to cook their catch. "We'll have crab for lunch and fish for tea…"

"Oh, yummy," Gabi derided as she unrolled her camp kit from the bag Troy passed her and she thanked him for carrying it, eyeing all the pieces to make her home for the night.

She frowned. "I only have poles, pegs and joints," she called.

"I only have a tent," Troy twisted back.

"Are we meant to be sharing?" She wondered with a nervous clench in her tummy. She already had enough to deal with let alone having to share her sleeping quarters with a man. And not any old man, a good-looking man at that.

She could see now how his quick grin and beguiling eyes bought him out of trouble. She could see how he'd win quick friends and become the life and soul of a party. What she couldn't see was how he hadn't found a female companion. His revelation at not finding love surprised her. Apart from his misdemeanors in the house of his Royal beginnings, he seemed like an attractive guy. He wasn't spoilt the way she was, he wasn't even arrogant which she had expected. She still stood by her question asking if he really was a prince because so far he hadn't shown it.

Buck answered her question and brought her out of her thoughts. "Cadets stay together."

"Oh, great," she sighed and rolled her eyes.

"Do you ever quit moaning?" Troy asked, amused as they adapted to building their home for the night together.

"What do you expect? I've never done this before…"

"Me either," he argued. "You don't hear me whining."

"Why is that?" she wondered, suspiciously. "I mean, I'd have thought any guy who's been pampered his whole life to find this difficult."

"Some of us haven't been pampered our whole life," he regarded. "Daddy obviously spoilt you rotten…"

"And that's my fault?" she threw back, her temper rising. "Like I had any say in how I was raised- which family I was born into…"

He shrugged. "If my parents can raise me and my brother without spoiling us, so could yours."

"Well they didn't," she defended. "So what do you want from me?"

"A little graciousness wouldn't hurt," he mused and she opened her mouth and widened her eyes at his barb.

"You are-" she sucked in a breath. "Unbelievable!" she launched eventually and threw down the tent to storm off.

"Cadet Montez…" Buck called but she didn't listen. "Cadet Montez, halt!" he commanded and Gabi sighed, pausing from her exit and she stood, arms folded, tears at the edges of her eyes and for that moment, she couldn't stop the sobs that followed.

"What?" she hitched, struggling for air.

""No-one leaves camp except to use the latrine." He said in a softer tone.

"Well I need the toilet," she excused on hitched breaths and she was granted permission to go.

Something that Troy cursed at as he watched her leave; her tears a result of his needling.

/

Gabi climbed into her bed in Troy's jacket over her uniform which was scratchy to sleep in; but she had to make do. She considered that this was the first time she had worn the same clothes for more than a few hours; especially overnight and the next day too.

She sighed out at that idea, feeling dirty at the idea of it.

She wrestled on her thin foam bedding beneath her and pulled up the sleeping bag to her shoulders.

She missed home. She missed Hugo the butler and Isabel her maid. She missed her father, Joseph and her sister, Evelia who was planning her wedding to Eduardo- Prince of Spain.

Okay, she had brought this on herself by trying to live the life of every other eighteen-year old girl; but she didn't deserve this, she decided to herself. This hard bed, this dark, frightening night and this unbearable proximity to a man who knew nothing about being the apple of his father's eye.

Sure, Joseph doted on Evelia in equal measures but Gabi was the baby of the family. She was allowed to do pretty much as she liked; much to the annoyance of the house staff and even her late mother before she had passed; but Gabi had grown up knowing she could get away with anything. Just one sweet smile; one insincere apology and she would be forgiven.

She never thought her father would actually punish her. If she had, she might not have taken Alejandro back to the palace to make love with him.

She hadn't. Made love with him, that is. They had been caught by the guards before either of them had even reached the foot of the grand staircase; but her intentions were enough to push her father over the edge.

He was adamant that she would only sleep with the man she was chosen to marry and her skin crawled with the idea that someone she had never met- didn't even know- would be touching her and taking her virginity on their wedding night.

"Hey, psst…" a whisper invaded her thoughts and she felt grateful for it.

"What?" she whispered back.

"I'm escaping, you coming?" Troy asked and she had forgotten all about his little escape idea.

"Where are you going to go?" she wondered, knowing there was no way out.

"To the South shore…bound to be a cargo boat pass by," he explained.

"But we're not allowed to go there; Buck said there were poisonous snakes…"

"Buck said there were poisonous snakes to stop us going because he knows we can escape that way…" Troy sighed and rolled up.

Gabi paused. What if Buck was right? She didn't want to risk getting bitten. But the lure of freedom was strong.

"Okay, wait for me," she quickly sat up and rid the jacket; shivering as the cold night air seeped through her cotton uniform.

"Quickly," he whispered, knowing Buck had gone to the latrine which gave them only a small window to sneak out.

He climbed out from the tent and held out his hand to help her up; quickly pelting into the dark undergrowth to be hidden and Gabi followed with wide-eyed fear of the night; following only his heavy breaths and thrashing feet.

"What was that?" she stumbled to a halt and looked around, seeing only dark. Her eyes prickled with the fear of it all.

"Just a bird of paradise," Troy's fingers touched hers and he grasped her hand. "Come on…"

"I don't know if I can do this…" she whispered, her legs aching already and her lungs burning.

"Shh," he commanded, stopping them for a second as he listened all around; all still and eerie.

"Well, well…" Buck's voice startled them along with the bright flashlight he bathed them both in. "Cadets on the run…"

Gabi winced at being caught and shielded her eyes.

"This was my idea," Troy quickly owned up, trying to spare Gabi more punishment.

"And yet Cadet Montez didn't decline your little adventure," Buck replied knowingly, looking them both up and down the way you would expect from an Army Sergeant.

Troy blew out a breath. "I coerced her into it."

"That I doubt very much, Cadet Bolton," Buck smirked. "Cadet Montez seems to know her own mind." He added and Gabi closed her eyes and swallowed, realizing only then that she was still holding hands with Troy. She was reminded only by the tightening of his hand around hers and she looked to him in response.

"Sorry," he mouthed and she smiled, just a flicker.

"So the misbehaving teenagers are caught sneaking out after dark again." Buck proceeded, making them both nervous with his pacing. "Only there are no nightclubs here, folk. No bars. No poles to dance…" he looked to Gabi and she blushed. "No girls to charm," he added to Troy and Troy lifted one side of his mouth in a lop-sided smile. "So where were you going?"

"To the beach," Troy quickly answered.

"Through snake country?" Buck wondered. "Bad idea, young man. Especially with this young lady on your arm."

Troy dropped Gabi's hand, then. "I guessed I'd take my chances," Troy lifted his chin defiantly and for the first time, Gabi saw the regal in him. Yes, it was there, she could see it now. The straight rod down his back, the confident push of his shoulders back and the tipping of his chin, just so that gave him that edge over mere mortals.

"Back to camp, Cadet Montez," Buck told her and handed her a light. "No wandering off track." He added sternly.

"What are you going to do?" she whispered, panicked at Troy's punishment.

"Don't you worry, little miss. You head back to camp and we'll decide your punishment tomorrow. Me and Troy need to have a little man-time," Buck explained as if she were a particularly slow five year old.

"It's not fair-" she began but Buck let out a loud 'hah!' to silence her.

"Go back to camp, Cadet." He told her again.

She darted her eyes to Troy and he nodded with a sad smile. "Go," he told her and she finally turned away, trailing back to camp while her imagination ran wild over what the men were going to do out there in the dark.

She sighed as she realized she might never find out.

/

"Did he hurt you?" Gabi asked her partner as she found him the next morning; kindling the fire to heat water for coffee.

Troy looked up and curled a lip. "No."

"What happened?" she knelt beside him and looked at the side of his face as he apparently became reticent to look her in the eye.

"Just like he said. Man stuff." He supplied.

"Like what?" she begged.

He sighed. "What happens on the island, stays on the island."

"Is that your motto?" she wondered.

"It's the Sergeant Taylor motto." He explained.

"But I'm on the island so you can tell me…"

"Ah, Cadet Montez, up before the alarm, I'm impressed." Buck's loud voice boomed across camp. Gabi rolled her eyes.

"Don't tell me…now it's my turn to be punished?" she stood and put her hands on her hips.

"Three laps of camp and twenty press ups," he ordered and she frowned.

"That's it?"

"Cadet Bolton explained his insistence in your joining him on his escape attempt. I'm prepared to give you the benefit of the doubt- this time." He added sternly to remind her not to try anything again.

"Right," she nodded and pressed her lips together, quickly following his orders. The run around camp wasn't too bad but the press ups she still struggled with. As she rested between sets, she wondered if her curvy Ecuadorian behind didn't deserve this punishment; if at least to lose some of her unwanted booty.

"No time for resting Cadet," the voice was soft and belonged to Troy and she looked up with a scowl.

"Shut up," she replied. "Its okay for you; you go to the gym every day."

He laughed. "Do I?"

"I saw you pulling chin-ups on that tree this morning," she shared of the sight she had been greeted with when she had woken at five and poked her head out of the flap of the tent.

He twisted his lips. "Well, I-"

"I'm not good at this boy stuff," she admitted. "My nails are broken and full of dirt; this uniform is baggy and itchy, I feel like I haven't bathed for a week even though it's only been a day-"

"And yet you still manage to look beautiful," he inserted before she could finish her negative sentence.

Gabi met his blue eyes and wondered if he was being truthful. She couldn't see her reflection but she knew her skin looked dull without make up; her eyes sunk into her face without mascara and she didn't doubt she had dry patches of skin with no protection from the elements.

He gave her a little reassuring smile and she went back to completing her press-ups before Buck could hand out any more.

"Breakfast is served," Troy gave them each a plate as she climbed up from her press-ups to rejoin camp where he had been busy cooking.

"Fish again?" she made a face.

"Starving children would be grateful for this meal," Buck told her and for a few seconds, she realized he was right. Just because the palace cooked her whatever took her fancy each day did not mean she should turn her nose up at perfectly a reasonable meal. Her mother had taught her that and her teachings had been forgotten somehow; in the years after her death but she took a breath in as she tried to remember her wisdom.

"Thank you," she told them both as a result and they both stopped chewing to look up.

"I kind of cobbled it together," Troy added self-depreciatively.

"You have all the signs of a fine soldier," Buck told him and he smiled at the man.

"Thank you, sir."

"Oh, please," Gabi rolled her eyes and wondered if she would ever get to the stage where she could be considered adept at living this life. She was struggling already and she didn't have the motivation to really try- she didn't know how to, even- so she ate her breakfast in sulking silence.

"Okay;" Buck rose and they packed up their tent and belongings; Gabi shouldering her heavy back pack again with a sigh.

"You sure you don't want me to carry that?" Troy asked as he came beside her.

"I can manage," she told him in a firm tone, marching off in front of him and drawing a smile from his lips.

/

"A rope bridge?" Gabi almost felt faint at the idea of crossing.

Troy actually sniggered at her from behind and she twisted to glare at him.

"Oh you think vertigo is funny?" she arched.

"No, but your whining is very amusing," he explained and she realized she had complained about everything that had been thrown at them so far.

"Is this it?" She asked Buck. "No more games after this?"

"This is not a game, Cadet," he told her. "Once we cross the bridge and head back round to base camp; there's a zip wire to cross the other side of the canyon and then we're home."

"A zip wire?" she repeated faintly, her breathing becoming shallow and fast so she sat down with help from their leader.

"Don't faint on me, Cadet," he told her firmly. "I don't take prissies."

"Oh god," Gabi fought the rise of bile in her stomach and put her head between her legs.

"You can do this, soldier," Buck crouched to assure her. "It's just like a foot bridge only with ropes."

She nodded with a mad smile. "Only," she repeated lightly.

"It's perfectly safe." He added and Gabi heard Troy cluck his tongue before stepping right onto the bridge and heading across it with ease.

"Oh my god!" she panicked, wanting to pull him back, but he made it all the way across without a hitch; waving from the other side where he then sat on a rock facing the sun.

"How come he finds this so damn easy?" she muttered and appealed to Buck with her big brown eyes.

"Those doe eyes won't work on me," he warned. "The reason he finds it easy is because he's putting his mind to the task."

"But he's lived in a palace his whole life too- had everything done for him, never been outside…" she puzzled.

"You're a female, Cadet Montez," he told her and she wondered where he was going with his speech. "May I suggest you find it harder to adapt to the outdoors?"

She nodded, conceding he was right.

"I don't know if I can do this," she panicked.

"Look inside. There's a part of you that was so determined to gain some freedom that you broke out of your home to survive in a another world. A dark and dangerous world where some might have failed. Now just imagine to get to that world, you have to cross this bridge. Imagine your dancing pole on the other side…"

She chuckled at his analogy and got up, dusting herself down. She jerked in surprise when she saw Troy at their end of the bridge again.

"Why didn't you escape while you had the chance?" she asked; meeting his gaze slowly, sheepish at her panic attack.

He shrugged. "No fun on my own."

She smiled, twisting her lips as she stepped onto the very edge of the bridge.

"Just imagine I made you real mad about something," he goaded, walking backwards so she could progress.

"I already got told to imagine my dancing pole on the other side," she shared of Buck who followed them up.

He tilted his head with a little wicked smile. "Or that…"

"Oh, jeez," she froze as the bridge swayed in the jungle breeze and even clasping the sides didn't steady her.

"Take my hands," Troy instructed and she frowned, licking her lips. "I promise I don't bite."

She already knew he didn't bite, she mused as she let her small, beat up hands slip into his. He'd held her hand the night before when they'd both tried to escape.

"I can honestly say I never thought I would find myself in the middle of god knows where, crossing some shaky-ass rope bridge with two guys and nothing else but sea for miles," she derided of herself, slowing her breathing to keep her rickety heart rate down.

"Hey," Troy called softly as he felt her erratic pulse against his fingers. "Hey," he said again, more strongly to bring her gaze up where she had been staring through the cracks to the canyon below. "Almost there." He told her and she nodded.

"This is so pathetic," she realized, embarrassed that she had spent her whole life in the palace and thought that a bit of pole-dancing was 'living'. She didn't know the half of it, she mused.

"Four more steps…three.." Troy counted her down and automatically grasped her waist with his hands to lift her down from the long drop to the ground from the edge of the canyon.

She blushed and pushed his hands away as she landed.

"Sorry," he quickly apologized, blushing himself.

"Good job, cadets," Buck commended. "Let's march on before this day gets away with us…"

/

Walking through the brush behind Buck gave Troy time to think.

Gabi was up front with Buck; learning about the various trees from the wise Army man and Troy found his thoughts drifting back to their conversation about their love-lives.

His non-palace friends had always found it strange how he never hooked up with any girls and for a short time they had even questioned his sexuality. But he assured them he was into girls; he just couldn't risk the consequences of a one-night stand.

If he was one day going to be King- which seemed unlikely considering the shame he had brought on his family- he needed to produce an heir and not just from any girl he met on a night out. He would be expected to marry first, consummate the binding contract and produce children for the future of the monarchy.

He sighed, feeling a heavy weight on his chest. His older brother, Austin had it worse. He would be King first, he was already married to a girl their family deemed suitable and now they were busy pro-creating. But not out of love; he noted with a grim smile. They had sex to produce children, not out of pure passion and that made him uneasy.

Princess Georgia who had been chosen for him was everything he was not- poised, graceful, obedient. She was also everything he did not want. He wanted a wife with opinions, with a little spark. He wanted a wife he loved.

Only it didn't seem that was how his life was mapped out and he felt suffocated by the idea of marrying for propriety rather than love. Hence his many drinking sessions to deal with that.

His father and mother had been beside themselves every time he staggered home, worse for wear. They had begged him not to ride the motorcycle he owned and loved. They had commanded him not to venture into town; but he had ignored it all. And his last few drinking sessions had ended badly when guys at the bar had recognised him and accused him of stealing their women.

If only they knew, he hadn't stolen anything because the girls; he just liked talking to them, it had never gotten further than that. He had never let it.

Despite his annoyance at the unrealistic ideals of his family and their traditions, somehow, he still chose to stay … He chose not to share his body with every girl that showed willing and he instead chose to display self-control that most others would envy at; deciding his body would be shared only with the one he loved should he ever find her.

He suspected that no such luck would be bestowed upon him and instead he would have to inspire his loins to react to whichever female his family chose for him- having spurned Princess Georgia with little regard. He just hoped the next Princess was a little more spirited.

He smirked as another thought came into his head. He just hoped she were a little more like Princess Gabriella.