Richard awoke to the sound of knocking at his door. Groaning, he looked out his window and saw the early morning shadows creeping across the small fields. The knocking increased and he threw back his covers, heaving himself up off of the sinfully comfortable bed and shuffling over towards the door.
He opened up the door quickly, nearly falling against the door frame.
And there was the Princess.
He bit his tongue to keep from swearing.
He looked her up and down, taking in the simple cotton dress that looked like could be bought from any stall in town, the small apron that graced the front. He looked at her long hair, tied back into a straight ponytail that fell over the curve of her shoulder. The light coming through windows framed her as she stood in front of him, making her look almost heavenly.
"Good morning, Princess," he said with a smile.
He watched as Katherine's eyes flicked quickly flicked down and he became painfully aware that he shirtless, dressed in only his undergarments. Normally, he wouldn't have minded. He knew he looked good.
But she was a princess.
"I'm sorry," she said, breaking him from his musings with a teasing smile, "Did I wake you?"
"No, no of course you didn't," he said quickly.
Katherine raised an eyebrow, obviously not believing him. He saw her bite her lip, a smile teasing the corner of her lips.
"Should we reschedule this?" she asked, laughter seeping into her tone.
"No!" he said immediately, standing up straighter. He ran his hand through his hair, looking back in his room quickly. He missed the way her eyes focused on his chest and the way his muscles pulled together as he lifted his arm above his head. She bit her lip, admiring his build before he quickly turned around. She schooled her features as he spoke quickly.
"Just… just give me five minutes. I'll be ready to go."
She nodded at him, adopting the teasing smile she seemed to be wearing much more since he came into her world just yesterday. "If you're any longer than 5 minutes I'm leaving without you."
He scoffed, "Hard to give a tour of your town without someone in need of a tour."
She pursed her lips, "I don't need an excuse to go into town. I'm simply helping you out."
"And how very kind of you it is to do so, Princess."
Katherine smirked at him, "You have 4 minutes."
He inhaled sharply, "Right, I'll be right back."
He quickly shut the door in between them and Katherine heard him stumble into something on the other side of the door. When she heard his distant mumbling under his breath, she barked out a laugh. Then she leaned against the wall by his door, waiting for him to come out again.
If one thing was certain, the time she spent with Richard Castle was never going to be boring.
"So you've been in Beckett all of your life?"
Princess Katherine nodded her head, "Indeed, I have," she paused for moment, knowing she was about to tread in personal waters, "… Do you know where you're from?"
Richard shrugged his shoulders, "Not entirely. The bookmaker's shop was in Weldon, so I assume that is where I was born. I've spent time in a lot of places though: Near The Gates, Coonan, um… I've spent some time in Kaye, Turner… lots of different provinces.
"So you've been all over the region."
"Yes," he looked over at her, "but the 12th is by far my favorite."
Katherine nodded, looking out at the road they were walking on. In the region, there were 12 separate nations, each consisting of its own towns and cities and government, all of which are a part of a treaty in an attempt to keep the peace. Nearly a hundred years before, the ancestors of great kings met to draft it, each King waiting patiently to sign it. Katherine's great grandfather is the final name on the treaty, giving them the 12th title.
Richard wasn't thinking about the Beckett's history. He was thinking about his own. How pitiful to not even know where you came from. He tried to brush it off, pretend that it wasn't a big deal. His father was never around in any of the few memories he still had of the time spent with his mother, and she died before he could even carry a full bucket of water back to their shack. He was incredibly lucky that old man Montgomery thought he could be useful in his shop.
She has a history.
Please, as if that was the real issue here.
The real problem was that she had a crown, and he didn't even have a real last name.
He heard her sigh and looked over at her, his eyes finding hers looking at him. She smiled as they made eye contact before looking at him shyly for a moment. Then, she stepped closer to him and gently threaded her arm through his. Not willing to pass up the invitation, he lifted his free hand up and placed it over hers on his arm. She looked back at him and smiled, and Richard prayed she couldn't feel his pulse through the tips of his fingers.
"So," she said suddenly, "thank heavens the weather is getting better."
He laughed, he couldn't help it, his hand involuntarily squeezing hers a little tighter.
"How much longer until we're there?"
"What, Richard? Are you tired?" she teased.
He shook his head, "Of course not. I always enjoy taking long walks uphill just as the sun is coming up."
She smiled at him, pulling him along, "Well, luckily for you, we're here."
As they crested the hill, he looked down below them. They were maybe 100 yards away from the market, and even though it was just after sunrise, the street was full of people. He could hear business deals going on, friends calling out to each other, and laughter ringing across the streets.
Katherine looked over, watching the awed smile spread over his features, his eyes crinkling in the corners. She felt her heart start beating faster in her chest.
It really needed to stop doing that around him.
She felt him tug on her arm, dragging her down the hill, "Come on!"
She laughed at his eagerness, but sped up and fell into step beside him as they reached the edge of the market. She grabbed his arm again (to keep them from getting separated of course), and began to walk them through the crowded streets.
Richard heard the occasional "Good morning Princess!" and "Princess Katherine, how are you?" and Richard couldn't help but look at her in awe. She knew everyone's name, from the shoemaker to the man on the far ends of the street with cages of livestock. She spoke to everyone with a smile.
God, she was amazing.
She looked up suddenly and startled slightly at the expression on his face.
She laughed lightly, somewhat nervously, "what?"
He shook his head, unable to stop smiling, "It's nothing."
Kate pursed her lips, obviously not believing him, but choosing to ignore him.
"Are you hungry? I know the best places in all of Beckett."
He nodded, "lead the way, Princess."
She let go of his arm and he only felt a moment of disappointment until her fingers wrapped around his wrist. He let himself get pulled through the throng of people, following her as she weaved in between stalls and carts and people as she moved towards her destination. Moments later, she stopped in front of an unassuming building, walking through the open door and pulling him in after her.
He knew they were in a bakery from the smell that immediately hit his nose. The two of them walked up to the small wooden counter and stood side by side in front of it. He watched Katherine lean over the counter slightly.
"Lady Kristine," Katherine called from over the counter.
A woman came out from a small doorway on the side of the room, dark hair pulled into a long ponytail at the base of her skull. She wiped her hands on a rag slung over her shoulder before looking up and seeing them. The woman smiled brightly.
"Oh, Princess Katherine," she said, curtsying slightly, moving closer to them, looking at Richard appreciatively, "Who's this?"
Richard opened his mouth to introduce himself, but Katherine beat him to it.
"This is Richard Castle, he's staying with my father and I. I figured I should show him the best Beckett has to offer."
Kristine looked at Richard, "It's a pleasure to meet you Mr. Castle, and luckily for you, I just pulled some loaves out of the oven. My specialty bread. I'll bring one out in a moment."
She nodded before walking back through the small door. He watched Katherine quickly slide some coins out of her apron pocket and sliding it over onto the other side of the counter, keeping her eyes on the doorway the entire time. Richard raised an eyebrow at her when she looked back at him, but she just smiled.
Moments later, Kristine returned from the back, a wrapped loaf of bread in her hand. She handed it over to Katherine who immediately handed it to Richard. Digging into her pocket, she began to pull out the exact amount of change that she had just pushed over the counter. Before she could even get the correct amount, Kristine stopped her.
"Oh, none of that Princess. You know I'll never accept a dime from you."
"Lady Kristine…" Katherine protested.
"No," Kristine cut her off, "now get on your way and show Mr. Castle the best Beckett has to offer."
Katherine chuckled, thanking her and saying goodbye before leading Richard outside again.
He leaned down and whispered in her ear as they walked out of the door.
"You're so sneaky."
He followed her again as she wove through the crowd, another destination clearly in mind.
"Just because I'm a Princess," she said distractedly, "Doesn't mean that I should get special privileges."
She pulled him to a stop in front of a rather large stall.
He couldn't ask any more questions before he heard a high pitched voice off to the side.
"Princess Katherine! It's a fancy seeing you here two days in a row."
"Lady Erin," Katherine smiled, "this is Richard Castle. He's staying with my father and I. I'm showing him the best of our humble town."
Lady Erin turned to Richard, her short hair bobbing around her ears and smiled, "Well, then you've certainly come with the right person. Princess Katherine here knows more about this town than anyone, including where to get her best produce," Lady Erin turned and winked at Katherine, and Katherine raised a teasing eyebrow in response before looking back at him.
"Do you have any requests?" she asked.
He shook his head, trusting her judgment.
She nodded back at Erin, "the usual, then?"
Erin nodded and disappeared towards the back of the stall.
He watched again as Katherine slipped money out of her pocket and slid it over the counter where she knew Lady Erin would find it.
Lady Erin returned moments later, a wrapped block of something in one hand and jar in the other.
"One jar of sliced tomatoes and a block of my freshest cut cheese for the Princess."
Erin handed them over the counter to Kate, who took them in both hands. Richard quickly readjusted his load and took it all.
She raised an eyebrow at him, but he just shrugged her off.
Before Katherine could even start fumbling around for her money, Erin looked at her sternly and put her hand up.
"It's on the house."
Katherine sighed, "Lady Erin…"
"No, Princess. I will not allow it…" then Lady Erin's stern expression shifted into a smile, "have a wonderful day with Mr. Castle, Princess." She curtsied slightly before her attention was called away by another customer, leaving Katherine and Richard alone.
Katherine shook her head before looking back towards Richard.
"There's a shady place not too far from here where I usually eat. Would you like to go there?"
He nodded. He wanted to go anywhere with her. "After you, Princess," he said, juggling the bread and cheese and jar of tomatoes in his hands as he followed her once again through the crowd of people. They walked in silence until he reached the very last stall at the edge of the market towards what looked like a small meadow.
"These people work so hard to provide for their families every day," she looked at him as they walked, and it took him a minute to understand her thought process until he remembered their conversation at Lady Erin's stall. Her eyes were willing him to understand, "Lady Kristine's house burned down just last month and Lady Erin just bought a horse to help with her farming which is a huge financial burden. It just seems wrong to take handouts when I'm perfectly capable of paying for it myself."
"Perhaps they're just being kind," he said, "it's clear that they adore you."
She blushed, "They're amazing people," she said quietly, "I'm very lucky to be able to know them."
Richard couldn't help it, he stopped walking and when Katherine noticed, she stopped walking to face him.
"You're extraordinary," he said, the awe clear in his voice.
He bit his tongue and clenched his eyes shut, inwardly cursing his mouth that just couldn't stop. He reopened his eyes when he felt her fingers light against his forearm.
She smiled, ducking her head, before looking up at him from underneath her lashes.
"Come on, Richard," she said, nodding her head towards a rather large tree off to the side, "Let's eat."
And thus begins the cameos...