Keira tossed and turned under the yellow colored sheets of her bed as she tried to fall asleep later that night. Every so often she constantly found herself sitting up and turning around to fluff whichever one of her pillows she was using at the moment before dropping her head against it and tightly shutting her eyes to try and fall asleep but her body refused to rest and she knew why. She was still upset about the event earlier that day involving Jack. Accepting that she wouldn't be able to sleep until she sorted her thoughts about her new problem out she removed the sheets covering her and stepped onto the yellow and white checkered floor of her room. The bottom of her white nightgown gently hovered a few centimeters over the ground as she walked out the glass doors leading to the balcony. The cold wind of the night blew through her long strands of hair as she took her place against the stone railing once more and gazed out at the forests edge again. She shut her eyes and ran the scene from earlier in her head one more time before sighing and looking back out at the trees behind the garden's wall again.

"There was nothing you could do." She told herself.

She wanted to believe that was true but even though it seemed like there really was nothing she could have done to help him she knew that was a lie. She could have stepped forward and stood up for him by ordering the guard to stand down and that he be paid what he deserved but there were too many consequences that would have come from such an act. If she had stood up for him her reputation would have come under fire from the town's residents and rumors of a possible relationship between them could have started and if they reached her parents, or more importantly her father, it would have meant trouble for the both of them. She would have likely been harshly punished while Jack would've likely been imprisoned or executed out of anger. She let out another annoyed sigh.

Ever since they met her thoughts had almost entirely been focused on him and yet they've only actually seen each other twice. That feeling she felt in her heart concerning him, could it not just be love for the life he lived but rather true love for him himself? She shook her head in disbelief. She couldn't possibly be in love with him for more than his life could she? She walked back inside her room and over to her window and pushed aside the curtains as she looked out at the silent town below. Everyone was inside their homes asleep with their families while a few of the guards went about their nightly patrol around the town. She looked over at the small oak stump beside the passage through the trees that lead to Jack's before looking back over at the guards about the town. She sighed once more before walking away from window. She had been considering sneaking out again to go and see him but there seemed to be too many guards out on patrol and felt that she lacked enough sleep to effectively navigate through the town without getting caught by any of them.

She climbed back into her bed and gently rested her head against her pillow as she stared at the yellow canopy that was positioned above it. She closed eyes and took a deep breath before reopening them as she started to think about the day ahead. She decided that she would go and visit Jack tomorrow and that she would talk with him about her recent thoughts concerning him, the only problem though was she had no idea how she could introduce the subject to him. As her mind began to formulate and rehearse possible conversations she could have the following day she felt as her eyelids began to grow heavy and soon they gently slid down and shut finally allowing her to sleep.

Keira's eyes slowly fluttered opened and were greeted by the light of the sun as peered into her room through the glass doors beside her while it began to climb up into the cloudless sky. She slowly got out of her bed and walked over to her mirror sitting in the corner of the room. She looked back at her reflection in the mirror and entered another deep state of thought. Her hair was becoming a little messy and was not as straight as it used to be and the area beneath her eyes was becoming a light shade of purple, all from her recent lack of sleep and stress. Ever since that night she had met Jack she's found herself losing sleep from staying up to try and figure out her feelings for him while skipping quite a few meals in the process. It was all affecting her health in a negative way though so far it didn't seem major. Still she couldn't help but wonder if it was it worth deteriorating her health for love between them that might not even exist? For now all she could do was go and talk with him to see where it would lead and hopefully it would prove to be worth it.

She walked over to her dresser and quickly got changed into her usual yellow dress with the blue and red patterns around the edges before gently placing her headband in her hair. She slowly stepped out into the hall and made a quick check for either Edwin or Celia before continuing through the castle. Despite their status as her suitor and best friend respectively she felt that if either of them caught sight of her she would be forced to stop and talk with them which would unintentionally prevent her from seeing Jack. She continued to periodically look over her shoulder and around the area as she walked through the castle and eventually made her way down the large stairs leading to the main gate. As she walked by the guards gave their usual bow and watched as she walked across the stone bridge out towards town and once she was out of their view among the crowds of commoners she picked up her pace as she walked towards the forest.

She could feel her heartbeat increase as she weaved through the trees positioned along the trail but whether it was nervousness or her fast pace was unknown to her. When she finally reached the open soil field of Jack's farm and stepped out into the sunlight she stopped for a moment as she stared out at him. He was seated out in the center of the field on the old tree stump she had sat on her last visit and was rubbing his chest as he shifted around a bit with a pained expression on his face. Her heartbeat began to slow down as her nervous feelings subsided and were replaced with feelings of curiosity as she found herself slowly stepping onto to the dirt and soil of the field just careful enough to not make a sound. Just as quickly however her heart began to race again as she approached him causing her to stop a few feet behind him. She stared at him silently for a moment before shutting her eyes and taking a deep breath.

"I can do this…"

"Hello Jack." She greeted in a rather fast manner as her eyes reopened.

He became startled by her voice and turned around in his seat only to jump out of it when he saw her staring nervously back at him.

"Keira." He greeted back in a nervous tone. "What brings you back here so soon?"

She looked around at the soil beneath her feet trying to avoid eye contact as she spoke while she walked up to him, looking up at him only when she stood in front of him. "I, well I was thinking maybe we could talk."

"Talk?" He asked a little curiously.

"Y-Yeah, I… I just want to talk, that's all." She replied nervously.

He looked at her a little confused but seemed to welcome the idea as he nodded his head. "Sure, we can talk."

She slowly formed a smile, almost as if she wasn't expecting him to give that response, while she stared at him for a moment before letting her eyes wander around at the field surrounding them. This was no place for her to possibly open up to him about her thoughts concerning him. She grabbed his hand and he looked at her curiously.

"Do… do you think we could talk somewhere else?" She asked nervously.

"Sure." He replied as he nodded his head. "Where'd you have in mind?"

She had no real idea of where to take him but her mind quickly came up with the perfect spot for them to talk.

She gently tugged on his hand and began to lead him into the trees nearby. "Follow me."

Jack remained silent as she led him past all the trees and over all the roots that were scattered throughout the forest path they walked on. She eventually stopped once they reached another small opening in the area much like the one his farm sat on. A small sparkling clear pond sat in the center of the opening as the rays of light from the sun broke through the openings of the leaves of the trees surrounding it that hung overhead. She slowly let go of his hand while she drifted towards the edge of the water. She bent over to remove her shoes before sitting down and placing them at her side and slowly slipping her bare feet into the brisk water, rolling the bottom of her dress up to her knees to prevent it from getting wet. Shutting her eyes, she placed her hands on the ground beside her and leaned her head back for a moment as she took a deep breath before opening her right eye and looking back at Jack who was stilling standing in front of the tree line while he watched her.

"Come here Jack." She said as she opened her other eye and patted the soft path of grass at her side. "Sit by me."

He gave her an uneasy look but walked towards her anyway. "Alright…"

He sat down in the grass beside her and she gave him a smile.

"Come on Jack; put your feet in the water. It's so relaxing." She told him.

"If you say so." He replied.

He leaned forward and untied the thin brown string around one of his shoes that was holding it in place. As he untied the other one and placed them both at his side Keira couldn't help but notice how raggedy and torn they were, they looked almost like small dark green bags he had picked up from somewhere. He gently slipped both his feet into the water and leaned back as he slide more of the lower part of his body into the water though unlike he didn't seem to care that he was getting his cloths wet. They sat their silently for a moment while they relaxed beneath in the shade of the trees blocking out the summer sun. He could feel as she gently moved the water beside his feet as she rotated her foot around.

"You're right, this is peaceful." He remarked.

She tilted her head towards him and looked at the water in between their feet. "I know. I like to come out to this pond when I have a lot on my mind since it's so relaxing out here." She let out a small laugh. "I call this pond my special spot."

He gave her a friendly smile in approval. "Hm, this does seem like a great place to come and clear your mind."

"Yeah…" She said as she looked down at her legs as they continued to dangle around in the water.

"So what was it you wanted to talk about?" He asked as he looked over at her.

That question came to her as a surprise but she was quick to calm herself down. She had to get past this.

"Oh nothing really…" She replied trying to sound a little uninterested.

He raised his eyebrow and slowly turned his view back towards the pond. "Alright…"

She slowly looked back at the pond and kicked her feet around a little before stopping as she took a deep breath.

"You can do this…" She thought to herself. "Tell me about your life Jack."

He narrowed his eyes in confusion as he looked back at her. "Hm?"

"Your life Jack, what's it like?" She asked being more clearer.

She glanced over him and he stared at her for a moment confused but he could tell from the look in her eyes that his honest answer was something she truly wanted or rather needed.

"Well what do you want to know about?" He asked.

"It doesn't matter." She told him as she looked back out at the pond. "I just want to know what it's really like to be a… well, a farmer."

"Well there isn't much to it really…" He began. "I mean my whole life revolves around farming in order to make what I can to get by. Every day I wake up at sunrise and work until sundown and if I have something I can sell I'll go to town for the day and sell it."

She thought for a moment before tilting her head towards him. "Well how do you feel about it?"

"What do you mean?" He asked.

"Well I mean how do you feel about not having to do everything a certain way for everyone?" She asked.

"I, I really don't know. I mean when I go about my work I really don't think about how others look at me since I don't really see anyone else out here that much." He replied.

She sighed and looked back at the water. She wasn't entirely sure if that was the answer she was looking for but it seemed like it. His implication that he didn't have to care about how others thought of him was close enough. Suddenly she heard as he began to grunt in pain and he placed his right arm over the center of his chest again as she turned to face him.

"Jack are you alright?" She asked as she sat up.

"Yeah, I'm fine." He answered trying to cover the pain escaping through his voice.

She leaned towards him and placed her hands on his other arm. "Please, what's wrong Jack? You can tell me."

"It's nothing, just a bad bruise that's all." He told her.

She removed her hands from his arm and looked at him silently for a moment. "Can… can I see it?"

He looked at her a little confused.

"I… I just want to make sure you're not badly hurt. That's all." She told him.

"Alright." He replied.

She hesitated for a moment before placing her hands on his chest and proceeding to roll up the bottom of his orange wool tunic. She carefully placed her hand down on his chest and examined it for moment; slightly blushing at how tough it felt. He wasn't all too muscular but all the farm work he'd done gave him such a well maintained body that she could have easily mistaken him for a high ranking knight in her father's army. She shook her head a little to shift her thoughts back to his injury and she looked at the center of his chest to find a large purple and circular bruise. Gently, she slid her hand over it causing him to tightly shut his eyes in pain.

She knew where it was from but she couldn't help but ask. "Where did you get this bruise from?"

He let out a sigh and shifted his eyes away from her. "I got it in a little argument yesterday in town."

She removed her hands from him and rested them in her lap as his tunic rolled back down. "An argument?"

"Yeah." He replied as he looked back at her. "Some damn merchant refused to pay me for these crops I harvested and got some guard to come over at knock me around."

She removed her legs from the pond and let them sit at the water's edge as she rested on her hip and looked at him.

"Damn guards and merchants, they're all the same." He continued as he shook his head and looked at grass between them. "They all think they can take advantage of people like me just because we're not as wealthy as them."

She began to lower her head in disappointment.

"You don't know how lucky you are Keira." He remarked as he made eye contact with her.

"What?" She asked.

"You're the princess; you don't have to put up with any of this." He explained. "Everybody has to listen to what you have to say and respect you. You don't have to deal with getting pushed around or taken advantage of by anyone higher than you because you're the highest ranking person in the kingdom. You don't have to worry about whether or not you'll be able to make enough gold and food to last you the week because you get whatever you need and more."

Her thoughts were thrown off by his words. Since she met him she had believed that he was the one living the better life and now he was complaining about it almost as if he was trying to convince her that her belief was wrong.

"It… it can be that bad Jack." She said as she placed her hand gently atop his.

He sighed. "You just don't know how hard I have it."

He hung his head down as he shook it causing the feeling of guilt she still had in her heart from the other day to increase. It didn't even seem like that big of a deal and yet that pain she was feeling from it was unbearable. She had to let him know.

"Jack…" She began shamefully.

He looked up at her.

"I… I could have helped you yesterday…" She finished.

He shifted a little closer to her. "What?"

"I… I was there at the market when you got in that argument with that merchant." She admitted. "I just silently watched in the crowd when you yelled at him and then when the guard kicked you out."

He stared at her silently.

"I'm sorry…" She apologized. "It's just that I was afraid of… well, I was afraid of what everyone would think… you know if they saw me, the princess, defending you, a farmer."

"That's alright Keira, I understand." He told her. "I know that it'd probably be hard for you to step forward to defend someone you just met like me. It's alright."

She formed a smile at the fact that he wasn't upset in any way with her. "Thank you."

"Still, I don't recall seeing you anywhere in the crowd when I looked around before I left yesterday." He told her.

Her smile disappeared as she looked away. "Well, that's because I was hiding from you… I didn't want you to see me there because I didn't know how you'd react."

"That's alright." He replied as he placed his hand on her shoulder to comfort her.

"Thanks again Jack." She said as she looked back at him.

"So what were you doing at market yesterday anyway?" He asked as he removed his hand from shoulder and began to lean back once more.

"Oh it no reason really." She replied. "I was just out on a walk with my new suitor."

"You have a new suitor?" He asked. "Already?"

"I guess my parents thought I simply didn't like that one suitor I was with on that night we met and they decided to get me a new one just as quickly." She explained.

"Well how is he?" He asked. "Your suitor."

"Oh he's alright." She answered. "He comes from a kingdom from somewhere nearby. His name is Edwin."

"So what's he like then?" He asked.

"He's nice." She replied as she looked back at the pond while her thoughts began to drift about in her head. "He's not like most suitors and doesn't seem all that intent on trying to completely court me. My father's even allowing him to stay with us for a few seasons. It's really nice to have a suitor like him that's different from all the other ones I've had but… I don't know…"

He shifted a little closer to her. "You don't know what?"

"Well, it's just that there's this other kind gentleman I know who actually might have stolen my heart…" She admitted. "I'm just not sure about my feelings concerning him yet."

She glanced at him as he stared at her in a way that seemed to indicate he had no idea that she was referring to him.

"It's just all so confusing." She continued. "I have no idea which one I should pursue."

He looked over at the pond. "I really can't tell you what to do since I have no really experience with love and all. But I guess if I had to tell you something it'd be that you should go for whoever makes you the happiest."

She smiled and looked back at the pond as well. Though it seemed he was oblivious to her feelings for him at the moment at least he was making an effort to help her.

He looked up at the patches of orange sky visible through the open areas among the leaves and branches above them before taking his legs out of the pond water.

"It's starting to get a late." He remarked as he stood up. "We should probably get going."

He extended his hand out for her and helped her up to her feet as she grabbed her shoes that sat at her side.

"Yeah you're right." She agreed as she began to slip her shoes on while he did the same.

"So would you like to walk back to my farm before returning home or something?" He asked as he looked back at her.

"I can make it back myself, thanks though." She replied.

"So I guess I'll see you again huh?" He asked.

She nodded her head. "Of course."

He smiled. "I look forward to your next visit then."

He started to turn around but she quickly placed her hand on his shoulder. He turned around and she proceeded to once again kiss him on his check which instantly began to turn a light shade of red.

"Thanks again Jack. I really owe you for letting me talk with you today." She told him as she let her hand remain on his shoulder.

"T-T-Thank you." He nervously stuttered as his hand slowly drifted up to the spot on his cheek she had just kissed.

She smiled and removed her hand. "I'll see you soon Jack."

She turned around and began to walk into the tree line leading back into her castle while Jack remained motionless with his hand on her cheek. She was grateful that he had allowed her to spend yet another day with him and that she was finally able to get some of her thoughts straightened concerning him straighted out, though a few new ones were beginning to bend them around. The way he described the troubles commoners like him face everyday would've been enough to turn away your standard citizen of high authority and yet she still couldn't feel herself rejecting her desires for to share his life. Then there was the issue of how he still didn't seem to realize he was the one who might've stolen her heart but again she didn't care since that idea hasn't proven true yet. She could at least take pride now in the fact that tonight she would be able to finally rest easy.