AN: Thank you THIS much for all the positive responses to the story so far! This is way overdue, but a special thanks to Fallon-Idalia, TheSilentSiren and StupidPyroChan for the reviews and all of you that added the story to your favourites and story alerts. I can't tell you how happy they make me!

Chapter 11

"Well, I'm going to bed. Try not to cause too much trouble, Captain," Annabelle said with a smile and went up the stairs to her room. Knight paused for a moment to let Ben give him a pat on the head before bounding after his mistress.

"Hey! I never cause trouble…trouble just seems to find me. Night, Princess," Ben called after her and he watched her leave, a foolish grin on his face. His trance was interrupted by someone clearing their throat behind him.

"Infatuated, aren't we, Ben? I thought you would have learned your lesson about these nobles by now," Swiftie said with a quirked eyebrow.

Ben thought of the women he'd fallen in love with since "escaping" from Bloodstone. After he'd joined the army, he managed to shake off the gambling and drinking, but he never could quite shake off his love for women. It always started and ended the same. He was a novelty, a charming soldier who offered an adventure and allurement that their husbands or fiancés didn't. They'd profess their love and promise that they'd leave their husbands for him, but after they finally ended up in bed, they always went back to their normal lives. He was just a common soldier, good enough for a distraction, but not good enough for a lifetime and he'd hated it.

"She's not like that, Swiftie," he insisted. "She's…special. Besides, I'm not infatuated."

Swift raised his eyebrow even higher. "Ben, I know that look of yours. I don't want to see you hurt, my boy."

"It isn't even like that. It was only until a few hours ago that we sort of became friends and even that is touch and go."

"Oh, come on, Ben. You've been daydreaming about her since we left Mourningwood."

Ben felt himself blush. He knew Swift was right, but he thought he'd hidden it. "I…You're right. I've been attracted to her since we met."

Swift smiled at him. "I can see why. She's smart, beautiful, a capable fighter and for some reason, you always chase that which you can't have. In this case, an ice princess, in every literal sense of the words."

"That she is," Ben said thoughtfully.

"Where did you disappear to this morning?"

Ben's expression darkened. "We went to help a woman save her fiancé, to help Annabelle prove herself to Page. The woman's fiancé turned out to be Elliot."

Swift looked taken aback. "The boy she saved in the throne room? I thought they were involved. How could he be engaged so soon?"

Ben felt his blood boil again when he recounted that afternoon's events. When Annabelle had recognized Elliot, Ben was crushed. If that was the kind of man she fell in love with, he didn't stand a chance. Even dirty and grimy, Elliot was noble, poised, polished and sophisticated, everything Ben was not. Sure, many women had commented that he was dashing in and out of his uniform and he knew he could charm almost anything out of almost anyone, but he was nothing but a commoner, a scoundrel who was lucky enough not to have been killed yet, like Annabelle had said.

Ben had never thought that he would be envious of a pansy-arsed pretty boy who was stupid enough to get himself kidnapped, but at that moment, when Annabelle had embraced Elliot tightly, fully conscious and her face radiant, he was more jealous than he'd ever been in his life. It was at that moment that he realized she was more than a challenge, more than a woman that he wanted to impress just because she was immune to his charms. Somewhere along the way, he'd fallen in love with her.

He seethed the whole way through the sewer, thinking of ways to convince Annabelle that he was a better choice, but he couldn't even convince himself that he was good enough for her. He'd been rejected so many times because he was just a commoner. How would this end any differently? To add to his doubts, she'd been snapping and yelling at him since they'd met.

Then his luck had turned.

"Yeah, he turned out to be a total arse. He asked her to choose who he should stay with, if you can believe something that ridiculous," Ben said.

Swift looked astonished. "And what did she do?"

"She told him that he'd already made his choice the day he asked that woman to marry him and left," Ben replied. And went to cry her eyes out, he added silently. He was still thinking of ways to maim Elliot for doing that to her.

Swift stroked his moustache thoughtfully. "But not before you hit him, of course. Ben, you really should think before you act."

Ben looked down guiltily. "I couldn't help it. He grabbed her and I reacted before thinking."

When Ben looked up, he was met with a fatherly smile. "Ben, you are who you are because you follow your heart. Just be careful. She might not look it, but she's vulnerable right now. Besides, if I know Walter, he might kill you if you try something in her state," Swift said.

"Or any other state for that matter," Ben laughed. "Don't worry, Swiftie, I don't want to mess this up. I'll be careful."

"Good. Now, where is that waitress…We both could do with a pint, or what do you say?"

oOo

The next afternoon, Annabelle rushed down to the Resistance hideout. Walter had just sent word that she'd finally proved herself to Page and that they were going to commence with their plan. She was in such a hurry that she almost crashed into Major Swift who was exiting from the war room.

"Oh, sorry, Major!" she exclaimed, screeching to a halt.

"My dear, it looks like a pack of balverines are chasing you! What's the matter?" he replied good-naturedly.

"It seems Page is finally ready to go after Reaver. Where are you heading, Major?"

"I'm going to the castle to see what Logan's plans are."

"Is Ben going with you?" she asked carefully.

Swift laughed. "No, he's in there, riling up Page, no doubt. Ben has always had a way with women. A strange and troubled way."

Annabelle joined in his hearty laughter. "That he does. Well, I don't want to keep you. Please, be careful, Major," she said and she meant every word. Even though she'd known him for a very short time, she trusted the Major with her life.

Major Swift's expression turned serious. "And you as well, Annabelle. And I'm not just referring to the revolution."

She was confused. "What do you mean, Major?"

Swift looked uncomfortable for a moment. "Ben's going to kill me..." he muttered to himself. Then he looked at Annabelle. "Ben's like a son to me, you know that, right?"

She nodded guardedly. "Yes, Major. And he thinks of you as his surrogate father."

"Right. What I want to ask you is to be careful with him."

Annabelle reeled back in shock. "What are you talking about, sir? We're barely even friends." She blushed inwardly when she remembered how it felt being comforted in his arms, but quickly chased those thoughts away.

"Ben has a knack for falling for women very easily. I just don't want him to get hurt. I've seen the way he looks at you and I don't want to happen what happened in the past."

"What happened?" she asked carefully.

Swift shook his head. "That's something he needs to tell you himself."

"Fair enough. I promise you, Major, there's nothing between us."

A knowing smile broke over his face. "Of course, Annabelle. Now, I'd better get going."

She was still thoroughly confused, but nodded. "Goodbye, Major," she said courteously and went inside the room. From the outside she could already hear Ben's voice and her face broke into an involuntary smile. Why am I acting like a love struck fool? I don't like him. I can't stand him, she told herself strictly and forced a neutral expression onto her face.

"I'm telling you, I downed three Hollow Men with one shot!" he insisted. "Here she is, you can ask her yourself!" He turned to Annabelle. "Come on, Princess, tell her the story's true!"

She shook her head. "Shut up, Finn," she said and went over to Page. "You called?"

Ben faked a pout and Annabelle had to keep herself from smiling. "Fine. I'll just stand quietly over here."

"You know, for a princess, you're a pretty decent person," Page remarked, pointedly ignoring Ben.

"I knew you two would get along eventually," Walter said with a happy smile.

Page shot him a look. "As much as I appreciate your interest in our social lives, the biggest threat to the people of Bowerstone still remains."

"Reaver," Walter said through gritted teeth. Annabelle felt a chill run through her spine at the mention of the monster's name. She still saw that poor man in front of her.

"Yes, Reaver," Page interjected. "We have a plan to take him out. A small band of fighters managed to get inside his manor, but they never came back."

"And let me guess, you need my help," Annabelle remarked dryly.

Page nodded. "Yes. Every week, Reaver holds a secret society meeting at his manor. We don't know what goes on in there, but we know when it's held and how the guests dress for the party." She handed Annabelle a brown parcel. "You're going to have to wear this," Page continued.

Annabelle tore open the corner of the package and was relieved to see a deep green gown.

"Why so relieved, Princess?" Ben remarked with a smirk.

"Well, since it was Reaver, I was afraid it would be some horridly revealing maid outfit or something worse," she said flippantly.

Ben's grin grew even wider. "I would like to see that!"

She rolled her eyes. "Let's just be grateful my worst concern is fighting in high heels and not fighting off lecherous men. Though you've certainly given me enough practice."

"I'm not lecherous!" Ben turned his expectant gaze to Page. "And where's my costume?"

Page shook her head. "You're not coming along. I've had enough of you for one day."

"What? You mean I can't come along even after the three hollow men story?" he exclaimed. "This is even worse than the army."

"Now, everyone out. I need to get dressed," Page commanded.

Annabelle saw Ben shoot Page his lopsided grin. "I'll stay to make sure no one spies on you," he added helpfully. Annabelle felt a sudden surge of jealousy at Page at his words. Where did that come from? she thought with a start. Ben Finn means nothing to me. He's a stupid, childish, sarcastic, handsome, charming…Stop! ARGH!

"I said, everyone OUT!" Page exclaimed.

Shaking his head, Ben finally turned to follow Annabelle. "I'm starting to have serious doubts about our relationship," he muttered and Annabelle felt that stab of envy again.

"Get dressed and meet me at Reaver's mansion," Page called from behind. "Oh, and Annabelle, make sure Mister Finn doesn't follow you. Like I've said, I've had enough of him for one day."

"I should have gone to the castle with Swiftie," he muttered as they walked to the headquarters' barracks.

"So you could irritate him instead?" Annabelle asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Swiftie doesn't find me irritating, unlike you, sweetheart," Ben replied, shooting her a cheeky grin.

His nickname caused her to stop dead in her tracks. "There it is again. Where did that come from?" she asked, exhaling sharply. Ben halted next to her and fixed her with an amused look.

"What? "Sweetheart"? I thought it fit you after Elliot called you sweet," Ben said with a shrug. "Besides, I got tired of Princess."

"If you got tired of "Princess", why don't you try my name, Captain," she snapped.

"I'll use your name the day you start to use mine," Ben countered.

She couldn't stop a huge sigh from escaping her lungs. "Fine, Ben. Are you happy now?"

"Nice try. Next time with a little less sarcasm, okay, sweetheart?" he replied coyly, leaning in close. He was so close that she could smell his enticing scent and see the dancing flecks of blue in his eyes. "Maybe one day you'll even sound as if you tolerate me," he whispered.

Try as she might, she couldn't break away from his piercing gaze and neither could she stop the rapid pace at which her heart was beating at his proximity. "Captain Benjamin Finn, I swear if you call me "Sweetheart" again, I-" She was interrupted by sharp footfalls from behind and Ben leapt away from her as if he was burned, his hands thrown up in defence.

"You should get dressed, Annabelle," Walter interrupted and Annabelle barely caught the glare Walter shot in Ben's direction.

"Yeah, didn't you hear the new law? Everyone should have fun but me," Ben grumbled.

Rolling her eyes for the umpteenth time, Annabelle touched the guild seal to go to the sanctuary. "Hello, Jasper!" she called happily to her butler.

"Ah, Princess! Going to a masquerade I hear," Jasper replied. "Where's the dress?"

She went to the dressing room for a quick bath and to change behind the partition. The emerald dress's full skirt fell to the floor and the sleeveless corset was tight with a low, scooping neckline, much more revealing than anything she usually wore. She was thankful for her mask, because she didn't want to be recognized in this dress. Just to be more comfortable should she land in a fight, she pulled on a pair of breeches under the skirt.

"Hmm, though it's certainly more risqué than your usual attire, you look beautiful, Princess," Jasper remarked when she exited from behind the partition.

"Thank you, Jasper," she replied while pinning up her a few of her long curls, letting the majority fall free. She didn't have time or patience for an elaborate hairstyle. With a quick goodbye to Jasper, she returned to the headquarters.

oOo

The minute Annabelle disappeared, Ben felt his throat close up at the open fury that Walter's glare was conveying. Without the princess as a buffer, this wasn't going to be pleasant.

"Ben, I warned you about inappropriate behaviour and yet here you are, openly flirting with her. Do you have a death wish, boy?" Walter sneered, baring his teeth.

Ben threw his hands up in defence once more and tried not to let his fear show on his face. Walter may be old, but he was obviously more vicious than a balverine guarding its cubs when it came to his charge.

"I was just kidding around, Wally. It didn't mean anything," he back peddled, but Walter's fury didn't diminish in the slightest. "Besides, I didn't do anything!"

"Can you look me in the eye and tell me that you didn't intend to do anything?" the knight sneered.

"Yes! If you haven't noticed, we can hardly stand each other!" Ben replied, thankful for his poker face.

Walter still looked unconvinced. "As for it not meaning anything, that is even worse than if it had meant something. Annabelle is naïve and I don't want to see her get hurt."

An involuntary snort escaped him when Walter called her naïve. "Please, Walter. Annabelle can take care of herself," he replied, rolling his eyes. "Her sharp tongue is enough to chase away even the most idiotic and persistent man."

"And yet you still persist," Walter countered and Ben let out a strangled objection.

"Hey! I'm not an idiot!"

Walter's expression turned sorrowful. "She hasn't always been like this. Annabelle used to be the sweetest, most soft-spoken, kindest, compassionate girl I have ever met, if a bit of a tomboy. She has always been independent and stubborn, but when she was little, she would much rather read fictional adventure stories or escape to explore the castle grounds than attend balls or dress up. I…it breaks my heart to see her so cold and distant."

Though slightly uncomfortable by the knight's sudden declaration, he couldn't help but wish that he'd met the princess under different circumstances. He liked her feisty personality, but he still wanted to get to know the softer side of her.

"Ben, did you know that she has only kissed one man in her whole life? That she has only ever been in love once? She is innocent when it comes to these types of things. I doubt she'll realise the difference between harmless flirting and actual adoration."

Ben's eyebrows shot up in surprise at these words. Well, she's kissed two now, but best not let him know that. "I had no idea…she seems so worldly," he settled for saying. "Besides, like I said, she can't stand me, so you don't need to worry about her confusing what I say for actual adoration."

"Don't push it, Ben. Like I said before, if I catch you doing something like that again, there will be trouble," Walter warned, his eyes flashing dangerously. "I swear that I see you stripped of your rank, kicked out of the army and castrated."

He swallowed loudly and gave nod. "Sure, Wally. Just one quick question, would you be threatening the person if it was anyone but me?"

"Of course, but you are being warned again because I actually like you. If it was someone else, they wouldn't have gotten a second warning."

"Now that we've cleared that up, how about a quick game of Feeble. You can't possibly say no to Feeble!" he deflected.

"Shut up, Ben," Walter replied tiredly and walked out the door in a huff. Ben was just about to run after him and insist on something else when a sound from behind startled him. He whirled around and came face to face with the princess in an evening gown.

Ben had seen many beautiful women in his life, but he could literally feel his jaw hitting the ground at the sight of the princess. She looked absolutely gorgeous. She'd pinned a few hairs out of her face, but most of her dark hair tumbled over her shoulders. Carefully applied makeup accentuated her features and the forest green dress hugged each of her curves. She'd never looked more like a princess.

Her response reminded him that he was appreciating her more pronounced assets. "Finn, my eyes are up here," she remarked coldly and he jerked his gaze to her face. Even though she sounded angry, he could see a pleased glint in her emerald eyes. As he looked at her eyes, he noticed faint swirling lines around her temples. He let his gaze travel down her face and arms and was surprised to see even more faint lines.

"Is there a problem, Captain?" she asked, quirking her eyebrow.

"When did you get tattoos?" he replied, trying to sound nonchalant. He really didn't want to feel Walter's wrath.

She looked confused. "I don't have any tattoos."

"I beg to differ. What are those lines on your body?"

Slowly, she seemed to realize what he was talking about turned bright red. "Oh, you weren't meant to see those. I usually keep them covered up."

"I've noticed. Why? What are they?" he asked, interested. He'd never seen anything like it.

"They're will lines. I get them from using magic," she replied, embarrassed. "I usually hide them because I'm…ashamed…of them, though it's a bit difficult when I actually use magic."

"What do you mean?"

She gave a small sigh. "Let me show you."

She started charging a fireball in her hand and Ben saw how the intricate lines burned a bright blue. He noticed even more as the elaborate patterns shone through her clothes. He couldn't understand why she'd hidden them. They were beautiful.

Finally, she released the magic let the fireball fade away. "You see? They're horrid. I look like some sort of monster," she whispered, clearly ashamed.

Ben looked at her in astonishment. "Monster? I've never seen anything more…enchanting," he insisted, struggling to find a word to describe how the lines made her seem even more ethereal than usual.

"What?" she asked, clearly shocked.

Carefully, Ben circled around her and traced his finger along the line that ran from her shoulderblade and disappeared into the laces of her corset. He felt her shudder at his touch, but to his delight, she didn't move away. "Beautiful," he breathed and she turned to face him, her gaze searching his eyes something, probably a hint that he was lying.

"I'm not lying, Princess," he interrupted. "I've never seen anything like it. They, like you, are absolutely marvellous. I can't see why you would hide them."

He saw a strange flash of an emotion he couldn't recognize in her eyes. "Thank you, Captain," she replied coolly and pulled on her porcelain mask and a cloak. "I'd better get going. Reaver isn't going to spontaneously combust, after all."

Ben felt a sudden stab of fear for her and he grabbed her hand. "Please be careful, Bells. We've both seen what Reaver's capable of," he said urgently, conveying his concern with his eyes.

She looked at him with a shocked expression, but it was quickly replaced with a tender smile. "You too, Ben. Who would annoy me if something happened to you?" she joked softly and squeezed his hand affectionately. "Please, take care of Knight for me? I can't take him along and he seems to like you for some reason."

"Of course. It'll be my honour." Knight gave a sad whine at his mistress, but after she whispered something to him, he bounded over to Ben, tail wagging. Then, with one last smile, Annabelle was gone.

OoOoOoOo

AN: Sorry this chapter ran on a little longer than usual. My ideas got the better of me and I wanted to finish all of these admittedly boring developments before Annabelle goes to Reaver's mansion. I also wanted to highlight Ben and Swift's relationship, throw in another Walter/Ben moment and, of course, more sexual tension between Ben and Annabelle.

I hope you enjoyed it and please tell me what you think :)