I have an English exam tomorrow. What better way to practise then to write a chapter, m' I right, folks?

Lmao Caroline is lucas's sister, and no Joshua is not engaged to her. He's engaged to the Northern tribes' (the enemy's) sister.

So I was reading my book over and all I could think of was that if I was reading it for the first time, this would be pretty confusing.

So please do tell me and I'll change it. That, or I'm just stupid at times idk ._.

"Are you okay?"

Lucas's voice in my ear.

His hands clasping mine.

"I'm alive."

My voice, rough.

My head lying on his chest.

Shards of cement and stone around us.

"Can you move?"

The pain. So much that at first, you can't feel it at all. Then it engulfs you like a massive wave, leaving you completely numb.

"I don't think so."

I try to move, but at no avail. There's dust and smoke looming in the air like musty fog, and a giant piece of the roof over my leg.

Lucas curses, and I feel his chest vibrate against my cheek. "I'm going to try and lift this up, okay? On the count of three, pull your leg back."

I nod. Gulping, he pushes the rubble of himself kneels towards my leg. "1..."

His hands reach for the stoned piece.

"2..."

He grasps the edges tight. There's no way he can completely lift that thing. It's way too big.

"3!" He yells.

With a groan, he lifts it just enough so I can pull my leg back from under it.

The moment I'm done, he lets it go and it falls to the ground with a loud thud.

I lay there gasping. My eyes squeal shut as pain begins to flow through my leg, sharp and pulsing.

Hot tears are making their way down my face.

Lucas studies my face impassively. I still don't completely know what's happening yet I'm scared for the both of us.

I notice a large gash on his temple, extending down to his cheekbone. It looks deep.

"Um, let me..." His gaze turns to my leg. He lifts my dress up just above my ankle, and tries to bend my leg a little.

"It hurts." I state, as if it wasn't obvious enough.

"Fortunately, it's not broken." He says.

"Well isn't that just great?!" I suddenly snap. "We're stuck in some stupid old church that fell to the ground and I can't even move."

I knew what he was thinking. It was the same exact thing I was. Suspicion of foul play.

"I knew we couldn't trust those guards." He mutters. "It's one of the reasons I didn't want to come here in the first place."

Those guards were sent by the Duchess. So that meant she wanted to kill us. Did she hate her nephew that much?

The rubble around us answered my question.

With a sigh, Lucas got up, careful of the broken pieces of stone and wood. How amusing was it that he was the one trying to protect me yet he came out virtually unharmed?

Not amusing at all I guess.

But honestly, I was thankful for him being there. I wouldn't have it any other way.

Lucas extends his arm, placing it on my back.

"I'm going to try and help you up." He states.

His other hand finds mine, and he entwined our fingers tightly together.

"You can do it." He pulls on my waist and my arm, willing me to get up. I comply, shifting all my weight on my right leg, the one that isn't hurt, and lift myself up, transferring all my weight onto Lucas as I crash into him.

"It would be easier if I just carried you out." He says.

"I refuse to be carried." I shake my head. As much as I would love that, it would bruise my little ego that I had left.

Okay then. He begins walking in the direction of the door, stepping over stones and bent pieces of of the benches.

Walking is no different. A tiny quarter of my weight is on my right leg, and the rest on Lucas. He doesn't complain.

"You're way too slow." He groans.

My mouth hangs open.

Well excuse me, you're not the one with the injured leg here.

I gasp as he suddenly lifts me up.

"Put me down!" I scream at him.

"It's for your own good, Princess." He says.

Then he proceeds to carry me out through all the rubble. The whole time, I'm scared he'll drop me, or trip and drop us both.

But that never happens. Luckily.

Once we're outside, Lucas gives into my protests and sets me down.

Our horses aren't far away so I guess I could walk. Or limp apparently.

Our pace is rather fast, so it's almost like we're running. Two horses are are still bound to the trees and the guards are nowhere to be seen.

Lucas helps me down next to a large elm tree.

We're both breathing hard, restless, exhausted.

I'm gasping for air through my mouth, coughing, not because of the fact that my heart rate was up, but because I couldn't breathe properly at all. All that smoke and dust.

And that fact that my dress restricted my breathing just made it worse.

"Water?" Lucas asks. Without waiting for my reply, he gets up and hands me some water from a satchel attached to one of the horses.

"I'm...fine...it's just.."

I cough again.

"Is it safe..for us to be here..?"

"Don't worry." He says. "The guards won't come back. Chances are they left before the church fell down. It was all pre-planned."

All I can do is nod.

I shift around uneasily, trying not to put pressure on my leg but getting my dress to loosen at the same time.

"What's wrong?" He frowns.

"My dress..." I breathe. "It's too tight."

Lucas bites his lip as his eyes turn to my back. "Let's not make this any more awkward." He says just before he pulls my dress down from the back to reveal my corset.

My eyes widen and I gasp for the nth time.

His fingers caress my skin as he unties the ribbon. As embrassing as it is, it allows me to fully breathe again.

He ties it again, looser this time. "Better?" He asks. He pulls my dress over my shoulder and his touch seems warm, caring.

I squeak out a thankyou.

We sit there for a couple of minutes until we're ready to head back to the castle.

I close my eyes, still not believing what happened.

If it wasn't for Lucas 's quick thinking, I would be dead right now.

~ Lucas ~

"GO TELL FATHER!" My sister screams. She's shaking with anger.

"Don't you think I've already tried that?" I snap. "He doesn't believe me."

We arrived at the castle hours ago. Right now, Riley is in her bedchambers, resting off her leg. The doctor announced her bone bent, not damaged.

Caroline looks at me sadly. She walks over to me and engulfs me in a hug. "I'm happy you're safe."

"Me too, I guess." Caroline isn't even my real sister but that doesn't change the fact that we care for each other like blood siblings.

"We need proof that it was the Duchess." She says when she pulls away.

"The guards that did it left without a trace." I say. I'm frustrated with the whole thing. To be honest, this isn't the first time I've suspected her of doing something this vile.

"I'll look into her bedchambers." Caroline sighs. "How's Riley?"

"She's fine." I tell her. "Her legs injured, but other than that..." I trail off, lost in my thoughts.

I was supposed to marry that girl in a couple of months. How, I had no idea.

"She's a kind soul." Caroline says. "I hope, for both of you, that this little scheme of yours doesn't result in heartbreak."

I roll my eyes. Heartache was such a stupid and irrelevant thing to be thought of, especially for people who didn't marry for love.

"It's not a scheme. And it's not my idea."

"Fine." She huffs. "Our father's idea."

Our father's 'idea.'

"Ge to know the princess." His words ring in my ear. "Get her to love you, I don't care how. She'll never agree to this arrangement otherwise."

He was right. Riley would never agree to marry me because then she would have to move to Valaire, away from her family. She wouldn't... unless she had fallen for me.

As ridiculous as the idea was, it was true to some extent.

I had to make the princess fall for me.