I don't own Fable 3 or any of its characters, Lionhead Studios does. Based on the 2010 XBOX Game.

Princess/Logan

Rated M for explicit adult content and incest. Don't like, don't read!

The rating is listed as M for certain chapters, as well as the theme of incest. Also, my interpretation of Logan for this particular story may seem OOC to some readers, so be warned! Also, I will not be strictly following the plot-line of the game. There will be some changes and deviations.

King Logan and Princess Annika are becoming ever closer. Annika is determined to understand her brother and stand by him even while the entire Kingdom begins to turn against him. But how can she do that while her part in a Prophecy approaches and begins to claim her?

Come Closer

Chapter #21

"Botheration!" Annika burst out, at her wit's end, "I think I've done enough shooting for today!"

Major Swift calmly took a puff from his pipe and surveyed the row of cans lined along the fenceline in the distance.

"Princess, I think you haven't done nearly enough. How many cans were set for you?"

Annika gritted her teeth in annoyance. "Fifteen."

"And how many are there now?"

"Eight," she huffed.

"How can you justify having eight cans left after nearly an hour and leaving the range?" the Major chuckled. He couldn't resist teasing Annika. They had spent many days together and were easy in each other's company. He had to push her training harder, however. She was abysmal at shooting and hadn't improved as much as he had expected she would. Nonetheless, she had potential, and he suspected that soon she would be as good as any of his men.

But that was not good enough, he knew. For her to succeed in her Quest for the Throne of Albion she must do far better to survive, and no fighter, especially alone, would survive without ranged weapon skills. It was imperative that she become more skilled than his men; preferably even more so than himself.

"Please, Major, my hands hurt and my eyes ache! I can barely aim at the cans!"

"That much is obvious," he smoothly replied. "My dear, you must focus your complete attention on your target. You cannot hope to become the Hero you must be if you cannot master pistols and rifles."

Annika sighed and raised the pistol once more. "You are right, Major. It's just that I find this so much more difficult than anything else!"

"More difficult? You wield melee weapons with uncanny and unnatural skill and you can command magic, yet you find ranged weaponry so difficult?" Surprise laced his tone. Her skill with her blades, no matter how much natural talent she had, could not account for her current mastery. And magic? His research informed him that even Will Users had to have a great deal of focus to enbale them to not only cast spells, but to cast them properly and at the intended target.

"I do," she conceded, lowering the pistol and looking up at him. Annika's eyes welled with tears of frustration. "I don't know why, as I am utterly determined to do what I must, but this skill is eluding me!"

Swift took pity on her and gently prised the weapon from her hand. "Very well, Princess. Go and rest for awhile. I think your trouble is that you expect too much from yourself too quickly. I fear that impatience is your greatest enemy at the moment."

Annika raised her head in surprise and stared at him. "You're right," she replied, wonder and realisation flooding over her. She was too impatient to focus and learn properly. She was in such a hurry to become the Hero and reunite with Logan that she was her own hinderance!

"No, Major, I think that I will continue. Now, tell me again how to properly fix on my target, please." Annika retrieved the pistol from him and raised it, a determined glint in her eyes.

Walter watched Annika as she performed her target practice, and once again, she was doing poorly. He had been careful to conceal his impatience and annoyance with her and instead remind himself that everyone had different natural talents. Annika was a wonder with swords and sabres, as he himself was. However, he lacked her bodily agility and evasion tactics. Not only was he large, but he was slow, even for a large man.

Annika was small and quick. She was also determined and forceful. Yet for all the time she had spent with his friend at gun practice her improvement was, at best, scant.

Perhaps Logan had something to do with her poor performance. Had the King discouraged his sister somehow? Had he undermined her confidence, or worse, infused her with guilt that she had left the Palace and his sphere of influence and ventured out on her own?

Walter stroked his chin and watched his beloved surrogate grand-daughter speak with Swift, then raise the pistol once more.

The following shots blasted every target can from the rail. She hadn't hit each one in succession, but she suddenly had improved! Eight cans with only ten shots! The look on her face, even from such a distance, showed Walter that she clearly was ready and capable of mastering guns. Whatever Swift had said to her had the desired effect.

Walter smiled as Swift clapped her on her back and congratulated her.

"Well, Logan, it looks like your sick hold over the Princess may be waning after all," he muttered to himself, pleased.

He loved Annika dearly, but he knew that she was keeping secrets from him, and that stung. However, he had to allow her privacy as she was a woman grown. He knew that she loved her brother and wished him no ill, yet what if she sympathised with him too much? What if she failed to become the Hero who was Prophesied to overthrow Logan because of her compassion for him? What if she could not focus on what was important, and instead, relied on her heart to make judgement calls more than her head?

Perhaps some of the fault lay with him. He had spirited her away in the night and had encouraged her to see her brother as a tyrant. If he had been in her place, he may have reacted the same way she had; with resentment and doubt.

He would change his tactics when interacting with her. He would speak of Logan more sympathetically and less about his tyranny. Maybe then she would confide in him as she once did and would be more open to his suggestions without questioning him at every turn.

Yes, if he became her Walter of old once more, she would respond positively. He was certain of it.

"You have improved tremendously, Princess Annika!" Swift told her with pride. "Now that you have learned to concentrate properly you could out-shoot even Ben Finn, I'd wager!"

Annika laughed. "I don't know about that, Major, but I feel so much more capable and comfortable with guns now." Goodness knows it had taken her enough time; time away from Logan. But perhaps she could make up for the lost time and hurry on to her next destination.

"Well, you are more than competent, my dear. I think that within another week you'll be my superior."

"And once I am?"

"Then you will be free to leave this place and meet the true Resistance in Bowerstone," Swift said, and then added, "Walter has been irritable and on edge. Have you noticed?"

Annika's brow furrowed and she sighed. "I have, but I thought that he was just disappointed in my slowness in learning to shoot."

Swift shook his head. "No, that is not the reason. At first I thought that perhaps it was, but now..." He leaned back in his chair and stroked his pipe, fixing his eyes upon it. "I sense that he is deeply troubled. Normally he confides in me, as I am his closest friend."

"But he hasn't confided in you?" Annika asked, even though Swift had just said as much. She found that difficult to believe. One had to only observe the two men for a few minutes to see how close they were as friends.

"He has not, and that deeply concerns me," Swift responded, meeting Annika's gaze once more. "I now believe that his failure to speak with me is because his anxiety is over something of deep personal interest to him. The only personal issues I can guess at would be regarding either the next step on your path, Princess, or regarding yourself." When Annika's eyes widened he hastened on. "However, I could be wrong, so please, do not overly concern yourself."

"But I should concern myself, Major," she said softly. "Walter has been a dear teacher and friend to me all my life. But lately, he has indeed been concerned about me, but he needn't be! I am working and training very hard to be the Hero Albion needs. I just wish that Walter would..." She paused and lowered her gaze.

Swift reached over the table and clasped her hand. Their father-daughter sort of relationship had begun to blossom and he genuinely cared for the young Princess. He was distressed by her unease and almost wished he had not brought up the topic in the first place. However, he knew that she needed to be aware, else things between her and Walter could begin to sour. He did not want that for either of them.

"Princess, please go on. You know that whatever you say to me will remain between us." He hoped that she trusted him enough to speak her mind, or her heart; whichever troubled her.

Annika sighed as she pondered. Her relationship with Major Swift had indeed become more personal than either had expected. He was the father figure she had been missing for many years, and, like Walter, a wonderful mentor. However, unlike Walter these days, she felt more comfortable with Swift. Besides, she needed someone to confide in. But how much should she confide? Would she be right or wrong to tell this man her deepest secrets?

Her life without Logan was, despite the people present all around her, extremely lonely. Poopsie was the best friend and companion he could be, but still, he was a dog, and unable to be the trusted confidante she needed. Her heart yearned to confide her troubles and worries to someone, but would confiding them to Swift be a mistake? Yes, this man was now her dear friend, but he was also a soldier and an ally. Where should the proverbial line be drawn between personal and professional relationships?

"Major," she began, deciding to test the waters between them gingerly, "I do wish to confide in you, but I have concerns."

"I see," he replied, nodding. "There is always a worrisome chasm between two people when they have a personal relationship as well as a professional one, is there not? Is that your main concern?"

"Yes," she said, smiling wanly, "but I also have personal concerns of my own regarding your good opinion of me. If I confide in you what I so dearly wish to share, you may lose respect for me, and even come to dislike me, or find me...distasteful. Perhaps even deviant."

The Major was clearly taken aback. "Lose respect for you? Dislike you? Find you distasteful or deviant? Princess Annika, I highly doubt that. I have a good sense of character, and I find nothing about you that gives me cause to feel any of those things."

"But you don't know what I am hiding."

"Fair enough, and you may yet choose to keep your secrets. I do not wish to pry; I want only to be your friend right now." He poured them each a cup of tea. "If you do not wish to speak, Princess Annika, you do not need to, and I'll respect that. But if you do, I can promise you that I will keep an open mind and I will also keep your confidence. That I swear."

Annika decided to again test the waters between them carefully. "I have been keeping in touch with Logan. Not often, mind you, as that is not possible, but I have been."

Swift raised a brow. "And you are fearing my condemnation for that? Princess, he's your brother! You made your feelings about not wishing him harm or ill will quite clear from the start."

"But that's not all, Major," Annika went on, feeling bolder. She sipped her tea and clasped his hand. "Walter is angry with me about that. He says he fears that Logan is influencing me adversely. He is very upset that I've even seen him, much less spoken with him."

"I see," Swift replied, squeezing her hand reassuringly. "But Princess Annika, Walter is...how shall I put it... He is a man who is very linear in his thinking; yes. He sees goals but often does not see that there are various ways to reach them. He sees a woman, such as you, believes he knows her thoroughly, and thinks he knows precisely how she must proceed. I fear also that he also sometimes sees you as a child still, and not as a woman grown."

Annika smiled. "That's true. I'm sure he still imagines me in my frilly little-girl frocks, my hair tied with ribbons, and carrying my doll about!"

Swift chuckled. "As he's been like a grandfather to you that hardly surprises me! He likely also fears that your brother will persuade you away from your path."

"He said as much," she admitted ruefully, "and although he promised that he would love and respect me and stay by my side, I fear that he may someday abandon me. I also cannot trust him as much as I would like to."

The Major sucked in his breath. "Now, that does surprise me! Why ever would you feel that you cannot trust Walter? He is the most loyal man I know!"

"Is he?" Annika now challenged him, her eyes almost flashing. "He's turned against his King! Regardless of whether he believes Logan to be a tyrant or not, he's turned against him! I understand why, seeing what Logan's policies have been these past several years, but I fear that it goes beyond that, Major. I think he despises Logan personally now, and not just because of his actions as King."

The Major was silent for several long moments. When he spoke again it was softly and with more seriousness than before. "Do you think that Walter will expect you, once you have become Queen, to have Logan...executed?"

Annika's eyes welled with tears and she nodded. "I could be mistaken, but I think so. And besides all of this, I..." She stopped, as her throat was too tight to continue. She gratefully accepted the handkerchief that Swift suddenly handed her and dabbed at her tears. "I... I am also in love, Major," she choked out.

"Ah," he said gently. "And you have to be away from your beloved all this time?" He took her hands in his once more. "I am truly sorry, Princess. This must all be very difficult for you. I cannot imagine what it is like to have all this on your shoulders, not to mention in your heart."

Annika nodded miserably. "I have this revolution to gather, the Hero's path to trod, a man who despises my brother, and on top of all that..." She stopped again.

"Do you want to continue?" Swift asked her gently. "You don't need to, if it causes you pain."

"I...I must get it out. Just...please try to not hate me!"

He clasped her hands more firmly. "My dear, I feel as if you could be my daughter. How could I hate you?"

She locked her watery green eyes on his dark ones.

"Because the man I love, and who loves me in return, is Logan."