Disclaimer: Alas, I do not own the Fable universe. Characters you do not recognize were created by me for the purposes of this story. I really appreciate the kind, constructive reviews I have been getting. They spur me on!

Thank you for taking the time to read my story, any and all feedback is, as always, greatly appreciated! - Fallon.

Chapter Twenty-One

Blood erupted from the Captain's nose. Though the punch wasn't near the hardest he had ever received, it hurt more than all the others combined.

He looked at Milena through teary, stinging eyes as he clenched his nose.

Her hand hurt like hell, but her anger towards Ben deafened it. "Get out, Ben."

"Please...Milena..."

She raised her hand, "I don't want to hear any more of your lies..."

"I haven't -"

"That you love me?" Her scarred face was contorted in anger, "That we were fine? I just saw you hurt him!"

"I don't want him to hurt you!" He insisted, trying to stop the bleeding at the same time and failing. The front of his ivory skirt was saturated, sticking the fabric to his skin.

Milena was tense with fury, her falling tears the only thing soft about her, "You have hurt me more profoundly -"

Ben shook his head slowly, "Don't say that."

"Leave," Milena insisted, "now!"

"Milena..."

"I swear if you don't leave now I will tell the Queen what you've done!" She wanted him out, she could barely bring herself to look at him.

Ben could feel that repulsion radiating off of her, but he couldn't leave her like that, "Milena -"

She grabbed his hands and urged him to the door, keeping her watery eyes on the ground the entire time.

Ben stumbled and grabbed the door handled, looking back at Milena as he opened the door. He didn't want her to be angry with him, but he knew at the same time that he deserved it – just as he deserved his bloody nose.

Milena watched him slip from the room, sighing as the door shut and he was finally gone. She sniffled and rubbed her tears away. Her vision blurred by tears, she kept her back to Logan as she hurried to compose herself.

Logan took a deep breath, and sat up as quickly as he could to minimize the pain. Once he was vertical, he allowed himself to exhale. His legs felt heavy and weak, but he forced himself forward until he was close enough to wrap his arms around Milena`s waist.

He buried his face in her blonde tresses and held her as close as his weak arms could manage.

He smiled when his touch stopped her sobs, but couldn't help wish she wasn't so tense against him. Desperate to feel the stiffness leave her limbs, he lightly rubbed her stomach with the tips of his fingers.

He could feel the ribbing of a corset under the fabric of her dress. He had never liked the look or feel of a corset on a woman, but he outright hated the feel of it on Milena.

He waited anxiously for her to react, not entirely sure what she was thinking or what to expect. "Relax...I'm alright..."

His voice was so soft, and she couldn't help but listen to him.

Logan reached for her hand and noticed she cringed when he did so, "Let me see..."

She allowed him to raise her hand, which was throbbing and pulsing as strongly as her heart beat. Logan ran his thumb over her severely swollen knuckles and frowned, he should have taught her the proper way to throw a punch.

"I don't know what I was thinking..." She admitted with a sigh.

"You weren't." Logan said in a whisper, still examining her swollen knuckles and fingers.

Milena squirmed in his arms. His breath was tickling the back of her neck, sending a shiver down her spine so intense it unnerved her. The one arm he still had wrapped around her was resting just below her bust, making her suddenly aware of how tight the fabric of her dress felt across her chest.

On top of everything else, the warmth from his bare chest was almost too much.

Her knees felt weak, and there was a warmth blooming in her stomach that was falling lower...and lower...

"Milena?"

She nervously looked up at him.

"Are you alright?"

Milena didn't know how to answer, she had an idea of what she was feeling, but the idea of telling him made her flush. "I-I think so," She turned to face him, "Are you?" She tentatively touched his side.

He was just about to nod, but was hit by a wave of nausea and vertigo and took a stumbling step back in an attempt to steady himself.

"Please," Milena helped him back to the cot, "sit down before you -"

"Go," Logan said with a weak smile of reassurance, "you need to teach in the morning."

"Samuel said he would cover for me -"

"But for how long?" Logan lightly touched her cheek, "I am sure you miss sleeping in a real bed." He nodded to the cot that had been set up near his.

Milena knew he was right, but that didn't make her feeling any better about leaving.

"Finn said you hadn't left my side in three days, which is three days more than I deserve." He wanted her to know it was alright to leave, just looking into her eyes he could tell she was in desperate need of sleep.

Milena shook her head, "Logan -"

He touched the rose pendent that hung around her neck and smiled, "Go, please get some sleep."

She finally gave a small nod, "Alright, I have to tell Locke you are awake though, he'd be furious if I didn't."

Logan groaned at the thought.

The next day went by painfully slow for Milena.

It was the fourth day of classes for the school, but her first day as teacher so she was still rather nervous. To his credit though, Samuel had done a good job keeping the children in line and they seemed to be right where she expected them to be in her lesson plans.

It went smoothly, the children were well behaved - considering, and by the end of the day the school house was some what clean.

Still, it felt good to ring the bell that signalled the end of the day and sent the children scurrying home.

She planned on dropping her books off at her house, and possibly watering the sunflowers, and then visiting Logan at the clinic. She still had trouble believing he was really in Brightwall. It wasn't that long ago that she had left the castle without saying goodbye to him, and she still remembered how awful she had felt and how hopeless those feelings had been.

But now he was here, and he apparently cared for her. She remembered their kisses in the clinic and smiled.

Perhaps it was the loss of the crown and the responsibilities that went along with it, or -

Milena`s thoughts were interrupted when she noticed a package sitting on her door step. She sat her books down, and picked up the parcel. It was surprisingly light, and bound in loose twine and parchment. A gentle tug of the twine released the knot and opened the package.

It was a bouquet of red roses.

She smiled. They were long stemmed, and seemingly without thorns. The rose buds were tight, and had yet to bloom.

She glanced up and looked around her.

They surely had to be from Logan, but she hadn't told him where she lived. She thought for a moment that maybe Ben had left them for her, but if he was smart he would know not to come near her house.

She touched the soft petals of one of the buds. Yes, she decided, they had to be from Logan.

Milena returned her books to the shelves, and put the roses in a vase with fresh water from the well. She took a step back to admire them.

There was a firm knock on her door and she hurried across the room to open it, the roses having raised her spirits and lightened her step.

She opened the door. "Logan?"

Most of the life had returned to his face, though there was still darkness around his eyes. He wasn't wearing his royal attire, or his chest piece, but he still looked imposing and, dare she admit it, handsome. He wore dark trousers and boots, and a loose white shirt with an open neck. It was very different from his kingly attire, but she liked it all the same.

"How did you find my house?"

Logan smirked and gave a small shrug, "Brightwall is small...and I asked Samuel`s wife."

She backed up, offering him room to enter, "Please, come in."

He accepted her invitation and entered her modest house.

Milena watched him as he glanced around her house, taking in the little there was. "It's not much, but I like it."

Logan laughed and approached one of the full bookshelves, "Do you think you brought enough?"

"Hopefully." She saw him glance at the roses on the table, "I just found them on my doorstep."

"And do you like them?" He asked, folding his hands behind his back.

"Very much so." She approached the table and touched one of the buds that had already begun to open, "They were a pleasant surprise."

He gave a knowing smile, "Good, I chose well then."

Milena felt herself blush and tried to hide it by untucking her hair from behind her ears.

"I have received a letter from my sister," Logan began, touched the back of a chair as he did so, "she was rather...cross with me for leaving. Hopefully when she receives my letter, she will understand."

Milena folded her hands and nervously twisted her fingers, "I suppose she will want you to return to the castle..."

Logan thought for a moment, but ultimately shook his head, "When she reads my letter, I assume she will permit me to remain here."

Milena swallowed hard, seeing him approach her from the corner of her eye, "I-I understand you came her to apologize...and I forgive you, but..."

Logan arched a single eyebrow, "But?"

"You told me you've cared for a long time," she tried to ignore the nerves bubbling in her stomach, "a-about me, I guess, but if that's true...why didn't you just tell me sooner?"

Logan sighed, but not out of frustration.

"It's just," Milena took a step closer to him, "Ben said it was because you were afraid, but I refuse to believe that -"

Logan chuckled, "Can a king, even a former one, not feel fear?"

"Well, yes," she admitted, "but after everything you've faced, wouldn't telling someone the truth be rather simple?"

Logan considered his words for a moment before answering her, "The Darkness wanted to kill me, wanted to get in my head and pick me apart. It was horrible and it is something I can never fully be rid of, but there are some things that are more terrifying than a shadow."

"Like what?" Milena couldn't think of anything more terrifying than a living shadow that wanted to annihilate you.

"Like allowing yourself to get close to somebody," Logan offered, keeping his eyes fixed on Milena, "because the thought of loosing that person is utterly unbearable...and the only way you know of to spare them is to make sure they never get close."

Milena forced herself to look down, if only to escape the intensity of his gaze.

"But I failed." Logan said sadly, but with a small smile on his lips that Milena did not see.

"How so?" She muttered.

"You got close, and didn't run when you saw what I am."

She glanced up at him, "Neither did you, when you saw me."

"Your scars are skin deep, mine run to the bone...tarnish who I am, and yet you remained."

Milena shrugged and looked at the roses on the table, "Because I don't believe you are tarnished. B-But why are you here now then?"

Logan ran his finger down her cheek and she looked up, "I am a selfish man, Milena, especially when it comes to you. I have been silent for too long..."

Her heart was beating so fast she feared it would burst from her chest.

He rested his forehead on her's, "I love you, Milena."

Milena blinked, and still he was standing before her. She inhaled sharply before throwing her arms around his neck and devouring his lips. He kissed her back with equal ferocity, his hands holding her firmly to him.

Not that she would have dreamed of letting go.

Milena wanted him, more than she ever thought it was possible to want someone. She wanted him, and she wanted to be his. The little she knew about what happened between a man and a woman was from what her friends in Millfields had told her. She wanted to learn, and she wanted Logan to teach her.

She forced her shaking fingers to grasp his collar, and tried to quickly rid him of the offending fabric. Her desperation scared her, yet it was incredibly exhilarating and empowering.

She felt him trying to pull away just as she managed to find the laces on the front of his shirt.

"Milena..." He gasped, prying her hands from his chest.

She squealed, his grip on her swollen hand too tight for comfort.

Logan realized what he had done and let go, "Gods, Milena, I'm so sorry!"

Undeterred, she shook out her hand and stood up on her toes to kiss him.

"Milena...please...stop..." He pleaded between kisses.

Milena finally managed to stop herself, though the burning wet, warmth between her thighs was still too intense to ignore. "I-I thought..."

Logan nodded and hugged her.

She was mortified, not only because she had thrown herself at him, but because he had rejected her advances. Milena wanted to hide.

"I'm sorry." She whispered into his ear as he held her. "I-If you don't want me...like that -"

Logan pulled back to look into her eyes, and frowned when he saw her teary eyes and crimson cheeks. "I do, Milena, so badly."

Her eyes lit up, "Then let me..." She kissed his chin.

"I can't, my songbird, I can't."

Her mind was racing, "If you're worried about your wound -"

Logan shook his head, "No wound could keep me from you."

"Then why won't you let me love you?" She searched his face for an answer, "I-Is it because I am a virgin? Do you fear I wouldn't please you?"

Logan cupped her face, "Gods no, Milena, I am honored you would offer me something so precious! But I do not want to dishonor you, I want to do this right."

"I-I don't understand..." Milena was not aware there was a "wrong" way.

"I want to court you, my sweet songbird. I have been with other woman, bypassed courting because there was only one goal. You mean more to me than any other, and deserve to be treated with all the love I have for you."

Milena nodded, knowing he was right.

Logan smiled and kissed her uninjured hand, "Come, walk with me."