A/n: Hi everybody! Here I am with chapter 35! I updated sooner because I have been receiving more reviews so that's a relief! And a delight. To my dearest cupcakemania22, lairyfight, elomeno, Empire of Fiction thank you so much!

~Narrator's POV~

Princess Fern sprinted back to her chambers once all the others were getting their hands on the bows and arrows. She had never been more grateful for her height advantage. She bumped into a waitress on the way – not literally – and the waitress was just arriving at her quarters to deliver a basket with two sandwiches wrapped inside. Fern peeked at its contents in thrill and thanked the waitress who took her leave and went to run other errands without questioning the Princess. The truth was that Fern had ordered the food not for herself but for a rather special person. And she was, in fact, holding the basket, on her way to meet that person right now.

Happily, she jogged to the stables and found Enrique. He had just been finishing up his work for the morning session, which meant that it would soon be time for him to have lunch. At first, he seemed a little bit startled to see her, not because he did not want to see her, but because he did not expect to have the chance to see her again after their last meeting. It did not have a happy ending.

"I thought I had upset you last time and that you didn't want me in your life anymore," Enrique confessed.

"Oh, please don't ever think that," Fern reassured. "And…let us just forget about the past…it is the past, after all. And I guess we've got to put that behind us, you know," she added. "By the way, you mean to me much more than you think you do."

"I could say the same thing to you," Enrique smiled weakly. "I see you, however, that you are not dressed for horse riding. So what is on your mind?"

"No indeed I am not here for a horse riding lesson. I am here to bring you a special care package," Fern grinned in exhilaration and handed the basket to Enrique who examined its contents.

"I smell Parmesan Oregano," Enrique could not help but beam. It smelled so nice and his stomach growled. It had been quite a few hours of manual work after breakfast.

"Well, you sure did get that right," Fern smiled. "You are a smart one though. Parmesan Oregano is usually only served for royals, nobles, aristocrats, and on formal occasions when there is something worth celebrating. At parties and whatnots."

"Like your birthday ball," Enrique blurted unintentionally and immediately regretted it. He froze, but still tried to remain neutral so that his facial expression would not give him away. He did not want his cover blown. What would she think of him had she known that he was the one she kissed?

"Yes…indeed…" Fern replied warily. "Like my birthday ball. You are right," She repeated, but after a moment she decided it was best to change the topic. A bit awkwardly, she pointed at the sandwiches. "There is barbeque sauce, thousand island dressing, and mayonnaise in the sandwiches. You also have cucumbers, green peppers, pickles, olives, onions, jalapenos, tomatoes, lettuce, bacon, ham, cheese, egg and mayo and tuna and…just find out for yourself," she giggled at her long asyndetic list. "Oh! And I know you like Honey Oat so I thought I would bring you that. I figured you could always use a nutritious meal."

"That is so very wondrously nice of you," Enrique grinned heartily. This is something a wife would do for a husband, he mused. "You remember that I like Honey Oat."

"I do," Fern nodded. "Many things you tell me…and many things I remember."

"I…thank you. Just, thank you, thank you," Enrique beamed.

"No problem at all," Fern grinned.

"But…what about you, Fern? If this is for me, then what are you going to have for lunch?" Enrique queried.

"I…oh, Enrique, I am sorry. I know I keep saying that, but I just cannot be here for long. I just think it's really a shame I can't have lunch with you today, because I've got guests to entertain, and I think Rilian will notice my absence any minute. I kid you not: he really is going to tear this place apart in search of me if I take too long," Fern bit her lip apologetically.

"Oh," Enrique's face fell, but he masked his loneliness with a smile once again. "That…that's fine by me."

"I know that's hardly fine; I mean I keep showing up at all these awkward times and then vanishing all of a sudden…I feel like it's unfair to you," Fern shook her head.

"Well, I just…there isn't much we could do to rectify this situation I'm afraid…and it's not any of your fault, so I'm not going to worry too much about it, and neither should you," He sighed. "But actually I thought your lady in waiting…"

"Oh, yes, well, Fizzy's on it, and she is trying to keep Rilian oblivious to our meetings, but…ugh," she stomped her feet in frustration, "I don't even know. I'm sorry. My brother just has his way of finding out things that were never meant for him to discover. I have no clue how he does that! But lately, Felicity and I have been running out of excuses. Or maybe I just keep picking the wrong times to sneak out to meet you. I think I will have to sneak you in some time."

"Wouldn't that be too…err, risky?" Enrique frowned.

"Well, it is risky, but it's bound to be better than not spending time with you at all," Fern sighed. "It seems to me that the people I care about the most just can't always be with me. Except for Rilian; he's around all the time. Yes. I do care about him. He is my brother, after all. But I'm not going to deny that he annoys me to no end. I don't know how Laurel copes with him – Lady Laurel, you know?"

"You've mentioned her to me before, so, yes," Enrique nodded.

"Alright. Well, I guess I could tell Laurel to keep him occupied, but it wouldn't be fair to her either because it would probably appear as if I'm using her and I don't want to make her feel used. I don't want anyone to feel used, for that matter," Fern explained.

"You care about me?" Enrique asked.

"Of course I do; I'm your confidante, remember?" Fern laughed. "Why? Does that surprise you?"

"Well I don't expect anyone to care about me. I just have never expected anyone to care about me," Enrique shrugged. "And I simply do not wish to be a burden to you, or cause a drift between you and your royal brother."

"I would say he's the burden, honestly," Fern grumbled. "He keeps sticking his nose in my business. He needs to understand that as a matter of fact I'm allowed to have friends outside his social circle."

"Perhaps it is because of what happened on your birthday that made His Highness wary of those who are around you," Enrique said sadly.

Fern shifted uncomfortably. "Why do you keep bringing it up?"

"I'm sorry," Enrique looked away, avoiding the question, gruffness surfacing in his tone. "Look, maybe it's time for you to go."

"You're pushing me away?" Fern said, sounding hurt. "Have I wronged you in some way, Enrique?"

The hostler made no response.

"Enrique, can you please look me in the eye and answer me?" Fern pleaded. "Something's wrong. I know. But please talk to me about it."

"I can't," Enrique said simply, refusing to look at the Princess. "But no, you have not wronged me. I just did not want to cause you any trouble or inconvenience by imposing on your time, seeing as you do not have much to spend with me anyway."

"There is no imposition," Fern stood directly in front of Enrique. "And if there is something troubling your mind then you must tell me about it."

"Are you commanding me as my Princess or speaking to me as my confidante, as you say?" Enrique finally turned to look at Fern.

Fern looked crestfallen. "I'm not using my authority over you. We are on equal grounds."

"Fern, be real, we could never be on equal grounds," Enrique stated. "Ever."

"Why must you think that way?" Fern questioned.

"It is the truth!" Enrique rebutted.

"Are you angry at me?" Fern inquired sadly.

"I am not," Enrique snapped in a tone that said otherwise. Fern stood in silence as his jaw tightened. "Look, you really should go. I'm used to being boxed on the ear every single day since I was a child, but I'm not prepared to bleed for a girl who will never be mine, and I don't want to get beaten up by that beast of your brother again, alright?"

Fern gasped sharply and looked close to crying again. "You – you got beaten up by my brother?"

Enrique immediately realized what he just said in a rush of anger and frustration with himself. He immediately picked up a cloth and a bucket and turned away. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

Before Fern could say anything else, the wooden door creaked open abruptly again and Fern felt the all the air leave her lungs for a moment, before identifying the person at the door as her own lady in waiting.

"Fern, you have got to get back to the castles now! There's no time to waste; we're about to have lunch and everyone's wondering where you are! I hope you have a cover story prepared because I can't think of any. I made an excuse to keep Rilian away but he doesn't seem convinced at all," Felicity urged and when Fern turned around, tears were pooling in her eyes.

"I'm not going anywhere!" Fern protested, her heartbeat accelerating and her mind a mess. She couldn't think of anything else other than what Enrique just said to her.

Felicity sighed helplessly and shot Enrique a few apologies before dragging her Princess out of the barn. Fern writhed and wriggled and began tearing up but her lady in waiting was insistent and had to keep tugging on her arm and usher her to make haste and run. Tears spilled on Fern's cheeks and she almost tripped but Felicity kept telling her that they must not stay in the stables for another second or both of them would have dire consequences to face – the wrath of Prince Rilian. Fern was in complete shock and still did not know how to react.

Once Enrique saw that the ladies were out of sight, he did not hesitate to slam the door and turn the key.

A/n:

DRAMA! DRAMA! DRAMA! Uh-oh! Enrique gave himself away! What's going to happen now? This is a relatively short chapter, and I understand that Fern's used a lot of hedges – that's just her idiolect. Anyway this is the start of a gut-wrenching amount of angst. More is to come in the following chapters. But can I please get a review from each and every one of you?

I'd also just like to mention that we are just 3 reviews away from 200 reviews! Isn't this awesome! Well I think it is! And I think with your help, we can get past the 200 mark very soon! So, can we reach that target, please?