Roman watched Smilla from afar. Her dark brown hair had half of it pulled back and secured. She was sitting on the grass while her horse was standing a bit away. He sighed to himself. When he first took this job, he thought it would be easy. He was supposed to protect her. Not fall in love with her like he had.
"Come on, boy," he said.
His horse started walking again. Even though she had her back turned against him and didn't even turn her head, he knew she heard him approaching. He stopped his horse and jumped down on the ground.
"Princess," he said.
"You know I don't like it when you call me that," she said.
"Smilla," he said. "You ran off again. You know you're not allowed to."
"You found me," she said.
"I'll always find you. You know I can track anyone no matter how hard they try to hide their tracks. You don't even try. Your horse leaves footprints all over. You're easy to find," he said.
"Guess I'll vanish without my horse one day," she said.
"I'll still find you," he said.
He sat down next to her and looked at her. She finally turned her head and settled her bright grey eyes on him. She was as beautiful as the day he first saw her. Even knowing now what he didn't know back then about how she hated this life and the role she had to play in the castle as her father's daughter - the princess of the land - she would never lose her beauty to him.
"What are you doing here today?" He asked.
She turned her eyes back to what she had been looking at.
"The crows are acting up. Bad times are coming," she said.
He turned his head to watch the crows. Normally they would chill on the grass and in the trees but now that she had pointed it out, he could see they all seemed uneasy today.
"I'll never understand how you can look at animals and interpret omens like that," he said.
"You don't have to believe me," she said.
"I do. You haven't been wrong before. I just don't understand how you do it," he said.
She shrugged. He wasn't sure she understood herself. She was so in sync with nature that it sometimes scared him. If she hadn't been the princess, someone would have accused her of witchcraft. He was sure of it. Her status saved her.
"So what bad times are they telling you about?" He asked.
"I don't know," she sighed. "I have a pretty good guess seeing how my father has been acting recently."
He sighed too. He had caught on to that too. Her father - king Hunter - wasn't exactly subtle. He wanted Smilla married off to someone who could benefit him and his kingdom.
"I'm gonna lose you soon, aren't I?" He asked.
She looked at him again. Those grey eyes were so full of sorrow. She knew it as well as he did. She moved in and kissed him which surprised him. Normally they were sneaking around behind closed doors where no one would ever see them. Not out in the open. It was too risky. He placed his hands on her cheeks and gently pushed her head away.
"We can't," he said.
"Take me away, Roman," she pleaded. "Let's leave tonight when no one sees us. You know how to cover up our tracks. We'll be far away tomorrow. It will take time before my father can bring in a new tracker. He only relies on you for that part. No one will ever find us."
"I took an oath. I have to protect you," he said.
"So protect me," she said.
His heart broke for her. They could never be together. They both knew it. She was a dreamer. He had to keep her rooted in reality no matter how heartbroken it would leave him. She would marry someone with a high rank, most likely a prince, and he would continue to protect her for the rest of his life.
He was brought in to work as her protector a year ago. Her father didn't like how she was acting. He was scared she would lose her purity before being married. Her father would never know that had already happened before Roman was brought in. She had dated in secrecy, and the secrets had continued with Roman. They had fallen in love but their love was forbidden.
"I am protecting you, princess," he said.
Her eyes turned even more sad. She hated when he called her by her title. It was his way to keep a distance between them despite that line having been crossed for so long now. She stood up and walked back to her horse. He got up too and got back to his horse.
They would ride back to the castle together, and all anyone would see was a man doing his job by escorting and protecting the princess anywhere she went. He knew he was meant to work as her guard, and he was fine with everyone believing that was all he was. No one would ever see his heartbreak. No one would ever know about his love for her. No one but her.