Feel free to beat me with a motivation bat. I've just been called away by my new presents (a guitar!). My mom gave me a foot warmer for the computer, so I'll be on here more often, hopefully. Woot!

rainkisser: Thanks! This site is strange. Usually, there are a whole shwack of reviews before I even see my new chapters. Weird.

Tiger Lily21: Okay. I'll try. Whoops, sorry. It's after Robbie and Lia, about four generations after. Aiden is Robbie and Lia's great-grandson.

UruvielTruviel: No problem. I'm Canadian, eh? Everyone's all excited about why Danni talks different, but I didn't write it to be a big thing. :c/

naughty little munchkin: This is a bit of a longer story than my last one. In my head, it's almost in three parts. The first part is almost over, then there's a middle part which most of the plot comes in, then there's an adventure kind of part. I'm excited to get to the other parts, but of course, I've been distracted by my material gains. XcD I'm trying to get my butt in gear.

Glaze: Thanks. Sarah's a sweet-heart. She's going to come in more in the second part of my story.

TrudiRose: That's one of the best compliments a writer can get, in my opinion! Thank you! I love Theo. He's actually sort of based off my sister, so it's almost natural to write him.

fell4adeadguy: :cD I was thinking what I could compare Vicky's boobs too, watermelons sounded too cliché, and soup toureens just popped into my head. I don't know why, but it worked!

ruberduckysrfun: Thanks for reading this story! It's a pleasure to write it.

I'm giving you guys an extra chapter because, well, you people deserve it! Thanks for reading!

See you next update!

-Lulai

Chapter Four: Chess

Danni sat on the edge of the fence of the pasture, enjoying a moment of calm after leading all the horses to the field. It was nice to get out of the stable for some fresh air. It had rained all night and all morning, but around noon the clouds had started to break up.

"Danni!"

Startled, Danni slipped off the fence and landed on her rump in a large mud puddle left over from the drizzle.

Cameron jogged up to her, grinning merrily.

"Oh, milord," Danni said, bowing her head.

"What did I tell you about calling me 'milord'?" he asked, arms akimbo.

"Sorry, Cameron," Danni replied, head still bowed.

Cameron leaned on the fence. "Now, normally I would say I'm sorry for startling you and knocking you into the mud puddle, but I can't help but feel that the score has now been made even."

Danni looked at him with startled eyes, but then, miracle of miracles, she began to laugh. Cameron grinned along with her. She stood up.

"Aye, Cameron," she said, sticking out a muddy hand. "I guess we're even."

Cameron grasped her hand firmly and shook it.

"I guess so," he murmured and hopped up on the fence. Danni tried to wipe the majority of the mud off her face and sat up beside him.

"Apple?" Cameron asked, holding the shiny green-red fruit towards her.

"Thanks," she said, taking the apple.

"I brought one along for Thomas as well."

Danni looked at him suspiciously. Something in his tone was… strange.

"What?"

"Well, yesterday, I heard you talking to Thomas about wanting to give him an apple." Cameron was not looking at her, instead, inspecting his own apple.

Danni felt the blood rush from her face.

"Ye heard me talkin'?" she asked cautiously.

"Yes, I heard you talking."

Danni winced.

"I won't tell anybody, if you don't want me to," he offered, looking at her seriously.

Danni sighed. "It's not that," she said softly. "It's just…"

"Just what?"

Danni idly tossed the apple from hand to hand, debating on how much to tell him.

"Who taught you to speak like nobility?" Cameron prodded, taking a bite of his apple.

"My mother," Danni answered, almost unconsciously.

"Was she royalty?" he asked curiously. He didn't really want to push his luck, but Danni seemed to be in a talkative mood.

Danni laughed self-deprecatingly. "No. She was a lady's maid, but then she lost her job. Gorner took us in, but mother became very sick."

Her voice dropped to a whisper. "She died almost six years ago. I've been on my own, working for Gorner ever since."

"What about you?" Danni asked, changing the subject. Her mother was still like a raw wound on her heart and she was shocked at herself for telling this almost complete stranger such things about herself.

"Me?" Cameron asked.

"Yes, you," Danni said. She looked at the apple in her hands. "I've told you half of my life's story, and I know nothing about you."

Cameron looked up into the dispersing grey clouds. "Well, I've lived in the castle since I was born. Both my parents work there."

"Do you know the prince?" Danni asked curiously, running her fingers over the smooth skin of the fruit.

"It's not poison, you know," he said irritably, looking at the apple in her hands.

Danni blushed and took a bite of the apple. It tart and sweet at the same time. She closed her eyes to savour the flavour of it.

Cameron smiled at her obvious enjoyment of the fruit.

"The prince?" Cameron said. "I know him very well. He's not very happy right now."

"Why not?" Danni asked, taking another bite of her apple.

"His parents are forcing him to marry," he said, twirling the core of his apple.

"And he doesn't want to?"

"Of course not!" Cameron looked angry for a split second, but then his expression softened. "Well, what he told me was that he really wants to marry for love, like his parents did. He doesn't just want a political marriage." Cameron shook his head.

"Can his parents force him into marriage?" Danni asked. "After all, he's pretty old. Do his parents even have official authority over him?"

"Pretty old?" Cameron laughed. "He's only twenty-one!"

"My point still stands," Danni said.

"Well," Cameron paused, "I think that, yes, his parents can't actually force him into marriage, but they've made it abundantly clear that they would be extremely disappointed in him if he didn't. And he loves them too much to disappoint them."

Danni chewed this over in her mind as she chewed a piece of apple in her mouth.

"What do you think about it?" she asked finally.

"Me?" Cameron asked, surprised.

"Yes. You're his valet. What do you think?"

Cameron looked thoughtful. "I think that he should be able to marry for love if he wants to."

"Me too," Danni said with a nod and jumped off the fence.

Cameron followed suit and walked after Danni into the pasture. They herded the horses back into the stable in silence. Cameron seemed to be lost deep in thought and Danni did not want to break the silence.

She looked at Cameron discreetly. He was feeding the prince's horse Thomas the remaining apple. A frown fluttered across her lips. For all her opening up, he revealed only a small portion of his life. But, despite his secrets, she felt that she could trust him. It was a strange feeling, trust, one she hadn't felt since her mother died.

"Do you play chess?" he asked suddenly, startling her out of her daydream.

"Chess?" she asked cautiously.

"Yes," he said, walking over to her. "Chess. It's the prince's favourite game." He smiled slowly. "I'm a fair player myself."

"Alright," Danni agreed, smiling back at him.

"Tomorrow, then," he said, squeezing her shoulder in farewell.

"Tomorrow," she said