Chapter Five: Realizations

For the first time in longer than she could remember, Danni felt light-hearted. She was singing a song her mother used to sing to as a child while she brushed Princess' mane.

"What's all tha racket?" Gorner bellowed.

"Nothin'," Danni said. If there was one person who could ruin her good mood, it would be Gorner.

"Well, stop it," he growled. "My head's apoundin' somethin' awful."

"Maybe if you stopped drinking so much," Danni muttered angrily into Princess' mane.

Luckily, Gorner did not hear her and returned to his bed. Danni sighed and opened the stable doors into the pasture. One, by one, she ushered all the horses out of the stalls, muttering irritably all the while.

"Oh, where is that Cameron?" she burst out.

"He's right behind you," he said softly.

Danni started and turned to glare at the grinning Cameron. "You have to stop that!" she growled at him.

"Sorry," he apologized.

He did look very sorry to Danni.

"I brought the game," he offered, holding up a wooden board and a small velvet sack. "Do you have a flat spot we can play on?"

Danni knew just the spot. She lead him over the fence and onto the field.

"Here we go," she motioned. Cameron plunked cross-legged onto the grass.

"Okay," he said, opening the velvet pouch. Danni sat down across from him. "This," he instructed, holding up a white piece, "is a king."

It became standard routine for them. Every morning, after Danni let the horses out to graze, Cameron would show up with his board and they would play until noon, when Cameron would return to the castle, and Danni would finish her chores.

"What's wrong?" Danni asked. Cameron was lying on his stomach, gazing at the board, but she could tell that his mind wasn't on the game.

"What do you mean?" Cameron said, his gaze snapping up to hers.

"You aren't playing your normal game," she said, moving a pawn forward.

The corner of Cameron's mouth twitched. "I'm winning, aren't I?"

"Well, yes," Danni admitted reluctantly, "but not by the usual amount." She pointed at his collection of her pieces. "By this time, you usually have about twice the number of my pieces."

Aiden sighed. He must have really been playing horribly if Danni was noticing. Although the boy's skill had improved, he was still quite the beginner.

"I'm just trying to make this lesson last longer," he said. Danni looked at him quizzically.

"Why?"

Aiden was silent a moment. "I'm going home. We're leaving tomorrow."

Now it was Danni's turn to be silent. His mouth open.

"Well," he finally said lightly, "we both knew that you would have to go home sometime."

Aiden nodded silently. He knew that Danni was disappointed, but what could he do? If he brought him back to Castle Fer Drewery, how long could he keep up the charade of the prince's valet? He knew that their relationship would change as soon as Danni learned that Aiden was the prince.

"Thank you," Danni said softly.

"For what?" Aiden asked quizzically.

"For being my friend," Danni said, looking at him seriously.

"No problem," he said, pushing Danni's shoulder lightly, trying to lighten the mood.

Obviously, he pushed Danni harder than he though because Danni fell backwards.

"Hey!" he shouted as he rolled down the slight incline. Luckily, he missed a large mud puddle by inches. "What was that for?"

"You looked cleaner than me," Aiden said mischievously. He stood up and went down to help Danni up.

He held out his hand and Danni grasped it. But, as he pulled Danni up, Danni took his other hand and smeared mud all down Aiden's shirt.

"Now we're even," Danni said.

"Not even," Aiden growled, grabbing his own handful of mud and smearing it across Danni's face.

Danni spat mud out of his mouth and barrelled into Aiden. They went down laughing and rolling in the mud.

Aiden felt lighter than air. He couldn't remember when he last played in the mud like a boy. He laughed and rolled over Danni and pinned the smaller man into the ground… and froze.

There was no mistaking the warm, round flesh under his right hand. It was undoubtedly a woman's breast.

Danni was a girl? Aiden examined his, no her! features and cursed himself for an idiot. What he had taken as sharpness he now recognized as delicateness. He realized he still had his hand on her breast.

He tore his hand away and leapt off her like she was plagued.

Danni looked at him with stricken eyes. "I'm so, so sorry, my Lord," she stammered, and fled.

Aiden watched her fleeting form and swore. He was such a moron! He cleaned up the chess set and marched irritably back to the castle.

Theo saw his cousin stomping through the hallways like a black cloud.

"What's wrong, Aiden?" he asked, stepping up beside him. "I thought you were enjoying your little excursions with Danni."

He stormed into his room and slammed the door right on the heels of Theo.

"I'm such a fricken' stupid moron!" he raged.

Theo sat in a chair in his cousin's room.

"Now, normally I would agree with you, but I feel there might be a story here," Theo commented calmly.

"Danni's a girl!" Aiden exploded and slammed his fist into the bureau.

Theo's eyes widened. "While that's an interesting twist, I really don't think that that's a reason to be breaking my furniture."

Aiden gave Theo a poisonous glance. "I'm not in the mood, Theo."

"As I've noticed," Theo said, standing up and going to the door. After speaking quietly to the servant waiting outside, he turned back to Aiden. "So what if Danni's a girl? What does that have to do anything?"

Aiden raked his fingers through his hair angrily. "Everything. Nothing." He sat down in one of his chairs. "God, I just feel like such a fool for not noticing it sooner!"

Theo took a bowl from the servant outside the door. He took Aiden's hand and washed the broken knuckles in the bowl of water.

"What are you doing?" Aiden asked.

"You might break my furniture," Theo responded, "but I draw the line at bleeding on the carpets."

Aiden smiled tiredly as Theo bandaged his knuckles. Now that his adrenaline levels were returning to normal, he was beginning to feel a little sleepy.

"So, how did you find out that she was a girl?" Theo asked casually.

Aiden felt the tips of ears start to grow hot.

"Oh," Theo said, suggestively lifting his eyebrows.

"It wasn't anything like that," Aiden said, hating it when his cousin made him feel eleven instead of twenty-one. "We were tussling when I accidentally touched her… um… breast."

"Was it nice?"

"Theo!" Aiden exclaimed, his ears fully on fire now.

Theo closed his mouth but couldn't completely wipe the grin from his face.