I have finally decided to post. I have not been able to post at my regular site, Checkmated, and have been trying to get the issue resolved forever. I just can't wait any longer, so I will be posting this chapter and the next two I have already written in the following intervals; One today, Monday, one Friday, and one the following Friday.
Thanks for bearing with me for so long.
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The noon trumpet sounded across the meadow. Cloaked and hidden amongst the trees, Ginny paid it no mind; she was intent on her mission. Derren, the young prince from the neighboring province of Parona was approaching the castle, and it was her sworn duty to get a good look at him and report back to her sister. It was a system the two had perfected over the year as countless suitors were paraded about.
She froze at the sound of a sword being unsheathed, and a cold voice hissed, "Don't move, unless you want a hole in your middle."
And up until now, she groaned inwardly, the system had worked flawlessly.
She stood motionless, quite sure whoever owned that voice meant business.
"Remove your hood, slowly, and turn around."
Ginny sighed, and did as she was ordered.
And looked up to see the most beautiful pair of green eyes she'd ever encountered.
The man's eyes widened, presumably because he'd recognized her face.
"Begging your pardon, Princess Alaina. I had no idea-"
"It's quite alright," she assured him with a lilting laugh. "I don't suppose you would have, what with my skulking about in a dark cloak."
He smiled back, and she was thoroughly charmed by the shallow dimple in his cheek.
"And you are?" Ginny prompted, wondering who this stranger was who had been so intimidating a moment before. For the first time, she noticed he was wearing garments in the style and color of the Parona guard.
Don't say Derren, Don't say Derren, she thought repeatedly.
"I am Aaron, of the King's personal guard."
Ginny couldn't help a silly little grin from appearing on her face.
"Aaron…." He watched with amusement as she seemed to consider him.
Nodding decisively, she continued, "It fits you."
He inclined his head solemnly. "Thank you, Princess."
She rolled her eyes. "Just Alaina, please."
"As you wish, Princess Just Alaina."
The giggle burst out of her, unbidden. With a bright smile, she exclaimed, "Oh, you are quite amusing."
"It pleases me to please you, Princess Just Alaina."
"Would you stop that if I commanded you to?"
"Of course, but it would pain me greatly."
"Well," Ginny mused, "We wouldn't want any unnecessary discomfort!"
Aaron's eyes twinkled back at her. "Of course not, Your Highness."
"And how did you come to be here, Aaron? Also, kindly explain why you felt it necessary to draw your sword upon my back?"
"I apologize again, Your Highness. I was scouting the area to ensure Prince Derren's safety. I saw you, shrouded in your cloak, and could not determine your identity. Forgive me."
She arched an eyebrow at him, then said, "I already have."
"Princess," he began, then hesitated.
"Yes, Aaron of the King's personal guard?"
"If I may, was there a reason you were hiding out here? Were you in danger?"
"Oh, no, nothing of the sort." Ginny continued, "I'll tell you, but you must keep it a secret."
"Of course, Your Highness."
'I too, was scouting the area, in a way. For my sister."
Aaron nodded solemnly. "I see. I am sorry for disturbing your…..surveillance."
Ginny grinned. "I accept your apology. What can you tell me of your Prince?"
Aaron pursed his lips for a moment, then replied, "He is kind, considerate, and compassionate. He will rule well."
'I meant as a man, not as a future King."
Aaron smiled. "If I had a sister, I would not worry for her."
Ginny returned his smile. "Thank you."
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Ginny sat up abruptly in her tent.
The morning sun shone brightly in her eyes, causing her to blink repeatedly. There was a faint dull thudding at the back of her head, and her mouth felt oddly gritty. Harry slept on beside her, his light snores melding with the birdsong outside into an oddly harmonious rhythm.
With a start, Ginny remembered the events of the last few days. They were stranded, alone, without any idea of where they were or how they'd gotten here.
It welled up inside her so suddenly that she had no chance to halt it. She missed her Mum, the smell of her hair when Ginny nestled her head against her should for a long hug.
She missed her father's quick shoulder pats and forehead kisses. And God help her, she even missed her brothers.
Her eyes filled, tears spilling over. Suddenly feeling immensely alone, curled into a ball, Ginny wept for her family.
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Hermione rolled her eyes in response to Ron's hesitant question. He had been treating her like glass all morning, staring at her apprehensively, then quickly looking away when she met his gaze.
"Honestly, Ron, not everything is about you!"
Ron threw up his hands. "What then, Hermione? Why are you acting so….."
"So what?" Her voice had turned even more frigid, if that was possible."
"So bitchy!" As soon as he spat the words out, Ron wished he could take them back, certain she was about to slap him, or worse, tell him that this had all been a mistake and his behavior had made her realize that she didn't really feel the way he did about her.
The one thing he didn't expect was for her to burst into tears.
Ron immediately reached over and awkwardly patted her on the back.
"I'm sorry," he cried, his voice hitching violently. "I shouldn't have yelled, just- please- stop crying!"
"It's not….you!" Hermione wailed between sobs.
A bit relieved, Ron pulled her into his lap, rubbing her back in soft circles as she wet his entire chest front.
"Please, love, what's wrong?"
Hermione sniffled, glanced up at him, then buried her face into his shoulder once more.
"I can't tell you," was her muffled reply.
"Course you can," Ron coaxed.
"It's embarrassing."
"I won't laugh, I swear."
She looked up again, smiling at him tremulously.
'It's…I have cramps."
Ron frowned. "Where, in your legs? No problem, I'll rub them right out. I do it all the time for Quidditch."
She giggled. He was so…..Ron.
"Not those kind of cramps, Ronald."
"Oh. Oh!!"
There was a long silence. When Hermione dared to look at him again, he was absently trailing his finger in the sand, red as a tomato.
"So…erm, moving on…about yesterday..."
It was Hermione's turn to look down at the ground.
"Oh, that," was her quiet reply.
He ran his hand over his face in agitation. 'I'm so – I can't believe I did- that- to you. I don't understand why you're even talking to me. I fully expected that you were, well, disgusted."
"Ron," Hermione started, but he continued on fervently.
"I remember that it felt like, like part of me was over myself, watching it happen, but- I couldn't stop it- and I just hated what was happening but- I-"
At a loss for any other way to shut him up, Hermione covered his mouth with her hand.
"Listen to me, Ron. What happened yesterday, it wasn't your fault."
He made a sound of dissent, and Hermione hurried on.
"It was the berries, you idiot. You must have eaten half a forest-full. Whatever was in them contained some sort of aphrodisiac, which eventually made you sick.
My bet's on a slow acting poison that gave you a sense of euphoria and an eventual lack of control. The result was the same as if you'd drank a half bottle of firewhiskey."
Ron absorbed this, his brow furrowed. He remembered eating the whole basket of berries, but he'd assumed his stomachache had been because he'd had too much for his shrinking stomach to take. Now that he thought about it, he'd felt progressively worse and worse since he'd eaten them, until…..
"I just want you to know," Ron started in a hoarse, gravelly tone, "That I never intended on doing ….what happened yesterday. I respect you way too much to…..force myself on you like I did. It doesn't matter how or why it happened, but that it did. I made you afraid of me, and that makes me sick inside."
Hermione moved to embrace him, but he stood suddenly, his back to her.
"Just…just give me some time, alright? I need to think about this."
She lowered her head. She'd known that he would react badly, but… Hermione couldn't help the emotion in her voice. "How much time, Ron?"
Ron turned back towards her, and she saw the grin she'd loved since the age of twelve.
"Don't get your knickers in a twist. I'm not ditching you. We're on a bloody island, Hermione!"
She tried desperately to keep the look of utter disgust upon her face, but eventually, her lower lip began to tremble slightly, which was a sure sign to Ron that she was barely containing a laugh.
He strode over and scooped her up in his arms, hugging her fiercely.
"I love you."
She smiled into his neck.
"You'd better. So," she continued, looking up at him. "Are we okay?"
After a moment of serious consideration, he nodded, giving her a quick, firm kiss.
Hand in hand, they began to walk back towards camp.
Glancing down at her, Ron asked in a deadpan voice, "Just out of curiosity, how long will it take for what happened yesterday to be repeated, of course without the berries and such?"
Hermione pretended to consider. "Well, that depends."
"On what?"
She smiled wickedly, walking on even as he'd stopped.
Over her shoulder, Hermione called out, "On how long we're on this damned island. If we end up stuck here, there should be some sort of compensation, don't you think?"
Staring after her, Ron grinned stupidly in response.
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Harry heard muffled noises as he gained consciousness. Blinking slowly, he twisted his head around to see Ginny, her head bowed, shoulders shaking.
He realized with a start that she was crying. For a moment, he debated pretending to go back to sleep, but he felt that was…cheating somehow.
He wasn't used to voluntarily dealing with emotions, he much preferred ignoring them until they went away or blew up. But with Ginny, he felt like…..it'd be worth all that emotional rubbish if it made her feel better. If she was happy.
He reached an arm out and purposefully wrapped it around her.
"It's okay," he murmured awkwardly. "Cry all you want, I've got you."
Her breath hitched at his words, and she shook more, if that was possible. Ginny then burrowed herself into Harry and held on until she cried herself out.
"Thank you," she whispered to him.
"Don't mention it." Harry gave a mock shudder. "Really. I think I might be allergic to tears."
'Sorry to put you through it, then." Stiffening, Ginny tried to un-tuck herself from Harry's embrace.
Harry responded by wrapping her up even more, and leaning his head down to speak into her ear.
"There's nowhere else I'd rather be, Gin." And he meant it.
Taking a breath, he began to softly stroke her hair. "Now, what brought this on?"
"I was thinking of my family, and how much I miss them. It's odd, isn't it?" Ginny's tone was wistful.
"I've spent most of my life being embarrassed by them or angry at them, and in less than a week, I feel like there's a piece of me missing somewhere."
Harry chuckled. "It'd probably be best not to mention that to Fred and George, or even Ron for that matter. You'll be teased into oblivion the next time they see you."
Ginny immediately teared up again. "That's just it, Harry. I'm not sure I will see them again."
"Of course you will, Ginny. We'll figure this place out, just like we do everything else. I promise."
Ginny sighed. "Don't make promises you can't keep, Harry."
"Well, then, what am I supposed to do? I want to make you feel better."
His face was so earnest that Ginny couldn't help but be moved.
"You could kiss me, Harry."
Harry blinked. "What, now?"
Ginny leaned back, tilting her head up to him.
"I think now would be a very good time," she returned, her voice husky in anticipation.
Still unsure if this was a good idea, Harry tentatively lowered his lips to hers.
Just as before, the world twisted, then fell away.
What he had intended to be a quick, comforting kiss immediately turned feral in its intensity. Harry's hands came down to cradle Ginny's face.
She arched up into him, and before he knew it, he was laying halfway on top of her.
Harry's brain kept repeating Ginny's earlier words.
I'm not entirely sure I'd be able to stop myself.
I'm not entirely sure I'd be able to stop myself.
I'm not entirely sure I'd be able to stop myself.
"Ginny, wait," he managed to gasp out as her hands nimbly un -tucked his shirt and moved up to caress his upper chest. His body was already spinning out of control, and the feel of her under him was starting to make his brain fuzzy.
Ginny opened her eyes drowsily, hands now roving up and down his back.
"It's alright if you don't say the words, Harry. I can feel it. Don't stop. I- I need you so much."
After 'don't stop,' the blood rushing to his ears made Harry deaf to all the rest.
Ginny lay under him, open and loving. Willing to accept anything he could give. Settling.
She deserved so much more than that.
And he knew. Suddenly, with perfect clarity, Harry perhaps for the first time understood the love his parents must have shared.
He'd always been the one to save the day, to protect and defend. He realized with a start, that it was one thing to risk your life, and entirely another to risk your heart.
Harry lowered his body back down on top of hers, his hands roaming down and pulling her against him.
Sweetly, he whispered the words he had at one time feared he would never be able to say.
"I love you, Ginny."
Before she'd even begun to absorb his words, Harry had lifted his body away.
And then turned and walked out of the tent.
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Next chapter: The mystery of the island, revealed!
Next chapter: It's a surprise!
