CH 11

=Dirk: Dirk, Jake, and Lil' Hal

We reached our destination days later in the early morning. As we approached I noticed this familiar looking stallion grazing on our backyard. "Jasper?" The horse looks up at me for a second and then continues eating. In return Lil' Hal huffs in annoyance at the horse on its property.

"It looks very tired." Jakes gets closer to inspect it. The horse whines as it lets Jake pet its mane.

"Strange. Why are you here? The inn is miles away." I step up beside Jake and upon closer inspection I see that the horse looks thinner than usual. "I'll get you some water." I head towards the backdoor. I enter the building and call out. "You can come out now Rose." I hear some shuffling and a door creak open.

"Dirk. You're home." Rose steps out of our cabinet room.

"Why are you here?" I ask her as I move to grab a bucket.

"We were attacked at the inn." I go still as I process what she said. "Two women had been asking about John and when they found out that he had stayed at our inn they had tried to get the information out of us. Dirk, John is our prince."

"I know."

"You knew? Since when? You know that the princess is the only one seen by the public."

Before the conversation carried on any further, laughter came from outside.

=Jake: Stand there and be adorkable

"Hey now, stop. That tickles!" The midnight furred stallion began nuzzling my face. Its black mane and affectionate touches reminded of Jane. I know she can be rather independent, its the reason why she is more well-known by her kingdom for walking around outside the catle's walls. A part of me worries that she is being tortured, but John probably got his wounds for resisting. Jane was smart enough to stay still and think through her situation. Yet-

"Do you need some help?" A girl inquires as I realize while I was lost in thought the horse took the opportunity to push me down to lay beside it.

"Oh! Yes, it this one yours miss? He is rather friendly."

"I see. He must like the way you smell." I don't think she meant to imply anything but the comment made me heat up.

"I-I guess I do. I tend to hike and surround myself with animals normally." I embarrassingly notice Dirk standing to the side holding a bucket. His face doesn't show it, but a part of me thinks he's internally smirking. It made my speech worst. "Hello. I don't believe we've met." I stand up and give a little bow before extending my hand to her.

"Rose Lalonde. I take it you're involved with the amnesiac prince?" She places her hand on mine and gives it a shake.

"Right you are. That would be John and I'm Jake the elder prince of the kingdom of Attuniva. I heard about how you treated John's wounds and am rather grateful." I glance at Strider who has put the bucket down for the hose and silently looked at us interact. I decide to be a bit mischievous and bring her hand up to place a kiss upon it.

"You are quite the gentleman. With your manners it's easy to believe that you are royalty." She smiles for a moment before dropping all pretenses saying, "I believe my sister has been captured by those going after John. What plan do you two have and where are the others?"

"We came here to pick up some things. We'll meet up with the others afterwards. You can either stay here or come with us." Dirk says before heading towards a thicket.

"I have to get my sister back. Besides I believe my expertise may come in handy." Rose says as sits besides her horse.

"Jake." I turn to Dirk who motions for me to follow him.

=Dirk: Grace Jake for the opportunity to see the inside of your shed

No. No one is allowed in there. Even your new good-looking royal boyfriend.

"What do you need me to do?" Jake who has caught up to me after having easily stepped through the bushy path warmly smiles as he looks at me.

"I need you to carry some parts to the cart." I unlock my shed. I turn to Jake and say "Stay" before entering and grabbing the necessary tools and equipment. To save time I would have to work while we travel.

"Is that all?" I nod. Jake takes the objects from my arms and dashes back. It would be funny if he were to trip due to being so reckless.

Rose is still right where we left her. She is trying to coax Jasper into getting back up. I realize that she has dark circles under her eyes. She is trying hard to not let the situation get to her, but I doubt she'll let herself rest until she gets Roxy back.

I decide to help Jake place the things in the back before he accidentally breaks something. His overly enthusiastic personality is cute, but alarming when it comes to handling these tools and parts.

After getting everything settled in I walk up behind Jake and hold him close to me.

"So..." I whisper into his ear.

"Yes?" There is a hint of playfulness in his voice as he leans up against me. Memories of that time in his room reminding them of the lack of touch they have had due to the situation they are in. Hopefully, when all this is over they would have more time for each other.

"Am I interrupting something?" And like that the moment is ruined as I step away from Jake and turn to Rose.

= Rose: Ponder over what you just walked into

"Oh! Umm.." Jake stumbled over his words before quickly recuperating. "Are you ready to head out with us?" He sheepishly questions me as he moves to fasten Jasper to the cart.

"Yes." I let him help me onto the cart taking in with pleasure as Dirk emotionelessly looks at us. Jake sits at the front to hold onto the reins as Dirk gets into the back with me.

"How do you know you weren't followed?" He questions me as the cart starts moving.

"I went down misleading paths in case anyone was following my trail. It's the reason why Jasper is so drained, the poor thing."

"So your type is royal and proper?"

"Oh, you'll see." Is the last thing he says as he begins to focus fully on what is in front of him.

...

I just realized that I have not updated in quite awhile. I am so sorry. A lot of things have happened. One of which is that for the first time someone close to me has passed away and I have been trying to deal with it and caring for my little brother after my mother started working more hours. Still, I love this fandom too much to leave things unfinished!