5.

Elsa shoved the door open with her toe, balancing the basket of assorted fresh fruits and vegetables carefully as she scooted inside, kicking the door shut behind her. Staggering over to the counter, she put the four baskets she was carrying down, managing to get them all on even surfaces without spilling a single item.

She took a moment to look over her catch for the day, satisfied. It'd been a long time since she'd been able to bring her father home so many good things; she was sure with how he was improving that he would appreciate the variety to his diet and it would only help him get even better. Amazing what just a little bit of proper medicine and medical attention had done for him. Her thoughts wandered to Casphus and what he'd done before she very carefully turned them back to more important matters.

Like getting the vegetables sorted and put in the underground storage area where the cooler temperatures would help keep them longer. And finding out where Magnolia had disappeared off to; she'd told Elsa she was going for a pumpkin and that she'd be back, but after waiting for the blonde for an inordinate amount of time Elsa had decided her friend was no longer in the Square.

She'd probably seen a cute boy she thought looked like Casphus and followed him home, Elsa thought, reaching up and brushing some stray strands of fiery red out of her face with a soft sigh. No matter, she'd put everything back herself and just give Maggie her share later, whenever she got un-distracted.

"You brought quite a bit home..."

Elsa jumped at the sound of her father's voice behind her, pressing a hand to her chest as she laughed shakily. "Da, you gave me such a fright... What are you doing out of bed, anyway? The doctor said you shouldn't push yourself..."

She headed over to where he was standing in front of the ladder to her attic area, part of her delighted to see him upright and under his own power, though he had one hand on the end of the ladder to help steady himself. Still, he was upright and the lines in his face didn't seem quite so deep... well, until he frowned at her. Elsa stopped mid-stride, confused.

"Da, what's--"

"Don't change the subject, Elsa. Where'd you get the money for all that?" He pointed towards the baskets of food and Elsa felt guilt sneak into the pit of her stomach. That'd been silly of her. She shouldn't have brought so much home unless she knew he was asleep and wouldn't notice.

"I just... I'd been saving, for rent you know, and since Casphus..."

His eyebrows shot towards the ceiling. "You mean Prince Casphus?"

Elsa flushed. She'd been thinking about Casphus -- err, Prince Casphus -- so much that she'd even forgotten all about his honorific, his title. SInce when had he become such an integral part of her thoughts...?

"Y-yes. That's what I meant. Anyway, since Prince Casphus helped us out, I thought we could... celebrate..." She trailed off, staring at her father hopefully.

He didn't seem to be buying it, but instead frowned at her sternly. "You've always been a terrible liar, Elsa." He raised one hand, pointing at her eyebrow. "Your right eyebrow... always tweaks in just a bit more when you're lying than when you're telling the truth. So when are you going to start telling me the truth?"

Elsa half-reached towards her eyebrow self-consciously, then lowered her hands, staring down at them. "... I can't."

"Yes you can, Els."

Elsa looked over her shoulder to find Magnolia standing just inside the front door. Her friend's arms were folded over her chest, a stern look on the blonde's face. Well, as stern as the blonde could get.

Elsa stared at her. "N-No... I can't... Maggie, what are you-?"

"You aren't going to tell anyone Elsa? Were you even going to tell me if I hadn't found out?" Magnolia's voice was almost.. almost angry. But Maggie didn't get angry, and certainly not with Elsa. She always just smiled that sweet smile of hers and laughed it off, then Elsa would go out of her way to make it up to the blonde. She didn't get.. mad.

"I had no choice! I didn't want to! But what was the alternative?! Letting Krayve win? Letting him drive us out? Where would we have gone, Maggie, Da? This is the only place we have. Why are you doing this to me?" Elsa stared between the two of them, confused and just a bit upset. It wasn't like she'd hurt either of them... Why was she suddenly the bad guy? She'd just being doing what she had to -- what Krayve had forced her to to protect those important to her.

"I'm afraid I'm a bit confused."

The voice shot right through Elsa, freezing her in place. She could feel her heart thudding in her ribs fit to burst them. Counting the beats, she slowly turned to find two sapphire eyes staring back at her.

Casphus stepped through the back door, the wind from it rippling through his ebony hair. Elsa had never been so terrified of someone in her life. It was a heady sort of terror that made her forget that her feet were on the ground, that she needed to breathe, that there was anyone else in the room except him.

"Why did you steal from me if it was indeed Krayve you so detested?" He regarded her with a cool sort of interest, a look that riveted her feet to the ground yet made her want to run as far as she could. He took another step towards her, just a slow pace, his feet making no sound on the wooden floor. So unlike Krayve, who stomped around everywhere as if determined to announce his presense to the entire world.

"You can't prove that I stole anything from you. You didn't see the thief's face and there's no jewels in my possession," she answered, utterly calm sounding. She hardly recognized her own voice and could hardly believe she'd said that. Daring him to prove it?! Elsa, what are you doing?!

"I see..." he said, even closer to her now. She found herself backing up, glancing to either side for an escape. But Magnolia and her father were standing there, cutting off any chance of exit. Why weren't they helping her? Did they really want to see her thrown in jail?!

Casphus reached to his side and Elsa flinched, expecting to hear the sharp ring of steel as he drew his sword and ... and chopped off her hands or whatever they did to thieves and smart-mouths in his lands. When nothing happened, she finally opened one eye to find...

Her shoe.

Her heart dropped through the floors beneath her. Her father had always teased her about having unnaturally tiny feet. And she'd taken the time and the care to adjust the shoe to fit her foot perfectly. The moment he slipped that on it was all over with. Elsa stared at him with wide-brown eyes.

"... what are you going to do with me?"

Casphus stared at her with those chilling blue eyes. "You stole something very important from me, Miss Elsa." He stepped towards her again and she found herself retreating in front of his advance, stepping back as if afraid to let him get too close to her. "I'm afraid the punishment is quite severe."

The seat of the chair hit the back of her knees and she sat, hard, staring up at him. There was a twinkle in his blue eyes now, a slight gleam of satisfaction. He was... He was enjoying humiliating her like this? Fury welled up inside of her in a sudden rush of heat and she stared at him as he knelt in front of her, lifting one of her feet with his hand.

She entertained the thought of kicking him in his stupid, royal head, but restrained herself. No use losing a foot in addition to two hands. He was still speaking, slowly, as if savoring each word. "Indeed, I do not envy you the sentence I am about to pass on you, for you will spend the rest of your life serving it."

"Even if you take my hands, I'll find a way. I won't hide -- I'm not ashamed of what I did," she declared, her chin jutting out defiantly.

He paused, one of his hands around her slim ankle. Another surge of heat rushed through her at the touch, the slight roughness of his warm, calloused palm making her cheeks burn. She stared at him, confused and more than a tad nervous, as he raised his eyes to look at her.

"I wasn't thinking of both hands," he said, chuckling softly. He pulled her sandal off, gently setting it to the side. Then he raised the shoe in his grasp, deftly slipping it onto her foot. "Just one."

There was a sudden shimmer, a light so bright that Elsa raised her hand to shield her eyes. When she lowered her hand, she found herself staring at the delicate crystal slipper on her foot. Casphus ran his fingers along the smooth crystalline surface, admiring the way the light from the fire made rainbows dance inside the delicate shoe.

He raised his gaze to her again and his eyes were so brilliantly blue that they made her breath catch in her throat. She felt another thrill of nervousness at that look in his eyes, so straightforward and intense... so intent.

"I don't.. I don't understand..." She stared down at the glass slipper on her foot, then looked up at him again.

He reached up and took one of her hands in his own. She couldn't tear herself away from the way he was looking at her. "Your sentence, Elsa, daughter of Jacobs the farmer, is life repaying your debt..."

His voice, though soft, made her forget to breathe completely. Her heart was racing so hard she was surprised it didn't hurt.

"... as my wife." Her eyes snapped up to his again but he kept speaking, not giving her a moment to interrupt. "For you have stolen my heart and my mind and I do not think I will ever get either of them back. So I order you to spend the rest of your days by my side, so that I might never have to suffer as I have this past week."

"As your... your..." Elsa could barely even comprehend what he'd just said to her. The room reeled around her and she gripped the edge of the table, just staring at him.

He smiled and Elsa thought to herself that he was very much enjoying this. "Yes, Elsa. I have never met someone who could look at me square in the eyes with the same passion and fire that you have. Marry me."

"But... but..." Elsa cast about, her gaze flitting to her father. He was smiling, a gentle look to his worn features.

"I think it's only fair, considering you stole his heart," he said, shrugging. Elsa turned to Magnolia.

The blonde giggled. "It's okay, you can have him."

Elsa's eyes dropped back to Casphus again. By the stars, her heart nearly jumped from her chest just at the sight of him. But... he terrified her so. Her head swam, her blood raced through her veins, her breath caught in her throat. Surely that, of all things, was reason to say no. Surely jail was better than being trapped into a marriage. Surely that, of all things, meant she didn't like him.

"Yes," her lips raced off before she could tell them not to. "I mean... You're better than jail, I guess."

His blue eyes lit up and she thought, very quietly, that they were even better in reality than in her thoughts and memories. He wrapped his hands around hers, standing and pulling her to her feet as well. He didn't say anything but simply leaned forward and Elsa felt her heart do a whirl of happiness then fall silent as his lips found hers. Her hands tightened around his as his kiss swept her away, making her forget everything except that flush of heat that spread through her, the warmth and sweetness of it.

When he pulled away, barely three heartbeats later, Elsa opened her eyes to seek his face again. Oh, what trouble she'd gotten herself into now.

"You know, we're going to have to lay some ground rules down," Casphus said with that sternness that Elsa thought didn't sound quite so stern anymore as playful. She was going to have to learn how to read him. It wasn't fair that he'd sprung this on her and she was still spinning from it. Oh yes, this meant revenge.

"Like what?"

"Why, what you are and are not allowed to steal." Elsa flushed at the teasing grin on his face.

"Wh-what?!"

"You may steal my time," Casphus said, with a thoughtful slowness, as if debating. "And you may steal glances. And, I suppose, if you're feeling particularly thief-ish, you may also steal a kiss or two."

Elsa laughed. "What about a happily ever after?"

Casphus pulled her close again, kissing the tip of her nose. "That, my little thief, we shall not steal. We'll make it for ourselves, every single day. After all, your sentence is for life, with no possibility of escape anymore."

Elsa slid her arms around him and thought of how much the prospect of life with this terrifying, brilliant, horrible young man excited and scared her. It was certainly going to be a strange adventure from now on, and ever after.

(( That's all for this one. Keep an eye out for the sequel to A Fairy Tale's Princess coming soon. And probably a story about some magical spaghetti and a rat prince. But I haven't fully decided on that one.

-- Buns ))