"I've never been on this side of the mountains before." The princess explained to the lord theft as they walked arm in arm down the wooded path. Mixtures of oaks, pines and red woods towered over them. The oaks and redwoods started to show faint colors of fall, while the pines let their dead needles fall to the earth below. The moon was full as it hung low in the stared sky. Her grace glanced up at Fredrick. "I've been quiet lucky to even leave the castle grounds."
His lord ship frowned down at her. "How sad, an adventures woman like yourself should be free to travel."
"Maybe for you rogues," Her grace stated. "But a lady of royalty like myself must stay with her people."
"So, why aren't you with them now your lady ship." Fredrick smiled.
She glared at him. "Because you kidnapped me," Then she smiled. "Or can you not recall what happened earlier today?"
He nudged her shoulder. "How could I forget, you looked pretty intimidating with that sword."
"Oh," Aprill looked into his brown eyes and raised an eyebrow. "Is that so?"
"Quiet so wild lily, and speaking of," He stated and reached over to touch the wild tigerlily in her hair. "You've kept the gift I gave you and sport it in your hair, why is that?"
"Oh," Beside herself, she blushed and looked away from his eyes. "Well, I couldn't let such a beautiful flower be tossed away."
"I've heard tail that the princess of the white castle's favorite flower is the wild tigerlily," Fredrick said a matter of factually. "Is that not true, your majesty?"
The blush in her cheeks darkened. "Why yes, that is so."
He nodded. "As I hopped it would be so, but I didn't expect however," She knew that he was looking at the flower in her hair now. "Is to find it half braided in your hair."
"Well I…" But her grace really didn't know what to say and even if she did, she didn't want to say it. In the days before this one, she felt closer to the theft lord when she bore the flower in her hair. Agents everything that she was raised to believe in. Or the fact that a prince had claimed her as his wife to be, in her heart she didn't want the prince. She wanted…dare she think it, she wanted lord Dukes. She cleared her throat. "I loved your gift," She finally told him. "Loved it so that I felt it should go in my hair."
"Hum," Lord Dukes sighed in thought and glanced at her. "Is that so?"
She looked up into his eyes. "Do say that I lie, your lord ship?"
He smiled, releasing his grip on her arm and laced his arm around her waist. "Not at all Aprill, it just leaves me to ponder…"
"Ponder what Fredrick," Aprill asked, a little fearful now of what he would say.
He slowly pulled them to a stop and looked down at her again. "Leaves me to ponder…how fond you are of me." Her blush returned and when she was going to look away, he took her chin in his free hand and tilted her face up to face his own. "Your grace," He said softly in a new, deep tone of voice.
She shook her head. "No lord theft, you know it can't happen." Aprill finally fully saw that he was very fond of her and if she really dared to say the word 'love', that word would describe his feelings better. And when she thought about it, that same word would describe how she felt also. Her lips trembled. "You know we can't be together."
Fredrick smiled gently. "You forget wild lily, I break the 'law' all the time," His brow touched hers. "I've watched you on your balcony for a long time your grace, waiting for this moment."
She tried to get her breathing back to normal, but her heart was pounding and made it difficult to breathe. "I…I've waited up full nights at times to see if you would return."
Releasing her face, Lord Dukes wrapped his arms fully around her. "The statement you made earlier,"
"Fredrick," Her grace breathed.
"You wish to be the lady to be taken to my chamber, is that so?" He finished gently.
She blinked. "I wish…but I can not have, your lord ship."
He looked concerned then. "Why is that so?"
"I'm engaged," She replied. "To the prince of the black castle in the north…" Her voice broke then. "If it wasn't for him…I would try harder to stay dearest, truly I would if I could."
Fredrick hugged her close. "But do you even care for him, in any way at all?"
She shook her head. "Not in any way at all, but I have no choice. It's my birth right, I must be married to a prince, it's the law."
He snorted in disgust. "How I dread that horrid law, it's not fair," Lord Dukes placed a kiss on her cheek. "I love you."
She was over whelmed, so over whelmed that she was shacking. "And I love you."
Slowly Fredrick leaden forward and was barley touching her lips when… "My Lord and Lady!"
They looked behind them to see timid theft Todd hopping over to them. Lord Dukes growled. "I told you I didn't wish to be disturbed timid one."
Todd fell to his knees in front of Fredrick and her grace. "I know my Lord, but there are royal guards in the forest."
Fredrick tensed. "Impossible, they never come this deep in land."
"But its true Lord Dukes," The timid one shivered. "Lance's scout saw them on the fair east perimeter. And they are getting dangerously close to camp by the minuet."
"Who is leading the guards?" Her grace asked the thief.
Todd shook his head. "Never seen him before, it's not the king. But a young man with oddly silver hair…"
"The prince," Aprill groaned and looked back at Fredrick. "I was with him before I saw theft Lance in the woods today. He must have wondered what happened to me."
"And now he is looking for thee," Fredrick stated and pinched the bridge of his nose. Then he sighed in disappointment. "But you barley just arrived." His brow was pressed against hers again. "I don't wish for you to leave wild lily."
Her arms when around his neck. "I know, but I must…I don't want the prince to through you and your people in the dungeons."
He placed a simple kiss on her lips. "Let's get you in your royal dress and back to the prince."