A/N - I'm updating twice is one day. TWICE. Who knows, maybe it will become a hot streak (said no one ever)? It would be nice if I could update more regularly. Yep, that would be fun. If you guys decided to pay me I could definitely make it happen lol. Actually, I think the OTP drought is what's causing this. They likely won't be on for another 3 weeks and I'm dying a slow and painful death so enjoy it while you can...

The Great Hall of Titan Castle was alive with chatter and noise. The Princess had finally returned! The aristocracy lined either side of the large room, huddled amongst its pillars; gossiping, feeding the frenzy and impatiently awaiting the arrival of the young Princess. When the Royal Troupe had not returned from its journey on schedule all manner of whispers had overtaken Titan. Where was the Princess? Had she been killed? Had she runaway? Where was Lord James? Would the King go after her? But it seemed she had returned in enough time to prevent a serious panic.

The huge iron doors slowly pulled open and the remains of the Royal Troupe made their way into the Great Hall. Stephanie pushed past the soldiers flanking her on either side and ran straight into the arms of her waiting father. She swore there had been no greater feeling in her life than this one right now. His arms enveloped her in a much needed embrace and she burrowed herself into him, finally coming to terms with just how dangerous a journey this had been. She could have been killed and never seen her family again. It was frightening to think about. Before she could get side tracked her mother joined the embrace and pushed her father out of the way to give a tight hug of her own. Stephanie breathed in deeply and savoured the moment, thankful to be home; thankful to be alive. She had one person to thank for that and she inwardly prayed that her father showed mercy.

King Vince stepped away from his daughter and wife, allowing them to have a moment, and shook the hand of his most trusted military confidant. "James…what the hell happened out there?"

The King's voice was understandably angry and Lord James ducked his head ever so slightly. "Your Grace, we were ambushed by mercenaries. They took out almost all of us. This is all that remains." He gestured behind him to the depleted men. A handful of tired and wary soldiers, two maids, several bannermen and ten Kingsguard. They had set out with over a hundred in total.

"Mercenaries? Mercenaries?" Vince took a step back in shock as the vein in his head began to beat furiously. Who did these men think they were? He had sent his daughter outside the walls of his Kingdom as a morale boost to his own soldiers and a gesture of goodwill to those on the fringe. The fact that something like this had actually happened was unthinkable. She was the Princess!

"Yes, Your Grace."

"What happened? How did you survive this madness?"

"We fought them off…there was fire…it was so hot, like hell on earth. I…."

"He saved us."

All eyes in the Hall turned to the Princess and then to the man at the end of her outstretched finger. Lord James shot a dirty look at Stephanie and sighed heavily.

"Who is this man?" The King asked with indignant curiosity.

"Bring him forward!" Lord James called and watched as the Prisoner was marched to the front of the hall. An intrigued silence befell the large room before quiet whispers and murmurs broke out all around. Everybody was no doubt questioning who the strange man was. The veteran soldier was sure that the young Princess would fill them all in. He wasn't wrong.

Stephanie's breath caught as her eyes locked with the intense gaze that drew closer and closer. Finally he came to a stop right in front of her father and stepped forward, somehow unable to tear his eyes away from her. For the first time she got a proper look at him and her chest ached with sorrow. His clothes were tattered and he was still in chains. He looked haggard and worn but the most chilling thing of all was the look in his eyes when he glanced at the King. It was a look of defeat. He was expecting his sentence to remain the same…he was expecting to die. Stephanie was determined not to let that happen. Before she could speak, a different voice boomed around the vast hall.

"Who do you think you are, peasant? Bow before your King!" Prince Shane snickered with disgust, striking the man in the backs of his knees and forcing him to kneel.

"Shane!"

A scattered hush engulfed the room at the actions of the Royal siblings. The Princess was considered a sweetheart; a compassionate woman with a caring heart and kind consideration for her subjects. The Prince however, had a penchant for cruelty and a documented mean streak. The differences in the two couldn't be any more apparent.

"Enough!" King Vince bellowed. This very public situation was already dramatic enough without his children acting petulant for all to see. He should have held this meeting privately although this turn of events had been unexpected. How could he have known? This young man, now on his knees, had apparently been his daughter's saviour and the King wanted to know why. "Stand up," he ordered.

The Prisoner stood awkwardly. His legs were still throbbing from the blow from the Prince. Obviously he didn't share his sister's kind heart. He tried not to narrow his eyes at the other man. The Prince stood next to his father, gleaming in gold armour and blue velvet. His hand rested on the hilt of his sword and his entire demeanour reeked of misguided superiority. He stuck out like a sore thumb when compared to the rest of his family who despite their royal blood, still had some measure of modesty about them. The King and Queen were not looking at him in judgement but rather obvious curiosity.

"What is your name?" The King demanded.

"My name is Paul, sir….Your…Grace?" the Prisoner trailed off, unsure how to address royalty.

King Vince hid his smile. The kid was common as dirt but at least he was trying. He turned to his daughter and raised his eyebrows, urging her to tell him just what exactly this man had to do with this mess.

Stephanie's eyes locked with her father's in a silent plea as she retold the story. "We were attacked by mercenaries, father. They killed almost everybody. My carriage caught on fire and I was thrown to the ground. When I lifted my head a monstrous man was on top of me." She could see the familiar vein in the King's forehead start to beat faster and decided to leave no detail unturned. She wanted him to know the full extent of the danger she had faced so he understood just how vital the Prisoner…Paul…had been to her survival. "He tried to….to…attack me and this man drove a blade through his neck. I owe him my life, father." So do you she wanted to add but knew better than to dictate to him. He may have been her father but he was still the ruler of these lands.

It took a moment for her words to sink in and when they did King Vince fought the urge to pull his daughter into another fierce embrace. She had almost been raped and then killed. He looked to the man before him with a deep and intense feeling of gratitude. This dirty, haggard and lowly peasant had saved his daughter and in essence, spared his soul from heartbreak. For that he could never thank him enough. "You saved my daughter?" He received no answer, only a slight nod of the head and awkward shuffle of feet.

"I have not yet questioned this prisoner at the behest of the Princess, Your Grace but I would like to know why he was in our custody at the time. My Gaoler was killed in the attack and therefore I have no information," interrupted Lord James. He didn't know enough about this 'heroic' Paul to thank him just yet. He had been on sentence in the first place. The question remained, what for?

The eyes of the room turned to Paul who suddenly felt out of place, out of luck and out of time. It was all well and good being the hero but now the truth had to come out. For a brief moment he considered lying. Could he lie to the King? Nobody would ever know what he had done now that the Gaoler was dead. But if he was to live he wanted to do it with a clean slate. So with a deep breath and a nervous clearing of his throat, he looked directly into the King's eyes. "I was…am, charged with…murder, sir."

A hush enveloped the hall. Paul was certain these people were enthralled by the entertainment that was his life. He swallowed nervously and tried not to let the gravity of the situation get to him. He had no doubt gone from hero to murderer in the blink of an eye and the thought of how he must look right now made it impossible to look at the Princess. For some reason he couldn't bear to see the disappointment in her eyes.

"Murder?"

Paul remained silent because he simply didn't know what to say. And he never got the chance.

"Take him away."

"Father, no!" Stephanie cried in desperation but it was to no avail. She watched with devastated eyes as Paul was surrounded by her father's own personal Kingsguard and marched to the dungeons. She grasped his arm, her eyes pleading as she stared right at him. "Please. You can't do this, he saved me…"

"Enough, Stephanie. I will decide what to do with him later. I must speak with Lord James about the perimeter of this Kingdom at once." Vince paused and took a moment to gather his voice in a loud and decisive bellow. "If the people of the borderlands think they can attack this family, the royal family, MY FAMILY, then they are sorely mistaken. I will investigate this mess and there will be a response. There will be a response. Today's court is over."

A heightened sense of chatter encapsulated all who remained in the Great Hall. In a room full of people, Stephanie had never felt more alone. Paul had saved her life yet she had failed in saving his. Her bright blue eyes brimmed with tears as she turned on her heel and walked away in a stunned and angry silence.