A/N: This chapter had a mind of it's own. I do apologize for the lack of updates, things got busy and I had a little bit of a writer's block. I hope you enjoy! R&R! :)

The next few days had all been a blur for Quinn. Since telling the king "yes" to his offer, things haven't stopped moving. Going from her old house to pack her things, saying good-bye to Will, who gave her his blessing and demanded that she would visit every now and then, to where she was told to be her new quarters on the ground floor of the castle. Her quarters was a room equipped with an actual mattress, not as big as the one she first slept on, but a decent size, a table with a mirror and a wash bowl and towel present. There was also a small little fire pit across from her bed. It resembled a little like her old house, and she smiled at the thought of making this room, her new home.

After being shown her room and having time to settle her things, Leroy led her out into the yard behind the castle. A hundred yard from the kitchens and to the right resided the forge, where two people were already hammering steel and shaping chest plates. A blonde haired boy with soft green eyes, sleeves pushed up to his biceps was hammering away at the steel on the anvil. The other with slightly darker skin, a shaved head, and hazel eyes so strong and determined, much like her own, was using different sized hammers and other tools for shaping the piece of armor. Stepping into the forge, she stood there taking in the forge and the two sweaty boys.

Leroy cleared his throat and the two boys stopped what they were doing and looked up. Smiles broke out on their faces when they saw Leroy and the blonde. The blonde, dressed in men clothing, blonde hair tied up in a green ribbon, hazel eyes that changed to green with the lighting, and angelic features. "Gentlemen, this is Quinn Fabray and she will be working with you," he said.

"Really?" They both exclaimed at the same time. The tan boy wiggled his eye brows at her and the blonde's jaw dropped in astonishment.

"Easy, Noah, I'm positive that she could take you down."

Quinn only smiled at the comment and Noah gulped as the blonde laughed. "Well, I'm sure we'll all get along just fine." He walked up and extended his hand to the blonde. "I'm Sam from the House of Evans. It's a pleasure to meet you, Quinn." He smiled and that's when she noticed his lips were bigger, but in a way that she found completely adorable. And sure they looked a bit alike with their blonde hair and even though her eyes were hazel that changed to green, she smiled.

"I'm sure we'll get along just fine, won't we?" Both boys nodded.

After the short introduction, Sam, Noah, and Quinn all began to work on new pieces of steel. While hammering away at their steel, the boys began to question Quinn about how she learned to blacksmith and where she was from. It was a nice start to her new life at the castle.

The sun was high in the sky when they decided to take a short break. Noah, whom she learned like to be called "Puck", was sitting on one of the barrels splashing water in his face to cool him off and wipe away some of the dirt. Sam and Quinn were sitting in the grace each with a cup of cold water in their hands. They basked in the cool summer breeze and she was about to begin another conversation with the boys when a certain brunette crossed the yard to the stables. Quinn watched her graceful moves and a sad smile crossed her lips when she remembered what happened the other night between them. But that had been three days ago, and since then the brunette wouldn't look her way or make any kind of contact with her.

She handed Sam her cup, stood and said, "I'll be right back." And before either of the boys could react she was jogging towards the brunette who had just entered the stables.

Arriving at the stables, Quinn walked in and saw her at the stall in the middle petting the stallion who resided there. Quietly she cleared her throat and spoke with kindness and wonder, "Are you avoiding me? Did I do something to upset you, Rachel?"

The brunette jumped and turned around. Placing a hand over her drumming heart, she took a calming breath and replied, "Quinn. You scared me."

"I'm sorry, that wasn't my intention."

Catching her breath she shook her head and answered her question. "No, you didn't upset me in any fashion, Quinn. I don't mean to be avoiding you, it's just I have a lot on my mind at the moment."

"Anything I can help with?" Quinn took a step closer.

"Not unless you can change the law." Taking a deep breath she explained. "I am betrothed to Prince Finn."

Shaking her head, Quinn spoke in a whisper, "But he's an idiot."

"Quinn."

"If you wanted to marry a prince, Rachel, at least choose someone with a brain."

"If I could, I would marry you, but I can't. Things aren't that simple."

A smile made its appearance on her face when she heard those words. "You'd want to marry me?"

Laughing at herself, Rachel shyly murmured, "I said that, didn't I?"

Taking another step closer to the brunette, Quinn reached out and took her hand. She was never more grateful that she cleaned her hands, than in that moment. With her other hand, Quinn tilted her head up so their eyes locked on contact. Now, cupping her face with her left, and holding her hand with her right, Quinn knew she had fallen so hard on that first day and only kept falling. "Rachel. Please, don't marry him," she begged.

"I …Qui-"

Their eyes burned and longed for the other so. Quinn's eyes, green with specks of light brown, Rachel's deep chocolate orbs; they stared into each other's souls. Reading each other like an open book. And that's when Quinn leaned in and placed her lips against Rachel's. Their lips slid into place just like the first night, only this time so much more was being said. Quinn smiled when she felt Rachel deepen the kiss as if this kiss was their last. She then felt the princess wrap her arms around her neck, pulling her in, and Quinn clung unto her shoulders. Their tongues peeked out of their mouths and began to massage the other.

Rachel took Quinn's into her mouth and began to suck softly on it as Quinn led them over to a bed of hay and gently lied down with the brunette on top of her. The fire between them grew and soon Quinn felt a desperate ache in her lower half begging to be paid attention to. Ignoring it, Quinn grabbed Rachel's waist as the girl began to move her hips against Quinn's. A gasp broke through Quinn's lips as she felt every movement Rachel caused. Shaking her head, Quinn broke the kiss and stopped Rachel's hips from moving. "Rachel, we have to stop."

"Don't you want me, Quinn?" Rachel whispered hotly into her ear then ran her tongue up the length of the lobe.

"Of course, I do. Just not like this. We're lying in a pile of hay and everything is moving too fast…"

"What do we have here?" A sudden voice broke through their trance and both girls whipped their heads to the entrance of the stables.

"Leroy!" Panicked they both got to their feet and started brushing themselves off. Quinn was as white as a ghost, just waiting for the guards to come and take her away for her actions with the princess; while Rachel looked anxious, waiting for him to do or say something.

They were both surprised when he merely cracked a smile at them and motioned with his fingers to come closer. Hesitantly, both girls approached him and he looked at Rachel and said, "I think me and you need to have a talk. And Quinn, it's in your best interest to just get back to work right now, we'll talk later," he said leaving no room for argument.

Quinn looked between the two, nodded and walked back to the forge leaving Rachel and Leroy alone to talk. When she arrived at the forge, she didn't make any eye contact with either Sam or Puck; instead she just picked up where she left off on her sword and started hammering away.

She didn't know what to think about what just transpired. Things between her and Rachel had gotten way out of hand, and if Leroy didn't show up when he did, heaven knows what would've happened. And of course there was Leroy to think about now as well. Would he turn them in and have their necks, or, by some miracle, would he understand what she and Rachel have together? One thing she knew for sure was that with each passing moment, she grew more and more anxious.

The rest of the day seemed to drag on and on as she dreaded the talk with Leroy she knew was going to happen as soon as her shift was over. She had contemplated grabbing her things and riding off back to Will, but she couldn't do that to Rachel. She loved her too much to even think of actually doing it. And no doubt they would just go after her and then what? Lock her in the dungeons and leave her there to rot or to be hung. Safe to say, she wasn't a fan of either. And so she waited, and just carried on with her work until the sun began to sink behind the mountains in the distance. As the sun set, she told Puck and Sam that she would take care of cleaning up to make up for the time she was with Rachel.

Putting out the fire took longer than usual, for she kept getting lost in her thoughts. Staring into the dying flames of the fire she chuckled. She is this fire, small and dependent on what will happen, but still hot and with the right push, she will become strong and fierce. Smiling, she finally shook her head and put the flame out. And as she was shelving the tools, she looked up and saw Leroy standing in the archway. Mentally stealing herself, she continued putting the tools away and he made himself comfortable on the stone fireplace.

"I hope you know, that I'm not going to turn you in," Leroy said.

That seemed to grab Quinn's attention as she froze and stopped what she was doing to look over at him. Of course she didn't know that! She had spent half of her day worrying about just that, that among other endless possibilities. Shaking her head she answered truthfully, "Actually no, I don't know that. I couldn't focus on my work because I kept imagining the different possibilities of what would happen if you did."

Nodding in understanding, Leroy crossed his legs and folded his arms. "Believe it or not, I do understand, Quinn. I, myself am involved with another man, but we can't do anything about our current situations. The law has been written for over a thousand years, we cannot simply change it."

"I don't care about the law, I care about her. She deserves to be happy with someone who loves her just as much as she loves them. She doesn't belong with some prince from another kingdom. She belongs with me, and I won't let anyone take her away from me."

"Has she told you that she loves him? She and Prince Finn have grown up together, and have been in love for the past few years now. In fact, I do believe he is coming over the day after tomorrow to celebrate their anniversary."

Those words struck Quinn like a sword through her heart. No, this has to be a lie. Rachel loves Quinn, not this stupid boy who doesn't even know the difference between a sword and a shield. Chewing the corner of her bottom lip, she looked over at him with a broken expression. "Then what is she doing with me? If she loves him…why would she…?"

Leroy saw the distressed girl and stood up and made his way over to the blonde. Slowly, he wrapped his arms around her shoulders and brought her into a hug. Feeling the warmth of the man's arms around her, she sunk into his chest and allowed tears to slip from their homes and into his shirt. In this moment, Quinn had never felt more heartbroken, not when she left home and not when her father died and her mother and sister were taken.

Tightening his grip, he rests his head on top of hers and whispered, "You should talk to her. Don't tell her that you know about her and Finn, let her tell you. If she truly loves you then she will tell you everything. I'm so sorry, Quinn…" He placed a gentle kiss to her head and continued to hold her.

A/N: As I said, it kinda just took over by itself. Thoughts?