Thank you to everyone following and reviewing this fic! Sorry for being so late getting this chapter up. It's just been a little crazy for me lately. Enjoy!

We rode for days without encountering anyone else. The journey was peaceful and the weather seemed to be holding up nicely for the time being. Alice said that as we got closer to the coast, it would become more humid and the chance of rain would increase. Emmett and Alice were amazing companions to have on the journey. Neither of them pried or asked too many questions, seemingly content to just focus on the present and have some fun.

I woke up early one morning as the light was barely glowing over the horizon. We had made camp by a small lake, and I decided that I would go for a quick bath before everyone else woke up. I grabbed an extra set of clothes, knowing that it would give me plenty of time to rinse these before we departed. I set the clothes on a log by the water and slowly took off what I had been wearing. I waded into the cool water and sighed as it touched my skin. I stopped once the water reached the top of my breasts and began to wash all of the grime off of myself. Travelling for days on end could really make a person nasty. I rinsed my hair and ran my fingers through the small knots that had formed.

A twig snapped nearby and I quickly looked in the direction of it. With little light, I couldn't see much of what was there. "Hello?" I called softly. There was nothing for a moment, and then another twig snapped in the trees. I froze in the water, very aware of defenseless I was.

A large form broke through the trees and then gasped, "Shit. Rosalie. I'm sorry."

I laughed loudly, all fear leaving my body. "Emmett, you nearly gave me a heart attack."

His face flushed and he turned his back so he wouldn't be watching me bathe. "I'm real sorry, Rosalie. I didn't know where you had gone so I came to look through the woods for you."

"It's ok, really. I thought that I would be back before anyone woke up. I'm almost done if you wanted to bathe." I made my way out of the pool. I stopped and looked at Emmett for a moment. Most men would've tried to get a peek at a naked woman, but he stood with his back completely to me, not even trying to look at me.

I was now only waist deep in the water, and I turned my back to Emmett. I brushed my hair over my shoulder so my whole back was exposed, and I turned my head to look over my shoulder at me. "Emmett, I need to show you something that might just be very shocking. Turn around."

Emmett turned and his eyes grew wide at my exposed back. I laughed and watched him carefully. I went back to that night, precisely one year ago, when I went to bath in the small pond in the forest. "You better not be some pervert watching me bath," I said to him with a smirk. The words clearly were registering with his brain as he watched me. "Get the hell out here right now."

Emmett's jaw dropped and he stared at me. "What…You…No way."

I laughed spinning my finger for him to turn back around. He complied and I quickly left the water and redressed. I walked up behind Emmett and placed my hand on his shoulder as he turned toward me. "It was me in the forest that night. I wanted to go for a walk, but the guards were always so controlling of where I went, thanks to a protective father. I snuck out of the castle and found the little pond in the forest. I decided it looked like the most perfect place to take a calming bath. Then I heard someone out there and got frightened."

Emmett's face was red as he listened to my story. He opened his mouth and then closed it. He took in a deep breath before he spoke to me. "I am so sorry if I offended you by telling the story earlier. Just…just forget that it was ever brought up."

His eyes dropped as he talked to me, and I realized that he thought I was mad for him saying that I was his dream girl. "I'm not upset, Emmett. It's pretty flattering that I was your dream girl. I'm just sorry if I ruined that image for you."

Emmett's eyes quickly met mine and he lifted a hand to tuck my hair behind my ear. "You didn't ruin anything for me, princess."

I smiled at him. At that moment, we could hear Alice calling out to find us. I laughed, stepping away from Emmett. "You better go let her know where we've been. I'm going to wash out these old clothes before we head out."

Emmett nodded once. Watching me closely before he turned around to head back through the forest. My face burned as I began rinsing the old clothes. I couldn't possibly be falling for that hulking brute of a man…Could I?

XxXxX

Emmett didn't speak to me much for the rest of the day, but he still insisted that I ride with him. I had gotten used to the feel of his muscled around my waist, the smell of him around me, and the rise and fall of his chest against my back. Alice was riding down the path, a good bit in front of us to scope out the area, and I turned my head slightly to look at Emmett. "Are we ok?"

His eyes darted to mine, "Of course, princess."

I narrowed my eyes at his words. "Stop calling me that."

"It's what you are though."

My mouth opened and then closed at his words as I turned to face the road ahead. I took a breath before responding to him. "Just call me Rosalie. Please, Em. I'm not a princess anymore. Not really."

One of his hand dropped the reins and landed on my knee gently, giving it a comforting squeeze. "We will get you back on your throne, Rosalie. I promise you that."

I felt the tears gathering in my eyes, but I forced them back now. This wasn't the time for overwhelming emotions. "I just wanted things to be easy. I just wanted to grow up, marry a nice lord or maybe even prince if I got lucky, and live a peaceful life."

Emmett's strong frame tensed a little behind me. "Nothing in life is ever easy, Rose."

I lifted my hand and placed it over his that still rested on my knee. His hands were rough from the work that must do every day just to survive, and I found myself letting my fingertips trace over the calluses on them. Emmett never said a word, but turned his hand over and held onto mine. I smiled and let him hold my hand, lacing our fingers together and they still sat atop my leg.

Alice's horse came galloping back down the path, and Emmett released my hand as she got close to us. "Everything ok?"

Alice nodded, "It's perfect. We're getting close. Just a few more hills and you'll be able to see the ocean. It looks gorgeous."

I turned my head a little to see Emmett and gave him a huge smile. "Can we hurry and get there? I haven't seen the shore since I was a little girl."

The corner of Emmett's mouth lifted into a lopsided grin and he nudged the horse faster. Alice laughed out loud behind us and hurried her horse up as well. The movement of the horse under me cause my body to be pressed tighter against Emmett's as we rode, and a blush formed on my cheeks at the contact. I could feel his muscles against my back and his strong legs against my own. Suddenly, his lips were at my ear and his warm breath caressed them as he spoke softly, "This might be an inappropriate thing to say to a princess, but I haven't ever been one for formalities. You ride a horse better than any woman that's ever rode with me. Your body knows exactly how to move with the horse to keep you stable."

The blush on my cheeks deepened at his words and I turned my head slightly so he could hear me without having to speak too loudly. "I have been well trained in horse riding since I was a girl. I have been well trained in many things as a member of the royal family. There are many ways that I know how to move my body well." I smirked at my words and turned back around.

Emmett let out a noise behind me and I felt him go tense. "You're quite the little tease, Rosalie."

I laughed out loud, but didn't respond as Alice caught up to us. "We won't be able to make it all the way in before nightfall, and I don't know that it would be wise to enter in the night. It might look as though we had something to hide."

I looked over to Alice and nodded at her observation. "So one more night in the open?"

"I think we will have to. I'm just ready to get back and have a proper bath and a warm meal." Alice got a look on her face and gave me a quick glance. "Rosalie, I've been thinking about arrangements at the house. You will be able to have your own room, but it is in the guest house on our property. It is very small, but it should give you some privacy. There are two bedrooms and a central room with a tiny table and a fireplace."

I stared ahead of me, wondering how it would work for me to be in the guest house by myself. Patrols everywhere probably increased since I had been missing. "Do guards ever do random searches in your town?"

"They do, and that is the fear I have about you being there alone. While they would probably believe that you are my cousin, Emaline, I don't know what they would do with you being in the guest house alone. The guards…they aren't always the best people."

My jaw dropped slightly at her suggestion. I could very easily get overpowered by two guards and who knows what they would do with me then.

Emmett's body completely froze behind me as soon as Alice finished talking and when he spoke, his voice was laced with anger. "I will stay."

Alice turned to him quickly, "Emmett, that isn't what I meant. I could get a friend of mine from down the road to stay with her. That's the reason I brought it up. Edward is a good guy and would understand the request."

I nodded, feeling that as long as someone was there, I should be alright should guards come. "She's right, Em. You need to get back home, don't you?"

"I will be fine to stay for at least a couple weeks. Then we will see how things are going. I'm not going to just leave you at the hands of some asshole guards that will do God knows what with you." Emmett had a tone of finality to his voice, and neither Alice nor myself pushed him any further.

We had slowed the horses down, and Alice spoke after a moment of silence. "I'm going to go find a place and start camp." She pushed her horse ahead and rode of quickly to find us a spot for the night.

Emmett was still so tense behind me and I placed my hand on his knee. "It's going to be fine, Em. Alice wouldn't offer for someone to stay with me that she didn't trust."

When I turned my head to see his face, it was like stone behind me. His spoke after a moment, his voice hard. "I know these guards, Rosalie. I know what they do to women that are not spoken for. If you agree, I want us to continue the charade. You are my wife, Emaline. That is what will keep you safe, if anything would."

I nodded once at his words, but knew better than to say anything else about it.

XxXxX

The evening went by like many others had, with the three of us telling stories and laughing until the sun went down. We all slept through the night and awoke as the sun began to rise on the horizon. We packed our things quietly and began securing them to the horses once more. Luckily by this time tomorrow, I would be in an actual house and not feel like a runaway. I looked up and saw a lone soldier riding toward us.

"Emmett. Alice. Someone is coming this way." I said, motioning in the direction of the guard. Alice walked up to me slowly to keep from drawing attention and wrapped the riding scarf over my blond hair. She turned to face the guard and a loud gasp came from her small frame. Alice took off in a sprint toward the solider and he dismounted his horse once he got close. Alice barreled into him and he picked her up, spinning her in circles and smiling at her exuberance.

Emmett laughed walking over to me, "Well, looks like you're about to meet Jasper."

The solider, Jasper, walked over to us with Alice, the horse being brought behind them. He smiled at him, shaking his hand. "Nice to see you again, Emmett. Who is this?"

Emmett put an arm around me, gently pulling me closer. "My new wife. It's been awhile since I've seen you, Jasper. This is Emaline, Alice's cousin."

Jasper smiled and looked me over once. "Nice to meet you Emaline. I haven't heard much about you."

I gave him a smile back and Alice jumped in to fill in the gaps that only she would know about this story. "I haven't seen her in years, Jas. Emmett sent word to me that they were married, so I hurried to celebrate with them. Isn't it great?"

Jasper smiled at her excitement, and placed his arm around her shoulders. "Are they going back with you?"

Alice nodded. "They got married so fast that Emmett doesn't have enough money for the two of them right now. My father is going to give Emmett some work until he gets a good bit saved up, then they will be heading back toward the castle outskirts."

"If you want, Emmett, the guards could probably use a hand. Seems the princess has gone missing."

Alice quickly turned to Jasper, her jaw dropping. "What happened to her? Do you know anything?"

Jasper shook his head. "Don't tell anyone this. They have no clue where she might have gone. Patrols have been set up everywhere and everyone is working overtime to find some clue about her disappearance. Lord Royce is distraught. She ran out right before the wedding. It might have been some kind of foul play."

"Oh my. That is completely awful. The poor princess." Alice played her part very well, and I allowed the shock to show on my face to match her own.

Emmett ran his hand along my arm and cleared his throat, "I would love to help the guard, but I don't really want to leave Emaline right now. Seeing how we just got married and all. But if you guys still need the hands in a few weeks, I'll be more than happy to help the royal guard."

Jasper nodded, "I understand. I will let you know if we need you then. I need to get back. Stay safe on your journey in." He leaned down and planted a kiss on Alice's lips, smiling as he pulled back but with a tightness around his eyes. "I'll be around in a few days when they come and patrol. I'll see you then, my little angel."

Alice smiled and waved as he rode off on his horse. She quickly finished tying her things on her horse and we all mounted up and rode off. "We need to get to the house now. He knows you aren't in my family because we have a large family tree standing in the tavern. We need to add you in it as soon as possible. That was his warning."

Emmett and Alice hurried the horses down the path and I tightened the scarf over my hair. "Alice," I said as we reached her side, "He isn't going to tell them, is he?"

"No, Rose. He won't say anything. Not right now anyway. He knows you aren't in my family, but he doesn't know you're the princess. Not now. We have a few days before they get there. That was his warning to me. I need to figure out what we will do and what he knows. And if he will stand with us."

I tensed up and Emmett leaned down. "I won't let them take you back there, Rose. I swear that on my life." I leaned back against him, savoring the comfort that he gave me. It would all work. It had to.

Please review! I'll try to get the next chapter in sooner, but thank you all for being patient.