A/N: Hello my lovelys! I want to thank a huge massive thank you to all you guys who have Favorited and Followed this story! It really means a lot to know that thereare people out there reading my work and enjoying it, so just thank you so much! I'm trying to update monthly and stick to the routine, but I leave school in a few weeks and I have exams and just STRESS! But I will try to update monthly.

Anyway good news, I bring you another chapter! Yey!

If anyone has any thoughts or questions please feel free to type in that little box at the bottom of the page ;)

CHAPTER FOUR

SOONER RATHER THAN LATER

She was in the garden reading her mother's book whilst basking in the sunlight and eating one of Marie the Cook's famous apple tarts while Samson had placed his head on top of her lap as she lounged on the grass bank that over-looked the small pond. The summer breeze played with her let down hair and she wore one of her favourite summer gowns, one in which was made from soft pale blue silk with silver embroidery creating a mosaic of complicated interlacing designs. The smell of cut grass and baking filled the open air as the birds sung their afternoon tune. Days like this were perfect, no lessons or duties but a day where Evelyn could just do whatever she wanted.

Suddenly she became aware of the sound of crunching gravel which was soon followed by a dark silhouetted shadow looming over her. Making out Elliot's lanky form caused a huge grin to split across the Princess' face, however as she stood to turn and greet her friend, she came face to face with the dark hollow eyes of her brother. Shocked Evelyn went to take a step back, but as quick as thunder Logan's pale hand firmly grasped her elbow with a punishing grip, before pointing out in the distance behind him.
Following his direction, the Princess' jade gaze swept over to see Elliot kneeling and his head positioned on the executioner's block, his dark eyes penetrating as they stared at her. Gasping the Princess lurched to run in order to save her betrothed only to be pulled back by her brother's iron grip. Screaming to be released Evelyn struggled to emerge free, all the while watching as a black hooded figure loomed over the kneeling Elliot.
The sky darkened and thunder crackled in the distance and the winds picked up to an almighty force; gone was the perfect summers day. With all her might the Princess struggled but stared in horror as the figure lifted his axe. She pulled frantically away from Logan only to return to his side, his own dark gaze watched the event that was occurring with no emotion what so ever. The axe was poised and as it lifted higher into the air, Evelyn assaulted her brother as endless pleas escaped her quivering lips. Then quite suddenly time began to slow as the axe was swung, a great whooshing sound cut through the air and as the sharp blade sunk into the tender white flesh that connected Elliot's head to his neck, a blood-chilling scream left Evelyn's mouth.

Elliot's head came clean off with one stroke of the axe, his lifeless body falling limply to the ground as his life's blood created a crimson stain on the gravel. Evelyn could only stare in horror as the bronzed coloured head came rolling towards her and stop before her feet as his clouded eyes stared up at her. His blood soaked into the ground and stained her bare feet, her breathing became heavier leaving her lungs in short fast pants while tears streamed in an unstoppable monsoon down her cheeks.
Slowly her brother's face loomed closer towards her, till his mouth was only a mere breath away and three spine chilling words left his mouth; "It's your fault." And for some reason, Evelyn couldn't find the strength to disagree.

Evelyn woke up as she lurched up from the bed; a cold skin coated her skin as Walter's shirt clung to her chest, as short heavy pants escaped her lips. She tried taking a couple deep breaths to calm her rapid breathing and decrease the rapid pace of her heart. It was dream, just a dream yet it felt so realistic. Still she could feel the air as it whipped around her hair, Logan's ceaseless punishing grip on her elbow and Elliot's blood on her skin. She felt dirty as if his blood was still coating her flesh and the image of her friends lifeless eyes came back to mind and refused to leave.
Besides her Samson lifted his head, his dark eyes staring at her as he let out a whimper of concern. Trying her best to smile reassuringly at her companion, Evelyn reached out and gently stroked the soft black fur on top of his head.

"I'm fine, it's alright, it was just a dream, just a horrible dream," she murmured reassuringly to him, yet at the same time to herself. Samson continued to stare, his liquid brown eyes seeming as if he wasn't convinced.

Suddenly three strong rasps came from the bedroom door, causing Evelyn to jump but with hold her squeak of surprise. The fur on the back of Samson's neck began to stand as he growled menacingly.

"Charlie you okay in there?" asked a concerned voice on the other side.

Shit, Ben! Evelyn internally screamed as she quickly got out of the bed and towards the door, praying that he didn't open the door and see she was only wearing a shirt that came to her thighs with her hair free and down.

"I'm fine Captain!" she spoke to the door, leaning her weight against it. Samson lowered his head once he knew there was no danger and fell back to sleep.

"You sure? I was walking past and I thought I heard you whimpering," he said his voice was slightly muffled due to the door separating them, but it was evident that it was thick with concern.

"I... everything is alright, I'll be fine don't worry about it," she replied her voice calming slightly. "What time is it?"

"A little past five thirty, why?"

"Is there any where I can wash myself?"

There was a slight pause and in the mean time, Evelyn turned her back against the worn wooden panel and leant her head back.

"Get dressed and I'll show you the bath, that is if you don't mind cold water instead of hot?"

Evelyn thought about it for a moment. She really did feel uncomfortable and sweaty, and a little cold water never hurt anyone also if she really felt inclined, she could always warm the tub with a heating spell.

"No I don't mind," eventually came her meek response after a few minutes contemplating.

"Okay, I'll go and ask one of the men if they could go and fill a few buckets," Ben stated before he walked away. Pressing her ear onto the panel, Evelyn listened as his footsteps clicked along the stone flooring and waited until the echoes eventually disappeared. Once again her head fell against the wood with a heavy thud and sighed as she pinched the bridge of her nose with her thumb and forefinger. She hated this secrecy; she hated having to pretend to be a different person let alone one belonging from a different gender. How long had she had to pretend? What if the revolution took months maybe even years? She just didn't know whether she could cope with that?

Giving out one last heavy sigh, Evelyn set out putting on her clothes and even though she decided to leave her coat behind, she was already feeling even more uncomfortable due to three different layers that latched onto her already overheated skin, as well as pulling up the claustrophobic scarf and hat. Why did she get the feeling today was going to go incredibly slow? Before leaving the Princess told Samson to stay in the room as she stroked his head, but the hound simply gave no notice and didn't even bother to lift his head as he slept soundly on the cot.

Opening her door, Evelyn paused when she was greeted by the sight of Ben casually leaning against the wall with his arms crossed. He wore the same crimson soldiers uniform as he had done the previous day before, however his golden hair was tousled and unkept as well as a dark dusting of stubble coated his jaw giving the Captain a roguish impression. Suddenly bright sapphire eyes met hers as he became alerted the door gave a croaky objection on being opened, but just as quickly a smile formed onto the Captain's face when he saw his new acquaintance awake and dressed.

"Morning," he beamed, even when it was early morning his voice was as smooth as a clear spring. Evelyn felt herself return the smile, but cursed not for the first time for the scarf that covered her mouth.

"Good morning Captain," she replied, making her voice deeper than her normal feminine tone. With a gesturing hand Ben motioned in the direction towards the room that housed the bath and the pair set off down a winding corridor. Again that awkward feeling presented itself as it always did whenever Evelyn was alone with the Captain and again she wondered why it was always him, she'd never been this awkward around another person, maybe he felt the same too? In the end she put it down to her costume, as she felt she really couldn't be herself whilst in disguise.

"How did you sleep?" Ben asked and once again was the first to break the silence. Evelyn turned her gaze so she was watching him out of the corner of her eye; he really did have the most perfect profile, she thought to herself, but firmly shook her head afterwards to rid such thoughts.

"Well thank you, I don't sleep much anyway," she began as she continued to watch him. "And you?"

"And me what?" he suddenly asked as he turned to face her with a sparkle in his azure eyes. Evelyn faltered for a moment as she stared in to those clear eyes, before for the second time that day shook her head.

"Did you sleep well?" she murmured as she felt a blush rise under his intense gaze.

"Ah I'm the same as you, I don't sleep much," he turned his head so he was pacing the path they had taken. "Mind you I shouldn't complain this has to be one of the nicest places I've slept at." She was about to ask him to abbreviate when suddenly he stopped besides a large double door. "Scottie's already put the water in the tub so just use it to your disposal, although word of advice don't take too long the men get real arsey if they have to stand around for a while," suddenly his face loomed closer to hers and the Princess subconsciously leant away. " And just between you and me I really don't want to break up a fight today," he joked in a soft warm tone which caused Evelyn both to laugh in response and feel the heat to creep up her face. Once the Princess said her thanks she hastily retreated into the large room and shut the door.
A sigh of ecstasy escaped her lips as her eyes landed on the standard sized copper bath tub that was placed in the middle of the relatively empty room and without a moment to spare as the built up excitement of finally becoming clean spilled over, the Princess began to strip herself of her clothing.

The new lad Charlie was still a complete mystery and that frustrated the hell out of Ben. Usually Benjamin Finn could charm a secret out of anyone with his laid-back nature and witty banter, however this Charlie was a stubborn fellow as well as a man of few words. It wasn't like the Captain was a nosey person, but if something was occurring that had caused the likes of Sir Walter Beck to stroll into the decaying halls of Mourning Wood fort he liked to know what in Avo's name was going on as well as where he stood so he could figure out his options; that tended to happen after you had a family like the notorious Finn's, where trouble and death had become such a common occurrence it had caused him to be the only one left.

Swift still hadn't called for him and explained why Walter had travelled all the way from Bowerstone to their lonely residence, no one ever drifted into these parts of Albion and it seemed strange that a royal guard would travel alongside his apprentice just to have a catch up with an old friend. Something didn't add up and Ben was going to get to the bottom of it.

Thinking back to his shadowy new acquaintance Ben realised that he hadn't seen the fellow carry a towel or any form of material that could dry himself afterwards. Swearing under his breath Ben turned left towards one of the bunks and retrieved a linen towel that was on a pile of clean laundry, before quickly returning to the outside of the bathroom. Rasping his knuckles against the rough wood, Ben called out.

"Charlie?" No reply. Once more he knocked he called out, but still the Captain was met with silence. For a few moments Ben stood outside debating on what to do, if he left the towel one of the soldiers would swipe it surely mistaking it for dirty laundry however if he simply waltzed in it was most likely he would come face to face with a naked Charlie. A naked Charlie who had no mask on and maybe finally shed some light on who he was. Eventually shrugging, Ben's open palm lay against the door poised. "Don't say I didn't warn you," was all he said before he pushed open the door and walked inside.

Evelyn was down to her smalls and Walter's over-sized shirt when she suddenly decided she would heat up the bathtub after all. Rolling up her sleeves so they rested onto the tops of her elbows, the Princess lowered her pale hand so it was finally submerged in water. Closing her eyes so she could fall into a deep concentration that caused all sound, smell and sight to fade into a quiet hum, Evelyn concentrated on bringing forth her Will and depositing the right amount of heat that would cause the water to turn warm instead of boiling. She still wasn't used to her powers, after nineteen years of being the same as everyone else, she sometimes couldn't believe that she could summon the likes of fire and ice to her fingertips; if it wasn't for the revolution that caused her to travel and wake up in different and strange places, she would have put it down all to a weird yet wonderful dream.

When the steam rose from the tub gave the tell tale sign that the water was finally warm enough, Evelyn retracted her hand whilst giving a satisfied nod and resumed her work on ridding herself of her clothes. Reaching up, the Princess' nimble fingers set to work to rid herself of the numerous pins that kept her hair into a tight knot on top of her head, so that it wouldn't escape the confines of her hat. Slowly as she untangled the blonde tresses from one another, Evelyn's mind began to wander, as it usually did when she was in the process of mundane things such as preparing one's self for a bath. She thought of Logan and wondered on what her older brother was doing. Did he miss having her around or did he find it a relief? Perhaps he saw her as the enemy? The thought sent a chill to run down her spine and penetrate her heart. Was she the enemy? She supposed she was, and even though the realisation of the truth struck her she knew in her heart it was the way things should be, the way things had to be. For seven years, Evelyn had seen Logan spiralling into the abyss of madness and was forced to watch as dozens of innocents were slaughtered, to hear the gruesome accounts from servants, but now she could no longer stay in the shadows and watch, for she was a Hero and Albion's Princess and she would save them. However even though her words were true, the shadow of doubt loomed in the back of her mind. She didn't save Elliot, in fact she sentenced his death and the knowledge was constantly playing in her head. What if she couldn't save others or her subjects? What if the revolution was futile and only caused to fuel the fire of Logan's madness even more?

"It's all your fault."

Logan's words slithered into her mind like a serpent, poisoning her thoughts; even now she could recall the cold malice and hatred in his voice as he breathed the words in her ear. His iron grip still latched onto the tender flesh of her arm as she struggled to save her friend, to save him before his doom.
Shaking her head Evelyn pressed the heels of her palms over her eyes and took several deep breaths to calm her sudden shivering as well as the over-whelming self loathing and depression that threatened to spill over. A bath was just the thing she needed to cheer herself up and the sudden thought of hot water cascading over her skin immediately gave her new found hope.

Her hands found the hemming of her shirt and as she grasped the soft linen she slowly pulled the clothing off her body and over her head. However when she lifted the shirt so her smalls, stomach and the underside of her breasts were exposed, the sound of the door opening and closing came to her attention.

"Charlie you didn't have towel so I thought..." Ben's voice rang amongst the walls of the room before they hastily stopped.

With the blood rushing to her ears and panic pounding in her blood, Evelyn quickly pulled her linen shirt to cover her exposed flesh, before her eyes focused on Ben's open mouthed expression and the apparent shock that fuelled his blue eyes.

How in Avo's name was she to talk her way out of this?

A/N: Duh Duh Duuhh! A cliffhanger! Stay tuned guys to see how Evelyn gets out of this situation and what our beloved Captain's response is ;)