"Now this," Ben said, spreading his arms open wide. "This is more like it."

Eleanor walked five paces ahead of him, her eyes sharp on the trees towering above. It was early in the morning and the fog still clung to the ground like a child refusing to let go of their blanket. The air was cold, but felt good against her skin. It was easy to breath and even better for traveling in. She was glad the two could make it out just before dawn. They were nearly there, now.

"It should be a decent day. The trees will keep the path shaded," Elle shouted back to her companion.

The night before, Eleanor had been sharpening her sword in the armory when Ben awkwardly stumbled into the room. He cursed at the rug he tripped upon before he noticed Elle giggling in her seat. Ever since the night after her victory banquet, things hadn't been the same between the two of them. It put Ben at ease to hear her poking fun at him for his clumsiness, but it wasn't enough to lessen the uneasiness in their friendship. It actually came as a surprise when he offered to tag along during her trip to Silverpine. The journey had been fairly quiet with very few words spoke between them. It was enjoyable, nonetheless. Ben was hoping things would be back to normal by nightfall.

"You know," Ben said, catching up to her. "I do envy you sometimes."

"Why is that?" she asked, still having trouble making eye contact with him.

"Going out on adventures all the time. Stirring up trouble. Being able to it all by yourself."

Eleanor smiled and looked down at her feet. They certainly had seen their fair share of trouble. It was a wonder that she was even alive. She hadn't expected any of it, really. It all had just fallen into place the day she discovered she was, in fact, a Hero. Her life had been sheltered and she knew nothing of adventure other than what was read to her from old books. Now here she was with hands knowing skills she had only dreamed of and an unruly companion to admire it.

"I'm sure it will eventually come to an end. And then it will be I who envies you."

"We'll cross that bridge when we get to it," he stated firmly.

"Well isn't this nice," Ben said as he flopped into an arm chair closest to the fireplace.

Eleanor looked around the room. It wasn't much, but it was better than sleeping on the ground. The cabin had previously belonged to one of the men slaughtered by balverines. None of the villagers dared to go near it. The place was tormented enough by beasts. They did not want to worry about ghosts as well. However, their faith in Elle was so great that they decided to allow her to enter the premise and catch some sleep. Her journey had been long and as her eyes found the mattress in the corner of the room, she realized just how tired she was.

"I'm going to see if I can get any food," Eleanor said, laying her sword by the door.

"I'm going to sit here," Ben said, stretching his arms behind his head.

"You," she said while opening the door, "should start a fire."

"Right, right," he said with a sigh.

So she knocked on the door. Of course she wanted to be sure he was decent. It would be embarrassing to walk in on him doing… whatever he could be doing. But perhaps he was just taking a nap. She wasn't gone very long, after all. Her stomach gave one final low rumbling growl. She caved in and decided to just open the door. And what she found was not enough for her to be bashful about. But her cheeks grew warm and her mouth opened slightly as she fumbled with the words to say. Ben stood at the washing bin filled with hot water boiled from the roaring fire he had started. His boots were lying in the middle of the floor and his shirt and jacket were sprawled along the bed. She thanked Avo under her breath that his pants were still on.

"That was quick," he said turning around and slinging his wash rag over his shoulder.

Eleanor tried her best to pretend like it didn't bother her. Which, it really didn't bother her at all that he was shirtless in front of her. What bothered her was her urge to look. But she couldn't turn away. The silence was almost enough to make things awkward when an onion fell from her pocket onto the ground with a loud thud. She looked around frantically for somewhere to put her groceries and had to settle on the seat of the chair. She turned around to fetch her fallen veggie only to find Ben holding it in his hand.

"I hope you can cook," he said holding it out to her. "Because I sure as hell can't."

"I, uh, I'm not bad."

Ben raised his brow at her, catching the timidness in her voice. She carefully took the onion from him shifting her eyes as she did. He watched her as she began to peel back the outer skin. She sat it aside and dug in her sack to find more vegetables. Quietly, he took out his pocket knife and handed it to her. He knew it wasn't as sharp as it needed to be, but it should be enough for Eleanor to cut the vegetables for the apparent soup she was making. It was clear to him something was sprinting at full speed in her head. So much and so fast that it was causing her to become flustered. It was almost amusing to him as he questioned what it might be. It occurred to him that it could very well be him. It wasn't as if he did it on purpose. But the thought had occurred to him.

"No meat?" he said.

Eleanor paused in her activity. "No. The balverines have been eating the game in the area."

"I see," he fiddled with the rag on his shoulder. "Are you alright?"

Eleanor, bent over the cauldron of boiling water, stood straight up. She placed her hand firmly on the mantle, thought for a moment, and turned to face him. She took in a deep breath while staring him straight in the face. She just needed to do it once. That would be it. And that would be enough. She lowered her gaze down his face, to his lips, carefully down his neck, around his shoulders and chest, and finally down the length of his torso. Ben shifted awkwardly as he fully recognized what she was doing.

"No," she shook her head. "You're standing in front of me half naked like it is no big deal. I am not alright."

Ben slipped out a bit of laughter and shook his head. He slung his rag off his shoulder and pointed to her. "You're funny. That was… that…"

Now he was the one trying to grab the words flying out of his mouth. But before he could say another word, it was closed. Eleanor took the rag from his hand and set it aside on the chair next to the uncooked food she had bought intentionally to prepare. She approached him slowly, her eyes focused on his lips and only straying away to close them as she braced herself for the kiss. In truth, her intention was to just be honest and tell him what was on her mind. It felt good not to hold back anymore. And he was perfectly okay with it, at first. He grabbed her by the waist. Ran his fingers through her hair. And just when she thought everything was going to be fine, he stopped. And he looked at her.

The Eleanor that stood in front of him was the same woman that he met at the fortress. She was dressed for battle. She was covered in dirt. And the only the thing on her mind (other than the obvious) was what her blade would meet next. She was fearless and bold. She was a woman he was falling for. But when he looked again it wasn't that woman at all. It was the woman he saw that night in the ballroom. She was spinning and dancing with a man in fancy clothes.

"I can't," he said.

She felt his hands slowly slide down her back and finally land at his sides. Her heart was gripped with fear. Her breath had come to a slow halt. What had she done? She released him, ignoring her hands grazing his bare skin. She placed her hand over her mouth, as if they were tainted by some sort of curse. Ben knew he had to go. He had to go soon. Before any more damage was done, he slid his feet into his boots and prepared to try to make his leave.

"I'm sorry," he heard her say, muffled by her hand.

A tinge of guilt overcame him. It was what he had wanted, right? From the moment he saw her, she was a challenge. A feat to concur. But was that all she really was? A trophy? Another notch on his belt? He didn't want that. She was more than that to him and she deserved better.

"Don't be," he said, reaching out to touch her arm.

"Please," she said, lowering her hand. "Don't make this worse."

"This is my fault. I didn't mean to…"

Confusion finally struck. And it struck her hard. What she thought was an action that caused her to humiliate herself now brought her to anger.

"You didn't mean to what?"

Ben fought with himself and she could see his gears turning in thought, trying to find the right words to say. Honestly, there were none. The room was small and it only took two steps away from her to reach for his shirt on the bed. He fiddled with the buttons, his palms sweaty and unable to grasp anything. There was nothing he could say. He knew that. She knew that. And there was no time to try to fix what had just occurred.

"I didn't mean to mislead you."

It wasn't true. It couldn't be. Memories ran through her head. The nights at the tavern, the spare time they had playing cards, days fiddling around in the fields and forests outside of Bowerstone. Those were just happy moments. Nothing like the way he held her the night in Aurora. The way he looked at her the next morning on the ship. And the night of the rebellion... the night the fires burned brighter than the sun.

"Mislead me? Ben… if everything was so misleading then tell me what else was there to be led to? I don't understand anymore."

"What do you want me to tell you?" he almost yelled in frustration.

He was now standing in the middle of the room, his shirt unbuttoned and his shoes untied. It would only hurt her more if he told her the truth. Or maybe he was just afraid it would hurt him to admit the truth.

"Anything," she replied just as loud. "The truth, preferably."

At this, he shook his head. "Let me tell you who I really am. I'm not anyone special. I'm actually a terrible person. I hate commitment. I bore easily. And I'm a coward when it comes to things I can't kill with my rifle upon being frightened. And you… you are honorable. Vigilant. A ruler for all of Albion to be inspired by."

"You can't honestly believe…"

"Believe what? Am I supposed to believe that this has a happy ending? That one day I'm just going to swoop in or throw rocks at your window in the middle of the night? Wisk you away from all of your troubles? Tell you that-" he trailed off.

"Just stop," she interrupted him. And he was quiet. He knew that tone. And it was a shame he had pushed her to that point. "How can you be so ignorant? You think that a devilish smile and your witty flirtations wouldn't somehow affect me? You think you can just treat me like every other woman and I would be alright with that? And as much as we've been through, I wouldn't have feelings for you? But you can't just be happy with how I feel about you. About how I feel about the real you. Oh, no. It has to be complicated. There's always complications for you, right? They always think you're something you're not. They're always married or too stupid to think otherwise. Stop me if I'm wrong here, Ben, please. Because things are never just plain and simple for you. No, that would make it too hard to walk away."

Ben's mouth had nearly fallen to the floor. And there was Eleanor standing in front of him, waiting for an answer he could not give. All he ever wanted was staring him right in the face, her eyes flushed with anger. Yet, he could not take it for himself. It was all thrown at him so suddenly before he could really decide anything at all. He finally just shrugged. "You're a pretty girl, Elle. It's what I do."

Eleanor's eyes stung with a sudden pain she did not understand.

"Get out," she said softly.

"I said get out. Now," she said louder.

The guilt had overcome him and he, too, was now swelling with anger. He picked up his rifle in one hand and his jacket in the other.

Ben sat outside her door, patiently waiting to hear something stirring on the other side.

"I shouldn't have done that," she said sitting down next to him.

"No. I shouldn't have..." he trailed off. "I'm not good at apologies."

Elle looked at him intently. "What exactly are you sorry for?"

Ben smiled. "I don't really know to be honest with you."

A sudden realization came over Eleanor. It was almost satisfying that she could add one more piece to that puzzle she had been staring at for so long. And it fit so perfectly. What they had thought to be a playful friendship had slowly turned into something more. It wasn't what they had expected at all. It was one thing to be attracted to one another. But it was something entirely different to have feelings come from that. He was just as confused as she was. And that fact alone made everything okay.

"Elle," he said quietly. "You are too pretty, too smart, and too brave to make a fuss over someone like me."

"Yeah," she sighed. "I know."

"We can only just take this one day at a time."

Eleanor looked over at him. He leaned over bumping her shoulder with his own.