So I've gone and redone this chapter, adding some stuff, and removing also. I had made so many mistakes, oops. I'm really glad all of you are enjoying my story and I look forward to reading all your reviews :) And remember, criticism on how to improve my writing is always welcome. I wholeheartedly appreciate it!
Ja~
It was plain to see that Lilith had taken Judith's advice to heart. Not only was she actually visibly getting along with Nicholas, but she also stood relatively close to him as they walked together. She hated to admit it, but she felt somewhat envious of her sister. He was peculiar, and she liked that characteristic.
It made life interesting. If only her mother could introduce a buck with that trait, perhaps then she might actually reconsider her views.
It had been a few weeks though, since her mother had pestered her about marriage talk, which left her quite relieved. Although she knew the topic would undoubtedly arise again sooner or later, she decided to just be thankful for the peace.
Judith came to the conclusion that today, she'd go horse riding. As unusual as an animal riding and animal seemed, it was actually quite a common thing for royalty to have that luxury.
In the stables, she located her horse, which wasn't hard to do, as only a rare few of her siblings went riding, and geared up. Judy grabbed her satchel nearby, placing it over her head and walking over to soothe her steed, she smiled softly.
"Come on now," she coaxed. "Let's get you some fresh air." Pulling on his reign, she led him out of the stable and into the warm basks of the sun.
Setting off atop the horse, it wasn't long before she was relatively far from the palace, and completely at ease enjoying the peaceful silence. The fresh air, the blue skies, no Judith could not find anything to complain about in that moment. Flicking her horse's reign, she kept at a slow pace, as to ensure she enjoyed every single moment away from her worries.
Her worries..
Judith hated feeling trapped, and lately, she had been feeling very much so. The last thing she thought she'd be confused by, were these unnatural feelings bubbling up.
Coming to a stop in the open fields, she noticed she'd come upon a widespread bed of wild flowers.
"Wow," she breathed in awe, inhaling the sweet scents they let off. Yes, nothing could beat this, she wondered why she didn't come out more often.
Her peace however, was short lived, when a loud bang came out of nowhere, effectively startling the living daylight out of her steed.
Before she could blink in response to the sudden disturbance, her horse bolted, showing no sign of slowing down. She couldn't find her voice to shout for help, as she tried fruitlessly to calm the creature down, though to her dismay, her efforts were in vain. The horse was not in any state to calm itself.
"Please, please calm down. You're okay," she soothed, panic creeping up on her. Judy earnestly tried to pet it's mane as she looked around for something, anything to slow her horse down. Just before she lost patience and decided to begin shouting for help, her ears perked, hearing another sound coming up behind her.
A set of hooves?
Confused as she turned her head, she swore to the heavens she could have fainted. Sitting upon his own horse, attempting to catch up to her, was the Prince. Catching her gaze with his own, he smirked.
"I do believe I keep catching you in the most inconvenient of circumstances," he shouted over the rushing wind, teasing her.
"Oh shut up and help me!" she retorted, aggravated. Judith was in no mood for jokes. As he came up alongside her, he grabbed the lead she tossed over, and he began to pull against it, in an effort to stop the spooked horse. Slowly but surely, with Judith still comforting the horse, it slowed it's pace to come to a complete stop, just before the dense forest in front of them.
"Oh thank gods!" she gasped, her head landing softly in front of her, upon the steed's neck.
"Are you okay, my Princess?" he asked her worried. He understood how terrifying of an ordeal the incident could be to some. Turning her gaze from her position, she let out a grateful smile.
"If you keep saving me like this, you're surely going to make me fall for you, my Prince," she jested, relieved the episode didn't escalate into something far worse. Nick grinned back at her and readjusted his position, head held a little higher.
"Darn, you managed to figure out my plan," he joked back playfully, snapping his fingers and winking at a now flustered bunny.
"Flattery will get you nowhere Wilde. You're a married mammal after all," she recovered, pulling herself upright. It was the Princess' turn to smirk, as his grin faltered.
"Yes well, I must be off now. Duty calls. Don't get your little fluffy tail into more trouble now," he said, in a tone she hadn't quite heard from the fox before. To confuse her further, he turned and started retreating back to the palace. "Farewell princess," he waved curtly.
With a small surge of panic, she spoke up after him. "No! W..wait! Please don't leave!"
Turning his head, he raised an eyebrow. She blushed at her sudden outburst, and mentally cursed herself, trying to find her voice.
"I.. uh.. I mean, it's such a beautiful day, why not relax a little longer?" she stammered. Chuckling, Nick turned his horse back to face her.
"Well, if you so wholly insist Princess."
Struggling to find her words, she simply nodded, and turned to continue on through the dense wood with her head lowered.
"After you," he said, with a cocky grin upon his muzzle once more.
After a couple of minutes trotting though the forest, the princess spoke up.
"What do you think that noise was?" she questioned, still reeling over the scare she just had. Nick turned his head.
"Not sure.. I will have to speak to the King upon out return," he replied. "There was no word on cannon testing today, so I don't believe it came from our Kingdom." Humming in acknowledgement, she pressed on, uncomfortable with the silence that followed.
Still following after the princess, he soon realized she was leading him to a clearing in what seemed to be the centre of the forest. It revealed a hidden, shimmering lake, and mesmerized, Nick followed on in awe.
"Where are we, may I inquire?" he questioned, slowing his pace. Judy looked back at him.
"We're just before the border of our Kingdom," she informed. "I come here to escape sometimes," she confessed, sheepishly. He smiled at her confession.
"We all need some kind of 'escape from reality' moments I suppose," he replied. "Don't worry, I won't tell." Even though he was clearly teasing her, she picked up on the sincerity beneath it.
"Much appreciated," she replied, averting her gaze downward. Judy dropped off her horse, and sat herself down by the lake's edge. She looked over at him again, and motioned him to join her, which he complied to with no hesitation. What she hadn't expected however, was for the fox beside her to start undressing. Her head whipped away from him and she hastily covered her face with her burning ears.
"What are you doing?!"
Nick smirked, as he continued to take off his shirt and utility belt. "What does it look like? I'm stripping off," he replied, nonchalantly.
"I can see that you fool! You know what I meant!" she shouted, embarrassed out of her mind.
"Come no, this lake is beautiful. You can't sit there and tell me it doesn't look tempting," he said, pulling off his slacks, leaving just his undergarments on.
"We'll come swimming another day for heaven's sake! Put your clothes back on!" she cried.
"No can do Carrots."
"Nicholas don't you da-" 'SPLASH'
She was going to kill him, maybe make a rug out of his coat. As she sat there soaking wet, gaping at him, he barked with laughter.
"You're dead Wilde" she threatened, before jumping in after him, and whacking him over the head with her paw.
"Hey hey, watch the face!" he chuckled, holding his paws up in surrender. As Judy splashed him with water, and having him splash her back, there was only one thought that was racing in the bunny's mind.
She was actually enjoying herself.
Short lived however, as all of a sudden, he pulled the rabbit into an embrace, leaving her stunned. "Nicholas what are you-"
"Shh. You needed to calm down a little," he teased, stroking her head. Pulling away slightly, she looked up at him, her ears dropping.
"What are you doing?" she asked, confusion adorning her face.
"Why, is this not how you calm down an over excited bunny?" he quipped. "You were getting too feisty."
"N..no, not exactly. Not if you're not close to that bunny, so to speak," she stammered, staring into his eyes. His smirk returned, only softer.
"Well we're close right now.." he replied softly, leaning into her petite frame. His muzzle began leaning down to her, his eyes shutting slowly, and her panic set it. Judy's eyes wide, her breath began to labour.
'What the heck is happening?! He's a fox!.. No, he's married to my sister!' she thought, fighting herself internally. Before she could comprehend how to react, his lips found hers, and her mind drew a blank as she apprehensively kissed him back.
Her heart threatened to leap out of her chest at any moment, as he gripped onto her tighter in the water. It felt unreal, it was the strangest sensation she had ever felt. Not to mention that this was her first kiss. He pulled away seconds later, and reality set in for the princess.
'Oh no..'
"Well my princess, that was quite a surprise," he drawled, lifting himself back up from her, only to feel a sharp sting on his right cheek. Her paw connected with his face so fast, he didn't even have the chance to see it coming.
"I can't believe you did that!" she shrieked, blushing bright red, and holding onto her ears once more. "That was so unbelievably inappropriate!"
Nick chuckled as he held onto his wounded cheek. "Well you did kiss me back."
"I'm leaving," she declared, making her way out of the lake.
"But Judith, you're soaking wet," he laughed, following her out.
"No thanks to you," she hissed. "Don't follow me."
"I can't exactly not follow you. We do live in the same palace after all," he replied, gathering his clothes, loving how anxious the princess was being.
"Exactly! You're with my sister! What possessed you to do such a thing!" she shouted, turning to face him furiously, grabbing her horse's reign as she did so.
"What can I say? You looked pretty."
"My sister's pretty, go kiss her," she retorted, getting up upon her hose, still dripping wet. "Make the effort for heaven's sake!"
"No offense, but Lilith is rather boring. She has no real ambition other than that buck." Judy froze.
"Excuse me, what?" she breathed, whipping her head around to face him.
"Danial is it? Oh you think I don't know? You wound me Carrots, I'm not as dumb as you think I look," he snorted, folding his arms. Judy continued to gape at him with a dumbfounded expression.
"How did you-"
"I saw her with him the other day" he interrupted coldly. "I assume he's a past lover?" He looked back at her, searching for a reaction to affirm his assumption. Judy paused, gulping before speaking up again.
"You could say that.." she muttered, and he frowned.
"Hmpf, wonderful. I really am doomed to a loveless marriage huh?"
Her ears drooped, and her breath hitched. Her heart went out for him. It did. But it didn't excuse such.. bold actions.
"Nicholas.." she started, to be cut off.
"Don't bother fluff. Maybe reality is that this whole thing wasn't such a good idea.." he stated, referring to the unity.
"What?" she managed. Surely he didn't mean to go back on how far their Kingdoms had come?
"Or hey, maybe I just married the wrong daughter." Looking at his eyes, she noticed his playful glimmer return, and relief flooded her body.
"Har har. Come on, it's getting rather late," she motioned, as she turned her horse around to start making her way back to the palace.
"You know, you're breaking this Prince's hear with your coldness!" he yelled jokingly, following close behind her.
"I'm sure.." she mumbled, low enough for only her ears to hear.
She still couldn't believe any of that happened.
Back at the palace, the Prince handled both horses, leading them into the stables, while Judith made her way inside to get out of her soaking wet clothes. She thought the ride back under the rays of the sun would help to dry her off, but to no avail. Running through the corridors, making sure no one noticed her, she made it to her quarters. With a sigh of relief, she reached for the doorknob.
"Judith!" she heard her mother screech. "What in the world happened to you?" As Judy turned her head to face the Queen, she grinned sheepishly.
"Oh, good afternoon mother. Just a little riding accident."
"A little? My dear, you've completely ruined your gown!" Bonnie said, gaping at her daughter's soaking dress. "I forbid you to go riding without someone present there with you from now on!" Judith's eyes grew wide.
"Wait what? Mother you can't do that!" she argued.
"I'm your mother, I very much think I can. You're a princess Judith, start acting like one!" Judy froze. "You can start with agreeing on finding a husband."
"Mother, I've told you this time and time again, don't make me do something that'll make me unhappy," Judy interjected, hoping to convince her mother. Her father clearly hadn't gotten around to talking to her, of if he had, he didn't do a very good job at getting through to her. She also thought it'd be best to keep quiet about the fact that she was with someone that morning. She didn't think her mother would be very pleased.
"Oh stop arguing, and go and get changed! You look a state," she concluded, turning away from her daughter. "Oh, I almost forgot!" she remembered, turning her head slightly. "I understand that you don't wish to wed, but your father and I can only wait patiently for so long, before we take it into our own hands. There's someone coming to see you in two days. He's just started to make his journey here."
"What? Mother you cannot make me. I don't want a buck in my life!" Judy shouted after her mother.
"I can, and I will. Hurry along now, you'll catch your death of cold," she informed, almost turning the corner of the corridor.
"Try as you may mother, I will not leave this room," Judy called out angrily, running inside her room and locking it behind her in the process. Footsteps quickly approached the door.
"Judith you ungrateful child! Can you not understand that we're doing this for your well being!?" the Queen hissed from the other side of the door, as Judy proceeded to slide down against it, on the opposite side.
"Yes, tell that to Lilith. How have you not realized she's miserable?" she muttered, resting her head on her knees. She heard her mother growl slightly and mumble something incoherent in regards to Judy. Feeling she could not do anything more, Bonnie started walking away down the hall. Judy sighed, tears threatening to spill.
How in the world was she going to get past this absurd predicament?
After she had gotten out of her ruined dress and into a clean on, Judy heard a knock at her door. Groaning, she turned toward the disturbance.
"Mother, I've been through this, I'm not going to argue further."
"Judith," came a voice that was certainly not her mother's.
"Lily?" Judy replied astonished, hopping over to her door. 'What is she doing here?' she wondered.
Opening the door, she was greeted by not only her sister, but to her dismay, the Prince as well. He made sure Lilith wasn't looking in his direction, before he proceeded to smirk at Judy's reaction to him being there.
"Judith, you're driving mother crazy!" Lilith started, folding her arms and tapping her foot impatiently. "I had to stop my meeting with the Sultan from the Kingdom over, because she stormed in demanding I come and talk some sense into you!" The fox beside her snickered, unsettling Judy further.
"I've told her already," Judy stammered agitated. "I have no intention of meeting this mammal." Looking up, she noticed Nicholas mocking her. He was pointing to himself and winking at her, giving Judy the assumption that he was basically telling her to pick himself instead, making the bunny flush.
"Judith, you remember when you told me to try?" Lily said softy. "Now I'm going to be the one to ask you. Even if you have no desire to marry this buck, at least show you're making some sort of effort," she urged. "It'll at least keep mother off your back."
Judy found it hard to focus on her sister with Nicholas standing right next to her. She couldn't help but glance over at him, catching him looking back at her with an eyebrow raised. She sighed defeated, realizing there was no way this agro would end, unless she agreed to go.
"Fine.." she mumbled.
"Great!" Lilith cheered. "Nicholas and I will be joining too, if you don't mind of course. Thank you for doing this Judith! I'll let mother know right away!" she waved, turning away. Before the fox could follow however, he looked back at the annoyed bunny.
"I assume you mentioned nothing of this morning to anyone?" he inquired, smirking with half lidded eyes. Judy looked up at him, placing a paw on her hip.
"Why? Finally feeling ashamed of your actions, my prince?" she teased.
"On the contrary Princess, I just believe it'd make things easier for you. The Queen would finally understand that it's not love you don't want, but rather, a buck." Her ears fell limp.
"How dare you imply that I would want you?" she hissed, keeping her voice down as to not have her sister overhear their conversation.
"I just assumed you did when you kissed me back," Nick replied, grinning cockily at her, her face turning bright red. "I look forward to seeing you Carrots," he waved, following after his wife.
'Of all the..' she thought frustrated.
'This dinner better be worth it Lily.'