I'd like to take this moment to apologize for that LONG LONG LONG wait for this chapter. Please don't hate me.

For some reason, any creativity I had DIED and I couldn't get it back. Until recently, when I finished my other story. So... yay! We're back!

Just don't eat me. Please. I'm probably chewy, and won't taste good. Even with proper spicing.

We rode until the sunset. And then we rode until the moon shone brightly in the sky. We rode until I could no longer feel my buttocks from the amount of riding we'd done that day.

I was peeved. To be kidnapped and then forced to ride for hours on end – and all because someone I loathed was asking, or rather, demanding that I do so – was a bit too much for me. But I kept quiet about it. Unfortunately, I could see the sense in what Arion had said, and since we hadn't spoken a word for the entire trip, I had gotten plenty of time to think things over.

Item number one, I still found Arion to be a royal – literally, I reflected, smirking to myself – pain in my ass. Not that this particular thought was new and or exciting for me. But it seethed in me, and that made me itch to jump off the back of his damn horse and then run like crazy.

But then there was that whole bothersome bit of Tiernan still being after me. As much as I detested the thought of staying with Arion, being forced into marrying Tiernan seemed the far worse fate. And, seeing as there was still the crazy and possessive Lady Rowan to also return to, I found myself disliking the idea of returning to Merriwind even more.

Then again, I knew that sooner or later, Arion was probably going to demand the same of me, once he felt that he could safely duck in and steal the crown from under Tiernan's nose. So either way, really, I was going to be forced into an unwanted marriage with two people I disliked.

At that point, I knew that it would be in my best interests to hide New York City again and make do there. However, we'd already seen how long the effectiveness of that plan had worked out. It had landed me here.

So I foresaw two different scenarios. A, I could run away and if I made it to New York City without being captured, I would probably end up being taken by one of the two brothers once I needed to leave the city. Or, B, I stay with Arion and when he decides it's safe, he would try and marry me himself.

'Neither, please,' I thought, grimacing. Not that becoming a faerie queen didn't sound like the "'bees' knees", but I would give that up in a heartbeat to be free and live my own life. With that thought in mind, I knew my next course of action, to run. To be live my life for just a little longer would be worth the risk of being caught again.

Besides, I now knew to be careful. Course of action set, I glanced around to try and read what was going on with Arion. The blond boy gazed stoically forward, and if there was a speck of emotion on his face I could not find it. It didn't appear that the journey was taxing on him at all; in fact, he was so relaxed one would think he had not just spoken of his throne being threatened by his brother.

Feeling somewhat irked, I glared down at my aching rump and then at the back of the prince. Didn't he at least have the courtesy to ask me if I was still fine after all this riding? Clearly, he didn't particularly care about wooing me any longer. Gritting my teeth, I tried to think of a creative way to convince him to stop. For all I knew, though, it was his intention to ride on, regardless of how I felt.

Suddenly, I felt a deep yawn coming, and despite my best efforts to help it back, it still managed to make itself known to the world. Honestly, even if I did want Arion to stop, I wasn't quite willing to let him know that he was exhausting me.

He was quick to notice the sound though, and he reined the horse to a stop, and glanced back at me. "A little tired out, my dear?" he queried, even if he knew the answer.

My eyes narrowed. "What's the 'my dear', snuggumwuggums?"

He sighed. "Ah, met with sarcasm. You really are the soul of polite conversation."

"Hello, pot," I replied. "I believe you're calling me black." He scowled at me, and I gave him a cartoonish, fake beam.

"So are you tired or not?" he asked harshly. The edge to his voice told me that he was done joking around. I've never been one not too harass someone I don't like just a little bit more.

I smiled sweetly at him. "Oh, my. Aren't you gallant. Or are you asking that just because you're tired and you don't want to admit it." He went into all-out glare mode and I sighed, but smirked at him. "Yes, I'm tired." I admitted, spitting out each word.

"Then I shall find suitable place to us camp!" Arion said it so gallantly, I wondered if he had been watching too many early Disney princess cartoons. All the princes sounded like that. Next he would be shouting at me, 'Fear not, fair maiden!' each time I ran into a bush that looked overly threatening. I took a peak at the glowering face her wore, and suppressed a giggle at the thought.

That was, perhaps, too much of a reach for Arion.

Once we found a "suitable" clearing, the prince parked the horse – or whatever you do when you stop and leap off the back of an equine to tie it to a tree – he turned to assist me. "No need, I can handle myself." He sighed in frustration and crossed his arms, watching me closely. As I slid my leg over the top of the horse I said, "You'd be sorely mistaken if you think standing there and looking pissed will change my mind."

Arion groaned in disgust. "Fine!" He said, tossing his hands up and turning away from me. "Fall off the horse and break a bone. See if I give a damn!"

I laughed harshly and loudly after him as he walked away. "At least I'll be falling off on my own time!" He shot me a look and then snapped his fingers. A nice camp – complete with campfire, tent and blankets – appeared before our eyes in the clearing. One tent. Well, that wasn't going to fly.

"Hey. You can't seriously expect us to sleep in that one tent, do you?"

With eyebrow raised, he asked, "Why not? I don't see a better way to make sure you don't sneak off in the middle of the night. Besides, we'll be able to keep each other warm." He rolled the r in warm, and a mischievous smirk appeared on his face as he savored the word.

"I'll sleep outside."

"I can always arrange it so I sleep outside with you."

"Go die in a fire." I said, crossing my arms. "I'd rather sleep with a wild bear than sleep in the same tent as you."

"That could also be arranged. I could probably convince a bear in this area to help out." I rolled my eyes.

"Please tell me you're not serious." He looked at me, and I knew he was more than serious. He was actually considering it. I tightened my jaw, and glared at him. "Alright. You win. But any part of you that touches me inappropriately will be removed." He laughed.

"Oh? And how will you manage that with no weapons or tools to speak of?"

I glared at him, and said, totally serious, "I'll get creative."

He chuckled. "Alright, m'lady." Mockingly, he bowed to me and as he straightened he said, "I'll go get us some food. Why don't you keep the fire burning?" I stepped closer to the fire, and watched him move away. Was he really just going to leave me? I couldn't believe my luck. Smirking, I grabbed a blanket, figuring that with that I could at least keep myself warm until I found the nearest road and then I could hitchhike to the nearest bus station.

I began to run the opposite direction that Arion had left in when, just as I hit the border of the forest, I literally hit something rock solid. I stood there, biting back the cry of pain. "Ow. Fuck. Ow." I whispered softly, feeling my face for damage. My nose felt a little sore, but I didn't think there was any blood.

"Hell, he planned," I said glumly, just as Arion's voice ran about the space.

"Oh, I see you found the wards. I wanted to make sure you'd be totally safe while I was gone. Wouldn't want you to disappear on me, you know." That. Bastard. He made it sound like this was all for my own good. I tried to dance myself free, but it didn't seem to work. Bugger it all.

I got to stew in my anger and humiliation for a good hour before Arion came back. By then it had gotten totally dark, and I had tried to use as many of the pine cones and stray sticks in the area. Moron hadn't thought that maybe I would need to get into some of the forest in order to fetch more wood for the fire.

My eyes flickered towards him and then back at the flames. He had raised an eyebrow, probably at the picture of me staring dejectedly at my dwindling fire, which was comprised of a few flickering flames and quite a bit of coal. "Can't even keep a fire, can you?" My eyes moved so that I could fully look at him. Arion look resigned, and I decided that I didn't like his tone of voice.

"You're acting as if I can't do anything," I growled. "I'll have you know that I was once a girl scout, and I got my camping badge." The fact that I had quit when I was ten didn't matter, it was still true. "Perhaps if you had thought I'd need more than the sticks that happened to be lying around in the area, your precious fire would still be in good condition." We glared at each other for a few moments, before he sighed.

"It doesn't matter. What's important now is dinner. Can you do that, at the very least?" It was then that I saw he was holding a rabbit in his hands, and my stomach rolled.

"No." I replied. If I had a kitchen, I might have been prideful enough to say that I could handle it, but I had no clue where to start when skinning a hare, and I was not in the mood to get food poisoning because I'd been stubborn. He grimaced, and I quickly said, "Hey, they don't exactly have Skin a Rabbit 101 in Girl Scouts. It's more about saving the environment than eating some of it."

"Brilliant," he muttered. "I'm so glad that you know the proper way to conserve a forest." Arion moved away, and called back, "I'll deal with the food. You just stay put. And make that fire bigger." I was about to snap something about how I couldn't without more wood, but as I turned to look at the campfire, I saw a neat little pile of chopped wood next to it. My mouth shut and I stood to toss some logs on and poked at it to get it started again.

As I worked, I vaguely remembered something my mother had taught me after I'd gotten lost – what berries and plants are acceptable to eat and which aren't. My mother was, if anything, thorough. 'And she's probably also a thorough-bred,' I thought darkly, not smiling at my horse humor.

Once the fire was blazing, I walked after Arion and stopped when my hand hit his shield. Blast that stupid thing. Where my hand touched, it felt warm and I could feel the magic humming under my fingers. I was momentarily fascinated by how I could have missed such a thing in the first place.

I reached out my other hand, and felt along the edges. It thrummed, like a guitar string that you plucked but did not hold still. There were very few words that could fully explain what this wall was, but I got a sense that, in a way, it was alive.

"What are you doing?" I heard Arion ask. I turned to stare at him and then immediately wished I hadn't. He had removed his jacket, and his white sleeves were rolled up to his elbows. He also had taken off the cravat and vest. His hands were bloody, and I didn't even want to see what the rodent looked like now. I closed my eyes and turned away.

Suddenly I was having flashbacks to biology class. The only reason I had been able to cut that frog apart at the end of the year was because I'd pretended that it was fake. Unfortunately, there was no reasonable way for me to do that and look at Arion. I took a few deep breaths, and then responded. "Your shield. I touched it and it felt… I dunno… all vibrate-ey."

I could hear the raised eye-brow in his next statement. "That was an utterly fantastic use of the English language, Grace. Care to try again?"

If I hadn't been so focused on not looking at him, I would have glared. Instead I frowned. "I'm not sure I can… It's like… the magic itself hums. It… tickles at the touch." He didn't say anything for a while.

"Grace, you can feel the magic?" He said at last.

I shrugged. "Yeah. I mean, can't you?" Then I sighed mentally. Oh boy. I knew what was coming next.

"I can feel my magic, but I've never feel able to sense anyone else's magic." Clichéland, one ticket please. I grimaced.

"Oh goody! A new and exciting skill that everyone's going to want to teach me to use! Fan-fucking-tastic," I grumbled.

He was quick to respond, and I heard him walking across the grass. "You're telling me," he said darkly. "I'm the one who's going to teach you how to use it, and you haven't even gotten a handle on your own magic."

"Oh no." I simply could not keep my eyes closed anymore. I spun in the direction of his voice. "I will not be taught. By you. I've taught myself."

"You can't even break my shield," the blond man retorted, as he wiped his hands off on the grass.

I struggled to find a response, and then crossed my arms. "You cook that rabbit and we'll discuss it later." He beamed boyishly, and inwardly I groaned inwardly. He was actually really cute when he smiled. Too bad he was so bothersome the rest of the time.

"You'll lose," he called to me, as I tried to find something productive to do. I wasn't just going to sit around while he made dinner.

"I wouldn't put my money on that, your highness. I can be stubborn when I choose to be." With that, I turned back to the shield and began to play with sensing it again. Maybe I could find a weakness and then I could get out of here.