Riding through the woods, Bella thinks back on the last four months and is surprised to find how much her life has changed. When she first arrived in King Josh's Court, she had been worried that she couldn't keep her father at bay, not having enough information to send back to him that wouldn't endanger the Kingdom she now calls home.

However, she has found that with the little information she can get, she has yet to receive a letter from her father demanding that she finds out more. Sharing with him the public meetings King Josh has with Lords and envoys, where he deals with the more subdued requests, is apparently enough to keep her father satisfied.

As for the Royal family, she has found that, despite whatever feelings they might have against her father, they don't let them change how they treat her. Everyone has been kind to her, making sure she feels at home with them and that she feels a part of their Court, specially Commander Ackles.

Bella has to admit to herself, even if she doesn't to anyone else, that the small amount of time she has spent with him has always left her wanting more. Commander Ackles has a way to always make her smile, even on the days she would rather hide from the world, the days when her decision to deceive her father weighs on her more.

Bella closes her eyes and allows the wind to wash over her, taking all those thoughts away. Suddenly, her horse buckles, having been spooked by something, and throws her off her saddle, making her land wrong on her ankle.

"Shit!", she thinks as she sees her horse ride away, leaving her on the muddied ground. Bella tries to stand up, but as soon as she tries to put some weight on her ankle, she knows she isn't going anywhere fast, plumping back down on the ground.

Leaning over a nearby tree, Bella manages to get to her feet. Looking around, she gathers herself and tries once again to put some weight on her ankle and knows this is going to be a long walk back to the Castle.

She starts down the path, limping as she goes, and wonders if anyone will notice she has been gone for too long. She walks for a few minutes before hearing a horse up ahead, thanking the heavens for whoever is coming. Just over the bend on the path, appears Commander Ackles and all Bella can think is how she hated her horse at that exact moment.

-"Your Highness, are you alright?" - He asks her, climbing down from his horse, seeing her limping and her dress muddied.

-"I'm alright. My horse got spooked by something and threw me off before racing down the trail."

-"You're limping. Where are you hurt?"

-"My ankle. I must've rolled it when I landed."

-"May I?" - He asks, before kneeling in front of her, ready to check her ankle.

-"Sure." - Bella holds her breath when his fingers touch her skin, sending fire through her body.

-"I don't believe it's broken, more like a sprain, but one of our healers will be able to tell you for certain."

-"Honestly, that's what I was thinking as well."

-"Were you going to walk back to the Castle with your ankle like this?"

-"It didn't look as if I had much of a choice here, Commander. Not unless my horse decided to come back, which I don't see it happening."

-"If you'll allow me, Your Highness, I can take you back." - He smiles at her.

-"Yes, please. Thank you."

Jensen steps closer to her and helps her get on his horse, her shy smile lighting up her face and he has a hard time not smiling back. Now, Jensen knows he could easily just walk beside his horse and let her have the saddle to herself, he should have done that. However, that's not what he does.

Climbing on his saddle, right behind her, he rationalizes it with having to get back to the Castle quickly so the Princess can be seen by the healers. That's what he keeps telling himself as he heels his horse forward and feels her slide backwards towards him ever so slightly, her back firmly pressed against his chest.

Feeling her this close takes everything in Jensen to keep his feelings at bay. He isn't sure when it happened, but for a while now he has had to keep himself in check every time she is near. She has gotten a hold of his heart and doesn't even know it.

It started innocently enough, with him just being nice to her whenever she needed help around the Castle, or when they would cross paths on her way to the stables, walking with her before he headed out for the training grounds, but soon enough things began changing and now he wasn't sure on what to do with how he was feeling for her. He isn't sure if what he feels is love or something else, all he does know is that he wants to be close to her.

Bella knows better than to let her heart take over, but she can't deny the way he makes her feel when he looks at her. There's no way her father would ever approve of her feelings for him, specially after what happened with her sister, but she can't help how she feels for him.

The Castle walls and back gate come into view, and soon enough they're riding into the stables. Bella wishes that they had taken longer, but knows she needs to see a healer. She feels him climb down before asking her if he can help her down.

Bella nods and feels his hands around each side of her waist, lifting her from the saddle with ease, and tentatively placing her on the ground. They are so close together that it almost feels as if the world around them just disappeared, Bella letting out a shaky breath when she realizes just how close they are.

Jensen looks down at her and, for a moment, nothing else mattered, it was just the two of them, and he wished they could stay like that forever. Not really thinking, and acting more on instinct than anything else, he pushes a stray strand of hair away from her face, caressing her cheek in the process, making her blush.

A stable boy inadvertently interrupts them, forcing Jensen to take a step back, refocusing on the world around them, preventing him from doing something he shouldn't, no matter how much he wants to.

He sees a soldier walking past and calls out to him, telling him as he approaches to take the Princess to see the Royal Healers, bowing at her before briskly walking away, wanting to put as much distance between them as he possibly can.

Bella stands there a few seconds, already missing the warmth of his touch, and wondering what that was all about. Could it be that he is fighting the same feelings she is? Bella knows that, even if he is, there's no way either of them can act on them.

Her thoughts are interrupted by someone clearing their throat and she looks over to see the soldier waiting for permission to assist her towards the Castle and the healers. Bella nods at him and begins the long walk, leaning on the soldier, her mind still racing with a million questions and what ifs that shouldn't be there, all the while analyzing every single interaction she has had with him over the last four months.