I continue to ask him questions as we eat and I'm delighted to find out more pieces of the puzzle that makes up Masen. His favorite color is green, he's an early riser and likes to watch the sunsets, and he doesn't like brussel sprouts. Apparently his mom would always try to force him to eat it as a child and that eventually grew into a distaste for them as an adult. We've steered clear of any serious topics, keeping things lighthearted, which I was fine with for now.

I hesitate with the next question on the tip of my tongue, worried if it would be appropriate or not. I didn't want to cross any lines or offend him. We've moved over to the loveseat near the open window, allowing the spring breeze to flow through the room. We sat, facing each other, leaning against the back of the couch.

"Spit it out, Princess." Masen watches me from his side of the couch.

I rest my head on top of the back of the couch, gazing at the birds flying outside. "How many…people have you dated?"

"That's your question?" I can hear the smile in his voice. "Why do you want to know?"

"Just curious."

"Hmm." He makes a sound but I still refuse to let myself look at him. "A girl or two here and there."

"And now?" I can't let it go. It shouldn't be something that plagues my thoughts but at this moment, it's all consuming.

"The last one was five, six years ago. Lasted maybe a week. I've been busy, being kidnapped by a gorgeous princesses and all."

"I didn't kidnap you!" I whip back around and all the air leaves my lungs as I come nose to nose with Masen. I didn't realize he had moved so close as we talked. There's a fire in his gaze and I'm entranced by the way the sunlight dances across his emerald eyes. "You're free to leave at any time."

"That's good to know." He's teasing me. And I can't decide if I love it or hate it. "And what about you?"

His nose brushes mine but I don't dare move. "No one. Unless you count the betrothal."

"I don't." His eyes flicker down to my lips and my tongue darts out to wet them. "Have you ever been kissed, Princess?"

I tip my nose in the air trying to maintain any air of dignity. "By the duke's son at a ball."

He raises a brow. "How old were you?"

"Eight." I purse my lips and look down. "That counts."

"Hardly." Masen lifts my chin up towards him. He tilts his head and leans in, his warm breath fanning across my face. "Do you want me to kiss you?"

Yes, I want to say, but the words are stuck in my throat. His lips graze my cheek and my eyes fall closed, reveling in the sensation. The heat radiates off of him and if I tilt my head just a little bit, his lips would meet mine.

And then it's just cold. My eyes pop open to Masen smirking at me from the opposite end of the couch. My heart is beating so fast, it takes a few good breaths to calm down. Why didn't he kiss me? I tilt my head in question.

He leans back, placing his arms behind his head and stretching out. "You're so pure, Princess. And I'm not going to take advantage of that."

I open my mouth to protests but he seems genuine. There's a small voice in my head trying to convince me that he's right, and he's saying this because he cares about me at least a little bit. So instead, I flop back too, pulling up my knees and crossing my arms on top of them. I feel like a child throwing a temper tantrum because they didn't get what they wanted.

"Don't be like that," he gently chastises. "I didn't say that I didn't want to."

He gets a glint in his eye that reminds me of a predator stalking his prey. One side of his mouth tilts up and he leans forward, bracing his hands on either side of me, one on the back of the couch and the other on the cushion next to my dress-covered thigh.

"You tell me to, and I'll kiss you all you want. Deal?"

I get it now. He thinks I'm inexperienced. He thinks I'm scared. He thinks there is no way someone like me would make the first move. I briefly consider just pushing myself up and pressing my lips to him myself but he's right.

This is a very dangerous game we're playing and I have a feeling I'll be the one losing. But I wasn't about to let him win so easily. I muster up every crumb of courage I possibly can and look him square in the eye. "Deal."

I don't miss the surprise on his face. He definitely was not expecting me to say that. But he just composes himself and sits back in his original spot. "Good girl."

A thrill of energy shoots through my body at his praise. I play with the ribbon on my dress, needing some kind of distraction to stop myself from staring at him.

"Will you tell me about your family?" The words leave my mouth before I can stop them.

His eyes narrow and I think I might have stepped over the line. It intrigued me how quickly he could go from easygoing to mischievous to completely shut off, which made it clear who I was to him. Or rather, who I was not.

"Why do you want to know about my family?" His voice was calculated, but there was something else there. Something like hope. I don't think I'm the only one scared of doing something new and unexpected.

"You know about mine. Do you have siblings too?" I push, giving him the opening to let me in.

I don't know what he's looking for when he searches my face but he must find it because he starts telling me about his sisters.

"They're both older than me," Masen says. "Rosalie is the oldest. She's twenty-nine. She's a little uptight but you won't find anyone more protective than her. Once, I was playing with some other kids and I got pushed out of a tree. I broke my wrist." He holds up his arms, pointing out a small scar on the back of his hand. "Rose was so mad, she got all of us grounded for climbing higher than we were supposed to. Then she wouldn't let me out of her sight for two weeks. Wouldn't even let me lift my own cup to take a drink!" He throws his hands up, so caught up in the story, he seems just as exasperated as if he was actually there. But he ends up wacking his right arm against the window and winces, cradling it with his other hand.

"Are you okay?" I take his wrist and examine it.

"I'm alright." He sheepishly takes his hand back and rubs it a few times.

"I would have loved to have a sister like Rosalie. I mean, I have Jasper but it's different. He would have never taken care of me like that. I know he cares, in his own way. But we never spent enough time together to have that kind of relationship. I don't think he would choose me over the throne." This truth. It was something that has always been at the back of my mind but I had never allowed myself to say it out loud until now.

There's a heavy silence as we both take the time to process what I just said.

Eventually, Masen tries to lighten the mood again. "Well, you can have Rosalie if you want." And that was just what I need to let myself laugh it off.

He reaches over for his tea but I stop him. I see the question in his eyes and I grab his cup, holding it up to him like he said his sister did when he broke his wrist. His eyes sparkle in amusement and his face breaks out into a smile.

"Drink up." I can't help but smile too.

"Very funny, Princess."

I move to bring the drink back down but he grips my wrist. We lock eyes and he tips my wrist up, taking a drink. It's slow and sensual and over all too soon. He caresses the inside of palm, letting go.

I clear my throat, putting the cup back in its place. "So what about your other sister?"

"Alice." He rolls his eyes but I can tell by the way he says her name that he loves her dearly. "She's twenty-eight. Technically she's older but she definitely acts younger. We've always sort of treated her like the baby of the family."

I nod. It makes sense. Masen doesn't seem like he would be the youngest so it surprises me that he is. He was just so protective of others.

"She's crazy smart," he continues. "She's a doctor. But she can also be really loud and bossy."

"And your parents?" I lean in, wanting to hear more.

He hesitates again, gauging my reaction. "They're two of the kindest, most amazing people I know." There's a hint of pity to his voice and I know he must be thinking about how mine is anything but.

I give him a sad smile. "You're very lucky."

"I am," he acknowledges. "So enough about me. You're a princess!"

"I'm hardly interesting," I scoff. "And I quite enjoyed hearing about your family. Besides, that's just a title."

"Why do you say that?"

I shrug. "I don't really get to do anything. I don't get to leave unless somebody tells me I can. I have no real power, and probably less so once I'm married. I have no say in anything that goes on, not that father would let me know about anything that goes on."

He seems surprised by my confession. "What about your brother?"

"I'm sure he knows more about the inner workings. I mean, he has to. He's set to take the throne someday. But he never talks about it. Or rather, he never talks to me about it. I wish he would." I'm rambling now, frustrated that I feel so useless in my own kingdom.

"Well, what would you want?"

"What?" I'm confused by his question.

"Since you, my dear princess, are so stuck in what everyone else wants you to do in this life, what do you want?"

"I want to help my kingdom. I want to marry the prince of Elisor to help my kingdom," I repeat the mantra I have conditioned in me.

"Princess, look at me," he commands. I do as he says. "What. Do. You. Want," he emphasizes each word.

His simple words hit me harder than I expect. Nobody's ever asked me that before.

"Well, I'm asking you now." I jump at the sound of his response. I must have said that outloud.

I take a moment to really think about it. What did I want? I haven't really allowed myself to consider a world of mine so free since my mom died. That's when any hope for anything other than what I am forced to be died too. But now Masen was asking me to admit what I had buried deep in my soul long ago.

"I want to help everyone." My voice is small, like I'm scared to speak it into existence.

"You already said that." He's right. It's practically the same words as before, but the meaning is much, much different.

I shake my head. "No. I want to help everyone. Every person. Not just the kingdom's alliances. I want every child to have a coat in the winter, and every family to have a meal on the table. I don't want anyone to suffer. I don't care about power, I just want to help everyone. These are my people. I want to take care of them." I look out the window again. I've seen some of these things when I'm allowed out to the farmer's market, which isn't very often. And if these are the kinds of things I see in my miniscule time outside of these walls, how much more am I missing? I suddenly feel so unworthy sitting here, in a literal castle, for god sakes, complaining about something as pathetic as having to marry someone I don't know.

Masen grabs my hand, tugging on it to try to bring my attention to him but I can't. Shame washes over me and I feel tears start to trail down my cheeks.

He tugs my hand harder. "Everyone is a lot of people."

I let out a laugh but there's no humor behind it. "Your question was hypothetical, right?"

"Your response wasn't."

"My response lives in your hypothetical world and therefore holds no real weight. What isn't hypothetical is my duty. If all I can do is marry someone to strengthen my kingdom in the long run, then that is what will be done."

"And would that make you happy?"

"That doesn't matter. It never has."

"You would be willing to sacrifice your own happiness for duty?" He asks like he doesn't really believe it.

"Yes." And that's all I allow myself to say, because I'm not sure if I believe that anymore.

"And if you weren't the princess?"

I glance outside. I've fully given up on trying to hide anything from Masen. "I would run far far away from here, if only to get away from my father."

"Why don't you just kill him?"

I look at him in disbelief. He's completely serious. "W-why would you say something like that?" What he had just suggested wasn't anything that had ever remotely crossed my mind.

"He's not a good person!" Masen was determined now to get his point across.

I stand up, in complete loss at how the conversation had taken this direction. "But he's still a person! He's still my father, one of the only family I have," I rub my face with my hands. "How could you-it's not…that's not…"

"Hey. Hey," Masen, rises, pulling me to him. "I'm sorry, Princess. I didn't mean to upset you."

"You shouldn't have said that," my words are muffled in his shoulder. He stays silent, running his fingers along the back of my neck.

What surprises me the most was that when Masen had said these words out loud, it wasn't my father I had feared for, but Masen himself. If anyone in this castle heard him, or heard him saying anything like that and it somehow got back to my father, I had no doubt my father would not let him live.

"You can't say things like that," I pull back. "You can't. Please," I met his worried gaze.

"Okay, I won't," he concedes. I can tell he thinks it's because I'm upset about the thought of my father dying and I won't tell him otherwise if it means he'll be careful with his words. For his own protection.

"Good," I hug him tighter. There was something really nice about being wrapped in his arms, like a safe cocoon where nobody could reach me. I had only known him about a day but there was already a part of me that had been irrevocably changed by him. I was becoming attached, and that was not a good thing. Because when I would finally have to let him go, I would be the one left to hurt.

Hi all! I hope to have the next chapter out very soon. It's already written, but I want to finish the next one before I post it! I have this entire story planned out already, I just have to write it, so stay tuned!