Wasn't Supposed to be a Love Story

This wasn't supposed to be a love story, Alice was sure of it. When the story started she was a princess trying to save her sister and her kingdom, alone. Then he showed up. Jeremiah, the dorky, charming patrol guard. Who apparently was now a critical part of this story. The author had made a tone shift halfway through, so honestly Alice wasn't sure what was real and what wasn't anymore.

She was fairly certain that she had gotten separated from her party somehow… How a royal entourage lost the princess was something the author was going to have to figure out. And Jeremiah had found her and was helping her. And this man gave her butterflies, and she hated it!

She glanced at him, as he led her through the unfamiliar woods. He hacked through a thick brush. She found herself watching his muscles move. She shook her head; she had a mission, no time for love, especially for a patrol guard. Her father would never let it happen. But what if Jeremiah won her tournament…? Alice, stop this! You’ve only met this man, you can't love him. Just because he's the first man you've met who isn't some egotistical prince doesn't mean you love him!

“My Lady?" She loved it when he called her that…. She snapped herself out of her thoughts.

"Yeah, Jeremiah?” She noticed he'd found them a small clearing.

"We should stop here for the night." He took off his pack.

“It's still early, I can handle walking a bit further." In truth, she couldn't. She was so tired, but he didn't need to know that.

He chuckled. “I'm sure you could, my Lady. But there is no cave here. Setting up camp will be more work, so better to do it with some daylight left."

“Ah! Yes, of course. How can I help?" She didn't have many survival skills, but she wasn't going to let him do it all himself.

“Why don't you collect firewood again? You did great last night.” He smiled and rolled out the sleeping mat. "We're lucky, it doesn't look like rain so we should be able to sleep under the stars tonight.”

She hummed in agreement and focused on collecting different branches. She heard him say something about going fishing. But she was too lost in thought to really pay attention. She was thinking about what she was going to do when she met the dark prince. Would he accept her father's offer? Or would he try to marry her - or worse, her little sister…?

When she had collected enough wood Alice looked at the space Jeremiah had left for the fire. Could she start the fire for him? She'd seen him do it enough times, surely she could do it… She set up everything like he had the night before. Then she rubbed the twigs between her hands, moving them up and down, and trying to keep the same level of force. Just as the fire started, her hands gave out, red and raw.

She blew on the fire to keep it alive. She was feeling pretty proud of herself. She had given herself a small cut on her hand, but she was planning on ignoring it. When Jeremiah came back, he had a few small fish and a shocked look on his face. She was pretty happy with herself. “Well done, My Lady.” He quickly started cooking. "The river is sheltered enough that you could rinse off tomorrow morning. We should find them by midday tomorrow if you were right about where your party should be."

Alice's stomach dropped; finding her party meant meeting the dark prince. Which meant dealing with the unknown fate that waited for her. She shook her head. “How…how wonderful."

“You don't have to lie, Princess, there are no spies here." He chuckled. “I know there is a small part of you that would rather stay lost in the woods." He winked. She felt weak in the knees.

“I…" She pulled herself together. “I have to protect my sister. Even if it means…" She couldn't bring herself to say it out loud. She fidgeted with her hands. “Ouch!"

“Princess!" He ignored the food and darted to beside her. “What happened?"

Alice hid her hands in what was left of the layers of the skirt. “It's nothing, Jeremiah." He offered his hand and she slowly lifted her cut hand to him. “It's just a small cut from the firewood.”

“It's actually a sliver. Once our food is done, I'll dig it out." He moved away and she felt the emptiness. She wanted him to stay close. Instead, she just looked at her hand.

She got so lost in thought that she didn’t notice when he came to sit beside her again. "We'll let the food cool while I get the sliver out, it won't be very comfortable.” She cautiously placed her hand in his. He took out his small knife and carefully worked at the sliver.

She'd never had someone she knew this close sit this near to her. Sure, there were servants, but she wasn't allowed to know them. She winced in pain. “Sorry." He paused, and she nodded for him to continue. “I know it doesn't mean much, but I think it's courageous of you to marry that prince to protect your sister."

"Thank you,” she whispered. "In truth, I’d give away half the Kingdom to keep her safe.”

"She's lucky to have you. My older brother sold me to a farmer for a week's worth of food." He lifted his knife, showing the sliver. Then before she could say anything he tore a strip from his shirt and wrapped her hand.

“I'm so sorry your brother did that.'' She timidly reached her hand up and touched his face. He caught her hand and held it.

“It's the way of orphaned children." He shrugged.

“If I ever am Queen, maybe I can change that…” she muttered.

"You'd be a very good queen if given the chance." He interlocked their hands. “I'll be very glad to say that I got to meet the queen. I'll tell everyone what a wonderful woman she is."

“Maybe I'll hire you as a personal bodyguard." She leaned in closer.

“And watch you fall in love with some arrogant prince. Sounds like a cruel fate." He took her other hand in his.

She blushed. “Maybe it would be. But then you would always be near.” Their foreheads were touching now. “Maybe I should just knight you, then you could enter my tournament. I could rig it, you know… Princesses have done it before."

“You tempt me, my Lady." He kissed her; it was soft but everything Alice wanted it to be. She kissed him back, forgetting all the rules and all the proper protocol. He quickly backed away. "I’ll get the food!” He quickly moved to the fire and finished preparing the stew. She heard him mutter, "You kissed her! What's wrong with you… she's the princess."

This…this was going to be a problem, wasn't it? Her not-a-love story was quickly becoming a love story…and worst of all, she liked it!